Lost with a cause

The past few days have been filled with lots of work, dinners, shopping, and speed walking through the park. And *NSYNC. Can't forget about my fav ninties crooners.

Friday I met a few friends midtown East for drinks after work. What should've been a 10 minute ride took me 50 minutes. As much as I complain about my knack for getting lost, chasing trains has been a fun way to learn the city and to learn to trust myself, as backwards as that sounds. Usually my biggest mistakes come from not trusting my instincts or neglecting to use them at all while traveling. If I've learned anything in the past months its that I can depend on myself more than I thought. And to read signs. They exist for a good reason.

Weekend recap

I took the train into Long Island on Sunday and spent the rainy day watching (read: attempting to quote in a very poor British accent) Harry Potter with Jonathan. It was such a perfect day to stay in and watch movies. Few things are more relaxing than hearing the rain fall. I stayed an extra day due to Jonathan's begging, but I was happy to have stayed. I really love being with them and being in that messy, comfortable house.

Tonight I got dinner with my friend Laura. We both love the same, super nerdy things and have an obsession with Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart, not Hepburn) and the Olsen Twin movies. Oddly, my love for them enhances my dorkiness and hers conveniently makes her cooler. Ain't life twisted. Either way, as we were leaving dinner we noticed they were preparing cameras to shoot SVU. We would've stayed and stalked, but ice cream sounded more important. On my walk home they were packing everything up.

Saturday we're finding the Gossip Girl set. I'm tellin' ya, with great determination and a friend who can sniff out celebs, I have no doubt we'll meet someone interesting.

Night yaaa'llll

Sunday Morning

Eating a cookie and watching an Italian soap opera on RAI. The good thing about soap operas is that even a minimal understanding of the language is usually enough to figure out what's going on. This one is set during the civil war and we have all kinds of delicious Italian drama: Secret plans for sneaking around the Germans in battle, this woman is searching for her lover in a dangerous mission and in a super chic forties dress, and another woman's boytoy left for New York. And the dramatic violins have been cued the whole time. Perfetto. This may have to become a ritual.

Once I get ready I'm headed to Penn Station to take the train into Long Island. Cookies, Italian drama, and family--that's what Sundays are made of.

LOVE

So tempted

Before I begin a rundown, check this out:

http://solutionsthatstick.com/subtle-butt-5-pieces-8?zenid=l7jrgm8m1m31btl31opvlhot10

Not that I have a strong interest in getting away with farting while going about my daily activities, I am so, so curious if they work. These need to be used by spies. I wonder if the C.I.A. created them like 20 years ago and have been hiding them. Someone please buy, try, and let me know.

In news not related to James Bonding a fart, yesterday one of the associate editors asked me to accompany her to Prada on Fifth so that I could help her pick up a suitcase. She said regardless of the fact that I can't afford it, I should check out Fifth stores for the experience. Future plans to dress up and pretend I'm rich? Yep. But that's not the point. While we were in that heavenly escape disguised as a store, we looked up and saw Jay Manuel walk in! For those who are unaware, he's one of the main hosts for Top Model. This polished guy:

He walked into Prada like a nervous teenager entering Homecoming alone, looking for his friends. Not the air I expected from him. But he is so perfectly put together and polished, he seriously looks like a life-sized Ken doll. This certain editor and I raised our eyebrows at each other and had a squeal in the cab. Good times at Prada... (I have to say it at some point; errybody knows I'll never be able to go in and buy something.)

Old friends, new places

Today I got lunch with a girl that I knew in Elementary school who is living directly across the park from me. It was my first time taking the bus rather than the subway, and that was about as interesting as it sounds. We then explored The Met because she had never been and wandered around the UES until my feet were close to growing a mouth and yelling at me (I thought my sandals just needed to be broken in but I believe that they are just uncomfortable. Shame.). At 6 I met up with my friend Amanda for dinner in Chelsea and we ate at a cute, typical American diner that happened to be run by Hispanics. The food was a bit overpriced for what it was but they had a nice selection of pie (read: it was worth going back to). It was good seeing her and exploring a part of town that I rarely go to.

That's all I got!

LOVE

Wandering Around

Recently my schedule has been pretty crazy, so I haven't been working out (except at work, which essentially is one, very long workout). Tonight, however, I had some time so I went back to my fav spot, the JK Reservoir track. Not exactly a creative place to go, but so pretty. I have pictures that I sent to Hannah on my phone while having a who-is-more-jealous-of-whose-current-location-battle, a battle I quickly dominated but I don't have my phone cord unfortunately. So errybody give a warm "thanks" to fivestarphoto.net for providing you all with this photo. Gorgeous.

Anyhoo, met up with my friend Laura for dinner last night. We went to a crammed but cute Italian restaurant on 85th that was delicious and inexpensive--the best combination. (Side note: The semi-insane, middle-aged waiter kept flirting with me, which speaks to why I am perpetually single. I almost exclusively get hit on by Mexicans and homeless men. One man even stopped chanting for money last week to whistle and tell me he liked my skirt. It's a sad world out there. Anyway, back to Saturday and homeless people who harassed me in a different way.) After dinner Laura and I got Pinkberry and sat outside of the Natural History Museum for an hour and chatted. Then we started to walk down Central Park West to head home and when a homeless woman approached us for money. We clearly just kept walking, which was so offensive to her that she began screaming about how we'd end up just like her one day and never receive help. She reminded me of Susan from season 1 of Survivor (If I were to see you on the side of the road I wouldn't even give you water!). Honey, you are hitting up the wrong people for cash. Lesson to the poor: don't hit up broke college students and expect a large, or any, sum. Aside from that creepy 3 minutes, the park was beautiful and we had a good time.

P.S. The title is not just about what I've been doing, but is the title of the very relevant song I'm listening to by Coconut Records. Not their best, but perfect for a chill night.

Forgot the fun stuff:

I was eating lunch in the CN cafeteria on Thursday when Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis came in to check it out. Had my face not been jammed inside my left over chicken and broccoli container I might've noticed them. I miss everything. And then my friend/fellow intern rode the elevator with Mila Kunis when she was coming back from a pick-up. She didn't want to be an obnoxious fan and ask for an autograph, so she just silently rode with her mouth wide-open, staring until Mila exited the elevator. She smiled and said "Have a nice day," as she entered the GQ lobby. Nice, right? She would've taken a picture with her for sure. Oh well, another day, another celeb sighting (fingers crossed I'll actually notice)

Oh hey, Ohio

So the past week has been more than hectic, so I'll break down the highlights as best as I can (highlights is loosely used here, considering most of you know that my highlights are exclusively about food that I've eaten. Let's say important happenings instead.)

I'll start sad and work up: my nonno died last week. He's been sick for about a year now, if not two, so this came as no surprise. Still, I adored his incomprehensible english that resulted from his thick, Italian accent, his constant matching of plaid suits, and his love of wearing newsboy caps. We were by no means close, but I'll definitely miss him. My amazing aunt, sensing that my mom would need as much support as possible, funded my coming into Ohio for a long weekend (Aunt Reen, I could not adore you more). So, at 6:15 Friday morning, I hopped in a taxi--I would say hailed but it was very conveniently sitting outside of my apartment at the light)--and headed to LGA. I had to transfer in the Philadelphia airport and then made it to CVG at 12:30ish. For the first time in my life I flied alone with almost no mistakes. My one, teeny,insignificant error is that my passport is currently in the Ottawa International Airport. Apparently it was upset about my little travel and wanted some adventure. Hopefully I'll have it back by this weekend.

My cousin picked me up from the airport and brought me to my aunt's house where everyone from the funeral came to eat. Walking in the door, I saw a slew of familiar faces and an equal number of adorable, aged Italians, all who somehow knew my name and seemed unjustifiably happy to see me. It gave me one of those great warm feelings (not fuzzy though, just warm. Though it may have been from all the espresso those people chug.). All of them were angry that I had lost five pounds in my weeks in NY, and decided that this would not do. My five pounds were successfully recovered through an abundance of carbs, fine cheese and pork. Gotta love being Italian.

When I wasn't stuffing my face and stretching out my stomach, the weekend was spent lovin' on my family and packing up the remains of my grandfather's possessions, some of which I was given. I'm about to go heavy on the cheese here and unfortunately I don't mean asiago: my family is amazing. They are such a loving, fun, hilarious support system that I genuinely don't know where I would be without. Being home was reviving.

Today I drove back with my cousin's from LI and we stopped at a soccer store near my apartment and then got dinner. The food was great and the waiter's were extremely sexy (read: I will be going back). Noticing how attractive our waiter was, I obviously mentioned it to my aunt who promptly replied, "He's married. I already looked for you." See what I mean? Thanks for lookin' out; team work is the way things get done. And the way I get dates. My uncle wasn't amused but hey, ya can't please everyone.

This was a short summary if you can believe it, but definitely long enough. Lastly, my KEDS finally came!! Yay for feet that will not ache at the end of the day and for crisp, clean sneaks. Check 'em out.

I'm off to pick out an ensemble with them that will not make me look like a substitute teacher or a six-year-old. Although really, what is my style if not a perfected coalition of those two?

LOVE

6,7,8, & 9 (Slacker style)

Good evenin',

I am a bad blogger and waited for the end of the full weekend to give a run-down of my adventures. And oh were they adventurous. Actually, although my weekend wasn't super exciting, it was the first time I felt like I was really taking advantage of my summer resting spot. Friday we actually got an early out day for the holiday, which was nice but I had no idea what to do. My grumbling stomach eventually led me to a pizza place/bakery a few blocks from work which was a wonderful discovery. I had a piece of chicken parmesan pizza that was significantly larger than my head and followed it up with a black and white cookie that was about the size of my head (that is my only measurement scale). It was definitely satisfying but I think I shocked the cashier when he realized I had consumed everything; I impress people every day. That night I worked out for the first time since I left school (yeah, yeah, worked out on a Friday night, shmah, shmah). I walked around the reservoir in Central Park a few times and, despite my getting lost when I tried to leave (The lovely NYC policeman who showed me where to go were much appreciated), it was amazing; the sun was setting, making the water and fountain look even prettier than usual and there was a light wind that made it a perfect time to walk. Seriously beautiful.

Saturday I went down to East Village, where Andy used to live, so that I could get Artichoke Pizza and go to The Strand. If you haven't heard of The Strand, it's a famous bookstore that has a really diverse collection and a nice selection of store purses that are pretty popular around the city. And if you haven't heard of Artichoke and are coming to the city, check it out! They are known for, not surprisingly, their artichoke pizza which is has a cream sauce, rather than tomato sauce, and spinach and artichokes. It is way more amazing than it sounds and the slices are so large that the cashier had to turn two plates into what looked like a venn diagram, overlapping them because the slice is so large it needs both plates. I was walking down the street, attacking this heavenly slice and I hear "Hey girl, wanna gimme somah-that pizza?" And while fighting the slice for the string of cheese hanging from my very pleased mouth, I shook my head and made it clear that was my slice! Go getchya own. Then I went to The Strand and took the subway back to Times Square where I wandered around and ran into a street fair in which there was free Dr. Pepper and blocks and blocks of scarves, clothing, purses, jewelry, gyros and lemonade. I'd like to take a moment to point out that I took the subway without having called anyone and made it there and back with no issues. Pat on the back.

Sunday morning I just hung out and watched Pushing Daises on Netflix (what-up free trial #2!) until I got a call from Jeff at 1 asking if I still wanted to get together. So we explored Central Park for a few hours and then headed back for dinner, which was delicious. He was having a few friends over that night to watch fireworks on his roof at his new apartment so I stayed for that. It was gorgeous, such a perfect moment (or 20); the sun was going down and there was a great breeze and then the fireworks weren't too shabby. The whole night was a lot of fun.

Nothing interesting to report for today. It was too hot to do anything, so more Pushing Daises inside and I watched Mad Men on AMC because I've heard so much about the show yet never seen it. I liked it; it made me want to wear high-waisted skirts and put my hair in a beehive. Straight class.

That's all I got. Hopefully that was an accurate run-down.

LOVE

5

I baby-sat for Em after work today, only for a couple of hours, but I'm so glad I went. I mean, I made a bit of cash which was nice (before I left home, like home home, I watched a show on how ATMs are being watched by predators who end up stealing billions of dollars from debit cards and I was terrified of what I would do. But now, I don't need one! Everybody but those rude thieves wins.). Honestly though, I just like being with them. I don't feel as alone and there is a strong connection, one that I felt immediately when I met all of them.

I had to put D to bed first and he screamed when he realized he couldn't smile his way out this time. He also accidentally kicked poor E in the face and then she cried too, but got over it when she decided to eat the applesauce from the cold container I put on her face. Oh, the wonders of sugar and preservatives.

Afterwards we watched about five minutes of Dora. Near the end of show Dora says, "would you help me find the [insert lost item here]?." And E, being the brusque 4 and 3/4-year-old that she is, rolls her eyes and mutters "She's always starting trouble." ADORE. This girl is hilarious. We then painted for 30 minutes and I had to put her to bed late because D was still crying when she was supposed to go down. He eventually fell asleep and, consequently, so did she. At least I hope so; Em got home before I had time to really check. I won't see them for a week because they're going out of town for a while, but E made me take a picture of the painting she drew of/for me because it wasn't finished but she didn't want me to forget what it looked at. If my camera weren't so testy I'd put the picture up. I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyway, they are currently the best part of my NY. I mean, at least tied with cupcake from yesterday and Artichokes (weekend plan).

Hope you're all doing well.

LOVE