I just returned from a very special and very beautiful week in New York City, and goodness was it magical in every way! After 1.5 years away from one of my favorite cities in the world, it felt so, so good to be back. Now that my sister, brother-in-law, and I are all fully vaccinated (and well past two weeks since our second dose), I was fortunate enough to get to drive to NYC to stay with them for a week as they moved into their new apartment! With a busy toddler and another sweet baby on the way, I was so grateful to be able to help them unpack, organize, and decorate during their big move, babysit and play with our nephew to my heart’s content, and spend a week with three of my favorite people in the whole world. It was simply the best!!

I’ve been to New York City probably 20-25 times over the last decade, and my sister and her family have lived there for most of the past decade, as well. Despite having traveled there so many times, I have never been in April and during peak Springtime! Several days were simply perfect out: mid-seventies, sunny, and a light breeze. New York comes alive during Spring, and it felt that way this year more than ever! As we all know, New York has taken quite a hit in many ways over the past year, and it was especially sweet to return to it now that more and more people are being vaccinated. The city felt so thriving, happy, and bustling, which, I’m sure, was very, very different than how it was just a year ago. I was so glad and relieved to see 99% of people wearing masks around the city, the countless precautions that businesses, shops, the city, and its residents take seriously, the sheer volume of “streeteries” (restaurants taking their tables outdoors onto the streets!), and the incredible number of things to do outside and distanced.

When we weren’t busy unpacking boxes, organizing, and decorating (which was much of our week!), we walked dozens of miles around the beautiful streets of New York, went to several parks, played on the playground and swings, visited the gorgeous New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, enjoyed many picnics with the four of us, meandered through Central Park, did an outdoor music class for my nephew, ate plenty of Levain cookies, walked along the esplanade on the East River, went to the Central Park Zoo, and enjoyed copious amounts of tulips, daffodils, and blooming trees brightly covering so much of the city. Spring in New York is my new favorite, and it was so stunning and vibrant! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many gorgeous blooms before, and it felt so hopeful to see the city coming back to life after a very hard year and a long, snowy winter.

I sure do love you, New York – and especially during Springtime! I’m so grateful to have been able to safely visit the city (I drove there and back, and we didn’t do anything indoors the whole week!), see it burst into bloom this Spring, and enjoy such a precious, special, fun week with my family. They are the best of the best, and I’m already counting down til my next trip!!