Our final day in New York City had us running all over the place, checking out some of the hot spots I felt like I needed to see since I was too young to remember my first visit to the city.
Brunch at The Smith
We slept in (much needed after Saturday night) and headed out to The Smith for brunch with my friend Ashley’s cousin, Erica, and our friend and Ryan’s fraternity brother from college, Hadi.
Merri, Ashley and I sipped on hot coffee at the bar while waiting for Erica and Hadi to arrive before settling into a cozy booth and placing our orders.
Erica, Hadi and I all opted for the spinach egg white omelet (I got mine with ricotta cheese) and breakfast potatoes which was a great choice.
I polished off my meal, even eating the decorative orange slice.
Brunch came with a free drink, which I sipped but didn’t finish because I wasn’t in the mood to drink much so soon after waking up after Saturday night’s festivities.
After brunch, we walked around the city, taking time to meander through Central Park and Times Square.
I was surprised at how quiet Times Square seemed to be. Granted it was a Sunday, but I guess I expected it to be crazy and loud, with music and blaring televisions, but the large screens just flash and the noise only comes from cars and people bustling around. It was an odd thing to notice, but I really was shocked that it wasn’t louder!
Strolling through Central Park was a blast. New Yorkers are so, so active! I noticed a ton of runners, walkers and bikers… and lots of dogs in the park!
Speaking of dogs, I practically sprinted after a man that I saw walking a vizsla in the park!
Doesn’t he look like Sadie?
He was just as energetic and loving as Sadie and I happily accepted his sloppy kisses.
I sure hope Sadie doesn’t check the blog… I’m pretty sure those images would solidify Ryan’s ongoing campaign to be her favorite puppy parent.
We walked around the city a while longer before heading over to Little Brown for the most amazing chocolate chip walnut cookies (“pillows”) as an afternoon pick-me-up.
The cookies are much larger and more delicious than they appear in pictures.
They were big, warm, gooey and perfectly packed with chocolate and walnuts. Merri and Erica were adamant about taking me and Ashley to try one of Little Brown’s cookies and I’m so glad they did. I demolished mine in no time and really wanted to buy a bunch to bring home but wasn’t sure how they’d hold up in my suitcase.
I also ordered a mocha that was rich and chocolaty. Pile on the sugar and chocolate, please!
I was too wrapped up in all the fun of the city to bust out my camera for the rest of the day, but we had such a nice time walking around, eating fantastic French food at Tartine in the West Village and hanging out at Merri’s apartment until we finally went to sleep around 1 a.m.
When I awoke this morning, I felt a little down knowing it was time to leave New York City. Two full days simply isn’t enough time to cram in everything I wanted to see, eat all the food I wanted to eat and explore museums and various neighborhoods.
Ashley and I are hoping to be able to manage another trip to the city in the summer with our respective guys when Merri’s boyfriend Pete moves to the city. I’m crossing my fingers that these plans come to fruition!
Traveling is always so much fun, but it always feels good to return home. I’m spending the night at my parents’ house in St. Pete since my flight flew into Tampa and plan to get back in the swing of things and return to Ocala in the morning.
Enjoy your evening!
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Looks like a blast! Also, I love your coat Julie. Where did you get it?!
thank you! it’s super old. i actually got it from aeropostale years ago.
Great picks!! The Smith is awesome, and of course you can’t go wrong with Central Park and Times Square.. glad you had fun!!
You had so much fun! I’m sure we all missed your consistent posting this weekend =)
Now I am seriously craving a cookie. That looks to die for!
that cookie look amaaaazing! we were thinking of doing brunch at the smith when i visit with my girlfriends… glad to hear it was good!!
Wow, what an amazing weekend in such a great city! It reminds me of a few of the weekends I’ve spent with my gals who live in NYC. It’s always so hard to leave and it always has me imagining what life would be like if I lived there!
What a wonderful trip! I’m glad you had a good time spending time with friends and eating great food. :-). This post made me want to impulsively book a trip to NYC!
Julie,
I love your leggings (they don’t seem see through and I am guessing they are actually warm!)
Where did you find them?
thank you! they are definitely thicker and more like pants than most leggings. i actually found them at tjmaxx.
Oh I should have guessed.. TJ Maxx always has the BEST stuff!!
oh my gosh- that cookie looks to die for. craving choc chip cookies now!!
What a fun day! That cookie looks A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! I love NYC and your pictures remind me just how much I miss it there. Glad you had a good time!
I loved seeing how active everyone was in NYC! It felt like everytime I turned around, a runner was jogging past me, or a bicycle went flying by. Definitely the kind of motivated atmosphere I would adore living in! That cookie looks amazing, moist and gooey, just the way I like them!
The thing I miss most about living in NYC was living a block away from the park! So great for running, walking, picnicking, and getting a little urban escape!
Also, I just thought I should say since I’ve been creepily admiring it for days now…I love your friend Ashley’s hair!
Oh my goodness, I don’t know how it’s possible for those cookies to be even more delicious than they look, because they look incredible! Jealous! 🙂
I loved that part about Ryan’s campaign and the cute Vizsla!! eeeek! He looks jus like Sadie with the exception of his eyes 😛
My favorite part of NYC is walking around and the small, little diners that you can find hidden away. Glad you had fun!
Oh that cookie looks SOOOO freakin’ delicious. YUMM. I love NYC and being able to walk ANYwhere to somewhere awesome. soo fun! Glad you had a blast 🙂
You picked some great places to hit up this weekend! Love The Smith and La Esquina. I def need to check out that cookie place. As a fro-yo lover, you should’ve checked out 16 Handles! To die for!
i do the same thing when i see labs at the park…give ’em LOTS of kisses and love!
so glad you got caught up in your day and forgot to take pics—sometimes it’s best to just check out and enjoy!
Looks like a super fun time! I can’t get over how badly I want a vizsla! So cute!
Definitely adding Little Brown’s cookies to my list of places to go when I finally get to go to NY!
I can’t wait to go to nyc saturday i love levain bakery’s choc chip cookies but I will be trying Little Brown, they have nutella latte and hot chocolate!!
Sounds like a blast 🙂
I am so excited for my trip to nyc next month! Now I have some definite places I need to visit! Especially Little Browns 🙂 if you don’t mind me asking, do you know where you got your half price tickets for your broadway play ? I really want to go to one, but don’t want to pay full price!
Hi Julia,
This is Merri – Julie’s friend. We got the 1/2 price tickets at TKTS. They have three locations but South Street Seaport location is by far the best because there is no line, EVER. You have to go on the day of the show to get the half price tickets, thus you never know what is going to be available until you actually step up to the window. I’ve always seen great shows this way and enver had a bad seat! I reccomend getting there as soon as they open.
Merri
thanks for typing this out, mer! 🙂
Thank you so much, Merri! I appreciate the help!
I love you bag…where did you get it?
it’s cole haan – and it’s actually merri’s. 🙂
I’m so jealous that you went to New York! I’ve always wanted to go, but hopefully one day soon I’ll get there. You make me want to get a vizsla for a dog. All of them seem to be the most loving dogs!
oh my gosh. that cookie looks insanely delicious.
Doggy adultery! Oh that cookie looks SO yummy, I’ll have to try and get one next time I visit my sis, she lives in Jersey right across from midtown. Glad you had a great time!
It’s Sadie’s boyfriend twin haha ;D! He looks like he was so friendly like her!
Gah, how have I never heard of Little Brown??! It’s 2 blocks from where I went to elementary school. I just looked at more photos on Yelp and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it!
I’m so jealous of your ability to pack everything in a carry on bag and still manage to mix up all your looks. I have a such a bad habit of over packing, I just feel like I’m wearing the same thing over and over if I dont bring lots of options.
Now that is what I call a cookie!
Brunch at the Smith is our fav! You were in the park during our blog’s pittie walk!
Looks like a great trip. Those cookies look amazing!!
Glad you loved NYC! The Smith is one of my favorite brunch places, its actually around the corner from my apartment so I frequent it when the mood strikes!
Times Square is so hit or miss, but you definitely made the right decision heading there on a Sunday!
Looks like such a fun trip! I’m glad to know I’m not the only crazy one who runs down other dog owners of the same breed. I feel like weimaraners (and vizslas) are so rare that you get really excited to see others!
NYC is seriously the best. There is SO much to see and do. I would never get bored living there. Glad you had a great time!
I have a few friends living in NY who don’t formally work out yet are so fit–> I guess all that walking pays off!
OMG that cookie looks out of this world yummy!
I went to NYC last summer for 7 days and it was “just” enough to fit in everything! It’s a fab city!
One day I will get to NYC and inhale several of those cookies…flights are kinda expensive from Australia…
So glad you had a good time in NYC! Have to say, reading these posts is making me feel a bit homesick. That cookie from Little Brown looks unbelievably amazing, definitely going there when I’m next in the city (how have I not known about it before?!) 🙂
Looks like you had a great time! You’ll love coming back in the summer when you can walk around without having to bundle up.
Also, I always eat the decorative orange with restaurant breakfasts too 🙂
Oh my goodness that cookie looks incredible! It looks like you guys are having so much fun in the city; makes me want to make a trip there soon!
Love that you found a twin for Sadie! It’s so weird to see you ll bundled up when it’s so warm down here! Glad you had a good time.
I was in Times Square for NYE and it was DEFINITELY loud! but expected. Here’s my blog post from that day. http://adayinthelifeofmollie.blogspot.com/2012/01/nye-in-nyc.html
It was my first time in the city and I LOVED it! Cannot want to go back!
my sister was in NYC for new year’s eve, too!
I loooooove NYC! My mom and I were there in October for her 50th birthday. We live in Northern California, in the Sierra Nevada mountains, so NYC is a complete 180 for us. It’s nice to experience that change every once in a while though!
Plane ticket to NYC please..and 1 giant cookie.
Glad you had a good visit! I live in NYC, but I’m always so jealous of the photos you post of Florida. It would be awesome to be able to run outside in January without freezing my butt off/dodge the other hundreds of runners in the park! Love your blog.
I love your blog. The best part is how you embrace food. I have to say after losing weight, I have a bit of food fears. Sometimes it feels wrong to just simply enjoy the pleasure of an ooeygooey cookie, lol as crazy as it sounds, like if I relax and dont have guilt then I will revert back to eating a dozen. So thank you for how you show you can just enjoy food, sometimes a cookie is just a moment of pleasure in the total experience of life. And I am so jealous of seeing NYC!
thank you, ruth!
Looks like you had an amazing time. Next time I go into the city I’m going to have to go to Little Brown. I want to reach through my computer screen and devour that cookie. Yummy! What other kinds did they have?
i can’t remember (i only had eyes for the “pillow” cookie), but they had a TON of amazing-looking baked goods.