NYC

A trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

3 Comments

It’s no secret at this point that I love birthdays (mine, yours, anyone’s!). It should therefore not come as a shock that I took all of last week off from work to celebrate my twenty-fifth. I spent the week hanging out with friends, eating incredible food and continuing to explore this city.

On Wednesday, Becca and I ventured to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. We’ve lived in Crown Heights for a year and somehow had never been before even though it’s practically in our backyard!  Here’s a peek into my favorite parts:

Cherry Esplanade

IMG_3881 IMG_3888 IMG_3941

This is the reason we went. Cherry blossoms are one of my favorite parts of living on the East Coast (I’m seriously dying to get to DC for the festival one year), and they don’t bloom for long at all. While most of the trees in the esplanade hadn’t bloomed yet when we visited, a lot of trees on the outskirts were in peak bloom and seriously gorgeous! Also, yes, it was warm enough to wear just a tank top. God is good.

Fragrance Garden

This isn’t the most beautiful garden here (in fact, it was designed for the sight impaired!) but it is definitely the best-smelling! If only I could bottle up scents to share with you all.

Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

IMG_3892 IMG_3894IMG_3899

This might have been my favorite area. I’ve never been to Japan, but this is exactly how I picture it!

Osborne Garden

IMG_3878

This is the first garden you come to when you enter off Eastern Parkway – I can’t wait to go back and see it in bloom.

Shakespeare Garden

I don’t have any pictures from the Shakespeare Garden, but I just had to mention it because it is perfect for literature nerds like myself! The garden is home to plants mentioned in Shakespeares’ works – and the signs include the passages. SO COOL.

Conservatory: Desert Pavilion

I was obsessed with the entire conservatory – the rooms are climate controlled to mimic various environments. But of course the best part was the desert pavilion! Becca and I, forever Arizona girls at heart, felt right at home in this room lacking in humidity and full of cacti.

IMG_3934 IMG_3935 IMG_3936 IMG_3937 IMG_3938

My week in Instagrams: 4/12/15

Leave a comment

Well, sort of. This week was pretty boring IRL – night shifts, crummy weather – until last night so I’ve been posting mostly throwbacks. So today I present to you the most random collection of photos possibly ever.

Screen shot 2015-04-12 at 12.25.22 PM

Last Sunday, of course, was Easter. I posted this throwback after last week’s post went live: Easter 1997, featuring my sister and I in matching bunny dresses made by our ever-talented mother.

IMG_3781

For some reason, my Panera rewards card was loaded with one free coffee for every day in the month of April. Obviously I have been taking advantage of that by getting a large iced, every single day. The math works out to 7.5 free gallons of coffee by the end of the month, if you were wondering.

Screen shot 2015-04-12 at 12.25.35 PM

She is Free is getting closer and closer – it’s officially NEXT WEEK! One of the sponsors is The Giving Keys, so this image was floating around my friend circle as we all hoped to win these necklaces.

IMG_3793

For #ThrowbackThursday, I went back to this image from Santa Monica in 2013. Ironically, California is one of the things I miss the most about Arizona: All of my favorite beaches and many of my favorite friends were only a 6-hour drive or 1-hour flight away! I was also nostalgic and missing the warmer weather – by Thursday it had been cold and gray in NYC for days.

IMG_3796

Friday was National Siblings Day, although when you’re a #ZinsKid (as we call ourselves), every day feels like siblings day. This gem, from Mother’s Day 2012, is one of my favorites. We only all get together about once a year, and I think here you can see how much fun we always have in each others’ presence. Bonus appearance by #ZinsDog, who may as well be the fourth sibling.

IMG_3808 FINALLY yesterday the weather cleared, giving way to blue skies, 60-degree temperatures, and the sweet glorious return of Smorgasburg. I think you can see the joy in my face. Tacos? NYC? Roommate bonding time? Perfect weekend.

And now, I’m off to church, a Monday off, and one last work week before my Birthday Week staycation. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Follow me on Instagram here.

My Week in Instagrams: 4/5/15

2 Comments

Hello and happy Easter! What a glorious day.

This week rocked, y’all. Finally it felt like spring for a solid seven days straight, complete with warm temperatures and rain showers. It also marked the beginning of my Birthday Month, which is a thing my brother informs me I am weird for celebrating. OH WELL.Screen shot 2015-04-04 at 5.42.30 PM

Monday was the first day I really stopped to appreciate the fact that I could walk to my friend’s apartment while the sun was shining and stop to photograph the moment because taking off my gloves didn’t result in frostbite.

IMG_3744

Monday was also fun because I got to hang out with my favorite cat friend, Bernadette. Here she is waiting for me to stop taking pictures so she can steal my dinner.

IMG_3760

Thursday’s weather was the very definition of perfect! For the first time in months, I enjoyed my lunch break outside instead of in a coffee shop. I obviously wasn’t the only one with that bright idea, and it was so great to see New York looking so alive again. I may or may not have cried when it was time to go back to the office.

IMG_3765

Friday was one of those gray drizzly days that I can’t quite hate because hey, it’s not snow! Train problems led to me being in a cab, and it’s hard to be mad about that when you’re cruising up the FDR with views like this.

The week ahead is filled with night shifts, and I’m hoping to fill the days with lunch dates and adventures! Fingers crossed for more beautiful weather.

Follow me on Instagram here.

My week in Instagrams: 3/30/15

Leave a comment

This post coming at you a day late because holy crap, last week was busy! I had plans every single day after work – super fun stuff, but as someone who thrives on alone time, it was exhausting. Never again.

IMG_3676

My Monday night community group met in Tribeca last week instead of Brooklyn, which gave me an excuse to wander around Manhattan. I love this building on 6th Ave – it’s actually a library!

IMG_3681

Since we’re still hovering on the line between winter and spring, I picked up these blooms at Trader Joe’s and they’re certainly brightening up my room on the gloomy days!

IMG_3686

Wednesday was our church’s worship night (my favorite nights, along with Sisterhood… and all team… and every Sunday…) Emmie and I joke that we’re the same person, but the unintentional matching outfits were hilarious, even for us.

IMG_3688

Thursday, as you know, was my one-year New York City anniversary! Since the city was rainy and gray, I posted this throwback to my very first night in the city.

IMG_3710

OK, so full disclosure – I was actually supposed to have a quiet night in on Friday to recover from the insanity, but my girlfriends were going to Pies ‘n’ Thighs, and I cannot say no to chicken and waffles.

IMG_3719FINALLY: Yesterday was a long day at work, followed by Palm Sunday services at Liberty! Easter, of course, is the very best holiday. I hope to see you at church next week!

Follow me on Instagram here.

Beginnings

9 Comments

Last night, I met up with a group of girlfriends – the most wonderful ladies on the planet – for dinner, and then we made our way to the most beautiful church in Chelsea (I assume – it’s the only one I’ve had the pleasure of visiting) for our church’s worship night. To cut to the chase, I was an emotional wreck throughout most of the evening and couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Most of those tears were of joy and gratitude for the life I’ve built here.

IMG_1214

One year ago today, I boarded a one-way flight to New York City with exactly two suitcases and one contact (my now-roommate) already in the Big Apple. I wrangled my bags out of the airport and into a (very expensive) cab, and as we made our way through New Jersey, then downtown Manhattan, and finally into Brooklyn, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was on the verge of something incredible. It was the calmest I had felt in a long time.

That night was a lonely one, collecting keys to my sublet and unpacking my bags and watching the Brooklyn Nine-Nine finale in bed. (It’s weird the details the brain chooses to remember, isn’t it?) But it was a beginning. Of what, I didn’t yet know, but I had a feeling it’d be good.

IMG_2096

Over the past 365 days, I have found an apartment in Brooklyn that feels like home. I have hated on the G train with the best of them. I have made such intelligent choices as going to a Saturday Night Live taping when I had work the next morning, or driving ten hours each way just to spend 36 hours in Toronto. (To be clear, I’d do either one of those again in a heartbeat). I’ve prepared for what was supposed to be the worst snowstorm NYC would ever see, and turned out to be a mild flurry. I’ve walked so much I can’t believe my old-lady knees haven’t stopped functioning. I’ve found a favorite coffee shop, a favorite brunch place with bottomless mimosas. I’ve joined a church, and I’ve made absolutely the best friends I’ve ever had in my entire life.

IMG_3280

Basically, in the past 12 months, I have felt more alive than ever before. I have simply felt more. And last night was a culmination of that. A night that marked the end of my first year “making it” in a city where so many people say it’s impossible. A night I can always point to and say “see, I did it,” even if it all falls apart tomorrow. I’m not new here anymore. So in a way, yesterday was an ending.

But it was also only the beginning. As always, the best is yet to come.

Happy anniversary, New York!