MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

As I type this, I’m now far from the city… But I still feel a bit tingly from all the festivities there.

If you’ve never been to NYC during the holidays, I urge you to make every effort and go.  There’s truly nothing else like it.  NYC is a city that makes me feel alive and energetic each time I go, so you can imagine that intensity is turned up during the holiday season.

The magnificent architecture soaring above your head is adorned with twinkling, sparkling holiday decorations.  Christmas music plays from nearly every angle, surrounding you with this festive environment that for a second might make you think you’ve entered a movie set.  As you walk along the street, people are hustling and bustling excitedly with their bags of holiday shopping.  It’s not unusual to see Santa or his elves.  It’s like a musical production come to life.  Welcome to New York.

Mom and I had absorbed the NYC Christmas spirit and were in jolly moods as we left Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular.  The snow was falling in large, wet snowflakes and Madison Avenue looked like a giant snow globe.

We walked to Rockefeller Center, where music played as ice skaters skated underneath the big tree.  Salvation Army volunteers dressed in crisp billed hats and double breasted dress coats swayed and danced as they sang along to Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off.  A couple ran across the street hand in hand, the man wearing a very long Santa hat.

There’s something wonderful about New York and New Yorkers… I’m not trying to glamorize it.  Sure, you might see a homeless man urinating into a garbage can if you’re out at night.  You might see a rat or two race down an alley.  It’s a huge city and bad things sometimes happen.  But New York has an invincibility to it; a spirit that makes its inhabitants feel like they could do anything, be anyone, go anywhere.  It’s contagious and it’s wonderful.  It makes you want to skip down the sidewalks and sing a song; it makes you want to stay there forever.  I’ve been to many places, but this particular feeling… You can only get it in New York.

I love you, New York… Merry Christmas!!

 

 

Picture this… It’s 6 PM in New York and you decide to brave the rush-hour holiday traffic.  You pull your coat a little tighter as you walk outside your hotel and wait for the doorman to hail a taxi.

“Lincoln Center, please.”

 

The taxi windows steam a bit as you hurry through twinkling holiday lights and busy, bustling sidewalks.  You stop in a long train of brake lights outside a compound of contemporary-looking buildings.  A kind of modern-day plaza stretches between them, accented by a single glowing fountain; a photo op evident in many a movie premiere and Fashion Week show.

People are holding hands, hustling out of the cold and making their way toward the bannered building and the warmth.  They talk and laugh excitedly, some clutching tickets and some clutching a child bedecked in festive attire.  Your head kind of spins with happiness as your booties click across the snowy steps.

You finally make your way to your seat in the stunning, glimmering theater.  You only ordered your tickets an hour before and your head is reeling at how you managed to get such prime seats.  You glance through your program and feel an armful of goosebumps as the you hear the first thrumming sounds of the orchestra warming up… It’s time.

I think it’s probably an underestimate when I say that my mom and I consider ballet to be one of the highest art forms.  The fact she ran a dance studio and we both danced for much of our lives may make us a bit biased, but nevertheless our love for ballet is powerful and passionate.

And The Nutcracker is on another level.  It’s slightly dark Victorian storyline is punctuated with the dramatic score by Tchaikovsky and when you combine the impeccable skill of the New York City Ballet it’s truly breathtaking.  You leave feeling as if you’ve experienced something rather than just watched it.

We climbed into a taxi back to our hotel, but for some reason going straight inside didn’t feel right and we decided to take a stroll and check out the Christmas lights along 5th Avenue instead.

Walking through the chilly air and admiring the artistry that is holiday department store windows reminded me of London as a little girl; watching these little pieces of sparkling, glittery artwork in the windows of Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols.  They drew me in even then, capturing my imagination with their whimsical scenes straight out of a fantasy.

I’m so glad we didn’t go back to the hotel and to bed right away.  I’ll always remember walking along and gazing at holiday lights with my mom.  We snapped a few photos and I wanted to share them with you… The holiday windows in NYC (and London) are truly unlike any others on earth and photos like these don’t do them any justice.  But… Maybe you can sip a hot chocolate as you scroll through and you’ll catch some of the festive holiday spirit that is bursting through New York at Christmas.

Tiffany & Co.

Bergdorf Goodman:  An Ode to the Arts

Saks Fifth Avenue:  An Enchanted Experience

We chose our favorite windows and headed back to the hotel for a late-night pot of tea to warm us up.  Oh… And not only did I sleep well that night thanks to a substantial dose of herbal tea, but I’m fairly certain that I had dreams accompanied by Tchaikovsky.

From Mom’s dress fittings in Chicago we flew to New York for mine.  We seemed to have brought the dreary, rainy weather from Chicago, but we didn’t mind so much.  All we cared about was seeing my wedding dress for the first time… What would it look like?!

When I saw my dress for the first time my heart fluttered.  It was perfect.  When I had first seen the sample of my dress it was simply the designer’s idea; a sample she had made to see if brides liked it.  My finished dress was 100 times more beautiful than the sample dress I had tried on months and months earlier.  I absolutely loved it and never wanted to take it off.

I was happy and thankful to head back to The Plaza for tea with my mother to celebrate such a special moment.  Tea at The Plaza is truly an experience; after choosing your selected combination of sandwiches, pastries, and scones, you choose a tea from The Plaza’s impressive selection.  Mom went with the wintery Silver Needles and I chose a floral Jasmine.  Everything was absolutely delicious.

We were so cozy and satisfied we were hesitant to leave the hotel and venture out into the cold snow for our afternoon activity: The Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular in Radio City Music Hall.

Hope you all are staying warm and ready for Christmas!!  I know I am… I can’t wait to see my family!!

Click any of the images below to shop.  My coat and boots are no longer available, so I found some similar ones.  The black bag I posted is extremely similar to the Chanel Flap Bag I carried above.

 

 

J’s mother and sisters were so sweet to give me a bridal shower while we were in Chicago.  I’m lucky to be joining a family with such incredible women… I adore them.  And… It was the perfect opportunity to meet family and friends invited to our wedding I had yet to meet.

We braved the cold and headed to an timeless little church converted into a cozy restaurant, where the snow faded away as Palm Beach and Lilly took over an upstairs room!!  Bright flowers, girls in colorful dresses, starfish cupcakes and ornaments as favors.  It was perfection.

Pearls.  Classic Bag (affordable version here).  Louboutin Pumps (affordable version here).  Pink Lace Dress.  Don’t forget to add sheer black pantyhose to make it a bit more wintery.

On each table the girls had placed snapshots of John and myself, as well as fun facts to help the guests get to know us better as a couple.  I had so much fun chatting with J’s friends and family… It made me even more excited to celebrate with them at our wedding!!

The girls asked guests to ship my gifts to me since J and I flew.  Guests brought photos of their gift to the shower and pinned it on a cork board to share.  It’s been fun to get packages each day that I get to unwrap and share with J when he gets home.  I’ve been taking photos of each gift to put with the cards and keep in a little memory book.  This time as a bride goes by so fast… Someday I’ll love looking back and remembering these moments.

Enjoy some of these snapshots from the shower… I left out friends and family to protect their privacy.  Except for Mama P… Because she’s used to it.