Tag: nyc

wired.

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ever since emily came to visit last week and lit up my whole world by hanging out with me in the east village for a few sweet afternoon hours, i’ve had this nonstop craving for [waaaaay better than just, like, pretty good] coffee and can now only bring myself to drink a+ premium cups before i head to the top shelf roasting motherland. would drink again highlights of this totally impromptu bougie nyc coffee tour include:

third rail
strangeways
box kite
hi-collar
abraço
la colombe

peace ♥ caffeine.

do you in 3 hours (or less).

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have nothing to do on a wednesday night …

6:15 = stop by looks salon for a nearly painless eyebrow threading.
6:30 = pop into 16 handles and taste a bunch of fro-yo without actually buying anything.
6:45 = take a seat at b&h dairy and have the grilled cheese and tomato soup special.
7:15 = hit up davey’s ice cream and purchase a cup of hot chocolate to go.
7:30 = walk into lulu nails and get a pedicure while sipping on said hot chocolate.
9:15 = go to bed.*

* based on a true story.

zing!

sander-meisner11
Jerry-Seinfeld-Julia-Louis-Dreyfus-Michael-Richards-and-Jason-Alexander-on-the-set-of-Seinfeld
the greatest thing about manhattan
is the worst thing about manhattan:
self-actualization.

here you will be free
to stretch yourself to your limit,
to find the beach that is yours alone.

but sooner or later
you will be sitting on that beach
wondering what comes next.

– zadie smith

dug through my feedly today and was kindly awarded with some slow, magical good vibes from the above two pics and a nice midday zing! from bobby mckenna’s awards page. all in all, a monday well spent in my corner of the internet.

sat sun spot.

meaning
feeling
i recently discovered that the lobby of the greenwich hotel (as well as the lobby of really any boutique downtown hotel worth its weight in distracted, disinterested, too cool for school let alone giving any fucks whether or not you “belong” there strategic foolery) is actually just an extremely tidy public living room with impeccable ambience, complimentary newspapers, and password-less wifi. pro tip = enter through locanda verde, act like you own the place, park it on some velvet, people watch to infinity, eavesdrop and beyond.

boo.

IMG_3879
monsters come
in all shapes and sizes,
some of them are things
people are scared of.
some of them are things
that look like things
people used to be scared of
a long time ago.
sometimes monsters are things
people should be scared of,
but they aren’t.

– neil gaiman

woke up dis way.

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yesterday, amy and i (not talking in multiple persons, i have a real life friend named amy who is also smart and funny and resourceful and good at life etc.) took the day off because we both still have lingering vacation days we’re required to take before christmas (xoxo, hr). anyway, in order to maximize a mandatory one day of fun-ness, we did what all tightly wound slash totally game and adventurous women do … we planned.

1. am coffee tawking @ blue bottle
2. brooklyn brunching @ egg
3. aggressive sampling @ mast brothers
4. sketchbook browsing @ brooklyn art library
5. midtown snacking @ little collins
6. big piano playing @ fao schwarz
7. out nerding @ museum of the city of new york

the result was
f l a w l e s s .

looking back.

the bold and the brave
last friday, i decided to be a little bit bold and a little bit brave. this meant combing through my contacts and emailing a small and select (but wise and mighty) group of peers / mentors at the top of my “i have so much respect for what you do and what you’re about” list to let them know i was officially looking for work. wtf / yikes. amirite?

to be perfectly honest, sitting down to recap everything that happened this past year was incredibly cathartic. 2012 was such a wildly empowering and surprising and exciting and scary and surreal 12 months for me. it’s blowing my mind right now that they’re almost over. insane.

anyway, do you want read what i wrote? no? not right now? you’ve got a thing? maybe later? well, according to “the news” i’m a card carrying member of generation overshare, so you don’t have a choice. below is the email in full. MY BLOG.
.

[name] !

i know this is a little random, but i’ve been thinking about you a ton lately and i wanted to update you on how my 2012 went down (or up, depending on your point of view). i’m not sure if you remember, but back in november 2011, after working an exhausting average of 60-80 hrs a week for a year as the executive assistant to the vp of the google creativelab, i decided to take some time off to recharge and only do things i wholly, fully, 1000% completely loved to do. basically, i spent my days practicing yoga, updating my blog, drafting an official ny to do list, leading storytelling field trips at 826nyc, painting axes at best made, developing disposable cameras, turning strangers into friends, and re-falling in love with new york many, many times over. thankfully, only doing things in the pursuit of happiness (and not in the pursuit of answering “soooo, what do YOU do?”) eventually led to happiness as well as an opportunity to help produce a levi’s + intel collaboration. i stayed happy and worked on that project from july 2012 until it launched globally (and successfully) this past month.

the end.
just kidding.

that was just “a lot” and i felt like it needed an ending (thanks for hanging in there). aaaanyway, i wrote you this email because i wanted to say hello (hello!), wish you a happy new year (happy new year!), and let you know i am actively looking for work right now. i’d also like to ask you for a small favor → could you keep me in mind in case anything of the “we need to hire someone smart, funny, enthusiastic, creative, tech-savvy, social-savvy, people-savvy, and just really f-ing organized” variety happens to pop up on your radar?

let me know what you think.
let me know what’s new.

i’d love to hear either (or both!).

xoxo,
amy

ed. this email was written in the spirit of putting it all out there and just going for it.

gchat diaries.

brie merry
.
him: loop me.
me: loop you.
it’s the holidays
in new york city.
no one is here.
everyone is here.
it’s so festive!
it’s so sad!

love is love.

*
.

the red cro$$ is aol dial-up.
here is a really great roundup
of locals providing direct relief.
.
don’t live in nyc?
it’s all good.
click here.
.
“this earth is ruined. we gotta get a new one.” – liz lemon
.

homeward.

*
.

i biked home last night.
power and internet (no heat).
friday night in the east village, 11pm.
street lights and silence.
.

leash!

*
.

“i’m with some friends
riding the no. 1 down from van cortlandt park
when this guy sits across
with this cute mutt in his lap.
.
so of course the group starts cooing
and making goo-goo eyes,
pumping the guy for details.
.
‘it’s a jack russell-chihuahua.’
‘his name is peanut.’
making best friends for life, etc.
.
this goes on till 42nd street,
when the train stops.
the doors open and the guy jumps up,
goes to the doors and straight-arms the dog
through to someone on the platform.
.
there’s a pause
(we all look at each other).
then a voice barks out: ‘LEASH?’
.
the guy fumbles,
pulls one out of his pocket
and hands it over
just before the doors close.
.
so now we’re looking at the guy.
and he explains that
the person on the platform is his ex,
who has custody for the week.
the handoff was part of the separation agreement.
.
we nod sympathetically.”
.

– ny times 10.01.12
.

forty second & eighth.

*
.

this used to be
my playground.
.
also,
.
i dedicate this
to jake + dan.
.

hint – it has to do with living on top of a thai restaurant for 4 years and – uhhh obvs – it’s a lists of puns.
.

boombox, bagel, button.


*
.

list of objects i’d add to the nytimes
history of ny in 50 objects list:
.
dollar pizza
haddad’s truck
scaffolding
spray paint
government trash can
taxi television
bodega umbrella
rent check, market value apt
old lady roller basket
dog poop
.

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need a lift?

.

“someone once told me that your ability to survive in los angeles is based on a very simple formula. you need to get into bed at night and be able to hold what you’ve done that day up against your dreams and feel like they match up, and you need to be getting laid. if you lack one, or worse, both of those things, you have every right to get back on the freeway and leave.”

– some notes on la
.

ps – come to nyc!  we don’t give a shit that you’re not getting laid.
.

the last 5 years.


.

5 year diary
tamara shopsin
.

5 great things that happened last night:

1...went to an iconic steakhouse with the unsinkable molly jane.
2...hung out backstage during the live taping of this annual event.
3...laughed the loudest when they announced best in show.
4...got likened to this actress by some serious bollywooders.
5...discovered tamara’s 5 year diary (a must for any listmaker).

trash & pearls.


.

1. We Love To Complain
Don’t complain about us complaining. It’s just our thing. We especially love to complain about the weather. Yes, we know the weather is better in LA. We know! We still want to complain about our weather because it’s ours! The winter is too fucking cold, the summer is disgustingly hot. During the spring, “Oh Gawd, my allergies!” Everyone loves fall.
.

– What Are 5 Things I Should Know About Living In New York?

m8, i miss you.


.

I bet it was so easy for them to budget cut your weekend service. It’s always so fucking easy when you don’t know, when you can’t remember. But you do, right?   You remember those weekend afternoons you used to pick me up in front of 9th Street and ride patiently while I got lost in shameless people watching and song surfing until you finished that straight shot commute to the West Village?  Crosstown, downtown – that’s all I needed and you did both.  You.  Did.  Both.
.
I’m sure, to them, it’s nothing.  Probably because they don’t know it’s just a cold weekday morning now.  The sun’s is barely up, I’m heading one way, you’re heading another, and no one, not even you or me, is looking for adventure.  And we always look away, ignoring each other because we have to.  Because we can’t.  Because we’re running late.   Because we don’t care.
.
but you know what, kid?
i remember how it was.
and that is something.

not to mention the king’s pajamas.


This is why I have mad love for Todd Selby’s films:

1...They’re like color versions of the One in 8 Million videos.
2...The one about Rockaway Taco helped me score a new job.
3...They always make me really stoked I still live in New York.

Okay, I’m gonna go bike around the first floor of my enormous downtown loft now.  Bye.

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glam glam thank you ma’am.


I Love Wildfox
.

things that make living here more than okay:

listening to paul simon while getting from point a to b
breaking the code to trader joe’s (8am m-f; 9pm f/sa)
finding this glam as fuck photo of mk in my old apt*
.

* not really, but the dirt and door look eerily familiar.

no worries.


Living the Dream. CDRyan
.

As I was walking back to my apartment from the gym this morning (feeling awesome, obvs), I wondered if just by living in the city you’re automatically a little smarter because you end up using at least 10% more of your brain power just to fucking cross the street.  I mean, I keep my iPod pumped up to 11 and look both ways for pedestrians, bikers, cars, pigeons, signaling taxis, non-signaling taxis, leashed dogs, non-leashed dogs, hidden poop traps, et al in a matter of seconds just so I can be sure some bullshit traffic signal isn’t telling me how to live my life.  I’m a grown ass woman, cross traffic green light.  Leave me alone!  I hate you!  DOOR SLAM.  Okay.  Wow.  That felt good.
.
I think [like a new yorker] therefore I am [a little smarter, quick to anger]?
.
Also, I’m broke.
Please send money.

let’s be more than schmuck pals.


Locations. Matthew Lyons
.

“Some people maybe have nine schmuck pals, but some people have twenty nine schmuck to talk about weather and what they do on weekend. Takes Dorothy nine day to get past smeg small talk and be your friend. Cassandra can do it in two day, but she has loads of hobby like soggy swimming and train the dog, so probably have something in common to turn you from schmuck to pal. Maybe when grow up we consider log as friend, or never care like its schmuck. There are people who need log and people who need fog, maybe depends what location humanoid grows in.”

– Matthew Lyons, 06/07/10

.
this i get.
this i love.
only because,
schmuck pals
will forever be
at the very top
of the very tiny
list of reasons
it gets unpretty
living my life here
in new york city.

own yo shit (even when you illegally sublet).


Justin Long getting spanked on W 4th Street. Terry Richardson’s Diary
.

Hey, kids!  Guess what? I brought presents!  Below is my secret stash of city hard candies that I wanna share with all you mad fresh mens and womens who just moved here.  Look, I know you really want to stop crying for no reason (seriously, stop it) and fuck it / fake it until you can afford the real thing, so why don’t you think of this list as a crazysexypool party for your self-esteem room / confidence sauna. Here ya go, my little newbie ninjas:
.
Walk FASTER with BIGGER BALLS
a) ..If you don’t have the right of way, but the street is clear, WALK.
b) ..If you don’t have the right of way, but the light is changing, WALK.
c) ..If you don’t have the right of way, but the jam on your ipod says walk, WALK.
.
Wear ONLY things that you LOVE
a) ..Quit shopping at Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic just because it fits.
b) ..Instead, take full advantage of NY Mag’s Sales & Bargains Calendar.
c) ..If you have to get buzzed into a sketchy building downtown, TOTALLY GO.
.
Try REALLY GREAT restaurants BY YOURSELF
a) ..Stop obsessing over how completely lame this sounds.
b) ..Sit at the bar with a badass book and befriend the bartender.
c) ..Be sure to find a common enemy and tip well.
.
Carry SPIFFY business cards AT ALL TIMES
a) ..Go to my favorite free font website and find the perfect typeface.
b) ..Buy a packet of business card paper and print 10-20 cards asap.
c) ..Bust them out to score big at jobtimes / friendtimes / sexytimes.
.
Also, it’s gonna be okay.
Even when it’s not okay.
.
Okay?
.
PS – I tried to own my shit at a party this weekend by opening up some aloof dude’s beer bottle with my mailbox key. I completely failed (obvs) and now, a whole 2 days later, I’m still having stigmata of the knuckles.  Clearly, I am a fuck it / fake it work in progress.

at least we didn’t go to hollister.


Pretty Things. Roxy
.
Normally, the only time I agree to meet up with the euro-strangers crawling on Broadway between Spring and Broome is when Bloomingdales is having their game changing 50% off all the merchandise that’s already on sale sale so I can stock up on fancy work shoes and perfume with little to no remorse.  Last Friday, however, I somehow found myself over there amidst a slo-pack of lumpy out of towners without a single bloomingsale in sight.  The reason?  My friend is super short and wanted to buy some kids jeans at Roxy.
.
Roxy. ..Really? ..Really.
.
But my sour patch sad face lasted only a few moments, because their designs are actually super adorable and affordable. Some might even say they’re addorffable. What?  Some might!  Anyway, the photos above are just a few of my current favs, so I highly suggest you take a moment to click it out on the Roxy website and turn your frowny judgmental face upside down.

if you’re selling crazy, i’m not buying.


Elli Rose’s Shoes Don’t Suck. The Selby
.
Last night, I went to Olive & Bette’s one-day sample sale in the West Village and purchased an office/opera appropriate Trina Turk dress for 75% off.  This dress, mind you, is the exact same dress I had on my Hanukkah List this past December.  Score!  Seriously, thanks to Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, the internet exists today so city folk (ie ambitious transplants) who like to shop and wear nice things never have to pay retail again.  If your internet access is limited or non-existent, no whining.  Instead, head directly to your local nypl or apple store posthaste. Eh hem, and now it is time to announce the nominees for best sample sale resource:
.
1. ..NY Magazine’s Sales & Bargains
2. ..Refinery29’s NYC Sales
3. ..Gilt Groupe (online only)
.
And the winner is. . . . .being stacked and super fly.

well, color me mine.


new boots and pantones. peet-astn
.
Time Out New York’s website is truly unbearable.  It’s super slow, completely incoherent, and not pretty to look at whatsoever.  It’s as if two customer service reps from any Verizon store got inexplicably horny and decided to name their first mistake, “The TONY Website.”  Seriously, I try to brace myself for the inevitable awfulness every time I click over there, but by the time 10 seconds have passed and still no photos have loaded, I’m already nursing what appears to be a mild internet headache.
.
So why did I go there yet again despite my sassy, better judgment? Because the “Now Do This Today” email lured me back with a promise of colorful wonders to add to my summer wardrobe!  And with over 60 images of perfectly awesome pieces I would be honored to rock all over town, I found myself not totally loathing The TONY Website for once.  I might be inclined to add these Pantone Universe Mugs into the mix, but overall I think this is a really superb list.
.
Way to go, buddy!  Oh, and be sure to tell your mom and dad that I’ll stop by for my new every 2 whenever I feel like spending several hours in wireless hell.  Thanks.