We heart NY!

So you know by now that this month of March is absolutely CRAZY!  Part of the reason is because Mr. Hess and I are getting opportunities to travel A LOT this month, which can put wedding planning a little bit on the back burner.  At first, I was having a hard time letting go of my silly "TO DO" list for March and was getting nervous that not everything will get done this month.  Then we actually landed in NJ and I got over it - quickly!

A BIG part of wedding planning is making sure you enjoy it, and in order for Mr. Hess and I to not feel a little burnt out at this point, taking a vacation was DEFINITELY needed.  It's amazing what taking a few "us" days can do for our relationship, and now we are refreshed and actually excited about getting back to some planning.  Now that you know how hard it was for me to leave Orlando, I'm going to share with you how much FUN I had in NY!!!!! I'm probably confusing you with this whole NY/NJ thing so here's the reason I keep mentioning BOTH states:

Mr. Hess was traveling up to New Jersey to work a NJ Nets Basketball game on Friday.  We thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to take a few days off, travel up there with him, and spend a few nights in New York City before the game!  Well, turns out - that's exactly what I needed, and boy am I glad we did.

Last night in NJ/NY - what a great trip!

I haven't mentioned anything about this on my posts before, but Mr. Hess has always had a thing for NY.  We both love Orlando, and personally I have never lived anywhere else besides here, with the exception of my 4 years in Tampa for college.  I have always viewed NYC is very busy, loud, and no place to settle down and raise a family.  I knew I liked to visit there, just that I would never want to move to a place with so much "citylife."  Mr. Hess on the other hand, LOVES the hussle and bussle of the city and would love any kind of opportunity to move up there.  Before this trip, I said there was absolutely NO way I would move up north for two reasons: 1) I would be too far away from my family and 2) It's too freaking cold up there!!!! But, after our few nights in the City, I am now closer to the same page as Mr. Hess.  And for the record, I said closer, not ON! ;)

Straight from the plane, Mr. Hess and I made our way from Newark to Secaucus and trained over to Penn Station.  From there, we made our 10 block walk (suitcases and all) to meet my dear friend Lauren to get her keys since we were staying with her.  From there, we walked to 42nd Street and rode the Subway for about 20 minutes to her place.  I can't believe we made it all that way - two Floridians with luggage - sans problems!  Kudos to you Mr. Hess for your ability to read Subway maps and lead the way.  I found out my specialty turns out to be reading street names and figuring out the streets and avenues.  We did a pretty good job of disguising we were tourists, and actually enjoyed walking and riding from place to place during our stay!

From our first walk on the streets of NYC, I could tell Mr. Hess was enjoying every second of it.  I guess being from a small town in Arkansas, this could be like a dream to live in such a busy and urban place.  We walked from street to avenue and avenue to street, and passed a lot of the Fashion district.  I'm not even exaggerating when I say Mr. Hess was like a kid in a candy store - not so much into fashion, but more for entertainment purposes.  There were so many specialty stores, fabric stores, accessories, and bling in such a small radius, it was almost too much to take in!  I should have gotten pictures of this, because every two seconds both of us would be like "WOWWW, OMIGOSH LOOK!" SO COOL!

Attempting to take a picture of the citylife while dashing across the street!

Actually stopped to take this one, but not much better.

We found a great spot to play games like chess, ping pong, pool and listen to live music.

Our friend Jessica met us out in the City!

We also got to see a friend from home, who now lives in NY!

 
After our second night in NYC, I realized I didn't take as many pictures as I should have to document our trip - but half of that reason is because it was SO cold, windy, and rainy that night.  I was worried about getting from point A to point B as fast as possible! Not to mention, we kept commuting back and forth from NJ to NY, which didn't leave much time to walk around during the daytime and explore the city.  But, I have to say, Mr. Hess and I got prettttttty good at the whole Subway and train situation - which can get very confusing.  By the end of the trip, we had figured out the maps and were able to pick Subway over cab for the majority of the stay! :)

You might also say that we enjoyed eating a lot of NY's specialties including Pizza and crepes!

Enjoying a late night snack.

This crepe was coconut, banana, and nutella - AMAZING!

A good way to describe our trip would be EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY! I am now "okay" with the possibility of someday moving up there, since it's secretly one of Mr. Hess's dreams, and I'm looking forward to going back up there sometime soon.  I feel like we have a lot more "city" to see, and I would love to actually enjoy a stroll in Central Park when it's not rainy and cold outside!

Advice to any bride-to-be that's feeling overwhelmed and not as excited as they should be about planning detail after detail for a little bit? Take a weekend getaway. Mr. Hess and I couldn't be happier as a couple, we're now eager to get back to planning, and I am enjoying being back in FL getting ready for work tomorrow - weird!  I guess everyone needs a little NEWWWWWWWW YORRRRRRRRRRRRK every once in a while...that was my broadway voice singing Frank Sinatra if you couldn't pick that up! ;)

This week's focus? Booking that CATERER! We actually talked about this a lot on the trip about which way we want to go and are SOOOO close, so stay tuned for reading more about that!

Until next time,

Presh