NEW YORK: DAY 4

I feel like day 4 was an absolute marathon, as we tried to cram so many sights and so much walking into one day!

10am was our slot for the Statue Of Liberty boat trip, and as it departs from the very bottom of Manhattan, the subway was essential... but lets not talk too much about that. The boat trip in itself offered such incredible views of the City, and the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island, is also blessed with insane views, and as our ticket permitted access into Lady Liberty we were able to see so much more! Although our ticket permitted us into the immigration museum, this wasn't for me, so we headed straight back to the City.

Any visit to New York should include a visit to the 9/11 memorial, I expected there to be a very morbid feel to the place, but it was surprisingly tranquil. You have probably seen pictures of the huge memorial fountains, but I had no idea there were two of them (although really that makes sense) and in reality they are unbelievably big. 

We then headed back up to Macy's and Bryant Park Christmas market, where we had discovered a hut selling 'chimneys', its basically a cinnamon tube made with pretzel, and filled with Nutella, caramel or jam, so delicious.

The best part of my day had to be dinner, we booked a table at Carmines, a family Italian restaurant in Times Square. Which is voted one of the best restaurants to visit whilst in NYC, they pride themselves on Italian dishes to serve 3/4 people, so we ordered a giant plate of meatballs, we got so much we had to take the rest to go. Literally the most delicious food ever, and it actually worked out cheaper than some other chain restaurants we had been too early in the week. Definitely one to visit... 

NEW YORK: DAY 3

Day 3 was such a lovely chilled day, we had a lovely walk through Central Park, visiting the ice rink and eating the best New York prezzels. We then hit up Shake Shack for lunch, if you're heading there any time soon, please try their salted caramel milkshake, absolutely amazing! I would also say definitely try their crinkle cheese fries...somebody please tell me Shake Shack are coming to the UK... please?

I also managed to find Grand Central station... for any fellow Gossip Girl lovers, you know why...

We were also incredibly lucky to get tickets for an NBA basketball game in Brooklyn, for a Brooklyn Nets game on the Sunday night. Literally if you get the opportunity, you need to go to an American Basketball game, the atmosphere is just amazing!

CHRISTMAS COLLAB: EVERYDAY WINTER OUTFIT

Ok i'm starting to feel like a real blogger, since I went on my first 'shoot' on Tuesday with my friend and fellow blogger Katie, from http://www.ktramshaw.com/ . We decided Durham would be the perfect place for our mini shoot, however the weather was not in our favour, cue freezing cold fingers (serious frost bite if you ask me), wind in eye balls and a whole lot of mud... which my brand new Michael Kors handbag fell face down onto the floor into.... Anyway, when Katie came to me with the idea of doing a Christmas collab post, I thought it would be great to give you guys some inspiration on what to wear over winter as an 'everyday outfit'. I find this so hard. I feel like I always buy pretty clothes, but tend to not want to wear them for just everyday wear, but then never have an occasion to wear them! So, I decided to go for a cosy camel coat, high neck cropped top, cord skirt and ankle boots;

LIVELY Smart Heeled Boot, £88, OFFICE Petite Crop Top with Turtle Neck in Space Dye, £12, ASOS Fur Collar Boyfriend Coat, £65, Topshop Burgundy Zip Front Cord Skirt, WAS £19.99 NOW £9.99, New Look Accessories; EMMALYN Button Pendant Necklace, £39, Ted Baker SELMA Medium Leather Satchel, £310, Michael Kors Scarf- River Island Ring- Pandora

NEW YORK: DAY 2

Day 2 in New York was literally the best day of my life so far! We kicked off the day with a visit to Top Of The Rock, which I must agree that when people say it offers better views of New York than The Empire State Building, it is definitely true! We then headed down to the ice rink, which has literally been my dream for so long! (since seeing it featured in Elf and Home Alone 2). We had to join quite a long queue, but really we only had to wait for half an hour, you're then given an hour and a half skating slot! However, as you can imagine, going skating with a guy is never going to go well, Kyle came off the ice after one go around! Meaning I had to skate alone, excellent!

We then headed off to Saks Fifth Avenue which had the best Christmas decorations I had ever seen, they really do put on a show! Next stop, Tiffany & Co... literally could not deal. It is huge. I can't even remember how many floors there were but I went and bought a ring and some earrings, and sneakily went and checked out the engagement ring floor. Oh my days. Ladies if you ever get the opportunity, GO. You can't even see the shape of the rings they are that sparkly, I've always dreamt of receiving the heart shaped diamond Tiffany ring, so I had to have a peek. When asked if I wanted to try anything I had to say no, it had already gone too far!!

We then headed up to Central Park, cue obligatory tourist picture outside the Plaza Hotel. Kevin McCallister eat your heart out.

Final stop was Top Of The Rock, as we had the 'sun and stars ticket' which I highly recommend, seeing the views both day and night is just magical....

NEW YORK: DAY 1

As you may or may not have remembered, I booked a trip to New York waaaaaay back in January. After nearly a year of waiting, I flew to New York 24th November for a week! Sorry guys, but here comes the New York spam....

Ok so we had pretty nice flights, we left Newcastle at 9am and landed in New York 4pm (there time), but as you can imagine we were absolutely knackered after being awake almost 24 hours. As it was thanksgiving in New York we decided we should at least go for a meal, so went to Hard Rock Café in Times Square, which is an absolute must!!

So actual day 1... it was Black Friday and I couldn't resist going shopping to see how crazy it would be. Macy's was our first stop which was insane, with Apple watches for $200 and offers like "buy one Michael Kors watch, get one 75% off", their Christmas department is also incredible! But just a heads up you will 100% get lost in there. I am however disappointed at how many amazing makeup offers I missed out on because of how busy the counters were! We also found the best trainer shop, and I queued in Victoria Secret for 1 HOUR... that's dedication right there. We also had our very first experience of 'Chick-fil-a'....highly recommended, it's basically a fancier McDonald's.

We also came across the best Christmas market in Bryant Park, which I would definitely recommend over the Columbus Circle Holiday market in Central Park. On the evening we visited the Empire State Building, I could literally stay up there all day, it had the most incredible views of New York. We paid for both viewing decks, but I would say if you are planning on going up, just get the standard ticket, as you can see the views much better from the first platform!

No first proper day in New York would be complete without visiting Applebee's... I know people would usually say 'stay away from the chain restaurants', but I would say give them a go, we had the most amazing four mac and cheese there..