The Accessory: new york, new york.

a peaceful moment captured on a morning walk through central park.

Yes.. yes, I know. My New York adventure was more than a few weeks ago, and I'm definitely overdue for sharing highlights. [SORRY!] But hey... I wanted to give this grand city justice and allow myself plenty of time to share my fav spots that I visited.

As you know, we were in Boston prior to our venture into NYC. The journey to the big apple was quite the drive. Yes. We. Drove. Reasons why? We wanted to visit the main squeeze's extended family - which included meeting his grandparents, and also, we attended one of his high school friends' wedding. From there, we drove through Jersey and into the city around 10:30 pm.

You know how they say the "city never sleeps"? They are 100% correct. I had never seen so much traffic at that time of day - the honking, the lights and street traffic buzzing. It was so alive compared to our sleepy Seattle folks who are nestled in their beds around 10 pm.

The next few days in New York included morning walks through Central Park, a little rendezvous with great college friends, Robert and Chelsey at Laduree for brunch, window shopping and visiting all of the famous Carrie Bradshaw spots (aka her apartment, Magnolia Bakery, etc.).

We walked through West Village, Soho, the Meatpacking District, Flatiron, and paid a visit to Chelsea Market. Our first full day ended with dinner at Momofuku, a place that my main squeeze and I had waited months for, especially after watching the entire PBS Series "The Mind of a Chef" with David Chang. We were obsessed, and he did not disappoint.

The rest of the trip included visiting all of the big NYC landmarks, and I'm proud to say that we hit up/saw plenty of the big ones - Bryant Park (Fashion Week, need I say more?), New York City Public Library, Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and Grand Central Station. We even walked through Chinatown to find Joe's Shanghai soup dumplings. And dare I say it, they were tastier than Din Tai Fung.

On the plane ride home back to Seattle, I started to tear up. My feelings for New York began to bubble up to the surface. I had become absolutely smitten with the Big Apple. All of my five senses were ignited and overwhelmed - I could see, feel, smell, taste and hear the city. There was something about the restlessness of this concrete jungle that kept me invigorated, energized and craving for more. And with that, I must go back soon.