gem

in college, i had a massive room in the attic of our (six friends and myself) three-story [haunted] house. my room was quiet and creepy with hallways, corners and twists. i never felt completely comfortable alone. i would usually sleep with a light on, and i always needed noise in the room.

keeping my television on at night was tricky too, since the shows i'd want to watch, even if they were pleasant, always seemed to have creepy commercials for horror movies. the slightest things kept me up all night, especially since i'd hear weird and random noises as it was.

and then i found the perfect solution.

gem television! a home-shopping channel devoted entirely to gemstones and jewelry. it was lovely. and it was constant and calming. the stunning gems, the pleasant women with their southern accents describing the jewels. i would make my roommates watch it whenever they were in my room. emily and i really started to get into it. our favorite was this segment where gems were showcased on a revolving lazy-susan, each with a corresponding number for easy ordering. we'd start calling out numbers we liked ("twenty four! five! eleven!") and watch as they would rotate back around. hypnotizing, really.

i knew all of the names of the fancy stones, and i once even dated a boy who was studying geology. that brought gem tv to a whole new level.

at one point though, i called in to order a bag of five hundred (loose) semi-precious gemstones. i wasn't sure how they would be put to use, gazing at them was the only thing i could come up with. and then midway through the call, when they asked for my shipping address, i hung up. i realized then that i had gone too far. what started out as white noise was fast becoming a potentially expensive/useless endeavor. i am too young to be addicted to home shopping channels!

outside!

on especially sunny days, on my way to the office, i always think "why don't we all work outside today!". just like we used to in school. i loved the days of having classes outside. always a refreshing change of pace. especially during college. we'd lie on the campus green and make dandelion crowns, all while listening to our professors. dreamy and ideal. le sigh.


i will probably not have the opportunity to actually work outside, but a close second place: lunch breaks spent in bryant park with my lovely friends.

elizabeth

last weekend, we celebrated liz's twenty fourth birthday. we were college roommates our junior and senior year, the time when seven friends lived in a big white house together in vermont. i've been celebrating her birthday since we were living in the dorms and, let me tell you, this girl knows how to throw serious a party - down to every last detail! she is wonderful and hilarious and i am terribly happy that she moved to manhattan last month.

happy birthday, kitten!

theater

i really like that my neighborhood movie theater is called sunshine.

sweet nothing

moving to a different neighborhood a few months ago has really opened up a new world for me, which is just what i wanted to happen. new restaurants, pizza places, coffee shops, new boutiques. places to explore. there are so many little and wonderful shops in the lower east side and weekend strolls always include popping into them and seeing what we can find.

this weekend emily and i bought these adorable sweet nothings pendant necklaces at in god we trust.

they look completely innocent but have rather cheeky sayings on them. you would never know unless you looked very, very closely. some were vulgar but ours are more silly.

guess which ones we picked up? wink.

in god we trust

153 ludlow street

(between rivington and stanton)

new york, new york 

10002

fleur

a rainbow of roses, divine!

nonpareil

yesterday, emily and i went for a walk to economy candy. i bought pretty nonpareil mint chips. 

and then i ate all of the turquoises. 

lovely, delicious and terribly productive, no?

red + pink

something about this crimson and candy pink combination really strikes me. inspiring, really. i've been seeing it around downtown lately and the more i see, the more i love. whimsical and romantical. 

pink and red. divine!

heartschallenger

a midnight ice cream snack? me likey. and i love spotting the heartschallenger ice cream truck.

ciao bella

anticipating summer

i'm pretty sure we just skipped over spring in new york city. after it rained a record-breaking amount in march, april has been wildly hot and sunny so far. last night, emily and i visited liz in her new apartment (which is only a few blocks away from ours!) and then walked around the east village for a while. it was so pleasant. a stroll at night in the warmth. summer is on its way.

i have had two epic summers in my life. the one right after senior year of high school, gallivanting with jenna. and the summer before senior year of college.

from the seven girls in our house on converse court, four of us stayed up there that summer. two thousand and seven. beatrice, stephanie, annie and me. i didn't exactly have a job (save for the eight hours in total i worked at bath and body works on church street), which also meant that i didn't exactly have a lot of money for a few months. but it didn't matter, i was having too much fun to even think about finding actual employment.

my days went on like a dream. they were whimsical, really. concocting ingenious recipes, crafting, bicycling, throwing water balloons from the second floor porch (luckily people were generally friendly about it!), hours and hours spent at north beach, eating massive amounts creemees (the vermont way of saying soft serve ice cream) and visits to swimming holes. before living in vermont, i didn't even know that swimming holes existed. massive rock formations through flowing rivers. part swimming, part rock climbing. scattered all throughout the state. truly beautiful and wildly fun. they are unfortunately very dangerous, but in a way, they are also nature's way of saying "enjoy yourself! be happy!"

and i was.


though there isn't much nature to speak of in manhattan (weekend getaways are a must), summers here are quite unique. last year was my first summer in the city with a job and it was a bit of an adjustment after usually having a few months off from school. but, it was also a lot of fun. lazy weekends in washington square park on blankets, sundresses, spending time on boats, outdoor concerts, rooftop parties, street fairs and summer romances.

last night's stroll really made me excited for what's to come.

vermont weekend

it's been exactly six months since i've been back to vermont, so when beatrice asked me if i wanted to take a weekend trip last wednesday, my answer was a quick "yes!". burlington is a town that i dream of. truly idealistic. friendly faces, farmer's markets, a creative spirit and a definite sense that the city cares. it's small and simple and a great change of pace from new york. as soon as we arrived, i felt instantly relaxed. burlington is always a warm hug of familiarity. i feel peaceful there and i know i will live there again one day.

we were lucky enough to be there for the first warm weekend. it's miserably cold in the wintertime, so when the warm weather comes around, everybody is in a wildly good mood. we went to burlington bay cafe, to pick up a snack before heading down to the waterfront. the man at the cash register, when asked how he was doing today, replied in such an honest tone, "could we be any better?". and that really stuck with me throughout the day. because as long as there is warmth and sunshine in burlington, it's enough reason to be happy. and the whole city is smiling along with you. we all really couldn't be any better.

along with happiness, the warm weather brings everyone down to north beach in droves. lying in the sun on the blankets, feeling the cool breeze from lake champlain, music blasting, seeing all of your friends, playing assorted beachy games. the temperature being higher than forty degrees is reason enough to celebrate. when i was in college, i really embraced these days of heat and readily skipped classes to go down to the beach (sorry, mom). and though there were masses of people, you really knew most everyone and it was incredible. being there this saturday brought back so much joy. i only recognized a handful of people outside of the friends i came with, but it still made me happy knowing just what everyone else was experiencing. it was their time now. the amazing feeling of the first days of warmth. they survived the treacherous winter and now it was their time to delight in it.

i love how i haven't lived in burlington for nearly two years, but i was still constantly running into so many friends.

and i love partaking in my old favorite activities, like having a delicious breakfast at penny cluse, a must for any trip to burlington! (my roommates and i even rented it out at night for our graduation party!)

my time was spent amongst lovely friends

and the typical gallivanting around town.

we drove by our old house on converse court. seven boys live there now and we talked to a few that were hanging out on the porch (the second floor porch was, by far, the best part of the house!) they told us which rooms they were living in and confirmed that the house is haunted. it was built in the 1890s and was definitely not a place you'd want to spend the night in alone. but nevertheless, it was incredible living there.

oh and i must mention all of the stars in the sky! they were so clear and beautiful. living in the city, i forget that stars exist sometimes. when i travel outside of new york, i am always amazed. it's funny, really. or really unfortunate. the stars alone were worth the trip up to burlington, but this weekend brought so many more delights.

getaway

en route to vermont.
au revoir, new york.

an impromptu trip up to burlington with my girlfriends! 

i will return on sunday, i'm sure brimming with love, inspiration and a couple of city market sandwiches packed in my bag. 

sidewalk etiquette

in new york, time on the sidewalk is intensified. i have only one friend with a car (hi matt!) and sure, there are subways, buses and taxis - but that still leaves a lot of room for walking. when deciding where to move after college, i was looking for a new city that was walkable. i am not wild about driving, i'd much prefer to walk. that's what i loved so much about burlington and why i chose manhattan. i am always on the sidewalk, many of my posts are pictures of the strolls i take. and it's fast become one of my favorite activities. there is endless delight and adventure in a weekend traipse. but if you're on the streets of the city, especially ones that are shared by many (many) people, you must think of others!

when you're on a smaller sidewalk-ed-street (in downtown neighborhoods, perhaps?) and you randomly see a group of old classmates (joy!), please step to the side if you're going to chat. don't take up the entire sidewalk and make everyone else walk around you. it's careless. same for when you're walking in a row of friends and somebody is walking towards your group. make room for them to pass, share. and do not walk while you're smoking a cigarette. the smell of smoke is extremely unpleasant to many non-smokers, especially as it blows in the wind. especially in the morning, especially in the afternoon. please, stand off to the side. it's the polite thing to do. and to the men of new york, it is beyond disgusting when you spit on the ground. it's vile, really. it amazes me how many men in midtown (where i work) do this. it's gross enough seeing spit on the sidewalk every fifteen feet, but even more revolting to see someone in the act of it.

it's a big city. many of us live and work here. we need to keep the peace because it is not going to come without a little bit of effort. be mindful, please.