New York, I love you.

My final days in New York City have come and gone.

I'm sitting here, in my wonderful home in Charlotte, reflecting back on not only the last week I spent in that magical city, but the entire four months I lived there. You know how they (whoever "they" are) say: "Time flies when you're having fun"? Well, those mysterious beings are certainly correct. I had the most amazing semester, and I feel that it just went by in the blink of an eye. 

Allison and me on the very first day... wayyyyy back in August, when we discovered this awesome view was only four blocks from our front door.

I honestly didn't even know how to start this final "New York City Adventure" post.

So, I'm just going to briefly touch on my last week.... and then whatever happens after that, happens. Cool? Cool.

This last week was filled with so many shenanigans and food and friends and music and happiness and thankfulness and goodbyes.

I drank some delicious coffee (with a complimentary chocolate) from Leonida's, which is a gourmet chocolate shop right down the street from Bank Robber Music.

I went back in time with my friends, and ended up at McSorley's once again!

I ate delicious, $1 New York pizza at 1:00am. (Which, by the way, is the only way to do it. It tastes better at 1:00am).

My friends and I went on a little adventure to the East Village and ended up at a subway stop where they were doing some of the most annoyingly loud construction in the world.

At least Josh was happy and excited!

Then, on Wednesday night, I went to my final Belmont East class.

... and we got to go on a tour of the NBC Studios. I know. BEST CLASS EVER. 

(Those are the only two pictures I could take... they didn't allow cameras in the actual studios. But believe me, they were great.)

Anddd, because I was down by the Rockefeller Center, I decided to take a little looksie at the Christmas tree.

It truly was magnificent. And I couldn't resist posing with it.

On Thursday, I went on my own, little adventure... I wandered around in SoHo, NoHo, and Chinatown, looking for Christmas gifts and enjoying the beautiful, winter weather. 

And, on my way home, I accidentally hopped on the wrong train.... It seems it was meant to be, though. Because I ended up at this subway stop, where I was witness to the most beautiful singing voice I have ever heard in my entire life. I am completely serious about this.

I stood right in this very spot and listened to mister Freddie King sing his heart out for a good 15 minutes. My train came and went TWICE while I listened, but I didn't care. As I've said to others already, his voice brought tears to my eyes in the best way possible. 

Thursday evening, I went to go see my friend, Finn, play some fiddle in a play that was put on at Juilliard. Yes. THE Juilliard. So neat.

I can't really remember what happened on Friday... but I have this photo as proof that I at least did something.

On Saturday, I went back to the flea market. On my way home, I couldn't resist picking up a slice of chocolate cheesecake from Junior's. 

Hands down, the most delicious cheesecake of my life. Can't handle it.

On Saturday, Allison, Olivia, Sarah Margaret, and I all went to brunch at Iris Cafe for one, final cup of delicious coffee and avocado toast.

(Yesterday morning, my mother surprised me for breakfast with her own version of Iris Cafe's avocado toast. I have to say, it was the same... if not, better. Now, I can make my own!)

On Monday, I had the absolute longest day of work (from about 10:30am until about 7:30pm). But, it was my final day in the office, and I soaked it up as much as I could. I hated to say goodbye to the wonderful people I've been lucky enough to work with this whole semester.

That evening, I met Adam and Eric for a drink at Floyd. It was so relaxing and cosy and perfect.

Tuesday was my final, full day in New York... and I decided to cram as many things into the day as I possibly could. I believe I definitely succeeded. 

First things first: I took a stroll down to the promenade to soak in the view and drink some Tazza coffee.

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful last day. I did nothing to this photo to enhance anything. The sky was LITERALLY that shade of blue.

And I took the subway up to Central Park to wander around. (Part of me secretly wanted to get lost somewhere deep in the park... that way, I'd have a good excuse to miss my flight the following day. Then I realized how impossible that would be... and how terrifying it would be if it actually were possible).

I listened to more great subway musicians on my ride back to Brooklyn.

(I was worried that this guy would lose his keyboard any minute... it was hanging by a superrr thin string around his neck. Hope that worked out for him.)

I met some Belmont Easters for dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant down the street, and then I raced over to Rockwood Music Hall in the East Village. The fabulous jazz musicians at Mona's were having their CD release show!

And it was so perfect. It was an evening of singing and swing dancing and all-around good music. 

After the show, I raced BACK to Brooklyn Heights to meet up with the Belmont East crew for one final drink at Floyd.

(I stole this photo from Olivia. Thanks, lady.)

It was such a perfect ending to a perfect final day in New York City. 

On Wednesday, I said many "goodbyes" (to people AND to the city itself). After packing my entire life back into two suitcases, I made my way to the airport.

This was my attempt to take a final photo of New York from my cab. Didn't work out as well as I'd planned.

I arrived at the airport 2 and half hours early, because I knew that I was probably going to run into some sort of weight problem with my bags (seeing as I could barely lift either of them more than two inches off the ground).

I really wish that someone would have taken a picture of me with all of my stuff. I guarantee you that I looked insane. Just picture me with two GIANT suitcases, one giant guitar, and three other bags hanging off of me. It took me about 10 minutes just to get from the cab to the kiosk at US Airways.

First thing I did was weigh both of my bags. One was 48 pounds... the other, 59 pounds. Let's just say, I threw away quite a few things in the airport (including some bedsheets). One of the US Airways ladies saw me about to throw away my hangers, and she asked if she could have them for the coat room. I was more than happy to give them to her! In fact, I almost wanted to open up my suitcases and have a little yard sale right there in the airport. 

After stuffing the garbage cans full of my things, I went back to weigh the bags... both of them were 50 pounds EXACTLY. I don't know how I did it, but I practically received a round of applause from all of the US Airways workers. They said they'd never seen anyone do that in one try before. (This is a skill a didn't realize I had... is there a job out there that I could apply for that would be impressed by this?).

Then, in the blink of an eye, I was on the plane, watching New York City get smaller and smaller from my window.

Note: I didn't take this photo. My phone was turned off. But my view literally looked JUST like this.

It is hard to believe that my semester in New York City has come to a close. As much as I wish it could have been longer, though, I feel that I really did take advantage of every moment of every day. I didn't leave thinking, "I really wish I'd done so and so". To bring this blog full circle, I feel like I really "gave every moment a taste". (Metaphorically and literally). Hehe.

Thank you all so much for following me throughout this entire adventure! At times, the last thing I wanted to do was sit for an hour and create a blog post... but I kept trucking along, because I knew that there were others out there waiting for the next installment. And I am beyond happy that I chronicled my time in the Big Apple. Thank you all so so much.

This isn't the end of my blog posts... However, I won't be posting about every single moment of my life anymore. Just little things here and there about my music, recipes, and random thoughts. (Aka: I won't be "giving EVERY moment a taste".... I will only be "giving little, tiny bites". Hehe.)

In conclusion, I <3 New York.

It was so hard to leave, but I know that the city will always be there... I'll just have to go back and visit every once in awhile. 

Now, I'm off to start my next, great adventure.

<3

Nat 

Santa sighting, Christmas shopping, and paper writing

It's Christmastime in New York City!

The most wonderful time of the yearrrrr.

The moment it hit December 1st (well, actually, the moment Thanksgiving ended), the trees and lights went up.

You can't walk down the street without running into a "Christmas tree farm" (aka: a whole bunch of trees propped up on the sidewalk).

Our lobby at EHS is festive.

And I even found Santa wandering around Times Square like a little, lost puppy.

It was impossible for me to not get into the Christmas spirit, what with all of the decorations and the fact that the temperature has mostly been below 35 degrees every single day...

Therefore, this past week, I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping!

They moved the location of the Brooklyn Flea from the water in Williamsburg to this awesome, old bank:

I wandered around this building for probably 2 hours straight. And bought one thing. (For myself. Oops).

Don't worry! I did end up finding things for others, after wandering around all over various areas of New York City.

And I heard some of the most amazing subway musicians this past weekend. I don't know what was going on, but they were all incredible.

Like these guys:

And while in the subway, I also ran across this disturbing scene:

That right there is an entire outfit. I mean, that is a pair of shoes, a pair of slacks, and a black dress shirt. And I believe a wallet somewhere in there, too. An entire outfit. I don't even want to know.

On Saturday, I went to this awesome thing called the Brooklyn Bazaar with a whole slew of Belmont Easters.

I walked around and looked at neat, artsy things created by Brooklynites.

And I sucked down the most delicious raspberry lemonade from Lizzmonade.

(Caught her in the act of makin' my drank).

And we all were serenaded by some fantastic up-and-coming Brooklyn rappers, who taught us that they were "wit it" (with it), and that "drugs are like that". (No idea. Don't ask me).

The rest of the week has been filled with interning, working on Christmas music for a show I have coming up, going to a chili dinner thing put on for all of us here with Belmont East, and a whole lot of this:

SO fun.

I also got a little sickly on Sunday night (thanks to my lovely roommate, Allison, who contracted a little bitty cold). Luckily, I destroyed the cold within twenty four hours thanks to an insane amount of Vitamin C. 

I'm sorry that this was such a whackadoodle post. I didn't even attempt to organize it into anything, so I'll probably look back at this later and realize how confusing it is. Oh well. YOLO.

I'm off to my internship! Then, I believe I will be heading to Mona's tonight to listen to some sweet jazz tunes. 

In exactly one week from tomorrow, I will be packing up and leaving my little room here in Brooklyn forever. I can't even believe it. I really do feel like we all just arrived yesterday. But all is well! I am going to soak up this last week as much as I possibly can. Ah. I just love New York.

<3

Nat

More visitors, the Macy's Parade, an 18-pound turkey, and an 80th birthday!

I don't think it is humanly possible to catch you (whoever "you" might be) up on my life from the last week and a half. 

But have no fear! I am going to try my absolute hardest to reenact every single little thing that has happened into one, concise blog post. (Aka: I'm just going to show you a whole bunch of photos and describe a little bit about each one... if I didn't take a photo of something, I've already forgotten about it).

Bobby came to visit!

(Just look at how handsome he is. And how well his head fits perfectly inside the Washington Square Arch).

And we ate bagels by the water.

And stacked up creamers at Clark's Diner.

And went to Mona's for a fantastic night of jazz music. (I think we left at about 3 a.m... Bobby caught the Mona's disease, too.. he claims he could have sat there all night).

And we drank some delicious bubble tea while walking around 5th Ave.

And at some point, his lovely parents arrived!

And we took a little trip to Sleepy Hollow.

And looked at all of the beautiful Christmas lights.

And ate a delicious lunch at a cool, little bar.

And walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

(Hey, Garrett).

And saw a WONDERFUL Off-Broadway show (Peter and the Starcatcher).

And ate sandwiches that were literally larger than our own heads.

(That was only HALF of the turkey sandwich).

And at some point, my fabulous mother arrived!

(And we were clearly happy. Or the sun was in our eyes. Or both.)

And we watched the hazmat teams blow up the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

And Spiderman was by far the coolest one.

And Bobby, Mom, and I had 2-for-1 martinis at Pazza Notte with Theodore Roosevelt.

And then it was an early morning! We woke up at about 6 a.m. to make our way to our seats for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Bobby's wonderful father gave us all tickets!).

Bobby was excited.

And I was, too.

And so were all of those people.

And the parade began! We were literally at the VERY front... so all of the people in the parade had tons of high energy and weren't frozen to the bone yet. It was so fantastic.

And we saw Kermit.

And Carly Rae Jepsen.

And a very sad-looking Spongebob Squarepants balloon.

And a really fuzzy Whoopi Goldberg dressed up as a pirate. (I know.. what?)

And the FAB FIVE WOMEN'S OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS TEAM. (Can you tell I got really excited about seeing them?)

And possibly the showstoppers of the entire parade....

Tap-dancing Christmas trees, of course! 

(They had some of the best high kicks I've ever seen).

And to finish off the wonderful parade...

...SANTA. (I swear he's looking right at me in the picture).

And then we all split up until Thanksgiving dinner later on.

And at some point, my awesome brother arrived!

And for the first time in four months, the family was together again.

(Don't be surprised if this ends up being the Christmas card you receive from the Royal family this year).

And we went to Central Park to watch the ice skaters.

And we ran across THE creepiest Elmo character. (We're pretty sure he got lost on his way to Times Square and somehow ended up in Central Park. He had leaves all down his back and a bag in his hand that read, "TIPS, PLEASE". Needless to say, parents were nervously steering their children as far from him as possible).

And I showed my brother my favorite place in Central Park.

And we were entertained by some of the most interesting music I've ever heard. I still can't decide if I loved it or if I absolutely hated it.

And then it was off to Carmine's for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with Bobby's family!

The place was jumpin'.

And this is only HALF of the food that was on our table. (That back there is an 18-pound turkey. Insanity.)

It was SO incredibly delicious. I believe we were all so stuffed, we thought we would explode. That's a successful Thanksgiving in my opinion.

And we finished off the wonderful evening by exploring the roof of their hotel... which had views of the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building.

And the next morning, my mom, brother, and I all hopped on the train to Glens Falls to visit my wonderful grandparents!

And we had our usual salad and pizza supper at Harvest House. Because it was her birthday the next day, Grammy decided she deserved a sundae for dinner.

And we visited the free library and all checked out books.

And on Saturday morning, we celebrated Grammy's 80th birthday with a delicious breakfast!

And Grammy took a photo of me taking a photo of her.

And Grammy took a photo of her own birthday cake.

And then I took a photo of her with her birthday cake.

And then she asked me to take a photo of JUST her birthday cake. So I did.

And finally, after all of that, she blew out the candles. (It may have taken a couple of tries, but she was eventually successful).

Sidenote: We only ate cake immediately after breakfast, because my brother had to hop on a plane to fly back to Charlotte. Otherwise, we would have waited until after dinner or something.. like normal people.

And after Mike left, we all explored Barnes and Noble and had a delicious, little lunch there.

The next day, we ventured into Bolton for a breakfast at Hometown Diner. Then, we walked around the Sagamore, which was beautiful as ever and decorated for Christmas!

And we "ooed" and "ahhed" over Lake George.

And ventured around in the car to get different views.

And then it was time for mom and I to bid "Adieu" to them! We took another train back to Penn Station in New York City.

Whew.

That was the last week and half in a nutshell. Or several nutshells.

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I have to say that this was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember. I couldn't feel more blessed than I do to have such wonderful, loving family and friends. This is a big "thank you" to all of you for making me feel like the luckiest gal in the world.

Now, I'm off to go write a million papers. It's technically finals week here, but I also technically only have about 15 days left in New York City... I must make the most of these next two weeks!

Love you all.

<3

Nat