Snapshots from New York

I had a GREAT time with my mom and sister in New York! Four days with no kids (as much as we love our kids, it's nice to have a break!), just shopping, eating, drinking and exploring.  I couldn't have asked for a better girls' trip! And New York during the holidays, well, it's just magical, isn't it?
We stayed at The Standard, which was a real treat! The beds there are amazing and the decor of the place is very modern, bright, a bit sleek and a bit tongue-in-cheek. Staying there did make me feel a bit old, though. It's definitely a hotel for the hip kids. But it's in a wonderful location. We stayed in their East Village location, though they also have one at the High Line. Below is the view from the bar. Pretty swank, eh?

Had to go to Katz's for an old school New York experience and eat the best pastrami sandwich in the world! 

We were also happy to check out one of our favorite craft stores, Purl SOHO. We all love their blog and website, the Purl Bee. They have so many great-looking knitting patterns. 

We went to Le Labo, a really cool perfume shop that my sister wanted to go to get a new perfume. 

And I was super excited to go to John Derian's shop, John Derian Company. I absolutely love his style and so I knew I would love his shop. It's actually three storefronts in a row, each with a bit of a different vibe. I got a peek of him as well. I wanted to say hi, to say something, but he looked like he was hurrying to leave and what would I say? I couldn't think of anything! My head was buzzy and tingly in his shop. So many inspiring things! There were a lot of people in his shop when we were there so was hard to get photos without people in the way. Here are more photos in this post. See? Awesome shop, huh? 

My friend Amy who lives in NY gave me a few restaurant suggestions like Ngam, a Thai place. It was really good though a bit on the salty side when we were there. But I'd go back. I liked their blackboard below. And the top "love" photo in this post is also from there. 

And she also told us about Prune where we had a fantastic brunch, including quite possibly the best bloody mary I've ever had. 

We also made our way to Brooklyn for the Brooklyn Flea. It was a great flea market that also showcased a lot of locally made goods.

And of course we had to check out 5th avenue Christmas sparkle. Tiffany's lights were the best, I think. They lit from bottom to top like fireworks and were very eye-catching. Bling indeed!

We walked over to Central Park, which was very pretty and peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of 5th Avenue. 

So those are a few of the highlights! It was so much fun that my mom, sister and I decided we'd like to take a girl trip once a year.