Thanksgiving might not even be until later this week, but the Christmas season began in New York the first week of November. I heard Christmas music in Old Navy and thought it was a joke.. but sure enough there is no waiting until after Thanksgiving to start getting in the holiday spirit in New York! I have a couple of friends on the west coast that would love this news more than others (you guys know who you are!). Anyways, lights are going up on the trees and on the penthouse suites! The wreaths are going up, window displays are being changed, and holiday music is in full swing. 

My photos are a peak at what has already been decorated, but you will definitely have to stay tuned for more photos! New York seems to do all of the holidays big so I can only imagine! Even for Halloween the store fronts and restaurants were decked out so I’m looking forward to seeing the transformation for Christmas! I must confess too, after seeing the decor my roommate and I may be guilty of walking down the street singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Yes, this really happened. Which, we had a conflict on the lyrics at the end. I’ve always sang, you’ll go down in history like Columbus! but my roommate seemed to think it was down in history like George Washington. Thoughts?

It’s the middle of November and fall is well underway in the city! I can’t complain about our days of beautiful blue skies and sunshine with a tad bit of cold in the air. Our cold of the upper 40’s and 50’s definitely doesn’t compare to the touch of an early winter a lot of my friends and family are experiencing right now though! So for those of you reading from snow-covered grounds here is your escape back a season to fall for the next couple of minutes!

We decided to explore the park before all of the leaves had fallen off the trees and the view was very pretty! Check out the photos from above. All shades of yellow, orange and red filled the trees, which in the reflection of the water looked picture-perfect. I could spend hours in Central Park and not get sick of the scenery. While we were in the park we saw two different wedding parties taking their photos, and a couple of other photoshoots. Iconic, and alluring to New Yorkers and tourists alike. 

While walking through the park we also ran into the ice skating rink that is already open, so hopefully there will be an ice skating post coming soon! 

Any of you that know me well know that I’ve always been a Mac and Cheese junkie. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love it. From a very young age I was requesting the blue box from my Mom and trading my little smokies for kid’s school lunch mac and cheese. I believe the trade was 3 little smokies for a scoop of mac and cheese so I’d say I made out in that deal. Even as I grew up my love for my cheesy pasta has yet to be something I’ve outgrown. 

So you can kind of understand my excitement when I found out about a place in the East Village called S’Mac that is solely dedicated to all that is cheesy goodness Mac and Cheese! I found out about it a couple of weeks ago, but this was the week I finally got to go check it out (Thank you Chris!). Aww, can you say a happy Anna and tummy? I can! I kept it classic and got the 4 cheese and was impressed. I got a Nosh, which is there smallest size, and couldn’t finish my last couple of bites because it was so filling. 

Needless to say, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was homey, which I love finding places like that in the city!