Monday, and we were off for another very New York experience. Brunch! We headed down to Low Country (a place I went earlier this year) for some southern grub, a Bell-ini, and a spicy Bloody Maria! Once we were full of energy and ready to go we headed downtown to ground zero. The Freedom tower has made a lot of progress since my mom’s last visit. Although it is still expected to open in 2013.

From there, we poked our heads into Century 21, which is kind of like a really big Marshalls, to see if we could find any fabulous purses. Let me tell you something about Century 21.. It’s huge! It’s also a huge tourist trap.. so I try and avoid it unless I am on a search for a good deal and know exactly where to go. In this matter, I knew where to go :). We didn’t find anything that was fabulous, or that had a fabulous enough price to buy.. but it was still a fun time. 

For the evening, we were headed back uptown for some home-cooking. Yeah, home-cooking Anna style! I have gotten a little better at cooking since moving here.. really I have! My go-to meal, that I personally think is rocking, is sloppy joes and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I’m telling you, if I can cook one thing, this meal is it :) So after a trip to the grocery store I was onto cooking for Mama Duck with a little assistance (whipped cream and chopping) from Chris. I like to think Mama Duck was impressed with my promotion from only cooking mac and cheese too! 

Day 2! Day 2 was a special day too, because it was GAME DAY! Even more special than game day? It was our first Ducks football game of the season! Chyeahhhh. So what do you do on the first day of the season, and well every Saturday until Thanksgiving? Wear duck gear of course. So that is exactly what we did before anything else.

After our duck gear was accomplished we were headed downtown towards a street faire! One of my favorite things in the summer. I introduced my mom to her first Mozzareppa — mozzarella cheese in between two cornmeal pancakes cooked to perfection! Through the street faire we made our way to other touristy locals,

Rockefeller Center, down to Ground Zero, Century 21, Bryant Park, and the New York Public Library. They all looked a little bit different than the last time my mom was here in the dead of winter! A little hotter too…

It should also be noted that my Mom almost didn’t make it through the rest of her trip (literally) after trying to take a photo of a sea of taxis. Don’t worry, she made it out alive though. Luckily.. just in time to head uptown on the bus and to the Harley store before making it home.

As soon as we made it home I was out for the count though. Mama Duck wore me out walking the city! So it was time for a quick nap before the night was ready to begin. And by night, I mean off to the duck bar for some good old college football! The bar ended up being even more crowded than normal though.. so we ended up heading to the neighborhood Brother Jimmys, a southern country bar. Wanted to make my mom feel right at home of course. It was a fun night, we ended up losing :( BOOOO LSU, but it happens.. or it happened once. Not again this season!