will + kate: Barbour jackets, wellies and a puppy on the beach

I was lucky enough to have my parents finally come visit me out here this past weekend. It was a trip almost two years coming - and I can't express how excited I was to show them around my New York and see them for the first time since Christmas.

We had a great weekend - a perfect balance of their uptown, upscale Manhattan of past visits, and my downtown day-to-day life. All the things we did piece together like a pretty great guide to wining and dining with a dash of culture and shopping from Soho to the Upper East Side:


{We dined.}

• Gotham Grill: White table clothes, amazing seafood and a very 90s New York vibe, like Gramercy Tavern and totally delicious (the seafood salad is unreal)
• The Modern: minimalist, fancy and contemporary - just like the museum (amazing duck confit)
• db Bistro Moderne: fancy and delicious
  
• The Standard Grill: great spot for an early breakfast al fresco
  
• Public: trendy, brunch-y, delicious lentil salad and great drinks
• La Piscine: on the roof of Hotel Americano; lots of delicious fried seafood with a side of DJ
  
• Brasserie Julienne: cute little french joint on 2nd Ave in the 80s, live jazz with your moules frites
  
• Morandi: loud, busy and seriously great Italian fare on Waverly and 7th Ave
  

{We drank.}

• La Piscine: Before dinner every night we had cocktails on the roof with an amazing view of the city
  
• Kingswood: After dinner at db, I brought my parents to meet up with friends and see one of my favorite West Village bars
  
• Public: a dirty martini for Mom, a bourbon iced tea for me and the Bloody Maria for Dad
  

{We saw.}

• The MoMA:the Cindy Sherman exhibit was cool and creepy, but the permanent exhibits are always refreshing and unmissable
  
• The East River Ferry: A fun and unique way to get between Manhattan and Brooklyn - especially on a warm day; we took it to and from 34th street to the flea market 
• Brooklyn Flea (Williamsburg): people watching, antique-ing and artisianal everything - of course
  
• The Met: My favorite museum in Manhattan, and the Steins Collection and Shiaparelli and Prada exhibit were crowded but truly wonderful (unfortunately the Cloud City exhibit on the roof was closed for weather)

{We shopped.}

• Uniqlo @ 53rd & 5th: picked up 4 shirts for my dad, but the crazy atmosphere and sheer amount of clothes is a little too much
  
• Treasure & Bond: cool, well-curated jewelry, gifts and apparel on lower West Broadway in Soho
  
• MoMA Design Store: so many unique and useful knick-knacks, and perfectly sized art prints for $10

{royal wedding} just kidding, evening looks too...

Kate is wearing another Sarah Burton-designed gown, with a darling cropped mohair sweater, and William looks all kinds of perfect in a double-breasted tux. 

*Regarding the sweater; sure it's a wee bit casual for a royal wedding, but if you had been bound and buttoned into a corseted dress with an 8.5 foot train for most of the day, wouldn't you want to just play it down for a minute upon arrival to your evening dinner dance? She will surely remove it, ya'll. Calm down.

Finally, this was perhaps my favorite moment from this morning, I caught it live just in time before I hopped on the Boston-bound bus I am blogging to you from now:

Future hubs take note, this is the most perfect exit in the most perfect car.

{royal wedding} i'll just leave it at this...

 The Sarah Burton designed Alexander McQueen dress.

 The kiss.

Gina and I woke up at 6 a.m. to watch the ceremony, and it really was like a fairytale. Kate looked beautiful and traditional, her dress was very reminiscent of the one Grace Kelly wore when she wed Prince Rainier in 1956. William looked wildly handsome in his military uniform, and seeing Harry whisper to him briefly as Kate approached the alter made us tear up. After the ceremony and the carriage ride to Buckingham Palace, we dozed until around 8:25, just in time to catch the first kiss(es).

InStyle.com has a great gallery of photos.
As does The New York Times.

Did you guys wake up (or stay up late) to watch the live fanfare?

(images via New York Times and New York Daily News)