Champagne & Cupcakes

As you may have guessed from the title, I turned 21 this weekend! Although my tentative plans changed a little thanks to New York recently passing a bill allowing same-sex marriage (go New York by the way!), I did manage to gather a few good friends (both old and new) for both margaritas to ring in my 21st Friday then a New York style brunch Saturday. Friday, by the way, was fantastic - even if it was a long work week, the week ended on a high note when my co-workers surprised me with Sprinkles cupcakes. If you go, get the red velvet. Waking up for Saturday was a bit of a challenge, but the idea of bottomless mimosas kept my companions and I motivated. And yes, when they say bottomless mimosas, they do mean it. The server ended up just bringing pictures to my cozy party of 10. The venue, Aspen Social Club, was absolutely beautiful with it's decorations transferring us from the midst of a heated city to a ski resort lounge. The fact that I also chose to do brunch on my actual birthday, Saturday, meant that my party practically had the whole place to ourselves. I was just happy to get everyone together for animated conversation, saturnalian laughter and absolutely lust-worthy breakfast food. Goodies from Crumbs Bake Shop devoured shamelessly in Bryant Park followed then later that night (after a frat nap, of course) we headed out on the town.
To sum up the weekend, to be 21 in this city has to be one of the best possible feelings I've ever experience. Just by unlocking this long-awaited age, a new door of possibilities and places to explore opens us. I know my NYC bucket list just got longer. Also, 72 hours feasting on cupcakes and booze is never a good idea for anyone's diet, but it definitely was worth the experience.

Easy Come, Easy Go

Easy does it.

Mondays are always rough to get into, especially after two days of sleeping in, no responsibilities and utter freedom. The fact that my weekend was more sedated (with the exception of a night out in the West Village Friday) than usual, made it even tougher to get out of bed this morning.
However, highlights of the weekend: discovering Magnolia Bakery is open until 1 a.m., 30 Rock marathons with my roommates, fried Oreos at the Seventh Heaven Street Fair Sunday, wandering around my beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood..the list could go on and on.
My favorite activity of the weekend was actually something as trivial as finding a new grocery market just a few blocks from my apartment. In addition to offering beautiful produce and homemade spinach fettuccine (which I indulged in for dinner tonight), they offered imported food (packaged crepes for instance), unusual beers the size of wine bottles (I'm planning on trying all of them this summer) and expensive cheese cut up in tiny, manageable morsels for sampling.
I guess since I've been so use to the ordinary offerings of Publix super markets for over 20 years of my life that frivolous matters such as this excited me (you should've seen me at Trader Joe's for the first time). I'll admit, I'm becoming more and more of a foodie each day I spend in this city, and I can't say it's a bad thing. After all, The endless lists of recipes I keep have to be made someday.

Midnight in New York

New York, I love you.

Another wonderful day interning made even more wonderful with a late afternoon surprise from the Sweetery Truck. Pumpkin whoopie pies and iced coffee (I'm learning to appreciate to coffee, finally) were my poison, and kept me awake during the brief happy hour that followed work. I just made meeting my roommates to see 'Midnight In Paris,' Woody Allen's latest film. I found I was actually fond of Owen Wilson playing the protagonist (his notable charm translated well) and Marion Cotillard was stunning. I might be a little biased seeing as I'm in love with the idea of walking the streets of Paris(in the rain, yes, just as Wilson's disenchanted character enjoys), but I took some pleasure in seeing some of the golden age's literary and artistic legends come to life. It certainly made me excited for the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor's Island - think a day of indulgence, booze, jazz, picnicking and lavish costumes - which I'm hoping to go to in a few weeks. But if you're an English major or have any interest in art/film/literature, please see it. Seriously, why don't I study literature? Side note: Must visit Paris. Immediately.

Afterwards, we dared to indulge in some local street food, another truck, in fact. It was the kind of place where they only served Mexican beer and for $3 you could purchase a taco stuffed to the point where the whole spicy concoction was bigger than your face. Needless to say, we made out well and couldn't help but devour our meals between light-hearted smiles on the breezy walk home. It might've not have been midnight, or Paris, but in my eyes it was just as lovely.

One Fine Day

Dreary, dreary day in the City. Lucky for me, my newly returned roommate and I discovered a way to pass the time: wandering around the Village in pursuit of bohemian charm and colorful confections.
Armed with our rain boots, we uncovered street after street of petite coffee shops and bakeries whose charming storefronts made it impossible for us not to explore. We ended up giving in to Magnolia Bakery and indulging in the red velvet cheesecake and banana cake, despite our original plans of purchasing banana pudding (which Magnolia Bakery is actually known for, sorry SATC fans). I couldn't help but take a candid picture of the red velvet delight (as you can see) and carelessly indulge in it at the nearby park. Feel free to judge.
Tomorrow's plan? Scavenging for bangles in SoHo and then margaritas for the Heat vs. Mavericks game in Brooklyn. Did I mention I love New York?

Out of the Frying Pan

Whoever said that 'stylish women must always consider the weather,' is absolutely right. New York City is currently experiencing a heat wave, and not only does that mean dressing appropriately for the crowded, sweltering subway cars, but for the (hopefully) air-conditioned offices too. I myself am making a mental note to always keep a neutral sweater or blazer plus umbrella (you'll find out why soon) under my desk at work.
I luckily bypassed the worst of bad weather today (thank you, huge amounts of work) when I decided to hastily venture out of my PR office's building to grab a taco, but coming out later on, it was as if the city was deciding whether it should just stick to the heat wave, or switch to monsoon. Unfortunately, it chose the latter. While it was an ill-fated way to end the day for those without umbrellas, it forced some of my new friends and me to quickly pick a spot to eat in the West Village. Originally having traveled to that neighborhood in search of the third annual Slice Out Hunger $1 pizza night, we reached Amity Hall and found out that the pizza prepared had only lasted one hour when confronted with hungry New Yorkers. One hour. Unbelievable. Keep in mind, multiple pizza places (including the Grimaldi's Pizzeria from Brooklyn which I've been dying to try because I've heard it's simply the best) were providing the pizza, plus it was originally supposed to last until 10p.m. Luckily it worked out that we grabbed margherita pizzas a few blocks down at Olio Pizza e Più (although it was far from a bargain) leaving everyone feeling well-fed and happy. I'm excited for more spontaneous nights this summer. However, I do have a few goals for this weekend: writing, laundry, a champagne brunch, seeing Woody Allen's 'Midnight In Paris,' laundry, reading and hopefully a concert at the Brooklyn Waterfront.


*On another note, I'm sorry I haven't been able to catch you up on my past week (i.e. my first day, my unforgettable experience at the notorious rooftop bar at the Empire Hotel, the Veuve Clicquot's Polo Classic on Governor's island) or talk about the CFDA Awards - go Prabal Gurung - but I'll hopefully do some catching up this weekend.