Monday, September 28, 2015

Ella's Night In

Our Marvelous Mimi took each of our children out for a one on one dinner on a Sunday night throughout the early Fall months. When it came time for Ella's turn, being the creative cat that she is, Ella asked to instead go grocery shopping and make Mimi dinner at her house.
So, of course, Mimi, being the easy going gal that she is, said "Sure!" :-)
Ella made Mimi a lil' flower vase - of which all the flowers (freshly cut from our rose bush), died on the route to Mimi's home b/c Ella added scented hand lotion to the water to make them smell even better. :-)
Ella's planning menu and recipes:
La Cheese Dip
Turkey and Avocado Salad with Berry Smoothies
Joyous Ella with her Happy Mimi 
~ so grateful for sweet relationships and for special time with each of my children
(FYI: Will chose Pei Wei, Abby chose Cheddars and Owen chose El Chico as their nights out)

Friday, September 4, 2015

The Big Apple Surprise

Revealed Abby's Big Surprise with the below after pom practice one afternoon...just 4 days before departure 
Sunday, August 30th, 2015
And we're off!!!!
Such a site!!!!
Westin, Grand Central
our lovely abode for the next 3 nights...

Double Decker Night Tour
3 story H and M right smack in the heart of Times Square...did I mention it stays open til 1 am?!
The Brooklyn Bridge


Grabbed a midnight snack on our walk back to the hotel 
Day 2
Plain bagel w cream cheese


Time for our Hornblower Cruise around Manhattan!

Ellis Island ~ this was super cool to see because Abby did a big report on it just last year
Loved watching my girl take it all in...
This is by far our funniest pic of the trip...the Gangham Style dude is staring Greg down behind us..haha!!! :-) 
Freedom Tower - breathtaking...and do you see the Cross shape in the middle?
9-11 Memorial...still mind blowing to think about. 
Abby was just 4 months old the day it happened. I remember watching the Today Show while nursing her when it all went down. I have never held my children so tight as I did that day.
LITTLE ITALY
Hungry Hungry Ladies after a super action packed day
wine came free with lunch...wasn't gonna argue ;-) 
(funny side story: the waiter brought Abby a glass of vino too...he thought we were cousins and that she was 21!)
Our Italian waiter "Franco"...he was such a character and so fun to visit with!
Our lasagna, bread and salad hit the spot...in fact, this is one of our best memories of the trip!
Our 1st Dessert stop of the Evening: George's Cupcakes in Soho
the recommended peanut butter chocolate was seriously TO.DIE.FOR!
2nd Dessert Stop: 
The famous Eight Turned Crepe - only in Japan and NYC
We got the Matcha Truffle Chocolate and Strawberry one...umm umm
Our 1st Subway ride - from Soho back to Grand Central
NYC Day 3
Our 1st event of the day was a stop at the Today Show.
Not only did we get to shake Al's hand and meet him, but we also got to get Ab's pic with him!
The funniest is that we were on t.v. and didn't even know it! Nana sent us the video clip. 
 Country stars Maddie and Tae were there in concert that morning ~ super talented and darling girls!
I loved seeing all the hosts walk out to the couch...so surreal 
Jumped off the double decker for a stop at Central Park and Columbus Circle
Funny enough, we hit a NYC TJ Maxx where Abs found her fave lil Michael Kors purse
and then picked up my "You are Here" NYC Starbucks mug 
(I collect them from all my trips - Paris, Nashville, etc.)
Speaking of Starbucks, I had a jumbo sized iced coffee each day to make it through to late nite...it's a must do in the city that never sleeps
Had to cab it to the flagship NYC LV store after getting lost and walking for far too long...
Richard was THE coolest salesman evah! 

Ran my lil' lady through all the high end stores ~ Tiffany's, Bergdorf's, Chanel, etc. However, after a few views of the hefty price tags, we were ready for some more realistic shopping!
So we subway'd our way back down to Soho since there was so much more we hadn't seen the day before. After stopping in a plethora of shops, we then took the subway back to Grand Central Station where we shared a Falafel Chicken Kabab Platter - Abby's 1st time to try this type of food.
Quick change of clothes and drop of bags and we were off for a long-awaited night of *BROADWAY!*
Times Square never gets old to look at...truly fascinating!
We spot the Palace Theater!
A theater selfie before it's time to leave...
Time to say goodbye to the Big Apple...but first a run through Buttercup Bakery for some yummy treats for Oma and the sibs