experiencing 9.11 as a new yorker.

when i moved to nyc, i realized quickly i'd be living in the city for the 10th anniversary of 9.11.  i felt a bit lucky to experience that when it finally came around this past sunday. i had told myself i would just lay low, and not ride the subways or anything in order to play it safe, but i had to work! i work in rockefeller plaza so i figured it would be different on 9.11.  usually filled with tourists on the weekends, sunday morning at rockefeller plaza was empty aside from a few tourists and a lot of NYPD officers.  

a few days before, i was offered tickets to the Mets vs. Chicago Cubs game on 9.11--SO excited.  we got to Citi Field in plenty of time to eat and get seated for the special 9.11 ceremony.  back in 2001, the NY Mets were the first NY sports team to play a game in NY after the attacks so, this was a special night for them.  i can't put into words how special it was to be there for the game and ceremony.  they had the children of 9.11 bring out a flag the size of the entire outfield (seriously) and then had all of the "first responders" outline the field.  tears? YES. goosebumps? ABSOLUTELY. boy did it feel great to be not only an American, but a New Yorker.  Marc Anthony sang the national anthem (!) just like he did 10 years ago at the Mets game.

unfortunately, they lost.  but it's a memory i won't soon forget!

we will never forget. 9.11.01.

great seats.

beach day!

as a native to the North Carolina coast, living in a true "concrete jungle" has proved difficult this summer.  i grew up going to wrightsville beach each summer since i was 3; spending all day on the beach, and all night relaxing on the porch listening to the waves.  i was fortunate enough to continue going to wrightsville beach when i moved there to go to UNCW, allowing not just summers at the beach, but spring, fall & winter, too! so, when i moved up to NYC in february, i knew it would be difficult during the summer. i made it to nc twice this summer--a record LOW for beach days. i knew i needed to see the beach one last time this summer, so i got a group together, and we headed to long beach this past weekend!

what a great day.  we boarded LIRR around 11 and it only took about an hour to get to Long Beach.  fortunately, we got there in time to see the end of the quiksilver pro surf contest and got to see kelly slater competing with the NYPD & FDNY.  i decided to be a paparazzi/tourist and ran to get a glimpse of kelly slater--and i did! 

i was like a little kid --so freaking excited getting to see him!!

this was the first time they've had a major contest on the east coast--so cool we got to be there for it! after my star-sighting i posted up with some friends to soak up the end of summer.  unfortunately, i soaked up a little too much sun, but boy did it feel good to have a sunburn in september in nyc!  

my favorite part of the day, you ask? walking barefoot all day in the sand and on the boardwalk.  you forget how much you miss the relaxed atmosphere of the beach.  this just confirms i am, and always will be, a beach girl.

this doesn't look like fall is coming to me!

it must be love.

when i moved to new york, i didn't really come with a bucket list.  so, after being here for about 7 months, i guess i'm making a list up as i go along.  so far, i've added/checked off a yankee game, attempting a met game (i'll get there!), seeing the alexander mcqueen exhibit at the met, and a bunch more i'm sure i've overlooked.  the us open was added to the bucket list just by chance and i'm SO glad i went! my friend lauren and i decided to get ground admission tickets which let us see any match except those in Arthur Ashe Stadium.  we weren't sure we would get to see anyone "big" but we knew that just being there with all the greats would be an experience in itself.  well, we were SO surprised at how lucky we got with our tickets! 

we set up camp in Louis Armstrong Stadium around 10:30am and didn't end up leaving the stadium until 6pm! we got to see #20 Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia win a 3+ hour match.  it was long and we were tired for them!  then we won the jackpot--#1 seeded Novak Djokovic from Serbia played #22 Alexandr Dolgopolov from Ukraine.  we figured it would be a quick match but boy were we wrong! the first set was better than amazing--Dolgopolov proved to be quite the competitor, only to lose the first set in a tie break of over 30 points!  unfortunately, he didn't have the stamina and Djokovic won in 3 straight sets. 

if anyone lives in NY or the tri-state area, or if you're a tennis fan, i would seriously consider planning a trip to the US Open.  i would go back in a heartbeat!  take a look at our adventure :)

Arthur Ashe Stadium! 

Lauren & me at the 2011 U.S. Open!

Tipsarevic wins!

it was a full house--the line was so long to get
into Louis Armstrong stadium.

he had such a peculiar serve! 

so much action!

Djokovic wins!

we took some time to check out a little
mixed doubles.

andy roddick love!

irene preparations.

as a northeastern north carolina native, i've seen my fair share of hurricanes--both bad and really bad.  i remember sleeping in my den and listening to the wind howling during hurricane bertha in 1996 (i was 9) which was a strong category 2. then, i remember very clearly hurricane isabel in 2003, only a strong category 1, where our roof came off, so many trees came down, and i missed school for 9 days.  

i figured when i moved up to nyc i wouldn't have to worry about them anymore--WRONG!  however, me being the seasoned hurricane girl that i am, i got pretty excited about the prospect of having a hurricane in the city, just like any other coastal person would.  of course we are a bit tense about the idea of a natural disaster, but those of us that grow up on the coast, especially the north carolina coast, always get hit with that adrenaline and energy that comes with preparing for an impending hurricane.  so, instead of boarding up my apartment, we did what any other coastal person would do the night before a hurricane--we had a hurricane party!

i suppose it was also a birthday celebration for my friend hunter, but i like to look at it as a celebration of irene, with a little hunter on the side :)  we only had until noon today to "celebrate" before the New York City MTA decided to shut down ALL public transportation--a first for this city.  i'm living in history!  so, now that i'm stranded and "prepared" for irene, it's time to relax, watch A LOT of movies, keep an eye out for a bit of wind, and have fun with friends!

happy birthday, hunter!

stay safe out there everyone!!

of all the new york slices...

well, a couple of days ago it was already sunday and today it's only tuesday.  which means...another wine and meal-making night!  tonight was a carmenere from the chilean wine valley (for those of you that know me...DUH) and a homemade pizza.

i'd like to sound really homemade but unfortunately, i just use some good 'ole store-bought ingredients--i'm an old fashioned pizza maker.  my favorites are either jiffy pizza crust mix or the refrigerated pillsbury pizza crust--they both get very doughy and puff up a lot! for the sauce, i go with the classic--ragu!  next, i like to add a few italian spices--go crazy!  now, this is where i may be different than a lot of others--i put all my ingredients on first and then top it all with mozzarella cheese. use any ingredients you like! for tonight's pizza, i used pepperoni, green, red & yellow peppers, and mushrooms.

take a look--maybe i've inspired you to get off seamless web (new yorkers) and make a pizza yourself! let me just say, though, you can never beat a good NY slice!

so colorful!

happy hump day tomorrow, everyone!

on jobs and life.

i know what you're all thinking: it's already sunday?!

unfortunately, it is.  i've been thinking a lot lately about life, happiness, and work and how, unfortunately, the latter directly effects the former two.  what a great combination they are for people who love their job--but unfortunately i haven't joined the ranks of those people--yet.

so, when my job gets me down and it affects my happiness and life in general, i cook.  there's just something about making a whole from all those parts (ingredients).  whether it's breakfast, a simple salad, dinner or a fantastic dessert (my favorite), it makes my stress just melt away.  add a glass of wine, and you've got yourself the makings for a pretty awesome time!

tonight, i made a classic: spaghetti.  there are so many different ways to make spaghetti amazing, but i like to use a "recipe" my mom gave me:


hamburger
hot italian sausage
green, red, & yellow peppers
onions
spaghetti sauce
"some spices" (have fun!)
mushrooms
salt & pepper to taste


and viola!

cooking all the goods.

let it simmer as long as possible!

ohh, it was delicious!

i like to think of myself as a pretty good cook; i enjoy making the classics and also creating better versions of those classics.  this spaghetti was one of those better versions--it was delish!


...and then i burned some break-and-bake toll house cookies...


happy end to the weekend!

happy august!

and happy 6 months, New York!  believe it or not, i've been in this city for 6 whole months.  it's okay--i can't believe it either.  when i think about the things people accomplish in 6 months, and then i think about the fact that i've spent that much time here, my mind boggles!

for our big anniversary, hannah and i decided to eat at a true New York staple--shake shack!  we decided to grab our burgers and shakes and eat them in Roosevelt Park by the Museum of Natural History.  why, you ask? well, not only was it a beautiful night, but it just so happened that Jay-Z & Kanye West were having a little listening party for their new album The Throne.  Sounds glamorous but unfortunately, we didn't get to see them in "real life" :(  However, we did get to see the best stiletto fashion show coming out of the history museum!

On another note, I went to a friend's going away party this past weekend and the view from his 36th floor rooftop was to die for!  We could hardly be social because we were so busy gazing out at the beautiful city below. How could he move?!