Mornin’ y’all! I’ve been doing my own thing this morning to make the most of my NYC visit. I slept in and then whisked myself over to Whole Foods for a quick bite before meeting friends for yoga.
Plain yogurt, fruit and cereal from the salad bar!
Ashley and Melissa met me at Strala Yoga for a STRONG class. This studio was near-perfect with a spacious loft feel, a super friendly owner to greet us, a modern vibe, a wonderful instructor who led one of the best classes I’ve taken with lots of adjustments, the perfect room temperature (very warm, not hot) and great music. During savasana I was thinking “The only thing they are missing is aromatherapy” and then I was swiped with a lovely scented balm on my forehead!
[Photo courtesy of Ashley]
After class, we bundled up – MAN IT IS SO COLD TODAY!!! I was on a mission to get a Sunday afternoon NYC bagel thick with cream cheese and the girls took me to my dream bagel:
I had a Pumpernickel (my fav!) Raisin with a thick layer of plain cream cheese. Totally hit the spot!
We walked around for a bit and Ashley showed me the highlights of the Gramercy Park neighborhood
And we warmed up with lattes from Irving Farm
Now if only I could get a glimpse of Blair, Serena, Chuck or NATE ARCHIBALD, my weekend would be complete!
{ 79 comments… read them below or add one }
wow, you are fast! Great seeing you.:)
: )
Oh New York Bagels are the BEST! Delish!
Sounds like a great day…yoga, friends, bagels and lattes…perfect combo!
Gosh those bagels look good. Reminded me of our New Jersey Grandma Younger days. Keep on having fun!
Yes, this is always what I got!
Omg, that yoga studio is SO pretty! The hardwood floors are amazing. And the bagels and lattes look absolutely divine. I love the name of the bagel shop, too. On my last trip to NYC my friend and I actually went looking for “Chuck” (Ed Westwick in real life) at a bar where he supposedly hangs out, haha. Unfortunately we didn’t see him, but we did pass Mary-Louise Parker near Washington Square Park! Enjoy the rest of your time in NYC, and stay warm!
Gah! You’ve found more amazing places there than I ever have in my 5 years of working in the city!
I want to dive headfirst into that bagel. Good heavens.
Did you get to take the yoga class with Tara Stiles? Love her! Looks like you are making the most out of your trip! Man, now I want a bagel!
No, but I met her. She was the friendly owner!
yayy tara stiles!! i love her too. I agree with kim, you’re hitting all the spots i’d want to go . bagelll droooll
That yoga class sounds DIVINE!
You’re making the most of it. I travel to NYC for work and will have to try that yoga studio next time I’m in town!!
ess-a-bagel is def. one of the best! I miss that and my fave H&H on Broadway in the Upper West Side, which (sadly) recently closed.
er, ON the Upper West Side.
(I even ordered a box of my beloved H&H poppy seed bagels, frozen, a few years ago…)
Haha definitely let us know if you see the Gossip Girl crew!
I would be so jealous! Sounds like a perfect day to me: Whole Foods, Yoga, Lattes, plus a thick and chewy New York bagel! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
There are some things that are better in NYC: Pizza and bagels are in the top 5!
Sounds like a perfect Sunday to me!
A pumpernickel raisin bagel?!
I know what the next type of bread I’ll be baking is…
those bagels look so delicious! That’s one thing I’m sad about now that I can’t eat gluten, I’ll never get to try a classic NY bagel! Haha oh well.
It’s true – and I even scoured NYC for a gluten free one. No dice.
Sounds like a perfect NYC day. I would love to go to Strala Yoga one day! Glad to know that you like the Gossip Girl gang (especially Nate) just as much as I do!
Perfect latte swirl and love the vibrant fruit cup.
But what I’m really lusting after is that yoga space. WOW! How gorgeous! If someone can’t have a great practice in there, they never will
It looks awesome and the aromatherapy forehead swipe…they didn’t miss a beat, did they!
Those berries look sooooooo good!
Okay, I’m off to the berry farm down the road to get some more strawberries…yum.
wow what a layer of cream cheese–did you indulge and eat it all?
I have been to NYC multiple times, but have yet to enjoy a true NY bagel.I need to!
Yes of course! It was part of the experience.
But if I ate this everyday I would not have.
WHOA….craving a bagel right NOW! Thanks
wow, you crammed a lot during your stay here! I live nearby and I haven’t even been to half the places you hit up. Thanks for the recap – I’ll have to try some of those places out.
If you need a lunch/dinner recommendation (for future trips), you must check out ABC Kitchen. They use all organic/local ingredients, and they have such interesting and delicious dishes. My friend and I had a yummy Roasted Kabocha Squash and Fresh Ricotta on Toast a few weeks ago. It’s in the ABC Carpet and Home store. Have you been? If you love beautiful home items (and I know you do!), you’ll love this place.
Enjoy the rest of your trip!
I saw Jake Gylenhaal in there and sat next to Taye Diggs and his wife.
That’s awesome, Gloria. I guess celebrities like this place too. I saw Lucy Liu in there shopping a few weeks ago.
yeah ABC is a celeb hot spot!
I must be starving because I am now craving your Whole Foods breakfast and that delicious-looking bagel! What to eat, what to eat…
That bagel looks delicious! I love anything pumpernickel
That bagel just stopped me in my tracks. It looks amazing!
I wish I lived close to a Whole Foods near my home. It always look so delicious!
Oh my god ess a bagel! When I lived in NYC that’s where my husband and I had lunch every week since he worked nearby.
Looks like a day filled with such GOOD food! YUM!
Yes, you can get whole foods at home, but nothing better than NYC Whole Foods, right?
I’m so thankful we’ve had the chance to spend time together. You’re NYC readers have so many new places to try. Even Bo and I now want to try some of the restaurants and bars you’ve visited!
That yoga studio looks absolutely fabulous!!
Safe travels home, Kath.
AHHHH…I haven’t been to ess a bagel in years and now I’m going to need to be there immediately! No other bagel compares. Thanks for the reminder!
Such a PERFECT morning! Literally just picked up my chandeller for our hallway – so excited to put it up. haha – would have loved to run into Chuck
I’ve never seen a WF salad bar serve fruit, cereal and yogurt before! I wonder if it’s only the NYC WF that does that or if I’ve just never gone to a WF early enough…
There’s a way to stalk the Gossip Girl cast while they film- this site onlocationvacations is great at that! It’s a fun way to check what’s out there filming. Good luck!
If I lived here, I would stalk that site!
I wish our Whole Foods had a fruit selection like that! We always have lunch/dinner stuff.
Mmmm, pumpernickel with raisins and cream cheese sounds incredible. I want that right now….
looks so delicious! Sounds like a fun afternoon
Beautiful pictures from the weekend. I find that I love the early mornings for myself. I have house guests now, but I’ve been getting up at 530 to enjoy some me time and some exercise. Now I just need to find a job where the hours at 4-11 am. I’m productive during that time!
Ha, I was just saying to my husband yesterday while we were in the city that my dream is to see one of the actors/actresses from Gossip Girl out and about!
haha to hang out with Serena, Blair, Chuck, and Nate you’d have to trek up to the UES! Glad you had yummy bagels and lattes to keep you warm… you picked the coldest weekend in recent memory!
Essa Bagel ROCKS!! That is where my city friends send me for the BEST bagels!
Enjoy!
I’m not sure how healthy that that fat bagel with cream cheese, but every girl has to have a treat day (or trip
Would love for you to share your thoughts at our site – have a lot of people asking food question, and a dietician’s perspective would be really welcomed!
http://questorganic.com/questions/figuring-out-food
I am now totally craving a NY bagel with cream cheese!
Oh my gosh, I love everything about this. I think I would love to spend every Sunday morning like this – cream cheese bagel included please!
Bagels like that are one of the few things I absolutely love about NY
I loved Ess-a-bagel on our trip, too! Yummmmmo!!!!
Gosh I LOVE NYC! Now if only they could offer lactose free cream cheese on bagels then I could recreate that moment some day. I’ll just have to stick with a toasted bagel free of butter or cheese (it’s still delicious though).
They actually had a tofu cream cheese, which I am assuming was lactose free
Never been to Ess-a-bagel, will make it a point to visit next time i’m in NYC. I love how you plan to work out when you travel. I am never able to do that, it seems like I am on a full blown schedule whenever I am out of town. Have a safe trip back. Are you guys open MLK day?
Yes
gotta ask — did you really eat ALL that cream cheese?
why not?! it’s dellish!
Yes! I love it and this was the time to eat it all. That would be like removing icing from a cake
But of course if I ate bagels everyday I would use it much more sparingly
I would totally be thinking about Gossip Girl if I were wandering around New York, too! They definitely make it look glamorous – I just don’t know if I could handle the chilly temps!
My recommendation is Sugar Sweet Sunshine on the Lower East Side. It’s a tiny, 70s-tastic shop with a lot of amazing flavor combos. Gala Darling (of Icing) rated it best, and I adored it. I recommend the pistachio or the lemon!
Oh boy that bagel looks delectable! After my sandwich yesterday, I am certain that pumpernickel is my favorite bread…even better in bagel form!
Oooooooooohhhhhh, that bagel! Om nom nom nom nom nom nom
And the yoga sounds perfect as well 
I am hungry for an awesome bagel with lots ‘o cream cheese, and a cup of great coffee with lots ‘o cream in it!!!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
I definitely thought this was fro-yo!
I’ve never been to NYC, but that bagel alone is making me want to book a flight! Well, that and the chance of running into Chuck Bass
swoon.
Be glad you were in NYC. Where I live in upstate NY was a chilly -13 yesterday morning (-27 if you count the windchill factor). Glad to see you guys having fun!
What a great trip and fun day.
Oh, Kath. It made me SO sad to read this post and realize I wasn’t in NYC to say hi or dine or do yoga with you on this trip. BUT so happy to see that you got to spend time with one of my all time favorite people (Melissa). Hope you liked Strala — I’m a fan! xoxo
I had a blast and thought about you many times
pS. And I really wanted to get some of that chai drink that we loved but didn’t have time!
Bagels = drool.
I’ll be in NYC this weekend, and my friend suggested we meet for coffee at Irving Farm! I thought it sounded familiar, and remembered you had gone there on your trip, too! Such a small world.