Broadway Dreams and Meatballs: Our Spring Break 2022 NYC Adventure

Every epic adventure starts with a dream. Mine? Seeing Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. It all began when I stumbled upon Jordan Fisher belting out "Waving Through a Window" on Facebook in September 2021. Cue instant obsession. I replayed that video more times than I’d care to admit and convinced my husband, GSpice, that we needed to see Jordan perform live. Spring Break 2022 was decided. But life had other plans: Jordan left the show two weeks before our trip. Cue heartbreak due to the fact that Gspice wouldn't let me take a redeye to see one of Jordan's last shows as Evan Hansen. Yes, I still hold it against him.😏

But we soldiered on, and spoiler alert: the show was still everything. More on that later—let’s start at the beginning.

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Tuesday, March 15: Planes, Airports, and Meatballs

Our travel day kicked off with a layover in Chicago, where we grabbed lunch in the airport. Nothing fancy, just fuel for the journey. By the time we landed in NYC and made it to our hotel, we were starving. Enter The Meatball Shop, (@Meatballers), a cozy spot with, you guessed it, amazing meatballs. A carb-loaded welcome to the city that never sleeps.

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Wednesday, March 16: Brunch, Central Park, and Broadway Magic

We stayed close to our hotel and started the day with brunch at Times Square Diner & Grill, (@timessquaredinergrill). Afterward, we took a leisurely walk through Central Park. It was peaceful, until my phone buzzed with a call about Otown (because life can’t just pause, even on vacation). Thankfully, my mom was there to step in and help. 

Dinner was at Serafina near Broadway & 55th St, (@serafinanewyork) where we fueled up for the main event: Dear Evan Hansen. Sure, Jordan Fisher wasn’t there, but the new Evan and the entire cast were incredible. I even snagged a photo with him afterward! Afterwards we ended the night soaking up the lights of Times Square, like a true tourist.

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Thursday, March 17: Rainy Day Vibes and Hawksmoor Delights

The rain gave us permission to slow down. We started late and hopped on the subway to NYU territory. After a short stroll, we found The Grey Dog, (@thegreydognyc), a charming spot that felt like a hidden gem. Post-brunch, we walked a bit around campus before heading back for a much-needed nap.

And then: Hawksmoor, (@hawksmoornyc), located in Gramercy Park in the historic United Charities Building. If you’ve never experienced steak that melts in your mouth, add it to your bucket list now. But it wasn’t just the steak—everything about Hawksmoor was a dream. The wine was perfection, pairing so beautifully that I’m still raving about it. This wasn’t just dinner; it was an experience that lingered long after we left. I’ve dreamed about that meal more times than I can count, and in 2023, I nearly screamed when I found out Hawksmoor was coming to Chicago in summer 2024. STOCKED doesn’t even begin to cover it.

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Friday, March 18: A Little Italy Misadventure and Brooklyn Charm

We set out to find a taco spot—only to discover it had closed. Plan B? Nolita Pizza, (@nolitapizzanyc). Classic NYC slice, no regrets. From there, we subway-hopped to Ground Zero. Sobering and beautiful.

Our walk took us past the Charging Bull, Wall Street (kind of a letdown, tbh), and a lookout point for the Statue of Liberty. A coffee break later, we hopped over to Brooklyn. After poking around some of G-Spice’s favorite stores, we dined at a cool taco joint, Taqueria Al Pastor, where I spotted a Top Chef judge. (my type of celebrity!) Proof is in the DMs.

The night ended with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge—romantic, right? G-Spice detoured for more treasure hunt action while I went on my own hunt for some Italian takeout. Sadly, the place I wanted wasn't still open so I trekked back to The Meatball Shop for dinner and picked up some Loverboy, (@drinkloverboy), a sparkling hard tea from another beloved Bravo celebrity couple from Summer House. Turns out, pasta cravings and NYC hours don’t always align.

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Saturday, March 19: Early Flights and Toll Regrets

We dragged ourselves out of bed way too early for our flight home. Fun fact: we forgot to pay the tolls we drove through to and from O'Hare on time. Whoops. But was the trip worth it? Absolutely.

Special thanks to my mom for holding down the fort while we lived out our NYC Broadway dreams. Here’s to meatballs, rainy day naps, and the magic of live theater.

Until the next adventure!

New Orleans || September 2017

Gary and I decided that traveling was one thing we wanted to prioritize last year. We never took a honeymoon so we knew that one day we wanted to take a trip with just the two of us but I wasn't convinced we'd have the courage to do that. Leaving our boys for even a night is nerve-wracking because they are two wild and crazy boys. Like, on another level wild and crazy. However, we also decided that the boys were perhaps a little too young to appreciate a trip like this and it would have been much more work with them at this age for us. That doesn't sound like much of a vacation, huh?

We finally committed to where we wanted to go back in March or April when Gspice came up with a really cute idea. We both got to pick several cities we'd be interested to visit and then we watched a bunch of Expedia videos on those cities. We both wrote out the pros and cons of each city and then ranked our top three choices. If I remember correctly, we both chose the same top three but maybe in a slightly different order.

#3: San Diego - solid choice but we'd like to take the boys here

#2: Boston - the boys MUST go here with us!

#1: NEW ORLEANS! Definite first choice but not an option for the boys. This aspect made us nervous but we took time to think about our decision before fully committing.

And as crazy as this sounds, Gspice and I returned just over five months ago from our very first vacation together since before the boys were born! While we did struggle with making this decision, I am so glad we did! Being away from the stress of our daily lives for a few days was such a blessing. We were able to relax, enjoy the city, enjoy each other and eat amazing food.

RECAP

Day One: Friday, September 22

It was pretty obvious to our amazing babysitter, Sarah, that we had never traveled before but we somehow got out of the house by 6am. We traveled from New Orleans to Dallas and then Dallas to New Orleans and both flights were uneventful. I loved being able to see the different terrain as we flew south and Gspice was able to catch a nap or two.

We then took our first Uber from the airport to our hotel, the Hampton Inn & Suites (French Quarter Area). It took about 25-30 minutes but at least the driver was super nice and gave some good suggestions on what to do and see. I think we ended up doing some of the things she suggested too!

After settling in to our nice room, we made our way to dinner at Juan's Flying Burrito. It was within walking distance from the hotel and was a really cool spot to have our first meal in the city. My fish taco was nice and spicy, just the way I like it. 

After a drink at Back Space Bar, we then made our way to the movie theater to watch Kingsman: The Golden Circle. I know, I know. Why did we go to the movies on vacation? Well, it's actually something we do often whenever we do travel so it made sense for us. We did manage to have a drink or two while there so that was fun :)

On our way back to the hotel, I tried jumping over a patch of water and biffed it. Totally biffed it, and some guys behind us tried to help me. I'm surprised they were so nice but I was fine. I did scrape my ankle a bit so that was annoying.

Day Two: Saturday, September 23

We got to sleep in while on vacation which was a DREAM since I never get to do that. And of course, I let Gspice sleep a tad bit longer because it was his BIRTHDAY!

When we did end up leaving, we headed to what seems like a pretty popular spot, Ruby Slipper Cafe, but the one in Uptown versus the one closest to our hotel. Gary got french toast which looked amazing and I got the smoked salmon benedict. Though it certainly looked good, I think I was in the mood for something else because I only had one of the two. Oh well. When I see a salmon bene, I've got to try the salmon bene!

Strangely, after brunch, I started to feel really out of it. I felt weak and had a hard time catching my breath so we just tried to take it easy for awhile. We walked around the old, historic Lafayette Cemetery 1 and found a really friendly black cat. Only slightly spooky.

When I was feeling a bit worse (probably because of the sun), we then decided to go to the National World War II museum and were quite surprised that we got in for FREE! If I remember correctly, we weren't originally going to go to the museum on Saturday so I'm really glad we did!

Of course, I needed to rest after such a busy day so we went back to the hotel for a nap. After that I was feeling so much better so we decided to go to LUKE - New Orleans. It was by far my favorite spot of the trip. That Shrimp & Crab Etouffee hit the spot and I loved being able to see into the kitchen. Gspice enjoyed his burger but I don't think that compared to mine!

After such a nice dinner, we decided to be typical tourists and walk down Bourbon Street. It was a bit of a mess with all of the construction so it wasn't really all that fun. That said, we found a cool jazz spot and got some drinks before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Day Three: Sunday, September 24

We started the day by eating at EAT New Orleans in the French Quarter. It was cute spot, but it was a bit underwhelming. That said, I'm glad we gave it a try and it does really look like a good spot but perhaps we choice the wrong items for our palates.

The night before we had been on Bourbon Street but seeing the French Quarter during the day was really cool. The area is beautiful and I love walking the streets. As we made our way towards Jackson Square, we saw some festival up by the water. Turns out, there was a Fried Chicken Festival in Woldenberg Park. We didn't try any of the fried chicken but had fun walking through that area too. Of course, Gspice found a good drink to gulp down, not once but twice.

And I, clearly having issues with the sun and heat, had to sit down to relax. We were waiting for a friend so it was a good time to sit and watch all of the tourists in the area. We ended up meeting Branna, a friend of mine from Rubaiyat, who had recently moved down to New Orleans. She had never been to Cafe Du Munde so we all got to try beignets for the first time. They were messy and delicious, as expected.

After another afternoon nap (yes, we definitely prioritized sleep on this trip!), we decided to go to another nice spot for dinner, Marcello's Wine Market. It was a fancier spot with a good display of wine all over the place. This was by far, Gary's favorite spot and simply put, it was the Truffle Mac&Cheese. Holy amazeballs, that was good. How do we get mac and cheese that good around here? Seriously?

Day Four: Monday, September 25

We had a little time before we needed to leave for the airport but instead of going out for breakfast, you guessed it, we slept in a little. I was really sad to leave such a beautiful city but we were also excited to get home. 

We had a long day of travel ahead of us and we savored every last second we had without the mass chaos that is our boys. We love them to pieces but man, they tire you out! We also cannot thank Sarah enough. She is a F&*K!@G r.o.c.k.s.t.a.r. and wrangled our boys from Friday after daycare to Monday morning when she dropped them off all by herself. Holy Cow. Of course she also got to take care of them after daycare on Monday but we tried to get back as soon as we could so she could go home! I will say, it was really fun to surprise the boys the next morning when they woke up. It was almost like we were never gone!

Sadly, there was one spot that I REALLY want to go to but found out after going to LUKE that this spot wasn't open on Sundays. To say that I was sad is an understatement. That just means we'll have to go back sometime soon.

Traveling to New Orleans with Gary was a really nice way for us to reconnect and really got us thinking about where we will go next. We've got big plans for the boys this year. In fact, next up on our vacation list is just a few weeks away and we can't wait to surprise the boys!