Diary No. 1

So I think I’m going to make this a regular feature here. I love sharing regular ole snippets from my week without professionally staged photos. I’ve liked putting together the other ones I’ve done in the past. Thoughts on calling it a diary entry?! Kind of retro, yea?

A couple of weeks ago, our friends invited us to a hockey game in Philadelphia. We didn’t think twice and just hopped in the car. I did put the dogs in boarding (they LOVE it) so we wouldn’t have to rush back home after the game. Halfway through the game, we decided to just stay in Philly for the night. I booked a hotel room on my phone and we went off on a very short but quite thorough food crawl. We had a quick bite at Parc and then met up with our friends again at Butcher and Singer for a double date. I’m not a very spontaneous person, but I have to admit it was super fun. We got toothbrushes from the concierge and went home in our same clothes because we had literally nothing with us.

Can we talk about this little lion pup I spotted on the subway one morning. He was literally the sweetest guy, just plopped down and waited for his stop.

There isn’t a super convenient grocery store situation near my apartment, but there is a very fancy food market. It’s too easy to pop in every now and then for groceries and I always leave spending more money than I intended. They’re the KINGS of impulse buys by the cashiers. These Mint Milano just stare me down while I’m waiting in line and, obviously, I had to bring them home. Popped into the freezer and they’re even better.

Does your mom still send Valentine’s Day packages?! I love it. My mom included her famous zucchini bread and these adorable singles makeup wipes!

I make this roast chicken pretty much every week. It’s a staple and literally so easy to make. I always feel like a rockstar pulling this baby out of the oven, when in reality literally everyone can accomplish it. Coming up with a “signature dish” is on my 30 Before 30 list and I’ve decided it’s going to be this.

Can you tell that I’m looking forward to summer? I bought this rickrack bathing suit and I’m counting down the days to summer when I can wear it. (Also, I always thought it was ricrac but now I’m realizing that there’s a “k” or maybe not? It’s like a fabric version of the Berenstain Bear conspiracy!)

I went and saw Waitress on Broadway. WHY did it take me so long to see it??? I laughed SO MUCH and also cried A LOT. I was surrounded by New Kids on the Block groupies because Joey McIntyre is currently playing the role of Dr. Pomatter in the play. It made it that much more fun to watch it to be honest, because there was some actual swooning going on in the audience.

I also went to the Short Hills Mall for the first time. I was out in the suburbs anyway and had to make a bunch of returns at J. Crew. Um, why did no one tell me that this is the best mall, like, ever? I had some time to kill after making my returns so I had a leisurely lunch at Neiman’s and then just wandered around popping into every store that piqued my interest. I posted a photo on my Instagram Story from Indigo (or is it Chapters Indigo??). Apparently, this is the only US location so I had a bunch of Canadian readers very excited that I got to experience it. It’s ginormous and much more than your typical bookstore. It’s kind of like a home goods store and a quirky curated gift shop and a bookstore in one.

BBG 2.0 guys. I actually prefer this round way more than 1.0, which I didn’t hate. Having a workout accountability group is more important than ever and we’re keeping each other motivated every single workout. I feel so incredibly strong right now, it’s actually insane. The physical changes have been minor but not insignificant and I’m able to do some incredibly hard circuits that would have been impossible six months ago.

A little West Village wandering this past weekend. It was a cold, but very sunny and ultimately nice day. Meghan and I started at Buvette for French toast and waffles. I took my new boots out for a spin, too. They’re the same as my favorite black ones. (As an FYI, I went up a full size so I could comfortably wear socks.) Also, new sunglasses!!

But just in case you think I’m styling all the time….. this is the outfit I threw on one night. My apartment is SO COLD right now because none of the doors line up. I’ve been living in my new Dudley Stephens pullover– coziest thing ever. HIGHLY recommend. Fits true to size, but size up if you want something extra roomy. I’m wearing an XS here. See also: sweatpants + phone case.

I finalllllly got to visit the new Ralph’s Coffee in the Madison Ave Ralph Lauren. It’s even more stunning in person. I was pretty sad when they closed the Fifth Avenue location, but this one more than makes up for it. (And they’re adding one in the Club Monaco too– so smart.) I’m not going to lie, visiting really makes me miss living on the Upper East Side.

 My best friend Nicole is here right now and we got together for a late lunch at Bluestone Lane. I got my usual Brekkie Board and an oat milk cappuccino. I’m pretty sure we could have sat there for another three hours, but they closed and we had to leave. We were in another store doing a little shopping when I realized Nicole must have paid for the meal because I didn’t….. but I also never saw her pay. I go, “Nicole…. I don’t remember paying for our food.” We rushed back and knocked on the closed door so we could go back in and pay!!! Very embarrassing!!!!