I heart New York.

My husband spent his co-ed days at Columbia University, and lucky for me, there was an added bonus that came alone with his degree: friends that stayed in New York City to live and work. We headed up to the Big Apple or as The Boss called it, the Big Bopple (I tried to teach her the words New York before the trip but to no avail), this past weekend to visit those friends. We're spoiled and get to stay on the upper east side of Manhattan, just a few blocks from Central Park. It's wonderful. It's fun. It's delusional to imagine us living there, but that's what I do each and every time we visit. I can't help it. Maybe we'll retire there.

I had no idea how this was going to go with a toddler, but it turned out to be such a great trip. The Boss gets more and more adaptable as she gets older. Our friends wanted to play with The Boss, push the stroller around, and give her toys from FAO Schwarz. She was more than a willing participant in the attention. If she had better communication skills, I'm sure she would have convinced them to go to Tiffany. New York City in the heat and humidity is not always that fun, but the friends totally made up for it. Friends by the way, who completely indulged me and my want to go to Purl and Purl Patchwork in Soho. Oh and it took a short time in Purl to convince Alison that she should really take up knitting. It took her about three minutes after petting some cashmere yarn to grab a class schedule. She's a lawyer by day but also makes her own jewelry, so I knew she might be easily convinced. A secret mission accomplished. Next time her and I can knit together, I hope.

We didn't do a ton of the usual tourist stuff since the goal was really just to visit and eat and eat and eat. Emphasis on the visit and eat and eat and eat. We'll do more tourist stuff when The Boss has a tolerance for waiting in line. We spent some time in Central Park where for some reason, The Boss stole the hearts of some NYC cops.Oh yeah, Bon Jovi was playing that night in Central Park so they had been standing guard since 4 a.m. No Bon Jovi concert for us though. Everyone wanted The Boss to ride the carousel so that was our mission. Unfortunately, she fell asleep by the time we got there. She is totally loving the backpack carrier --that is, when she's not on the back of Hank's bike!
Aside from the nice scenery in the park, I loved this:The Boss got to see where her Dadeee went to college. Hank's default sweatshirt is his Columbia hoodie and he really needed a new one, so off to the book store we went after a way too big of a deli lunch. It was only natural that we had to get The Boss one as well. I bought big, way big, like two years too big. What's cuter than a toddler in a huge sweatshirt?
Perhaps A toddler trying to eat a NY slice.
We got her a new book, but to be honest, it was one of those purchases that I was all "oh, The Boss should really have this book" when the truth of the matter is her parents love the story so much and had to have it.

We had an offer to take in a show while our friends babysat and we had fully intended on taking them up on the offer. I even packed a dress! But we were so tired after walking around that a night in with friends was just as good, maybe better. Instead, the guys played poker, the women dished, The Boss went to bed early. I'm sure there's a similar story on Broadway somewhere.

By the way...I present my new favorite shoes (you can get them much cheaper at Macy's on sale). They stood the test of all day walking on NYC sidewalks. What better initiation can they get? This week they'll get me through the neighborhood and a trek around Costco. It's painfully obvious we're back to regular life!

Alison made this for brunch (with a side of NY bagels of course) and it will definitely be part of my brunch routine from now on. We all loved it. The crust is made from hashbrowns! Um, yes, seconds please!

Hashbrown Quiche (adapted from Paula Deen)
3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup diced green chiles, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar
a few dashes hot sauce (you know, that Mexican kind)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Serve with sour cream and hot sauce on the side, if desired.