New York, FL?

Week two...

Well, my work week is officially over and another week has flown by.  Since the last time I updated you lovely people, I had made it through my first week as a NY resident just fine, but I still wasn't anywhere close to becoming a local (thanks to my lack of ability to retain any sort of direction--a death wish for anyone using the subway).  Surprise, surprise a week later I'm still nowhere close to achieving this goal, however I am getting better!  Hopefully it won't take me 10 more weeks to actually get the hang of life around here.  That might be about 10 weeks too late :/

Last Friday, my roommate Kaitlin and I met up with another intern from her work and made our way to the South Street Seaport in the financial district.  When I have always pictured the financial district, I think of thousands of silly men in suits walking against a backdrop of endless concrete and buildings.  But, oh how wrong I have been for so long!  The financial district turns out to be a little tropical paradise and definitely a place I could serving as a temporary getaway from the craziness of life in the city.  Along the seaport, there are tons of cute restaurants and shops that embody an island feel.  We decided to eat at a quaint restaurant right on the water and enjoy a few tropical frozen drinks :)  Then, a few other friends showed up and we moved our party up a few blocks to another cute restaurant (with some fancy name I will never be able to pronounce).  The unlimited places to eat and hang out is one thing I will definitely miss when I go back to Starkville!

On Saturday, the rooms and I made our way uptown to the Upper East Side to eat brunch at Serendipity 3.  Kaitlin made the mistake of telling me that she had never seen the movie "Serendipity" (which is an ultimate favorite of mine), so she was forced to listen to me rant all about it for the entirety of our wait.  It must not have been too painful though because she definitely wants to see it now!  After we left Serendipity, we took our time strolling from store to store (which is not such a leisurely activity for my checkbook) and it turned out to be quite a relaxing day.  That night, to celebrate the 21 years that I have been on this earth and a giant milestone that I have finally (and I mean FINALLY) reached, we all went to this place called the Cellar Bar.  It was trendy bar underground, and a perfect location to kick start my birthday!  The next morning, Kait and I had brunch at The Standard Grill, a restaurant at the bottom of the Standard Hotel that is known for feeding many celebrities.  We didn't see anyone famous, but there may have been a few local celebs judging on how glamorous everyone looked!  Even the street crossing guard was decked out in designer duds...This city never ceases to surprise me.  After brunch, we walked the mile back to our dorm along this strip called the High Line.  It's a raised walkway that extends over most of Manhattan's West Side.  It used to be an old railroad back in the day, but it now serves as a local hang out spot, equipped with lounge chairs and nice grassy areas that people use to layout.  It also gives you an incredible view of the city!  I encourage anyone who visits NYC to check it out!

I have figured out that there is simply no way to make these posts anything less than a novel's length.  So, I will try to update more often, maybe making them a little less unbearable :)  We're off to try out this free yoga class we found in central park...we will see just what they mean by "free" in this city! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Lindsay

New York, New York

Week One...

I have been a New York resident for exactly one week now and am loving every minute of it!  After tearful goodbyes to my dad and brother and several hours worth of layovers, my momma and I finally made our grand entrance into the Big Apple and just in time to grab a quick lunch and begin moving my stuff into what I will call my home for the next 2 months.  This summer, I'm living at the Fashion Institute of Technology in a dorm style apartment (I just can't seem to get away from the dorm style living) with two wonderful and fabulous roommates, who welcomed me with a sweet note since they were both at work when I got there! (Thanks Kaitlin and Vanessa for making me feel so special :))  After we unpacked my stuff, we headed towards my mom's hotel to get ready for the night.  On the way back my mom got to experience her first little taste of the hustle and bustle of the city.  Everyone around here walks (actually it's more like a light sprint) like they are on a mission and they don't mind running you over if you're standing in their way.  While the elbow nudging and tiny shoves can be quite irritating, I actually enjoy how fast paced it is! (My momma might have another opinion on that ;)).  All of this speed walking may keep from having to ever step foot in a gym and I am totes ok with that!

So, after sprint-walking 2 miles out of the way (thanks for nothing iPhone map), we finally made it to our hotel...in the heart of Koreatown!  What a surprise that was for us!  To paint a mental picture for you, our hotel was squished in between the Seoul Garden and miss Korea bbq (not sure this is the same kind of bbq we have in Memphis).  However, this hotel turned out to be quite the little charmer.  It had the most adorable rooftop bar that provided us with the best view of the Empire State building!  I must say we really enjoyed our little Korean accommodation this week!  After we enjoyed some chardonnay on the roof, we got ready and went to Dos Caminos for our favorite type of food...Mexican!  And, boy did we get our fix at this place.  The guacamole was made fresh just for your table, and we had no trouble at all finishing the entire bowl (oops!).  We also split the shrimp quesadilla (which looked more like a shrimp pizza) and we may or may not have finished that off as well :)  Full and happy, we explored the streets and made our way to Times Square.  It was more crowded than usual that night and we were curious as to what was going on so I decided to ask a sweet couple standing in front of us about it.  But it turned out that they didn't speak English at all, so through a series of terrible sign language on my part and a little game of charades, I finally figured out the reason for the huge crowd was because the President himself was in town!  That was pretty cool even though the only sight of him we got to see was through his tinted and bullet proof escalade!  After the fatigue of our busy day started to set in, we headed back to our hotel to rest up for the adventures we had planned for the next couple of days!

We had all of Tuesday to explore the city and be the ultimate tourists before I had to start work the next day.  We visited the Rockefeller center, took a stroll down 5th avenue, ate macaroons at the bottom of the plaza, walked through central park, ate burgers and shakes at the Shake Shack, bought Broadway tickets, toured Greenwich Village (the area where I work and really close to NYU), fought all the chaos in the biggest Bed, Bath and Beyond I have ever seen, ate dinner at Heartland Brewery, and finally walked our aching feet back to the hotel to get some sleep. 

Wednesday was my first day of work!  I was so nervous and left at least an hour early to ensure that I had plenty of time to get there.  And, it definitely didn't take an hour to commute so of course I was the first one there (and I may have even been the first one in the building).  So, I greeted everyone as they came in and was officially THAT girl who didn't get the memo that everyone in the fashion industry is always fashionably late.  You live and you learn right.  My first day was everything I had hoped for and more, and I know that this opportunity will prove to be such a great learning experience!  I can't wait for the days that await me in this fabulous job :)  After work, my mom met me at the subway so we could go see Once, a musical on Broadway right now.  We ate at Juniors, a Brooklyn style restaurant that is known for their incredible desserts!  Of course, we had to see what all this talk was about their treats so we split a towering strawberry shortcake that blew every other dessert we had eaten that week out of the water.  It was simple incredible.  Full and happy (again), we went to the theatre for an incredible performance by some very talented (and might I add attractive ;)) actors and actresses.  The night was made even more memorable when I got the chance to meet the main actor, Steve Kazee after the performance! (he had everything going for him...good looks and some insane vocal talent!)  Now if only he would marry me...I guess I have 2 and half months to work on that one!  

Thursday morning my mom left and I definitely felt like a little piece of me left with her.  I cherished all of the precious memories I made with her this week, and I will definitely miss her and my dad and brother this summer.  But, if this week is any indication to this summer then 2 and half months is going to fly by.  Time seems to be going the same fast pace as this city and I wish it would slow down!

Anyways, this post has already surpassed the length to hold anyone's attention, so if you are still reading, my hope is that this blog will help me update the people I love about all of the experiences I have this summer!  I can't wait to share this experience with anyone who wants to hear!  

Until next time...

Lindsay