City to Sea: A Day at Fort Tilden

Hello Lovelies!

I am currently sitting on my couch, letting aloe gel soak into my crispy skin. I know... I'm really terrible about applying sunscreen. Considering the day I had yesterday, however, my lobster limbs are more than worth it.

10:30am Saturday morning found me rushing around Union square picking up snacks and supplies from Trader Joe's and the farmer's market. One such item was a bottle of Red Jacket Strawberry Apple Juice, which believe me, is as good as it sounds.

Like I said, it was Saturday, and seeing as how the MTA is the supreme kill-joy of all weekend plans, we had to transfer and take a bus to get to the beach. Below is our route (the 4 to Franklin, the 2 to Flatbush, then the Q35 the rest of the way). It took approximately 1.5 hours, so we arrived shortly after noon and pitched camp.  

I've never really been to a non-Florida beach, so I was unaccustomed to the idea of a beach without trees or shade of some sort. That's really my only complaint... well that, and the fact that we didn't realize this was a topless beach. Quite the initial shocker, let me tell you. Moving right along...

The weather was lovely, and this beach affords wonderful waves for boogie boarding. We (my coworkers and I) enjoyed a nice picnic lunch before packing up and walking west in search of the more interesting portion of the beach (and the whole reason I came). The majority of this peninsula is home to an assortment of abandoned houses and military bunkers see HERE for historical background. Oh and before I forget, here is your weekly music recommendation, as I listened to it on repeat on the way to and from the beach. 

For most of these, the sand was piled up high enough to where we had to crouch to climb in to the front doors, but it was well worth it, as you can see. The decay of the buildings with the addition of artwork from visitors past gave the place an eerie feel. It was beautiful, all the same, and I'm disappointed that this is the only abandoned site I've been able to (legally) access since I've moved to the city. Amid the broken glass and rusty nails were cans of food, a book, shreds of blankets. I don't know who lives here, but they've got a pretty sweet get-up living by the beach... 

Urban Adventures: Upper East Side

Hello Lovelies,

As promised, this is the second half of my weekend adventure. After traipsing through the Met for the majority of the afternoon, I had a spare three hours before the evening service at Church. I began walking east towards the water, and soon ran into what appeared to be a gated park. Upon further inspection however, it turned out to be The Rockefeller University. This was my approximate route:

Correction: I crossed over to the water on 71st, not 70th

Not only had I never heard of this school, I was under the impression that Columbia was the only school in the city that possessed a traditional campus. This one was beautiful (from what I could see from outside the gates), and I invite any suggestions for getting on campus just to have a look around. This is what I could see from outside. It looks like a palace of sorts...

I walked around several times before I realized there was no easy/non-camera-monitored entry way, save for scaling a fence, which I was fully prepared to do if I wasn't in a skirt. So again, if you know of any *legal* way to tour the campus, let me know!

Soul (food) searching in Harlem

I hope you all had as lovely an Independence day weekend as I did... 

After two weeks of spending time with family and friends, I am finally back in the city, and it feels wonderful (maybe not the heat, but certainly being back). 

This past week I had the privilege of seeing the city with fresh eyes thanks to the visit of a friend of mine. Since I never really visit the touristy parts of town while I'm here, it's nice to have an excuse ;). 

Thus, Saturday night found me in the heart of Harlem, right off of Malcolm X Boulevard. We went with one place in mind, Sylvia's Restaurant, which was highly recommended by people who should know.

125th street station tile art

So before I describe the experience, just imagine this playing in the background... because I'm cheesy like that and it's totally what was playing in my head as soon as I got above ground. 

Are you listening to it? Ok.... 

A Night of Culture: The New York Philharmonic

Hello Lovelies,

So what is the logical response when your coworker invites you to a night of free live classical music in the world's most famous park? To grab your wine, strawberries, nutella, and a picnic blanket, of course!

Observe: One of several that I had pre-concert in the middle of the Great Lawn.

The meadow, as you can imagine, was packed. But we managed to squeeze our blanket in close to the stage, right next to one of the barriers or "cattle pen" as one of my sassier coworkers called it. We spread out our blankets, unpacked our dinner, uncorked the wine, and enjoyed the sounds of tuning instruments.

China Through the Looking Glass: A Met Expedition

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope your day, wherever you are, isn't as dreary and depressing as it is here in New York. You would hardly believe it was June, what with the ominous gray clouds.

Summer in the city has provided me with abundant time to pursue every whim with which I wake up on the weekends. Yesterday I had one such ambition so I found myself on the 4/5 at noon, headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, armed with my camera, and sketch book.

I had completely forgotten that the Met had their China Through the Looking Glass exhibit up. I had made  mental note to go sometime during the school year, but between finals and transitioning into my new job, it got put on the back burner. If you didn't already know, this is the exhibit that was introduced at this year's Met Gala, where Rihanna wore her show-stopping gown. I am VERY glad I got to go yesterday, because--let me tell you-- this exhibit is beyond description. I'm not one to frequent museums. Frankly, I rather spend my time outside and exploring on my own, but this.... Well you just need to see it for yourself. 

A striking first look had me instantly captivated. 

Eats Excursion: Artichoke Bastille's Pizza

G'day Y'all!

Boredom and cabin fever found me in the East Village last week to explore, but mostly to experience the wonder that is Artichoke Bastille's pizza.

Battery Park City Run

Hello from a 70 degrees and sunny NYC! Or at least what was... 

At the moment I am staring up at the ceiling of my summer apartment. I have fallen off the couch and have failed to get back up out of sheer, overwhelming laziness. After a grueling finals week, summer is F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. here, and I want to revel in every ounce of pure and well-earned lethargy. 

This is the view of the East River from my couch when one is sitting upright. I could spend all day just watching the boats go by... and one of these days I might... just because I can.

And then summer came.

Happy Summer lovelies!

I cannot believe I survived finals week.... The loss of hope and sanity is evident when half-way through the week you find yourself sitting on the floor watching vines at 3am, eating week-old mac-and-cheese, and laughing and crying at the same time. Totally not me... that was my roommate...  anywho....

I have found myself in yet another crazy situation, but this time it is over moving out of my lovely apartment that I've had for two years. It's going to be so hard to leave this place. I knew once I got it that any apartment I get in my post-grad life is essentially going to be a downgrade from this one... oh well. I'm sitting on my couch relaxing at the moment and finishing my roommate's pino grigio. Not quite a fan of white wines.. but this one isn't bad, and honestly, anything tastes good after cleaning the apartment all day. All the windows are open and there's a nice summer breeze coming in. I'm also entertaining the entire neighborhood with this song at the moment....

This is the first time I've had the chance to take a breather all semester and I am so thankful for it. Between five classes and 20+ hours a week at my internship (not to mention the hours I spent commuting), I have forgotten what just sitting with nothing to do feels like. There are 9 months worth of Strand purchases that I am looking forward to starting on. Also, I have the distinct honor this summer of creating another map quilt (see pic below) for two of my friends who are expecting their first baby. I am so excited that I will be in the city for her birth! For those of you wanting to know if I can make one of these for you... I'll be making them available on my Etsy shop soon! 

Yes, I am still alive....

Hello Readers! 

I have honestly missed you, this blog, and knowing that my thoughts and adventures are not lost somewhere in cyberspace, but are instead, hopefully, being enjoyed, albeit second-hand.

Well. 

Have I got some news for you. 

I don't know how many of you have been following this blog since its inception (i.e. Freshman year), but if you have been one of those lucky few (translation: I am so sorry), you will know that every year around this time, I do everything in my power to get a good job that allows me to stay in the city over the summer. Sadly, my attempts have failed..... until now. 

That's right!

My first summer in the city and you will have exclusive access to my adventures which will be numerous considering I will have all the time in the world to explore (when I'm not working, of course). 

I honestly cannot wait to experience New York City in the summer, seeing as how the only way I've really experienced it is 14 degrees and snowing (it's only just now starting to get into the 60's for all you who are wondering *Praise God from whom all blessings flow*).

I hope you are as excited as I am. If you aren't, chances are you are someone from back home who is thinking you won't be able to see me at all until Christmas. To that, I respond: Free couch and a tour of NYC. 

AAAAHHHHHH Someone pinch me because this has to be a dream! 

Catch ya later peeps.... 

-H

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If you haven't noticed, I've been rather silent lately.... Final exams and traveling stole my last ounce of blogging energy.

Never fear, I will be back, but in the meantime, here's one of my favorite recently-taken pictures.

I took this one in the way to the airport, while my cabbie was giving me really heavy life advice (not all New Yorkers are mean, rude, and selfish!).

Until next semester, lovelies!

XOXO

-H

Coffeehouse Review: Think Coffee

As I said in one of my last posts, I went to quite a unique and rustic coffee shop just south of Union square. On 4th between 12th and 13th, you'll find Think Coffee, a spacious, sparsely decorated, yet charismatic coffeehouse.

This is a very popular place for NYU students (*cough* hipsters *cough*) to hang out. So if you don't mind the possibility that you might have to drink your coffee standing at the bar for all the students using the tables as their second desks, this place is for you. Seriously though, it's not uncommon to consume your latte in between Tisch students and pretentious, women's studies majors sipping wine.The actual venue is quite nice, with a combination of hard wood and classy tiled floors, it looks like a mix between a 30's speakeasy and a 70's diner.

Their menu is pretty straightforward, though we did have a little trouble actually finding someone to ring us up (let alone do it with a good attitude... but that's another matter). Ashley ordered a hot chocolate while I grabbed a small latte (I did end up drinking half of her's). While their coffee is good, a classic coffeehouse red flag is when their main selling point is the fair-trade aspect of the beans, not the actual quality. This was the case, and thus I have concluded after finishing Ashley's hot chocolate, that Think's strength is in non-coffee drinks.

If you visit, you have to ask for a hot chocolate with two shots. Also, their brownies and other baked goods are out of this world. Ashley said the brownie was too cakey, but seeing as how her definition of a good brownie is chocolate-flavored shoe leather, I don't take her opinion on such things anymore.

I hope you are all having a lovely Thanksgiving. I am currently sitting here writing while Ashley and her brother try to figure out how to bake an entire turkey (this is the first year we've tried). After this, I will be making a green bean casserole all for myself, because neither of them like green beans. But I'm not complaining...

~Happy Turkey Day~

-H

Urban Adventures: Yorkville

Hey there lovely readers :)

I hope you are all staying as warm and dry as I currently am. This morning was a completely different story. Just a testament to how much I love you all... but seriously, it was so FREAKIN COLD today and y'all should be grateful.... just saying... ;)

Due to popular demand, my adventuring today took me to Yorkville. As I hate to go exploring (or do anything, for that matter) by myself, I took my friend Mary, a.k.a. The 45 Queen along with me all the way up to 86th street. BTdubbs, if any of you ever feel like joining me as I explore, hit me up! I'm always looking for new adventuring buddies... :)

Sidenote: I'm currently listening to Ed Sheeran's new album and having a hard time waiting until Christmas to get it (because I'm one broke college student at the moment...). I've decided that Ed Sheeran is one of my newest favorite artists. He's basically a singing Ron Weasley... so what's not to love?Specifically, this song is a nice soundtrack to my post about today's adventure. You're welcome.

Anyways... We basically had no plan for today. I had not done any research about the area and neither had Mary. At first I was hating myself for not having a game plan in this miserable cold, but as you will soon read, we stumbled across things that we could never have planned. I love my city for that very reason. Here's the basic trajectory of our walk. We wandered just a little bit...

Our first major discovery after finding each other at the 86th street station (on the 4/5) was The Church of the Holy Trinity (#1). As I almost went to school for architecture, I'm a sucker for gems like this. These are the times that I envy the majority of NYC churchgoers (basically everyone that isn't Presbyterian like me) for the incredibly ornate buildings in which they are able to worship. Just look at this...

GAH. SO beautiful... 

From here we walked down 88th street, towards the water. Walking through this neighborhood, we came to the conclusion that it is best fit for established families (i.e. with no small children), and retirees. There were quite a few sports parks, but other than that, the only things we found in abundance were medical clinics and hair salons. We did, however, find a plethora of stunning views of the East River: 

And then what do you think we stumble upon next, but the mayor of New York's mansion. It is quite a sight, let me tell you... Mary and I thought at first that it was a cool random historical house right in the middle of the park (#2). But upon further inspection, we found a plaque clearly identifying the resident of the house. I walked around several times before I realized the level of security was not going to allow for a decent picture of the mansion. Basically, it's a gorgeous yellow colonial, and from what we could see from the one ground-level window we could access, deBlasio has an extensive library and a grand piano.

The park itself, in my opinion, prettier than central. It has a river-side walkway right over FDR drive, and it's a lot less crowded. The wind was worse near the water, hence, why I look like a babushka in the second picture (I should have brought a hat and gloves, but seeing as the only hat I own makes me look the the Swedish chef, I preferred to deal with the cold...).

At this point we were both pretty hungry. I had run out the door without so much as coffee that morning, and feeling a headache coming on as a result, I had to act quickly. This is where a quick Yelp search led us to the best bagel shop I have ever been to in my entire life in the city. Yes, it was that good. H&H Midtown Bagels East (#3). I had raisin-walnut cream cheese on an egg bagel, and Mary had vegi spread on an everything, but really, there are no bad choices here... And the line is out the door well into the afternoon for a good reason. (Budget: $10, est. expense: $6.50)

Mary, being a graffiti blogger wanted to check out a couple murals roughly 20 blocks uptown, and as I never pass up the opportunity to see one of the few forms of art I appreciate, grabbed a cab with her (ain't no way we were walking 20 more blocks at that point), and boy were we in for a treat (#4). Here are just a few of the many murals we found... also, isn't she pretty? :) 

Oh also, we found a really cool bridge/tunnel on our way back to the subway station, and inside, found some really neat/potentially dangerous icicles. There you go: solid proof of how cold it was.

And now I am safely back home drinking hot chocolate and eating more than a healthy amount of cheese on flat bread (when you haven't gone grocery shopping in 3 weeks, crazy food combos start to not be so crazy...). I am already looking forward to my next neighborhood review, and I have quite a few coffeehouse reviews that should have been posted a long time ago. Next up: Hell's Kitchen! 

~Keep it classy~

-H

P.S. for those of you with a burning desire to know what we both look like, here is a par-frozen pic:

And sometimes, you have dinner with the costume designer of Mad Men...

Yeah, I can still hardly believe it myself...

But it happened... How, you ask?

Summers at home are usually spent trying to squeeze a living out of every spare minute. One of the ways I do this is providing sewing classes for girls in my area. It just so happened that one of those girls was the niece of the incredibly talented Janie Bryant. One thing led to another, and I had the opportunity to meet them for dinner while they were visiting the city.

If any of you need me, I am currently residing on cloud 9...

-H

Urban Adventures: Union Square

Good evening lovelies,

I've been half awake the entire day and studying for most of it at school has not helped the fried state of my mind so I apologize if parts of this post make no sense.

Friday night my adventuring took me to Union Square, another intersection of Broadway not so well-known because it has nothing touristy to see.... and that's why New Yorkers love it so very much. It literally has nothing substantial to offer--at least, that is what I thought until I did a little more exploring...

Union is an interesting and quirky extension of Midtown. It pretty much offers more of the same shops, but less of the crowd, and a rather pleasant park. It is an excellent place to people-watch as it is the common stomping ground of chess-players, skate-boarders, and the occasional African-drum circle. There is also a really cool farmers market that sets up here every other day. Also, there is an adorable, must-see holiday market that appears around this time of year (if you go, you have to try Belgian waffles from Waffles and Dinges).

As I said, Union is quirky, and at times, downright bizarre. Like, does anyone know what the clock means? My highly-educated theory is that it is counting down to the end of the world... don't believe any lies that anyone else has to tell you about the clock... they're all crooks.

Right down the road from the clock is a hole-in-the-wall Pakistani restaurant. Ashley, my adventuring buddy for the day, and I would have passed it had we not been ridiculously hungry.

I was quite pleasantly surprised with Desi Shack (#1 on the map). Aside from having good quality Pakistani cuisine and having relatively low prices, it has a fun and whimsical atmosphere for only having enough room to seat 10 people comfortably (how do I keep finding these places?). Compared to its closest chain-restaurant counterpart, Desi makes your rice bowl meat-heavy (like a 3-1 meat/rice ratio), whereas Chipotle has more rice than anything else. And, did I mention, it's the same price, if not cheaper? Ashley and I split a bowl with brown rice, ground beef, chicken, chickpeas, and other vegetables with cucumber chutney and my favorite, a Mango lassi (basically a yogurt smoothie. Ashley hates pretty much any dairy product so I got it all to myself :D ). 

There's a good picture of our meal before we inhaled it... I drank more lassi than anything else so I got filled up pretty quickly, but this meal totaled roughly $14, and fed both of us. What really made the experience, however, was the explanation and mini culture lesson that they have on their chalkboard: 

My reccomendation: If you are anywhere near Union, choose this place over Chipotle. It's better, cheaper, and far less basic... ;) 

Finishing dinner, we walked out and in the direction of the Strand bookstore (#2). And this is where my adventuring buddy left me for fear that I would pull her in and forbid her to leave. She knows me too well. Yes, I admit that I have been here countless times before, but I can never resist poking through the dollar or the travel section when I'm in the area. Barnes and Noble seriously has nothing on this place... aside from their miles upon miles of books, they have an entire floor dedicated to first editions, as well as tons of reader/geek paraphernalia. They totally pull off the Beauty-and-the-Beast-esque library look too... just look at this! 

For the most part, everything here is cheaper than at Barnes and Noble *gasp* (yes, it's true... everything in NYC really is better...). I mean, nowhere else could I buy 3 books and a calendar for only $10. This place is truly a New York City gem, and if you do not already live here, I highly recommend scrapping that lame touristy thing you were going to do and coming here instead. We also visited a coffee shop during our adventure but I will have to save that for another post... ;)

Au revoir! 

-H

Oh! but before you go... here's what I bought at the Strand :D 
(bottom to top) The title of the first obviously captured my attention... the second is about living in Australia during the 1960's, the third is an adorable calendar that is currently hanging above my desk, and the last was simply intriguing... all for $10! I still can't get over it...

Urban Adventures: Kips Bay

Hey there everyone!

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. The knowledge that Thanksgiving is just around the corner is really the only thing keeping me going through these next few weeks. Thanksgiving has always surpassed Christmas as my favorite holiday because I get to spend it with my enormous, loud, crazy, and flamboyant, Cuban-Venezuelan-Dutch family. As the family has grown, it is not uncommon for over 30 of us to all stay in a 3-bedroom house (hard to imagine, I know...). Unfortunately, I won't get to fly home to them this year, but I'm still looking forward to seeing the Macy's parade and making dinner with some of my school friends.

Tonight I was a bit restless... I had finished all the homework I could (i.e. all the homework I felt like doing) and there is only so much Netflix I can stomach in one semester, so I put on my walking boots, called up a friend, and headed to Midtown. A close inspection of both our wallets narrowed down our options considerably, so we decided to pick a direction, and just start walking.

I am always pleased when I am proved wrong about a neighborhood. I had heard from several people that the Murray Hill/Kips Bay area was a major bar-crawl scene and to avoid it after 11pm. What I found instead, was an refined and fascinating neighborhood complete with mysterious edifices and breathtaking views of Brooklyn. This was the general course of our walk:

There are dozens of gorgeous brownstones in the area... I dream of moving into one after I graduate. The streets are quiet just like the Financial District and are lined with oaks. It's as if someone cut and pasted a little bit of Brooklyn Heights in Manhattan. 

Then we came upon what looked like an enormous, abandoned manor (#1 on the map). The building takes up almost the entire block and is covered with ivy. Graffiti scars the entrance and the courtyard is completely overgrown. The iron gates at the front were chained closed, so we didn't try to go in (and I've watched a bit too much American Horror Story to make that kind of a rookie mistake...). I still have no idea what this is, but we got scared when we heard voices coming from inside... I seriously feel bad for whoever could be living in that place because it is clearly not fit to be lived in.

Walking down 29th street, we stumbled upon an urban farm complete with patches of grass (because we New Yorkers forget what it feels like from time to time) and a magnificent view of Brooklyn from across the East River. (#2) It was a breezy night, and I could smell the ocean from the garden balcony, which always brings life to my soul. This would be a perfect place to come study, have a picnic, or otherwise while away your time with a book. It's nicer than the high line, and infinitely less crowded. Plus, Chelsea is practically the new midtown these days...

Our meandering then lead us to the U.N., which wasn't immediately identifiable because they had taken all the flags down... I had a picture somewhere but the U.N. is not nearly as impressive a building without its flags. I recommend going to see it on any other day though! (#3). Here we crossed the street into Tudor City. Does anyone know why it is called Tudor City (besides the obvious appearance of the buildings, I mean...)? Fun fact: did you know that it is considered the first neighborhood of residential skyscrapers in the world? You learn something new every day...

I think I'm going to end up living in Tudor City (#4), and I'll be a rich old hag that walks her chihuahua every day in her fine furs (that's not true... I'll end up blowing my life savings on a plane ticket to somewhere random and never coming back. ;) )  Anyway, where was I? Oh yes... While it may be the most inconvenient place to live as far as commuting by subway, the architectural craftsmanship of these buildings (inside and out) almost make up for it.

So thus ended our walk... I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did taking them (risked my life on the last one... facing away from the traffic while in the middle of the road is not a mistake I'll be making again). All in all, I really loved the neighborhood, but I am still curious as to what that one building is... when I find out, I'll let you all know!

Goodnight!

-H

P.S. There's a poll on the left column of my blog. Go ahead and vote on which neighborhood you would like for me to visit next!