Central Park, The Met and my first ever Giveaway!!!

Anyone that knows me is fully aware of how I loathe exercise of any kind. I will avoid it at all costs, so I was utterly shocked at how our walk through Central Park on our last morning in New York turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it actually felt and looked like fall! At my house we're sweating and dealing with drought so it was a really nice change of pace to bundle up in boots and a jacket and stroll along gorgeous walkways of yellow, orange and red leaves!

I personally had never understood why people would tell me to go to Central Park in the first place. Clearly all I am interested in when I am on vacation is eating, not walking. I didn't know what Louis was thinking suggesting we walk through the park on our way to The Met but as soon as you get a few feet in, it's like the busy noise of the city just melts away

and you're left staring at geese and gorgeous trees and fountains and old people doing exercise classes. I was so glad I wasn't doing that!

 So after all that exertion I felt totally justified hitting up Shake Shack for lunch

It was so so good

We both got the smoke shack (I got a single and Louis got the double) and we split an order of fries. The smoke shack is a cheeseburger topped with applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers and shake sauce. The sauce and cherry peppers totally made the burger and I can't wait until the Austin location opens so I can go and compare them!

 After stuffing ourselves we made our way, in the dirtiest cab to ever grace the face of the earth, to the Met

I was completely floored by just how huge the museum actually is! And, the entrance fee is "optional" so that everyone has access to the museum. I personally thought that was pretty awesome. We stayed the longest time in the Egyptian and Roman areas but quickly realized that we'd need a few days to be able to see everything

Taking a little break on the rooftop was just stunning and the bar up there was a bonus I was excited to see!

 I know this is random, but how cute is the little seating areas that I saw at our hotel?! I totally need to recreate this. Or pay someone to do it, since my crafting gene is broken. Before heading to the airport we stopped at The Common at the hotel and grabbed a quick bite since airport food is the worst excuse for food ever. I got the Lobster Gumbo and Triple Cooked Duck Fat Fries (if you're keeping track, yes, this is my forth order of fries on this trip)

 The fries were fabulous (obviously) and the gumbo was good. It was very thick and the roux was lighter than what I make, but it was still good. We said goodbye to the Hudson and headed home

Every time I come home from a long trip I am reminded that there's no better welcome home than the one from your dogs!

Roux and Beignet missed us way more than the kids did!

 I had such a fabulous trip I wanted to share a little piece of it with you!

I brought back an extra goodie bag from the Wine and Food Festival that I will send to one lucky reader! It's full of a ton of fun things that I hope you love!

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is scroll up to the top right column and "follow by Email" and come back leaving a comment telling me you did! For a bonus entry, share the giveaway on Facebook and come back leaving an additional comment telling me you did that. If you are already following by email, simply leave me a comment saying so. Good Luck!!

 

WooHoo!! Congrats Jenn Tidwell, you won!!

 

Winner must have a U.S. shipping address and will be chosen Saturday November 1, 2014 at 11:59pm.  The winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and announced at the top of this post. The winner will also be notified via email; if the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be selected.