FAO Schwarz

Remember when you were a child and your days consisted of playing with toys, staying out of trouble (or at least managing not to get caught), and just enjoying spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately, those days have come and gone and the stresses of daily life have permanently made their mark on us. But, what if just for a moment you could go back to that place of permanent security and bliss. Well, you can! Just as soon as you walk past the human toy soldier guards and step through the front door of this magical play land known as FAO Schwarz. Being one of the oldest toy stores in the United States, dating back almost a century and a half ago, FAO Schwarz is known for it's one-of-a-kind products that give it a unique whimsical charm. The store is filled with some of the most prestigious brands in toys, including Madame Alexander, Steiff, Gund, and the Middleton Doll collection, which includes a newborn nursery in which employees dress as nurses and tend to the incredibly life-like newborns. The store is also adorned with life size stuffed animals of all kinds, none of which can be found anywhere else. In the midst of all this, there is a candy store, FAO Schweetz, right in the center of it all with life size toy soldiers made out of jelly beans. The store also includes a Barbie runway, where she shows off all of her latest trends in a fashion show, a Lego land, and the Muppet Whatnot Workshop where you can create your own Muppet to keep. But my personal favorite is The Big Piano. It's a life size piano in which musicians make music by physically jumping form key to key--it's incredible! So, for a stress-free breath of fresh air, take a day and revel in childhood fantasy. Head down to the flagship store on the corner of 5th and 58th Streets and let your fantasy begin!

Shake Shack--Well Worth the Wait!

Ever in the mood for a big juicy hamburger, fries, and a shake or a fully-loaded hot dog right off the grill? Where do I sign up, right!?! Well, this place in NYC does it the best--the proof is in the line! It's called Shake Shack and it's a modern day "roadside" burger stand known for it's long lines and well-worth-the-wait food. My favorite on the menu: the Shack-cago Dog. Based off of the Chicago style hot dog, it's cooked to perfection and loaded with pickles, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, sport pepper, celery salt, and their own unique fabulous relish. When I was finished I realized it didn't even have mustard or ketchup and I didn't even miss them! Their ShackBurger, hot dogs, and frozen custard have all been called the city's best by numerous media outlets since it opened in Madison Square Park in 2004. This can be seen by the constant line wrapped around the park every day. Although the wait is long and somewhat discouraging, it actually moves pretty quickly. And the park is filled with the absolute most plump and friendly squirrels I've ever seen. I had a blast watching them come right up to people and beg for food--it was hilarious. One even just hung on the tree next to us and watched us while he ate an acorn. Quite honestly, I thought he was going to jump onto our table and join us! So, take a walk through Madison Square Park and hop in line. It's cheap and delicious food that'll leave you coming back for more!

Central Park

Covering an incredible 843 acres of land in the center of Manhattan is the first landscaped public park in United States history--Central Park! It's home to many outdoor theaters, lakes, ice rinks, fountains, and playgrounds as well as the Central Park Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Central Park is beautiful and filled with an aura of inspiration. It has a plethora of attractions and has been featured in countless cinema masterpieces throughout the years such as Home Alone II, When Harry Met Sally, Ransom, One Fine Day, Serendipity, and the Audrey Hepburn classic, Breakfast at Tiffany's, just to name a few. My friends and I explored the area by visiting the spots featured in some of our favorite movies. Bethesda Fountain, as seen in the top photo above, was featured in Ransom, One Fine Day, and Maid of Honor. It is also where Macualay Culkin fed pigeons in Home Alone II: Lost in New York. We then wandered down to the Boathouse Cafe, in which scenes were featured in two classic romantic favorites of mine, When Harry Met Sally and 27 Dresses. Next, we walked to the Bandshell in which a scene from the phenomenal movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's, was shot. Last, we took a stroll along Wollman Rink, a tremendously beautiful ice skating rink in which the last scene of Serendipity took place and they began their happily ever after! So, grab a camera, pack some snacks, and gather your friends to hit these famous spots and take pictures where your favorite films were shot. It's a blast and the best part about it: it's FREE! And, trust me, in this city anything you can do for free is a must!

Broadway: Enough Said

Dating back to the early 19th Century along one incredibly famous street in NYC, started a worldwide phenomenon in theater entertainment! It's name: Broadway. And it is an absolute must-see when in NYC. It's an experience like no other. The talent is the best of the best, the music superb, and the visual experience awe-inspiring. Plus, the whole atmosphere is whimsically filled with a contagious energy. My husband and I saw "The Little Mermaid" last spring and it was phenomenal! I felt like a kid in a candy store as I watched my favorite Disney movie come to life before my very eyes. It was magical. The way they created the illusion of water was fantastic and the actor's stage presence and voices were like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was a once in a lifetime experience, as I'm sure each show is! I can't wait to go to another one. This year's agenda: "The Lion King". So, grab your prettiest cocktail dress and join us. I promise you won't regret it and you'll be coming back for more!

Max Brenner's: Chocolate by the Bald Man

With over 20,000 restaurants in NYC, it's hardly possible to even cover just 1% of them in the span of a year. But one place you definitely have to go is Max Brenner's. Located in East Village, this unique restaurant is best known for all of its chocolaty goodness. This cozy little place has an old fashion feel with a modern twist and is great for a meal or just dessert. They have a unique chocolate candy store and gift shop in the front, a chocolate bar lining the entire restaurant, and dining tables surrounded by gigantic chocolate bars in an assortment of flavors. The menu offers a wide variety of delicious traditional everyday foods but the dessert menu is anything but traditional. It offers anything chocolate you could imagine: chocolate pizza, crepes, waffles, fondue, plus all your traditional dessert favorites with a chocolate twist. And they are all to die for! They also have the richest, most scrumptious hot chocolate you've ever tried, served in an unusually adorable handle-less mug called a "hugmug". My husband's favorite is "choco-pops" which is their traditional hot chocolate with floating chocolate wafer balls. As for dessert, we prefer the "melting chocolate truffle heart cake", as seen above. It's $13.25 for a pretty small portion but it's so rich and delicious it's worth every cent!

The Beauty Bar

Tucked away on E. 14th St. there's a charming little place called the Beauty Bar. And whomever came up with this idea is pure genius! It's a dance club, bar, and manicure/pedicure spa all in one designed to look like an old fashion beauty parlor. The walls are sparkling pink on one side and lined with old fashion hair salon dryers on the other. You can sit down to a manicure and sip on a cocktail with a beauty-inspired name like "shampoo" or "platinum blond", all for just $10. In the backroom, amongst whimsically designed black and white walls, a huge disco ball glows above the dance floor in which the D.J. plays the best of the 80's. So, strike a pose Madonna fans! We skipped the mani/pedi's and headed straight to the dance floor to "get into the grove", so to speak. The DJ mixes it up and keeps the music pumping all night long. The vibe is incredible and even my husband had a blast. Though, I must say, this would be the greatest place for a girl's night out. You can enjoy all the fun craziness of the 80's minus the frizzy hair. So, ladies, gather all your girls and head to this city must-see!

Closet Space

So, when you pay close to $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment you expect certain things. For example, closet space, cabinet space, any space at all. I mean this is the city of fashionista wannabes so why on earth are closets 2 by 2's? I'm sure every girl would agree they'd rather take 1/4 of the room size out to ensure more closet space. How hard is that to figure out? Not to mention the fact that my husband has as many if not more clothes than I do. Yes, that's right, I married a metro-sexual man and I love it. Look at him. He looks like he should be on a Calvin Klein ad. Though he'd much prefer Guess to Calvin Klein. He loves Guess, almost to the point of obsession. In fact, when we first started dating and went to the mall together for the first time, he took a b-line for the Guess store. When we walked in every employee knew his name. One even slipped him a "special" coupon. I was a little taken aback, I'm not gonna lie. But then I thought, "what girl wants a man she has to dress". I mean, seriously, we're not their mother and we'll have plenty of time to dress our own kids when we become mothers. Besides, look at him--he's the perfect accessory for me!

Dylan's Candy Bar

Okay, so let me get started by saying this blog will feature some of the most amazing places I have discovered while living here, but also talk about the nightmares of city life in this overpopulated, lack of parking, ridiculously priced, nastiest people I've ever met, cut-throat career-driven jungle of the world. But, let's start off on the sweet side, no pun intended, and talk about my most treasured place here of all--Dylan's Candy Bar. Bought by Ralph Lauren and given to his daughter, Dylan, hence the name, this has to be the world's best and most unique candy store. It's a one-of-a-kind child's fantasy land. And it's pretty amazing for every one of us who's a kid at heart. It's Candyland meets Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. There is a chocolate fountain when you walk in the door where employees can whip up your gooiest chocolate dream to eat while you shop. The entire store is decorated with brightly colored oversize lollipops, gummibears, gumdrops, chocolate bars, and every other sugary confection you can imagine. It's three floors of heavenly bliss. The third floor is the most tantalizing. It's a chocolate dessert and ice cream cafe. You can dream up your most vivid chocolaty sweet desire and have it here. The tables are clear, filled with a kaleidoscope of candy confections from top to bottom, while you sit on stools of red and white peppermints and look out the surrounding windows at one of New York's finest shopping destinations, right next to Bloomingdale's.
Must have while you're there: the chocolate bars. They have the most unusual and unique seasonal flavors. My favorite: peanut butter and jelly! That's right, peanut butter and jelly in the midst of a scrumptious chocolate bar--YUM!!! Once they even had a bacon-flavored chocolate bar. Sorry to say, I did not give this one a try due to my genuine disgust of bacon. But another great one to try is the s'mores one. Who doesn't love s'mores!!!

Getting Started

Hello there. My name is Lorrie and I just moved to the city a couple of months ago. I'm finally starting to get settled but it wasn't easy, to say the least! My husband and I just got married August 1st, 2009. It was a fairytale wedding in my hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. We had a big Catholic/Muslim wedding. Crazy, I know but we didn't get there over night. And when you're truly in love with someone you'll make it work no matter what.
Marriage is a lot of hard work and even more so with our diverse backgrounds but we both have faith and know God brought us together for a reason. We're bound and determined to make it work!
Despite these obstacles, we're spending our first year of marriage in NYC--if you don't understand the craziness of this city, you soon will. It's practically a different planet here. So, without further ado, please follow me and let the journey begin.