adventures in the city

3rd Jun 2012

gah sorry it’s been forever since my last post. things have been so busy lately; between assemblies at school, hanging out with my friends, and going into the city, i’ve barely had any time to sit down and work on my blog! unfortunately, ISP is officially over for me as of friday. this past month has honestly been one of the best of my life. being able to explore and navigate the city has been such an amazing experience, in addition to interning at one of the top fashion magazines in the world. i learned so much, not only at Elle, but also just by being forced to find my way around the city. when i was coming back on the train on friday, i found myself wishing that ISP could go on longer. i’m really going to miss finding random cute places to eat for lunch and just walking around by myself. obviously i’ll miss the internship itself, which was definitely one of the coolest and most fun things i’ve ever done.

before i arrived at the office on friday, i stopped by the macaron café on west 36th street to pick up a box of macarons for stephanie. i didn’t actually know if she liked them, but i figured- who doesn’t like macarons? (and i was right) my last day was spent at the elle office, located at hearst tower on west 57th street (right below columbus circle). elle is actually only one of many magazines that is a part of hearst corporation, and they are all located in this one building. the actual elle office is pretty cool; there are some offices, but most people have a designated area that is similar to a cubicle. just being at the office gave me so much inspiration for my own wardrobe. everyone is so high fashion and put together— i love it. anyways, on friday i got to help stephanie pull some references for ideas for the cover of the september issue, and then deliver them to creative director joe zee’s penthouse!! since it was the last day before the weekend there wasn’t much for me to do, so i got out pretty early. after walking around columbus circle for a bit, i decided to walk to penn station instead of taking the subway.

24th May 2012

cupcakes from magnolia bakery

24th May 2012

yesterday was a pretty relaxing day. fortunately it didn’t rain, and although it was a bit humid, for the most part it was a nice, sunny day. the first stop of the day was the new york public library on fifth ave. i’ve actually never been inside, and i was blown away by how amazing/huge it is. i really could’ve spent hours just exploring the entire building and the various rare book collections. if i ever live in the city, the new york public library will be my go to study/reading spot.

bryant part, the next location, is right behind the new york public library. it was really beautiful and relaxing, and i found myself envying the people who were just laying out with a good book on the lawn. i picked up one of the park’s brochures as well and was surprised to discover how much goes on at the park! there are so many free classes that are offered like yoga, fencing, and language, but what i am particularly interested in is a summer movie series that will take place every monday night on the lawn.

later on we headed downtown to the west village and had lunch at a cute bakery/cafe called ‘snice. i had a really good thai salad and an oatmeal raisin cookie. my day ended pretty early so i did some window shopping in the general area and then walked over to bleecker street to meet some of my other friends who are in the city for their ISPs as well. we ended up getting dinner at kumo sushi on bleecker street and hung out in the city for a while after. sorry this blog post is kind of short/boring..i’m starting to get lazy…i promise my next one will be better!

22nd May 2012

miss lily’s restaurant in soho

21st May 2012

today was a wonderful, yet exhausting day. unfortunately it was raining practically all day, which definitely didn’t help my energy level or enthusiasm for running errands. luckily i did bring an umbrella, but i stupidly wore ballet flats thinking that it was only going to be drizzling…what i would’ve done to have my hunters.

i got to go to another photoshoot today(!!!). we started off at the model’s apartment in brooklyn, which i absolutely fell in love with. not only was it spacious and roomy, with ceiling to floor windows in the kitchen/living area, but it was also decorated in a cool, eccentric style that felt very much like new york. the apartment is where the most “prep” work took place for the shoot. the stylists unpacked/laid out all of the clothing, shoes, and accessories to create outfits from, and the makeup and hair artists did most of their work then. as always, every single look the stylists pulled was amazing. i especially fell in love with a pair of isabel maurant heels which i have a picture of above! they were absolutely beautiful. honestly, just being in the presence of such amazing, expensive clothes was a bit overwhelming, particularly when i was responsible for helping carry/pack them. i got the lucky task of getting everyone’s coffee in the pouring rain. it was a classic “devil wears prada” moment for me (minus the psycho bitch boss). i actually think i would’ve enjoyed it except for the fact that i had to balance two trays of drinks while attempting to hold an umbrella over my head. nevertheless, it was an experience.

after brooklyn we headed to an office on west houston street in soho. we also grabbed lunch next door at a restaurant called miss lily’s, which is supposedly known for its jerk chicken. it had a really vintage, laid-back vibe to it, but i personally didn’t think the food was anything extraordinary.

our last location of the day was the w hotel on washington ave. we shot in the bar on the fifth floor; the design of it was pretty amazing. i’m horrible at describing things, but i do have a picture of it! the day ended around 6 and then i met up with my friend hannah who is also in the city for her ISP. we grabbed thai at a cute little place in the west village called pinto. it was really reasonable, the atmosphere was nice, and the food was so good. overall, a success! in the mood for dessert, we walked around for a bit after and stumbled upon a bakery/cafe called snice. although i only got a carrot cake cupcake, i grabbed a menu and definitely want to go back and try their brie, pear, and arugula sandwich with raspberry mustard!

having been in the city quite often these past few weeks has only made me love it more. each time i go in i become more comfortable being there and find myself visualizing my life there more and more. hopefully i will get to live there during my college summer years and after i graduate. i can only hope…

14th May 2012

central park

13th May 2012

central park carousel

11th May 2012

alice’s tea cup + bendel’s

11th May 2012

today was another perfect day. i can’t express how much i LOVE the city. i’m absolutely dying to pack up and move there right now… suburban life just doesn’t compare at all. i’ve always loved the city, but now that i’m spending so much time there i can’t seem to get enough. the good news is that i’m starting to get the hang of the subways and a better feel for the city and where things are located. although i still wouldn’t be able to get around without my iphone, i definitely feel more comfortable navigating around than i did two days ago. i started off my day by running into molly on the train to penn station, and it was nice to have someone to talk to for 40 minutes rather than listening to my ipod by myself.

i got to go to a bunch of cool places today, and also did some exploring on my own after. the first location of the day was st. patrick’s cathedral. it was beautiful, and reminded me of europe because cathedrals are everywhere there. after we headed to central park, which was ideal with the 70 degree and sunny weather. i don’t think i ever realized how huge central park is until today. i’ve been there plenty of times, but i never grasped how much it has to offer. i literally could spend an entire day in central park and i probably wouldn’t even see everything. there are so many great, open spaces like the lawn and sheep meadow for tanning or passing a frisbee, and there are also all of the playgrounds for little kids and of course, the zoo. all of the paths and benches make it an ideal place for taking a nice walk as well. i also love how you can start at one end of the park on the east side and walk through the park and end up on the west side. the park makes travel so much more scenic and enjoyable, and it provides new yorkers with all of the “green” scenery that they miss out from otherwise. i never realized that you could rent kayaks/boats on one of the ponds, but it is now on my bucket list for nyc!

a few months ago my mom and i were in the city shopping on the upper east side and we discovered alice’s tea cup, an adorable little tea and sandwich café. the whole restaurant is based on alice and wonderland, and all of the locations are decorated in a whimsical sort of fashion. i didn’t have time to have tea today, but i treated myself to a raspberry and chocolate scone, which was delicious. i then walked around/explored, did some window shopping at henri bendel, and called it a day around 6:00.