New York City.

the trip from hell...
no really, it is.

let me explain...

so do you all remember way back when...

i was going to go to san francisco with the buhls...

but then i got divorced so it didnt happen.

and so i switched that ticket to a

trip to New York City with holly...

but then she decided to elope...so that didnt happen.

so then i decided to visit my newly relocated cousin in Boston...

but then her living arrangements went a little haywire...so that didnt happen.

so then i was going to go visit my favorite east coast friend from my days at UNR...

but then her house got put up for sale...so that didnt happen...

so after having a minor stress attack because my original credit was going to expire at the end of this month...

i finally found some super awesome friends who were willing to spend a little money and fly across the country to visit the...

concrete jungle where dreams are made of...
also known as

New York City!!!

yes, i finally made it to the big apple, can you believe it?

i cant! haha

well...i did make it eventually...but that wasn't without a few more obstacles getting in the way...
besides the millions of destination changes this trip has already gone through. 

we wake up thursday morning to a text saying our flight has been CANCELED??

La Guardia airport had shut down due to windy weather.

say what? 

so off to the airport i head...to figure this out.

Southwest said they couldn't get us there until...saturday. 

let me remind you that it is thursday..and we are coming home on sunday..

ya..umm..thats doesn't work for me, southwest, sorry.

so they tell us they will give us our money back..and we bought a ridiculously expensive ticket on delta..because for some reason that i still have a hard time comprehending...JFK airport, which is also in New York City, is NOT having weather issues? 
weird? ya, i know.

 But then after we purchase the new tickets...Southwest tells me that since i bought mine with a credit, i just get my credit back...which expires in 2 weeks. oh joy. 

so to recap: the credit that i so desperately tried to use before it expires, and was the ONLY reason why I was even going on this trip in the first place, is now STILL in my possession. yes, i basically hate my life, and windy weather, and southwest. 
(after a lot of fighting, i did not get a refund, but i did get them to extend it another six months...but they would HAVE to charge me a $50 fee, which i was livid about...so we compromised and they charged me the fee, and then gave me another $50 voucher)

But, at least i made it to NYC, right? yayyyyy!!!!

{which actually was super important, because we already booked and paid for the hotel (which we got a dope deal..i cant say enough good things about Priceline's Name Your Price feature) AND my bestest buddy nate was ALREADY in NY waiting for our arrival. (poor guy)}

Day 1: 

Times Square

Breakfast at  
Pop Tart World.. 
Yummmm

 Perfecting our New york Style at Shopping at 
 Forever 21

(Nate loved this part)

Bought some underwear at
American Eagle...

So we could get our 15 seconds of fame...on the big screen. 

then we were off to the

Financial District

Ground Zero

and we met up with some high school buddies...Adam Scott, and Jarrad Burke who were in town working. :) 

Broadway

We saw Promises Promises

 with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes

Super funny...especially Marge ;)

 Starlight Diner. 

Favorite part of the trip. 

Go. There.

and ask for Matt. 

Best. Waiter. Ever. 

The waiters and waitresses sing and perform for you.

 it is awesome.
(thanks for the recommendation sara.)

matt

 Iguanas

ghettoest club ever.

we danced. we laughed. we got stared at.

 The staring may have something to do with Nate dancing with this guy.

No nate is not gay. He's just a good sport. and gives in to peer pressure ;)

Not sure about this other guy though...

and yes, he touched his face, several times. and he spinned him. i basically peed my pants. jk.

but i did get it all on video!

Highlight: Dancing/Singing at the top of our lungs to Empire State of Mind.

in a super ghetto club. 

in NYC.

Priceless. 

 then we stumbled upon this on our walk home...

<3

Lights out: 4 a.m.

Day 2:
Touristy Day

Saturday, we decided to see all that we could see, since it was Nate's first time to the east coast.
so we bought the New York Pass for $75 that got us into anything and everything you could imagine. 

First Stop:

NBC Studio Tour 

at Rockefeller Center

Radio City Music Hall

Bullet for my Valentine played there one night. 

we were there for the aftermath.

barffffffff.

 

The Statue of Liberty

 

Ellis Island

 

NY Skyline...times two ;)

King Tut 
on Broadway 

i love egypt..and mummies.  I will go there one day.

Madame Tussaud's 
on Broadway

The Empire State Building
 late at night. So pertttyyyy. soooo colddd.

we also went to the NYC Sky Tour Motion Ride up there because it was free with our pass..
i got a little queezy.

it was a jam-packed day of awesomeness! :)

Day 3: Shopping 

Lexington Ave Street Fair

complete with a marching band and all.

and nate finally got the scarf {and bracelet} he's been wanting since his trip to paris. 

Crumbs Cupcakes.
yum.

 Dylan's Candy Bar

I want a candy dress!!

Serendipity 3

Central Park
for the...

yes...that is julie from the real world.
she is our friend.

**Warning: Trip From Hell Alert**
Later that night we headed back to the airport to catch our flight.
we got there in plenty of time.
However, they decided to close our terminal.
So we get off the airtrain. Find out our terminal has been changed.
Have to walk on a wild goose hunt outside for 10-15 min to the next gate.
When we finally make it to the kiosk..
They tell us it's too late to check bags.
How late? umm less that 5 minutes!!!
(and we find out that JFK is the only airport that cuts off baggage an hour before the flight...every other airport is 45 min)
we yell and complain. They tell us to carry on our bags.
We are furious..because this is technically all their fault...
and now we have to
THROW AWAY ALL OUR LIQUIDS.
Mine=$maybe $40 worth.
Tifani's= somewhere around $100-$150
(she has expensive face wash, and lots of curly hair products)
but i snuck my razor though..take that sukkkasssss.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
so we make it through security. get to the gate.
she tells me my bag is too big to carry on.
i tell her im aware of this...but the dummies downstairs told me to do it anyway.
she rolls her eyes...slaps a tag on it..and checks it anyways!!!!!!
AFTER I THREW AWAY ALL MY LIQUIDS!
gahhh... so annoying.

(on the brightside..our flight was basically empty, Nate got onto our flight...and we made it to vegas an hour early!)

So to Recap...
{Flying Ruins Trips. NYC is amazing.}

and if anyone is flying in the next six months...please please please use my credit and pay me cash because i am so over southwest!

happy birthday....

to one of my besties...

kelli!!

we've been best friends since freshman year of high school

and are still going strong.

here are some fun facts:

1. we both love to eat out. specifically at olive garden and quiznos.

2. In high school we liked to be non-social and play the old school nintendo. on weekend nights.

3. we both are single moms with the coolest little boys in the world.

4. our little boys somewhat resemble each other. we planned it that way. 

5. we have kissed the same guy. 

6. our best memories have to do with stealing cars. before we had licenses. 

7. we are on a family cell phone plan. 

8. and we are basically freaking awesome. 

happy birthday kell kell!!

what would you do....

if you randomly got texted this picture...

yes...that would be MY boyfriend.

marrying a girl who is NOT me.

weird? umm. yes. 

and the text the followed..

"Ashley, Doug is busted! hahaha. We needed Doug to play groom for a marketing gig. Give him a hard time. He came down with a frown and said I have a girlfriend! haha."

-Jason

{i bet he didnt have a frown on his face 

when he got to kiss his bride!!!!!!!!!!!}

shoppin with stinks.

taking matix shoppin is nearly impossible nowadays, unless he can be entertained in a cart. 

however, i decided to brave the fashion show mall anyways...with matix by my side, 

because let's face it--the new forever 21 there is to.die.for

here's how our trip ended up...

he played at every display.

the sand one was his favorite.

 

posed and 'touched' every mannequin in the store. 

and it's a bigggg store.

stopped at every lion king poster advertisement.

 

and wanted to try on everything mommy tried on.

his favorite were these shoes.

and he insisted on walkin across the entire store to show janey waney.

(it took foreverrrrrr..but was HILARIOUS to watch)

needless to say...we were there forever. and i wasnt able to buy one single thing...

becasue we were all over the place!

oh, what fun little kids are <3