Monday, June 29, 2009

Madre in the City!

Hey girls!

Umm, so I have made an amazing new discovery! I am, obviously, as white as freakin Casper, so I need a remedy to help me get TAN! I discovered Jergens like 3 years ago, when only the "fair" bottle was avaliable, boy am I glad that advanced! I finally found what i've been praying for all of these years...Jergens finally came out with a foam tanner! YEAH! I use it constantly, because seriously it dries in like 2 seconds and it doesnt get all over my clothes! Im in Heaven!

This past weekend, my mom came up. She got here mid-afternoon on Thursday, and I was so excited to see her! She gave me a call on the way, and OMG she had the cab driver from hell apparently! He was going crazy, so instead of the greeting I was expecting, she told me she was currently fighting for her life in a cab with a crazy ass driver...okay mom, good luck! The minute I turned the corner on 42nd street, after the large man stepped on my toe, I was so happy to see her standing outside the hotel! I will never forget the looks on our faces when we saw each other, it was like we hadn't seen each other in years! Im so used to talking to her every day, but here, we are lucky to talk once a week! Things are crazy here, and crazy there so ya know, its just impossible! So excited she got to come for a long weekend!
Little did she know, I had so much to catch her up on! I can tell stories about anything, so really she spent the first 3 hours listening to me go on and on about pointless stuff thats happened to me, but I thought was hilarious! We checked in and found out we were on the 33rd floor! This was perfect, because in the hotel I live in, we have a view of the city dump, but here we had the best view of New York and Times Square! Needless to say, it was a nice change of scenery!
Once we were all settled, and caught up, we went and had a glass of wine at Local, this cute little roof top restaurant right beside Madison Square Garden, and conveinetly, my hotel! After Local, we made dinner plans with my friend J, because she is from Salisbury too!! Her mom was visiting as well, and we really wanted our moms to meet!
After we left the restaurant, we went to sit on the Post Office steps for a little while with the sketchys of NYC until we figured out what we wanted to do next...we figured it out pretty quickly! I ran out of quarters to give people!
In all seriousness though, one thing I have missed most about home is having daily/nightly "porchtime" with my mom and sister! We can sit on our porch for hours and talk about everything under the Sun! Not to mention, it was so good to hear what was going on at home. Sam graduated, and is so so so excited about school which I was thrilled to hear! He is going to do great things, he has the biggest heart! Sarah had just left for camp, and shes got this HUGE personality so we knew she was going to have a great week with her friends, and mostly we were both thrilled both of them had activities to do while my mom was in NYC. Seeing my mom definitly made me miss home, but reguardless, I am thrilled to death to be in New York City!
After we had our "stair time" at the sketch, but beautiful post office, we headed back to my hotel to meet K!! She had to work that day, but I was so excited she was staying with us! I love when our parents visit! We were so ready to get out of our hotel room and stay with my mom!! YAY! I packed more than my mom did, which is sad because she was the one that actually traveled! I packed everything!
After packing, my mom and I went to the hotel restaurant to have a quick drink and talk a bit more about things going on before 7:30 when we planned on leaving for dinner.
Around 7:30, J her mom, and her moms friend met the 3 of us, and we all took off for the Subway! It was quite the adventure! Once we got on, there was a woman who was give or take 35 years old, and she had a "brown bag" with "root beer" in her hand! I was gonna give her the benefit of the doubt, but then once the Subway took off, and she FELL into another woman, we all realized, pshh...she was TRASHED on the Subway! Illegal much?
HAHAHA!
She started doing a pole dance for her boyfriend, and obviously the rest of us seeing as half of us were using her pole to hold on to, so we wouldnt fall to our death in the tiny car, and needless to say, we were all about to DIE! She started singing some nasty song, and dancing all over the pole...thank GOD we stopped and there were seats avaliable so nobody had to hold on to that pole!
She kept saying she didn't know where she was going, and I thought for the love of God, get off the freakin Subway!
At the next stop, someone told her to get the hell off, it was where she needed to be! Once the entertainment (haha, joking) finally left, the Subway went back to normal!
We got to our stop, and it was in this area I had never been to. It was absolutely beautiful, but all of the buildings kindof reminded me of a nursing home! Mom found this place called Gabrielle's before she got to NYC, so we just had to try it! I had been craving real Mexican food for weeks, and it turned out to be a wonderful spot! They had the best Sangria! One of us had a drink that was PINK & GREEN, so cute!
After dinner, J wanted to take the moms to Van Deimens, but the moms weren't as excited as we were! We were ready to show them our favorite bar! haha! Mom, K, and I headed back to the hotel to relax!
The next day, I had to work for an hour, and then I got to spend time with my mom!
We went to the Upper West Side and ate at this great place called "Good Enough to Eat!" She used to eat there with my Aunt a lot when she lived in NYC. I knew she was really happy when we found it, because my mom never waits in line if its a bad wait, but oh we waited, and it was so so so well worth it!! I loved sharing that memory with my mom, and I could tell she was really excited too!
They had the BEST blueberry pancakes! Also, the service was amazing!
After lunch, we went to Papyrus to look for some stationary. I decided to wait, because I knew id never be able to find this place again to pick up monogrammed stationary, but I really do need to get some soon! I ran out over a month ago!
After that, we went to Lohman's, and tried on Sunglasses, and shoes until we couldn't do it anymore! I didn't really find anything I wanted, which was surprising, but we still had 3 days so I knew I could hit Ann Taylor and Banana Republic eventually!
Then K got off at 1 so we went back to meet up and decide what to do next! We ended up hitting Banana, and Ann Taylor! I found the cutest black dress, and black silk top! I dont really need anymore black, but its all I ever buy because it just seems so classy to me!
You can never go wrong shopping in those 2 stores!
That night, we decided we would go see "My Sisters Keeper"! My mom and K have read the book, I have heard about it. It seemed like it was going to be a really sad, but good movie.
We got ready about an hour before it started, so we went and had mimosas at the hotel, and just talked about everything under the sun! It was so much fun, just to have girl time and catch up! I loved it! I think I could just sit with a drink and talk to people for the rest of my life and be a happy girl!
After that, we got to the theater, which was right by our hotel, so convenient! The movie was so good, and we were all in tears from 5 minutes in until the very end! It was very good, but very very sad! Cameron Diaz did really well, I wasnt sure how she would do playing a mother, but she did a wonderful job! Also, the "sick daughter" played "Eloise" in the movie, so it was hard to picture her as a teenager! Abigail Breslin is always great in whatever she plays so of course she did well! I, personally, dont do so well with cancer, especially when kids have it. I know, it was just a movie, but it was so deep! The movie ending was very different than the book, but I loved the way the movie ended. I cant imagine though, if you are a parent with a sick child, you have a special place in my heart, because even in a movie, it is just so sad!
I loved it though, and I was so glad I got to see it with my mom and K!
After that, we got pizza, and then my mother and I went to walk the streets and go by the Quiksilver shop to see what we could find for S & S! I love that surf shop! Its huge!
The next day, we decided to go and site see for a bit, and go to another one of my mothers favorite spots! We had brunch at "Sarabeths" in Lord & Taylor! The french toast was just to die for, and the restaurant was decorated so beautifully! I really enjoyed it! Also, the mimosas were good too!
We then made our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral, but on the way we hit a parade! We stopped for a bit to watch! It was so neat to see everyone doing all of these different dances for their countries! I loved it! Then we kept walking, and made it to the church! I was so glad I got to tour it again with my mom, its so beautiful!
After that, we went to Rockefeller Center, and shopped around, also took a lot of pictures! I love Rockefeller Center!
Then, we went back to the hotel because, my mom is a walker! I bet throughout the whole weekend we walked 10 miles! We had to take a break!
That night, M wanted to come to dinner, so of course he came, and we were going to all go to one of my mothers favorite spots, Carmines, but there was a 2 hour wait...I don't think so!
We ended up going to Restaurant Row, and were going to do our usual favorite spot, Becco's, but then found the cutest place right beside of it. It was such a gorgeous night, so we were able to eat outside. It was the perfect dinner! I was glad M met mom, its fun when she meets people I know up here!
We then went to our hotel where we stayed when we visited last time, "Hilton Garden Inn"! I was praying that the doormen that were so friendly last time would remember us! Mom and K didn't think they would, but HELLO if I remembered them, they might remember us!
Well, they DID!!!!
Donald, Ken, and Greg were STILL giving us high fives when we walked in, I was so excited!
After that, M and I went back to moms hotel, and mom and K were tired so they went up but M and I had a nightcap and then I headed to bed as well.
The next day, we had these huge amazing waffles for breakfast, and then sadly it was time for my mother to go back home!
I hate goodbyes, so of course tears were flowing down these cheeks! I felt like a 2 year old, but it is always very hard to tell her goodbye! We are so close, and we had just the best time! I cant wait to see her again soon!

I am very excited for 4 of my friends to come up soon! 2 of them are coming one weekend in July and then 2 more the next! I absolutely cant wait to see those girls! It has been too long! We have all had busy summers, and then of course the 4th is coming up so that should be fun as well! We are thinking of renting a room in the Hampton's for a night!

I have GOT to share that FOX News here in NYC did a phone interview with me on Friday about a Fall internship! I prepared over 7 pages of notes so that I would be so ready for this interview! It really could not have gone better, and now I am officially a candidate for the FOX DC, and FOX NYC Internship! The only downfall is that it is unpaid, so I may not take it. I think my mother wants me to go ahead and finish up school in Raleigh, so that I can get an actual job. Another possibility that I just sent in today is ABC in DC. They wanted to reconsider me for the Fall, which is great because I have talked to the lady in charge for over a year and she is very sweet. I am looking forward to hearing from them as well. If I get ABC though, I will probably take it because, it is paid and they house you. Also, I am sure I could take classes in DC.
Life is short, too short to waste, so if I get a great internship doing what I love, I would love to take it.

Speaking of life being short, it has been such an emotional week! I think that may be why I had such a hard time with my mother leaving! See okay, the boy that my Aunt introduced me to went on vacation with his family. I am not going to give many details, but his mother died on vacation, and I just found out. I feel so much hurt for him, because I know they were very close, and although I didnt know her, it is just so hard to imagine losing a mother!
Also, the ShamWOW guy, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcet, Ed McMann, and a friend of mines doctor...its just a lot of people dying at once! I dont do so well with goodbyes, and death is always very hard! I just dont know whats happening! I was really shocked to hear that MJ died, my gosh! I have never listened to his music as much as I do now! Its crazy! There is a wax figure set up outside of Madame Tousants, in NYC and everyone is gathered around it crying constantly, also people made hats and shirts! I feel kind of bad for him, people are making so much profit off of his death! It is so sad that all of these people died!

In happier news, today I am at work and so excited because J, my BFF, quit her other internship because it just wasnt what she thought it was going to be, so now she is working with me!!! She is the newest employ! YAY!!

I will post pictures from the last few days later today!

Have a great Monday!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

LOVE the Park Ave Office!

Hey girls!

Yesterday at work was a great day! In a nutshell, everyday in this city is a great day, but really, I got a new office, and i wore my grey suit...life was good! First, we had our first PR Photo Shoot for the website! Secondly, we also got to work in the Park Ave office and I sat at my very own desk!!!
We interviewed some potential clients yesterday, and it was very fun! Then, we went in the cafeteria, and I met so many other people that worked in the building! I had a storm, and a man came in and he had one too, so clearly we had to start a conversation! We talked about stocks politics, and work! LOVED IT!

Last night M and I went around 10 to get a drink and talk about our day, it was a lot of fun!
I also got all of my laundry done, finally! Its funny, the laundry machines here are a freakin joke, I feel like im in prison and being punished having to put my clothes in those 20th century machines. Im not laughing....

MOM COMES TOMORROW!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I Love Crazy Mondays!

Hey girls!

Oh, yesterday! What a great day!

It was absolutely beautiful all day long in the City! I loved every minute of it!

I took the Subway to work around 9, and then proceeded to walk my usual 4 blocks passing all of the beautiful people and buildings I see each day! Sometimes, I pass dogs that are decked out in more name brands than I can count on 2 hands, its beautiful! Or, sometimes, like last Tuesday, a dog does its business a little too close to my Lilly Flats...watch out bitches, I dont play when it comes to my shoes! All in all though, the upper east side is a beautiful place with beautiful people and things...I LOVE IT!
I always see cute kids in their Lacoste, Burberry, or Vineyard Vines with smiles on their faces about whatever they may be doing! Lastly, I see so many friendly faces that I exchange waves with each morning! Basically the walk on the Upper East Side makes my day!

We have meetings all day today, and I am so excited about it!

Last night was another adventure!
So, M texted me right as I was about to order cheap Chinese food and do laundry to see if I had dinner yet! I was so excited, it would be fun to go out and get something, and hear about his job!
We made plans to grab dinner around 7:30, and meet in the lobby.
Well, two of my BFF's, as we call each other, called to see if I had made plans yet because they wanted to go into Hell's Kitchen! I just couldn't say no, because everyone is just so much fun, so we all met and went to dinner!
Before dinner, we were walking down a busy street, and I was talking to M and J when out of nowhere, some SOB on his "trick bike" was racing the street trying to make the light!
We clearly had the "walk" sign!
I was so into my conversation, so hell if I noticed Lance Armstrong coming toward me!
All of the sudden, I hear J scream "KATIE DONT DIE!!!"
OMG!
QUICK!
I looked to my left, I see J's face in shock ready to catch my body that would soon fly through the air!
I looked to my right, I see, 2 Lance Armstrong wannabes racing on their bikes, and they don't see me!
AHHHHHHH
I screamed at the top of my lungs, frozen in shock, (not because I might get hit and break a bone, but more so that...I MIGHT GET HIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND FALL)and hello, that's embarrassing!
I looked real cute screaming "OH MY GOSH" In the prissiest girly voice!
Then, BFF pushed me out of the way!
(This all happened in like a 3 second interval!)
Let me tell you what, I was sweatin' like a hooker in Church when that was all said and done!
I was lookin a hot mess! My newly done "beehive ponytail" was now...just a ponytail...:(
The bikers were really sweet and were like Ahh oh gosh, we didnt see you, because it really wasnt THAT big of a deal! We were all dying laughing, and lord knows I needed a drink after all that! J and my reactions were priceless! Oops!

Oh, but that was just the beginning!

Then, after looking at 3 menus, we finally decided on a great Italian place!
M and I split a dessert. It was this awesome chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream! SOO GOOD! He also paid for my dinner, which I totally didn't expect! That was really sweet of him! He was joking as always and was like "this dinner date really blossomed!" Which, yeah it did, but I was glad everyone went! It gives me more time to get to know him!
After dinner, he left because he works extremely early, but the girls and I stayed around and talked for about 2 hours. I ws so excited because both of these new friends go to schools very close by home!

Okay, off to a meeting in a few minutes!

I will post more later, have a great Tuesday!

Monday, June 22, 2009

My MOMS Coming!!

Hey girls!

2nd post of the day, I know!
I am so excited! My sweet mother is coming to visit me on Thursday, and I am so ready to see her!
We havent seen each other since May 26th, and Lord knows I am so used to talking to her atleast once a day! Since I have been here, we are lucky to talk once a week!

I dont work Thursdays, so I am hoping she flies in early so we can lunch, and I can show her where I work, and we can also do some shopping!

I am trying to make a list of stuff I really want to do while she is here!
-Eat dinner, and drink wine at one of my usual spots near 12th and 2nd! She will just love it!
-Take the Subway to where I work, and walk around!
-Go sightseeing, especially by taking another tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral!
-Have our usual "vent" sessions about any and everything, good and bad, over a glass of cold white wine! Usually its "Porch Time", but we arent in the South anymore, so we will have some kind of "time" with wine somewhere!
-Take her to the building where I interviewed for David Letterman, and show her around
-Possibly hit Canal St just for fun, but not a must!
-Get our nails done!

Any ideas? I am sure we will play it by ear, we always have a great time no matter what we are doing, but I cant wait to show her what all I have seen and done!

Thursday come quickly!

LOVE the Ferry, HATE the Island!

Hey girls!
Yesterday was a wild day to say the absolute least! K and I woke up at noon, well actually, lately I have been waking up at 5:15 because of what I can only assume are night terrors due to the obease, gassy neighbor that lives next door...I just cant sleep for a full night without waking up to his hacking at 5 in the morning, or his daily showers at 5,7,8,9, and midnight! Sketchy fool, but hey it takes all kinds...
Anyways, after I woke up, I turned on LMN because it was pouring rain outside!
Normally, every Saturday and Sunday K and I go sightseeing in a new spot that we havent seen yet, but the weather here has been just awful, so we decided to catch up on sleep instead!
Then, and as much as I hate to say this, I have to...I realized how overwhelmed I have become with living in New York City! It has more perks than I could count in a year, but as far as some things go, I am so overwhelmed.
One reason that I felt so overwhelmed yesterday was because the weather here is just depressing sometimes! Although when its pretty, its truly beautiful, but the rain, just sucks!

Eventually, I got up and got ready and we went to walk around the Fashion District, which was amazing by the way! I saw the Danskin factory, which are like my FAVORITE brand of leggins, so I was sure glad I knew where to find it!
Just putting it out there, I was looking for a cute place to get lunch...I am always eating, and I was starving! Eventually, we found a cute restaurant! That made my day so much better, because the food was so so good!
Later on, I was planning on going to the Art Museum with M, because he asked me earlier that morning to go around 3. I am a big fan of art, but let me just tell you what! I do NOT know how to interpret it like some people, I see what I see with my own 2 eyes and I go for it. Most of the time, ill see like a bobcat, and somebody else sees a village full of people, its embarassing, so I steer clear but since I am just getting to know M, im game for whatever!
Well, K and I decided that since the rain eventually looked like it was going to stop, we wanted to take the Staten Island Ferry and see what that was like! Also, we decided we were going to go to the Staten Island Mall, to the Ann Taylor! HELLO, Art Museum, or Ann Taylor...simple!
I called M to tell him, and he agreed to go with us! I was so excited because it seemed like it was going to be such a fun day full of shopping, drinking, and a "classic boat tour" with all of NYC, because, well, its a free ferry and hello our economy sucks so its an easy way to keep the kids entertained on a budget!
No, but in all seriousness, I was on a mission for a new little black dress, and I really really wanted to see Staten Island! The ferry ride was gorgeous, but everyone and their mother rode on it that day!

While we were waiting to board, I got myself a s'more poptart and a diet coke, which yet again, made my day! Then, I took some pictures!

I was praying it didnt rain, because M kept picking on me about not going to the museum, and he just knew it was going to rain on the way to the island...we would see about that! :) Eventually, yes it did rain...oops!

On the ferry, we all stood out on one of the decks, and just took it all in! It was beautiful for the first 15 minutes, but then we looked over near the dock we left from, and it was actually really cool, I could see the rain over there, and it was inevitable, the rain was going to catch up to us! I had to act fast and take pictures of the double view! I know this is fairly common to see, but it was such a great view!
Once the rain began, everyone hauled ass inside to get out of the cold! We were all pushing trying to get a seat inside, but eventually after the hostility passed and we all (most of us) had a seat, we all had a good laugh from almost busting our asses on the deck!
It was actually a lot of fun!
Then, when we got off the ferry, we went straight to the snack shop, because I needed my starburst, and then of course to the bus stop! This was an adventure in itself, and as you can see from the pictures, the bus stop reminded us of a prison, seriously, Alcatraz! It was sketch, the only people in site were sleeping on the benches, but really, its okay, I wanted to stand! I didnt know where I was, but I was scared! I would never want to be there at night! Lookin' like a scene from Madea Goes To Jail...SKETCH!
Once we got on the bus, it stopped about 5 minutes up the road and I smiled and exclaimed "y'all, we could have walked this!"
OH boy, did I speak too soon! We were on that bus for another 45 minutes, and seriously, there just wasn't much to look at!
It was a really funny bus ride, I mean we just had to laugh, if we didnt want to cry...
First, we saw a big fat guy riding this Stuart Little sized scooter, which broke down in the middle of the street, and then we saw the bus almost hit a Mercedes, and the drivers face was priceless (in the Mercedes of course!), and lastly on the bus we saw a guy driving down the road...on his lawnmower!!
SO interesting, SO classy!
Once we got to the mall, we walked a good mile from the bus stop, and got in a good leg, hip, and thigh workout... hence why I MISS MY CAR SO MUCH! hahaha
We got inside, and were looking for the Ann Taylor when...we saw!
"Ann Taylor is closed today due to A Store Wide Power Outage!"
NOOOOO!!
Okay, HELL NO! I really needed a new sundress, esp after almost sitting in gum, spit, and what I can only assume to be smeared peanut butter in my close by seat...Lord help me!
As we were walking out, I stepped in a huge puddle, and got someones nasty used cigarette butt stuck between my sandal and my foot...yes I know, DISGUSTING!
M was laughing at me, because I have probably stepped in every puddle in NYC, I am just not good at spotting them! He always yells PUDDLE when he sees one, very helpful for a girl like me!
Then, we got back on the bus and went back to the ferry, only...when we got back to our original bus stop, they told us bus pick-up was across the street!

Since apparently someone stole the public bench at the bus pick-up, K and I were forced against our will to sit on a big, nasty rock. In the 30 minutes we were PATIENTLY waiting at this fine example of a bus stop, we saw some crazies! i.e. an alcoholic hugging his bottle of jack, a homeless man with a Costco shopping cart, and, an unknown animal!
Also, we saw some nice graffiti, reading "FU" and "Candi <3 Steve. I hope they are still happy together, because graffiti cant be undone people!
Here are some pictures from the other nights adventures!
The first guy was a friends roommate, he was too funny! He can tie a necktie, and I can tie a bowtie, so he taught me how to tie a necktie...I nearly strangled him, so we stopped lessons early and decided maybe another time! haha!
The second picture was just for fun!
Here are some pictures from our Staten Island Adventure!