hell no, we won’t snow.

Tags

florida, miami, snow

I just found out that the lovely state Florida is the last state in the US with no snow for this wintery season.

Snow is so pretty, but in NYC it would only last about 5 minutes before turning into sludge.

So hell, yea. I live in Miami.

museum of m-f awesomeness.

Tags

friends of type, jessica hische, museum of natural history, typography

I’d have to agree with j. hische on this one. I’ve only been once and it was awesome. Could not get enough, had to leave too soon.

{via friends of type}

fall in the city.

Tags

fall new york city, photos fall new york city, photos fall nyc, photos new york city

Goodbye New York City. Goodbye fall. I will always love you both.

 

ahem, attention everyone.

Tags

announcement, design, miami, miami ad school, moving

I’m happy (and sad and nervous and delighted and excited) to announce a pretty big shift in my life:

I’ve been accepted into the digital design program with Miami Ad School.

I’ll be moving to Miami from NYC in late November. From there, I’ll have a week to prepare before my wedding. From there, Gaius and I will be honeymooning for a week in December. All this to settle in for design classes beginning January 4th, 2010.

I know.

Insanity.

But oh so exciting! I’ll be able to see my parents and brother whenever I please (a luxury that I sorely miss). I’ll get to drive around with the top down since winter weather never happens. And best of all, I’ll be able to explore a side of my intellect that I barely know as we’ve only dabbled in projects together.

So many positive changes and yet… I’ve had a great run in NYC. A solid first “real world” job working in search engine advertising with GroupM Search/Outrider (whose team of people are nothing short of amazing, by the way). Great friends. An awesome city to live in. Great food. I’ll miss the ability to never have to drive myself around. I’ll miss Central Park. I’ll miss 106 St and all that that implies (you can see the love for my block in our engagement photos).

It’s all so bittersweet. I know that now’s the time to try out new things – I haven’t started settling down (aside from finding someone with whom I want to spend the rest of my life). But you understand, I don’t have kids. Nor do I have the intention to have any for a long while. This creative possibility has been nagging me in the back of my head for a while, so I’ve taken the leap. Leaving the good stuff I know I have right now for new, uncharted territories.

We’ll see where I land.

Explosions in the Sky

Tags

central park, explosions in the sky, explosions in the sky concert, explosions in the sky concert new york, summerstage

Yesterday, I got to see Explosions in the Sky. They rocked it in Central Park. I was happy.

That’s the abridged version. The unabridged version goes as follows: I bought the tickets back in March and have been looking forward to it since. Turns out a couple of my coworkers were planning on going to the concert as well. Plans were made. Excitement ensued.

Well, the closer the concert got the more it became apparent we would have to cross our fingers for the rain to stop in NYC long enough for Explosions to go onstage. We left work while the rain struggled with the identity crisis unsure whether it should be light or a full-raged storm. After walking with umbrellas attached to our arms, we decided to stroll into a bar and wait for the rain to figure its purpose.

As you can see from the blurry photo above, we not only got to Summerstage in time for Explosions to come on stage, but the rain also let up and gave way to a beautiful night sky. Awesome.

Random Act of Green No. 1

Tags

eco-friendly living, green, random act of green, sustainability, sustainable living

So I’m into the “green” thing. Don’t judge. I’m not standing outside your door forcing you to take in sustainability messaging and wear eco-clothing. I’m just attempting the life mantra of “It’s the little things that count.”

Now I know the the main thing I could probably to help the environment is to move out of the concrete jungle and into a more rural area, but let’s be real… I’m city through and through. In the meantime, I’d like to believe that I’ve done some random things to help living my life in a more sustainable manner and I’m going to start documenting them on this blog. Hopefully, if you’re aiming to make small changes that count, then I’ll post something you hadn’t thought of quite yet and you can incorporate it into your life.

So get on with it, right? What’s my first official random act of green?

Eat local when possible. In the City, it’s actually pretty easy to accomplish this as long as you’re willing to go a little out of your way and walk a few blocks past your neighborhood Gristedes (is it just me or are they always dirty?) to the farmer’s market. I’ve been keeping this up for the past few weeks and hope to get well into the habit before it starts getting cold in the fall/winter and only the big markets are open.

Why I Love NYC in the Summertime.

Tags

summer new york city guide 2009, summer nyc guide 2009, vanity fair all access guide 2009, vanity fair nyc guide 2009, vanity fair summer guide, vanity fair summer guide 2009, VF summer guide 2009

There’s just so much to do! It’s the perfect place to be for a frugal summer. Sounds counterintuitive, I know, but the City hosts a lot of free concerts, free movie showings and other fun things.

Download the Vanity Fair All Access Summer 2009 Guide here: VF Summer Guide 2009

Things on my personal to do list this summer:

- See Matt & Kim‘s free live concert

- See Explosions in the Sky at Summerstage for $25

- See The Roots for $10

- Walk along The Highline park (just opened last week!)

- See Les Nubians for free at Summerstage

- Spend a day at the Storm King Art Center during one of their free summer Thursdays (normally $10 entry)

- Watch Be A Man! Samurai School at IFC for $13.50

Photo credit: ryan muir

Fresh the Movie Tonight!

Tags

food documentary, fresh documentary, fresh the movie

I’m really excited because I’m going to see Fresh tonight. Food is a fascination of mine, especially coming from a day and age where so many people consume more food than ever and glorify all homemade and authentic meals, yet don’t seem to care about the processes and methods used by our food industry.

The screening is complete with a panel of folks featured in the movie. According to the Fresh site, the panel to follow the screening includes:
Jacquie Berger (Moderator), Executive Director, Just Food
Dan Barber, Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Blue Hills, Stone Barn (I saw his farm when I went on a Hudson Valley Tour!)
Joan Gussow, Founding member of Just Food, Professor at Columbia University
Joel Salatin, Founder, Polyface Farms
Will Allen, Founder, Growing Power
Josh Viertel, President, Slow Food International
Ana Joanes, Director & Producer of FRESH

So excited!

Yoga To The People – Hot Yoga Review!

Tags

bikram yoga, hot traditional yoga, hot yoga, yoga to the people, yoga to the people nyc

This last week, I discovered even more of a reason to love Yoga to the People: hot yoga classes.

They’ve got two studios, both in midtown and I’ve taken one class at each location.

The first is hot vinyasa yoga on 1017 6th Ave at 38th Street. It’s only $5 if you’ve got your towel and yoga mat with you. I enjoyed the class because it’s so freaking close to my job, but it was definitely a bare essentials sort of environment. Think one mid-sized room, windows, mirrors, one women’s changing room and one small bathroom. That’s it. No more. Guys… You’ll have to be prepared to figure out your changing situation without a changing room. Oh, and did I mention no showers? I had also only ever done Bikram as hot yoga. I actually really enjoyed doing vinyasa in a heated environment. It’s good for someone who is interested in adding a twist to their vinyasa practice. I’ll probably do this class when I only have the time/patience/willpower for a 60-minute class and want to go directly after work.

The second location is tradition hot yoga located at 115 W. 27th Street at 6th Ave. It just opened on April 24th so the class sizes are small since no one really knows about this place yet. Wow! I give this class a 5 star rating! It’s a mere $7 if you come with your mat and towel. For those of us in NYC, we know this is an insane steal since most traditional hot yoga classes are at least $20 per class. I loved the fact that the yoga instructor had us put name tags next to our mats so that she could give us individual direction throughout the class. (Hearing “Nadia, bring those feet together. More, more, more, more!” was really motivating) It was in this really great large studio, complete with showers, bathrooms, changing rooms (two! one for each gender) and lockers. This class is 90 minutes long and it’s a real challenge. I had my heart rate monitor on to see how many calories I lost during the class and I finished at a little past 700 calories! Now, I expect this to go down as time goes on since right now I’m really out of shape and probably burning calories rather quickly.

I’m planning to incorporate a regular yoga practice into my weight loss goals. It’s already worked well so far and I really enjoy it! It’s so satisfying to know that I have the focus and stamina to complete a class. Yoga to the People, you officially have a regular.

Photo Credit:ilikegranola.com

Brooklyn Waterfront Bicycle Ride! Oh My!

Tags

7th annual future brooklyn waterfront greenway bike tour, bicycle ride, brooklyn waterfront, brooklyn waterfront bicycle ride, brooklyn waterfront greenway

Looking for something to do tomorrow? Been itching to take your bike out for a ride?

Here’s your answer: Sign up for the 7th Annual Future Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Bike Tour!

The BGI site states:

Join BGI for a 10-mile ride at a family pace, starting in Greenpoint and ending at Red Hook’s spectacular waterfront. Includes a restroom/water stop and updates about the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Bring a helmet, water, spare tube, sunscreen and a camera! Meet at the northern end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.

Tour is free but donations are welcome.

Registration: E-mail your full name & contact info to: ride2009(at)brooklyngreenway.org

Photo Credit: truthwithelegance