Fakingly Hip

Apologies for the non chronological order of these posts, this one is in fact a week late (because I’m very busy living) but still worth the post simply because it’s about the coolest part of Brooklyn, Williamsburg…!

Williamsburg Brooklyn is the most achingly cool place I've ever had the delight to frequent. I mean it...by the end of the day I actually ached (although there was a level of hangover also involved)! It makes my previously 'cool' hangout of Shoreditch in London seem like a slightly eccentric cousin to the uber-cool bohemian auntie of Williamsburg. I say this as a not totally unbias but still vaugly objective observer...New York does everything just as well, but just a little bit cooler!


So Saturday I set out to spend the day with some friends in Brooklyn and that is what we did.

Taking the L train...which is apprently know as the 'hippster line' We hopped off at Bedford Street and met a friend in a bar beautiful and so chic. She had sat at the bar had a coffee and read for an hour whilst awaiting my arrival...ache #1

We decided that rather than have an exact plan we would all wonder. This took us first to a cafe bar called The Loving Cup where I in indulged in bloody marys and a mexican brunch option...before leaving we did the lady like thing of popping to the bathroom...only to randomly discover a hidden door and live music being played in a little bar off the back (sadly, given the $8 cover we left the music where it was)...ache #2

After the Loving Cup we wondered in a leisurely fashion around Williamsburg hitting up the infamous Beacons Closet (Where Carrie was seen rummaging in SATC a number of times). After browsing the sea of rails I tried on an awesome Jill Sander woollen skirt, a very 80’s Calvin Kline blue dress and the most amazing pair of DVF shoes I’ve ever seen (everything under $60). Sadly my budget did not allow for such frivolities so I left them behind and moved on gracefully…ache #3, I shall be back though!

Having exhausted Beacon’s Closet we jumped on the subway to our originally intended destination, Brooklyn Flee! Now I was very excited about the potential of this place but quickly realised that it was orientated to those willing to pay too much so they can say they bought it at the flea market, having said that, if I had the money I could have spent it in a heartbeat. I did however re-enliven my love of fur and shall spend the rest of the winter looking for a short vintage fur jacket! ache #4

The final point of our Brookside (geddit?) jaunt was the Sex and the City appropriate Sea restaurant! A pool in the middle and open bathrooms...it was the epitomy of sexy cool, there was even a DJ spinning the tunes for the evening. ache #5

Right, it's decided...I want to live in Williamsburg next!

XOXO

All Hallows Eve...

I've lost count of the number of Americans who have described Halloween as their favourite holiday of the whole year, I suspect it's got something to do with everyone losing their inhibitions when in costume...and an excuse for the girls to dress slutty, obvs. New York goes crazy for it, you can't move for Halloween references! So it was with great excitement I agreed to join a group of friends on an ultimate pub crawl around the uber-cool LES (or Lower East Side to out of towners).

Now I'm not traditionally one for fancy dress...I didn't go to a campus uni so it wasn't one of those things that was done regularly and I always felt slightly awkward dressing up with the same enthusiasm as a 5 year old...plus fancy dress is expensive! But when in NY...I decided to embrace it. After planning to create a black swan/dark angel style costume several weeks in advance I failed to actually purchase anything. Upon the arrival of Saturday...designated bar crawl day I realised that it was time to panic buy (with no money left in the bank it had to be cheap)! 

Luckily my housemate was just as unorganised as I am and had also left the costume till the last possible moment...never fear we thought, to Hoboken and the infamous Ricky's warehouse we shall go!

What we hadn't counted on is the fact New York was experienceing a freak snowstorm! It was FREEZING! We walked 10 minutes up the road in heavy snow and wind pounding against us whilst the man upstairs threw in thunder and lightning for extra effect! Pub crawl was beginning to sound like the worst idea we'd ever had!

Having ventured to Ricky's in the snow to purchase black items I was distinctly unimpressed with both the selection and the prices...yet the child costumes were all 50% off. Now I'm not usually one to force myself into a dress that would be too small but budget limitations combined with me being a short arse and sticking with the assumption that American kids are fat I decided to risk it and purchased an Alice from Alice in Wonderland costume for a 12 year old...it fit!

In the end I went to a flat party with friends which was every bit as fun as I had hoped my Halloween would be. It wasn't quite the tour of LES i had hoped for but it was really fun nonetheless! Everyone had made a real effort, there was a Cleopatra, a One-night-stand, a golddigger, a fly, a beetlejuice, dr love, and a pirate (to name a few)!

I think I get why Americans love this holiday!

XOXO

Only in New York...

In the UK it is said there's nowt as queer as folk. I like this saying...it feels, well British and like most things from Britain, it fails to translate! So what does one say when some distinctly strange things are heard or said over here across the pond? Well there is never a truer saying than only in New York, for example:

• On one of my first weeks here I found myself getting the PATH to work early one morning (this has recently turned into a more regular occurrence but that a different story) and I was walking along like any person does and I feel something brushing my hand. Thinking it was a bug, a hair or some such nonsense I looked down to find another hand...yes that is correct, an older gentleman was making an attempt to hold my hand. Now I'm sure this was a well intended gesture but it frit the life out of me and I ran at some speed through the platform turnstiles...even the hot guy asking if I was okay didn't occur to me till later on, such was my surprise!
• The second experience is much less terrifying but no less surprising. It happened last weekend when I was late for my friend's brunch due to a misunderstanding at my end on timings! I exited the PATH at 14th ST and rushed to meet the group at 7th & 16th...on my way to such a location (which for those not au fait with the grid system in NY is pretty central to the city) I saw this:

Yes this is a skateboarding surfer in NYC

• The most flattering thing to have happened to me to date was actually on a rather drizzly day whilst I was walking back to work from an event venue a bus sped past me on 51st...nothing new there! Then he stopped the bus, jumped off onto the curb and told me that he loved my dress! Now the dress I was wearing was lovely...but I'm not sure it deserved a short fat Portuguese man wearing a bus uniform to endorse it in such an exuberant and public fashion. After such a rave review he jumped back on his bus and carried on driving his Americans on their merry way! 
• Finally it is not really an 'only in New York' but I think special mention must go to the swathes of scaffolding everywhere! There seems to be no real reason for it to exist...it's never used, yet you can't escape from it. They love to shove it up, leave it there, then magically remove it without it having ever appear to have actually done anything.

After just two months I've seen little bits of crazy...check back with me in a year and I'm sure I'll have some real stories!

XOXO 

A New York State of Mind...

I haven't had the opportunity to post much in a while...between working, class and maintaining a social life I've been very lazy at contacting those people who mean the most in the world to me. Now in the past I might have made swathing declarations about how this must change but having been here almost two months, I now know that I lack the capacity to fit everything plus 1000 word emails into my day.

I have fallen in love with New York...it's the perfect place for me at this point and I've begun to walk around with a disturbing smile slapped across my face like that of a teenager having finally got to kiss her crush! I love wondering around...whether it's to somewhere specific or, more likely, nowhere intentional at all. It's bright lights drew me in but it's the West & East Villages and Brooklyn that appear to have stolen my heart.

I will lay it down here...I don't want to have to leave and although likely to be fruitless, I intend to spend the next 10 months finding a suitable reason to never have to.

This however does not reflect just how much I miss my friends and family at home. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about them, or laugh at something I know one of them might find hilarious...So I was thinking, if any of my friends read this...I think it's about time you all moved here to save me the hassle of flights backward and forwards! Totally reasonable, yes?!

For those who are feeling neglected or that it's taken me 3 weeks to email...please stick with me...I might not say it enough but I love you dearly and I will check in shortly! Oh and get your asses on skype one and all!

XOXO

New York Caring

New York is not all about drinking and brunching and working and lunching...I love this city and i fall a little bit more for it each day so in view of this I joined a few friends in Brooklyn to give paint a school and 'give back' to the city.

After an epic journey to the deepest depths of Brooklyn we set about repainting a rather dull cafeteria with a mural...and once that was finished we got extra inspired and painted squares on the opposite wall. It included no alcohol and no expenditure yet it was still one of the most fun days in New York so far and it offered the 'warm glow' effect!

See below for our artistic inspiration:

XOXO

Chasing them away...

I'm not one of those mental girls...I'm truly not. I don't chase guys, I don't call them first, I don't text when they're out, I don't call to 'chat' all the time, I couldn't care less if a boyfriend went on a guys holiday or to a strip club...so why did I go a little crazy last weekend?!

This is something I can't answer because I woke up on Sunday with a splitting headache and very little recollection after 4pm when I had been forced to take myself home from brunch having fallen asleep in Agave where we were brunching! 

Anyway I won't go into the painful details but in one evening I managed to scupper my chances of ever seeing model boy again via the simple telephone, I called him...a lot! In my defense i was in Broioklyn down the road from him and he had said he'd try to see me, but that doesn't excuse ALL the calls.

And that was the end of that love affair... damn!

XOXO

Levels of upkeep...

New York women are impeccable. Now I'm not talking about every lady that walks the street but there is a certain breed of girl that I walk past every day. They are immaculate and it leaves you feeling very aware of your own lack of polish. I'm a low maintenance kinda girl, I don't like fuss, I'm rubbish at make-up and I don't moisturise...this polish does not come easily to me!

New Yorker's love their nail bars, their blow dry's (or blowouts as I've been informed they should be called) and their laser and wax treatments.

So over the last week I have started to train myself and over the next year I will become a true New Yorker...I will polish and paint and primp so that walking down the street isn't quite so shameful.

This week I started with a blowout...and my god they're addictive. My hair has never looked so good, actually I have never looked so good. and it came with a side helping of champagne (dream).

In addition I have now invested in new nail polishes...which I actually remove before it chips. Next i must teach myself what this whole moisturising is about.

I  will me a New Yorker by the end of the year!

XOXO

That meal that mixes breakfast & lunch...

New Yorkers love to brunch...there is a style and a place for every type of brunch predilection, whether you want greasy and English, elegant and French or just good old fashioned American...it all comes with alcohol and that makes it my favourite type of meal!

So here is a run down of those lovely brunch spots I have managed to frequent since moving over:

1. The Sunburnt Cow
This is an Australian bar with an epic brunch offering. $18 covering unlimited alcohol and a brunch meal. This bar is down and dirty and requires absolutely no graces...I loved it! The food was fine, the bloody mary's were okay and but most importantly the price was perfect.

2. Il Bastido
This is an all you can drink champagne option. $18 for the alcohol and then food on-top. This is a great place, it feels elegant and it is huge so a big group (there was 24 of us) is not a problem...and they're not desperate to turn tables, you can drink away for hours! The main draw is the booze choice and the free-flowing bubbles...amazing.

3. Balthazar

In no way comparable to the previous two mentioned...it is beautifully done, very much focused on incredible service and excellent french brunch. I headed here with Mr & Mrs D and the food a was great, the company was great and the wait for a table was 45 minutes! It's not a cheap option by any stretch of the imagination but man was it good! Very much the place to be seen...

4. Agave
Wow, I would love to describe this place in detail but my memory is incredibly fuzzy! The frozen margaritas are the draw here...with 9 choices and a menu the offers eggs every which way this place is potentially my favourite so far, I just need to go back so i can remember exactly what it was like without getting ridiculously drunk by 4pm!

so many more to try...

XOXO

A view from the bridge...

Last week it hit me...I've been in New York for over a month. I've been to bars, I've seen restaurants, I've brunched...I have a social security number, a US phone number and a American bank account but I haven't actually done the tourist sights! I have not been to Liberty Island, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, been up to the top of the Empire State Building or rowed a boat around the Central Park Lake.

I had better get a move on! 

In the post to follow I shall detail my full list of things that I would like to complete over the next year but this post is all about Brooklyn...well the bridge anyway!

On Sunday (having spent ALL of Saturday sleeping off a hangover) I joined a couple of friends and set out for the bridge. The weather turned out the be rather glorious which made for amazing views all the way from one island to another.

After the bridge we did what most ordinary people would do in Brooklyn, We walked the park, admired the views, stood in line for an hour for Grimaldi's pizza (worth it btw) and ate a significant amount of homemade ice-cream with hot fudge sauce.

i never wanted it to end!

xxx

The difference between a date and a booty call...

When does a booty call turn in to a date?! Previous to Friday I would have said that a 1am call is definitely a booty call...now I'm not so sure!

If you read back just a few posts I had completely given up on Mr Gingerbread Man assuming that if he was at all interested he would have made the effort to set up a date. However I clearly changed my mind on Friday night. 

Having enjoyed a free mojito on a rooftop off Times Square we hit Tippler, a fantastic new bar under the gorgeous Chelsea Market.

After a few too many drinks of the cocktail, wine and bubbles variety I thought it would be a genius idea to message him at 12 to ask what he was up to that evening...I was obviously booty calling. . To my shock he was free and I braved the pouring rain to join him in Soho...model boy is back on! 

I might be old fashioned in my opinions but a booty call is just that, it generally happens after a night out and mostly requires no commitment and only pleasantries the next morning. A date is conversation, it's fun and you actually care about what this guy thinks of you at the end of the evening...the two should not be mixed!

This booty call turned into a drink in a bar in the Meat Packing district, nothing flashy just a great low key space. And most surprisingly he was incredibly good company. I was having so much fun talking away that I was actually caught off-guard when he kissed me...although that lasted seconds as we engaged in a serious dosage of PDA. We made it back to his place in Williamsburg around 5am, continuing the serious making out before falling asleep, all items of clothing remaining strictly intact (disappointingly). It was the perfect date...and a incredibly unsuccessful booty call!

XOXO