New York Update Saturday + Sunday

On our second day full day, I went to meet with a designer for Buffalo Jeans with a few other people from my course, it was nice to talk to someone who has made it big in New York, from just going over there for a week 14 years ago, where she got a job with Donna Karen and has grown from there. 

We then made our way to the 9/11 memorial site, where we spent a long time in the museum, which was so sad and thought provoking. It was just incredible, the stories from people and the videos explaining how they managed to clear up the sight afterwards. 

When it was starting to get dark we had a guided tour around the memorial site, our tour guide was a survivor from this terrible event, his office was on the 83rd floor of the first tower. He told us his amazing story of how he and two other people from his office survived. It was so moving and upsetting, it sounds cheesy but I really was blessed to meet him. 

We then got to see the memorials at night, which is so beautiful, the waterfall looked as if it was strands of silver flowing into the darkness, here's some photo's.

We also saw the new towers that are being built, including the beautiful freedom tower.

After this humbling and emotional experience we met up with the other girls we were with to go on the Staten Island Ferry, to see the Statue of Liberty. It was difficult to see her, because some of the flood lights, which light her up were damaged when the hurricane hit New York last month. But it was still a nice little trip, and to see the New York skyline at night was amazing. 

Afterwards a few of us decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for our final Dinner in New York, you can't go to New York without going to Hard Rock! It was the best night, there was a guy using cutlery as drum sticks on the bar which got more and more impressive as the songs went on. Our waitress was a babe and the food was delicious, I had chicken and beef fajita's.

Sunday: 

Our last half a day, it was the first day that was bad weather, the sun had disappeared and the rain clouds were out, I'm glad I packed my umbrella! New York was obviously upset we were leaving so soon.

The girls and I went ice skating in Central Park where I watched them by the side - last time I went ice stating I twisted my wrist badly and I didn't want that to happen again, and be in pain throughout my flight home. Maybe when I go next time I'll finally buck up the courage. 

We did so much in the time we had, I was shattered by the time I got home and it all caught up with me.
I felt bad as when I returned home my boyfriend came round, however within a few hours I was sound asleep, I was physically not able to keep my eyes open! He went home after I woke up, and then I went straight back to sleep not waking up until 5pm the next day and I had work at 6pm! 

But it was worth all the tiredness because I was able to make some great friends and spend a good few days in New York City, my new favourite city.
Has anyone else been to New York? What was your favourite bit?

x

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4482029/?claim=jk96efhvzun">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

New York Update Friday

Friday was our first full day in New York, so we had to make the most of it, we left the hostel at 8.30 am, and headed off to a diner we had seen on our way back yesterday...

We had breakfast in Ellen's Stardust Diner - best place ever, the staff sing to you (Broadway style) and they serve the nicest pancakes, complete with bacon and maple syrup! All the singers/servers were all aspiring Broadway stars, and this was their 'half way house'. 

One of the ladies was talking over the microphone explaining that the next time any of us visit the Diner there will probably be a whole new set of faces and voices, as the ones there now would hopefully be staring in a Broadway show!

After being full up on bacon, pancakes and coffee, we walked around 5th Avenue, where we found The Rockerfella Center, where we had a look at the gorgeous ice rink and huge Christmas Tree! I couldn't believe how huge this Christmas tree was, like everything in New York it was larger than life. 

Afterwards we went into Sak's Fifth Avenue department store, which was incredible. Ten floors (I think) of gorgeous-ness! There was a sale on the shoe floor, from Louboutin's to Jimmy Choo, none of which were anywhere near the amount of money I took. Even with 30% off they were still $1000's!

It was incredible just to see so many shoes by designers along with the other sections of the shop including the 'Bridal Suite' complete with a wedding dress show, however it was inside glass doors and we could only but look through to see the gorgeous dresses.

(One of the window displays for Sak's)

We then went shopping on fifth avenue for a while, we then stumbled across the New York Public Library  It was the most beautiful library I have ever seen, marble everywhere and a huge Christmas Tree inside. I can see why Carrie Bradshaw got married there!

When it started to get dark, we decided to take a trip up the Empire State Building, after asking a local to point us in the right direction; he simply pointed up to the building on the opposite side of the street. We all felt really silly as the local laughed as he walked away! 

We went up the the main observation deck on the 86th floor. It was a short journey in the elevators, then all of a sudden we were there, walking outside, it was freezing cold, however it didn't matter because the view was breath taking. It was like something out of a movie, somewhat unreal! It didn't feel like we were as high up as we were, it just felt like a dream. 

You could see the city beneath but it was completely silent, which is a complete contrast to when you are walking through New York city. You could see everything up there, from the people on the ice rink at the Rockefeller Center, to the Statue of Liberty shining in the distance. 

After this we were all starving, so we went to a lovely restaurant where we had a gorgeous dinner, I had pasta with breaded chicken, a tomato sauce and cheese. Which was delicious! We all sat there chatting away and being merry it was a really nice evening. 

We then went back onto the streets, to find Victoria's secret; which was amazing, 3 floors of the softest bra's you've ever felt, (like marshmallow I'm serious!) and the most gorgeous nightwear. I didn't buy anything but there was a lot of stuff I wanted to get, but that can be for next time. After spending a good hour in there we went to Macy's - The Worlds Biggest Department Store....however it wasn't the best. It was shabby and very disappointing. Nothing could compare to Sak's that we saw earlier in the day. The sign was pretty though...

This was the end of our second evening in New York City, but we still had so much to do! Click here for the first night of my adventures in New York City.

x

How do you feel? - 21st Birthday

Is a question that you hear every year when your birthday rolls around, and this year has been no different; for me anyway. I am one of the people who's birthday falls within the holiday season, mine being Boxing day. This year I turned 21, and whilst at a meal with friends one said "How do you feel now you're 21?" I don't think it's your birthday until someone says that, but I had nothing to say, except that I can now officially drink in every country in the world! 

I'm really hoping my 21st year is my best yet, I haven't had much luck being 20 so hopefully 21 will bring me a bit of luck. For my birthday I was lucky enough to receive an amazing gift from my parents; a Michael Kors watch!

I also received some amazing presents, from my sister, boyfriend and boyfriends mum. Including a canvas with a moustache print over it, in different patterns (boyfriends mum) a moustache silver ring from Craig (Boyfriend)

 My sister bought me some awesome magnetic nail varnish, a fan necklace and some new earphones with buger and fries on them.
Yesterday I also went for a meal with a few of my friends and boyfriend, at Bella Italia my favourite Italian restaurant. It was such a lovely evening, my friends bought me a cake which the waiter bought out at the end of our meal, which was a complete surprise. It was so sweet of them to do that, they also bought me a bottle of wine and a bottle of Southern Comfort, along with a badge :)
It was a fun evening, even though a few of my friends couldn't come along seeing as it was after Christmas when no one really has any money.

All in all, I'm a very lucky 21 year old! 

x

New York Update - First evening

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a brilliant Christmas, I know I haven't posted anything since I went to New York, so I'm very sorry about that. I've just had such a busy 2 and a half weeks since being back. (Like everyone I suppose) I've decided to split my New York Updates up into a few posts because I have so much to tell you about, enjoy.

New York was amazing I loved every single second of it, from the moment we walked into Time Square on our first evening, to the feeling of awe when standing at the top of the Empire State Building. We stayed at the YMCA hotel on the west side of New York, which wasn't the nicest place, but it was clean and we were hardly there anyway; just to sleep and wash really. I would recommend staying there if you were on a tight budget and just wanted somewhere to sleep, however the next time I go I would like to stay somewhere, where there wasn't shared showers and toilets - it wasn't the nicest experience.

Anyway I have no idea why I'm talking about the accommodation when I was in the Big Apple! It was the best experience I have every had. On our first evening, we dropped our bags and headed straight out for Time Square; where bright lights really did inspire me, it was incredible. The brightest lights you've ever seen, people everywhere and a general explosive vibe all around. There were so many people walking around dressed as everything from Elmo to Batman, it was so cool. We had our photo taken with Elmo and the Cookie Monster and then set off around the shops.

We went to many stores including a huge Toy's R Us complete with a full size Ferris wheel; I know I couldn't believe it either. This Toy's R Us also contained a Barbie house that you could walk around in, it was full of all the Barbie's you could ever imagine, including the original and special edition ones for sale for thousands of Dollars. Along with a huge sweet section, with massive Jelly Bears and huge box's of Nerds. This was the best Toy's R Us I'd ever been to, I couldn't imagine walking into the store in Southampton and seeing the same thing!

We asked the store assistant what time they close where she replied with 3AM! It really is the city that never sleeps!
We had dinner that evening in an authentic American Ribshack restaurant, where I had a pulled chicken and pork burger, it was so filling! After I'd eaten all I could I looked back at the plate and it didn't look like I had touched it at all!

We then all went back to the YMCA, where we sorted out what we were going to do over the coming days; seeing as we didn't have long there we wanted to make the most of it. The next two posts will be coming up in the next two days.
x

Santa! Oh my god! Santa's coming! I know him!

If you didn't get my reference, I am going to the big apple just like Buddy the Elf did, however it is not for me to find my farther or to help Santa when he gets in trouble. I already have a dad, and if Santa was in trouble I'm sure I wouldn't be much help...way to clumsy! I will be there to enjoy the city that never sleeps.

So yeah I'm off to New York in the morning, we have a really early start; I have to be up before 7am! I know I'm not going to enjoy that part. Then sit on a coach for a few hours, hop onto a plane for another few hours then touch down at JFK airport! 

I'm the type of person that it takes ages for me to get excited for things, and I only often get to the excited part just before it happens. So tomorrow morning I'm going to be bouncing off the walls I'm sure! 

But I won't be posting anything on here until Monday when I come home and hopefully I'll have lots to talk to you about and show you. 

If you want to see what I'm planning on taking with me, you can watch the video I made (the post before this one). I still haven't started packing yet though! Also if anyone has any suggestions about what I should wear on the plane, please let me know! (All I can think of is leggings)

Anyway it's goodbye for now, enjoy the rest of the week and weekends!

x

The future's bright the furture's TMRW

TMRW is a brand new independent quarterly magazine, aimed at the modern professional, it's packed full of new music and the latest fashion. The first issue looks amazing, with it's modern, minimalistic and fresh look and it feels great too, so what more could you want?

Oh that's it; some great content, including interviews that aren't written in Q&A format, which is a breath of fresh air! Seeing as a lot of the magazines out on the shelves are mostly question and answer based.

TMRW magazine, issue 1

Being an independent magazine, they really have helped support other independent companies throughout the pages of the zine. Including UK clothing company hype and premium head wear brand jelly and cream.

Beatrice Eli in TMRW magazine

The magazine seems to have a great community involved with it, from Joe Brine (@joebrine) the creator of TMRW to the people who write articles for them. Mainly written by aspiring journalists which is great as it gives them a new platform in the difficult journalism world. 

I love the feel of the magazine (I'm all about the haptics!) it has great print quality and the photography looks amazing, and fits in with the look of the magazine. 

Please ignore my weird hand...

This zine has something for everyone, from Caggie Dunlop from Made In Chelsea talking about her new singing career and Oliver Proudlock also from MIC but instead talking about his T-shirt brand Serge De Nimes. This is great because they could have easily gone down the television route, however they decided to take a different angle. This is all in their debut issue, along with some interesting content and no 'horoscope section' in sight! 

(don't get my wrong, I love a good horoscope, but that's what I have company for)

 The second issue includes many things including the indie pop London based band; Bastille along with new clothing brand 'Friend or Faux' and singer from The Voice - Tyler James on the cover.

You can buy it now (HERE) where you can purchase it for £3 which is a great price for a quarterly magazine. 

I really hope TMRW carry on giving a breath of fresh air to the magazine community and have many issues in their repertoire. I can't wait to get my paws on the second issue! 

x