My favorite time of year is here –– AKA the days between Thanksgiving and New Year's! I got a early start on getting into the Christmas spirit but now that it's December I can't help feeling excited for all the family and friend time to come and of course, seeing my beautifully decorated (if I do say so myself) tree every day. Here's what I've been up to lately!
A couple weeks ago, Kristin, Alexa and I went to check out the holiday shops (and food) at Bryant Park after work. It ended up being the perfect time to go! It was right before the rush of the holidays so it wasn't crowded and it wasn't that cold either. Our first stop of the night was
The Lodge to get chimney cakes from
The Stackery. Kristin and I got
Elf's Brew (signature "brewed coffee" in a chimney stack lined with creamy caramel) and Alexa got
The Frosty's Cocoa (Ghiradelli hot cocoa topped with marshmallow). The
Elf's Brew was amazing and my favorite of theirs. I don't know what that signature coffee was but I definitely wanted more of it afterward. From there, we went
Big Mozz because after all that sugar, we needed something savory. And again, I did not expect these to be so good! If you love mozzarella sticks, you have to order from them. After that, we circled around all the shops and ended up buying a couple things for ourselves. I think that might've been the most relaxing and fun NYC holiday market experience I've had!
One of my favorite things to do is take a random day off to spend in the city by myself. I love exploring with friends but there's something very freeing about doing it on my own too. Last month I went to see the new MoMA and walked around the Flatiron area. Then since I had this past week off, I decided to go into the city on Tuesday because I knew it would be warm (well, warmer than usual). First I headed to the
David Zwirner gallery to see
Yayoi Kusama's latest exhibit. She's famous for her infinity rooms so I got there at 9:45am, before they even opened. And there was already a long line! I waited a little over an hour to get in but I passed the time with a book so it wasn't that bad (word of advice: go on a weekday and go early!). The centerpiece of her exhibit was INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE. From the outside, I remember approaching and thinking, "This small room? That's it? And wait, we only get a minute?" but from the moment I stepped into it, I got it. I actually felt slightly disoriented at first because the optical illusion is so affecting but I quickly adjusted and there was just something magical about the experience and the light show that accompanied it. I wish we were given at least a minute or two more inside. Then I explored the rest of her exhibit and my second favorite was the INFINITY LADDER. Clearly, I'm a fan of what she does with mirrors!
From there, I went to
Chelsea Market for lunch and shopping. I've always enjoyed their artists' flea market. I ended up getting a ring at
Jewels by Atlantis and a beautiful ornament from K
atmama Accessories. I actually would've bought even more from the latter but I was trying to be good. Her stuff is beautiful! I grabbed lunch at
The Lobster Place (for seafood lovers only) and ice cream from
Seed + Mill. I've had that spot on my project ice cream list for the longest time so I was happy to finally cross is off. I got salted caramel with milled tahini and halva crumbles which sounds like a strange mix but it worked. It's admittedly not something I would crave but I'm glad I tried it! Then because I ate so much, I walked to Port Authority and it was honestly so lovely to leisurely walk while blasting my own little soundtrack. I have another staycation coming up in December so I might try to plan another day like this one!
Thanksgiving was bittersweet and while I did have some down moments, I was determined to enjoy being surrounded by family and I did! We got together at my parents' house like we always do and for the first time ever, we didn't overdo it with food. We still had a ton though! We all ate a lot and just hung out talking. Then three of my cousins and I decided to brave Black Friday shopping by going that night. We do Thanksgiving lunch with my family so I had more than enough time to rest and relax before they picked me up at 10:30pm (!) to shop. We hit Target first and then the mall. And surprisingly, it wasn't that bad! Turns out, most people would rather online shop 😂 I ended up buying quite a few Christmas decorations, a couple things for myself and presents too. We got home around 2am so I slept in which I almost never do. I spent the rest of the day (and weekend quite frankly): putting up my Christmas tree and all the decor, cleaning, going through every draw and closet to see what I could throw out (it was a lot) and bingeing a lot of TV (
Vampire Knight and
Unbelievable). I seriously cannot believe Thanksgiving and my week off is already over and that we're only weeks away from Christmas!
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What have you been up to lately?
I've always wanted to try Seed + Mill! And I'm so jealous you got to the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. As I texted you- I went a few years ago and I waited in line for over six hours on a Saturday. Totally worth it though- it really is magical inside that infinity room!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we ended up going to the holiday market together and so early! It was nice not to have to deal with too much of a crowd, and treating ourselves to dessert and mozzarella sticks is always a good call.
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