adventures | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

a lovely saturday.

19 January, 2014 by Gracie 15 Comments

As usual, the weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. After a couple of crazy weeks with planning to move, Speakable, etc., I was so ready to have a few days to relax and spend time with my friends!

If I’m being honest, the days I work from home are spent makeup-less with my hair in a ponytail, so yesterday I took the opportunity to get a bit more dolled up.

Aaaaand POUT.

Then I met up with the girls for brunch at Diablo Royale in the West Village.

I had been wanting to go there forever, and it was great! I loved the look and feel there, and you can never go wrong with Mexican.

Afterward we went to Hudson Clearwater, where we ended up spending the remainder of the overcast day. I tried to be all fancy with my new camera by snapping Monica’s espresso shot…

…I’m getting there, right? 😉

But don’t worry, I’ll never be above taking selfies.

The night ended early for me since I had a busy day (today), so I wrapped Saturday up by watching documentaries on Netflix. I’m cool like that.

Last but not least is this great devo from yesterday. “Gain happiness by letting go of this life…”

(from the daily devotional God’s Promises Day by Day)

**********

How did you spend your Saturday? See any good documentaries lately?

snapshots.

12 January, 2014 by Gracie 13 Comments

Insta-PSA.

Waiting room boredom.

All gold everything.

Speakable selfie.

(follow Speakable on Instagram!)

Aaaand silly selfies.

leopard // stripes // dreamer.

Duckface phone hijack.

Game day fun.

Only in New York do you cringe at witness hundreds of people without their pants on.

When the line at Whole Foods wraps around the entire store…Jamba Juice for “dinner” it is.

Last but not least, the new loves of my life.

**********

What was the highlight of your weekend?

snapshots.

1 January, 2014 by Gracie 4 Comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m going to keep this one quite wordless because…well, I’m letting myself be extra lazy today

This pretty much sums up the past 72 hours…

How did you ring in the new year? Anyone else (loving) doing absolutely nothing today?

girl meets: 12.19.13.

19 December, 2013 by Gracie 9 Comments

fun.

Why don’t I go to more concerts? I always have SO much fun! On Tuesday I saw John Mayer at Barclays Center, and it was awesome.

And yes, Katy Perry made an appearance Have I mentioned how much I love her?

food.

Wednesday turned out to be an unexpected great-food-fest day. I’ll take it.

First up was lunch at Penelope. I can’t go there and not get some version of their amazing chicken meatballs, so I went with it in salad form.

Later that day my parents arrived for a short visit, so I met them for dinner at Nizza. I usually get their socca, but I switched it up and got Pasta Al Pesto - fettucce with a touch of cream, crescenza cheese & pesto (and gluten free!).

For dessert we went next door to Crepe Café Joli. I only had a few bites of this bad boy because it was rich. In the best possible way, clearly.

face.

I was recently sent some new makeup products from Cargo Cosmetics to try out, and I must say it’s joining the ranks of my other favorite makeup brands.

First was their eye shadows, which came in adorable little tin containers. I also loved the shades – they were very natural and lightweight.

My favorite, though, was their TexasLiner Liquid Eye Liner. The tip was like a marker, which made for the easiest cat-eye application.

**********

What was the last concert you went to?
Try any good new makeup products lately?

a day at the nyc ballet with Canon’s THE BIG MOMENT.

12 December, 2013 by Gracie 25 Comments

Yesterday I got the chance to have one of the best experiences New York has to offer during the holidays - the New York City Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Not only did I get to see the show for the first time, but I was also able to have a backstage tour and a dance class with three of the top NYC Ballet dancers.

Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet

The full day experience was part of Canon’s THE BIG MOMENT, featuring the new EOS Rebel SL1 camera, which is the world’s lightest and smallest DSLR. More about that in a bit.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: General view at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Abi Stafford at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

I was able to bring two guest along with me, so Monica, Jessi and I were able to spend the exciting day together. We arrived at Lincoln Center around 10am, where we enjoyed a light breakfast and changed into our new NYC Ballet shirts and leg warmers.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: (L-R) Monica Hinrichson, Jessi Green and Gracie Gordon at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

And then - it was time to dance! We learned a short routine from The Nutcracker, and it was so much fun. It was really cool getting to spend time with the dancers (Jared Angel, Daniel Ulbricht, and Abi Stafford) and ask them questions about the show too.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: (L-R) Monica Hinrichsen, Daniel Ulbricht, Jessi Green, Abi Stafford, Jared Angel, and Gracie Gordon at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

Jared and Abi also showed us part of their routine while we snapped away with the EOS Rebel SL1.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Ballet dancers Jared Angel and Abi Stafford at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

I’ve used other DSLR cameras in the past, and I really couldn’t believe how light and fast the EOS Rebel SL1 was! And the quality was incredible - just as good as an EOS SLR, but with a much smaller body. It can also be coupled with STM lenses for quieter videos. I couldn’t believe all of the amazing features it had.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: (R) Jessi Green at Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

We were able to keep trying out the EOS Rebel SL1 throughout the day. We had a nice lunch, followed by the backstage tour, and then the show itself. It was so great having the camera the capture the memories of the day - it’s definitely one I’ll never forget.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Media Attendees with New York City principal dancers and Grey Activation and Canon executives Canon's The Big Moment with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 11, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Canon)

It was hard to part with the EOS Rebel SL1 - it’s literally the exact camera I’ve been dreaming of (before I even knew it existed!). I had been holding off on getting a DSLR camera for a while because they’re so large, but with the size and quality of the EOS Rebel SL1, I think I know what’s now on the top of my wish list…

Thanks so much to Canon and the NYC Ballet for such an incredible experience!

**********

Please note I was not compensated for this post. Canon provided our show tickets as well as meals and transportation for the day.

Have you ever seen The Nutcracker? What’s the number one thing you look for in a camera?

scenes from the weekend.

11 November, 2013 by Gracie 17 Comments

‘Twas a good one.

Anyone else think that Monica should start a sister blog to GML? 😉

Rewind to Friday where I ran errands all over the city, got my hair done, and enjoyed a coffee date with a reader. Hi Melanie!

Friday night was a friend’s birthday party at Henry, followed by a little FreelyBe shindig at Bounce.

Saturday included consisted of brunch at De Santos with some babes.

…don’t ask.

I spent most of Sunday laying around watching How I Met Your Mother…because I could. The lazy day was made complete with a nice stack of banana pancakes + maple almond butter. Heavenly.