I have to admit, it has felt pretty good to get back into "normal" life.  Being in Utah feels more like the norm because it was the norm for so long.  We know the streets, the stores, the canyons, the doctors.  It's just really easy here.  Living in New York felt like a sureal dream, and it was fun while it lasted, but I am glad that I have awakened from that sleep.  We played so hard, spending only sleeping time at the apartment, and I have just barely finally like I am rested again.  Do I miss New York?  No, we left with a great taste in our mouth still.  I do miss several things about it, and those are my friends that felt like family and took care to make sure we were always doing ok.  We weren't there very long, but we were taken in and welcomed in a wonderful way.  I look up to all my dear friends that live there in that physically demanding city.  These are some amazing women!
I am loving being able to cook again.  I wasn't not cooking because we were in New York, it was because of the pregnancy.  I was so sick, but luckily we were in the mecca of delicious places to eat!  Caroline even said excitedly, "Mommy, you can cook again because you are not sick anymore!"  That made me feel like a million bucks and since she was so thrilled I felt like the greatest cook ever (which I am soooo not!). 
Eating out is one of my favorite things to do that we haven't done a ton of while in law school.  I don't even think it's about the food for me, rather the atmosphere.  If a cafe' has twinkle lights, I am sold.  Not all of the places we ate at had twinklies, but there were some delicious eats.  Here are a few...

Alice's Teacup I already wrote about beause we went for Caroline's birthday.  Again, I would highly recommend it for breakfast!

Sarabeth's is another quaint breakfast nook that I could go to again and again.  It's been a favorite for a long time and has never been a place to disappoint...especially in the French Toast department.

Anyone that is from New York (but no longer living there) that knew we were going to live there said, "Eat a bagel for me while you are there."  Well, Absolute Bagels won our hearts over.  The line in the morning is always ginormous, but so worth it!  We lived right around the corner from it so we visited often.

If you have a major sweet tooth like myself, Levain Bakery is worth a try.  Not only is the brief history of this bakery unique, their cinnamon buns won a contest on Oprah, and their 6 oz. cookies are so soft and just melt away in your mouth.  As you can see, they bring pure delight to your day...especially the dark chocolate chocolate chip variety.

As for pizza, I was kind of doubting that we would find any worth talking about as we neared the end of our stay in NYC.  We ate a lot of it because it's everywhere and the kids will eat it.  The last night when we were out with my family, we went to Lombardi's in Little Italy.  It is delicious old-school Italian pizza with thin and crispy crust, crust is so important to me, and the sauce and bubbly cheese were delicious.

And if you are looking for some refreshing fruit drinks, hit Gray's Papaya, which is a hot dog joint.  The papaya and pina colada juices were my favorite.  It's cheap too which is always a bonus in NY!

There are tons more, but hopefully you can enjoy thinking about these ones for now. 
What are your favorite restaurants, not just in NYC, but anywhere?  It's so fun trying new places.

Alice's Tea Cup

Birthdays are a big deal at our house.  I have always loved birthdays and think a birthday should be a day full of celebrating.  Although we already celebrated Caroline's birthday in Salt Lake with family at her jewel party, we did some celebrating here in New York!

Alice's Tea Cup was a fanciful little place to begin the day.  We arrived right when it opened at 8 a.m. so that Adam could be there to enjoy Caroline's birthday breakfast.  As we walked in, we were greeted with the sight and smell of hot varieties of scones, fresh out of the oven with steam coming off of them.   

Caroline announced that she was turning 4 and the darling hostess asked if she would like some fairy dust sprinkled on her.  Caroline clenched her hands tightly together and scrunched her eyes shut as she made her wish while fairy dust fell on her head.

Next, she picked some butterfly wings to wear while she dined, and she also picked some for Olive. 

She was amazed that her hot chocolate had heart sprinkles in it, and that they "disappeared".  She was certain that her fairy dust made the hearts do that magic :)  She loved drinking out of such a fancy teacup..as did I.  We enjoyed blueberry pancakes, waffles with fresh berries, but the thing that will have me going back again are the scones.  The savory cinnamon chocolate scone was perfection.  I was not a scone lover before these.  They have never really done anything for me, but now I can't wait to try all of their varieties!

I had the Christmas Brew herbal tea and it was delicious.  Pineapple, orange peel, papaya, hibiscus...and more.  I think it converted me from being a habitual hot chocolate drinker, to an herbal tea consumer.  I have tried to make a healthier choice than hot chocolate to get warm in the winter, but I have not enjoyed tea.

I think I could drink anything that came out of a darling little teapot like this though!

Before we left, Caroline enjoyed looking at a detailed and colorful pop-up Alice in Wonderland book.   She assigned us all our Halloween characters before we left as well.  

Daddy had to go off to work and we headed to the Central Park Zoo.  The walk there in the 80 degree, non humid weather, was so enjoyable.  We loved spending time at the Bethesda Fountain and walking down the Mall in the park.  

Caroline has such a zest for life, she has a heart that is always open to loving and helping others, lately she has made me cry almost everyday because I can't believe she is ours.

Happy Birthday Sweet Caroline!!