Category Archives: Traveling

April 15, 2013

NYC 2013

Let me just state this: I bought my wedding dress yesterday!! EEK.

Moving on. To say that Saturday in NYC was amazing would be an understatement. We got our bus in MD at 7:30 am, and going to NYC around 11:30. Here is the awesome snack I had in transit after discovering it at a rest stop!

When we got there, we sought out lunch. Yes, yes, yes to Sarita’s Mac and Cheese, also known as S’MAC! I give it 10 thumbs up. So amazing!

Talk about delicious. I had Buffalo Chicken mac and cheese. Spicy, cheesy, and perfect.

Christine created her own with cheddar, gruyere, bacon, broccoli, and garlic.

We then took the subway into Time’s Square and got a quick ice cream dessert.

And then it was SHOW TIME!!!

Once was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. We were in the second row. Legitimately, this is what our view of the stage was without any zoom.

Here’s a video of the show from the Once performance at last year’s Tony awards:

The cast has changed a little bit, but they were spectacular. I honest to goodness cried toward the end, and Christine admitted to goosebumps.

When we walked by a bit later, the cast was still out at the stage door and I took a creep shot of the leads (and another kid in front of them…) They were outstanding.

Because we had time to chill before our bus ride back, we went to Playwright Celtic Pub and hung out at their rooftop bar. We were the first ones there, but must have been trendsetters because it was packed when we left!

Gorgeous view and yummy margaritas!

It was seriously the cutest little place ever.

And we continued our overindulging by consuming their sampler platter for dinner. So delicious.

Needless to say, we left with full tummies and slept the entire ride back to DC!

Manhattan on Dwellable

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Filed under Family, Food, Life, Traveling, Weekend

Tagged as bonding, food, musical, nyc, once, sister

April 13, 2013

New York Flashbacks

Guess where my sister and I are heading today! If you guessed New York, you’re right. New York City to be exact. The first time that I went to NYC, it was for a high school chorus trip the day after I graduated. My mom and sister came along for their first trip, too! I got to meet a Rockette Smile

Since 2009, my sister and I have gone to New York City every winter/spring. Some years, we do a day trip; others we stay over night.

At the beginning, the trip took place around our birthdays at the beginning/middle of February. We learned our lesson quickly, though. Snow and NYC is not a pleasant combination. The first year, our bus back was CANCELED and we had to pay for another ticket from another company so we didn’t get trapped. While we were there, we did get to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!

2009

The second year, the roads were a mess and we had sopping wet shoes every time we walked anywhere. We were also freezing cold. We saw The Phantom of the Opera, went to Central Park, FAO Swartz, and other touristy places, and stayed overnight overlooking Times Square for my 21st and her 25 birthday.

2010

The third year, we finally had BEAUTIFUL weather. We used our heads a little and started schedule the trips in March instead of February. We saw Chicago, went to the Brooklyn Bridge, and ate lots of yummy food.

2011

Travis and I went back over the summer for his first NYC trip. We did a lot of Central Park sight seeing and lots of eating, too! I bought him the trip since we both just had graduated from college, and I wanted to give him a fun graduation present!

2011

Last year, we also went later because Newsies didn’t open on Broadway until March and we HAD to see it. While we were there, we also went to Strand bookstore, Peanut Butter & Co., and other vegan restaurants because I went vegan for Lent.

2012

And then I went and saw Newsies again with a school bus trip in the fall with my friends Chelsea and Mark.

2012

This year, we are headed there for just a day, and we are seeing Once while we are there. I am pretty freaking stoked for a sister getaway, and because Once has great music and won lots of Tony’s!

Can’t wait to have so much fun sister bonding Smile !

Have you been to NYC? What’s your favorite thing to do there?

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Filed under Family, Traveling, Weekend

Tagged as bonding, musical, new york city, sister, traveling, weekend

April 3, 2013

Everything’s Better At Home

Seriously, is this true or is this true? I could make my mom’s recipe EXACTLY as written, but it doesn’t taste the same. She even makes toast better than I can. I don’t make things up.

I also will not make up the fact that I ate A LOT while at home this weekend. Gained a good 3 pounds overall, but hopefully it goes away quickly. I also haven’t been really working out due to sickness which doesn’t help things in the weight department.

Here’s a snapshot of what was consumed in the past week, starting with the drive to York Wednesday night. Granted this is only a snapshot. We also had pizza, Easter dinner, and candy. Lots and lots of candy.

First, we tried these new Lays chips. I’m not going to lie, I’m not really a fan of either of them, but I am not the biggest chip fan (other than BBQ chips). Travis and I shared the chicken and waffles on the way to Trav’s family, and those were pretty good. We tried the cheesy garlic bread on the way back, though, and ended up throwing some of them away. Not my favorite. Two of us couldn’t even finish a small bag. Have you tried these flavors?

On Thursday morning, we headed to Pittsburgh, but not before stopping at Rutter’s. I got coffee and an egg white sandwich for the ride.

After arriving at my parents’ house, we went to pick up some lunch. Fortunately/unfortunately, Five Guys and Panera are next to each other, so we had a pretty awesome lunch combo. I didn’t eat my soup because I ate too many fries. Don’t even care. So worth it.

On Friday, my sister, Travis, and I went to Mad Mex after running some errands. Let me just say I LOVE MAD MEX. We started off with a Pickadippa of fresh pico de gallo, XX cheese dip, and Kaya Yucatan Black Bean Dip. Seriously amazing. I think had some black bean soup and a veggie burrito. The burrito had pico de gallo, roasted corn, zucchini, grilled peppers and onions, black beans and Monterey Jack cheese. I ate all of it. ALL OF IT. And a glass of red sangria. Me? Drinking? It was so delicious. I love Mexican.

Then, later for dinner, we went to the Elks next to the house for dinner. Since it was a Friday during Lent, and I couldn’t eat meat, and I don’t like fish, I went with a classic grilled cheese. And more fries. When given a choice between chips and fries, I always pick fries.

Next up: post race grub. Aka a small bag of pretzels and one of these bad boys:

Love Eat’n Park smiley cookies! And then mommy got me Eat’n Park chicken noodle soup. They have the best noodles ever. Definitely helped with the sickness Smile

Easter breakfast was amazing. Scrambled cheesy eggs, blueberry muffins, chocolate chip pancakes, and regular pancakes.

Easter dinner started with buffalo chicken dip and ended with cookies and Reese’s eggs with lots of goodness in between.

My last meal at home was a yogurt bowl with strawberries, cereal, and chocolate chips, which was awesome.

On the way back to Maryland, lots of coffee was consumed. I also got a salad from Sheetz that was called a grilled chicken salad but no chicken was found. FAIL.

Yesterday, we had ground turkey tacos with leftover goodness from my mom. I also had lots and lots of jelly beans. I used them for fuel during my 20 mile ride.