Fabulous Fun in Meatpacking

On Sunday - feet still aching- we headed to the Meatpacking for brunch with Walter in tow. We ate at the very trendy 5 Ninth before continuing on with more shopping.

After a stroll through Chelsea Markets and the High Line, we refuelled at Pinkberry before hitting Loehman's. Loehmans is a store that specialises in selling designer clothes at discounted prices. It is truly where the bargains are to be had, stocking everything from Dolce & Gabanna, Jimmy Choo, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Vera Wang & Manolo Blaknik.

Several bargains later, Sucheta was clearly overwhelmed and impressed with the NY insider knowledge :) Needless to say, we could not stand it!















Oh Walter - behave!

Sucheta Arrives!

After months of suspense and excitement Sucheta finally arrived in NYC on Friday. It was absolutely wonderful to see her, and there was much screaming and squealing upon her arrival!

With David in California for Chad's funeral and Sucheta's husband, Phil left back in Oz, it gave us the opportunity to have a complete and utter girls weekend - without boys and any interruptions!

After a late meal on Friday we enjoyed a long sleep-in on Saturday before heading down to Soho for lunch and some shopping. And shop we did! Literally shopped until we dropped - arriving home exhausted with feet aching!

It was then off to the East Village for some sushi at Hasaki before cabbing it home and falling into bed!




















Looking sensational at sushi with Suchi!

Chad Kelly

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our dear friend Chad Kelly aged 36.

Chad was tragically killed a light plan crash, along with his father-in-law, Harwood Fowler on September 17.

Chad and David were good friends through college, and become even closer as the years passed. Chad and Shar were always at the top of our list every visit back to the US, and we will always remember their generosity and good times we shared. It was back in February that we last saw a proud Chad with his new baby girl Julia.

Chad was a wonderful man, genuine and kind, and loved his wife and kids with every inch of his being.

Our deepest sympathise are with his wife Shar, who lost the love of her life but also her father . Words cannot express the loss she is enduring at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with their children Sophia 7, Brooklyn 4 and Julia 7 months.

Chad you will be dearly missed.

Shar, Alex & Chad 2006.

Staten Island Ferry

After a week of slightly cooler weather we were ecstatic on Saturday to see that the sunshine had come out! We decided to make good use of the warmer weather and grab the Staten Island Ferry for a free view of Statue of Liberty.
















Alex & Sharon onboard















After some happy snaps with Manhattan in the background, which is pretty much the extend of what to do on Staten Island, we grabbed the next available ferry back to the island.































Ahh the island!















It was then on to a walk thru Soho, Washington Square Park and the East Village, stopping for dinner at Cucina de Pesce for some hearty italian and vino.




















What a handsome bunch!

La Mirabelle

On Friday night we headed t0 the Upper West Side to the French restaurant La Mirabelle.

We had a lovely evening and a fabulous meal, complete with Onion Soup, Steak Frites and Cream Brulee. It was then home and off to bed!

The Container Arrives

After 10 months our container has finally arrived from Australia! It will be wonderful to finally have all our day-to-day items, such as an iron, as well as additional clothes.

However the containers arrival at the same time as our guests has proved to be slightly stressful. Keith and Sharon have been great sport helping to unpack and resulting in the flat looking less like a bomb has hit it, although not by much!

Keith & Sharon Arrive

Tuesday marked the arrival of Keith and Sharon, fresh from a week in San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. They had been planning there trip for months so we were super excited to see them finally arrive in the Big Apple.

We headed to Yankee Stadium to see Keith Favorite team, the Toronto Blue Jays play the Yankees.































It was tight game with the scores tied at 4-4 until Yankees player Francisco Cervelli hit a game winning hit and secure a win for his team - mayhem on the field!
















Shenanigans on the way home.......

Dinner with Lucy

On Saturday night we caught up with one of Alex's old school friends, Lucy. We hit the trendiest place possible, the Meat Packing district for some drinks, dinner and some celebrity sightings - again!
















Mischa Mischa Mischa!
































The excitement was not without drama with Alex being hit in the face by a camera by a papparazzi! As you can imagine it was then time for some wine and dinner!

Babysitting Duties

On Wednesday night, Mick and Erin had tickets to the US Open to see Roger Federer play. Unfortunately they only had 2 tickets so we happily looked after Davis and Miles for the evening.

After some corn dogs, sweet potato fries, pasta and peas, it was storytime with David on the big bed. This was shortly followed by "quiet time", where everyone promptly fell asleep - including Alex who only woke up when Erin came to recover the kids!

Star Sightings

Working on 5th Ave certainly has it advantages, in part it is where most of the celebrities shop and where they are filmed!

The last few weeks in my lunch break I have seen the filming of Gossip Girl, Mariah Carey's new music video, and the Sex in the City sequel.

Here are my best paparazzi shots of Miranda's character in front of Bergdorf Goodman.

Naples Pier

Early one evening we headed towards Naples Pier, famous for fishing and dolphin watching. We were in luck and saw a group of dolphins whilst the sunset, unfortunately we were not so quick with the camera!















Afterwards it was off to Old Naples for dinner at Campiello for some fine dining!

Golf at Tiburon

One of the great perks of staying at the Ritz Carlton was the Greg Norman designed Golf Course, Tiburon. It has 36 holes and the option of playing 2 different sets of 18 holes, or 4 different sets of 9 holes.















David, of course was in heaven, and managed to take some great shots of the property and reported back that whilst is was a very scenic course, it was indeed a very hard course to play!
















After all the exictement, it was back to some more relaxing by the pool...............




















......and then by the beach.

















How's the serenity?

Labor Day Long Weekend

A few months ago I noticed there was a Public Holiday in early September. Being the smart planner, and holiday lover, I decided that we should take advantage of the day off and take a weekend away for some sun and relaxation.

We hit Naples which is on the west side of Florida and sits on the Gulf of Mexico, hence warm waters and sunshine all day long.

The first day we relaxed by the pool before watching the amazing sunset .............

........and then heading to a local restaurant - Flaco's!

Cheers to vacation!

Time Flies

After whirl wind trip my parents have packed their bags, left the Big Apple headed back to Oz :( The last 2 weeks have just flown!

It makes you think how quickly time flies, especially since today is the 9 month anniversary since we left Australia. Friends and family have fallen pregnant, had babies, moved house, lost and gained new jobs - the list goes on!

So it was appropriate that Erin found this old photo and sent it thru today.....Alex and Miles Halloween 2006!