nyc, day three

the whole crew at norma's for breakfast

my choice, huevos rancheros - it was delicious!!!!!!!

after the show, we got a group shot

dinner at john's pizzeria in times square

my cousin ashley (who lives in nyc) joined us for pizza

strawberry shortcake cheesecake for dessert at world famous "junior's"

day three - we started off the day with breakfast at norma's in the le parker meriden hotel and it was without a doubt one of the best meals we had!! our waiter was extremely flamboyant, so nice and so fun. i had the most delicious huevos rancheros ever :) we headed back to bryant park to see if we could spot any more celebrities at fashion week. we saw jennifer love hewitt and that was about it. next, we were off to the gershwin theatre to see "wicked". it was excellent!!!!! after the show, we went to get pizza at john's pizzeria in times square. my cousin ashley, who lives in nyc, recommended it and joined us for dinner. of course, we had to get dessert so we stopped in the famous "juniors" for cheesecake. needless to say, we were never hungry on our trip!!
this wrapped up our last full day in the city and the next morning we all flew out and back to our real lives. girls, it was an absolute blast!!!! i can't wait for the next trip!!

nyc, day two

me, jaime and lauren at pastis (in the meatpacking district) for brunch

the new york public library

heidi klum - yes, i was this close to her!!!

gorgeous and so nice

dijimon hounsou, kimora lee simmons and kimora's children

carrie and our bouncer friend - he loved us!

new york fashion week at bryant park

amazing guacamole made tableside at rosa mexicano

chocolate bread pudding at rosa mexciano

the plaza hotel

jaime and me and some pretty flowers

the outside of the plaza hotel at night

day two - we started off the day with brunch at pastis in the meatpacking district. the food was pretty good, but the service not so much :( we shopped a lot this day, had a quick lunch at dean and deluca, checked out the new york public library and then stalked celebrities at fashion week at bryant park. i turned into full on paparazzi when heidi klum came out. i made a made dash for her with the paparazzi and got some good shots. maybe i found a new career!! we saw kellie pickler from american idol, too, but i didn't have my camera out. we had dinner that night at rosa mexicano and it was wonderful. the service was awesome! the guacamole and chicken tacos were amazing. of course, i'm just slightly partial to mexcian food. jaime, carrie and i walked to the plaza hotel after dinner. we thought about having a glass of wine, but $17 a glass was a bit steep for our budgets. it was beautiful, though!!

nyc girls' trip 2009, day one (friday, feb 13)

first stop...lunch at the famous carnegie deli

on the double decker bus tour, downtown loop

carrie, jaime and me

ground zero

eating cupcakes at magnolia bakery - yummy!!!

lauren and valerie

lacey and her baby boy brooks - she let us invade her home!

meatballs at carmine's

chicken parmigiana

me, lauren and val chowing down at carmine's

oh, how much fun did i have on my girls' trip a few weeks ago!!! president's weekend, i joined 5 of my samford girlfriends in NYC! my college roommate, lacey, lives on the upper west side with her hubby and baby boy so 3 of us crashed her place. thank you, lacey!! we came from charleston, birmingham, florence and memphis and got to spend 3 full days playing, eating, shopping, celebrity stalking and having the time of our lives! it was so awesome! thank you to my husband and my in-laws for taking care of my girls while i was gone. i loved NYC, but i have to say, this laidback charleston girl had a tough time keeping up with the pace. i kept wanting to tell people to slow down!!! can't wait for our next trip...probably somewhere warmer with sun and sand :)

day one - my flight thur night got cancelled so i flew out bright and early friday am. i negotiated laguardia airport and getting a cab and made it to lacey's apt safe and sound. my friends jaime and carrie got there the night before so we visited for a while and then headed out for the day. we ate lunch at carnegie deli and then did the double decker bus tour. we got to see lots of sights, got off and saw ground zero, bought some t'shirts in chinatown, etc. it was a great way to see lots of landmarks. we met our other friends who flew in that day, valerie and lauren, and ate a cupcake at magnolia bakery, so yummy!! we then all went and ate italian at carmine's for dinner. oh, it was delicious!!!!

emma, micah (forester's brother) and caroline playing today :)

forester's surgery went well today! thank you for standing in the gap and lifting their family up during this very difficult time. the bradburns love Jesus with all their hearts and have faithfully served Him as long as i've known them. they are glorifying Him in the way they are dealing with this life changing circumstance. i am so proud to call them my friends. whitney's best friend in georgia is updating their blog so you can keep up to date with the latest details that way, www.thebradburns.blogspot.com!! i will update here as well when needed....

forester bradburn

forester and his baby sister, slade - in the hospital yesterday

please pray for this precious boy!! we are close friends with forester's parents and they just found out yesterday am that he has a brain tumor. he was having horrible headaches and a CT scan revealed the tumor in his cerebellum, pushing against his brain stem. thankfully, a later MRI also showed that the cancer has not spread elsewhere. at this very minute, he is in surgery to have the tumor removed. please pray that the surgeon will be able to remove ALL the tumor and that his brain will not be impacted. pray for his parents, whitney and pete and for his siblings, micah (4yrs) and slade (3mos). pray for the treatment he will be receiving after surgery in the coming months. pray most of all for complete healing and that Jesus will be glorified in the midst of it all. this is a precious, amazing family!!!!

enchilada stuffed peppers

i made these tonight for dinner for the second time....it's a paula deen recipe and is very yummy and easy!!!

2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (11oz) can yellow corn, drained
1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded mexican cheese blend, divided
1 teaspoon salt
6 large poblano peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl, combine chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt. fill peppers evenly with chicken mixture. place peppers, cut side up, in 2 (13x9) baking dishes. bake for 30 minutes; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. bake for 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted. serve immediately.

making pizza

the finished product

caroline: mommy, how do i know who i'm gonna marry?
mommy: you have to follow Jesus and love Him and then he'll let you know who you're supposed to marry.
caroline: i think i'm in love with hew (the only little boy in her class who is super sweet and cute)
mommy: why do you think you're in love?
caroline: because he smiled at me in chapel today
mommy: oh really...well, that's not really the best reason to be in love or get married
caroline: well, he also does whatever i do

i'm sure he would be very impressed with her pizza making skills!!!