Weekend Update

     This weekend I traveled all over New York City, from Harlem to the Hamptons.  It was truly crazy.  As a result of these travels, I am exhausted, and so this post will be mostly be photos. One tid bit of news, I moved out of Ali's apartment and have my own place in Murray Hill!  Enjoy and happy Monday!

I'm going miss my morning jogs around the reservoir 

I get pumped for Manhattanhenge every year, even if it is cloudy 

Alyssa playing with a kitty--Friday night festivities 

Ali and I saw a Jean-Michel Basquite exhibit on Saturday morning 

Cannoli from Brooklyn that I  bought at a street fair---DELICIOUS 

Had to have a Papaya hotdog before moving off the UES! 

Ali on the back porch of a friend's apt in Harlem---absolutely beautiful. 

Randomly went to a club in the Hamptons. Just for the night. 

Beautiful library near my apartment. 

Random parade in the city (can't remember what for) 

Neat flower pot seen in Chelsea on my Sunday afternoon stroll

Wednesdate II

   

Kira with her lox and bagel

     I don't know how I do it, but I keep lucking out with the hottest dates on Wednesday night.  Tonight one of my best friends from high school was in town on business and so we met up for dinner and dessert.

Matzo ball soup and soda

     I had recently read about the resurgence of old world Jewish restaurants and so I was very curious as to what these might be.  One of the restaurants discussed was Ross & Daughters Cafe, which just opened up this month.  They also have just a deli/store on Houston but this cafe is on Orchard.  The menu look amazing and when we arrived, I was truly blown away.  The decor, food, and atmosphere makes this place a must visit in my book (or for me a second visit at least!). We shared the latkes to start then a classic lox and bagel as well as matzo ball soup.  Doesn't get much more Jewish than that! We also each had a ginger soda that was infused with lavender and very relaxing after this long day. 

The soda counter/bar

     After dinner we walked over to Big Gay Ice Cream on 7th Street, one of my favorite ice cream shops in NYC.  Kira loves the sweet and salty combo and so for anyone who also enjoys that, this is your place.  

     All in all, I had two delicious meals and got to spend time with one of my best friends. Not quite like the Wednesday nights I had in college, but I guess I also can't really go out partying in the middle of the week any more! Growing up kind of sucks, but you learn to appreciate life other than partying, like good friends and good food. 

Happy Hump Day!

Memorial Day Monday

    

     I ended my beautiful three day weekend with a walk through Central Park, but this time, Ali took me to a part that I had never been to before. The Conservatory Gardens are up on 105th Street and are simply studding.  There are three separate gardens within, each with their own style. 

Michael Albert

     On our way to the park we also stopped by an noticed some free art right across from the Guggenheim.  The artist Michael Albert was randomly giving away free prints to anyone who wanted one.  Me, being the art addict that I am, happily picked out one titled "Map of Manhattan."  I really enjoyed his work because much of it is in a collage style, and while growing up, I loved to make fashion collages out of my old Vogue magazines. 

Vanderbilt Gate entrance to the Gardens

   p.s. I also went to Sprinkles (my favorite cupcake chain) and tried their ice cream creations.  I then stared as people used the Cupcake ATM outside the shop.  Pure awesomeness. 

 

A West Side Saturday

     At 9:30am Natasha and I met at the park to walk over to Lincoln Center.  Students can get discounted tickets to the ballet and so we purchased two for the show Jewels.  After that time, we decided to just stay on the West Side and explore. Luckily the weather held out until around 3 and so we walked to the park and enjoyed some serious people watching near the boathouse.

     On the way to the park we stopped by a little farmers market and purchased half a dozen  apple cider cinnamon sugar doughnuts. We sat down and quickly devoured them all without blinking an eye. Natasha and I seriously bad for each other's health when we eat together… 

     Once at the park, most entertaining was the sighting of what I will call a "selfie extension arm" which was a long metal pole that at the far end one attaches the camera/phone, and can thus take superb "selflies." (Also its awkward that Blogger keeps trying to autocorrect "selfie" to "selfless"). I had only heard of this mechanism online but seeing it in person was a whole new experience. 

    After people watching and attempting to pet every pet that walked by we grabbed a quick lunch, making sure to eat something light as I had plans for use to visit a famous bakery nearby. We then proceeded to what I had researched as a very highly acclaimed cookie shop called Levain. I always love a good cookie and I am also the kind of person who likes to break off some cookie dough and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to get that ooey gooey half baked situation. Well, these cookies are pure heaven for anyone who agrees with my last statement. I got the chocolate peanut butter and now I want to go back and try them all. Just a fair warning, do not go on a full stomach; these cookies are large and filling enough to constitute a meal (or at least an in-between meals snack).

    After we enjoyed the pure ecstasy of those cookies, we decided to walk it off a bit by shopping. Some successful purchases were made at both Century 21 and DWS and then the downpour began.  We then made our way back to Lincoln Center and recharged over coffee and tea.

    The ballet was absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed the gracefulness and athleticism of the ballerinas and especially enjoyed their costumes. There were three segments: emerald, ruby, and diamond. My person favorite was the ruby one because it had more of a modern vibe. After the show we were utterly exhausted; it was 10:30, we had shopped, eaten, and walked all over the west side, and so we just grabbed a cab home and I passed out at 11. 

Close up of the deliciousness 

It's Friday

     Its Friday, and while usually I would be going out and trying to be social, it is raining. And nothing goes worse with me getting dressed up and doing my hair than rain. So obviously I am staying in and avoiding that whole mess.

I have a soft spot for bubble men

    Work was let off at 2 for the holiday weekend which was wonderful and a pleasant surprise. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. But the weather was nice when I got off so I went for a walk around the reservoir and enjoyed some fresh air.
   
     Later, I went to The Whitney with Natasha because on Friday it is "pay what you like" so being the poor law student that I am, I offered a dollar (one day I promise to donate more!). The most exciting part of the museum, which is having their Biennial btw, was getting to see the works I centered my thesis on. The Seasons by Jasper Johns was a set of four paintings that I laugh, smiled, cried, and nervously bit many a nail over while writing my 30 page paper. But they are amazing and so fun to stare at.  The second floor boasted some very captivating pieces, most interesting was a wall-long contemporary work, Gretchen Bender's People In Pain. I fell in love with it and wish I had both the money and a wall to buy and hang it on for myself.

People In Pain

The Seasons

    I just finished a fresh manicure and have a big day of adventure ahead of me tomorrow (that I will obviously blog about in hopes of someone finding it interesting). For now, I am going to binge watch a few more episodes of of Breaking Bad and then catch some ZZZZZs.

THE COOLEST salt n' peppa shaker ever. Jeff Koons rocks.