Countdown time -- this is what happens when you have children :)
Just me and my favorite sidekick #momlife
The prettiest little darling, relaxing pools-side
Little man in the pool!
Fireworks on the beach... we almost made it to midnight.
Gorgeous setting at the hotel
Well hello there!!! Mamma wants to take this opportunity and wish all of my lovelies out there a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 🎊🎆🎉
We spent the past three days hiding out at the Naples Ritz Carlton resort, one of our favorite home away from homes whenever we’re down in the Gulfcoast — it’s now become a tradition! Yes, we’ve also officially become those “resort-type” people who basically camp in and never leave now that we are traveling with two munchkins in tow. Haha... how times have changed!
Truth be told, 2017 was a tough year and both hubs and I were more than willing to bid adieu to it. It was a year of tumultuous home delays (new constructions!!! Never again), work stresses, and all in all just series of one challenge after another. There were ups, of course, our Hampton house reprieve being one of them, but those are far and few between and all in all we say “good riddance!” You can read about my official farewell to 2017 here, on the Eve of Chinese New Year.
Here’s looking at you, 2018!!! New Year, new house, and a whole new horizon for Mamma... I’m excited!!! Who’s with me??
Wishing love, happiness and blessings to you all. The older I become, the more I realize that I need to appreciate the beautiful things that surround me. Besides, relaxing for a few days at the Ritz resort ain’t too shabby either! The munchkins certainly did not complain.
By now we've already spent an entire week down here in Naples Florida, and what's more, my precious baby bundle is officially one month old! One month!!! Seriously, where has the time gone?
As I said in my earlier post, we've been settling nicely down here, much better than I had anticipated. No complaints from any of us, particularly as it's getting so darn cold down in the Northeast! Hubs flew back last night and shared a photo of the snow-covered airport runway with me, suffice to say it didn't look pretty! I am quite happy to have both of my munchkins down here in sunny Florida with me, thank you very much -- even if it's not quite beach weather today as the temp has dropped massively (but still in the high 60's and 70's!!).
Speaking of the beach, these photos were taken earlier last week after we picked little man up from school and went to our favorite local neighborhood spot (aka Gumbo Limbo at the Ritz Carlton Naples) for some dinner, sunset cocktails, and of course, sand and beach time! Little man calls it "sha sha" (砂砂), and I just find that beyond adorable (I'm a bit biased of course). My first munchkin has been going there every since he was a wee little thing (see here), and our love affair with this joint is as strong as ever.
Good thing we squeezed in some beach time, as the weekend was also pretty chilly, interspersed with rain. My mum called it "New York"' weather -- though clearly she hasn't seen how much snow actually landed in NYC. Needless to say, we'll take that as a win! There will be plenty of future opportunities for sandy beaches with powder white sand.... For now, we can relish on our memories on Vanderbilt beach at the Ritz Carlton Naples (#rcmemories2017) and enjoy the "sha sha" at his school's playground. As he exclaimed to his grandma over the weekend, here he gets "sha sha everyday!!!"
Enjoying lovely bay views with daddy before roasting s'mores by the bay! #rcmemories
Happy 2016!
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and as much as I appreciated all of the great stuff that occurred in 2015 (see recent highlights here), I’d be lying if I said that I’m not super pumped for 2016.
After all, that’s how it always is when you start a new year right? You generate all this momentum, and accomplish a heap of stuff between 1Q and 2Q, ramp up in 3Q, and then wind-down in 4Q? This is my conclusion, at any rate… after I generated my year’s summary.
Suffice to say, we welcomed our fresh start with a family vacay to Sarasota bright and early on the morning of Jan 1st, 2016 (hubs and I literally jumped out of bed and started grabbing things into laundry bags for our road-trip -- that’s the great thing about traveling in cars, eh).
The trip itself was very haphazardly engineered… but really couldn’t have been better for us as a family timing wise. For one thing, it truly made me realize that we need to always break-up our time in Florida with a mini excursion somewhere else, much like we did last year in Miami, and this time around in Sarasota.
I won’t lie, November and December have been one rough physical and emotional whirlwind, in spite of some very awesome excursions (cue: Woodstock and Italy) and the inevitable holidays approaching (cue: Florida). It’s taken a huge toll on both hubs and I (with three trips to the emergency room btw the two of us in total)… so we are not certainly NOT sorry to see it go (and who could blame us?!).
Enough of the unleashing… you say, “So how was Sarasota?”
Lovely.
Sarasota was absolute perfection (possibly because we planned it so late). I say this even though it rained for the two days during our three day trip.
We made s’mores by the bay under the moon & stars, swam in the ocean and then splashed in not one, but two big ol’ pools – wined and dined by the sea with the sound of the waves beating as our backdrop, and even managed to get out and explore the town (visited the local Mote Aquarium and the John Ringling art and circus museum for children).
Come to think of it, I’m actually quite shocked that we got to do so much!
I’ll have to post some more features on all of the good stuff that happened (oh, and we couldn’t have been happier with the Ritz Carlton Sarasota, so totally family luxe and great with the littles!). In the meantime, I wanted to share these moments with you and send some fabulous & magical New Year’s vibes your way.
As a random side-note – on New Year’s Eve, my kid’s classmate from preschool (whose family also happened to be down in Naples for the holidays) kept shouting “Happy New York!!!” which I thought was just the cutest thing (not to mention extremely apropos for this blog).
So with that… I say – happy New York to all of you!
Enjoying some ice cream from Kilwins after dinner! #saturdaynight #rockshicbaby
We have all of his favorite things here! #bedtime #essentials #ritzkids
The lobby (aka "Living Room") of the Ritz Carlton Georgetown, which pretty much sets the tone for the entire hotel #RCmoments
View taken from a whimsical little organic garden (hotel brick smokestack just over on the horizon!)
Morning reads! Good thing I've got my well-traveled glasses case in hand (last featured here)
Library of Congress, [Capital] by Sarah Morris -- one of a series of paintings on display throughout the hotel
During one of my recent business trips to our nation’s capital, I had the pleasure of staying at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown, one of two Ritz Carlton properties in DC. It was a pleasant deviation from my usual course of action, which is to stay right by the White House (The W Washington DC being my comfort go-to, last featured here).
When you’re on-the-go for business, it’s pretty easy to get sucked into the usual “business hotels.” Not that I have any real complaints about the W (more on this another time). I know that the usual gig is to just head home from work, order some room service, turn on the TV, and call it a day, and at times that’s exactly what I do in order to wake up for my 8am meeting the next day (cruelty at its best if you ask me).
However, there is something nice to be said about being in the mix of things, which is precisely what staying in Georgetown felt like. Traditionally, this wouldn’t be a popular choice for corporate folks, you see, since there are no metro stations nearby (though that’s what Uber is for, am I right?). I rather come home from a long day of work to a vibrant neighborhood than a “shut-as-a-shut-thing-from-shut-degree-university” dead zone (to quote hubs) that is the area surrounding the White House.
The facilities of the Ritz Carlton Georgetown are, of course, both lovely and familiar – rendering a sense of zen and comfort right upon my arrival. That’s the great thing about being at a Ritz Carlton, you always know what you’ll be getting in terms of amenities, service, and facilities. I think the last Ritz property I stayed at was in Naples, Florida (featured here), which comes equally well-recommended by yours truly.
One of the nice new twists about this particular Ritz Carlton is that it feels a bit more modern and fun, being that it’s inside of an old converted factory building, with lots of reclaimed materials, exposed red brick, and avant-garde modern art. Unexpected? Yes… but an absolute delight nonetheless. My one regret was that I couldn’t stay longer, as mamma had to hop on a jet back to New York, only to hop on another plane straight to Switzerland. Ah well, something to look forward to the next time I visit DC!
Structure of Thought #5 by Doug & Mike Starn prominently displayed at lobby area #beautiful #RCmoments
Hola from downtown NYC! I flew back yesterday, though planning on heading back tomorrow afternoon – just in time for Christmas Eve!! (fingers crossed that JFK won’t be too chaotic – airport travel the day before Christmas is always a bit unsettling for me).
These photos were taken from our mini family excursion to the Ritz Carlton on Vanderbilt Beach, in Naples Florida. We had originally spent a “couples getaway” there last year (full feature here) – aka what was effectively our first time away from bubs (and yours truly managed to handle that for less than 24 hours before she finally broken down brought baby to the hotel).
Fast-forward nearly a year later, and here we are!!
Really, I think that this place is one of the best kept secrets in town (I’m almost a bit hesitant to blog about it). The outdoor restaurant at the Ritz Naples is open to the public (note, they don’t take reservations so be sure to call in advance or get there early!). Not only is the food delicious, but the ambience is also incredibly relaxing and all-in-all killer gorgeousness (how could it not be when you’re facing the white sand beach and turquoise ocean?). Munchkin loved the outdoor al-fresco dining atmosphere at Gumbo Limbo, and he was even more keen to go out and explore post brunch (the kiddo shovel courtesy of the hotel was just an added bonus).
Oh, and do try the grouper sandwich if you ever go, it’s freshly caught the same-day, and it is absolutely delicious!!! (Ask for the hot sauce too, you won’t regret it).
Lastly – be sure to pause and appreciate the gigantic multi-story gingerbread house in the lobby, that alone was worth the valet parking!
Happy holidays you guys… and hope that you and your loved ones will have a fantastic Christmas Eve come tomorrow!!! I still need to finish wrapping a few things… #busymommyelf
Little Mr. Independent
Munchkin is rocking his Bonpoint shirt and onesie from East Hampton (last featured here), and check out that impressive belly!
Over the holidays, hubs and I splurged on our first official night away from bubs. It was the perfect time to do so, as we knew that we had help at home for young Nuke (aka my folks), and we were also close enough distance-wise that we could always turn around should anything (God forbid) happen.
I recall the feeling of sheer exaltation I felt upon arrival – a glass of welcoming champagne in hand, sun-hat and glasses shed immediately… sitting on the balcony of our hotel room whilst soaking in the glorious breeze and sunshine.
Ah, the peace and quiet! Rejoice at last.
That’s the beauty of these lovely, well curated escapes, isn’t it – the ability to get away from it all, just you and your partner, even if it's for one day. The remainder of the time spent at the Ritz Naples was plain lovely... exactly what we needed, really, as newbie parents.
Hubby and I shed our layers of stress and worry with every step we took, and carried our kindles with us to the beach, where we admired a beautiful sunset together and enjoyed some delicious sea-side grub (lobster tacos anyone?) at the hotel’s Gumbo Limbo on the sand. We then indulged in his and her massages at the hotel spa (decadence at the extreme), followed by a quiet, romantic dinner at the hotel restaurant Lemonía, overlooking the tranquil Tiburón Golf Club.
In short, we got to do exactly what we've been meaning to do for a long time, which was to focus on each other (and yes, renew the romance as well, which is oh-so-key in any partner relationship).
The best part?
After dinner, we took what remained of our bottle of Pinot Noir outdoors, and cuddled up next to a fire pit on the hotel’s Bella Vista terrace and gazed upon stars.
“There’s the big dipper.”
I recall my love pointing to the sky, announcing his discovery triumphantly to me as I gamely observed by his side. (He may or may not have been using a stargazing app, just saying). Needless to say, that moment will stick with me forever, as it was just so uniquely perfect to us, and something we would have never gotten to savor back in our native Manhattan.
After all, who needs to count dollars when they can be counting stars?
Oh and yes, true confessions of a novice mommy – I missed my little munchkin so much I had to go back and pick him up the very next day so that he could hang out with us by the pool.
That’s the thing about motherhood I suppose, even though you can't wait to escape from all that fussing and chaos, you also learn to truly miss your baby when you’re way!
My little munchkin having a nap by the pool! For more on baby sleeping habits, see <a href="http://www.rockshic.com/my-blog/2014/01/477-rockshics-guide-to-sleeping-babies.html" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.rockshic.com/my-blog/2014/01/477-rockshics-guide-to-sleeping-babies.html">here</a>.
Care for a snuggle by the open fire? #cozy
A welcoming glass of bubbles at check-in!
Dinner -- awesome jambalaya at <a href="http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/NaplesGolf/Dining/Lemonia/Default.htm" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/NaplesGolf/Dining/Lemonia/Default.htm">Lemonia</a>
Relaxation for the senses at the <a href="http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Naples/Default.htm" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Naples/Default.htm">Ritz-Carlton Spa</a> #indulge
About Me
Based in Manhattan's Lower East Side, Rock Shic is an excerpt taken from my personal lookbook of real people around the world. It is a combination of aesthetics, fashion, lifestyle, and travel. I also offer personalized Lookbook Consulting and Styling upon request. Please contact me at rockshic (at) gmail (dot) com. Services include: Wardrobe Analysis, Closet Organization, and Personal Shopping.
