First things first, my red corduroy couch is now white with beautiful black pillows thanks to my mom's visit. She was in NYC for a few weeks in April, and we had a blast just walking around the city and catching up on movies. She also did a fair amount of reorganizing in my apartment, and for that, I am super grateful. It was the kind of stuff that I'd wanted to do forever (like organize my CDs, clean out the pantry, etc.) but never got around to doing because I live in New York and there are far more fun things to do when there's free time.
This pic was taken at the South Street Seaport where we took a harbor cruise on Ma's birthday. It was WAY colder than we had anticipated, and we had to duck into Ann Taylor to buy and put on tank tops underneath our blouses. We went to Union Square Cafe for dinner. It's a Danny Meyer restaurant, which means it was absolutely delicious. Ma had the cod with yukon gold potatoes and mushrooms in a light broth, and I had the lamb chops with sauteed chard and potatoes au gratin. We had the brownie with Kahlua ice cream for dessert, and we were in a massive food coma for the rest of the night. It was her birthday after all. Winning!
Then my pals Brooke and Nick came to visit, and I spent the day walking around the upper east & west side with them, complete with a necessary Pinkberry visit. We ended our exploration with drinks at the Empire hotel. Turns out we all have an unhealthy love of all things Gossip Girl.
Then we went out to Brooklyn. Yes, BROOKLYN. (Nick & Brooke have superpowers which get me to do unlikely things.) It was Cinco de Mayo, and we met our friend Bryan for dinner at a place called Chiles & Chocolate which was delicious, and then we went to Littlefield for a brass band concert.
I went home early, because I hadn't packed yet for Raquel & Dante's wedding which was last weekend in Pittsburgh, PA. This sign is the street where our hotel was located, and well, being word nerds, Carl and I literally smirked every single time we drove onto it.
The wedding weekend was lovely, thanks to our gracious hosts. The wedding itself was beautiful, and of course, the bride looked stunning in her Steve McQueen gown. It was a lot of fun getting together with classmates from grad school, seeing friends of D & R's that I'd met through the years of knowing them, and getting to know new friends and family of theirs.
My friend Carl and I took the time to do some sightseeing as well. Pics below are from our walks and drives around town.
This is the view from the top of the Dusquesne incline.
This is me in front of PNC Park, which made me want to skip my flight and take in a ballgame instead. What a beautiful stadium with a perfect view of the city skyline in the outfield!
