Dining in NYC

One of my favorite luxuries in life is eating out. Testing exotic foods and trying out new dishes I've never had before. (Now there's a sentence my 15-year-old, Pop-Tart and Twizzler-eating self would never have uttered!) As I've grown up and ditched my picky eating habits, I've learned to love so many new foods (all the foods, really). So, naturally, I was very excited to try out some New York restaurants when I visited the city back in January.

NYC trip: Jonas Blizzard

As I was preparing for my first trip to New York two weekends ago, I decided to buy some new Nikes for all the walking we'd be doing. Sensible right? And I was going to wear my favorite faux leather jacket because it's my cutest one and the temps were supposed to be in the 30s, while I'd been getting used to hovering around zero here in Des Moines. It would be a heat wave!

here's to new adventures

Tomorrow I'm heading out on my first adventure of 2016, and my feelings are a mixture of excitement, nerves and anticipation. I've wanted to go to New York since I can remember, and for a long time I thought I would move out there after college and start my life in one of the greatest cities in the world.

Flash forward to present day and I honestly can't see myself living in NYC anymore. (Although that might just change after I see it all in person this weekend!) I love Des Moines and the Midwest, and the idea of settling here but traveling everywhere, starting now.

If I'm being completely honest, I'm slightly terrified. I have never flown by myself before, and the last time I was even on a plane was my freshman year of college, which feels like forever ago. But I'm 23 now and I feel like it's time to start doing more things that scare me. (I know that's super cliche, but bear with me — I'm on that "new adventures" kick!)

But for the most part, I am crazy excited to see the city I've been dreaming about my whole life. Adam and I have booked our weekend solid with sight-seeing. A few things on my list: The Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park, the 9/11 memorial, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Met. It's supposed to snow up to two feet while I'm there, so hopefully everything looks beautiful and snow-covered. And the forecast is predicting warmer temps than we've had here in Des Moines, so no complaints there!

I won't be posting tomorrow due to my early flight, but I'll be back next week with a recap of my trip! Wish me luck that I don't get lost at any of the airports!

Have you been to New York? What are your recommendations? We want to try them all! 

The new (80) million-dollar view in NYC

This is what I imagined living in New York City would be like at age 12. Gorgeous views of the New York skyline, a beautiful penthouse 96 stories high with fabulous designer furnishings. That's what I get for letting movies guide my judgments.

Of course, now I know that views like this one are only for the very (very, very) rich. I don't think I'll be living there anytime soon, but it's still fun to imagine. What would it be like to walk out of your bedroom in the morning to see the sun rise over the Empire State Building?

Maybe someday I'll know, but for now, I'll just enjoy my coffee from the third-floor balcony, with a beautiful view of the sun rising over Wal-Mart.

(Photo via Daily Mail)