Week in Instagrams

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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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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My week in Instagrams: 5/31/15

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This week was a weird one. It started off with some workdays while everyone else was off for the holiday, and as people came trudging back in, I was off on my staycation. My plans to act like a tourist lasted exactly two days (luckily I did almost everything I was planning on) before I got hit with a whopper of a head cold. The past two days have been spent in bed, which is both a blessing and a curse – I’m not missing any work, but man, I’m on vacation! Oh well.

Here’s a look at all that happened before I crashed.

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After work on Sunday, I settled on the lawn in Union Square with my kindle. I was so engrossed in We’ll Always Have Paris that I was nearly late for church, whoops!

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Before work on the holiday (Monday), the weather was so nice that I decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge rather than take the train under it. It’s so refreshing to get to the office already feeling like you’ve accomplished something!

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Some friends threw a picnic for Memorial Day at Prospect Park (practically my backyard!) so I headed there after work and met this guy, Zeus, who DOES NOT like having his picture taken.

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Tuesday was my friend Katie’s birthday, and even though we threw her a surprise party the weekend before, we wanted to do something special on the actual day. A group of us headed to Butcher Bar in Astoria to indulge in Southern food. The brisket (smoked for 12 hours, as it should be) and Shiner took me straight back to Texas!

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On my first day of staycation, I nabbed half-off tickets to Mamma Mia!, which is closing in September. It was fantastic.

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On Thursday, Becca and I headed to an open house at One World Observatory. Luckily the tickets were free, because as you can see, it was a tiny bit foggy!

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I also had a chance to check out the Whitney Museum of American Art at its new home in the Meatpacking District. It was a lot more fun than art museums usually are, since I actually understood the historical context of the pieces, and there is a beautiful outdoor space as well!

IMG_4302Finally, Thursday night, Becca and I headed to an exclusive shopping event at Anthropologie where I did not buy a hat, but did pick up the grapefruit thyme candle I’ve had my eye on for many months.

Today, I’m going to head to church (my first venture outside in days!) Hope you all had a great week!

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My week in Instagrams: 5/24/15

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This was one of those weeks that was SO fun and SO busy that I just didn’t document much of it at all.  There was brunch with an old friend and her mom, a workshop with Restore NYC, a roommate date with pretzels at Sigmund’s and ice cream at Van Leeuwen, a gallery for 100 cameras, dinners and shopping, birthday drinks for one friend and a surprise picnic for another. Plus it’s Fleet Week (hellooooo sailors!), and there were errands to run and – of course – 40 hours of work to do. I almost can’t even believe I squeezed it all into 7 days!

Here are the few pictures I did take!

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Friday FryDay! After a long work week Emmie and I headed to New York Burger Co. for fries and a side of burgers, because that’s how we roll.

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We decided to walk from Chelsea to the West Village for Jenn’s party, and I’m SO glad we did! The sky was spectacular and the World Trade Center sparkles during golden hour.

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Last night’s festivities were in Astoria, a neighborhood I rarely venture to (it’s not far from me in Crown Heights but it takes an hour and a half on the trains). We picnicked in Astoria Park and then I insisted on a stroll to the waterfront to watch the sun set over the East River.

This upcoming week looks to be just as busy, with Memorial Day providing an excuse to spend alllllllllllll day every day outside basking in the glorious sunshine! I’m working the holiday but taking some time off at the end of the week for a little staycation. On the agenda so far: the opening ofOne World Observatory on Thursday and Awaken NYC on Friday. What else should I do to feel like a tourist in NYC?!

Catching up via Instagram

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Prepare yourselves! It’s been a while since I’ve done an Instagram post, so this is going to be quite the photo dump. Here’s what I’ve been up to the past few weeks.

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During the last week of community groups, our Monday night dinner was held in Tribeca. I spent the afternoon exploring the neighborhood, and then was delighted to discover our hosts have a rooftop with quite a view!

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Meet my favorite pair of shoes! I bought these babies at Target on Black Friday years ago, and recently went an entire year without them as they sat in storage after my move. I’m so excited to have them back in my life!

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For my birthday, I gathered my closest friends at Berg’n, a fabulous beer hall just down the street from my apartment.

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My ever-generous parents bought me a Kindle, the only gift I asked for this year, and my sister sprang for the case. I’m already obsessed with my newest toy, and I can tell it’s going to make my goal of reading 30 books this year a lot more attainable.

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My roomie and I have a birthday brunch tradition! This time we went to Egg in Williamsburg, and the duck hash and mimosas were to die for.

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More blooms! I know, I know. I can’t help it though. The first is from a birthday-evening stroll to Park Slope, and the second is from our recent visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

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It wouldn’t be an Instagram catch-up without some food! In the early part of this week I found myself in the Financial District twice: first for a friend’s birthday at Clinton Hall, and then for a girls’ night at Shorty’s. Sorry not sorry for my love of beer and bar food.

IMG_4011_2Finally, this week wrapped up yesterday with an afternoon at Prospect Park. I always say I may not have a yard, but when this is within walking distance – who cares?!

What have you been up to?

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