NYC vs. LA

Being a certain age (20s-30s) and working in certain industries (PR being one of them), it's easy to forget that any cities exist outside of New York and Los Angeles. While I'm clearly obsessed with life in New York (see my post from a few days ago... or pretty much any of them since I've moved to the city), I always wonder what it might be like to live in LA at least for a little while. I'm sure it'll happen at some point... the weather is clearly way more my scene (fortunately for you, dear readers, this blog stopped existing in the winter or you would have heard lots of whining from this girl), I could still do my job there, and it would be a new adventure which I'm always up for...

So when I do have the opportunity to visit LA, I always spend the majority of time thinking about what it would be like to live there and picking up on the subtle... and not so subtle... differences between the two cities. Here are some pros/cons I observed on my last trip:

• Nobody walks in LA. Well at least not as much as they do in New York.. I'm quite enjoying life sans car, so I'm not sure how I would adjust to driving/sitting in traffic again. We'll call this a con.
• Strangers talk to you in LA. I've found myself in situations on my last few trips where strangers just strike up a conversation about whatever they can think of. It always catches me off guard and then I remind myself that only in New York are people too mean or self absorbed to realize that there are other people on the street they're walking on. Let's go with pro.
• Bars close really early in LA. Not that I'm a huge party girl or anything, but I'm always up for a late dinner and night out on the town. Apparently this is not something people do in LA since last call is at 12:45 a.m. That would take some getting used to/strategic planning, con.
• People care what your zodiac sign is in LA. Okay, I'm a Cancer... aside from the fact that I was born in early July, I have no idea what that says about my personality. Apparently people in LA do know and judge you for it. Creepy, con.
• Cost of living is lower in LA (or anywhere). As much as I love throwing my life savings away on rent every month, I wouldn't mind living somewhere a little bit cheaper. PRO!
• Cabs don't take credit cards in LA. Well, most of them don't. I don't believe in cash, this would be a problem for me. Con until I learn to start going to ATMs more frequently.
• There are real beaches and palm trees in LA. I miss nothing more about Florida than the palm trees. Humidity I'm okay without, but growing up with palm trees was the best and I definitely haven't seen any since I moved to New York. I don't even think they exist in the Hamptons. Pro.
• Before I get too carried away with my list, I think my parents would disown me if I didn't mention how much farther away LA is from home than NYC. Pretty sure they're just getting used to the fact that I'm no longer a drive away, and really can't just go home on a whim. CON (happy Mom and Dad?)

From my limited knowledge I acquired over the last few days, it appears that the cons still outweigh the pros.. although I'm sure I could continue the list endlessly :)

The real reason I'm not moving to LA any time soon is because I want to feel like I've really done New York before I leave. As much as I loved growing up in Sarasota, I was so ready to escape by the time I graduated high school I was almost running for the Florida/Georgia border. College was an amazing four years and I loved Athens while I was there, but by the end of it I knew it was time to grow up and move on. I may stay in New York for the rest of my life, or I may just wake up one day and decide I'm done. Who knows... but for now I have many more streets to wander down, museums to lose myself in, and of course restaurants to eat in before I'm anywhere near done with the city.

The Pier is to Santa Monica....

...as Times Square is to New York City?

As I weave through the tourists (who am I kidding, I'm sure I blended more than weaved) I can't help but wonder if this is true. Do people that live in Santa Monica ever go to the Santa Monica Pier? I of course found it endlessly entertaining to wander and people watch in this foreign territory for the last few hours, but I think it's safe to assume that locals avoid it like the plague - or like New Yorkers avoid Times Square...

oh well.. I thought it was fun.

NYC, I miss you. But I guess I can't complain with palm trees and the beach in my back yard for the next few days...

Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday weekend!

New York, I Love You.

Wow, I really haven't gotten any better at updating this thing frequently have I? Been crazy busy with work, friends, and just life. I feel like over the past few weeks I've literally spent a grand total of 5 hours actually awake at my apartment... no complaints though, busy is good. Guess I'll just have to be more realistic about my blogging expectations of myself :)

So Thursday was my *one year in New York* anniversary. One of my longer and more serious relationships I have to say. New York and I have had our ups and downs, but we're doing really well now - better than ever. Sadly we didn't truly get to celebrate the anniversary since I had a 7 a.m. flight to LA on Thursday, ah the life of a jetsetter. Okay my life isn't that glamorous, but I did have an early flight on Thursday...

Well, that early flight didn't keep me from semi-celebrating the big one-year anniversary on Wednesday night.. eh I guess technically Thursday morning. Being the silly girls that we are, my friends and I bought 12:01 a.m. tickets to Sex and the City 2. Yes, the movie got horrible pre-opening (and post-opening) reviews, but we just had to see it. And we had to be among the first to do so. I saw the first movie at the 12:01 premiere two years ago with my roommates at the time at the Times Square theater (insanity) and it only seemed right to repeat the ritual. I'm not going to lie, I liked the first one better (or if we're being honest, the TV series blows either movie out of the water).. but I still love those girls and could have just stared at their shoes for two and a half hours and would have been content. I was a bit disappointed at how little of the movie really took place in NYC, it could have more appropriately been titled Sex & The Desert... but that's just my personal thought. Anyway, still glad we went - no matter how awful the movie was, the energy in the theater was so fun and so New York. I know they have midnight premieres all over the country (right?) but something about seeing it in the city is just fun.


Anyway, enough with that random tangent and back to work. New York, I love you. It's been a great first year and I see many many more together in our future.

Thought it would be appropriate to end with this quote that I recently heard and just love...
"The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding." - John Updike

Playing Tourist

One of my absolute favorite things about living in NYC is that people always seem to be visiting. Not only is it always great to catch up with old friends (that goes without saying), but it's also fun to have an excuse to do the touristy things I wouldn't typically do on my own. New Yorkers seem extremely averse to any sort of tourist attraction, but I have to admit that sometimes its just fun every now and then! Sooo here are some of the highlights of my touristy weekend with my darling friend Mindy, who is also way better at taking pictures than me so I have her to credit for the majority of these...

Top of the Rock

There are a lot of touristy things I'm okay with, but it takes a lot for me to take pics in Times Square! Mindy you're lucky I love you..

walking over the Williamsburg Bridge

Back in Manhattan

Finally went to Katz's! This picture doesn't even do this sandwich justice, it was the biggest thing I've seen in my life

There's No Place Like Home

Wow I'm not doing very well at keeping this thing updated am I? Guess it's been a busy few weeks..

Fortunately I was able to escape to Sarasota for some much needed family time and pampering over the weekend. My brother and I both got to be home for Mother's Day, which was a huge surprise to our amazing mother (my ears are still ringing from her squeals when little bro snuck in late Saturday - she wasn't expecting him home until this morning). Somehow in the less than 48 hours I was home I managed to soak up everything amazing in Sarasota and unwind a bit from hectic city life.

Siesta Key Beach

100+ SPF sunscreen... who even knew this existed?? What's the point of even going in the sun?

After minimal sleep the night before (who was I kidding about calling it an early night on a Friday?), I wasn't too thrilled to be up at 5 a.m. to catch my flight home on Saturday but it was definitely all worth the lost sleep. First stop was lunch at a cute little cafe, and next stop was definitely the beach (no I didn't use the 100+ SPF, and yes I'm sunburned). After a mini nap on the warm sand, Mom and I headed off to mani pedis, and then I was off to the massage that I managed to schedule at the last minute. With my newfound food obsession in mind, Mom and I decided to check out a "new" restaurant in downtown Sarasota (well new to us), Mozaic. SRQ friends, you must go. The menu and service was absolutely amazing.

Sunday morning we had a yummy Mother's Day brunch with my grandparents and aunt (Mom even bought Lox after I took her for the most amazing bagel of her life at Ess-A-Bagel). Great to see extended family in my quick trip and catch up a bit.

Brother/Sister love

After a little quality time by the pool, Dad took us out sailing. I have to say, I expected it to be much more relaxing then it ended up being... I think when I hear sailing I picture myself lounging on a huge boat, margarita in hand, watching the palm trees go by. Sailing is apparently much more than that, as I've now learned, and I managed to add a few new words to my vocabulary in the process (winch, tack, keel - who knew sailing had its own language). All in all, still fun to be out on the water with the fam.

The weekend ended with a delish Mother's Day dinner at our favorite (well mine and Mom's anyway) restaurant in Sarasota, Roy's.

As much as I love life in New York, it's always great to get away for a few days - especially when the getaway involves home and family. Despite getting up at 4 this morning (I'm on my flight back now, gotta love that in-flight wifi), I feel so refreshed from the weekend and ready to take on the week! Thanks Sarasota, always a pleasure. And it's exciting to know the next time I see my family will be in Buenos Aires! Counting the days until that trip... Until then, it's back to city life for this girl.

"If people read your blog, they would think all you do is eat"

Yes, that was a recent comment from my Dad... and I really can't argue with him (he's referring to my picture blog, which by the way does feature a disproportionate amount of food pictures). I think what he really meant to say is "you're using that gym membership we got you for Christmas right?"

I can't really nail down whether it's a result of living in New York, having the job that I have (which involves a lot of great food/food related events), or hanging around with a group of girlfriends that are equally obsessive, but I've somehow managed to become a bit of a foodie. I guess I can't fully claim it, since being a true foodie in this city is a bit out of my (and many people's) price range, but as one of my darling friends said this weekend... my friends and I are "ballin' on a budget." We're all constantly sending eachother e-mails about the latest restaurant we have to try, latest bar, etc. Yes, we even have a Google Doc of all the restaurants we want to try so we can cross them off the list as we go (our "restaurant queue" if you will).

Anyway, my foodie friend Lauren recently told me how she has a Zagat guidebook and highlights each restaurant that she's been to - I love it! Soo I ordered mine on Amazon, should be arriving any day now, and I can embark on my goal of trying every restaurant in NYC. We'll see how my wallet (and waistline) handle this...

NYC friends, any must-try restaurants? I have a few that are top of mind, and we have quite an extensive google doc started, but always up for suggestions!

I'm on a Boat!

How I've lived in New York for almost a year (and technically two summers including when I interned here in college) and NOT gone to Frying Pan until yesterday completely blows my mind. For those of you who haven't been, it's a huge bar/restaurant comprised partially of an old pier in the Hudson and partially of several random boats (one of which looks like the Titanic inside.. more on that later).

It's a completely genius concept that really makes you feel like you're on a cruise/living somewhere much more tropical than the city. Since I moved here I've complained that I miss the water (and cringe when people snarkily inform me that Manhattan is an island... yes, I've noticed). Growing up, I've always lived on the water and had boats. Granted I rarely actually spent much time on the boats (sorry Dad) but having them in the backyard and knowing they were there if I wanted to take advantage was enough. And after 18 years of living in Florida, I definitely fell in love with all things beach/ocean related.

So yesterday being the first real day of summer (not officially, but in my mind yes), it seemed like the perfect day to finally venture to West Chelsea and check this place out. Oh, that and the fact that about 15 people we knew were having birthday parties there. And I can see why.

As much as I love being outside on days like yesterday, it ended up getting cold and some point and we drifted over to the pirate ship/Titanic as we were calling it for one of the aforementioned birthday parties. It's literally a sunken ship (or its expertly made to look that way) that is docked and available for private parties. Knowing only a few people at the party, we took it upon ourselves to explore rather than socialize...

Oh the things you'll find on a pirate ship... Anyway, the last thing I have to say about Frying Pan is props on having your very own foursquare badge.