Tag: Friends

A Summer in Chicago

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So – I guess I get why they say Chicago summers are the best. I moved here at the end of June, life unfolded almost instantly, and here I am, mid-October, feeling perhaps the most settled I’ve felt since my junior year of high school (which was over A DECADE ago, by the way. Where has the time gone?). While saying I don’t miss New York would be a lie, my time in Chicago feels very purposeful on a personal level, and now that I’ve had a chance to get my bearings in this new-to-me city, I’m excited to dive in, do work, and see where I land. All of that, and then also visit New York the first chance I get (see you next weekend, NY pals!).

Since we haven’t caught up in a while (How are YOU? Coffee soon!), here’s a visual peek at some of the things I’ve been up to over the past few months, in my life back in the Midwest.

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Entertaining in the Empire City: Jess’ go-to Guide

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Happy Friday! It’s the last day of the workweek and my the last post for the Entertaining in the Empire City series. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22 excited about both!

Today’s recommendations come from my best friend and roommate, Jess. Background info: I met Jess over a decade ago – participating in a variety show for our hometown theater. I became true friends with Jess when we were hired by Retail-Giant-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to deep clean their store with steel wool and a variety of semi-toxic cleaning products. I stayed friends with her for too many reasons to list. Top of my mind reasons include: Jess can hold a conversation with anyone, she’s never afraid to ask for what she wants, and her Instagram is a carefully curated work of art. She has the voice of Beyoncé, the face of Taylor Swift ;) and she always knows what she wants for dinner. The fact that she selflessly offers sound advice and unconditional support when you need it is just added bonus. (I really just keep her around for her Instagramming abilities).

So last but not least, in her words, here is Jess’ list of her favorite New York spots to show to out-of-town visitors.

Housing Works Bookstore, Soho: This place makes you feel like a hipster Belle in a bookstore paradise with spiral staircases and hundreds of rare, new, and used books. Pair that with a non-fat latte and decent record collection for browsing. Who needs a prince anyway?

UCB Cagematch, Chelsea: It goes without saying that Amy Poehler knows what’s up. Basically everything she touches turns to genius so it’s no surprise her underground improv den is sweaty, rowdy, and a whole lot of fun. I took my dad here for a midnight Cagematch show. He came for the PBRs, but stayed for the impressive fart jokes.

Le Cheile, Washington Heights: This one is just me being selfish. This adorable Irish bar is 2 blocks from my apartment. With its local art, subway tile decor, and locally sourced brews this place gives Brooklyn a run for its money. Oh, and the GIANT grilled cheese is kind of out of this world.

Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights: If you want to blow a tourist’s mind take them to this park. It feels like you’ve been dropped inside a mythical fairy land complete with beautiful flower gardens, tangles of tree branches overhead, and castles filled to the brim with medieval art. Oh, and somehow you’re still in Manhattan.

PUNDERDOME 3000, Gowanus, Brooklyn: Alright, I’ll hand it to Brooklyn for this one. PUNDERDOME is a weirdly wonderful evening once a month where pun aficionados convene in a battle royal of wits. Don’t question it, just go. It’s a pun of fun (get it?!).

 

And that’s a wrap on Entertaining in the Empire City, folks! Anything we missed? Anything you’re dying to check out?

Entertaining in the Empire City: Anela and Mandy’s Favorite Spots

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Day three. You know the drill. These two ladies are one-of-a-kind friends, and both have such unique takes on their favorite spots in the city. I met them both at the same former job (at different times), and even both being ladies of fashion, their tastes couldn’t be more different.

Up first, Anela – who was born and raised in Long Island and bleeds Brooklyn to the tee. She’s lived all over the boroughs, recently traveled to Africa, and finds inspiration everywhere she goes and in everything she does. She’s quirky, fun, and endlessly curious. Here’s what she has to say:

Anela prefaces, “These are my all time favorite places to eat. They really have an old school vibe to them, and are very New York. I’ve gotten to know them well, and I have to say they have stolen my heart. ”

As mentioned previously, my friend Mandy is another one of the fashionistas I surround myself with on the reg. Her Cali roots have instilled her with a sense of adventure and a professional drive that never gives up. For someone who I forced to call me “Princess” for the first three weeks we were acquainted (the same name didn’t vibe well with me off the bat), I’m surprised (and delighted!) that we are as close as we are now. But more so than that, I’m grateful, because I can’t imagine my New York life without her honest, rom-com-y, positive outlook on life. Here’s a few of Mandy’s favorite places she likes to show off to visitors.

Entertaining in the Empire City: According to Mike

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Here is part deux of the series I made up introduced yesterday – Entertaining in the Empire City.

The question: “When you have visitors in NYC, what are the five places (restaurants, bars, etc.) you MUST take them?”

The answerer: my pal Mike, who currently resides in LA. I had the good fortune of befriending Mike a few years ago in between folding heaps of Joe’s Jeans, color-coding sock walls and opening fitting room doors for cheap men price-conscious shoppers at a former job. Simply put, Mike’s the best. I trust his fashion sense tenfold over my own. His sarcasm and wit are constantly on point, and he’s one of the most genuine people I have ever met. Also, I think that it’s a universally accepted truth that you haven’t lived until Mike’s called you a bitch. He uses that word better than anyone I know and it’s hilarious and honest (and warranted) every single time.

Mike’s answers: I should note that he mentioned, “I had a hard time sticking to 5 places.” Here’s what made the cut:

  • The Room, Soho: Chillest bar ever.
  • The Heights Bar & Grill,  Morningside Heights: Cannot miss the happy hour on their rooftop.
  • The Sixth Ward, Lower East Side: $20 for brunch with unlimited mimosas.
  • Raines Law Room, Union Square: Really cool speakeasy. Visitors die over this place because they feel like they’re part of some exclusive New York lifestyle. *eye roll*
  • Veselka, East Village: Pierogi all day every day. OMG AND MINDY KALING LOVES IT TOO.*
  • Koronet Pizza, Morningside Heights: I don’t care what anyone says; this is the best NYC pizza place.
  • Spice (Multiple Locations): Delicious Thai food, and they’re all over Manhattan.
  • Obviously Shake Shack (Multiple locations): I love taking west coasters here.  They’ll never admit it’s better than In-N-Out, but they’ll know it’s true. Just like they won’t admit Disney World is better than Disneyland. “You just can’t compare the two,” they say.  YEAH, BECAUSE DISNEY WORLD IS THAT MUCH BETTER.

*see Mindy Kaling’s Instagram for further information.

Entertaining in the Empire City: a la Allison

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Do you live in a big city and find yourself desperate and unsure of what to do when you have to get to entertain visitors? I suppose you really don’t have to live in a big city to warrant that problem. But alas, a problem it is for many, if the random sampling I took of my friends holds true to the population at large.

Truth is, although I’ve been neglecting to update my audience here, I do tend to find myself occupied most weeknights and many weekends of the year — like you too, I am sure. But whenever I have guests coming that ask me to plan a fun weekend, my mind draws blank. My weekends in distant memory are suddenly painted in cherry red Netflix, my favorite coffee shop morphs into a Starbucks and the only activities that come to mind are Time Square, the Statue of Liberty and Central Park. Like most city-dwellers, none of that generally occupies my daily life. Point is — I always struggle to come up with cute, quaint, and not mega tourist-heavy spots for my house-guests.

I wanted to curate a no-fail list of amazing restaurants, activities et al to entertain weekend visitors, if you too happen to live in the city and face this problem. However – what do I know? A lot of my weekends DO consist of Netflix. So I did what any other girl would have done – I got by with a little help from my friends. And since I have many wonderful people in my life who volunteered to help a girl out, I decided to make this into a series.

Each of these fine New York loving pals took their own unique twist on answering my question, and their picks highlighted their own experience in the city and personality to a fault. So without further ado, I begin the first entry in my Entertaining in the Empire City series.

I’ve known Allison literally since the day I moved to New York. Unbeknownst to us both at that time, we later lived with each other for about a year, and even now we still remain close since her exciting relocation to Chicago a few months back. To paint you a little picture, Allison is what you’d get if you blended Carrie Bradshaw and Elizabeth Warren in a mixer, heated in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees, and then iced that to look like Jackie O. She’s powerful, classy, and unapologetically herself 24/7. It’s no surprise that her favorite New York haunts are riddled with those vibes as well. In her words, here’s her favorite locales to entertain guests:

Dive Bar: Fourfaced Liar, West Village: Best place to meet the real New Yorkers who have lived in Greenwich Village for over 30 + years, who might have a drinking problem — but that only adds to its charm.  Ironically has the best bloody mary in Manhattan (made by John the bartender).

Mob-vibe Italian: Volare, Greenwich Village: If you are under 35 you will be easily the youngest person there.  Even if you don’t eat here, go in and have a Negroni to experience the place.  In a city where restaurants open and close all the time, Volare has been a West Village staple for ages and you feel like you’ve entered a time warp when you walk in.

Wasted Happy Hour: Pazza Notte, Midtown West: Best bang for your buck happy hour.  2 for 1 Martinis all night, 7 days a week.  Pizza, Risotto, and truffle fries (they LOVE their truffle oil here) are amazing and are the perfect foods to keep your hangover at bay.

Best View: Per Se, Hell’s Kitchen: I literally take friends and family who are visiting here because I do not want to wait in line or be part of the Empire Hotel rooftop scene. Outstanding ambiance and you can always get a seat and enjoy a martini which are great here.  They usually have a DJ so you can dance if you want.

You Can’t Make Everyone Happy: The Series Finale Theme Song

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And also the theme song of life? I just accidentally typed “lice” instead of life, which I guess is another word in which “You can’t make everyone happy” also describes. But I digress…

Series finales are hard, ya’ll. Even Friends‘ series finale left me wanting more. Back in 2004, I was convinced that a new opener (i.e. a fountain shoot theme song), Joey moving in with Chandler and Mon, and Ross/Rachel/Emma taking over ‘the apartment’ would have been more fitting that the weird, yet piercingly sad shot of the abandoned keys and an empty set that we were left with. Also in a most disappointing manner, The O.C.‘s series finale left us with a dead Marissa Cooper in the arms of her beloved soul mate Ryan Atwood. There have been reports that some delusional Seth/Summer shippers have created an entire fourth season that ends with a high school graduation and Ryan being destined to some other, awful, obsessive-compulsive less-pretty Californian named Taylor, but that’s obviously nothing but fan-fiction in it’s most serious degree.

In hindsight it seems that the finales that gave us less, have left us happier — or maybe just have given us what we never knew we wanted. The Freaks and Geeks‘ series ending left a few strings untied, with our protagonist Lindsay Weir rather aimlessly wandering onto a Grateful Dead tour bus, away from the constraints of her perfect family. Breaking Bad‘s final delivery of perfection also left our imperfect wildly hated principal character (Walter White) concluding that his true love, all this time, was the power, the glory, and when it boiled down to it, the meth. And two decades prior, a sitcom that couldn’t be more its opposite, paralleled that exact ending. The Cheers‘ series finale left Sam Malone alone, with nothing but his feelings — not for one of his main girls, Diane or Rebecca — but for his one true love, the bar.

In last night’s particular [HIMYM] scenario, I guess I’m siding with Vanity Fair? I am one, according to the internet trolls, amongst a small handful of people who were 100% into the How I Met Your Mother series finale. *SPOILER ALERT* It tied up all the loose ends. It made Ted and The Mother’s (calling her Tracy feels slimy to me – can’t get on board with it yet – I feel like it’s too new) genuine adoration/love for each other feel real and relatable. The Mother gets sick — that’s life. Robin and Barney divorce — that’s life (and also hella predictable). Some couples have maniacal fights, but stick together and are in it for the long haul — that’s life too. The question I have to ask to all the haters: do you guys know what being in relationships is like? Being human? Growing and changing and a lot of times repeating the same cycle of decisions? Because honestly, kids, that IS life. That’s what we do. I thought everything ended tightly and as right as it could be for the characters. It’s a sitcom, what more do you want? It was a happy ending for all, which while nice for a sitcom series finale, doesn’t always maintain in actual life, BUT it was also realistic and within the normal reality of the characters we’ve all grown to know and love. Ted DID let Robin go and do his thing with our girl Trace (nope, still can’t). It was cute and nice and then she died (again, sometimes that’s life), so he tracks down his old fling almost decade-long sweetheart. It doesn’t imply a happy ending for the two of them nor does it discount the very real and wonderful relationship he shared with The Mother. It’s just a cyclical decision in the course of his life. Classic Schmosby. I can’t defend it any longer, because it was an impeccably well-written, and not to mention well-acted and well-executed by all parties involved (IMO). It seemed very real to me. Not perfect, but real, which while that pissed off many others, I found perfectly endearing and completely relatable. I’m sure Bays and Thomas are regular leisure readers of my sad, poorly edited blog, so I must give out personal mad props to you and your writing staff, for what me and at least three others out there think, was a job well done. Thanks for nine seasons of awesome television. P.S. When is it too early to start rewatching from season one?HIMYM Finale

Home for the Holidays [a Non-Recap]

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I went to my birthstate of Ohio for Christmas, and it was lovely. While I wish I had a hilariously long and witty event-filled recap for you, that wouldn’t be paying proper homage to my hometown. But full disclosure: doing a whole lot of nothing for six days was exactly what I needed. I was able to spend some quality time with all of the friends and family I wanted to see, and to me, that’s what home is. Well, that and Wal-Mart people-watching, Bob Evans’ breakfasts and $5 movies at the 11% occupied “mall.” I unfortunately wasn’t able to get any good family pictures this time around, which is seriously depressing because my mom’s Facebook default is from the stage of my life when an old manager informed me I had the hairstyle of an Orthodox Jew. But I suppose that’s just another reason for them (my parents, not Jewish women) to come and visit me in old New York!

Harding MemorialJonEmJaredHarding Memorial 2GraveyardSteph Jordan Me

Weekend Visitors

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The middle/end of last week was such a whirlwind for me. From not feeling well to the jury duty fake out, to insanity at work, to trying to get everything wrapped up for my trip home…AND I had visitors! I spent what time I was out of the office with my best friend from high school, her husband and her dad. I love having people to show off the city to — mostly because it gives me a chance to do all of the touristy things I usually can’t manage to make myself get into regularly. Not only did I get to see some pretty incredible shows that offered my last chance at getting into the holiday spirit (The Rockettes, A Christmas Story, and not-seasonal themed Newsies), but it was also another chance to break out this new beast of a camera and shoot some places I wouldn’t normally visit! It was such a fun weekend with great people, and it got me even more excited for my holiday in Ohio.

Bridge Sims

Bryant Park Tree

NYPL

Lockets focus

 

Friendskuhgivvakwanzturkeyjewjesusmas Recap

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I KNOW. I know. But I’m back and I haven’t mass murdered the employees of Verizon Wireless so that’s really all that matters, right? We’re going to pretend that I’m publishing this in a timely matter that’s consistent with everyone else’s Turkey Day recaps because it’s my world blog so just go with it. Please & thanks.

To say I had THE BEST THANKSGIVING EVER, would actually be putting it lightly. I’m serious. As per my last post, my good friend Jordan (whom I’ve known since pre-Mrs. Divish second grade) decided to check the Macy’s Parade off her Bucket List and spend her holiday running around Manhattan in two layers of athletic pants, drinking Starbucks’ Christmas Blend and attempting to keep me away from drowning my sorrows in carbohydrates. Two out of three ain’t bad.

Alongside freezing our toes off for six hours on Central Park West, we spent the rest of her time here brunching on the Upper East Side, window shopping on 5th Ave., black Friday shopping downtown, counting 13 abandoned broken umbrellas due to terrifying weather, cooking for and attending a wonderful Friendsgiving in the Heights, watching Elf, visiting the lighting of the Christmas tree at South Street Seaport, and drinking too many Brooklyn Lagers. I had an absolute blast during the three days she visited, and I’m so thankful I was able to be a part of her first New York City experience.

And now, for the fuzzy cell phone pictures!

Thanksgiving 10

 

Thanksgiving Collage 1

Thanksgiving Collage 3

Thanksgiving 3

Thanksgiving Collage 4

Restaurant Review: The Boil

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The past few weeks have been very work-centered for me, so when a good friend asked me to catch up over dinner this past weekend, I jumped at the opportunity. She was craving crab, so after she conducted some internet research, we decided to hit up The Boil, a seafood restaurant in the Lower East Side.

This local spot’s core competency is that after “boiling” your critter (i.e. shrimp,  lobster, clams, etc.), they combine it with a sauce and spice-level of choice, shake vigorously, and serve it in a plastic bag. The real fun is in sloppily maneuvering through your sauced-up friend(s) with plastic gloves and de-gutting them before eating. It’s very hands-on, a little murdery, and probably not the best first date joint — unless you have absolutely no inhibitions in which case I’m indefinitely envious.

The Boil Collage

If these official Yelp reviews don’t sell it for you; Go. For. The. Garlic. Bread. But, seriously. That bread is heaven-sent and like $2. Done and done.

The Boil is definitely a one-of-a-kind seafood joint, even in the plentiful land of restaurant options that is NYC. My friend and I both really enjoyed ourselves, and although beheading two pounds of shrimp isn’t something I see happening again my personal near future, I’d go back sooner rather than later for the experience alone.