Author: Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

A delightful guide to NYC

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I’m so excited to finally launch my comprehensive guide to my NYC! I’ve been working on this for weeks, pruning my suggestions of the best-of-the-best to do, see and EAT in this wonderful city. (Yes, this is a PRUNED list!) I can personally attest to each and every place on this list – and seeing it all spelled out is answering a lot of questions I’ve had about my bank account. Happy to take one for the team!

Places are divided by category, and neighborhoods are indicated so you can do a search that way if you prefer. I’ll keep this list updated as I find new places. Enjoy!

Coffee

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A latte at R&R Coffee, one of the few non-chain coffee shops in the Financial District

Breakfast

Note to self: Take more photos of breakfast

Brunch

Rum French Toast at Black Swan: Do I even need to elaborate?!

Rum French Toast at Black Swan: Do I even need to elaborate?!

Lunch

S'mac in the East Village is a lunchtime staple for me.

S’mac in the East Village is a lunchtime staple for me.

Dinner

Ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village: Necessary to get through winter!

Ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village: Necessary to get through winter!

Dessert

Vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles at Big Gay Ice Cream, a West Village staple

Vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles at Big Gay Ice Cream, a West Village staple

Drinks

People's Pops in prosecco at Loopy Doopy in the Financial District

People’s Pops in prosecco at Loopy Doopy, a rooftop bar in the Financial District

Parks

(read about my very favorite parks here)

One of many iconic views at Central Park

One of many iconic views at Central Park

  • Washington Square, Greenwich Village (pretty pictures here!)
  • Union Square
  • High Line, West Side
  • Prospect Park, Brooklyn (fall photos here)
  • Central Park
  • Brooklyn Heights Promenade
  • Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Heights
  • Madison Square Park, NoMad
  • Elevated Acre, Financial District
  • City Hall Park, Financial District
  • McCarren Park, Williamsburg
  • East River State Park, Williamsburg
  • Riverside Park, Upper West Side (featured here)
  • Bryant Park, Midtown
  • Hudson River Park, West Village
  • Astoria Park, Astoria

Do/See

Even if you don't travel through, just seeing Grand Central is a must.

Even if you don’t travel through, just seeing Grand Central is a must.

Now you tell me: What’s missing from this list? I’m always looking for new places to try!

First day of Fall

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Just like that, another season change: The days are considerably shorter, the weather is cooler, everything is pumpkin-flavored. Everyone loves fall, or so it seems. Living in Phoenix, I would listen to midwest transplants wax poetic about changing leaves and pumpkin patches, while I nodded along and cherished the ongoing  pool days. I’m a summer girl, and the entire concept of autumn was lost on me.

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Last year was the first “real” fall of my adulthood, and I can’t shake the feeling that I did it all wrong. Each day was cooler than the one before, and I would psych myself out thinking about how much colder it would get as winter approached. I built an entire fall bucket list, and completed exactly zero items, preferring to spend my weekends lying in the sunshine in a jacket, pretending it was still summer even though it undeniably was not. (I did see leaves change, but that was more inevitable than intentional). I own maybe five sweaters, and I put off wearing boots as long as possible. And although I thought I’d be happy living as though it was warm, I was actually pretty miserable.

This year, I’m determined to make the most of fall and find out what the hype is all about. I want to treat it like an actual season, rather than an interlude between iced lattes and peppermint mochas, and to hold off the dread of winter chill.

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With that in mind, here’s a peek at what I’m hoping to accomplish in the next three months:

  • Apple picking: This was on my list last year and it never happened. I’m now aware of a farm in Queens, so it’s a lot more attainable than I expected!
  • Go to an NBA game: Maybe not a fall-specific activity, but the season does start next month, and basketball is the only professional sport I’ve never seen in person.
  • Cook lots and lots of soups and chilis: I LOVE this little food group, and even though I left my dutch oven in Arizona, I’m determined to re-create my favorite recipes on a smaller scale.
  • Spend some time in the spring by popping down to the Southern hemisphere: because even though I’m determined to love fall, I’ll always love spring more 😉

What are your tips for making myself enjoy fall?!

P.S. This is my favorite fall bucket list: Activities for people who really hate fall but pretend to love fall. I only wish I’d thought of it first!

What I’m reading lately

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One of the greatest delights in my day-to-day life is reading. As a kid, I always had my nose in a book (mostly The Baby-Sitters Club) and I just never really stopped. I like to think my tastes have matured – these days it’s more historical fiction than middle-school series. But otherwise, I’m still usually wandering around with a book (or more likely my Kindle), reading in the park, on the train, in bed. My goal in 2015 was to read 30 books, and as of now I’ve read 26 – so I’m feeling pretty good about it! Here’s the best of what I’ve read lately.

Elizabeth Street, Laurie Fabiano: A look at an Italian immigrant family in Little Italy in the early 1900s, Elizabeth Street is historical fiction based on the author’s family. I’ve been a little obsessed with NYC historical fiction lately, and this included a fascinating look at the mafia.

How Not to Travel the World, Lauren Juliff: This is a book written by the girl who runs Neverending Footsteps, which is one of my very favorite blogs to read. Buying her memoir was a no-brainer for me and I read it very quickly.

New York, Edward Rutherford: This was a bit of a doozy, a one-thousand-page historical-fiction piece following a family through the generations in New York City, from 1664 to 2009. It took me six weeks to get through but I LOVED it, and am itching to read Rutherford’s other books about other places.

Paris Letters, Janice Macleod: Paris Letters is a fun little memoir about a woman who quits her job and moves to Paris, falls in love with a Frenchman, and uses her creative talents to start her own business. Basically the dream.

The Post-Birthday World, Lionel Shriver: Look, a novel that’s not historical fiction! The first chapter of The Post-Birthday World ends with the main character at a bit of a crossroads, and for the rest of the book the chapters alternate between two universes – one in which she (metaphorically) goes right at the start, and one in which she goes left. It was a little difficult to read at times (just more flowery than I’m used to) but worth the read, if only for the thought-provoking ending.

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Currently, I’m reading Why Not Me? by my queen Mindy Kaling – it came out yesterday and was delivered to my apartment, having preordered it months ago. It’s got me feeling like that little girl again, nose in book until it’s done! I can’t wait to share my thoughts.

What are you reading? Follow me on Goodreads here.

Catching up via Instagram: 9/13/15

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If this post had a subtitle it would be: Well, that was a weird week. I spent the Monday holiday working in a mostly-empty office, Tuesday sleeping off a sinus infection, Thursday at jury duty, and Wednesday and Friday working like normal. Now my parents are coming on Wednesday, my best friend gets here in two weeks and I leave for Africa in a little over a month. WHEW.

In the meantime, some little glimpses into this wild and crazy life:

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Sundays are my FAVORITE day of the week, and last week I splurged on some fresh flowers and an iced coffee on my way home from running errands. Sometimes the little indulgences are my favorites!

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I had to get vaccinated for my upcoming trip to Swaziland, but is there anything worse than getting poked and prodded? I finally promised myself I could have sweet potato fries for dinner after going to urgent care, and it worked like a charm – plus now I probably won’t get typhoid!

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My pastors recently moved into a beautiful new apartment in the financial district, and Jessi invited some of the girls over for a barbecue on their rooftop. The views were to die for!

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My friend Jess and I are leading a community group together this fall, and we couldn’t resist a planning meeting over fro-yo.

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I’m a tiny bit Mindy Kaling-obsessed, so when I heard she was the latest celebrity to design a burger for Umami, I knew I had to have it! I dragged the girls out for burgers, fries and drinks at the end of the week. The burger is delicious, but I wouldn’t expect anything else from Ms. Kaling!

So that’s it – scenes from the whirlwind. I’m so excited for the weeks to come!

Follow me on Instagram here.

Looking back: Switzerland

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It’s time for another look back on one of my pre-blogging trips! In other words, I was going through old photographs and couldn’t resist throwing a few of them together to share, as I was getting nostalgic again.

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Lucerne, Switzerland was one of the stops on the Contiki tour I did last spring (2014). I had honestly never really thought about visiting Switzerland before, but completely fell for the mountains, lake and small-town charm of Lucerne. With a population under 100,000, it’s probably the smallest city I’ve ever been able to picture myself living in! The whole town looked like something out of a postcard and the people were SO friendly.

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It wasn’t a perfect experience – we stayed at a hotel that used to be a prison, and let’s just say it still felt like one. But we spent the days roaming cobblestone streets, setting sail on Lake Lucerne and venturing to the top of Mount Pilatus, where it was very snowy and windy even in May! We even found an arcade bar and ate the best sauce of our lives at a chicken restaurant – the whole group agreed.

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Although Lucerne, like everywhere else I’ve been, is a place I’m itching to return to, I think my next trip to Switzerland needs to include some other stops too – maybe Zurich or Geneva?! And maybe some skydiving in the Alps… I mean, no, Mom, that’s definitely not a thing I’ve considered or researched extensively.

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Have you ever been to Switzerland? Tell me about it!