Hakuna Matata!!

Even though we really enjoyed Yotel, and we were supposed to stay another night, we decided to switch back to 60 LES. It really is that amazing, plus we both enjoyed the lower east side more than Manhattan- it's definitely less "touristy" too. (It also had a dessert shop right on the corner.... ;))

Once we checked out, we were able to use the robot again and store our luggage while we headed out for Central Park!! It has been on my bucket list to run through Central Park- so I was beyond excited for this! We got there and ran a loop around the whole park. (Since 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' is faster than me, we didn't stay together, but we did keep seeing each other throughout the park. It was pretty cool!)

Such an amazing run! The scenery was absolutely gorgeous- I loved running across all the little bridges and seeing all the surrounding buildings. I was so surprised at how many squirrels there were! And they were 100% fearless- they would come running right at me and I didn't know what to do! haha!

How gorgeous is this?!

I think I ran about 6.5 miles and then met 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' back where we started. We hit up a couple food carts and wandered around for awhile. We eventually made the hotel switch and got ready for the night.


We were going to check another thing off my bucket list... The Lion King on Broadway!!

To say I was excited for this would be the understand of the year! I had been looking for tickets since we got to New York and finally stumbled across some cheap tickets online (FYI folks, the "brokers" and ticket sales booths on the street were twice the price of what I found online.) And for getting our tickets the day before the show- our seats were amazing! Dead center in the third row from the stage. 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' loved that fact that he could see could see the conductor below the stage. :)

The show was absolutely incredible! I would see it again in a heart beat! The performers were so talented and the costumes were insane! Such an awesome experience! (And during intermission, 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' said we need to go to more of these when they come to Arizona. :) Made my night!!)

I got 2 things checked off my bucket list today AND I ended the night with a cannoli  in bed! Doesn't get better than this! :)

Have you ever seen a musical? Do you like them? 

What's your favorite Disney movie? 

Doing the touristy things!!

We woke up today at 6am on-the-dot, due to some lovely (extremely loud!) construction right outside our window. As hard as we tried to go back to sleep-with all the pillows and blankets over our heads, it was too loud and we couldn't- it was horrible! (Maybe we should stop saying up until 2am in the morning?!)

But it was a good thing we got up so early because we did a ton of things! We packed everything up and switched hotels again. This time we went to a very futuristic hotel, Yotel. It was really cool- they even had a robot you could store your luggage in! We definitely put our luggage in it- just to take it right back out, to watch the robot!! haha!! ;)

We quickly learned that the hotel rooms in New York are really compact! This picture shows the WHOLE room! On the left is the door out and on the right is the curtain that separated the bathroom. And that's it! haha! (These 2 images I got from www.yotel.com)

Once we were settled in, we walked around and decided to do the touristy thing and make our way to MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) around 3:30. They told us when we were buying tickets that they closed at 5:00. We thought an hour and a half would be more than enough time, but we definitely could have stayed for a few more hours! There was so much incredible stuff there!

Who wouldn't hug the Pink Panther?! ;)

Andy Warhol

And of course, we had to find Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. It was crazy to actually see something like that in person!

We seriously could have stayed for a few more hours just wondering around looking at everything! But they kicked everyone out at 5:00 and we headed back to our hotel. Once we got back we ended up eating dinner at the hotel's restaurant. We wanted to do something close and easy because we had big plans for dessert!!

After dinner we went to Serendipity!! This was definitely on the list of things I wanted to do while we were here! I got the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' got their Strawberries and Creame with a cappuccino.

I am having SO much fun with 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter', it doesn't even feel like real life. Literally having the time of my life! We're going to bed early tonight so we can wake up and get some things checked off our bucket lists!! ;)

*Do you have a Bucket List? If so, what is one of the biggest things on there? 

*Have you ever used a robot before? 

We already want to move here!!

We woke up pretty late on Sunday- which felt so good to sleep in! I can't remember the last time we both slept in- usually we are up earlier on the weekends than during the week with training. We walked around the city some more and made our way down Brodway. (We also randomly passed a Best Buy and I was able to get a small camera- thank gosh!)

I was so obsessed with all the different street art! It seemed like there was a masterpiece on every corner. I absolutely LOVE all of it- I could walk around forever! We decided to make our way to Time Square and stopped and had lunch on the way- again the food was OK, but nothing great. (I think I was really expecting to be blown away by the food here, I'm not sure why?)

Time Square was awesome- definitely one of the things we wanted to see while we're here. It's crazy that even with all the tourist and everything going on, there was still a lot of regular people going to and from work in that environment. I couldn't imagine trying to commute and deal with that daily! Very hectic!

We went into a few of the stores including the Disney store and got some stuff for my niece and nephew. And then look who we ran into....

We were meeting 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' sister again for dinner, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready. We of course, had to stop at Crumb's on the way back and grab some cupcakes for later. :)

We went to another amazing dinner with his sister and met her boyfriend, Sam for the first time- such an awesome guy! They are so perfect together! They picked us up and we had dinner in Brooklyn, so it was pretty awesome to drive across the Brooklyn bridge and see a different city. The food was great and the company was incredible. It was one of those nights that I don't think I'll ever forget. :) SO upset I didn't take any pictures!!

The next day, we switched hotels to Ink48. We wanted to stay in a few different hotels around the city, so we could explore different areas. This one was in the heart of Manhattan, the view from our hotel was insane!

We checked in and headed out. While we were walking around 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' randomly saw a sign for DC Cupcakes!! I absolutely LOVE that show and we continued to follow the signs down an escalator, through a museum, and up some stairs to get there. (Hey, whatever it takes, right?! ;))

We went back to our hotel and had such a hard time finding a place that was still open for dinner! Everything was already closed- including room service!! We ended up finding a place and got some food (and of course dessert). After dinner we walked back down to Time Square to see it at night- absolutely incredible! The lights, the people, everything- so amazing! Definitely a lot different than any place I've ever been before!!

And since it's St. Patrick's Day, here in the city I had to buy the iconic 'I heart NY' shirt with a shamrock, right?!

When in Rome.... ;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did you do anything super festive today? 

What's your favorite holiday? 

Welcome to New York City!!

After work on Friday, I came home and finished packing (I know, I'm the worlds biggest procrastinator!) and hung out with my mom before she took us to the airport.

I kept saying I felt like I was forgetting something, and as we got everything packed in the car and was about to leave, 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' asked if I had our tickets: nope! That's what I was forgetting! I quickly ran back inside and grabbed them (right, dead-center on our counter- where I swore to myself I couldn't forget them!!;)) 

We made it to the airport with a ton of time to spare, so we grabbed dinner at the new Four Peaks restaurant. Before we knew it, we were boarding the plane, taking selfies!! ;) 

We totally lucked out and had the whole row to ourselves, which meant we could try to stretch out a little bit and sleep (in some of the most awkward positions ever!) Since it was a night flight, they turned off the lights and the time flew by!

We got into NYC at 5:15 in the morning- way too earlier for anything, especially trying to find your luggage and navigate around a new city!

We found a taxi and headed for our hotel- 60 LES, in the lower east side. Best. Hotel. EVER!! Not only was the location ideal, but they let us check in 6:00am when we got there, instead of having to wait until the regular check-in time of 11am, with no fee or charge! Everyone was so incredibly nice too. Great place- highly recommend it! Oh, and the view wasn't bad either. ;)

This was our view from the room right when we walked in (at 6am!)

And this was it when we woke up- GORGEOUS!

We immediately went to sleep and woke up surprisingly, somewhat early at 11am. We got ready and walked around for awhile. The weather was AMAZING! I was expecting it to be freezing, but it was actually pretty warm, which was perfect for exploring. We really didn't have a plan and it was nice to just kind of wandered around.

SO excited to be here!!

We made our way to Little Italy and Chinatown- both of which were so interesting! With all the signs in Chinese and unique stores, I really felt like I was in China!

After awhile, we were both starving! We made a pact before we left that we wanted to try new things and not eat anything we could get in Arizona. So we Yelped! and found that we were super close to Lombardi's pizzeria- who hasn't heard of them?! We figured we would see what all the hype was and try it.

It was good- nothing I was blown away by, but still really good. I liked how they used buffalo mozzarella cheese- but I felt like there wasn't enough of it.

After lunch, we walked back to our hotel and got ready for dinner with 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' sister, Mckenzie! We went to Public and it was amazing! We were SO beyond excited to see his sister (we haven't seen her in 4 years!) so it was great to catch up with her and hang out.

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' snuck a picture of his dinner. haha!

After dinner we went to a couple different places and met one of her amazing/hilarious friend! Such an incredible night! We both are absolutely in love with New York and never want to leave!

On the way to the hotel, we stopped at a dessert cafe on the corner (remember how I said ideal location?:)) and got a cupcake!

Cupcakes in bed!! I need to start ending all my night like this!

Best day ever! I cannot believe we get to stay here for a whole week- it's going to be unforgettable! (P.S. I forgot my small/easy-to-carry camera, so forgive all the phone pictures. We're going to look around for a camera tomorrow, so stay tuned....

Do you like flying? I hate flying! I get really nervous and hang on to the arm rest for dear life! I usually end up getting sick at some point too. But I think I'm getting better, because I actually was able to sleep on this flight and didn't get sick!

Where's the last place you went on vacation?  

I can't believe we just did this...

So this just happened....

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' and I just registered for Ironman New Zealand!! I am still in shock!

Let me back up a little bit....

A couple weeks ago, a friend of ours mentioned that he was thinking about doing it with some friends, and renting a house for the week and asked if we would be interested. 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' said it sounded amazing and he would really love to do it (you know, like you say you'd love to win the lottery- you don't expect it to actually happen!!)

Well, earlier this week, the same friend said they rented the house and there was room for us. We talked about it and decided that this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and we just couldn't pass it up!

Since Ironman Arizona sells out in less than 40 seconds, we were all anxiously waiting on our computers and work and registered and minute it finally opened at 3PM! (I had a minor heart-attack when my card got declined because of international restrictions! I quickly had to call my bank and approve the transaction!)

But we all got in and are headed to New Zealand next year! Guess that means I need to get a passport! ;) And Ironman New Zealand is only 4 months after Ironman Arizona- so that will be fun! haha!

Have you ever left the country? Where did you go?

What's the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?

Our 'Frozen' Friday Night!

My nephew turned three ("free" if you ask him) this week, so we celebrated tonight with pizza, popcorn, and the movie 'Frozen', even though they've seen it a million times!

My sister and her family went to Rustler's Rooste for dinner- I think mainly for their awesome slide and cotton candy dessert, and then we headed over to this house after. We grabbed a pizza (my nephew's favorite food) on the way over. Even though he just had dinner, he still ate a piece of pizza.

We got a bunch of blankets and pillows set up in the living room and my step-dad's dog, Chip, made sure he had the best seat in the house!

While my sister made popcorn- not out of a bag?! ((Who knew this was possible? I guess she makes it herself and says it tastes WAY better. It was pretty good popcorn...) the rest of us did other important things, like foam rolling our legs. :) My niece and nephew absolutely LOVED the roller! It was the cutest thing ever!

 

While we watched the movie (by we, I really mean only me and my sister) everyone else was rolling the foam roller across the house, drawing pictures of Olaf, and eating more pizza (the birthday boy).

Yeah, 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' is good at drawing!

It was awesome and I definitely think we need to start doing it more! Happy Birthday Bubs- we love you!

*What did you do on Friday Night? 

*Have you watched 'Frozen'? 

Finally celebrating Valentine's Day!

After the PHX Marathon, we came home and took hot showers and headed to favorite Biscuit's for a late brunch. Oh. My. Gosh! So, so good! I don't know if it was because I was so hungry after running or if it was just that good- but everything was amazing!

After brunch, we went home and really did nothing all afternoon- it was fabulous! I love staying inside, under a blanket, watching TV on cold, rainy days.

Can you tell he LOVES taking selfies with me?! ;)

Later on, we finally stopped watching TV and got ready for our Valentine's Day date! We originally had reservations at House Of Tricks, but because of the rain (it's an outdoor restaurant) we decided to go to Roy's at the last minute. We couldn't find our umbrella, so when we were walking out (onto the rain), 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' handed me a plastic bag....? I asked him what it was for, and he told me to put it over my head so I didn't get wet- I was laughing so hard I cried- especially when I saw he modified his bag to have holes to see through. :)

As we walked in and sat down at our table (keep in mind, this is a pretty nice restaurant), I heard some crazy rap music, and it appeared to be coming from 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter'! I asked him if that was his phone make noise. He assured me it was and began to pull out his phone out of his pocket. As he did so, it got louder- "Christmas in Harlem" was now serenading the restaurant! He quickly turned it off- as I died laughing!

All of the food was SO delicious! And the chocolate lava cake for dessert- perfection! I'm already wanting to go back!

Once we got home, we changed into pajamas and watched a movie. Such an amazing day with 'Mr. Spirnkles and Glitter'. I am SO lucky to have such a great guy by my side- although neither of us had the race we wanted that morning, he completely made the rest of the day amazing in every way.

*Valentine's Day- love it or hate it? 

*Do you have any traditions for Valentine's day?