Pinterest

Thanks to my sister in law Jessica, I have a new obsession! It's replaced my Facebook habit, and I want everyone to join!
www.pinterest.com is a website that lets you 'pin' anything you like on the internet. Maybe a cute idea from a blog, a fun sweater to buy, a recipe for dinner, you name it!  Users create 'boards' to categorize their pins as they choose.
I've been on Pinterest two weeks now and have already found lots of crafty ideas for home, work and the holidays. Fun decorating ideas for when I start to decorate my guest bedroom, cute photography ideas for my someday wedding, inspirational messages and reminders about who I am etc etc etc!
This first thing I made didn't actually come from Pinterest, but from my SIL Jessica again. She is so crafty that girl, and every time I go to their house I come home with new decorating ideas! She made a 'What's for Dinner' board out of a large frame, a little burlap, some ribbon, and chunky pinboard scrapbooking letters.  Use a dry erase marker to write on the frame's glass and erase to change the next week!
Such a cute idea, and so helpful to stay on track with your menu planning!
Here's my copy-

This week I've also tried two new recipes from Pinterest. Such a yummy, inspiring, and better way to waste time online!

Blonde vs. Brunette

Every 2 or 3 years I decide that I'm tired of highlighting my hair and decide to go brown.

The first year I did this was in college. I went to a stylist in town I had never used before, and it went terribly wrong! Blonde turned Ashlee Simpson black!

so many things wrong here....

The next time I had better luck, two years later when my first niece was born!

Baby Emmy! And kind of red-ish brown.

A few years later I tried again...this time it went really red!

Finally! My hair color matches my brows!

At last perfect success from highlighted blonde to my natural color. Bravo!

Eventually I got bored, and went back to my hair frying, highlighting ways.....and started this cycle all over again! Now that it's fall I've decided to go darker, and had hopes of achieving my natural hair color again...

The things us girls do...

This time, I'm somewhere in between. It's not so dark I hate it, but it's definitely darker than my natural color I showed my stylist. Every time I pass a mirror I'm shocked by the reflection I see because it's not how my brain thinks I look...but I'm getting used to it!
I'll probably be back in the stylist's chair come spring ready for the return of the blonde!

NYC Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island

Tuesday July 12, 2011

Our final day of vacation didn't actually take place in New York City.
We had tried earlier in the trip to go to Ellis Island and to see the Statue of Liberty, but the ferry lines were crazy long and we thought we'd try boarding from the New Jersey side and make a day of it on Tuesday.
So we had one final breakfast with Aunt Martha and she kindly drove us to Liberty State Park where we boarded the ferry to Ellis Island. Before boarding the ferry we walked around the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal where immigrants used to board trains to their new homes around the country!

The train tracks are covered with greenery now
but you can still see the signs for each track

Boarding Miss New Jersey to go to Ellis Island!

Leaving Liberty State Park

View of NYC from New Jersey

Arriving at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Jenni was really excited to look up the names of her ancestors
who came to America as immigrants. 

Great Hall- immigrants were lined up here to be processed

We were able to walk through several of the check points that
immigrants were forced to pass through before being allowed to enter America.

After a quick lunch we boarded the ferry again and headed over to Liberty Island to see the statue.

I bought a little light up torch for work and had to strike a pose like the lady!

Jenni at Liberty Island

Me and Lady Liberty

Fun benches on the island.

When we had seen all we came to see we rode the ferry back to Liberty State park where my cousin picked us up and drove us to the airport to fly home. It was such a fun trip! We saw everything on our list and even a few places we hadn't planned on. It's safe to say we heart NY!

And that's what I did on my summer vacation...

NYC cont'd...

MONDAY JULY 11, 2011

Monday was a day we had been waiting for!

When we decided to go to NYC, we decided it would be fun to see a TV show taping. After much thought we chose to try and get tickets to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. We love the show, and started calling the NBC ticketing line every day 2 months before our trip. About a month before the trip Jenni got through, and they were giving out tickets for the days we would be there! Tickets were free, but we had to show up early enough to get a seat in the audience because they overbook every show to make sure the audience gets filled.

So, Monday became the NBC day.

We woke up early, rode the train into the city and headed straight towards 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Had to stop by Dean & Deluca (Felicity fans, anyone?!?) for breakfast
before our day of NBC fun! It's just around the corner from the Today show
and is where Kathie Lee & Hoda's coffee is made each morning!

 To be in the lines for the Today show segments I read that you have to arrive at 4 or 5 AM, so we decided to skip on that and just observe from afar when we got there.

We caught one of the last segments from the Today show that was taping outside, something like outdoor grilling...

Today show outdoor set

Above the plaza at 30 Rock
In the summer it's a restaurant, in the winter the
 famous ice skating rink and Christmas Tree!

After checking out the streets, we decided to head to the top for a better view! Top of the Rock is 

(in my opinion) the best view of the city from above! We had visited Empire State Building and seen the city from the observatory, but I like that Top of the Rock has three levels of observatories. The higher you go, the better and less restricted the view. 

NYC Summer 2011

From the top deck

Central Park from the top deck

Central Park

The New years Eve ball in Times Square

Empire State Building

After our trip to the Top of the Rock we decided to try and see the last stop on our City Pass. The Modern Museum of Art. It was a few blocks hike north, but we made it just before the museum opened for the day, and hopped in the front of the lines!

Jenni checked out Picasso

and one beautiful Starry Night

I found Monet's water lillies
Next to me there was a class of about 30 high school age kids with an art teacher, and they were discussing the painting, and what it made them feel. I was so tempted to sit down and pretend I was a student. Ahhh the life of a kid in NYC.....

Once we left the MOMA, it was time to hike back to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. On the way we passed Radio City Music Hall!

Love the Hipstamatic app for these fun pics!

Back at NBC. I've always wanted to go to the Rainbow Room- so fancy!

When we arrived we decided to get in line and go on the NBC Studio Tour.

I've done the studio tours on previous visits, but like to do it each time I go to NYC. This time we got to walk on the sets of Nightly News with Brian Williams, Sunday Night Football, and Saturday Night Live! It's fun to walk the halls of the studios where famous people work! Sadly, no pictures allowed inside NBC, but it was something I'll always remember!

After the hour long studio tour we sat in the NBC Digital Cafe to stake out our spot in line to get armbands that would guarantee our seat in the audience at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. 

We sat for 2 + hours, scoping out how many people might be there for the studio tour, how many were there for Jimmy, and where our best place to stand was so that we could run to the front of the line when it was formed! Turns out I think most people got in, but we weren't risking it! 

OMG we're going to see Jimmy Fallon!!!

So worth the wait, we were so excited to meet Jimmy!!!

We had two hours between the time we got armbands, and the time they would line us up for the show, so we decided to grab some lunch at a tasty sandwich shop called 'wichcraft in the underground shopping area, and then do some shopping in the NBC store. We each got Late Night t-shirts, I bought the 'Thank You Notes' book (based on the skit on his show, so funny!) and a few souveniers for our friends and families. 

While we were shopping a girl approached us and asked if we would be interested in watching Jimmy Fallon rehearse his monologue in the studio. We were all about it, until she saw our wristbands and said that audience members weren't allowed to do both. So, if you want to see Jimmy but can't get tickets, hang around the NBC store and see if you can get invited to watch the monologue rehearsal, you just might get to help Jimmy know if the jokes are funny enough to make the final cut for that night's show!

With my wristband and Jimmy ticket...so fun!!

Two hours is a long time when you're really excited, so we decided to obnoxiously take
pictures in front of any and all things NBC.

NBC made from M&M's

Finally the time came to line up for the show! We had no idea how they assigned seating, but we were given a letter ticket, while half of the audience members were given number tickets. 

We LUCKED OUT! Turns out letters were seated first, and we scored two seats in the front row!!!Again, no pictures allowed inside of Jimmy's studio, so the only way I could prove it happened was to hope we made it on camera! 

That's right friends, FRONT ROW seats!!!!
When it came time to play a game called "The Roots Make up Songs About Audience Members"
Jimmy stood right next to me to announce the game! I was totally and completely star struck!

When we got home we took pictures of the tv as we watched the episode we had DVR'd. Above you see Jenni and I clapping, and below my 'OMG Jimmy Fallon!!!' face as he talks to the Roots.

He's RIGHT THERE!!!!!

This show was absolutely one of my favorite NYC memories! Jimmy was so funny, at the end he came around and shook my hand as he patted my shoulder, and thanked us for coming out. I swear in the middle of a commercial break he looked straight at me and smiled! He was such a nice guy!

The Roots were an amazing band, and I remember when they came out to kick off the show everyone screamed so loud -including me :) - that I thought I was going to pass out! The audience warm up guy was hilarious, and the show flew by in just an hour and 6 minutes! The guests that night were Kid Rock, Emily Rose, and musical guest Panda Bear.  I wasn't a huge fan of any of the guests, but just seeing the whole process was incredible.  If you're looking for a taping to attend in NYC, I'd say go for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so so so fun!!

After our long day of fun we walked from 30 Rockefeller to NY Penn station to catch our last train ride from NYC to Summit. By this time we were really good at public transit, we had learned to navigate the subways, cabs and trains like a pro! 

Stay tuned for our Statue of Liberty day!

NYC cont'd...

SUNDAY JULY 10, 2011

Sunday morning we woke up in the apartment in Greenwich Village and got ready for our walking tour. We booked the I Heart NY tour with Celebrity Planet Tours, and arrived at The Pulitzer Fountain to meet our tour guide. Here's a photo re-cap of the sites we saw on the walk:

Plaza Hotel above, Pulitzer fountain below.

This summer they had these statues on display showcasing the Chinese zodiac symbols.
Another shot of the Plaza Hotel, reminded me of Home Alone 2!

Tiffany & CO--------Bergdorff Goodman

Trump Tower ---------- 30 Rock

Service was in progress at St. Patrick's Cathedral
The church is undergoing renovations right now, still so pretty!
We stopped to go in the lobby at the Waldorf Astoria, so so fancy! I wish we could have stayed here, it reminds me of the movie Serendipity, one of my faves!!!

Our tour guide made us check out the bathrooms while we were at the Waldorf, and we were glad we did! Possibly the fanciest bathroom I've ever been in my life!


Next we went to Grand Central Terminal...been here before but loved seeing it again!
Fun fact about Grand Central- any filming crews that want to shoot on location have to do it between some crazy hour like 1-3 in the morning. So, next time you see this place in a commercial, chances are it was filmed in the night and lit to look like daytime.

Later we walked by the New York Public Library, and wanted to go in to see the famous Reading Room. Sadly the library is closed on Sundays, so a picture outside was the best we could do. Maybe next trip!
Behind the NY Public Library sits Bryant Park, home of fashion week! It's gorgeous, and the weather that day made us see why so many people were camped out on the lawn with books!

Times Square was the last stop on our tour so we picked up a few souveniers and enjoyed all the lights and signs! Funny story- our tour guide was an aspiring actor (aren't they all?) and on the walk from Bryant Park to Times Square he started singing to us, bragging about how low he could sing. We laughed awkwardly, and he kept up the crooning all the way down the block!
After the walking tour we decided to head south to Battery Park and see if we could catch one of the afternoon ferry's over to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We hopped on the subway, grabbed a hot dog from a street vendor and headed towards the ferry lines. Turns out Sunday afternoon is SUPER busy, so we decided to put that off until another day. We walked a while to SoHo and visited the Shabby Chic store...one of my favorite places!!
I love how frilly and girly everything in this store is!
When checking in at Shabby Chic on facebook (we definitely abused the FB check in feature on this trip!) we noticed that Dash was just around the corner. I admit Keeping up with the Kardashians is my secret junk tv obsession, so we decided to go and see what their store was like. Turns out there's a line outside to get in, there's a bouncer at the door, and they didn't exactly like us taking pictures. Oh well!

Next we caught a cab and rode up to the Empire State Building to see the city from above!

When I went to NYC for the first time in high school we went to Empire State and before going to the observation deck decided to go on the Sky Ride. It was new at the time and is a simulated ride that makes you feel like you're in a helicopter flying through NYC. I told Jenni how fun it was when I went and that we should definitely do it. 20 nauseating minutes later I was sorry I did! Let's just say the technology hasn't improved and isn't as impressive as it was 10 years ago!

Anyway, here are the pictures from the top of Empire State...

After all that we headed back to NY Penn Station to catch the next train to Summit. Aunt Martha had a tasty dinner for us, and we had fun telling the family all about our day's events!

Monday coming soon...