Just playing catch-up

So my Daddy and I just drove through the night to the Leakey house, so I'm going to chronicle things backwards...

We arrived here after I got off my plane in Houston, the plane that was scheduled to leave at 7:10 pm from JFK last night that was delayed until 11:00 pm. It was a FANTASTIC day at the airport. Really. It was AWESOME being at Gate 25 from 4:30 pm till 11 pm!

The plane ride was pretty uneventful. I got to watch a breathtaking electric light show as we flew over a lightning storm. The girls behind me thought we were dead for sure, but if they could have just loosened up they would have noticed that the lightning was really fascinating and not frightening at all! Seeing the Big Dipper right out my window was really special, I teared up a little as I gazed at it from my 5D window seat. I had missed it in New York, you just don't see the stars there. It's really a shame too.

Overall Saturday, Saturday night/early Sunday morning consisted of traveling.

Friday was a weird day at work. Weird saying goodbye to everyone that you have loved working with all summer. Of course, I plan to visit my new found LIME peeps sometime in the future :)

Friday evening after packing, packing, and a little more packing, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met had been on my list of to-dos for quite a while and once I finally made it there I was bummed I hadn't made more time for it earlier. It pretty much topped my list of sights seen in NYC. Just couldn't get enough. I could have spent an entire day there. If you ever go to NYC, or live there and haven't visited, you MUST go to The Met. I know not everyone enjoys art, but even if you don't particularly care about such things, The Met is more than a gallery. It's a chronicle of history. There is just so much to see and take in. There is absolutely something there everyone can appreciate. So Go!

Following my Met extravaganza I enjoyed a lovely dinner with Ashley. Our final dinner together just the two of us. Our final Lovers Dinner, hahaha. And it was French!

Then a great deal of farewells between dreamers...

Oh what a wonderful summer it was. Can't believe I was in Manhattan just yesterday. Feels like the whole experience was over before it even started. Still so much could have been done! But that's okay, because New York hasn't seen the last of this Texas girl!

Can It Be?

Tomorrow, Aug. 1st, is my last day at LIME. Seriously, I can't believe it. It's like someone whacked me over the head with a frying pan, and now I've woken up and 2 months have passed. Totally insane how fast June and July have gone by.

I've really had the time of my life here in New York City. Packing everything up is bittersweet. I'm glad to be seeing my family soon, but I would be just as happy if they could just come North. I'm not sure I'm really all that ready to hit the road, or the air, just yet.

At our UOD closing ceremony tonight we listened to a little goodbye speech, watched a slide show of pics, received presents, and concluded with a toast to the summer past. Although some of the toasts were complete wastes of breath, some people said some very sweet and touching things, and it just got me feeling a little sad about saying goodbye.

I still agree that the name University of Dreams is kinda silly, and I get why people are skeptical, I was too originally, but ya know, I wouldn't trade this "dreamer" experience for anything. It's been so much more than I ever expected, or could have dreamt up myself. The memories I've made, some published in this blog, some held just in my heart, will always be special to me.

What an extraordinary experience this has truly been.

CHOP CHOP

Last night, July 30th, I cut off my hair. That's right, y'all. It's gone...again...

My 3rd donation to Locks of Love to date, sadly it was my smallest donation ever, but I think 10 inches is still significant! Wrong? I think not.

Anyway, no pics. It's a wait and see.

Birthday in New York

Tuesday, July 29th, was Ashley's big 21st birthday!


Before hitting a restaurant for a late dinner Ash opened her gifts from us girls. I gave her Madeleine, l'édition en français. Madeleine is Ashley's most favorite childhood series, she still loves Madeleine to this day, and since she is taking French at USC this fall (as am I), I thought it was pretty appropriate. Of course she loved it, and here she is, loving it...


I also threw in a bag of her favorite candy: Sour Patch Kids :)

Due to my 20-ness, I didn't get to partake in all of the festivities the day had to offer, but I was able to join with her in Mexican food at El Cantinero. Food was good, but I must say, I was a bit disappointed with the staff for not tossing a ridiculously large sombrero on her head and shaking their maracas to Feliz Cumpleanos! Despite how many times we each reminded them of Ashley's reason for celebrating they just didn't acknowledge it with any sort of song and dance. Or flan for that matter. In the words of Madeleine, "Poo Poo" to them!

MadLindsCan

What an extraordinary trio: Lindsey, Candace & Madison. All together in New York City for one short weekend. The past Thursday thru Sunday rocked my socks.

The ladies landed on Thursday night and we grabbed a bite at Agave in the West Village. Really great Mexican food. Highly recommend. It was really fun just to see them again. I couldn't help myself, I totally squeeled and ran to them when I saw them outside the dorm. What a dork, but I was just so excited! At dinner we just chilled and talked, followed by an excursion to Magnolia Bakery that ended up a failure. I took a wrong turn down Bleeker and we never found it...but we did make it to Chelsea Pier (intentionally!). Yes, I always take my guests to Chelsea Pier. It's so pretty and you can see the Statue of Liberty. So there. We got a free show too. Some crazy man, maybe homeless, it was questionable, definitely crazy though, was completely going off on anyone willing to fight with him. His phrase "I got my own" apparently meant "I got my own gun" to Lindsey and Candace because they got pretty freaked out and "feared for their lives." Haha, in other words, maybe not the safest place for 3 young women long after dark... But definitely memorable! Welcome to New York!

Friday was spent shopping! It was nice being a tour guide of sorts, but not having to run around to all the tourist destinations. I mostly just pointed out anything special along the way, I felt so knowledgeable (haha...). We made our way up 5th Ave from Union Square and ended at Tiffany's. That was the major highlight I would say.

We had dinner reservations to keep so we rushed back to the dorm, dressed ourselves up and went straight back uptown because we had to visit the Museum of Modern Art before dinner (free Friday nights!). Of course we looked very glamorous amongst the hoards of people.

Aside: Apparently a foreign couple at the museum was a little obsessed with my hair. Candace and Lindsey watched as they argued over whether the color is natural or fake, while the man made numerous hand gestures around the back of my head... FYI: It's all natural, baby!

We were a little distracted by the number of people there, but we still saw some amazing works by artists: Monet, Picasso, Da Vinci, Pollock (to name a few). It was strange to see before your very eyes works of art that you've before only adored from the view of a picture or television screen. Right in front of you. Makes you kinda love this New York place.

Dinner at Frederick's Downtown was a part of our plan to experience New York Restaurant Week. I can't say it turned out quite as well as we had hoped: the restaurant was hard to find, a bit snooty (despite how gorgeous we all are), and wanted us to starve for a good 20 minutes. It got better though once we did receive some sustenance. After that point our spirits lifted and we were enjoying ourselves again.

For a little while. After dinner marked the beginning of the foot fiasco. We took a cab home because all of our feet were achin from the many hours of walking throughout the day, but it was dear Candace that was really in trouble. The Dr. is still out on the diagnosis, however, it's serious people. To the point that Saturday and Sunday weren't the easiest for her. I won't dwell on that though, I doubt she would appreciate that.

Saturday we ran down to Times Square and bought last minute discount tickets for Chicago! I was a little stressed out by this method, even though it was my own idea, but it worked flawlessly. Half price tickets and our seats weren't bad! Chicago was fun! We were in the Ambassador Theater, not the biggest theater by any means. I was a little bummed that Linds and Can missed out on the BIG broadway experience, but Chicago was still definitely a good show.

The evening was spent, just Linds and I, at Caroline's on Broadway for dinner and a comedy show. The comedians were all fantastic. I had never been to a real comedy show before and will absolutely be doing that again. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. So much laughing that I resorted to wiping the uncontrollable tears from eyes with an extra dinner napkin. Classy, I know. It without a doubt makes the list of the best nights I've had here.

Sunday began with brunch at Tavern on the Green. I was going a little crazy beforehand as I worried over reservation issues and being late and the sky deciding to open up and rain as we were leaving. Those things compounded didn't make me very happy. Thank heavens it all worked out though. And brunch was delicious, totally worth the stress! We stuffed ourselves well and then took a little stroll around Central Park. We had a nice break on a few fence posts while we listened to an excellent jazz band perform in the park. The rain had passed and a cool breeze made the excursion delightful.

In an effort to keep Can off her feet as much as possible, we hit the theater for another musical! Only this time, not broadway. Mamma Mia! off broadway may not be as good as the original, but it was still very good in my book. I tend to love most musicals though (with the exception of Hairspray!) so it doesn't take much to please me. Especially when it's ABBA. I mean, who can resist ABBA?

After our dose of Meryl and Pierce we relaxed, eventually leading to a massive take-out order consisting of Mexican, Chinese, and Italian (i.e., pizza) food. The contents of which we all found highly satisfying...

The ladies left this morning. And I've been exhausted all day, so I'm going to bed right now! This post will have pictures added later. I was just very silly all weekend and perpetually left my camera on it's charger at NYU. Once Lindsey uploads her pics I'll steal a few for the blog!

My Own North vs. South

While I've been in NY people are constantly asking me "where are you from?, do you like NY?, do you want to move here after college?," etc. These questions have really got me thinkin about home/Texas and here/NY... And thus, I have compiled a list of things that I have come to miss the most during my month in New York. Now, this isn't meant to be an insult to NYC, I'm having a fabulous time here, and there are certainly some things that I've grown to love while being here. This is just a list of 10 things (#1 being the most important) I'm so accustomed to at home that without them I'm like an addict going through withdrawals.

1. The things my family make extra special: My Dad's hugs/My Mom's "tickly-back"/Coffee morning, noon, and night with Anna/Inside jokes accompanied by uncontrollable laughing with Tess (and so much more from each of them, I'm very blessed in this area)

2. Quiet, sitting outside and hearing nothing but birds chirping and the wind blowing

3. Driving, few things beat driving with your favorite tunes blastin

4. Stars, you would think they were a myth if you grew up in NYC

5. Grass, endless fields of green

6. Potentially hearing country music at any time of day

7. Wearing jeans to practically any occasion (and it's socially acceptable)

8. Smiling at people and people actually smiling back

9. Men openning doors, offering their seat, just being a gentleman

10. Really good Mexican Food/Salsa (the old Pace Piquante sauce commercials turned out to be so true in this case)

while I'm at it

So my posting with the inclusion of Mario Lopez triggered something that I forgot to share last week. Sorry y'all, last week really was a bit of a blur.

This post only applies to anyone that watches What Not to Wear on TLC, otherwise, you won't get this. Back story: I have been contemplating getting my hair cut while I'm here, which means I need to find someone or someplace to do the job. I had noticed that on street level in the identical building across from KB (my work building) is a salon named Arrojo. Very sleek, very professional, very appealing.

I googled the salon (this was last Monday), I had been mispronouncing the name, and had therefore never realized that it was none other than NICK ARROJO'S very own salon! Right across from my own building is a razor wielding celebrity stylist. I was floored and now I love Varick Street that much more. Unfortunately Nick isn't in my budget but the very knowledge of his very near existence has made me a little silly. Every day when I walk by I look through the windows, in a very discrete manner I guarantee (haha), hoping to catch a glimpse of the one and only Nick Arrojo. I actualy saw him Wednesday of last week! Totally made my morning/maybe even my day. Certainly made it more than cup of coffee.

whatta whirlwind

Thursday thru Saturday was a complete whirlwind. It was almost like when you are in Disney World or some place like that, where you feel like you must do EVERYTHING and have only a very short amount of time to do it in. I know that I've figured out a lot of things navigation-wise since I arrived 6 weeks ago, but I still don't consider myself 100% confident in making my way around NYC. I mean, this place is full of surprises, always boasting some new sight I hadn't seen before, which makes it hard to feel like you KNOW a place. She is always showing me something new, kinda overwhelming, but in the most exhilarating way.

Sorry, I digress. My point is to tell you about the insanity of being a tour guide in a city you are still getting to know. As I mentioned, I had visitors this weekend: Mr. Nathan Miller and Mr. Justin Croft. Both descending on the Big Apple with little time and a lot on their to-do list. Thursday contained Union Square, Restorante Il Cantinori (so delicious!), Greenwich Village, Chelsea Pier, and the Statue Liberty. Not bad for one evening if you ask me! Too-bad for Justin I still had to work on Friday so he was alone, but still alive when I got-off, so it couldn't have gone that badly.

Friday evening we caught The Dark Knight and both agreed with the critics: it's INCREDIBLE. That movie is truly the best movie I've seen in a LONG time. I recommend it to anyone. Even if you aren't the biggest superhero movie-watcher, doesn't matter. Nothing short of brilliant.

After the movie we headed down to Times Square, because if you haven't seen Times Square at night, you haven't seen it at all. It's just totally different to see it in all of its majestic ad illuminated glory. I can't imagine a more iconic place in NYC. For dessert we grabbed some PinkBerry as we waited for Nathan's bus to arrive. And finally, my dear Nathan was here! How I love my twin brother!

By now it was late, but we had to map out our Saturday, because there is no way you can be a tourist in this city without a plan. There are just too many options so I don't advise ever coming here if you don't know what you want to see. I made it very clear to the boys that we HAD to make a plan if we were going to make the most of their 48 hours, no lollygagging! Not while they were here, no sirree! Here's another plug: http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork (the ONLY way to travel in NYC unless you want to waste money on cabs)!

Saturday's Itinerary: Central Park, China Town, Little Italy, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Washington Square Park, Chelsea Pier/Statue of Liberty, Times Square

We departed from Union Square and hit Central Park. Nathan was super excited mostly because apparently a lot of Cloverfield was filmed there. We walked around a little, gave Nathan a chance to take some pictures underneath a bridge while reenacting an expression of terror, he looked exactly like the kids from the movie. He's gonna be famous. China Town and Little Italy are next door neighbors, not next door to Central Park though. Took us a little while to get over to that side of town, but it's always worth the ride when you are going to two new countries!

Walked through China Town, ran in to Zaran Fabrics, Real Housewives anyone? We stopped in Little Italy for some "authentic" Italian cuisine, which I thought was very good, but we definitely had to wait a very long time for it. We were all pretty famished at this point so not being fed immediately was slightly hard to endure, hence this expression of starvation/anger from Nathan:

We were refueled after leaving Giovanna's, noticed we weren't too far from Coney Island so took the train even farther away. Now Coney was crazy. People EVERYWHERE, beach covered by bare skin and umbrellas... The fact that it is the hometown of hot dogs made it all better though, for the boys anyway. Despite that we had eaten a mere hour before, they hit up Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand and ordered two dogs each. If you didn't know, Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand on Coney is the home of the equally famous hot dog eating contest on ESPN annually.

And I am not joking about this, y'all. Now the boys were really full (I think...) so we walked the beach briefly and hopped back on the train to Manhattan. The train was excellent for seeing Brooklyn, which killed two birds with one stone. Once back in Manhattan, we took a short break, and then hit Washington Square Park, where they filmed a lot of I Am Legend, so again, Nathan was very excited. Despite that we were starting to get achey feet, we walked down to Chelsea Pier and the boys got a view of Lady Liberty. It was at this time that we agreed it was time to eat again and hit up Tortilla Flats, my suggestion of course! Unfortunately we ended up waiting about an hour, but the food was so worth it. Never disappoints. And then for the Grande Finale: TIMES SQUARE for Nathan! It really never gets old, well I guess it would if you don't like bright lights and can't stand crowds... However, even for someone who might not have been very impressed with Times Square, that person couldn't possibly deny the splendor of the upcoming event. As we are walking back to Union Square, I randomly pick a street, and turns out we are the back side/exit of one of the Broadway theaters. A hoard of people, mostly girls, are giggling with cameras ready, I knew something was going down. Justin's opinion was "they are waiting to get into the show," I knew there was no way a show was starting at the present hour, someone was coming OUT of the theater, and it was someone good. Moments later, the back door swings open, several huge bouncer-esque men come out, followed by none other than Mario Lopez! That's right, my first celebrity sighting! Now I know he's no A-lister, but that doesn't mean he's not way famous. A successful day? I think so!

Sunday's Itinerary: Harlem/Rucker Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange

Sunday offered a little less time for us so we had to go to Harlem first. Rucker Park, located in Harlem, is the supposed home of street basketball, Nathan so graciously informed me. According to the web, lots of basketball greats played there back in the day and still come randomly, which gave us hope that we would see someone ridiculous ballin', but unfortunately when we reached the court all we found was a bunch of girls. Oh well, that didn't subtract from the excitement of being extremely, shall we say, aware of our "cracker"-ness. I decided it would be wiser to capture our visit to Harlem while we were still underground, before the sun could reflect off our skin, i.e., the picture:

Harlem was quickly followed by Ground Zero, Wall Street, and the Bull! I wanted to see the Bull Statue so badly. It was too bad that hundreds of other people wanted to see it too so I didn't get the best pic, but I still got to mark it off my list of things so see.

Then time to eat! Now, the boys had been nagging me all weekend to pick fast food (those 2 are so cheap!), I wouldn't give in. Aside: I made a resolve when I arrived here that I would not eat anywhere that is a chain/a place that I can eat back in Texas. Those two cheapies went to Burger King while I grabbed some delicious food from a toss bar next door and they joined me there. Then the day was wrapped up with a trip into the Virgin MegaStore and then it was time to say goodbye.

The whole weekend was jam-packed and I'm still exhausted a day later. Not to mention the minor cold symptons now pulsing through my head.

But it doesn't matter one bit because Lindsey and Candace will be here THURSDAY!!!!!!! Oh, the madness to come and I can't wait for it :)

YAY for Visitors!

I am so very excited to say that I have lots of frienzies passing through in the next 2 weeks!

Arriving this weekend is Nathan and Justin and the following weekend Lindsey and Candace will be gracing me with their presence. Although they will all have to endure dorm life for a weekend I think they are just as eager to be here in NYC as I am to see some Texans! Yay Yay Yay!

SATC Sunday

Beginning at 10:30 am a very enthused group of girls began the unofficial Sex and the City
Tour! No tour buses or tour guides for us, no way. Just a handful of SATC lovers who so graciously shared their research with a bunch of "dreamers." We hit a total of 12 locations: St. Mark's Comics, Ristorante Il Cantinori, Starbucks Coffee, The New York Public Libary, Bryant Park (fashion road-kill!), the HBO store, Christie's, Manolo Blahnik, Tortilla Flats, Magnolia Bakery, Carrie's Apartment (I'm missing one...)!

The tour included a good mix of spots from the TV series and the movie including Ristorante Il Cantinori where in season 4 Carrie gets stood up at her birthday party. Turns out, it's right in our neighborhood! I might have to make a reservation at some point...

We had a very festive lunch at Tortilla Flats where Carrie, Aiden, Miranda, and Steve dined.

The music was loud and the food was cheap. My kind of Mexican food.

Apparently lots of celebs like it too...
Blake Lively and Penn Badgely were just there (fyi for any GG fans!).

Of course we couldn't go on a SATC tour without hitting Manolo Blahnik. You would have never even known you walked by it if you weren't looking for it. Seriously, this was the only indication of the legendary shop. Gotta love Manolo. They had the pair of silver heels that Carrie had stolen off her feet on display.

We were also indulged in some ridiculously tasty cupcakes from the world famous Magnolia Bakery. Of course, Carrie and Miranda had a cupcake or two in SATC, but Magnolia is famous for their sweet treats without the help of HBO.




<-- Undeniably delicious! Vanilla cake with chocolate icing, the best!

After our cupcake, we had the chance to very discreetly take a peek at Carrie's residence in SATC. Now, we were in the West Village, which Carrie's character couldn't actually afford, so in the show they always said her apartment was in the Upper East Side, when in reality her apartment is located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of Manhattan. As you can see, there was a chain and oh-so-kind sign at the bottom of the steps prohibiting loitering, and we weren't technically allowed to take pictures, but I managed to snap one without getting yelled at by the police that patrol the street (crazy, right?!). So there they, THE steps of Ms. Carrie Bradshaw! It really is a beautiful brown-stone. Not that I could imagine ever being able to afford living anywhere near that street, but it was fun to pass by and "discreetly" stare :)

Just Cruisin Down the Hudson

Last night was UOD's "Dinner Cruise." Now I know everyone likes to give us a hard time because we are in University of Dreams, not the most legitimate sounding name, I am aware of that. However, this summer has been pretty stinkin amazing (I can't believe I only have 3 weeks left!) and UOD has hooked us up with lots of sweet deals and planned lots of things I have thoroughly enjoyed, including the Dinner Cruise!


The entire Friday was beautiful weather-wise, which furnished a spectacular sunset for us as we set sail. We were still docked at this point so the scenery wasn't the best (Chelsea Pier to the right and New Jersey across the water), but the point was to capture how gorgeous the sky looked.

The view from our dinner table inside was equally spectacular. As we dined we had sparkling views of Manhattan, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and I actually saw some stars! I just barely could make out the Big Dipper with all the lights from the city, but just barely being able to see it put a smile on my face.

We tried to get some pictures with the skyline in the background but unfortunately my camera didn't want to cooperate much. Oh well, still goods pics of me and Ash!

We also had a really fun dance party on the boat. The DJ was good and few things beat dancin it out with the girls! Capturing the silliness is always difficult when it's not candid, but I think this picture does a decent job of conveying our antics, while trying to take a vertical shot on a boat that (as all boats do) would rock back and forth at the most unhelpful moments.

Boat rocking aside, just another night to file away as an excellent evening in NYC!

popUP

one of the clients i get to work on at LIME is hoping to do a pop-up store (http://trendwatching.com/trends/popup_retail.htm) for the holidays and today i had the pleasure of checking out one of the venues with one of my supervisors, Sarah. there will be a few other options for the location, but i got to tag-along to see this one. the target is the 5th ave neighborhood, and i'm pretty sure this was 21st and broadway, which is still in the right area.

not a really big deal, i know, but i can't help but get excited when i am included on these little field trips for work. haha, it's ridiculous how little it takes to make me feel special, like i'm in on some secret...
of course, i can't share any of the details or talk about the client, but i'm tossing in a little picture teaser. just one of the many that were taken today...who knows, if this store happens, i might just have to make a trip back to NYC to see it post-planning and thriving!

in addition to this excursion to see a good ole empty retail space, i got a decent lesson on leasing in this crazy town. prior to today i hadn't really considered the turn-over rate for space (of any kind, apparently). the idea of holding a space for anything more than 6 weeks (and that's pushing it) for a renter is practically unheard-of. you just don't do that. you don't really have that opportunity though either. everything goes so fast here: time, money, and empty space!

My Weekend...not in New York City

I spent a lot of the past weekend outside of Manhattan.

Saturday was a very laid back day that took me to Brooklyn. I visited the Brooklyn Museum of History...and it was...okay. Sorry, Brooklyn.

Sunday had more excitement, however. Rachel and I went to the zoo! We took the subway alllllll the way to the Bronx Zoo. It was by-far the most interesting commute I've made thus far...to say the least. But thankfully I had Rachel there to experience it with, haha.

The zoo was a way good time, felt like a kid again. I always get a good laugh out of public places that have lots of kids around. Merely because I find it entertaining to watch one kid having the time of his/her life, totally into whatever is going on, while another kid is throwing a professional tantrum and making it very clear to everyone within a 5 mile radius that he/she is ready to go home/is hot/fell down/wants more cotton candy/can't see the tigers/etc. Why is this funny to me? you ask. I don't know, but for some reason I find myself smirking on the outside and laughing on the inside.

Aside from the free entertainment, the animals at the zoo were good too. The zoo itself is very pretty, and very enjoyable to just walk around in. Rachel and I first took the "Africa Trail," then hit "The Himalayas" somehow made it to "Tiger Mountain" and everywhere in-between, with the exception of "Mouse House" and the reptiles. We steered clear of those lil guys.

Here are some of my favorites!

This polar bear was a real poser. He kept working the crowd and the camera.

Who doesn't love the giraffe?!

Rachel and I wanted to see the tigers so bad, but we found out that's where the rest of the Bronx was too...

Rachel and I after we explored. We asked our picture-taker to get the building in the background....but as you can see that didn't really work out haha. Oh, well, we had a good day.

Then after the zoo, Angela and I hit L'Express for dinner, which means I found just another eatery that I adore. Too many good places in this city!

Happy Independence Day, Peeps

July 4th, such a great holiday. I went to South Street Seaport yesterday and enjoyed the festivities with thousands of New Yorkers with a shared love of the 4th.

As a group we got a table at Uno, which was so perfect. The food was good and greasy, as all July 4th food should be, and we had a supreme seating arrangement that gave us a view of the fireworks without having to go out in the rain.

The theme of the evening was "Take Your Time." We got our table about 5 pm and the fireworks didn't begin till 9 sooooooo we had to draw dinner out into a 4 hour event. With a group of 12 girls though, it's definitely possible. Luckily with all the shopping and what not around the seaport we could take turns holding down the fort at Uno so no one was forced to actually sit for 4 hours.

Here's the view from our table. That's Brooklyn across the water. The Brooklyn bridge is pretty much right on the other side of the shopping mall. Although you can't see it in my picture, we also had a view of 3 of the New York City "waterfalls" from our table (http://www.nycwaterfalls.org/).

Uno was delicious. I'm kinda surprised that I haven't had any food that I didn't particularly like since I've been in New York. I've heard some stories and what-not, but so far all my food experiences have been excellent! So excellent, that I often eat more than I should. As you can see, Angela and I were full by the end of our dinner (and we shared!).

We tried to show y'all just how full we were in the pic on the left, but clearly Angela is better at expressing herself than I am (hahaha).

And in case you were wondering, yes, Angela is my long lost little sister. We look quite a bit alike...

Speaking of sisters, I think yesterday was the first time I felt a real amount of homesickness. It was super fun to watch the fireworks, which were really beautiful, going off on the pier with my New York friends, but I couldn't help feeling a little sad that I couldn't share the fun with my family as I usually share the 4th of July. So anyway, I'm fine, just missed 'em.

This morning is very gloomy. Extremely overcast and a little drizzly. I think I'm going to the Brooklyn Museum tonight so get excited for more updates!

MORE PLEASE!

I already knew that I love theatre, ballet, etc., but tonight's performance of Legally Blonde The Musical was absolutely the most fun I've ever had at the theatre. In the words of Time Mag, it was an "Elle of a Show!" The performance was truly spectacular. The acting was superb, choreography creative, and the voices are phenomenal. I couldn't have been more satisfied with my night. I left Times Square with my heart just so full of happiness. I want more please!



(left) Ashley, Becky, Tiffany, and I outside the theatre.








Ashley and I waiting for the show to begin!


We were so stinkin excited, and we both left completely blown away. I wasn't sure whether I would spend the money for another Broadway show while I am here, but I think tonight's performance just sealed the deal.

Day off!

LIME graciously closed the office for both July 3rd and 4th! I think the best part of this morning was when my room mate Rachel, who gets to sleep in later than me every Mon-Fri, asks, "Madison, do you have work today?" and I was gladly able to respond, "No." Nothing like the thrill of knowing you can do anything or nothing at all when other people are forced to go to work.

I just ventured out into the hot sun, ran a few errands, and who knows what else the day holds! All I know is, it's an extra free day! Wooooooooooooooooo!

lil tid bit

i had forgotten taking this picture until about 2 minutes ago...

just a quick pic of my desk at work. i took this one day last week when ashley and i arrived VERY early to work and no one, well hardly no one, was in the office yet so i snapped a quick pic of my desk. as you can see it is very tidy :)

and very Mac.

sorry, mom.

I must start with apologies for those of you that have hounded me to update my blog. Yes, I did go to DC this weekend and take pics for my blog but in my own defense:

1. the "4 hour ride" back to NYC took 6 1/2

2. when we finally got back i had to take care of the more critical areas (unpack, balance check book, check email, call Anna)

3. after i had accomplished all of that i was way too tired to type anything!

Alright, on to the update. We took off for DC around 7:45 Saturday morning, arrived around noon. On the way there I couldn't help thinking how funny it was that we drove through New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, to Washington DC (all those states!) in just 4 hours. We had lunch at Union Station, which is huge and really beautiful. It's almost a shame how modernized it is, but if you look closely, away from the neon fast food signs, you will see the original marble and notice the incredible statues decorating the station. After we filled our bellies we hopped back onto the bus and began our tour of the city. We had to pick up Doris first, she was our really old/senile tour guide. She was funny (kinda), I'll give her that...

We flew passed a lot of government buildings while Doris told odd jokes about the statues we passed, unfortunately for you, none of them are coming to mind for me to share.

First stop: The United States Capitol

A pic of Angela and I infront of the fountain. Apparently this fountain just hangs out underneath the platform constructed for the presidential inaugurations.

Then onto the White House:

Then lots, and lots of monuments/memorials.

World War II Memorial:

Korean War Memorial:

Vietnam War Memorial:

Lincoln Memorial:

Jefferson Memorial:

Navy Memorial:

At this point everyone was gross (very hot and humid day in DC) and it was time to hit the hotel in Georgetown. We stayed at the Westin Grand where I got the best night sleep I've gotten since leaving Texas. The beds were literally called "The Heavenly Bed" and having an entire full size bed to myself with room service was definitely heavenly.

For dinner I met up with my friend Nathan who goes to UT with me and is interning in DC. We ate at The Alamo Grill. I know, how Texan of us (and it was delicious). Followed by some Georgetown adventuring.

Nathan and I at Nathans...

And with Virginia in the background.

Our adventures led us to the movie theater where we saw WALL-E. And despite that some of you are rolling your eyes at the idea of watching a Disney movie, it was awesome. I want a WALL-E, just so he can roll around and play show tunes for me all day (so precious)! At this point I was exhausted so Nathan made his way back into DC and I crawled into my most ethereal bedding and snoozed.

When morning came I was so refreshed and the sight of the cups and cups of complimentary Starbucks coffee only 5 feet away from me made me certain I had found absolute bliss. Unfortunately check out time was 11 am so that only gave me 3 hours to really soak up the bliss, but I got in as much as possible before tossing my bag back onto the bus and roaming the monuments of DC another day. Day 2 consisted of the bus pulling up to the Washington Monument and a total of 2 hours to check out the premises of the National Mall. There were several museums in the area, but we didn't quite make it to any of them. However, we did get this cute pic in a huge tree (hahaha).

Me, Stacey, Whitney Whitney, Angela, Stacey

We had to go back to the monument and get in line for a trip to the tip-top. I snapped a few pics and it was pretty incredible to see everything from that height. Did you know that the Washington Monument is the tallest free-standing structure (it doesn't have any metal or steel beams holding it together) in the world?!

That was the finale and then we boarded the buses again and headed back to the big city. As I said before, it was much longer than estimated getting back. But overall, I must say, I had quite a delightful weekend (and I strongly recommend The Westin Grand to anyone visiting the area!).