Can't Help It Sometimes...

My best friend Samantha said to me before I left for New York, 

"just don't go up there and change." 

I laughed it off thinking... I don't think I am going to, it is only 10 weeks. 

 

Now as I look back on how fast those 10 weeks flew by all I can think is how much I have changed. I would like to think for the better.

People can't control change, just about as much as we can try and change the weather. We grow, we die, we learn, we adapt... if it were me saying it... and it is my blog... I would say that change is in a humans nature. We are adapters. 

When I came to New York it took me a while to really realize where I was. My confidence, believe it or not, was low enough that I couldn't believe that I had made it here to this amazing city. Now when I look in the mirror I can look at myself with pride and humility. Yes, I am proud of myself and I don't see that as a negative thing. Yes, I am a humble because God has blessed me in ways I never thought I would ever deserve. Months ago I never would have believed I would be here. 

Before I didn't believe I could achieve my dreams, now I believe with all my heart that if I continue to work hard... my dreams are only an arm stretch away. 

Before I didn't think I was "up-to-parr", now when I look in the mirror I see a confident young woman who feels good about herself. Who is going to be the best person she can... learn from her mistakes... and when I fall down I will pick myself up and move on.

Before I wore jeans and T-shirts never thinking I could pull off the skirts, dresses, or heels... Now, the sidewalks of New York City have become my runway! 

Yes... people do change, but I hope the change that has happen with me is for the better. 

Because before...I knew I had friends and family that loved me... but now I love myself...and in turn my love for my family and friends has grown even more. I have loved them since the very beginning... and will continue to love them until the very end.

So when I come back to Texas I am going to have to let my best friend down... because I have changed.

 

Love Always & Forever,

New Poll!

What Broadway production would you go see if you could choose any that you wanted?

Poll is in the right side bar >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you don't see the one you would choose in the poll feel free to put it in the comments on this post by clicking "Your Thoughts Here". 

xoxo

The Met

As a group activity we visited The Metropolitan a little over a week ago. It is an amazing place to visit and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits New York City. The day that we went was called "Museum Mile" which is one day out of the year where all the museums in this mile long stretch open their doors to the public for free!

Don't get too excited though. Here is a little New Yorker inside information for furture reference. The Met has suggested prices, which means if you want you can ignore the suggested price and pay 50 cents. When we went back to the Met a second time (because its WAY too big to see it all in one day... or two days for that fact) that is exactly what we did. I handed over my two quarters and inside I went! Crazy right? 

When she asked me how much I wanted to pay I timidly responded with 50 cents fearing the entire museum would stop in their tracks and stare at me with their condemning eyes. However nothing that dramatic happened. The lady simply took my quarters and handed me my cute little blue Met button. I felt very triumphant like I had just gotten away with something naughty. I was a little disappointed as I moved out of line when no one patted me on the back for knowing this little secret.

*sigh* 

I am not sure if it is just for students or everyone but heck its awesome and super cheap! Us college kids love cheap!

Why I insist on toting around a giant bag of books... I shall never figure out.

Pretty statue fountain I loved. 

Chase, Myself, and Katrina chillin in this great hall of statues. 

I loved this statue! Isn't it brillant!

Our group! I <3 my friends :)

Left to Right: Paige, Chase, Jonathan, Leucepe, Sara, Me, Katrina
Note: the person taking the image had difficulty in properly framing the image... as you can tell peoples heads are chopped off lol

I saw this little tea pot and thought of Mom. She has a collection at home in our kitchen.

Highly considered stealing it... but it was in a glass case and I don't think my parents would have liked to hear my explaination of being in a New York City jail.

Sorry Mom.

All in all I love The Met. There is so much to see and the two times I have been we haven't even come close to seeing the entire museum, which is insane!

I'll hopefully update you with more images but there was so many I didn't know what to do with all of them.

Thanks again for reading!

xoxo

Lower East Side Adventure

I'm happy to say I have made some amazing friends while here in NYC. Katrina, who is interning at 2 dance companies here in New York (I know right, frickin' awesome!), and myself love to go on our adventures to find the extremely cheap or free entertainment. She calls it "extreme couponing", I can't help but laugh.

We recently took a subway to the Lower East Side to catch a street performance. The sky promised rain but since it didn't hit yet we hoped for the best and continued on. On our way we stopped at this adorable little coffee shop called, "Think Coffee". How can you just NOT stop there? Katrina got this cappuccino and they did something amazing with the foam <3

Everywhere we turned there was something unique and fun about this neighborhood. I immediately stopped in my tracks when I came across this little garden and wall that was literally right next to it. Katrina was amazingly patient as I clicked away.

 

Finally we made it to the street where they were having the performances. It began to drizzle a little but nothing to pull you inside to seek shelter. The dancers had just began to get into their places to start. It was a very interesting performance. Very modern and "funky" as Katrina put it. More like a story being told through this interpretive dance.

Then right as the next set of artist were to begin the heavens opened and the rain began to fall. I have to say, getting used to all this rain up here has been a little strange. Coming from Texas I am used to the dry 100+ degree heat. On more than one occasion I have had to grab a jacket because I was, yep, "COLD!". Which is very weird to say in the middle of June.

We took shelter inside the theatre to use the RR and roam around for a bit before we decided to just face the rain and explore.

There was one street lined with the sweetest little boutiques. Dusty Buttons and Pink Olive were just 2 of the several we stopped in to visit. Just look at how cute they are!

I could have died when I saw all these old school cameras, and then I did DIE when she told me that these on the shelf actually work! Unfortunately they were a little out of my budget, but there were still nice to admire.

You have to love Vintage <3

I think I could rock this look, don't you think?

"I have found getting lost in New York is one of my favorite past times. "

Stumbling across little boutiques, shops, and spots like these are what make New York, New York. There is always a hidden park, vintage shop, or perfect little coffee shop you can visit to submerge yourself in. I literally melt when I walk into a new place and breathe in the unfamiliar air. It consumes you and overpowers you in all the good ways. It is like a little accomplishment every time you find a new undiscovered trinket. 

It is as though it has just been sitting there, waiting for you to find it... and in all places, New York City.

xoxo

A Fictional Tour of New York City

I was recently inspired by my friend Rebecca who told me about Gayle Forman, the author of If I Stay and Where She Went, and how she went on a tour of New York City stopping at all the locations that were actually mentioned in her book. Gayle even made a video of the stops along the way.
This struck an idea for myself. 

I love books. If you haven't gathered that yet then I don't know what to do with you.

I have read so many books I honestly lose track of how many I read. I know it is close to 200 in the past 2 years. That is for sure. So I thought why not call upon my fellow book worms to help me set up an EPIC New York City tour where I stop at ALL the "real-life" places that have been mentioned in books read! 

I plan on taking the same tour that Gayle Forman took in her video to visit all the places that her characters, Adam and Mia, went to in Where She Went.

However, this isn't going to be easy. Some places are very obvious and can be tracked down fairly easy. Other places were just mentioned but there isn't an exact address. 

This is where YOU come in.

If you have read a book (preferably YA) where the characters were in New York City (for however long of time) and you would like me to visit the spot. Then please let me know by filling out the form below. I will collect the top 10 places and make a day of it!

This is going to be awesome!

The Internship

The internship is going fabulous so far!

It is amazing and I am learning SO MUCH about the publishing world.

I still have trouble believing that I am doing this, that I am here going after my dream. New York is a very different sort of place. Every morning I head off on my ten minute walk to work and that is one of my highlights of my day. Just walking. To anyone else that doesn't sound all that great, but to me its a new adventure. I have gone on this walk several times and each time it seems different. I notice different shops and stores each time; bakeries, the Ferrari store, banks, 6 starbucks (*wink*), clothing stores, etc. Though I know the buildings do not move its like the people change them.

Anyways, the other interns are pretty awesome! Some live near others live far (like myself).

All have the same passion for books and the publishing industry... AND quite a bit of us have the same passion for Harry Potter!

*squeak*

This past Friday a group of us got together to go to the Harry Potter Exhibition that is touring and currently here in NYC! Of course, being the HP fans that we are... we had to go!

Cameras/Pictures were not allowed on the inside but let me tell you that it was every fans dream!

They had items from the actual film! Everything from clothing, props, chairs, the spiders from the cave (super icky), full room set ups, the floating candles in the great hall, and so much more!

I did leave with quite a few treasures... despite the outrageous prices.

You will be able to see those soon... some I am saving for the HP Midnight release :)

Oh... I SO ate a chocolate frog also.

This Harry Potter book was on sale at the exhibition... I got a chuckle out of it because Harper Collins published these books and I now have it here in my room.

Amount paid for it? $0.00 thank you very much.

Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars series, is coming out with her first adult fiction book. That is another one that made it to my shelf! I hope to review it soon :)

There has been so much going on it has been difficult to get on track with everything.

Especially writing on this blog (if you haven't already noticed).

You got to see the "Taste of Times Square" that we went to last week however I still have to share with you the Big Apple BBQ from Saturday and the adventure of Museum Mile from yesterday!
There is so much to share and only so much I think someone is willing to read on a blog post.

Also, since this is a "friend and family space"... feel free to leave comments!
Let me know you're alive out there *hahaha*

Just click on the "Your Thoughts Here" and live some love. I need to have a connection to some friends/family back home. You are the ones that keep me sane and grounded *wink*

Well thank you for reading. I hope this is somewhat entertaining.

<3

Outfit of the Day - Off to the Museum

White blouse: H&M, White Tooth necklace and earrings: H&M, Bag: Books-A-Million, Jeggings: Khols, Flats: Old Navy (?)

I was wearing brown slacks for work but once I got off I changed into jeans for the museum trip.

In Love

It's the streets that call to you.
The sound echoing against the buildings.

The hustle and bustle of people dancing through the traffic.

The honking of the taxis as they pass by.

It's the music that fills the streets.

The music that draws people in to dance.

The sound that makes your feet tap. 

The notes that make your hips sway.

It's the reflections, the lights, the towers.

It's the sun between the buildings.

The vibe that the city runs on.

Its the city that never sleeps. 

Its the city you come to and fall in love with :)

xoxo,

Working Girl

I have to say working for Harper has its perks.

In the 4 days I have been there I have come home with 5 books!

At this rate I will be shipping them back by the box!

Not trying to brag, I just thought that was cool.

Above: There is my little area of Harper :)

Above: The outside ... super pretty!

I hope to add more but this is it for today! I have TONS of pictures I am just trying to decide how to share them :)

<3

Settling In

It is amazing how much there is to share when it has only been a few days. 

Hope you don't mind the LONG blog post. I will try to break it into 2 different posts :)

Okay so the weekend was pretty great. Not much happened but it was a great way to get settled in and meet new people.

Above: Room-mate, Jonee, and I outside of Bed, Bath, & Beyond waiting on our group

The thing I love most about NY is there is something on EVERY corner just waiting to be found. For someone who has never been this is very exciting. Jonee and I decided on Saturday we would take a trip to our internships so we would know how to get there come Monday.

On our way here are a few places we just happen to "run into".

Above: I don't think I need a caption for this one.

Above: Yep, that is Times Square in the distance. We didn't walk down there though, too tired and wanted to save it for another time.

Above: We just passed by Radio City :)

One thing though, I knew in advance that the "northerners" don't appreciate the Dr. Pepper as much as some southerners... However... I found one store that sells DP (Thank God!).

Can you spot the DP?

Sunday I was able to attend church at Times Square Church. It was such a BEAUTIFUL building! Doesn't look like much on the outside, but once you step inside it is as though you have stepped into the Phantom of the Opera. I have expected for a masked man in a cape to carry me off to his dungeon somewhere. 

You can see above just a little of the crown molding but this doesn't do it justice. I only hope I can go back this coming Sunday to get more pictures. There were marble stairs and pillars with paintings on the ceiling. Good grief it was a beautiful place.

Going to and from church I had to take a 5 block detour due to the "Celebrate Israel Parade" that was going on. It crossed my path on 5th street and I understood quickly how people get stuck places. It was nice to see though, I found myself getting distracted by the parade. So many people, so many yarmulkes!

I love that about the city. There is SOOO much culture here. Music, Theatre, Food, Languages, Dancing... 

I have always loved to travel to experience various cultures. I hope I will be able to travel all over the world in the future. Break bread with different people in different countries, learn about their way of life. It is so similar yet so different. Aren't you just fascinated by it all? It is amazing how we are all the same, yet we live differently and speak differently in different parts on this Earth. 

Anyways... I have MUCH more to share with you; bear with me as I download the images etc. 

Thanks again for taking the time to read this crazy blog. I hope you are still enjoying it!

Love!