[12 Hours From Now.]

See you tonight, NYC! TONIGHT!

[Video of Roomies in NYC!]

From that one time we went to NYC together. It's long, but I recommend a full viewing for some serious roomies gone wild action in the second half (of which I am blessedly not a part). Thanks to roomie #3 Jess for putting this together!

[Roomies in Central Park.]

Somehow in the middle of our crazy roomie NYC weekend...between the Guggenheim and Columbia and Magnolia and the Village and Co. and WTC and penthouse suite table dancing and the Brooklyn Bridge and Jane and the Manhattan 8th Ward and Levain and Cafe Ronda...we managed to take a breath and enjoy the cherry blossoms on a lovely stroll through Central Park. 

Melissa, Lynn, Domineau, Cha Cha, Rachel, Jess, Ginette

As the resident New Yorker of the bunch, I got to be the mother duckling for the weekend, leading my little line of roommates up and down the city to visit my favorite places, and some new ones too. It was wonderful to spend last weekend with these girlies. There are a million of us...or seven, to be exact...and sometimes I feel like I live in a bizarre mix of a sorority, convent, and Bieber fan clubhouse, but I mostly just feel very lucky to live with such amazing souls. We've never all managed to be in the same place at the same time, so this weekend girls' trip was the perfect opportunity for a little roommate bonding.

Love you, roomies! 0!

[Just a few NYC street shots.]

How I love this beautiful city. 

But...maybe you got that the first 30458 times I blogged my love for NYC...

Whatevs. Never gets old for me. I miss my home.

Let's go back.

[A stroll through Central Park.]

A Monday morning stroll through Central Park, followed by brunch on the Upper West Side and a pop into a little antique shop. All with this guy. Can we think of morning I'd love more? No. We cannot.

[These ones.]

A collection of snapshots. Happy moments in NYC with the very best friends.

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These ones knew me before I was me. These ones I can go a year without seeing and it doesn't matter. These ones remember my shy kindergarten self, my braces and glasses, my Grandma's name. These ones are beautiful, ambitious, caring, and kind.

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These ones make me happy. These always root for my team and never judge. These ones have put roofs over my head. These ones are constant, loyal, and encouraging.

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This one has been to hell and back with me. This one has been with me as we've lost and regained our minds, hearts, and souls. This one wears the matching silly hats with me, spends the all-nighters studying with me, and cries to the breakup music with me. This one is lovelier and smarter than anyone.

And I am the lucky one to count these ones as my bests. I'm mostly on my own here in D.C., especially now, so knowing that these people are just a few states away means everything to me these days. I love New York for a million reasons...the sights, tastes, sounds...but these people are the heartbeat of the city to me.

[Central Park in November.]

quote by Brian Andreas

[Macarons at the Met.]

Have you been to Laduree yet? I first discovered the French macaron shop in Paris a couple of years ago, and since I'm not yet quite equipped to make an annual pilgrimage to Paris (*ahem* future husbands, take note please), I was overjoyed when they opened a shop on the Upper East Side this year. I can't lie -- I'm such a visual person that half the appeal for me is the whimsical pastels of the shop's interior, packaging, and macarons themselves, but I obvi do love me a good macaron. This weekend while in New York I hit up the new location for the first time and met Lauren on the steps of The Met for a little afternoon treat. Nibbling on macarons was the perfect Frenchy segue into our next activity, exploring the European Decorative Arts galleries.

P.S. If you can't quite make it to Laduree but find yourself in dire need of a macaron fix, your options are the following:

1. Everyone: Get thee to a Trader Joe's, where they sell packages of vanilla and chocolate macarons. They're not perfect, but they're very sweet and do in a pinch.

2. DC people: Call the St. Regis and place an order. You must do so a few days in advance.

3. DC people: Try Paul, my new fave. It is lovely.

And remember: Your slacker boyfriend gives you a cupcake; your lover gives you macarons.

Can I get an amen on that, ladies?

[Happy Monday! Some inspiration. ]

Just a bit of artistic and life inspiration that I thought I'd share with you all. These images are by James Gulliver Hancock, an artist who is documenting his attempts to draw all the buildings of New York here. His works are complexly layered, but they take on a simple, whimsical aesthetic that I really love. This video about him and his drawings captures his love of what he does so beautifully, and I think it's quite inspiring to see how much he enjoys his work. Videos like this always make me look a bit introspectively -- do I love what I do? If not, what steps can I take to get to that point?

I love this quote from the video: "You've got all these nice mistakes in each of those layers...I really like all that. It probably kind of reflects the organic nature of the city in a way. The fact that it's a bit full of mistakes, though beautiful."

Happy Monday! Hope everyone is starting their week beautifully!

[Longing for NYC.]

New York has been on my mind lately, and I MISS that beautiful city (if you haven't been able to tell from my tweets or daily complaints to ANYONE who will listen). I had been planning to go this past weekend, but, alas, was prevented, so my longing lives to see another day. I especially find myself missing the city as the weather changes here in DC. It's cliche, but there's nothing so magical as September through December in Manhattan. Found myself looking through some of my old NYC snapshots yesterday, so I thought I'd share. Love New York with me, won't you?

1. The morning view from a best friend's apartment--lucky girl, that Dani Koo.

2. Taken during one of my favorite New York activities, the aimless downtown meander.

3. 116th, my subway stop at Columbia University for four years.

4. The Guggenheim, where i did one of my favorite internships in the Director's Office.

[secret new york weekend.]

So it turns out that if I don't return to civilization at least once every few months, I start to get a little antsy in my pantsy. Chad and I have never done New York together, so we (I) decided that for his last free weekend of the summer (because he has Little League...don't even get me started), we'd go up for a city quickie. I love going back, especially because it usually means I get to see all of my besties (including loves I've been friends with since kindergarten), but that also means I typically spend all my time there running from playdate to playdate. This weekend, we decided to keep our New York trip quiet so that we'd be able to spend the time having fun together, rather than seeing every single person Milan loves. It sort of broke my heart a little to be in the same city as my lovies without seeing them, but it really was such a nice chance to frolic around the city with my boy.

We toodled around Soho and ate and shopped and did nothing much in particular, except the two highlights of the trip (for me anyway), showing Chad around Columbia and seeing The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Chad had of course seen Columbia a few times--he even got into grad school there, though he didn't end up attending (yet?). {Can you imagine? If he had gone there, we would have met years ago, but I would have had a boyfriend whom I loved very much, and Chad and I would never have been us...an inspired decision, obviously. ;)} But it was so fun showing him my Columbia--my freshman dorm, the deli I frequented at 3 a.m., the roof I climbed on that one stupid night...and he was very patient and humored me by appearing interested in everything I showed him. (...which means I have to do the same when he shows me BYU...whomp whomp.) Chad had also seen The Phantom of the Opera, but he knew it had been a dream of mine to see it on Broadway since I was a little girl, so he took me. I may have gotten a little emotional in the show, and if he had asked, I would have told him it was because of the story line. In reality, though, I was sitting there thinking, "Look at that boy sitting next to me, literally making my dreams come true..."

Gross. Anyway. We also visited other wonderful places I love, like Strand and Taschen and Topshop and Central Park, and of course we ate well--hello, Norma's. And then after attending church, which was randomly star-studded, Mormon-style (oh hey, L. Tom Perry, Quentin L. Cook, and Sen. Harry Reid), we hopped a bus back to D.C., and that was the end. I've now shown Chad both of my homes, LA and Manhattan. Next month, he'll be showing me his home, Orem, Utah... :)

[went to new york. took some pictures of cupcakes. the usual.]

1. Magnolia cupcakes, obviously a staple of any New York weekend.
2. This may be the creepiest picture I've ever taken, but it was also strategic. You'll never guess what was behind the cupcake.
3. Look who I bumped into in New York! My sister! Weird...
4. Aftermath of a Cafe Lalo session with Lauren. (Plates' contents were inhaled too quickly to be photographed.)