I've already posted twice about our NYC trip, but I couldn't resist one last post, showing some of my favorite mini-moments from the trip. And thanks to Instagram, mini moments are just that much more fun to capture!
My first Starbucks inover a month! When I first started the freeze, coffee trips and eating out were one of the first things to go. But knowing we'd be traveling to NYC, I wrote a food exception into my freeze rules for the weekend. If I've gotta grab a meal at the airport, you better believe I'm gonna make sure to work a long lost treat into it!
My beloved gold, wonder woman cuff from Ann Taylor. I first saw this cuff when I walked in AT's fashion show, and I knew then, I'd be loving it all fall. It's definitely my favorite statement piece of jewelry at the moment!
Goodbye Windy City, hello Big Apple!
Walking through Central Park, the prettiest "shortcut" I've ever taken.
Matt embracing his inner New Yorker, weekend paper and all :)
The girls spent Friday afternoon perusing The Met. The building alone is beautiful!
My favorite piece at The Met. I literally could have stood there for an hour looking at this picture. A woman with a perspective, committed to being heard. Past, present, or future, I love it.
A larger than life sweet tooth at Dylan's Candy Bar.
My smart and sassy niece glammed up for the rehearsal dinner. Love her pink hair extension and think it looks much better on her than when she made her uncle Matt try it on :)
Cocktails at the oh so swanky, Mandarin Oriental. A special thank to Matt's aunt for treating us to such a fun night!
Times square. No matter how many times I go to New York, I can't help but feel a sense of excitement at all the hustle and bustle here.
Grabbing a drink at SD26 before the ceremony.
The view from Josh and Anthony's fabulous upper west side apartment. Floor to ceiling windows with a view like this? Yes please!
The lovebirds reading through cards and guestbook comments. Spending Sunday afternoon lounging and putzing around the neighborhood with these two was one of our favorite parts of the weekend.
Congrats again to Josh and Anthony on their new life together and thanks for hosting such a fabulous celebration!
Posing with my niece and mother-in-law before the ceremony. The ceremony was in Madison Square Park which was the perfect space to see Josh and Anthony exchange their vows. Small, intimate, yet totally fabulous.
Matt and I before the ceremony. PS: I would like to point out that I resisted the urge the buy a new dress for the wedding and wore something I already had hanging in my closet. Hooray for the September Spending Freeze :)
Before the guests arrived, the family was able to see the green space and do a quick walk through. I should note that I did not plan on wearing this blazer with this dress, but NYC decided to experience a big time temperature drop the weekend we were there. I didn't bring anything remotely appropriate to wear over my strapless dress, so a few hours before the ceremony, I snagged this blazer at Forever 21, hoping it would keep me warm without looking totally ridiculous. A special thanks to Matt's parents who insisted on buying the blazer for me as they didn't want me to fudge on my spending freeze :)
Instead of having their parents walk them down the aisle, Josh and Anthony walked down the aisle together, hand in hand. I won't lie, when they turned the corner of Madison Square Park and started walking towards their friends and family, I got pretty emotional. It was incredibly unique and special to witness. And how cute are their matching suits?
Though it was just friends and family standing in the immediate vicinity, onlookers gathered just outside the gated area. There were tons of iPhones and flips recording the event, and it was cool to see so many New Yorkers in support of a stranger's special day.
I snapped this picture when the officiant asked Josh and Anthony to turn and face their friends and family. She spoke about the love they have for one another and the support they have and will continue to receive from the people who love them. It was definitely one of my favorite moments from the ceremony. And ps: look at that crowd behind them!
"I now pronounce you husband and husband." Beyond cool. I should also note that when the officiant said the bit about "By the power vested in me by the state of New York..." people went crazy. Glad to see so many New Yorkers loving the state's recent decision. Now if the rest of the country would get on board...
After the ceremony, all the guests paraded a few blocks away to 
Posing with my sister-in-law Julie, part paparazzi, part glam squad for the evening :)
Between the fried chicken and cornbread bites, we could barely find time for photos. But we managed to sneak out a few :)
Hahaha, I love this picture so much because I remember it so clearly. My brilliant husband suggested tequila shots, and these two were split over the idea. Josh won out, but Anthony was able to sneakily divert the shot with the old "fake take it and set it on the table" trick. True love, it's a compromise :)
Cheers to the newlyweds!
Posing at the end of the night after a fabulous celebration. We couldn't be happier for Josh and Anthony, and frankly, I'm thrilled to have another Texan trying to survive the craziness that is the Davis family with me :)
Matt and I arrived early Friday morning after a smooth flight out of Chicago. (FYI: A 6:00 am departure time makes for a painfully early wake up call.) The rest of Matt's family arrived the day before, so as soon as we landed, we dropped of our luggage and headed for brunch at 
After brunch, the guys headed off to move a few things for the wedding the following day, so the girls headed off to explore Central Park and 
Leopard and Central Park...New York staples in my book :)
After an afternoon of exploring, we stopped by the famous NYC sweet spot, 
Chicago is my without a doubt my favorite city, but I can't deny that New York City has some fabulous views.
Friday night, Josh and Anthony hosted their closest friends and family for dinner and drinks at 
Snapping a quick pic with my sister-in-law Julie who is just as picture happy as me (hard to believe, I know).
Julie and I with our soon to be brother-in-law. PS: As much as I wanted new outfits for all of our NYC events, I resisted (love you 
After toasting to Josh and Anthony's love (and tearing up at Matt's mom's speech) a group of us headed for cocktails at 
Friday morning, after an insanely fabulous wedding, we were rested and pumped to head into the city. How many people does it take to buy a train ticket into NYC? 
Once into the city, we hit the pavement, and I started furiously snapping pictures. Matt thinks I have a serious picture taking problem and need an intervention, but I swear its just a few 
After some mandatory partaking in New York style pizza, we headed to Times Squares for some touristy pictures. The girls thought it would be fun to have a “jumping picture” in Times Square. Clearly that did not go so well, as after 5 shots, this was the most air any of us got. (And no one’s feet are actually off the ground.) In fact, I’m actually closer to the ground than normal. I like to think it was all in an effort to spring up into the air like a puma. Yeah, I said it, like a puma.
While heading down Sixth Avenue, we stumbled upon the LOVE sculpture, and I was super excited, because we hadn’t been able to see the one in Philly thanks to the horrible weather 
:)
One of my favorite things about big cities (though for some reason, not big cities in Texas) is the flower stands all over the place. Its always such a sweet surprise to see a cart of beautiful blooms in the middle of concrete, smog, and honking cabs.
That night for dinner, our group ate at a cute little Italian spot in Tribeca. The food was good, though I failed to get any pictures because the place was so intimate and quaint, I felt a little touristy snapping pics. (I do have some dignity left you know.) But on the way home that night, I was delighted to find some gelato in Penn Station. Nothing like a little chocolate hazelnut delight to make a train wait more bearable :)
Saturday morning, we said goodbye to our friends they all flew back home Saturday morning and afternoon. We’d decided to stay an extra night so we could see Matt’s brother who was driving in from New Hampshire later that day. So Matt and I set off for some city exploring of our own.
Our hotel was in the financial district, so after checking in early and dropping of our bags, we headed to see the New York Stock Exchange. I don’t really comprehend (or care to comprehend) all that goes on there, but it was cool to sit outside and marvel at the building and the people nearby. I’m a bit of a people watching fanatic (but in a non-creepy way.) Please tell me I’m not the only one!
And finally, after three long days of waiting, I got my giant New York pretzel. And ps: after looking through all these pictures, no freaking wonder I’ve put on a few extra pounds! Slightly disturbing that I posed with both gelato and a gigantic pretzel within a 12 hour period. Sheesh.
I had a Sex and the City tour scheduled for later in the day (more on that later) so we headed over towards Fifth Avenue where the tour started. Since we had some time to spare, we waltzed around the area, enjoying views of the Plaza Hotel (actually, now the Plaza Condominiums) and Central Park.
Enjoying a moment (and a much needed bench) in Central Park. For all those non-creeper people watchers like me, this is a fabulous place for you :)
So about the Sex and the City tour…last month, Kristina at 
The tour was a little over three hours long and took you by various spots where the show was filmed. We got out at a few of the stops and then in between stops and point-outs, clips from the show played, particularly of the places we were seeing. Very cool. Here we are outside of 
Here we are inside of Buddakan, at the bar, where Big gave Carrie her “last single girl kiss.”
During the tour, we passed the Diane von Furstenberg store, where I proceeded to shriek and tap on the window, explaining that’s where Whitney Port worked on the first season of The City, something to the effect of, “that’s it, right there, look!” I snapped a quick pic only to be met with a few dirty looks from other bus riders. Apparently they were strict enforcers of the SATC material only rule. 
The third big stop the tour was 
Here we are grabbing a drink at Scout, Aidan and Scott’s bar. (In real life, it’s a bar called O’Nieals.) The tour asked the group a trivia question and yours truly was the only one who knew the answer. Amateurs, those other tourists. If you’re a SATC fan, give it a go. “What gift did Carrie bring Aidan to celebrate the opening of his bar?” For extra credit… “What was the meaning behind the gift?”
That night, we met Josh (Matt’s brother) and Anthony for a fabulous dinner at 
Me and my man :)
Anthony and Josh. Anthony is a producer for one of the morning shows in NYC, so he gets the VIP treatment wherever he goes, and we’re just lucky to tag along :)
Josh and Matt. I’ve told you about how much I adore my brother in law before. Remember 
Such a memorable spot! 
A group shot as we left Tao. Thank you SO MUCH, Josh and Anthony, for a fabulous night!
In the cab. I am a creeper and thoroughly enjoy snapping cab pics, what can I say?
We had plans for a small little concert later in the night, but since we had some time before we had to be there, we headed to the Wine Bar at 
After a glass of yummy, we headed to 
Walking into Hill Country was like walking into a fabulous barbeque joint in Texas. The owner has family roots in Texas and has created a place that is so true to the roots I love, it made me cry. Literally. Not boo hoo cry, but definitely tears welling up because I was so overcome with warmth and memories of home. I know it sounds super weird, but everything about this place and the concert had my heart full of Texas love, thinking about family, friends (especially my college roommate Kristin who is a die hard Texas country fan), and the soul that lives in Texas. It was so unexpected and so fabulous. They had a framed Texas flag when we walked in, which had me first sight. For those Texans reading, this place ships in Texas post oak to smoke their meats over, 
Josh, Matt and I enjoying some fun. Oh yeah, did I mention their margarita had a jalapeño in it?! Sounds crazy, but it was the best margarita I’ve ever had. Yum, yum, yum.
Favorite picture of the night! You know those pictures, that when you look at them, you can remember everything about the moment inside? The way you felt, the surroundings, the sounds…this is one of those pictures. I love love love it, and am so grateful to Josh and Anthony for showing up such a fabulous time in NYC.