a city summer

there are many things worlds different about the city & the south. the way people speak, look, dress, eat, drink, play, work. all of it. if i was home for a summer saturday right now, i'd most likely be barefoot in the sand somewhere. because going barefoot in the city is somewhat of a health threat, our saturday here was spent walking {all.day.every.day} up & down the waverly place street festival.

but, some things are a summer-time classic wherever you go.

watermelon on a hot day is one of them.

after a voyage to the whole foods store {located in east egypt, ny}, dinner was home-made pizza margherita. whole wheat dough+fresh tomatos, basil & mozzarella. that plus a 6-pack of bud light lime & blue moon, tastes like summer!

memorial day was spent along the hudson again, but this time in the harbour. seeing the boats full sail on the choppy water was another reminder of home.

from moma to rocco.

another perfect day in the city. a morning walk along the hudson, a hot cup of coffee & a free ticket to the m.o.m.a {museum of modern art}. we saw old friends, like picasso & van gough. de kooning & miro. frieda & matisse. oh, also rothko & pollock. just a typical day in the museum neighborhood.

the women in photography exhibit was recommended by our teacher,

so we checked that out as well.

and discovered the lady in one of my new favorite paintings.

{frantisek kupka, mme kupka among verticals. oil on canvas 1910}

after a 2.5 hour feast for the eyes, we moved onto a feast for our tummys.

sushi was just what the doctor ordered for dinner & dessert was even healthier, obviously.

another decadent dessert haven on bleecker street, pasticceria rocco plays no games when it comes to sweets. their entire menu is sugar-coated. cookies, cupcakes, biscotti, macaroons, tirimisu & other italian desserts i'd never even heard of {shocking, i know}.

so naturally when in uncharted dessert territory, i had to be adventurous.

my choice: suspiro, an italian sponge cake soaked in rum, stuffed with bavarian chocolate & topped with chocolate ganache & sprinkles.

is your mouth watering yet?

a healthy dose of water

growing up surrounded by water has spoiled me for life. i absolutely hate being land-locked for too long. i have yet to be homesick in new york, but i do miss the salt water.

today we took a walk along the hudson river. the water didn't exactly hide traces of the city {trash/pollution/unidentified goop/etc.} but it certainly took the edge off of living in a concrete jungle.

just the sound of the waves & the breeze was enough to bring me back home.


a free, fresh ginger lemonade didn't hurt either.

just some pups trying to soak up some shade in the 90 degree heat.

little mary taking a breather & trying to get a touch of color.

a lovely combination of water & city.

the always delightful, dean & deluca.

"strange fruit": billie holiday

a great way to start a new week? hot coffee, strolling down broadway & a quick trip in dean & deluca. ever since my first visit to this upscale grocery in d.c. i've been obsessed. i could live in a dean & deluca & quite possibly be the happiest person in the world.

fresh flowers & veggies, endless shelves of cheese & a bakery that makes betty crocker look like a cave woman. dean & deluca is the holy grail of grocery shopping.

the soft echo of old jazz music & the smell of freshly baked bread is enticing enough to make me want to stay here forver.

a little humor is always appreciated, especially in the form of sugar cookies.

safe to say, we will be coming back for seconds {& thirds, fourths, fifths...} here.

walking wonders.

"english girls approximately": ryan adams

waking up to the sounds of the rumbling city outside my window have been quite the effective alarm clock to make me actually want to start the day. however, this weekend was used to catch up on lack of sleep & to give my feet ample time to recover from the day's many long walks.

we walk everywhere.

{and occasionally sit on rocks}

up 5th avenue, through central park, getting lost in soho, wandering around looking at restaurants, oogling pretty window boxes & dreaming about future apartments on 10th street.

which is why we tend to excuse our meals at the end of the day.

for instance, this 1/2 pound burger from the coffee shop in union square.

rumor has it, the coffee shop is notorious for hiring gazelle-like models to trapse around serving food & looking fabulously thin. rumor also has it that eating a 1/2 pound cheeseburger in front of a starving model is the best tongue-in-cheek revenge an average girl can get.

after a nearly 5 mile walk around town today, i'd say we earned a 1/2 pound burger with a side of fries & sly revenge. after full tummys & blistered feet, we also justified a $5 cab ride home.

well deserved.

sex & the greatest city.

after years of seeing new york city through the strappy stilettos of ms. carrie bradshaw, yesterday we experienced NY bradshaw-style, first hand {minus the manolos}. our 3.5 hour, sex & the city themed tour departed from central park & ended a few cosmos later in bryant park.

our day practically revolved around fabulous people, starting with these huge celebrity prints outside the oak room at the plaza hotel.

jackie o, the beatles, bridget bardot, marilyn monroe.

our first pit-stop: the pleasure chest, home of the rabbit {charlotte's notorious play toy in season one}. i was extremely surprised at how many middle-aged women walked out with bags in hand!

next field trip: buddakan

the restaurant where the big/bradshaw rehearsal dinner took place. more importantly, the scene of "the laaaast single girl kiss" before big screwed it all up.

round 3: magnolia bakery. these cupcakes could probably cure cancer {which is why we just had to go back for seconds, of course}

heaven on bleecker street.

tile door outside of the bakery. our cupcakes were reserved, but the line is usually an hour long & there's even a cupcake bouncer. a small price to pay for 45 seconds of pure bliss.

beautiful day in the neighborhood.

"lisztomania": phoenix

day 5 in the city. last night, mary & i ventured to chelsea for a stand-up comedy show at the upright citizens brigade theatre. for $5 we got to watch an hour of completely improvised funny business staring some guy from "30 rock" & a woman from conan o'brien.

walking from washington square to chelsea in heels, however, was nothing funny. lesson learned. i've also never seen so much pabst blue ribbon in my life.


in class, we developed our first role of film. shocker, mine had a few blips of negatives with no pictures {must have been distracted by our donald trumph sighting}

we also managed to make a some new friends, even getting invited to a birthday party/picnic along the hudson river on tuesday. of course, i volunteered to bring something baked {even if this means spending an afternoon in our meth lab of a basement kitchen}.

after class, mary decided that she just couldn't go another day without purchasing the most adorable, high-waisted shorts from urban outfitters. BORROW PLEASE!

while attempting to resist the turqoise romper i'd fallen in love with, i decided to thumb through a few of the books by the cash register. "young, broke & beautiful: a guide to new york" provided this ironic excerpt from its bar-hopping section. {read closely} a special shout-out to all my uga girls.

later we walked towards the next new york site i've been wanting to see since we've been here, the flatiron building.

another lovely thing about this place {i think i'm starting to sound redundant}: walking around aimlessly is never really just walking around aimlessly.

when we finally arrived in the flatiron district, we also realized we'd stumbled upon madison square park & all of it's blooming greenery.

while taking a quick breather, mary found $20 on a park bench. oh, happy day.

click, click, click, FLASH

after the torrential downpour, wind & chill that was yesterday, i've come to realize that a southern girl packing for new york city is like a blind person trying to paint the mona lisa. it just ain't gonna happen right. no rainboots, no tennis shoes, no jackets, no sweaters. people walking down the street are still sporting scarves, leather boots & tights in late may.

this is how i know i stand out in a yankee crowd.

this is also the reason that when i found a taupe "leather" jacket in urban outfitters for $20, i had to rationalize my purchase.

song in my head ALL day: "click, flash" by ciara. {SO cliche, but it's catchy & appropriate}

after a short retail distraction, we ventured uptown looking for the new york public library. our mission for the day: use an entire roll of film for class tomorrow. hard life we lead, taking photographs around new york city for class, right?

oddly enough, one of the most gratifying sounds is the click of one of the heavy nikon cameras we have to use.

subway mosaics inside of the 5th ave. & 42nd st. stop


shopping on 5th=tempation central.


um, outside bryant park. {only the place where NY fashion week happens}

and with my spiffy camera.

adorable little boy playing in the bryant park fountain.

{just another example of my fascination with small children}

the park was so beautiful we decided to stay for a quick lunch.

bryant park grill.

mary's fried egg sandwich from wichcraft .

one of the best things about the city? it changes everyday. no two days are exactly the same. like the street art in washington square park we stumbled upon on our way home. this eccentric design is going to cover more than 15 feet & is made entirely out of colored sand. crazy stuff.