it's your bucket, i'm just livin' in it.

right before i moved from san francisco i started crossing things off a bucket list {remember, here and here}, and i've been living my life that way ever since. i think it's a good approach to take so as not to get stuck, and instead live life fervently, where weekends start with a sense of adventure and end with a feeling of accomplishment. so, let's get to it, shall we? oh, one warning, this post really should be like, 11 separate ones...oops. ready, go!

1. visit the bill cunningham 'facades' exhibit.

a long time ago when it was still winter, i went uptown to see the bill cunningham exhibit at the new york historical society. it was a sunday, frigid cold out, and the perfect day for a solo new york adventure. i'm sure by now you know my love for bill, and might remember the time i was completely star struck when i saw him in action. 'facades' was a fascinating exhibit documenting bill's photos of his friend, editta sherman, dressed in vintage clothing at prominent spots in new york city. i liked it so much i walked through three times. his photos deserved it.

2. see the little prince exhibit.

i dragged my bests audrey and andrea to see this at the morgan library and museum on a chilly spring saturday afternoon. it tells the story of how antoine de saint-exupéry wrote many iterations of the little prince in new york city, and it even holds the original pages of his writing and drawings.

3. channel 'gossip girl' and have a drink at the campbell apartment.

the campbell apartment was once the private office and saloon of john w. campbell in the 1920's and tucked away in a corner of grand central terminal. it's got great music, even better lighting, and one of the best manhattans in town. couldn't help but think, 'xoxo gossip girl' the whole time.

4. saturday morning run around the central park reservoir.

just cause, you know, it's sort of picturesque. and it seems like it's what true new yorkers do. 

5. plant a garden in new york city.

because that seems normal, right? i always say that the next place i live i'm going to have a little back patio and be able to plant flowers and drink tea basking in the sunlight on saturday mornings. well, the first friend i met who had a square foot of dirt in her 'backyard,' i convinced to let me plant a garden. she is a gem and i can't thank her enough. 

6. drink rosé in sheep's meadow {again}.

i've learned that nothing says summer in new york like an afternoon spent in sheep's meadow. so, what did we do on the first day of summer? you're looking at it.

7. visit dumbo.

if you wanted to know, dumbo stands for 'down under the manhattan bridge overpass' and ever since i saw this picture on instagram's instagram account, i've been wanting to reenact it. mission accomplished. i love how you can spy the empire state building through the base of the bridge.

8. go to gma.

i'll say it once and i'll say it again, i am a self-proclaimed gma addict. i've started nearly every morning with robin, george, lara, amy & co for the past five years, and watching them each day at the gym has provided me with such comfort while living in new york {,similar to how sarah & vinnie do, too}. there is something incredibly fascinating to me about producing the news and i left feeling nostalgic for my news anchor besties.

9. finally get to abc kitchen.

to get into abc kitchen you have to call exactly one month ahead of time from your preferred date at promptly 9 a.m. to reserve a table at a decent time. when asked, people frequently say this is their favorite restaurant in new york city. the ricotta toast with strawberry jam is everything. and, how lucky i was to have my mama and my second mama in town.

10. get a mister softee...with rainbow sprinkles!

who doesn't love a classic vanilla cone!? it seems mister softee trucks are parked on every corner of manhattan in the summer and i've refrained until... now! it's like eating vanilla flavored air. it's heaven, really.

11. try the bloody mary's at the st. regis.

a while back, a google search entitled ‘best bloody mary in manhattan’ revealed to me that the st. regis was near the top of the list. at $25 a pop, make sure you drink it slowly {we may or may not have had two}. they are perfectly spicy and delicious. 

...so that's a wrap {for now}! i am so grateful to be able to partake in these adventures. they certainly do make this new york life sweet. there are still a few things to cross off the 'ol list. i'll keep you posted, of course. love love. 

to essie, with love.

i've had several pinch me moments upon moving to new york, and meeting essie and her husband most certainly has been one of them. they are the sweetest duo in new york city and they have so kindly taken me under their wing as an adopted daughter from the west coast. a queens girl herself, essie is the heart and soul of this city and i admire her quick wit, sense of humor, and genuine sweetness. she is the living, breathing example of how following what you're passionate about can lead to sheer success. as she says, life is too short not to follow your passions. 

essie is an aol expert, a project i run at aol, in which we partner with fantastic influential individuals on creating engaging and premium video content for aol users. i've been so fortunate to meet the most interesting people along the way, essie included.

in one of essie's videos, she describes how to pick the perfect red. it all comes down to your skin tone - simple tips from the wisest beauty expert on the block. and don't forget, you're never fully dressed without a manicured nail.

i am so grateful for these two wonderful people and i'm thankful that new york has connected me with such lovely human beings. i will cherish my moments with them throughout my entire life.

*for more articles on the essie + aol collaboration see The Frisky, Elle, and Entrepreneur. 

because you're worth it.

before december disappears on us - heck - before twenty thirteen does, i have to squeeze in just one more *pinch me* moment. sometimes at work, i am lucky enough to be the fifth or sixth person in line asked to attend certain events {and hopefully cover them} when others on the team can't. it's one of the perks of being on a lean 'n mean team of talented folks.

well, this time i got to attend the l'oreal paris women of worth event at the very swanky pierre hotel in the upper east side. it was a night spent honoring a select, nominated group of women who are making a difference in the world. many leading ladies chosen by l'oreal were in attendance to give the awards. it was a jaw-dropping-i-am-in-awe-and-oh-so-very-inspired kind of evening. you can read my article over here on stylelist and here are a few photos shot from my iphone.

starstruck over hoda, lea, diane, and andie {we're going first name basis here}.

sweet trisha yearwood {this is when i parked it right next to the press from extra and e!} 

the presenters cheat sheet. 

my favorite star sighing of the night... mr. bill cunningham himself. it was beginning to feel like this whole new york thing wasn't real without seeing bill in the flesh {remember this post?}. and so, there he was, blue jacket, vintage camera, and all. i guess it's real after all. 

the bottom line after experiencing this night was that there are some pretty kick a** women in this universe {amen to that!} and i'm just trying to be more like them. i snuck out at the end on a high. a complete high. that's the thing about this city, in the matter of minutes, just as it has the ability to make you feel down and out, it has the ability to make you feel like just about the luckiest and coolest girl in the world. new york is a great metaphor for life - take the good with the bad - it all evens out. i am so grateful to have had this *pinch me* moment... one that i will cherish forever.

on the little things... like color.

when i first moved into my apartment i was insistent upon putting the head of my bed facing west so that i would have a perfect view of the empire state building. you know, because why wouldn't you want to roll right and gaze up at it in all of its magnificence? turns out, feng shui didn't support that plan, so now my toesies are the lucky ones with the perfect view.

also several days after living here, when i proposed the question to a native new yorker, how do you know the meaning behind the colors of the empire state building? she told me to start subscribing to timeout new york. it tells you in there. so, what did i do? subscribe the very next day in hopes somewhere in that magazine, would be the key to uncovering the meaning behind the colorful lights.

well, no such luck. while i do love timeout new york for reasons i did not know that i would upon first receiving it {i'm a sucker for the fine print of free events happening around town}, there is no mention of the empire state. no full page spread or legend that unveils the meaning behind the unique color combinations like i thought there would be.

and see, those empire state light changers, they take their job s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y, so i was just slightly disappointed... do it for them!

really the point of this ridiculously pointless post is to share with you the discovery i made...

what color is the empire state building dot com.

yup, you read it... a website dedicated just to this very purpose {it's currently saved as a bookmark on my phone}.

now when i sit and stare from my window and watch the camera flashes go off until all hours of the night, as tourists pile on the observation deck, i know.

i know that tomorrow will be pink, pink, pink for breast cancer awareness and i know that thursday will be red, blue, green in honor of the fourth annual self esteem weekend. see! these things are important. fun facts. and quite honestly, one of the most fun things about living in new york city.

it's the little things, my darlings. good night! sleep tight.

look up.

i'm starting a little series called what i love most about new york in which i'll feature something i love most about this city. gratitude journal a la new york edition. so, volume one. here goes...

new york's buildings amaze me. all you have to do is look up to see what i mean. from the ground level they seem rather similar, and then all it takes is a tilt of the head to notice how seemingly unique they are from one another. a brick one here... a stone one there... all fitting together like a perfect puzzle, or a horizontal version of tetris. i love the arches that usually border the top row of windows and the intricacies in the molding. some twist and turn based on the block, and some embody the strictest of lines.

all i know is i have these masterpieces surrounding me and i am grateful to see them tracing the clear blue sky. so, remember, always look up. you never know what you might find.