Dreams Do Come True!!

Of ALL the people, in ALL of the world...including singers, rockstars, movie stars, sports players, etc...the person I wanted to meet most, above all else, was 

Augusten Burroughs.

And tonight, folks, that happened!!!!!!!!!

I can barely contain my excitement. Augusten is my all-time favorite author. He wrote Running With Scissors, Dry, A Wolf at the Table, Sellevision, Magical Thinking, A Christmas Story, oh and the list goes on! He inspires me to write more than any author ever. 

Every book tour he's ever had never came to the city I was living in at the time. But a few months ago, I found out he was writing another book - which means, another book tour, and now that I live in NYC, my city was first on his tour!!!!! The excitement I felt when I learned this was unmatchable. 

So tonight, I leave work & went directly to the book signing. I didn't really know what to expect or if I'd even get to catch a glimpse of him. So I showed up at the venue, Barnes and Nobles, purchased his book that came out today, and they told me because I bought the book I got to hang out in the roped off area.

This made me happy.

At 7pm he came on stage, did an amazing shpeal about life in general, then had a Q&A session with us in the audience. THEN, afterwards, he said he'd sign everyone's book!!!! It was this moment when I realized I may get to conversate with my idol. 

I waited in line for a good 45 minutes before it was my turn (worth every second). When my turn arrived, I walked onto the stage, told him he's my favorite author of all time, and miles above any other author that I enjoy reading, and he thanked me very sincerely and told me it meant a lot to him. I assumed he heard this all the time, but his gratitude was still anything but transparent. :) 

I was spontaneously prompted by curiosity to know who HIS favorite author is, so I asked. He said maybe Elizabeth Bird, maybe other people,  stumbled over it for a few more seconds, and then concluded that he couldn't think at the moment to give me a concrete answer. He laughed, and said I caught him off guard. Jokingly, I told him he could just go ahead and say himself :) he laughed and said "Gawd no! Not me!" 

What an endearing fellow. 

I then asked if we could take a picture together, and he obliged, which lead to the documentation of my best day ever :)

I can't believe I really met the man whose books inspire me to write more than anything else.

What a good day!!

#Thankful

:)

FOOD in the City

SO it's been a while since I blogged...apparently New York City has been keeping me busy! But now that we're actually all settled in, I'm hoping to find more time to drop some blogs :) Keep reading to hear about the deliciousness that is New York Ciy!

FOOD

One of my favorite things about the city, (if not THE favorite thing), is the food here. Seriously. Anything you want, any time of day... If you can think it, you can have it. I'll hit you with my top 5 spots so far!


1) 16 Handles - self-serve frozen yogurt: It's absolutely delicious and I've been there like 7 times already. Their flavors are perfect and include, but are not limited to, Chocolate, Dulce De Leche, Red Velvet, Birthday Cake, Greek Honey, Coconut, and Peanut Butter. I tend to mix all of the aforementioned flavors together for the ultimate tastebud party...you're welcome, t-buds. THEN, the toppings...oh the toppings! The freshest fruit, chocolate covered prezels,granola, sprinkles, mochi, and more! I can't even begin to give the toppings selection justice. Do yourself a favor, if you're ever in NYC, frequent this joint :)


A little scoop of heaven is pictured below:

2)Yakiniku West - Asian: This place is a real gem in the East Village if you're looking for a fun and unique dining experience. When you walk in the door, you have to take off your shoes; once barefoot, you're lead to a low-sitting table to where you can choose to sit indian style if you wish. The food choices are vast and everything is served to you raw - you cook it on the grill in front of you. My Aunt Missy drove out from Long Island to take Ale, my cousin (Nadine - she lives in Brooklyn), and I to eat here! We dined on chicken, steak, sushi, and cow tongue. Feast your eyes on this feast:

3) Del Frisco's Grille - Steakhouse: So my roommate from college who I haven't seen in 2 YEARS came to visit me!! It was such a great night. We went to Del Frisco's in Rockefeller center. She works at one in Philly, so she knows the GM who hooked.us.up!! We ate everything from lamb burger sliders, to tuna tacos, to philly cheesesteak eggrolls (yes eggrolls...so delicious!). I ordered the Tuna Salad as my entree and I would certainly recommend it. Everything about the meal was notable - including the martinis ("VIP" - pineapple infused martini..beyond refreshing and delicious!) Then DESSERT - nutella bread pudding and coconut creme pie (both pictured below) were the perfect way to finish such a meal. Great service!!

4) East Japanese - Sushi: This was one of the coolest sushi restaurants I've ever been too. The sushi comes around on a conveyer belt that loops around the tables throughout the whole restaurant. You just take off a plate when you see one you like! Tedy, Ale, Ale's sister (who was here visiting this week) and I all got our sushi fix during this meal! It was very reasonably priced with a great atmosphere!! I highly suggest it!!

5) BRUNCH: Everywhere in NYC: Since being in the city, I've grown a whole new appreciation for the art of brunch. I've always been a fan, but I've never had so many options! I LOVE Huevos Rancheros and try to get that wherever I go to brunch! There are so many different variations of it depending on the restaurant, so it's hard to get bored with it! See pictures below - 1st pic was at Turning Point right over the river in Hobokem, and the second is Huevos Rancheros form this morning's brunch at Spoon! SO GOOD!!

FYI:

The fruit should also not go unmentioned when talking about food. The fruit bowls are absolutely delicious and fresh everywhere you order them in the city. AND the fruit man on the site of the road by my apt has great produce for very cheap! I've become a frequent customer of his :) Enjoy!!

Workin and walkin!

Walking through Madison square park on my way to work...Hanson in my headphones.This makes me think of and miss Annat314!! Xoxo

Ps. Many more updates to come once I finally have Internet again!!

Evening Stroll Through Hoboken!

Today was a really low-key day. We woke up, hung out on the patio for a while at Lindsey & Dan's, in Hoboken then went to a late brunch at Elysian Cafe. --Eggs Benedict-- mmm mmm mmm! It was delectable!

Afterwards, I got a new iPhone case for my new iPhone! Yay. Now this baby is never leaving my sight (which may or may not be a healthy habit going forward).

This evening I got a little cabin fever and went for a 3-4 mile walk down the Hoboken trail that follows the Hudson river. So many people were out & about-it's such a beautiful day! The highlight of my walk was the lil duck family I saw!! Aren't they absolutely presh?  (second picture below) Fuzzy little things <3

Here are a couple more shots from my walk-enjoy!

My Abrupt New York Welcoming...

I moved to NYC, and it's only the second day...and my iPhone was already stolen. 

Worst. Feeling. Ever.

Yesterday was actually a great day overall. Our broker told us that we qualified for the apartment we really wanted (we'll be living in Murray Hill in Manhattan!). It's the PERFECT location and I can even walk to work! Added bonus! Also, Ale got his verbal job offer from Wells which was REALLY exciting - so we went out with a group of friends to celebrate everything.

And that's when the night took a wrong turn. At the bar during our celebration last night, I set my iPhone down for literally only a few seconds. I didn't walk away, didn't leave it unattended, but I obviously didn't watch it as intently as I should have during those few seconds, because a moment later it was gone. I noticed immediately, and tried to use the "Find my iPhone" app on Ale's phone to see where it went but no location data was available. I called my phone from Ale's, and it went straight to voicemail (despite my 90% battery charge) - so whoever took it knew what they were doing and knew how to be untraceable. My heart sank.

The kicker of this story is that when we got to the bar, I saw a girls wallet laying on the bar floor with cash falling out of it. I immediately pick it up, return the cash into the wallet, and turned it into an employee at the bar. And hours later my iPhone was stolen.

What they hey, karma???

So today, Ale and I went to the Apple store in Grand Central Station (despite my devastation from losing my phone, running an errand in Grand Central Station was pretty awesome). I told the Apple employee what happened, and he said "You're the 3rd person in 10 minutes to tell me that your phone was stolen last night'....crazy right? But $706 later, I replaced my stolen phone and reconnected with the world.

Yes, you heard me. $706. With that said, I advise anyone and everyone against purchasing AppleCare as your insurance for the iPhone. Yes, it's only $50 to replace it if you break or damage it somehow, but gives you ZERO coverage against lost or stolen phones. Verizon actually has a much better insurance gig.

But hey, I'm a firm believer in balance, and with all the things going smoothly so far, I would expect a hiccup somewhere. But you better believe I'll never take my eyes off my iPhone again!!!!!! Lesson learned - always have to be aware of EVERYTHING.

Welcome to New York! 

Officially New Yorkers Today!!

WE OFFICIALLY LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY!

Now all we need is an address :) We're staying with friends in Hoboken until we have an apartment of our own - hopefully soon! We spent the entire day yesterday (literally...like 7 hours) with a broker who showed us what felt like every apartment in Manhattan. Our hearts are set on one located at 34th & Lex. We find out today if we get it!!!!! Fingers crossed.

When we arrived in the city, it was absolutely gorgeous. I didn't sleep the entire night before because I was so excited - then we had to get up at 3:50AM to catch our flight. SPEAKING OF OUR FLIGHT -  Please look at the plane that we flew to NYC on!!!!! If THAT'S not a sign, then I don't know what is....

GO STEELERS!!!!

Also,  It was Josie's very first flight!!!! We tried to give her Benadryl but she started foaming at the mouth in rebellion...so I don't think much made it into her system. Needless to say, our 6:15AM flight was packed with people who got to listen to Josie's soundtrack the whole way. Bless her lil sweet soul.

It was weird bringing her on the plane though, because I actually had to carry her through the metal ditector/x-ray machine...so I was praying she wouldn't get spooked and jump free from my grasp. Luckily she didnt...as I walked towards the TSA worker, he looked down at my feet and giggled. Yes, I had on socks with little cats printed all over them as I was carrying my cat through the metal detector. What. A. Cliche. Here are some photos of Josie on and after her first flight!

LOL she looks like she aged about 5 years in this picture...poor lil thing was all stressed out. Luckily, she's calm again :)

 Once we landed  we headed to Hoboken to stay with Lindsey and Dan until we find a place to live! Hoboken is gorgeous - We were greeted by Cherry Blossoms and sunshine. The food there is DELICIOUS too. I've eaten 4 meals in NY so far, and all have been extremely delectable. MMM mmmm mmmmmm!!

Our first Hoboken moments captured below!

Cherry Blossoms!

 Huevos Rancheros.....YUMMMMM

 The view of Manhattan from Hoboken!

 Our first pic since being New Yorkers!

Not a bad view for our first cup of coffee!

After all is said and done, it's a strange feeling buying a one-way ticket, landing, and knowing you're not going back to where you came from. Totally exhilarating. 

It's time to chase some dreams!

Packing Day!

PACKING DAY!

Tuesday, April 10th 2012 was the day the movers came! They packed up our whole life in a matter of hours and by the end of the day, we were absolutely exhausted, as expected.  Below are some snapshots!

 I thought our life would take up more space, but it actually only took up a teeny tiny bit of the truck. I guess that's a good thing...since we're most likely moving into a teeny tiny Manhattan apartment! :)

Ale modeling the last item in the empty condo! 

EXHAUSTION. Laying on our mattress on the floor, staring at the empty condo with my love and our kitty. 

Relaxing. 

This was the first time I relaxed in 3 whole weeks. Exhale..........

PS. Ale is quite the looker in this pic hahah :) 

A Break from the Chaos!

After my last day of work on Thursday, Ale and I had to pack up (just weekend suitcases this time) and hit the road because we had a wedding to go to in Greenville, SC on Friday. The wedding was beautiful & on Saturday, we drove with some friends to Charleston, SC for one last visit to Charleston before leaving Charlotte. Here are some pictures from the trip. Connie  & Tedy are our friends pictured below - and they actually live in New York City right now! Can't wait to hang all the time in the big city!!

The trip was GREAT and it was a much needed break from all of the moving chaos!

Overdue Update

SO apparently coordinating and executing the move of your entire life doesn't leave much time for blogging...hence why I've not provided any updates recently. But I have good news - the hardest part is over!!!! Ale and I arrived in NYC yesterday morning! 

WE. ARE. HERE! 

Since I've largely lacked in the blogging world over the past week, I'm going to give you the highlights over the next few posts:

Thursday, April 5th:

My last day of work

Leaving Red Ventures was incredibly sad because I love all of the great people I work with. My friends from work ended up throwing me a going away party that night and showered me with gifts representing Charlotte, the "Queen City" (hence the crown I was forced to wear - haha) and many cat items...they know me too well. hahah.

 Pictures below....

 

 

Pack pack Pack pack PACKKK

The word of the week is PACK. I'm sure you're just as sick of reading about it as I am of doing it! Haha...unfortunately, I still have much more to do! Thank goodness for good friends though.

Last night, my friend Anthea came over to help me. We've worked together for the past 4 years at RV and I'm convinced that she is what I will miss most about Charlotte! (tears...tears.....). Her and I have been through a ton together while living here & she's become one of my very close friends. She was even by my side on my first airplane flight, and since then, we've flown across the country together multiple times - (San Diego, however, is our fave spot to frequent together). If I were to continue on about our memories & funny stories that we have together, than this blog would never end. But through work & life, she's always been there & even as I'm about to embark on my new journey, she's there to help send me off.

Below are some great shots of Anthea modeling how to perfectly fold clothes...after about 3 glasses of wine :) 

Here I am...tired, delirious, yet Anthea is still going strong! 

I'm just trying to keep up..

TEAM WORK! 

And the packing continues............the moving truck will be here on April 10th to load everything up.......almost there!

Weekend Update!

This weekend was VERY productive...again....just like last. 

However, this weekend it was Ale's mother that came to town! 

I really don't have much to report on other than all of us hardcore packing 24 hours a day for the past 3 days straight. It has been exhausting for sure, but things are coming together! 

Kudos to both of our momma's for all of their hard work in helping us move!!

One notable mention from the weekend is that we took Ale's Mom to our FAVORITE brunch spot in Charlotte, The Flying Biscuit.  If you've never been, I highly, highly suggest it.

Of all things I'm going to miss about the city of Charlotte, Flying Biscuit's "egg-ceptional eggs" are what I think we will both miss most. We've literally been going every single weekend since we started dating & never grow tired of over-medium eggs that lay gracefully over our blackbean patties, drizzled with tomatillo salsa & feta cheese. Next to the eggs, sits a warm, fluffy biscuit topped with crystalized sugar & an apple-butter sauce is close-by for spreading. The fresh fruit is delicious as well, but when I'm feeling a little more frisky, I spring for the rosemary sprinkled potatoes. Even the coffee is the best I've had (since my last trip to NYC at least). There is nothing sub-par about this caloric ingestion.....in fact, it is mere perfection. 

Flying Biscuit does no wrong.

 

Eggceptional Eggs. Xo.

Sigh...

Remember yesterday when I wrote a blog about how terrible I am at driving?

So I got pulled over this morning on my way home from the gym at 7am. Yeah, Happy Friday.

Apparently, I failed to see a "No Left Turn" sign....even though I've been turning left at that exact spot for the past year. If the policeman was right and there really IS a "No Left Turn" sign (which  I plan on investigating later on today) than that just further proves my point that I need to move to NYC in order to not operate a motor vehicle. 

The Po-man then asked for my license. Because I just ran up the road to hit the gym while the entire world was still sleeping, I didn't consider bringing it necessary. Obviously, I misjudged. 

He wasn't happy about me not having my license on me, but took my registration back to his car (quite quickly actually...which made me wonder if my sweaty appearance made him want to keep his distance). 

As I sat in my car, with my blank gaze straight ahead, I pondered trying to produce fake tears while fully admitting that I know I'm a terrible driver and that's why I'm moving to NYC and that he shouldn't worry anymore because the streets of Charlotte will be safe now with me gone.

However, I vetoed this because fake crying is hard and maybe him thinking I'm actually a good driver who made one silly mistake is better than me admitting otherwise.

Turns out my decision to keep my composure worked out because he didn't give me a ticket! 

Party streamers and glitter confetti exploding in my mind.

 I was so excited that I almost asked him if I could get a snapshot of him at my car for my blog, as if we were old pals, but my better judgement took hold of me as I snapped back to reality.

He then ended the conversation instructing that I "pay attention to signs" and "remove the license plate holder because it covers up the state name on my tag." 

Whoa, what's this now about my license plate holder?

Then it hit me....I have a Steelers license plate holder so I obviously took offense to this. Asking a Steelers fan to remove their beloved paraphernalia is like asking the Pope to not believe in God. My firecracker Pittsburgh instinct almost persuaded me to say "So what you're really saying is that you're not a Steelers fan?" But his personality was somewhat stone-cold, and I didn't think he'd take to my sarcastic demeanor very well. 

Tongue in cheek, I thanked him, wished him a great day, and drove off. 

Now, I just need to focus on not getting pulled over & not wrecking for 9 more days. 

That's it....only 9 MORE.

Holding my breath...

Pow-Pow Powerwheels

SO it's time to sell my car...

 

There is nothing I'm more excited about doing than selling my car. 

I'm a terrible driver and as much as I practice, I'm just not good at it. Never was, never will be.

 I sit up poker straight, clutch the wheel until my knuckles turn white, and am very anxious anytime I go over 35mph...which is everyday because I have to take two interstates to & from work. (I think 50% of the reason my boyfriend wants to move to NYC is because he won't need to worry about me behind a wheel..... Lol, I'm kidding, I'm kidding........kind of.)

AllState actually dropped me because I'm so bad. But luckily, there are companies out there, like Progressive, that give (undeserving?) people a second third chance to prove that they really can drive around town without wrecking! 

Team Progressive!

Another reason I'm SO excited to sell my car is because I will be getting back 80 minutes a day that I spend commuting to and from work! That's 400 minutes a week....which ends up being 

26 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES A MONTH  

of my life that I get back. 

You think I'd be a little more emotional about getting rid of something that I've spent so much time in, but I CAN'T WAIT. 

Goodbye Chevy, hellllloooooo long walks & underground subways!

Anywho, you can probably tell that my mindset this week is CAR WEEK. I owe $4,200 on my car so I was hoping to make at least that when selling it.

My first stop was to Chevrolet to see if they'd buy it back. They gave me some hoopla about it being too much of an investment for them to buy it because of all the work they'd need to put into it before they could actually sell it. Hmph.

Next, I went to Carmax -they low-balled me, as expected, but they said they'd purchase it which was good news. If I sold to them for what they quoted, I'd only lose a couple hundred dollars - but the CATCH is I have to sell it within 7 days or they will pay me even LESS after the 7 days is up. I can't sell my car for two weeks. So that's annoying and will put me hundreds of dollars in the hole.

Lastly, I went to a rinkydink place off of South Blvd in Charlotte called JD Bytrader. One of the guys working there recognized me from my Red Ventures (where I currently work) and ended up being the guy who had a final say on my car. He offered me $4,750 which is GREAT because now I can make a few hundred on my car instead of lose! This will certainly help with the big move. So that's the plan.

YAY!!

Boxing Up Our Lives

Yesterday, Tink (other identifiers include, but are not limited to, Mom/Tinkerbell/J-Fuzz/Wigs/Fuzzard/etc...) felt like going for a drive. So she decided to drive all the way from Pittsburgh, PA to Charlotte, NC to help with the move! How shweet is she? 

She's very excited about me heading to the big city, but her nerves are a little bit frayed, just at the ends. She isn't keen on flying, and is timid to the idea of putting her Honda CRV up against NYC's finest taxi cab drivers...so she hasn't yet figured out her preferred method of visiting me. I'm sure that in due time, she'll find a way that she's comfortable with....don't mothers always find a way? :)

Anyway, her help this weekend is MUCH appreciated and I'm so glad she came down!!!! She's basically superwoman.

As for Ale, he's in Atlanta this weekend with his BFF's male bonding over beer, food, and sports. He's in for quite a surprise when he gets home & sees all the progress we made! 

Below are some lovely highlights from the day!

 

This morning, we needed boxes and we needed them FAST. As we turned the corner at the local grocery store, a stock boy appeared with a cart filled the brim with boxes. 

GodWink*.

The stock boy gave them to us.

THANK YOU 

to Harris Teeter Groceries for sponsoring our move!

(*GodWink is a term used by mom, sister & I to describe moments in life that are too perfect to have a logical explanation...so we say "GodWink" because it feels like these happenings are God's way of winking at us)

Tink (the blonde bombshell holding the box) & Josie (black & gold creature/love of my life featured on the right) are helping box up the kitchen! I'm most proud that the words "Productive" and "Sunday" deserve to be in the same sentence today...that never happens. 

After all of our hard work today, Tink thinks it'd be easier to just ship me to NYC. 

...considering it...

Moving to NYC!!!!

After a lifetime of dreaming of living in New York, New York, and after a 4 month remote job search while residing in Charlotte, NC, I finally received an offer letter on Thursday, 3/22, for a company that I really wanted to work for. This was a good moment. Exhale...finally.

With that said, I've got a lot to do. My boyfriend and I are going to be moving up together. My start date is almost exactly one month away - April 23. Let the packing frenzy and the apartment hunting chaos begin!

Once I'm in New York, I will blog my way through all of my adventures with pictures, thoughts, quotes, sightings, feeling, successes, failures, and anything else that I hear/see/feel during my time in the city! I'm so excited and can't wait to bring you along for the ride!

Stay tuned!