These words are overused...

...but New York, I love you.

9 months.

That's how much time passed before I finally made it back to my favorite city in the world (that I've visited, at least).

It seems completely absurd to me that it took me an entire 9 months before I couldn't stand it any longer. I thought for sure I would have made the trip loooong before I did. But, you know, stuff happens. And things that were once so much a part of your life suddenly seem like lightyears away and completely out of reach.

About two months ago, that's how I started to feel about the semester I spent in New York City. I mean, I know that I lived there for four months. The bulk of the entries in this very blog are proof. But all of those adventures... all of my time spent in that glorious city... just seemed like a complete dream.

So, sometime in late August, I started to work on a Kickstarter song for my aunt, Paula. She requested that I write about my adventures in New York City. This was a song that I had intended to write immediately upon returning to my "normal life" in Nashville... that way, all of my time spent there would be fresh on my mind.

But I didn't. Instead, I worked on other ideas. I pushed the "New York song" to the side. I think that deep down, I was afraid that finishing the song would completely end my relationship with New York City. That if I put my love in this form, it would forever cut our ties.

But when I started to realize that my memories of my time spent there were slowly slipping away, I knew that I had to write the song once and for all. And to my surprise, although 8 months had passed since I'd set foot in the city, the words just started flowing out like water from a dam. Thirty minutes in, and I realized that the song was pretty much finished in its entirety. And I am so incredibly proud of every single lyric. I know I've said this before, but I feel as if New York City is a friend of mine. A really good one. And I love her. And that may be weird, but I don't care.

Saw you first on the silver screen
The way you shined
I almost forgot how to breathe
Fought real hard for a chance to meet
You were perfect
And I was nervous in the best way

I was warned you had a dangerous streak
But you're misunderstood
You've been nothing but good to me
And I love how you never sleep
I'm always running
to keep from falling behind your pace

Don't you see what you do?
I am one in a million just chasing after you
And I know these words are overused
But New York, I love you

I'd get lost for an hour or two
Just to discover more pieces of you
And I feel safe acting like a fool
Cause there is nothing
No, nothing you haven't seen

I must admit
I'm the jealous type
When others visit you, all our memories flash through my mind
But that's why you're such a special kind
You're a melting pot of dreamers just like me

Don't you see what you do?
I am one in a million just chasing after you
And I know these words are overused
But New York, I love you

This is not the first song written for you
But it's all that I can give for now
And every line is true

Don't you see what you do?
I am one in a million just chasing after you
And I know these words are overused
But New York
New York, I love you

To get a FREE download of my song about the wonderful city, click here: New York, I Love You.

And there's a little YouTube vid of me playing it in my little Nashville room: 

 

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But this post isn't over yet! That was just a little amuse-bouche.

Upon finishing this song, my feelings for New York City were so out of control, I impulsively bought a plane ticket for myself and Bobby to go for a little visit. This isn't like me. I normally like to have things planned out long in advance. But nope. Just bought the tickets. Didn't even really think about where we were gonna stay or any of that.

And last week, Bobby and I had a magnificent adventure in New York City. I'll try to spare you the details in writing and instead, include an abundance of photos. Here goes!

We arrived at the Nashville airport at some ungodly hour on Monday, hopped on a couple of planes, and then pretty much immediately ended up at one of my favorite spots in the city:

Home sweet home :).

And we ate these falafel sandwiches that were literally the exact same size as my head.

And then I forced Bobby to walk about 11 miles throughout Central Park with me.

We discovered so many things I'd never seen before!

And did you know that there are waterfalls in Central Park? Ya. There are.

 And then our legs pretty much snapped clean off our bodies.

And we took the train over to Bushwick to meet up with my good ol' pal, Mackenzie. (aka: TORRES).

And we all went to get some dinner somewhere and then ended up at this awesome whiskey bar that just so happens to also make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. Noormans Kil. (My friend, Nick, bartends there, so we decided to stop on by!)

Then, Bobby, Mackenzie, and I trekked back to her apartment and passed out. SO tired.

Tuesday morning was yet another early morning for us! Bobby and I took the Megabus (same one I took last year!) to visit my grandparents in upstate New York (Lake George area).

And we chitchatted with both of them.

And we gazed out onto the beauty that is Lake George.

 And we both needed a picture with Grandpappy.

And I made Bobby walk even more.

And somehow, we were able to get ice cream TWICE in a span of less than 48 hours.

 And then as quickly as we came, we were gone. But it was oh, so wonderful to see my lovely grandparents and to catch up on life and to hug and squeeze them both.

Ps-- found this on Grammy's bedroom door before leaving. She's the best.

We got back to the city super late, so we immediately went to bed.

The next morning, we ventured out and found this little French-inspired cafe that had THE most delicious croissants I've ever had in my life.

(Bobby lookin' way too cool).

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the city... to Grand Central Station, to Chinatown for bubble tea, etc.

I may or may not have lost my wallet in there at some point... (I don't even want to get into it. But just imagine the most panicked expression someone can possibly have on their face, and that was mine for a good, solid ten blocks back to the restaurant where we ate lunch. Lo and behold, my wallet was just laying on the floor! No one had touched it. It was the most horrifying five minutes.)

And then Bobby and I got all gussied up to go out on a nice dinner date in the East Village.

But of course, it was hotter than Hades down in the subway.

And then, it started raining so hard, the water literally came through the ceiling onto the cars below.

I don't know if you can see it... but to the right of that man is a very intense downpour.

After running umbrella-less through the rain, we made it to our delicious destination.

Seriously. Just look at that.

Friday morning, we woke up and went for a run across the Brooklyn Bridge... well, to the "quarter way point".

We ate breakfast across the bridge in Manhattan at this cute, little place that I can't remember the name of now. AH. I should have remembered.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the shops in Williamsburg. And for the first time all trip, we had BEAUTIFUL weather. It wasn't hot. It wasn't humid. It wasn't raining. It was perfect.

So we chose to eat our dinner outside.

That's us winin' and dinin' at The Meatball Shop in Williamsburg. So. Good. I ordered some homemade chicken meatballs with a pesto sauce over a delicious selection of fresh veggies. YUMMO.

Later in the evening, we took a walk down to the water and came upon this glorious sight.

 Simply wonderful.

Then, we sauntered on over to the Brooklyn Bowl (music venue/bar/club/bowling alley... best combo ever) to see Mackenzie (TORRES) open up for Deer Tick.

She killed it. Per usual.

And there were so many people there... including several friends of mine that I haven't seen in a long time!

And then Deer Tick performed. Little did I know, my ears were in for a real treat. Every few years or so, Deer Tick does a tribute to Nirvana by performing the "In Utero" album in its entirety. For this brief performance, they're known as Deervana.

That's what I experienced last Friday night. And it was amazing. So so amazing. It was fun, they sounded great, people were dancing and screaming and jumping and throwing themselves all over the place. And let's just say, the night ended with the largest on-stage pillow fight I believe I will ever be witness to.

There were so many feathers, it made it extremely difficult to breathe. But who cares? YOLO. Right?

And sadly, Saturday was our day of departure.

Bobby and I devoured some avocado toast and coffee down by the water.

We packed up our things, and we had every intention of going to Siggy's Good Food (my old stomping ground) for lunch. One of the only things I wanted the entire time we were in NYC was their amazing salmon burger... And I waited until the last day to truly savor it.... And Siggy's was closed.

I was devastated for a good five minutes, and then I realized that it was just another reason to come back!

Instead, we ate some good old New York pizza for lunch, and we said our "farewells" to the city.

Gahhh.

What. a. trip.

I love it here in Nashville, but it was so wonderful to get a little taste of that city once again. It's good for my soul.

If you (whoever you are) have made it to this point, congratulations. I believe this is my longest post yet. You are a true gem.

Until next time!

<3

Nat

The High Line, The Bad Plus, and SNL's Weekend Update

Happy Saturday! I have to catch up on a few days worth of blogging material here, so let's go ahead and get started.

SUNDAY

I spent the majority of my day working on piles of homework that had somehow accumulated. But that's okay, because I wrapped up all of the hard work with a fantastic dinner at Siggy's Good Food with my friends Josh and Sam.

Wouldja look at that beautiful salad? You might not be able to see it, but hiding underneath that delicious avocado is some even more delicious salmon. My body always thanks me for taking it to this wonderful eating establishment.

MONDAY

Made a quick (and much-needed) trip to Trader Joes to stock up on the weekly necessities. Then, it was off to the internship! Monday night, I took it easy and worked on some songs in my room.

TUESDAY

It was another beautiful day here in the Big Apple, and I was itching to get out and breathe some of the crystal clear air (haha), so I decided to go on a little adventure! I've been wanting to check out this place called the High Line for quite some time now. It's located on Manhattan's West Side and runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District all the way up to West 34th Street. You might be wondering... what is it?

It's this.

So... you might still be wondering... what is it?

I'm just going to steal this description right from the website. "The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan's West Side. The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park."

So there ya go. I walked practically from one end to the other on Tuesday, and it was such an awesome place to spend some time. There were people sitting, reading, sunbathing, playing with their dogs, playing music...

...and pretty much everything you can imagine that goes on in a normal park. Only, this one was elevated 30 feet off the ground, and it used to be a railroad track. So cool.

Another great thing about the High Line is that it has numerous options for food running from one end to the other. There were hot dog carts, sandwich carts, gelato carts, and my personal favorite:

An ice cream sandwich cart. Those are two red velvet cookies with cream cheese ice cream wedged in the middle. It was definitely as delicious as it looks. I snagged it from this little truck called Melt. Please do yourself a favor and get one of their ice cream sandwiches if you're ever on the High Line!

Tuesday night, Allison came back from her long visit to Nashville (it was so sad having the room to myself for so long), so it was wonderful to be reunited! I believe we did nothing but watch "Say Yes To The Dress" on TLC for a couple of hours before going to bed.

WEDNESDAY

Started off with the usual morning routine, and then I made my way to my internship. It was particularly busy in the office for some reason, so I was running around all over the place. I like being busy, so I can't complain, but it was definitely exhausting.

About halfway through the day, someone from the publishing side of our company (House of Hassle) came over to recruit some people for a show that was going on later that night. And when I say he recruited, I mean he begged. He really wanted some people for the audience, and when everyone else shot him down, he turned to me. Based on the reactions of everyone else in the office, I assumed that the band was really terrible or something, but I wanted them to see that I enjoy going to shows (in the hopes that they would offer more to me in the future), so I happily accepted. He put me down for a ticket and added a "plus one" just in case I wanted to bring someone else. 

After internship, I made my way to class... which ended up being extremely interesting! We had two guest speakers visiting from the television side of the industry. One is a senior producer for a lot of VH1 shows (everything from Tila Tequila  to Flavor of Love), and the other is a story producer for a lot of shows on TLC and Bravo (right now, she's working heavily on the Real Housewives of Atlanta). All of us are fairly knowledgeable about the music industry but know very little about television... especially reality television. We had questions galore. In particular, I wanted to know how long they actually film the women for the Real Housewives show... as in, how long do these women have to deal with a film crew following them around, recording every little thing that they say or do?

Believe it or not, she said that they are still recording the Real Housewives of Atlanta... and they started filming them at the beginning of February. That is crazy to me! Think about it: if you had a film crew following you around for that long (even if you're not as insane as those ladies are), there would be enough material to make you look absolutely nuts. I don't know why you would ever want to put yourself through that. 

Anyway, after class I was so exhausted, and all I wanted to do was go to bed... but I decided that I should still go to the show. I offered my "plus one" ticket up to some of my friends, and Josh took the bait. We made our way over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, got our free tickets from the box office (which are normally $25 a piece!), and made our way into the show...

...which ended up being absolutely wonderful! We were originally only planning to stay for a little bit (just to make an appearance), but Josh and I both stayed for practically the whole show. That photo up there is of a band called The Bad Plus. This trio (consisting of piano, upright bass, and percussion), played what I've decided is "freak out jazz".. as in, they were so good, it made me freak out a little bit. Apparently, they've been around for quite awhile, but this was the first I've heard of them. Hellooo? Why did none of my friends ever think to introduce me to their music? 

Anyway, it's safe to say that what I thought was going to be a bad night of music ended up being one of the best nights of music. I will definitely take that guy up on any other free ticket offers he has in the future! 

THURSDAY

I spent majority of this day working on a song for a songwriting competition that my mom found for me awhile back. The North Carolina magazine, Our State, is looking for a "North Carolina song" to feature in an upcoming article. I've never written a song about the wonderful state, so it was a fun little experiment to see if I could come up with anything. And I did! I'll start trying it out at some shows here in the future.

Unfortunately, our little cement block room isn't the best place to record anything, so the quality of my recording isn't top notch. When it came time to do my vocals, I didn't have a microphone stand, so I had to improvise.

Thank goodness for Old Fashioned Oats.

Thursday night, I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.. one of the coolest things I've been able to do yet since living here (and I have done a lot, guys).

Thanks to fellow Belmont Easter, Amber, I got to be an audience member for Saturday Night Live's Thursday dress rehearsal of the Weekend Update! I wasn't able to take photos of the actual SNL set, but it was so awesome... Alex (another lucky Belmont Easter who snagged a ticket) and I were literally on the floor. As in, we were about ten feet from Seth Myers and all of the other actors and actresses the entire time. It. Was. Unreal. Both of us kind of wanted to cry. (I swear I'm not that emotional.. I just get really excited sometimes... and when I feel extremely blessed, I just want to cry).

Anyway, it was great. It was really awesome being there for the dress rehearsal, because we were basically the guinea pigs. They tested all of their material out on us to see what we thought was funny and what really didn't work at all. They kept what we liked and trashed what we didn't for the real show at 8pm that night. AH. This life just gets better and better! I can't stand it.

After that, I went over to the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn to watch my friend, Finn, play a little show.

It was a long, but incredibly wonderful day.

FRIDAY

It rained. This was only the second time since I've lived here that it's been so gross, so I took advantage of it. And I did absolutely nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean pretty much nothing. I didn't wake up until 11am, I went to the gym for awhile, and then somehow, it was 7pm already. I watched two Lifetime Movies last night, if that tells you anything.

SATURDAY

That's today! All I've done so far is eat breakfast and drink coffee (liquid gold) and type up this blog (which took my quite a long time.. that's what I get for waiting so long to update). In a bit, I'm going to go for a little run and check out the Dumbo Arts Festival that's going on down the street. A little later today, I get to go to this awesome free festival/concert. I will update about that later!

And the adventures have begun!

I'M HERE. 

In New York City. 

And this view of the Manhattan skyline is just a mere three blocks from the front steps of my building:

Not even real, right? I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming... but unless I have a much higher pain tolerance when I'm asleep than I thought, this whole thing is really happening.

You can't see it in the photo up there, but the Brooklyn Bridge is literally just another two blocks to the right. I'm planning to run across it sometime soon... maybe tomorrow even!

Although, I must say, I have done more walking in these last couple of days than I believe I have in the last couple of months. And when I say walking, I mean more of a light jog. The people in NYC do not simply walk. They always seem to be rushing to get somewhere.. although, I'm pretty sure if I asked some of them where they were going, they wouldn't have anywhere they desperately needed to be. It's just programmed into them to race around. All I have to say is thank goodness I naturally walk semi-quickly, or else I would have been trampled by now.

I'm not complaining whatsoever. I haven't even gone to sign myself up for the free gym membership that we get yet, because I've felt no need to. My feet hate me, but I'm getting a nice, little workout without forcing myself to jog on a treadmill for an hour.

Okay, okay, okay. Let me get back on track! For the whole semester, I'm living in the beautiful neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights... there are so many cute restaurants and shops nearby, and by living in Brooklyn, we avoid a bit of the insane hustle and bustle of Manhattan. It is so incredibly wonderful here.

In particular, I'm living in a student housing facility called St. George. The history of this place is incredible. Built in the late 1800s, it used to be the famous St. George Hotel, which was, at the time, the largest hotel in New York City. It once drew celebrities, athletes, and every presidential hopeful flocking to its many ballrooms, and a part of The Godfather was actually filmed here as well.

The Clark Street Subway is literally ten steps from our front door as well... so that makes it super convenient for when we want to go into Manhattan!

And heerree is my wonderful, little room:

It doesn't look like anything special, but it is so cozy, and it has all of the basic necessities. And it also might not look like I own much of anything, but I literally had to pack my entire life into two suitcases... I have clothes, bedding, and cosmetics. No posters or any of that other fluff. (I guess I'll just have to get some of that while I'm here?).

There are several awesome common areas in the St. George as well, but I really only cared about one thing. The kitchen. And HERE it is:

Ahhh. Look how many stoves and ovens there are! So. many. I could do some cooking damage here. I'll probably have more photos of St. George at other times, but that's all I've got for now.

Since Thursday afternoon, after stumbling out of the taxi with all of my belongings in tow, I have been having the greatest time ever. That afternoon, after settling into my room (which only took 30 minutes), I went exploring around the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood with my fabulous roommate, Allison, and her fabulous boyfriend, Chris. That's when we discovered the awesome view of Manhattan.

Then, we had a meeting with everyone from Belmont East back at the St. George. They just had a little introduction for us, and we were able to meet some Belmont alums who are now working and living in NYC. It was great to hear their stories and ask them questions about the city!

Later in the evening, I ventured out to the East Village with several people. We just explored, barhopped, and people watched for the entire night, and it was a perfect start to my time here. I was lucky enough to even see my very first subway rat... as in, a real rat... rodent... in the subway. Two of them, actually. Perfect. And there have been street musicians and subway musicians galore. And I don't if it's because I've been semi sleep-deprived or what, but surprisingly enough, I haven't heard a bad one yet!

Yesterday, I walked a mile to the Trader Joe's nearby to stock up on some groceries. The walk there was just perfect... the weather has been gorgeous, and it was great to explore the neighborhood some more. However, the walk back was a little bit unpleasant. I only had one bag, but it probably weighed about thirty pounds, which wasn't the greatest thing to try to handle while walking for a mile. I've learned my lesson: walk there, but take the subway back.

I also explored Manhattan yesterday. I took the subway (which I believe I've mostly figured out now) to 5th Avenue, and wandered through all of the shops for about 3 hours or so. Surprisingly, I didn't buy a single thing. It was just fun to be out and about.

And last night, after eating nothing but pizza and bagels thus far, I was craving a nice salad. My friend Josh and I found this great, little organic restaurant a couple blocks from the St. George, called Siggy's Good Food.

Doesn't that look delish? It was.

After that, we had a plan to meet some of the other Belmont students to go see a free, outdoor screening of The Goonies... on the USS Intrepid of course. We made it all the way to Times Square and walked what felt like a million blocks. And it rained. A lot. But that's okay, because we're in New York! Who cares if you have no umbrella and look like a drowned rat? At least, that's my opinion.

But when we got there, the line was superrrr long, so we decided to forgo the whole thing. Instead, we walked a million blocks back to Times Square and decided to feast on some food from the famous restaurant, Shake Shack. I had already eaten my deliciously healthy dinner, but decided to indulge in a shake... I mean, when in Rome...

And it was the most delicious thing I've had in a very long time. Seriously. There were bits of donuts in it, if that tells you anything.

Then, I called it a night. I mean, I've been here two days now, and I feel like I've already been here for a week. Going to bed at 11:30pm on a Friday night in NYC might sound lame, but I wanted to make sure I was able to function, because today I am going to explore the many, many flea markets in NYC.

Sorry for such a long post... I'm pretty sure I could have made this even longer, but I need to go meet some people in Williamsburg at the flea market there. I will update later, though :).

I am already having the time of my life, and I can't believe that this is where I get to spend my days over the next few months. There are many adventures in store for me. Have a superb Saturday!

<3
Nat