Just to quickly recap, since it can be confusing:
- May 2014 – I left New York City after living there for 2 years
- September 2014 – I arrived to my new place of residence, Hawaii (which is where I lived from age 13 to 18)
- December 2014 – I visited New York, from Hawaii, for an awesome 1-week vacation to see friends as well as my mom & sister, who both live in New York state
It felt so great to be back in NYC, especially since the weather at the beginning of December was quite nice; it was crisp, a bit chilly, and rainy at times, but also sunny many of the days I was there. However, being back made me even more certain about my decision to leave. I will always love NYC and feel at home there (I was born there too, after all) but it’s not where I want to live as an adult.
Breakfast: these pictures are all from different days during the week. One morning I got brunch with some of my Skidmore friends at Hearth in the East Village. My dish was delicious – kale and sausage hash with eggs and toast – but it was $16, which I felt was a rip off. Welcome back to NYC, am I right?
I did a lot of walking around, running to meet different friends and exploring with my mom.
Exercise: I also literally ran, twice. It was so much easier to run in the crisp East Coast air, than it is in the muggy Hawaii air! It felt amazing.
One thing that made me kind of sad and happy at once, and very nostalgic, was spending time in Astoria, my old hood. I really, really love the neighborhood and I hope I will still get to visit it often. My mom and I went to yoga a few times at my old studio, Yoga Agora. We also shopped at Lockwood boutique and Astoria Bookshop, such adorable and awesome local businesses.
Snack: We enjoyed green juice from the local health food store.
Dinner: I met my friend Danielle one night at MexiBBQ in Astoria. I had the BBQ Brisket tacos; I enjoyed the flavor, but they were much too fatty for my taste. The coleslaw was just ok, but the spicy creamy corn on the side was amazing. I could have eaten a bowl of it!
My mom and I wanted to look at the famed Christmas windows along Fifth Avenue, but there were protestors and police everywhere.
Dessert: From 59th street, we only got as far as Momofuku Milk Bar on 56th, and we brought home crack pie to eat after dinner, back at our apartment. SO GOOD!
Drinks: I spent a few nights with various friends, hanging out at different people’s apartments and making it to a few holiday parties. One of the drinks of choice is Fireball, cinnamon-flavored whisky. It’s easy to drink, and perfect for the holidays and cooler weather.
What have you been eating lately?
Tagged: alcohol, Astoria, Astoria Bookshop, BBQ, beverages, bread, breakfast, brisket, brunch, Christmas, cinnamon, coffee, coleslaw, corn, crack pie, creamed corn, Danielle Candela, dessert, East Coast, East village, egg, eggs, exercise, family, Fireball, green juice, hash, healthy, Hearth, juice, kale, Lockwood, MexiBBQ, Mexican food, Momofuku Milk Bar, New York, New York City, pork, pulled pork, Queens, restaurant, running, sausage, shopping, tacos, toast, travel, unhealthy, vacation, vegetables, whisky, winter, yoga, Yoga Agora
