[secret new york weekend.]

So it turns out that if I don't return to civilization at least once every few months, I start to get a little antsy in my pantsy. Chad and I have never done New York together, so we (I) decided that for his last free weekend of the summer (because he has Little League...don't even get me started), we'd go up for a city quickie. I love going back, especially because it usually means I get to see all of my besties (including loves I've been friends with since kindergarten), but that also means I typically spend all my time there running from playdate to playdate. This weekend, we decided to keep our New York trip quiet so that we'd be able to spend the time having fun together, rather than seeing every single person Milan loves. It sort of broke my heart a little to be in the same city as my lovies without seeing them, but it really was such a nice chance to frolic around the city with my boy.

We toodled around Soho and ate and shopped and did nothing much in particular, except the two highlights of the trip (for me anyway), showing Chad around Columbia and seeing The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Chad had of course seen Columbia a few times--he even got into grad school there, though he didn't end up attending (yet?). {Can you imagine? If he had gone there, we would have met years ago, but I would have had a boyfriend whom I loved very much, and Chad and I would never have been us...an inspired decision, obviously. ;)} But it was so fun showing him my Columbia--my freshman dorm, the deli I frequented at 3 a.m., the roof I climbed on that one stupid night...and he was very patient and humored me by appearing interested in everything I showed him. (...which means I have to do the same when he shows me BYU...whomp whomp.) Chad had also seen The Phantom of the Opera, but he knew it had been a dream of mine to see it on Broadway since I was a little girl, so he took me. I may have gotten a little emotional in the show, and if he had asked, I would have told him it was because of the story line. In reality, though, I was sitting there thinking, "Look at that boy sitting next to me, literally making my dreams come true..."

Gross. Anyway. We also visited other wonderful places I love, like Strand and Taschen and Topshop and Central Park, and of course we ate well--hello, Norma's. And then after attending church, which was randomly star-studded, Mormon-style (oh hey, L. Tom Perry, Quentin L. Cook, and Sen. Harry Reid), we hopped a bus back to D.C., and that was the end. I've now shown Chad both of my homes, LA and Manhattan. Next month, he'll be showing me his home, Orem, Utah... :)