dear new york,

you are beautiful, even though you are bone-chilling cold. 

you have an unmatched feel.

you were good to us.

i'll be back. 

this first set of photos is from day 1 of our 5-day adventure.
i traveled with my mom and sister on a sort-of-spontaneous trip "to ring in the new year in a different city." my mom's birthday is new year's day and she really wanted to go somewhere this year so my sister and i hopped on board for a girls' trip. we have been lucky to have traveled together so much throughout the years and we all have a pretty laid back style and a go-with-the-flow vibe. we had planned a few things/ places to go, especially restaurants but were very impromptu for the most part.

we found our apartment through air bnb, after contemplating many different cool neighborhoods we went with the upper west side, especially since one of my all-time favorites bloggers lives there! the vibe was amazing and it really felt like we were a part of the neighborhood for a few days; it looked like something straight out of sex & the city (one of my fav shows!!!).

hope you enjoy these photos & check back for more updates!

upper west side neighborhood; W. 80th & Broadway; view from our stoop

at the hummus kitchen for lunch after landing & dropping our bags lugging our 4 bags up a steep-ass flight of stairs at the apartment

walking into chinatown, freezing as hell!

chinatown explorations

la mela in little italy for dinner, cheers-ing with bellinis

attaboy for after-drinks

a hole-in-the-wall speakeasy that you wouldn't know was there unless someone told you. hidden in a used-to-be tailor where you knock softly on a giant metal door for one of the guys to come check you in or get your number (like he did with us) to text when a table became available. luckily there was a starbucks nearby where we hid out for 10 minutes before the guys texted us and we walked back to enjoy a dimmed, candlelit environment with a unique, made-especially-for-you cocktail. he asked "what are you in the mood for this evening?" with a fine scottish accent which was almost difficult to understand. ben ordered something whiskey-based and with a little spice. my mom and i were feeling grapefruit, since the aroma in the place smelled of zest and citrus and mirelle ordered "something fruity with pineapple." drinks were amazing and all different, there is no menu to even go by, so it really felt as it the bartender hand-crafted that for you and you only. the vibe was way cool and different. 

after after-drinks we took the subway to ben's apartment, near times square, where we accessed the rooftop of his place to get our first view of the city at night, which was breath-taking

 it was freezing up there, yes. but the view made it sooo worth it!

i will more of our trip throughout the week, so stay tuned!

christmas came & went

here are a few snippets from my christmas day with my family if you would like to see.

my brother, two cousins, aunt and uncle came in town and we all gathered at my grandmother's house to have a nice meal and hang out. 

christmas meal table setting

i received an amazing new lens from dek for the holidays & my brother ben was playing around with it and yielded this photo

my grandmother's decaf coffee christmas cup with a pretty little lip stain

 new zara blanket scarf from my sister, mirelle

  peanut wanted in the photoshoot

i love it!

traditional photo in the kitchen

this sums up our relationship

 peanut was worn out!

thanks for reading :)

also i will be sharing tons of photos and stories from my trip to new york, so stay tuned!!

partner party

a few weekends ago my partners & i celebrated the holidays with a cozy little get-together. 

we all most of us brought something to eat or drink and daiana brought cards against humanity which we played...which got interesting. but now i totally understand why the game is called that! it was so much fun, maybe too much fun for me as i definitely had a glass or two too many of wine, but hanging out with my friends from work, outside of work, is always fun. 

i haven't even mentioned on my blog yet, but i'm going with my mom and sister to new york for a few days! we leave the 29th and will ring in the new year in a different city with a totally different vibe. sadly, dek isn't coming with us. i miss him already. don't event get me started. but this is a girls trip and he didn't really want to join in this time. so we have rented an apartment in the upper west side and have plans to be total foodies for five days while we scope out the city for fun treats and take advantage of the scenic & iconic backgrounds for photoshoots, of course. if you have any suggestions on what to do/must see things/places, let me know :)

hope you all have a wonderful week & holiday!

here are some photos from our "partner party," if you would like to see...

pasta salad & cider

spinach salad with strawberries & homemade peppermint bark (in the background) 

chili's appetizer platter & cornbread (?)

i fell in love with this kitty

& stay tuned for a fun and super cool diy project that i will post soon!!

sunday funday

this past sunday dek & i made our way over to white rock coffee to sip on a latte and enjoy their atmosphere before heading over to my grandmother's house to rake and mulch the sea of leaves that has accumulated. 

i've heard of wr coffee before, a few friends have suggested we go and sunday was the day. we had no idea what to expect walking in, but we loved it! the coffee shop itself is located in a slim and narrow building with space being really well utilized. they have a lot of seating for being such a small cafe, but the ambiance of the upstairs and all the natural light is really great. as you enter and you walk right in to a fluffy and decorated christmas tree, paired with the robust smell of their-own-roast of coffee...it's a great sensation. i especially appreciate the wood vaulted ceilings and the industrial fans :)

the barista behind the counter was super nice & helpful, as they usually are when the first words out of my mouth are "hi, we've never been here," said with a smile. dek & i weren't feeling meat that morning so we opted for plain & everything toasted bagels with cream cheese to pair with our lattes. (his: extra hot, mine: vanilla with almond milk) we opted to sit upstairs with our breakfast & beverages and people watch from up above. it was super cool & we even left our mark by tagging our names on the beam. you know you're a barista when...you keep 2 black, fine-tip sharpies in your purse.

here are some photos from our sunday, if you would like to see:

there was a wr barista named parker actually roasting his own coffee on the patio outside; it was the coolest thing! he had a notepad with details from how he wanted to differentiate this batch from his last and a timer running in order to catch the beans at their peak. i have never witnessed coffee roasting before my own eyes, but he explained this is an at-home roaster, so i might have to look more into this whole coffee roasting process thing myself...

raking the sea of crunchy leaves in my grandmother's back yard

beanie: charlotte russe, scarf: charlotte russe, sweater: h&m, pants: target, shoes: nine west fango booties

i had a blast riding that thing!

thanks for reading!

have a wonderful week!

the pattern of coffee & people

after a sharktank marathon last night, dekel & i woke up early to head to houndstooth coffee, a quaint corner coffeeshop off henderson avenue, recommendation by my friend harley. the place was so my style and i loved the uniqueness of everything. you walk in and are greeted by handsome baristos behind a beautiful chrome, mirrored espresso bar. after placing your order, we went with lattes (me: almond latte with vanilla, dek: original) you get to watch a beautiful creation of latte art and then enjoy the natural-lighted space with your caffeinated beverage of choice. 

another point to make is you can even choose which espresso you would like in your shots! check out their daily offerings board below, but after choosing which espresso you would like you can see the barista stuffing your chosen grounds into the filter, yielding a special "brewed for you" feeling. 

starbucks needs to step up their game. 

 the pattern of coffee and people is what they are all about

 pretty teal barstools fill the room

 chocolate croissant & latte art 

 cute detail revealed when you finish your last sip

cool, tucked away room in the cafe & their sleeves at the condiment bar

 daily offerings board; we enjoyed timepiece in our lattes

 fancy

 houndstooth, one of my favorite patterns & now one of my favorite coffee shops!

milk & honey, a boutique next door i have been dying to check out but they don't open until noon on sunday, so i'll just have to come back...  ;)

 booties from hallelu that i bought four years ago! you know you made a great purchase when you wear them often & still love them just the same.

thanks for reading & have a great week!