More New York/Brooklyn….Hey Jude!

of course the week started with Pizza Monday BK…and baby Jude!

So, as you know, adorable granddaughter, Jude, was born on my birthday in December, so I’ll be visiting Austin, Kate & Jude a bit more often than my usual two or three times a year. As I’ve said to them before “if you can’t live closer, in California, at least you don’t live in the middle of nowhere”..and I love visiting Brooklyn/NYC! With that in mind, I try to plan a few things to do while I’m there so they have a chance to do their own thing and don’t need to worry about entertaining me…while also babysitting Jude so they can have a few date nights or just a walk by themselves away from their parental responsibilities. This is basically my way of saying that there will be even more frequent Jude/NYC blog posts, but always with something new in mind that you can discover the next time you’re in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Win/Win!!

I had a week off for Spring break and my home-exchange friends happen to be going out of town, so I booked a couple of nights at an Airbnb around the corner from A, K & J and spent the remainder of the week at my friend’s awesome place with a view of Manhattan.

…not a bad place to hang out

My sister, Mariellen, joined me on this trip and we had so much fun. My younger sister, JoAnn, was also in NY for a day, doing a whirlwind college tour with her daughters, so we met up with them at the Macy’s flower show. It’s a gorgeous display of flowers in the middle of Macy’s..including some displays on the second floor. It’s only around Easter time for two weeks, but I think it’s worth seeing their creative displays if you happen to be in NY at that time.

cool flower displays
gorgeous real trees right in the store

our girl gang…we took Jude back to Brooklyn so A&K could have the afternoon to themselves!

The next day we borrowed A&K’s car and drove to see my friends/neighbors, and their new grandbaby, from California who have moved to Connecticut for a few years. It was great seeing them in their new environment, with all the blessings of a new baby.

beautiful friends and new baby

Next, we drove over to Breezy Point, Queens, to see the area and home where my mom spent her summers at the beach. It was pretty much obliterated in hurricane Sandy, and they’ve rebuilt everything, but it was cool to see the place that was such a big part of her childhood…and we scattered a small amount of her ashes on the beach. I’m thinking she was smiling down on us.

the home my mom spent her summers…redone since Sandy

Next up…our day in the city. I saw something in the NY Times about a Downton Abbey exhibit which looked interesting. Kate, my sister, and my sister’s friend were game, so I bought tickets and we planned a day in the city.

exact reproduction of the kitchen downstairs
if you watch the show you recognize this wall of house bells
OH…the clothes!!

They just extended the Downton exhibition until September, so you can still go!

From here we went on to Bergdorf Goodman’s for lunch, with a stop at the Iris Apfel collection (unfortunately it’s over now, but I’m hoping it travels out here at some point), and then on to my sister’s friend’s apartment with an amazing view of Central Park.

We had a table with regular seating, but I love these extravagant chairs at Bergdorf’s, while overlooking Central Park.
my niece got the lobster mac & cheese in a cute little cast iron skillet!
saying goodbye to niece, Erin, who goes to Barnard College
Jude and I just hanging at my sister’s friend’s apartment…pretty spectacular!

Bye, Austin, Kate & baby Jude! We left early the next day, but I didn’t sob (like the last time) saying goodbye to my adorable peeps…because I knew I’d be back in a couple of months. I can’t wait to see all Jude’s new developments (so many changes in the first couple of years) and to spend time with her fun, awesome parents!

recap

  • You have ’til September to see the Downton Abbey exhibit
  • If you’re in NYC in March/April check out the Macy’s flower show
  • Bergdorf’s is always an elegant place to have lunch/dinner…and look at all the stuff in the store you can’t afford.
  • LASTLY…there’s a David Bowie exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum that A&K really liked (I couldn’t get there this visit). It’s there until July 15th!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

1 Comment

  1. What great pics! So glad you’re coming to NY more often. Next time for sure we’ll get together!

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