A WEEKEND IN NYC

Hey You,

I landed from my trip to NYC last night, and am just ecstatic about it. We had the best time. I played things differently for this trip, and really didn’t have a plan. I just went with the flow - and things turned out amazing. I decided to break the mold of my normal blog topics to do a full trip recap. This is a longer post, but I’ve linked SO many good travel recommendations below!

FRIDAY:

First up landing in NYC. We flew into LGA, and took a taxi into the city. It took about an hour, and we were in very minimal traffic. If you’re looking to compare rates of taxi, Uber, and subway/public transportation, use the app New York City Subway Map in NYC. You can plan your trip and it compares time of travel and costs - such a big help!

Next, we dropped our luggage at the hotel before check-in and proceeded to the Chelsea area to eat a long lunch at the Restoration hardware restaurant. It was absolutely amazing. They have great light lunch options with a great environment and service. Plus, some great rooftop photography opportunities.

I then checked into my hotel, the Moxy Times Square to get ready for the night. This was such a well done, convenient, and current hotel. It’s right off of 36th and 7th ave. so it really is in the heart of everything.

To end the night, we ate at Buddakan. See pictures below. This was the most exquisite meal I’ve ever had. It has an asian inspired full tasting menu. We decided to do the tasting menu for the table! It was delicious - but beware, it was A LOT of food. After the apps we were already full….They will portion out the tasting menu for the table, so I would suggest asking that they portion it as one less than your table count. We had 8 people at dinner, but I swear we had enough food for 10 people.

SATURDAY:

Turns out, we squeeze A TON into this day. So be prepared….

We woke up bright and early to have coffee in central park. We just bought Starbucks, and took a stroll through central park. Such a great way to start off the day!! Plus, Central Park is much less crowded in the morning.

Next, we went to the Met. We went through the side entrance (to the left of the stairs) and skipped the whole line - this was a huge time saver! We didn’t spend much time here, but from what what we did see we absolutely loved it.

In the afternoon, we took the subway down to Chelsea to explore Chelsea market. If you live in Atlanta, Chelsea market is very similar to Ponce City market. It was actually developed by the same developer. Of course we went on a Saturday, so the whole market was super busy. Instead of trying to eat at the market, we explored the rest of the Chelsea neighborhood to grab a bite to eat. We stumbled upon this amazing local food hall, Gasvenoort Market. It felt like we just walked into a neighborhood bar full of locals. It wasn’t packed at all, and had the best energy. I would highly recommend if you’re in the area!

With Laura Fayer in front of my favorite piece

Before dinner, I had the honor to attend Laura Fayer’s private exhibit opening at Kathryn Markel Fine Art. We got to meet Laura Fayer herself, learn about her process, and see more of her amazing work.

Saturday night we went to this amazing Italian restaurant, Forlinis. We had a huge Italian style dinner hosted by some of our favorite reps (Kelly Bowen with Ceramic Technics, and Bridget Voglhuber with Specified Agents). We got to meet new people in the industry, and just had a great time. Next, we went to the Public rooftop for drinks and dancing. This was the highlight of our trip I would say. The view from the top of the Public looks over all of lower Manhattan. It is worth the line to get to the rooftop bar for the view. After the public we went to this local speakeasy The Pegu Club, and closed the night with late night pizza from Joes. Apparently, this pizza place is open all night long, and has served some of the most famous people (hello pictures of Leonardo DeCaprio on the wall…).

SUNDAY:

Time for the conference!! The whole reason we were in NYC was to attend BDNY. BDNY is an annual interior design conference and expo catered towards hospitality and boutique designers. For two days at the Javits center thousands of designers from across the nation come together to see all the newest products, and hear about the most recent deign trends. This took up the majority of our day. We definitely left feeling more inspired and energized about the industry and design.

Sunday night, we were hosted by one of our favorite reps (Todd Fuller) for dinner and a show on broadway. We went to dinner at Joe Allen, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the theater district that was delightful, and so delicious. We even saw some famous people there..

Next, time for BEETLEJUICE on broadway!! This show, and cast was absolutely phenomenal. The show is such fun, and full of sarcasm and pure talent. I would highly recommend going to see it! (ps the lead star Sophia Anne Caruso is 18 and has a voice of a rockstar).

After the show, we took a Rickshaw through times square to a Plano bar in Chelsea. The Rickshaw was such a tourist thing to do, but it was a BLAST - see the view/pictures below… It really was the best way to see all of times square at night.

The piano bar we went to was called Marie’s Crisis Cafe It is another hole-in-the-wall type of place, with the piano at the center of the room. The piano man works there every night, and it the star of the show. There is a counter attached to the piano, so everyone crowds around the piano and sings along to broadway hits all night. There were a couple solos performed by up-and-coming broadway stars that would knock your socks off. I think this was another the highlight of my trip. I really got to see into underground broadway, and actually felt part of the local New Yorker scene.

All of us riding through times square on a Rickshaw

MONDAY:

Yes y'all, we're still going (i told you this would be long). Monday is our last day in the city, and I was so sad to leave. In the morning and late afternoon, we finished the show at BDNY. It was so good to see all of the products and newest trends of the industry. Check The Johnson Studio’s instagram story for more about what all we saw!

We ended the day with a trip to the Vessel, and lunch at the Electric Lemon in the equinox hotel. This was such a fun lunch hosted by Jill and Eric from Klem Group (again some of our favorite reps). I would really recommend this lunch to anyone looking to step away from the stress of the Javits Center.

The Vessel - make sure to get tickets before going!

Now, I’m writing this post on the flight back to ATL feeling more inspired and energized than ever. I saw so much and met truly some amazing and inspiring people. So get ready, Snow Studio, for a bolt of energy that I’ve got coming for ya.

Thanks New York for one heck of a time - I know I’ll be back soon.

More importantly, Thanks to YOU for following along too - if you made it this far, you deserve a coffee on me! Leave a comment below, or message me on instagram to claim your FREE COFFEE. Only the first 5 to reach out will win.

Travel, LifestyleRachael SnowNovember 13, 2019Blog, Travel, NYC, weekend, High End, Luxury, AffordableComment