NYC Birthday Weekend

This weekend my friend Amy and I flew to New York City to surprise our dear friend Emily for her birthday. The weekend was absolutely fabulous and we ate our way through New York. I am smitten with the West Village neighborhood.

The first pit stop was my friend Rebecca's for the night on Friday. Rebecca and her husband Matt just got a puppy named Molly. She is the sweetest little thing and I would have brought her home in my suitcase if I could have.

Saturday morning Amy and I met up with Emily's boyfriend to surprise her. We sat out on her front stoop waiting for her. The look on her face was utter shock and she may have shed a tear when she came down the stairs and saw us sitting there. The symbol of a true successful surprise! We then walked down the street (birthday hats on) to a restaurant called The Little Owl. As we later learned, this restaurant is on the first floor of the building that is always shown in Friends. If that wasn't enough to make me like this place, they also had some pretty delicious breakfast tacos.

After brunch we walked around Emily's neighborhood and she showed us her favorite ice cream spot, Victory Gardens. This is no normal ice cream place as they have goats milk ice cream. New favorite and I wish we had this place in Chicago.

Saturday night Amy and I treated Emily to a birthday dinner at The Smile. The ambiance at this basement level restaurant was dark and cozy and the food delicious. Emily and Amy ordered a squash, ricotta cheese, beans and fried egg dish that was to die for. I am going to try to make this at home, although I doubt it will be nearly as good.

Sunday was Emily's actual birthday so while she was at Soul Cycle I went and grabbed some flowers and cupcakes. Then we went to brunch at another neighborhood spot L'Artusi. This place had the most decadent brunch menu. I normally don't order biscuits and gravy (usually I leave that for my guy) but I couldn't resist these. They had parmesan biscuits, sausage gravy and a poached egg. Yum! After brunch, Emily's boyfriend surprised us with massages at The Trump Soho. Talk about a sweet gesture. I could definitely spend another afternoon there!

After a relaxing day of brunch and the spa, we went to one of Emily's favorite restaurants abc kitchen, which is near Union Square. This restaurant has local and organic food and is an absolute must go if you are in New York City. The ambiance is very modern and sexy with lots of candles and glossy photography artwork.

Sadly Emily needed to go to Los Angeles for work Sunday night, so I was on my own in New York City for Monday morning. This isn't such a terrible thing when you have Emily's adorable West Village neighborhood to explore. I walked up and down the streets and settled into Amy's Bakery where I ordered a pecan roll (one of my favorite breakfast treats). Then I had another quick visit with Rebecca, and off to the airport. Such a lovely weekend with fabulous friends that I didn't want to end. Going to work this morning is going to be a real tough task.