Weekend in NYC + A Surprise Baby Shower!

Last weekend, Sean and I traveled to New York to visit some of our friends and my godparents.  It was brutally cold {Saturday dropped to the teens}, but we still had the most incredible and fun-filled weekend.

We arrived Friday afternoon and it was beautiful!  It was cold {in the 20s}, but the sun was shining and it was crystal clear.  That night Sean went out with some of the guys to see the Islanders kick the Penguins butt {hockey}, and I met up with some of the girls for a late dinner.  It was great catching up, and after a few hours we called it a night; we had a big brunch planned with everyone the next day at one of our old college hangouts with bottomless mimosas and the best burgers in town.

Saturday morning we took the subway uptown to Pipers for brunch.  We were running a little bit late because of the train, but when we arrived we were blown away!!  The girls had planned a co-ed surprise baby shower for us, and everything was pink!  It was a pink jungle theme with pink giraffe and elephant confetti, favors, plates, and balloons including a large pink giraffe balloon!  I went around and gave everyone a big hug as I fought back tears of joy {thank you pregnancy hormones}.  We of course dove in to mimosas {OJ for me} and domestic beer, and ordered burgers like the Eli Manning burger or the Derek Jeter burger.  We drank, talked, ate, shared stories, and laughed so hard our bellies ached.  After we ate, gift magically started appearing in front of me.  I did not expect a shower, let alone the plethora of adorable and very generous gifts we received.  Grace was definitely spoiled by her NY Aunts and Uncles!  Some of the gifts include hand knit beanies and booties, onesies and matching beanies, a pink princess bath towel, a pink bath robe, the 4moms bath from our registry, our high chair, the AVENT bottle gift set, our giraffe floor mat, on the go changing station to match our diaper bag, gift cards, bibs, the crib mobile, and so much more.  We could hardly carry everything on the train!  Luckily the big items like the bath and the high chair were shipped to our home.  Several hours {and many mimosas} later, we said our thank yous and goodbyes.

Sean and I headed back to the hotel to drop off our loot and get ready for date night in the city.  We started at the illustrious PEGU, where we went during our engagement weekend, for drinks and appetizers before heading to Tribeca Grill for dinner.  We had so much fun together talking and laughing, and fantasizing about our future with Grace.  We know our nights alone are fleeting, and we enjoyed every moment together.

The next day we woke up to a warmer day of 40 degrees, but it was pouring rain with no chance of letting up.  A little rain never hurt though!  We got up and dressed, and our first stop was for PIZZA!!!  NY pizza is the absolute hands down best pizza in the world {and I’ve eaten pizza all over the world!}.  With full bellies, we decided to walk over the Eugene O’Neill theatre to see if we could get last minute tickets for The Book of Mormon on this rainy day.  Unfortunately the afternoon show was sold out, so we opted for Plan B:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We didn’t stay long because half of the city had the same idea as us and it was packed!  Our next stop was one of our favorite spots, the Central Park Boat House.  We walked through the park in the rain, which was very romantic, and made it to the Boat House with a couple hours to spare before they closed for a private event.  We enjoyed hot totties and cocktails/mocktails while listening to the very talented pianist play a collection of songs from musicals to classical pieces.  He even played Frozen’s “Let It Go” {needless to say I jumped for joy}.

After a couple cocktails/mocktails at the Boat House, we walked to the East Side where we would later be meeting my god parents for dinner.  We had some time to kill and decided to make our way to an old Irish pub where we could watch the Seahawks vs. Packers {go Seahawks!}.  On the way, however, we stumbled across the most adorable baby store called “Giggle.”  We walked around and we found two awesome items for our Gracie:  her first stuffed animal and a gray furry onesie with bear ears.  Her stuffed animal is the most adorable donkey you’ve ever seen.  We fell in love with him because one of our favorite Christmas songs is this silly song called “Dominic the Donkey.”  Of course we named her stuffed animal Dominic.

Later, after watching the Seahawks beat the Packers in overtime, we met up with my godparents at this fabulous French bistro called Orsay.  I felt like we were in Paris.  My godfather told me they had recently undergone a $20M dollar renovation where they brought in everything, including the tiles for the floors and the molding for the ceiling, directly from France.  It was very authentic, and the food was just as spectacular.  I enjoyed butternut squash risotto after a delightful first course of escargot, and Sean enjoyed a steak that he said was one of the best steaks he’s ever had.  The four of us shared profiteroles and a hazelnut pastry-thing for dessert, both of which were decadent.

The next morning we woke up early to catch our flight home.  We had such a wonderful trip.  It was great to see everyone and celebrate so many life events together {my pregnancy, one of my roommate’s upcoming wedding, new jobs, etc.}.  It was short and sweet, and kind of fun to think that next time we go back we will be brining our daughter with us.  Oh the sound of that makes my heart go pitter patter :)