Cynda Comes for a Visit

Two weekends ago one of my best friends came for a visit. Cynda had a voucher for a free flight she had to use and decided to come back to the east coast for a visit with all of the girls out here. It was perfectly planned as Mike happened to be out of town that weekend as well. She took a red eye and arrived early Friday morning. I still had to go to work that day so I left her at my house to sleep while I went to work. I was able to make it back home early Friday afternoon and it was non-stop fun for the next 48 hours. We went to Robecks for a smoothie, Penzie Spices for the obvious, Stew Leonard's for some apple cider and donut holes. I had to taker her to Valencia's to try their famous chorizo arepa and cream cheese/nutella  empanada. So delicious. Then we ventured back to Stamford to go to Fairway and get balsamic vinegar for her to take home. After that it was time to get ready for our little girls night we had planned. 

We met up with a few girlfriends at Kona Grille for dinner. The food was delicious as it always is. It's also got a fun vibe to it, so it was perfect for our girls night.

After dinner we had to show Cynda our new favorite frozen yogurt place, 16 Handles. I think it's safe to say everyone enjoyed dessert. Oh 16 handles how I love you. After dessert a few of the girls came back to my house and we stayed up talking late into the night. It kind of felt like college again. Girl talk is my favorite.

The next morning we took things slow. Camille stayed the night to so we all just took our time getting ready, which was nice. I hate being rushed on a Saturday morning. By late morning we were ready and headed into the city for some fun. We started at Lombardi's pizza in Little Italy. It was my first time eating there and it did not disappoint. Delish, I will have to take Mike back there sometime soon as I know he will love it as well.

After lunch we walked over to China town to see if we could find any fun accessories. I love walking around and haggling with the people on things I really don't even need. I did pretty good and managed to practice self restraint. I only ended up getting two cozy eternity scarves. I am in love with how comfy they are. After our long stroll up and down canal street we headed uptown towards central park. I was surprised to find that not many of the leaves had started to change colors yet. Never the less, it was still a perfectly lovely day outside. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We found a playground in the park and let Camille's little guy Peyton have some fun. He was such a good boy the whole day we had to reward him. After a while we decided we needed to head back to Stamford, but not before we tried to take a few pictures of ourselves together.

Once we got back to our area we stopped and grabbed dinner at Panera. After dinner Cynda and I headed back home to change into PJ's and make the overnight pumpkin french toast. Yumm. Then we went back to Camille's to have some more girl time and watch a movie. Once again it was another really late night. We were trying to take advantage of every hour we had.

Sunday was stake conference. We woke up early and let the french toast bake while we were getting ready. Let me tell you it was delicious! For sure one of my new favorite fall breakfast dishes. We made the beautiful drive to Yorktown NY for conference. The tress were at their peek and the colors were breath taking. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't do it justice. The sun hit the leaves in just the right was that it made them look like they were on fire.

For conference we had a special treat. Elder Christopherson of the quorum of the 12 apostles came to speak with our stake. His words touched my heart as they were the answer to my prayers. What a tender moment when you hear something you know is being said for you, in direct answer to your prayers. What a lovely and uplifting meeting it was.

After conference we went back to my place and I made an excellent meal. Our friend Megan joined us for dinner as she wasn't able to spend much time catching up with Cynda before that. Around 5pm I drove Cynda down to Camille's house. Camille and her family were taking Cynda back to the airport to go home. It was hard to believe our weekend together was coming to a close. It's sad to say goodbye to friends, but it's always easier when you know you'll see them soon. I hope to make a trip to San Fran in Feb.

I had such a great weekend. Good friends are the best. I just hate seeing so many of mine move away. Here's to hoping I see her again in Fed :)