a Florida girl in NYC

I'll just go ahead and tell you know that this is one of my all time favorite cities in the entire world (like so many other people, I know). 

I really needed this girls trip for the weekend, more than I even knew. We spent the 4th of July weekend doing some touristy things, but mainly trying to find the best spots loved by locals. And as it turns out, just about everyone leaves the city for the holiday weekend (minus tourists) which totally worked in our favor, because traffic was better (still not great albeit) and for a lot of places we didn't have a wait (although I would still recommend making reservations for any place you go to). 

Most of the time we had a rough idea of where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do, but for the most part we spent our time exploring the city and seeing where our feet took us. 

Even though I have been to Central Park before, I've never really experienced it like I did this time. We started out on the Upper East Side and walked all the way through to Strawberry Fields.  As a major Beatles fan, this was pretty amazing for me.  The John Lennon Imagine Memorial is also right by The Dakota, where he lived and was shot outside of. 

Of course we also saw a proposal and a newly married couple taking photos. 

Man I love this city.....

The bars in New York are pretty epic as well. They go all out for their themes and every place we went had the most amazing decor or history. 

One of our favorite places was the Oscar Wilde Bar (which sadly we only found our last night). Definitely getting Afternoon Tea there next time during the day. Their Victorian English/writer theme was incredible- this may have been my favorite find/place of this trip. 

But the food, y'all! THE FOOD. 

I've heard a lot of people say that it's due to the water that the food in the city is so amazing (and seeing as how our water in JAX is the absolute worst) I'll take that explanation. I didn't have a single bad meal there. 

We of course had to have pizza (which I had two nights, because it's an all time favorite food- especially the NYC kind)!! Lombardi's in Chelsea was a great recommendation.

Being a major Gossip-Girl fan I was more than ecstatic running into this hotel, the Hotel Empire. (Chuck + Blair forever). 

We also explored the High Line, which was a first for me. Although, walking it in the heat of the summer wasn't the greatest, the sites and garden views still made it pretty memorable, 

This view of the Empire State Building was from on our way back to our hotel. I loved seeing it lit up at night and it was especially epic seeing it surrounded by fog.

Another site we just so happened to stumble upon was the Hotel Chelsea. Known for its Sid and Nancy past it was something I had always heard about, but had never actually seen. 

Ps. If I were going to give my own NYC Music Tour, this would definitely be on there. 

The second night we met up with a friend, who is a local at this amazing place- The Old Rose restaurant, which is also a part of the Jane Hotel was fabulous (and has great pizza).  It's also apparently haunted, as it was where surviving crew and passengers of the Titanic stayed after their horrifying experience. While the elevator didn't move on its on while we were aboard, it did take us to the top where there is a rooftop bar with a breath taking view. The bellhops from the Jane Hotel are also dressed like Tower of Terror cast members, which is pretty awesome and definitely added to the atmosphere of dinner where we all told ghost stories. 

Another must do (at least for me) was to FINALLY see the Carrie Bradshaw brownstone doorstop. I also had us make a quick pit stop at the Magnolia Bakery (which has my favorite cupcakes of all time). I can't get enough of these things!! 

Speaking of sweets, a friend recommended this macaron store, which definitely did not disappoint. Laduree was one of the best things we did/ate for the whole trip. I even had one in ice cream (because when in Rome.....er...NYC). 

We also couldn't go to SOHO without stopping by Harney and Sons Tea shop. This is the only brand of tea we serve in our tea room at the shop and it's also the one that made me discover how much I truly love tea (in fact I'm drinking it right now as I type this). 

The kind below is called Indigo Punch and tastes like Fruit Loops. I ended up bringing some home with me (along with a bunch of other flavors). 

Another great restaurant was the Jones Wood Foundry in the Upper East Side where we watched the FIFA, Women's Soccer become WORLD CHAMPIONS! So of course, this English Pub was pretty epic in my opinion.

The very first night we headed over to Eataly near the Flat Iron Building. That place is beyond cool. It's something I feel like only NYC could carry off. Market place + tons of restaurants, we waited the extra hour to sit on the Serra Fiorita rooftop (pictured below). And trust me, it was worth every hot, sticky minute of waiting. 

A few other places that I didn't take photos of, but want to include in my NYC list (because WHEN I go back, I need to revisit them):

The Smile- an incredible brunch place. 

The Smith- an epic Vanilla Bean French Toast (while trying to get cool in the ac here, my phone was dying, so I asked the server if he could help- I got a claim ticket and he took it to the host stand to charge it. Maybe this is no big deal- but there's no way this would happen where I live!!) 

Ess-a-bagel- The ABSOLUTE BEST BAGEL I've ever had in my life. 

The White Horse Tavern- The city's second oldest bar and known for the famous writers that infamously hung out writing there. 

Until next time,

xoxo

kel

our wedding// reception

 Our cake was absolutely amazing. My friend, Annette has a cake business and was the one that we asked to make ours for the big day, We picked red velvet and banana pudding ass our flavors. 

The leftover flowers that weren't used for centerpieces and bouquets, Austin's aunts used for the cake. It turned out so amazing.

 Another bouquet that Austin's aunts made for us. They were stunning.

I love how our seating arrangements turned out, We had 10 tables, so I bought 10 gold frames (from the dollar store) and used the same font that I used for our invitations. 

 I wanted to include the family and friends that either couldn't make the wedding or had passed away, but we wanted to still be a part of our day. Austin and I contemplated different ways that this could be done and I came up with a couple. 

1- I had specialized pins made (which I talked about in a previous post) of my dad and his grandpa, My picture pin was on my bouquet, Austin's was on his tie.

2- I had white roses in our bouquets, as boutonnieres, and in our centerpieces (this was one of the last gifts I got from my dad, white roses).

3- Austin gave his grandma a wooden ball that sound "toit" on it. Standing for "when I get round to it", which is a phrase (and similar ball) that his grandpa used to have,

4- The last thing I did was create the above album that had pictures of family and friend in it. I tried to incorporate everyone from the wedding because they had all been a part of our journey together. One of the best parts of making this book, was going through dozens of old photos. 

 The above giant R was our "guestbook". One of Austin's amazing aunts found it at a garage sale and painted it for us to use for guest signatures. 

 (above) This gift was so sweet. My friends in Pensacola made it for us. I can't tell you how much it made me gush. So in love with it. And them.

 I loved having some of my bridemaids' parents are the wedding. They were a part of my growing up and are like second parents to me. It was so special to share this day with them~

 My amazing family. My aunt is one of my all time favorite people. She's a rockstar and I love her.

 We have the most amazing friends and family. Not only are they so much fun to hang out with, but they were so wonderful to us at our wedding. A couple of them even stayed late after the wedding to help us clean up and box things up. I am forever grateful for these amazing people. 

 The speeches were amazing. My girls made me laugh and then cry like a baby. Kim even included my dad and had us toast to his memory. Gah-I want to cry just thinking of it now.

The guys were awesome. They made us laugh our butts off. And they were so sweet and sincere. 

We couldn't have picked better people to surround ourselves with.

 Yes, we had a candy bar. We couldn't get married at a candy factory and not (seriously, they have a candy limit that you have to meet... lol). But sooooo good.

 One of the absolute highlights of the entire night (for all of us) was when Austin surprised me (and most of the guests) and took out his guitar and serenaded me with "Suit and Tie" by Justin and Jay-Z (which is one of my all time favorite songs!!)! It was such an amazing moment. 

 Our first dance was to Vance Joy's Fire and the Flood. Quite a long song, but we had so much fun going back and forth between lovey dovey and funny during this time. 

 Austin dancing with his grandmommy is one of the sweetest moments that I hope never to forget. 

 For our exit, Austin's family got us Auburn shakers. Because yes, we are HUGE Auburn fans.

The table pieces came together so wonderfully. 

I bought music paper from etsy, gold mercury votives from Joanns and Michaels, candlesticks from all over (and even painted some with glitter), found the numbers from Michaels, borrowed vases from my mom's boss and my matron of honor (from her wedding), and of course the flowers were put together by Austin's family. 

To top it all off, my stepdad ordered champagne flutes decorated especially for the wedding as gifts for the guests.

 Everything looked exactly how I hoped it would. 

It was the most amazing and perfect day. The day I married my best friend, while surrounded by family and friends.

xoxox -k.roby