New york, New york..

So when one of my girlfriends from home suggested celebrating our 30th birthdays with a long weekend in New York -I didn't take much convincing.

Not only would I be catching up with "the girls" but we would be doing it one of the most amazing cities in the world! And it did not disappoint.

Some of the highlights....
Day 1:
Excited reunion under the bright and iconic lights of Times square, followed by a trip to the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Centre for spectacular views of the NYC skyline..mesmerising

Day 2:
First NYC brunch and some serious catching up at Sarabeth's Bakery by Central Park, serving -up delicious buttermilk pancakes and eggs benedict and packed full of New yorkers. Then despite the freezing temperatures we rented bikes and navigated our way around the familiar sites of Central Park and swooning over the romantic bridges and walkways..

The afternoon was quickly consumed by getting completely lost in the 7 floors of Bloomingdales and reappearing about six hours later with lots of brown bags but not quite sure what we had bought or how much had been spent!!

In the evening we headed to West Village and a gorgeous restaurant called MeMe for dinner and vino which got us in the spirit for the one and only Cafe Wha. An underground dive bar with live bands covering everything..dancing the night away...

Day 3:
Morning spent visting the World Trade Centre memorial and then braving the bitter cold we took advantage of the free Statin Island Ferry (public transport for New Yorkers) to take in views of the Statue of Liberty in all her glory.

Now at risk of frostbite the only thing for it was to find a cosy little bar to hide in for the afternoon....We headed to Brooklyn and stumbled upon the coolest  bar in retro Williamsburg. We spent the afternoon sipping wine and cappuccinos and watching the eclectic mix of local clientele until it was time to head back over the Brooklyn bridge to Manhattan....

Day 4:
Our last day was spent exploring the cobbled streets of  Greenwich, browsing boutiques and escaping to the nearest cafe when we needed a seat, some warmth, glass of wine. Spotting Carrie's famous steps and Friends iconic apartment block were highlights of course!....At the end of a long day we finally put done our bags at a bustling little french restaurant for a full debrief...

 

 NYC never disappoints...

Thanks Mrs McCartney for sewing the seed of a New York reunion and to Vic,  Emily and Laura for making it so memorable love you and look forward to our next adventure...

X

LA love..

So as many of you know before I came to LA I was a little reticent, didn't quite know what to expect and how I would fit in...Moreover I had heard horror stories from friends who had passed by and were uninspired to say the least. But I have been totally charmed by this city and would now count myself as one of its biggest fans!!

I’ve been really lucky to have some fabulous friends to show me the real LA.

What is most amazing about this place is the variety. You can be eating 2 dollar tacos from a hole in the wall in the "ghetto" one minute and wining and dining in the bright lights of Hollywood the next. You can be chilling out on the tiny secluded little Mediterranean-esk El matador beach in the morning and pop into Malibu Country Mart(and celebville) to do a little retail therapy on the way home.

Or you can jump on bikes (in the middle of January-in the sunshine) and ride down the famous Venice boardwalk with its very hippy vibe where "Green doctors" give out free samples of marijuana and end up in the beautiful and hip Abbot Kinney where only the young and trendy reside sipping cappuccinos and buying expensive organic t-shirts. And if you are really lucky you can find your way to the flea market of all flea markets at the Pasadena Rose bowl where there are literally miles and miles of stalls selling their vintage wares...I don’t know why but I just never associated LA with flea markets-eh? But that’s the thing I’ve started to realise that I think LA may just have it all....

Apart from snow...real snow (of course they make their own fake snow-this is Hollywood).

              Venice beach, bikes and dogs with sunglasses

Vintage market at the Rose Bowl

Post market Macaroons at Bottega Louie Downtown LA

 

Love lots,

Looking forward to seeing all my home girls this weekend...

Kx