I kind of hate New York.

Not really.

But sorta.

Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of things that I love about NYC – like the parks and museums, the restaurants and street vendors, and visiting my sister. But I always come back feeling a little beat up and defeated. Know what I mean?

I’m a city girl, just not a NYC girl.

Having my Princess Di moment upon arrival.

Greeted by Huey and his much loved Chicken.

The Meatball Shop was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Classic meatballs with mushroom gravy over homemade smashed potatoes. I’d like to eat this with a spoon on the couch watching reruns of  My So Called Life.

On the way to the restaurant, I had an honest-to-goodness celebrity sighting – Edward Norton! I would have asked for a photo, but I couldn’t handle the rejection if he said no, and I get the feeling that he’s the kinda guy that would say no.

Seated Odalisque by Henri Matisse and Augustine Roulin by Vincent van Gogh are two of my favorites at the MET. Cloud City by Tomás Saraceno is worth a trip to the rooftop – you can get all up in its business for a unique view over Central Park (but I was too chicken).

My mom found her doppelganger among the portraits.

The wax figure of Yayoi Kusama in all the Louis Vuitton windows is so spot on (no pun intended) it’s scary.

The Kusama exhibit at the Whitney is a fascinating retrospective of her life and career – though I prefer her more recent works. It’s amazing that someone would have the wherewithal to save clippings and letters and fliers for 50+ years to make such an exhibit possible.

For exactly one minute, each exhibit visitor get to stand and take in the lights, mirrors, and water of Fireflies on the Water. They tell you over and over again that there’s no photography or video allowed, so obviously I had to stuff my phone in my bra for easy access once they shut the door.

I may live in Texas, but I don’t do heat. Instead, we bought day passes to the Holiday Inn rooftop pool and kicked it with the old-money-season-pool-pass-holders where all the dirty old men looked like leather and discussed their travel overseas. Apparently Portugal is where it’s at.

I love the graffiti in NYC, but this one definitely edges over into art, and it’s right around the corner from my sister’s apartment.

A wicked summer storm caused an electrical fire across the river and we saw it all go down. My sister said that we’d make excellent beat reporters. I tend to agree (though despite my expert hashtag usage, my Tweet didn’t gain much traction).

S’mores was the cupcake of the month at Magnolia Bakery. It’s officially the cupcake of my life.

Just strollin’ past Sarah Jessica Parker’s house, trying not be a creep.

The Foster girls in Washington Square.

Adding to my Buddha collection with a souvenir from Pearl River Market in SOHO.

And no trip would be complete without a little drama.

I had trouble starting my  car when I got to the airport at midnight, but thankfully I made it home. I wasn’t so lucky the next morning. I got stuck an hour from home in my pajamas (the ones with the bleach spot on the leg, of course) after picking up Ollie from being boarded. 7 hours and $600 later and Ollie’s expression pretty much sums up our day.