Oh, How Pinteresting

This week my theme is all about Labor Day! This weekend is the last weekend of summer and a great reason to party with family and friends. If I were throwing a labor day bash this weekend, here is what you might see:

Delicious BBQ:

Source: delish.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: care2.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: pauladeen.com via Maria on Pinterest

Dessert that looks like other food:

Source: tasteofhome.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: bakerella.com via Laura on Pinterest

Every party needs a few adults beverages:

Source: gadling.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: lindawagner.net via Laura on Pinterest

Some decorations:

Source: marthastewart.com via Rhiannon on Pinterest

Source: None via Sally on Pinterest

August Bucklist - Check or Bust?

This is an update about the goals I wanted to accomplish throughout August. Look at this post to see why I chose each goal.

Walk the Brooklyn Bridge - Check, but just barely! I did this today because I happened to have a switch in my plans and I was already out! I loved it because I got to see some awesome Manhattan skyline as well as get in some walking and beautiful weather :)

Old City Hall - Bust! I totally got on the train, rode it to the end, did not follow the directions to exit the train, continued on my journey camera in hand, and then we returned to the station heading uptown. No City Hall station. I was bummed. I am going to do some more research and then try it again.

Read 2 books - Check! I read One Day by David Nicholls. It was a touching love story that is being turned into a movie featuring Anne Hathaway. It follows the lives of two best friends and checks in on them on the same day each year.

I also read Pretty In Plaid by Jen Lancaster. This book made me laugh out loud, which is semi embarrassing on the bus, but it is great. Jen Lancaster has been one of my favorite authors for awhile and all of her books are memoirs that discuss different parts of her life. Her writing is snarky and makes me smile because she always says what you wish you could say.

I read 2 other book as well, but we shall save those for another day.

Eat from a food truck - Bust! I have passed tons of food trucks in the past month, but I was never ready to make a purchase. I was either on my way somewhere and didn't want to get food for fear of spilling it, or I didn't have cash on me, or I had just eaten. I have pretty much decided that next month, this is going to happen. I am going to pick a specific day and just go.

Visit Union Square - Check! I visited on a Wednesday and it was gorgeous weather. The farmer's market was full of fresh fruit and veggies, plus tons of flowers and other natural products. I bought a few things and ended up making some delicious meals. I will be going back many times in the future :)

Guggenheim - Bust! Unfortunately, this museum did not happen this month. It will happen however, I am very excited to check it out.

Highline - Check! This park is amazing! I wrote a whole post about my visit, check it out!

Staten Island Ferry - Check! I did this, it was awesome, I saw the Statue of Liberty, I blogged about it here.

4 Free Events - Semi Check!

I am lame and only made it to 2 free events. This item fell off my list and I forgot to schedule out some free things to do. I am going to get better at this next month!

The first event I went to was the GMA American Idol concert. I showed you some pictures and talked about the experience over here.

The second event was earlier this week. I went to an event in Bryant Park hosted by the New York Giants and The New York Jets. Each team had players and coaches signing autographs and taking pictures. I mainly only went to this because my Mom is the biggest Jets fan ever and really wanted some pictures :)

I think I did a decent job on my bucket list and I also moved into my apartment, worked a few tutoring jobs, and survived Hurricane Irene. All in all, a successful month.

Manhattan: Post Irene

Now that I have had a day to recover from the storm that had Manhattan shut down, I can safety say that I think New York City overdid it.

The storm came and went and the majority of New York went unscathed. New Jersey got beat up and Staten Island is under water, but Manhattan didn't even lose power. The subways were restored quickly and today as I walked around the city I was so amazed at how it seemed as though nothing had occured. Tourists walked and pointed and posed for pictures, the subways ran on time, and the weather was amazing. You would never know that a brief 24 hours before, the city shut down completely. Broadway closed for the first time since 9/11, the entire Transit system shutdown at noon on Saturday, and residents stayed inside their homes if they weren't asked to evacuate.

I am glad that everyone is safe, but I fear that next time we have a serious storm New Yorkers won't take it serious because this storm already cried, "Wolf".

Irenageddon 2011

I have lived through plenty of hurricanes growing up in Florida. I have had school canceled, I have had my house flood, I have been forced to participate in mandatory evacuations,I have lived with no power for days, etc. However, I have never seen people react to hurricane quite like I saw today in Manhattan. There is a frenzied feeling in the air and you can see people terrified about Irene. You can hear the chatter in the subways, the phone conversations as you stand in the checkout line, and the warnings in the papers. New York City is not nearly as prepared for a storm like this as Florida.

I went to Trader Joe's to pick up some hurricane staples and had to wait 15 minutes outside the store to even be let inside. (The picture to the right is of the Trader Joe's in Brooklyn, but it was similar on the UWS) I should have taken that as a warning, but I really wanted my Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Carmel Sea Salt candy bar, because lets face it if I have no power, I will need some chocolate. So I waited, then I entered the store and there were no carts, again a warning, but I grabbed a basket and continued shopping. What I experienced was not really shopping, there were so many people in the store that we sort of moved in a line and randomly grabbed an item, but if you passed the item, too bad because the line was moving forward. There was no stopping to read packages or see prices. I made it to an opening and grabbed some trail mix, then I headed downstairs towards the canned food.

The bakery was empty, I mean empty, no bread, no rolls, no cookies, no anything.

The canned food shelves were almost empty. There were some sardines, but I would need to be starving to buy those. There were no cans of tuna, no jars of spaghetti, and the soup shelves had the worst flavors left. The water shelves were bare as well because brushing my teeth with sparkling water is just not how I roll.

I was in awe. I mean I know a lot of people live in this city, but seriously, no food left.

I grabbed a few items like crackers and peanut butter and bananas and made my way to the checkout line. I continued to walk and walk and walk towards what seemed like a never ending line. I am pretty sure I looped the second floor of the Trader Joe's 3 times until I came to the end of the line. I waited 45 minutes to check out and then I still had to go to another store to buy water and tuna fish.

I hope this storm actually hits New York because if I waited in line 45 minutes for a candy bar, I am going to be angry. When I said I hope it hits New York, I mean that in the nicest way possible. I would like for New York to get some rain, some wind, possibly lose a little bit of power, but I would hate for anyone to get hurt, buildings to be damages or for the transportation system to be shut down for a long period of time. I just remember how frustrating it would be in Florida when you boarded up your house, got sandbags, prepared to be powerless for a week and then the hurricane changed it's mind and headed East.

In other hurricane related news, I live in an evacuation zone, but they have not decided to evacuate my zone (Zone B) yet. This morning Mayor Bloomberg instituted the first ever mandatory evacuation in New York City. 250,000 residents in evacuation zone A were told to leave their homes by 5:00pm tonight. I hope that I don't have to evacuate. I really don't want to sleep on an air mattress in a strange place, the air mattress in my room is plenty unusual enough. They also plan to shut down the bridges, subways, and buses around noon tomorrow if the winds get as high as expected. Let's just say that I am prepared with a pile of books, a charged Ipod, and my computer until it dies.

If the storm is awesome and my computer is charged, I will update throughout the storm. If it is boring, then I will hopefully have something to share un-storm related.

It's OK Thursdays

It's OK to..

spend an hour painting your nails because you keep messing up

to miss having cable and a DVR box.

to stream the shows because you don't have cable.

love jello because it's jiggly

make plans with yourself to go and sight see and then decide to sleep in instead.

want to bake a cake, but don't because it's really not OK to eat an entire cake yourself.

download stupid games on your phone so you have something to do on the subway.

to eat meat and not feel guilty about it. Even if your roommate is a vegetarian.

to be excited about a friend coming to visit.

to vent about things with friends. In fact, I highly recommend it. Stress Reliever.

Oh, How Pinteresting

So I really like participating in Wordless Wednesday, but for the last couple of weeks I have really wanted to link up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesdays. I really love Pinterest because I get to find all sorts of lovely cooking and decorating ideas :) I think that I am going to have a theme of the pins I share each week, just to keep it entertaining.

Week #1: My Future Classroom

Source: lushlee.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: technologyrocksseriously.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: redbookmag.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: skiptomylou.org via Laura on Pinterest

Source: peacelovelearning.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: lh3.ggpht.com via Laura on Pinterest

Wordless Wednesday

What I did Today: Highline Edition

Today was a crazy day :) I went out and saw an awesome park in New York called The High Line.

The High Line was a freight rail line, in operation from 1934 to 1980. It carried meat to the meatpacking district, agricultural goods to the factories and warehouses of the industrial West Side, and mail to the Post Office.

From 1980 to 2009, the old rails of the freight train sat abandoned and began to rust.

Residents thought it unsightly, but two friends decided they could turn the rails into a park for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy. and that is what they did. In June of 2009, the High Line opened and I got to see this super awesome park today. Here are some pictures:

You can still see the old rails :)

Such lush greens against the city's brick and cement.

I think those buildings seem familiar.

Completely random billboard for a moving storage company that made me laugh.

Flowers and fun seats!

While I was at the park, a little earthquake happened. I didn't know it. I knew my cellphone wasn't working, so I left The Highline and started to walk back into the city to try and get service when I came across these sights:

The buildings on 34th street were being evacuated. People were talking about the earthquake and trying to call loved ones, which is when I figured out what happened. I'm glad that people are safe and the damage was at a minimum.

To Infinity and Beyond

I am a huge Toy Story fan, but this post has nothing to do with Toy Story, but more to do with an awesome project put on by Improve Everywhere last week. Take a look :)




I love this! What an awesome way to stop the hustle and bustle of New York, by saying something nice. I wish I had been in Union Square to see this in person.

Improve Everywhere does things like this around New York City all the time. Check out their website for more info.

I'm a little nerdy

So I came across a New York tourism book the other day and I decided that maybe it had some good tips for me, so I started to read. The book was really great and it outlined each of Manhattan's neighborhoods including restaurants, sights to see, and fun facts.

I came across my neighborhood and there was a 1 hour walking tour that was detailed. I decided that maybe I could learn something cool about where I lived and I DID! I looked at the map and got so excited because my street was dotted with the tour path and it had a little number that meant it was a spot to stop at. I looked up the number and I was so excited because I found out that I live on the street that Billie Holiday grew up on. Not only do I live on her street, but we could have been neighbors because it is only a few apartments down the street. I walk past that apartment everyday on my way to the Subway and I had no idea. I think that is pretty awesome, not many people can say that, except my neighbors.

I also found out that on the street behind my apartment there is a really famous church. My roommate and I have noticed hoards of people standing outside the church everyday, but we weren't sure why. Now I know that a lot of tourists come to see the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the church that Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. served as preacher. He served the church until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first African American from New York to ever do so. The church was a prominent part of culture during the Harlem Renaissance and has seen some famous events, like the wedding of Nat King Cole. Currently, the Abyssinian Baptist Church is known for being a powerhouse in our neighborhood and they are responsible for multiple community buildings and schools. To this day, members of the church dress to the nines on Sunday mornings and often have to walk through crowds of tourists trying to get a peek inside the famous red doors.

(I tried to take a picture of the crowds, but it was raining and my pictures weren't that great. Next Sunday :))

It's OK Thursdays

It's OK....

1. to spend an entire day in your pajamas.
2. to listen to 90's pop music and remember the dances you used to make up.
3. to like your cat better than your roommate's cat.
4. to feel excited about the end of Summer because the weather cooled down.
5. to watch multiple episodes of Mad Men because your two seasons behind because you didn't understand why people liked the show, but now you do.
6. to have a run on sentence.
7. to be extremely happy, yet extremely jealous of everyone who is setting up their classroom this week when you aren't.
8. to wish for three more wishes.
9. to eat cereal for breakfast everyday.
10. to have nothing to blog about because you haven't done anything cool this week.
    

Blog Swap #9

Today is a special holiday for 20-Something Bloggers. Every year, this community has a Blog Swap. I was partnered up with Ginger, an awesome actress, singer, and writer who is currently living the dream in California. Ginger's blog, A Taste of Ginger, is artfully written and hilarious....go check it out! Our assignment was to write about Summer and that is exactly what she gave you!

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Summer is nearly over, and that’s how it always happens, isn’t it –a flash in the pan– but I think about it all year until it comes back around again. I belong to the summer – It birthed me. Like Laura, I’m a Leo; I was born in August and feel at home in the fire of the sun. Without it, I’m a dud; I can barely conjure the energy to offer a smile when there’s no solar power to get me charged!

Oh – you’re probably wondering who “I” am, since I’m obviously not your usual lovely hostess. I’m Ginger, a Kentucky girl living in Los Angeles for the past two-and-a-half years, a sweet yet rebellious city-dwelling country girl who can’t go a day without making some sort of attempt at “art,” be it acting, singing, writing, drawing, (I guess Living Artfully counts as well). I thrive on change (I just dyed my hair from blonde to black before bed last night to, I don’t know, set something in motion?) and that’s why summer intrigues me, perhaps: it’s a season set apart from the mechanition of the rest of the year...when anything can happen.

The word itself uplifts me and makes me want to play the song “Magic” by the Cars and dance around wearing something yellow and eating popsicles. It gets me nostalgic for all the things I’ve experienced in Junes, Julys, and Augusts past. I feel nostalgia for that summer crush I always had, for that week of church camp in the mountains of Kentucky, Sno-cones, babysitters, staying up late, frogs at night, and a frosty movie theater when the heat outside is unbearable.

Say “summer” and I will automatically smell grass and dirt and chlorine; I will remember making crowns of dandelions, my body covered in bruises and blackness rubbed off of the trampoline. I loved, in the summer, to get as dirty as I possibly could throughout the day – it was like a challenge – and then to take the most thorough bath at night: it was like being reborn! But my nostalgia also extends to memories that aren’t even my own: the Saved by the Bell kids at the Malibu Sands Beach Club, the Beach Boys singing “Fun, Fun, Fun,” summer anthems like the Macarena or “One Week” by the Barenaked Ladies, eighties movies starring John Cusack driving accross the country to meet a girl.

My nostalgia sometimes gets a little out of hand.

But we mustn’t dwell only on summers past, because it’s only mid-August now and we still have a little time left to get dirty! These days I’ve traded in the grass stains and chlorine for sand ground into my skin and sweat from yoga and biking down to the bluffs to see the sun sink over the Pacific. Maybe I moved here partly because almost all year, it's reminiscent of those things I love about summer: the blue sky, the sense of adventure and freedom, and the feeling that you aren’t beholden to anyone but yourself.

Remember how, the moment the bell rang on the last day of school, you felt suddenly unencumbered, like a kettle boiling? You knew that for the next couple of months, you were free from homework and popularity contests and activities you didn’t really want to participate in but had to? You were at last alone and free to be yourself. That’s how I feel nearly all the time these days, and I don’t know if it’s L.A. or if it’s just that I’ve reached a certain age, or if I’ve been inspired by certain books or people. All I know is, I want to live every day like it’s the first day of summer, and that is what I wish for Laura, and for you, her loyal fans! Go forth and explore, my friends – and if you enjoyed these ramblings, you can follow my adventures at Taste of Ginger.

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Now that you know how awesome she is, go check out my sing-a-long guest post on A Taste of Ginger.

Wordless Wednesday

Subway Stories

Dear Trio on the Subway,

I truly appreciated your quick jaunt into the music industry today. You were by far the best group of ladies who may potentially have escaped from Bellevue that I have ever heard sing on the Subway. I also want to complement the woman in the middle with the pigtails placed on top of her head. How many years have you been wearing your hair that way? 50? I gave it up a few years back but you may have inspired me to try it out again. I also may have to try out the all black mesh ensemble worn by your friend on the right................ nevermind I reconsidered.

In addition to your wonderful lyrics, I wanted to praise you on your dance moves. I'm not sure that subway poles have been used in that fashion before. It was eye opening as you probably saw when those of us on the train with you could not look away even when we wanted to. I will thank you for at least waiting to start your concert until most of the train had cleared. I think that we would not have been able to handle your awesomeness with a train full of people. I can now cross off one more thing on my bucket list. Lastly, I know you were singing gospel music, but I'm not sure that your church would approve of the behavior. It was cray cray.

Sincerely,
Your fellow subway rider

Weekend Recap

This weekend was the first time I actually had multiple things scheduled to do since I moved and I was excited about it.

Friday

My day started extremely early on Friday (4AM) because I went to Central Park to see the American Idol top 11 perform live on Good Morning America. The weather was awesome, the music was cool, but there was A LOT of waiting time. Good Morning America started at 7AM, but they didn't talk about the concert until 8:30. We just stood there and waited. It was really cool to see how the concerts were actually filmed and I got to see all 11 finalists. Here are a few of my favorite pictures

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Then I went to an interview for a job and then I decided to make my way to Target. I hadn't been to a department store since I moved and I was excited! Target did not disappoint. It amazes me how stores build themselves in NYC. Spaces are tiny and you cannot have the elaborate multi-block long stores they have in Florida. Instead, the stores build up. This target had three floors and awesome escalators that carried your cart up to the next floor for you. I was impressed. Then I went back home and started to pack everything up for my move.

Saturday

A day of rest and sleeping and lounging around....NOT. Again I woke up early, tried to do some laundry, and made my way to Central Park to meet a family that I might babysit for. Central Park is not a great place to meet someone at because it is huge. We had set up a place to meet at 10:30, but when I go there, I couldn't find the family. I called them and they gave me directions and I walked. and I walked. and I walked some more. The directions they gave me were incorrect and I ended up walking 20 minutes in the wrong directions to find out that I was in the right place a the beginning. Frustrating!

Then I headed over to Prospect Park to meet up with some people. Again, I got lost. Prospect park is also huge and my phone was dying so I couldn't waste the battery figuring out where I was supposed to be, so I sta on a bench and ate my lunch, then I went home.

However, I did get to see Grand Army Plaza, which has been on my list of things to do.

Then I headed home where I continued to try to do laundry and finished my packing.

Sunday

Perhaps the busiest day of the weekend. Moving Day! I woke up early to pouring rain, grabbed all of my last minute items, put Gracie in her carrier and then I started to carry my stuff downstairs. I was living on the fourth floor of the building, so it took a few trips to get everything downstairs. The car picked me up and we made the hour long trip to my new apartment. It rained the whole time. When I got to my new apartment, my roommate helped me carry up my stuff. I am now living on the fifth floor, no elevator. BEST. MOVING. DAY. EVER. Once I got settled, I counted and I walked up and down 48 flights of stairs with my suitcases. 48. That's a record for me. Although, I was tired my day wasn't over yet. I had a book club meeting scheduled and we went to see The Help and then we talked about the movie and the book. I LOVED this movie. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more. They stayed pretty true to the book, which was awesome. (Hollywood always changes something) I was super glad to have a peaceful night after a hectic weekend.

I think that catches me up to last night when I found a leak in the ceiling because it was still raining when I got home form the movie.

I am now going to have a lounge around Monday because I can.