Little Winter Trip to the Big Apple { PART 2 }

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Laurel at THE HIVE

I’m so excited to share a little more about our pre-Christmas long weekend vacay to NYC! In case you missed PART 1 from yesterday, you can peek at it here!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I think my favorite thing about New York is it’s versatility. I’ve never been at a time of year I didn’t enjoy. I’ve never been at an age where I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve gone on tight budget trips and “spend as much as you want” trips, both of which are MASSIVELY fun, exposing completely different aspects of this city! At sunrise, at sunset, in the sun, in the snow… It doesn’t matter…

Today I wanted to share my favorite scenery shots from our trip. From the park to the top of a skyscraper to the twinkle lights in the dark… Goodness, what a gorgeous place this is!

These are all from the top of the Empire State Building… We went all the way up to the 102nd floor! I DEFINITELY recommend it doing that if you have time! The sun was setting as we were up there so the views were just fabulous!

View of NYC from the top of the Empire State Building // { THE HIVE }

See the moon floating just over the Chrysler Building?!

To me, the best part about getting to see the Big Apple in the winter was the snow and the Christmas decorations!! I’m betting those of you who have been there during the holidays would agree!!

Here are a few shots of the wintery beauty…

Sorry… had to share a picture of the tree again! I’m obsessed with it! #gorgeousness

Stay tuned for one more installment on the Little Winter Trip to the Big Apple series tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed these winter pics as much as I loved sharing them!

Have a great one!

Little Winter Trip to the Big Apple { PART 1 }

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Laurel at THE HIVE

The week before Christmas, Price and I got to join my brother Jordan, his wife Katie, our longtime friend Lan, and his cute lil lady, also named Katie, for a quick little trip to the Big Apple!

Price and I had never been to New York in the winter, so it was a whole new experience for us!! It was absolutly GORGEOUS all decorated for Christmas and covered in a soft blanket of crisp white snow! We had such a ball in a beautiful city with some of the best people ever!

Me, Price, Lan, the Katies, and Jordan!

We stayed in a GORGEOUS hotel (with the COOLEST lobby) called The Hudson at Colombus Circle….

… got to ice skate in Central Park…

… AND GOT TO SEE THE CHRISTMAS TREE AT ROCKEFELLER PLAZA!!!!!

Seeing this massive tree has been on my bucket list ever since I’ve had a bucket list! It was absolutely gorgeous with literally millions of twinkle lights on it! Of all different colors! Y’all have no idea how excited I am that I got to see this tree… It was everything I’ve dreamed it would be!

I took a ton of pictures, so there will be parts 2 and 3 about this trip later this week! I can’t wait to share more about NYC in the winter with you!!!

Thanks for stopping in today. Until next time… X’s and O’s!

InstaNYC, Part 2

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Laurel at THE HIVE

To continue where we left off with yesterday’s post…. 🙂

This was one of my favorite places to grab a quick, healthy meal when I was in England. SO GLAD they’re now in the U.S.!

ABC Carpet & Home in NYC // The Lovely Bee

We went in ABC Carpet & Home and it was even more amazing than I ever dreamed!! I fell in love with SO much! Like all of this gorgeous white pottery!

Pretty paper at ABC Home

Great little beehive coaster at ABC Home that would be PERFECT in my Lovely Bee office!

I felt like I was standing in the middle of one of the ABC ads! SO PRETTY!

Lunch/Brunch at Bread on Spring Street. THIS is a new favorite restaurant…

Pineapple Jalapeno cocktail at Bread

View of downtown from the harbour

FAO Schweetz, the candy store inside FAO Schwarz… This was trouble!

I happily stumbled upon Madison Square Eats, a little food festival going on one day!

We got to hang out with our cousins who have a place on Long Island. They took us to Lawrence Beach Club for a Memorial Day BBQ! Loved it!

Well, that was a fun trip!! We should do it again sometime! 😉

An extra special thanks to the Brickells, our cousins who live in NYC. They showed us around on Sunday and even let Price play a round of golf with them! They were definitely one of the biggest highlights of the trip!

Overall, we had a grand time and can’t wait to go back! 🙂

InstaNYC, Part 1

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Laurel at THE HIVE

Price and I got back from New York late Monday night and we can’t stop talking about what a great time we had! Although it was a fairly short trip, we got in a LOT! We were constantly on the go, making the best use of time that we could! Here’s a quick recap of the first half of our trip (via my Instagram photos, plus a couple!)

Freedom Tower at Ground Zero

One of the reflecting pools at Ground Zero

Jack’s Coffee Shop

Eataly was fantastic!! Thanks to my brother and sis-in-law for the recommendation! Best Italian restaurants and shops ever!!

Cheese in Eataly!

Cherry Hill Fountain in Central Park // The Lovely Bee

Cherry Hill Fountain in Central Park where we got engaged five years ago 🙂

Hazy day in Battery Park

Got to watch the Mets & Braves play at Citi Field

We ate at Tom’s Restaurant, most famous for their sign being used in Seinfeld. The food was horrible, but for big Seinfeld fans like us, we were glad to get to go anyway!

Great light fixture I fell in love with at AOA restaurant

Paper Source had the most beautiful papers of all kinds!!

Late night coffee and dessert in Little Italy

Not pictured are a trip to STK (thanks, Marianne, for the suggestion!), the Broadway play Jersey Boys (we both loved it! Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons fans must go! Thanks for the rec, Rachel!), and a trip to Little Branch, a really cute hidden speakeasy! The cocktails and atmosphere are VERY 20’s, so I was lovin it!

More from the second half of this trip to come tomorrow! 🙂 Stay tuned…

Celebrating Four Years With Spontaneity

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Laurel at THE HIVE

Today, my husband Price and I are celebrating FOUR years of marriage!! Wow, we’re such an old couple!! 🙂 It’s definitely been the best four years of my life!!!!

this picture was taken on the day we got engaged! 🙂

To celebrate, we booked a trip to New York (where we got engaged!) on a complete whim. Like 2 days ago. We have never done anything before that we planned for less than this trip. And because of that… I’m ecstatic!! Spontaneity is so romantic, don’t ya think?! Thankfully we were able to find someone to take care of our three hounds, so we’re ready to jetset! (Travel tip: Wait til the last minute and hotel rooms that haven’t been booked yet are really cheap!)

On a completely different note…

I’m pretty obsessed with the new app from A Beautiful Mess. I’ve seriously had WAY too much fun with it… I highly recommend the download!

With that being said, I compiled a couple of my favorite quotes/sayings/things I just thought were appropriate. All created in A Beautiful Mess!

To go along with the trip to New York, this is one of my favorite quotes from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is set in the Big Apple! And you have to say DAHling like she does in the movie, you can’t say DARling. Audrey Hepburn would be heartbroken if you said it incorrectly…

To go along with it being our anniversary, this is one of my most favorite Bible verses! So perfect for almost any relationship!! I really love this whole passage, but since space was a slight issue… 🙂

Lastly… In line with it being Memorial Day weekend, I’ve always loved this quote by Ronald Reagan, and it seems kind of patriotic to me, so it’s perf for Memorial Day!! I also just think this is a great thought to always keep in mind. A good home life is so important!