Girls Trip to NYC

Highlights:

• seeing Jane's apartment, her life, seeing her in her element. She was, by far, the perfect tour guide/"cruise director". She was giving us NYC trivia the whole weekend. I'm not sure if she knew everything, but she acted like it and we believed her!
  
• visiting the Manhattan temple all together. Even though I was fighting a head cold and can't say I was completely awake during the whole session, it was definitely a highlight. We also went to church with Jane & she shared her testimony of Christ. She is such a wonderful, solid, and tender person. I felt her love of the Savior as she spoke and it reminded me of how much I respect her strong spirit.
• the food. oh, the food. Jane knows all the good spots to eat and we didn't waste time on healthy meals. It was all made better by the fact that I didn't have to shop for, prepare, serve, or clean up any meal over the weekend. We ate every few hours and I dream of the Levain bakery. I'm going through withdrawals of their chocolate chip walnut cookie. In fact, I've already found a few different copycat recipes that I'm dying to try.
  
• constant girl-talk.....Gilmore Girls, hair loss after pregnancy, recipes, shoes, blisters, etc.
• spending the morning with Liesel (one of my very closest friends growing up). She met us for brunch at Sarabeths, then went shopping, and finally we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge together. I love that although we hadn't seen each other in over a year it was as if we talk every day....truly a mark of a great friendship.
  
• Shopping in SoHo. (I don't really know if we were actually in SoHo, but isn't that where people go to shop while in NYC?) I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to see all the people and movement.
  
• Carrying around a bag that only had MY necessities: gum, wallet, lip gloss. No diapers, wipes, toys, treats, etc.
• Celebrity sightings....we were on the set TWICE of Damages, a sketchy TV show on FX starring Glenn Close. We also were on a bus with Kyra Sedgwick. Who knew she rides buses?
  
• the entertainment. We went to Carnegie Hall on Friday night to hear the San Francisco symphony perform Mahler's Resurrection. It was surprisingly moving and it got me thinking about Easter. On Saturday we saw the Fantasticks (which Grandpa Madsen designed costumes for in San Franscisco) and it was "fantastick!" Apparently, it's the longest running Broadway show ever. It was playing in a little theater just off Broadway and we were lucky enough to get front row seats. The cast of eight seemed small at first, but each character is super. It was truly memorable and unique. When I think of Broadway, I usually think of the enormous theaters with a cast of over 50 and incredible sets and effects. But going to the Fantasticks has broadened my opinion of Broadway. I loved being close enough to actually interact with the actors. After the show we even talked to the lead role, el Gallo. It was just his sixth time performing this show and he was incredible. It was definitely a night to remember.
  
• Coming home to see my adorable little ones (poor Grant caught a stomach flu while I was gone) and a great husband who took care of them. I missed them all so much, and I was ready to jump back in full-swing.