What makes me tick?

Of course, I like to shop and I like to swim, but what really makes me tick is FOOD!  Yummy, delicious, and creative FOOD!  Living in NYC makes this so much more enjoyable.  There are food trucks, farmers markets, vineyards just outside the city, beach towns all around, amazing restaurants (Everyone trying to be as unique as possible to stand out from the crowd) and culture that makes this city so amazing. 

Walking the streets of Manhattan with friends and stumbling across new things is seriously, SO great.  After an amazing sushi lunch with work, the ladies and I strolled through the streets around union square when we start discussing my serious addiction to ice cream and all things cold and yummy (Including cocktails ha!)  My homegirl Lindsay mentions a new place that she walked by a few times called “FLAVABOOM”!  I mean, if the name doesn’t intrigue you, what will.  She explains that it is a FroYo place with many different flavors and toppings.

Picture shot after devouring half of it before thinking, THIS IS A MUST SHARE! GREEN TEA MOSHI AND GUMMI BEARS!  Really?  I DIE…

Another day, while walking to grab a boring salad, I noticed Luke’s Lobster truck, who I have been following on Twitter and FB for months, but just haven’t been able to try it!!!  Well, we of course did and what a delicious success it was!!  A Lobster Schooner, a Shrimp Shooner, and Crab Shooner are the lunch combo specials!  My oh my, how does one chose.  My friend gets the Shrimp (Cuz shes preggo) and I grab the lobster.  MMMMMMM, a lobster roll on a lightly toasted and buttered roll, a TINY swipe of mayo and some special seasoning.  This is huge!  Normally, I would say the more mayo the better and gross my boyfriend out, cuz he hates mayo (Weirdo), but in this case it was MAGNIFICO!!!!  Not to mention the Mrs. Vickie’s Sea Salt and Vinegar Chips and the variety of flavored sodas they have to offer.  If you are lucky enough to make it to Luke’s Lobster on the Upper East Side, they have a license to sell beer and of course sell a variety Maine Microbrews!  See below for a pic of this amazing lunch!  One bite and I knew it was blog worthy!  I even put the pickle and some chips ON the Lobster Roll to add a little crunch!! HEAVEN!  Share with me how you like your roll ;-)

On all my walks throughout the week, I walk by the union square farmer’s market 6 times each week.  Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays on my way to and from the Subway.  The smell of fresh Lavender in the air and the site of beautiful flowers for sale is a great way to start and end the work day, don’t you think?  This is a slice of a dream.  Fresh catches of the day, local and organic farmers bring their cheese, meats, art, produce and even WINE to the market and cannot wait to share with everyone who walks by.  These vendors are some of the coolest and fun people to speak to as well, definitely a destination must.

Food is one of my biggest passions.  DIVE IN!

"BABY YOU’RE A FIREWORK!"

My first post: Inspired by friends.

It would only be right, especially for those who know me, to begin my blog after July 4^th (Independence Day).  This day symbolizes many things for many people, but as deep as these variety of feelings are, the celebration brings me back to the joy I get from the simple things in life.  I am a simple girl with a very complex mind.  It amazes me how many things can go through a person’s head in like a millisecond.  True story: I am meant to have a blog.  Where else can an opinionated person with a mind that moves faster than the speed of sound put their inner thoughts?  Ah-ha, whallah, BAM, BOOM! 

Most people spend their 4^th of July where they most want to be, right?  Think of how you spent yours.  I bet it was pretty much in your “Happy Place”.  This, thank god, holds true for me.  My happy place is the WATER.  If I were to spend it any other way, my head might have burst!  The water is the most natural, calm and inspiring place.  It can also be harsh, surprising, and scary.  Kind of like myself.  Explanation: think of thunderstorms, huge currents and calm marshes and deep inner thoughts.  Get it?  DIVE IN!

I spent my weekend with the water and great friends!  Life blessed me with the river, the ocean and amazing friends!  My weekend started with a calm afternoon at a local Long Island beach with a little swimming, Frisbee, a cooler full of ice cold BL’s and a few friends.  Ahhhhh, so nice.  The very next day, another LI beach packed full of crazy people.  Anxiety level = through the roof!  We get up early beat the traffic and because we are meeting someone our spot on the beach was already pre-reserved.  To our surprise, we get there to sit on top, literally, on top, of 75 other people and their crazy children.  I soon find out that I forgot my toiletries bag at the beach the day before and my sandwich was soaked from sinking to the bottom of the cooler, AWESOME!  I have recently been focusing on mind over matter and tuning into a much better place in my head.  The place that tells me, karma has a way of working its magic and what you put out into the universe is what you will get back.  So, instead of getting mad and yelling, which I am good at doing, I have been breathing and reminding myself how powerful the universe is.  I got up and dove in the ocean.  I always say, there isn’t much the water CANT cure.  So, it can surely shake the blues and it did.

The next day, we have a Kayak reservation in Cold Spring, NY at 10a.  Meeting friends at 9am and we wake up to a nasty rain storm.  Although many would have given up, we pushed on through and made our way upstate.  While driving in the storm, we realize that there is something extremely calming about this storm.  I say, it must only be because it is WATER! When we get to Cold Spring, an amazing little town on the Hudson river (Where I would someday love to move and raise some children of my own), we eat, eat some more, play games, and booze all day/night!  Perfect equation for fun filled memories.  Before doing so, there is a break in the storm and we make our way down to the river which has a beautiful historic and scenic views of the mountains.  Trains running through and our boys playing football, the ladies chat it up and play with our friend’s beautiful baby girl.  Her name is Lainey Rose and I love that child to death.  She brings such joy and she loved playing in the dewy grass.  Snapshot of happiness and life in one of its simplest moments.

We finally get to Kayak on July 4^th in the AM after a day/night of fun, games, food and mint filled cocktails.  Kayaking through the marsh out by constitution island couldn’t have been more of a perfect start to my favorite holiday. The day continued on with a parade, a fair and some music and a long drive down the river, through Manhattan and into Jersey City. OY!!!!  In Jersey City with 15 minutes to spare, we manage to meet up with the BF’s friends in time for the Macy’s firework display over the Hudson River.  Fireworks are my favorite.  They make me feel like a kid again.  What you don’t see here in this beautifully painted picture is the boyfriend freaking out because he made me leave our happy place to hang with his friends who he forgot no longer live on the upper west side and are now in Jersey City, NJ. 

Snap shot of west side highway being closed and sea of cars and people maneuvering their way through Manhattan.  So after major travel and good times, we get home to a comfy bed where I cannot remember anything except Diving Into bed!  Moral of the story is, everyone has a happy place and many times it takes a life of roller coasters to get there.  For everything else, there is water and friends.  They can cure most blues and woes.  Happy 4^th! 

Dive In. The end.