Snapshot Sunday | Fourth of July in the East Village

As the Fourth of July weekend comes to a close, I thought I would share this simple and unedited photo of a huge American flag that was hung up in my neighborhood. I thought it looked beautiful! I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. 

Snapshot Sunday | My Street Art Obsession

I always love seeing street art throughout the city. Whether it's a mural or a smaller piece, I always feel the need to snap a picture no matter how touristy I feel doing so. Now that it's spring and finally sunny outside, I've been able to walk a lot more, and have been spotting new-to-me street art. Here are a couple that I particularly liked this week.

"Love Me" – taken on Broadway near Canal Street

Funky Alien Creatures! Not sure what to call this. Taken on E 2nd Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery.

Do you enjoy street art as much as I do? Let me know in the comments!

Macaron Day 2013

Today was Macaron Day here in NYC, and let me tell you, it was a great way to kick off the spring season! Macaron Day takes place once per year, and participating bakeries all over the city give away one free macaron to each person who enters their shop. I first heard about Macaron Day back in 2011 when I was interning in the city, but didn't get a chance to try out any of these treats. After class today, a friend and I made it to two of the locations on the map and indulged in these delicious cookies!

The first stop on our journey was Bisous Ciao on the Lower East Side. There we got a macaron that tasted just like peanut butter and jelly! It was oh-so-delicious, and I just had to take a bite before I snapped the Instagram photo below. The bakery itself was very nice and clean inside. We had great customer service, and I would definitely stop back there again. Of course, macarons are pretty pricey, and a half dozen will cost you $16.50. I also wish they had seating at Bisous Ciao -- it's more of a grab and run place.

Our next stop was the Macaron Parlour in the East Village. I was super impressed with this location! We had a full menu of macarons to choose from for our freebie, and I snagged Earl Grey. My friend got strawberry, and both of us agree that they tasted amazing! I love Earl Grey tea, and the macaron was even better than I could have imagined! Plus, this place is super adorable inside, and has a seating area in the back that is very clean and modern. It's definitely a great place for reading or having coffee with a friend. Oh, did I mention they also have tons of other pastries to choose from? The coffee (they sell Blue Bottle here!) smells absolutely amazing while it's brewing, too. A half dozen macarons here sells for $15.00, so it's a bit more affordable than Bisous Ciao. I am definitely planning a return stop to Macaron Parlour! 

Overall, Macaron Day is really fun and quite a yummy experience! It is also a great cause, because 10% of all profits made from purchases will go towards feeding the homeless in NYC. While there will only a couple locations downtown that I could easily make it to, there are many more participants uptown, especially around the Central Park area. Check out the Macaron Day website HERE for more information. I highly suggest taking part in this great event! I'm already marking my calendar for next year! 

Lesson 7: Keep Your Camera Handy

When I lived in the Bronx, nothing too exciting ever happened in my neighborhood. Now that I'm in the East Village, I never know what is going to happen. I've seen some pretty interesting things go by my window -- marching bands, street performers, dogs on wheels -- the list goes on! After missing some pretty unexplainable events, I knew that I needed to make sure my camera was at the ready so that when the next ridiculous thing went by I would be able to capture it. I'm sure glad I had my camera nearby when an impromptu, Mexican Parade went by this afternoon! 

I'm studying for finals when I suddenly hear this lively music outside. I go to the window only to be greeted with a street filled with hundreds of people dancing to Mexican music complete with sombreros and other festive regalia. I took a quick photo, but realized only a video would do the trick. Take a look at what I was able to capture! 

Keep in mind that this was the end of the parade, so many more people had already gone by. I have no idea what they were celebrating, and a Google search yielded no results. Whatever the occasion, I thought this was great. Where else are you randomly going to have a Mexican parade go by your window?! I'm glad I was able to document this moment.

Lesson 7: When you live in NYC, you'll never know what is about to happen next. Make sure you have your camera at the ready to capture any unexpected moments!

A Photo Update

I apologize for the lack of updates! There are a few reasons for this: (1) I'm busy with law school; (2) I'm not doing anything too exciting in NYC; and (3) I'm lazy. So here's what I'm going to do. I'll post a few photos I've taken in the past few months, and then I'll promise to update more frequently. Also, please donate to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts if you can. You can donate at the Red Cross website HERE.

 

Here's the view from the top of my apartment building in the East Village. This was way back in September. 

  

On my way home from the post office one day I spotted a Dia de los Muertos celebration happening. I was excited.

 

On my way home to New England for Thanksgiving I got to see a lot of the preparations for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Here is the star you see on TV! It's right in from of the Macy's in Herald Square (by my old internship!). 

  

I was feeling touristy that morning, so I took a typical NYC shot. I mean, the sun wasn't even up yet, so I felt okay about it. Plus, when you're towing luggage through Herald Square most people think you're a tourist anyway. 

 

I'm obsessed with The Big Bang Theory, so I was super excited to see the F train decked out in BBT advertisements. Plus, it is extremely rare for me to get a seat on the F train, and, as you can probably tell, the train was really quiet this day. Bonus.

Coming from New England, I guess I never thought about how people in cities buy their Christmas trees. It's rather bittersweet for me to see the sidewalks lined with trees for sale. One block was really cool -- they had a guy playing live Christmas music on the French horn, and you basically had to walk down an aisle of the trees. The photo above shows the not so glamorous tree sales. Who would really buy from this guy? "X-Mas Tree"? Really? Okay, I guess you can't go to the nearby farm and chop one down, but at least get a better sign.

That's it for now. I hope to do some fun Christmas themed things during finals to get my mind off the tests and to at least experience the city. I'll have this up and running again in no time! 

Back in the New York Groove

I have officially moved back to NYC to attend law school, and things are a bit different this time around. Instead of living in the Bronx, I am literally over 180 blocks south of there in the East Village. My apartment is a bit smaller than I’d like it to be, but I guess that’s how things are here. I was super lucky last time to be living in such a nice house. Unfortunately, I won’t have internet or cable in my apartment until this Thursday (ugh!). Thankfully many restaurants and coffee places (like Starbucks on the corner) offer free wifi. At least I’m able to check my email every once in a while!

I also haven’t done much exploring of the neighborhood yet. The first day I moved in, I realized I forgot my phone charger. I desperately headed to McDonalds to use the internet so I could find where Kmart was located. Though not usually my favorite shopping place, I knew there was one nearby and that they would have chargers. That trip offered me a little peek of the area.

Yesterday, I needed to go grocery shopping. I’ll admit it -- I’m a little obsessed with Trader Joe’s. Compared to other NYC grocery stores, I have found the prices to be reasonable. Plus, they offer healthier selections and more vegetarian options for me. HopStop informed me that I could walk to the nearest location, which was about seventeen minutes away. Maybe this 0.87 mile trek is a bit much for groceries (especially when there are other stores much closer), but I just had to have Trader Joe’s! Once it stopped raining, I headed out.

Somehow I got a little lost along the way. Turns out I just didn’t walk far enough, but nonetheless I stumbled upon a Buffalo Exchange location in the process. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but more on that after my first visit there. Once I found Trader Joe’s, I couldn’t believe how packed it was! The lines literally reach the back of the store, but the cashiers move quickly. Almost everyone is buying just what they can carry, anyway. I’ll have to make frequent grocery store stops since I can only carry so much at one time. We’ll see how long it takes before I get sick of the walk to Trader Joe’s!

That’s it for now. Nothing really exciting to mention yet, except that the off-Broadway show Stomp is just a few blocks down from me. Classes don’t officially start for me until August 27^th, but I have a first week of meetings and such beginning Tuesday. I’m not sure how often I will be posting yet, but I’ll be sure to write about anything noteworthy. I’m excited to actually be living in NYC full time!