Girl's Weekend in NYC

As promised, here is a little preview of Girl's Weekend in the City:

Jen, Megs and Kate arrived at my apartment around 9:30pm. Val and I welcomed them to our neat and clean apartment with hugs and glasses of wine! As always, we were so excited to see each other, but this time was different, it was a little more special. We were all in the same room, but in New York City! We chit chatted, got ready, finished our wine, and headed out the door. On the walk to the train station I couldn’t stop smiling. You know the smile I am talking about, the ridiculously cheesy one you see on people’s faces when they are just so happy. That’s the one I had on mine. I was just so excited that my best friends and I were hopping on the train on a Friday night in NYC. No big deal, right!? ;-)

Welcome drinks in Brooklyn

We headed to Norwood, an excusive club where my friend Jacey works. She pulled some strings and got us on the list. We arrived just as Jacey was getting off work so we all headed to the 3rd floor where we received VIP treatment. First, the floor manager moved some chairs around so we would have our own little lounge area to sit. Then, he brought us our own bottle of Absolut Vodka with 3 pitchers of mixers, Orange juice, Cranberry juice, and Sprite. All 6 of us drank, danced, and just caught up on life until the wee hours of the morning. We finally made it home around 5:00am and needless to say, didn’t get an early start on Saturday morning.

Bonner Springs hits Norwood

Finally around 1:00pm on Saturday we headed to brunch at a diner just down the street from our apartment. Sadly, Jacey had to work so it was just the 5 of us. We were all a bit hungover (some more than others, but I won’t say any names! ;-) so the food helped tremendously. After we ate we headed to Battery Park in Manhattan to take the Staten Island Ferry. We got great views of the Statue of Liberty and the city itself. Afterward, we walked around a little bit and the girls did some souvenir shopping. We then headed back to the apartment to get ready for what Saturday night had in store for us. Did I mention that all 5 of us girls plus my roommate Katy and her mom who was in town visiting for the weekend as well had to manage sharing a 3 bedroom apartment with only 1 bathroom? It was interesting, but we managed. We got all dolled up and headed to the Kimberly Hotel in Midtown Manhattan where we met Peejay (Jacey’s friend from work) and his friend for cocktails on the rooftop bar to the hotel. Given that we were about 40 stories high, we enjoyed the views of the city as well as the swanky atmosphere of the hotel and delicious drinks, which were complimentary of course! (We got the hookups all weekend. Let’s just say, we know people! ;-)

Loving the public transportation system

Staten Island Ferry

View of the city from the ferry

After cocktail hour we cabbed it to Juliet, a restaurant turned nightclub after hours. We ate an ungodly amount of food and drank champagne, all free once again, until the real party started. The lights turned down low, the DJ pumped it up, and the bouncer let the long line of people waiting inside to dance the night away. It was a really cool place. One minute we were enjoying a nice meal and the next we were jamming at an exclusive nightclub. And when I say excusive, I mean exclusive. To even get your name on the list to get in is difficult, you basically have to be somebody or know somebody, and we were lucky enough to know somebody! And here we were, drinking really expensive bottles of champagne and dancing it up NYC style!

Jen and I at the Kimberly Hotel

My girls!

Obviously Saturday night was special for everyone, but it was especially special for me as it was the night I got to introduce my boyfriend to all my best friends. This was a moment I had been looking forward to for a while and I’m happy to report that it went even better than I expected. Kate, Megs and Jen all gave him their stamp of approval and even better than that, at one point or another during the night, they all personally commented on how from the short time they were able to talk to him, they all thought he was a great guy and could tell how happy we both were together. It meant the world to me that they all loved him and that he loved all of them!

Alex and Me

Roomies! ;-)

Jace, Kate, and Me sipping on FREE champagne

Jen and Megs dancing with the awesome saxophone and drum players

BFF and BF - loves it! ;-)

We made it home from the club at about 3:00am and promised ourselves we would wake up at a decent hour on Sunday to get some sight seeing done. Although we didn’t leave the apartment super early, we did leave before noon and this time, a lot less hungover, thank goodness! We grabbed a bite and then headed to Ground Zero to check out the September 11 memorial. I have been there before, but I was excited to go again as I was interested to see how the girls would react. They had the same reaction as me, they were moved. You don’t have to cry or really say anything at all; you can just feel the emotion. It’s just crazy to even think about what went on that day and how many people suffered and how our lives have changed ever since. Pretty powerful, I must say. After the 911 Memorial, we walked around the Financial District a little bit. We walked down Wall Street, saw the New York Stock Exchange, and the infamous bull (if you’ve seen the movie Hitch you know which one I am talking about). We then walked to South Street Seaport and ate lunch right on the water. SSS provides a great atmosphere with a lot of shops and restraints and most importantly, great views of the city and the Brooklyn Bridge. After we ate we headed back to my apartment to rest up a little bit and then got ready to head to Times Square and dinner. The girls absolutely loved Times Square as it is the epitome of NYC. It’s just like the song says, “these lights will inspire you”.

Great view of the Brooklyn Bridge from South Street Seaport

Wall Street Bull

Times Square

Laughing hysterically on the train

After Times Square we headed to one of my favorite places, the Yaffa Café. Yaffa is one of the first places I ate/drank at in NYC when I first visited my Tios the summer after my senior year. I went back there during every visit to the city and now it’s my pleasure to take others there. The Yaffa itself has a really cute, young alternative vibe to it (The Olsen Twins hang out there sometimes) as it is in the East Village near NYU. It is located on St. Marks Place, which is an incredibly historic street that I was sure my friend Jen would appreciate, and she did. My roommate Katy joined the 6 of us and we all had a nice dinner and farewell drinks as Jen, Megs and Kate were leaving in the morning. We then headed back to the apartment, the girls packed up and we all went to bed. I was so exhausted so it probably only took me 5 minutes to fall asleep, but I do remember that right before I did, I thought to myself, “How lucky am I?”

Jen and Me in NYC together...I'm obsessed!

I am honestly so thankful to have such wonderful friends. We all made a pact that we would stay in touch after high school even though we all had our own separate plans post-graduation and I am so happy to say that we’ve kept it. So many people say they’ll stay in touch, and then their 10-year high school reunion comes around and they realize they didn’t do a very good job. Not us, we have stuck to it. Every year at least once, if not twice or three times, since high school we have had a girl’s night. This time, it was not just one night, but a girl’s weekend, and not just anywhere, in New York City!

Thank you Val, Jacey, Jen, Megs, and Kate for being such wonderful friends and for coming to visit me in the city. You have no idea how much it means to me. I love that we are all different in our own separate ways, but get along with each other so well. We are a fierce group of gals! I am so thankful for each and every one of you!

Side note: We were only 6 for 7 as Sarah (the 7th girl) wasn’t able to make it to NYC. I just wanted to say, Sarah - we missed you dearly! I am already looking forward to next time!

Before I knew it, Monday morning came and it was off to work for me. I must admit it was difficult to get back to the daily grind because I was so exhausted from my lack of weekend sleep, and because I was sad the girls were gone. It was such a fantastic weekend and I look forward to many more years of girl’s nights with my fabulous friends!

Girl's Weekend in New York City - One for the records books!

On the Move

Upon my sister’s request, here is the latest in the life of Lisa.

Since my last update (10 day vacation – to Kansas City) I have been back in NY and on the move (in every sense of the word). I have been on the move in that I’ve been super busy and literally in that I moved out of Stuy Town, Manhattan and into Park Slope, Brooklyn.

On Wednesday, September 1 my Tio and I moved out of Stuy Town. Other than being a pain in the ass (I hate moving), it was kind of sad as we both really liked Stuy Town and both enjoyed being roomies. My Tio moved to the Jersey Shore and I moved to the borough of Brooklyn. My friends from the KU J-school, Val and Katy, drove a moving truck from Kansas to NYC and after a few weeks of unpacking, painting and decorating, our apartment looks great! Katy and I will be permanent roommates for a year, and Val and a friend from high school, Jacey, are our temporary roomies. Jacey has been staying with us since day 1, but is leaving for Cali in October and Val is spending the entire Fall semester in New York and then is most likely moving back to KC. I of course miss living with my Tio, but am really glad to live with my friends. We have a lot of fun together even we aren’t doing much, like watching the friends DVDs.

Speaking of Friends, all 4 of us girls are obsessed with friends so we decided to attend Friend’s Trivia Night at a bar/restaurant last week and won first place! For this reason, and many others, I love having girl roommates. We like the same shows, share clothes, help “style” each other’s “going out” outfits, you know, all the good stuff.

All 4 of us absolutely love our Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. It is considered one of New York City's most desirable neighborhoods. In 2010, it was ranked #1 in New York by New York Magazine citing its quality public schools, dining, nightlife, shopping, access to public transit, green space, quality housing, safety, and creative capital, among other aspects. The apartment is on the 2nd level of a 6 story walk-up and right next to Prospect Park (a huge park that is the Central Park of Brooklyn), right next to the train station (20 minutes to get to my job in Manhattan), and right next to a laundry mat, brand new YMCA, and lots of cute restaurants and shops. The more time I spend in BK, the more I love it! My next order of business is getting to know Prospect Park and it's surrounding attractions a little more (The Brooklyn Museum and the Botanical Garden). I plan on doing this by taking jogs/walks though the park. I NEED the exercise and want to enjoy the lovely fall weather that is approaching. Fall is my favorite season. It’s football season for one, but also, I love Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course, my birthday in November! I also enjoy the cool crisp weather and appreciate the beauty of watching the leaves change on the trees. Not to mention it’s sweater and cute boots season, you have got to love that.

My room

Window view

Dresser, TV, closet

In other news, I am recently “in a relationship” or shall we say “Facebook official”. Alex and I have been dating since the first week in July and things have gone so well. Every single date has been amazing, even the times where we just stay home and he cooks me dinner. Oh yeah, did I mention he cooks?! And not just anything, yummy Puerto Rican food! We have so much fun together and I haven’t laughed and smiled more than I have in the past few months. We compliment each other very well because we are similar, but have our differences, which makes the relationship fun and interesting. I am happy to call such an awesome man my boyfriend! ;-)

Alex had no idea I was taking this pic, and would

probably hate me if he knew I posted it on my blog! ;-)

On another food note, other than PR food that Alex (and his mother – who is an amazing cook) has been making me, I have had some phenomenal Indian food. Last Saturday I attended a traditional Hindu wedding with my Tio and the celebration afterward included an amazing array of Indian food. The ceremony itself was beautiful. It was honestly a cultural experience that I very much enjoyed. As most of you know, since I did a study abroad in Spain I have been very interested in travel and learning about other cultures and although I didn’t understand all the traditions at this wedding, I appreciated the beauty. It was interesting and emotional, to the point where I cried, which I know isn’t saying too much because I am a basket case sometimes, but I didn’t even know these people that well and I cried so you can imagine the emotion that goes along with Hindu weddings. The celebration afterward (not the reception as that was the next day – Hindu weddings are multiple day affairs) featured great food and music. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the women all fancy in their traditional Indian clothing (sari’s) dancing to the upbeat rhythm of the music. I’m not going to lie, it reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire.

Hindu wedding

Yummy Indian food

And lastly, the weather update. Last Thursday there was a tornado in Park Slope. It is very rare for a tornado to hit NY, but the crazy thing is that not only did it hit Brooklyn, but it hit my new neighborhood. And to be more specific, I was basically in it! Apparently you can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can’t stop Kansas from following her! To make a long story super short, I was in the laundry mat down the street when a huge storm blew through Park Slope, literally, the twister touched down and caused some decent damage. I was a little scared, but not nearly as frantic as the other people in the laundry mat. Like I said, tornados are pretty much unheard of on the East Coast so to most people, this storm was pretty insane. After about 5-10 minutes of serious downpour, and I mean fierce rain that would probably hurt your body like needles and ferocious winds and flying debris, it was over, but left a mess behind. Tree limbs were everywhere – on the sidewalks, blocking the street, and worst of all, on top of buildings and cars. Whole tree stumps were out of the ground and multiple glass windows were shattered. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. Photos and videos that popped up on the internet afterward show the funnel right above where I was, which is just crazy!

The second big storm to pass through NYC was straight from Kansas – Girls Weekend in the City!! With me, Val, and Jacey already living in New York, 3 of our girlfriends, Jen, Kate, and Megs came to visit this past weekend and let’s just say we took this city by storm! ;-) From Friday night when they arrived until Monday morning when they returned to Kansas we had a blast! More details and pics to follow!

All the girls in the Financial District w/ the famous bull

(minus me - taking the photo)