Ari H

Utah...it never gets old

11:30 AM

First time we've all been together in 3 years



What's winter without snow? Thanks, Utah.

Any time I get to spend with our nephews is precious time



We made snow angels in snow that was up to his waist :)

She's the prettiest

Sibling dinner. Brett is always too busy for us. :(

Favourites

Bachelor party in a suite at the Jazz game

We did some research before our Utah trip for some new, great places to eat. Happy we made it to Sweet Lake - Biscuits and Limeade

Eggs Benedict is my go-to on any breakfast menu. This one with local eggs, fresh made biscuits and red quinoa hash browns gets two thumbs up from me. HOWEVER, the winner of the menu is definitely the pancakes! They are called Conspiracy Cakes. They grind the flour fresh every day and you can absolutely taste the difference. That's probably the conspiracy...

Before heading back to London, we took some family pictures in the snowy canyon



I love my people

British food

Week 3 in NYC

9:52 PM

This week was unlike any other. I was soooooo excited for the weekend that I couldn't think about anything else. 


This is what I do. I study maps of London. We have been working with 4 Corners relocation and searching the listing site Righttomove.co.uk hoping we can get a flat in as little time as possible once we get our feet on the ground over there. 
Taylor will have two weeks before he officially starts at the desk in London but during that time he will have to take some tests. So we would like to get into a flat before greater time commitments start. 
I will also be looking for a job. We need a hearth. It'll help give us a feeling of stability :)

Taylor needed to clean up before the wedding so we found a legit barbershop nearby. So great! 

These two... Faves. 

We went to an English dinner at Jones Foundry Grill. A genuine British menu except the day's shipment of cod was underpar so no fish and chips. I had the steak and kidney pie which was AMAZING. Everyone approved of their meal so I would definitely recommend it if you would like a taste of England. They even have chicken tikka masala on the menu! It was crowded and loud and terrible lighting (couldn't tell if I was eating a piece steak or kidney until it reached my mouth) but seemed authentic enough. 

I still haven't met a pizza I don't like in NYC. This place is just downstairs from our apartment and legit Italian men speaking loud in Italian and very in little English served this to me. 
I thought I liked pizza before. Utah pizza is nothing in comparison. This city is pizza heaven. 

Friday afternoon, Taylor left training just a couple hours early so we could make it to the airport in good time. We took the subway all the way here which was crowded but fine. It took over an hour but not bad for $5 transportation. 
This Shake Shack is ONE of TWO locations in the brand new terminal 4 of JFK. They are located with 15 gates of each other. This is the B37 location ;)
If I haven't posted enough about Shake Shack, it's because I have been understating it. I. LOVE. SHAKE. SHACK.  I would eat it for every meal if it wouldn't lead to me becoming as wide as I am tall. 
FYI: the airport Shake Shacks are the only locations to offer a breakfast menu! 

This is a little more random but good to know in big cities like New York, San Francisco and London. Über cab is a great alternative to yellow cabs. Comparable in price (as you can see from the ad) but it has a rating system. Similar to Yelp, you can rate your experience with your driver. However, the driver can rate you back. So be nice or they can refuse to take you. 
Rundown on how it works:
-you set up an account with a profile and your credit card
-you search for über cabs in the area (black car or regular)
-select a car/driver
-you can immediately see the driver's picture and make and model of the car they drive (all personal cars) and see how long it would take them to get to you (anywhere from 2 minutes and up depending on the city. Never had to wait more than 8 minutes--usually less than 5--here in NYC)
-request that they pick you up
-driver has 15 seconds to accept you or not. Driver can pass based on your rating ;)
-once the car is coming to you, you look out for the make and model. Jump in when you see it 
-tell the driver your destination. Duh
-once you arrive, you just hop out
Because your profile has a credit card on file, that card will be charged as soon as you get out and the driver hits the 'end trip' button on his über app. (There is a dispute button on your end if you think he drove off and kept charging you)
No exchange of cash or card to hold you up inside the car once you've gotten where you're going! Pretty nifty!

A bad photo of the city at night from the sky. On our way to Utah! Family filled weekend to be had. Last trip west before we land in London. 


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!

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