wow has it really been 3 weeks since i posted here?...i'm slacking for sure...maybe it's this crazy heat, causing my brain to forget to update those of you out there who actually read this :)
so here are some of the things i've done in the last 3 weeks:
-went back to Cincy for the 4th of July weekend and hung with the fam
-walked the Brooklyn Bridge and had ice cream from an old fashioned creamery
-saw the Harry Potter premiere/red carpet at Lincoln Center (from a distance)
-shopping!
-rode the ferry from Brooklyn to Wall Street
and here are some things that are to come:
-Harry Potter in IMAX
-Yankees game!
-vacation to Florida with Em, Sue, and Nick
-a quick trip home before/after vaca
-first book club session (finally!)
I can't wait for the heat to die down some so I can enjoy the outdoors more...bring on the fall!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
my first visitor!
so emily came to visit me this past weekend...she ventured up here all the way from Cincinnati via Megabus...not everyone could handle 18 hours on a bus but she did it!...she got here early Saturday morning and I made us breakfast...a couple hours we headed out to walk around the upper west side...we did a little shopping...and then had lunch at the shake shack, which is very well known about NYC...they actually have a web cam online for the madison square park location so that people can check out the line before coming to stand in it for lunch...they have good burgers, fries, and shakes for a reasonable price and it's a big tourist attraction...
after that we headed back to the apartment and hung out for a couple hours and then it was off to our groupon mani/pedis at this random salon near midtown...this place was run by a few russian women and it was an experience...then it was off to dinner at gossip restaurant on 9th avenue, which was delicious...we decided to go to M&M world in times square afterwards, which was against our better judgment...a saturday night in times square when it's almost 90 degrees out is crazy...it's wall to wall tourists...thankfully we made it back to the theater district in time for mary poppins on broadway!...what a great show...it's an adaptation from the movie but includes all of the classic songs and it's just neat to see her flying across the stage (and audience) with her umbrella...i'd highly recommend it!...i see many more broadway shows in my future here...
on sunday, we went to brunch with lana and colin to a place called pastis in the meatpacking district...it was a little french restaurant with a great feel and wonderful food...we decided to walk around that area a little afterwards to walk off the food and ended up near the pride parade...once we got past that we were in washington square park which has recently gone through an extensive renovation, so we sat and enjoyed the surroundings for a bit...then it was over to Soho for some window shopping...emily and i decided to come back to the apartment and rest a bit before our night out...we had dinner at rosa mexicano at lincoln square, which is a fabulous, slightly upscale mexican restaurant...they make the guacamole right at your table and it's so delicious!...after a very filling dinner, we went down to AMC and saw the movie Super 8, which was good and a nice flick to kick off the summer season...
on monday, we lounged around a bit and then headed over to noho near NYU to check out this little jewelry store i'd found one day on groupon...we each found something cool there...we walked down to the nolita house for lunch, which we had a living social deal for, but unfortunately, they weren't open until dinner on mondays, so we had an easy lunch at subway and then walked to a POP yogurt stand...the pomegranate was really good, less tart and more refreshing...while we sat and enjoyed our yogurt, emily decided she wanted to look up what movies/tv shows were being filmed in NYC that day...she found out that a show she recently started watching, white collar, was filming down in the wall street area today...so we grabbed a taxi and went down to the south street seaport...we shopped in the little pier mall for a bit and then walked over to wall street...sure enough, while i was relaxing on a bench by the water, she found the set and got a picture of the show's star...then we headed back uptown to the apartment so we could get ready for our central park bike riding adventure...we rented bikes at a nearby shop for a couple hours and biked the whole loop of central park...we had planned to sort of cut off before the top half where it's really hilly but once we got started riding, we didn't realize how far we'd done until we were trying to bike up these exhausting hills...meanwhile, all of these people are breezing past us, and there were so many runners in the park at this time, people who'd just gotten off work and wanted to let off some steam...we finally made it around though and we were starving at this point...we decided to head to outback steakhouse which wasn't too far because i had a gift card i hadn't used yet...and the food was so good and familiar...for dessert we went to tasti d-lite for some yogurt and then it was back home...
em left before 6am the next morning to catch the megabus back home and i headed back to work...it turned out to be a great weekend overall!....and in a few hours i'll be on a plane back to Cincy for the July 4th weekend...can't wait! :)
after that we headed back to the apartment and hung out for a couple hours and then it was off to our groupon mani/pedis at this random salon near midtown...this place was run by a few russian women and it was an experience...then it was off to dinner at gossip restaurant on 9th avenue, which was delicious...we decided to go to M&M world in times square afterwards, which was against our better judgment...a saturday night in times square when it's almost 90 degrees out is crazy...it's wall to wall tourists...thankfully we made it back to the theater district in time for mary poppins on broadway!...what a great show...it's an adaptation from the movie but includes all of the classic songs and it's just neat to see her flying across the stage (and audience) with her umbrella...i'd highly recommend it!...i see many more broadway shows in my future here...
on sunday, we went to brunch with lana and colin to a place called pastis in the meatpacking district...it was a little french restaurant with a great feel and wonderful food...we decided to walk around that area a little afterwards to walk off the food and ended up near the pride parade...once we got past that we were in washington square park which has recently gone through an extensive renovation, so we sat and enjoyed the surroundings for a bit...then it was over to Soho for some window shopping...emily and i decided to come back to the apartment and rest a bit before our night out...we had dinner at rosa mexicano at lincoln square, which is a fabulous, slightly upscale mexican restaurant...they make the guacamole right at your table and it's so delicious!...after a very filling dinner, we went down to AMC and saw the movie Super 8, which was good and a nice flick to kick off the summer season...
on monday, we lounged around a bit and then headed over to noho near NYU to check out this little jewelry store i'd found one day on groupon...we each found something cool there...we walked down to the nolita house for lunch, which we had a living social deal for, but unfortunately, they weren't open until dinner on mondays, so we had an easy lunch at subway and then walked to a POP yogurt stand...the pomegranate was really good, less tart and more refreshing...while we sat and enjoyed our yogurt, emily decided she wanted to look up what movies/tv shows were being filmed in NYC that day...she found out that a show she recently started watching, white collar, was filming down in the wall street area today...so we grabbed a taxi and went down to the south street seaport...we shopped in the little pier mall for a bit and then walked over to wall street...sure enough, while i was relaxing on a bench by the water, she found the set and got a picture of the show's star...then we headed back uptown to the apartment so we could get ready for our central park bike riding adventure...we rented bikes at a nearby shop for a couple hours and biked the whole loop of central park...we had planned to sort of cut off before the top half where it's really hilly but once we got started riding, we didn't realize how far we'd done until we were trying to bike up these exhausting hills...meanwhile, all of these people are breezing past us, and there were so many runners in the park at this time, people who'd just gotten off work and wanted to let off some steam...we finally made it around though and we were starving at this point...we decided to head to outback steakhouse which wasn't too far because i had a gift card i hadn't used yet...and the food was so good and familiar...for dessert we went to tasti d-lite for some yogurt and then it was back home...
em left before 6am the next morning to catch the megabus back home and i headed back to work...it turned out to be a great weekend overall!....and in a few hours i'll be on a plane back to Cincy for the July 4th weekend...can't wait! :)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
brooklyn bound...
last weekend i enjoyed the nice weather we had here in the city...went walking around the UWS neighborhood and did some window shopping...ended up at the boat basin, a large outdoor cafe that faces the hudson river with a cool atmosphere...enjoyed some refreshments there while doing some people watching :)...
sunday i decided to venture out to brooklyn to the atlantic center mall...i found it online while doing some research of different areas and of course being from the midwest, i love me a good mall...this one was ok, not too big, but had some good shops that i like...i was excited to finally be heading outside of manhattan for the first time...rode the subway over the brooklyn bridge and got a different view of the city....i wasn't in an area that i'm looking to move to, but it was super close to the cafe where my book club meets, which is tonight...excited to meet some new people and maybe find a good friend or two!
tuesday night our office went on a little teambuilding bowling outing at lucky strike...for anyone who's been to star lanes at newport on the levee, it's the same set up (lucky strike owners started star lanes)...a boutique/loungey bowling experience...great food and drinks...everyone had high expectations of me, coming from the midwest where bowling is more common...i wasn't the highest overall scorer but i was decent...broke 100 both games so that's all i can ask for :)...
emily is coming for a visit this weekend and we have lots of fun things planned...and my first book club meeting is tonight...so i'll have more to write next week!...
sunday i decided to venture out to brooklyn to the atlantic center mall...i found it online while doing some research of different areas and of course being from the midwest, i love me a good mall...this one was ok, not too big, but had some good shops that i like...i was excited to finally be heading outside of manhattan for the first time...rode the subway over the brooklyn bridge and got a different view of the city....i wasn't in an area that i'm looking to move to, but it was super close to the cafe where my book club meets, which is tonight...excited to meet some new people and maybe find a good friend or two!
tuesday night our office went on a little teambuilding bowling outing at lucky strike...for anyone who's been to star lanes at newport on the levee, it's the same set up (lucky strike owners started star lanes)...a boutique/loungey bowling experience...great food and drinks...everyone had high expectations of me, coming from the midwest where bowling is more common...i wasn't the highest overall scorer but i was decent...broke 100 both games so that's all i can ask for :)...
emily is coming for a visit this weekend and we have lots of fun things planned...and my first book club meeting is tonight...so i'll have more to write next week!...
Friday, June 10, 2011
time flies when you're having fun...
so i'm a little behind in posting...things have been busy here!...last weekend we rented bikes and rode down manhattan all the way to battery park to visit the shake shack for lunch, then back up to 95th and threw part of central park, with a stop at the boathouse for a cool drink...we got lucky with great weather/temps that day so the ride was fairly cool with the breeze off the hudson...it was great exercise and a good way to see all of the piers on the west side of the island...
then on sunday i ventured up to harlem to the east river plaza where there's a target, best buy, costco, marshalls...walking through target makes it feel like being back home!...so great to be in a 'familiar' place...although i couldn't buy all the groceries i wanted for fear i wouldn't be able to bring them all home with me via the bus/subway...i'm considering looking for my apartment up in that area where there's a lot of revitalization going on...and to be close to those stores would be amazing!...
work has been very busy and this week flew by...and now it's friday night and we are all at home, sharing our music collections via itunes home share, which is fantastic...not sure what the rest of the weekend has in store...i'm thinking of maybe going to a movie...
hoping to get the book i ordered in the mail for the book club that i joined...we meet in a couple weeks and i need to be prepared to discuss and make friends...
emily is coming up for a visit in a couple weekends so we've been making plans of things to do while she's here...a broadway show is definitely on the list!
and that's it for this post...stay tuned for more updates as we get into the thick of summer...hoping to find lots of things to do!
then on sunday i ventured up to harlem to the east river plaza where there's a target, best buy, costco, marshalls...walking through target makes it feel like being back home!...so great to be in a 'familiar' place...although i couldn't buy all the groceries i wanted for fear i wouldn't be able to bring them all home with me via the bus/subway...i'm considering looking for my apartment up in that area where there's a lot of revitalization going on...and to be close to those stores would be amazing!...
work has been very busy and this week flew by...and now it's friday night and we are all at home, sharing our music collections via itunes home share, which is fantastic...not sure what the rest of the weekend has in store...i'm thinking of maybe going to a movie...
hoping to get the book i ordered in the mail for the book club that i joined...we meet in a couple weeks and i need to be prepared to discuss and make friends...
emily is coming up for a visit in a couple weekends so we've been making plans of things to do while she's here...a broadway show is definitely on the list!
and that's it for this post...stay tuned for more updates as we get into the thick of summer...hoping to find lots of things to do!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
change in commute...
so i decided to switch it up and take the bus into work the last couple days instead of the subway...the warmer weather has me wanting to shorten the 'walking' portion of the commute and i've got about a 10 minute walk to the train from the apartment and then the rest is a breeze...however if i take the bus, i catch it just a few hundred feet from the apartment building entrance, and it's a quiet, comfortable ride where you can actually see your surroundings...
we go up 57th street to where it crosses the infamous 5th avenue...then i transfer at 56th and 5th to the bus that drops me off at 42nd and 5th and i walk a long block to the office on 42nd and madison...it's an enjoyable ride and it breaks up the walk a bit...
i didn't plan right yesterday and i got down to the bus stop too late so i hit more of rush hour traffic and it took longer than doing the train...today however, i made sure to leave earlier and it actually took the same amount of time it would had i taken the train...
and today i saw a couple interesting things...when walking up 5th to my transfer bus i walked right though a group of people filming something...not sure what it was and i didn't recognize anyone to be famous but i think i walked by some extras, because i saw several people dressed in clothes/hats from the 60's that looked a little out of place...then on my 2nd bus, we drove by one of the double decker bus sightseeing tours, which was filled on the top open level of several beautiful women wearing pageant sashes...after a little research, i think it may have been miss USA contestants doing a NYC media tour...
and this was all before 8am!
on a side note, yesterday after work i met my cousin down near the flatiron building and we went to this rooftop restaurant/bar/hangout that you would never know existed, unless you knew about it :)...it's the biggest outdoor lounge i've ever seen, with a rubber floor, seating, huge cabana type umbrellas, topiaries in the shape of animals, and a killer view with the centerpiece being the empire state building...it was definitely a great way to wind down after work and enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having...
that's it for now...stay tuned for hopefully more after this upcoming holiday weekend!
we go up 57th street to where it crosses the infamous 5th avenue...then i transfer at 56th and 5th to the bus that drops me off at 42nd and 5th and i walk a long block to the office on 42nd and madison...it's an enjoyable ride and it breaks up the walk a bit...
i didn't plan right yesterday and i got down to the bus stop too late so i hit more of rush hour traffic and it took longer than doing the train...today however, i made sure to leave earlier and it actually took the same amount of time it would had i taken the train...
and today i saw a couple interesting things...when walking up 5th to my transfer bus i walked right though a group of people filming something...not sure what it was and i didn't recognize anyone to be famous but i think i walked by some extras, because i saw several people dressed in clothes/hats from the 60's that looked a little out of place...then on my 2nd bus, we drove by one of the double decker bus sightseeing tours, which was filled on the top open level of several beautiful women wearing pageant sashes...after a little research, i think it may have been miss USA contestants doing a NYC media tour...
and this was all before 8am!
on a side note, yesterday after work i met my cousin down near the flatiron building and we went to this rooftop restaurant/bar/hangout that you would never know existed, unless you knew about it :)...it's the biggest outdoor lounge i've ever seen, with a rubber floor, seating, huge cabana type umbrellas, topiaries in the shape of animals, and a killer view with the centerpiece being the empire state building...it was definitely a great way to wind down after work and enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having...
that's it for now...stay tuned for hopefully more after this upcoming holiday weekend!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
long overdue...
i've been meaning to get on and post again the last few days but i spent my weekend with the worst cold i've had in a long time...and i'm finally starting to feel better now...
needless to say, being sick messed up my plans for last weekend...i had planned to go to central park, do a little shopping at some good shopping destinations, etc...while i didn't feel up to that, i did venture out to the nearest movie theater to see 'something borrowed'...i have been reading the book for a few weeks now and finally finished it last saturday...so perfect timing to go see the movie...
while the book ended up being much better than the movie in my opinion, the movie was still cute...and filmed in NYC of course!....let me tell you...it's definitely surreal to be sitting in a theater in NYC watching a movie filmed there!...i always thought it was cool when i would see cincinnati in a film or on tv but it felt even cooler to see my new home on the big screen :)
so now that it's nearing the weekend once again, i might try to stick with some of my original plans...need to find some good walking shoes for the commute and if the weather is nice, i want to spend some time walking around in central park...and i'm sure i can come up with other things to do as well...
got any suggestions for me? :)
oh and last week i did my first online grocery order, delivered right to my doorstep...how cool is that?!
needless to say, being sick messed up my plans for last weekend...i had planned to go to central park, do a little shopping at some good shopping destinations, etc...while i didn't feel up to that, i did venture out to the nearest movie theater to see 'something borrowed'...i have been reading the book for a few weeks now and finally finished it last saturday...so perfect timing to go see the movie...
while the book ended up being much better than the movie in my opinion, the movie was still cute...and filmed in NYC of course!....let me tell you...it's definitely surreal to be sitting in a theater in NYC watching a movie filmed there!...i always thought it was cool when i would see cincinnati in a film or on tv but it felt even cooler to see my new home on the big screen :)
so now that it's nearing the weekend once again, i might try to stick with some of my original plans...need to find some good walking shoes for the commute and if the weather is nice, i want to spend some time walking around in central park...and i'm sure i can come up with other things to do as well...
got any suggestions for me? :)
oh and last week i did my first online grocery order, delivered right to my doorstep...how cool is that?!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
first day of work in the big apple...
so i survived my first day of work in manhattan...the commute wasn't too bad, thanks to my great location on the upper west side and short walk to the subway...i made my transfer at times square to end up in grand central, just a few steps away from the office...
everytime i'm in grand central station, i'm amazed...there are so many people walking in all different directions, and god forbid you try to stand there and figure out which way you're supposed to be going or else you'll get mowed over...i just think of all the movies that have been filmed there, and even then, you see the mass of people going to and fro in the background...it's just unreal...and then of course you go by all the little shops and bakeries that are setup..and the smells are divine...i am going to be so tempted to stop there every once in awhile on my way in to the office...
my desk was all set up and ready for me when i got here...and i mean organized, to the T...along with a welcome card and flowers...it was such a welcoming sight...it helps that i've been to the office before so things looked familiar...and the best part is that i was able to sit down and get right to it...no 'learning the ropes' or shadowing someone...
i'm SO grateful to work for a company that's letting me branch out and try a new way of life...i really have the ideal situation and i am going to take full advantage of it...
when i got home from work yesterday, i was overwhelmed with thoughts of all the things i could be doing...i'm excited for the weekend when i'll have time to go out and explore...i'm thinking central park if the weather is nice...and hopefully some good food...the possibilities are endless! :)
everytime i'm in grand central station, i'm amazed...there are so many people walking in all different directions, and god forbid you try to stand there and figure out which way you're supposed to be going or else you'll get mowed over...i just think of all the movies that have been filmed there, and even then, you see the mass of people going to and fro in the background...it's just unreal...and then of course you go by all the little shops and bakeries that are setup..and the smells are divine...i am going to be so tempted to stop there every once in awhile on my way in to the office...
my desk was all set up and ready for me when i got here...and i mean organized, to the T...along with a welcome card and flowers...it was such a welcoming sight...it helps that i've been to the office before so things looked familiar...and the best part is that i was able to sit down and get right to it...no 'learning the ropes' or shadowing someone...
i'm SO grateful to work for a company that's letting me branch out and try a new way of life...i really have the ideal situation and i am going to take full advantage of it...
when i got home from work yesterday, i was overwhelmed with thoughts of all the things i could be doing...i'm excited for the weekend when i'll have time to go out and explore...i'm thinking central park if the weather is nice...and hopefully some good food...the possibilities are endless! :)
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