Surprise

Life is full of surprises...some good and some bad. Last weekend I planned a good surprise. Greg and I were long overdue for a night away, so I planned something. I surprised him at work, bags packed, and while only 30 minutes from home, arriving at the Crosby Street Hotel felt like another world. First I need to just talk about how unbelievably gorgeous and amazing this place is! Having recently become design obsessed, I didn't know where to look first in this beautifully decorated lobby. Everywhere you turned there was something interesting and pretty to look at....a neutral palette with pops of color and texture. There was incredible artwork (specifically the huge three dimensional sculpture of a face made of letters), awesome light fixtures, vibrant colors and spectacular windows. I was in awe of the lobby and couldn't wait to see what the room was going to look like.  We got off the elevator and proceeded down the wallpapered hallway to our room. Having looked at the website, I had some idea of what it would look like but also knew that every room is decorated differently. The color scheme of our room was yellow and grey (pretty popular now) and perfection in every way. Everything from the print on the headboard to the lamps to the cool window treatments framing a huge window overlooking Crosby Street was just amazing. Definitely a new favorite spot of mine!

On another note, I was thinking about the importance of nights like this one. Greg and I had 24 hours of uninterrupted quality time together. I know, you're thinking to yourself, 24 hours? Really? You're psyched about twenty-four hours? But when you have three little kids, work and travel obligations, school functions, sports games, house responsibilities, time with friends, time with family, the list goes on....twenty-four uninterrupted hours is sometimes hard to come by! We began our night with some apps and drinks at one of our favorite go to spots on Mullberry Street (thanks Danny), Parm. Had some delicious ricotta and toast, salad, brussel sprouts and beers. We sat at the bar, chatted it up with the people who worked there, caught up about our days and then headed out to a couple of neighborhood bars before going for dinner. Four restaurants/bars and many drinks later I was reminded of what life was like when it was just the two of us, living in the city and how far we have come since then. While I  definitely miss those days, I am so incredibly grateful for the life we have created for ourselves now....3 amazing kids, a place we are happy to call home that we have put so much love and thought into, friends and family that continue to be a huge part of our lives and so much more. And of course grateful that we are able to step back and recognize when it's important to take time for us, and to be truly present with one another when given that gift of time. We have learned the hard way that time truly is a gift and never something to be taken for granted. So maybe next time we get away it will be for longer, but for right now, I am relishing in the twenty-four hours that we had in the city that never sleeps!