In the past few years, my best friend Sean and I have traveled to New York City to attend ‘Sleep No More’ and some of it’s linked parties/productions at their McKittrick Hotel no less than a dozen times- each time vastly different and unique than the last. New Years Eve, Springtime celebrations, dinners, masquerades, etc. We’ve done it all and have always enjoyed ourselves immensely. The only party we had yet to check out was their yearly Halloween celebration. Working full-time has made Halloween a tad difficult to celebrate at maximum party potential- especially with it falling during weekdays in recent years- so to be able to take this past Friday off at the office and head into NYC for the ‘INFERNO: A Celebration of Sin’ party was exciting.

The dress code was simple- all black attire or costumes that adhered to one of the seven deadly sins. I’m not 100% sure everyone in attendance followed that dress code by the book, but I, myself, made an effort with a classic little black dress from ModCloth and my Edgar Allan Poe pendant from Fable & Fury.

Shortly after our arrival at the McKittrick, we were served an incredible dinner that included lamb, fresh salad, raisin wine, some strong punch, and an assortment of rich desserts before we were ushered into the play to collect our masks and explore. Try as we might, Sean and I did end up getting separated- again (it ALWAYS happens-) but we each got to see some new scenes we’d missed during previous visits. When we found each other again later on in one of the bigger rooms, we managed to catch the end of the show together before it was time for the post-performance party to begin.

Now, a party that boasts a “seven deadly sins” theme is bound to have a fair share of surprises- and the staff at McKittirick didn’t fail to deliver. There was plenty of alcohol (I maybe, maaaaaybe drank a little too much champagne as the evening wore on,) nudity, simulated sex, and so on. I’m fortunate enough to be desensitized by most of it at this point- but it was pretty great to see some people who were seemingly in attendance for the first time looking on in shock. At one point in the evening, a card I had been given during dinner by one of the performers gained me entry into a private auction room where I was served more champagne and some grapes by a nude gentleman who was painted gold from head to toe. The item being auctioned off was another patron who had been picked out at random, blindfolded, and presented to us (I’m fairly sure there was a similar scene in the last ‘Purge’ movie?) 

Afterwards, when I had stopped by the ladies room to freshen up my lipstick and fix my hair- a woman dressed as Amy Winehouse was performing on a karaoke machine in the corner by the sinks. You seriously just NEVER know what’s going to happen or who/what you’re going to see.

Sean and I stayed and danced around the different rooms for most of the night, eventually losing steam around 2:30 a.m. when we grabbed what would prove to be regrettable White Castle sliders en route back to our hotel, The Muse on West 46th- which was beautiful, by the way.

Yesterday proved to be rainy and cold in the city, but Sean and I weren’t content with just staying indoors all day until it came time to catch our train back home. We bundled up, grabbed some coffee, and headed out to walk through Central Park- which wasn’t crowded at all due to the weather. We were able to actually stop and take pictures of certain landmarks without having to duck and dodge other people attempting to get the perfect photograph, too. Sure, we were more than damp and chilly by the end of our hike- but it was worth it. It felt like for the most part, we had the park to ourselves.

When it came time to grab lunch and warm up, we ended up at the Museum of Natural History. Growing up, Sean and I were big fans of the PlayStation game “Parasite Eve,” which involved fighting off monsters in various locations around New York City. One of those levels included battling the T-Rex in the museum that had been brought back to life by out of control cells (it’s one of those things you should probably Google since I’m absolutely terrible at describing the premise of the game. It’s basically about mutated mitochondria running amok in the city. It sounds insane but it’s actually a really great game- and so was it’s follow-up!)

Anyway, I haven’t been to the museum since I was about 16, so it was pretty fun to go and re-visit all the exhibits. The T-Rex unfortunately didn’t come back to life while we were there, but we took a few shameless selfies in front of it for good measure anyway. Also, while we were in the Central America display, Sean took a photo of me, bundled up in multiple layers and with my backpack in tow, in an attempt to re-create a picture my dad had snapped of me when I was still a kid in the exact same spot. My hair is a lot longer than my teenage bob and I’m not wearing my glasses- but the pose and cheesy grin is the same!

By the time we left the museum, it had stopped raining, which was a blessing- but it was getting late and we (reluctantly) had to head back to Boston. Despite the post-White Castle nausea and the dropping temperatures, we had a phenomenal time in New York and I’d really like to come back before the holidays makes it impossible to get around the city.

Speaking of. On Halloween, we had passed by Radio City Music Hall en route to our hotel to drop off our stuff and get changed pre-McKittrick party. It was lit up as usual- but then yesterday, on our way back to Grand Central, we happened to walk by it again only to find the Christmas trees on each corner had been set up and illuminated. Not only that- but Starbucks red cups and holiday drinks are back already!

We are not wasting ANY time this year! I mean, sure, that’s a photo of my hand holding a peppermint mocha latte in the back of a New York City cab the day after Halloween- but I mean, come on. They’re delicious. How could I not order one?