NYC

Lately on Instagram

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You may have noticed that with the exception of my trip to Boston, I haven’t been on Instagram quite as much lately. I attribute most of that to my new Snapchat obsession, although I’ll admit that life has just been a little hectic lately with fewer moments to slow down and appreciate the little things. Still, I wanted to share a bit of what I’ve been up to in NYC lately!

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My friend Breanna has been driving our church’s truck back to its home in Brooklyn after services lately, and sometimes I get to ride along! I snapped this while cruising over the Manhattan Bridge a couple weeks ago and it basically carried me through the next few days of early wake-up calls and work on work on work.

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I popped into Best Buy a couple weeks ago for new earphones – for someone with a reputation for being “adult” and “responsible,” I lose and break those things more often than is really reasonable. It gets expensive, especially when I grab other trinkets off the shelves such as this Kate Spade phone case!

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There was a crazy storm here one evening that seriously reminded me of the monsoons we used to get in Colorado and Arizona. But the payoff was an incredible sunset!

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The Fourth of July weekend was weirdly gloomy, but that didn’t stop a group of us from gathering under the Brooklyn Bridge for a six-hour picnic (getting good fireworks spots is seriously competitive!) Eventually the skies cleared up…

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… and we were rewarded for our perseverance with another stunner of a sunset! As well as an incredible fireworks display.

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Wednesday was the anniversary of one of the best days of my life – four years ago, I woke up at 1 a.m. (seriously) to drive from my Orlando apartment (betcha didn’t know I lived in Florida for about 5 minutes!) to the coast to watch the last-ever space-shuttle launch. I got to report, photograph and blog about the event for the Orlando Sentinel and it was 100% the highlight of my career.

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I guess July is always my month, because Thursday was also an anniversary – one year from meeting my best friend Emmie! We met up at the spot where we met – Chloe’s Soft Serve near Union Square – to stuff our faces, reminisce, and hide from a rainstorm that came out of nowhere. Here’s to another year of adventure!

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And yesterday, by some miracle, my roommates and I were all free so we gathered for some Korean BBQ (cooked right at our table!) and the Minions movie (which I highly recommend).

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Currently…

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Hey friends! I had plans for blog posts this week… and then that real-life thing got a little nuts and I work-work-worked a lot more than usual, both job-work and church-work. I barely even Instagrammed, although I continued to take my daily lunch breaks in the park – gotta avoid that burnout!

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So today, on the summer solstice, I bring you my first Currently post in quite a while! Let’s catch up a bit. I’d like to promise more exciting posts this week, but I’m just not sure if I’ll have the time – I’m working straight through Tuesday and then heading to BOSTON for the first time! So there are definitely posts to look forward to in the not-so-distant future.

Reading… Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod, because I’ll read anything with Paris in the title
Watching… Private Practice, again. Inside Amy Schumer. Sherlock, now, thanks to friends making me watch the first episode last night.
Trying… to get some work done despite the bleak, bleak weather outside my window
Cooking… Let’s see, I made sweet potato and kale hash a couple times recently, and went on a bit of a Polish kick with pierogies, sausage and sauerkraut, although all I did was heat them up.
Eating… Nothing at the moment, and today will be filled with Trader Joe’s salads on my lunch break and before church. Cheap and delicious.
Drinking… Water & coffee – I feel like this answer never changes
Calling… My father later. Remember to call yours too!

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Texting… It’s 10 a.m. on a Sunday, so all of my friends are sound asleep.
Tweeting… mostly complaints about the weather. STOP RAINING, NYC.
Going… to Boston this week, finally!
Loving… the fact that a TON of my friends recently moved to my neighborhood, so going out on the weekends is way less of a pain.
Thinking… about how little sleep I got last night & will get for the rest of the week.
Listening (to)… Nothing at the moment, but the ’90s throwback playlist has been my commuting soundtrack all week long.
Celebrating… SUNDAY! It’s my favorite day of the week, even when I’m in the office. And it’s a short workweek for me!
Starting… to nail down plans for my vacation without planning out TOO much. And yes I wait until the last minute – because I prefer to be spontaneous once I’m there.

Have a great week!

My Week in Instagrams: 6/14/15

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Hello, friends, and happy summer! I know it’s officially still a week away, but this was the first week that truly, consistently felt like summertime. There was brunching and reading outside and walks along the river. I could not be happier to be spending another summer in New York City!

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The week started off on an amazing note: Brunch in Williamsburg with my cousin Kelly! I’m so so glad that we’re close now as adults.

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Tuesdays are sure to be my favorite afternoons this summer, as I look for new ways to explore the city in between work and community group. Obsessed with hanging out outside with a good book!

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On Thursday I ventured downtown for a meeting at my church’s office. Downtown Manhattan gets a bad rap for being mostly tall buildings, but you really just need to know where to look: Like outside City Hall!

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Friday brought me back to Williamsburg for my friend Samantha’s birthday dinner – and a stunning sunset at McCarren Park. It was supposed to thunderstorm all day and I couldn’t be more thrilled we didn’t even get a drop of rain.

IMG_4408Finally, last night I came home after work to binge some television (I’m rewatching Private Practice) and cook a healthy-ish breakfast-for-dinner (and then sleep for 10 hours, which was unplanned but incredible). Recipe for the above sweet potato kale hash can be found here. I used more sweet potato, less kale, because obviously.

As for the week ahead, it looks to be a replica of this one – and I can’t wait to repeat it all summer long! What’s your standard summer day look like?

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The New Whitney

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Confession: I’m not much of a museum person. In my first year living in NYC, I went to exactly one museum – the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and only because it was rainy, and I had a friend in town. I enjoy visiting museums when I travel (especially in Cleveland!) but here in New York, it’s so easy to say, “Well, the museums will always be there.” So I do other things instead, saving museums for literal rainy days, and for the most part I’m content with that.

But when the Whitney Museum of American Art opened in its new location last month, it started springing up all over my Instagram feed. Never mind the art, the space itself looked gorgeous, and it’s in one of my favorite parts of the city – the Meatpacking District on the west side of Manhattan. So while I was on staycation, I added the Whitney to my list of must-dos and popped over after my venture to One World Observatory.

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You guys, I am SO GLAD I went! While the Met is iconic, I found the collection to be overwhelming and, frankly, a little boring. (I know, I know). But the magical thing about American art is that, for the most part, I already know and understand the context. I am intimately familiar with American history – even more so than European history, which I studied in college. The collection touches on really interesting parts of our history – the dust bowl, the Vietnam and Korean wars, the AIDS crisis – right up through present day.

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Of course, I accidentally walked through the museum backwards and saw it all in reverse order, from present day back through the ’20s. Still amazing, but word to the wise, you’re “supposed” to take the elevator to the top floor and work your way down. I just couldn’t be bothered with the crowds at the elevators and started at the bottom, not knowing it was chronological!

Most of my favorite pieces, you’ll gather, are the more current ones. It’s just easier to relate to things created during your lifetime, I think. Plus I still had all my energy and momentum!

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Art I can truly relate to

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The above is a re-creation of an actual Daily News cover from 1998. If that doesn’t give you chills, I don’t know what will.

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The Whitney also features a gorgeous outdoor space with a multi-level patio, chairs to lounge in, and views on views on views. I ended up curling up with my book for a while (of course, the next day I realized I was sick, which explains my lull!)

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Overall, I LOVED the Whitney, and if I had the discretionary money lying around I’d totally consider buying a membership, too – if only for access to that patio! I had such a great afternoon there and can’t wait to go back as they add exhibits and rotate the collection.

What’s your favorite museum in NYC? I need to add some to my to-do list!

My Week in Instagrams: 6/8/15

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Hi friends!

You’ll notice I’m a day late with this post, oops! Yesterday was a loooong day and I was out of the house for 12 hours, soooo I missed posting here. I did, however, get a review up over at One Book A Week, which is run by my amazing friend Samy. I’m so excited to be a regular contributor over there!

As for my week, well. The first half was cold and rainy (I even had to dig out a coat from storage), and since I was still recovering from my weird head cold, I basically slept it away. The second half, though, was exciting – and that’s what I’ve got pictures of!

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Thursday was the first day I managed to get into the city early enough to do something other than run straight to the office. Not a bad backdrop to settle in with a book!

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You may have heard that Friday was National Donut Day. It was also the day before my roommate’s birthday, and I couldn’t justify going to get a donut when we were already up to our ears in sweets. I know, poor me.

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In honor of said birthday girl, we trekked to Little Italy on Saturday night for wine, pasta and gelato. Almost as good as the real thing!

IMG_4366Finally, in between church services, community groups and meetings yesterday, my friend Katie and I somehow found a half hour to sneak over to the Elevated Acre, a park built on top of buildings in the Financial District. It’s got a killer view of Brooklyn (pictured) and Governors Island. We came up with some amazing plans for the summer, so stay tuned for NYC adventures!

As for the week ahead: I’m off work today, and heading to brunch with my cousin Kelly who happens to be in Brooklyn this week (last seen in Cleveland!) After that, it’s off to catch up with everyone I bailed on while I was sick. Have a good one!

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