So, it may be over a week since we got back from our trip to NYC, but we are FINALLY giving a little (or maybe not so little depending how long I ramble) recap of our trip! To sum up in a few words, our trip was a BLAST! We are super close with our mom, and she doesn’t live in the same city as us so it’s always fun to get to spend time with her, especially when it’s somewhere super fun like NYC!
Warning: these pictures may be kind of out of order since I am way too lazy to rearrange them! Forgive me! 🙂
We left early Tuesday morning so that we could get to NYC by the afternoon, and not waste the entire day traveling! That’s the worst, isn’t it!? When we lived in El Paso, it would legit take us the whole day to travel to the east coast to visit our dad’s family (or it sure felt like it)! To this day, you still have to stop somewhere no matter what airline you travel–so annoying! Luckily, now that we live in Dallas, we can fly non stop, even on Southwest!
Anyways, we got up super early (it was still pitch black outside, UGH!) and Alexis and I did a little tabata workout downstairs. We were going to go to the gym and do a little cardio or something since we were very limited on time, but decided to just do something at home since there was no way we could make it back, eat (because we all know that’s all I’m thinking about, haha!), and shower (priorities in that order ;)). I contemplated just skipping a workout all together, but I feel so much better once I do something to get my body moving before I start my day–even if it’s for like 5 minutes!
My mom was too funny–she was still sleeping when we got up to do our short little workout. Once she got up, she said she heard music playing downstairs and thought we were just making breakfast or something and then looked down, and saw one of us “doing some weird movement on the stairs” {step ups, mom!}
Once we did our workout, we got ready quickly, inhaled our black coffee, omelets (which we prepped the night before), and Double Dose Bakery waffles, and headed to the airport!
We always have an argument on what time to leave for the airport because Alexis and I like to get there with enough time to get through security, etc. but we hate sitting there forever. Our mom, though, is by no means a nervous traveler, but does get more stressed about that than we do. Luckily, she trusted our time, and it all worked out! 
SHOP THE POST:
Okay, scratch the part where I said it all worked out. I saw this picture and changed my mind a little, haha! When we checked in for our flight, we got B something, which meant that we all had to sit separately. At least we all got an aisle seat!
Once we were en route, I had big plans to eat (duh!) and then work on some stuff since there was wifi. Well, that all kind of went out the window when we took off. I decided to ‘close’ my eyes just for a little, and we all know how that ended up! I slept for a good hour and then it was conveniently time to eat because I was hungry (what’s new). OOPS! So, while no work got done that morning, I did eat an amazing pumpkin pie and some veggies and chicken that we prepped. 
Alexis and I had to take pictures on the plane because people must have literally thought that we brought half of a pumpkin pie on the plane! Well, it kind of was, but it was a recipe Alexis had made before we left, and we still had some leftover, so we took it with us (Alexis hates wasting food when we leave town). I wasn’t opposed because it was AMAZING and guilt free! Yes, we will be sharing it soon!
Once we landed in NYC, got the cab (which is always an experience!), checked into the hotel, it was time to eat again! (My favorite time of day, if you couldn’t tell). We hopped into a small place where you could create your own salad. We all picked out our own salad topped with chicken. 
After that, we started just walking around. We passed through Bryant Park.
Then, we headed into Zara. I love that store! Is this dress not the cutest!? 
By this point it was getting dark already, but it was so beautiful to walk around at night! How gorgeous are those lights! 
I had to go back to the hotel to change my shoes since I was still thinking I was in Texas wearing sandals!
We walked to this greek restaurant for dinner. Alexis got salmon with green beans (of course, they had some fancy name for it, but I’m calling it what it truly was).
I got the branzino, which was pretty good, too!
To start, we got some salads, and the grilled octopus. This is kind of the reason we went here because we love octopus! I wont lie, Alexis and I were kind of disappointed at how small the serving size was! (It looks bigger in the picture than it actually was) It was good, though!
SHOP THE POST:
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and worked a little. Before that, though, we had to crack each other’s backs, haha! It always looks so wrong, but it feel so good!
The next morning, we got up and hit the gym while our mom was still sleeping. It was a small gym, but it had a cable machine, some other machines, and some cardio–so just what we needed! It’s funny because I remember working out in this exact gym my Senior year of college when we were on vacation here last. I had no clue what I was doing and kept looking at the diagram behind me trying to figure out what exercises to do! It was kind of cool to think about how much has changed and how much more knowledge I have with regards to working out! 
After our workout, we met our mom and grabbed a quick breakfast, and then headed back to the hotel to get ready. By that time, my stomach was legit ready for lunch, so we headed to Dig Inn. So, if I am being completely honest, I absolutely loved the idea of this place! ‘Fast food’ that has tons of healthy options, yes please! What I didn’t like was how small the portions were, and I also was felt super rushed when ordering, and therefore, ended up picking a side I didn’t really like. It wasn’t really labeled with that each prepared side’s ingredients were, so I was having to ask the people working, and I could feel the other people in line rolling their eyes at me, yikes! (FYI the side I got that I didn’t like is not pictured–this is Alex’s plate)
Like I said the portions were small (at least to piglet, me), so off we went to go get a salad. Yes, you read that right–we went for round 2 of lunch, and I wasn’t mad about it. We ended up going to Chopt since it was down the street. It was another one of those places where you create your own salad.
Then, we decided to do some walking around/shopping before we headed to Rockefeller Center for Jimmy Fallon. On our way, we spotted these ads for Bai, which was cool to see since we love those drinks and we know some of the ladies that work for them! 
Our first stop was J. Crew. Um, how cute are these shoes!? I was obsessed with them! They’re like a necklace for your feet!
SHOP THE POST:
and, we all know a shopping trip with us is never complete without a silly dressing room selfie. We ended up getting both of these tops on major sale! YAY!
Since we knew we’d be doing a ton of walking, we were sure to wear cute but comfy outfits. This day we opted for some camo + stripes.
SHOP THE POST:
Finally, we headed over to Rockefeller Center. Online, it said to be there at a certain time to get in line. We already had our tickets [which, some of y’all have asked–we basically looked up when they get listed for that range of dates, and on that day and time, we were on our laptops frantically trying to get tickets for certain days. Alexis and I both selected days for both the rehearsal and the actual show in hopes we would get at least one. Then, a few weeks later, they confirmed we got tickets to a certain day, and I didn’t get any! I was only on a waitlist for a certain day. Luckily, we got some through Alexis! Guess it’s luck of the draw!]. Once we got there, they told us we were too early (there was a group of people trying to go in,too).
Since we had time to kill, we took some photos, and then grabbed something to eat [again]. 
I was really excited to try this, and let’s just say I wasn’t so excited after I took a sip. I love black coffee but this was just gross to me. I hate throwing away perfectly good food or drinks but it just wasn’t my thing! It tasted like alcohol to me, which I’m not a fan of taste-wise.
We found a place within the center that had a salad bar as well as some roasted chicken and steamed veggies. Since we already got a salad earlier, this was more of what I was in the mood for. 
SHOP THE POST:
Finally, it was time to head upstairs to the taping! They are very organized there, and you have to be sure to stand in line with your tickets to get a wristband within that window of time. Then, you wait about an hour or more until it’s time to head into the actual studio. We have no pictures of the taping since they are super adamant about no photos or videos being taken in that area!
We had SO much fun at the taping! We loved Jimmy before, but we love him even more now! He is so humble and sweet. On that show, he had Vin Diesel and Selena Gomez on. Both of them were super cool, and Selena sang at the end. I may or may not be obsessed with her new song ‘Same Old Love’ and have had it stuck in my head ever since. Almost everything we saw live, we saw on the TV. He was super cool while they set up things and talked to the audience.
That day, he launched Hands High, which I think is super cool! They’re sweatshirts and tees that have the professional team logos on the front like always, but then they also have the logo in the armpits! That way, when you put your arms up and cheer, you can still see it! Pretty cool! Each of us got a sweatshirt with an NFL/NHL team on it [Alex got Patriots, yay], and we did the wave during the episode. We also got a tee with the same idea as well!
We recorded the episode and we could see us when we did the wave, and at the end when he comes through the aisles to tap the audience’s hands!
Then, we headed to dinner at Westville! OMG, guys, I am obsessed! SO good!
I got the chicken with garlic broccoli and truffle mushrooms. Alexis got salmon with root vegetables and zucchini and tomatoes. My mom got some kind of stir fry, which was good, too! We also got a side of roasted artichokes to share. So delicious! 
After dinner, we walked a little over to Van Leeuwen for some ice cream! 
I loved this place because they had vegan options! I am not vegan, but I usually stick to dairy free since most dairy upsets my stomach. I’ll take a dairy pill (if I remember to bring them) if I want to eat something that has dairy. 
Their vegan flavors are made from cashew milk, coconut milk, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. We got mint chip and PB chocolate chip. We also tried their other flavors, and they were all amazing!
They also had these chocolates that were made with goat milk or no dairy at all, and the packaging was SO cute!
The next day we had breakfast with our mom, got ready, and then went to grab some lunch before her meeting. 
Alexis wore a comfy flannel with ripped jeans and these comfy slip ons.
SHOP THE POST:
We walked through Times Square en route to Bare Burger. ( I am not sure what I am doing with my jacket, haha–I am holding it like it’s a dirty towel)
I got the bison wrapped in the collard greens with avocado, picked onions, lettuce, and tomato. I also got a salad on the side and these spicy pickles!
Then, while we met up with Kayla, who we ‘met’ through Instagram. She is super sweet! So glad we got to meet with her while were visiting.
After we parted ways, we walked over to Chelsea Market, which was so fun because it was decorated for Halloween!
They had all this delicious food, but this particular place only took cash, which we didn’t have! So sad!
They also had these cute cards with the best sayings and quotes on them! We got some black and white ones to frame above our desks in our office. 
How cute are these little cushions!?
And these bags, yes please!
We also got a some of these little bags that were so cute! I love the sayings on them! They were too funny! We got one for each of us!
Our mom was still in her meeting, so we headed to our favorite place, Westville! 
We both got salmon with the zucchini and tomatoes. I got it with the cauliflower and Alexis got it with the roasted artichoke hearts. Delicious!
Alexis had posted a quick picture of our meal at Westville, and Rachel happened to see it and lived close by, so we were so excited that we got to meet her and have coffee with her! Such a sweet girl and it was fun to put a name to her face:)
Now, about this plate…Alexis made reservations at this place for dinner. We happen to pass it and the inside was super small and dark to where I didn’t really want to eat there. She told me I was being dramatic and kept the reservation. Well, when it was time to go eat, we order and the waiter was nice, but it was just obvious the restaurant was going down hill. They were short-staffed and he just seemed like he didn’t like the restaurant (if that makes sense). The food comes out, and Alexis and I just start chuckling. Why? Well, because we both knew that tiny piece of chicken wasn’t going to fill me up for longer than two seconds. (I’m looking at the picture now, and it definitely looks way bigger than it was in actuality. Of course, I rubbed it in the entire meal. That’s what sisters are for anyway!
One positive: it had an outlet to charge my phone conveniently located right next to the table, AND it was close to this amazing gelato place! [Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that bad after all.]
Another day, another gelato! This time we went to this place that had sorbet called Gelato Guisto. Yes, I’m aware that all gelato places have sorbet, but I don’t like getting the fruit ones. I am a complete chocaholic, and I am not afraid to admit it, so the fruit ones don’t exactly sound as good. This place had pistachio and chocolate in sorbet, so it had no dairy. Yes, please! I will say it wasn’t as creamy as normal gelato, but it was worth it considering I didn’t have to deal with a tummy ache!
The next morning, we hit up the same breakfast spot we did the previous mornings. We would usually get black coffee, half of a grapefruit or strawberries, and an egg white omelette with veggies. I should say ‘omelette’ because it was more of a cross between eggs and a hash brown! Was it the best breakfast I have ever had? Not at all. [we all know it’s Double Dose Bakery waffles 😉 ] It was convenient because it was right next to our hotel, so we could walk over and get breakfast in the mornings before we got ready. It was insane how packed this place would get any time of the day! It wasn’t a famous deli or anything, just a little diner. 
After breakfast, we took an uber to Equinox to take a yoga class by the beautiful and super talented Kristin McGee! We first learned about her in college when we did her yoga dvd with Bethenny Frankel. That was how we started doing yoga in the first place! She is super successful and I love seeing her workouts when I’m reading Health magazine!
Her class was amazing! I like a good vanyasa flow where the instructor is super sweet and open! That is exactly how hers was! She gave us little adjustments through the class which we loved, too! Both of us told each other if we had Kristin as our instructor back in Dallas, we’d be going daily!
After the class, we took some fun pictures! We had a little too much fun! 
Look at how talented and gorgeous she is!
After the yoga class, we felt amazing! Everything was so stretched out! However, we were both so hungry! We walked towards Columbus Circle trying to find somewhere to eat and realized there was a Whole Foods there. 
So cool that they have paleo options!
I wanted to eat everything in that case! 
We both got some turkey breast and some veggies from the case and then some stuff from the salad bar. As always, it turned out to be a 20-dollar salad, oops!
I opted for some comfy colored denim with a denim top, and some leopard flats. I paired it with my favorite leather jacket that I got in Italy. I always laugh when I wear it because I actually got it custom ‘tailored’ by this factory there. My mom and Alexis sat there laughing at me as this Italian guy poked and prodded at me. I am not complaining now because it fits like a glove!
SHOP THE POST:
Alexis paired this utility vest some ripped jeans and our favorite New Balance sneaks for a comfy outfit.
I made fun of her as she snapped millions of pictures of herself to get the “right” outfit shot, even inside of a Stuart Weitzman store. So embarrassing.
SHOP THE POST:
We wanted something quick to eat so we went to this place that was similar to WF. They had a bunch of salads and hot foods in a cafeteria-style setup and then you paid be weight. It was called Red Olive. I loved it because we wanted something casual and quick. We got kind of tired going to sit-down restaurants for every meal, so this did the job for us.
I got a salad, some grilled asparagus, roasted chicken, salmon, roasted eggplant, cauliflower, and whatever other veggies I could find. Not going to lie, I didn’t like how they had no labels of ingredients. I had no idea if some stuff had gluten or dairy in it.
We went into Bloomingdales afterwards, but didn’t really find anything that interested us. I used to buy SO much stuff when we used to come here, but since we have all of these places in Dallas, I don’t feel the need to go nuts in the stores in NYC, haha.
Alexis got hungry mid-walk before dinner, so I snapped her casually eating her leftover chicken like it was normal.
We were early for our dinner reservation, so we found a cute tea shop in Columbus Circle called Argo Tea that has every tea combination you can think of!
SHOP THE POST:
Look how cute this wall of teas they sell is! Love the colors.
We got a hibiscus apple flavor that was SO good. We even bought some to take home with us because it was that good. It tasted sweetened, but it wasn’t, which we love!
For dinner, we went to this Turkish restaurant called ABA. It was super casual, and nothing fancy at all, but it was just what we wanted. You all know how much we LOVE mediterranean food, so this Turkish place was right up our alley. We were having craving mediterranean food so badly!
We got a Persian salad which was cucumber, tomatoes, and onion with olive oil and red wine vinegar. SO GOOD!
For our meal, we all got fish. I got trout, and it came with pickled cabbage (love!) and a small salad. It was so good and fresh.
After dinner, of course, we had to have dessert. We had some gelato from a place called Grom. We actually went to this same gelato place in Italy a couple years back and love it because they tell you which flavors are gluten free. They aren’t dairy free (except for the sorbet), so we got pistachio and hazelnut.
We were actually SO cold, but got ourselves to walk back to the hotel, which was about a 25-30 minute walk from where we were. We passed by Times Square on our way back!
The next day, which was Saturday, we got up early and had breakfast, and then headed out to the Financial District to see the 9/11 museum and that area. It was FREEZING this day!
Alexis paired some faux leather leggings with a printed blouse and a leather jacket. It was definitely not warm enough, though!
We were up late the night before figuring out where we would eat (life problems), and I found this awesome place called Fields Good Chicken. They had hormone-free roasted chicken (SO good) and then they had brussels sprouts as a side option. You could also pick a sauce, so I chose Sriracha. Everything was so good! I would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for something like this!
How cute is the place?!
After lunch, we grabbed a coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts across the street to stay warm. A nice guy walking by asked if we wanted a picture of the three of us, and it turned out so cute!
We finally made it to the 9/11 museum site. We had purchased tickets ahead of time, but still had to wait in the cold and wind for a little bit outside.
I paired this neon orange tee with some distressed back jeans, an aztec scarf, and a studded leather jacket.
[
We got a lot of pictures inside the museum (which we definitely recommend going to!), but we loved this artwork behind us. Such a special place.
After the museum, of course we were hungry, so we walked across the street to Brookfield Place. They had a really cool area called Hudson Eats, which was basically a food court of all different restaurants. They had everything from bbq to sushi to bagels. So cool!
There was also this Italian market which had incredible looking desserts and cookies! 
We decided to get a half roasted chicken from this bbq place called Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque with some pickled sides. It was so good. Can you tell we like roasted chicken?!
Our mom got the brisket, which was also super good!
They also had Sprinkles cupcakes. We didn’t get any, but they looked awesome!
This was the view from outside Brookfield Place. So beautiful, so we had to stop and have a photoshoot outside even if we were freezing! 
We popped into the J.Crew that was in there and got a few things on sale, including this jeweled blouse. Super cute with a cardigan on top!
We tried on these joggers from the kids’ section, but didn’t end up buying them. 
Trying on cute hats with our mom in the mirror.
Our mom’s feet were so cold that she heated them up in the hand dryer in the bathroom. So sanitary, right? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Don’t laugh, but we went back to the same Turkish restaurant again. This time, I got salmon and it was also really good!
We went back to Argo Tea and got some more because we were freezing!
The next day, Sunday, we left in the afternoon, so beforehand, we went to Banana Republic at 30 Rock.
Alexis paired our utility vest with a striped sweater and some dark jeans.
Alexis had put on these fringe booties before we headed out, but then changed into flats because her feet were hurting too much after walking so much during the trip! 
I caught Alexis “setting up” a photo of this camo shirt for insta 😉 What it really looks like behind the scenes!
We walked over to Central Park and got some quick pictures because we were absolutely freezing and NOT dressed appropriately for the weather!
We finally made it to the airport (after making a trip to WF to get some food for the plane). We have to always have food with us because we are hungry 24/7 and have food on our mind literally all of the time. Literally, every single day revolves around food.
Anyways, we were checking our bags curbside at the airport, and when it was time to give them our ID’s, I pulled mine out and then Alexis asked for hers. (Yes, I was carrying hers like her mom- don’t even get me started!). We have our ID’s in this zipper pouch thing on our keys so that if we aren’t taking a wallet with us, we have our drivers license’s with us at all times. I had been carrying it in my purse for a few days, but when I looked into my purse for it, I couldn’t find it. Of course, Alexis panicked and started freaking out that she wouldn’t be able to fly. Meanwhile, my mom was conniving us that it couldn’t have “just walked away” (one of her famous lines) and that it was here somewhere. We started opening up every suitcase we had (all four of them between the three of us) and looked thorough all of our purses at least several times. Sadly, we didn’t find it, but the guy who checked our bags was very helpful and said to use her old student ID (which didn’t have a date on it, luckily) with a credit card, and that we are both on the same flight reservation.
Alexis kept packing and said that it wasn’t going to work and that she would be stuck there, but luckily, they let her through! We were so relieved. We tried calling some of the places we had been at to see if anyone turned it in, but nobody had found it. It was a designer brand zipper pouch, so the chances of someone turning it in are not likely, although, our mom keeps saying someone well send it to us. She is so positive, unlike us!
Watching the football game on the plane on the way home with my mom! PS- if you’ve never flown Southwest to NYC, it is great! We flew direct from Dallas and they had wifi and tv on both flights. So awesome!
Whew! That was long. Hope you all enjoyed reading about our trip! Hope you try some of the suggestions we gave:)
