a new york minute

I recently took a trip to the city that never sleeps - which in turn, made me not sleep. Just kidding, it was the dairy. Anywho, for 4 days I got to imagine and live what life would be like as a New Yorker. How sirens that wail at all hours of the day becomes white noise, the subway rocking the ground below your feet is a daily rhythm, how fast of a pace you need to walk is second nature and how chic it is to walk a dog down the streets of the Big Apple.

New York City is the city of dreams, it is the city that every girl hopes to visit from the moment that you first see it in all the blockbuster movies at the young age of 6 - Enchanted, Gossip Girl, Annie, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Boo York, 13 Going on 30, Home Alone 2,and Elf, which then turned into all the adult movies like The Devil Wears Prada, How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, How To Be Single, Sex & The City, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, West Side Story and Maid in Manhattan. Since I first got tickets to see Harry Styles in February, I have been itching and dying waiting for this trip, and to say it’s already over is so disappointing and I am already anticipating my next trip back. But it is time to recall for the blog, so let’s go over the trip! But, before we begin, here is who you are tripping with …

Early in the AM on a rainy Tuesday morning, I got up bright and early, ready and excited to visit the city I have been dreaming of since I was a little girl. I debated about 4 different outfits before my morning espresso and then decided on a completely different option (one of the biggest stressors about this trip is the outfits) and gave my puppy, Stella, some goodbye kisses & cuddles. Beat my face with my beauty blender and off we go to Buffalo. After about 50 different road rage episodes on my behalf, we arrived bright and early and ate some shitty greasy diner food that was a portion bigger than my torso, then we were off to the Big Apple.

After some rocky turbulence and texts of a stomach bug finding someone close to me (not good news for a phone) my first impression before landing and seeing the skyline was a very low-pitched squeal at just how stunning it was from up above - it really was one big, fat island. Once off the suffocating cube that is an airplane, we took about 3 different trips up and down the escalator to find baggage claim, lost in the confusion that is the LaGuardia airport, before stressing about whether we wanted to take a 2 hour long shuttle, $150 USD uber, or a mystery price and time taxi. After a big fuck it moment, we threw our luggages in the backseat of a rickety taxi and became New York’s latest victims of traffic - stop and go, driving fast and slamming on the brakes, carsickness, and lots of honking.

Our hotel, by the name of Hotel Henri, a hole in the wall, was in the Flatiron District, around the corner from Madison Square Park, the Flatiron building and, of course, the best of all, Eataly. We grabbed some focaccia sandwiches and sat on a cute green bistro set in the park, sipping on juice and listening to jazz as we people watched, a ritual I could only hope to experience more often than once. We explored the area before strolling to the West Village to visit the infamous apartment of Miss Carrie Bradshaw. The brownstones of New York are truly the prettiest townhouses ever, definitely a dream to live in the neighbourhood. We rounded the corner and stumbled upon Bookmarc by Marc Jacobs and the original Magnolia Bakery. We of course indulged in a banana pudding and enjoyed it as we ate in the Bleecker Park.

On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon a store that sells all kinds of magazines - Vogue, Playboy, Esquire …. and I of course found the Charli XCX Playboy Edition and bought it. My best purchase if you ask me. As you can probably tell by my larger than life Cheshire smile.

We picked up some necessities and overpriced waters at Trader Joe’s, which was literal madness inside. And of course, some Vino, Aperol Spritz’s and Cutwaters (yikes). Around 8PM, it was finally time to DTF. Din Tai Fung, not the other one. We got all done up for our first night on the town - girl’s night out - and made our way to the subway station to head Midtown. DTF is around the corner from Times Square, so while we waited for our reso we went to see what it was about. Pretty cool to see in person but honestly, nothing special. It is a bunch of lit up screens which seem larger than life and that is definitely what makes it so popular, but didn’t care for it.

Once it was time to DTF, we ordered way too much food that deadass lasted us the rest of the trip and oh did we pig out. Luis (our waiter) himself said we ordered way too much, may I add that he was VERY hesitant to do so, but oh well we tried what we wanted to try and boy was it worth it. Our favourites were the spicy noodles, sweet and sour ribs, the pepper sauce steak, and of course the chocolate dumplings with the sea salt foam. UGHHHHHHHHHH. I have been dreaming of those spicy noodles for the past 4 nights, a shame that they are 856km away. Also, must add that the restaurant experience itself is so cool, it is underground and the ambience is too damn good.

After we practically rolled out of the restaurant, we went back to the hotel and hit the hay, because it was already a new day. DTF will go down in history in the book of food.

Day 2 was probably my favourite day because I got to spend lots of coins and go to a concert! We started off the day by taking way too long to get ready, then took the subway to SoHo, stopping by Leon’s Bagels for a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel with added cream cheese and let me say, WOW. It was definitely a lot and I could only eat a half of one because it was the morning and who can eat that much but it was definitely an amazing foodie experience. We ate on a stoop in front of a shop and I very clearly was enjoying it. Unfortunately that pic was not planned, that’s just how I look in public.

We strutted over to SoHo for our shopping day, prepared to empty our wallets, falling victim to Brandy Melville and CottonOn. Brandy is always a bank account killer, I swear my eyes think before my brain does and I grab anything and everything that is in front of me. We all had some super cute finds however, so it was so worth it. After spending way too much at Brandy, we just walked around a couple more stores on the strip since it had begun to rain, boo. We tried Subdued, Pacsun, Edikted, Princess Polly, Abercrombie, Sephora, but Brandy had taken A LOT of energy out of us.

We walked to Blank Street a couple blocks down and wow wow wow. I got the iced Blondie Matcha and it was actually a religious experience. We debated the Nutella banana bread but it was a thin ass slice for such a big sum of money. We walked into the Pleasing store by Harry Styles thinking “wow, how shocking that there’s no line” just to find out that there was, indeed, a line wrapping around the side of the store, hidden from the eye. And then my favourite part (because it was the funniest), Canal Street.

Long story short, we saw an I ❤️ NY store across the street and initially wanted to check it out because I realllyyyy wanted a little sweater for Stella, but then we saw a bunch of Fauxnel, Fucci, Foyard, and Fior wallets on the ground and realized where we had stumbled. The vendors actually spawned out of nowhere and before you knew it, the street was lined up with a bunch of baskets full of fake designer. Obviously, I indulged (shhhhh).

It was definitely an experience because the vendors just make it so stressful since they want that schmoney. Pretend you are walking away and watch as the price drops or just haggle with them because eventually they’ll give in. They also keep whipping out new stuff, which is so funny because they say “Here’s another one beautiful.” Some of the moms were even in on the Canal St craze. Then the cops drive by and you watch as they sweat and act quick. We got lucky though.

Bags full and pockets empty, it was time to head back to the hotel to prepare for an early dinner in Chelsea. Snacking on some of our leftover DTF, still unsuccessfully finishing it, we got all glammed up and headed over to Bar Primi. We got fried calamari, the smallest arancini you ever did see, a deep dish pizza with ricotta and pepperoni, and some ricotta agnolotti alla vodka. And of course a big ol’ Aperol Spritz. The ambience and service was stellar, and the outside patio looked perfect for a hot summer night. We got lost on the streets on our way back, then changed into our Harry attire before getting ready to scream our lungs out and dance all night. I chugged an Aperol and we walked to MSG to have the night of our lives.

The opener went on for a lot longer than we anticipated, loud house music while tipsy is not a recommended experience, I could feel my organs SHAKING. But once Harry came on, wow. Tears were shed, sweat was dripping, and voices were gone. I ascended during Ready, Steady, Go, Pop, Kiwi, Aperture, and I cried at Sign of the Times and Coming Up Roses. He of course played all the popular and newer songs, although Lights Up or Fine Line or even Medicine would’ve been nice, hm. At least he brought it up! Had the time of my life of course, so glad I got tickets and was able to make a trip out of it, just so sad that its done :( I hit the hay the second I got back to the hotel.

Day 3 was another tiring but beautiful crisp sunny 20,000 step fall day. I lied earlier, this was probably my favourite day. We took the subway to the Upper West Side, stopped by Blank Street again lol, this time trying different drinks, I got the Blondie latte. Then we walked over to Pop Up Bagels ahhhhh and wow top 3 of the best foods I tried while there. We got the Scallion Cream Cheese schmear, salt, everything and sesame bagels, and took them to Central Park to eat. The bagels are so so so fluffy and flavourful, I have never had anything like it. Bless the guy who served us too, he gave us 2 extra bagels to try. The single schmear was the perfect amount for the three of us, such a good experience that you definitely need to try if you go to NYC. We dug in at this little nook on top of a small bridge, blown away by how amazing the bagels were and how beautiful the park was. It was truly such a vibe, we got some cute pics and it felt like NYC in the 90s, even though I was not even alive lol. Just the glow of the park and sun was enough.

Once we finished our bagels, we took a walk through the park, on the 79th Street Transverse, down through the Ramble and to Bow Bridge, which was truly so beautiful. We saw so many engagement shoots going on in the pond with all the boats, and while we did not do the boating experience, definitely on my list for next time. Bow Bridge offers a beautiful view of the skyline as well. We then walked up Bethesda Terrace, the iconic movie location where Blair and Chuck have their wedding, and made our way towards the Upper East Side.

We walked along the strip, stopping to look at the art and prints on display, before going to the MET and exploring the endless museum full of art, sculptures and ancient relics. There is so much to the museum and it’s a bit hard to take in without spending an entire day there, but I was pretty blown away by the Renaissance era European paintings and the Medieval Art. I also got to see the Attic Red and Black Figure vases, which I learn about in my Classics classes, which was super cool. After speed running through the museum, we ate some of the leftover bagels from earlier on the steps out front, so very Gossip Girl and it was a vibe to say the least. We then hit up the Brandy on the East Side, although pockets were not as emptied, thankfully. We took the subway to the West Village to try L’Industrie Pizza, I got the burrata slice and the New Yorker. Loved the Burrata but sadly dropped the half of it that I was saving for a late night snack when I was getting off the subway, that’s typical me.

We had about all of one hour to mentally prepare for the night, relaxing as much as we could since we booked an early dinner in the West Village at Arthur’s & Sons. Although our feet were practically numb, we put on our finest SATC attire, jumped the subway rail and went the wrong way a couple times but made it on time to the cutest little restaurant on the corner in West Village.

After shoving us in a tiny corner booth next to a big party and to 4 screaming drunk people, we moved outside and while it was definitely fresco, it was very much a vibe and super peaceful. The West Village was definitely my favourite neighbourhood in NYC, it has a charm to it that the others do not match, must be the trees growing over top of the streets. We ordered two plates of pasta, mushroom & truffle mafalde and lemon, burrata & chicken fusilli, which were literally the biggest plates of pasta I have ever seen. Super good experience, 10/10. The wine definitely did the trick.

On our way back to the subway station that was ridiculously far away from the restaurant and of course super cold on the one night we chose not to wear jackets, we saw some cute Halloween decorated stoops and some freaks on the street (*humps air* thank yewwwwww). On a time crunch, we got back to the hotel, changed and made our way to the East Village for a bar reso at the coolest bar owned by Baz Luhrmann, called Monsieur.

It was described as a slightly medieval tavern, and his popular films like Moulin Rouge, the Great Gatsby and Romeo + Juliet were mentioned, which I am sure was some of the inspo behind the decor. I did not try any of the cocktails, although they sounded delish (strictly vino night), but we tried the truffle grilled cheese and the fries, both were pretty good. Apparently, the Tybalt sundae is super delicious, keeping in mind for the next trip. Overall, such a cute bar if you love the Medieval Times and slightly Vampiric/Phantom of the Opera vibes like me. The music was also super good, most places play crappy remixes and the same beats, so to hear random songs like Bad Girls and Blue Monday was like entering heaven. The DJ knew what he was doing.

Before we knew it, it was our final day, BOOOOO. We woke up to an awfully gloomy day, got our bags all packed up, warmest outfits acquired and walked in the mists to Liberty Bagels. The bagels were actually ginormous, had to stash my second half for later, but pretty cheap for what you get, if you ask me. I got an everything bagel with Scallion cream cheese (Tim Hortons could NEVER). We stopped at a souvenir stand to get some magnets, keychains, and pins, then made our way to the subway to head to Roosevelt Island. We took the tram across the west channel into the Upper East Side, such a cool experience and views, but it was moving so fast for someone who hates heights, but also I suppose that could be a good thing lol. There was not much around there besides furnishing shops so we walked to the subway to head to the Brooklyn Bridge.

The area surrounding the Bridge in Manhattan was super nice, as gloomy and foggy as it was. The Bridge was definitely not as busy as it would be on a sunny day, which made it better for pictures and walking. I personally thought the buildings surrounded by fog was super cool, but it was hella windy as you can probably see in the pictures below and my hair was super knotted when we made our way back. Halfway down the bridge, there is a very far but clear view of the Statue of Liberty, which was super cool because even from afar you could tell just how big it actually was. Even the skyline views are super cool.

We did not make it to Brooklyn, as we were on a bit of a time crunch, but Dumbo is on the bucket list for sure. And while we initially planned to do sunrise on the Bridge, it was still an experience midday. We of course took the train the wrong way, but the right way for our stomachs and wallets, Uptown to 14th Street, where we walked out to a nice big Target, indulging of course. The Americans got so lucky with Target. The girls got some cool NYC themed mugs from Starbucks to add to their collections, then we went to Los Tacos, which was super good authentic Mexican food. Between the three of us, we tried the pork, chicken, and steak, all were so fire, and the tacos are super light which was awesome because Mexican always fills me up lol.

After that, we took the subway down to the Financial District to get a waterfront view of Lady Lib. Of course the construction all around made all the pictures shite, but it was still so nice to see and the cloud cover had disappeared, breaking out the sun. The ferry is definitely on the list for next time. We took a stroll down a promenade to the 9/11 Memorial, took another wrong subway and then headed back to the hotel to grab our luggage and head to the airport (insert crying emoji).

After wasting our time and energy panicking over how heavy our suitcase was, transferring a bunch of random things around, our driver came to pick us up, who was dressed super snazzy. Thankfully, we did not get stuck in traffic on our way back to LaGuardia, baggage check and security went so smoothly, UNTIL (my dumb ass who goes through TSA often enough to know this), without thinking, put a full size body lotion into my carry on. SMH. But it was expensive and my bank account would not permit me to throw it out, SO, we went back to baggage claim and thank the heavens for Miguel who helped us out and gave us another free checked bag. KING. The airport was also super nice and had such good food options, despite the water performance that never ends, playing New York by Frank Sinatra enough times to rub it in your face that you’re leaving. We hung around a bit, looking through the stores, grabbed some food, had the gates changed on us to be at different sections of the airport about 5 times (they clearly wanted to test our patience and add more steps in) and the flight got delayed, but finally we took off and made it back home.

My Favourites/Recommendations

Best Neighborhood: West Village
Best Restaurant: Din Tai Fung
Best Bar: Monsieur
Best Bagel: Popup Bagels
My Favourite Day: 3

How I Dressed My Avatar

Did not get pics of all my outfits (missing Day 2 and Harry outfit, both pictured above just not well), but here is 6 of them! I really love to wear black and blue if you can’t tell.
Mostly sweaters, trench jackets, jeans, lace, leather, combat boots and definitely an Aritzia homestretch tank on me. I suppose my style falls more on the grungier side, something I did not notice until this trip lol.

To say NYC was the coolest experience ever is an understatement. It is actually crazy to finally visit a place you see all over media in all aspects, in real life and with your own two eyes. How a city you watch in all the movies/shows, growing up and grown up, can be so cool and feel like damn maybe I found my place. The thing I loved most about it is how unbothered everyone is, nobody cares what you're doing, how you’re dressed, how you look, unlike the average small town where everyone is always involved in everyone’s business. Everyone is doing what they do, moving fast enough to make you tumble if you slow down.

Additionally, fall is definitely a perfect time to travel there. Weather is warm but not too hot or cold, high teens and low twenties, the streets are less busy because everyone is back to school and tourism is not as hot. As well, the scenery is just that much more beautiful and makes it so much more worth it. Next time, I definitely want to see NYC in full bloom during the Spring. And there is still so much more I want to see, try, experience, do … this was only a very small sliver to the piece of apple pie that is NYC.

I am so glad and fortunate that I was able to go on a girls trip like this so young, one that will definitely go down in the books and prints of the decade of my 20s. All my hopes and expectations were exceeded and it felt like SATC in real life, a feeling I could have only hoped to match. As sad as I am that it is done and over with, nothing lasts forever, so until next time NYC. This will be a trip I forever cherish and will never forget, not even when I am old and wrinkly. New York or nowhere, baby.

on wednesday’s we wear pink!