Tag: my photos

1. monica visited me this past weekend and life immediately got 10x more wonderful. i tried to show her my version of portland through the few good friends i’ve made here thus far instead of forcing participation in misc plug and play fun time activities. highlights/mvp’s included river swims + sun bathing at rooster rock with launa, michael, and ryan, dinner + dessert with emily, maggie, and christopher, and goo gone delivery + stoop sitting with eddye and bo. fyi, universe: i would not be upset if monica decided to repatriate and make portland her new home.
2. clear skies, deep blue breaths. everyone says i came at the right time. cautiously optimistic.
3. all the murals here feel like they were painted just a few hours before i stumbled upon them. bold, unapologetic fuckers. this one is in southeast and reminds me of bowery & houston.
4. i left my [now discontinued] joe fresh aviators at michael’s 4th of july bbq east of se 82nd, never to be heard from again. rip officer marsh (may 2013 – july 2015). let the record reflect, i am very fond of these classic gold ray-ban aviators and ship most things to my work address.
5. i feel prickly and weird right now and decided that’s okay. quitting, packing, moving, breaking, hurting, healing – an onslaught of all the prickly, weird things all at once (not sure how else i’d be). at least the universe is always in its perfect order … even if it doesn’t feel like it, at all.

1.  this is a picture of me all tuckered out. news flash = it’s really difficult to feel fully nested when you’re missing major pieces of furniture and readily accessible funds to do a goddamn thing about it. this being my current steez, i now spend the majority of my penniless down time between non-rent paychecks rearranging all the furniture i do have in an attempt to prove i have autonomy over my own life space, thus pooping myself out on a fairly consistent basis.
2/3.  a few weeks ago, launa invited me to her birthday party on the coast and i said “hell yea” and justin gave me a ride and offered to show me lots of cool, coasty things. to recap, we saw a bunch of rogue sea lions, climbed astoria column, got pizza + beer at fort george brewery, and checked out haystack rock. then we got to launa’s and partied allllll night long. jk. then we got to launa’s and ate chips and chit chatted till like 9:30 and drove home. it. was. awesome.
4.  god bless the internet and its ability to foster deep, genuine relationships. seriously, because of apps like tinder (how i met jonathan) and sites like turntable.fm (how he met launa and justin and a ton of other wonderful pdx people), i moved across the country to a city i’ve visited exactly once and was suddenly blessed with an incredible group of non-work people to befriend and learn from and lean on. just in case no one said it yet today: thank you, internet.
5. the friday before memorial day i attended a killer bbq in northeast where glazed donuts may or may not have been placed on the grill and then topped with grilled pineapple. unconfirmed.

1.  happiness is canceling all my weekend plans, hopping on a plane to portland with less than 24 hours notice, and waking up with the next day’s sun in a hotel king bed next to this guy.
2.  the ace portland is everything i expected, old timey photo booth next to repurposed wood coffee table covered in meticulously unarranged succulents and mason jar terrariums included.
3.  i’m worried i won’t be able to wear converse at my new job. if you’re reading this and can confirm one way or the other, please kindly let me know. the operative word here being “kindly” because if the answer is “nope, ditch those bad boys” i may need a moment. this vvv strong, stubborn, and sensitive taurus can only handle so much unmedicated life change all at once.
4.  it’s getting hard to tell people i’m moving across the country and doing long distance with jonathan when the nearly universal response is “i never thought you’d leave new york. have you ever been to portland? long distance is so hard.” god bless the special few that fill up with pride and exclaim, “that’s awesome! i can totally see you there. ooO long distance sex is amazing!”
5.  fuck fuck fuck i’m almost 29 and i still don’t know how to cook a god damn fucking thing shit.
6.  friday, march 27 is both my last day at work and [what would have been] my dad’s 66th birthday. i keep thinking how much he would have loved jonathan and what huge kicks they’d get out of each other. i bet if he knew where i was headed, he’d be proud of me and thrilled i was moving closer to la la land (“los angeles” in kim-speak). i bet he’d be really proud of me.

*this post is brought you by a recent trip to portland to interview for my dream job.
spoiler alert: it went well.

1.  i’ve been meaning to try sweetgreen for almost a year now. i first read about it in grub street’s roundup of new healthy nyc restaurants (also how i got hooked on dimes) and finally managed to swing by over thanksgiving. i went for the ever-popular kale chicken cesear because the guy in front of me ordered it and he seemed to know what was up. good stuff. did not regret.
2.  have you heard of @coffeenclothes? it’s this instagram account run by @ryyyguy and it’s photos of exactly what it sounds like … coffee n’ clothes. i really want to be on it, but every time i think to take a photo i’m usually (a) not wearing anything interesting (b) done with my coffee (c) both. i thought my leopard print whynot entry was a solid contender, but – alas – no dice.
3.  it wouldn’t be a proper amy’s list without at least one dog pic, now would it? big ups to buddy the big blue bottle dog for being fidgety and helping me maintain dog person status elite.
4.  last friday was jwt’s annual holiday party and, much to the dismay of many, it was held in a strange, far away place called “brooklyn.” thankfully, the city folk groans died down after a few open bar drinks were had and people let the good lumberjack themed times roll. sidebar = i made a lil’ website for it so all 200 jwt offices around the world could party along via #jwt150 (the party coincided with jwt’s 150th anniversary). awww look, everyone. baby’s first microsite.
5.  oh, and morgenstern’s is making the only ice cream that matters. 2014 flavor collabs, son.

1.  i flew to california last weekend to partake in hannah and jay’s crazy awesome ojai wedding getaway. thank goodness for love in the age of social media friendship because the moment i instagrammed i was going to ojai, awesomebriancook immediately hit me up with a bunch of killer reccomendations. top of his list was hip vegan which was both hip and vegan.
2.  i need to upgrade my dress-up game stat. my current go to is a black wrap dress + repetto heels + opaque liquid lipstick, but that whole situation is getting super stale. joanna says my power colors are eggplant/emerald and this or this or this might do the trick. ♥ that babe.
3/4.  just realized it’s been quite a long time since i was genuinely wow’d by a landscape view.
5.  took a selfie in my uncle jeff’s house because he, sherry, ben, zach, and andy are such good people and i wanted to remember how good it felt spending time with them in that space.
6.  west coast sun really kicked my fall attitude adjustment into full gear. sup winter. how u?

1.  momo sushi shack is a rad little restaurant out in bushwick that serves up absurdly delicious sushi (see party bomb and pork betty for reference) alongside super solid life advice. have a lot of [good] sex and eat a lot of [killer] sushi? well well well, don’t mind if i do.
2.  last sunday the weather was so ridiculous outstanding (think crisp air, clear skies, mostly sunny, the works) that jonathan and i decided to long walk from east williamsburg towards manhattan until we reached new york by gehry. sidebar → can we see the muff pleasss?
3.  how i managed to not hear about scott’s annual slice out hunger food bank of nyc $1 pizza extravaganza until this year is BEYOND me. i am forever indebted to amy “i have a lot of opinions about pizza” rothberger for bringing this into my life. bless that pie lovin’ babe.
4.  i’m really into that time of year when the temp drops and the sky turns into windows 95.
5.  jonathan’s disdain for pumpkin flavored shit is giving me liiiiiiiiife. peace love internets.

1.  a few saturday mornings ago, the downtown 6 wasn’t running so i ended up walking from my apt in the east village all the way to bethany’s 9am at lyons den in tribeca. i didn’t mind since there’s not a whole lot that’s quite as wonderful as soho before 9am and as i headed down greene street towards canal, i looked up and noticed this strung out mess of gutter shoes hanging out with some of the best fire escape-age in the city. that day was a good day.
2.  jonathan and i rarely hit the same restaurant twice (that’s cheating!), but i think cup & saucer has been given an unspoken pass. not complaining tho, them pancakes don’t play.
3.  we also went to coney island over labor day weekend and, despite the muggy overcast-ness, it was one of the top 5 best days i’ve spent in nyc EVERRR. also … modern photo booths are srsly overpriced ($5 for a single strip!), but the result has made me happier than things i’ve spent $600 on so, like, fuck those boots and the suede bag they came in.
4. candied apples and marshmallow pops are nice, but the dark chocolate nonpareils at william’s candy are where it’s at for me, personally. 1/4 lb bag and a nice long walk? yspls.
5. rockaway beach around 4pm the weekend after labor day is one part lovely two parts lonely.
6.  in case you were wondering, good vibes vvv welcome round these parts. namaste a while.

1.  this daschund is puddle of brown butter adorb-ness and someone better mop him up asap.
2.  last weekend jonathan and i decided to ditch our very exciting “get dinner somewhere” saturday night plans and busted ass to flushing to catch the last half of the mets-giants game instead. bonus round = that night happened to be fireworks night, so we were handsomely rewarded with a post-game light show + baller top 40 radio dj set. turn down for what, indeed.
3.  thanks to double reco’s from both justine and jeremy, i made sure to hit up kensington market when i was in toronto for justine and emmett’s wedding a few weekends ago. man-o-man there’s much to love about that place → good signs, good foods, good dranks, good vibes, good dogs (see pic 1 above) … something for everyone! or … a lot of stuff just for me!
4.  meet blake aka blako aka blakezilla aka jwt’s super duper flash dev ninja star. he’s the best of the best and led the way as digital production caravan’d from midtown west to north w-burg for our hotly anticipated fancy dance-y summer outing. such ♥ and group hugs in da club.
5.  jonathan and i traded nyc for the city of brotherly love this weekend where joanna played hostess wit da mostess, joelogic played funkmaster witout disaster, and philly played real nice wit a side of water ice. tldr i’ll be holding onto this one for a very long time. #practice

1.  the union square greenmarket gets right at my heartstrings every. damn. time. maybe because it reminds me of my hometown farmer’s market where my mom and vivian ran a black market bagel & schmear booth and smuggled skokie’s finest to middle earth america.
2.  this year jkupferman’s 28th birthday fell on a saturday so, to celebrate, we gawked at other people’s dogs, ate separate (but equally delicious) sandwiches, wandered around roosevelt island, rode on a vvv cool tramway, walked foooooorever, napped, carbo-loaded, and saw delta spirit … for free. as jonathan would say, “yeppers. yeshhhhh. would eat again.”
3.  here’s a suggestion → take the 1 train to 191st street and get lost in fort tryon park.
4.  friendly shel silverstein psa → the sidewalk ends around 185th street and the hudson : )
5.  so, i used to think clinton street baking company made the best blueberry pancakes in nyc, but i was wrong. so wrong. they’re actually made by the fine folks of cup & saucer in chinatown. hungry? go now because they close at 7pm which is just like seeeeeriously wtf.
6.  in case you were wondering which nyc street really brings it, the answer is lafayette.

1.  still dreaming about the black rice large plate (eggplant, kale gomae, chili cucumber, bonito, sweet potato mash, grapefruit ginger ponzu, hard boiled egg, avocado) from dimes, a new-ish baby chick food spot on the always baller chinatown les border. decided to end a delightfully unorganized sunday there where i easily snagged an open booth-side window seat, sipped on a fennel-ginger lemonade, dug into the latest cherry bombe magazine, texted my mom to find out what foods she craved while she was pregnant with me, squealed when she replied with her first emoji, and watched the world come down from its 4th of july high. tldr = never better.
2.  meet nancy huang, og foodie and luxury w-burg apt hunter extraordinaire. her master bath? en suite. her rooftop grill? gas and communal. her wraparound view? f-ing incredible.
3.  in case you were wondering if i still take random photos of grow nyc vegetables … i do.
4.  on saturday night i took a selfie with the moon. but, like, nbd. stars → they’re just like us!
5.  last weekend i had the supreme pleasure of being my sister’s date to lindsay & michaela’s #bumpercarwedding in dc. long story short, those ladies put the cool in realfuckingcool.

1.  toby’s estate is killing it in hefty dogs with major personality waiting for their owners to get coffee so he/she can take them on a walk good times. this guy’s nombre? hombre, obviously.
2/3.  i spent last saturday with wifflegif and company picking strawberries at patty’s berries and bunches in mattituck (population 4219 … in case anyone was wondering). i rarely make weekend plans outside of my 263 block radius, so hitting the open road (driving! in zipcars! with boys!) for some wholesome day tripping was a welcomed change of pace. big ups to tinabeans for cruise directing. her strawberry outfit was the envy of us all. dat hat, yo. srsly.
4.  apologies for getting so lj with my last post. sometimes it’s just a hot, tired, semi-sad tues wherein you feel a lot of feels and post about them on the internet. that’s all. red flags down.
5.  i found a way to work an early morning stroll through tompkins sq park and a pit spot at ninth street on 10th street into my friday therapy / work commute. so, yea. fridays? still good.
6.  that’s wifflegif. he likes: obscure bodega beverages, long walks, animated gifs, his iphone, bonchon chicken, making fun and useful things for people to play with, fat cat, smart effortless music discovery, tri-blend concert tees, obeying crosswalk signs, emojis, me.

1...skies like this make me really miss my bike, specifically that one time molly, candice, and i rode out to rockaway park and sunnied ourselves on candice’s pepto pink beach sheet.
2...lately i’ve been trying to be less judgmental slash put down the haterade and relaaaaaaax. for example, i always assumed toby’s estate was too big, too beautiful, too conveniently located to have both good coffee and reliable wi-fi. turns out i was wrong (i.e. hoorayness).
3...got caught in a quickie rainstorm on saturday afternoon while shopping for a little something something (new top? new dress? new shoes? idk sooooooomething) and popped into walter foods to dry off / wait it out / steal an umbrella / have foods. i’m really glad i did because now i can highly recommend the walter breakfast with soft scrambled eggs and bacon (obvs).
4...omg guys bulldog on a skateboard bulldog on a skateboard bulldog on a skateboard.
5/6...on sunday, allie and i went on a lady date whereby i convinced her to take the ferry to governor’s island to check out hammock grove. brb while i look up “worth it” on wikipedia.
7...just a friendly reminder to never move above 14th street … ever.

1...the east village is one of the few nyc neighborhoods in which i’ve never felt judged. i’ve been here 4 years, but i live amongst those who clock over 40 (easy). either way, it’s all the same (all good, even). also, shit used to be really bad – like, buildings on fire all the time bad. then giuliani came in, cleaned up, and asked young people with dogs to move in (i.e. yuppies with babies not welcome). the way i see it, gentrifiers in the ev get a pass (a cat call, even).
2...dumbo is like the sweet, rich, unassuming uncle of all the magical magical bk hoods.
3...there’s something about a perfect set of downtown doors set against a perfect flood of downtown light that just seems to make everything everywhere 100% more than okay.
4...dear de blasio, please use this shade of aquamarine gutter paint as much as possible.
5...if you like to feel like the entire world is your oyster, eat this way and then walk this way.
6...see #1. also, fizzy water reminds me of lauren and now i miss her all over again.

1...it’s been 253 days since i posted one of these. mostly because december→ mid-march was dedicated to finding a full time job with a reasonable salary and above average health care benefits so i only allowed time for two things – furiously looking for a job and furiously riding in place. thankfully, that asinine regime only lasted about 3 months (i got a job with a reasonable salary and above average health care benefits in mid-march). then – big surprise – i actually had to do the new job i got and spent the next 6 months onboarding, failing, flailing, derailing, maintaining, restraining, owning, scoring, flooring, exploring, restoring (working).
2...sometimes, the view from my kitchen window is all i really need to get to tomorrow.
3...when i was younger and acting like a show-boaty pain in the ass, my mom would ask, “amy, what am i going to do with you?” my response was to throw up my hands exclaiming, “LOVE ME!” and then run into the wild suburban yonder, hoping the issue could be dropped forever. i guess what i’m trying to say is → w-burg, i get you but what am i going to do with you?
4...oh, to be a fly on the wall during this french bulldog’s pour over coffee smoke break.
5...other times, the view from my bedroom window is all i really need to get to tomorrow.

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1...per a friend’s recommendation, i finally tried soulcycle. the closest studio is in union square (ugh), but seeing as how i’ve now been to 11 classes in 14 days that’s clearly not enough of a drawback to prevent getting wholly, fully, 1000% completely addicted. awhoops.
2...since moving to the east village over 3 years ago, living half a block from abraço has always topped a long list of reasons why i still love living here. i even remember noting that they were “just around the corner” when i went looking for my very first roommate. anyway, pictured above is co-owner liz quijada (and the woman behind their famous olive oil cake) holding her daughter lily. i am such big fans of these two. best smiles of 2012, by far.
3...it wouldn’t really be a proper amy’s list if i didn’t post something from the union square greenmarket, right? it must be clear by now i walk through this every week. also, roses.
4 & 5...back in october, tristan helped me cross wave hill off my ny to do list. it took a little one on one internet time to figure out that getting there is actually super simple. just live in or visit nyc, head to grand central, chill on metro north for 25min, and get off at riverdale. then be sure to pat yourself on the back for visiting a 28-acre public garden in the bronx overlooking the hudson river and palisades. fancy!

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1...i held off on blogging these photos because it felt inappropriate to post anything but flooded apartment floating parking garage artisanal food truck charging station grinding gridlock snapshots of the city, but since i don’t think i can stomach one more of those i decided to fuck it and move on. i took this on my way home from my office during the last days of the feast san gennaro. i miss the dusk, i miss the lights.
2...i’m supposed to vote at village view housing on tuesday, but no one seems to know if that’s still true. i could really go for a ground up view from inside their derelict playground dome right about now.
3...looks like hercules and xena decided to haul ass to fort greene after their lease was up. gc, guys.
4...i would like very much to go back to wherever, whenever this was taken. i need a big, fat rewind.
5...molly and i biked to 139 basset avenue in mill basin a few sundays ago to see the gaudiest house in new york city. after we found it, we laughed out loud and ate some pizza. it was a fine day.
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1...this dog and dude are totally on the same “why is she wearing overalls and taking my picture” page.
2...freelandbuck had this to say about their slipstream installation at bridge gallery – “it’s integrity as a structure is masked by both its redundancy and bright coloration.” oooooof. ouch. slash, sometimes i worry my integrity is masked by redundancy and bright coloration. ooooooy. i might need a new drug.
3...omg! lauren was here! for a weekend! we went to red hook! it was summer! red hook summer!
4...contrary to popular belief, i am not interested in owning a dog as i’m certain i would be very bad at the important stuff (walking, feeding, training, etc). i am, however, very interested in making more friends who do not mind when i audibly appreciate almost every dog we happen to bump into. coolthxbye.
5...and this is a picture of molly explaining the promo poster for frasier’s new tv show to me / the end.
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