Top / Skirt

I know… I know… I have taken absolutely FORever and a day to write this post. I did promise it a while back but ya know… life and time got away from me. I also promised in my New Year’s Resolution post that THIS is the year when I get all caught up on my blog and share sooooo much more so today is PROOF! After this post I will be working on posts for our entire Summer trip last year as well! If you have a preference on what I post first… last Summer’s details or plans and links for this Summer, do tell!I am undecided!

Last September I had the amazing opportunity to head to New York City  for a work event and bring my then ten year old daughter Addison along for the ride. And for a few extra days of mommy/daughter time in the Big Apple. Addie has heard me rave about NYC for years and years and years now. She knows that when I was her age I dreamed of being in the fashion industry and living in the city and for well into my early college years as well. Plus, I have been a few dozen times since she was born so she has literally been BEGGING to visit. When the opportunity arose for me to work a three hour event for Ashley HomeStores in NYC, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to extend my trip and for her and I to have a jam packed full couple of days doing all the things and seeing “all” the sites. Ashley HomeStores was SOOOO wonderful in allowing me to bring Addie and including her in the event. I extended my trip from a one nighter to two nights so we worked the event and then managed to take in all the NYC sites and do all the NYC things in a mere 48 hours! Between my tried and true faves and lots of kid friendly suggestions from all of you on IG Stories along the way, we had THE BEST TIME EVER and literally ended up checking everything off of my list and more in just two nights! Here is our itinerary and our trip in pictures…

Affordable Amazon Clothing in this Post…

First things first, where did we stay? Our hotel was booked by Ashley HomeStores and we stayed at Springhill Suites by Marriott on 37th Street. It was a nice hotel in a good location close to Bryant Park and not a far walk at all by Times Square. Mark and I prefer to stay in Lower Manhattan when we go just. because we have seen all of the touristy spots many times now and we LOVE that area to dine and shop and walk around. However, if you are going for the touristy stuff, staying anywhere from about 37th to 60th at Central Park is great!

DAY ONE

Work Event 4:30-7:30pm… from the roof of the venue we could see the Empire State Building and it AMAZING! For an alternative to this, I would suggest doing Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center! That was one thing I wished we’d had time to do on our trip and it offers amazing views of The Empire State Building and most of the city!

Top / Skirt

Top / Skirt

Dinner at Buddakan NYC– After the event, I HAD to take Addie to one of my very favorite restaurants in NYC! It is STUNNING inside too!

Chelsea Market for Dessert- After dinner we walked right over to Chelsea Market which is another of mine and Mark’s favorite spots in NYC. Sometimes Mark and I do lunch or dinner there by popping around and grabbing a bite here and there at different little walk-up restaurants along the way.

DAY TWO

Breakfast on our hotel’s back patio…

Subway to the Occulus and 9/11 Memorial- From our hotel we walked to the closest Subway station for Addie’s first NYC subway ride! We arrived at the Occulus which is a beautiful open mall type space that leads to the 9/11 Memorial…

Walked to The Battery for a New York Water Taxi to the Statue of Liberty- from the 9/11 Memorial, it isn’t too far a walk to The Battery. There was one really long line for the boat tour to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty but we veered to the right along a sidewalk and found a way to take a New York Water Taxi for a scenic boat tour around Manhattan including the Statue of Liberty. You cannot exit at Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty but Addie really just wanted to see the Statue and the cost was much less and the wait was almost nothing! From there we were able to get off the water taxi close to Times Square which was great!

Exited the Water Taxi in Manhattan and Ubered to Lillie’s for lunch- From the Water Taxi dock, we caught an Uber to a restaurant suggested by my friends over on Instagram called Lillie’s and it was FABULOUS! It is the cutest Victorian era restaurant with a Victorian High Tea menu and a standard menu as well. Addie LOVED IT!

Top / Skirt / Coziest Flats!

Walked to Times square for a little sightseeing and shopping- After lunch Times Square was  next on our list! Of course I wanted her to see the craziness that is Times Square. We popped into several shops and she got her picture with a “Statue of Liberty” character.

Addie hailed her very first taxi to Dylan’s Candy Bar– After we’d had enough of the crowds in Times Square, Addie hailed her first taxi to Dylan’s Candy Bar! a MUST-SEE in NYC for kids! And sugar loving peeps like me 😉 Needless to say, she LOVED IT!!!

Walked to Central Park for Pedicab tour of Central Park- From Dylan’s Candy Bar, it is a pretty short walk to Central Park. We fetched a Pedicab for a little tour of Central Park and all of the famous movie spots and sights. Addie LOVED seeing where the snowball fight scenes from Elf were filmed.

Top / Skirt / Coziest Flats!

Top / Skirt / Coziest Flats!

Dinner at Azalea right next to the Gershwin Theatre for Wicked!- After a busy day seeing the sights, we took an Uber to Gershwin Theatre where I had purchased tickets to see Wicked online several days prior. We found a restaurant called Azalea rght next door where we had a fabulous Italian dinner! Wicked is a DEFINITE MUST SEE! I saw it in college when we did a week-long design study in NYC and I was OBSESSED!

DAY THREE

Ubered to breakfast at Ellen’s Stardust Diner– This was another suggestion from my friends over on Instagram and it was one of the highlights of our trip! The waiters/waitresses are aspiring Broadway actors and they do performances consistently while you are dining. The line stay pretty long but it moved fast and it was well worth the wait!

Walked to Rockefeller Center for a little shopping and sightseeing- After breakfast, we walked to Rockefeller Center and I showed her around. She went into the Lego store and I of course had to pop into Anthropologie. We tried to do the Top of the Rock that I mentioned above but it was sold out. Definitely buy those tickets early!

Walked to Grand Central Station and did some shopping- After that we walked to Grand Central Station and did a little more shopping and browsing. I keep saying “shopping” but we didn’t buy but a few things. We mostly just browsed and spent time together.

Ubered to Serendipity for lunch and frozen hot chocolate!- Another AMAZING Instagram suggestion! This place is from the movie Serendipity and it was a close second fave to Dylan’s Candy Bar for Addie on her dessert list from our trip. I am a dessert-aholic so dessert is always a must on vacation. We of course had their famous frozen hot chocolate and it was ridiculously good.

Dress

Walked back to the hotel to catch our flight home!

We truly had the mommy/daughter trip of a lifetime! Addie is just like her mommy and absolutely LOVED NYC! She has been begging to go back and now Winnie keeps saying that when she turns ten, I am taking her too!

XOXO, Brittany Hayes