Girls-only Weekend in NYC

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have a little getaway sans husband and child. Tricia, my good friend (who I used to work with at the shelter) flew out here to meet me and Melissa for a long weekend in the city. We had heard a lot of good things about the cheap buses from DC to NYC, and it was time to try it out for ourselves.

I have never seen Melissa this excited at 7AM. The two of us had a pretty rough week and were SO ready to relax.

The trip took exactly 4 hours, no stops or traffic. Here is the Manhattan skyline from somewhere in New Jersey.

First order of business: pizza. We couldn't check in to our hotel so we walked to Vezzo for some thin crust yuminess.

Afterwards we made it to Times Square, where our hotel was located. We were surprised that the hotel was engulfed in a HUGE Hershey's light display. It was a good sign. Literally.

We got ourselves a corner room on the 29th floor. This was the view from the window. I was so excited I screamed like a little girl for 2 minutes while jumping up and down. If you don't believe me ask Melissa and Tricia.

We didn't waste any time and immediately went out to check out the town. It took a little while for us to figure out the subway-- express vs. local, how to walk through the turnstiles, but we got to where we wanted to go.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the MOMA. It was a holiday weekend and a rainy day, so the place was packed!

Look at us being all artsy-fartsy.

The main reason I wanted to visit was the Tim Burton exhibit. It is so popular that the MOMA gives timed tickets, and even then it sells out by noon everyday. I wish I could have taken pics of the exhibit so you could see how twisted Tim Burton's imagination is, but you'll just have to go and see it for yourself.

We squeezed in a matinee of "Next to Normal" the 2009 Best Musical Tony Award Winner. It was a great story about grief, mental illness, and family relationships. SO good, Melissa was bawling.

Afterwards we made our way through Times Square and on to Gramercy Park, where we had a reservation at The Gramercy Tavern.

We didn't really take many pictures during our 3 hour dining experience, but trust me, it was good. You can't go wrong with a cute waiter and a 5-course tasting menu.

One of my favorite things about NYC is the art in the subways. This station had a bunch of hats on the wall.

The next morning we hit up a bakery for some cookies to bring home, then walked over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to meet Rebecca, my good friend from college.

Unfortunately the Met didn't allow food of any kind (even the double wrapped, hidden in my purse kind) so Melissa had to go on a mission to bribe the hot dog vendor to hold our cookies while we were inside the Met.

Success!

The weather was gorgeous and we had one last mission to fulfill: a stroll through Central Park. Here's mine and Rebecca's mandatory picture together in the park (I think this is the 2nd or 3rd we've taken.)

The trip went so well that we think we are going to make it an annual event. We have to take advantage of being so close, right? Melissa and I returned to happy babies and husbands that really missed us, while Tricia flew back to 2 geriatric dogs with problems most average pet-parents wouldn't want to deal with :) It's amazing how a little escape can really help you appreciate the great things you have at home.

Christmas, New Years, and Mattias turns 31

This Christmas was a special one indeed, with the Ternholts (Mattias' sister and her family) coming in from Sweden to spend it with us. Before heading over to the older Karlsson's house for a traditional Swedish Christmas feast, we snapped this photo in front of the tree. There was much protest regarding Linus' argyle sweater vest outfit, but Mattias had to suck it up as usual. Consider it an annual tradition.


The scene was festive (and a bit on the ridiculous side) at the Karlsson house-- this pile of presents belonged to 3 children. Don't confuse it for a Toys-for-Tots distribution center.

The kids waited patiently through the meal, and afterwards us adults declared it time to open the presents. We rushed downstairs, divid up the pile, and lingered for 2 hours while the kids took turns opening each and every last present.

The next day Linus took out his present from Lola and Lolo- his very own bike.


You can't really tell from the pic but there is a parental steering bar in the back, and a platform to put his feet since he can't pedal. He gets the feeling of speed and freedom nonetheless!

We also managed to decorate cookies. The one below I made especially for Mattias, when he left the house without doing any of his chores. When he returned this cookie awaited him at the door mat.

Sara and Anton (our niece and nephew) did these beautiful cookies:


For New Years we rented a cabin in the mountains of West Virginia, called the "Leizure Lane Chalet." It had just snowed the night before, which made for a horrendous drive to the cabin and a lovely scenic backdrop.


Much of the time was spent lazing about and eating.

But we also went outside for some snow play. Linus had a great time on the sleds, and all of us got involved in a snowball fight.




Days later Mattias turned 31. It's been really cold and windy so we spent the time hanging out in the apartment, eating cake, and opening gifts.


It was a very busy but great holiday season. We were so happy to have the Ternholts here, and Linus loved having cousins to play with. His smile with Sara in the above picture really says it all.