New York! New York!

 

I hope all is well in your world and you had a wonderful weekend.  The Mister and I had a whirlwind of a few days.

On Saturday, we celebrated Mother's Day at Miss Lucy's favorite Mexican restaurant.  I think she really enjoys dining out and has inherited her razor-sharp people-watching skills from moi.

Sunday was another gorgeous day.  The Mister and I had an early lunch and then attended the Swiss Avenue Historic House Tour, which was tons of fun.

I never met a house tour I didn't like.

A few weeks ago, the Mister told me that he was working on putting together a birthday experience that I will never forget.  I thought if it has anything to do with ziplining or skydiving, I am calling a divorce lawyer. 

After thirty-five years of wedded bliss, the Mister knows better.  A few days later, he told me that we were going to NYC for a few days and that all the reservations had been made. 

We stayed at the Carlyle, a small boutique hotel rich in history.  This sweet birthday surprise greeted us in our room. 

The Mister has traveled with me for thirty-five years and knows to order extra pillows when making the reservation.  This goes into the file if Mama ain't happy, nobody is happy.

I loved looking at all the works of art around the hotel.

After we checked into the hotel, we had a delightful lunch at Nerai Restaurant, a popular Greek restaurant.  The food and service were top-notch. a

We then went off to spend some time with Seth Meyers.  We walked over to 30 Rock and found a long line.  You need to be committed if you want to see a talk show taped.  We got there at 2:30 and left at 5:30.  

The young pages kept us hopping as we went from one station to another. I was surprised at how respectful the people in line were.

After making the final cut, we were led to our seats.  I don't think there was a bad seat in the small studio. 

The scheduled guests were Adam Levine and Martha Stewart.  I was People were especially excited to see Adam Levine.  When everyone was in their seats we were absolutely forbidden from using our phones.  We were instructed to turn them off.  

It's amazing how itchy and out-of-sorts people get without their phones.  Or maybe it was just the Mister.   The warm-up guy came out and told us that Adam Levine would not be joining us because his segment was taped earlier.  You could hear the disappointment roll through the audience.  There were even a few tears (mine).

The warm-up guy did a great job re-instilling excitement in the room. He then introduced Seth, who was great. He apologized for Adam's absence and said that since they had extra time, he would take questions from the audience. Seth was all that I expected—engaging and fun. 

The show began, and Seth did his monologue and his A Closer Look segment.  He then introduced his sole guest, Martha Stewart who came out smiling and waving at the audience.  She was promoting her new show.  As soon as the cameras went off, Martha hopped up in her sparkly stilettos and couldn't get off the stage fast enough.    

That evening, we met Sista for dinner at Balthazar. The Mister knows how much I enjoy following Keith McNally on Instagram. He owns Balthazar and several other restaurants. Keith is candid and outspoken. He posts funny moments and celebrities who dined the previous evening in his MOD report. His book was published last week, and the Mister and I are listening to it in the car.   

We had a great time catching up with Sista.  

Needless to say, the Mister couldn't get a word in edgewise.  

The next morning. I caught up on my groundbreaking research on sales, miracle beauty products, celeb gossip, and Instagram.

A blogger's work is never done.  

 The weather was nothing less than spectacular.  The Mister booked us on the Gilded Age Mansions Tour.

This is Care, who said he wouldn't waste our time spelling his name, but that was how he pronounced it.  Personally, I think it was short for charisma because he gave the most entertaining tour.  He had plenty of juicy tidbits on the mansion owners and their families.

There were about ten of us in the same tender age bracket. When Care asked how many of us watched Gilded Age, all hands went up. He wasn't in the least bit shocked.

Here are some of the buildings that stood out to me.

If you watched Succession, this is the exterior used as Logan Roy's home. It is now the American Irish Historical Society. 

This is the apartment building where Jackie Kennedy lived and died.

She bought the entire 15th floor in 1964 for $250,000.

This is the Convent of the Sacred Heart on 91st Street.  Some famous alums include Caroline Kennedy, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lady Gaga, and Suri Cruise.  It is also the sister school of the one I attended in Connecticut.  Obviously, I am the only famous celeb who barely graduated from my school.

I highly recommend this walking tour. It was an enjoyable two hours.   

The next stop for lunch was Barbounia, a Mediterranean restaurant.

We feasted on mouthwatering hummus and delicious bread.  I ordered the lamb kebab pita and salad, which were worth every calorie.  Don't ask me what the Mister had, because I was too busy inhaling my meal.

That evening, we had a glass of wine in Bemelmans Bar at the hotel. It's very small and adorned with whimsical drawings on its walls. The place was packed, and it was great people-watching.

We then dined in Cafe Carlyle.  It is a cabaret lounge where Bobby Short entertained for years. 

 

The food was good, and the service was okay.

The headliner was Sandra Bernhard.  When the pianist began to play, I whispered to the Mister, I didn't know Sandra could sing.  And then we realized she can't.  What she lacked in talent, she made up for in volume.  She had some funny stories, and the evening was a treat.

The next day was another beauty - in the 70s and sunny. 

NYC never looked so good!

We had reservations at Boucherie  for lunch.

Here's a switch... I had the meat, and the Mister had the salad.

I knew that we needed a substantial lunch because our dinner reservations weren't until 10PM.

It was delicious, along with great service.

Next stop... The Late Show!

By now, we were pros at standing in line.  The tickets said to start getting in line at 2:30.  We walked by around 1:30 and came across 3 animated ladies standing outside the theater.  We began to chat, and before we knew it, we had a long line behind us. We are so seasoned in waiting in line that we didn't even realize we were in one!

The time whipped by because we chatted and met some great people. Those three ladies that I mentioned were retired school teachers from Wisconsin. We also hit it off with Sue and Bill from Guilford, Connecticut, and the two friends from Canada gave us the rundown on the plays they saw.

Those waiting hours were well worth it.  Our seats were third row center.  I felt like Stephen was doing the monologue just for me!

Jen Psaki, former press secretary for the Obama and Biden administrations, was the guest.  They also had some rapper guy do his thing. 

Watching the inner workings of a TV show that we watch every day was so much fun. The lovely people we met were the cherry on our sundae.

We exited the Ed Sullivan theatre at around 7:30 and took a cab back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.

Our last dinner in NYC was at my favorite restaurant, The Polo Bar.

  

We arrived at 9:30 and had a glass of wine in the bar, which is my favorite place to people-watch. In the past, we have spotted several celebs.  The night after we were there, Martin Short and Meryl Streep were in attendance.

Two ships passing in the night...

Cheers to you Mister!

I may have to rethink my customary gift of a golf shirt for your birthday!