Last week I jetted (heh) off to NYC for New Year’s Eve weekend (Thanks Porter!). We had rented an apartment at 64th and 1st through Airbnb and it was…interesting. Super teeny pre-war styles and by pre-war what I mean is the bathtub was in the kitchen. NO JOKE. As a girl who cherishes her spotless white bathroom, this was definitely a departure.
But it was a great location. Just a few blocks from the park and close to the Metro so we weren’t complaining. As soon as we arrived we walked four steps to Felice Wine Bar and had an incredible meal. Decor was top-notch but as J noted, it was very Yonge & Eglinton (for those of you who know the Toronto areas). Somewhat douchy but gorgeous and very NYC.
The next day was NYE and we motored down to Nolita for brunch at Cafe Habana with the rest of the New York hipsters. Holy packed! The avocado tomato sammy was worth it though. That evening, we booked a reso at Refinery29 recommended Rubirosa. The prix fix menu was friggin cray. Have never ate so much food in one sitting. We didn’t know how we were going to finish the meal – J was beside himself.
We decided to walk all the way to his friend’s apartment in the financial district. It was mad gorgeous and fabulous in a way I’d only seen in movies. The boys had fixed a spread which we politely declined (stuffed!) and piled us with copious glasses of champs. Such a cool way to ring in the New Year although I will admit, I really missed being with my buds.
(It’s 2011 and I can’t fix redeye. What’s wrong with this picture? (fig/lit)
The next day we were suitably hungover and decided it was a good idea to visit the MoMA (wrong). But it was really beautiful. Especially Monet’s water lilies which I had never seen in real life before. Just…wow.
Afterwards we walked and walked and I got cranky so J took me to the movies to cheer me up (success!). We saw The King’s Speech. So amazing. Please go see this movie.
The next day was all for Brooklyn and we booked it to Williamsburg. I had a pre-disdain for it as I thought it was going to be hipster boner explosion but it was really lovely. Quiet in areas and just the nicest people at every place we visited. I bought Maeva a book from the Brooklyn Art Library and myself a lovely ring from Catbird. (dear self, will you marry me?)
That night we ate at The Fat Raddish (another Refinery recco) and then took it to a bar in the Lower East Side for some proper NYC drinks (i.e. large pours). My favourite moment came when ordering two beers and two Jamesons. The bartender poured roughly 3 ounces of whiskey into each glass and when I went to pay he insisted my bill was 20 bucks. When I told him what we had ordered (way more than 20 bucks worth) he said, “Let’s just round it up to 25 and call it a day.” My kinda bar.
The rest of the trip was spent frantically shopping in the Lower East Side where I went a little frantic at Dolce Vita and J picked up a handmade shirt from By Robert James. I also stumbled upon a super-cheap and cool store called Brandy & Melville. It was very ‘me’. J took one look and excused himself to get a coffee since he knew I’d be a while.
Thanks for a great trip New York!
(this picture is making me queasy as I am currently cleansing and craving coffee. But that’s another story for another post)
Tags: airbnb, Brandy & Melville, By Robert James, Cafe Habana, Catbird, Dolce Vita NYC, Felice Wine Bar, MoMA, New Year's Eve, New York City, Rubirosa NYC, The Brooklyn Art Library, The Fat Raddish, The King's Speech
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