Mom Came To Visit!

I adore my mother. In case I haven't already made that abundantly clear. I'm pretty much crazy about my whole family, because they are amazing, but my mom is my best friend in the whole world. And we're sealed, so I get to keep them forever.

But I digress...

In the second week of November, Mom came to visit! I was originally waiting to blog about it until I got more pictures, but I decided to keep in simple.

When Mom arrived on Wednesday night, we commenced with my favorite tradition: We went straight to Times Square and the had dinner at the "mafia pasta place." This is what we did on the first night that we came to New York when I was 17 with Mom and my sister Melissa. It is what I did on my first night in New York, and what I did with Michelle when she came to visit, and once again with Mom when she arrived.

Me and Mom in Times Square:


The "mafia pasta place" is actually called the Pasta Lover's Trattoria, and its on 49th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue... just off the north east end of Times Square. When we originally found it 8 years ago the chairs were plastic, the tablecloths were red and white checked, the bowls of pasta were the size of beach balls and there was a table full of rough looking guys in suits in the back. Hence, our christening of the "mafia pasta place." Since then, it has been revamped a little, so that's its more upscale. But the food is still fantastic.

The next day Mom met me for lunch (I had to work) and got to see my building and the Flatiron/Gramercy Park neighborhood. After work, we met my roommates at Blockheads for the best burritos on the Upper West Side.



Mom loved Katie and Sarah, and I had to agree they are pretty fabulous. I moved into my apartment without ever having met them, taking a huge chance and moving in with strangers, but it has worked out better than I could have hoped for. Aw, I have the bestest roommates ever.

Friday I took off of work, Mom and I walked through Central Park, got brunch and went shopping in China Town. Everywhere we went, was, "Wow, I can't believe you live here! I can't believe you do this everyday." Let me just say that my Mom is a pretty cool customer, and although she is never short on kindness and praise, for her to be impressed was a pretty huge compliment. I felt very grown up.

That night we met my other great friends in the city for dinner at ilili.

Melissa Bannister, Kate Sonne, Kristen Vander Hulst, Me, Mom:



Again, we had so much fun... this was really the highlight of the trip for me. I got to show off the people that I know and love so much here in the city to my mom, and I got to show off my mom to the people that I know and love in the city. Its so much easier to tell stories now that Mom actually knows who these people are!

On a side note: ilili is a very cool place. Located on 5th Ave at around 27th Street, its got a very modern vibe and cool but understated decor. The food is Mediterranean and will knock your socks off. I highly recommend it.

Saturday was a perfect day, even though it rained buckets. We got brunch at Cafe Lalo (charming in everyway, made famous by You've Got Mail), which is on 83rd between Broadway and Amsterdam. We went to the MoMA and saw and exhibit that just opened on one of my favorite artists, Joan Miro. We got out of the rain for a bit and caught a movie in Times Square, followed by awesome New York Jewish Deli Food at Roxy's. We finished off our perfect day with Mary Poppins on Broadway.

Sunday we said goodbye and Mom went back to sunny Southern California. It was SO wonderful having her here and getting to share all of the thing that I love about living in New York.

Now if I could just get the rest of the family to come...