i’m actually surprised that i’m finishing out the NYC-grams in two posts [!], but don’t worry, there are lots more photos of this trip from my nikon. [of course there are.] on saturday, linda, noel, and i packed up and moved out of our cute little airbnb that we’d stayed at for the past two nights and headed to the hilton midtown, the hotel that that our company put us up in for the next 3 nights, which was located conveniently close to times square! not baaaad.
we split off and got settled in our rooms and made plans to meet up later in the afternoon, as there was a marriage proposal that needed to happen! ;) yep, this was the big day!!! while linda and noel were taking a romantic walk in central park, i got coffee + a pastry from a cool little cafe near the hotel that i found, and then planned on catching the subway downtown to check out a few shops that i’d read about, BUT… i passed central park as i was heading to the station and got a little sidetracked by all the beautiful fall colors. i just HAD to stop and take a few photos… and then right about that time, i got a “we’re engaged!” text from linda with a picture of her beautiful ring, and because i was at the entrance of central park at that moment, i asked her if they wanted me to come and take a few engagement photos of them [they did]. and that’s how this non-professional photographer ended up taking spontaneous engagement photos of my dear friends. :) they’re not the best pictures, but i was so happy to be a part of their special day and to be able to capture their happiness in these moments after the proposal. i think they will be glad to have the photos to look back on in years to come. anyway, i will be posting those pics soon, but in the meantime, here’s how the rest of our trip went, according to instagram!
{how we were greeted at the hotel! the people at the front desk were wearing red-and-white striped ties and scarves with our logo on it, and even the hotel keys had our logo on them. and on the right, the view from my room.}
{bibble & sip. the case contained ridiculously-delicious-looking treats like jalapeño cheddar scones with honey butter glaze, spice pear scones with earl grey glaze, matcha panna cotta in cute little jars, dark chocolate scones… if i had my way, i would have had one of each, but instead settled on a lavender latte + an earl grey cream puff with earl grey vanilla mousse. so freaking good.}
{it was around this time that i was wooed by the autumn leaves of central park…}
{…and then found out that linda and noel were officially engaged! so i took photos of them…}
{…and linda took some of me too!}
{after the little photo sesh, linda and noel went to spend the afternoon together while i took the subway to meet a few of my coworkers at momofuku noodle bar.}
{the ramen was really tasty, and afterward my coworker morgan and i took a leisurely walk to some stores we wanted to go to around union square [we had to stop and take a photo of shake shack because it looked so fun! BUT. suddenly i started feeling really sick, like really sick, and i realized pretty quickly that i had gotten some sort of food poisoning. the only thing i’d eaten all day was the ramen and the pastries, but having a career in food safety, i know that it could have been something i ate two weeks before, or the ramen that i ate 30 minutes before, or anything in between. it’s very difficult to pinpoint the offending food in those types of situations. needless to say, it was not a fun experience and i ended up telling morgan to go back to the hotel without me because for a time i was worried about making it back… and then was finally able to catch a cab in between bouts of feeling terrible [longest cab ride of my life, ugh].}
{…and i spent the evening sick in bed with room service of sparkling water. not what i had planned for my saturday night in NYC. but i survived…}
{by the next morning, i was on the mend and eating toast. we had a lunch meeting and all the desserts above were served, but i stayed away, just to be on the safe side, and opted to take some photos of them instead!}
{my team met that afternoon for a drink to celebrate linda and noel’s engagement, and after that was our welcoming general session… there was an open bar and they were handing out these little bottles of champagne like candy!}
{there was an awesome live band, and taye diggs came out and sang too!}
{…and then this happened. happy 50 years to my company!}
{colista, linda, and me… i love these girls so much!}
{the company had rented out rockefeller center for the first party! several of the restaurants and clubs inside the building were rented out and they were serving all different kinds of food. there was so much to choose from, and i was thankful to be feeling much better by this point, although i still took it easy on the eating. outside, the ice rink was covered with red carpet and there was a DJ playing some pretty great tunes…it was a total dance party! people on the streets were crowding along the balconies to watch!}
{radio city music hall}
{the following morning [after a late night of partying], we had another general session, and then went to lunch with one of our supplier friends and her husband at the little owl in greenwich village. i was finally feeling 100%, just in time for a great meal! it was such a neat little restaurant – i loved this cute little bench seat above next to the wine – you had to climb a ladder to get up there!}
{and the food was amazing! we shared these gravy meatball sliders and this mom-mom pizza with prosciutto, arugula and a fried egg!}
{…and then i ordered goat cheese & basil gnocchi with braised lamb, natural broth & tomato raisins. so good!}
{after lunch, we walked over to the high line, which was really neat, before heading to chelsea market.
{NYC takes their people watching seriously!}
{trying on some wooden shades and just being silly!}
{in chelsea market}
{that afternoon, we had a cocktail party for the supplier awards and then it was time for a party on an aircraft carrier, the intrepid. it was one of the coolest parties i’ve ever been to!}
{the ship was separated into sections, each with a different decade as a theme since the company opened in 1965. the picture on the right shows the 80’s portion of the ship, with lots of black lights and a michael jackson impersonator! in the 90’s section, there was a grunge band playing, in the 60’s, there were roller skating performers, etc. it should also be noted that there were sushi chefs making an inordinate amount of sushi for us to feast on, in addition to all the other food, so i was in heaven!}
{on the deck of the ship, we had an amazing view of NYC.}
{there’s the empire state building…i mean, how cool is this?!}
{fun times with this girl}
{the next morning, we were served a hangover brunch, complete with cocktails, before the last session.
{i had time before our flight that night to head to union square to check out the shops that i had been to with morgan the other day but didn’t really get to experience because i had started feeling bad.}
{first, i went to eataly and got this espresso with foamed milk + a little bit of hot chocolate and then the best focaccia topped with sweet italian sausage and yellow peppers for lunch.}
{…and two little pieces of chocolate for dessert!}
{and then i went to fishs eddy and ABC carpet & home, both of which i’m now obsessed with.}
…and then it was time to go home. i love you, new york, and i can’t wait until the next time!