Can I Share?...: NYC

Long time to talk! I have really been slacking with the blog. We'll I'm back!!

It's been a little over a week since getting back from NYC with the family!! And I'm still wishing I was there!! I LOVE that city. The people, the food, the things to do, everything! Already planning my trip for next year. Next year I would love to have a girls trip to NYC! So, start saving your money Chicas! Here is a sampling of a few of the things we did...

LODGING

http://grandnewyork.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/gallery/photos.jsp?icamp=propPhotoGallery

We stayed at The Grand Hyatt again. Still the best location - in mid-town(42nd), right above Grand Central Station - with nice accommodations. Will definitely stay there again!!! Thanks Priceline!

FOOD

Surprisingly, I didn't take any photos of the food (might have something to do with the fact that I inhaled it all before I could get a pic!), considering I ate 95% of the time and thought about what to eat the other 5%. Heather Locklear and I ate mostly street food (only ate in a restaurant a few times in 4 days) from morning til night! I ate enough skewers (flame cooked chicken w/ hot sauce and bbq sauce on a hot dog bun!! YUMMY!) to last me a life time. But I could still eat more! (I've been craving them all week!) It got so bad that one night I took a couple skewers back to the hotel with me (gotta have something to make it through the night). Well, as I was pulling them off of the skewer, a piece of one fell on the floor. I was able to pick it up well within in the 10 second rule. I set it back on the paper and spent the next 10 minutes contemplating whether or not to eat the piece that fell on the floor (of course I chowed on the other part of the skewer while I contemplated). Every Dateline and 20/20 episode on the nasty hotels raced through my mind. In the end you'll be glad to know that I threw the piece away. My mind was finally made up because I thought, "what if I eat it and then get sick because of it, then I wouldn't be able to eat more". Makes sense to me! Here is a pic of food from one of the Halal stands. Heather Locklear couldn't get enough of it.

One of the times we were in Harlem and one of the times we ate in a restaurant, we went to Manna's. They have several locations in Harlem. It is a buffet with food good enough to slap yo' mama! The greens, the mac and cheese, the ham, the black eyed peas, the cabbage, it was ALL the bomb.

Another spot we hit up was an Oprah Favorite! Garrett Popcorn. Let me just say YUMMY! We were doing good until "the niece" spilled it on the floor. Had me considering AGAIN eating off the hotel room floor!

http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/

WICKED

We went and saw Wicked (THANKS MAMA!). It was SSSSOOOO good! It's the story about the witches in the Wizard of Oz story. Provides all the info leading up to Dorothy and her cohorts arriving in Oz! It was all about status, prejudice, labeling, love, friendship. LOVED IT! Can't stop singing the music! "Defying gravity..." Just one hiccup in the evening, literally. Unfortunately, a gentleman 2 seats away ate the food off of the hotel room floor and ended up getting sick during the performance. Yes, vomited right on the floor. The ushers tried their darnedest to clean it up but paper towels and a pen flashlight don't really get the job done. So, despite having to constantly rub my fingers on my wrist (to pick up a little perfume) and them holding them under my nose throughout the performance, it was SSSOOO worth it!

ME - after the show (hence the BIG smile)

CANAL STREET

Of course, we made our way to Canal Street (I even went back by myself one day). I was a bit disappointed. Didn't really see anything new and different that I just had to have. I did get a couple purses and sun glasses. I even met a gentleman from Senegal. He had the most beautiful teeth and dark chocolate skin. Just YUMMY! Did I mention he was about 19 and I was chatting it up/flirting right in front of my daddy! Sorry Daddy, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! He did call me that evening but by then I had come to my senses and didn't answer the phone.

These are the real purses I got. Both are Dooney and Burke. (the first one I actually got in black, not brown)

WENDY WILLIAMS

Heather Locklear and I got to go see "friend in our head" Wendy Williams, real life and in person! Love her! We went to the comedy show that she hosts at Caroline's in Times Square. The show was SSOO funny! There were like 6 comedians!