Christmas In the Big Apple

Rob and I got up super early on Christmas Eve morning (5:30 am to be exact) to hit the road for NYC. We spent all of Christmas week unpacking the house (we're down to only 2 boxes - yay!), organizing closets and cabinets, and anxiously awaiting the installation of our new kitchen countertops. Because of a few meetings and all of our house projects, we had to travel on Christmas Eve, which actually turned out to be ok.

Normally I wouldn't bother with recapping our 8 hour drive to NYC, but this time the drive was quite entertaining. We started the trip off with only the best Christmas movie ever made - "Christmas Vacation" (thank goodness for mobile DVD players). It's not really Christmas until you watch Clark Griswold string 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights on his house, right?! After the movie we then decided to make a quick little detour to Reading, PA - home of the only Bojangles north of the Mason-Dixon line. {Side note: Bojangles is my favorite fast food restaurant EVER!} Reading, PA also happens to be located right next to Amish country. We enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful scenery - mostly wide open fields and farms. Everytime we drive through the area I always hope, wish, and pray that we'll see a horse + buggy, and we never end up seeing one. However this time my wish came true - we not only saw one, but TWO horse + buggies traveling alongside the road right next to us! I was definitely excited to see one up close (yes, I know this makes me a huge dork, and I'm ok with that) - just ask Rob - I was elated!

Fast forward a few hours later, and we arrive in the city. 

We headed to Rob's grandmother's home for the annual Schmitt Christmas Eve tradition - dinner, gifts, and family time. This Christmas Eve was lots of fun since there were 4 babies running around all under the age of 2. It was fun getting to see Christmas through their eyes. It's amazing how the simplest toy can brighten their day. (2 out of the 4 babies pictured below - Brandon and Christopher)

We spent Christmas Day at my mother-in-law's in Long Beach, NY for another full day of feasting. I think I counted 12 different types of cakes and pies - not to mention we had just eaten a 4 course meal following a huge hors d'oeuvre spread. All of the food was so good, and naturally, we ate entirely too much. (This is the view from my mother-in-law's balcony. Ironically enough, we didn't get a single snow flake in NY; although, my side of the family down in NC had one of their first white Christmas's in a LONG time.)

Since we had to leave NY a day early due to the pending snow storm on the way, we decided to get up early and head to Carlo's Bakery before we headed back to the 'burg. Both Rob and I are avid "Cake Boss" watchers, and let's face it, we never say no to dessert ;) Luckily, there were no lines to get inside the bakery, and we were able to walk right in. We didn't see any of the staff members that are usually seen on the show, but it was still fun to see the bakery in person and try a few goodies along the way. Let me just say that the pastries were unbelievably delicious - I'm not just saying that because I love the show either - they were really that good. 

It was sad to say goodbye to NYC and the Christmas season so soon - it seemed that those 2 days flew by in the blink of an eye, but it was a good Christmas nonetheless. We packed lots of fun memories into those 2 days, so driving 16+ hours in a time span of 48 hours or so was totally worth it! We hope that all of our friends and family around the U.S. had a wonderful Christmas! We're looking forward to ringing in the new year later this week. I've been working on our 2010 Year in Review post, and hope to have it finished within the next few days. 

Photos taken with my iPhone.