Moving Update

So for everyone out there dying to hear an update on my new apartment here it is:

Erica and I are still subleasing in the Financial District with our friend Heather and she is moving to the Upper East as well (heck yes). Since we currently live in a building with an elevator she is only allowed to move out on the weekdays, therefore she is moving out TODAY.

This means that she is moving ALL of her furniture to her new apartment this afternoon. So since Erica and I can't move in today, we are sleeping on a blowup mattress on the floor for the next two nights. Let me tell you how excited I am about that...

After three wrong phone numbers to the current tenants to my new apartment, a broker who doesn't do anything and a landlord who talks so fast I can't ever understand what he is telling me, I got a hold of someone so they could tell me when we could move in.

We are not only being able to move in on Sunday (good thing because otherwise we would be homeless Sunday night), but we will also be able to do it first thing in the morning so we can set up our new place all day! Also after talking with the current tenant, she is willing to sell us their A/C unit for only $40 and their microwave and shelf for $30. We are SO excited!

So bright and early at 8:00am on July 31st we will finally be able to move to our new apartment. We are so excited to finally be able to unpack and have a home it's ridiculous. Oh and don't worry once we move in, I will be posting lots of pictures once everything's set up.

Good Old Fashioned Books

With our lives being so busy these days we don't always take time to sit down and read a good book. Well with Borders going out of business, it kinda made me sad and think about recent books I have read.

I enjoy reading, but I guess you could say I do it in phases. I will read like four books in one month and then won't read again for three months. I know there are a lot of people like that, others who hate reading and those who (like my mom) can read a whole book in a day.

Everyday I see tons of people on the subways with Nooks and it makes me want one. While eReader's are great, there is still something about a book in your hand that makes me feel good (cheesy I know). For those of you who don't ever enjoy reading, think of someone else who enjoys it while you read my post.

Remember my post the other day about the good old fashion postal service/mail? Well, you can use books to spread love and kindness too. Think of a friend you could buy a book for whether it is their birthday, anniversary or just to show them you were thinking about them. I'll give you a few recommendations of books I have recently read and other ones I read a while ago, but still love.

I just finished "Then She Found Me" by Elinor Lipman. While it was a good book, it wasn't extremely captivating. Some of the reviews said once you started reading it you wouldn't put it down. I hate to break it to you, but that's not exactly true. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad book at all, it's just not the most amazing book I have ever read either. I do recommend it though if you are looking for an easy read.

The book is about April, a school teacher in her late 30s, who was adopted at birth. After her parents death, her birth mother Bernice tracks her down. Her mother is an eccentric local talk show host and very different from April. Throughout the book April learns to let her mother in her life and falls in love along the way. In 2007 they made a movie about it starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick and Colin Firth. After watching the trailer I can tell you right now that the book and the movie are not the same story line, but I still want to see it eventually.

Another AMAZING book is "The Help" by Kathryn Sockett. I read it last summer when my friend Cami highly recommended it. It is one of my favorite books now. If you haven't heard of it, I recommend you buy it right now. Once you start reading it, you don't want to set down. I read the whole book in just a few days.

It is set during the '60s in Jackson, Mississippi while the Civil Rights movement was taking place. You hear the viewpoints of three different women who form an uncommon friendship in those days around their socially risky secret writing project. It is a #1 New York Times Bestsellers and has a movie being released August 10th.  Emma Stone is playing the Main character Skeeter. I can't wait to see it!

An amazing author is Jodi Picoult. She has written about a dozen books and they are all amazing. Recently I read "Plain Truth" and "Salem Falls." They were both amazing. Her books are longer in length, but are worth every page and minute you spend reading them. When I start one of her books, it's hard for me to put it down. I highly recommend anything she has written.

One book that encouraged me to move to New York is If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You by Kelly Cutrone. She owns her own Public Relations Firm called People's Revolution and has the show "Kell On Earth" on Bravo.

While there were a few parts of her book that discuss spiritual beliefs I don't agree with, the rest of the book is amazing. I felt as if her and I were the same person at times.  She just released a new book called "Normal Gets You Nowhere" that I have been dying to buy!

Of course I love cookbooks so I will let you in on some of my favorites. I absolutely LOVE Ina Garten. Any cookbook by her is amazing. Here are a few I love: "Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?," "Barefoot Contessa Family Style," and "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics."

All of her cookbooks come with lots of pictures and easy to read recipes. While some of her dishes at first glance appear to be complicated, they are really quite simple once you read the recipe and cook it. She breaks everything down so it is simple and delicious. Buy any of these cookbooks and you will be extremely happy with your purchase.

I hope you like my requests. You'll have to let me know what you think of them once you read them. Also, let me know some of your favorite books and cookbooks so I can check them out too!



(p.s. If you want to be awesome and help me out in New York, order items I post on my blog by clicking on the links directly from my blog. When you buy items I link to Amazon, I receive a comission and these days I can take all the extra income I can get haha.) 

NYC Restaurant Research

While on my lunch break I was surfing the internet for what else, but cool restaurants to eat at in New York. I pretty much do this on a daily basis, but especially at work now since I have no friends here to eat with...pathetic I know. The up side is I spend less on lunch because I choose food from to-go places.

Today I went to Neofytos and ordered a fresh salad. They have an entire bar for you to choose from and a list of how much each additional item costs. I had the guy add grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, red onions, black olives, red cabbage, croutons and a balsamic vinaigrette. He mixed it all right in front of me and was finished in just a few minutes. My salad ended up costing $7.50.

Normally I wouldn't order a salad because I don't like the pre-boxed kind, but I enjoyed this one. It was definitely a great deal for a quick fresh salad only a few minutes walking distance from work. For those of you what aren't huge salad fans, they also have sandwiches.

Anyways while I was searching the internet, I found a couple of new really cool websites. One of them is Eater: New York. It has different stories about new restaurants opening, the local hot spots, and where fun/cheap places are in your neighborhood. It also showcases reporting on celeb chefs, dining trends and reality TV. Of course I was looking at the New York restaurants, but other cities are featured on their website as well.

One of my favorite articles was "The 38 Essential New York Restaurants, July '11." You can search for restaurants by neighborhoods or just view the map of the whole island. One place I have been wanting to visit is #26 on the list: JG Melon Restaurant. I first saw it on the Food Network where Bobby Flay (my favorite) talked about how they have the best hamburgers in the city.

Doesn't that look delicious?

Hopefully since I am about to be an Upper East Sider I will be able to go here soon! If you have been to JG Melon's, let me know about your experience! 

While searching around on this new site I stumbled upon a link to the Food Network New York City Food & Wine Festival (September 29-October 2). I instantly began looking at the schedule and tickets to see if I could find an event I could afford to attend. Unfortunately, the cheapest event I found that interested me was around $100. I immediately told myself it was alright because by this time next year I will be making enough money to afford any ticket I want!

Upon further review I did find some complimentary events (they aren't necessarily the exciting ones though) and sent an e-mail to RSVP. The one that looked semi interesting was "The Feast Talks: 21 Questions for Tom Colicchio." I sent in for four people. My roommate Erica, her boyfriend Tyler and my friend Alexa. I don't know if they will all want to go, but I figured it can't hurt to do it just in case. I figure I can always drag Alexa along with me if I promises her drinks afterwards haha.

As I continued to search the internet I also found Lidia Bastianich's website. For those of you who watch Master Chef, she is Joe's (the judge) mother. For those of you who don't, google her. She is known for Italian cooking shows and cookbooks. Next time I go into Barnes & Noble I want to flip through one and see how it is. Here are a few of the cookbooks she has written.

If you have any of these or know anything about her cookbooks, PLEASE let me know what you think about them. Also, feel free to tell me which ones are your favorite and which recipes of hers you life.

She also has several different restaurants and just opened a new place with her son and Mario Batalli called Eataly. In a sense it is a supermarket with restaurants on steroids. You walk around being able to taste the ingredients the restaurants cook cook with. One weekend my roommate and I are going to go there, so I will be able to tell you more about it at a later date.

That's all the new restaurant info I have to tell you about for now. If you know of anywhere I should try, don't hesitate to tell me! I look forward to hearing from you.

First Day at My New Job

After taking a 30 minute subway ride and stopping to get my usual fix at Starbucks, I arrived at my first day of work at 9:30am. I met with HR and received my very own employee id. One of it's perks is it allows me to see any of the museum's exhibits for free and receive 25% off at the bookstore.

My job is not what most people expect when you tell them you work at an art museum. The only art I saw all day was in the room I walk through to get to the the elevator to go up to my floor. My desk isn't bad though. I have a window view, a large desk and two computer screens. I spent most of my day inputting data for several events the museum is holding this fall. I also went through lists, edited them and invited many high profile people in the city to several events. It was interesting to see how all the behind the scenes work takes place.

When I got off work it was raining and of course I forgot my umbrella. I walked 4 avenues and 4 blocks in the rain getting soaking wet before I reached the subway station. I partially dried out on the subway ride home and then walked back out in the rain and became soaked all over again.

On my walk home I decided it was going to be a pj's and pint of ice cream kind of night. I bought Ben & Jerry's Banana Split ice cream. It was absolutely delicious! It was a great ending to a semi long day.

I received a few small gifts in the mail from my mom today, one of my best friends Alexa is moving to New York tomorrow and I get paid on Thursday for my job last week. This week is already looking up! I can't wait to see what else this week has to offer.

A Lost Art

Often times we get so caught up in our fast paced world we forget to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. Lately I have realized how meaningful hand written letters truly are. I believe that writing someone a personal letter is a lost art that our "we want it now" society unfortunately no longer practices.

While I was home last month before I moved to New York, I found all the old letters my Grandpa wrote to my Grandma while he was serving in the Navy during WWII. My Grandma had kept every single letter my Grandpa ever wrote her, from the time they first met until his tour was over. I began to read some of the letters and just sit there in awe of them.

Everyone always hears about love letters and sees them in movies, but very seldom does anyone experience them first hand. I would sit there and read about the love my Grandpa had for my Grandma and would be amazed. He would spend a whole letter telling her how beautiful she was, how he missed her and how she was the love of his life. It would almost make me tear up they were so beautiful. This is when my appreciation for hand written letters was renewed.

Taking time out of your day to sit down and hand write a letter is a very thoughtful thing to do. A text/e-mail/Facebook message doesn't have the same meaning/personal touch that goes into writing a letter. The letter doesn't have to be a love letter either. It can be telling an old friend you miss her, updating a family member about your life or whatever you want. It's not what the letter is about, it's what goes into the letter that counts.

Once I arrived in New York, I decided I want to continue my new found appreciation for letters. The first week I arrived I wrote my Grandma and my friend in Virginia a letter. Since then I have decided to start writing my niece and nephew, along with a few other people I have not talked to in years as well.

It takes at least 2-3 days for the letter to arrive once mailed, the person has to write you back and then it takes another 2-3 days for you to receive their letter. While this may seem like a long time, it's exciting in a way. It makes you look forward to something.

Also, who doesn't enjoy receiving something unexpected in the mail (besides bills/junk mail)?? Whenever I receive a letter/gift in the mail, it makes me happy to know someone else took their own personal time to do something for me. It shows the person was thinking about you even when you didn't even know.

I know your probably thinking that you don't have time to go to the Post Office and use "snail mail," but I promise you that you do. I encourage everyone to slow down and take time to write someone a letter. Whether it be a family member, friend, or someone who you haven't talked to in forever, I guarantee they will appreciate it.

I know it may sound cheesy, but I promise it will be more rewarding than sending an e-mail or text. It doesn't have to be an every day thing. The next time you think about someone in your life and want to make their day a little brighter, sit down and write them a note. You never know how badly they might need it and what an impact it can end up making in their life.

If anyone would like for me to add them to my list, just let me know and I'll go out and buy some more stationary right now. I would feel honored to write anyone and give them another opportunity to smile about life.

Somewhere In Between

So while I love having all my friends and family follow my blog, at times I wish it was only random people. I am a very private person so knowing whatever I write will be known to all my friends scares me. It's times like tonight where I wish I could write something and not worry about what people think about it.

Sometimes I feel like I can't share my doubts because I don't want it to scare my mom. I can't share some of my fun times because I don't want my dad to worry about his baby girl. I can't share some of my thoughts because I don't want my roommate to know the lonely times I feel. I can't share my fears because I don't want my friends back home to know about them either.

I feel I have to keep up this tough front when sometimes all I want to do is let it all out. I'm the type of person who doesn't enjoy discussing feelings, especially with people who are going to ask me questions about it later. Also, sometimes once I express my frustration/fears/thoughts I am over them and they no longer bother me. When you share these things with other people though, they don't understand how after I express my feelings, I'm instantly over it and have no desire to discuss it. I feel that I stated it, it's over and let's move on. There is no reason to continue to talk about it because it's not going to change anything.

Nothing traumatic or even big actually happened today to make me decide to write about this, so don't worry. It was just a lazy normal day I would probably have if I had been in Waco. Today it just felt different.

When I was at school, if I wanted to go out with friends or go to happy hour with some people, all I had to do was pick up the phone and call. If I wanted to stay in all day and be lazy, I knew I could do that as well. The reason it's different here is because I don't really have two options like I did in school.

Today I wanted to go grab drinks with my friends, but I couldn't for two reasons. One because I went to a bar last night that was way overpriced and didn't realize it until after I had ordered my drinks, so I needed to save today and two because I don't have any friends to call.

Everyone keeps telling me I will make friends. While I know this is true, it doesn't really help me right now. It doesn't keep me from feeling alone at this moment. It doesn't comfort me to think in three months I'll have friends.

I want to be able to call Kathryn and Melodie and go to Ninfa's for $3 margaritas. I want to be able to go next door to Cami's and be able to have our heart to hearts that I can only have with her. I want to show up at 9th street and hang out with the guys and play Mario Kart. I want to be with my Big right now celebrating her birthday in Dallas. I want to be able to go pick up my niece and nephew and swim with them in the pool and have a sleepover afterwards.

I'm not naive in thinking that even if I hadn't moved to New York I would still be able to do all these things. I know graduating from college changes everything. When I was still in Texas though, I still had the option if I planned it. Here none of those things are an option.

Don't get me wrong, I do NOT regret moving here for one second. I know amazing things are going to happen in my life and I will make new friends soon and these feelings will no longer be as big of a deal to me. It's just hard when I see my friends Facebook status' about hanging out and talking to other friends from home and telling me who all they hung out with this past weekend.

I know it will get better. I know New York is filled with tons of amazing people and I just need to give it time. I know I will make tons of friends and these feelings will be a distant memory. I know I'm going to have some amazing experiences while I am here and learn more about myself than I would have if I had stayed in Texas. I know this is temporary. I know just like last summer in Nashville I had some of the same feelings and got through them, I will get through this a better person as well.

After writing this I already feel better. I already know God has amazing plans for my life. I can't wait to see how it will unfold and the crazy new experiences I will have. I am already excited about my job and curious to see if I meet any awesome people there. I just need to be patient and give it time. Everything that is supposed to happen will. I just have to have faith.

I Have a Job....Kinda

So this all started happening yesterday, but I didn't want to tell y'all about it and jinx myself. I have a 6 week temp job at an art museum here in Manhattan. I went to the agency that I am working with yesterday just to finish up some paperwork and left knowing I was going to have income soon!

While I was there, the guy I work with told me to come back to his office to see if he could find anything better for me and to introduce me to more people. He introduced me to the Vice President of the company. After meeting me, she said she a great opening for me.

She sent all my paperwork over yesterday to the museum. She told them that if they didn't hire me, she was going to quit her job because they were crazy. She said there are no guarantees, but sometimes if they have an open position when my temp job is up, they might hire me full time.

Well she called me this morning to confirm I have the job and I start on Monday. I'll be making enough to pay my rent, utilities and have plenty to spend. I'm only doing entry level work, but maybe I will get to go to fun events they host. The commute this next week will be about an hour, but when I move it will be much much shorter.

It just amazes me how I almost talked myself out of going in the office yesterday, but for some reason I felt like I should. It just once again shows me that God always has a plan for my life. I may not understand in the beginning, but His plan always unfolds eventually.