Sharing thanks for yummy hot chocolate in the cool city!

Vanilla Hot Chocolate with a homemade marshmallow from The City Bakery 

I had an Oscar worthy weekend! My husband and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on Saturday. On Sunday I met my friend Ellen in Manhattan to go to a movie screening sponsored by the International Center of Photography, which is where I stumbled upon The City Bakery! So many reasons to be thankful it is difficult to just pick 4!

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The City Bakery on W. 18th St. just south of Fifth Ave.

I got so excited seeing the chocolate room my hands were shaking when I took this picture!

Goodies from the chocolate room at The City Bakery

1. Enjoyed a romantic dinner with my husband at one of our favorite restaurants on Long Island, Rattlesnake Jones in Merrick. They had a live blues band and the southwestern themed food is always out of this world. It was fun reminiscing about 22 years. It was also good to have a date night out.
2. Thankful for saying yes to an invitation from the International Center of Photography's Public Program to see the movie, "The Man Without a World." at the Center for Jewish History. Director Eleanor Antin uses silent film to highlight the doomed and vibrant  shtetl life in Poland before the holocaust. The film plays tribute to yiddish theater and silent movies made in this era. It was an interesting afternoon and the Center of Jewish History was fun to explore and had some great exhibits! Warning: you must check your coat to see the exhibits. I learned this the hard way!
3. Thankful to explore the flatiron district and find some great eateries! I was early getting into Manhattan and I was looking for a place to get some coffee before meeting my friend. I love to stay away from restaurant chains when I am in the city. I can go to Starbucks and Fridays on Long Island. I found The City Bakery on 18th St. I saw a luscious home made hot chocolate so I went for the hot chocolate instead of the coffee. I was sipping chocolate heaven. The bakery looked like it had great healthy food and soups and I will definitely be going back! They even have a room dedicated to Chocolate!
4. Thankful for getting a bite to eat after the movie with my friend Ellen at Rosa Mexicano.This beautiful Mexican restaurant has a blue lit waterfall wall with cliff divers. We had to have the fresh made guacamole. I tasted the sangria and also had an iced tea with vanilla simple syrup which was out of this world. We decided to split some fish tacos which were excellent. Ellen and I had fun and enjoyed catching up with each other.

It is fun to accept an invitiation to an artistic event. I love learning about different cultures and exploring New York City's flatiron district. Hope you had a great weekend too and I invite you to share something you are grateful for over the weekend in the comments!