the time the smith's took a red-eye to nyc on christmas eve.

CURRENTLY: there is a tiny mouse loose in my townhome. while i anxiously wait for it to find the peanut butter treat i left it on the sad little mickey mouse guillotine, here are some pics of my favorite new york visit to date. 

we arrived in nyc on christmas morning, which was idyllic because the airplane/airports/streets were totally clear (meaning, we all got an exit row with seats in between us all. merrrrry christmas, smith clan.)  

valerie's older sister and brother-in-law live in an ok (...perfect...) apartment in TriBeCa, and we tooootally crashed their pad while they were traveling for the holidays! couldn't have asked for a better place to stay with my fave people (minus G&P&kids). 

friday (christmas day): settling in / rockefeller center / fifth avenue

the only downfall to flying on a red-eye is...

a super grumpy christina. 

i tried so hard. sorry, fam. 

saturday: one world trade center & sushi in the upper west side

i'm so good at striking up conversation with strangers on a subway! 

but that's actually just mikey. 

sunday: church (w/ barefoot blonde ah!) & the met

no pics to prove it, but we ended every night in the tribeca apartment playing liverpool rummy (british version of phase 10) and eating until we were all satisfactorily 13 pounds heavier than the day before. mooooving on. 

monday: times square, the best surprise on earth, levain's, and MORE liverpool rummy

OK OK OK OK. back in july i became obsessed with Hamilton. i got my parents (and anyone who was in my vicinity) really into it, and i am prettttty sure that since i first heard the music, not a day has gone by that i haven't listened to it? anyways. if you wanna talk details take me out to dinner and make my life by indulging me. otherwise, just know this:

*this is it's first year on broadway, therefore it's still the original cast

*it's an amazing retelling of our founding fathers

*i'm sosososo obsessed

*tickets are more than my rent, and sold out until 2017. 

*my dad surprised us by buying two tickets (for an AMAZING PRICE) for the week we were in nyc. he gave us the tickets on monday for a show scheduled for WEDNESDAY. 

many tears were shed. 

do you like my socks, Y or N?

tuesday: nate's birthday (!!!) @ natural history museum, central park, dinner in harlem @ red rooster (many, MANY thumbs up)

i love them. 

& i love the ladies (missing paige and alta!)

red rooster = southern comfort food. the girls shared this platter of a WHOLE chicken + waffles, mac&cheese, and biscuits&gravy. suggest, suggest, suggest! hbd, natey boy. 

wednesday: [alexander] hamilton! (yes, i'll rap for you if you really want me to, fine.), & nyc's best pizza (not pictured because i was an idiot too distracted by my crushes on the cast of Hamilton to take pics of the amazeeee pizza we had directly after). 

DAD how did you even get these tickets? ilysm

thursday: new years eve! 

early in the evening, pam & i did diy pedi's and read our christmas books. the rest of the evening...didn't even think to take pics OOPS but the fireworks were perfect and i think i should move to nyc now?

we left first thing the next morning, thus ending one of my favorite trips ever. i love my family, i love the opportunities we get to travel and be together, and obviously i. love. new york. the ONLY thing that could have made this trip better would be if the rest of my sibs and their babes could have been with us. i'm requesting a caribbean cruise with all of us to make up for it. vote now if you agree. 

how most nights ended: valerie cooking something amazing while i watched friends, and reading books on books on books long after everyone else was asleep for the night.  

oh AND let's not forget all the times my mom caught me reading my scriptures on my phone ... (or something).