Humor my ego as I walk you through my last 24 hours in NYC. I should note for those of you who don’t know me personally, I loved living in Manhattan for 5 years in my 20s. Best years of my life. I love this city. My heart beats to its pulse.

I took most of these photos to text to my huz, to rub it in that I am here and he is not. Cause I’m cool like that.

Here I am in front of an old standby of mine and Joe’s when we lived on the Upper West Side, Chirpin Chicken. Don’t know why we liked it so much, probably just the name.

Me, Gina & Miranda in front of our favorite bar in the hood, the Dead Poet. My huz has his name on a plaque inside for being in the 100 Guinness Club. Possibly his proudest achievement.

This here is Tracy, otherwise known as Swan Clown. It’s a long story. I hired her at Harry Winston many moons ago and now she is a boss at Cartier. She is the one whose wedding I had to miss due to my mastectomy. Fuckin’ cancer.

Quite possibly the most delicious penne dish in NYC. The Penne Mo Mo at Celeste on Amsterdam and 84. If Carmine the owner is there, please listen to him describe the cheese plate. It is a thing of legend.

The old apartment! 72 W. 82nd street. My husband and I lived here first. It’s where we brought home our adopted, beloved Dante the vizsla, who turns 11 today. Big ups, Dante!!! After we moved out, my friend Miranda and her family moved in. Such a fun shared memory for us.

Zingone Bros. grocers. My everyday stop for food. Love this place. They would even stock items I asked for. Who says New Yorkers aren’t nice? Pshah.

Okay, this feels like a breakthrough. These gloves are attached to your stroller. So warm and soft and no need to mess with losing gloves and getting them on in time. Apparently all the NYC moms and dads have these. Mind- blown 💥.

Holy shit. Carla Hall of Top Chef fame’s fried chicken is not to be missed. Get the potato salad, too. #fatguyinalittlecoat

Okay, this may seem like a regular photo on the subway, but looks can be deceiving. We are actually on a movie set in the NYC Transportation Museum! My friend Gina is as cool and unassuming as one can be, yet she has quite the menagerie of showbiz friends. One of those friends is directing a movie that was shooting in Brooklyn today so we went to watch for a while.

I don’t think I am at liberty to name names, but this film is being produced and directed by women and the lead is a woman. Feels 100% right for where we are in the country right now.

I’ve been on sets before when I worked at Harry Winston (mostly The Bachelor– they would always film the engagement ring scenes there), but The Bachelor this was not. It was fascinating to watch the filming. The lead actor (a woman) was crushing it and she was also so very kind to us. We even got to wear those headphones that Hugh Grant wore in Notting Hill.

⬆ movie star in costume on this train

While in the closed Transportation Museum, I obviously had to live my dream of driving an NYC public bus. Those giant flat steering wheels? Come on! Dreams do come true.

As I prepared to get in a cab for the airport, I picked up one last bagel and was drawn to the sea of cream cheese choices. Note the lower left option. BIRTHDAY CAKE CREAM CHEESE. If you think I didn’t buy some, you don’t know the Grance.

Here is what is in my tiny backpack that I brought as luggage for the weekend: dirty clothes, 3 huge black and white cookies, birthday cake cream cheese and an extraordinarily large hot sopressata for my huz. I am a giver.

Goodbye, NYC. You make me feel whole. I love you and your people and your cream cheese. Thank you for reminding me that I am still good old Grace. Weird things have happened and life has betrayed me a bit, but I can still navigate the subway like a boss and that has to count for something.