A Holiday Guide to New York

This post has been a long time coming! Fabio and I went on our honeymoon last year where we stayed over the Christmas period in this magical city. I knew this post was going to be a long one, that's why I've been putting it off, however I have really wanted to share with you all what we did each day we were there, and hopefully help with anyone who is planning to go. Before we went I made an extensive itinerary (I literally couldn't resist) and mapped it all out so we would never not know where we were heading in case we ran out of internet. 
So enough explaining.. here goes! 

DAY ONE 

We arrived on the 20th December.

Mandatory plane window shot

First impressions of our hotel (The Waldorf Astoria)

DAY ONE ITINERARY

1. We decided to head to Midtown to have a wander around and get our bearings. It was already nearly evening by the time we got out of the hotel! And it was bloody freezing!

 We saw these two Christmas trees (whilst getting a tad lost.. I knew it haha)

Had a sneak peak of the Chrysler building

 Gazed at the wonder that is the Grand Central Station - who else thinks of Madagascar when they see that iconic clock?

Grabbed a cheeky Starbucks! 

Watched the amazing Christmas lights on the SAKS store - MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS THIS OUT! IT'S AMAZINGGGG!

Tried to get a picture with THE Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre (opposite the SAKS store basically). It was SO crowded.

Walked down towards Midtown East and had some yummy grub at Schnippers! (570 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022, United States)

The burgers were so yum (our first taste of NYC) but unfortunately the chip fryer was down! 

Before heading back to the hotel we wandered past the Byrant Park Winter Village. Super cute! 

DAY TWO ITINERARY 

Experience a New York breakfast! Our first breakfast was in the hotel. You can also eat there too. It's called the Bull and Bear Prime Steakhouse. They do an awesome breakfast buffet! This is something I really do miss in the UK. If anyone knows anywhere that does an American breakfast buffet, let me know!

Had a wander through Central Park.

Took a photo by this bridge. 

Went ice skating in Central Park's Wollman Rink. You get to skate for about an hour and you can also hire skates there too. Get ticket 

prices here.

Home Alone anyone?

Had lunch in The Plaza Hotel's food hall. It's ideal as it's right near Central Park. You NEED to try Luke's Lobster Rolls, they are so delicious.

Walked up Fifth Avenue, had a peak at Bergdorf Goodman's Holiday Window.

Found my most favourite bag shop EVER. Henri Bendel. And they deliver to the UK :D

Went for a NBC Studio Tour which was very interesting. It's only just re-opened so I was very happy as I thought I was going to miss it. I've been on it twice now but was very happy I was able to take the Husband. Definitely recommend it if you love SNL and are interested in how a studio and tv network is run (you get to see where it's filmed and all!!) You can book online for one of their tours that are run daily.

Saw this beauty lit up all Christmassy.

Visited the Museum of Sex. I know. It was a strange one. Worth a look though for a few laughs! 

Ate at a Korean place called Kyochon. Literally one of the best chicken places. Trust me though, one of the chicken wing flavours are VERY spicy. If they try to warn you, believe them and don't be like me and order them anyway.

Those on the left are the spicy ones. The waiter managed to convince me to have less of them, thankfully. The white cubes in the middle are pickles. In New York, most foods come with a pickle of some sort!

DAY THREE ITINERARY

Sailed the seas on a scenic tour of New York. Apart from it was THE most horrible day ever. It was foggy, wet and just eurgh. We stayed inside the boat the whole time. Also DON'T do what we did and buy tickets of someone on the street. We got lost looking for the port and were sold tickets at a higher price. Make sure you buy them direct from the company. I'd recommend just going on the Staten Island Ferry since it's free, which is what we originally wanted to do.

The only picture I took outside. I risked the camera getting wet for this lady!

Wandered through Wall St. 

The New York Stock Exchange.

Paid our respects at Ground Zero.

Ate lunch outside (it was mega busy!) at Shake Shack in Battery Park City. Luckily there was a cover overhead as it was spitting with rain. Another must visit! I chose the hot dog with pickles etc and the Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries. Fabio chose the hamburger. Oh and I couldn't resist having the Shake Of The Week which was a peppermint candy one. Yummeh!

Walked past the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. We were going to cross but it was such horrible weather!

Visited 8 Hook and Ladder on North Moore Street, the site where Ghostbusters filmed their headquarters! 

Room service was needed that night because of the weather. We ate pizza and bolognese!

DAY FOUR ITINERARY

Yes, it's the picture from my blog profile! We took this at Black Seed Bagel in Nolita (North of Little Italy) where we had breakfast on our fourth day. They hand roll their bagels and cook them in a wood-fired oven. Absolutely divine. 

Little Italy

Had lunch at Nom Wah's Tea Parlour. This place is very popular, so it's worth getting there early. They do the nicest Dim Sum (Well, it was the first in NYC!) 

On the left is our Shrimp Sui Mai (shrimp minced in wonton) and on the right is our Sticky Rice in Lotus (Rice and chicken mixed in a lotus leaf) - our favourite! They also serve lots of different teas in cute little cups.

Fabio eating his pan-fried dumplings. 

Sticky rice with Chinese sausage. Beware though, it's all so very filling and it's easy to order too much!

My new favourite bookstore. McNally Jackson, an independent booksellers located on Prince St. They sell a really cool assortment  of books, the perfect place to lose yourself in! Also a very good amount of choice in the food writing section. 

An excellent second-hand bookstore, Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. JUST LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOOKS!! And the great thing about is is that all earnings go to the Housing Works Charity. 

Walked through rainy Union Square Park Holiday Market before taking the Metro home.

Dinner at Bull and Bear because it was so rainy outside! I literally got soaking wet through my coat and had to hang up all our clothes around the hotel room to dry! We shared a chauteaubriand for two (sorry the lighting in there was terrible!)

DAY FIVE ITINERARY (CHRISTMAS EVE!)

Bloomingdales first thing in the morning for a little browse and then off to the Nintendo Store in the Rockefeller Plaza, ready for the show at Radio City Hall later.

We had booked tickets to go and see the Radio City Hall Christmas Spectacular and we recommend you do too! It's one of the best shows I've ever seen. A mix of dancing, animation, singing + real life animals on stage! I won't give it away :) But look at the sweet selection in the foyer!

Just look at those boxes of Nerds! Much to my delight, the Americans don't do small when it comes to sweets! 

The Rockettes 

After the show we were pretty tired and weren't sure where to go and eat, so we decided to just eat what we know and go to TGI Friday's on Times Square. I had the Jack Daniels' Burger.

DAY SIX ITINERARY (CHRISTMAS DAY!)

Breakfast was had at the Lexington Brasserie for something different (we'd eaten at the hotel buffet everyday so far!)

I chose Buttermilk Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter and Caramelised Apples.

Fabio had Eggs Benedict.

We wondered down Fifth Ave again and peaked in at the Saks' Holiday windows. 

A Christmas day stroll through Central Park.

We enjoyed a Christmas Day brunch (although we ate at 3:30pm) at the Peacock Alley Restaurant in our hotel. Book early if you want to eat there. They do a similar brunch every Sunday too. It's definitely worth experiencing an American brunch at least once. 

DAY SEVEN ITINERARY

We headed back to Union Square to its Market, and I bought some strawberry chilli jam off a seller from Massachusetts! 

What a cool idea. 

We stopped off at Max Brenner's for what we thought was going to be snack which ended up being so filling! This place is literally chocolate heaven.

The Mexican Spicy Hot Chocolate

The Urban S'mores for two. This was so fun! It came with a little campfire where you could toast your marshmallows!

Another bookstore - The Strand. It's located just on from Max Brenner's. You won't miss it. It's on the left. 

It claims to be 18 miles of books! I could spend so much time in there. 

Finally got to try Stumptown Coffee! We came across it in the Greenwich Village. One of the best coffee's ever.

Now this is a place that I highly recommend visiting. I think I keep saying everything is THE best, but when I say this is the best fried chicken, I mean it's THE best. The chicken is coated and fried freshly and omg the chicken is so succulent. Please visit Sticky's Finger Joint!! (It's nearly opposite Stumptown)

We then walked towards 66 Perry Street and Bleecker St, where Carrie from Sex and the City's apartment can be located. Apparently the apartment was only used for exterior shots.

I then came across this really cool thrift store.

We also went to see the apartment where Friends was 'filmed' on the corner of Grove and Bedford St in Greenwich village. It took us ages to find this place as we only had the block number and St, and since it's on the corner, we ended up walking right past it! Again, this place was only used for Exterior shots. 

We climbed up the steps to the High Line and took a casual stroll along to the end where we then visited the Chelsea Market, which was conveniently located.

Dylan's Candy Bar was next on our list. It's sweetie heaven! They even have a cafe but it was full when we got there!

We then at Chinese at this place. It wasn't even in China Town. Don't even ask me where it was but we were knackered and it was the only place we could find. (I know, right!)

 DAY EIGHT ITINERARY

On our last full day, we decided to head down to Macy's and take a look around there. Fabio bought a jacket, so at least he found something!

Central Park Zoo was last on our list of tourist things to do, so we went there and met the cutest seal!

For lunch we went to the Time Warner Centre which isn't that far from Central Park (on the west side). It's a big shopping mall with a few choices of places to eat in there.

And to have a toast to our last evening, we drank in the Peacock Alley Restaurant Bar, where we also met two lovely girls from Dallas who joined us in a chat at the bar. Memories to cherish.

DAY NINE ITINERARY (NOT REALLY AN ITINERARY!)

On our last day all we did is eat Pizza near the hotel and sit in the hotel lobby. Fun stuff!

The Christmas tree in JFK and the plane home. Bye New York! 

Time To Get Planting

It's that time of the year again when everyone gets their green fingers out! That's what I've been doing these last few weeks. It all started when I had that planting feeling, so off Fab and I went to the garden centre to buy some much needed equipment (propagator etc) The seeds I am growing from were free from the Kitchen Garden magazine, so that was lucky for me! 
I'm growing so far:
Little Gem Lettuce
Mixed Salad Lettuce
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers

How I started off my seedlings

1. Bought a ROOTIT Propagator which you can see me explain here.
2. Dropped the seeds into the little holes (they are already created for you).
3. Left the tray on my window sill for a couple of weeks (whilst in the meantime turning the tray around daily to stop them leaning towards the sun, and making sure I wipe out any condensation to ensure all the light can get through).
4. Once they were starting to get quite tall and before they got too leggy, I planted them out into pots a tiny bit bigger with some multipurpose composts. I say I planted them out, my Mum actually did it and I supervised... thanks Mum!
5. I now have to keep them inside and 'harden them off' which means to bring them outside gradually (increasing the time each day) to get them used to the cold etc. I decided to keep them in a plastic box because of not having the space to keep them on a table, however at least the sun can still shine through that box and it's easy to move them around.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! 

That's as far as I have got! I am learning too, so I will be updating my little veg's journey and my learning process as I go! 

Have any of you started growing any veg/salad/fruit/herbs? If so, what and which varieties? 

5 Ways To Say I Love You

Since it's Mother's Day tomorrow, just a quick post to give those who may not have had time/money to buy a gift for their Mother, an idea of ways to say I love you, because it's the thought that counts right!

1. Breakfast in Bed 

I think any Mum would love breakfast served by her bedside, even if it's a piece of crunchy toast topped with her favourite preserve and a cup of tea or coffee, i'm sure it will be much appreciated.

2. Freshly Cut Flowers 

If you have a garden which is flowering with some Springtime flowers   such as daffodils or maybe the last of the snowdrops, why not gift your Mum a bunch of freshly cut flowers from your garden? 

3. Cake!

Cake is good for many things. And I think most Mums like cake of some sort, be it full fat, going all out with the sprinkles; gluten free; wheat free etc. If you plan to do this, you'll just need to wake up a little earlier tomorrow morning! I posted a recipe for Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes here the other day if you want some inspiration. Just make sure you check what ingredients you have tonight before you get planning!

4. Poem Written By You

Get creative and try your hand at writing a poem from the bottom of your heart! Most people are under the misconception that poems have to rhyme but they really don't. Just write whatever you feel in the format of a poem and you'll be ok. Your Mum will love it that you've made the effort.

5. A Homemade Voucher For A Day of Pamper

Using some pretty paper or card, create a voucher for a day of pampering for you Mum. On that day you could treat your mum to a facial (we've all got a cleanser/toner/moisturiser or two in our bathroom cabinets!) and maybe a hand/head/neck massage; your choice!
A good idea if you are both busy tomorrow and need to postpone your gift to another day. 

Hope these all help you - just remember, your Mum will appreciate whatever you do, no matter how big or small! 

Jess x

A whole lotta February favourites

Coming into March, it's nice to reflect on the things that you have been loving in the previous month and to record those things you may want to buy again. It's also nice to just see everything that has made your day a little brighter!

I'm not going to ramble on in this introduction because I have a ton of things to get through, much to your delight (I hope!)

FOOD

1. Kallo Gluten Free Organic Wholegrain Honey Puffed Rice Cereal

This cereal has only recently become a favourite, and I was thinking about putting it in my March faves, but i've eaten it so often that it probably would be gone by March! Its great with yoghurt and fruit, but I guess you could get more inventive! The honey taste really come through so it's quite sweet, and satisfying if you like something sweeter in the morning. I usually pair this with a nice caffe latte. It can be found at Sainsbury's for £2.

2. Hartley's Jelly 
I've been eating Hartley's jelly since I was little. It brings back memories of looking forward to the inevitable jelly and ice cream at the end of a friend's Birthday party. The way the ice cream and jelly somehow compliment each other, both refreshing on a summer's day. I do think that it's the sort of food that gets forgotten about - almost like your childhood teddy, you know you will treasure them always but you forget, and then once in a while you come across them and it's like WHAM, the loves back. Well, I went a bit mad and bought jelly in every flavour in order to see which one I like best. I've only had the lime so far but I will let you know! It's a brilliant and quick midweek dessert - I don't think it's even that calorific!

3. Bulgar Wheat (or in fact anything similar: couscous, quinoa)

I have been eating a lot of meals from Hello Fresh recently. I talked about it in my recent (and first) vlog here, and have been loving the fact these recipes are beyond delicious and also quick. And the reason for this is that a large percent of them include one of these 3 (bulgar wheat, couscous or quinoa). So quick to make (literally boil 250ml of water, add about 2 cups of whichever and leave it to rest, covered and off the heat). Eh voila!

Beauty

4. Polaar Creme Mains La Veritable Creme de Laponie (hand cream with 3 arctic berries)

My hands this month have been loving Polaar's Arctic Berry hand cream from Lapland...not the sort of place you would associate with keeping your hands soft and sweet smelling! This cream arrived in Feb's My Little Box, much to my delight as I was looking for a new cream for my hands, as I don't know about you, but my hands often crack in the cold winter weather. It's quite perfumed so I'm not sure if it will sting if your hands are quite sensitive (I'm yet to try when they are cracked). The cream is meant to create a protective 'glove' around your hands, and is also free of parabens, alcohol and mineral oils. I couldn't find the cream alone for sale in the UK but found a set available here for £36.90, including face cream and lip balm as well.

5. Baija Paris Moana Cream - Tiare Flower

 My skin has also been loving this month a particular body cream by Baija Paris. I also received this in My Little Box late last year I think but have only just started using it. Again, the smell conjures up a summers day; it almost reminds of the jasmine flower. It is in fact meant to smell like the tiare flower (google it!). You can find this at the Baija website for 13.90 euros. I was unable to find it in any UK website.

6. Two Faced Melted Lipstick 

Again, received from My Little Box (I don't rely on this for all my beauty stuff, I promise!)

The Two Faced Melted lipstick has been talked about everywhere and I think I'm a bit late on the bandwagon with this one, but I've only had it for a little while and love it! I love the fact that the colour is so pigmented and it's so easy to apply with the spongey applicator. And it just feels like you are wearing lipstick - it's a win win! I love love love this fuchsia colour - nice and bright for summer! Available at quite a few online stores. I found it on the Debenhams website for £19.00. 

7. Avon Perfectly Matte Lipsticks

I owe this one to my best friend Becky in Cornwall who recently started working for Avon (shock horror that it wasn't from a certain subscription box), who recommended to me these lipsticks that claim to be 'matter than Mac'. Now I can't really compare as I haven't used a Mac lipstick - insert here crying with laughter emoji - but it was definitely matte! It also lasted a really long time, so all in all a great buy! I bought the colours Perfectly Nude and Posh Petal. Available at Avon for £8. Be sure to buy it at my friend's Avon shop (Becky Hudson)here - she will love you forever. #friendpoints

Lifestyle

8. Method Daily Kitchen Non-Toxic Surface Cleaner - Clementine

I wasn't sure which category to put this under, so I chose lifestyle...cleaning products can be a lifestyle, right? Anywho, I made the decision last month to cut as many toxic cleaners from my life as possible. I turned to Method as I found it one of the brands that stocked the widest range of products, from hand wash to toilet cleaner. I also love the smells of their products (I mean, clementine!) and the packaging is so appealing and looks kinda cool. I'm not afraid to leave this out on my surface (rather that than the ugly looking chemical ridden products!). I'm not going to bore you with all the details now though, however they are not toxic, so that's what I like to hear! This kitchen cleaner is available at Sainsbury's for £3. I bought mine however at Big Green Smile as they stock a load of other products by them.

Books

9. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Now this book I can't recommend enough. You will all remember Amy Poehler from Mean Girls; you know she played the mum of Regina, right? Well she's done a lot more than that! Being British, I didn't realise the extent of her career before reading this book, written by Amy herself. Amy is funny, talented and really doesn't care what she says! Yes Please is sort of a memoir + she gives advice to her readers through reflecting on her own life. A great read if you're a Saturday Night Live Fan too, as she talks a lot about what goes on back stage there! Available at Amazon for £6.99.

10. All The Buildings In New York That I've Drawn So Far by James Gulliver Hancock

Probably one of my most fave things from February is discovering this book. I think I just saw it online somewhere, perhaps on Facebook, and I bought it immediately. Basically the author vowed to draw all the buildings in New York and this book is a compilation of those that he's done so far. He's Australian and moved to New York to live, so he decided to do this project in order to connect himself to the city. He amazingly talented and has a website here - you should check it out; it's where he updates on the more recent buildings he's drawn. 

Available on Amazon for £11.74. 

Hobbies

11. Hobbycraft

Everyone knows Hobbycraft is a treasure trove and a place that makes anyone convinced they are good at crafts. I fell for their charm whilst shopping online and bought some bits and bobs for Easter. I decided that this year I was going to at least attempt to make some Easters cards. I also for some reason thought it would be a good idea to buy a knitting kit. It's for children but I'm still not sure if I will be able to do it! I will report back. Scarfs for everyone at Christmas if I become pro. All available here. 

Coloured card: £1.50

Paper flowers: £3.00

Pom Poms: £1.00

Knitting kit: £12.00

12. Propagating 

I started germinating some little seedlings a few weeks ago. So far I've got two types of lettuce (mixed leaf and little gem), pepper and tomato. I'm new to growing veg so it's all trial and error but i'm loving coming down every morning to see how my little ones have grown! I decided to use a propagator as I've tried without before and sort of failed, so I think given the weather here, it's the way to go! I bought this ROOTIT propagator at my local garden centre. It's a particular one that has these little sponges that you plant the seed into with no need to cover with compost. I think it helps keep in the moisture. You can buy a kit on their website for £11.99. Happy growing! 

Let me know if you've tried any of these things and also what you have been loving in February! If you've done a post similar, feel free to link it to me in the comments! I love hearing about other people's faves!