New York City

First, I just wanted to say thank you for your kind words last week. It's so good to be back! Since I'm still catching up here, I thought I'd share a trip we took to NYC shortly after Q's homecoming. Seeing the New York City Ballet is one of those things on my bucket list, so we decided to head there and see The Nutcracker!

We were in the city for our anniversary through New Year's, which are just a couple days apart...aka the craziest, busiest time of year to visit. But it was totally worth getting to experience part of the holiday season there (at least that's what we kept telling ourselves!). This trip tested our patience in a lot of ways, navigating the city, crowds & a few mishaps, so it made me all the more grateful we could share in the adventure together. It felt surreal to keep realizing something we'd looked forward to throughout the last months of deployment was actually happening...it was really wonderful.

We spent most of our time exploring shops, cafes, & museums (the paintings above were two of my favorites at the MoMA), and also visited Rockefeller Center a few times to see the tree & the Top of the Rock. We loved the bird's eye view of Central Park surrounded by a sea of skyscrapers.

On our last night, New Year's Eve, we headed to Lincoln Center for The Nutcracker, which was amazing -- the dancers, the set design, and even the theater itself. And now, of course, I want to go back!

PS. Above is a glimpse of the tiny apartment we rented through Airbnb while there. It was inspiring to see how the owner lived so intentionally in a small space -- everything had its place and doubled in both form & function, like her bookshelf wall. Also, a couple (grainy) night photos from going atop the Empire State Building as well...because when you travel with an engineer, this is what they like to do! ;)