I have a bucket list. The number one thing on my bucket list is…
Central Park.
Ever since I can remember I’ve had a long distance relationship with New York City. As a little girl I idolized Jackie Onassis Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn. I dreamed of shopping on Madison Avenue and living on The Upper East Side. I pictured my life in a very modern penthouse overlooking the city that never sleeps. I envisioned my Wall Street husband stepping out of the elevator directly into our expensive condo. I imagined working while walking on my treadmill in front of floor to ceiling windows and a huge TV with the news on. I pictured an expensive bottle of red wine sitting on marble countertops next to cardboard Chinese take out containers. Of course my husband would put his briefcase down on the island and pour me a glass of wine as I got off the treadmill and sopped up my glow with a fluffy white towel that I had slung around my neck.
Now, so many years later I laugh at that dream and can’t imagine my life any other way than it is right now! However, the thought of wearing my 4 1/2 inch Louboutins down Broadway even for one evening has always remained a bucket list dream of mine!
This past week my Ninja fulfilled every single idealistic fantasy I ever had about New York City 😍. It was magical! It was a whirlwind week that lived up to every expectation I had! Manhattan certainly did not disappoint! Every movie, TV show, song I had heard was right! It is the most fascinating city I have ever been to and you would need weeks to see everything it has to offer! We had 4 days 😳. Ninja planned everything down to the minute and we never stopped moving! Up at 6:30 AM every day and home around midnight. We took in absolutely everything that time would allow!
We even met up with 3 different podcasting friends! I was in for a major surprise when our RASBesty and his family met us for lunch in Battery Park! I was completely shocked because they are from the West Coast and just happened to be in New York on their family vacation the same day as us! What an amazing surprise! We were also able to have a brief run in with our BroadwayBesty who graciously spent his work break on the subway to meet up with us just for a hug and a picture 😳. I am so grateful he sacrificed his time to come meet us! We also got to meet up with Ninja’s PodWifeBesty! After 2 years of texting, guest podcasting, and being in a step challenge together, it was incredible to finally meet her face-to-face!
We lit it up VIP style! However, we made it affordable by using simple tricks! Ninja bought us a city pass which got us discounts on our helicopter tour, and on our pedicab tours. We had admission to every tourist spot in New York and passes on hop on hop off bus tour! We bought a 5 day subway pass and the subway was so easy to navigate and will take you absolutely anywhere you want to go! Food and drinks are expensive and of course we wanted to try out fancy restaurants with chefs we knew by name so we had delicious breakfasts in the most fabulous restaurants! Breakfast is always the cheapest meal of the day and a perfect opportunity to eat in restaurants you otherwise couldn’t afford! Our breakfasts tided us over all day so no need for lunch and we only went out for a “fancy” steak dinner once. We called a car service to take us to and from the airport, it was cheaper than a cab, a way nicer ride, and convenient as the car pulled right up to us with our names on the window without any stress!
I say we but I really mean Ninja. Ninja planned this all! I had no idea what I was in for! The whole trip was tailored to my likes and wants. We did so many things that I had only dreamed about doing and over the years he must have been listening 😂 I am so incredibly grateful for the experience of a lifetime that Ninja organized in such precise detail… Just for me! It was honestly one of the best weeks of my entire life and absolutely everything I have always dreamed of and more ❤️
Thank you Ninja for making me feel so special, I am eternally grateful and I couldn’t possibly love you anymore than I do right now 😍. Thank you to my mother and father-in-law for taking such good care of our Girls while we were living it up! The best part about this getaway was knowing that I did not have to worry about the Girls at all. They were safe, happy, and keeping their schedules because my in-laws rock! 💕 Thanks to my Dad for holding down the fort while we were gone. For Ninja to take 5 days off of work is a lot but he handled it so that we didn’t have to worry about work while we were gone. We were able to just enjoy every second of our time together. 💛 Thanks to our friends for taking time out of their busy schedules and family vacations to come hang out with us! It truly made us feel special and it was wonderful seeing so many friends so far away from home 🥂. Lastly, thank you to New York City! The hostess with the mostest! We had wonderful service, phenomenal entertainment, and delicious food everywhere we went! I always felt safe, wanted, and happy! Although I have checked it off my bucket list I find I am already dreaming about going back! New York City you have my heart, thank you for the memories 😘.
Last week we put out a new episode of How Was Week Your Week, Honey? Ep 119: Keeping it Light We chatted about, social media, YouTube, porn, Mother’s Day, roles, dancing, trip planning, famous people & feeling old. Check it out HERE
You can hear a recap about of our trip to NYC on episode 120: Amazing: A New York Story Part 1! Check it out HERE
The thing about coming home after a trip is… you crave comfort food. After eating out at restaurants for the past week, I just wanted an honest to goodness Sunday night dinner. So we made Pork Tenderloin, mashed potatoes and asparagus! It was mouthwatering deliciousness! Dad even said he would pay big money for this meal at any restaurant! It was VERY little prep and took less than 30 minutes to make! That’s my kinda Sunday night dinner!
Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin
1 pound Pork Tenderloin
Rub:
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon thyme, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced
2 tablespoon butter
Sauce:
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 400. Using a fork, puncture the pork in several places.
Add all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl and spread firmly on all sides of the pork.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add butter.
Place pork in skillet and sear just until brown, flipping to sear all sides, about 2 minutes.
Place skillet in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
In a small sauce pan add all ingredients for honey garlic sauce, except the cornstarch and water. Whisk to combine and bring to a slight boil.
Combine the cornstarch and water to create a slurry and add to sauce. Whisk until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove pork from the oven and baste with honey garlic sauce.
Place your oven to broil and broil pork for 2 minutes to allow sauce to caramelize. Let rest 5 minutes,
slice and serve with extra sauce drilled over top.
- 5 Golds: Lyrical Duet, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, Acro Jazz, Contemporary
- High Gold in Jazz
- 3rd in Contemporary
- 1st in Jazz and Hip Hop
- Early flight from Kelowna to Calgary.
- Caught our connection to JFK!
- Took the craziest ride from the airport to our amazing hotel in the heart of Times Square, The Crowne Plaza.
- Toured Times Square.
- Ate a Brooklyn Dog!
- Saw the theatre where The Late Show with Steven Colbert shoots!
- Went to Rockefeller Plaza, saw Radio City Music Hall, St Patrick’s Cathedral and and then to the Top of the Rock!
- Finished the night in our hotel restaurant with a little snack, some basketball and a night cap.
Day 2!
- Took the Subway to the High Line!
- Toured the Hudson Yards.
- Walked the High Line in the Meat Packing District. Snapping pictures of all the amazing art, political statements and buildings all around us!
- Had a delicious breakfast at The Cookshop in Chelsea.
- Walked/took the subway to Battery Park. Surprised with a Liberty Helicopter Tour of the Statue of Liberty and the a view of Manhattan as we flew up the Hudson River!
- Walked through the Financial District. We saw The Bull, Bowling Green Park, Trinity Church, the Stock Exchange, Wall St, and Federal Hall.
- Toured Battery Park taking in the sights like the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial, Castle Clinton, The Immigrants Statue, and the SeaGlass Carousel.
- Stopped for a drink in the park and was surprised by our RASBesty and his family!
- Had lunch with our friends at Bill’s Bar & Burger
- Walked over to the 9/11 Memorial.
- Took the Subway to Queens.
- Went to the Citi Field to see The NY Mets vs The Washington Nationals! Had awesome seats in VIP seating with super comfy chairs and seat service! The Mets won 6-5.
- Took the Subway back to our hotel and enjoyed room service and a bottle of wine.
- Took the Subway to Columbus Circle outside of Central Park.
- Had a fabulous breakfast at Nougatine at Jean-Georges.
- Took a 2 hour pedicab tour through Central Park. My favourite parts were Strawberry Fields, Minton Tile Ceiling at Bethesda Terrace, Obelisk, Bethesda Fountain, Conservatory Water, Reservoir, Balto, and the place John Lennon was assassinated (right outside the park).
- Took the Subway to Grand Central Terminal! Looked up!
- Walked around Midtown checking out The New York Library, the Chrysler Building and the top of The Empire State Building!
- Checked out the Punk Lust exhibit at The Museum of Sex and had a beer in their cellar bar.
- Went out for dinner in Times Square at Bond 45! Had the most amazing homemade lasagna, EVER!
- Surprised by my BroadwayBesty with a quick hello and photo op.
- Went to my 1st Broadway Musical… Mean Girls! It was amazeballs!!!!
- Went home and took off 1 of MANY pairs of shoes we brought.
- Took the Subway to Norma’s in the Parker Hotel in The East Side. YUMMY!
- Took the Big Red Bus Double Decker Tour down Madison Ave and to our stop.
- Went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art!!!! Walked around in awe of the beautiful rooms and the gorgeous art history! Enjoyed the exhibits Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll and Camp: Notes on Fashion!
- Walked down Park Ave. Took the Subway back to Times Square.
- Enjoyed a slice of NY pizza from Ray’s Pizza.
- Went for dinner at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. Dinner literally melted in my mouth!
- Went to the Richard Rogers Theatre to see… HAMILTON!!!! I was so emotional! It was SUCH a great show!
- Walked back through Times Square and took pictures of the US Women’s National Soccer team who were doing a photoshoot outside our hotel.
- Went to The Playwright Irish Pub for a late night drink. Saw all the Navy Officers in town for Fleet Week.
- Got a delicious cupcake from Junior’s.
- Took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge!
- Walked the 1.85 kms across the Bridge.
- Met our PodWifeBesty at The River Cafe for a mouthwatering breakfast with the BEST view of the Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the Manhattan skyline!
- Walked through The East Village to the Subway back to our hotel.
- Homeward bound.
