Me, Mom, & Manhattan

**Warning, this post may be long**

 I decided to take my mom to NYC for an early mother’s day outing. 

The day was one of the most indulgent days I’ve ever had.

We kind of “pre-gamed” this day last Saturday.  We hit up the mall to have some new gear to rock on our special day.  She bought a really pretty coral flutter-sleeved shirt from Express, and I picked up a teal ruffled halter dress. 

Wednesday,  we both took a personal day off of work, and hopped on the 7:30 train into Grand Central.  Here is a very sleepy picture of me (and the extremely embarrassing bags under my half closed eyes), I woke up at 5:45 to barely make this train.  This is me with a large bucket of hazelnut coffee in an attempt to wake up.

Unfortunately the weather was not great, but I was ready for it. I was wearing my favorite cheetah print trench (you guys know how much I love that thing! ha!) We found a vendor at the train station with cheap umbrellas, and into the taxi line we went. 

The first place we went was CBS studios to be in the audience for the Nate Berkus Show.  I was ecstatic just to be there.  When the cab dropped us off, we walked right in, and the people at the desk gave us VIP tickets when I gave my name!  I don’t know if this was a mistake, but I wasn’t about to correct them! LOL! 

 We went up the elevator and somebody led us to a room with refreshments to wait until the crew was ready. Then we went on to the set where they sat my mom and I in the front row, dead center!!  I was freaking out!! 

There was a comedian that got the audience going for the taping.  She was hysterical, if you want to hear about her, check out her blog “One Funny Mother” (love that name!)  here. The shows were great (they taped 2 episodes).  Since Valspar Paint was the show’s sponsor, everyone in the audience received a $25 Lowes gift card!!! YAY!

**As if you probably noticed, these are really poor quality camera phone pictures.  In my exhausted, half awake stupor, I forgot my camera.  UGH!**

When the show was over, we went for lunch at Cafe Duke.  Originally we were on our was to Chopt (a DIY salad spot) but I think everyone in Manhattan had the same idea.   Cafe Duke had a bazillion stations to choose from, since I got myself amped up for the salad, that’s where I headed.  If you ever go there, the balsamic dijon dressing is amazing!!! 

We left Duke’s and went shopping.  I snagged black leggings and an oversized linen button-down.  I changed into my new outfit, tossed on a black belt, and my trench to get ready for the 2nd half of our day. 

We went to Vada Spa.  The second we checked in, they gave us both a glass of wine, and we took a seat in the waiting area.  Sweet!  Shortly after, we headed up the stairs for our hour-long massages.  My mom said it was the best massage she’s ever gotten!  When the 60 minutes was up, we went downstairs and got shellac manicures.  It was so nice being pampered and doing the same for my mom!  When we were finished with that, the day only got better!  It finally stopped raining. 

We jumped into a taxi that took us straight to Ma Peche.  This was by far the highlight of my day!  If you have never heard of this place, Ma Peche is part of David Chang’s Momofuku Group. David Chang is at the forefront of gastromony…aka a rockin, world-class top chef.  This place is FatKid heaven.  The wait staff wore jeans, Jimi Hendrix was playing, and the seating was modern and clean lined birchwood tables and chairs.  The ambiance was created through soft peach fabric panels that flowed from the very high ceiling to the floor with soft peach lighting.

 No frills, just good food. The name Ma Peche means Mother Peach (all of Chang’s restaurant logo is  a little peach –no sign out in front, just a tiny peach. Momofuku means lucky peach).    We were still pretty full from lunch, so we ordered 2 cheeses and a bottle of Rose bubbly! Cheers to a great day!

We were both looking kinda ratty after the long day and our faces being smooshed into a massage table.  My mom hated this picture and asked me not to post it.  So here’s a random picture of my mom to clear the record that she’s usually a hot tamale of a babe. Here mom:

 Okay, back to the food 🙂 We ordered vaquero (willow hill farm – milton, vt) and landaff (landaff creamery – landaff, nh).  The blue cheese wedge was my favorite.  They were served with a warm baguette and a sweet onion jam.  OMG!  To die for. 

The best was yet to come.   We ordered the Crack Pie.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Crack pie. Google it, it has a cult following for a reason.  It is no coincidence why it’s named that.  Its crust is crushed oatmeal cookie with butter, the filling’s consistency was that of a pecan pie but the flavor somehow reminded me of creme brulee.  I can’t describe it, but it was crack pie.

Yes, I bought one slice to go.

We left Ma Peche and went oon the train back home.  We did manage to squeeze in a trip to Magnolia’s Bakery to pick up a dozen of their famous cupcakes.  

I felt the drunken-ness of the indulgence kick in as I attempted to sleep on the train home.   

All in all, an awesome gluttonous day.