Guess who I ran into! My favorite blogger, Holy City Chic. She is as sweet as she is beautiful and she is EXACTLY the same in person as she is online. I just adore her!

Outfits:

White Dress, Similar | Sunglasses | MCM Bag, Similar | Black Tank | Leopard Hoodie | Black Shorts | Black Embroidered Blouse, Similar | Jeans | Friendship Bracelets | Sneakers

Two weeks ago, my sister and I headed up to the Big Apple for a work trip/sister trip! My parents had been asking if they could take Maxi with them to Oklahoma for a weekend with my mom’s family, I had a few work meetings in NYC, and so we just decided to overlap the timing so we could all have family time. We left on a Thursday morning, ran from meeting to meeting on Friday, and were able to get in quite a bit of walking and shopping and “foodie-ing” all before we got back home Sunday afternoon.

NYC is one of my favorite weekend trips, and I find myself going to some typical spots each time as well as trying new things. I thought I’d share where we went this time around and a few recommendations I always love!

Breakfast

• Le Coucou: I had a breakfast meeting on Friday, so for the life of me I cannot remember where we stopped. It was a chain coffee spot! However, my ULTIMATE NYC breakfast spot is Le Coucou, so I had to include!
• Sarabeth’s: We also went to Sarabeth’s, because we always enjoy their pastries and it reminds us of trips to NYC with our parents when we were younger. The Central Park South location is my favorite for the experience.
• Black Seed Bagels: We tried a few bagel shops on our trip and Black Seed was my favorite! Their honey butter could be shipped to my house and I’d be a happy girl.

Also love: The Butcher’s Daughter

Lunch

• Bergdorf’s: I know it’s so predictable, but this is my favorite spot for lunch. It’s nice to just be high up and away from all the hustle. Plus, I quite enjoy the food! Honestly, if I had it my way, I’d have lunch twice there each trip.
• Ladurée Soho: While this is definitely a fun tourist spot, I really love the lunch here! Their fries are amazing and so whenever I have lunch at this spot, I do fries and a salad.

Also love: By Chloe for an on-the-go lunch or La Pecora Bianca

Dinner

• Budakkan: We had never eaten here before and it was UNREAL. Oh my goodness, come hungry! Another thing to note, you’re going to see an array of attire. I was in a dress and Golden Goose Sneakers and felt a little intimidated walking in since I was seeing people walk in wearing cocktail dresses, but then when I got in you see a mix of everything. I saw jeans and Birkenstocks and cocktail dresses.
• Barbounia: This might just be one of my favorite spots I have ever had dinner at in New York. We came here with the TULA team and everything I ate was fabulous. Get lots of appetizers to split because I think they take the cake!
• The Polo Bar: Make a reservation a month in advance!

Also love: Marta and ABC Kitchen

Desserts:

• Levain Bakery: These are my favorite cookies- actually, my favorite SWEETS in all of NYC.
• The Plaza: I love tea at The Plaza, but I also love trying new desserts at their Food Hall. We stopped there to get Maxi some Eloise gifts and eyed all the gorgeous treats.
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: They have incredible ice cream flavors and they are so good about getting the line moving. I always think the Milk Bar line is so long, but Van Leeuwen gets you in and out quickly!

Drinks:

• Sweet Gloria: We got iced matcha here and it was the best I have ever had!
• Ralph’s Coffee:
• Maman NYC: Such a chic spot.

Also love: Sel Rose and While We Were Young for Happy Hour!

Shops:

• Bandier: My sister and I were so thrilled to go to the Bandier store after seeing it on Instagram and loving their online shop. I also have to say, their customer service in their store is fabulous. They e-mail you a personalized thank you for shopping with them and even gave us a ton of recommendations for our next girls’ trip. But aside from the wonderful service, if you live in athleisure, you have to go to Bandier.
• Bergdorf Goodman: This is my favorite place to window shop in New York. We, of course, don’t have a BG in Dallas, and so the store always fascinates me with all of its beautiful products. We got our Dior friendship bracelets there.
• & Other Stories: If you love Zara, you will probably love & Other Stories. They have quite a few stores and are a bit more organized than a Zara location.
• Beautycounter: We went to the Beautycounter store in Soho and I loved being able to see all the colors and swatch in person.
• LoveshackFancy: My favorite store was most definitely LoveshackFancy. I ogle over every piece they have online and the store is even more beautiful than you can picture.

We stayed at the Refinery Hotel, which is near Bryant Park. A lot of my meetings are either up by Central Park or down by Chelsea Market, so it’s nice to have somewhere central. However, if I were going for fun, I think I’d stay closer to The Plaza as I always find myself wanting to pop over to Central Park if I have a spare moment. I’ve also always been tempted to stay at Nomo SOHO. The fun thing about this Refinery Hotel is their rooftop bar! It’s beautiful and you see the Empire State Building all lit up at night. Come early, though, it gets packed.

It was so much fun to just have a sister trip, which we had never done before. I mean, who better to travel with than your sister?! Maxi loves Eloise, so I keep telling Paul that I want to take her for a girls’ trip for her 4th or 5th birthday so she can see the Eloise tea room at The Plaza.

What are your favorite spots in NYC?!