I Heart NY

Vegan Eats in NYC

Even though I fully admit to falling off the wagon during my visit to NYC, I also indulged in some seriously awesome vegan eats (that city is like veg heaven!). Sadly I didn't take any pics of my food (my camera sux), but I'm still happy to dish on the yummy treats I tasted.

Candle 79 - An upscale all vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side, Candle 79 is truly a treat. My friends and I dined here on the first night, and even they were impressed! The appetizers were phenomenal (the mushroom ravioli? OMG) as were the desserts (I had the strawberry rhubarb crumble a la mode). The entrees were just OK. The service was impeccable and the wine washed everything down quite nicely.

154 East 79th St. @ Lexington - Candle 79

Babycakes - The famous all-vegan bakery!!! I was stoked to try Babycakes but by the time I got there, I was exhausted from a day of walking around the entire city. A cupcake sounded a bit much for me, so I got donuts instead - one cinnamon sugar (my FAVE) and one toasted coconut. The cinnamon sugar? Oh I could eat about 10 of them... Luckily Babycakes is situated in the lower east side, which is a little bit out of way, thank goodness. Still, I anticipate making weekly trips to satisfy my sweet tooth. :)

248 Broome St. between Orchard and Ludlow - Babycakes NYC

Cafe Blossom East - Sister to Blossom Restaurant in Chelsea, Cafe Blossom East is even more inconvenient than Babycakes! It's waaayyyy up on the upper east side, but I begged my sister to take me there after our Monday morning visit to the MoMa. I'm so glad we did!!! I got the Tofu BLT (southern fried tofu, tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato and basil mayo) with a side of some of the best fries I've ever had, and it was incredible. My sister got a grilled tofu salad with seaweed, which was good, but nowhere near as good as mine. :) I can't wait to try the one in Chelsea (my future 'hood!).

1522 1st Avenue between 79th and 80th - Cafe Blossom

The Good and The Bad

Things always comes in 2's, right? Good news tend to come with bad news, at least that's been true in my life. And now, I have both to share with you...

The Good: I'M MOVING TO NYC!!! Yes, June 1 I will be moving to the big city, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm going in June specifically to look for a job, and I have a couple of exciting leads. This opportunity came about at the perfect time, and I am so eternally grateful to the universe for presenting it to me. It's crazy, it's risky, it's unlike anything I've ever done before. I cannot wait.

The Bad: I just learned that my uncle's colon cancer has spread to his liver and lungs. I am beyond devastated and hardly know what to do with the information. At this point, I think the only thing I can do is pray pray pray and hope for the best. I ask that you do the same. This is a heartbreaking time for me and my family, and I... well, I just want to stay as positive as possible. Thanks for being there.

Support

This has been a whirlwind of a week, and it's not even over. I've had to come face to face with some of my greatest fears and have had to make decisions that were incredibly difficult. I'm okay now, and a lot of that is due to the fact that I have the most incredible support group EVER. Seriously, in the past 24 hours, I have realized just how lucky I am to have so many people to reach out to in times of need or crisis or confusion. It's the most incredible feeling in all the world to know that I am never alone, even in the times I feel most alone.

I'm not alone. Not only do I have an incredible family, but I also have friends and mentors of all ages from all over the country who are ready and willing to support me at a moment's notice. It's unreal. The purpose of this post is not to gloat about how great the people in my life are, it's to just send gratitude and love out into the universe.

Suffice to say, I'm going through a lot right now. And things are busy at work and I'm leaving for NYC in 7 days (WOO HOO!!!) and I've got tires that need replacing and an apartment that desperately needs cleaning and oodles of challenges up ahead and the list goes on and on. As such, I've decided to put this blog on hiatus... indefinitely. It's just that time. I hope you'll be here when I return. Lots of love.

Wknd Quote

"This is what happens when you bring a vegan to a crawfish boil... Sad Pony."

H-Town

Tomorrow morning I'm driving to Houston (aka H-Town) to spend the day with my law school bestie, Pony. I haven't seen Pony in almost a year, but I know that as soon as we see each other, it'll be just like old times. Pony and I couldn't be more different (in some ways), but she is truly one of the best friends I've ever had. And she is SO sweet and considerate! She suggested a couple of vegan eateries in the area AND made sure her Mom stocked the fridge with plenty of fruits and veggies for our to snack on. Love it!

I hope you guys are having a fabulous weekend. I'll be back in Austin Tuesday night (working out of our Houston office Monday and Tuesday), but will KIT via twitter. :)

New York, New York

{Image: credit}

16 days and counting...

I'm, like, stupid excited about my trip to NYC at the end of the month! It's not that going to New York is anything new for moi, it's that it's my first official vacay of 2010, and I am so. ready. Also? Ma Soeur will be there, and even though I'll see her later (2nd official vacay is an extended stint in California over July 4th weekend) this year, the idea of us together in the big city is tres exciting. The last time we were there together was for her bachelorette party back in 2007! My, oh my, how time flies...

Anyway, I'll be spending the first couple nights of my trip playing with friends from law school and the latter half playing with my sister and her friends (one of whom is like a big sister to me). In the midst of all the playing, I also plan to walk everywhere and soak up every inch of the city as possible. In the past I've always tended to stay in one particular area of Manhattan (Soho, East Village, Chelsea), but this time I want to see everything. I even want to see Brooklyn, as I've heard it's got some pretty gorge neighborhoods. Also on the list? Museums! I've been to the MET, of course, but this time I want to check out the American Museum of Natural History (I have a big, big thing for dinosaurs) and the MoMA.

Oh and let's not forgot about the food... I've got brunches & dinners lined up (Candle 79 and the Red Cat to name a couple), bakeries (helloooo, babycakes) to frequent, and a Whole Foods Market just in case I find myself hungry and sans vegan options. As for shopping, well, let's just say this will be my first trip to NYC that doesn't revolve around shopping. I plan to visit Topshop, bien sur, but I don't anticipate blowing my budget there. The thing is, I don't need anything right now, and I'm starting to realize that NYC (and vacays in general) are more about the experience than the shopping. (And yes, as sad as it sounds, one of things I got most excited about regarding vacations was the shopping.)

So, the point of this post, was to ask for any suggestions as to what I should see/do/eat/visit while in New York! Please feel free to leave in the comments or to email me directly. Merci and Happy Tuesday!

The Snooze (and Shopping Hiatus)

You Snooze, You Lose

That couldn't be more true. Some of you commented on the last post that hitting the snooze is a bad habit from which you suffer as well. Glad to hear I'm not alone! The longer I work, the more I hit snooze. It's bad. (It also doesn't help that the Blackberry alarm's first option is "Snooze for 5 min.") And I am 100% totally and completely convinced that the more you snooze, the more you lose. In other words, not waking up immediately after the first alarm blares means more difficulty getting up when you actually decide that you cannot call in sick and spend the day dreaming away.

I typically find myself in one of 2 scenarios:

1. Alarm blares. I can't bear the thought of getting out of my warm and comfy bed because I didn't get enough sleep last night (probably b/c I was up way too late watching Netflix episodes of Law & Order: SVU). Lola is adorably snuggled up against me. Snooze at least 3 times before getting up.

2. Alarm blares. I can't bear the thought of getting out of my warm and comfy bed because I've been having a great night of sleep, at least 8 hours, and I want more more more. I am, no doubt, in the middle of one of those deep, vivid and pleasant dreams. Each time I hit snooze and shut my eyes once more, I am immediately transported back to my dream. Sleep is so good. Snooze at least 3 times before getting up.

Both scenarios suck. The moral of the story? Don't hit snooze. It's bad news. Every article and blog post I've read about "becoming an early riser" says to set your alarm every day for the exact same time and to stretch and spring out of bed immediately after the alarm goes off. The first time.

Admittedly, I did not follow this rule this morning. I could not, for the life of me, fall asleep last night despite being in bed by 10. I knew I had to be at work before 8 a.m. today (that's REALLY early for moi) so I knew I needed lots of sleep. I didn't get it. I tossed and turned until 2 a.m., and even when I heard the alarm go off, I knew I had yet to fall into a deep reverie. I hit snooze twice.

So, from now on, there's a new policy in my house. Absolutely NO SNOOZIN'. Who's with me??

Shopping Hiatus (Attempt Deux)




Remember last year when I implemented a self-imposed shopping ban for a month and failed miserably? Yeah. This time we're doing things differently. Following suit from Joslyn's shopping hiatuses, I'm going to attempt to not buy extraneous and unnecessary items, but if I do mess up (and inevitably I will), I will come clean on the blog and move on. That way, there's no guilt or pressure but I'm still held accountable. Sound good?

No Impact Man

I'm not sure if you know, but Whole Foods is doing this rad thing called "Let's Retake Our Plates." It's all about knowing where your food comes from and your decisions about what you eat affect the entire planet. One of the fun things involved with this project is that Whole Foods around the country will be screening certain films relating to this concept of conscious consumption. One of the films is Food, Inc. (no surprise there), and my friend Jenny and I are going to go see it when it airs here in Austin (Jenny's going veggie for a month - yay!). As I scrolled through the list of films, another one caught my eye... No Impact Man.



As soon as I got home from work today, I started watching via Netflix (yes yes I re-subscribed...) and was immediately enthralled. This family spent an entire year attempting to eliminate their carbon footprints. Oh and they live New York City. UH HUH! They did things like get rid of the TV, stopped eating out and buying any kind of packaged food, committed to no riding in cars or traveling by plane, stopped making garbage, used cloth diapers (yuck) and... for 6 months, they GAVE UP ELECTRICITY IN THEIR HOME. Uh huh... yeah. I'm talkin' lots of candlelit dinners. I'm talkin' weird makeshift refrigerators (that ultimately didn't work). And they're not like hippie alternative New Yorkers, they're like... the real deal. Fifth Avenue residing, designer clothes wearing professionals.

The film is so good. SO good. And you know what? It kind of slapped me in the face. I try to be "green". I carry reusable shopping bags, I rarely buy bottled water (and only when it's my only option), I recycle as much as possible (my apt doesn't recycle glass and b/c I can't bear the thought of just throwing it away, I save it and either drop it off at Whole Foods or take it to my friends' houses who have recyling bins), I never brush my teeth with the water running, and I turn off the lights as much as possible. And yet...

I find that I've gotten lazy. I use way more ziploc bags than I should, I create an enormous amount of garbage for one person (and two pets), I subscribe to way too many magazines (half of which I don't end up reading), I keep the TV on when I'm not watching it, I use baby wipes and cleaning wipes like they're going out of style (OCD much?), I stopped buying recycled toilet paper (b/c it kind of feels like sandpaper), and I just... I got lazy. It's really easy to do that in this capitalist, consumerist society, especially when we're so far removed from the effect of all this consumerism and waste. This film reminded me of just how important it is to think twice about my carbon footprint.

I'm inspired, and I hope you will watch the film and be inspired, too.