30 and Thriving in NYC

After seven and a half years together, what birthday gift do you get your significant other that's not a killer pair of pants and shoes? How about a surprise trip to NYC?! Although, if I'm being honest, I did get him pants and shoes, too... haha! All jokes aside, this was the first trip I have ever planned for us - I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's a work in progress. 

We celebrated the actual day, here at home, then packed our things and headed for the city. Our flight was a short and sweet 60 minutes, arriving at LaGuardia Airport at 3 pm, leaving us a plethora of time to run around the city. Side note: renovations made to LGA… on point! 

First up on the list, FOOD! To Greenpoint, Brooklyn, we went for my favorite Mexican food from Calexico (insert drool here). This restaurant began its journey on the sidewalk of SoHo, selling tacos and burritos from a cart. This place is chef's kiss good and worth the hype (hype of Ashli, that is).

After stuffing my face with a delicious Baja Fish Burrito, Keegan and I decided to venture just down the street to a small donut shop, Peter Pan. If you're in NYC, you MUST make the trip to Greenpoint to experience the amazingness of these donuts. I promise you will not be disappointed (be sure to have cash, no electronic payments accepted). So grab your donut and head to McCarren Park for the perfect, relaxing morning/afternoon.

Within 2 hours of landing, we had checked off two major things on our list - we're simple people to please, lol. And within 5 hours, we had checked off every single item on our list: 

Favorite Mexican food? ✔

Favorite donuts? ✔

Favorite sweet treats from Laduree? ✔

Acquire the perfect shirt jacket? ✔

Our trip was full of subway rides, getting caught in the pouring rain, fantastic food/treats, shopping, rooftop bars, and so much more goodness! Every morning was spent at Blue Bottle Coffee and venturing around Central Park - such a beautiful and serene way to start every day.

If you haven't caught on by now, the city is a place where we feel at home. Contrary to popular belief, it allows us the chance to unplug and truly be present. But, let's be honest, if you're not present, you'll get mowed down, ha. A little dramatic? Maybe a little, but I did have my fair share of moments that Keegan and I regularly joked about during our trip. 

It was SO fun to give this trip to my husband in celebration of his big 3.0. We are looking forward to planning a trip back soon! If you have any must-go places/recommendations for our next trip, let me know in the comments! :) 

-Ashli