Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

happiest place on earth + day trip

Last week, I woke up one morning and decided "Let's go to Disney". Ok... not exactly like that but similar. One of the perks of living in Florida is Disney World is always a few hours away- two hours for me. Another perk is a family friend works for Disney so we were able to get in free (yes, free I tell you!). I put on my casual Disney outfit which consisted of jean shorts, AA top, TOMS cord shoes, and a Vera Wang backpack. In only a few hours, we hit up two parks, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and rode all the major rides. Unfortunately it poured down rain that day so some of the water rides were closed. But it sure felt amazing to feel like a kid again! 











new york city + places to eat

This summer, I made it my mission to not eat at places I could ever get in a 300 mile radius of Florida. This task wasn't hard at all. With nearly three restaurants on every corner, it was hard to choose where to eat. Three months later, I probably tried ever cuisine known to man kind... more than once. I comprised a list of places one has to eat at if ever in New York. There is probably better places, but these places definitely caught my attention. Feel free to give me suggestions for my next visit!

Best Pizza: Grimaldi's Pizza- Brooklyn 
The hour ish wait to get order my pizza was well worth it! A friend and I got it right before crossing the bridge. You could say walking the entire bridge made us feel better about scarfing down calories.

Best Fries: Pomme Frites 
A friend I had class with recommended this to me. She told me it was "an orgasm in your mouth"... she was right. With all the dips to choose from, it never gets old coming back again and again.

Best Brunch: Sarabeth's Upper West Sides 
I would have never gone here unless a friend invited me to go. The wait can be up to an hour and half, but the waffles and salmon benedict will have you forgetting you had to wait or so long.

Best Doughnut: Donut Plant
At work one day, a co-worker brought these to celebrate another co-worker's birthday. They were so huge, I could only eat half. They also have more varieties of doughnut than you can image

Best Fast Lunch: Pret-A-Manger
During work days, I only got about 30 minutes to eat lunch, and it usually meant bringing it back to the office. This place has really "my mom made this for me" sandwiches and salads. It was fast to get and filled me up for the rest of the day.

Best Cookies: Levain Bakery
As a sucker for oozy gooey cookies, I tend to be pretty picky on the places I choose to buy cookies from- I usually make it myself. When I tried Levain Bakery, I immediately became obsessed. The cookies look hard on the outside, but are so soft and gooey on the inside. Plus they are the size of a hockey puck!

Best Sushi: Azuki Sushi
When going to Azuki, you don't just delicious sushi but also endless wine. If your table spends more than $15 on sushi, you get free wine the whole night- well till you leave. Unlike most sushi restaurants in New York, this one is perfectly price and you get what you pay for.

Best Burgers: Paul's Burgers St. Marks
Obsessed with this place!

Best Frozen Yogurt: 16 Candles 
The small radius Tallahassee acquires in size doesn't mean we are limited to fro-yo places. We have about 10 within a 2 mile radius alone. As a eater of mainly Pinkberry, I gave 16 candles a try, I stopped going to Pinkberry afterwards. There are 16 different flavors and a wide variety of topping, plus it's self serve!

Best Place You Must Try: Shake Shack
This place is known for its long lines, but that doesn't stop anyone from going. Since you wait in line to order, you tend to go all out. You can't leave without getting a shake. I recommend getting the shack burger, cheese fries, and a strawberry shake.


Best Korean: Baden Baden
Not only is the food delicious, but the atmosphere is awesome too! You have a DJ playing, a crowded bar, and an equally crowded dining area. Let's just say the Koreans know how to do it.

Best Coffee: La Colombe Torrefaction
I recommend going to the one in TriBeCa, but the one in SoHo is just as good. They even decorate the top of your drink with a flower or heart- depending on the type of drink you get.

Best Ice Cream: Brooklyn Ice Cream Co.
Located right under the Brooklyn Bridge, it becomes a popular attraction for both tourist and locals. I recommend the coffee flavor one. It is a nice cool down after crossing the bridge.

Best Tea: Alice's Tea Cup
The atmosphere is whimsical and the food hits the spot, but it's the tea you must try!


Best Cupcakes: Crumbs Bakeshop
Hands down! No matter the other places I tried, I am a true lover of Crumbs. As a lover of peanut butter, I recommend the peanut butter cupcake

Best Mac N' Cheese: Smac'
Nothing beats mac n' cheese- well according to me. I recommend the margarita mac n' cheese.

Best place to grab a beer: The Standard Biergarten
Located right under the High Line. Just grab a few friends, drink a few beers, and have a good time!

Best Bagels: Lenny's Bagels
I'm obsessed with bagels, and New York won't disappoint you in the places to get a bagel. But the one place I went to the most, and thoroughly enjoyed was Lenny's Bagels.

Best Late Night Dessert: Serendipity 3
Before going, I recommend making a reservation or you will be waiting for awhile. Aside from the frozen hot chocolate, go for other desserts like the forbidden chocolate sundae or the strawberry cheesecake. It's huge so you will want to share

I could probably add more to this list, like best BBQ, best Chinese, etc etc. but I didn't try enough of those places to determine which is the best.

photo diary + nyc
































My last week in New York definitely involved A LOT of food- mainly sweets. I made sure I went to Serendipity before I left, and I was smart enough to make reservations so I didn't have to wait for over an hour. The frozen hot chocolate just wasn't enough for me and my friends- were fatties; we added the forbidden chocolate sundae. Lets just say my stomach was swimming in chocolate barely half way through. Other sweet locations I headed to were Magnolia Bakery, Levain Bakery, and Crumbs. All of these were walking distance from the place- horrible horrible horrible- I was staying in the Upper West. I didn't take a picture of it but Pinkberry and 16 Candles (frozen yogurt) along with Donut Plant were also on the list of sweet places I went to my last week- yes, I am a fatty. I definitely choose Crumbs over Magnolia, but Magnolia had a cuter bakery setting. Levain Bakery has the HUGGEST cookies that are soft and delicious in the middle. I wish I had gotten more of the cookies because it's the only thing I've been thinking about since I've been home. Don't judge me but I totally stuffed a Crumbs cupcake in my checked in luggage... ok, you can judge me because I would. 
Being the weeping willow that I am, I cried saying all the goodbyes on my last day at work. This summer I had one of the greatest adventures I could ever ask for, and I met some amazing people along the way. It will be different not seeing the same people I spent the last 3 months with, everyday basically 10 hours each day. But I come home with new friendships and perfect memories. This summer will definitely be in the books, but New York hasn't gotten rid of me yet... I am already planning my flight back! 

photo diary + nyc summer

{Shake Shack for lunch}
{I tried the peanut butter shake- tasted like Reeses}
{Madison Square Park}
{walk back to work}


{picking up dinner at Eataly}

{Central Park near 75th West}
{Sunday brunch at Sarabeth's}

{View of Manhattan near the Brooklyn Bridge}

{Walking the entire Brooklyn Bridge}


{Statue of Liberty & Staten Island Ferry}


This past week has been a stressful. I moved out of the place I was staying and moved to a friend's place on 75th near Central Park- NOT COMPLAINING. This week we had a slow day at work so I decided to meet a friend in Madison Square Park for some Shack Shake. I literally ate way to many calories but WORTH it. I tried the peanut butter shake for the first time, and I wasn't disappointed. Later that way I wanted to take a trip to Eataly for some dinner pick ups. I got good Italian pasta to pair with the red wine I picked up. I had dinner at Fred's at Barney's Saturday night with three girlfriends. We sat next to these two old ladies who decided to have a lovely three course meal- it was so cute! On Sunday I had brunch with my roommate and friends at Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side. I had the most delicious Salmon benedict while others ate pumpkin pancakes and stuffed omelets. After brunch, I met up with a friend to take the train to Brooklyn and walk across the Brooklyn bridge. Since it was such a hot day, we had ice cream from Brooklyn Ice Cream Co.- absolutely delicious! We crossed the Brooklyn bridge, then headed to the Statue of Liberty, and we ended the day at Pomme Frites in the East Village, eating thousands of calories in fries.