New York City: We arrived into the city on a Thursday night and headed straight to the Bowery Ballroom for a concert, which was super fun. After the show, we walked down the street to La Esquina for late-night tacos and enchiladas. I was skeptical about the taco situation in NY but these were really delicious. On Friday morning, we had breakfast at Cafe Gitane and our minds were blown by the avocado toast. Plus, Shoshanna from GIRLS sat next to us, which really upped the overall NYC experience. Late in the afternoon, we hustled our bums over to Shake Shack for some cheese fries, a portobello burger, and a chocolate shake. Was it worth waiting in line for 45 minutes? Probably. Friday night, we kind of failed at dinner. I made reservations at 5 places and we ended up not going to any of them. Why? We were kind of full from Shake Shack, not gonna lie. Instead we popped over to the Maritime Hotel for pizza at La Bottega. Low-key and easy. On Saturday morning, we brunched at Peels and it was by far my favorite restaurant experience in NYC. Their biscuits trump all biscuits. TAKE ME BACK. After brunch, we headed to Brooklyn for the day and came back into the city for dinner that night. We ended up at Cafe Cluny in the West Village and loved the classic meal and lively vibe.

As for shopping in NYC, we were only in the city for a day so we stuck to one area (Soho) and didn’t venture far. Of course, in that timespan we popped into a million shops so I probably can’t list them ALL for fear of losing your attention. Instead, I’ll suss out the highlights. We loved Saturdays Surf, Le Labo, the new Warby Parker store, the new Steven Alan home store, Aritzia, and Rag & Bone.

Brooklyn: We didn’t eat much in Brooklyn, which is unfortunate because there are so many top-notch restaurants I wanted to try. We just didn’t have enough time. We did do a late morning break at Blue Bottle Coffee, which was totally worth it, and then lunched at Smorgasburg on the waterfront. It’s an outdoor food market with vendors offering all types of cuisines, from Chinese dumplings to sandwiches to s’mores. We each got a hot dog from Asia Dog (mine with sesame slaw on top, Kyle’s with kimchi) and LOVED it. Afterwards, we relaxed at the rooftop bar of the Wythe Hotel and I’m pretty sure I want to live there.

As for shopping, I can’t stop thinking about Joinery and Brook Farm General Store, both of which have great online stores, but their actual shops were so well curated and amazing. I would’ve stuffed my luggage with rugs, Turkish towels, wooden serving spoons, and enamel cookware if I had the room. I also stopped by two favorite jewelry stores, catbird and Mociun. At catbird, I picked up a tiny gold ring to add to my collection, and at Mociun, I stared and stared and stared at the beautiful rings until my heart literally stopped beating. To say I’m obsessed with Mociun rings would be a gross understatement. I loved and needed them all. Plus, the shop was filled with all sorts of unique pottery and trinkets as well. Kyle loved Hickoree’s and Pilgrim Surf Shop – both are men’s stores right up his alley. He spends more money on clothes than me, I swear. Loved the Baggu shop too. We merely scratched the surface of the Brooklyn shopping scene, but loved (and I mean LOVED) all the places we did get to experience.

Tomorrow…our jaunt up to Connecticut!