Tahoe Fun

I love Lake Tahoe!

A few weekends ago Anthony and I took the hour and half drive over to Lake Tahoe. At the last minute I made reservations at the Zephyr Cove campgrounds on the South shore. We didn't fully camp... We only really slept at the campgrounds in our tent and ate out and did a bit of gambling. It's just cheaper to sleep on the ground in a tent than book a hotel room... especially at the last minute. We did have a camp fire though and roasted a few mallows.

The weekend was perfect!! We ate yummy food, laid on the beach looking toward the most beautiful lake in the world, spent quality time together, and just enjoyed ourseleves all together.

I was playing with fire...well just actually just my camera...but I took about 100 pictures of the fire. I was pretty.

Emerald Bay!

empire state of mind: part 4

"You come to New York to find the ambiance that will evoke your best. You do not necessarily know precisely what that might be, but you come to New York to discover it." -Dr. James Hillman

Saturday:

Our last full day in New York City. We decided to get up early and enjoy it. We made the plan the night before to head over to the Chelsea Market for Breakfast. Super cute neighborhood. I could have pictured myself in this area. We ate at 202 which was a cute boutique type restaurant/clothing store located in the market. I had the french toast....yum! We spent a good hour in the Chelsea Market and had some gelato for a snack (pistachio and tiramisu) which was delicious! We stepped outside to this little park that looked toward the water and took in the sun. After, we headed to the subway to go to the Empire State Building. We weren't planning on going to the top we mostly wanted to just check out the lower level and say that we went to the building. haha. We continued on through the city and did some more shopping for souvenirs and such. We made our way back to Times Square and sat on the red steps again. Really great people watching spot. We decided it was time for dinner ( a bit early) and went to this place we found called HB burger.

Our next detention was Spring st so I could fulfill one of my desires of going to Rice to Riches. First of all, this is another really cute area. Second of all, Rice to Riches is amazing. The whole place is really neat, funny, and the pudding is sooooo good! I really loved this area of NYC. We found China town and then all of a sudden we were in Little Italy. It's funny that they are so close together. We sat outside a restaurant and enjoyed a bottle of wine! It was the perfect evening. We talked about our trip, life, and summer. It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip to NYC.

SUNDAY:

We slept in a bit then woke up and started packing and cleaning up Mackys apartment. It was so nice of him to let us stay with him for an entire week. We took over his whole apartment and he even let us sleep in his comfy IKEA bed! :) I did a little Yelp research and found us a place close to Mackys apartment in Brooklyn to go for brunch. It was called The Farm on Allderlly and it was one of the cutest restaurants we went to the entire time we were in NYC and it was super good! I had a tomato,basil, and mozzarella omelet! The best omelet of my life. :)

After brunch we walked back in the humid weather and got our bags from the apartment, we were headed back on our long journey home. We made it back to Sacramento, CA safe and sound. I was thankful I took Monday off. I slept in until noon.

I can't wait to go back to the Big Apple. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

empire state of mind: part 3

"One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years." -Thomas Wolfe

Thursday:

This day was dedicated to shopping. I personally don't need a whole day to do this but my cousins were really set on it. The boys went and did there own thing this day. We started on 5th Ave.. at Saks. I honestly felt like Julia Roberts did in Pretty Woman (except for the fact that I was in NYC and not Beverly Hills). It's amazing how much some of these things go for. I was trying to picture myself as a really wealthy person and questioning if I could honestly drop $800 dollars on one top. I don't think so. It was fun none the less. Louis, Bergdorfs, Juicy, etc.. We were supposed to meet the boys back on West 48th and 6th...but we ran over to Times Square to get our makeup done at MAC for the show that we were going to see that night. CHICAGO fyi! :) My makeup artist was cool. She listened to me when I said I didn't want anything crazy.. just a smoky eye. It was nice having someone else do my makeup. The boys met us at MAC and after we finished we rushed back to Brooklyn to change and do our hair then took the F train back over to Times Square. The show was awesome. I love broadway! After we went to an Irish pub for some drinks and appetizers. We eventually got back home around 2 am!

Friday:

We woke up late considering the time we went to bed the morning before. haha. We went back up to Central Park and found a place to have lunch. The waiter at this place was super friendly! After our meal we made our way up to Strawberry fields. It was cool to see such an iconic spot. Central Park is beautiful. If I lived in NYC I would definitely frequent this park. We strolled around for quite some time then found a nice place to relax. We all fall asleep for a good hour. It was probably one of the best naps ever. After I sucked down a Red Bull. We spent a few more hours in the park... and just really soaked it in. We were pretty hungry so we made our way back toward 34th street. The girls (not me..my cousins) wanted to go to Macys and opted to eat dinner at one of those cafeteria style places. Macky took Anthony and I to little Japan so we could try some Ramen. What a neat area of the city! I'm so glad we got to over to this area! I wish we could have spent more time here. We called it an early night and headed back to Brooklyn at about 10pm. I was thankful.

empire state of mind: part 2

"It couldn't have happened anywhere but in little old New York"

Tuesday:

I had booked a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the week before we left. We went to a Pret for breakfast (what's with all these cafeteria style places in NYC?) and then headed down to the ferry where we caught the ferry to New Jersey. It was the most beautiful day in NYC. The sun was out, there was a slight breeze, and it wasn't humid...well as much as it was the day before. Ellis Island was super informative (we did an audio tour) and the grounds were beautiful. We tried looking up our ancestors who came over but we didn't have enough information to be successful. Next we were off to the Statue of Liberty. We mostly sat outside and just relaxed and looked up at her while listening to the audio tour. It was neat seeing her up close.

After the tour we headed back to Manhattan where we took the subway back to Brooklyn to change into some jeans and head to dinner....at the infamous Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn. We waited in line for close to an hour and half. Worth it! I was like a kid in a candy store. The pizza was delicious. I really like thin crust...not to mention tomato, basil, and mozzarella is my new favorite combination! We met a few locals that were sitting by us and our tables were the loud obnoxious groups...singing to the music ( we are the champions by Queen!) and laughing! The best! After we hung out by the Bridge and looked at the city lights then went to a nice bar for a few drinks. Then walked across the Bridge. It was a long night...but so worth it!

Wednesday:

We were going to wake up early and go to the Today show... but with the late night the night before + drinks...it wasn't going to happen. We still wound up in Rockefeller center. Beautiful area! We walked around 5th Ave and checked out St.Patricks as well. What a iconic church..it's so beautiful. We made our way up to Columbus Circle and Central Park. We played in this around for awhile and then decided to get our butts to The Met. I was in awe of this building. It's amazing. We only had 2 and half hours in the Met before it closed...so we power walked through the thing! I saw so much...too much..my brain was in information overload. We sat outside on the steps for long while after to just soak it in and to let our feet rest. We took the bus back down 5th...and went to Grand Central Station. We ate dinner a the infamous Oyster Bar inside GCS. The wait staff was kind of rude but we were mostly immune to this by now. I had a the Manhattan clam chowder and an appetizer of the Crab Cakes. It was yummy! After we went down Lexington back to the Crumbs cupcake shop we spotted on the way to GCS. I have had Crumbs cupcakes before from a shop in LA. They are delicious! I had the Red Velvet. We had the perfect window seat and just enjoyed people watching while munching on our cupcakes. Sugar overload we walked back to Radio City music and decided to do the Top of the Rock at night. STUNNING! The city that never sleeps is gorgeous at night. I don't know why people would choose to go to the top of the Empire State Building instead of the Rock? You can see central park, the empire state building, times square....everything. We were up there for over an hour! After we took the F train home. The subway was extra crowed tonight with a lot of people around the same age. I guess Wednesday is a good night to go out in NYC?

More to come!

Just an FYI.. all pictures are taken by me... unless it's a picture of me. ha.

empire state of mind-part 1

I'm home! It was an incredible, long, fun, exciting, and exhausting journey!

New York was all I hoped it would be and more. I actually enjoyed riding the Subways. And with every rude person we encountered a nice person was there to make up for the rudeness. People watching was fabulous. There are so many different kinds of people in this city. It's amazing to watch. One of the most interesting things was watching the lack of human interaction on the subway. Everyone (the locals) had a book, i-pod, blackberry, or some other form of distraction to keep them occupied during the ride. You sit extremely close to random people yet there is no interaction with them. So interesting!

SUNDAY:

We spent the majority of the day traveling. We woke up at 5am to get to the airport by 8ish. We flew JetBlue from Sacramento to Long Beach where we had a little lay over. From Long Beach to NYC. The flight was smooth and went by fast since we had our individual TVs (what did we do before this?). When we finally landed we were delayed because there was an emergency landing due to a medical issue. Macky met us at the airport and we were off....to boot camp as we called it. Air Train to the Long Island Railroad, to the subway with a few transfers...all with luggage. I'm glad it was Sunday night and the trains weren't busy..since we were all newbies. We finally arrived in Brooklyn at Mackys place around midnight. What a long day!

MONDAY:

Monday was full of excitement but soon ended when we got off on the wrong side of town..Jay St-Borough Hall. I'm thankful we got to see this part of town though. Back on the subway we got off at the Brooklyn Bridge so we could walk across it. Awesome! :) Once across we walked around Wall Street, went into St.Pauls, Trinity Church, saw ground Zero, a few free museums, and Battery Park. Back on the Subway towards Madison Square we were on a mission to get some lunch...I had to eat at the Shake Shack while in NYC.. duh. The burger was hella good... I could have lived without the shake and fries though. The Flat Iron building was gorgeous! From there we walked toward Times Square...stopped in at Ruby Tuesdays for a late afternoon pick me up drink. After we sat on the big red stairs and people watched for a good hour. Next we were off to find dinner on Pier 17. Really cute area! We ended up at a little restaurant on the pier...I was wishing we would have picked a different one... this place just wasn't that great. Oh well.. I was in NYC with my friends. Finally back on Ditmas... it was bed time!

Stay tuned for part 2!

here i go.

I'm leaving for NYC in the morning. I couldn't be happier. :) Cheers and see ya when I get back.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

wow

I have completely abandoned my blog over the last month. I have been pretty busy.

With such things as:

-My mom and dads birthdays during the same week.

-Fundraiser Car Wash for the Relay for Life. We made about $350 at the car wash.

-Mothers Day

-the Penn Valley Rodeo (what a party weekend and so much fun!!)

-Amgen Tour of California Bike Race that started in my hometown!

-Relay for Life! What a long, tiring weekend that was! I raised about $630. Our team as a whole raised over $2,500! It was such a great event!

-Tim McGraw Concert with all my closest buddies! What a fun night. I'm not turning into a cowgirl...promise...but country concerts are truly some of the best.

-BBQ's galore!

-Way too much drinking... I need to cut back...

-Quick trip to Reno to visit cousins and party some more! yay!

-A prom themed birthday party and Latino night at a local bar=The best!

-This Saturday I will be watching my little brother get his highschool diploma! I can't believe that it has been 6 years since I graduated! Time flies by...

And finally getting ready for my departure to NYC! I leave for the big apple on Sunday! Couldn't be more excited! I need to update more.. just for the sake of being able to remember all the fun things I have done. Hopefully when I return I will get my butt into gear!

Hope everything is having a fabulous week!

shopping away..

I have been busy shopping online lately. I bought a few things for my trip to NYC.

I got this sweet messenger bag in Mustard from Etsy. It came from the this cute shop. Check out all the cute bags and purse she has in there. Great quality! I wanted a bag that I could throw around my body and carry lots of stuff. I think it will work out perfect. :)

I also bought this sweet camera strap from this awesome shop. It's super cute. I need a camera strap bad from my 35mm camera. I really want to shoot film while in NYC... black in white preferably. :)

I have been wanting a pair of TOMS for a long while.. (see here). I finally bought a pair last week. I really like the classic Ash canvas and they were in stock so I ordered them.. only to find out that there system was down and they actually don't have any in. So I'm on a waiting for these bad boys to come back in. I like the neutral color that will go with a lot of things.

I have a few more things I need to get before my trip to NYC. Any suggestions?