new york, new york : round 2 : 2010 : I

yes, yes, we took ANOTHER trip to Manhattan...

so sue us.

did i mention we were also in the midst of construction while we decided to take this vacation?!

we're awesome like that. multitaskers at best.

so without further a'due...

those who know me well, know procrastination is my middle name.

so, of course at 6pm the night before we were set to leave the next day at 3am - i had absolutely nothing packed.

not. a. thing.

so, in true a-woww style, i just stayed up all night. really - what's the point in sleeping 20 minutes?!

sleep is overrated.

so i packed well into the morning & then went ahead & showered & got ready.

bart picked us up promptly at 3am.

there was no way i was going to get away with any sort of shenanigans with these two, that was obvious.

did i mention we almost died 9 times on the way to the airport?!

i digress...

finally we boarded the plane...

me in all my 3 am glory.

this one made it to FB.

luckily my side-kick is also fond of such faces.

and luckily, i slept all of flight #1.

hello! i hadn't slept in like 36 hours!

i snapped this of d.might - he was talking to people on our job site while we were waiting to take off from chicago.

i have some white teeth, yo!

classic flying day pose.

and after another LONG nap on the plane, there it was...

there are only a few places my heart longs to be & that site is one of the top three.

we landed, got all our junk & headed into manhattan.

the boys had to change immediately & head straight to work.

our room wasn't ready yet, but luckily bart's was, so i grabbed another nap in there :)

i intended to go run in central park with them, but that dang pillow just would not let go of my head, i swear...

alas, after all that, we all got together & headed out.

stumbling upon this little beauty was a wonderful surprise...

some kind of delicious, let me tell you.

here are bart & suzanne playing the 'odd couple' for the night.

bart's ability to take a decent picture is pretty much non-exisistant. you've been warned.

suz took a pic of me & d.might, too, but it honestly look like a flock of seagulls took nest on my head - so that's a no go.

this restaurant was so 'typical new york' to me.

tiny. packed full of people talking and laughing. charming.

and then they brought out octopus.

yiz-uck.

d. ate it.

and regretted it later, too.

but this stuff - heaven on a plate. for real.

my favorite was the gnocchi. DI-VINE.

simply wonderful. all of it.

becco is in the theater district and all these little side streets are lined with tiny restaurants like it.

loved it.

and this is the glow from times square at night - almost feels like a dark gloomy day, but still bright enough to see everything.

can you spot the chrysler building?!

a small shot of times square

and of course, something more recognizable.

ava gave us a list of things she wanted us to bring back to her.

one of which was a 'ducky-mo-mo'.

it's a non-exsisitant creature - made up from a cartoon she watches.

good luck to us finding something that's not real!!

so we ducked in the times square toys-r-us to see if they may have something similar...

and whenever we'd find something we thought would pass for a 'ducky-mo-mo' we'd text a pic back to my mom, seeking ava's approval :)

she liked this duck.

it looks nothing like 'ducky-mo-mo'.

but she got it, of course!

this is amazing - a replica of the empire state building made entirely of legos!

the next morning, the clouds were gone & the sun came out...

a view from our room - bryant park.

aka - the home of NYFashionWeek.

bliss.

the boys had to go to work, of course, so i wandered around as usual :)

luckily for me, i wandered in here...

oh dear sweet cupcake goodness!!!!!

seriously.

seriously.

i wish i could've shipped that pink-a-licious one back to ava :)

i chose a classic, of course.

with sprinkles - DUH.

and proceeded to eat it out on the steps here...

union square.

it really is a fun place to hang out during the day.

there are people everywhere.

LOTS of shopping.

and an actual market, too - with foods, goods, etc. all by the locals.

on with the day...
i believe we walked down to ted's montana grill to eat this particular night.
mind you, there's no way i'm going to eat bison, but i will down ALL of those half-sour pickles in sight.
oh yes, ALL.

on our way back to the hotel, we stopped by here for a little treat, too...

it is simply adorable.

since i'd already had a cupcake that day, i opted for one of these...

ummmm - delicious much?!

and to think as a child i would make the 'gag-me-puke-distgusting' face when my mom would make these...

sorry mom.

you were right on those.

deeeeelicious.

haha - this little worker dude totally played along with my random picture taking :)

and of course, i picked up a tee for me & tutu, too :)

when we go to new york, d.might is typically working all day & then we meet up for lunch & for dinner, etc.

so i, myself, who is scared to go to the capital city in my own state by herself - afraid some weirdo will be stalking my car when i get out of the mall - spends the majority of my days in nyc alone.
and loving it.

i come and go as i please and have ample transportation thanks to this...

yes, the subway is gross.

but cheap.

and fast.

so it's a win.