Banksy {and me} in New York.

Hello lovely blog world. If any of you follow the art world, then you may know who Banksy is. I had seen pictures of his work in the past, but I didn't know what he was all about until the past few weeks. How did I learn you ask?! Banksy is in New York City gracing us with his lovely works of art. Very cool. 

Apparently the only people who don't find this cool, is the NYPD. They are after him. So now Banksy is getting even more creative. He sat up a table in Central Park and sold his paintings for $60. Yes, $60. I almost cried when I found out I missed out on this. But this past weekend, I got the full Banksy NYC experience. He had an outdoor gallery featuring two paintings open Friday-Sunday. I happened to check out his website to find out about it, so Saturday after brunch we checked it out. 

Saturday was such a great day. After seeing the Banksy exhibit, we checked out a cute wine and cheese bar and then headed over to the Chelsea Market. I had a delicious strawberry, banana and Nutella crepe. I tried to snap a picture but turns out crepes aren't that photogenic. 

I also picked up a awesome, Hunger Games inspired ring. I love going to Chelsea Market. Such great things to try and cute little trinkets to pick up. It's a must see if you are visiting NYC. 

Another weekend event was introducing Arielle to the Southern goodness that is Bread Pudding. We ate at a cute restaurant in Brooklyn's Park Slope called Sidecar. The Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Bread Pudding were to die for. Luckily, it is right around the corner from Arielle's apartment so I will be going back. 

{Decisions, Decisions.}

{The delciousness of Sidecar.}

{Bread Pudding=Heaven.}

{Waiting to see Banksy.}

{...more waiting.}

{ Banksy pieces inspired by the Occupy movement.}

{Banksy just couldn't resist the blank brick.}

{ Awkward selfie. I obvi don't know what to do with my hands.}

{Make a serious face...?}

{Sunglasses on.}

{Sunglasses off.}

{Contributing to the Wish Tree.}

{Wishing...}

{What's your wish?}

{Ending the weekend at Chelsea Market.}

How was y'alls weekend? 

xoxo.

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn.

I love when you have a really great night when your expectations were low or you thought it was going to be just another normal night. Well, that happened to me on Friday.

A friend I worked with back in Arkansas was visiting NYC, and invited me to come watch her DJ play at a warehouse club in Brooklyn. Not going to lie, Brooklyn scares me. I just don't think I'm "hipster" enough to be hanging out in Williamsburg. But Friday, I felt pretty hip.

We got to the club and somehow cheated the line {didn't expect a line either} and walked into a pretty intense Moroccan music set. Not my normal style but I can dig it.

I assumed the rest of the show was going to have this same trance-y, Moroccan feel. Boy, was I wrong. Next walked out a petite girl dressed in leather sweatpants and six inch pumps...and did she drop the beat? Yes. She starts rapping, and the girl has got some rap game. Being from the "dirty" south I can appreciate rap.

Even though I had class at 9AM the next morning, we stayed out dancing 'til about 3:30AM. Then we scoped out a crowded little pizza joint and found a stoop to enjoy our slice. Turns out people are very friendly at 3:30AM when they are searching for food. We made some friends but I finally had to call it quits so I could go home and get {some} sleep.

{Bright Lights, Big Cities.}

{Joining Amanda Blank.}

{Eden crashing the stage.}

{Our friendly pizza guy.}

{Waiting on a slice.}

Going to Queens, Don't Wanna Hear About It.

Now that I finally have my walls decorated and a nice comfy couch to write up a blog post on, I guess it's time to show y'all my new apartment. I said farewell to my box apartment in East Village back in May and moved to Astoria, Queens. 

I mean, y'all, I have a real living room and kitchen. The kitchen has its own door. What?! That's just gold compared to my old apartment. I love it. It feels much more like a home and less like a dorm room. And to top it off it's all mine!

I know have to stay away from the "Home Decor" section of Pinterest because I want to redecorate about every other day. I went for the Country/Boho/Vintage/Chic theme. Yes, that is a thing. Although I may have created it while decorating. 

Enough about that, here are a few pictures of the new crib. Unfortunately, there are none of my bedroom. I'll have to save that for later, for two reasons. One being that the light in my room has been out for almost a month because I can't reach the light to change the bulb. And second, my closet once again threw up everything inside. I gotta get that under control. 

So...here ya go!

{Yay! Space to cook.}

{No more eating on the floor.}

{A little wall decor to bring me back down South...in thought.}

{The perfect couch and chair to cozy up and watch some Law & Order: SVU.}

{The Infamous Kitchen Door. I love it.}

xoxo.

Hiking UP Upstate.

I finally got to do something I've been dying to do for awhile...

Go hiking!

I never realized how much I loved the outdoors until I moved to the concrete jungle. Now I try to spend as much time outside as possible, even if its just sitting in the park. 

But I finally got to do a little more than that. 

{Arielle and me about half way up the mountain.}

A few weekends ago, we, Arielle, Matt and I, took the LIRR up to Breakneck Ridge for a day of hiking. They always tell me about their hiking trips and its usually when I am working away at Bloomingdale's. So I finally planned a trip on my weekend off. It was {hilariously} perfect!

To start the morning off, we missed our stop at Breakneck Ridge. To our defense, it is hardly a stop but  a tiny platform in the middle of the woods. Luckily we found a very friendly cab driver that dropped us off at the trails and we got started on our 3 hour hike. 

{Tiny platform in the middle of nowhere a.k.a. Breakneck Ridge Stop}

I thought I was going to die after the first 5 minutes. It was straight up hill, well up rocks. Finally, my breathing adjusted and I was able to enjoy being in the woods without thinking I was going to pass out. We then, of course, got lost and Arielle was freaking out! But we found our way back with about 4 hours to spare. 

We thought it would be a good idea to walk down the highway to the next town, about 2.5 miles away.  We walked for about 1/4 of a mile, then that turned into hitch hiking. The hitch hiking turned into us just walking back to the train stop to sit for 4 hours. New Yorkers are very picky about who they pick up, but who wouldn't be. 

Here are a few more pictures from the trip. I hope next time I go we can do a little camping, or find a cute little cabin to cozy up in for the weekend. 

{Arielle and Matt, who refused to take pictures.}

{Pretty much what we were climbing up. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating.}

{Just an awkward selfie I had to send home.}

{Hanging out on the Hudson River.}

{Napping while waiting for the train, that only stops twice on the weekends!}

xoxo.

Weekend Eats.

One of the many perks of living in New York City is that you never have to eat at the same place twice.

Do I? Yes.

We are all creatures of habit, and sometimes I just crave a cheese burger from Shake Shack or a slice of pepperoni pizza from Ray's on St. Marks. 

I recently moved to Astoria, Queens where the food is "all the rage." 

I mean there is everything: Greek, Thai, Mexican, BBQ, and even MexiBBQ. 

{Yes, that is a real thing. I also like to refer to it as Southern Girl Heaven.}

That being said, I made it a point to explore this past weekend. 

I have been swamped with school work so I needed to take my mind off things. 

What better way to do it than some good food and drinks? 

My first stop this weekend was Astoria Bier & Cheese. 

It's a craft beer and cheese shop, and well, absolutely adorable. 

Its been on my "must try" list since I moved in May, and even though its 5 blocks away I just got around to it. 

We, Arielle and I, were just in the mood for a filling snack and great beer, and we got it. 

We had the assorted cheese platter and Caprese salad, paired with a delicious pumpkin ale. 

Then on our way out we picked up a few beers to take back to the apartment. 

I was beyond excited to see they had Shiner Bock, another gem in NYC for Southerners. 

Our next stop of the weekend was The Growler on Stone St. 

If you have never been to Stone St., you must go.

I seriously felt like I stepped out of New York and into Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.

Its a tiny, stone street lined with bars, and on the weekend they fill the street with picnic tables.

The perfect setting for a late afternoon brunch. 

The Growler also has an amazing brunch deal and is in touch with the DIY trend. 

$12 gets you unlimited Bloody Marys and to top it off you get to make them yourself!

I like to think I mastered the perfect Bloody Mary.

{Chipotle Tomato Juice, Worcestershire, A1 Steak Sauce, Pickle Juice topped with Cracked Black Pepper, Bacon, Lemon, Pickled Okra and Green Onion.}

I paired this delicious Bloody Mary with the Bacon & Banana Pancakes. 

Sounds weird, taste AH-mazing! 

{Arielle and me.}

xoxo.