Short But Sweet New York

This weekend Brad and I treated ourselves to a 24-hour getaway to New York. Dinner on Friday night at ABC Kitchen was a major treat and the highlight of the trip. Brad was at this restaurant a couple of weeks ago for work. Turns out a guy he knows from work is friends with the chef and now . . . . . we know the chef! (Yes, I am high-fiving myself as I type.) He was so nice and the exact opposite of the pretentious stereotype of a chef I had in my mind. Three times during a superbly delicious yet disarmingly casual dinner, our waiter stopped by the table with something that was "compliments of the chef." This was a first for me, and believe you me, it's something I could easily get used to! Although I don't have any photos from our dinner, it's an experience I will long remember. And for anyone who is in New York, as you can already predict, I highly recommend ABC Kitchen, which is at 35 E. 18th Street (Flatiron District).

We spent Saturday giving Central Park our undivided attention. For me it was the most time I've ever spent in the park in one visit. We enjoyed about four hours of walking through and taking in the spring scenery. (Oh, and we also had a Flat Stanley project to do, so we made a few friends while taking photos of Flat Stanley as he documented his visit to Central Park.) Above is a photo of a beautiful walking bridge that I thought I'd share with you for no reason other than I just liked it.

And here we are (all three of us - that's Flat Stanley in my hand) on another beautiful bridge, which you don't get the full effect of, so you'll just have to trust me. While we covered a lot of ground, the park is so large that we could spend another four hours there sometime and still not see the whole thing. But it was a perfect way to spend a spring day in a city that both Brad and I have grown to love.