This is the last chance you got:

Open wide!
Ok, so those are The Chariot lyrics, but this is my last week in NYC and it is going to be a busy one! I only have Wednesday and Saturday free for the next week and I have to finish preparing for the Fashion Association to come, complete most of the wedding dress so I can fit my client, finish my internship, and cross everything off my to-do list (to which my mom added FOA Schwarz). All while battling an upper respiratory chest infection! With the help of antibiotics, medicine, and the yummy treats my mom packed me, I think I will be most (or at least half) successful! And I'll be sure to update that past few weeks here (although all I did this past weekend was sleep, cough, and blow my nose). Here's to you, last week in NYC!

NYC: Day Seven

Today I only technically had one thing to do, tour the Garment District. However, after talking to my roommate, Matt, and his insisting there was no Wholeoods in NYC, I had something else to do. I was on a mission to find a Wholefoods. How could the city that has everything not have the best food store in existence? It does. But the first thing was the tour. It was cold, and I learned a few interesting things such as: 1. most other colonies were founded on religious freedom while New York City was founded to make money on fur trade, and 2. 3/4 of fur coats were made in New York City.

After the tour, I was on my way to Whole Foods. There are fabulous fur hats in New York City during the winter. I wanted to be friends with this guy: 

I discovered this delicous torte at Todaro Bro's near my cousin's apartment. I figured I would get skinnier while I was in NYC, but how could I with so much delicious gluten free food?

Nothing like a late night skype date with my family! 

NYC: Day Six

Today was full of visits! First I went up to the tip top of Manhattan to meet up with a friend I went to high school with. The subway runs above ground up there, I had many steps to walk up and down! 

Hilary took me to this awesome place, Indian Road Cafe. There is a huge hispanic population, which having gone to Belize and Chile, Hilary is all about, and I ate some delicious huevos rancheros (eggs, if your espanol isn't in the greatest of shape). 

It was really awesome hanging out with Hil. I don't think I have seen her since she graduated in 2006. After we ate, she took me around the Inwood Hill Park. The park borders the Hudson River, so I saw New Jersey! 

Later in the evening, I went to Times Square to meet up with a friend from college, Heather. She was in for the weekend with some friends, and we decided to take a late night, safe, tazor and mace ready stroll around Central Park. It was my first time being in the park. 

 

I saw the Strawberry Fields sign. 

And we saw a couple get engaged right near the ice rink! Heather took their pictures, as well as some of me and her friends, Kimmy and Katelyn, somewhere in the park...

picture by, i don't know. Katelyn, Heather, and Kimmy, respectively

pictures by Heather, Kimmy, myself, and Katelyn, respectively. 

Some guy friend brought along another guy friend, and they were hanging out in the hotel with us... before they got kicked out.

I wound up leaving the hotel around 1:00 am. After being followed by some guy in Times Square who thought I was beautiful and wanted to be my friend (also of whom I completely ignored and walked away from with the utmost haste), I made my way to the subway. I was supposed to get on the Q train, and I neglected to read the sign that said to take the N instead. N came and went before my discovering, and kicked out dude #2 also came onto the same platform I was on. Don't worry, I didn't have to fight him. I got off the train around 23rd St, and figured I would just take the M23 back to where I needed to be. After walking a block in the wrong direction (I really need to memorize the flow of traffic on the avenues), I waited for half an hour before it was too late (3:00 AM) and my feet were too tired. I hailed a cab and called it a night. 

NYC: Day Four

Today was my first full day of work! I had wanted to leave the apartment earlier, but it did not happen. I got to work about three minutes early.

I met the other interns, all students from FIT. We went out for lunch together at Fabiane's Cafe. I got coffee, of course (it was just ok). Then it was back to work! I did a bunch of work on the shop website. Most of it you can't see yet because it is for the spring line! After work, I headed over to The Meatball Shop on Stanton to eat with my lovely family from Long Island! 

I got a little lost on the way, even with my maps app constantly in use. And I saw two mice crawling around the subway for the first time! (I found it exciting). Since I am gluten free, I could not eat any meatballs. I did enjoy a delicious salad, a side of polenta, and some homemade sangria! Thanks Uncle Pat and Aunt Dawn! 

Me, Uncle Pat, Chris, and John. 

Chris operates his business in the city, and John is who I am staying with. After dinner, Chris, John and I took a cab (thanks Chris!) and John and I retired for the night, not before picking up some packages! 

The lace for the wedding dress I am making finally arrived! The wrapping was even prettier than the last time!

NYC: Day Three

Today was my first day at work. I had to be there at 10:00 a.m., just to talk to Tara a little bit about what I would be doing for Study NY. I had wanted to be over in Brooklyn at 9:00 to get coffee at the acclaimed Blue Bottle Coffee and read some of George Orwell's 1984 (for the first time). Unfortunately, my cousins room can be closely compared to a freezer, and I did not want to remove the covers and expose myself, so I slept in.
It took me about half an hour to walk to the L train, get over to Brooklyn, and walk to the studio. I literally walked in the lobby at 10:00 a.m. Lucky for me, Tara was running a tad bit later than I was.
The studio space is pretty awesome. It is shared with the Brooklyn Denim Co. and the place is filled with sewing machines, cutting tables, racks of clothes, fabric, sketches, skeins of yarn, everything someone could want in a creative workspace!
Tara and I established that I would be doing most of the work on the computer, and hopefully be able to take some runs to the showroom and factory. She also said I could use their machines for the wedding dress I am making and let me try out an industrial machine! It is fiercely fast, I love it.
After our meeting, I checked out the Brooklyn Denim Co.'s store before making my way to Blue Bottle.

I got a cup of ethiopian yirgacheffe, pour over style. I'm pretty sure they only offer pour over coffee or espresso from the mother of espresso machines: La Marzocco. The cup was mad expensive ($3.75) compared to the freshly & locally roasted, freshly ground, auto drip I get from Commonplace back home ($1.50). But dating a barista, I had to try Blue Bottle's stuff. It was amazing, although I don't think I'll spend the money on it again. Next on my checklist of coffee snobbery is Intelligentsia and Stumptown.

After I sat in Blue Bottle for a while and read, I hopped back on the L and made my way to Tu Lu's Gluten Free Bakery. I ate a delicious (post coffee) coffee cake and read some more. I'll definitely make it back there before I leave.

I went home, as Ben was out galavanting with his uncle, but we met up later to eat at the NY Tofu House in the East Village. Ben's Uncle Joe had given us a $25 gift card from Restaurant.com but we had to spend $35 for it to be valid (you can get $25 gift cards for $4, an awesome deal). We ate a ton food, or well Ben did and I took mine home. It was really good though. 

Tomorrow is my  first full day (10-6) and I get to meet the other interns! I've been trying to play around with the website I will be working with (Portable) beforehand, but I can't do much without Tara's log in! 

NYC: Day two

Let's begin by saying Vic's Bagel Bar was a disappointment: NO GLUTEN FREE BAGELS. BLAH.

But apart from that, today was ok.

It started with a terrible dream during the best sleep I have had in a while. I was one of thirty interns and my boss told me she didn't want to hear my voice! It was just a dream though...

So I got all my things set up, met up with Ben, and walked walked walked everywhere.

Got an awesome lunch at some fancy gluten free joint, Nizzo. Their GF menu was huge, so I went with something I had never had before- socco, an oven baked chick pea pancake. If you follow me on instagram, you already know I thought it was delicious!











Then we went to Soho, looked in a bunch of silly shops with incredible items we could not afford, and popped into a few galleries.













We stumbled upon the Lomography store on 23rd on our way home. I didn't know they had a brick and mortar store. Brandon is all about lomo (and had a disappointing day not receiving his instax film from the post office) and normally I text him cute, "Hi from..." where ever I am. Even though I didn't preface the picture from the inside of the lomo store, he knew exactly where I was.


I happen to be pretty tired and tomorrow is my semi-big day so I'm calling it a night! Till tomorrow...

NYC: Day One

I'm laying on the comfiest couch in my cousins Midtown East apartment. I think I'll sleep better here than I have in the past couple of weeks on the uncomfortable bed in my parents house or my comfortable bed in my freezing house.
My neighbor (neighb), Ben, and I left our license house at 9:00 a.m. this morning and arrived in the Fashion District via Megabus at 6:30. Megabus was not too terrible, but I think I would find a different way to lug a months worth of luggage next trip.
My internship at Study NY starts on Wednesday, and tomorrow I will be exploring the city with Baby Ben. One stop tomorrow I can't wait to experience is the first: Vic's Bagel Bar (GLUTEN FREE) and Stumptown Coffee. I hate expectations because they often lead to disappointment. I hope tomorrow is different.