For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to live in New York City. And being able to live here for the past few months has been amazing. But, what I have been most grateful for are the friends and family that live nearby.
One of the biggest reasons I moved back to the States was to be closer to my friends and family. Let me tell you, I have not regretted it for a second.
The very first weekend I moved here, Jen and McKenzie invited me to their apartment for a pancake breakfast. It was wonderful to see them, catch up, meet some new people in the city, and eat awesome pancakes!
Since then there have been dinners, birthday parties, movies and general hanging out together. It has been so nice to have them here and to be so welcoming.
Four Saratoga girls in NYC!
Another friend of mine from Saratoga, Todd, moved here two weeks before I did. He and I have enjoyed a few nights out together, and they have always been extremely enjoyable. Todd is a riot, and one heck of a karaoke singer! Just ask Heather, because she and I had an awesome time with Todd.
And then there is the family. Heather has already been to visit me for a weekend, and Ann and I are having lunch today while she is in town for a meeting. I also saw Kiki briefly between the bachelorette party and my trip to Wisconsin. Okay, maybe they aren't technically family, but they are.
Kelly, Dave, Hannah and Adelaide have been amazing! I spent a night out in New Jersey with them back in February when I babysat. It was such a welcome relief to get out of the city, to be in a house and to spend time with family that wasn't my sister.
Then, out of the blue, a few Saturdays ago Kelly called to ask if I had any plans. They were spending the day in the city and asked me to meet them. They proceeded to take me on a culinary tour of the Upper West Side. I think they were trying to have me put on all the weight I had lost after Addie's illness got the best of me. They succeeded. Just so you all know, Shake Shack is delicious. And they have a location at the Saratoga Race Track in the summer!
While Dave stalked the seating area for a table, Kelly, Hannah and I stood in line. Kelly recommended a ShackBurger and a shake. Sounds simple enough, but there were options, and I wanted to make sure I got the best! For the shakes, the menu says, "hand-spun vanilla, chocolate, caramel, black & white, strawberry or peanut butter." After reading the "or" in the description, it seemed that mixing flavors was not allowed, and I ordered a peanut butter shake. Just as Kelly was finishing the order the woman next to us asked her counterperson what his favorite shake is. He loudly proclaimed to what seemed like the entire restaurant, "Oh! You have to have the chocolate peanut butter shake!" I immediately grinned from ear to ear and said, "ooooooh, that sounds good. I'm sorry, can I change my order to a chocolate peanut butter shake, please?" The woman behind our register gave us the death stare. She looked like a bobble head as she bobbed to give me the death rays and then back to the screen. Uh oh. I have angered it.
It was very loud in the restaurant so Kelly leaned in and politely asked, "did you hear her? She would like to change her shake to a chocolate peanut butter." Bobble Head bobbed her visored Shake Shack weave to give Kelly the harshest, most sarcastic look I have ever seen. She pouted her lips, tilted her head, made her eyes really wide and gave one succinct nod of her head. She said nothing, but the look said more than enough. I could just hear her saying OH NO YOU DIH-INT! I also imagined her doing an aggressive hand snap motion in front of our faces, but that didn't happen. She handed us our buzzer, and we disappeared into the crowd.
The food was awesome! And I don't think she spit in anything. "Think" being the operative word. She did, however, mess up my shake. But, Kelly and I didn't want to deal with It anymore, and we mixed our own shakes. Thanks for sharing, Kell!
Just when I thought I couldn't be any more stuffed, the Sachter clan took me to Levain Bakery. Levain Bakery is to die for. With only four cookies to choose from, you can't go wrong. I could go wrong with the oatmeal raisin, but that's because raisins make me ill just to think about them. The average person will have a 100% success rate at this bakery. These warm and gooey cookies, large enough for four, are worth every single calorie of the buttery goodness you consume. Trust me. Or trust Hannah Banana Monkey and her chocolate covered smile!
Sugar high!
Last weekend Erin and I also had the pleasure of going out to Patty and Jim's house for the afternoon.
Jim picked us up from the train station and brought us home to a house filled with the smell of corned beef. Patty and I then filled the air with our chatter as she passed out her clippings and we caught up. Not too much later Tara arrived with the girls, and they came bearing gifts. Erin and I scored three boxes of Girl Scout cookies!
John and Jane arrived in their convertible with photos and stories from Stephen and Maureen's wedding. I now know why Maureen was behind the bar in her wedding dress!
Tara told us about Kailey's recent antics, including a fall from a tree and a plan to cut a hole in the wall of her bedroom "to practice sneaking out the window" for when she is older. And Laura showed us her awesome project: duct tape purses! I may have to put an order in for a few birthday presents...
We then took a walk down to the beach and enjoyed the incredibly warm weather.
In search of sea glass.
Erin never stops dancing. Ever.
Eventually we meandered back to the house for the highly anticipated meal of corned beef and cabbage
Erin was trying to be artistic here. She took this as the four of us were discussing how ridiculous "walking away" photos are, and how Jenny and Tara were the original hipsters to have that photo.
I have spent the last three years yearning for corned beef and cabbage in Thailand. It was everything I could have ever hoped for. Well done, Chef Patty. After dinner we enjoyed a typically Garvey feast of desserts. We had brownie pie, Guinness cake, mint chocolate chip ice cream and pastries. Now that I think about it, it sounds like the whole family is out to make me fat!
And how about the Dooley side of the family?!
Well, for one, Kaitlyn lives here! Erin and I have gotten together with her a handful of times. The evening after the Giants won the Super Bowl we went out to dinner with Uncle Kevin and Kaitlyn. On our way to dinner we saw Eli Manning. No big deal. And a few weeks ago we got to see her perform in a one act play. She was a fetus. And she was awesome.
One night last month we had dinner with Colavito Clan. Brittany was working hard at Scranton, but we enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner with the rest of the family. They were spending the weekend at The Manhattan Club. They had just seen Spider Man when we had dinner with them, and they do not recommend it. Just passing along the information.
And, I can't forget my immediate family. Chip has been down to visit twice. My parents have been down, well, a lot. And I get to see everyone this weekend in Saratoga. Woo hoo!
I have only lived in the city for nine weeks, and I have seen so many people! This is why I moved back here. This is exactly why.
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