NYC Adventure Part 1: Soulfriends in the BIG Apple!

i have had a smile on my face since 10:03am friday morning! that’s because it was at that exact moment that i literally jumped out of our car and ran into the arms of my very best friend or what we like to call ourselves ‘soulfriends‘-lindsey. i have not seen her in 3 very very long years so i cannot tell you how excited i was about being reunited. i even woke up early to pluck my eyebrows and let me tell you…i don’t just pluck my unibrow for anyone.. however…between the hours of 7:43am-10:00am i had a much different look on my face.

we have been staying in New Jersey (thanks to a much more affordable rate at the marriott) and according to google maps it was going to take 53 minutes to make it to her apartment in Queens so we were going to grab breakfast on the road and planned to make it to her place by 9am. here are 2 lessons i’ve learned:

#1: never get into a car hungry when your destination involves anywhere close to new york city.

#2: never get into a car from NJ to NY during rush hour and make sure you double check to your calendar so you know for a fact what day of the week it is (i truly thought it was saturday). or double the time it’s going to take.

we sat in frozen traffic for entirely too long with our stomachs grumbling and me not being the most pleasant person to be seated next to (the honking of every other car didn’t help either). we looked at this intersection for 23 minutes. after i dug around and found some goldfish crackers and chocolate covered peanuts to eat, i became a little better and thanks my dear husband for navigating some crazy driving circumstances and getting us there safely!

thankfully my soulfriend Lindsey is married to an amazing cook, James (also my old roommate from college) so he was very kind to include us in their breakfast. for some reason the opposite couples coordinated their clothing better. weird.

my husband had a busy day MEETING WITH THE PUBLISHER OF HIS BOOK (what a badass. i know) and james’ parents were in town so lindsey and i got to spend the day wandering new york city together and for me to see her life! i am one of those weird people that finds great comfort in being able to visualize where my loved ones are spending their days. i loved walking around her neighborhood and spent the whole time being so impressed with her/their ability to function in such an intense city.

after we filled up on our fall favorite of pumpkin spice lattes, we took the subway (because that’s what people do while in NYC and i was very impressed by everyone standing around like this was a normal way to get around) and i tried really hard not to bump into everyone or put my armpit in short people’s faces as i grabbed the germ-covered handle to hang on. i give myself a B+.

we walked around central park and did you know there is a freaking zoo in central park?! i had no idea. as we were leaving this nice woman offered her ticket to us because “had to get back to work but the nanny and her daughter were still in there.” so many nannies in central park let me tell you. we opted to just walk the perimeter of the zoo because we wanted to go sit in the sunshine but we did find some seals!

more central park love-complete with a well-behaved dog in the background!

we also went to the cutest tea place called Alice’s Tea Cup where Lindsey also happens to be a manager because she is just that impressive (honestly…so proud of this lady). we shared one of the best pumpkin scones i’ve ever had (moist, not overly sweet and the flavor was delicious) as well as the apricot lemon scone! Lindsey had the wedding chai tea (if you like chai…get this) and i had the caffeine free coconut roobios tea. we also sat awkwardly like this for the whole meal.

we laughed, caught up, talked about how different and how the same we are when we first met 7 years ago and how neither of our husbands quite understand why we get so giddy around each other and briefly forget they exist. we just connect and it’s wonderful. my heart feels fuller and i needed that to continue on with this tour we are on so i quite appreciate our time together.

before i left colorado for portland 4+ years ago (and then they moved to NYC 2 years after that), i got us matching hugging friendship dolls hand crafted by Isabel Bloom. i stuck mine in my purse before i left 2 weeks ago and it was only fair that they were reunited as well (don’t pretend like you don’t give inanimate things feelings sometimes too. they were happy).

later we met up with her husband and his parents and they treated us to dinner (so nice!) at a mexican restaurant where they all got coconut margaritas (have you ever heard of such a thing!?). i opted for the original but the photos didn’t come out so please just picture a full table of mexican food, creamy looking margaritas and my hands in the chip basket.

as we strolled back to her place to wait for Ravery to make it back from his fancy dinner meeting, we all stopped and admired the breath-taking view of the empire state building from her neighborhood. it was one of those quick but powerful moments when everything just sort of hits you and you are like “WHOA. i am in new york city with solid friends, an amazing husband, experiencing so much and doing what many people dream of. just WHOOOOA.” what a complete day.

ps. then I HAD TO DRIVE through Manhattan to get back to our hotel because someone that i’m married too had a little too much fancy wine at his fancy dinner. it was terrifying. i don’t want to do it again. and listening to christmas music helps a little.

the new wifestyle: love between friends is also a powerful thing. cherish it.

questions:
1) craziest city you’ve ever driven in?
2) are you a fan of tea? (i usually only like chai or when other people make it for me)
3) 3 favorite qualities of your best friend?