a {birth}day in life.

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Birthdays are always special days, but yesterday was easily one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Last year I made the mistake of doing absolutely nothing special for my birthday (with the exception of a small dinner with my friends), so this year I made sure to pack all of my favorite things into one day.

Every Wednesday we have our 7am girls’ Community Group, which there was no way I was going to miss! So the girls and I met up at a diner for coffee and fellowship. Such a great way to start the first morning of a new year.

Afterward I headed to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast and a little bit of work. I got the frittata special (kale, mushrooms, onions & cheddar) and an almond milk latte.

Then I headed downtown for some retail therapy. I actually didn’t do as much damage as I thought 😉 I got a kimono + neon clutch from Necessary Clothing, nude heels + some jewelry from Top Shop.

Around noon I headed to Exhale Spa in the Gansevoort hotel. A few weeks ago I got an email with a 50% birthday discount for a massage there (score), so I figured my actual birthday would be the perfect time to use it. It turned out to be thee best massage I’ve ever gotten.

Can you tell how relaxed I am in this post-massage selfie? ha.

After my massage I got my nails done, then I headed home and made myself lunch/relaxed for a few hours.

Then, it was time to get ready for the night out! I really wanted to wear something fun/colorful buuuut all black everything won again.

Then I headed to Harding’s for dinner with a handful of my closest friends. They gave us the whole back room to ourselves, which was so special! The food was incredible - Jessi and I split the lobster mac’n cheese, veal + ricotta meatballs, and a pear endive salad.

And for dessert - my mini birthday cake 😀

After dinner we all headed out to the bar area, where about 30 more of my friends joined to celebrate. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better night.

Afterward a few of us headed to Electric Room for a bit before the 7am wakeup hit me (hard) and I headed home.

Today has been pretty busy getting caught up with work + heading to PA to spend a few days with my family. I’m excited to continue the birthday celebration with them!

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How do you like spending your birthday? Do you like having a party, or keeping it more low key?

 

vlog: NYC diaries - some q&a.

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The #1 thing I get emails and questions about is related to living in/moving to New York, so I’m going to start chipping away at those in my vlogs! (By the way here’s a previous one I don’t think I ever shared on GML, oops).

In this video I answer some recent questions I’ve gotten, from dating to my advice for someone new to the city.

(if you’re a YouTube user, feel free to go ahead and subscribe to my channel!)

Mentioned in this video:

Arrojo Studio (I go to Nadia)
All About Hinge
Do You Tinder?
All of my previous NYC posts + restaurant/attraction guide

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Do you have any questions about New York (or anything else)? Let me know and I’ll try to answer it in my next vlog 🙂

eats: staying healthy while dining out {reader request}.

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I feel the need to preface this post by saying that the title is sort of deceptive because…well, I’m not going to give you “5 ways to lighten up your meal” or anything like that.

But when I recently received an email asking for my tips for staying healthy while eating at restaurants, I figured I’d take the opportunity to share what that looks like in my life. *

Before I moved to New York, dining out was much more of a treat. And because of that, it typically meant an excuse to overeat or “cheat” in one way or another. But since living here - where dining out is much more the norm than cooking from home is - I’ve learned to kind of get over that.

While eating at restaurants is still a form of entertainment and an enjoyable dining experience, most of the time it’s just another meal for me. And I think that that’s a really healthy way to view dining out, as opposed to making it the enemy/a bigger deal than it actually is.

Anyway. I digress. With that being said, here are some meals that I’ve eaten over the past week, all clearly not made in the GML kitchen.

* This looked different a few months ago when I was trying to stay more Whole30/Paleo, but I’m not right now.

meals
1) Whole Foods salad bar. Always a good go-to healthy option. I like to fill the bottom up mostly with greens + veggies, then I top it with the good stuff like the beans, grains, meat, etc.

2) Crispy Rice Tuna Roll from Tao. This was an appetizer but I got it for myself for dinner. Crispy rice is my jam.

3) Steel cut oats + sliced banana + Nutella at Le Pain Quotidien. I have this weird thing where I can’t eat oatmeal without a nut butter of some sort (preferably peanut butter), but LPQ didn’t have any, so I “settled” for Nutella 😉 I added another scoop about halfway through eating.

4) Gluten free peanut butter cookie + almond milk latte at Toby’s Estate. This wasn’t exactly the most balanced lunch, but I had a late breakfast and early dinner on this day, so I just needed something small to hold me over.

5) The “Signature” burger from Delicatessen (AKA the early dinner). The burger was topped with a fried egg, pork belly, and a cheese sauce. It was as amazing as it sounds. I ate the whole thing (1/2 without the bread) and a handful of the Truffle fries.

6) Suizas Enchiladas from Baby Bo’s. Mexican is my favorite cuisine, and this was the perfect comfort food for a Saturday night with my girl friends.

So there you have it! I hope it doesn’t disappoint that I don’t really have any special tips for staying healthy. I typically order whatever I’m in the mood for and I stop eating when I’m full. Most of the time that does mean I eat the entire portion, but not always. I also don’t snack as much throughout the day when I find myself dining out, so I think it all balances out.

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How often do you dine out? Do you typically view it as a treat or just a normal meal?

snapshots | 2.19.15.

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half bun

chunky boots

Soul Cycle NYC

shiba inu

It’s been a bit of a slow week in GML world, and that’s very much on purpose.

Well…let me rephrase that. My social life has been slow, but work has been b-a-n-a-n-a-s (in a good way!).

Most weeks I’m out just about every night, but this week the opposite has been true. It’s been a nice change to fully plan on staying in and just relaxing. The fact that we’ve been in a polar vortex for what seems like this entire month doesn’t make that decision difficult, to say the least.

Anyway, here are some snapshots via Instagram + more of the story behind them.

1) Monday was a great day. I very rarely take full advantage of 3-day weekends, but this time I treated Monday like the holiday it was. Rachel and I went to spin early in the morning, then I caught up on some work before shutting my laptop and enjoying the rest of the day. I had brunch with Rachel and Martina at Egg Shop, which I’d been wanting to visit for a while. It was SO good. I got an egg & cheese sandwich (gruyere, caramelized onion aoli) on a gluten free English muffin, and we went splitsies on bacon. Because bacon. Definitely recommended if you’re in NYC.

2) Every time I kinda sorta miss having a “real” job, I remember how much I hated wearing dress pants and pencil skirts. Thanks social media, for keeping me forever dressing like a teenager.

3) Sneak peek from a recent shoot with Samy. I always have so much fun at our photo shoots. I’ll be honest, though - playing model always feels a little strange. It makes me feel so silly! I definitely think there’s value in having more professional photos, but sometimes I miss the good old days when blogging was more…au naturale.

4) Another shot because these are my favorite boots in all the land. They’re from Boohoo.com.

5) Sooo am I annoying anyone with my repetitive SoulCycle posts? Oh well. Get used to ’em 😉

6) NUGGET THOUGH. In case you were wondering, she is in fact the cutest pup in the entire world. And believe it or not, in real life she’s even smaller than she looks.

7) Oh ya know, just your perfectly curated flat lay of my breakfast before I smashed it in my face. Also, can I be Margot Robbie?

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What’s been a highlight of your week so far? Has it been a busy one or on the slow side?

snapshots | 2.12.15.

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1) The other day I had a serious craving for cereal. And not just any cereal…Panda Puffs. AKA cereal made for a 5-year-old. No shame.

2) The bad news is it’s still ridiculously too cold to wear a sleeveless top. The good news is I thought I lost this shirt (this seems to be a pattern), but it recently turned up. Hallelujah!

3) After what felt like an eternity of gloomy, slushy weather - blue skies during an afternoon in Soho (my favorite neighborhood in NYC) was a beautiful sight.

4) One of my favorite places to get lunch in the city is Terri. They have this roasted vegetable wrap is just so SO good. I didn’t have breakfast on this particular morning (tisk tisk) so I got the wrap + a Green Power smoothie for “brunch.”

5) I think this might make me less of a girl, but I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of roses. BUT - this perfect single rose just looked so pretty over the crisp white snow, no?

6) Obviously this is meant to be silly, but I wonder how many relationships these days it’s actually true for! I love it - instaflirting is where it’s at 😉

7) Stolen directly from my Instagram post - If wearing lots of color isn’t really your thing, here are my favorite ways to add a pop of pink and red! Red Carpet Manicure‘s Red Carpet Reddy and My Favorite Designer, Nars Schiap, and Sephora cream lip stain Always Red.

8) If you follow me on SnapChat (@alagracie), you probably know this is my most typical snap - life imitating Emoji. So original, much amusement.

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What’s your favorite cereal? What are your plans for this weekend (Valentine’s Day!)?

snapshots | 2.9.15.

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1) Whyyy did I ever stop making Banana Soft Serve? Every time I make it I think “how is this just bananas?” I’ve also learned that using 2-3 bananas makes it way better - not just because there’s more (an obvious plus), but I’ve found it just blends a lot better.

2) On Friday we had a Red Carpet Manicure event at Paintbox nail studio. I had heard of Paintbox a ton but it was my first time there, and it is uh-mazing. Unlike any nail salon I’ve ever been to. If you’re ever in NYC and want to pamper yourself, this is the place to go.

(p.s. or if you want to give yourself a bomb-A gel manicure, you should enter my #GMLLOVE giveaway)

3) That’s my “please don’t make me go outside” selfie. This past week has been brutally cold in NYC. Oh how I miss having a car sometimes…

4) I’ve been loving adding fun sports bras/bandeaus to my normal workout attire. This one is from Forever21, but I’ve also seen them at LF Stores, Urban Outfitters, and Free People.

5) Post SoulCycle sweaty selfie with Sydney. She also just started a new blog with her best friend - check it out: WE Perceive.

6) As much as the winter can be a bummer, a surprise hour-long snow shower is still so fun.

7) These little breakfast arepas from Yerba Buena are my new JAM. Soooo good.

8) I recently shared on Instagram how much I love this little Bible Promise Book. You can find verses by topic (for me - whatever I may be struggling with on a given day). I’ve actually started carrying it around with me wherever I go - just reading a verse or two throughout the day has made such a big difference.

9) The big ol’ fluffy leopard coat is back in action. I reserve it only for the coldest of days…mostly because I look like a freak otherwise.

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What’s been a highlight of your past week(end)? Any particularly great meal, movie, etc.?