Lion hair and turtlenecks=fail.

My hairstylist the other week told me I need some New York sass in my hair. He gave me an edgy cut with layers, bangs, volume, and SASSSS. But when I walked into work today and my cowoker: "Oh, your hair. Haha, do you need some product?" Sass gone. Will not be reaching for the hair gel and pretending to be rocker status mixed with beach babe anytime soon. It was windy outside? On the positive side, I now know how to get more beauty samples?

DIVINE Little Italy

SPRING in New York

Catie one of my girlfriends from Baylor flew into the Newark airport late Thursday night, and to prevent from getting stolen or mugged had a car take her to Grand Central where I met her with the biggest smile and an even bigger embrace. Friday we spent walking away from the five hour line to Ellis Island and instead moved north. We meandered through Manhattan and ran into the first New York public park to grace the skyscraper playground, the famous bronze bull that is in every other movie, the Freedom Tower's construction site (that will be 1776 square feet, and has the original architect of the Twin Towers on the design team working for free at his request), the serene Trinity Church, and other New York sites. I played tourist for the day, but in retrospect with how busy I've been this semester there haven't been many days I've pulled out the camera and large sunglasses and just wandered. Catie and I snapped pictures at Wallstreet and of the Trump tower before we fantasized and drooled over diamonds in the Tiffany's store just off the cobblestone streets. We walked all of the way up to Chinatown where we bartered for goods before settling down at a table on a street corner in Little Italy. Little Italy is being taken over by Chinatown, and now is confined to about two blocks of AH-MAYYY-ZING restaurants. Splitting a bottle of wine, great food, and even better conversation that was only interupted with our cute Italian waiters was the PERFECT way to spend a relaxing few hours.
We ended the night with Fuerza Bruta at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square. The show happens above, around and among the standing audience and is a crazy sensory experience. There was a collapsing cieling made touchable to the audience with girls swimming through water, a sexy man running through boxes and gunshots, and a destructive dance involving throwing objects and tribal-looking movements. The CRAZIEST dancer however, was this grey-haired man standing next to us. He was just jammin'-- eyes closed, hands in the hair, hips rickety-rackin, and it was hilarious. If I'm still that lively when I'm 75 I'll be feeling pretty high on life. I think he may have been high on something else... The theater looks more like a dance club than a theater, and the show even ends with a DJ, lights, and me dancing in the rain streaming from the ceiling above the audience--awesome, AWESOME time, and everyone sopping wet leaving the theater kept the outsiders so outta the loop.

Saturday was spa day on fifth avenue. Massages and manicures later Catie and I went to a romantic dinner at Felice's wine bar. Being surrounded by lovers and candlight sure lit the mood for our friend date, and we even threw in a "toots" and "schnookums" here n there just to keep our waiter entertained. Dangerfield's Comedy Club after din was hilarious--but it sure did make the dude in the dead center front wearing the TIGHTEST TURTLE NECK second guess his attire choice. Between him and the swingers group next to us, the comedians were given enough material to work with. What an awkward answer of "Oh, I don't know" when the swinger gals were asked "So... how do you all know each other?"

Gorgeous Gal!!

Easter morning was spent at St. Patrick's Cathedral off 5th Avenue, gorgeous 19th century cathedral. While I'm not Catholic, I feel like that was a definite check off the bucket list. Afterwards, I was able to escape the city for a few hours and spend Easter lunch at my Aunt's in Pennsylvania. I should've sported my fake Chinatown Gucci bag to make her proud, but decided to spare her the embarrassment that a good barter can give a college student. She probably wouldn't have sent me home with the BEST leftovers an Easter din can give--success.

A MAC AND CHEESE BAR (um.. incredible), Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty ended a much needed girls' weekend. And even though Catie's grandfather's name was the first plaque within the construction site (seriously?), it was still an incredible experience to stand in the halls where thousands of people that started our country (and thousands of tourists since) stood.

Hello Delicious--at S'MAC

Cannot believe these months have flown by, leaving me with one more month to experience New York... until I move back (undergrad hopeful?). More interviews to come---