Before we get started, I am 5'9", typically wear a 18/20, wear a 40B bra, a size 11 wide shoe, and my measurements are 46/49/55.

In case you missed any of my previous Boston posts, you can find them below!

I have been treating this trip to New York as if it's my first, but it's actually my second time visiting.  When I lived in Boston, Shala and I took the Greyhound to NYC to attend a showcase concert put on by Seventeen magazine.  Westlife was actually supposed to be there but canceled a week before.  And while we only had enough money to be in New York City for less than twenty-four hours, we went anyway.  It was the closest thing to a vacation we got.

It was actually on that trip that I walked twenty-three city blocks to Times Square in brand new three-inch heeled Payless boots.  I couldn't feel my toes for days.  And yes, I crimped my hair.

As I mentioned, we allowed ourselves to sleep in on this slow morning.  It was helpful to get that extra bit of shut-eye and quiet time.  Sean left to gather breakfast from Le Pain Quotidien, returning with a Sunny Side Breakfast Bowl, a Turkey Bacon Avocado Tartine, two almond milk lattes, and a croissant.  While it was incredibly delicious and a delightful change from our Boston Dunkin' breakfasts, it was also too pricey to make a regular thing.  We enjoyed the heck out of it and went back to Dunkies the rest of the week.

We continued to relax and enjoy the relative peace and quiet of our hotel room, grabbing arugula salads for lunch at Angelo's again (I told you we became obsessed with these salads!) and slowly getting ready for concert time.

It only took ten minutes to walk to Radio City Music Hall from our hotel, so we strolled, eh well, I would never call walking in New York a "stroll".  We took our time, shall I say, walking to the venue, looking up at the buildings, and taking photos like the tourists we were.  I was also really proud of myself for letting things be imperfect.  I have been such a perfectionist and people-pleaser my entire life and have been more intentionally allowing myself to plan less, prepare a little less, and just generally be a little less extra in the name of peace of mind.  For example, I didn't spend more time straightening my hair or doing my nails.  I didn't put in the extra effort to find a different shirt that fit me better.  I didn't worry about having perfect photos or getting specific shots.  I just tried to show up as me in whatever form I took that day and lived my life in the name of courage, adventure, and delight.

Obviously, this was our first time attending anything at Radio City, and what a treat that was!  The place is stunning inside, the staff were all friendly and direct, it was clean and pristine-looking, and they were all organized AF.  They have it down to a science it seems, and it pays off.  We were lucky enough to go into the door that fed us directly into the merch line, where I bought merch for both Shala and I.

I want to take a moment to thank Westlife for at least having sizes up to a 3X.  So many artist's and band's merch only goes up to a more fitted 2X.  New Kids On The Block is just now starting to have 3X as an option.  I was so excited I bought two tees and a sweatshirt.  Turns out, they are very generously sized as well.

Anyway, after we bought merch we stood in line to get drinks, which were presented in a plastic take-home cup that made a fun souvenir, and I got to talking to two Irish guys who I'm convinced thought I was cute.  They were extra friendly, and maybe that's just because they're Irish, but my story is that two cute Irish guys flirted with me at the Westlife concert.  I'm not wrong, I swear!

I was high as a friggin' kite on the anticipation of concert time, the lights of NYC, and Irish dudes flirting with me, and then we sat in our second-row seats.  I got emotional.  I was missing Mark (Feehily from Westlife.  He got sick and couldn't make it.).  I was just so grateful to be in that moment.  Plus, the seats at Radio City were soft, velvety, and plush.  (At an 18/20 I fit into the seat just fine.  It was actually really comfortable.)

After the show, we jumped into the closest crowd and followed the flow to the exit, which spat us out along 50th Street.  I saw pretty lit-up trees glowing just a short distance away and wanted to burn my concert energy by exploring.  When we approached the trees, I realized we were at Rockefeller Center!  It was absolutely gorgeous at night, with fewer people than during the daylight hours, but still enough to lend to the atmosphere.  The weather was breezy and wonderful, another way we really lucked out on this trip.  We stood there for a bit, in awe of the fact we were actually standing in New York City.

We put in so much time and effort to save money, get our walking stamina up, find the right clothes, etc. in preparation for this trip.  It was really cool to be experiencing something for the first time together too.  2021 was the last time we traveled somewhere neither of us had ever been before (Glacier National Park, still need to post about it).

I enjoyed hanging out in this area more than I enjoyed loitering in Times Square.  Times Square is more congested, more kitschy, a bit more chaotic and touristy.  Around Rockefeller Center, there are at least more interesting stores, a bit more variety, and slightly more room to maneuver.  I will also add that everything is much smaller than what it looks like on television.  The skating rink, the area outside of the Today Show, it's all such a small area.

And so, we walked around the incredibly well-lit streets of Midtown just looking to see how much of Times Square we could see without going directly to it yet. 😂  New York City is a vibe and we walked around taking in the shock of it.  The lights and signs and noises and stores.  It was fascinating and mesmerizing and appalling all at the same time.

Eventually, we stopped by Magnolia Bakery to grab some banana pudding to go.  (Yes, it was very delicious and I wish I had room for more!)  Then we headed back to the hotel, ordered a late-night pizza for dinner from Angelo's (Margherita with meatballs and sun-dried tomatoes!), and crashed sometime after devouring it.

If you have issues with gluten and/or dairy, I'd love to recommend Lactaid and Digestive Enzymes.  In the last year, we've basically cut gluten and dairy from our lifestyle again and now have a very low tolerance for it.  Yet, we also didn't want to miss out on trying New York City pizza and bagels.  The enzymes helped immensely and we had no issues on vacation.