memorial memories

I scored big time in my trip to New York, and have celebrated long weekends for the past two.

So today I wish you a Happy Memorial Day!

Yesterday was a really lovely Sunday. I almost felt like I was at home.

First of all, I got to see the temple on Sunday afternoon. 

We drove into the city for church, and went to the chapel thats inside the temple.

It was beautiful.

Incredible.

A dedicated House of God in the middle of a bustling city.

The day was so chill. 

We went to Battery Park and saw the boats going out and coming in from Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.

Then we met up with our new friend Danni and went back to her place.

She lives on Wall St., just next to the Trump Building and The New York Stock Exchange.

We had such a fun, easy, normal Sunday night.

Danni's roomate, Brenda, kindly offered to fill our needs and baked us these delicious chocolate chip cookies.

We filled ourselves on home baked goodness and played Speed Scrabble together.

Then we fell asleep to Chocolat and spent the night in the city.

We had the leisure of sleeping in the next day, and got ready so slowly.

We ventured out and picked up some bagels & juice for our picnic in Central Park.

I adore Central Park.

I would love to spend more time there.

Maya & I, with our new friend Danni.

All the girls in Central Park.

The Trump Tower.

This thing is huuuuge.

An absolute monstrosity.

Then the four of us headed to SoHo,

met up with a few more friends,

and went on a chocolate tour.

Yes, you read that right.

A CHOCOLATE TOUR.

It was so rad.

We only got to a couple of the shops, because a few were closed for Memorial Day.

The first one was alright. We sampled a bunch of chocolate bars.

Weird chocolate bars.

Like, chocolate with bacon in it.

And chocolate with black sesame seeds & ginger & wasabi in it.

Weird, weird, weird.

The second shop we went to, Mariebelle,

was closing right when we arrived. But the owner and a couple of her employees were just outside.

We somehow begged them to let us in, and I'm so glad we did.

The place was incredible.

Beautiful, artsy, lovely, colorful.

Her chocolates were just so dang cute.

The owner, Mariebelle, was so neat. 

She opened her shop just after September 11th, when a lot of businesses were struggling.

She started out in New York as a clothing designer, and evolved into a self-taught baker and chocolate maker.

We sampled gelato & talked & laughed & had a glorious time.

Finish the night off with some lovely Italian in SoHo, and you've got yourself one top notch day.

P.S. Meet Stephen, the man who just had the best day of his life, hanging out with six lovely girls all evening long.