#KandDrockNYC - day 1

Well I finally have day 1 ready for you! Every single day was such a whirlwind of activity and has so many pictures to accompany it cause we kept ourselves really, really busy. I keep saying that exploring NYC was perfect to do with my sister cause it was so on the go. Traveling with Phil is amazing (really babe, it is the best thing ever) but when I'm with my guy or on a family trip you just have to be super laid back and go with the flow. They don't love waking early on holidays or walking till your feet and back are aching. So a girl's trip was the way to go for this one! 

I hope I don't butcher any of the names here. But we arrived at about 12:30pm on a Wednesday and took Uber from LaGuardia to midtown Manhattan where we stayed at the Hampton Inn. Uber was incredibly convenient, a mere tap of a button on your phone and all paid via the credit card info entered on your phone so no exchange of $ had to happen at all. You can tell exactly where your car is on a map and when he'll arrive at your location. You get his license number and his pic and name. All very helpful. We had no luck hailing a taxi, like ever, while we were there. At least, my friend Amy never had any luck. We'd stand at the curb and watch with wild eyes while she tried. Ha! So I'm thankful for the easier Uber option for those of us who have no idea how to get a cab in NY. 

We really loved staying at the Hampton and in that particular area. It was considered the fashion district as we wanted to be near to Lincoln Center Plaza where many of the shows we happening. It also ended up being a couple of blocks from Chelsea, which turned out to be our favorite neighborhood in the city. We went there daily for food, shopping and exploring. More on that later ... 

{Empire State Building on right}

After arriving at the hotel we changed into dresses. You see, we had an appointment to go to a designer's show room and see her collection. Our lovely friend Amy joined us on this getaway and had managed to set up some pretty incredible opportunities for us. So we were all about following her lead. It seems that you just have to have the right connections (no big deal right?) and when you do, anything is possible. Exciting, but for a small town girl, pretty intimidating. We did not know which designer we were visiting, only an address on 5th Avenue and an appointment time. And not to be late! 

Daena and I walked to 5th Ave, 2 blocks up the road, and when we hit it we discovered we were right by the Flatiron Building (seen below). And along this square they had set up a little food market that felt like food trucks but without the trucks. :) Each one was a different restaurant and delicious menu and we settled on me: a cheese steak sandwich and maple lime drink and her: nachos and a lychee juice. Sooooo good. We ate while we walked and good thing, cause it took us an hour to walk down 5th Ave all the way to The Crown Building. Of course we made lots of stops to take pictures and enjoy the shops. Here's a look at that walk ...

And we were there! We were ushered up to Helen Yarmak's showroom, in the penthouse suite of The Crown Building with a rooftop view of the city. It was pretty spectacular. We were introduced to the designer and were invited to try on her furs. It was absolutely overwhelming and nerve wrecking to be in that sort of environment with fancier people than I could ever imagine feel comfortable around. But wow, was it cool! Here's a look at us, pretending to be amazing and important. 

The view! And that's Central Park. Gorgeous right? 

There was a concierge who was there to escort us and set up some fun opportunities. We were mortified when she was told to please let us know that we needed to dress up and 'look fashionable" for the fashion show that were were invited to attend the next day. In other words, don't dress like this! She said there would be paparazzi and if we landed on the pages of Harper's Bazaar, we wanted to look fashionable. Not even kidding, you guys. What a funny moment. And the subsequent scrambling for worthy outfits was beyond stressful. 

After that life changing experience we decided to head to the Meatpacking district and blow off some steam. Once there, our friend Sam lead us to the Gansevoort Hotel rooftop for drinks and another incredible view of the city and the Hudson River. 

Here are the pics. 

Afterwards we walked through a bit of Soho and again into Chelsea, where we visited the Chelsea Market. Love, love, loved it there. Chelsea Market has loads of delicious food and dessert and cute shops. I found the most stunning vintage Moroccan wedding blanket there. They also have a great spot called Artists and Fleas that we kept going back too, with the cutest shops (little vendor booths - both vintage and handmade) we kept coming back to. Both of us did a bit of face timing with the kids during this part. ;)

And finally, after exploring and shopping for a while, we made our way over to Scarpetta where we had made a dinner reservation. It was outstanding food and I highly recommend. All we managed were these bathroom pics. Haha!

And we're still not done you guys! Longest day ever right? And keep in mind, we only landed at 12:30pm. Our hook up there asked if we wanted to go to a night club called Marquee. Now I've never been to a club before but I had to give it a go. Right? We were "on the list" so had to just walk right up and give a name and we'd skip the line and be ushered in. Just like the movies! And it happened and it was crazy and weird and exciting. We drove by Time Square at some point that evening and I snapped this pic from the car. And below are just a couple of shots of us at Marquee. I don't have tons to say about this experience other than the fact that I felt even more out of place than I did at the designer's showroom. We started in the back on the couches and then moved forward to the DJ to dance. (insert toothy freaked out emoji here).

And there you have it! Day 1 done!