On My Mind.......

Since Hurricane Sandy thoughts of those on the East Coast affected by the storm have been in the front of my mind.  Even after seeing the coverage on the news, and all the photos being published it's impossible to comprehend what it must be like there.  I hope and pray for the strength of these individuals as they fight their battle each day to clean up and rebuild and pray they remain safe if their efforts.  They have a long, hard road ahead of them.

I am thankful for the individuals who are out there lending a hand, doing whatever they can to assist.  It's been heartwarming seeing the stories online of people doing something as simple as running a power strip outside of their home, so that those without power could charge cell phones and call their families to let them know they are ok.  A news segment showed a man who put on a wetsuit and pulled a paddle boat up and down his street in 12 hour shifts - getting people to and from their homes on their flooded street.  People from other countries who came in for the marathon which was cancelled rolled up their sleeves and assisted with clean up efforts.  Those that are housing people who lost their homes, providing meals, clothing, anything they can..... There are so many good people out there......  God Bless them all!!!!!!!!

If you wish to make a donation to the Red Cross to help support relief efforts you can visit their website.  I have also noticed at many retailers you can add a donation to your purchase that goes to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief.  That's an easy way to donate a few bucks here and there.

Keep them in your prayers......

Good Morning America!

We thought it would be fun to be up a little extra early one morning to check out Good Morning America which tapes right in Times Square.  It was just about a block from where we were staying so it would work out well.  We were getting ready to head out one day when mom got all excited about a guest they were having later that week......Rachael Ray!!!!!!!!!!  She is a huge RR fan and we would have loved to attend her talk show but she hadnt been taping during any of our visits.  But we did go out and saw her studio and also visited "wax Rachael" at Madame Taussauds.  =)  I don't think she could hardly believe what she had just heard!  So at some point I checked info online to confirm and yes....it was true!!!!

We got up early that morning and made our way out to the studio.  There was already a small crowd gathering.  It was exciting hearing the crew talk about segments and watching them move around equipment and apply makeup to the people on the show.  The plan was for RR to do an interview segment and also a cooking segment outside right in front of us!  Wow!!!!!!  But, bad weather set in and it started to rain, and rain and rain and rain.  We had umbrellas and ponchos and still got wet.  Especially mom - she was completely soaked!  But some were not willing to wait it out to see Rachael. But we were!  We ended up in the front row and eventually the sun came out, it dried up (except for mom!) and the show continued.

Several segments were filmed outside which were neat to see but it finally came time for Rachael.  We could hardly believe she was right there in front of us!!!!  She did a great little piece but the bad weather was coming back in for a second round and they decided to move her cooking segment indoors.  Bummer!!!!!  Unfortunately we could not see that through the windows so we watched it on the tv screens they had outside for us.  After her segment we started walking away and I saw some people behind a barricade on the side of the studio.  So we made our way over there and acted like we belonged =) and sure enough that was the door Rachael exited out of!!!!!  She was off to another interview so there were no photos or autographs but we saw her one last time before hopping in the car waiting for her.  It was such a fun experience!!!!!

Maybe....just maybe.....we will be back sometime and can get tickets for her show!!!!

Completely soaked!!!! But look at that smile!

Worlds Cutest Cat

Sam Champion greeting crowd

What the folks at home are seeing

Segment on Wedding Rentals

Rachael Ray!!!!!!!!

She had on some amazing shoes!

Crumbs Bake Shop

The BEST cupcake I've ever had came from Crumbs Bake shop at 261 W 42nd St (between 7th Ave & 8th Ave) in Times Square.   Now, I'm a bit of a "cake snob".  I've been baking and decorating cakes for a number of years now so I'm always looking to try out sweets from different places.  I've scoped out alot of bakeries that have been featured on the various Food Network shows and competitions and I've actually been to a number of them.  Even a few others in NYC.  But none compare to the chocolate Blackout cupcake we had a Crumbs!!!!!  

We just wanted a snack and both being big chocolate lovers we decided on this flavor very quickly and split it.  The description they have for this cupcake is as follows:  Our richest chocolate cake filled with fudge mixed with vanilla custard, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate crumbs drizzled with chocolate.  Sounds divine right????  It was better than you can even imagine........  If I make it back to the city I WILL have this cupcake again!!!!!!!!!!!!  I highly recommend a pit stop at Crumbs to satisfy your sweet tooth!!!!!!!

Yummmm!!!!!

Colossal Cupcake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love COLORFUL 42nd Street!

Hells Kitchen Flea Market

I believe mom found out about the Hells Kitchen Flea Market after reading a travel magazine one day.   It was named one of the Top Ten Shopping Streets in the World by National Geographic. So of course we had to check it out!

Conveniently located a short walk from Times Square located on West 39th Street between 9th & 10th Avenues the HKFM is open 9 AM – 5 PM every Saturday and Sunday all year long, weather permitting.

We had SO much fun shopping and checking out all of the unique things for sale!!!!!!!!  All kinds of artwork, jewelry, vintage clothing, shoes, accessories, collectibles, antiques, furniture and the list could go on and on and on.  We enjoyed talking to the different vendors and even picked up a few things for ourselves!  We got some beautiful bracelets and I even got an Empire State building charm for the awesome charm bracelet mom gave me for my birthday that we celebrated in NYC a few years ago.  It's such a special gift and  think it's pretty cool to have a piece right from NYC be part of it!

I'd definitely go back again if we find ourselves in the city again! 

 

Doughnut Plant

Doughnuts...... Y-U-M!!!!!!!!!  I loooooove doughnuts.  And since seeing the Doughnut Plant featured on Food Network I knew I had to try them!  So one morning we headed out to check out the Highline Park in Chelsea and knew we would be close to their location in the Chelsea Hotel so we planned to check it out!  The decor was SO fun, the selection of flavors available was awesome - so awesome it made it very hard to decide!!!!  We ended up picking 4 donuts that we cut in half so that we could try all 4 flavors.  Good decision!!!!!  We tried Vanilla Bean, Triple Chocolate, Black Out and Salted Peanut.  Each was as fabulous as the next.....but the Black Out doughnut was the stand out for me.  We both LOVE chocolate and this doughnut was a chocolate lovers dream, yes even after trying the Triple Chocolate. ;)  It was so moist it melted in your mouth.  Have you seen that show The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network?????  If I were on one of those episodes I would certainly mention the Black Out doughnut from Doughnut Plant.  Simply amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

They actually have 2 locations in NYC.  The original location is 379 Grand Street, between Essex and Norfolk and the Chelsea location is 220 West 23rd Street, between 7th & 8th Ave.  And certainly if you stop at the Chelsea location be sure and check out the High Line!  

 

  

Now, there is just 1 more thing I HAVE to share.......a little secret if you will.  Not only do they have amazing doughnuts at the Chelsea location......they also have the most awesome bathroom I have ever seen.  Yes, I know how odd that sounds.  But when I entered, I stood still in amazement at how awesome it was.  I almost didn't believe it was real.  =)  The walls were mirror tiled just like a disco ball.  And if you know me - you know I looooove disco and even have a few disco balls around my house.  I looked up to the ceiling and sure enough they had a spinning disco ball.  It was the coolest thing ever!!!  So cool I took pictures of a bathroom.  I went back to the table and told mom she had to check out the unique bathroom.  Afterwards she then knew why I was in there for so long!  Haha!!!!

Times Square Bagel

There is nothing quite like a New York City bagel!  We've tried a few different places but our very favorite is Times Square Bagel on West 44th Street in Times Square (right next door to Carmine's - also YUM!) They have a large selection of bagels and cream cheese to choose from and if I remember correctly I believe you can order deli sandwiches as well.  I did stop and pick up bagels to go and brought some home in my suitcase with good results.  What a treat that was to have a "taste" of NYC for a few more days after arriving back home in Nebraska. =)

Sure wish I had one of these tasty bagels right now! =)

I have also read they have some awesome chocolate chip cookies!!!!  Wish I had seen that before our trip!!!  I will be adding that to "The List" incase we just happen to make it back!

UPDATE:  I have seen online that Times Square Bagel is listed as closed.  =(  From what I have read they lost their lease and it does not sound like they are planning to reopen in another location.  Such a shame!  But NYC is known for amazing bagels........so I don't think you can go too wrong! 

                                                              

Liberty Helicopter Tour

One of the most awesome NYC experiences has to be the helicopter tour of the city!!!!!!!  We can not get enough of the views of this amazing city whether it be of the skyline or on top of the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock... every angle of this city is simply amazing!!!!!!  But none can compare to taking a helicopter over the city!!!!!!!

We used Liberty Helicopter and our tour was fantastic.  Everyone we encountered were all so nice and helpful and made it a great experience. I highly recommend them!!!!  We booked our tour in advance and planned it early on during our trip, just incase the weather didn't cooperate the day of our tour.  That way we had time to reschedule it.  But it ended up being a gorgeous day!!!!

The tour was probably the one thing we looked forward to the most this trip!  When we arrived at the heliport I could hardly stand still I was so excited!!!!  We watched a brief safety video and then we were off!!!!!  Walking out on the helipad with the choppers coming and going was awesome!!!!  I wanted soooooo badly to sit in the passenger seat and that's right where they put me!  I was thrilled!!!!!!

We had headsets to wear during the tour so we could hear the pilot point out landmarks around the city.  Upon take off we flew along the Hudson River up to the Bronx where we circled Yankees Stadium before heading back downtown.  I was in awe then entire trip!  It was gorgeous!!!!  I just love all the tall buildings and the architecture of the city.   And I think the thing that always catches me by surprise no matter how many times I see it is the size of Central Park!!!!!!!!  It's no wonder that after many visits we still have not seen probably half of the park! It seemed my eyes just could not take in everything I was seeing - it's so hard to describe.  The awesome thing about this tour was that we could take pics and videos.  So here are a couple of my favorites!  This tour is definitely something I will never, ever forget!