Snapshots of NYC // Day 5 // LOTS OF BOOKSTORES! // October 2017

In the fall of 2017 we took a trip to NYC. We had never been, and honestly had more fun than we were expecting to! I'm finally getting my act together and getting these posted! :) If you missed my posts with Days 1 & 2, Day 3, and Day 4 check them out.

Day 5 was our last day in the city. We spent a lot of it rounding up things that we wanted to check off of our list. It ended up being a bit of a bookstore day! Not complaining!

Eat: We tended to eat several partial meals from time to time... It was a little sporadic! We only had one meal on this day, because the other was at the airport... and I'm betting we picked up a pastry for breakfast at Starbucks. :) 

• The Meatball Shop (West Village) -  I swear this place was just called Balls. Maybe they changed it...? Googling Balls NYC probably isn't going to get you great search results... I loved the atmosphere at this place, they also have 3 other locations in the city. KC tried the buffalo chicken meatballs and I tried something a bit more classic. This was a fun place, and nearby a bookstore that I needed to see. :) 

See: More of Central Park, Different Parts of the City, and lotsssss of bookstores!

Shop: I made it my personal mission to explore tons of book shops while in NYC. I'm sure you are shocked. Here are the ones we saw on day 3. I'll have to do a round up post in the end when I finish. 

• Books of Wonder (Uptown) - This is a children's and young adult used and new bookstore. It is a hot spot where a lot of authors do readings, and they have a lot of signed books as well. If you love children's or YA books. This is a super fun bookstore to visit! They do have another location Downtown.
• Idlewild Books (West Village) - this was probably my favorite bookstore that we visited because it was all based around travel, language, and culture books. I love to read travel fiction and memoirs! They even have fun cookbooks, etc. The person working on the day we went didn't say two words to us... but the book selection was awesome! They also teach language classes! They have another location in Brooklyn.
• Three Lives & Co. (Greenwich Village) - This was a really fun, manageable sized bookstore. It was in a fun area, and had a really well curated selection of popular and literary fiction and nonfiction.
• Housing Works Bookstore and Cafe (??) - This place was interesting, the layout was really cool... but it definitely wasn't my favorite of the stores we visited. I liked that they had a big social justice agenda, were very welcoming to all, and that the had used books for sale. It didn't feel very cozy to me, and it was a little hard to get around the upper balcony when there were other people there. It was ok but not our favorite. If you lived there, I could see it being a go-to.
• Book Culture (Columbus Ave. Location) - This small store is packed to the gills with both books and people. I wanted to love it, it had a very clean but not stark vibe... but it ended up being one of my least favorites...but that might be because it was hard to move around!
• Pink Olive (West Village) - This stationery store is cute as a button. I loved their selection of stationery, gifts, and prints. I found a few things to add to my paper collection. They have several locations across the city.

Do: while walking around the city itself is PLENTY to do, we did see some other great places as well! We enjoyed seeing more of the city, especially the village on this day. :) 

Stay: We stayed at Pod 51 hotel. It was very economical!!! It's bare bones, but very clean and in a safe area. Just make sure to check what type of room they are reserving. They do have shared rooms and shared bathroom situations.

Favorites: The Meatball Shop, Idlewild Books, and Pink Olive.

New Experiences: A travel themed bookstore, a children's books bookstore, and a meatball restaurant.

Have you been to NYC? What were some of your favorite things to do? 

Have you been to any of these places? 

Do you like to visit everyday spots like bookstores when you travel?!

Do you have any fun trips coming up?! We are heading to Memphis soon, and then somewhere really exciting in December! Any guesses?!

Other NYC Posts: Days 1 & 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Anastasia on Broadway.

More NYC travel day posts coming soon!

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra

More NYC travel day posts coming soon!

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra

Have You Heard? // Taylor Swift - "Me!"

Alright, Taylor Swift dropped her new single last night. Have you heard it yet? I was up reading, but we honestly probably would have stayed up anyhow. It was only 11 PM here. :)

image via google.

Honestly, I was surprised to see this single being a collab, and with Brendon Urie from Panic! At the Disco. I really like it though. It's so catchy.



I was a little skeptical of the branding, but honestly I really like it now. It's so fun and bright. The music video is bonkers but I really actually like that as well. Cats and Whimsy forever. I thought this was going to be another song where she talks about how great she is, but at least she's acknowledging that there isn't another guy like him too. LOL.

image via google.

I do think this will be on her new album, especially because of the snake at the beginning of the video. She's changing her brand again, and I think commissioning an (AWESOME) mural, all of the thought gone into her social media, and this song... it's got to be the lead-in for an all around (happier) Taylor Swift album. Someone online mentioned that she hasn't really released a "song of the summer" before, and that feels like just what this is going to be... to me. Who knows though, we'll see.

image via google.

I will be honest... if only our vacation had been a wee bit later we could have impulsively driven to Nashville to take a photo by the mural! LOL (Not with the reveal, but just in general). Someday!

What do you think of this single?!

I hope that the album comes soon!

What are you guys up to this weekend?!

We need to run to the burbs to make some returns, have Olivia's last volleyball game (we missed the others. :( ), I have my Alumni Tea at my house I lived in, and then Endgame, and THEN Game of Thrones. Sunday is going to be a sad sad day. LOL

HAPPY WEEKEND! At least you have your catchy tune for the weekend!

XO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of NYC // Day 4 // Times Square, Wicked, and Top of the Rock // October 2017

In the fall of 2017 we took a trip to NYC. We had never been, and honestly had more fun than we were expecting to! I'm finally getting my act together and getting these posted! :) If you missed my posts with Days 1 & 2, and Day 3 check them out.

On day 4 we spent a lot of time in the Times Square area, not because we wanted to particularly see it... .but because we saw Wicked there and planned to visit Top of the Rock. So... we ended up hanging out there for most of the day.

The elevator at the Times Square Disney Store. I love it!!

She doesn't look happy about the crowd either.

ugh

Eat: We tended to eat several partial meals from time to time... It was a little sporadic!

• Bagels (Midtown) - I'm going to be real and say... I don't remember where we got these bagels. It was a chain near our hotel... and they were just ok for me. But hey, we tried NYC bagels. *shrugs*
• Hot Dog (from a stand) - Apparently this was a day for trying foods you really think of in New York. It did the trick.
• Magnolia Bakery - I got the German Chocolate Cake, which was SO GOOD. It was the bday cake that my mom made for my dad every year, and this is the best version I've had anywhere but at home. KC got the Banana Pudding -- which apparently is what you are supposed to get there. And he said it was really good. I can't eat bananas so I didn't try it. 1.5 years later we are thinking we got ANOTHER thing to split... since we ate so randomly on this day... but we don't know what it was. Bottom line: this place is super busy, but the food is good!!!
• Shake Shack (Times Square) - So, we've established that KC and I are Shake Shack fans. We went to the one in Times Square fairly late and split some food. It wasn't NEARLY as good as the one in Vegas or the one we had earlier in the trip. LOL

See: Times Square, and Top of the Rock.

Shop: 

• The Disney Store (Times Square) - A massive Disney Store?! Yes please! I loved that the escalator ride was accompanied by the lanterns from Tangled! 
• Toys R Us (Times Square) - We did go into a Toys R Us, because my sister Olivia said she wanted a New York Barbie. :) 

Do: while walking around the city itself is PLENTY to do, we did see some other great places as well!

• Wicked on Broadway (Times Square) - We decided to see a more typical musical while we were there as well. We landed on Wicked. Neither of us had seen it or really listened to the music. I am a hit-or-miss musical fan... sometimes they are A LOT for me. This was about as far on the "a lot" spectrum as I could go. The sets, costumes, etc. etc. were fabulous. The actors were talented too! Not sure I'd put this in my favorites though. Also, why do all musicals have to be at least a little depressing?! LOL
• Top of the Rock - We decided to go to Top of the Rock after hearing about the good reviews. I love to see a city from high up. As you can see from the photos it was PACKED up there. We bought tickets so we could be there around golden hour, just like everyone else did. If you don't like crowds I wouldn't recommend this. Here are some tips to make it easier:
• If you get motion sick or dizzy, I would not recommend looking up at the countdown video on the ceiling of the elevator on the way up. Just say no.
• Expect the crowd and wait your turn to get a good view/photos. Don't be too hesitant though, or you'll never get up to the glass.
• Go VERY early and stay if you are really concerned about the view photos. The ENTIRE upper deck was completely full the whole time.
• Have fun with whoever you're with and enjoy the view, ignore the people. If you see someone struggling to get to the front, offer to help. We kept seeing older folks up there who just looked dazed and overwhelmed. They eventually settled for other areas. That made me SO SAD.
• If you go up in the late afternoon or anytime close to sunset there is really no need to buy the "sun and stars pass" we went up somewhere near 4 pm and thought we'd eat and go back up later. But we ended up staying instead. It was a waste of money, so think carefully about whether you want it or not. 
• The staff inside the building were kind of rude to us, we tried to take a photo inside at the top, and they wouldn't let us even look out the windows there. I have no idea why. But later some teenagers did and no one said anything to them. Not sure if it is a rule, or if we just had grumpy people.

Stay: We stayed at Pod 51 hotel. It was very economical!!! It's bare bones, but very clean and in a safe area. Just make sure to check what type of room they are reserving. They do have shared rooms and shared bathroom situations.

Favorites: The Disney Store at Times Square, The German Chocolate Cake at Magnolia Bakery, and the VIEWS at Top of the Rock.

New Experiences: Wicked, Being Quite So High Up, Magnolia Bakery, and NYC Bagels and Hot dogs.

Have you been to NYC? What were some of your favorite things to do? 

Have you been to any of these places? 

Do you have any fun trips coming up?! We are heading to Memphis soon, and then somewhere really exciting in December! Any guesses?!

Other NYC Posts: Days 1 & 2, Day 3, and Anastasia on Broadway.

More NYC travel day posts coming soon!

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra