New York – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

City Guide September 30, 2014

New York City Travel Guide

New York, New York: Definitely one of the most overwhelming cities to visit because there is just so much to do and so much to see while you’re there. I’ve visited three times, and during each trip, we packed in a ton of fun activities and delicious restaurants. My nine days in the Concrete Jungle feel like at least three months, as I’ve covered miles and miles of the city by foot (lesson learned the first time: pack comfortable shoes!).

“The glamour of it all! New York! America!”

-Charlie Chaplin

Instead of creating a City Guide like I have in the past, where I outline my favorite restaurants, activities and sites, I’ve created a three day itinerary which includes all of my ‘must do’s’ for NYC. I’ve also made a Google map of these locations, which you can access here. I find the city can be challenging to navigate, so I hope this helps!

Also, if you’re up for church on Sunday, you should definitely go to Hillsong NYC and C3 Brooklyn. I’ve been to the former (it’s incredible), and the latter was started a few years ago by a sweet couple I traveled to Manila with three years ago.

Three perfect days in New York City

Day 1

Eat breakfast at Pastis in the Meatpacking District
Shop at nearby boutiques (favorites include Kate Spade Saturday Pop Up and Rebecca Taylor on Gansevoort Street)
Walk through Chelsea Market – spend time at Artists & Fleas (great vintage jewelry finds)
Get on the High Line and walk it to the end (amazing photo opportunity)
Walk or cab to the Gramercy Park Hotel and have a cocktail in the intimate lobby bar
Eat lunch at nearby Barbounia (never ending bellinis for around $17) or Gramercy Tavern
Take the subway or a taxi to the Empire State Building and go to the observation level (very touristy, but totally worth it), then take a cab to the hotel to get ready for dinner
Enjoy dinner at Market Table (reservation highly recommended)
Get frozen yogurt at nearby 16 Handles
If you’re up for it, take a cab to get a cocktail at PDT (reservation required – I’ve never been, but heard it’s quite the event)

International June 12, 2014

Bucket List: Famous Landmarks

If you’ve been following Snapshots and My Thoughts for any length of time now, you’ll now that I love to travel. I have an extensive list of places I’m dying to go and visit – Sasha tells me that I “need to pump my breaks,” because I’m already planning an international trip for us three in December, and he thinks it’s a bad idea to take a 6 month old out of the country. We’ll see! I am not a list-checker when I travel, but there are some iconic landmarks I’m dying to see – see below. Have you been to any of these? If so, I will be asking for advice on what to do and see. Machu Picchu is probably at the top of that list! I’ve been very fortunate and have ticked-off quite a few of my ‘to-sees’ in the last few years (pictures below). Of all these places, Sydney, Istanbul and Paris were definitely my favorites.

As the adage goes, ‘not all who wander are lost…‘

Great Wall of China

Beijing, China

Machu Picchu

Peru

Cristo Redentor

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Giza Pyramid and Great Sphinx

Cairo, Egypt

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Moscow, Russia

Taj Mahal

Agra, India

The Colosseum

Rome, Italy

Stonehenge

Wiltshire, England

Petra

Jordan

Milford Sound

New Zealand

Newgrange

Dublin, Ireland

Some iconic landmarks that I have visited – and would love to see again! These travels have taken place mainly over the past 6 years – I don’t have many older pictures on my computer. I would love to give suggestions on any of these places if you’re traveling there!

Table Mountain

Cape Town, South Africa

Sydney Opera House

Sydney, Australia

Eiffel Tower

Paris, France

Mont St. Michel

France

Tirta Empul Temple

Bali, Indonesia

Statue of Liberty

New York, New York

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California

Grand Canyon

Arizona

Iguazu Falls

Argentina/Brazil Border

The Parthenon/Acropolis

Athens, Greece

The Blue Mosque

Istanbul, Turkey

Devrent Valley (or Imagination Valley)

Cappadocia, Turkey

El Obelisco

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Big Ben

London, England

Want to track your worldly travels? Try Wolpy – it’s free and I love it!

Stationery April 23, 2014

Rifle Paper Co. City Prints

I love, love, love Rifle Paper Co. and am anxiously awaiting the debut of their wallpaper line with Hygge & West – I cannot wait to see what prints they sell! I have about 8 Rifle Paper Co. prints throughout the house – one in Isla’s nursery (the Paris print above). I dream of having a house filled with their travel prints – the collection above touches on all the places I’ve been, and I’d quite like to add Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Rome to the list of places I’ve seen soon. I would also love to see Anna paint ones for Buenos Aires, Edinburgh, Athens, and Cape Town – cities with pretty iconic sites. Have you been to many of these places? Which are on your bucket list? Can you tell I’m feeling lots of wanderlust today?

Featured image via

Baby April 4, 2014

Esther Houston in La Petite Mag

Esther Houston, model and wife of Hillsong United (favorite Christian band) singer, Joel Houston, was honestly the most beautiful pregnant person I have ever seen. Their cute little baby boy, Zion, is now 7 months old – did I mention he’s cute? Check out his Instagram.

Esther recently posted pictures from a maternity shoot she did with La Petite Mag when she was forty weeks pregnant (I hope I look half that good!) on her blog Miss Whoo. I absolutely love her maternity style. The striped blue maxi dress is gorgeous – I’d really like to own all of these dresses!

Fashion March 7, 2014

Favorite Looks of the Week

I haven’t done a ‘favorite looks of the week’ in ages – which isn’t to say that I haven’t been obsessing over my favorite bloggers’ outfits. As always, it’s hard to pick a favorite from the group, but I especially love Jacey’s (Damsel in Dior) floral blouse, Rachel’s (Pink Peonies) neon heels, and every part of Christine’s (Hello Fashion) outfit. She makes being pregnant look so cute. She is definitely going to be my style icon over for the 12.5 weeks (time is flying!) – even though she’s due very soon! Which look do you like the most?