bye bye cornerstone

my last full day in new york, i woke up and went to Cornerstone to say bye to the people i worked with all summer.

here are my summer 2010 saving graces! nur, kyra and grant. fellow interns and incredible friends who i miss so much. i miss nur's sweet spirit and cute little jokes. when i got sick one my last weeks she went on her lunch break and bought me some cough drops :) i miss kyra TONS. she'll just have to get an entire post dedicated to her. and grant, phew. i miss our sarcastic banter.

how incredible to go to a city completely alone for a summer and be blessed with such amazing friends.

ellis island

its really strange sitting in my new house and writing about an experience that happened in a different state, but ellis island was one of my favorite things i did all summer so i have to tell you!

my favorite exhibit at ellis island was called "silent voices". it featured pictures of ellis island before it was restored -- how it was found after being closed in 1954. ive always loved museums but always wonder what it was "really like". this exhibit showed me just that!

what an amazing place!

back from the dead

after about two weeks, i'm finally back from the dead and all (or mostly) settled into my new house! sorority work week is under way and come monday freshman will be walking through the chi-o house doors and we'll be singing, clapping, and chatting our hearts out!

its been a whirlwind since my return back from the big city. not only did i just right into moving in, settling in the new house and sorority stuff...but i realized about two days after being back how much it was going to take for me to really "come back" from my incredible summer.

there is nothing -- and i mean nothing -- in college station that reminds me of new york. and while i still think about it almost every minute of every day, its a little sad not walking as much any more, taking the subway, or seeing so many people in one day. the quietness is nice but theres not much people watching here in college station. i miss my fellow interns, bosses and room mates so much. talking 24-7 with them doesnt seem like enough. i have never been so thankful for a summer in my whole life.

back in texas

i know i have a lot to update you on: ellis island, beach trip, last night in the big city, etc. but, please admire the large pile of junk that is staring at me in the face right now.

i am currently sitting in my new house back in college station. im living in a old duplex that has been redone and am sharing the third floor with my besty and the entire house with 7 (yes, seven) of my best friends. what a senior year, eh?

so please know that im moving slowly, but i will surely be updating you all on my last days spent in the empire state. a summer ill never forget!

whole foods

why we dont have one in college station still baffles me. not really, i just want one super bad. i know we have them in texas but having two within walking distance from work and two from my apartment is definitely going to impact my lunch.

their salad bar gets me every time. i mean where else can you chomp into a bite of grapes, tomatoes, salmon, pasta, capers, balsamic vinegar, chicken and onion and have it be the tastiest medley your mouth has ever known?

ill miss eating it with kyra on lunch breaks and with tyler overlooking union square.

statue of liberty

this morning i woke up early and ventured down to Battery Park, bought a ticket for the statue of liberty/ellis island and hopped on a ferry! that made it sounds extremely fast and painless, which it was, but when matt and i went down earlier this summer after 11 am the wait was 3 hours long. i felt bad that he wouldnt get to go but stashed that travel secret in the back of my mind and intended on taking full advantage of it before i headed back to texas.

can i just say that i was giddy, GIDDY, with excitement. just like when i see broadways, museums and anything to do with the U.S. of A can make me super emotional. i may or may not have teared up when i saw this sign.

kyra, if youre reading this...i know youre laughing.

so i get on the ferry, secure a spot on the top deck for some prime picture taking, and pass the time trying to figure out what the asian family next to me is talking about. i just dont understand any part of their language whatsoever.

little did i know the boat would be rocking left and right. for a minute i thought i was going to lose it. but then i remembered the wholesome $.75 bagel i had on my way to the subway and my stomach settled accordingly. all i could think about was passing out by myself on the ferry, everybody crowding around me and yelling "who is with this girl? is she ALONE?"...yes, sir and madam, yes i am.

well, there she is! i would post all the pictures i took but its basically just Lady Liberty and all of her flattering angles. let me just say that thing is HUGE. i never really understood how big it was until i was right under it. i would have loved to walk up into the crown, but those tickets were sold out. so much for planning ahead, hill.

here's a pretty sweet shot of manhattan as we turned the corner towards ellis island. i opted not to get off the ferry at the statue since my camera was full enough of the green lady and all her angles. plus, i didnt feel like walking in the steamy morning heat. so i parked it on the first level with a family of sweedes and waited until everybody unloaded. a park ranger came up to me and said "uh, youre going to ellis island?" "yes, sir." i said. either he was upset that i wasnt showing my patriotic duty by standing on lady liberty's foot stool, or he thought i was a complete loser for traveling alone. whatever!

off to ellis island we were! here's our ferry.

appropriately named, aint she?

central park

after i went to the Met on Tuesday, i went to central park for my last visit. what a place! i wish we had something like it back at school. but the park in the sketchy neighborhood where we feed the ducks will have to do!

i love, love watching the little kids do the sailboats. its reminds me of stuart little!

walking

what do you get when you only have two subway rides left on your metro card, $13 on your debit card, and a measly two days left to soak up all you can about this beloved city? you walk!

being the huge closet nerd that i am and loving to document really ridiculous things, i mapped out where i walked yesterday. "G" is my apartment, and i went around that misshapen circle (all 4.6 miles of it) yesterday afternoon. i stopped and shopped in few places, sat in a park or two, picked up a gift, and mostly just took it all in!

corny, i know, but worth it.

The Met

having this week off of work has been such a blessing. ive been able to catch up on some sightseeing that has been high on my priority list, explore and relax around my neighborhood, walk a lot, shop a little, and soak in these last few days.

the Metropolitan Museum of Art was one of those high-ranking tourist locations that, since day one, i wanted to devote an entire day to. i spent about an hour there when Bobby was in for the day but our time was spent observing Japanese armor and admiring relics of the Sons of Liberty. i wanted a me trip. so, when i set tuesday aside for this jaunt to the upper east side i knew i was finally going to get to admire the exhibition i had been waiting for since my initial knowledge of my summer in the Empire State.

American Women: Fashioning an National Identity

talk about timing, right? one: this exhibit is only open THIS summer. two: i LOVE fashion and history! three: im a woman; therefore it applies (see the awkward man in the photo? he doesn't belong).

the exhibit took you through six fashion eras: the Heiress (1890s), the Gibson Girl (also 1890s), the Bohemian (1900s), the Patron and Suffrages (1910), the Flapper (1920s), the Screen Siren (1930s).

i paid extra for the listening device. not only to i enjoy having the upper hand by being more informed than the average museum-goer, but it was narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. so i just had to! total hottie. total fashionista. totally new york. now let me just say that i totally geeked out, as my dad would say, at this exhibit. i literally threw my hair in a pony tail to get it out of my face, put on my 1990's headphones, whipped out my moleskin notebook for some good ol' note taking, and found my stomach hungry and my wrist sore from writing 2.5 hours later. i was a note taking machine. my finance professor would be so proud. at first i thought it was because photography wasnt allowed and i just wanted to draw some of the styles. but no sir, i was jotting down facts left and right. four pages worth. i would share them with you but that would defeat the purpose of getting the upper hand via listening-device now, wouldnt it?

seriously though, if i started writing i know i wouldnt stop so im going to stop myself right here. so go here and watch a little summary!

sweet reminders

only two full days left here in the big apple. while my emotions are mixed, i thought id take a little time to share some things have kept texas and my sweet friends close in mind for these past two months.

every broadway sign or playbill i see in the trash reminds me of little sissy. walking home from meetpacking and passing Perry st. reminds me of my sister and brother in law (along with any baby i see). sitting on the hudson watching the sail boats reminds me of my dad. brunch at the Standard, well decorated restaurants, and flowers remind me of my mom. older men on the upper east side remind me of my grandpa. the ceviche restaurant down the street reminds me of josh. the event planning business next to my apartment reminds me of scholle. every time my hair is dirty and i wear my fedora i think of crissa. every anthropologie bag i see reminds me of tyler and bg.

before too long i wont have to be reminded by a restaurant or a hat! miss you all.

jcrew fall 2010

its official - they do no wrong.

boots on the bottom left? number one on my christmas list. check it all out here.

weekend highlights

1. running towards brit as she was getting out of the cab! we immediately dropped her stuff at my apartment, went to the grocery store and got some junk food, and then went and sat by the hudson a caught up on our summers.

2. first night being a girls night -- too bad matt had to be at work the next morning but i'd say the timing was perfect :)

3. dinner at los feliz (finally!) and yummy margaritas

4. staying up until the sun was out! this was high on my new york city bucket list and getting to do it with three of my best friends from Texas made it that much better.

5. Nike Sportswear block party in Soho. free bar-b-que and beer! i thought matt had died and gone to heaven.

only 2 full days left here. i really cant believe it.

weekend run down

here is the nitty gritty of what me and my Texans did this weekend just to give you a picture. ill finish it with some highlights!

thursday night: matt had to get up for work early so after dinner at a nearby bar called Off the Wagon, he headed back to his hotel and left us for our girls night. i took them to several of my favorite bars on the east side and we ended the evening with a large pizza from Monster -- typical room 310 style.

friday: brit had left her phone in a cab the night before and by the grace of god a man kept it. so we got in contact with him and ventured out to Park Slope to retrieve it. definitely not in the plans, but it ended up being really fun showing them around a part of town that wasnt Manhattan. from there we went up to the office to see Katie and have a little chi-o reunion. then we grabbed lunch at Cosi and headed back to the apartment for a nap until matt got off work! from there we got ready, headed out to dinner at Los Feliz and ventured all around the big city until we got home at 6:30 am. definitely a big night for us all. seeing the sun coming up on the hudson when the cab driver dropped us off is one of my favorite nyc memories bar none!

saturday: surprisingly, we were up by 10, got ready and headed to The Standard Grill for mimosas and brunch. we spent the afternoon in Soho finishing it off with an event Cornerstone had worked on with Nike. a block party with free beer and bar-b-que! i thought matt was going to die he was so happy. we went to see Ainsley working at Public House but went home soon after because we were so wiped out

sunday: brit left bright and early before anyone woke up :( matt, court and i went and grabbed some breakfast at my favorite little spot and then we caught him a cab and he was off to catch his flight! court and i sat around the apartment for a little bit and talked with Ains and then went down to Chinatown because court thought it was "such a happy place" :)

all in all, it was the best way to spend my last full weekend here in the big city. with three of my best friends, getting to show them what i do and the awesome city ive been so blessed to live in this summer!

chris benz

just flipping through Chris Benz Resort 2011 and boy oh boy did i like what i see.

j.crew meets grandma meets diana vreeland...what a combo

crazy crazy crazy

what an memorable last full weekend in new york city -- with three of my best friends!

(me, matt, court and brit at the Nike block party in soho)

matt had been here all week working and thanks to his food stipend i got free dinner all week! it was so refreshing spending time with somebody from home every night. thank you, J.P Morgan for the yummy meals all week. brit got to my apartment around 7 and we grabbed some junk food (we dont call her fatty for nothin!) and headed down to the hudson to enjoy our chips and dip. it was a big surreal catching up with her considering she called me less than 24 hours before telling me she was flying in. what a sweet, sweet surprise. matt came over, court got in an hour later and the four of us were set for a busy, crazy 2.5 days!

get ready for some stories!