Scenes from The Weekend...

So, I'm happy to report that the girlies and I survived our grand adventure in New York...In fact (despite a few epic meltdowns, some delayed flights and an awful lot of rain) we had a pretty rockin' time.

The purpose of the trip was to attend a dress-up tea party at the Plaza sponsored by Electrolux to help support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund’s initiative to help find a cure* -- a hugely important cause, so we're honored to be a part of the efforts to raise funds... And at one point during the dress/costume jewelry donning, hair primping, tea sipping (in the home of Eloise) hoopla, Millie looked up at me and said, "this is the best day of my life". I'm honestly not sure what to do with that information, but it was awfully sweet nonetheless.

She also told me during the car ride back to our hotel that Kelly Ripple (as Millie calls her) is a "beautiful barbie"... and really, who could argue with that assessment.

(* You can go here to join Kelly's virtual tea party for a cause. When you do, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.)

millie' s dress courtsey of the children's place and audrey's dress courtsey of crewcuts


Beyond the tea party extravaganza, we managed to fit in all sorts of other goodness during our 48 hour trip... There was dinner at The Standard Grill with our friends Molly and Christiane (and Christiane's sweet daughter who was Audrey's partner in crime in commandeering the Standard's photo booth for a good portion of the evening) followed by an attempt to get the littles into the Boom Boom Room for some dancing (sadly, we were unsuccessful, as the hostesses were pretty adamant about the 18 and older admittance policy).

We had dinner the next night with Molly and her family at their fantastic apartment in Brooklyn (Molly is our NYC fairy godmother...my girls are in love with her), and it would have been a perfect evening had Millie not fallen asleep in Molly's lap on the subway, stayed asleep through a walk in the rain, a cab drive, all of dinner, playtime after dinner and the ride back to Manhattan, and then waken-up (totally re-charged and ready to play) just as Audrey and I were falling into bed (exhausted) at our hotel. Let's just say it was an interesting night.

Other (major) highlights included a visit to the butterfly conservatory and "whale room" at the Museum of Natural History (totally amazing), lunch and a some DIY projects at Moomah (maybe the most blissful three hours I've spent with my girls) and a highly satisfying spin through MoMA.

The trip was hard, I'm not going to sugar-coat it friends. But it was a huge confidence booster that I could pull-off (major) solo travel with the girls. (I felt a little like superwoman when I finally got off the plane in Dallas late Friday night.) I was also hugely heartened and encouraged by how much the girls seemed to take in during our time in the city. They asked questions, they observed, noticing things that they don't normally see (and most important, they acted on them).

Audrey was particularly affected by the homeless people she encountered, which was the perfect opening for a conversation about how rare it is to be doing what we were doing -- to be in the city, enjoying it in the way we were, was something that most people would never get the chance to do. I didn't go to New York for the first time until I was in my mid-20's...I saved for months to stay for two nights in a shoddy little hotel in Times Square, and it was hugely special and memorable.

I want the girls to really truly know how lucky and blessed they are when they get to have these experiences. I want them to soak it in, to let it marinate in their little sub-consciousnesses and then somehow really use it...give it back fully and then some.

Fingers crossed.