I’m so excited to share with y’all the next two parts of our NYC adventure!! The next few days were full of more touristy stops, finally some NYFW shows and of course, lots of yummy food!! I’m going to pick up the morning where we left off- another day devoted fully to being a major tourist. This was the day that we did the most walking aka the most freezing!!
We still had our double decker red bus passes, so we took advantage of that and rode around the city all day. Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial to see the new Freedom Tower. Even having zero connection to the 9/11 tragedies, seeing where the awful attack happened is a pretty moving experience. Just reading the names of the people who lost their lives on that day- someone’s mother, child, brother, father- so many people were effected by it and being there just really makes you realize how blessed you are.
NYC Tip: Hunter boots are a terrible idea unless you have ridiculously good boot warmers and socks. I was legit googling “frost bite” by the end of the day!!
Dinner this night was quite the experience!! Todd was quite proud of himself for snagging a reservation at one of the hottest sushi bars in NYC, Sushi Nakazawa. However, this isn’t traditional sushi rolls. The famous Chef Nakazawa has specially crafted a tasting menu based on the style of Edomae sushi, which is basically just raw fish and vinegar rice. Read: no cream cheese or spicy mayo to get past the raw fish aspect. The only item available on the menu is the Chef’s 20 piece tasting menu, oh and the 7 course sake pairing!
It’s definitely not something for the faint of heart {or stomach} because many of the pieces have quite the interesting flavors and textures- I have to admit there were a few I struggled to get down (see above pics to guess what). This wasn’t our best meal in NYC by any means and I can’t say I would go back, but Sushi Nakazawa was a once in a lifetime experience and a unique evening spent with my love!
The next day, we had no trouble with full on LOVING every bit of our meal at The Spotted Pig in West Village!! This was by far one of my favorite restaurants we went to on this trip and will definitely be returning every time I’m in the city! Warning: it’s a small little building that doesn’t take reservations, so plan to come early! We came right when they opened and had no problem getting a table, but by the time we left the line was around the corner.
We started with the house made pickles and deviled eggs- aka a southern girl’s heaven!! And they certainly lived up to my southern taste buds as well. For the meal, we did our traditional order 2 entrees and split them both, because is there really any other way to do it when attempting to eat your way through one of the biggest cities in the world? The Spotted Pig is known for it’s burger served with roquefort and shoe string fries, so that was a given, and yes it was everything we expected and more. THEN, then there was THE SPECIAL!! Holy Cow I don’t think I’ve ever had such a delicious dish in my whole life. Yeah, you read that right, this was quite possibly the best dish I’ve ever eaten! What was it you might ask- cow’s tongue. Yep, cow’s tongue is the best food I’ve ever put on this tongue! Seriously though, the flavor was unreal!! Luckily, they served the meat on top of a crusty piece of bread that I could soak up all the juices with after I was finished. I really cannot even tell you how imperative it is that you go to The Spotted Pig if you’re in NYC!
That night was spent walking through Macy’s (stressful) and then back to our hotel to get ready for the night. Our dinner that night was at Lavo, so that we could head over to the night club and see Afrojack afterwards. Dinner was surprisingly delicious for a restaurant/nightclub combo and the atmosphere was lively to say the least! Unfortunately, I couldn’t hang at the club because I had a 6 am wakeup the next morning, so I left the hubby there and went back to snuggle up and prepare for my first day of shows!!
In comes my first day of NYFW shows!! On the schedule for today: Mongol and Nicole Miller!!
Being my first NYFW show ever, Mongol could’ve sent the ugliest clothes down the runway and I still would have been in heaven!! But instead, it was a beautiful show with lots of jewel tones. I especially drooled over all of the beautiful colors in the dyed furs!! After 10 days in New York, this Charleston girl’s dying for a dyed fur (totally didn’t do that on purpose either).
Although all the important stuff goes on around the runway, the media tent at NYFW is pretty killer too!! Hellooo E! Fashion Police set!! Unfortunately, I was never there at the same time as filming, but it was pretty cool to see the set up!
Ran into Louise Roe and one of my favorite bloggers, Amber Fillerup of Barefoot Blonde. Ignore my borderline possessed face in this picture!! But, nobody does braids like this girl right here!! Plus, she’s got the sweets to go along with her style- she was actually an angel!!
After the show that morning, I caught up with my {majorly hungover} hubby for a beautiful brunch at Sarabeth’s by Central Park. The food wasn’t anything really special, but it’s a New York staple and we just couldn’t miss it! Plus, it’s location right by Central Park is perfect for getting a little peek. Or, if it’s the time of year when you can actually walk around the city without freezing, you could take a nice post-brunch stroll. Needless to say, we didn’t go that route and instead went back to the hotel for a nice little between shows nap!
My next show I attended was Nicole Miller, thanks to Belk!! I was ecstatic to be there and she didn’t let me down!! The show was beautiful and showed that my favorite cool weather color, hunter green, isn’t going anywhere for next season! I always love her designs and it was one of the few at NYFW, where I would actually wear everything she sent down the runway!
Each night, we went to grab drinks at a cute bar before dinner. Tonight, was easily my favorite bar in NYC- Boom Boom Room. Located on the top of The Standard Hotel in The Meatpacking area, Boom Boom Room had wrap around views of the city and the classiest atmosphere and people watching. I mean, when you’re rubbing shoulders with Kelly Osbourne and Catt Sadler, you know you’re in the right place! Plus, their drinks were YUMMY!!
Dinner that night was at a traditional New York steakhouse- Keen’s, and tradition sure didn’t disappoint!! Two young guys from London sat next to us and were there for the 2nd night in a row eating a portion of lamb chops each and splitting the porterhouse steak. Needless to say, I think my hubby was a little jealous that he wasn’t there with them instead of his filet eating wife! The steaks were perfectly cooked and seasoned, and we truly had no complaints about our meal. A true New York steak experience!!
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FROM NYC!!! Our morning was spent sleeping in, drinking espresso and yes, eating drug store Valentine’s candy. Basically, it was perfect!!
After a morning of total laziness, we headed out for a delicious brunch at 44 & X. This was the perfect cute little place to top off a wonderful morning with each other! You can’t tell from the picture, but it was snowing the most beautiful snow that day and you could watch it right out the big restaurant windows- ah just absolutely perfect! Bonus: their bloodies were the most horseradishy bloodies I’ve ever tasted!! (Insert worshiping hands emoji)
Fortunately, I only had a presentation that day, so I was able to spend most of it relaxing with my Valentine!! But, the presentation I did have, Joseph Singh, was absolutely flawless and I was so glad that I went! I’m majorly coveting the grey and white long dresses!! Plus, I got to chat with some other fabulous Carolina fashion peeps at the event!!
Thanks so much for reading my second part of our trip to NYC and my experience at my first NYFW!! I can’t wait to share with y’all the 3rd and look out for my only official “outfit post” from the trip tomorrow morning!! Happy Sunday Funday!!
