Hey all, I’m finally feeling like I’m back on California time after a quick trip to New York City earlier this week, and what a fabulous place to visit this time of year.  I was there for an event sponsored by Lowes (yes, Nate was there!) and I’ll be sharing a few pics of the event tomorrow (plus . . . you know there’s a great giveaway coming!)

I’ve been to NYC many times in the fall and winter, but never in the spring, so when the invitation arrived in my inbox, I instantly hollered “Yes, count me in!”  I had the opportunity to explore the downtown area plus later hang with my pal Melissa from The Inspired Room, which made for the most perfect day. 

Wanna take a walk with me?  Here’s a glimpse of what I saw as I walked for hours and hours through two of my favorite neighborhoods: SoHo and Greenwich Village.

The morning started with a quick jaunt through SoHo (South of Houston).  Wow, what a chic place, there were movie crews and models everywhere, making me feel like an extra short girl from a very small town.  

I dare you to resist stepping inside here.

Plenty of other high end shops in SoHo too. 

I hoofed it over to Broadway to head north from my hotel, and I just had to pop into a place I’ve never been for caffeine: Dean & Deluca.  What a gourmet paradise, filled with fresh flowers, seafood, freshly baked breads, amazing chocolates, and all sorts of imported goodies. 

I grabbed a cup of coffee and “breakfast’” which was a lemon bombolone, otherwise known as a custard filled doughnut.  Allow me to translate.  Bombolone is Italian for irresistible decadent delight. 

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I just got back from the Big Apple very  late last night.  I’ve never been to New York City in January, and it was cold baby cold!  But not unbearable, in fact it was rather brisk.  Do people still use that word?  Brisk?  Anyway, I do a ton of walking when in NYC, and this trip was no exception.  I was staying on the upper west side.  In past trips, I haven’t had a chance to really explore it all that much, so this was the perfect opportunity!  The Upper West Side felt very "You’ve Got Mail” (minus the gorgeous weather in the film) and understandably so, since most of the movie was shot there.   

I was scheduled for the afternoon taping with Nate, so I spent the earlier hours walking around the upper west side.  Loved it!  Here’s a few scenes from my long morning walk, forgive the cloudiness of some of these photos, the lens kept getting foggy from the morning drizzle!

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Greetings friends, I’m back from a whirlwind three day trip!  It was great to be back in one of my favorite places on earth, I love the energy of NYC, and the weather was absolute perfection!

The first two days were spent mostly at media events, but I confess, the highlighted stops for me were our last day spent touring the unbelievably gorgeous ABC Home, and then lunching at Eataly a few blocks away, both in the Flatiron district.  I’ve seen all the big tourist attractions, so these were a new adventure, and I absolutely loved them!

ABC Home is six levels of unbelievable inspiration, ranging from traditional to urban style furniture, plus bedding, rugs, lighting, and accessories ~ it’s a home decorator’s dream!   I want to thank Lana for giving me the scoop on this place, because I left truly inspired. 

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Well friends, today’s the day!  I’m off to New York City to meet up with some blogger friends and attend The Nate Show on Tuesday thanks to an extra ticket provided by the very gracious Janell.  I’m flying out and bunking with fellow Bay Area blogger Cristin, and we are going to have a ball!  I haven’t been to New York City in four years, so today I’m absolutely grinning from ear to ear because I get to spend a few days in one of my favorite places on earth! 

My first trip to NYC was in 2001, just two months after 9/11.  What I still find eerie is we had plans to be in NYC during that fateful week in September, but for various reasons switched our plans at the last minute and postponed our trip until November, not knowing that NYC would suffer the incredibly tragedy it did that day.

I have loved NYC ever since I first set foot in this marvelous metropolis.  On our first trip, we did all the touristy things.  We visited all the museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art; we walked Fifth Avenue and browsed at Tiffanys; we visited Times Square, the New York Stock Exchange and Greenwich Village, we ate a famous restaurants; we visited Radio City Music Hall and climbed to the top of the Empire State Building.  

Central Park in fall is like living in a Nora Ephron movie!

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