I'm the girl, Gracie. Here at GML you can follow my journey of dreaming, working, eating, loving, and blogging my way through life in NYC.
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…is the perfect way to describe the past few days. And I loved every minute of it!
On Wednesday I had a (long overdue) day date with the lovely Monica. She just moved around the corner from me, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!
She showed me her new place and then we had a very girly date of walking to the park and eating a like, really healthy Whole Foods lunch.
Later that evening one of my roommates had organized a little Mary Kay demonstration, so I sat in on that for a bit. Being pampered in my living room? Don’t mind if I do.
Then there were plans for a fun night out. I don’t go out on the weeknights as much as I used to – and even then you’d usually find me in a beanie and t-shirt – so I took the opportunity to get all girlied up for a change.
And then there was last night, which was probably the girliest of them all – Janelle’s bachelorette party!
She had just flown in from London and is getting married on Saturday (tomorrow!), so it was the perfect girls’ night before her big day. We had an amazing dinner at Vinatta Project, along with the typical bachelorette shenanigans.
What was the highlight of your week so far?
What’s the girliest things you’ve done lately?
Sometimes there’s a gap in between blog posts where way too many things happen, and it’s easier to just keep the words short let the photos speak for themselves.
This is one of those times. Sound good?
Thursday night was an impromptu dinner at Alta, which turned out to be one of the most amazing meals I’ve had in a while. None of my photos turned out, but let’s just say this is thee place to go for some of the city’s best small plates.
Saturday was an adventure from start to finish. First up was brunch at Freeman’s.
Followed by an afternoon The Standard Biergarten…
…an incredible sushi dinner at Momoya…
…and a late night of dancing and silliness at Café Wha.
Sunday was pretty low key: brunch, church, and Gatsby.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have at least a little case of the Monday blues! So as usual, here’s a little dose of Monday inspiration.
What was the highlight of your weekend?
Did you see The Great Gatsby? Thoughts??
Hello from Pennsylvania! I came here for a couple of days to celebrate the (belated) birthday of my lovely mom. But let’s rewind a bit first, shall we?
On Thursday I paid a visit to Arrojo to get my blonde locks all freshened up. Mission accomplished. (If you’re looking for a colorist in New York you have to try Nadia at Arrojo. She’s amazing!)
Later that night Jessi and I headed to Hudson Common for a special karaoke party. But not just any karaoke party…
Karaoke Killed the Cat hosted what was hands down the most fun karaoke I’ve ever experienced. They’ve made karaoke less of an awkward (sometimes boring) performance and turned it into an interactive, silly, and FUN party.
(Check out some more pictures and videos from the night on the FreelyBe Facebook page.)
On Friday Jessi and I had a handful of meetings all over the city. A few miles walked and a forgotten lunch later, we were starving for dinner by 5pm. So after our last meeting our destination was an obvious one – to head to Murray Hill for dinner at Baby Bo’s.
Baby Bo’s has some of the best authentic Mexican food in the city. Tip: always ask for the extra dipping sauces with your tortilla chips!
I usually get enchiladas or a burrito, but I decided to switch it up and try their Chile Rellenos (one with beef, one with shrimp), served with rice and beans. It looks a bit messy, but it was so, so good. I think I may have a new favorite meal.
It was still gorgeous outside when we left, so we decided to take the 30-minute walk home. By the time we got back to the apartment we were pretty exhausted from the long day, so a movie chick flick night it was!
Bachelorette was…good. Definitely funny and cute at times, but sort of unnecessarily crude at others. Definitely entertaining, though!
After sleeping until 11am yesterday morning (who am I?) I headed to the train station where my beautiful sister Katie picked me up.
We had such a fun afternoon together stopping at her apartment, visiting our friend Sara, and running some errands before setting up camp at mom and dad’s. Laziness, ice cream, and quality family time ensued.
And now here I am on Sunday morning, about to get ready for church and the day ahead  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!
Have you ever done karaoke? What’s your go-to song?
How’s your weekend so far?
feast.
It’s no surprise that one of my favorite things about living in New York is the amazing restaurants here. At any given point there are whispers of the “best new restaurants,” and I’ve heard a ton about Feast in the East Village. Jessi, Erica, and I went there for dinner last night, and it. was. amazing.
Their greenmarket-driven American fare menu has multi-course and a la carte options. We opted for the Farmer’s Market Feast (which included nine dishes!).
Each dish was better than the last – all of them fresh, flavorful, and so delicious! My favorites were the Market Salad (1), Beet Frites, and Stuffed Eggplant (2).
this article by Jessi – the best dating advice I could ever give.
My best friend Jessi recently posted this article on her Tumblr, and I knew I just had to share it with you. I feel like this is a common issue that way too many girls face when it comes to dating (myself included), so…well, give it a read!
snapchat.
I may be a little late to the game on this one…and I may only have like 3 friends…but Snapchat is just so fun!
the voice.
…and not just because of Adam Levine and his tattoos. I’m loving this season with the new judges and the talent is great. And seriously, how adorable is Shakira??
tumbling.
AKA my new way to vicariously live through the internet. That came out wrong. But check out GML’s more creative little sister.
wordiness.
Because what easier way to make a statement with what you wear than by having it clearly written out?
What TV show(s) are you currently hooked on? What did you think about Jessi’s advice?
There is one reason and one reason only to enter Whole Foods on a Sunday.
I spent way too long having a room without curtains. And blackout curtains are my new best friend.
I have bragging rights.
I have more food blogging opportunities than I thought.
(Brunch at Agave on Saturday and at Fat Radish on Sunday. Yum.)
I still can’t believe I (finally) live with my best friend.
MTA workers are quite possibly the toughest people in New York.
Work-less Saturdays need to happen more often.
If a stranger approaches you and asks if you like horses, ignore and walk away.
Shark Tank is one of the best TV shows ever. And Mark Cuban is a genius.
I’ve never met a C.S. Lewis quote I didn’t like.
What was a highlight of your weekend?
Any other Shark Tank fans??
It’s Saturdayyyyy!
I don’t know about you, but this past week seems to have flown by. I didn’t anticipate it being the craziest of weeks, but my days lately have just been booked from start to finish. Throw some (sort of serious) blog issues into the mix…and, let’s just say I was excited to get the weekend off to an early start.
I kicked off a pre-start to the weekend by having dinner with none than miss Monica on Thursday night.
Fun fact: did you know that Monica and I actually would not have been friends if it were not for GML? She has a friend who made a recipe from here, then Monica started reading and found out about FreelyBe, came to one of our meetings, and it was friendship at first sight 
We had dinner at one of my favorite new spots, Westville. Westville’s food is not only delicious, but it’s some of the most fresh and healthy I’ve had in the city. We split four of their market sides (fried plantains, mashed sweet potatoes, parmesan asparagus, and sautéed kale):
And almond-crusted trout over a salad with pears and avocado:
I kept the fresh and healthy kick going for breakfast the next morning to keep me fueled for the long day ahead.
Then…I was off. I spent almost all of Friday out and about running errands, meetings, getting my monthly allergy shot, and doing my blogger duty of taking a selfie to prove it.
And, of course, Jessi and I found some time to squeeze in just a bit of shopping. I picked up a lipstick I’ve been wanting, thanks to the Sephora gift card my lovely roommate Trish got me for my birthday.
Obnixious pink, anyone?
That would be NARS Schiap (semi matte) lipstick. I originally tried it on almost as a joke but loved how fun the shade was! It’s a great color to brighten things up a bit going into spring.
After a couple of hours at home to relax and get ready for the night ahead, Jessi and I headed out to the first of our two events for the night. First up was hosting corporate happy hours at Hudson Common, followed by another installment of the You+2 events.
Our job isn’t so bad.
And now here I am – just having finished some pumpkin pancakes courtesy of my BFF Jessi – and prepping to get the day started. I might even be a rebel and leave my bed unmade today. Good thing I have a futon to store my 92465947 pillows…
Aaaand I’m off. Enjoy your Saturday, friends!
How did you wrap up this week? Any fun plans for the weekend?
Spot the Statue.
A new favorite Italian restaurant, Aroma.
My first Knicks game.
I’m a carnivore.
Some inspiration.
Such a fun NYC spot – Cafe Wha.
“I think I’ll start a blog.”
A game called Quirkle.
A gift from Australia.
I’ve been framed.
(Wordless) mini cake for birthday celebration #1.
Sisters then…
…Sisters now.
Your turn! What’s your favorite recent photo on your phone right now?
What a fun week it’s been! I can’t believe it’s already Friday. But let’s rewind to the rest of my week, which has looked a little bit like…
Monday: I started working out again! Like, for real this time. I’ve been going to the gym, but was very inspired by these simple-ish routines found via Pinterest.
Now if only I could find out what the heck an “inchworm” is…
Tuesday: “Fat Tuesday” dinner was enjoyed at Cowgirl Sea-Horse – one of my new favorite little spots, secretly tucked away almost right under the Brooklyn Bridge. I was in Shrimp & Grits heaven.
Wednesday: giiiiiirl’s niiiiight. Think we got enough sushi?
Thursday: Valentine’s Day! Complete with a very fitting pink sunset…
And of course it isn’t Valentine’s Day without some (surprise) cupcakes.
(These are from Eleni’s – some of the best I’ve ever had!)
Friday: I’m actually heading out of town later today for a friend’s going away party on Saturday. Other than that, my day has consisted of work, coffee, and my favorite daytime talk shows  I’ll leave you with this snippet from today’s devo…
What were some of the highlights of your week?
How did you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
In case your Instagram feed didn’t make it clear enough, we got snow.
Like, a lot of it.
And apparently we now name snow storms. But not just any regular names…COOL names.
I never thought it would happen to me, but it seems I am definitely not safe from the black hole that is online shopping.
And, as usual, I blame it all on Pinterest.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a dancing robot and (un-pictured) Chewbacca make an appearance during your night out.
I should’ve never stopped doing weights while working out. My muscles now hate me.
Who needs to carry a compact anymore? The reverse camera on iPhone is quite the effective mirror.
(…slash selfie-generator.)
“You can’t mess up God’s will when you’re trying to do God’s will” – wise words from my best friend Jessi.
Ainsworth Park – known mostly for being a sports bar – is now one of my new favorite brunch spots. Who knew?
And last but not least, it seems I’ll most likely be moving into a new apartment in March or April. Ah!
What lesson(s) have you learned lately? Did you get hit by Nemo over the weekend?
Do you ever have those weeks? Those weeks that include extra special additions?
Because for me, this week is one of them. It all started on Sunday when we arrived at The Leadbelly to find this extra special touch welcoming our guests.
It turned out to be such a great brunch! If you’re ever in New York on a Sunday and looking for a place to enjoy good food, a cozy setting, and meet some new friends – we’d love for you to join us.
Also to make note of from Sunday – the No Pants Subway Ride day. I don’t know I’d call this “extra special,” but it was definitely…um, different.
Nothing extravagant happened on Monday and Tuesday other than working from home and enjoying the simple comforts, like sipping tea in an extra special over-sized mug. Seriously – what is it about these huge mugs that makes tea/coffee taste so much better?
Oh, and then of course there’s my Fresh Diet meals. They make me feel so spoiled! Extra special x10.
(Walnut Crusted Chicken Apricot Roulade with Roasted Kabocha Squash, Wild Mushrooms, and Sauteed Kale)
Yesterday was an extra special day for myself, Jessi, and FreelyBe. I can’t go into too much detail, but we have some really exciting things in the works right now. Fingers crossed! I’ve really grown to love our Wednesdays, which essentially consist of walking all over the city from meeting to meeting. Our destinations aren’t too shabby either. In this case: Hudson Hotel.
I don’t know exactly what the rest of the week will hold, but with the plans I have in place I have a feeling there will be some more extra special things in store…
What little things take your week from being average to extra special?
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