Casual Fridays

This past weekend, I got to check another major item off my Bucket List. I saw the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. 

You guys. I have been wanting to see the Rockettes since the very first time I watched the movie Annie when I was a little girl. And I got to go to the Christmas Spectacular! Let me tell you: it lives up to its name. It was everything I always wanted it to be, spectacular in every way. The Rockettes were fabulous, and the entire show was wonderful. 

Not only did I get to see the Rockettes, I got to spend the night at The Plaza! This quick trip was a Christmas present from my Mom, and it was such a blast.

We flew into New York early Sunday morning (we left home at 4 AM...not my greatest time of day), caught a cab into the city, and checked into The Plaza which is probably the most beautiful, decadent hotel I've ever stayed in. After we dropped our stuff off and discovered the heated floors in our bathroom (what?!), we took off into the city to ooh and aah over the Christmas windows at Bloomingdale's, Tiffany & Co., Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, and lots of others. We went up in Trump Tower and had coffee, and eventually headed back to The Plaza to get warmed up and ready for the show. The show was awesome (as I already mentioned), and afterward, we went to Rockefeller Center to check out more Christmas decorations. And yes, we were those obnoxious, selfie-stick usin' tourists you've all heard about.

The next morning, we had breakfast in our room (I can't even start to talk about this. So much yum.), and then packed up to check out and head back out into the city for more Christmastime fun. The plan was to go ice skating in Central Park, but as soon as we stepped outside, we realized that was not going to happen. It. Was. Freezing. We opted for a pedicab ride around Central Park instead. Even though we couldn't feel our hands or feet by the end of it, it was so much fun. Our pedicab driver regaled us with all kinds of questionable anecdotes about the different monuments and architecture we encountered. He seemed more confident of his movie and celebrity trivia than the historical facts he was giving us, but he was hilarious and kept us laughing the entire time.

According to "Jon" (our driver), this is the fountain where the theme from Friends was shot. He was dedicated to getting a picture of us jumping in front of it. After probably about a million attempts, I think this was the only one where all our feet are off the ground at the same time. #laughsfordays

After our pedicab ride through subzero temps, we decided to spend the rest of our time inside The Plaza, eating super-thin NY pizza and browsing all the adorable shops. After an hour or two of thawing out and soaking it all in, it was time to grab our bags and hail another cab back to the airport.

I couldn't have asked for a better two days or two better women to spend them with. My mom and my mommy-in-law are two of my best friends, and I absolutely loved sharing this experience with them. Until next time, New York!

 ~January 3 & 4, 2016~

Have you checked any big-ticket items off your Bucket List lately?