Scenes From New York | Girl Meets Life | A Lifestyle Blog By Gracie Gordon

snapshots | 2.9.15.

9 February, 2015 by Gracie 3 Comments

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.?

this week’s events recap: Canon + Perrier.

26 September, 2014 by Gracie 2 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw that I went to a couple of cool events this week! I’ve got to say that that’s one of the things I love about living in NYC – there are fun opportunities to take advantange of just about every day.

Rewind to Tuesday where I attended the Farewell To Summer event hosted by Canon at Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar.

At the event all of the guests were invited to #bringit it by using the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 or the Canon EOS Rebel T5i to capture the beautiful fall sunset over the Hudson River. Jessi and I got some beautiful shots.

We also learned some cool tips about using Canon cameras, which is really helpful since I personally own an SL1. A few of them are:

1) Auto White Balance (AWB) – By changing to the Cloudy or Shade setting before shooting an image, you adjust the camera to take advantage of the different warm tones it can render

2) Exposure Compensation - By utilizing Exposure Compensation before shooting an image, it allows more or less light in, resulting in brighter or darker images that can change the mood of the same scene

3) Rule of Thirds – The Rule of Thirds advocates that the subject or major part of the image should not be placed in the center of the photograph, so that the eye has more room to explore

It was such a fun evening! And a perfect way to spend the first day of fall - soaking in that last bit of warm weather

Then on Thursday (yesterday) I went to the #StreetArtByPerrier event at the Colossal Media warehouse in Williamsburg. I’ve been to a lot of events in my day, and I’ve got to say that this was one of the best I’ve been to.

There were tons of fun activations, endless food, drinks, and good music. What more could you ask for?

Oh, and of course there was the incredible art covering the entire venue.

The event was to unveil Perrier’s new limited-edition street art inspired bottles and cans. For the new collection, Perrier collaborated with three of the most dynamic and influential artists from the international street art community – JonOne, Kobra, and Sasu. All of their work was absolutely amazing, and the event did a great job of showcasing it.

Thanks to Canon and Perrier for the fun events!

SBC: a(nother) day in the life + thankful thursday.

18 September, 2014 by Gracie 8 Comments

Hey hey, happy Thursday!

How’s the September Blogging Challenge going for you? Be sure to send me the links to your posts (comment, tweet, etc.) – would love to check ‘em out

And FYI – I *will* be putting together a challenge for October. Be on the lookout!

#17: a day in the life.

I’m going to keep this day in the life pretty short and sweet…just because I have a lot of work to do 😉

Yesterday (Wednesday) I got up bright and early to catch up on some reading, work, and lots of coffee. My super casual OOTD:

Then I headed out for an 8am breakfast in Brooklyn. I’m a Manhattan girl, but I’ve gotta say I love me some BK.

Afterward I headed back into the city and squeezed in a great workout.

Still in 2nd and 3rd place to “CJF” – how in the world does this dude/chick do 483 floors?!

After the gym I headed to lunch at Westville with my girl friend Victoria. I love their (massive) market veggie plates.

After lunch I had another quick meeting, then finished the work day at a nearby café. Then I headed home to get ready for a night out!

I really, really was hoping to make this new skirt/dress/suspenders thing work…but I felt too much like Hansel and Gretel. HA. So I went with shorts instead.

Big decisions, people.

The night was spent bopping around downtown, from rooftop to rooftop to wandering Little Italy. And that’s a wrap!

#18: thankful Thursday.

I just spent a few minutes thinking of things I could add to the usual list I make for Thankful Thursday, but honestly I’m just overwhelmed by how grateful I am for my life as a whole. My family, friends, career, where I live, and even my future.

Basically, I’m thankful for my (still very much being written) story.

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What are you thankful for today?

snapshots | 8.25.14.

25 August, 2014 by Gracie 7 Comments

So I tried to do a little health kick when I got back from Vegas. That ended as soon as burrata was placed in front of me.

Up until then, though, I enjoyed a bunch of big ass smoothies and a veggie/quinoa feast from Blossom.

I slept my life away Thursday – Friday, so by the time Saturday rolled around I was ready to hit the town again.

OOTN.

(Is the scallop trend still a thing?)

Adventures in Little Italy.

Chicks 😀

A promised GML shout out 😉 RC & SB!

Sunday OOTD.

Brooklyn rendezvous.

Chelsea greenery.

Popcorn in bed…on a plate. AKA maturity.

This outfit, just because I want to be wearing it.

And this quote, just because I want to be living it.

What’s been a life highlight for you lately? Do anything fun over the weekend?

scenes from the weekend.

29 June, 2014 by Gracie 15 Comments

Haven’t done one of these in a while!

This weekend was a great one – a perfect balance of productivity and fun.

Gotta rewind to Thursday because that’s where the weekend really starts, right? I headed down to Arrojo after work to get my blondes done by Nadia. If you’re looking for a colorist in NYC, I couldn’t recommend her more!

Afterward Rachel and I went to our standard evening spot, conveniently called The Standard.

Friday was a long work day, so I spent the night in eating brinner and watching TV.

It was perfection…as was this dessert I came up with – coconut butter sandwiched between two pieces of bacon dark chocolate. I know.

And then there was Saturday, which was pretty much the perfect NYC adventure day. I woke up super early and got a killer workout in, caught up on some work stuff, and then Rachel and I headed to Williamsburg for Smorgasburg.

Smorgasburg is one of my favorite things to do in the city during the summer. As much as I love brunch, there’s nothing like getting an assortment of different delicious and unique foods for lunch.

Rachel and I went halfsies on some Vietnamese summer rolls, a Red Hook Lobster Roll…

…and THEE best ice cream sandwich of all time. Ever. No exaggeration.

That’s The Good Batch’s Brown Butter Coffee Caramel Ice Cream Sandwich - Brown Butter Salty Cookie, espresso beans, caramel cream, and coffee ice cream. You have no idea.

After hanging with Jessi and some church friends at Smorgasburg for a bit, Rachel and I headed back to Manhattan for the rest of the afternoon. We stopped at STK rooftop and the Standard Biergarten before heading home to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at Toro, which is definitely one of my favorite new restaurants. I’m a tapas girl, and their Spanish tapas were perfection…to the point that I forgot to take photos of them 😉

I did snap this shot of my first ever bone marrow. The texture threw me off when I first saw it, but it was SO good!

After dinner we bopped around some spots on the West Side (Tao, PH-D)…

…before realizing that we were more in the mood for an East Side vibe. So we headed to The Wren for a bit before calling it a night.

Today (Sunday) I reverted back to relaxation/productivity mode – cleaning the apartment, Speakable stuff, gym, etc.

Church was especially awesome too. I’m going to share the podcast later this week!

I wrapped up the weekend back in front of my TV (er, computer) with a nice sushi meal.

I’ll leave you with this snippet from Saturday’s Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith (my favorite daily devo).

Aaaaaaand some more inspiration. Just ‘cause

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What was the highlight of your weekend?

snapshots.

2 August, 2013 by Gracie 5 Comments

As a blogger I’ve gotten trained to take photos of just about anything and everything, but a lot of them don’t always make it to a post. So here’s a look at some random snapshots taken this week that didn’t weren’t going to make the cut. Until now.

Mmm, nature.