I now have a greater respect for all my blogger friends out there (okay, so perhaps it's a one-sided friendship, I love them and they don't even know it..) BUT that being said, sheesh it sure does take a lot to keep up with one of these things!
A loooooottt has happened since I last wrote in mid-July. It's so hard to believe that I have only lived in NYC for a little over three months. It feels like a year. Last I wrote, Dad & Patti were about to visit. That seems like ages ago! We had a great visit - walked the Brooklyn Bridge, ate some good food, explored my neighborhood, saw Mama Mia! and thanks to Dad, took an authentic pedicab through Central Park. How amazingly cliche! We definitely enjoyed it. :) We ate some late night pizza, did a great deal of catching up and exploring, and had an all-around lovely weekend.
The week that followed, we opened up the SoHo store for work! It was a great launch party and a beautiful storefront. Happy to see it being so successful. A lot has happened on the work front, since posting last. We have since opened up a magnificent office in the heart of SoHo, overlooking the city. It has felt like an entirely new experience getting to work from an office with co-workers each day. While it's only been open for two weeks, I am so grateful that it came when it did. :) Late nights at the office are truly that much better when you're working alongside your co-workers (and they are some awesome gals) and the fantastic view of the city doesn't hurt either! And did I mention we have a view of Kelly Ripa's rooftop? Obviously we are all waiting on pins and needles to find Mark Consuelos tanning...i'll keep you updated.
I wish I could re-cap everything, including all of the delicious food, weird experiences and other authentic New York experiences I've had in the past month and a half, but truly I would just be doing it so that someday I could look back and remember that it actually happened (and wasn't just a dream). I'm starting to feel like life in NY is moving so quickly, and I want to make sure I remember all of it. It has been such a life-changing experience so far and while there have been pros and cons (as there are to all things in life) it really has been unbelievable. I do sometimes miss the monotonous things that were built into my 9-5 life in VT... cooking, working out, sitting on the TV and vegging out like a zombie for an entire Sunday afternoon...snuggling Finnley on the couch and never, ever feeling that "Oh god, I'm missing out on something all the time" feeling. BUT that being said, I feel so lucky to live in a place where there IS so much going on, so much to see, so much to learn, that I do feel like I'm missing out if I'm not getting out there to experience it....Am I right? :)
OKAY...so - quick recap of a few other things that have happened post-July 19th:
SoHo store launched
Weekend trip to Nantucket (First trip ever, LOVED it!) Between driving on the beach, excessive amounts of lobster and some peace & quiet outside the city, it was perfect. I was constantly on the hunt for my perfect house that I'll never be able to afford. A pitiful pursuit, but easily done in Nantucket.
Two Coldplay concerts, which I was absolutely spoiled to experience in one week (Boston & NJ) - amazing!
Mumford & Sons concert on the waterfront in Hoboken (life-changing!)
A visit from the beautiful, Caitlin Bricker, which included our first Korean BBQ in Korea town (only appropriate).
A weekend visit from my brother, Eric and his gf, Brooke. We were A+ tourists and even tackled a Harbor Boat tour, in addition to tons of great food (our first authentic ramen noodle house), bars, and family bonding time. :)
Orlando Sales meeting for work. While we didn't get to experience anything authentically Florida (outside of avoiding Disney World), we had a great Sales meeting! Boot camp was run each morning before breakfast. We had a Food Network recipe throw down with CHO (judged by a Food Network chef, himself!) They took us to a final dinner party at the Kennedy Space Center, where we ate dinner under Apollo 18 and saw the official landing platforms of NASA. The best part? The Ritz Carleton. :)
Upstate NY plant tour! This was a long time comin' and what an awesome experience! So great to drive upstate with my team to the yogurt plant to see where the magic happens. We got to experience the authentic tour of the plant, eat yogurt out of the vat, hang with our incredible CEO and of course, experience some Frank's pizzeria on the drive home to the city. All in all - total success.
Smorgasburg - finally made it to the famous foodie market on the waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Lets just say this - I'm going back!
MoMa PS1- I went to my first "art party" and I never knew that was even a thing. Well, a thing, it is, and a cool thing, indeed! MoMa puts on a new exhibit every summer in Long Island City, NY and a huge party is thrown each Saturday that includes a bunch of great DJs, good beer, more hipsters from Brooklyn than you can count and the art exhibit. All you need to do is picture some of the most well-dressed, thick-rimmed glasses wearing hipsters, dancing in a small courtyard in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by kegs, art, music, and fellow-hipsters, and you're almost there. No, but really..it was very cool. One of the exhibits was just an empty room with an exposed ceiling that had been cut out. Sounds incredibly boring - but totally cool. Thank you to Nola for making me go to this. :)
Now if I could just get my iPhone pictures to upload on here, you could visualize it all with me! Unfortunately I have been very bad about using my camera. I think I need to invest in a beautiful camera so I can really capture the city...My little "point and shoot" just doesn't cut it. And my iPhone sure doesn't do it justice either (just waayyy too easy to use!)
Between all of the above, I've been eating tons of yummy food, exploring new areas and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. :) I am in Virginia Beach now, enjoying time with my Mom and Ron, doing a ton of relaxing. Yesterday was a beach today and a lot of cooking/movie time. Today we may explore the boardwalk and BBQ with my step-sisters. Absolutely love being here with my Mom. :) My lack of ability to sleep in anymore has caused me to write this post. Thankful for some free time to recap.
I return home late night tomorrow, and i'll hop on another plane to San Francisco for work on Wednesday. Happy to head out there for work, but even happier to see my favorite city, my girlfriend Margie and eat some SF food! I'll fly from SF to Charlotte, NC for a meeting at our sales office and then back to NYC I'll go!
Looking forward to Fall in the city. :)
Until next time...which hopefully won't be too far away.
