Girls Trip, New York City Style

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account!

A friend of mine is getting married in February, and although we would have loved to humiliate her with half naked men in the City of Sin, she wanted a pre-wedding celebration in New York City. No arguments from me. I combined a little work with a lot of play. Soon we, her friends, were emailing a blur of schemes and plans, trying to fit in all the things Our Girl wanted to do in the city.

I can’t begin to remember it all, but here are some highlights:

• Got kicked out of a cab in the rain to the tune of, “My shift is ending.”
• Scored half price tix to Jersey Boys, so had to cue up a Frankie Valli Pandora channel. Natch.
• At Bar Americain I saw Bobby Flay, or a reasonable facsimile signing one of his books.
• Ate Magnolia cupcakes.
• Interviewed Wendy Williams.
• Did not learn how to hail a cab. Pissed off a pedicab driver.
• Finally got to meet my online buddy Jacoba Urist, and many others, at a BlogHer meetup.
• Courtney Love sighting at the premiere of Young Adult.
• Met the very cool and stylish Crushworthy Moms, Alison Kleinert and Karina Lepiner.
• Peeked in the windows at Hoda and Kathie Lee at Rockefeller Plaza.
• Shopped in China Town.
• Shopped on Fifth Avenue, where shopping = trying not to trip and topple a rack of clothes on the top floor of Louis Vuitton.
• Got free drinks just for sitting at a restaurant table too long! Lingering pays.

And of course, there was eating–lots and lots of wonderful food. Among my favorites were an amazing artichoke avocado salad at Il Corso, the blue cheese chips at Bar Americain, truffle fries at Rue 57, and the artichoke fritters at Stanton Social.

It was at Stanton Social where us girls squared up for the Rockettes tickets I’d put on my credit card before we hit the city, as well as the Sex and the City tour tickets another in our group had covered. It was fairly comical watching us calculate the dinner bill and reimburse each other for tickets. (And that doesn’t even take into consideration the shady back room dealing in China Town.) On one side of me was a three-way transaction that included two sets of tickets, dinner, and a Hard Rock t-shirt. And maybe a goat. Too many martinis to remember. On the other, a woman handed me $80 cash. The next day she slipped me another $8. And just before we headed for the airport she gave me another $1. The next night we used Serve, and I have to say I’m a fan.

I was a bit apprehensive, as I think some of the girls were as well, but the process was super easy and you can use the funds in your Serve account online or off. (They send you a card.) Check it out for yourself and if you like it, make sure to enter the contest described below.

Remember to sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Image Credits: The Marque, Flickr, Lela Davidson