NYC Part Two ft. Food glorious food.

It's no secret, I love to eat. There are frequently days in my life when what I had for lunch determines whether it was a good or bad day. I JUST LOVE FOOD ALRIGHT!

Surprisingly I didn't really eat any stereotypical American food. Not a bite of McDonald's, Burger King or even a hot dog passed my lips. I can tell you what did pass my lips often, bagels with cream cheese, each and every day. Bagels are amazing and I sob and weep that they are not more freely available in this country. 

I did have a burger from the Shake Shack which I had heard was amazing. Best. Burger. Ever. Bun was sooooo soft oh my goodness I am drooling just thinking about it. I went all the way to the Upper East Side with about a billion shopping bags in tow and sat surrounded by gaggles of private school girls who were like 8 and trapeze the city without adult supervision apparently ha ha. The peanut butter milkshake was amazing but I'm pretty sure it gave me a coronary. YUM!

Pretzel from Battery Park. Tasted like sand, and upon one bite I became instantly dehydrated. I don't know if  it was stale or just meant to taste like crap, but it was instantly binned.

Behold the greatness that is Pinkberry! I didn't even know it was possible to love frozen youghurt this much. Once I discovered it in Soho, I went back three nights in a row just for another hit. Pomegranate flavour with fresh rasperberries and these amazing mango flavour ball things. I don't even know how they make those balls, but they are delicious and I want more. Bring Pinkberry to Australia!

This is the first thing I purchased in the U S of A. I asked for an iced coffee and got this. I was young, I was naive, and I didn't know you had to ask for it sweetened with milk. I soon learnt the error of my ways. 

I was really really really REALLY looking forward to going to Momofuku! There are a few different Momfuku joints around the city, I went to Momofuku má pêche. I had this sandwich which blew my mind. It was called the beef & pork belly hero – crab mayo, green papaya. It was so freakin' good. 

Momofuku Milk Bar is right outside and I got a slice of their famous Crack Pie, which was a fitting name for the level of deliciousness the pie delivered. 

It taste of heaven and diabetes, and I loved every bit of it. Recipe here if you are interested in butterscotch/oatmeal goodness. 

I see Momofuku is opening in Sydney soon, rejoice!

I'm not going to lie, one of the best things about the whole trip was discovering Whole Foods, which I can only describe as my personal heaven. It's a massive supermarket with a HUGE array of fresh produce, ready made meals, deli items, cheeses, breads, pastries, coffff.....OH MY GOD I WANT TO GO THERE RIGHT NOW!

You could see the ladies who lunch type buying not ingredients for a lasange, not even a whole lasange, but slices of lasange for their families dinner. Mind boggling. 

I often went there and bought fresh raspberries ( for like $2.50 a punnet !!!!) etc etc and ate lunch in Central Park. 

These veggie chips were so good, devoured them on the plane.

When I wasn't single handily buying out Whole Foods I was enjoying cocktails and dinners at random restaurants all over the place. I was initially worried about eating alone but I used the time to write in my travel journal, or cry in relief over the fact I was no longer walking and could feel my feet again.

Plus you can eat at the bar at heaps of places, which is good if your on your own, so don't be afraid to go eat out!

Don't be afraid to drink alone either, I went to Gilt Bar at the New York Palace Hotel and it was amazing. I didn't get a picture but here is a visual cue sourced from the internet.

Amazing right? So were the drinks. I don't know if they do responsible service of alcohol over there because I only had 3 and was stumbling on back to the hotel ha ha. 

You may recall my post of excitement about the fact that Laduree had opened in NYC. You better believe I went there and waited 40 minutes in the line outside. I only wish I had my driver to stand in the line for me, as one Upper East Side lady had done whilst she sat in her luxury vehicle. 

The line was totally worth it. I got salted caramel, rose petal (my favourite!) and a few others. The box was so  pretty I brought it home with me, wish I had a photo!

The shop was gorgeous, just so lovely. A little bit of Paris in NYC!

Sheesssh that was quite long wasn't it? And I just made myself hungry.

What's every one doing this weekend? There is a 3 day long weekend here, and I plan on drinking a lot of cider whilst pretending to care about football grand finals.

NYC Part One ft. Touristy Stuff

Prepare yourselves for a series of long winded and picture heavy posts on my trip. You have been warned!

I flew into NYC on September 11 in the evening and was glad to finally be there after two flights, not to mention SO SO SO excited!

Driving into Manhattan with two giant beams of light shining up into the sky representing the twin towers was an eerie but unforgettable sight. Got to my hotel and dropped off my bag and considered going to sleep for about 40 milliseconds before I realised that would be futile with the levels of excitement I was experiencing so I went for  a walk. I have to say, I have never felt so at home walking out into a place I have no idea about at night. Yep, NYC was the place for me!

I made arrangements to meet up with a Big Apple Greeter before I left but didn't hear anything so thought it fell through but I ended up having a message at the hotel that he would be meeting me the next day which was a surprise. Big Apple Greeters are a volunteer program made up of NYC locals that show visitors around different areas of NYC depending on what your interests are, being art, food, shopping or what not. I know it sounds a big naff but my greeter Joel was really friendly and I had a great few hours with him on first day. He took me around Chelsea, East and West Village. 

Can I just say, I could easily live in any one of these areas, a brownstone building in a leafy street would suite me just fine!

Looking like a jet lagged hot mess in Washington Square Park  on my first day. 

Had the best weather while I was there, the first few days it was actually pretty hot and after that it was beautiful fall weather.

I did the usual touristy things like go up the Empire State Building. The glow coming from Times Square is amazing!

Please excuse my craptastic camera. 

Looking at the Chrysler Building

Also went up to Top of the Rock ( Rockafella Building) on a beautiful clear day. 

Reduced to taking photos of my self due to flying solo!

I love that Central Park was set aside for public use and it hasn't been developed on after all this time. 

Speaking of Central Park, I loved it. I LOVED IT. I hired a bike a couple of times and cruised around listening to Yeezy and loving life. It's massive, full of super hot fit runners and so many nooks and crannies....

....and views likes this. Yep a massive lake in the middle of the park. 

I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and had a bit of a look around Brooklyn on one day. 

A walked around the former World Trade Centre site where construction is well underway on the new Freedom Tower. I didn't see the memorial as it was all booked out as you can imagine. 

St. Peters church is directly opposite and was still cover in white ribbons from the anniversary services. I mean every piece of fence etc etc was COVERED. 

I saw How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying on Broadway. It stars Daniel Radcliffe ( aka. HARRY POTTER). It was a great show, really funny. I usually pretend I like musical shows and then get really bored when I don't know the songs but I honestly liked this. 

Times Square, where slow walkers go to die. In my world slow walking is a crime. It was like being stuck in an Easter Show crowd. Couldn't get out of there fast enough!

There are some really beautiful buildings in the city, like Trinity Church which is down near Wall Street. The grounds were beautiful and the gravestones were from the early 1700's. Just a friendly reminder for ya'll, Australia wasn't even settled by that time!

Federal Hall, where the first President George Washington of the US was inaugurated. 

I took the Staten Island Ferry down past the Statue of Liberty one day for a look but didn't get off because I wasn't really that interested. Was good to see it from afar though.

OK I think that was enough for one post! More to come....

I'm Back Baby

Apparently all good things must come to an end, and thus I am back from my trip and back to reality.

To put it simply, I had the most amazing time of my life. Every hope and expectation I had in my head was exceeded, and then some!

I'll be posting all the bits and bobs of my little adventure ( including the copious amount of things I brought back with me) and I hope you don't get too sick of all this NYC talk as I know it's all I have been talking about for quite some time. Hey, not much exciting happens with me so this is the highlight of my year!

I'm back at work today and I have to say I have the sads big time that I can't go out for Pinkberry frozen yoghurt ( my new obsession) or grab a bagel for breakfast.

Keep tuned!

With love from a lady who is sorely missing these kind of views xx

Packed ( HAH!) and Ready

I'm going to NEW YORK CITY tomorrow!!! EEEK! 

I am so excited. No work for two weeks, the city of my dreams and copious amounts of shopping and eating. How could it get any better?

I am so not into the whole packing thing though......see Exhibit A 

Some undies and suitcase in a suitcase. Yeah, I've got some work to do. 

I had a few people ask me about the travel wallet I showed in the video I did a couple of weeks ago so I thought I would throw up some pictures.

The brand is Modepelle (never heard of it before) and it cost me about $60.00 from a bag and luggage store in Chatswood. 

Plain red leather and ticket/passport separators. That's all I wanted!

I've got my walking shoes sorted. 

They are from Zierra ( previously known as Kumfs haha!) . They are the closest thing to a plain ballet flat with some sort of support I could find. Luckily they don't have a orthopedic look to them but do have lots of support which is what I need as I have high arches in my feet. Unfortunately I spend $190 on  Kumfs. Name changes don't fool me!!!!

I've got my on board beauty products ready to go. Changed my mind a little bit from what I previously said I would take. In the end Vitamin E cream and oil, Kosmea Rosehip Oil, a travel size Bastiste dry shampoo, roll on perfume and deodorant made the cut!

Oh and these face wipes to keep fresssssssh!

I've got my maps ready to go!

Now I am just rambling. I am really really excited!

Can't lie though, I am a little worried about these news reports of a credible threat of a terror attack on NY/ Washington to coincide with the 10th anniversary of September 11. For those playing at home, I fly in on the evening of September 2011. I really didn't think when I booked that it would play on my mind too much but after spending a week re-living the aftermath of 9/11 through the media and these news reports, I just can't help feeling that it wasn't the best idea!

Nether the less, it's all booked now and there is nothing I can do about it. I am going to have an amazing time, I just know it!

I SERIOUSLY CAN'T WAIT!!

Ultra 3 Wild Berry Polish

I finally brought my first Ultra 3 nail polishes! The colours all look great and I've been told the quality is good too. They are so cheap, I paid $2.95 at Terry White Chemist. I haven't let myself buy any nail polishes for months so it was about time!

Ultra 3 Wild Berry

I really like this colour, though it doesn't exactly remind me of wild berries! These were taken with my iPhone in the afternoon so the colour isn't exactly true to life. 

I painted two coats and the colour and finish was flawless. I then decided to use an Essie top coat and as you can see it ruined it with bubbles! Argh! Have to say I have not been impressed with the performance of Essie nail polishes in general and will be giving them a miss from now on. 

Here are some pictures I took whilst bored out of my mind in Bunnings. I'll give it to them though, they do have great lighting. Too bad going there bores me out of my brain, and sosososososoooooooo much walking wah!

My cuticles are a hot mess. They have been neglected of late, for shame. 

I love this colour, I loved the ease of application! I see more Ultra 3 coming into my life in the near future. 

Do you like Ultra 3?

Terax Crema Conditioner

I was recently sent a bottle of Terax Crema Conditioner to try, hooray!

I have heard good things about this product on Twitter and have seen it at David Jones over the years but never took the plunge. I've been using it for about 3 weeks now.

It is described as an ultra moisturising daily conditioner for all hair types.

The Good:

• Nice and thick, just how I like it
• Packaged in squeeze bottle meaning it's easy to get out. 
• Doubles up as a deep conditioning hair mask, simply leave in for 15 minutes. 
• Hair is noticeably softer once it has been blowdried after using this product. 
• Hair feels healthier.
• I just know this will be perfect when summer rolls around and my hair is assaulted by chlorine/salt water from all the swimming I plan to do!

The Not So Good:

• Smell isn't exactly unpleasant but is a little strange. Luckily it doesn't really hang around.
• I personally find I have to use quite a bit of it each time though it says to use a small amount. 
• You will have soft hair after using this but I don't think you get that silky feeling I usually get when I comb a conditioner through wet hair. 

Overall I am enjoying this product as I have just had a haircut (finally) and am attempting to maintain healthy ends! It does make my hair incredibly soft which is always lovely.

You can purchase  a 200ml bottle of Terax Crema at David Jones or online at Adore Beauty for around $29.95.

Have you tried any Terax products? I've heard the Miele shampoo is good!

Friday Blog Lovin'

Friday sweet Friday! And I could practically feel Spring in the air when I (finally) rolled out of bed this morning though it has come over cloudy now.  

What have you got planned this weekend? I'm having dinner with T's family tonight, volunteering in the morning tomorrow and then a MASSIVE girls night out! Oh and Father's Day on Sunday of course......need to work on the whole buying a gift for my Dad who is just impossible. 

Time for some Blog Lovin' of my favourite posts of the week, hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

The lovely Sarah from Hip & Haute has me lusting over the the Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation being released very soon. I'll be adding this to my shopping list!

Clare at Clarebear.com has me interested in Illamasqua's Gleam Cream highlighter. Perhaps this will be a replacement for MAC's Strobe Cream?

Blossoms Will Run Away has me wanting to run out and purchase a Modiva Professional curling iron ASAP! This has done nothing to curb my obsession with curling irons! Loose defined curls, yes please!

Head over to Dempeaux for a great read on commonsense tips for loosing weight the healthy way, and keeping it off. 

Amanda of Me vs The Bulge has pumped out another awesome post, this time on the importance of setting goals to achieve on your fitness journey. Love it!

Tara at Keeping up With Me  shares how using Dermalogica has helped make a massive difference to her skin. Positively glowing! 

Me , My Best and I shares her holiday beauty must haves and makes me want to try Mario Badescu products more than I already want to. Must. Purchase. 

That's all for this week. I hope you all have a lovely weekend xx

Best News Ever

I just read online this morning that the French pastry house Ladurée ( started in 1862! ) has recently opened up a store on Madison Avenue in New York. Be still my beating heart!

This is obviously a sign from above, a sign that I should stuff myself with salted caramel macarons until I cry tears of  joy which taste like sugar and happiness.

It's a shame I don't have a bath where I am staying, I could have done it Blair Waldorf style.

 By the way , do you remember when she and Serena went to Paris? I die. I just realised I am in need of a serious Gossip Girl fix, they should hurry up and finish filming the next season!

Oh and once last thing, how good do these religieuses look?! Choux pastry, you are so delicious. 

10 DAYS!