Highlights from Week three
I'd always heard that NYC was hot and humid in the summer. And I think when I came out here my first time (in high school) it was a very mild hot/humid week. Because I was not prepared for the heat!! It's absolutely stifling! On super hot days all you can do is: go to a museum, go anywhere with air conditioning, or go to the beach. So on this particularly hot and humid Monday Liz, Jani, and I packed our beach bags and headed for Coney Island. One thing I guess I did not realize is for whatever reason I burn much quicker out here! I got a pretty intense sunburn this trip... and a really weird tan-line on my arm. But it was so nice to get out of the muggy city and have fresh air!
After Coney Island Jani and I went to TARGET! I had no idea how much I missed regular stores until I walked into Target. The prices weren't too ridiculous and they had normal sized items! To clarify, I don't have a grocery store really close to me aside from a very expensive organic Amish Market. Now the Amish market has amazing fresh produce, but any packaged foods are super duper pricey. That's probably one of the few downsides to living in Manhattan, food/medicine/sunscreen/basic living supplies are very expensive. But there are so many fun free things/places to find cheap food that the expensive groceries are more than worth it. Speaking of free stuff, after Target, we went to a free movie in Bryant Park! Charlie and the Chocolate factory! And man, did it make us crave sweets (even though we find some sort of dessert every day...)
My next free New York adventure was on Wednesday when Jani and I went to Battery Park for a free art class! It was so fun. Every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon the city parks bring a whole wagon full of art supplies for anyone to use! And they even provide an art instructor to give us amateurs some advice. Jani and I tried out watercolor painting, and I was definitely rusty. For those of you who don't know, I really love art. I don't claim to be any good at it, but I find sketching and painting really relaxing. And I especially love it when my work turns out to be semi realistic! Unfortunately I haven't really done art since high school... But hopefully I'll be able to improve with these free art classes! Anyways, that evening I had the chance to meet up with some old Folsom friends for dinner (shout out to Brooke and Ashley Holt!). I had no idea they were in the city. I just so happened to litteraly run into Brooke during my morning run through Midtown! It was really fun to catch up with them. We went to dinner in Little Italy, and boy do those Italians know how to make a delicious meal! I sure love the food out here!
Quick food update on places I've tried and loved: Dos Torros, on the Upper East Side, has amazing carne asada quesedillas. They're huge, basically as big as a burrito! And the guacamole is so worth the extra 90 cents or so. This week I also went to Eataly, by the Flatiron building, with Clark for lunch and they have the most delicious prime rib sandwich. Seasoned/sliced prime rib with olive oil on delicious fresh bread. You have to try both!
My attempt at painting the pier clock. In the background is a bridge and the statue of Liberty. It was a neat view!
On Thursday, I think we tried to do every free thing offered. At least that's what it felt like! First we went to Broadway in Bryant Park. Every Thursday shows on and off Broadway perform some of their biggest hits. It's a great way for them to give NY a taste of their play, and after seeing this week's numbers, I am definitely interested in seeing Pippin and Cinderella. After the musicals we had to find a dessert (it's definitely an investment banking wives tradition). If you ever come to New York, you should definitely try a cupcake from Crumbs Bake Shop. They are delicious! They have so many flavors, it was nearly impossible for me to pick one. I tried the Coffee Toffee cupcake, and it was delightful. A coffee cake cupcake filled with thick caramel, topped with carmel buttercream frosting, caramel drizzle, and toffee bits. Heavenly. I'm excited to try their other flavors at some point!
Top row from L-R : milkshake and coffee toffee
Bottom row from L-R: brownie and red velvet.
After enjoying our tasty treats we made our way over to Brooklyn for free kayaking. At least twice a week the Brooklyn Bridge Park offers free kayaking off Pier 2. Be sure to get there early though, because they're only open for two hours, and if you're not in the first group, you probably won't have much time on the water/might not be able to go. It was such a fun experience. They have an area of the East river sectioned off for you to paddle around. My favorite part about kayaking was the view! The view of Midtown is so neat from the water, and you also have a pretty spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Kayaking champions!
So you've probably been when I'll bring up winning the Lottery. I mean, it was the title of this post after all. And winning the Lottery is a pretty big deal. Well, Saturday was our lucky day!! But I'll get to that in a minute. Saturday morning I went to the 9/11 Memorial with Camille. The design of this memorial is beautiful, and I had always appreciated the symbolism behind it. But seeing it in person was a very special experience. I had no idea how enormous the monuments are, and how touching it is to see all the names of the 9/11 victims. So many of the victims were first responders too. These two bottomless holes, in the heart of Manhattan's financial district, are a perfect way to honor the loss of these individuals.
After leaving the 9/11 memorial, we made the trip to Brooklyn once again to attend the Brooklyn Flea Market. Boy did this flea market make me want to live here full time. There were so many darling decorations and you can get so many ideas just looking through the wares. They had galvanized watering cans and stars, hammered metal mirrors, and succulents potted in bricks. They had vintage clothes, tons of food, and lots of handmade furniture. Two of my favorite tents (pictured below) had adorable handmade stuffed animals and rustic silhouettes of NYC. I hope these two vendors are still in business when Clark and I move out here next year (fingers crossed we do!).
Now here's how we won the Lottery. I guess I should clarify that we won the lottery for discount Newsies tickets! But let me tell you, it was a very very lucky win. The first bit of luck was Liz and Camille put their names in to help Clark and I up our chances of winning. The second bit of luck was that Clark got off at 5:45 (this is basically unheard of in investment banking) and was there to enter his name in the lottery drawing. The third bit of luck is that out of 50-100 slips of paper, Clark's name was drawn and we won 1/2 price tickets to see Newsies! And finally, the last bit of luck was our tickets were 8 rows away from the stage!!!!! AHH! And before the show we ran into more friends and went to a tasty Thai food restaurant called Yum Yum. Saturday really was the best. Newsies was phenomenal. I was blown away by how talented our cast was. And the staging was incredible! It was a truly dynamic performance, and I feel so lucky we got to go! After the show we met up with James and Jani and went to a place called Holey Cream. It was amazing. We shared a doughnut sandwich. A doughnut sandwich is: a fresh doughnut sliced in half, filled with three scoops of ice cream, topped with vanilla glaze, with any topping of your choosing. This is another must try for NY. And that concludes the most awesome weekend in NYC.
We were only a little excited about winning the tickets.
"We're the King/Queen of New York!"
Holey Cream!!!
Ps - We went to an ice cream shop called Big Gay Ice Cream in East village this week. It was super good! Get the Salty Pimp or Monday Sunday, those were our favorites.
