Anatomical Jewelry

I rarely wear jewelry but there's something about this metacarpals bracelet that speaks to me. It's so creepy and awesome at the same time. Totally impractical, obviously, but I still love it. I guess I have a fascination for anatomy. It's the kinesiology major in me that's calling out for it.

Music Monday: One Direction, Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen

It's official. I've turned into a 13 year old girl. The last 3 albums I downloaded were One Direction's Take Me Home, Taylor Swift's Red and Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss and I have no shame. I love all three.

My love for One Direction isn't even a guilty pleasure anymore. I've picked out a favourite (Liam recently ousted Niall for the top spot), I've researched past girlfriends, I follow a One Direction tumblr page - I've become a Directioner. Help!

Taylor Swift has become increasingly irritating with her sickly sweet act but I still love her music (except her single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" ie. the worst song on the album that I still sing along to in the car. The chorus is so damn catchy!). Her music is getting less country and much more pop though.

If I'm ever in the mood for a spontaneous dance party (it's been known to happen when I'm home alone) or on the rare occasion I muster up enough motivation to work out, my first choice in music is Carly Rae's new album. It always puts me in a good mood.

Here's my favourite song from each album:

Hello, Old Friend

The last three years I never visited our cottage, not even once; there was nothing there that appealed to me. The 3 hour car ride, the pesky mosquitoes, the 80+ steps to get down to the lake, the lack of Internet; the cons heavily outweighed the pros of going. Over the summer my friends were unsuccessfully planning a trip to Niagara Falls and since I was too lazy to look up hotels, I offered to spend Labour Day weekend up at the cottage instead.

The second I unlocked the front door and walked in, it was like seeing an old friend again and being reminded of old memories. There was the kitchen table where my family always sat at the same familiar seats. There was the big living room where my cousin Anthony taught me how to throw a football while my aunt yelled at us to play outside. There was the white table we all sat around playing bridge and I always hoped to be the "dummy" so I didn't have to think. There were the bunk beds where I would lie awake looking up at the wood ceiling and see random images in the wood knots.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm older and can now appreciate the tranquility and open air of the cottage or maybe it's just the new cleaner flooring that we put down but the cottage didn't seem so bad anymore. The car ride didn't feel quite so long - I'm sure the 1.5 hour commutes to school that I've gotten used to helped. There was not a single mosquito! And it was nice to take a step back from the computer and relax in the sun. The hike up and down to the lake was still a killer though.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I joined my parents and my aunt and uncle as they headed north to close up the cottage for the year. It was only a short visit but I'm looking forward to returning back next summer.

King of the Rock!

 

My parents are currently on vacation in Portugal and then they're off to Spain, the Canary Islands and Morocco. Have fun you two! Miss you already :) ....and bring me back some gifts!

Delicious Food and Adorable Nephews

I've been a terrible blogger. I have all these blog post ideas but when it comes down to it, I've been too lazy to write. To make up for the lack of updates, here's some pictures of food and babies. Everyone loves food and babies!

Braised Beef Cheek Banh Mi

Nicole and I went downtown to check out Banh Mi Boys and I have to say, it's worth all the hype. We lined up for a quite a while (one line up to pay, another one to get food) but the wait was worth it. The two of us shared the Braised Beef Cheek Banh Mi ($5.99), the Pulled Pork Banh Mi ($5.49), and a Fried Chicken Steamed Bao ($3.49). We were stuffed but it tasted too good to stop eating. My favourite was the braised beef cheek, followed closely by the fried chicken. In a surprise shock, the pulled pork was my least favourite! Still pretty tasty though.

Danette and I celebrated our 23rd birthday with dinner at Mercatto. The York girls bought one of my favourite cakes: Dufflet's Lemon Raspberry Cakelet. I don't think I've ever been dissatisfied with a Dufflet cake. The girls also bought me new Toms for my birthday. Yay! My big toe was starting to peek out from my old ones.

Last Tuesday, I celebrated my birthday with my closest high school buddies at Joey Don Mills. Love those girls! Finally got around to trying the lobster grilled cheese and it was just as good as I was hoping. I also thought it was a nice touch that they offer complimentary wine and appetizers while you're waiting for a table.

Now on to what everyone is waiting for: pictures of my adorable nephew, Nathan! I think I may have visited my sister almost every day last week. Nathan's too cute to resist! He's just over 3 months now and getting so big. His smiles are the best :)

A Girl Can Dream

With no boyfriend, I don't see a wedding in my foreseeable near future but it's still fun to look at dresses. A new TLC show, I Found The Gown, premiered last week and it was crazy to see so many gorgeous dresses at discounted prices. I may have wasted a few hours browsing their website, bridepower.com....

Source: JLM Couture

Lazaro - Style 3108 - Retail price: $4000 (Discounted price: $1950)
I wouldn't say I'm a girly girl but I've always loved this style with the pleated sweetheart neckline, a soft tulle ball gown, and a gorgeous jeweled belt. It looks so pretty and romantic! You can't help but feel like a princess in a dress like this. And it would hide my thunder thighs.

Source: Christos

Christos - Brisa - Retail Price: $4000 (Discounted Price: $1800)
It's similar to the one above but with an A-line cut instead of the giant poof and added silk flowers on the straps. I think this would look so pretty for an outdoor garden or vineyard wedding paired with a headpiece like this crystal one or even a floral headpiece. Hippy chic!

Source: Allure Bridals

Allure Bridals - Style 8965
This is so different from the usual style I like. It's not strapless and it's tight fitting, but when I first saw this dress, I fell in love. The lace detail is so pretty and the back, oh my gosh the back! It's SO gorgeous. I love the keyhole back and the buttons. It's kind of got this French Parisian feel that I'm digging. The only sucky part is that the website didn't have a price listed.

Source: JLM Couture

Tara Keely - Style 2210
I don't love this dress (I think it's the cheap looking bow that's throwing me off) but I thought it was so cool that the gown detaches. It's definitely a lot easier to reuse a white mini dress than a full ball gown.

My iTunes Replacement

Source: alancross.ca

I have found my new favourite music website: Songza!

It started off with procrastination from writing my advertising/digital marketing report (only 1 more day of school, woohoo!). I was lying in bed looking for new apps to download on my iPhone and I came across Songza. I didn't think much of it when I pressed the download button but when I opened it, I thought wow, this is too good to be true. FREE MUSIC! No annoying pop-up ads, no commercials in-between songs, just straight music.

The coolest thing about Songza is the process of picking a playlist. It's called the Music Concierge and it's got a playlist for any mood you're in. Waking up, working out, studying; it's got it all. I've been listening to a lot of new music and it's been great finding songs to add to my iTunes list. It's also been fun listening to old music I forgot all about.

After a few hours of dilly-dallying, I ended up picking the Epic Film Scores playlist under "work/study (no lyrics)" and got to work writing my report. I  felt like I could conquer the world! Or y'know, at least conquer a school project. Same thing. So really, what started off as procrastination ended up motivating me to finish. Win!

Some of the playlists I've enjoyed so far:
- Songs to Raise Your Kids To
- Indie Sellouts 
- 00's Pop Divas
- The World of One Direction (just kidding...or am I?? hehe)

Music Monday: Lennon and Maisy Stella

Whenever I'm in a dance mood, I put on some Robyn. It's impossible not to move when her songs are on! One of my favourites is "Call Your Girlfriend". If you're looking to procrastinate from work or have absolutely nothing to do, check out SNL's Taran Killam re-creating the music video.

I recently found a cover version of "Call Your Girlfriend" by 12-year-old Lennon Stella and 8-year-old Maisy Stella and fell even more in love with the song. Their voice sounds so beautiful and the harmonies are gorgeous. I wish I could sing like that! It doesn't hurt that they're adorable too. And now I'm jealous of girls half my age...haha.

Olympic Eye Candy

I always forget how much I love the Olympics and yet every 2 years, I'm glued to the TV watching as much of the Olympics I can get my hands on. Suddenly I'm interested in sports I don't even know all the rules to but it doesn't matter. I get swept up in the competition so easily and when the "I Believe" song is playing and they're showing our Canadian Olympians winning medals, I always get teary-eyed. What can I say? I'm full of Canadian pride.

Besides witnessing the incredible talents of the Olympians, it helps that some of them are easy on the eyes too. Here's my Top 5 list of the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

5. Nathan Adrian - USA - Swimming
He's 6'6" and mixed (his mom is from Hong Kong). He's got a really infectious smile and a pretty hot bod. Clearly this boy is my type. Oh yeah, and he's not too shabby at swimming either.

 

4. John Herdman - Canada - Coach for Women's Soccer
Pictures don't do this man justice. He's got an irresistable English accent and it's obvious how much he loves and supports his players and how much they love him back. A bronze medal has never felt more like gold. After watching the Canadian women play and seeing him coach, I had the urge to watch Bend It Like Beckham. I still love that movie so much.

 

 

3. Adam van Koeverden - Canada - Kayaking & Mark Oldershaw - Canada - Canoeing

It's a twofer! I love that they're friends, they train together in Oakville, and they both won a medal on the same day. Adam van Koeverden gets hotter with age. And Mark looked so adorable the moment he found out he won bronze; the first in his family of Olympians! I'm thinking I need to spend some time out in Oakville at the Burloak Canoe Club...

 

2. Ryan Lochte - USA - Swimming
I know he's an idiot and I know he's douchey but I cannot resist Ryan Lochte. His dumbness is part of the charm! He's like an adorable, guillable dummy trapped in a crazy muscular body. And I'm so happy that the curly mop is off his head and the beauty of his face can shine through :P

1. Marcel Nguyen - Germany - Artistic Gymnastics
Have you ever seen a prettier face? Seriously. SO pretty! It's the magic of hapas - half Vietnamese, half German. He's also got some magical gel that keeps his hair perfectly coiffed even when he's doing crazy flips. So happy that he won silver on parallel bars and men's all around!

Special Mention: Oscar Pistorius - South Africa - Running
He got edged out of my Top 5 list but this man is such an inspiration qualifying and running in the Olympic Games. I love his name - it sounds like a legendary name for the movies. And what a cutie too :)

Future Mumford & Sons Fan

While my sister took a nap, I had some bonding time with Nathan. We listened to Mumford & Sons - I sang along while Nathan waved his arms to the music. So much for trying to get him to sleep. We did get a few yawns and droopy eyes to "Awake My Soul" and "After The Storm". Mostly though, Nathan just laid there looking adorable (and occasionally farting, haha).

Striking a pose for Yee Yee

Pretty Posters and Ugly Bugs on the TTC

The posters for Savages are totally working for me. I'm not entirely sure what the movie is about (something about drugs and two guys dating the same girl who gets kidnapped?) but I really want to see it. The posters always catch my eye on the TTC and it's nice to have Taylor Kitsch's pretty face to look at during my commute. I think part of the reason I like the posters so much is the fact that it looks like something I would see on my Tumblr dashboard. Like! I actually spent a good 5 minutes staring at it on the subway, trying to figure out the easiest way to take it out of the frame and steal it. And then the rational side of me kicked in - I can't steal a bus ad!


My Other TTC Story of the Day: 
I was sitting on the subway doing the Metro crossword and out of nowhere, this black bug fell from above me INTO MY TOP. I was wearing a maxi dress that has a low cut top and I could see the ugly little bugger between the dress and my bra. I tried to discreetly get the stupid thing out with my hand down my shirt but it moved so fast I lost sight of it. I don't know how I managed to stay calm and quiet. I was convinced it was going to somehow crawl into my underwear. I couldn't feel it moving but I started to plan a strategy of going to the washroom at Finch Station (I was only at Eglinton...) to shake that thing off my body. Then 10 minutes later with my stealth eyes, I saw the same bug on the outside of my dress down by my leg. It somehow escaped, thank God! As I was waiting for the Steeles bus at the Finch platform, I saw the same type of bug on the ground. I swear it was taunting me! The second I got home I stripped down to my undies and did a full body scan. No bugs, whew! On the positive side, at least it wasn't a bed bug. That would have been much more major and I wouldn't be sitting on any TTC seats anymore.

"Be A Kid For A Day" Scavenger Hunt

Part of the requirements for the Sport & Event Marketing program I'm in is to plan and execute a charity event. My friends in the program organized a scavenger hunt all across downtown Toronto and it was a great success. I made a group with Vivian and Becky and called ourselves The Thunder Thighs! It was 3 hours of walking and sweating. There were 25 clues scattered from Yorkville to Harbourfront and Spadina to Jarvis. Vivian did a great job at keeping us motivated. I don't know how she had so much pep. Becky was mute, trying to "conserve energy", haha.

Relaxing at Oasis Patio afterwards

We managed to get to all 25 places with 5 minutes to spare. I was so happy to see the Oasis Rooftop Patio! When we got to the finish line, there were a bunch of teams right ahead of us so we figured we were somewhere in the middle of the pack. The runner up and the grand prize winners got some pretty sweet gifts - tickets for a Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC game, Sirius XM radios, and other gift certificates. And then we found out we were actually in third place...and we lost by mere minutes! I knew we should have taken the subway! It seemed silly at the time to spend a token going from Bloor to Dundas but I totally would have done it if I knew how close we were. Oh well. I'm still really proud of us for being one of only 4 teams who completed the entire race. And I won the Davids Tea prize pack in the raffle! It was a fun day, completely exhausting, but a lot of fun.

Now I need to get working on my event: An Olympics Opening Ceremony Celebration in support of KidSport on July 27 - save the date!

Dinner at Fraticelli's

Last Friday, my parents decided to go out for a joint 30th Anniversary and Father's Day dinner and asked me to pick a restaurant. I did a little research on Urbanspoon for nice restaurants in the Richmond Hill area and settled on Fraticelli's near Leslie/16th Ave. I had never been and was worried since the more reviews I read, the worse the service was sounding but it was ranked in the Top 10 for the area so I decided to just take the risk.

I wish I took more pictures but the lighting in there was too dark.

I made a reservation the day of and we got our table really quickly. Our waitress was really nice and suggested we order appetizers since the kitchen was busy. Even with the warning, I didn't think the service was slow at all. We got our food at a nice pace and all my worrying was for nothing. I really wish I remembered to take more pictures because the food was delicious and the portions were pretty big.
For our appetizers, we got:

• Fritto Misto ($13) - lightly dusted crispy fried calamari, shrimp, fennel and zucchini. Served with grilled lemon and garlic basil aioli.
• There were so many calamari and the shrimp was juicy and delicious. The lemon and aioli went with them perfectly. 
• Small Antipasti Board ($11) - a selection of Italian cheeses, cured meats, marinated vegetables and olives. Served on a wood board with grilled crostini.
• There's nothing fancy (like the meats and cheese you would find at Buca) but for $11, it was a good mix of foods. I also learned that I really like figs.

They also had complimentary bread that's warm and crusty on the outside and comes with a spicy oil for dipping.  By this point, we were already full but we still had our mains to eat!

• Mom ordered Veal Parmigiana ($24) - Romano crusted and topped with tomoato pomodoro sauce, melted provolone, mozzarella and friulano cheeses. Served with pappardelle noodles in sundried tomato pesto cream sauce. 
• Dad ordered  Spaghetti del Pescatore ($22) - fresh spaghetti, mussels, calamari, clams and tiger shrimps all tossed in a spicy tomato white wine sauce. Garnished with a lemon wedge and oregano. 
• I ordered the Contadina Pizza ($16) - Italian plum tomato sauce, provolone and friulano cheese, fiore di latte mozzarella, basil, crumbled Italian sausage, sauteed onions and rapini. 

My pizza was way bigger than expected. We saw some pizzas coming out of the kitchen and they were all circular and mine was this huge oblong shape, not that I'm complaining. The sausage was spicier than I expected but still delicious and  obviously the sauteed onions were a big reason I ordered the dish. Mom and I couldn't finish and ended up bringing half our dinners home for lunch the next day. Overall, I really liked Fraticelli's. The portion sizes were big, the prices were decent, the food tasted good, and the service was better than I expected. Hopefully it wasn't just a fluke.

Oh yeah, I also finished a glass of wine for the first time! Jules and the Cul de Sac Crew would be so proud! Well, it was really half a glass...I'm trying to like wine but my palette is clearly not refined enough. My parents pretty much drank a whole bottle of wine together and got drunk, haha. Happy Anniversary!

A New Member of the Family!

I'm a little late on the announcement but this little guy came into our world on Monday!

1 day old!

Say hello to my nephew, Nathan Alexander Loftus. Born on June 11, 2012 at 10:33pm. He's a tiny little bundle at 6 lbs 5 oz, 19 inches. Congratulations Michelle and Jay! I know it might be exhausting right now but you guys are doing great and you'll be awesome parents :)

Making Lunch at Home

My favourite kind of meal to make is one where I don't have to follow a recipe. It's really more of a "what can I find in the fridge and throw together?"

My mom had some leftover romaine lettuce in the fridge one day so I scrounged up everything I could find in the fridge and threw it in the bowl to make a hodgepodge salad. In went some tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, flaked chicken, feta cheese, and red onion. I added some walnuts for crunch and drizzled a mango chipotle dressing. Oh my gosh, it was SO good! It took me by surprise. It was a mix of sweet and salty and different textures. Yum! Who knew I would start craving salads?

Salad #2 was pretty tasty but it didn't live up to my first magical salad. This time around I threw in some blackberries and grapes along with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and walnuts. It's a strange combination but it works. I like having different colours on my salad; it makes it look so pretty! Also, I recommend Kraft's Mango Chipotle dressing - it's perfect for bringing together a sweet summer salad.

My homemade pizza! I always go overboard with the toppings but it sure does taste good. I sauteed some onions until they turned a golden brown (you don't know how much I love caramelized onions, ugh so good!) and tossed in some leftover knackwurst from our barbecue the night before. Then I grabbed a naan, spread some pesto over it and placed my onions and sausage on top. Then I chopped some cherry tomatoes and fresh basil and threw those on top and baked the whole thing for 5 minutes. Not bad for an "emptying the fridge" meal.

Music Monday: Paul McDonald

Paul McDonald - Now That I've Found You (Ft. Nikki Reed)
Paul McDonald was one of my favourites from Season 10 of American Idol but once he was eliminated, I never really followed up with his music. He ended up getting married to Nikki Reed (from the Twilight series) and they made this really cute song together. Makes me wish I had a boy to sing this to.

Need My TV Fix

A screenshot of my followmy.tv dashboard. I can't believe I have no shows to watch, it's such a sad sight! What am I supposed to do while I eat lunch?

Joking aside, I love followmy.tv. Before I found it, I used to make a calendar on Excel that listed all my shows and then I would go on tv.com to find out the titles of the upcoming episodes to put on my spreadsheet. For each and every show. Man, I had a lot of time on my hands back in high school. Now I've got a website to do it all for me!

If you haven't realized it now, yes, I'm a TV addict. Check out my other blog, Ramblings of TV Addicts, if you're bored.

Bright Dresses at the Met Gala

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuillier
Coco Rocha in Givenchy
January Jones in Atelier Versace

If I'm being honest, I don't actually know what goes on at the Met Gala but I do know their red carpet is like fashion porn. There were some really gorgeous dresses this year but these were my 3 favourites. They're unconventional picks and not likely to be on the top of most lists but there was something about each one that interested me. I didn't realize until I was writing this post that all my picks were some of the brightest outfits of the night. The orange looks gorgeous on Ginnifer Goodwin and I love the detail on the top - it's definitely a dress I wouldn't mind wearing. Coco Rocha stood out on the carpet and looked like a ball of happiness and sunshine. I like the colour pairing of the pink and yellow and I think it's cute that she recycled an old outfit of Elizabeth Taylor's. I bet it was super comfy compared to many of the other dresses of the night. I'm not a fan of January Jones but there's something about her yellow dress that I gravitated to. It's a little superhero-esque; maybe my brain is just hinting that I need to get a move on watching The Avengers.

Also, I may be crazy but I like China Chow's dress (more so the top than the bottom).

China Chow in Jean Paul Gaultier

Photo source: Tom & Lorenzo

Music Monday: Boyce Avenue, Robyn, One Direction

It's another edition of Music Monday!

Boyce Avenue - Somebody That I Used To Know (Gotye cover)
The other day Danette texted me and told me to check out Boyce Avenue's cover songs. I've had their version of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream on my iTunes for a while but I never really looked into any of their other covers. Turns out they have 7 albums of acoustic covers! I went on a downloading spree and now my Boyce Avenue songlist has jumped from 1 song to 60 songs. I'm a sucker for acoustic covers.
Other songs to check out: Glad You Came (The Wanted cover), We Found Love (Rihanna cover)

Robyn - Dancing On My Own
I know I'm late on the Robyn bandwagon. I was watching an episode of Girls the other night and this song was played at the end ("All adventurous women do"). Yay for the Shazam app! It's introduced me to a whole bunch of songs. Robyn's songs are catchy and really fun to dance along to while I get ready in the morning.
Other songs to check out: Call Your Girlfriend, Indestructible

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
I can't hide it anymore; I've become a full-fledged One Direction fan. I blame Tumblr, I really do - my dashboard was being flooded with funny interview moments and I could no longer resist anymore. It doesn't help that their songs are really fun and easy to sing along to. I'm still waiting for a karaoke Girls' Night Out just to sing One Direction. P.S. My favourite is Niall, haha. 
Other songs to check out: One Thing, Gotta Be You

A Very Girly Shopping Spree

I've always been a pretty low maintenance girl but lately I've been wearing more makeup (I blame YouTube tutorial videos) and I've also been trying to find a "signature scent". Every time I step into a Sephora though, I just can't seem to get myself to shell out so much money for beauty products. And then my friend introduced me to Lisa's Cosmetics/Fragrance Warehouse Sale...

Smashbox Wish List Gift Set ($18.99 | Retail Price: $56)

• Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
• O-Gloss Gold Shimmer
• Photo Finish Foundation Primer (travel size)
• Fusion Soft Lights Baked Stardust
• Jet Set Black Waterproof Eyeliner

I've never tried any of these products but I've heard good things about them and I can't believe it was only $19! I checked out Sephora the day before and the lip gloss alone costs $22 and the pinwheel powder is about $30. How could I resist? (Actually, I did. And then I regretted it and went back the next day to get it, haha)

Burberry Brit Sheer, 30ml ($25 | Retail Price: $60)
Here's Burberry's marketing spiel:

"Burberry Brit Sheer is a fresh, fruity floral fragrance that is playful and vibrant, embodying the youthful spirit of Burberry Brit. Young and charismatic, the Burberry Brit girl embodies understated elegance and individuality. With a fresh, natural joie de vivre she has a passion for adventure and romance."

That's some pretty good wordsmithing - I wouldn't mind being this Burberry Brit girl. I'm not sure if I'm in love with the scent yet. It has hints of yuzu, pineapple leaves, lychee, mandarin, grapes, pink peony, peach blossom, white musk and creamy Amyris woods...or so they say anyway. I bought a small bottle so I'll see if it grows on me. My first pick was actually Marc Jacobs Eau So Fresh but the smallest size they had was 75ml and I didn't want to pay $59 for a fragrance I wasn't even sure if I would like. $25 on the other hand, I'm cool with. It made it a much easier decision.

H2O+ Oasis Daily Hydration System ($24 | Retail Price: $72)

• Face Oasis Cleansing Water (60ml)
• Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment (50ml)
• Eye Oasis Moisture Replenishing Treatment (7ml)

I've never tried any H2O products but they seem to be pretty well-liked so I decided to give it a shot since I needed a new face cream anyway. I really only wanted the hydrating gel but it only cost $2 more for the other two so why not? I tried out the cleansing water earlier today and I like that it can wash away my makeup and it leaves my face feeling 'so fresh and so clean'.

I bought more than I expected to but it's fun to have some new products to try out, especially when it's such a good deal. I also bought two Sally Hansen Salon nail polishes in Nasturtium and So Much Fawn for $0.99 each. It's probably a good thing this warehouse sale isn't year round.

New York City: Day 5 - April 25

Last day in New York! Our flight wasn't until the early evening so my mom and I spent the morning visiting the last few places on my "NYC List".

While waiting for Macy's to open, we did a bit of shopping at H&M. We didn't have any room left in our luggage for more clothes but we did have space for accessories! In hindsight, I should have bought an umbrella there - first rainfall back in Toronto and my umbrella broke :( Also, I was watching Fashion Star the previous night in the hotel and that show is much more interesting when I actually have a chance to buy the clothes in stores the next day. To waste more time, we browsed Old Navy. There were a few basic striped tees I wanted to get but I figured they would have them back in Toronto and I didn't need them desperately. Turns out we don't have them in Toronto...why?!

Macy's finally opened at 10am and there were so many people rushing to get in! You'd think they were giving away free handbags or something. We walked all nine floors of Macy's and our feet were dying. We went up to the 9th floor specifically because they were selling furniture up there and we figured we could rest on a couch...but there were sales clerks at every corner! It was so hard to find a spot to hide from them, haha.

At 11pm, we headed back to The New Yorker Hotel to lie down on our bed (5 days of constant walking and shopping, exhaustion was finally catching up) and then we checked out by noon. For lunch, we decided to check out one of New York's best pizza joints: Grimaldi's. Their original restaurant is in Brooklyn but we went to the one on 6th Avenue. Funny story: I had the address of Grimaldi's written down and we were standing at the right intersection but I couldn't find the restaurant! We were standing right across from it...I was not expecting it to be inside a church!

A "small" regular pizza - mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil

The pizza was delicious and super thin. I don't know if I would call it the best pizza I've ever eaten but I'm not that picky with my pizzas. As long as there's no mushrooms or olives, I'm good. After lunch, we walked over to Madison Square Park. The plan was to get a shake from Shake Shack but we were too full (and the line was long) so we just rested on a bench, checked out the Flatiron Building and enjoyed the sunny weather instead.

Our view of Empire State Building from the park

One of the places I've always wanted to check out in the States was Pinkberry. I know we've got Menchie's and a bunch of other frozen yogurt places in Toronto now but I still really wanted to go. Thanks to my pre-vacation researching, I knew there was a Pinkberry in Koreatown so off we went!

I was expecting Pinkberry to be self-serve like Menchie's but everything is behind the counter. The guy working there was really nice and asked if it was my first time. He helped explain everything and let me taste test their yogurts. I ended up going with their peach frozen yogurt and lychee (the Asian in me couldn't resist). To top it off, I got mango, strawberry, sliced almonds, and granola. It was a great mix of flavours and textures. I know I've only been to Menchie's once but I really thought Pinkberry's frozen yogurt was way better. It's not cheap but it sure was a delicious indulgence.

By this time, I ran out of places to check out on my NYC list and my mom is never any good with deciding where to go so we went back to the hotel. We still had a few more hours to waste before heading to the airport but I was tired and admittedly, getting annoyed with my mom's indecisiveness. I planned our whole trip and the one time I asked her to decide what to do, she couldn't decide on anything! I also like being super early at airports so we decided to just check out our luggage and head to LaGuardia. I had a pretty good idea of how to get to the airport but we decided to double check with the concierge at the hotel. Um, they don't know anything. They gave my mom some roundabout route and said after getting off the subway we would have to take a taxi when we knew for a fact that there was a bus since we were on one just 5 days earlier. I don't know if they were doing it just to persuade us to take a taxi but I decided to ignore whatever they said and just go my own way. I was worried about rush hour crowds but everything went off without a hitch and we didn't even have to wait for the bus to the airport. Success!

We were 2.5 hours early for our flight and we found out that there was another flight to Toronto in 20 minutes. They put us on the standby list and we powered our way to security (which only took like 5 minutes) and got to the gate with 10 minutes until takeoff. I felt like we were on The Amazing Race! And then we found out it cost $75 per person so...never mind. Maybe it's all those long commutes to school but I'm totally cool with spending an hour listening to my iPod and doing a crossword.

After a delayed flight and finishing up the latter half of The Descendants, we were home! I love travelling and visiting new places but there really is nothing like home.

New York City: Day 4 - April 24

Two more days to go! Let's get cracking.

New York has been known to have some of the best bagels so after doing some research, I decided to check out Murray's Bagels in Greenwich Village. They've got a great selection of bagels to choose from; I ended up going with their garlic bagel and my mom chose the Health Grain. I don't know what it is but their bagels really do taste pretty darn good. I am a carbs girl though so I'm happy snacking on any fresh bread.

We got our bagels buttered but it wasn't really necessary.
I scraped off a lot of my butter.

After getting our bagels, we walked over to Union Square to eat our breakfast. Then we took a walk around Whole Foods (they've got special escalators for shopping carts!) and we did a bit of shopping at Forever 21 (where Michelle got separated from Nicole and me two years prior, hehe).

As I mentioned in a previous post, we went back to Rockefeller Center for the third and final time. My mom bought her customary magnet souvenir and we returned to Uniqlo (yet again) to do a return. The stores are so big in New York; when we walked into Uniqlo I knew we had been there before but we went up the escalator and it was like we were there for the first time, nothing looked familiar! Turns out the first time we were there, we took the stairs and missed a whole chunk of the store. 

30 Rock!
5 points to Mom for spotting the Canadian flag first (not pictured)

I was watching Gossip Girl one day and the moment I saw Blair lining up outside a Laduree store in NYC, I knew I had to go there. It's funny that I've had their macarons twice (thanks Michelle!) but have never actually stepped foot in a Laduree store. Their macarons are a little pricy but they really are the best. We bought a box of 6 for my sister to return the favour and bought two for ourselves to enjoy in Central Park.

Such a cute display of macarons!

We kept going back and forth on the subway going downtown and then uptown and then back downtown (yay for Metrocards!). I forgot all about Strand Books when we were at Union Square so we went back down to check it out. It's like book heaven! We browsed through the books and I ended up getting a Hooty the Owl Pouch as a souvenir.

By this time, we were looking for something to snack on since we weren't hungry enough for an early dinner but we also couldn't wait until Death of a Salesman was over to eat - so Pommes Frites was the perfect place to go! It's a tiny little place near NYU I read about online. They only serve fries but they have an extensive list of sauces to choose from ($1 each). The guy working there was so nice! He gave us a sampling of different sauces and some fries to test out. My mom liked the Mexican ketchup (a mix of jalapeno, cilantro, and a bunch of other stuff) since she liked the spicy kick. The guy also gave us the Parmesan Peppercorn sauce on the house since it was his favourite. After finding out we were Canadian, he also offered some gravy (since they serve poutine) but we were too full.

The bottom of the cone had little crispy bits, yum!
Green sauce = mexican ketchup; white sauce = parmesan peppercorn
Red sauce = Especial (frite sauce, ketchup, and raw onion)

After a nap and some freshening up at the hotel, my mom and I headed up to the Barrymore Theatre to watch Death of a Salesman featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield (and Fran Kranz, woot woot! haha). We were there early so we walked over to Duffy Square at Times Square to sit on the red steps and do some people watching.

I spy Nick Jonas!

I was in the same room as Andrew Garfield! :)

The play was super intense. I read the play before we went to New York but it was way more dramatic in person. Kudos to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield; the two of them were amazing. There's so much emotion behind every word they say. I can't even imagine having to be in that fragile state for 6 shows a week. Also...Fran Kranz! Even when he's playing the super geeky Bernard, I can't help but love him (Reminder: I need to re-watch Dollhouse).

All I could think while watching was: ARMS!

Aww, I just wanted to give Andrew Garfield a big hug at the end :(

Seeing Death of a Salesman on Broadway was half the reason why I wanted to go to New York City. It was as good as I expected and it's obvious how talented Andrew Garfield and Philip Seymour Hoffman are. Tthere may have been a tear or two of mine...