What do you do when you’re in NYC the first weekend of December for a little under 2 days total, PLUS it’s the first time you and your husband have gone away by yourselves since becoming parents??

If you were watching my instastories that weekend you may have seen a bit of our trip. I had so many questions I wanted to compile everything into a blog post here so it’s easy to find. I’m by no means an expert on NYC, and honestly there are so many places to go and things to do that I get overwhelmed when I try to pack too many things into a small window of time. BUT after narrowing it down we had a great short visit and got to see some really beautiful places. It would have been so great to see the ballet or a show, but we weren’t there nearly early enough the 1st night and were there for my husbands work related dinner the 2nd.

Here’s what we did (for the most part) with our 40-ish hours in NYC.

We got in later than anticipated because yours truly attended a wine tasting party the night before and had a hard time waking up. Once we dropped off our son and I cried on the drive over because, you know separation anxiety happens, we made it to city. After checking into our Midtown hotel we headed out for the best pizza we could find in the area at PizzaArte. After indulging in the fried then baked Montanara pizza (which kind of tasted like an elephant ear pizza crust in the most amazing way possible) we headed down a couple blocks to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree in all its lit up glory.

Day 1.

The next day we headed to Soho for brunch and some shopping. We had to be back in time for a dinner that evening. It just so happened that Midtown was prepping for President Trump to arrive and our cab ride took a little longer than planned.

All was well and we made it to NoMo Kitchen for brunch, then we hit up the Glossier showroom down the street. We tried out the “offline experience” store for their new fragrance and it was definitely a different take on shopping. Shout out to my husband who participated with me because he’s awesome. Every time we’ve been to New York we go to Soho to shop, but this time I had to make a stop at Sézanne. The French fashion brand didn’t disappoint, well aside from them not having the boots I convinced myself I needed in stock. But at least I know what size to order now, silver lining. 

The chandeliers and greenhouse setting at NoMo Kitchen.

Inside the booth at the Glossier experience shop

Every inch in Sézane was styled perfectly, I ended up leaving with this bag. 

You can find my Chicwish Pearl Sweater Dress here. I got so many compliments on it!

I need the name of the florist who created this masterpiece inside the Glossier showroom.

After shopping and exploring for the afternoon we headed back to get gussied up for the PA Society Dinner. I wore a Halston Heritage gown, but didn’t get pictures to do this gorgeous dress justice. Mainly because: 1. hotel lighting, and 2. it being dark outside before 5 p.m., but you can find that dress and more Halston dresses here. 

Pearl Sweater Dress: c/o Chicwish (comes in 3 colors) | Wool Beret (comes in 5 colors) | Steve Madden ‘Gabbie’ Thigh High Boots | Envelope Crossbody Bag ($48!) | Sunglasses: Le Specs

…

…

Day 2.

The next day we planned on heading to Greenwich Village for brunch, but without a ton of time we decided to stay put around Midtown and the Upper East Side, which happened to be a great decision for a Sunday in NYC.

We walked up 5th avenue and had a really tasty brunch at Serafina Always. Then since I had never actually taken a walk in Central Park, we did just that. Afterward we window shopped, walked, stopped to admire the impeccable Ralph Lauren flagship store, followed by treats at Ladurée on Madison Ave, then walked some more.

We made sure to swing by the FAO Schwartz pop-up in Bergdorfs for gifts and it was soooo small, it made us miss the original store so much. By the time we were making our way back to our hotel to head out it was already later than we intended.

One of the holiday windows at Bergdorf Goodmans

Central Park in the winter makes me think of Home Alone 2 so much!

I could just walk around and admire this architecture all day.

Another holiday window, this one at Ralph Lauren.

Cereal milk soft serve from Milk Bar on our way back to get our car and luggage.

And just like that our 40-ish hours was done! I actually miss the hectic pace of NYC from time to time, I think it keeps me a bit sharper than the slower pace here in Pittsburgh! When in Rome, right? You can see my full outfit post from day 2, here.

…

…