antique shop

Week 2

12:42 AM


I'm falling behind. The second week we spent in New York was just as great as the first with the simple exception that I didn't get lost! 

Taylor's training has been intensive and there are a series of tests and quizzes that dominate his time. He has some fun, too. Check out our week's highlights:


I spent several hours on Monday searching for a bridesmaid dress. If you know what Century 21 is, (not the movie theaters) you know that it's crazy. 


I explored Chelsea Market with Cami Needs and Jessica Taylor. We met there for lunch and there were soooo many amazing options but we settled on Giovanni Rana and the delectable fresh pasta options. BUT! Do you see the third restaurant down on the left side? I had to go check it out :)


Just a picture for now. I'll have to go back and partake. 

This was my meal from the market. The guy who took our order decided to 'help' as we decided what to devour. "Do you like cheese? Do you like pasta? Ok, you get this ravioli" haha It was great but I'll definitely try a marinara thing that they were offering as a sample and smelled like victory.

I walked by an antique shop and just HAD to go in. I am in love with typewriters. I have been since I was 5. My parents even attempted to get me one but somehow, within only a day it would stop working and we would send it back. Eventually I believe that we have up the endeavor and I never got a typewriter. If I didn't have to find a way to lug this bad boy across the ocean (for cheap) I would have gotten it in a heartbeat. It's in wonderful condition. Someday....

Treasures...or junk... But lots of it!

Flat Iron building. An icon that can't be missed. It's also a stone's throw away from a Shake Shack that's in Madison Square park so....

Taylor got home from work and we went for a walk/quick grocery store trip. He treated me to my very FIRST EVER ice cream from a truck. And it was good ice cream! Tay got the double chocolate dip.

And I got double cherry dipped ice cream.

And because it's hot in NYC, it got really messy, really fast.
That's one thing I love and appreciate more now about Utah summers: even though it's desert hot during the day, it get nice and desert cool at night. 

Oh, and we were walking around watching a dry lightning storm until we saw the wall of rain coming toward us. We ducked in to the store just in time to not get soaked. 

Bruce, my father-in-law, had another meeting in the New York office! He decided to make a weekend trip of his Monday commitment and brought Jake and Peter, brothers-in-law, with him on Friday night.
We met up with Colleen! I had never actually met her before last week, only heard the most wonderful stories. It was lovely to see the superwoman in person! 

After Taylor was finished with training for the day (and Jon had completed his last day of training in NYC), we saw the new Planet of the Apes movie (a little too intense for me probably) and got dinner at Wei West. Everyone was happy with what they ordered. My pad Thai was the bomb. 
All in all, a cute date night and a sweet, temporary farewell to Jon as he traveled back to SLC to his lovely wife and a new job! 

It is not as enjoyable to do a lot of my New York bucket list items alone but I know the opportunity to be here is going by quickly. On days when I don't feel like going far from our apartment, reading on a bench looking at this view of the Hudson is still pretty fantastic in my book.

Our weekend with the Larson gang need it's own post again. I'm going to catch up and stay on top of these updates. Promise!

Grand Central

Weekend Adventures with the boys

4:19 AM

Since Taylor and I got married (8 months ago today!), I seem to be greatly outnumbered by boys. It happens and mostly I'm fine with it EXCEPT when it means that I have to ride all the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world.

Actually it wasn't all bad. Taylor, Nick, Jon and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and had a 'six flags day'. Because I didn't want to wait alone all day while Taylor, Nick, and Jon had all the fun, I had to ride the rides. All except Zoomanjaro, of course. No, thank you. 

This is what the subway stop looks like at 8am on a Saturday. On our way uptown to meet Nick at the George Washington bridge. 

View from the top of the Ferris wheel. I had never been on one before! Of all the rides, the boys were freaking out most about this one... pffft. Puh-lease. 

The superman ride. I had to do it for my brother Danny who is a real life superman. Pretty nifty ride that makes you feel like you're flying!

Instead of returning to Manhattan for the night, we drove up to Connecticut to attend the meetings held in New Canaan, (where Taylor lived in his most formative years). I have only been here once before but the people were as familiar as any back home in Utah. We will always love New Canaan.

Sunday was Nick's 22nd birthday! He forgot to tell anyone until about 5 minutes before he was headed to the airport so he didn't actually get out of the impromptu singing! Dinner in the Read's backyard was lovely. We're grateful for wonderful friends!

Train from New Canaan back to the city. I love love love Grand Central station. It's a beautiful place.

This is random but let me tell you something funny about Taylor. He is the easiest person for which I will ever make a sandwich. Probably. After growing up with my father and brothers who delight in elaborate sandwich creations, Taylor is a mystery. He eats his sandwiches completely dry. Doesn't like any condiments of any kind. I don't blame him for hating mayonnaise (any returned missionary from Argentina is likely to have the same aversion) but he won't even kiss me after I eat something that had mustard on it. 
It's ok. I kind of love it. It means making him a sandwich takes about 10 seconds. No complaints from the chef!

We got home (anywhere we sleep turns into 'home') and prepared for another crazy, wonderful week. 

For those interested, we have all of our belongings with us that we will take directly to London. We had a great stroke of luck and had dear family members able to check some bags for us so that we would only have to pay extra baggage fees once. Turns out to be quite more economic than international shipping! 

But for anyone looking into shipping abroad, make sure you don't forget about the USPS and options like media mail. We weighed and measured a couple of boxes for shipping our winter clothes at a later date and it turned out to cost just under $200 for a 50 lb box of our own measurements. There's a handy dandy link on the USPS website to help calculate the cost for you! 
We also tried FedEx which is not a bad choice. However, I have to clarify that we decided not to bring much more than our clothes, electronics and some kitchen tools. If you are shipping more or larger items such as furniture, you'll definitely have to look elsewhere. 

Posts will come more frequently now. Promise! Thanks for reading!

exploring Manhattan

New York, New York

4:01 PM

We're here. It's finally happening. We've been talking about it and planning for months and now it's here. This is real life.

We just completed Week One of GS training. I don't know what life would have been like if I had stayed behind in Utah like we thought I might. I miss Taylor while he's at work enough already that I don't think we could be alright hundreds of miles away from each other. 

Training is long and requires homework after hours of lecture. It's a lot like being back in school! 
We have been figuring out how to open a UK bank account without being present in the UK. It is very difficult (nearly impossible) but we're almost done and home free! Through an agent in the UK at CitiBank and Citi At Work, we have filed the application and paperwork necessary to activate an account. Though it was difficult and time-consuming, it's worthwhile so that we can get paid before September, ya know? Almost done with that!
The view of Manhattan from our balcony

Same spot on our balcony but over the Hudson River.   
The Hudson always reminds me of this movie moment (s/o to my fellow 'You've Got Mail' lovers). 
So...this is what I've been doing all week! 

World Trade Center tower (Freedom Tower)

Washington Square Park and Arch=prime people watching area

 I have been walking around so much that I thought my feet were going to fall off before the weekend. There is so much to see and so little time! There are recommendations galore and while I wish to see them all, I just had to start somewhere.

I hadn't ridden a subway 'on my own' since I served as a missionary in the heart of the capital of Buenos Aires. New York's subway system makes Argentina's look like child's play. So the first time I got on the subway in NYC I accidentally jumped on an express train and ended up somewhere in Brooklyn. Luckily I found some nice people to redirect me but that could have been disastrous. 

I found what I was looking for at TKTS in South Seaport. Discount broadway tickets! (Go here for everything EXCEPT: Wicked, The Lion King, Book of Mormon the Musical and Aladdin) You can get 40-50% discounts on same-day tickets and some matinee shows the following day. The South Seaport office opens at 11. I went with BIL (brother in law) Nick when he came to visit. We got there at 10am and could have been first in line but we sat and ate some breakfast and stood behind two groups at about 15 after. We got three tickets together to Les Miserables! Beautiful show! 

Dreams do come true. Saw the restaurant version on Guy's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and made a goal to try it. The restaurant is way out in Queens but this stand was on my way home one day! Woot!

Two tacos: one Nopalitos (cactus, but don't knock it before you try it. It's probably my favorite thing), one carne al pastor. AMAZING! The corn tortilla are super fresh and everything was delicious. The horchata is legit. 

Once upon a time, there was a flash flood warning and I took this video during the storm. You can click on the link and check it out if you follow me on Instagram. I couldn't figure out how to upload it here, sorry! 

It was just coming down.

But, my goodness, it was beautiful after the rain.
Dinner at El Vez night #2 with the great Bruce Larson. Pretty fantastic tacos! Dinner #1 with Bruce we went to The Palm and had the best chicken parmesan I've ever had. I ate it too quickly to snap a picture ;) 

I wouldn't mind living in a neighborhood like this! 

Dear Ashley sent me to her favorite spots from a food tour that she did when she was here herself not too long ago. Number one: Joe's Famous Pizza. THANK YOU! It was perfect, cheap and fast. Deliciously met expectations!
L O V E

Number two from Ashley: cute little place called Home Restaurant. I must have missed the real lunch rush because I was there completely by myself. I sat in the garden area and it was dreamy.

Amazing artisan bread from local Hudson Bread, fresh lemonade sweetened with agave and the most amazing Mac and Cheese that has ever passed my lips. I'm a pasta and cheese lover. I could probably eat it every day so this was the perfect lunch!

A close up. Just in case you weren't drooling enough. 

This was the first time I had ever tried macaroons in my whole life. Verdict: I LOVE them. Chocolate and raspberry from Sugar and Plumm, at least. I have heard that they can be bad if they aren't made well so I'm glad my first experience was a great one!
When on the east coast, one must eat bagels and pizza. Every day.
Not many people are going to appreciate this but this kalamata olive schmear was perfection on a non-toasted, hand-rolled bagel from Leo's.
Nick came to visit for a few days! We met Taylor for lunch in the plaza just north of One World Trade Center. These guys kill me. 
Nick and I walked over to see the 9/11 Memorial. It's beautiful. We stood in awe and looked over the names that line each side. Walking around invoked many memories of that fateful day. We plan on going to the newly-opened museum one of these evenings that Taylor doesn't have to work too late!
Once upon a time, I had to go to Jersey City to meet Taylor and copy and sign documents for the bank account we are setting up in the UK. I took the PATH train and thought I was going to fall over and tumble down the escalator. The lights, tunnel and angle of the escalator made me so dizzy that I had to stare at my feet on the stair.
Downtown NYC from the Jersey City side of the Hudson. It's a beautiful sight!

Thursday night we went to Les Mis! We got one of the understudy Jean Valjean's but he was still spectacular! I wonder what the normal guys is like... 

Like I said, eat lots of bagels. This was a lucky morning that I got to go out with Taylor (again, to print and make copies for this bank account dealio)

Nick and I did the tourist thing and got on the Statue Cruises to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. She's a pretty lady! #freedom

Audio Tour was included in the ferry price. Not too bad, educational but we just had to laugh about a lot of it.

Downtown NYC from the ferry. I just don't get sick of that view!

Ok, I don't know this kid's name but he is hilarious. He and his family were in line in front of us as we were waiting to get on the ferry back to Battery Park. He was obsessed with the Statue so as soon as he got the foam crown on his head, he raised his arms to mimic Lady Liberty and BOOM! He was a statue and he couldn't move on his own. His father had to walk back and pick him. That is until his mother bought ice cream and he took a quick acting break. I was dying laughing. 

A Yankee game with lots of friends! Glad to say that I got to see Jeter play at home in his final season! 

 The rest of the weekend will be in the next post. Don't want to overload you all! Thanks for keeping up with us and our goings-on. We have three more weeks here. Taylor has tests for work so we are full speed ahead. 

 T-minus 2 weeks for my sister's wedding and until we get to meet our nephew! 

Like us on Facebook

Flickr Images