Happy holidays, Pt 4: All is quiet on New Year's Day.

Last but not least -- New Year's Eve!  Cristiane, Chris, Carlos, and myself (the three Cs, huh!) planned to dance the night away at a rooftop party on the Upper East Side.  Sounds great, right?  Welllllllllll, we arrived too late to get into the party (must have been a great place to be, oh well!) so we caught a cab and tried to get as close to Times Square as possible.  That ended up being 6th Ave & 43rd St.  We couldn't see the Times Square Ball, but there were people everywhere and celebration was in the air!  Cell phones struck midnight and, wooooo, happy New 2012!

The following photos were all taken by my friend, Chris -- kudos to him!

Waiting to get into the rooftop party.

Should we have taken it home?

I sat on her finger getting in the cab! :(

She couldn't move it, and it started to swell.

But who cares, it's New Year's Eve! :)

Lights over Times Square.

Happy New Year!

FIREWORKS!!!!!

What other way to round out the evening?  Yum!

Happy holidays, Pt. 3: It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Heading into December, I was pretty bummed not to be near friends and family for Christmas.  What this place needed was a little mistletoe and holly!  With my roommates' blessings, I went a little crazy decking the living room with some holiday cheer.

Festive, no?  Candy canes and twinkling lights and stockings, oh my!  

Christmas Eve, Cristiane, Carlos, and I went to Midnight Mass then hung out at home until the wee hours of the morning.  Unfortunately for me, there "arose such a clatter" around 630a Christmas morning -- a store I'm overseeing in Brooklyn needed me to come in and fix a problem.  Merry Christmas!  Ah, well.  I headed down there, played hero, visited my own store to wish them a merry day, and decided to take advantage of the quiet morning.  Little did I realize that I am only a ten minute walk from the Brooklyn Bridge!  It was a cold but beautiful morning and walking across the bridge into Manhattan was the perfect way to reflect on being a little lonely but not alone on my first Christmas way from home.

So now what for the holiday itself?  Roommate Kristen was heading home for Christmas so Cristiane, Oz, Carlos, and I decided to stay in and have a homemade holiday.  We cooked (egg toast, roasted veggies, blueberry bake), watched a movie, and opened gifts.  It was a simple yet lovely day, and while it wasn't easy to be away from home, it was a great way to spend Christmas in New York.

Wearing the scarves that Grammie made for me!

Merry Christmas from NYC and Kristen, Carlos, Cristiane, Oz, and Erica. :)

Happy holidays, Pt. 2: 'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City.

The month of November was a good time to enjoy the mostly beautiful weather and continue exploring the city.  And there was pizza, always more pizza.

The arch in Washington Square.

Cristiane and I on our way to a party.

It was a hoodie party, and even Falcor was in dress code!

Clint and Chris on the ride home.  This feels so NYC.

My very own store!

On a stroll through Central Park, there was this group of people hunched over in odd formations ....

Then they all started running around "on" ... brooms?

They were playing QUIDDITCH, people.  Quidditch.  It takes all kinds. :)

Toward the end of the month, Chris and I met up for -- you guessed it -- pizza!  We had an indoor picnic because it was pouring outside.

Delicious!

Happy holidays, Pt. 1: Turkey in the straw.

I really haven't posted since early November?  I could have sworn there was already a Thanksgiving entry -- wishful thinking, maybe?  All right, people, who's ready for another 4-in-1 series?

First, Thanksgiving!

Confetti from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Renaissance Restaurant, where we Thanksgiving-supped.

Starting course -- vegetable soup with the icky bits picked out.

Main course -- turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  All tasty except that they brought every course so quickly that dinner was a little cold before I got to it. 

Phoning it in with friends!  Happy Thanksgiving!