Tail Feather

(photo via vintagelifenetwork.net)

Today is National Dance Day! Woot!

Burlesque Bikini Bootcamp!

(photo via googleimages)

My dear friend AmyJane is getting married in October (yaaaay!), and as a tribute to her upcoming nuptials, a group of gals decided to treat her to a Burlesque class in Chelsea. (Thanks to Hayley & Blakely for organizing!)

Oh. My. God.

It was so much funnn! Our teacher, Kitty Cavalier, was oh-so sexy and taught us some delicious dance moves. We started off with a steamy warm-up (no nudity!) and then finished with a spicy little number. The class lasted an hour and it was so silly and different, such an original way to celebrate a bachelorette's transition into marriage.

Traditionally, Burlesque dancing is a variety of acts, including dancing girls, singers, comedians, mime artists, striptease artists - all with a saucy edge. Of course, we were all wearing gym clothes and sneakers, but we were definitely sweating like crazy near the end. It was a tough work-out. Kitty encouraged us to simply love that reflection in the mirror, because "that is what burlesque is all about, loving yourself."

Housing Works: Design on a Dime

(photo via housingworks.com)

Heard of this place, Housing Works? It's an organization offering services to two populations - the homeless and individuals suffering from AIDS. It's a rather fantastic organization with services like case management,  health care, legal aide, job training, housing subsidies. Ahhh, I could keep going. Anyhoo, they have an event coming up - Design on a Dime. It's a huge fundraising event at their flagship thrift shop on 18th Street celebrating progress in this field of work. And, I reallyyyy want to go! Bummer I have a test that night, but I'll definitely make it to their public sale on Friday and Saturday! Isn't it lovely to do something fun - like shop - and still make a difference? :)

The DeKornes

(photo via FB)

Congratulations Betsy and Micah DeKorne! 

Betsy and Micah got married this weekend, officially entering marital bliss on Saturday afternoon. The wedding was held in Breckenridge, CO, a cozy ski town two hours North of Denver. The ceremony was beautiful while the reception was classy and intimate. I was so upset I dropped my camera last week and broke the battery gate, but I'm already stalking them on Facebook, stealing other people's photos! ;) 

I was so thrilled to be part of the ceremony. All the ladies and gents looked absolutely wonderful, and the bride, of course, radiated with beauty. 

Shenanigans!

I've been slacking... Which is downright odd because I'm pretty sure blogging is my therapeutic outlet.

However, I have been having some serious fun recently...

Had a night out with my pals in Brooklyn... 

These gals are so much fun!

And naturally, we tested out the mouth-open-laugh... 

Visited the Brooklyn Flea on Atlantic Ave... 

It's currently being hosted by the Williamsburgh Savings Bank. 

Which is a totally beautiful building! 

Oh yeah, did I mention there was a rad blizzard last week?? 

Memory Makers

It's my last semester at John Jay. (Hooray!) I'll be heading back to Phoenix soon after graduation, so I'm trying to make as many memories as possible with the short time I have left. Since returning to New York for spring, I've made several greatttt memories!

(We recently visited Panna II, a wonderful Indian restaurant in the East Village.)

(The decorations were crazy! The entire restaurant was the size of a walk-in closet and there must have been 30-50 people inside.) 

(The food was fantastic!)

(The company was phenom, as usual!)

(After Panna II, we took a swing by Jules Jazz club for a pitcher of Sangria.) 

:)

Ahh, I dooo love this city. 

Bigger smiles, better laughs?

Several weeks ago, while trying to persuade Alix to take a picture with me, she stated: "Open your mouth while you smile, it looks like you're having more fun!" So she finally got on board to take a photo with me. (She hates pictures!)

Well, this past weekend, Alix, AmyJane, and I tried the whole mouth-open smile technique again... And these are just silly! (Please excuse my cell phone's crummy picture quality.) We look like we're laughing creepily and hysterically. And when I say "we," I mean "me." ;)

Happy Saturday

(photo via tumblr.com)

TGIS! :)

Happy Halloween (Yesterday)!

So, I've been a little behind on my blogging, which is actually quite curious because things have been lulling a bit at school and work. Ok then, I'll take this opportunity, before things get nutty again (looking like Tuesday-ish), to jump back on the wagon.

Yesterday was Halloween, and we decided to dress up and get crazy with creativity. Alix, Chris, and I went as Three's Company. Ya know, that old-school 70s sitcom? Ha! Actually, as it turned out - we looked like 70s jazzercisers.

As we were walking along the street in Brooklyn, we stumbled across this robot. I took a photo with him. :)

However, my dear niece got pretty crazy too. She was dressed as a Buffalo Bills Cheerleader. Ahhh, apparently she had an amazing time trick-or-treating, as she blew a kiss to everybody who dropped candy in her bag.

Rutgers Game

Yesterday, Amanda and I went to the Rutgers/Texas Southern Game in New Brunswick, NJ. And, it was totallllyyy awesome! Besides the chill that was in the air, the weather was rather ideal for a football game. The stadium is huge and the entire thing is painted red. Plus, every person in the joint was wearing a red Rutgers shirt... Except me.

Amanda went to Rutgers for her undergrad so she showed me her old dorm and all of the places she used to hang out. It made me very nostalgic for Arizona State. (I miss you, Tempe!) We had dinner at a local microbrewery there in New Brunswick called Harvest Moon. My burger was phenom!

I'm really loving all the green. As we were driving around, I'm pretty sure I made a dozen comments about how green everything looks. They have these things called trees out here. Madness.

Anyhoo, I prefer college football to professional football, so yesterday was pretty special. Rutgers dominated Texas Southern with a 42-0 win. My, my TSU - you've got some catching up to do...

Happy Birthday to Me!

I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday! Yesss! Not only did I receive a birthday phone call from my family and pals back at home, I was lucky enough to share a birthday brunch with my dear Mother and ring in my new year with some great girlfriends here in the city; they really spoiled me. Thanks gals, for making it a very special day!

Miike Snow

Last night, I attended the Miike Snow concert in Hoboken with Amanda and Chandra. Annnd, it was AMAZING. The show started a little later than expected, but it was oh-so worth it. The music was a tad techno-y but had a rock flare to it - totally fell in love. Even better, they had a phenom opener - Jack Penate. He was a mix of rock and reggae. You can bet I raced home and downloaded all the goods onto my iTunes.

BTW, I am super smitten with Hoboken, NJ. It's a small town with a lot of soul - plenty of little restaurants and bistros, shops and boutiques. The venue for the show was fantastic as well. Maxwell's was a restaurant with a large room set-up in back. The stage is elevated, but it's quite intimate. We couldn't have been more than 20 feet from the band.

Nutshell - the experience was absolutely marvelous.

3-Day Weekend

I've come to seriously love my three-day weekends. I work long shifts Monday - Thursday, then really take advantage of that Friday off. It's pretty awesome. Four weeks from now, however, I'll be eating my words - when school, work, externship, research, and my teaching assistant position dominate my weekdays and weekends - once again.

Here are some of the interesting things we did this weekend...

P.S.1. - Museum of Contemporary Art, Queens

Max Brenner for Brunch

Julie & Julia at Empire

(photo via amc.com)

Drinks @ Abilene, a patio bar in Brooklyn

(photo via abrooklynlife.com)

Ahh, and it's only Saturday... :)

Happy Birthday, Rachael!

"It takes a long time to grow young." - Pablo Picasso

Yesterday was Rachael's birthday! Not only were we thrilled the sun came out and the weather was utterly divine, we were super psyched about our rendezvous in the village to celebrate. We started at the Slaughtered Lamb Pub. (Rachael has an unhealthy addiction to zombies. This bar fit right into her obsession.) I loved on the "snake-bite" all night. It's a cider drink that's too girly for words. Aaron and I played Pacman and it totally reminded me of Alix! (Alix has an unhealthy addiction with Pacman.) (p.s. Alix is back on Tuesday!)

While we galavanted through the village, we happened across a lovely NYC fire truck. I got excited. (I have an unhealthy addiction to firefighters.) We casually walked on over (in my head, I was totally running!) and took a photo with New York's finest. As you can see, there was an immediate connection.

*Happy Sunday! :)

"here! you throw this away!!"

as i walked around herald square this morning, i realized hand-bills might very well be one of the most annoying things about new york city. because i'm always walking around, i'm vulnerable to anybody wanting to pass along his or her marketing information. a lot of people i've talked to about it say i should just ignore them. but, it's simply not my style to ignore the ladies and gents who are only doing their jobs. however, i feel guilty taking hand-bills that i know i'll just throw away at the next corner. so, i'll continue to spread a little appreciation for the hard-working folks... "oh, no thanks!" is all they'll hear from me.

saturdays are good

2 things i loved today: 

1. i loved walking around midtown at night. 

2. i loved dozing in central park.