Our visit to The Wonder City!

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For those of you who don’t read ABCD Design on a daily basis, I thought I’d give you a little {Lemons to Lemonade} update. As you know, Mr. D lost his job with a London based financial firm at the end of May. Since nothing was exactly keeping us in the City during the month of August, we gave up our furnished rental apartment on July 31 and have been spending our time visiting our families in Knoxville and Detroit. Thank heavens, the job market is picking up and he has been getting interest from potential employers. One week ago last Saturday, we flew back to NYC after nearly 50 days away from the City. We packed our agenda with important work meetings and dinners out with our friends.

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It is a crazy feeling to be a “guest” in the town you consider your home. Over the weekend, we stayed at 60 Thompson. Great location and the common areas were beautiful! But I have to say … for such a nice hotel, our actual room was remarkably un-remarkable. We then moved up to Midtown and stayed at the Sheraton. For this portion of the trip we cashed in on our American Express points. When Mr. D and I got engaged, we enrolled with a Starwood American Express Card and paid for almost our entire apartment renovation with it. Since then, we have had endless amounts of “free” hotel nights which have come in handy when we want to get away for a long weekend, or in this instance visit NYC while he is interviewing! Seriously, it is one of the smartest things we’ve done as a couple. By the time our wedding anniversary rolls around each year we have at least 5 “free” nights - and we plan a “free” trip. Year one was a stay at the St. Regis Hotel in Rome and year two was ski-in, ski-out at the Westin on Whistler Mountain. Nice, no?

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-Back to our NYC trip- Since all of our “guy” friends are huge football fans, Saturday afternoon was spent with “the boys” at the sports bar, girls out doing “girly” activities, ie: shopping! Right before we left town in July, Hollister opened on the corner of Broadway and Houston. While I am entirely too old to to shop there, I could not help but take a peek. The design of the space is incredibly cool and totally worth the trip, even if it isn’t exactly your style.

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I also popped into my friend Melissa’s store called Stock Vintage. It was opened on 13th between Lafayette and 3rd Avenue back in 2006. While she sells mostly to designers the shop is also open to the public. There is no website, but completely a must see on any trip to the City. She specializes in industrial era, masculine antiques, leather boots, bags, and vintage menswear.

I read about a new store called Against Nature on the Hollister Hovey blog and had to stop in there too, even though it isn’t Mr. D’s style — seems this vintage denim and rustic boots, bags and vintage menswear is all the rage. There are shops popping up all over downtown with a similar vibe to Stock Vintage and Double RL.

On Saturday, we went super casual for dinner. A huge group of us caught up for crepes at Le Crepe Parisienne. The space has super-fab modern decor. Believe it or not, this spot is a “chain” and while it claims to serve the crepes of Paris is actually a Mexican owned establishment! You’d never know it. I had a savory egg, cheese, and ham crepe followed up with a nutella one for dessert and it was AMAZING!

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For someone who loves to cook, I live and die for the food experiences in New York City. We ate many notable meals on this trip. One of which was at Elizabeth in Nolita. If weather is permitting, ask for a seat in the garden. Order the roasted organic chicken. The garlic fries are completely out of this world. Blue Ribbon Bakery in the West Village has delicious mushroom ravioli, market salad and trout with French green beans, almond slivers and bacon. The burger (in my opinion) is one of the best in the City. Be sure to finish off your meal with the Chocolate Bread Pudding. You will forever search for a recipe to replicate it at home!

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Looking for cocktails and apps? After a day of shopping in Soho, go sit at the bar at Lure Fishbar for the shrimp tempura with spicy aioli. The macaroni and cheese will seriously knock your socks off. Another fab spot is The W Hotel lobby bar in Union Square. Order Todd English’s fig and prosciutto flatbread -or- the bronx bommer = so delish, you won’t be sorry!

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All in all the trip was a successful one. I met with a few brides, and a Brooklyn based couple who I am designing personal stationery for. I also had a wonderful night out with one of my printers. Mr. D had a first interview for a London based company hiring for the NYC office - where got called back for the final round next week! (Wha-hoooo!) He also had several meetings with other opportunities that he has been investigating for some time. We both feel like something will shift soon. Hopefully, *fingers crossed* we’ll be back to LIVE in The Wonder City in no time flat!