Snapshot Sunday | Brooklyn College

Time for another new series on OpenLetter2NYC! This one is short and simple, and called Snapshot Sunday. I love taking pictures in the city, and thought it would be fun to share one with you each week. Sometimes I don't do anything mega blog-worthy, but Sundays will be all about one photo. Ready for my first Snapshot Sunday?

I ventured to Brooklyn College earlier this week, as I had to take a test as part of the New York Bar Exam requirements. I did a practice run to the college so I wouldn't get lost the day of the test (we weren't allowed to take our cell phones... ugh, I know). I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the Brooklyn College campus is, and had to stop and take a quick picture. 

That's all for this week's Snapshot Sunday! I hope to share a new photo with you every week, so stay tuned! 

Book Review | In the Bag by Kate Klise

It's time for my first book review here at OpenLetter2NYC! While this blog is predominately for NYC attractions and events, I am also going to use it as a place to share my love of reading. As a full time student, it's quite difficult to find time to read books for fun, but this year I am doing my best to always make some time for it. I hope you will enjoy my thoughts on the books I read, and don't fret - more NYC posts will be updated on the regular!

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Last week, I stopped by Strand Book Store (see that haul HERE) and discovered In the Bag by Kate Klise on the outdoor racks for just $1. The cover looked really cute, and when I read the story's synopsis I decided to give it a try. 

In the Bag focuses on four main characters: a mother and daughter who travel to Paris, and a father and son who travel to Madrid. While the trip overseas begins with a few mishaps (a spilled drink and mixed up luggage), the characters soon discover the connections between them. The book is told in rotating first person, giving the reader the opportunity to get inside each character's head. Klise does an excellent job of keeping the story alive and putting the story together one piece at a time.

I thought this story was really cute and fun. It's a quick read, and perfect for a day at the beach. The story is replete with romance, but nothing explicit. In fact, I liked the innocent nature of the romance in this book. I'd recommend In the Bag for anyone who is looking for a fun read, beginning with teenagers through adults. 

Overall, I gave this book a rating of four out of five stars on Goodreads. It's not a literary masterpiece (in fact, I found a handful of grammatical errors throughout the book), but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Purchase In the Bag on Amazon or Book Despository and I'll get a small commission. Thank you!

Macaron Day FAIL 2014

Yesterday was Macaron Day here in NYC, and I couldn't have been more excited. A lot more shops were taking part this year, and my friend Gina and I decided we would do a loop of six locations after school. Last year, we were able to grab two free macarons (read all about it HERE), so we couldn't wait for things to get bigger and better this time around. As you can guess by the title of this blog post, we were not so lucky!

• 4:00pm – Before we left on our sweet adventure, I checked the social media sites of the locations we planned on visiting. Unfortunately, two of them were already sold out. We knocked them off our list, and headed out. 
• 4:45pm – We arrived at our first stop: Mille-feuille Bakery. The crowd both outside and inside this tiny bakery was large, but we headed in and waited in line. Once we got to the register we were informed: "We're out of free macarons, but you can buy one at a discount." Disappointment. We left for stop two.
• 5:00pm – We crossed our fingers as we entered our second stop: Spot Dessert Bar. Guess what? They were out of free macarons, too. Man, this wasn't fun! We checked in on the other two locations – our third still seemed promising, but our last was down to 50 macarons.... 20 minutes ago. We decided to just go to the third place and hope for the best.
• 5:15pm – Our last hope. We arrived at the Macaron Parlour where we'd been last year. Thankfully, they still had some left! While sold out of some flavors, we were able to choose from a few macaron varieties. I scored the hazelnut, which was beyond delicious. At this point I was also parched from our grand walk around lower Manhattan, so I ordered a peach iced tea. Hey, I didn't mind spending $3 at Macaron Parlour – they saved our trip! 

• 6:00pm – Gina and I spent some time relaxing at Macaron Parlour, and we got there just in time. Crowds of people arrived after we did, and soon enough they were sold out. 

While our Macaron Day adventure was not as epic as we'd planned, I still had fun walking around the city in the beautiful spring weather. I'm very thankful we got at least got one free macaron! Of course, I can't be too disappointed about not getting something for free, but it was definitely frustrating that shops were selling out of the free macarons at such an early time in the day. For those of us who work or are full time students, we miss out on the goodies. It seems only logical to me that shops would have a larger inventory of macarons on Macaron Day. I'm more inclined to make a purchase at your shop or return in the future if you give me a sample, especially during an event that only happens once per year. 

If you're planning on taking part in Macaron Day next year, make sure you head to the shops early in the day. I even saw posts online about people who waited outside shops before they opened. Crazy, right?! And for the shops, please do us a favor and step up your game next time. People are hungry at the end of the work day, and if they take the time to come to your shop for a free macaron, they should get one. 

For more information on Macaron Day, visit the event's official website here: http://macarondaynyc.com

Strand Books Haul!

I've been on spring break from school this week, and happily had the opportunity to spend some time reading for fun. It's not often that I get to do that, so I took advantage of my vacation and quickly whipped through three books. Today, the weather here in NYC was beautiful, so I decided to make a trip to Strand Books to peruse the outdoor book racks. I picked up a few goodies, and thought I would share them with you.

Strand Books in NYC

If you're a book lover, you need to head on over to Strand. It is a magical bookstore with new books, used books, antique books... you name it! Inside there are three floors filled with winding shelves, but my favorite part are the racks outdoors. On those racks you will find a variety of different books for very little money. They can be about any topic, for anybody, and in any condition. Most of them are gently used, but I have found some that appear brand new. My friend once found a signed copy! The best part, of course, is that these books are priced at mostly $1-2, with some as cheap as 48¢!

Today I grabbed three books for under $4 including tax. How can you beat that?! The books I got are:

• Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig – $2.00
• In the Bag by Kate Klise – $1.00
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – 48¢

I was so excited to find Angels and Demons for just 48¢! I really enjoy Dan Brown books, and haven't read this one yet despite it being the first Robert Langdon book. Once I found that gem, I headed straight to the register! 

I can't wait to read these books, and I hope to find more time to read as school starts up again on Monday. If you would like to see book reviews here on OpenLetter2NYC, please let me know in the comments! I would be more than happy to share more about what I'm reading with all of you. 

Be sure to let me know if you visit Strand Books! For more information on the store, visit its official website HERE.

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival 2014

This past weekend I attended the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival with my friend Gina of CHARMNOMGO. I'm a pescetarian, and she's a foodie, so we knew this event would be both fun-filled and food-filled. Tickets were $30 each, but I scoured the internet and found a 50% off coupon code. Always do a coupon search before you check out online – it's worth the Googling!

The festival took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea, and featured dozens of vendors, speakers, and free samples! Gina and I walked booth to booth tasting out all kinds of vegan goodies. My favorites were the Three Cinnamon Tea from Pukka Tea, the Chocolate Macaroons from One Lucky Duck, and the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Cedar's. While we did fill up on samples, we also enjoyed lunch from La Crepe C'est Si Bon. I got the sweet crepe with fresh fruit and sunflower seeds. It was definitely delicious, but a bit on the expensive side at $10. My favorite crepe place in the city is Vive la Crepe, so I think I'll stick with them from now on (let me know if you'd like a full review!).

Sweet Crepe from La Crepe C'est Si Bon

In addition to the amazing food, there were a variety of other vendors at the festival. I love checking out homemade skincare, and was impressed with The Fanciful Fox's booth. If I didn't already have tons of soaps stocked up from Christmas, I would have purchased some. They also had lip balms, body butters, shampoos, and more. I'll be ordering online at some point in the future!

The Fanciful Fox Soaps

The most exciting part of the day for me was meeting the amazing Kristina of FullyRaw. I've watched her YouTube videos for months now, and she is just as sweet and bubbly in person! I really appreciate her taking the time to say hello and pose for a picture. If you're interested the raw vegan lifestyle, I highly recommend checking out her videos. I've learned so much from her!

Meeting Kristina of FullyRaw (left)

Overall, I had a wonderful time at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival! This event only happens once per year, so make sure to visit the festival's website HERE to find out when the 2015 festival will take place. I'm sure I'll be heading there again! Until then, I hope to find other fun events to attend. If you have any suggestions, let me know in a comment!

Broadway | Bronx Bombers

It's rare that I see a play on Broadway (though if you're a new OpenLetter2NYC reader you may have been deceived by my recent No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot post). Nonetheless, I had the opportunity to catch the show Bronx Bombers yesterday, and wanted to share my thoughts as soon as I could since it's closing this Sunday, March 2nd. If you're able to read this post before the show is closed, I hope you find it helpful!

Bronx Bombers is a play all about the New York Yankees. A mix between reality and fiction, the story centers around Yogi Berra and journeys through the Yankees organization from the days of Lou Gehrig to those of Derek Jeter. Peter Scolari plays Berra, and is joined with a great cast of other actors including his real life and onstage wife, Tracy Shayne. If you are a Yankees fan, baseball fan, or simply a fan of the theater, I think you would have a great time at this show! It's funny, touching, and a solid play.

I did enjoy my Bronx Bombers experience, though I can understand why the show has had such a short Broadway run since opening on February 6th of this year. The story is a bit confusing. Maybe it's because I'm not a native New Yorker and thus not well-versed with all things Yankees, but I felt a bit lost at times despite the great acting. I think the show also struggled because the diehard Yankees fans that would enjoy the show aren't usually the first to head to a Broadway play. I will mention that the audience was an interesting conglomerate of retirees and teenagers, but perhaps that's the normal Wednesday matinee crowd.

If you have the chance to catch Bronx Bombers this weekend, I would recommend doing so, especially if you're a Yankees fan. (I know I've repeated that already, but it's true!) The show is good, and I'm really glad I had the chance to see it. Bronx Bombers is playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where every seat is good, and you're never more than a few rows away from the action. For more information about the show, check out the Bronx Bombers official website HERE.

Bite of the Apple | 9/11 Memorial

What: 9/11 Memorial

Where: World Trade Center

Price: Free, $2 service fee for online reservations; donations accepted

About: Visit the site of the Twin Towers to see the tribute built in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. In the spring of this year, a museum will be opening at the site as well. Currently, the memorial consists of two reflecting pools, with the names of the fallen inscribed on panels around each pool. There are also informational computers that share more about the memorial, and allow you to locate a name on the panels.

Sweet or Sour: The memorial is a place for quiet reflection, and I would label it as somber rather than sweet or sour. The site is beautiful, and something I recommend visiting at least once to spend a few moments in quiet remembrance. The view of the Freedom Tower is also remarkable.

Seeds: I highly recommend visiting the memorial's website before you go, as there are several security regulations (understandably), and it's easy to reserve your ticket in advance. Also keep in mind that you will be going through airport-like security before entering the memorial, and that the memorial is all outdoors.

Core: If you plan to visit lower Manhattan, take the time to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The length of your visit is up to you, but the emotional experience is profound.

Official Website: http://www.911memorial.org