NYC

I'm not really a "gifts" girl. I do appreciate a well-thought gift.  Lately Daniel has started giving me "experience" gifts for birthdays/Christmas/anniversary/etc. This year for our anniversary he surprised me with a trip to NYC! It was for 2 days and 1 night. We had the best time! We left our sweet Emma with Daniel's family (and she had a blast--they spoil her rotten :) !). We had been in town for his sister's college graduation and it just made sense to go ahead and leave her as we had Daniel's work Christmas party to attend. And then we flew out the next morning! We jam packed a lot into our two days! We mostly stayed in mid-town and the Upper East Side. I am a big NBC fanatic so we went by 30 Rock about 10 times while we were there to see the big tree! It was so festive to be in NYC while it was all lit up for Christmastime!

30 Rock!

Times Square--I realize we are super touristy!

Watching the ice skaters and enjoying the Winter Fair at Bryant Park.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I love love love the parade!

The Plaza Hotel

Ice Skaters in Central Park

Eloise's picture at the Plaza Hotel

I recently read a book about the rise and fall of the Vanderbilts and this is the only surviving structure from their 5th Avenue mansions.

The Disney store was decked out--it was perfection! (Poor Daniel--he was such a good sport to go with me!

A couple got engaged while we were there watching!

The Palace Hotel

We had the best time in the world! We stayed at the Sanctuary Hotel and it was so fun! I highly recommend a Christmastime NYC visit--we had so much fun and it was a great getaway! But, at the end of the trip I was so happy to go pick up our girl! And I think she was happy to see Mommy too!

{MSP}

Friday Favorites

Because it's Friday…it's time to share a few of my favorite things! Obviously, I'm not endorsed by any companies or authors or anybody…I'm just sharing a few things I like!

1. Sonic Diet Coke. Can I get an Amen?

2. Cheekymaidensoaps.com These soaps smell amazing! Seriously…they are natural and homemade and wonderful. I've tried a few other products and they are all great as well! These would make great gifts…if I wasn't obsessed with trying each new smell of soap myself!

3. My mom got me an amazing bread maker for Christmas! It was a total surprise! I love to make homemade bread. It used to take me almost a full day while I was trying to juggle Emma and kneading dough. Thankfully, with the bread maker, I can put in all the ingredients and leave the bread maker to do everything! I've had a few mishaps, but for the most part, we've had some wonderful loaves of warm, delicious bread!

4. Paper straws! Is anyone else on this bandwagon? I love them! I ended up buying some for the house after I used one at a restaurant. It feels so luxurious!

5. Speaking of luxury! I am loving faux fur throws! This particular one is from Walmart and is only $15! I have the brown one but couldn't find a picture of it! I feel like a princess when I use it--it is incredibly soft and luxurious! And I'm not 100% positive but I'm pretty sure when you buy it you get one of those postcards to get a yearlong subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. 

I'll have to post some more favorites soon! These are a few things that bring joy to my life right now! Oh, and of course these two sweethearts!

{MSP}

Emma's Outdoor Tea Party

When it came time to take some pictures of Emma for our Christmas card, I thought how fun it would be to do something outside. And then I thought how fun it would be to give Emma a little tea party. And then I thought how fun it would be to do both! Thankfully, we have a photographer in the family who is willing to work with my quirky ideas. (Daniel's sister, Kimberly, is a GREAT photographer--I highly recommend her!) We took Emma to Granny White Park, which is where we go for walks and to play at the playground. I wanted to take pictures somewhere that Emma was familiar with her surroundings. The photos turned out darling!

This is the picture we ended up using on our Christmas card.

There are only about 300 of the most darling pictures you've ever seen, but I'll tell y'all a funny story about the photo shoot and then show the pictures to illustrate it. When I set up the tea party for Emma, I also included some Falltime cakes in the display. I didn't think Emma would eat them because she's never had them before and she wouldn't know they were edible. This was a bad assumption. But it did make for some adorable pictures!

If that's not just the cutest sequence of a little baby girl eating cake, then I don't know what is! Big thanks to Kimberly!!!

{MSP}