Happy Birthday to Us: 26 In the City!

9:17 PM

New York...the city that never sleeps...the city where dreams are made of, where you can do anything you want to do and be anyone you want to be. This is the city we've fallen in love with over and over again, and with each trip we've taken, every experience becomes more and more amazing! For our 26th birthday, we knew we wanted to do something different. We knew we wanted it to be extra special, something that we would never forget. And we knew the trip to the city of our dreams would give us just that! There's something about New York that pulls you in from the very beginning. The city lights, the diverse groups of people, the fast pace, the hustle and bustle of God knows what into the wee hours of the morning (and beyond). That sense of instant belonging. Seeing everyone in the passionate pursuit of their goals and dreams. Knowing that if you failed tomorrow, the possibilities of success are still never-ending. This city is pure magic. To say that our time here was awesome is a complete and utter understatement. If anything, our trip here was everything we could've imagined and so much more! This time, we were given the chance to have that authentic New Yorker experience. Not only did we have such an exciting time here, but our experiences left us with a completely different mindset. This trip offered a lot of inspiration, affirmation, and definitely solidified a huge goal that we want for our lives: to call New York home. Because we feel like this place is home. And each time we visit and have to leave, deep down we feel as though we're leaving home rather than actually going. On the flight back, we made a promise to ourselves: To always remain inspired by this beautiful place. To set a plan and work hard. To make our dreams a reality--for that was THE message that we were constantly shown this birthday--to follow our dreams! Below is all of the magic that we experienced on this beautiful birthday trip :) What are some of your own goals and dreams that you want to fulfill? We'd love to know!

xoxo,

-Channy & Dannie

Our first night in NYC! Our brother and his wife surprised us with a birthday cake (vanilla buttercream--it tasted just as good as it looked), a gorgeous card, and champagne!

Our first day in the city! First stop...the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem!

A very creative and inspiring mural we saw along the way in Harlem! So many well-known faces in this piece :)

Strollin' through the city like real New Yorkers! So many people stopped us along the way in awe of us being twins! It was such a great way to meet new people :)

A Harlem neighborhood filled with brownstones! It's amazing how much beauty you can find in the simplest of things...

Twinning :)

Harlem streets

We were strolling along and came across this street vendor! All the fruits and vegetables looked so pretty that we just had to take a pic!

Time for another selfie :)

With our brother in front of Chocolat Restaurant Lounge...one of his favorite places!

We decided to stop for lunch at a small Latin restaurant in Spanish Harlem called Coma Bueno. To say that the food was delicious is a complete understatement. Not to mention, you get a lot for your money!

Coma Bueno menu

We had arroz con pollo! So good! We also tried mofongo for the first time (our brother's meal) and we gotta say that it was actually pretty yummy!

The American Museum of Natural History

Fall in Manhattan

Sunset...

Later that evening, we met up with our eldest brother and made a pit stop in a Caribbean restaurant called Miss Lily's! Here we captured a unique shot of one of their table tops. So much pride!

So many unique parts of the restaurant that we loved...

Some of the drinks offered at Miss Lily's! One of them is a popular Caribbean soda called Ting!

One of our favorite set-ups! We also met a set of twins who worked here named Brittany and Tiffany--and they just so happen to be from Richmond, Virginia! We definitely had a bit of a twin moment and they were super sweet :) Not to mention, we also saw rapper, Maino, ordering some food here!

Dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Chevys Fresh Mex! We had the salsa chicken enchilada with Spanish rice and black beans! Can you say, "muy delicioso"?

Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan :)

Ice skating!

Our second day in the city! This time...Brooklyn! We were on our way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Some Brooklyn street views

In the neighborhood of Dumbo, Brooklyn. Dumbo stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Such a beautiful city view!

Part of the Manhattan bridge :)

So in love with this part of the city! Speaking of love, we saw three couples getting married here, along with what appeared to be a couple getting their pictures done in this area. New York is all around a great place for creativity!

To be here was so breathtaking...

Our brothers in their own world of conversation lol

Finally reached the Brooklyn Bridge! The feeling of standing on top of this bridge is indescribable! And we actually walked the ENTIRE thing! What an accomplishment :) There were so many people on it, including those riding bicycles, so we had to be extra careful, but the views were so amazing!