when friends come to nyc

For the past two weeks, my friends and family from the west coast have been parading through New York City. One by one, they march through JFK, armed with heavy suitcases, great expectations, and a glow that only comes with the bliss and freedom of knowing that you're on Spring Break.

Friends have visited, my favorite cousin stopped by, and this week my mom is in town for nine luxurious days (!). This is all very exciting for me, you understand, because I still don't really know anyone in New York, so this stampede of visitors has left me feeling like the most popular girl in school.

When friends come to New York:
- we eat crepes
- and ride the Staten Island Ferry
- we wade through Times Square (and immediately regret it)
- we visit the Met, the MoMA, and grab a $2 hot dog on the way to the Museum of Natural History
- we talk about seeing a Broadway show
- and since nobody brought 10 billion dollars, we treat ourselves to the world's greatest bbq instead

When my mom comes to New York:
- we have lunch at ABC Kitchen
- and wander through the Chelsea Market
- we order champagne with every meal
- and pretend we're in You've Got Mail
- we take romantic strolls through Central Park
- and walk along the High Line
- then we eat fancy cheeses at Eataly (to reward ourselves for all the walking and strolling)
- and fall asleep dreaming about cannolis from Caffe Palermo

Basically, when people come to visit, I find that the best way to show them around New York is to eat our way through the entire city. It really is the only option, you know? The way I see it, New York has the best of everything. The best pizza. The best delis. The best donuts. If we try little (or not-so-little) bites of everything, then they can go back to Oregon and California knowing that they've had The Best of Everything. (Think of the bragging rights!) More importantly, if I've done my job properly I can send them all home with a few extra pounds around the belly - a gentle, ever-present reminder of me, and the Most Delicious Spring Break Of Their Lives.

on great friends, and feeling like yourself again

i recently found myself in a room full of some of my very favorite people.

in my world, this is a very rare delicacy because most of my favorite people are scattered all over the map. washington, oregon, new york, california, colorado, alabama, texas. you name it. they're there. at one point in time we were all in the same place, living in the same town, and (most of us) even worked at the same coffee house. those were truly magical times.

since then, life has done its thing and people have moved here and there and (what seems like) everywhere. so getting all of us together under one roof is pretty big business. and it happened without any sort of real planning or anything! in the middle of a perfectly ordinary afternoon i received a very exciting phone call, did a quick happy dance, hopped on my bike, and a few minutes later there we all were - like no time had passed.

being with them again was like finding and putting on a great sweater that i thought i had lost. i knew i missed it, but didn't realize how much i needed it, or how wearing it made me feel so much more like myself again. (my friends are a lot better than sweaters, but you get the idea)

a quote from this letter was running through my head all night -

"choose your friends because you feel most like yourself around them, because the jokes are easy and you feel like you're in your best outfit when you're with them, even though you're just in a T-shirt." 

we all might as well have been wearing t-shirts.

the definition of a 'summer-y' day

Yesterday unexpectedly turned out to be the best day ever.

One of my best friends was in from out of town which automatically made it a good day. The not-so-good part, however, was that I was supposed to spend the whole afternoon and evening at work, which meant that we only had time for a quick breakfast date. It's a rare delicacy that we get to see each other, and as much as we both love breakfast, it just didn't feel like enough time. 

Then! Like the most miracle-y of true miracles, one of my co-workers offered to cover my shift because she knew I had a friend in town. She offered! Offered, I  say! Who offers to work on their day off!? It was a serious Christmas (in July) miracle up in here. 

So magically, our quick breakfast date turned into a long, leisurely breakfast date. (I felt like I was ditching school or something, you know? It was so exciting!) We were both pretty thrilled with the idea of having an entire day to do whatever we wanted. Since days like that only come around every so often, we decided to take full advantage. After breakfast we went and got pedicures (I got this color) and left feeling like queens of the world, because we were! 

Later on, we went and saw The Great Gatsby (because who doesn't love a $5 matinee?). I went in feeling pretty skeptical because Gatsby is one of my favorite books (and the movie is never as good as the book) + all I had heard were bad reviews (Gatsby + Jay Z? Hmmm) But hey! Turns out, it's not terrible! I actually really liked it. You really can't go wrong with Leonardo DiCaprio.

(also, I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie)

A new tea parlor recently opened up in town so we decided to give it a try. It was ridiculously cute, and only cost a few dollars for a giant glass of Kombucha. Have you ever tried White Rose Kombucha? (you're welcome in advance) 

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around town and really, just basking in the glory of an unexpected day off. She had already made dinner plans (she's always in high demand when she comes to town) and I had been invited to my own dinner party, so we ended our deliciously luxurious day with a little grocery shopping. Thankfully, she shares my enthusiasm for leisurely grocery shopping - we like to admire all the cute packaging, smell all the breads, etc. (J is not a fan - "get what you need and get outta there!") So after aimlessly wandering the aisles, we both left with baskets full of baguettes, cheese, and red wine.

Another one of my good friends recently moved into a new apartment, so I spent the rest of my evening  lounging on her new porch. Baguette, cheese, wine, and all. It stayed light out until 9:00, but we stayed out there well past sunset. It felt very summer-y indeed. 

If you ask me, that was the epitome of the perfect 'summer-y' day. 

summer.y (adjective)

the feeling of effortless happiness that can only occur between the months of june and september; usually accompanied by good friends, warm nights, and great music; goes well with freedom, red wine, bike rides, and inside jokes.