a holiday weekend well spent

Relaxation, delicious food, & impeccable company.
I'd say I accomplished all three of those things this weekend.

Friday

 It's funny how serious New Yorkers take their bagels. There are shops all over the city, but Brooklyn Bagels take them to the next level. A non-toasted coconut bagel with blueberry cream cheese {lesson by Hollis: it's a sin to toast a fresh bagel, so never do it}. This took my coconut obsession to extreme & I'll be having dreams about this breakfast for the next week.

Three grocery stores & a Target run later, we were prepared for a fun BBQ & viewing of the fireworks along the East River for the 4th of July. I think we had enough food to feed an army just for 5 girls.

Appetizers
fruit skewers with yogurt dip
deviled eggs
artichokes with a lemon butter sage dip

Dinner
pulled pork sliders - I'd like to pat mine & Hollis' back for this one. They were delicious!
macaroni & cheese
corn casserole
salad - you gotta have some greens somewhere right?

Dessert
fresh blueberry cobbler

Lauren & Annie

Macy's fireworks off the Brooklyn Bridge

Saturday

A little fresh air in Central Park with the prettiest Ladurée macaroons. I love how Central Park has become a Saturday ritual. It doesn't hurt that I live only a few blocks away. My next trip there deserves a visit to the zoo.

That evening some friends & I took the Staten Island Ferry to dinner. If your visiting the city you should definitely take advantage of a beautiful view of Manhattan & the Statue of Liberty by boat free of charge.

Staten Island in the distance.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Freedom Tower is ginormous.

See what I mean, who wouldn't love this?!

Thanks to Hollis' parents for recommending Beso. It's a quaint, little Spanish restaurant nestled on Schuyler Street only a short walk across from the terminal. We did family style of seafood tapas & watermelon sangria. It tasted like summer!

 

Sunday

Y'all know my love for brunch & many thanks to a co-worker who recommended this spot in the Upper West Side. If you're looking for southern comfort food at its finest, Jacob's Pickles does not mess around. Even though most people left the city for the weekend, we still had an hour wait. It was well worth it too & I left in a food coma. Everything looked so tasty on the menu; it was just too hard to decide what to order! 

Annie & Hollis

I was a little too anxious to start eating, but Jacob's Pickles knows what's up.

Lauren & I

Well that's all folks. Time to hit the gym after this food-filled weekend!