Midtown, Greenwich Village, and why I Need Target

One of the best photo stores in the country is in NYC--B & H Photo. It has the most amazing inventory system I've ever seen. The entire store has this metal rig running across the ceiling filled with bins. The bins all have merchandise being ordered up by customers. It's crazy. Lance always likes to pop in and see what's new. I like to watch the bins fly by and pretend they're filled with candy like Willie Wonka's Factory.

After our mandatory stop, we walked to midtown to do some shopping on 5th Avenue. We got some great shots along the way.


We stopped in at the enormous Dean and Deluca store for lunch, where we ordered up tasty delights and watched a shoplifter get busted.

Don't worry, Ashley! The Big Apple also has your favorite cozy spots. You'll feel right at home.

After what felt like 3 miles (oh, right--it was) we made it to midtown/Central Park.

Lance checked out the Apple store. We have the original--this makes me yawn.

Next stop--FAO Schwarz! Blakely definitely enjoyed the magical toy wonderland.

I kind of want these. No judgement!

We headed downstairs and checked out the sweet shop. Sugar heaven!

This is for Heather! Mmmm. Cinnamon bear of epic proportions.

Fit in another stop at Mister Softee before heading back to JC for the night. Dang if that truck doesn't churn out a fine milkshake.

This morning I was delighted to find out that the PATH train from JC drops you right into Greenwich Village. That was the good news.

This was the bad news....

...followed by more bad news....

No handicap access, which means no stroller access. Which means down the 4 flights of stairs, and up and over the turnstyle with B by myself. It's not tragic, but it's definitely tricky.

The Village

I was starving, so I headed over to Bleecker to check out a highly rated gluten-free restaurant. My wise friend Mallory tried to steer me away, but I pressed forward, delighted by the idea of having a slice of pizza in NYC like a normal person.

This is what I got. A limp, purple pizza with what appears to be a cancerous mole on it. It was the WORST FREAKING THING I HAVE EVER TRIED TO EAT IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. And I have eaten some weird stuff in my day. The "pizza sauce" was some sort of disgusting olive tapenade instead of a tomato based sauce.

After 2 bites, I purposely got B all riled up so I could cut out early and ask for the check. The guy boxed the leftovers, which was the entire pizza, to go--right into the trash can outside.

The server took my pic, and it turned out just like the pizza--underwhelming.

I won't name it by name, but you can see the sign here. Note the trash can to the right. Look for my pizza box.


Moving on. I really wanted to shop, but all of the shops were up stairs, down stairs, the size of my closet, etc. I was slowly realizing a valuable lesson I will touch on a minute.

I did find a cute little bookstore where B picked out a Curious George book. She calls monkeys "munnicks," and always laughs about George's silly antics.

I'm trying to make sure B gets enough exercise and interaction with kids, so we hit up the Bleecker Playground.





After playing for a few hours, we headed back to the hotel for a nap. B is totally behind on her sleep, and is now boasting rings under her eyes. She's a party girl like her mama, but she's starting to slow down. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back home and just relaxing with friends.

Once Lance got home from work, we headed to NYC to the Shake Shack for dinner. It's near the flatiron building that I accidentally referred to as the gridiron building. Close enough.

The line was a mile long. No, really.

But OH SO GOOD! I accidentally overate, and Lancer had to run down to the lobby and buy me some Tums. But it was totally worth it.

Heading back to JC for the night.

Back to my thoughts on convenience. I need convenience. When it was just the two of us, I could have cared less about this. I would have stayed anywhere, anytime, and been up for anything. But with a kid--Manhattan is a tough concrete jungle, yo! When we were at dinner the other night, I was trying to explain the appeal of Jersey City, and it kept coming back to this: I need to be near a Target. I need a mini fridge, and a room with a microwave. I need to be close to easy public transportation. Everything in the city seems to be designed to weed out people with kids--all of the restaurants are 12 X 12, long waits, no kids menu, no high chairs, no restrooms, etc.

I love the suburbs. I love the sprawl. I love our backyard. I love my car.

I love NYC, and I've enjoyed every single minute here--but man do I miss Target. Lady Liberty ain't got nuthin' on the bullseye!

Doing our own Thang and Coney Island

Lance has continued to be busy-busy, and we have continued to have fun-fun. He penciled us in for lunch, and we were able to get a great view of the new building at Ground Zero from Jersey City.

Little lady enjoyed her grilled cheese sandwich. But she enjoyed banging on the metal table even more.

Lancer went into Manhattan while B took a nap, and then we packed up to hit the mean streets of JC with just the two of us. I found a little playground nestled amongst all of the the tall buildings, and B ran around and got her wiggles out.

Which was awesome, because I really needed to spend some quality time at the Newport mall. I've never met a mall that I didn't like.

I'm in desperate need of some new foundation and eye shadow, and I almost dipped into Sephora to get some.

Then I remembered what the stars of Jerseylicious look like--they run a beauty salon for crying out loud. So I decided to just get my supplies back in California.


Today we decided to head over to Coney Island--famous for being the site of the very first Nathan's hot dog stand. And also famous for guidos and women in ill-fitting bikinis. About 99% of the women should have traded their bikinis for a tankini or mumu. Just sayin.

This is also where the famous hot dog eating championship is held every year. Tasty!

The place was PACKED, and everyone was acting as if they had never eaten a hot dog in their life.

We quickly found out why--those puppies were DELICIOUS! I had a cheese dog with grilled onions, and Lancer had a traditional dog with dijon. We're believers. Lancer also gave the lemonade a thumbs up.

After eating atop a trash can (wish I were kidding) we headed up to the boardwalk to take in the Coney Island experience.

It's not the best NY has to offer. But it's super fun, kitschy, and something everyone should do at least once.

I don't who this guido bird is, but B loved him. Good enough.

I took my chances and asked the great and mighty Zoltar my future. Kidding! I didn't want to end up in a child's body, like Big in reverse. 6th grade was insufferable the first time around, thank you very much.

Lance went head to head with this juicehead and came out victorious. He was the 8th grade arm wrestling champion. Ask him all about it next time you see him. He beams with bride when recounting the tale.

I'd like to think the quarter required to gain entry into the bathrooms helped with the quality and cleanliness, but I'm guessing this is not actually the case.

We dropped a twenty (!!) to ride the world famous Wonder Wheel. It gave great views of everything around us, including Manhattan.






After a few hours in the sun, we hopped back on the subway and made our way back to Manhattan to meet up with friends for dinner. We had dinner with them a few years back when we visited the first time. B had skipped both her naps, and was in full meltdown mode. I didn't want to torture poor Lane with another table full of spilled water, so I pushed her around this loud market, hoping the noise and movement would lull her to sleep, and ensure a peaceful meal. It totally worked. While she snoozed, we sat on a stoop and practiced our guido talk. I'm surprisingly convincing.

We enjoyed a nice, peaceful-ish, and delicious Thai dinner at Noodie's Thai in Hell's Kitchen. Lancer and I split the papaya salad, and I had chicken pad thai.

After dinner, we headed over to Grom Gelato @ Columbus Circle. Very tasty! It's very much the kind of dessert Lance would choose. It's all natural and low in sugar. I got the hazelnut and chocolate. He got the raspberry and chocolate with hazelnut pieces.

Gelato in hand, we walked over to Central Park, and caught up with our old friends. I totally suckered Blakely into showering Britton with hugs and kisses. If you're lucky enough to know him, you know why this is funny.

And that's that. If you'll excuse me, I have to go wash the Coney Island off. I think it will call for extra soap.