Fall is in the Air

More so than January 1st, the onset of fall has always been a time of fresh starts in the vida loca of KR. The gorgeous weather that we've been having here in New York has me especially psyched about all that the changing season has to offer. Here are a few things that have me itching for September:

The never-ending amazingness of metallic footwear! I spied these Toms on KB while on the Cape a few weeks ago and would have totally stolen them had she not been my roomie for the weekend!

Colored tights make me insanely happy--I loved them even before the Gossip Girl gang made them a wardrobe staple. We Love Colors has, by far, the best selection of bright tights I've ever seen. But the question remains: are colored tights ever office-appropriate? Hmm...

Getting back in the swing of yoga! Not that it's an excuse, but this heatwave of a summer was a bit much to spend 90 minutes a week sweating up a storm while downward dogging in a 100 degree room. Now that it's fall, I can look forward getting some zen back in my life... starting today!

Those shoes are cute!

Last night's annual R Family Pub Crawl was a raging success. While we didn't do too much crawling, we certainly kept Ulysses in business, taking over our own section of the cobblestone street and populating it with my favorite Irish lads and lassies. And, to top it all off, some of my favorite coworkers joined for the evening and laid down all kinds of charm on my relatives! The overdose of dudes must be what I get for working at the intersection of the finance and technology industries... No complaints, though!
Post-crawl, while taking a morning stroll through Park Slope en route to brunch, I passed by a girl, who looked not much older then me, leafing through a magazine while staffing a mini-clothing sale outside her apartment. "Cute shoes," I said to RJ as we passed by. "And cheap, too," she responded. And what do you know--the Brooklynite happened to be clotheshorse and fashion blogger Jessica Schroeder of one of my favorite blogs, What I Wore. As inhabitants of the same city, I've always wondered if we'd ever run into each other... so voila! She was just as adorable as she is on the site, AND complimented me on my dress!

I'm spending my Saturday back in Queens, enjoying the beautiful breeze that's floating through the borough! Have a great weekend everyone. :-)

Bushwick.

The time has come to enlighten you all--including my new coworker readers KW and MB, hey guys!--of my trip to Bushwick. Yes, Bushwick.

Once upon a Tuesday night, seven Long Island natives trekked from their respective jobs to the wasteland knows as Williamsburg for some pub trivia. Much to their dismay, trivia was a non-occurrence. In response, Park Slope resident RJ suggested an impromptu rendezvous at Roberta's, the grittier that gritty pizza zone in Bushwick. Bushwick?! Come on now, R! Man, do I love Brooklyn, but Buckwick's a little outta my league!

But off we went, by way of the L, to Bushwick, where we waited a whole hour for a table in the converted garage of a restaurant that served, quite literally, little slices of heaven. If you're willing and ready to wait, make the trip.

Key takeaway from this experience: New York has gone culinarily crazy if we now trek to Bushwick just to be fed!

This is how wild I am.

It's 8 PM on a Friday night. I'm a hip and happening twenty-something. I've got energy to last me days and quite the zest for life. And I'm currently in my pajamas, enjoying the air conditioning on full-blast as I catch up on some quality blog reading. My Sri Lankan pal and coworker CA asked me today if I ever relax... so C, yes: I relax. Just not often. ;-)

Here are some recent musings, thoughts and whatnots of mine...

-I have a strange obsession with jumping ship and moving to Hong Kong. You know, six months to a year... just a lil trip. Or maybe London. Who knows! Life is great in New York, but I'm welcome to a drastic change.

-My Texan relatives are in town. YAY!

-Foley + Corinna makes, by far, the best leather bags. Buy one.

-This humidity needs to end. J.Crew's fall apparel is starting to come it, and it has be itching for blazers, tights, and boots.

That's all for now.

Do This! PLEASE.

The Thomson Reuters StreetApps Challenge has been keeping me tres busy as I crank away the day from atop Times Square. VOTE NOW, or forever hold your peace. It takes .5 seconds.

OK, enough of my shameless work plug... Though I must send a special thanks to NB & SA for being my most rapid voters. You ladies are fab. Much love.

Anyhow, big things are coming up! Yet again, I'm skipping town for the weekend, this time, to -- you guessed it! -- Cape Cod, for another 48 hours of poolside Skinnygirl Margaritas and pub hopping with ML, AC, and company. My "tan" needs a major update from its recent retreat back to its wonderful white, so thanks to the man upstairs for an awesome looking forecast! In the meantime, I have my first Stonehill Alumni Happy Hour to look forward to, in which BT and I will surely represent what it means to be a happening young alumnae.

In other news, I've started watching True Blood... YOWZA.

Ta Ta to the Tar Tar

Spontaneity is something I love to embrace--something made especially evident by my out-of-the blue jaunt to Cape Cod for the 4th of July. This Friday, in a similar fashion, my evening erupted into awesomeness out of no where. After meeting the newly-crowned yoga extraordinaire JE, boyfriend CV, and an entire room of sickly toned arms for a celebratory happy hour at Bamboo 52, ML joined us at STK for an insanely delish meal. Compliments of the far too generous CV himself, my meal included a fig salad, seared tuna, and quite a few extra extra extra dirty martinis. And to top it off, the manager, saddened that our tuna tartar appetizer was still MIA by the time our entrees were wiped clean, brought us a complimentary dessert plattar. Hello, heaven!

From there, obligatory bar hopping followed... How's everyone holding up in this heat wave?!

Recent [non-]Splurges

Once upon a time, I read between 50 and 100 books each summer. I'm not kidding. I spent the greater portion of my early to mid-teens slaving away at my town's public library, and was always the first to have the hottest new young adult chick lit in my hands for an afternoon of beach-side perusal. I know. I was insanely cool--but not as cool as I am now, when I ride the M train with my B&N Nook. Torn between it and the Kindle, I opted for the cheaper e-reader. Come on--it was a no brainer. Now, I have the company of Kelly Cutrone's If You Have To Cry, Go Outside to keep me revved while trekking my way into Manhattan from my darling Queens. And let me tell you a-something, if you need an awesome, ka-pow kind of book to motivate you through some dark times, check out Kelly's frighteningly blunt memoir. It's fab. And it also makes me reallllly want to travel to India...

Continuing my splurges, I finally bought this bag, which I've been eying on this blog for the past year. It's enormous and well on its way to becoming a bottomless pit, but it's the perfect solution to commuting with a laptop and/or change of clothes, completely in style, and with minimal neck pain.

Next up: an SLR camera... but that'll take some time. Happy Monday!

FLF and more!

Today is a good day—so good, that I’ve almost forgotten about how at 7:26 this morning, just seconds after taking the tiniest sip of my traditional Friday Dunkin’ Donuts unsweetened, extra lemony iced tea, that oh do delicious bevy dropped from it’s extremely secure holster between my knees and the subway seat onto the floor of the M train, splattering all over my favorite jeans, my inherited gold shoes, and a collection of frustrated commuters. No big. I survived.


Today is a good day because (1) it’s FLF here at TR. Fun Lunch Friday, a long-standing tradition, has become the best way to bust into the weekend with a bang. Today, we’re Shake Shack bound. (2) Continuing my obvious obsession with food, today marks my third time dining at Butter for Restaurant Week, which is sure to be an awesome evening. (3) And finally, it’s pay day. Hallelujah.


Happy Friday! I hope yours all go fabulously, too!

Taking a Dip

Well hello there! What's cooking everyone? I spent a faboosh weekend back on Long Island, soaking up some rays, dabbling with some errands, and celebrating college graduations with some family. A special congrats to my cousin S is certainly in order. He's bound for Fordham Law this fall, so I'm psyched to have him join me in the big citay come September. But more importantly, his graduation bash was a pool side extravaganza, making it the perfect antidote to the heat wave that's currently wrecking havoc on NYC. Plus, he served up some Firefly-Lemonades, a cocktail that brings me back to my wild weekend at Notre Dame, during which ML and I culminated the festivities by trekking from South Bend, IN to Chicago, IL in less than an hour. Kids, don't try that at home.

Speaking of ML, I'm going to leave you with a recent quote of hers that definitely sums up a puzzling sight to me, as well. And by quote, I mean Facebook status. As it goes, "[ML] wants to know how other girls in NYC can look attractive/non-sweaty & not have frizzy hair at the end of the day in this heat? I've been in awe the past three days of non-wrinkled outfits and smooth hair. Tell me your secrets!!!"

Any miraculous secrets? Help us working girls out!

fabulous for foodies

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve probably learned that there are few things—if any—that I enjoy more than food. My love of all things culinary began back in the day, during my foray with baby obesity. I mean, I was certainly a damn cute piece of Irish infancy, but I existed as one big ball of baby blubber. Obviously, the onset of Restaurant Week has me literally shaking for the flavors to come. There’s literally nothing better in a foodie’s world than New York’s two-week-long ode to creative kitchen concoctions. Things are shaping up in a way that the entire contents of my next paycheck will fall victim to price fixe food... but that is 110% divine. Here’s where I’m headed so far, but knowing me, the list is sure to grow…

Park Ave. Summer, the Upper East Side spot famous for décor and menus that morph with the seasons.

Megu, the TriBeCa sushi spot that Bethenny and Jason frequented on the premier of Bravo’s newest hit.

Butter, the NoHo palace of “New Americian” cuisine, which has become a restaurant week fixture in my vida loca.

Ajna Bar, the Meatpacking’s old Buddhabar, where a Top Chef's Chef Hung now showcases his stuff.

Can you give me a YUM?

Back to the Bean I Go

Tomorrow marks a milestone in my journey to CEO status (ha). I'm going on my very first business trip. Granted, I'll be traveling to and from Boston in (essentially) less time than last Saturday's morning bus ride to Cape Cod, but it's still a moment that would be photographed and sent to my Grandparents if I still lived at home with my proud Mamadukes.

This week is gonna fly.......

Skip town? OK.

When a wet and wild weekend for the 4th of July seemed a little bleak, the ultra fab ML came to my rescue. In a fit of intense spontaneity, I booked a bus from NYC to Hyannis just 9 hours before departure time, and spent my weekend permanently perched on a poolside lounge chair at ML's Harwichport summer home. While only two-fifths of the L fam were in town for the Cape's most notorious weekend, we had a blast hopping between bars, beaches, and barbecues. Check out my sweet tan in the picture below--and MB's very awesome beach bun! ;-)In other news, I'm completely enamored with my job! While my free time has gone slightly pouf, I have nothing to complain about. A member of the "Mobility Team," I get paid to play with iPads and Blackberries. It's an exciting and cutting-edge industry that's keeping me interested and occupied--but not as much as my weekly shenanigans! Last weekend's highlight was attending the Veuve Cliquot-sponsored polo match on Governor's Island, an event which got my picture to both Page Six and E! News. I kid you not! When the alluring Prince Harry fell off his horse mid-match, the photogs snapped away, capturing two blushing and beautiful brunettes in the background. Some day, BT and I plan to be the actual subjects of the Page Six photos, but for now, we'll settle for blending into the background.
Until next time,

KR

TB

Merry Christmas. The Tory Burch Sample Sale has hit New York. I plan to redefine the speed at which I can sprint in heels (thank you, Cole Haan-Nike Air partnership) to book it there as soon as I scoot from the office. God help my credit card bill...

6:30

Why I woke at 6:30 this morning, just a few hours after I learned that a cab from Midtown Manhattan to the borough of a Mets Mecca is actually pretty cheap, is a big old mystery, but I can't say I'm too perturbed. It's a gorgeous day in NYC that should not be wasted on sleep. As such, I'm going to take my sneakers on a date and pound the pavement for as long as I can... After three weeks of living on my own, commuting to work, and learning to literally fend for myself, it's time to reintroduce exercise into my daily repertoire. I say this now... we'll see how it goes.

In honor of Father's Day weekend, I dedicate this post to most AWESOME man in the world: my Daddy!!!!!!! Isn't he such a stud?! I can't wait to celebrate with him tomorrow. :-)

Wonders of Bouillon

As a tween, nothing allured me like the dollar store. Who cared that I already had an ample supply of black and brown eyeliners at home? Why not buy a few more? After all, they're just a dollar. Right?! I had a similar experience this weekend. Saddened by my illness-induced loneliness, Mamadukes trekked in from the Island on Sunday, bound for the borough she once called home. We hit up Trader Joes, where I made a killing on designer produce and processed dinners, and CVS, where she all but forced me to purchase a $.59 bottle of bouillon cubes.

Uh, what the heck are bouillon cubes?! Well, I learned tonight, and am instantly attracted to their delicious simplicity. It's like a perfect cup of soup, out of no where! Cool!

The strep is starting to dissipate, thank God, so the infirmary is no more, which means stories about things far more fascinating that bouillon cubes are to follow. Have a great week. I'll be checking in...

And here, for no particular reason, is a little love from BT's b-day bash on Stone Street. She shines in red, and AC dazzles in blue! It's a surprisingly patriotic picture. :-)

Accumulating Property

Stuck in bed with strep throat was not the way I imagined my weekend, but as every Queens gal must do, I'm making the best of it. After a quick walk to CVS to pick up my heavenly antibiotics, I whisked myself right back to where I started: snuggled under the covers of my big girl bed with nothing to keep me company but a bootleg of Sex and the City 2 and a bottomless glass of orange juice. And I'm fine with that! I enjoy the relaxation that comes from complete and total silence, but that's clearly not to say that I'm well on my way to becoming a recluse. As you learned before, I'm a budding reality TV star (ha) with a social calendar that needs to be busy and bustling for my own personal sanity. However, missing out on yesterday's trip to 675 Bar, this afternoon's birthday bash for my boss's daughter, and this evening's Park Slope housewarming for new neighbor RJ is probably a blessing in disguise: sometimes, we all need to slow down. And after the big move, slowing down -- albeit forced -- is exactly what I needed.

Also, here's a funny story: I washed my amoxicillin down with a fortune cookie from Wednesday night's take out binge with Aunt K, and could not have had a more ironic reading experience. It said, "You tend to accumulate property. Use it well." Could any fortune have been more fitting? I guess you could say I'm almost using it well. To date, I've only broken one set of blinds... ;-)

I hope your weekends are going better than mine!

Camera Crews on the Roof top

Whitney Port and the gals of “The City” lead a boring life compared to the evening I had last night! In an exceptionally happy post-work happy hour, some co-workers and I gallivanted from Midtown Manhattan’s gem of an Irish pub to the Financial District’s insanely brand new luxury condo building. Compliments of fellow employee RA, the building boasts a roof deck, where we spent the second half of our evening lounging under the night sky with our toes dipped in the rooftop fountain. I kid you not. I felt like the only thing missing was a television crew documenting our shenanigans for the next big hit in the world of reality TV. Needless to say, it’s going to be an amazing summer.

Express?

While the NYC bus system is an underrated gem, I’ve found that the alluring express train is highly overrated. Do you agree? This morning, fueled by some Kashi Go Lean Crunch, I experimented with my commute: after making it to the train five whole minutes faster than I normally do (which is seriously a substantial chunk of precious time!), I was comfortably settled on the cozy R train, enjoying a coveted seat and reading my AM New York, when I passed the point at which I normally traverse the platform and cram myself into the E train—with no seat, obviously. But today, I stayed on the R. I stayed in my seat. I remained reading about where to nosh on eggs and bacon and booze while watching the World Cup. And you know what? I made it to work a whole 15 minutes faster, on the dinky little local! Today, celebrating is certainly in store for the new supply of slumber I can add to my nights!

St. Regis

Friends made in my new neighborhood... and beyond!

-M, a woman from Romania who is currently studying Art Therapy at City College. For the time being, she commutes to the St. Regis, where she's a masseuse. I wonder if she makes house calls. We met on the bus.

-G, a 75-year-old (ish?) self-described "flaming heterosexual" who looked ultra fabulous in his pink seersucker pants and Lilly Pulitzer tie at the "Night in Edgartown" event I attended with SA. A happening producer on the Broadway scene (like, real NYC Broadway), he just moved to a townhouse on Bleecker street, where his backyard is equipped with a lovely swing. Backyards in Manhattan are hard to come by, so naturally, SA and I invited ourselves over for a cocktail party with our new millionaire pal. He said we can chat shoes. ;-)

As I'm sure you can tell, life is grand. My job is going extremely well as I learn more and more from my colorful cast of co-workers each day. The first week was filled with lots of meeting-and-greeting, and I hope to get my hands into some interesting projects as the weeks go by. For now, though, I'm enjoying my weekend at home, having just spent the afternoon at an R family gathering. There was a magician. Enough said.

But tonight, it's back to the city for BT's birthday bash. Ta.

-

The Princess of Queens

Once upon a time, there lived a little Long Island lady with big city dreams, and a big city attitude to match. Once upon today, that dream came true.

Thank GOD. It's about time my blog got good again.

But before I tell some tales about some of the wonderful characters I've met along my journey thus far (preview: the premiere masseuse at the St. Regis hotel and the producer of two of Broadway's most bustling successes), let's back track a bit, back in time to a simpler time: back to college.

In true Stonehill tradition, all (well, almost all) of 2010's graduating class, plus a few underclassmen who just couldn't bear to see us leave, invaded Cape Cod for a week the locals surely hated. Refer to classics such as Animal House and Can't Hardly Wait for an idea of what the week was like. And if Cape Week really were a movie, our house was the one that was featured on screen the whole time. With a backyard far too fancy for co-eds such as ourselves, we lounged pool side every second of every day, without a care in the world. At times, the events of the week should have been on the set of a soap opera or in the feed of a gossip blog, but miraculously, we all managed to survive unscathed, living life to the most fabulous degree. ;-)

But the Cape Side shenanigans did not stop there. With graduation festivities in between (a parent dinner dance here, one last hurrah upon Stonehill's "hill" there...), I retreated back to New York for but a few days before returning to the Cape for Memorial Day Weekend. While the habitat of choice this time around was the amazingly swanky L Family Compound (I'm not joking), the activities were similar: poolside sitting and cocktail sipping just doesn't get old once you traverse the Sagamore Bridge to Massachusetts' Vacationland. And even though the seven hour ride back home was enough to make this antsy thing stir crazy to the umpteenth degree, throwback tunes, compliments of (obviously) my iPod (a.k.a. Precious Pink), made the trip back a perfect end to the weekend. I'm telling you, a little TLC, Blues Traveler, and Seal can really liven up a trip down I-95.

Now, I should probably mention that my time in between Cape Week and Cape Weekend was far from a walk in the park. The few days were spent vacuuming. And dusting. And washing dishes. And moving furniture. And vacuuming again. And dusting again. But all for good reason. Ladies and gentleman (that's you, WBE!), I am a homeowner.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!

Well, not really. But kind of! It took me about two days as a collage graduate until I split from the suburbs, bound for the only place in New York that's cooler than Brooklyn. Clearly, I am talking about QUEENS! I am now bus savvy, subway savvier, and loving every minute of it! While my commute to Manhattan is not much shorter than it was in the past, I feel very official. Billy Joel actually wrote a song about how I feel these days... ;-)

I'm back in the "country home" for the night (ha), lured by a home cooked meal and laundry facilities, so stay tuned for tomorrow's post, in which you'll get to hear all about Mission Millionaire.

With love and wishes for a wonderful weekend,

KR

PS: To my fellow big city big shot, BT, HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!