My Weekend in Verbs

I really hate to say that I essentially live for the weekends, as it’s not entirely true: I live for vacations, too. 😉 I just want to be able to do whatever I want with my days; is that too much to ask?

Like spend a lovely weekend with this one, who has entirely turned my world around in every magical & wonderful way possible in the past 6 months (time flies!):

This was our best attempt at a “let’s take a 6-month-iversary-photo” while having brunch at Mercury Bar (this rather unassuming sports bar in Hell’s Kitchen actually has awesome brunch options) and watching a Formual 1 race (I basically have no idea what that means but I brought a journal and they had John Mayer on so I was happy). 🙂

Ran

Saturday: 8 miles outdoors (steady comfortable pace): 5m solo, 3m with T. I was cold (and sore) pretty much the whole time, but it was one of the longer runs I’ve done in a while, so that felt good. I will admit that I’m still mentally adjusting to running with someone, it seems; I want to run with the boy but I sort of psych myself out a bit and always seem to get into a flow better on my own, but I know it’s good to have someone push me & I like working out with him, so I don’t want to stop running with him…it’s a Catch 22 and I need to adjust! Anyone else experience this tension between adjusting from being a solo runner to a couple runner?

Sunday: 4 miles treadmill. The freezing temps and unbelievable wind prompted us to opt for an indoor session yesterday morning, which ended up being beneficial for me, as I decided to take advantage of the chance to do some speedwork. I’m really trying to incorporate this into my routine weekly. I did 4 miles and included intervals of 1-2 minute increases in speed and definitely felt myself working harder and pushing, and it felt great! Must do more of this.

Ate

We ventured out to a new (to us) restaurant I’ve wanted to check out for a while called Friedman’s, a homey, rustic spot squatting unexpectedly on 35th St and 10th Ave, an area almost entirely devoid of other cute places to dine. I’ve been wanting to check it out, and as it was, it served as the perfect ending to our Saturday.

Friedman’s entire menu is gluten free (except for two items), and they’re a family-run business who lives by the mantra #eatgoodfood. Well, they certainly lived up to that.

We both wanted the fish tacos & grilled salmon salad, so that was easy: I ordered the tacos, he ordered the salmon, and we shared.

Both were delicious and we already decided we’ll be back there soon. Well done, Friedman’s. I was a happy girl.

Watched

The Big Short.

It was great. The cast was phenomenal, the story was riveting, and it was just overall so well done. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never delved that deeply into the logistics of the whole 2008 financial crisis, so this was really important and informational for me. Definitely recommend this.

Hope you had great weekends, friends!
Weekend highlights?
Best movie you’ve seen recently?

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Snowmageddon 2016

Soooo, as you heard, we got some serious snow up in NYC! (Check out some photos here if you have any interest in seeing the craziness!)

Talk about going from 0 to 100 — we haven’t had any snowfall all year, and then we experienced the second-biggest blizzard in all of NYC’s snowfall history this weekend! Governor Cuomo issued a travel ban starting at 2:30pm on Saturday, shutting down all roads and subways, so we really had no choice but to hunker down and cozy up.

That was totally fine by me, and I actually relished the forced hermit status and so much “me” time. I didn’t venture out at all except to stumble through the blizzard to the grocery store across the street, which was sort of exciting because 1) it felt like a mini adventure and 2) it was a great excuse to wear my new Hunter boots for the first time (I know, I know, GIRLS). I was actually laughing to myself while stumbling through the snow piles and struggling to keep my eyes open through the gusts. Hilarity.

So, Jonas was a-ok by me. Even though I couldn’t run outside, I got up and went right to the gym both Saturday and Sunday morning with the contented assurance that I had nowhere else to be that day and could take my sweet time.

                                                               Weekend workouts
Saturday: 7.5 miles on treadmill (6.5 running, 1 incline walking)
Sunday: Really sore legs that quickly shut down on me (too much pain), so I ran 2 miles and then incline walked another 3+. (Blue Bloods on Netflix makes the treadmill much more manageable.) I then did another 30 minutes of light free weights, squats/lunges/leg things, lots of push-ups, 5 minutes of planks and 50 decline-bench sit-ups. This workout felt really good and I love not being pressed for time.

The rest of my weekend included lots of relaxing in pjs, cleaning, healthy foods (including Oatmega bars, which i’m really liking right now), and some delicious drinks:

Josh Cabernet paired with pink flannels (excellent combo that I plan to repeat tonight),

reduced-sugar vanilla almond milk latte (I buy Illy espresso and finally learned how to make my frother work — small victories),

a “Perfect Manhattan” (yes, there is apparently a difference between a perfect and a non-perfect, so I learned), made by a friend from college who lives in my apartment building as well (so convenient, esp during blizzards, to have built-in neighbor friends!).

So Jonas really treated me quite well. I was productive, active, well-rested, relaxed, and more than content to have a full weekend to myself. I remember days in my 20s when i hated the thought of spending so much time alone, and now I seriously cherish it and need it to feel balanced.

Funny how things change as we mature.

currently reading: Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer (some dense stuff, but so good)
currently listening to: Great Good Fine Ok (really digging their sound)
currently watching: Blue Bloods on Netflix (finished Scandal and my parents got me hooked on this show when i was in Florida last week – Donny Wahlberg for the win!)

How was your weekend, friends? Highlights?
Anyone else get slammed by Jonas? How’d you fare?

scenes from the weekend

hi, loves! so i don’t know about you guys, but for me, we’re halfway through the month and i can honestly say that this is totally turning out to be a wonderful, happy, memorable December for me.

for starters, it was 65 degrees and sunny in NYC all weekend…so what i’m really saying is that it’s May. the boy and i went running both Saturday (6-7ish miles) and Sunday (5ish miles) mornings in tank tops, and i was sweating. in mid-December. and i love it.

things weren’t so amazing on the running front this weekend though, unfortunately, which really bummed me out b/c i was so looking forward to having these amazing runs on such glorious balmy days, but it just wasn’t happening. my legs were beyond tired and sore for some reason, and my calf kept screaming at me, and i just couldn’t get it together & had very little energy. i was slow and feeling pretty awful, and not sure i’d have endured 5 miles on Sunday if the boy wasn’t there to run with me.

and so it goes with running: sometimes you’re on top of the world, and sometimes you just don’t have it and everything feels hard. here’s to hoping that phase passes asap, b/c it really bums me out. on the flip side, i’m thankful i was able to cover the mileage i did even while i wasn’t feeling so hot or loving running at those moments. a crappy run is better than no run, right? and i did get in a fairly decent upper body workout at the gym on Sunday before our run as well.

workouts aside, the weekend was absolutely wonderful otherwise. we rode Citibikes and went to my friends’ holiday brunch and had a pre-dinner drink at Terroir Wine Bar in Tribeca on Saturday, which plays great music and has a really chill, almost punk-gothy sort of vibe,

before heading to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Fig & Olive Meatpacking, which just does everything right: amazing food, amazing service, amazing atmosphere. i love this spot.

side note: i’m the worst at taking photos of food, but somehow always manage to remember to snap the wine. i swear i eat… 😉

we also had an awesome brunch at 44 1/2 in Hell’s Kitchen. it was my first time there for brunch and i’ll certainly return, as it was charming and yummy and a new neighborhood fave for me. we dined on the covered back patio which was like a lovely little pink fairy world in the middle of the concrete jungle,

all bubbly lanterns & pink roses & white lights. it was one of my favorite restaurant atmospheres i’ve experienced in a while, and so ideal for a Sunday afternoon in a December that’s posing as May. i really loved it.

we meandered over to Rockefeller Center after Sunday brunch to see the 78-foot-tree, which seemed like a necessary, picturesque NYC-at-Christmastime thing to do,

…except that we were joined by everyone else who happened to be awake in NYC yesterday. holy touristville. we took one look at the crowds swarming 5th Ave and decided the window viewing was absolutely not in our immediate future and we suddenly realllllly needed some wine (is hating crowds part of growing up? i seriously cannot), so we strolled down to the Flatiron District and nestled ourselves into Punch for some nice little chill time in an atmosphere that didn’t make me want to start kicking strollers.

much, much better.

my weekend in #s:
2 beauuuuuuteousss days
2 (so-so) runs
2 great restaurants
2 cute wine bars
2 movie nights on the couch (Hunger Games #3 & Pitch Perfect)
1 gym session
1 massive Christmas tree
=1 pretttttyyyyy perfect weekend with the man

i have no complaints. ❤

How was your weekend, friends? Highlights?
Something you’re looking forward to this week?

weekend warriors

this past weekend, i did all the things. and by all the things, i mean all the things that make my heart so happy & that i wanted my weekend to contain. i couldn’t have asked for it to be any better.

the boy was in town ( ❤ ) so we had all sorts of plans with my friends, because everyone wants to get to know him better and see how amazing he is. totally can’t blame them. 🙂

we met a few of my friends for a drink at the Irish pub/sports bar Feile as soon as he got here on Friday (which is apparently NYC’s #1 Formula 1 bar, in case that tickles your fancy), which draws a pretty active happy hour crowd and wasn’t bad for a bar near Penn Station.

he & i then went to dinner at one of my fave neighborhood Thai places, Room Service. i think i’ve taken every single person i know to this place at one point or another. it’s such a hip, fun, delicious spot, and a must-go if you’re looking for a cute little dinner place in Hell’s Kitchen.

on Saturday we ventured out for a morning run in the sunny, 50 degree December weather (!!!) — 6 miles for me (3 solo, 3 with the boy) before heading down to the West Village for a fabulously fun brunch with some wonderful humans at Bluestone Lane, this darling Australian cafe (to which i certainly plan to return). we took advantage of the gorgeous day and sat outside, reveling in the fact that we were so spoiled to have patio weather in December!

avocado toast w/ poached eggs and rounds of mimosas, for the win.

everyone left full & happy and feeling like we’d found the best little brunch place in all of NYC. seriously, go here. it’s fantastic.

Saturday night we checked off one of my December Bucket List goals by making holiday cocktails (thanks for the recipe, Sarah!) in the form of Spiked Almond Nog.

my friend found Silk’s Almond Nog and brought whiskey, which i rarely drink, but the combo was delicious and i definitely want to make these again. such a perfect (and really light) holiday drink to sip on before heading to a bar on the corner for a friend’s annual charity Christmas party…

where we discovered a holiday photo booth. yassss. i can’t get enough of these homemade party attractions this year and only regret not taking a photo with one of the reindeer names — Vixen & Dancer were reallllly calling to me.

i think i missed the fact that i was supposed to hold the “Kiss Me” sign above my head…whoops. but i still got what i wanted, as a girl should. hey, it’s Christmas. 🙂

Sunday was another fairly warm morning, so i ran 8 lovely miles while the boy slept in, then did 10 minutes of planks and felt like Wonder Woman. total weekend mileage: 14 miles, all outside. i feel good about that & rode that high all the way to another success of a brunch, this time at Georgio’s in Hell’s Kitchen, which was adorably decorated for the holiday season and had a real homey vibe that made me happy.

i haven’t been here in over 5 years and sorely underestimated this place. i sadly forgot to take pictures of our meals because i was starving, but we both had egg dishes (i almost always order eggs benny w/ avocado and tomato, no sauce — if there’s avocado on a menu i will find it) and really, really enjoyed them, and the mimosas are massive and reasonably priced, soooo i have zero complaints about this place. we were a strong 2-2 on the post-run brunch circuit this weekend & i had poached eggs, avocado & mimosas both days, soooo i was about as happy as a girl could be.

in other news, it’s supposed to be 63 degrees here this weekend. i have no idea what is happening in the universe but i’ve decided God really loves NYC this Winter and am basking in this loveliness for as long as we have it. when Winter looks like Spring, life is prettttty darn good.

Tell me something great from your weekend!
Runners: How’d you do this weekend? Still running outside?
Favorite brunch dish?

because boats.

can i just start by saying that i think every company in the world needs to implement Summer Fridays?? we don’t get them and i’m trying not to be bitter about it but i fear that i’m failing miserably at that…especially because i just came in from a walk along the marina outside of my office building oogling over this yacht that’s been parked there all week. i was desperately hoping some young handsome single fella owned it and would just happen to see me stalking his monstrosity of a boat strolling by on my lunch break and my next blog post would be an announcement that i’m now sailing the world on a boat big enough to house a helicopter.

alas – not all dreams come true & i’m still waiting for my ship to come in (& all that jazz). til then, i’m just going to have to settle for getting my lil butt on a boat as often as possible, which i’m actually doing a pretty good job of already this summer…

which brings us to last night and the glory that is the North River Lobster Co. if you follow me on Instagram (and if you don’t, find me @glitterstruck), you already know that i made my maiden voyage on this lobster boat last night and basically had to be carried off kicking-n-screaming. (okay so that part is a lie but seriously, i was on it for 3 hours and could have stayed longer.)

boats are my absolute favorite inventions (probably even before beds, which is crazy talk because SLEEPING) and seafood is my fave (fish tacos got me like {insert hearts & ish}), so the idea of a lobster boat cruise is just ingenious to me. the boat docks & boards riiiight by my apartment (coincidence? i think not) and does 45-minute cruises up and down the Hudson, and is basically just the most amazing summer thing to do in this city. i can’t believe i haven’t done it before and you bet your sealegs i’ll be on this thing again…and again…and again…

we had a gorrrgeous night to be out on the water and stayed for two cruises (& a whole lotta dock time, which is also fun because, well, you’re still on a boat). i had lobster tacos & my friend had a lobster roll and i can’t say the food was spectacular or anything, but it was totally decent enough. but the experience and THAT VIEW of the NYC skyline?

esp at sunset?

’nuff said. and then when it gets darker, the party lights come on, and we’re floating on a magical vessel somewhere between the crazy wonder that is NYC and everywhere else one could possibly go to, that a river will take you.

i obviously highly recommend doing this if you live in NYC (or visit here in the summer). it’s the perfect way to spend a warm evening outdoors and capture some amazing views of the city and sunset. if you’re going to be on a patio or having drinks or seafood anyway, well, why not be on a boat?

‘zactly.

oh hiiii, NYC. i love you so.

happy weekend, friends!!

Friday Five

Five Fab things from this past week:

1. Spring! okay, so it’s totally snowing and freezing here in NYC — happy Spring Equinox, east coast — but still, it’s SPRING and that’s wonderful! and my favorite poet writes about Spring, so that’s even wonderful-er.

2. workouts have been good and consistent, and i’m at total peace about forgoing the Queens 13.1 tomorrow. my leg is actually acting up again and has been really sore — the one that kept me from running the marathon last fall — so i know i shouldn’t push it anyway. not to mention, see #1 above. SNOW.

recap of this week’s workouts:

Sunday afternoon: 8mile windy run outside along the Hudson
Monday morning: 35-40 minutes on the Arc trainer, followed by a bit of upper body strength & abs
Tuesday night: 4.5ish (didn’t map it) mile run outside. cold & windy.
Wednesday night: easy 3 miles on the treadmill & abs
Thursday morning: hard hour+ of circuit training (what i call my personal boot camp) –>felt amazing and hard and i knew i’d be feeling that one.
Friday: woke up early this morning TOTALLY feeling yesterday’s workout. like, every single muscle in my legs was SO SORE that getting out of bed was a feat. i still pushed myself and was on the Arc trainer (with a coffee — my apt building rocks and has free coffee in the mornings) by 6am for 35 mins, followed by some upper body and abs. and then much-needed stretching. OUCH.

3. Google Feud. (this is just a Google-laden post, eh?) as if you needed another time-waster, please enjoy. you’re welcome. (am i late to this game?? it’s become an epidemic at my office!)

4. Kiabacca. this bar/pizza joint just opened right by my apartment, so one of the girls and i went to check it out last night. it’s a super chill spot with both beer and wine on tap, and happy hour wine was $6, so that was a score. given the relaxed vibe and the fact that it’s a stone’s throw from where i live, i think it’s a good neighborhood fixture.

also digging the name: kiabacca, which they define on their site (and on their wall) as “a rare type of wood found only in the rainforest of St. Croix,” and also “that warm, positive feeling you get when you are sharing drinks amongst friends and lovers.” awww. that’s a nice concept around which to build a place. i’m fortunate that Hell’s Kitchen has so many cute little spots, with new options springing up all the time. i definitely dig my ‘hood.

and yes that is what a kiabacca leaf looks like. don’t go getting any unfounded ideas about the sort of establishments at which i hang out, now. 😉

5. giiiiirls. how i feel when people go on a first date and “fall in love.” Team Elsa all the way here.

happy weekend, my loves!! enjoy the beginning of Spring (and hope it’s warmer and less snowy wherever you are than it is in New York!).

xo

Something fabulous from your week?
Anything good going on this wknd?

Friday Five: What I Love about NYC

this week’s Friday Five linkup makes my lil heart so happy, because i get to gush about one of my favorite things in the whole wide world: my city. which, in my biased view of the world, happens to be the very best city of all the cities that ever were. (okay, so i haven’t been to all of them, but mine’s pretty darn wonderful!)

ONE: Everything.

annnnnd we’re done here.

sike. (or is it psych? i’m going with the first.) but seriously, that’s one of the best things about NYC: it has something for everyone. and if you’re the outdoorsy type and don’t like being stuck in the city, we have beaches an hour away by train and mountains to hike an hour the other way. you’d be hard pressed to want something here that you can’t find: any type of food, any type of clothing, any type of theater, any type of job, any type of bar, any type of person. i really love that about my city: if you can imagine it, you can find it. (except maybe unicorns. i’m still on the hunt.)

TWO: Diversity. i grew up in a rather non-diverse part of NY state, and i feel soooooo blessed to live in one of the most diverse cities in the world. i mean, my friend group alone is a testament to that: we’re Irish-American, Canadian, Russian Jewish, Thai, Vietnamese, and as Southern Belle as they come. as someone who values people and relationships over everything else in my world, i feel so incredibly fortunate to meet so many people from all over the world and country and hear their stories and learn about different cultures first-hand. it’s incredible.

two Asians, a Jew and an Irish girl walked into a wine bar…
have i mentioned that i’m surrounded by Canadians at all times? & how much i love them, eh?
THREE: Speakeasies. if you’ve been reading RTA for a bit, then you might know that i am a huge fan of these Prohibition-style bars and am on a mission to hit as many as i can. i love the cozy, dim-lit atmospheres; the oft-clandestine entrances; the “mixologist” drink menus; the throwback vibes.

some great speakeasys (or sort-of speakeasys, with the same type of vibe) i’ve been to, in case you’re in NYC and into this scene:

Apoteke
Employees Only
Bathtub Gin
Death & Co
Little Branch
Lantern’s Keep (drinks pictured above)
The Back Room
PDT
The Dead Rabbit (not really a speakeasy, but similar historical concept & awesome place so i’m adding it)

there are a bunch i haven’t been to that i really want to hit, like Raines Law Room and Dear Irving and Milk & Honey and Angel’s Share…good to have things to work toward, amiright? 🙂

FOUR: Theater. i don’t go as often as i’d like, but when i see a show, i love it. i did musical theater in high school and college and so often wish i’d pursued theater with a dogged passion, because i love it so, so much. i live right in the theater district and really would like to make more of a point to see shows, especially when there are so many ways to get discounted tickets. i made it to a record two shows in December — Fuerza Bruta Wayra and Once — and both were absolutely amazing and gave me that “transcending my every day life” feeling, which i just love.

FIVE: The different neighborhoods. i can only speak for Manhattan, as i’m not very familiar with the other boroughs, but i just love how the different neighborhoods of Manhattan each have their own personalities and vibes (i totally overuse that word but it’s the one i want). the West Village is my fave, with its quaint little streets and lovely brunch places and wine bars and tucked-away-out-of-the-craziness feel; then there’s the gritty, hipster-ish sceney vibe of the Lower East Side and all its late-night glory; the lovely brownstone-and-blossom streets of Chelsea, and the hip “scene” of the Meatpacking District, with its clubs and high-end shops and boozy brunches; the grungier, so-many-little-places-to-go-all-squished-together feel of Hell’s Kitchen; the cleaner, wider-streeted, stroll-around-and-enjoy-yourself atmosphere of the Upper West Side; the hustle-and-bustle, wait-is-that-a-celebrity, i-think-they’re-filming-a-movie-down-that-street electricity in the air in SoHo; the cool, raw, darkish casualness of the Bowery.

every neighborhood has a distinct look and feel, and i love how there are always so many things to catch your eye and places to stumble upon and drop into on a whim. i can’t imagine ever getting bored here, or tired of this city i feel so utterly blessed to call home.

what you do when you can’t run

running is a big fail for me lately. but thankfully, i haven’t resorted to crying. yet.

i have to say, waking up on a Saturday morning and knowing you can’t run as many miles as you want to/are accustomed to running is pretty depressing. 😦 the tendonitis/shin splints are super painful and i’m hating everything about this. it’s not even the point that i know i won’t be able to run the marathon in October — i’m actually okay with that — it’s just that i hate not being able to run much at all, when it’s such an integral part of my life. talk about a lesson in patience….geesh.

apparently this street art wisdom near my apt last week was trying to tell me something…

i managed about 4 slowww miles on Saturday, which is better than nothing, but it definitely was a blow to my ego to be in that much pain and not be able to run at least 10 miles on a weekend morning. i’m so not used to that and really feeling the void of having those long runs to look forward to. bum-merrrr city.

despite not being able to run, my weekend shaped up pretty nicely, starting off with some bachata dancing at a Latin club on Friday night. it’s been a minute since i’ve gone, and man, i’m not sure i love anything as much as i love dancing. must go more often.

after the attempted run on Saturday, i bopped around SoHo and the West Village (two of my fave areas of Manhattan) with a girlfriend and stumbled across another exhibit of street art wisdom.

apparently someone is speckling these around the city this summer, and i’m totally digging it. such a nice idea to pepper people’s walks with such positive energy. i’m determined to take feet shots of all of these that i find and see how many different pairs of shoes i can showcase. oh, and i’m hoping to fulfill my destiny, too, in case you were wondering. i plan to take this one very seriously. soon as i find out what my destiny is, i’mma chase that thing down like whoa.

Saturday night: a single glass of rose with a girlfriend at Wine Escape, an adorable hidden gem of a wine bar right near my apartment. girlfriend dates at quaint little places are one of my fave things in the world.

this rose was soooo good, too: Sable D’Azur Provence Rose. if you’re into light, dry rose, you want to try it. trust me.

Sunday morning’s workout (after 11 hours of sleep…yessss) consisted of a half hour of high resistance on the arc trainer — which is the worst sweat session of my life, let me tell you — followed by another half hour of strength and abs (push-ups, a few back machines, lots of squats, and the incline bench). i had the gym entirely to myself, which is amazing at any point but much appreciated on a Sunday, and this workout felt really good…

good enough that i let myself spend the rest of the day outdoors enjoying the incredible weather with friends on a pier along the Hudson River. we found a little outdoors cafe where a man with a guitar entertained us and the other patrons for hours, right through the lovely sunset.

i think i was especially excited, as he played sooooo many songs i love and grew up with. the guy knew his Simon and Garfunkle, which always makes me a happy girl, and he played the Beatles and Coldplay and Hall & Oates and just so many amazing songs. it was definitely one of those “ideal moments” where you feel blessed to simply be alive, and all seems right in the world…where you just sit back and think, “life is this good.” it’s so crucial to have those, and i was so content with my world last night.

today, of course, is a different story…exhaustedddd and brought some wine into work with me using my stomach…but hey. Sunday Fundays don’t promise marvelous Mondays!

this week marks the “unofficial” end of summer for me even before Labor Day, as i start classes again tomorrow for the fall semester — craziness, how quickly this summer flew by! i’m setting myself the new goal of not having any wine/drinks during the week at all this week, not til i’m home with the fam for the long wknd. need to clean up this act a bit over here.

hope you all had lovely weekends!

Tell me something good about your weekend.
Any end-of-summer goals/plans?
Anyone else going back to school?

 

 

fave brunch spot in NYC (for now)

i’m one of those people who likes to play favorites. favorite pair of running capris, favorite brand of sneakers, favorite types of wine, favorite places to lay outside and read. i like to choose things and making them feel like mine. after all, isn’t this how we build a life?

and on the flip side, i do reallllly well with change. like, i can change my mind all the time and probably drive everyone else around me insane, and i’m just rolling with it.

so put those two together, and what i’m saying is, i like to have favorites. but sometimes favorites can change. like favorite boys, or favorite actors, or favorite flavors of Gatorade. 🙂

but one thing is for certain: my favorite meal is definitely brunch. mine, and most of the rest of NYC’s. it’s a thing here, that’s for sure. and fortunately for me, my current fave brunch spot happens to be a block from my apartment — and that isn’t even its selling point. the place is just so adorable, so charming, and so good.

44&X, located on the corner of 44th St and 10 Ave (hence the name), deems itself “a little bit of Heaven in Hell(‘s Kitchen).”

…which i think is both an adorable boast and a pretty close approximation of the truth. we managed to snag the corner table on the front patio, which was prime real estate for a group of girls ready to cozy up for a couple of hours in the sunshine and gab.

i had juuuust come from a 10 mile run along the river, which was absolutely glorious and the best run i’ve had since the NY Half,

and was more than ready for a mimosa to hit my lips immediately. and it was a good one. cheers!

i don’t have any food pics, but they have a really extensive, varied, fun brunch menu. i definitely recommend checking this place out if you live in NYC. oh, and if you’re not sold yet, please let me show you the bathroom:

yep, that’s the bathroom. or Barbie’s dream lounge, one or the other. not gonna lie — i kinda dig it. so shocking, every time.

oh, and we had fun waving to this guy, who rolled right up beside us during brunch and humored our attention, even though he didn’t oblige my request to be taken for a spin:

i just love everything about a sunny Saturday in NYC. you never know what you’ll stumble across.
Questions:
Are you a big brunch fan? What’s your go-to brunch meal/drink?  i usually stick to some sort of salad and mimosas!

 

Treadmill misery & the first rooftop of the season.

so i stay in NYC this weekend, and wouldn’t you know: it’s been pouring nonstop since i woke up. out like a lamb, hmm?

so, my anticipated West Side Highway long run turned into a hot, pretty darn miserable treadmill run in my building gym. i called it quits after an hour, as i pretty much hated every single second of those 60 minutes. however, the silver lining was that the NYC Half t-shirt was really comfortable and breathable. fashion saves the day.

is it weird that i’m more comfortable with sweaty workout selfies than any other kind? it’s nice when you don’t have to pretend to look good. 🙂

i also discovered a new favorite gym apparatus: that incline sit-up machine in the bottom right. it’s the perfect way to finish up my workouts, because it’s part horrible ab torture that i’m praying pays off by summer, and part wonderful, super padded resting bench where i let the blood rush to my head while staring at my feet in-between reps. such a gem.

i was pretty happy that i finally made it to Salvation Army today to drop off the bag of clothes that’d been sitting on my floor for months. it always feels good to donate clothes, even if i did immediately walk out and hit the stores. this is what it feels like to be a girl: we are slaves to logic like “donate clothes = buy new clothes.” and since it was cold and pouring, the natural thing was to buy a bunch of cute little summer shirts and hope hanging them on my wall will motivate me to a) use that killer ab machine more and b) think Spring. come on, NYC. you’re killing me.

before the rain started last night, my girlfriends and i managed to get about 20 minutes of lovely feels-like-Spring weather on the rooftop patio of the Refinery Hotel in Midtown. this was my first time there, and it was such a hip spot with a great view of the Empire State building and really cool, elemental decor. i’m definitely looking forward to going back more this summer (and hopefully not getting rained upon). great choice for our first rooftop experience of 2014. we had some vodka and rose syrup drink called the Uptown Girl, which was great…but maybe not $17 worth of great. one-drink stop.

here’s to hoping the rain lets up so i can run outside tomorrow…and hit some more rooftops and patios in the near future.

oh, and in other news, i walked by a super fun sidewalk sign in front of a cafe in Hell’s Kitchen today — one of the best i’ve seen: “A meal without wine is called breakfast.” naturally, i had to have a glass of wine with lunch on my couch after that.

happy weekend, friends. xo

Question: Highlight of your weekend so far?

Are rooftop bars big things in your city?