Closing Time

Another year in NYC and this time it truly flew by. I finally feel like I found my place in this crazy city. I have made some incredible friends and experienced so much of this city. I have a difficult time living in the moment, but this year I tried to slow down and enjoy the ride. So much has changed, and things are about to change even more. With lots of my friends going in different directions and starting to prepare for graduate school I can't help but go down memory lane. The beginning of my time in New York was terrible, I'm not going to lie, but I learned so much about myself. Friends have come and gone, but my family has been a constant rock. I have also been able to sift through the nonsense and find some life long friendships. New York has made me grow up and figure myself out, quickly, and oddly enough I am quite grateful for that. As I am beginning to plan my next chapter, I don't know if New York will be a part of it, but anyone who has ever lived here knows, this city becomes a part of you. It has changed me for the better...I hope. This year I became comfortable with the idea of stumbling, I learned to embrace the fact that I can't always be perfect. This was a concept I fought for years, I thought that I always had to act as if everything was great, when in fact it was quite the opposite. With some changes and some more supportive people around me, I created a home away from home. I have no idea where I will be living in a year and that scares me, but I am confident that I will be able to handle what ever is thrown my way. I have found confidence in my tears, in my laughter, in my perseverance, in my friends, in my family and in myself. This year has taught me more than I could have ever imagined and I can't wait for what next year brings!

Passover in Boston

Since my family is in Europe for the month I decided to go up to Boston to visit my cousin. For as long as I can remember I thought I wanted to go to BU and study law, I visited a bunch of times thinking that was where I was going to end up. Years later, I am very happy with my decision to come to NYC, but I will always love Boston! I was so excited to be back, Spring in Boston is beautiful! My first night we did passover with some friends, which was really nice. Of course a little Manischewitz never hurts with some caramel and chocolate matzo. We toured around and shopped on Newbury Street, the cutest place ever! We grabbed lunch at Max Brenner, which surprisingly has amazing food and not just dessert. We walked through Boston Common Park, the cherry blossoms had just bloomed and everyone was taking photos, it was such a gorgeous day I can't say I blamed them. And then we went to my favorite place, Little Italy for dinner and Mike's Pastry, with a line around the corner you know it's the best bakery. For my last night, we went out and experienced Boston nightlife, which is very different from NYC, but still just as fun. Although the party scene is not usually my thing, I figured if you can't beat them, join them, right? After having your typical college night, I got on the bus back to New York and attempted to piece my night back together. It was definitely an experience to remember...or not.

A Touristy Kind of Week

Right after I got back from home two of my friends flew in to visit and we somehow managed to see a little bit of everything. From Battery Park to the Empire State Building to the Museum of Natural History, and even had time to go out to Connecticut for the night! I took them to all my favorites; Poco, Eataly, Trattoria del Arte, Shake Shack and Dean and Deluca for the best chocolate babka. The weather was perfect, we even got to sit out by the seaport and have lunch. We went to Connecticut to visit a friend and it was beautiful, it was like being in the woods and the beach at the same time. Back in the city, instead of waiting in line to go to the top of the Empire State Building I took them to 230 Fifth, a rooftop bar that over looks it. It was fun, you sit outside in a red snuggie if you want and drink fun warm cocktails. It is quite the tourist hangout and the service is not too great, but you can't beat the view. It was a great ending the a really fun visit.

SoCal Spring Break

Although last year at this time I was on my way to Paris, there's nothing like home. I really need a break and there's no where more relaxing than the suburbs. After landing and catching up on some much needed sleep I was so happy to see my friends and family. After all these years away, I still haven't gotten used to flying back and forth. One of my last nights home was St. Patricks day, and like any other good jew I went to go drink some green beer and listen to celtic music of course! Expecting your usual bar food, we were pleasantly surprised by the inventive menu. We ordered corn beef sliders, duck quesadilla with mole sauce, and fondue with pretzel bread. It was a great ending to a beautiful week in sunny LA.

MoMa Lunch Break

After having my Latin art history class at the MoMa early thursday morning, we deserved a nice lunch break. One of my favorite parts of New York, is there is truly something for everyone. As a huge architecture lover, I had a hard time focuses on the art because this amazing building kept distracting me. As most of the students zoned out during our boring art lecture, I naturally tried to figure out where we would have lunch the second this was over. Since is one of the first nice days in New York we decided to stay uptown and eat at the MoMa cafe since is all floor to ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard and busy midtown. We expected some overpriced sandwiches and salads, but we were pleasantly surprised. The menu was very interesting and had some great dishes to satisfy all their international customers. I ordered italian meatballs and creamy polenta with parmesan, pesto and walnuts. These were seriously the best meatballs I've ever had, I was ready to order a second plate! Between the beautiful ambiance and the delicious food, I was in heaven!