This post is going to be my ode to Amelia. I love her and cannot even believe that was not always the case. She is my cousin, no our names weren't planned like that and yes we are now great friends. It wasn't until we were 22 years old that we finally discovered just how much we have in common and we started hanging out. She is like me, just cooler and more talented. Can you imagine? I know, it blows me away, she is just that great. I have been trying to get Amelia to move her make-up artist career to NYC for quite some time now.When she said she was coming to visit I knew it was my first step into getting her here for good!
We had such a fun week of new discoveries, crazy weather changes, lots of delicious food and listening to Lana Del Rey's "National Anthem" on repeat.
Don't kill me, I love this picture.
Shout out to one of my most favorite
NYC finds so far!
Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain
is perfect.
I give it a 10 out of 10, hands down.
We walked Brooklyn Bridge on 9/11
Explored the LIC Flea and ate yummy food
Gantry Park in LIC is always a must!
Biking Central Park
Enjoying the Met
MAC Pro store with a MAC pro that knows her shizzz
AND...of course I made her do my makeup. Don't ask me to replicate it, I can't...
"Play Hard"
"True That"
"Stay Slim" Avoid our knuckle tat gang guys, we get serious.
Looking through these pictures made me nostalgic for the summer. Come back summer and bring Amelia with you!
John has been Benson's friend for quite some time now. John is Benson's snowboarding, longboarding and Thai food buddy. Last summer he backpacked through lots of Europe and came to visit us on his way back to Utah and Texas before he ended his long journey. He was here for my birthday extravaganza and was the only friend that stayed with us that entire day. While he visited the city, if we weren't eating, he was out with his friend Cory finding places to hang their hammocks and take naps. His super laid-back attitude made him one of the easiest house guests we've ever hosted. While we were in Harlem one night getting soul food the owner of the restaurant came out to have a chat with us while we ate dessert. Every time John talked she just laughed and laughed and then finally she said to him, "I bet when people see you they just laugh, huh? I can't help it you just make me laugh." We weren't exactly sure what she meant by that...I guess it is just something about his easy-going attitude.
An oldie, but goodie. This was performed by the Eagles for their 1998 induction ceremony to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
I'm sure it is obvious that I am super far behind in my blogging. I mean, this post goes all the way back to August. Yikes! Anyway, it breaks my heart to skimp on fun things (and people) that have come and gone but these next few posts are going to be quickies. This fall brought us a lot of fun visitors. In August, Vaughn had a conference in the city for a few days and even though he was busy I was lucky enough to spend my days with Margaret and Lucy. It was a lot of fun for me because Margaret knows the city even better than I do so we weren't pressed with a crazy agenda. Instead we ate great food, enjoyed nice conversation and took lots of walks. It was so nice for me to be able to get time to spend with Mags (who I consider just as much a friend as she is my sister) and play with Lucy and see her able to do so many fun things. I'm always grateful for the fun we had and can't wait for more visits where we can become the best of friends! On their last day in the city Vaughn got a call from their airline saying that their flight was cancelled. Although cancelled plans are a total pain, we were so glad to get them for one extra day! We celebrated with yummy NY pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
Annie's Birthday Celebration in Sheep's Meadow
All Smiles, All the Time.
Bank Rock Bridge Over Turtle Pond in CP.
Love Love Love.
I Spy With My Little Eye...
Lucy's Selfie
For some reason this series of pictures I took
got turned in to a stop motion movie...
totally strange but also kind of hilarious, right?
This is one of my favorite lullaby's that I would listen to with Eleanor when she was a baby and even still today. Whenever I play with my nieces and nephews I think of this song and how quickly they aren't going to be so little anymore. It's a big world baby and you're little for a little while!
Lately I've been really grateful that I don't just love Benson but I actually really like him too. We truly are best friends and this last year has given me proof of that everyday.
Recently I got offered a babysitting job similar to the first one I ever took in the city. I work only a few hours a week to help a newly pregnant (and oh so nauseous) mom with her 18 month old boy while her husband travels for work. Last week they asked if I would travel with them. Each trip international, about 5-8 days long. Basically I would go and we would sightsee. Dream job. Except, I don't want to visit London, Dubai, or even Mexico without my best friend by my side. The days of desiring my independence to "do what I want" are over now. I want to do what he wants to do, what we want to do.
This morning we slept in because this was the first Saturday in months that our day wasn't booked from beginning to end. Benson was delighted to turn off his alarm last night before jumping in bed. We both woke up around 8:30 and went in and out of conciousness every few minutes. At 9:20 I woke up and remembered the hot water was being shut off from 10-3 and I had a sink full of dishes to do and needed a shower in a bad way. Plus, Bens wanted to go running and would need to shower as well. We had just under 40 minutes to get all that done. We jumped out of bed and got started. Surprisingly, we got it all done just in time and decided to do what all responsible adults would do. We got back in bed.
After talking and napping for far too long we had brunch in bed. It looked like this:
It was perfect and it made me realize that these moments happen to be enjoyed. One day we'll have kids and for the most part sleeping in and naps together will be a thing of the past. But I'm sure we'll look back on the laziest of Saturdays with the fondest of memories, and I'm glad we've had this time to become the best of friends.
Since the NBA 2013-14 season schedule came out this summer Benson has known that two days after his birthday the Jazz would be playing the Nets in Brooklyn. Since then we have been scouring StubHub for good tickets, because that is how he would like to celebrate his 27th year of life. For me it wasn't so easy. Benson asked me multiple times what I might like to do. Should he plan something? Should he surprise me? Every time he asked I came back with my usual, "I don't know, you choose..." Finally the day before my birthday I decided I wanted to explore the city. In fact, I wanted to visit all 5 boroughs that make up New York City in one day. After some research and planning I came up with a schedule that had 1 or 2 locations to visit in each borough. We started in the Bronx, crossed Central Park in Manhattan, spent some time in Queens, rode the ferry to Staten Island and then from there biked into Brooklyn. It was a perfect day and a perfect way to celebrate my birthday my way. We weren't able to do everything we were hoping, but I am excited to sometime spend a whole day in each borough, catching all the things we missed.
Our Bronx to Brooklyn Adventure:
A Day of Mostly Food and Pictures...
Did you know that Bronx has a Little Italy as well? That was our first stop, and it was awesome! It was pretty far out from public transportation so we walked almost 20 minutes from the Subway to get there. It really is a hidden New York gem. More authentic than it's Manhattan twin, this Little Italy is a must visit for all New Yorkers!
We Found a little market along the main street. The displays were colorful and everyone was busy working. It was seriously so delightful. I must admit though, I am a sucker for markets!
Inside the market there was a station of men and women making cigars. You got to see every step needed to roll a quality cigar. From the woman spraying the whole leaves down to the man filling and rolling the tobacco, and even the man who makes sure they are the perfect length by clipping the ends. I don't smoke 'em but it sure is interesting to see how they are crafted!
Our jaunt through Manhattan was just a quick way for us to get from the Bronx to Queens. We used Central Park as our means of getting from one side to the other where we could take a train to our next destination.
Next, we visited Gantry Park in Long Island City, Queens. On our walk there we ran into the LIC Flea Market and couldn't resist a stop to see the wares. It proved to be delightful and the food was great. Have I mentioned how much I love markets?
After Queens we realized that we were quickly running out of daylight. We had two more boroughs left to explore, and lots more activities to check off our list. Staten Island was our next and shortest visit. There are some things to see in SI but not many. We asked the guy ringing us up at the corner store what we could see in Staten Island. He looked at the clock and looked back at me replying, "it's after 5:00, so nothing." We got off the ferry and boarded again just 15 minutes later...
My plans for Brooklyn had been big. I wanted to go the the Brooklyn Flea and then see if we might be able to make it to Coney Island to ride the Cyclone. After seeing the LIC Flea I felt that my outside market quota had been met but I was sad to give up on the idea of going out to Coney Island...oh well, it really was a long shot anyway. Instead we decided to ride Citi Bikes from the bottom of Manhattan, where the SI Ferry dropped us off, all the way over the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn. Williamsburg is know for hipsters, crazy sights and good food, which seemed the perfect way to end our night. We met up with Christian and Kim in the LES and enjoyed a nice ride to the Sea Thai restaurant for dinner.
Oh, hey hott husband man. Wanna give me a pump on your City Bike?
Shortly after this picture was taken the lady behind us put her napkin over the candle at their table and started a small fire. Not to worry, the waiter, in a very quick ninja-like manner just put it right out.
The Final Crew
My birthday was great. Seeing all the cool things this city has to offer made me feel grateful to live here and excited to explore some more...Thanks for being pretty cool, most of the time, New York City. I'm really getting to like you, and getting to hope you like me.
I chose this version of the song because I love Julie Andrews. But if you ever get some time you should Youtube all the awesome versions done by amateur theater groups and schools. I spent far too much time watching them...
