A Grand Weekend

I absolutely love when family and friends come to visit me in New York City. After eight years, I still have so many neighborhoods to explore, so many sights to see, and restaurants to try. And having visitors gives me that perfect opportunity to do so. It is also pretty fun to see those touristy places that I, along with most New Yorkers, so often avoid. It is amazing to me that a place can still seem so new after being my home for years. That is one of the reasons why I love NYC so much.

Since my parents have been here countless times over the years, their visits have evolved from trekked around town to see Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building to discovering new hole-in-the-wall restaurants and taking leisurely walks along the Highline and the Lower East Side. And of course, every weekend adventure includes at least a little shopping.

Brian and I had a wonderful time with my mom and Chuck last weekend. Even though it was a misty, rainy day on Saturday and Chuck is recovering from whooping cough (yes, you heard right, whooping cough), we had a blast exploring and wandering around New York. Here is how the weekend unfolded...

Five Pointz

Before driving to Brooklyn for the day, we stopped at Five Pointz in Long Island City. My parents had seen my pictures, but had never actually been to see the warehouse buildings covered in the most amazing graffiti. It is a treat every time I go there, because the walls are constantly being repainted. I will never get over the detail put into each piece, and will never understand how they are done with cans of spray paint. A-mazing. 

Brooklyn Flea
We wandered the flea Saturday afternoon, searching for the two items features on the flea's blog. If you find the featured item of the day, you not only get to keep the item, but you get your picture on the blog! Unfortunately, we never found the antique bracelet or the G.I. Joe. But, we had fun trying. A trip to the flea is not complete without hitting up at least a couple of the food stands- we tried a lobster roll, a grilled cheese, a pupusa, and two donuts from Dough. The lemon poppyseed rocked.

Union Square

After the flea, my mom and I headed to Union Square for an afternoon of shopping while Chuck went back to the hotel to rest before dinner. We wandered through the farmer's market, eyeing baskets of fresh strawberries and homemade pies. The colors, changing with every season, are always beautiful at the market. 

Next, we walked up to Fishs Eddy to search for new dishes. I am obsessed with these cake plates, along with almost everything else in the store. I got two of these, which are now making my leftovers in my fridge look much more appealing. I also picked up some new shirts at Anthropologie and a skirt I can't wait to wear from Madewell, all on sale with additional markdowns may I add. I love a good bargain. 

Rocking Horse Cafe
We returned to an old favorite for dinner, the Rocking Horse Cafe. The food and margaritas were equally amazing. Afterwards, we took Chuck to Pinkberry for the first time. He was unsure how the ordering worked, and ended up asking for two blackberries, a few raspberries, four animal crackers, and some chocolate. My mom and I had to laugh as he paid for all of his toppings.

Atlas
After putting our names down for brunch on Sunday morning, we wandered through the streets of the Lower East Side in search of coffee. We found it at Atlas.

Clinton Street Baking Company
This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that I write about Clinton Street Baking Company and all of its wonderfulness (I also wrote about it here and here). The brunch is worth the hour wait. I know I need to branch out and try something new the next time I go there, but it is so hard to when I know I love the cheesy grits and sugar-cured bacon that comes with the southern breakfast. The french toast and blueberry pancakes are also delicious (isn't anything with warm maple butter?).

The High Line

Lindsey met up with us Sunday afternoon to walk the High Line. I love this new addition to the city, and am excited every time I make it to the West Side. Section Two is now open, and the flowers and plants are perfect. I love how the designers selected natural, wild looking flowers to line the walkways on the old train tracks. 

Coolhaus Ice Cream Truck
I heard about Coolhaus a couple weeks ago and couldn't wait to try their ice cream sandwiches. The ice cream flavors and cookie combinations are unique and organic, and even the wrapper that the sandwich comes in is edible. After checking out their website, I immediately followed them on Twitter to I could track the truck around the city. As we came to the end of the High Line and a random kids' area full of brightly colored stripes balloons and bouncy houses, I decided to see if the truck was parked near us. Sure enough, the latest tweet mentioned the High Line and Rainbow City. Confused, I started looking around to see if I saw the truck. You can imagine my excited when I saw the sign at the entrance for the weird balloon area... "Guys, this is Rainbow City!" I exclaimed. I hauled ass to that truck and ordered a red velvet cookie, Nutella almond ice cream sandwich immediately. It was delicious. I shared my sandwich with Lindsey, and my mom and Chuck split a cup of root beer ice cream. It was the perfect way to end the weekend.