Happy holidays everyone!

I just got back from an amazinggg trip to New York City. It’s one of the most magical places to be around Christmas time, despite the cold weather that I’m definitely not used to anymore. I got to see family, go shopping, have a “tea party,” check out the Rockefeller Christmas tree… what more could I ask for?

We stayed at the Loews Regency hotel on Park Ave. It was very nice; the service and food were good, and the rooms were clean and spacious compared to the typical New York City hotel.

On the night we arrived, my family went to visit my uncle, aunt and new born baby cousin. Their apartment had gorgeous views of the Empire State building, Freedom Tower, and the Chrysler Building. Visiting them definitely made me want to live in Manhattan one day. Afterwards, we walked down the street and got dinner at midnight.

The next morning, my brother and I took a cab to the High Line, which is a park built on a former New York Central Railroad. It had great city views, but was hard to enjoy considering we didn’t bring our winter coats (and I probably shouldn’t have worn a dress).

We made it back in time to enjoy a matinée showing of Waitress, a broadway musical I have been wanting to see since last year. The music was fantastic and written by Sara Bareilles, and Jason Mraz plays a leading role. It was extremely funny, I definitely recommend seeing it. But get your tickets fast, they sell out quickly.

Another highlight of this trip was havinhg tea at Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon. My mom and I love this sort of thing. Let’s just say the guys weren’t too thrilled about it, but they ended up enjoying it. We had finger sandwiches, cake, scones… you name it!  The salon was so cozy and quaint and we sat right next to the fire place ❤

Next, you can’t go to Manhattan without shopping in SoHo. Although I didn’t buy anything, I enjoyed walking up and down the streets of my favorite NYC neighborhood. We stopped at the trendy Joe in the Juice for coffee. They have them in LA but I had never been before.

One of the most memorable parts of this trip was when we took a “Cocoa and Carols” boat tour on the Hudson River. It was the cutest thing EVER. We had stunning views of the skyline, live music, food and drinks. We even got super close to the Statue of Liberty! We made friends on the boat and shared a booth with them, and I somehow ended up grabbing the microphone and singing Christmas tunes to all the passengers. It was the bestttt time.

On our last day in the city, we went to the top of Rockefeller Center and took in the breathtaking views of the city. I had done this once before in high school, but the view just doesn’t get old. Tickets were about $37/person. It surprisingly didn’t take long to get to the top. The whole process, including security lines and elevator rides, took only about 15 minutes.

On our way back to the hotel, we walked by the famous Rockefeller tree. It was crowded with people taking photos and waiting in line to ice skate, but beautiful nonetheless. We then stopped by our family friend’s apartment for some wine and cheese. Yum!

We had such a fun trip in the city, even though it was just for a short amount of time. We then headed off to Long Island to spend Christmas with my mom’s side of the family.

What did you do for Christmas?