New York

Scott is one of the hardest people to buy gifts for. But this November I get an idea...
We like watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon --- what if I try to get tickets and surprise him with a trip to NYC? So I called and called until the dates we had free were available and WHOOPIE! We were going to NYC. I bought flights, reserved the hotel... and then stopped there to plan the rest with him. Unfortunately the hotel called him to confirm something which revealed the secret trip, so as a present to ME for Christmas, Scott snagged tickets to the Vampire Weekend show while we were there. Yes, we had some funny back-and-forth explanations on ChristmasdayIcantellyou, but so looked forward to the trip together.
We had a flexible itinerary of things we wanted to do so the days filled up as we went along. As a result I forgot my camera half the time so the pics here won't be the best quality, but I was grateful I had something to document what we did so I could remember (Thank you, Apple!).

*Our first night we went to a cool venue called the Bowery to see Surfer Blood and The Drums play. This city is stacked with great shows every week... we were lucky to catch a few particular bands we liked during our visit. We grabbed some great pizza and took the subway over (I don't know why but I have missed the subway more than I thought I would). The crowd was cool, the music great and the experience fun. A great kick off to the week.

*JIMMY FALLON was the next night. I kept peeking down halls trying to spy Liz Lemon and the action behind the scenes. They are very strict about cell phone/camera use so I could not risk one picture. But I did get a picture of my ticket and Scott trying to hold in his excitement...
They seated us and then have a guy give the rules mixed with comedic delivery. He announced that a mustache war segment would be included in the show. Yes! I love those! The Roots came out and started the play, Higgins began to announce and out comes Jimmy who went right into his monologue (Thereheisthereheis! I says in my head as I feverishly wink but he never winked back). He did the entire show, Neil Young impression and all, without a hitch. When the show ended he ran up the steps and high fived us folks on the end of the rows, so ohmygoshguesswhat! I have TOUCHED Jimmy Fallon. I haven't washed my right hand since.
It was so fun. If you want to check out that night on NBC.com, I reach up and touched the second 'stache as he descended the stairs. I'm, like, so famous.
Merry Christmas to Scott!

*We went to see Mary Poppins. Very cool and well done. I would definitely recommend it. It made me really miss my kids so take them if they're with you. Again, no cameras/phones so I clicked a pic of the theatre. So pretty inside.

*We went running in Central Park. I loved this! All those early mornings of trail running through the winter have prepped me well. The cold was no big deal and it was beautiful beautiful beautiful! The best way to see the park (and spook central!). I looked for the Law & Order dudes with no luck.

*Hit the MOMA. Always great so we make it a point to go every time we visit. Why, who is that handsome fellow among the Gabriel Orozco? The best part was checking out the Tim Burton exhibition. So fascinating!!! We were so over stimulated we had to sit for a while after and rest our brains. During this vulnerable state Scott revealed to me his youthful fascination with the Pegasus horse. We giggled so hard we were crying for 5 minutes. Ah, good times, the Moma....
We saw some beautiful Monet's, Jackson Pollock and many many other inspiring things.

*As always, the shopping there is magnifico. So much that it makes me a wee bit mad every time I walk into a great store. I ask the heavens, "Why can't these resources be closer to me?". No wonder Martha geniuses whip out such cool ideas. Great stuff. One evening we caught an open market in Union Square.

*The last big hurrah was seeing Vampire Weekend on their home turf. It was in the United Palace theatre which was very old, decorative, ornate and perfect. It was such an incredible show. They sounded perfect and were gentlemen as always. The best part for me was, since it was home, they had a small string orchestra (probably some Juilliard genius friends of theirs or something) to play all the orchestrated pieces in the songs. So beautiful and colorful it made me emotional. I love their happy, bright sound and hearing it live like that was the best. One of my favorite Christmas presents ever. Thanks, Scott. xoxo!

That's the jist of our fun. We ate at some great places, went to church in Harlem and saw some other rad areas and things that I will save for longer conversations. It's been good to be back with the kids. They are almost old enough to take on these trips and I can't wait. Until then, I loved being in that city with my best friend. Thank you, Scott!