Friday Fry Up: 5/31

Well, May is over. It's 90 degrees here in NYC. Any doubts about summer approaching are long gone. I've found myself with a rare day off from substituting which I'll be spending writing my first grad school paper (and procrastinating like crazy, hence this blog post...). I'm also heading up to Syracuse, NY this weekend to celebrate Dan's grandfather's 90th birthday. Syracuse has a special place in my heart as Dan and I both went to college there. Funnily enough, it will be the first time the two of us are in Syracuse together (we had one year overlap at school but didn't know each other). Most importantly, I'm hoping we make it to Dinosaur BBQ and ZJ's for a slice (literally) of pizza heaven. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Well Read

I'm enrolled in a month-long summer course which means my days of leisure reading are on hold until July. For those who know me well, this is super painful (especially because I'm in the middle of a pretty interesting book)! Because I'm already a little nostalgic for my 'fun' books, I thought I'd list a few of the favorites I've read recently in the hopes that some of you may do some pleasure reading on my behalf. Note: I'm not a book reviewer so I'm not going to do the whole commentary thing. I would, however, love to connect with you on Goodreads, which is my current favorite for tracking and sharing recent reads with friends. Happy reading and be sure to share any old or new favorites!

1. Empire Falls by Richard Russo / 2. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan / 3.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford / 4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Where in the world...

You may be wondering where the heck I've disappeared to? (Or maybe you're not, in which case, you should be!) Well, ladies and gentleman, I mentioned a few posts ago that my life has taken on a rather dramatic shift. I've left the corporate world to become a teacher for the little guys. So I've been commuting to Brooklyn much earlier than I care to think about and spending my days with wonderful, hilarious, exciting, mind-boggling preschoolers. After six years in the business world, it was quite a shift from Blackberry to potty duty but it has been the most amazing experience and I couldn't be happier. You may notice a slow down in my blogging while I work to figure out my new schedule and start taking classes towards my Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education. Waking up early to blog isn't as easy as it used to be! But fear not...quality posts will still be rolling in. Hope you'll hang in there to see how this journey unfolds! Wish me luck!!

Catbird Creepin'

Catbird is one of my favorite online stores. I can 'window' shop for hours on the site. I follow them on Instagram and Twitter. I even applied for a job there once. But for whatever reason, I hadn't made it to the actual brick-and-mortar store in nearby Williamsburg, Brooklyn until last week. Due to a recent career shift (more to come on that!), I've found myself in Brooklyn a lot recently. And in between interviews, meetings and jobs, I've had a lot of time to kill. So when I knew I'd be heading out to Williamsburg for a meeting, I gave myself extra time to be sure and visit. The store was everything I imagined and more - packed full of gems and treasures in every nook and cranny. From candles and cards to the abundance of amazing jewelry I've admired online, my only disappointment was my severe lack of funds rendering me unable to make any purchases.

One of Catbird's signature styles is the ring stack. They sell a crazy assortment of rings - from delicate to chunky - and I saw more than one salesperson helping excited patrons create stacks of their own. One day, Catbird...

Besides their jewelry, Catbird is just full of cool STUFF. 'Stuff' stores tend to be my favorites because you can dig through for hours and each time you visit, you're bound to find something new. I tried to legitimize purchasing just about everything in the store, including the "party in a bag" full of glitter and confetti for an impromptu celebration. (Had I known SOMEONE was getting engaged soon I would have been all over this purchase...). While I work on saving funds for more 'practical' purchases (I guess rent and food are pretty important), I'll continue to admire Catbird from afar. And one day when I'm rich and famous, I'm buying two of everything. 

Congratulations!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to one of my very best friends (and bridesmaids in my upcoming wedding) on her engagement!!! Ahhhhh!!! I've watched her relationship grow from curious Facebook research to moving in together to engagement, which is exciting and pretty amazing. Love you and so happy for you both!!!

Enjoy this exciting time and let the celebrations begin!!! xoxoxo

*Animation by Shop Ban.do

Friday Fry Up: 5/3

Sorry for the delayed post here. Being unemployed has turned out to be [almost] as stressful and busy as working full time! In between a hectic schedule of meetings and interviews, it's been a beautiful week here in NYC.  It's been so long since I was outside in the middle of a weekday for longer than a five minute lunch run and I think my body is loving this extra Vitamin D. I was even able to stroll through Central Park on a Wednesday afternoon! Happy weekend and love to all!

* Tomorrow night, my mom and I are going to see Orphans with Alec Baldwin. I'll admit I don't know much about the play but it was nominated for a Tony (Best Revival of a Play) and I'm a big Alec Baldwin fan so I'm excited!

* One of my oldest friends and bridesmaid is featured in this awesome article from the Earth Institute. Congrats, Megan!

* I want to go back to Spain.

* I am SO excited that Oh Joy's wallpaper designs are available in apartment-friendly, removable tiles now! I picked the wrong time to stop spending money!

* This designlovefest post about Salvation Mountain is insane. How cool is this!? Has anyone ever been?

Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan has all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore. You could probably spend an entire lifetime wandering through 'The City' and come across something new and exciting every day. But every once in a while, it's nice to step away and check out what the outer boroughs have to offer. And with an unlimited metro card, borough hopping is as easy as a subway ride (and maybe a transfer or two). 

This past weekend, we made a snap decision to head out to Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood neither of us is very familiar with in a borough we continue to explore. Without knowing much about this Brooklyn neighborhood (other than the Huxtables 'lived' here!) we were pleasantly surprised by the quiet, tree-lined streets; small but bustling brunch scene and the insane view of Manhattan along the waterfront. We took a walk over to Brooklyn Bridge Park where we snapped this oh-so-touristy shot in front of downtown Manhattan. (Please ignore the wrinkled shirt and ugly construction below me!) 

For an easy lunch, we walked over to Iris Take Away, the to-go annex of Iris Cafe. Full of adorable 'rich-hippie' families, you could tell this was a local favorite. As we ate our sandwiches and $6 bag of specialty chips, we talked about whether we'd ever consider moving out to Brooklyn - maybe as a stopover to full-on suburban reality. The jury's still out on that one but a beautiful sunny day in Brooklyn sure gave us something to think about...