Our NYC Photo Album

It wouldn't be us if we didn't share a little photo roundup of our week in NYC, so sit back and (hopefully) enjoy our week in photos...

After a long drive up, we were happy to return to our home away from home in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn — Hotel Le Jolie. It's a great little hotel right in the neighborhood where I used to live, so it gives us a chance to stay in an area we are really familiar with.

I'm still really eager to try out airbnb — especially tempted at the idea of a place that allows pets, but this go round we went the hotel route we are most familiar with. Maybe we are way behind the curve with this one, but we were tickled to find full size shampoo, conditioner and body wash bottles essentially locked into handles on the shower wall — you just squeezed the bottle (no caps) and it dispensed as much product as you need, no little travel bottles!

On the dining front, we hit up 2 of our favorite Brooklyn haunts along with a couple new places. First up was (maybe our favorite space) Aurora. The food and atmosphere here are unbeatable — we like to sit at the bar and have dinner while chatting up our favorite bartender, Latzo. If you ever make it to Aurora we hope you'll say hello and tell him "Tim and Mary from Virginia" sent you.

Next up on our list of favorite little places was Le Barricou — an amazingly quaint french country bistro.

I don't know what it is about taking a photo of us in the mirror at each of the bars, but we're starting to get quite the collection:

We also met friends for drinks and tacos at Mesa Coyoacan — where this cucumber margarita happened.

 

And tried out The Bellwether:

 

There's always something new going on in the Brooklyn Etsy offices each trip I make — be it lighting in the bathroom, an amazing EATSY meal, a new grilled cheese at the Morris Grilled Cheese truck, or the new-to-me dogs playing about the space! I've always wondered how Basil might fair if I brought him into the office for a day — he'd probably love it.

  

While up this time, the first ever Etsy Dessert Contest was taking place. I couldn't believe my luck, given my voracious sweet tooth. Monday morning when I got to the office I had an email from Corinne, my coworker who was running the contest. It went something like this:

Corinne: Are you around on Thursday? Do you want to be a judge for the Etsy dessert contest?
Me: Did I just die and go to heaven???? YES!!!!
Corinne: Yay! Judge email to follow.

An Etsy Dessert Contest judge??? Yes. It happened.

There were over 20 entries and we got to sample each and every one, rating them on taste, presentation and creativity. You can imagine what a tough competition it was with all the creative minds in a place like Etsy. I literally had one of the biggest sugar highs and crashes I've ever had after judging this contest, but it was all worth it.

In the end, the winner for both presentation and creativity was this take on "french fries and ketchup" made from pound cake and raspberry syrup!

We also got to partake in a little whiskey tasting — Tim brought this amazing version made locally in Hudson that disappeared quickly. One tiny sip was more than enough for me!

You also already learned about the portrait we got while in town:

Leaving work one evening, I snapped the following shot of the ground getting painted in primary colors. You never know what you'll see in DUMBO:

After we got back home, I saw the following photo in one of my friend's Facebook feeds of the end result:

Image courtesy of Lisa Kraushaar

When we take the train into the city, it usually involves the L...

While I stay in Brooklyn throughout the day, Tim always ventures into Manhattan to his regular stops. The views are unbeatable:

It wouldn't be a trip to NYC for Tim if he didn't venture over to Chelsea Market and the Union Square Farmer's Market:

Or stop by the Grand Central Oyster Bar for a dozen oysters on the half shell at the bar:

 

On our way out on Friday we walked on over to The Meat Hook, one of our favorite spots, to pick up some handcrafted sausages that Tim would put in a cooler to bring safely back to RVA...which later made an appearance in this Father's Day spread.

 

The Meat Hook is such a fun space filled with little odds and ends in a huge pantry format — a culinary treasure trove of sorts.

We left with a variety of sausages, some new Weck canning jars, canning labels, a ice cube tray for those larger than life cocktail ice cubes and a few other odds and ends.

It was a wonderful week to say the least. I loved living in New York for the time I did and am happy living back in RVA now — but it's always a treat to get to go back up to the city together in short bursts.

Thanks for taking a stroll through the city with us — this is how we do it.

Where do you like to stay when in NYC? Have any favorite haunts? Have you ever tried airbnb — we'd love any tips for success or hear about amazing spaces you've stayed!