columbia university

Living in Ohio, sometimes it seems like my home, NY is just too far away. It’s too far for a weekend trip by car (it’s hard to rationalize 15 hours in the car for a day or two trip), and planes aren’t always the most affordable options. Luckily, for various reasons (some not-so-lucky), I’ve gotten a chance to go home and see my family quite a few times the past few months. And that includes this past weekend! A few people from my agency were being recognized, as well as a client I work on, and I was lucky enough to attend a formal event in New York City for the awards ceremony and celebration.

After the awards ceremony, I was lucky enough to spend some time in the city with my brother, and then some time upstate with my parents. It will be at least a month until I see them next – and probably the last time I visit my brother at his school before he graduates (I can’t believe my brother is graduating college this year!).

Some scenes from a great weekend:

Jennifer and I (our client was up for an award) at the program

Awards beginning!

hanging around Columbia the next day

SO impressed with how clean my brother’s dorm was!

view from the top of his dorm

pre-dinner drinks at the top of the Standard Hotel with my brother

view from the top of the Standard

Dinner with Greg. We waited outside this Indian Restaurant for 30 minutes and then were allowed into a scene with TONS of holiday and pepper lights.

And free ice cream for your “birthday”

Also took the train up to Albany and got some great views

And of course, as most weekends at home do, there was also a little baking

and of course, some GREAT meals

It’s always so hard to leave – but after a great weekend with food and family, and one of my favorite cities, who can really complain? Here’s to a great week!

Sorry, folks, the other post was just getting to long and I (and you) probably needed a break. Anyways, after an awesome Thursday and Friday in the city, I was looking forward to seeing the rest of my family later in the weekend.

Saturday

I stayed overnight in my brother’s dorm room Friday night and we woke up early Saturday to pack up his stuff and help him move out of his dorm. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Westside Market (no, not the Cleveland landmark) before meeting up with my parents to pack up his stuff into their rented van. My brother had to work again, so my parents, B and I headed to the High Line to explore the green area on what was turning out to be a gorgeous, 70something degree day. The High Line was beautiful – for you non-NYers, the High Line is a park/walking route in on an old, abandoned above-ground and above the streets train tracks. The tracks are no longer in use, and instead of tearing them down, the city decided to turn the overgrown tracks into a park-like walking area, above the city. There are gorgeous plants, vendors selling food and cute artsy stuff, sprinklers for kids to run through, and more, all along the walkway.

We spent a few hours walking, grabbed a quick lunch at The Park in Chelsea (they have “Garden Seating,” a tree in the middle of the dining room, a ricotta salada and beet salad, and serve banana bread with the meal – need I say more?), walked a little more, and then headed to visit my Grandma and meet up with the rest of my family for an early Mother’s Day dinner at our Riverdale staple – Nonno Tony’s (and yes, Nonno Tony knows my Grandma and the rest of my family, they go there so often). After stuffing ourselves with pizza and salad, B and I got dropped off at Penn Station and took the train up to Albany.

Sunday

Sunday, I woke up in Albany and spent most of the day relaxing with my family. The four of us (my mom, dad, brother and I) hadn’t been together since Christmas and likely won’t be all together for another few months (my brother is spending his summer in Jordan, Istanbul, Edinborough, London and more) so it was great. In the morning, B, my parents and I took a leisurely 5-6 mi walk around the area. Then, we enjoyed a Mother’s Day lunch at Risotto, a new restaurant in Albany before B and I returned to the airport for our flight back to Cleveland.