Stream of Consciousness

Sorry I haven't updated in so long -- I've gotten SUPER busy!

I figured I could use this post to talk about some of my favorite internet sites as opposed to rambling on about my daily life the past week or so.

So. Emmy has gotten me very into blogs. My favorite of all being Young House Love -- this couple is AMAZING! They bought an old, out of style house and are slowly DIYing it into something amazing. They didn't have any DIY skills before getting together and mix in the tutorials with cute anecdotes about their everyday life with daughter Clara and dog Burger.

YHL has made me want to incorporate SO many things into my grown up house one day. Like this frame wall which includes special touches, photographs, wedding/birth memories and cool trinkets. And this adorable frame with old keys (and the memory jars from vacation, also in that post!) It really opened my eyes to what a simple coat of spray paint and a little dedication can do for home decor.

I also love Southern Weddings (shocker, I know). It's inspired me to create my own wedding blog for my stories, ideas, obsessions (mostly from Pinterest) and adoration of all things romantic.

Soon I'll have posts up on B&B, but for now, it's just a cute layout.

Concrete Jungle where Dreams are Made

The best hair cut of my LIFE. 

I can officially say that I know my way around (at least on the Lower East Side and East Village...) and have mastered the subway. I've been asked for directions several times and (squeee!) been able to help on each occasion. This makes me feel less like a tourist (thank god, I hate that feeling).

Things I've purchased since Em and my parents left (I'm trying to be good!):
-2 pairs of feather earrings
-A strappy pair of nude heels (low enough to wear during the day)
-A purple circle scarf, summery
-A floppy hat
-2 v-necks from Urban
-A pair of gently used DVF sunglasses (from this awesome store Tokyo 7 on the LES)
-2 books from a street fair
-Some new make-up (I found lipstick...look at me all grown up)
-A hair cut at Dlala, a chic salon in Alphabet City
-FOOD. and a 6-pack of beer.

Inside Tokyo 7

Eating is my biggest expense by FAR -- grocery store trips run me 40-50 bucks for bare essentials. I've been eating peanut butter or turkey sandwiches for at least one meal a day and cereal for another...sometimes eating out for dinner but usually just eating another sandwich and I still feel like there's money pouring out of my pocket. I have been able to, however, score cheap fruit from street vendors on 14th.

B&H Dairy

Last Wednesday, my class went to this adorable little kosher Jewish dairy restaurant on 2nd ave: B & H Dairy ... it was surprisingly good (I've never had a kosher meal...) and even better, CHEAP. I'm really trying to save some splurge money for when Austen comes.

My favorite little discovery so far has been the Mud Truck. It's so awesome and serves the best iced vanilla latte I've ever had. It parks on Astor Place...conveniently on my way to the NYU journalism school every Wednesday for "class meetings and publication". Also, one of my roommates, Erica (from Ohio) has been teaching me how to shop thrift stores...she's amazing at it and has a really cool (and cost-friendly) wardrobe. She helped me find my glasses at Tokyo 7.

SO GOOD

Oh! I've also seen Kelsey, finally! We met at Blockheads on 33rd and 3rd for Mexican food and $4.50 frozen vodka pink lemonades. Mmmmm

Tomorrow I'm covering the Stephen Marley concert at Irving Plaza for the Local East, and I'm so excited! Finally, the real work coming! I'm also writing a review of the Jewish deli AND a magic show on Monday night.

I'll try to update with some more pictures, soon!

More NYC Realizations...

Central Park

Yesterday, I ventured to Central Park in the morning -- I had nothing else to do and it was gorgeous out, so I hopped on a subway uptown and wandered.

A few more things I have gathered:

Central Park

1. People don't make eye contact on the subway. In fact, most still wear their sunglasses.
2. When it rains, the city turns into an abyss of black umbrellas and dirty puddles, but life and the hustle and bustle still go on.
3. I can now almost stomach the smell of the polish sausages on the street corners. Almost.

Central Park was beautiful. I was looking for Sheep's Meadow (didn't find it) or anything recognizable...but I must have entered from a different end of the park than I have previously, for nothing was familiar at all (which is cool I guess).

Then I went grocery shopping at the Food Emporium about a block from my apartment. For forty dollars, I got milk, cereal, blueberries, yogurt, applesauce, bread and peanut butter. So expensive, but at least I didn't have to walk far with my groceries!

Today was pretty laid back as well. I slept in, then walked around the stores in Union Square and looked at the menu at Max Brenners, where I plan on taking Austen for a meal when he visits. Then tonight was the Hyperlocal News Conclave -- a gathering of a smattering of professionals and interns. I admit, I was intimidated to be surrounded by so many successful journalists from the New York Times, the Sacramento Bee, etc...but it was a pretty awesome experience.

And it Begins!

Washington Sq. Park

 Today was a LONG day. But a good one!

I got my first real feel of my internship and what I'll be doing in the LES -- which is writing stories that are solely focused on that neighborhood and its rich, diverse culture.

My professor took us on a walking tour down to the Tenement Museum, which was really an experience. It's old immigrant housing in apartment tenements. The museum educator told us about families that had come through and lived in these 325 sq. foot apartments for $30 a month, which is comparable to $2,500 per month today -- crazy right? We grabbed some croissants at the Essex Market, an old-style booth marketplace that is kind of a combination of hipster-chic (the new inhabitants of the neighborhood) and the long-standing immigrant population.

Washington Sq. Park

Washington Sq. Park

 After the walking tour and the Tenement, we checked out the NYU Bobst library for a presentation about the history of the LES -- which was full of punk, graffiti and rebellion in the 1960s-1980s. It really gave us an overall history of the area, from the Tenement Museum inhabitants (1890s-1920s) to the more modern and tangible decades.

Finally at 4:30, after almost six hours of trekking across the city, my two roommates and I walked down W. 4th St. to an awesome little Mexican place to eat an early dinner. They had $6 margaritas and the best enchiladas I've ever eaten! Definitely worth a return trip.

After dinner was the Hyperlocal Orientation -- which was essentially useless. They didn't tell us anything that our professor hadn't and just kind of showed us the equipment rooms, etc.

I cannot WAIT for bed tonight -- I am literally exhausted from all the walking and sunshine. Tomorrow I want to grocery shop and head out and explore some more because I think this first week is going to be my least-stressful in terms of work.

Kids swimming in the fountain @ Washington Sq. Park

In the Summer, In the City

Union Square

Today was my first day on my own. I figured out a few things pretty damn quickly:

1. Greenpeace volunteers talk to you even if you have your earbuds in. They actually force you into speaking with them.
2. Some people will literally plow into you if don't move over. 
3. I do NOT possess the (awesome) inherent sense of when to cross the street that locals have. 
4. Google maps + HopStop = My new life.
5. I am going to be broke. PB&J's here I come (If I can ever be patient enough to stand in the hour-long Trader Joe's check-out line...)
6. I need to have my camera on me at all times.

So far I think I'm managing well! I live in Union Square in an NYU dorm that is fortunate enough to have AC. It's on the cusp of the Granmercy area, which is really beautiful. It is definitely hard to readjust to living in a dorm, however.

I've already dropped my NYU class (Journalism as Literature) because the professor scared the hell out of me and basically told us that if we had an internship in addition to her class, we were going to fail. So! No more class. My real life starts tomorrow when I head down to Cooper Square to hear about my internship with the Local East Village.

Austen comes to visit in a few weeks and I already have an iPhone note full of things for us to do and places for us to see. Next weekend I'm planning on a solo subway ride up to Central Park for some sunshine and hopefully going out in the Lower East Side with Kelsey and Ash. I really think I'm going to love it here.