"Some people swear there's no beauty left in the world, no magic. Then how do you explain the entire world coming together on one night to celebrate the hope of a new year?" ~ Claire Morgan, New Year's Eve Movie

As usual, our visit home to spend Christmas with family and friends,

 followed by a New Year celebration in NYC was frantic and ever so lovely.

 Overshadowed by our crossing for the past few weeks, 

today is the first day I can actually reflect on our time spent ringing in the new year.

New York City is always a good idea.

An undeniable fact proved over and over again,

and since the QM2 leaves from Brooklyn, 

we knew we wanted to take advantage and arrive a few days before our embarkation.

Having experienced NYC in the spring, summer and fall

 I had never done winter and the party atmosphere builds days before the ball drops.

Having no interest in standing crammed inside a few city blocks, 

we knew we wanted to be nearby but not in the middle of it all.

After stopping for a Stumptown coffee our last time in the neighborhood,

we chose Ace Hotel as the perfectly located and very...

as our home for a few days.

After a chance meeting on an elevator…

our less than acceptable check-in was pushed to the above and beyond expectation category.

Having the kids along for the week gave us instant hipster cred in the lobby area which transformed in magnitude as a New Year's Eve party place.

I was able to check off a few items on my running list of interesting places scattered throughout NYC.

  Ren Man and I felt quite at home at April Bloomfield's The Spotted Pig, 

the quaint West Village restaurant where pigs are... 

as diner's nibble on familiar but different British fair.

Mentioned briefly before…

my favorite discovery this trip is the creative shop…

The brilliant use of parenthesis for the 'O' provides the perfect place to advertise their ever changing collection inside.

Story "has the point of view of a magazine, 

changes like a gallery 

and sells things like a store."

I love, love, love the hanging lamps dividing the store into areas.

'The editor' had his own list of hidden gems for late night cocktails and we eased our way into a few.  

Most with a prohibition theme, I kept watching the door for the authorities 

as my bespoke cocktails were placed in front of me.

As it turns out, we were able to enjoy our cocktails in the Lower East Side Milk and Honey only days before they moved to their new location in the Flatiron District.

Our next speakeasy, Employees Only, was a bit more lively and prepared the most amazing cocktail to date, 

with a tasty late night menu offering black eyed peas for luck in the new year.

They also accept reservations for the tables in back.

More tomorrow on family memories made

at the intersection of 2013-2014.

Happy Tuesday.