New York Take 2

Almost done. . . 

Larissa & Caro headed back to Florida while I got to have an extra day to explore with Amy girl. 
She has a botanical garden by her house and it was DREAM-Y!

 Love this girl. Gorgeous inside and out!

We then went to find my parents' old apartment. I was born in New Jersey. Before they moved there, my parents lived with my older brother in Brooklyn. We thought it would be a quick trip, but we got lost and the route to Mama's old stomping grounds is now a little more ghetto then it used to be. We legitly feared for our life but only for about two minutes. Then we found an asian couple who were also lost and stuck to them like glue. 

 Peace sign for Mom

FOUND IT!

 Bree had the cheesy grin DOWN!

SJ's here!

 Oh, hi James! He was there too..

Introducing SJ to the banana pudding

High Line Park & Chelsea Market

I loved High Line park! It's a 2 mile linear park built on an elevated section of an old railroad track. 

Chelsea market is basically a food mall. I wish I could have eaten everything we saw. 

We decided on some DELICIOUS street tacos and homemade doughnuts.

Spices galore

We walked around Juiliard a bit. My Grandma Jean was the first woman from Sacramento to attend Juiliard (1953-55). She earned a Master's degree in violin performance. I loved hearing stories about her growing up (she passed away when my Dad was 13). She practiced six hours a day. Upon graduation she had an offer to join the top symphony in Ohio. Instead she played in a Sacramento symphony, had a private studio of students, and raised four kids. She attended Dr Suzuki's first workshop in San Francisco and was a "Suzuki pioneer" in America teaching this method in public schools. Each of her kids learned the violin not to mention a handful of her grandkids.

Hamilton: The moment you've been waiting for..

(Caro, I know you were singing HERE COMES THE GENERAL in your head haha)

The reason SJ joined me in New York was because of this incredible show right here!

I still can't believe we got the opportunity to see the original cast! 

It was better then we could have imagined (and we imagined perfection).

After the show we sat outside the stage door with the rest of the (teenage) girl fans. I was determined to see my favorite Daveed Diggs who plays Lafayette & Thomas Jefferson in the show. Christopher Jackson (Washington) came out first which was awesome. When Daveed came out, he only signed a few autographs and left walking down the street with his buddy. I was devastated! Nobody was following him and it took Shaun 0.3 seconds to say "Let's go catch him."
{Yep we are those crazy fans} I was so grateful!

I couldn't even speak. Shaun said everything.

"Hey Daveed, my wife loves you. Could she get a picture?"

"Sure man."

IT WAS LIKE I WAS A MUTE. Oh well I was fine with it.

Side note: Before Shaun left the house to meet me in NY I told him to grab my shade shirt so I could wear it with this blue dress. This white long sleeved shirt (that I had to roll up) was his definition of a "shade shirt." SERIOUSLY?! Oh well. Daveed was probably already weirded out about this woman that was not talking to him, he could not have noticed my shirt too. 

Best broadway show I have ever seen. Worth every penny. Sell everything you own. Right now.

Empire State Building

When I came with my sister and Mom a few years ago, my favorite thing we did was the Empire State Building. I was so excited to show Shaun. You feel like you are looking down on a kids play set!

Peace sign for Mom

We grabbed lunch with one of SJ's high school besties who is going to medical school.
While we were waiting for him, he came up behind us and acted like a pick pocketer #FREAKY

Our friends the Van Wagoners live in a gorgeous house in New Jersey. They were our last destination before we went home. Jake did comedy with SJ for years. He is now a writer for the show Impractical Jokers. Hilarious prank show. Look it up. We took a short bus ride that dropped us right in front of their house. Look at the view they get out their front window...

The End.

"Start Spreading the News.."

New York!
Why have I been dreading this post for so long? Probably because I know it was going to be a long one. I decided to split it up into two posts. It was kind of like I had two trips anyway. One post will be my girls portion and one will be my time with SJ.

I love traveling with friends! I have done a lot of friend trips over the years but there is something about FLYING with your girls that is just so exciting. Except when they upgrade themselves to the front of the plane and just when you get up from your seat to do it too, you are told that you can't... (haha!)

We were just on cloud nine waking up in the Bloom household. We walked the boys to school and grabbed some amazing bagels from a neighboring shop and ate them with this incredible view!

Brooklyn streets are so dreamy

Lunch was phenomenal!

Brooklyn bridge <3

Larissa, your duck lips are KILLING me!

 I was so obsessed with all of the NYPD paraphernalia. My friends hated me by the end of.. day 1!

Just be glad I didn't ask them to say it with me..
in the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. in new york city, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. these are their stories.

9/11 memorial, sharing thoughts & impressions of it all

This had such a "You've Got Mail" vibe. I wanted to walk right in.

Central Park

Stuart Little vibes

Major highlight! Just chilling in the shade. Having a little girl talk. People watching. Eating carrots.

Yes carrots. I somehow was apart of a health challenge THAT I STUCK WITH THE WHOLE TIME I WAS IN NY! We had to have a vegetable with every meal so these babies came along for every ride...

 I feel so blessed by the kindness of others. A beautiful couple in our ward has a gorgeous apartment in the city that we stayed at for a couple nights. Gorgeous view of the Chrysler building 
(not to be mistaken for the Empire State building like when we first arrived..)

I split from the group to see my favorite Les Miserables. I can't believe I had the chance to see it on broadway. I wished I could have had my sister and mom there with me though. It's a moment I won't forget. Bawled like a 'lil babe. 

The Met

I loved sitting on the Met steps 
(the inside was alright too... ha) and taking in all of the people! Not to mention pretending I was in a Gossip Girl episode. Too many quotes to be said on those stairs.
[while the responsible ones were yelping on where to eat, thanks guys]

Why are those tennis shoes happening?

Cannot forget our dance party in Central park. This guy loved Caro! 

Ps do people still roller blade?

Quick church time at the Manhattan temple. We ended up in the singles ward which I was happy about because I knew my chances of running into these two would be high! I was Tessa's EFY counselor and Conner was a BFF in college. Small world in the church. 

Where to next ladies?

NYC 2016 from CaroJB on Vimeo.