New York – A Season in the City That Never Sleeps
After incredible months soaking up the mountain air in Lake Tahoe, biking along Amsterdam’s canals, and beaching in Nantucket, we landed in the Big Apple for three exhilarating, exhausting, and entirely worth-it months.
NYC is woven into our DNA. It’s where we both moved after college, launched our careers, and met. It’s close to where we grew up, and now, it’s where our kids have landed for their own first jobs. We have close family here. We have friends to reconnect with here. And, Charlotte can navigate this city —proof that roots override a catastrophically bad sense of direction.
We consumed an unholy amount of bagels, cardamon buns, and pasta, We also happily bought into the delusion that all the walking canceled it out. Because in New York, you don’t need a car—unless, of course, it’s a subway car.
New York Has it All
This city is everything—loud, electric, a cultural mecca, a sports fanatic’s paradise (or nightmare, depending on your team), and home to some of the best meals you’ll ever eat at an hour that will scandalize your Oura Ring.
We love it so much that you might ask, Why did we leave in the first place? That’s easy: Winter. Also, we were craving adventure. But mostly, Winter.
autumn in NYC
So when did we return for our Stay? Fall. That golden Northeast season when the city feels cinematic—crisp air, vibrant autumn leaves, and there’s the holiday sparkle on the horizon. Halloween alone is a spectacle: New Yorkers go all in, with outrageous decorations, full street closures, and an epic parade that snarls all traffic. Plus, Fall offers the comfort of knowing we could hightail it to California before frostbite set in.
California brings out our best selves—healthy, outdoorsy, avocado-loving, early-risers. New York? That’s where our hedonistic alter-egos thrive. Late nights, live music, comedy clubs, the normalcy of never cooking in (why would you?). Always on the go, always walking, occasionally museum-ing—just to prove we’re still cultured.
mock trial judges, omakase dinner
We picked up a few firsts while we were here. Like our inaugural Omakase dinner—a meticulously choreographed parade of sushi, delivered one exquisite bite at a time. It was less meal and more performance art.
We also found ourselves wildly out of our depth serving as mock trial judges at Fordham University—armed with zero legal experience and even fewer expectations. Somehow, we managed to stumble through it and unintentionally got a self-important (and mildly misogynistic) colleague removed. Justice, as it turns out, works in mysterious ways.
sweet pad, Thanksgiving
Chelsea Living
We landed in Chelsea, not our first choice, but thanks to NYC’s crackdown on short-term rentals and Airbnb, options were limited. The upside? Our apartment was perfect—big enough to host 25 for Thanksgiving, modern, two floors, two terraces, and a collection of mildly inappropriate original art.
stuck in the elevator, Chelsea entertaining
The elevator even opened directly into the apartment—a fancy perk that felt very luxe… until it trapped us inside with 10 of our closest friends and made us very late for dinner reservations. Not once, not twice. Three times. Nothing like a stuck elevator to reveal exactly who is claustrophobic.
grateful for these peeps
It’s All About the People, People
Our social calendar was on overdrive in Manhattan. There’s something magical about being in a place where everyone wants to come visit. And our favorite people who didn’t visit? They already live here. We loved having a warm, inviting place to gather, reconnect, and drink ranch waters on the roof in puffers.
big love, tiny kitchen
And we especially loved seeing the kids happily settled in their own charming apartments, scattered across the city and boroughs—living their best tiny-kitchen, big-dreams New York lives.
Chelsea is convenient—to the West Side Highway’s riverfront paths, the High Line’s peaceful gardens, the West Village’s charming streets, and, most importantly, the subway. Because in NYC, the subway is life.
Within 3 Blocks
Not that we always relied on the subway. That was reserved for actual emergencies – like needing to venture all the way uptown. Or, it was raining. Or, our feet hurt. You know, major disasters.
Most of what we needed lived in our three-block bubble. Pedicure? Half a block. Wine? One block. Sushi? Two blocks. Groceries? Three blocks.
We adopted the New Yorker habit of only buying what we could carry. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods may not deliver, but the wine shops sure do. Priorities.
The Workout
And, while all the walking could technically be considered exercise, we still found a workout we loved: Solidcore – a Pilates class set to bumping music. Earplugs required. Challenging. Efficient. And—miracle of miracles—it made our bodies not hurt. Shoutout deserved.
Because one perk of being in New York? The time zone. It turned out to be a sweet spot for our West Coast-heavy schedules—mornings were blissfully meeting-free, which meant we could squeeze in a workout before the emails started flying.
good things happen when you wander
Out for a Wander
Our favorite way to experience New York has always been by wandering. Wake up, lace up your shoes, and go—maybe east, maybe south, then north again. Stop for coffee. Duck into a craft market. Grab a bagel. “Hey, is that an art installation?” This flowy, unstructured method is still our favorite way to explore. You never know what you’ll encounter—and that’s half the magic.
The Things You Might See
Once, strolling through the West Village we were struck by two impressive vintage cars. Then a third. Then a woman in a flawless hourglass dress. For a moment we thought we’d slipped through time. But no, we’d stumbled onto the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
When Loren was visiting, we popped into the High Line Hotel for a patio drink and found ourselves crashing a Bugaboo stroller marketing event. No babies or grandbabies in our lives, but we were welcomed with tea, cookies, and—best of all– a cheerful, “Please help yourselves to the flowers.” You don’t have to ask us twice.
Mahomes, TSwizzle, Kelce
Celeb Encounters
Wandering through the Meatpacking District, we walked straight into a paparazzi swarm and got our best celebrity sighting to date: out of the Escalade popped Patrick Mahomes, followed by none other than Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, fresh from the U.S. Open and looking fabulous.
Shared Wanders
There’s no way to compress three months of New York into a single post or three. But we can share a few of our favorite wanders to help you experience the city like a local, not a tourist.
We’ve broken these into 6 Downtown Wanders and 5 Elsewhere Wanders. Consider them curated guides to our most loved strolls.
So off you go—lace up, get lost, and don’t be afraid to follow the smell of a freshly baked bagel.
Farewell New York
Thoroughly exhausted after 3 months of non-stop action, we departed this vibrant city ready for a break, and with Nicaragua next up, we were going to get it.
But don’t worry, New York. We’ll be back. Once we’ve slept, stretched, and our Oura Rings forgive us.
Because here’s the thing about this city: it’s messy, exhausting, unapologetically loud—and completely addictive. It’s the only place that makes you dream about leaving while simultaneously planning your next return.
10 Things That Make The Big Apple 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎 Insufferably Great
(AKA Why It’s the Center of the Universe)
- The Subway – The 24/7 underground circus that gets you there, but also tests your immune system
- The Walking Culture – Where “just 30 blocks” is a casual stroll
- The Food Scene – Where natural selection guarantees that an open restaurant is a good restaurant
- The People-Watching – Couture, celebs, chaos. Endlessly entertaining
- Central Park – It’s a beach, a sports complex, a concert hall, and so much more
- Live Everything Theater, comedy, music, sports
- The iconic Skyline – Impossibly dramatic, best viewed from Brooklyn
- The Attitude – Direct, occasionally grumpy, weirdly helpful
- The Energy – It hums, it buzzes, it sprints. Either keep up, or move out to Connecticut
- The Resilience – No matter what hits the city, it bounces back with grit and sarcasm
