Rockaway Beach

oh how i love the beach
mainly because the beach stays with you for weeks afterward.
in your shoes.
in your bags.
clothes.
the seams of your swimsuit.
it even manages to make its way into my room somehow.
maybe its because i brought home
inconveniently large shells
covered in sand.
yes, i am equivalent to a 5 year old with a shovel and pail
collecting sea shells by the sea shore.
But at least it was our own private sea shore!
there was no one there- and the beach was so beautiful
the weather was sunny and warm
with a slight ocean breeze
and propeller planes flying overhead
carrying banners behind them.
it was such a great day at the beach.
until we got home and realized
you are never too cool for sunscreen.

sometimes all you need is a sack lunch and
perfectly color coordinated hat and short attire.

we came home and walked a couple streets down
to the home of the best tacos i have ever eaten:
bario chino
and i also quite enjoyed my enchilada verdes.
i cant wait to go back and eat more tacos.

Oh. And P.s.

The sole of my shoe broke in half. I think this is the equivalent of when you sit on a bike and the tire goes flat. My eating has become much too excessive. I would like to blame the split on excessive exercise, however, I'm pretty sure it was my weight that did this one.

Meat Packing District

This is

Spice Market.
it was Mallorys last night
in the City of Lights
and this is where she chose
to partake of her last supper.
From the exterior,
it may look like any other Asian inspired,
overwhelmingly scented Thai restaurant.
However, I judged this book by it's Chinese symbolized cover
much too quickly.
As I walked in I was instantly captivated by its dim lighting and custom furniture.
The place was huge and the design was incredible!
I instantly felt ethnic.

We followed the hostess down the intricately hand carved wooden staircase
to the lower level.
We weaved through tables
looking for which might be ours.
We were lured into a dark hallway
and then she pulled back a blue silk curtain to reveal
our own private silk pillow filled room!
(note the flattened pillows, I was obviously spralled in the corner).

followed by an explosion of flavors for my taste buds..

after the feast of feasts
we were casually strolling
and we discovered an open door art exhibit.
so we let ourselves in
and it was phenomenal to say the least.
over scaled pieces
vinyl record artwork
Andy Warhol styled paintings
and iconic furniture
were all splattered with pink paint.


it was such a great discovery.
Afterward we trespassed into the lobby of the
Standard Hotel
and ventured 20 floors up to the
Boom Boom Room
only to head 20 floors back down.
the design was so great.

We were walking along the
highline
which is an old above ground railroad track
that runs along the west end of the city
and sat abandoned for years.
so they decided to turn it into a park.
On one side it overlooks the Hudson River
and on the other is the city.
as we were talking
and walking
one thing led to another
and i found out that they have
Grom
gelato here in NYC!!
I almost fell over.
it was my favorite in Florence, Italy last summer
(as seen here)
and now they import everything to their stores here!

It was even better than I remember.

Magnolia Bakery.

Dear Magnolia Bakery,
I love you.
And your banana pudding.
But I love your cupcakes the most.
Thank you to that one Sex and the City episode
which aired 5 years ago
and got everyone talking
so that I would hear about you
and get to indulge in your delectable desserts.
Love,
Lindsey

it all started with fuchsia spandex.

Due to my height
(who's to say good things don't come in 5'-3 1/2" packages?)
I have always been the one pushed to the front row of group photos and forced to awkwardly hunch to more clearly display those with lengthy more flattering poses.
But that's besides the point.
Christy and I met years ago.
And bonded during 5 am runs and competitive high kicks.

Last weekend she came to adventure with me!
We got brunch at the famous Katz's
and she let me eat her french toast
after I finished mine in Guinness World Record time.

We went to MAC
and improved the New York economy with our purchases alone.

And I found the perfect shade of plum for the fall.
I'm such a fall shopper.

We went on a quest to find ourselves some genuine
New York Cheesecake.
And we found some!
We are hoping we were just pessimistic about it
because we were divulging at 1 am.

but this lifted out spirits quite a bit...

Please try to look past the horrifying nails in need of some cheap Asian labor, in other words a manicure, and tell me that this Pinkberry delight doesn't make you wish Willy Wonka really could unite virtual with tangible.

As we were walking in Times Square
we were completely enthralled with the street artists.
Which is why I spent my last $14 to get this hat made.
And it's not even for me.
But i'm pretty sure it's recipient will deem it priceless.

And just look what I found on Canal Street!
This little baby turtle almost called my jail cell home..
until i came to my senses
and realized he would grow.
in which i case i decided he would lose all lovability
so i said my goodbyes early
instead of risking him a premature abandonment.

It was a nice little breath of fresh air
having her here in the city with me.
Come back again soon!

Mermaid Parade

Try to imagine the most white trash event you've ever been to, involuntarily witnessed, or accidentally encountered.

now times it by 100.
and add a mermaid theme.

Saturday afternoon
it was so sunny and warm
so we ventured down to
Coney Island
which was inhabited by a boardwalk of
arcade games, ferris wheels, and the smell of hot dogs!
all overlooking the ocean
and a few of it's sea creatures.

the place was packed with parade watchers young and old.
hopefully some were blind.
because there were a few times i wished i was.
i think i saw what a float would look like
if i had been assigned to make one
in 4th grade.
the outfits were ridiculous
and i wish i would have been warned that
viewer digression was advised.
people were dressed up
or should i say down
in some extremely creative mermaid attire.

but i guess now i can truly say i've seen all of new york

MoMa

after last summer,
i vowed to never step foot in a museum again.
(1.6 million square feet of museum was too many feet for my feet)
well.
somehow museum fever sneakily crept its way back into my heart...

These pictures don't do any of the beautiful artwork justice,
once again thanks to my faithful yet low quality camera.

my eye always somehow got caught by the architecture
which was stunningly simple.
but the Guggenheim still wins that competition.
the best part of the
MoMa
was that it was the perfect size.
with the perfect variety, assortment, and amount of art.

and then i went here.
and didn't even get a cupcake!
i thought i had lost my mind too
but this was my reasoning:
everyone has told me i have to try the banana pudding
so i did
and the result was phenominal!
paired with fresh squozen lemonade
i was one happy customer.

the night proceeded with some 3d glasses.
no need to mention that they were ridiculously overpriced.
but the movie was
adorable
and everyone should snatch up a kid
be it your own or a borrowed one
and go see Toy Story 3!
i don't know if movies are better here because the audience is so interactive
or because i pay so much for them that i talk myself into believing
they are the best i've seen.
but this one really is great.
beyond great.
really great.