New York Trip Diary

I wanted to share each day about my experiences and outfits (I will put links to the store's website if I have time) on my first trip to New York. This is an ongoing  post so I’ll post when I have time as I go. I had wanted to blog every day, but as I am used to California time, am trying to fit as many things into one day as possible, AND want to get at least a couple hours of sleep, I do not believe it is possible. The pictures I am sharing are mostly all taken by me, the ones with me in them are of course taken by other people (mostly my sister Steph).
Update: I decided to just write it all at once as a recap and post it after I was done (and yes, that means almost 3 months after my actual trip!).

View from first flight- bad quality iPhone pic, but GORGEOUS sunset.

I absolutely love plane pictures, seeing everything from above is so breathtaking, especially at night! All the lights look like glittering diamonds!

Day 1

August 13, 2014

All day was spent traveling… an exhausting day of sitting in the same position for 5 hours… and then an additional hour or two on another flight with a little boy kicking my chair and screaming! Finally arriving in Manhattan, there was a crazy taxi drive to the hotel, and a hotel mix-up on checking in. I am so excited to explore New York!

My flight outfit consisted of bright coral pants from GAP, the H&M/ELLE magazine collaboration black and white chevron tank top, Forever 21 sweater, and Pro-Keds white tennis shoes from Costco (they were $20!). I wore my new Alex+Ani Bangle, Betsey Johnson watch, and Juicy Couture link bracelet.

Our hotel has these huge windows that open up (a scary large amount) and you can see the street below. My sister and I were super excited staring out the window at all the glittering buildings, and we thought the Empire State building was right across the way (turns out it was actually the Chrysler building :\).

 

 

Day 2

August 14, 2014

Today was such a fun and busy day, filled with so many activities.



Started the day off with a tour at Fordham University, which is the college I am interested in going to (so I can be in New York!). I went to both the Lincoln Center campus and the Rose Hill campus (in the Bronx). The Rose Hill campus was so beautiful, and below are two of the buildings.

After my visit, it was off to Times Square to purchase Broadway tickets! Pictured is my sisters and me.

Buys of the day: six statement necklaces and a white cross body bag (that can turn into a clutch), both of these purchases were from street vendors.

I got a  white cross body because it is the perfect size and I love the double zipper detail on the front (side note: I wore this bag 4 days and it got extremely dirty on the back!). I don't have an individual picture of it but it will make many appearances in the next week (I wore it tonight to Broadway).

On a street corner I found these amazing necklaces, that were ONLY $5!! There was a huge pile of adorable statement necklaces and bracelets in boxes. Naturally, I bought 6 of them! :) I normally buy a statement necklace for $10-30 and I got 6 for $30!



 

Although I used the subway during my whole trip, this picture was staged ;)

I just HAD to share this adorable bangle my sister gave me last night. It is a gold Kate Spade bangle with six inscriptions in different fonts engraved on the outside and one on the inside of the bangle. It says: sit up straight, go play outside, say please, play nice, do your homework, and say thank you. Then on the inside is: Mom said so (which I think is hilarious because my mom says all of those phrases to me!)

Tonight I had a quick outfit change into a black tank dress with a loose skirt from Old Navy (I got it last year for $10!), my cheetah print leopard sandals from Target, and one of my new necklaces from today. Accessories: gold Jaeger Le Coultre watch, new Kate Spade bangle, and new white bag.

This was before I went to Broadway to see If/Then… which was absolutely amazing! The plot was really interesting and cute, and the acting/singing was soooo good! Idina Menzel was the lead actress, it was so surreal watching her sing live, and just being in the same room! One of the main actors looked just like Mathew Crawley (any Downton Abbey fans reading this?? ;) Downton is one of my favorite shows). In the Playbill it said he was in She’s the Man (one of my favorite movies!) and my sister and I were convinced he was Justin, Viola’s boyfriend. This was until we were waiting outside for the cast, and we realized he was the one who played Malfoy, the creepy tarantula guy (if you’ve never seen the movie, WATCH IT!).

Packing tip: put your shoes inside of TOMs bags (the ones they come in). The bags are so much more durable than normal plastic bags, and it keeps your shoes from getting your clothes dirty inside your luggage while traveling.

Day 3

August 15, 2014

 

All today was spent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exploring all the different exhibits.

I wore a striped fitted maxi dress from Old Navy with my double strap sandals from Gap. I accessorized with my Kate Spade gold bangle, Alex+Ani bangle, and Banana Republic link and diamond bracelet.

Here is a closer look at my accessories, including my favorite pair of sunglasses. They are Cole Haan, I got them for $16 at Marshalls.

There were so many amazing exhibits, and I was awed by all of the huge stone statues and objects created by people. The jewelry exhibits were especially interesting to me; it was so cool to see all of these intricate and beautiful pieces people had created with anything they found. I don’t want to have long descriptions of everything, so I’ll mostly (I do have a little comment about each one/groups of related pictures) let the pictures speak for themselves… And I took a TON of pictures, I had to narrow it down from hundreds!

So many amazing ceilings, my neck hurt from craning it up to take pictures of all of them! This first one is the entrance room into all the other exhibits. 


Another shot of this ceiling, because I loved the arches and windows so much!!

In the tomb, trying not to touch the walls ;)

One of the sarcophagus.

Squatting it out with two pretty ladies.

So many beautiful patterns!

Entrance before the tomb.

Took so many shots to get this; this was the entrance AND exit to exhibits so getting this was very difficult because of all the people passing through!

 

Now THIS must hurt! Thought this sculpture was pretty neat.

 

More crazy gorgeous rooms

My favorite exhibit: THE JEWELRY. Here are a couple of my favorite pieces- I want these statement necklaces!!

The different textures and colors really stood out to me.. I have no idea what it is though!

Not that into paintings, but I do love Monet's style.

I wanted allllll of these beautiful gold pieces- earrings, necklaces, bracelets, cuffs, and rings!

One of the beautiful necklacs from another exhibit.

I love the T.V. show Reign on the C.W., and this reindeer crown reminds me of the show!

Some fancy flip flops, and interesting finger and toe thimble like gold coverings.

Can you see me in the mirror??

The wall of beautiful tiled prints.

One of the very ornate, matchy-matchy rooms in the time period rooms.

I absolutely loved this table end  with all the stars surrounding the globe.

More jewelry... these were from the Tiffany's display.

These just stood out to me... the pillar had metallic tiles on it while the bright colors in the stained glass window popped with the light shining through.

From the top of the MET- the New York skyline.

While walking through  central park, I stopped to make a wish at the Bethesda Fountain (I hope it comes true!). There were two wedding shoots going on in front too!

On the steps of the Bethesda Terrace staircase which felt very Gossip Girl--ish ;).

Ever since my trip I have been seeing these steps in movies set in New York!

 Made a stop at The Boathouse (any 27 Dresses- the movie- fans??) for some yummy soft serve!

Buys of the day: I got a really neat gold ring designed by Robert Lee Moris, and a silver bangle with a black circle clasp that has “Metropolitan Museum of Art” written in silver on it. Not only was I supporting the MET, but I got some great accessories! My new white purse and gold ring are pictured below.

 

Day 4

August 16, 2014

This day was filled with a lot of activities and sights. I wore a pair of patterned shorts by Jessica Simpson from Macy’s with a black tank top from Target and my white Keds. While walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, said white Keds got extremely dirty… I accessorized with a tribal print triangle long neckace, Alex and Ani bangle, Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, and a silver and gold bangle to tie all my different metals together (my necklace has a gold chain, silver triangle).

First stop of the day was Grand Central Station (where the Kristen Bell's voice-- Gossip Girl--ran through  my head!!) I loved the turquoise ceiling with the gold intricate details!

Here I am- being an annoying tourist and taking a pic in the middle ;)

After that it was on the subway to the New York Public Library. The little museum of books they have there is really cool to walk through.

Can you see me on the steps?? :)

Inside were a bunch of different exhibits pertaining to books. Not sure what book this is from, or what this relates to, but there was a car, and I just had to get in it and get a picture!!

 This I know had to do with Where the Wild Things Are.

One of my favorite parts was the wall of  Banned books with the explanation for them being banned. So many crazy reasons, that most I laughed at.. Judy Bloom and Dr. Seuss's books are harmful to children? Classics like Huckleberry Finn, C.S. Lewis's A Wrinkle in Time, and Alice in Wonderland?? I actually thought it was hilarious how I had read the majority of the books on the wall, and found no faults in them!

Of course another ceiling picture... I loved this ornate one above the book displays.

After that, it was a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I absolutely hate bridges, but I have to admit, there was an amazing view of the city from the middle- I could see the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.

I had to  document this moment, because you will rarely (if ever) see me stopped on a bridge.

Looking back at Manhattan.

I guess this is Brooklyn's version of the Pont Des Arts. Instead of love locks like they do in Paris, headphones, plastic bags, and luggage tags adorned some parts of the bridge.

In Brooklyn we stopped at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory where I had a scoop of strawberry ice cream, and it was absolutely delicious! It was pretty hot today, so I was desperately trying to quickly get a pic of my ice cream before it all melted!

Here is a shot from under the bridge.

 iPhone panorama shot of (from left to right) Manhattan, the Brooklyn bridge with the (I think) Manhattan bridge behind it, and then Brooklyn.

 During lunch my sister took this pic on her phone of me becuase she thought it looked very "bloggeresque" (Thanks Niki, even though I have absolutely no idea what that even means!). I really only wanted to get a picture of the cute little birds (that's what I'm smiling at). Even though I really hate birds, these birds were freaking adorable!

 It took forever to figure out where the Subway tunnel was to get back to Manhattan was, but eventually we found it and visited the 9/11 memorial. Even though I have absolutely no recollection of that day (I was only 3 when it happened), it was surreal being there and seeing where done of the saddest events took place.

The two reflection pools are beautiful to see, and I would have liked to have seen it at night. Surrounding the pools are all the names engraved into the surrounding ledge

 of all the people who passed away. It was so sad to see the large amount of names because of what those names represented- the amount of lives lost, and the impact of that day.

On a less depressing note, the 1 World Trade Center was really cool; when you look up it looks like the building never ends!

Day 5

August 17, 2014

Even though every day has been great, this day was especially awesome because it included shopping, and absolutely delicious food!!

I wore a black tank high-low dress from Marshalls, a cheetah print H&M belt, and my cheetah print Target sandals. I accessorized with my MET ring, Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, Banana Republic diamond link bracelet, and Kate Spade bangle.

The first stop of the morning was Eataly, where in front I spotted the Flatiron building.

Inside of Eataly was a crazy amount of fantastic food and smells.

My sister and I just had to get some Italian sodas (flavors: Oranciata and Limonata).

Update: I now use them as cute little vases for flowers on my desk!

 In my bag I had 4 different Focaccia breads- warm and sooo good! I got strawberry sugar, a meat and sausage one, my sis got a blueberry sugar one, and my mom got a ricotta cheese and squash one.

 Delicious raspberry sorbet from Il Gelato.

My sister Stephanie took both of these shots of the desserts, and both looked so good I had to include them both!

After Eataly, it was a short walk to the Empire State building. What a surprise it was to see the actual building...it was not as tall or big as I imagined it to be! It wasn't super small, but in my head I thought it was huge!

Didn't do the tour up to the top, but got a picture inside.

And here I am with the Empire State building (JK... just a replica- it wasn't THAT small).

My obsession with ceilings continues!!There was a cool gear pattern in gold.

 

After, the rest of the day was spent shopping... my favorite activity! I'll share my buys from New York in another post (that will probably come out a lot later!). Walking back to the subway to get back to the hotel, I saw the Empire State again all lit up.

Day 6

August 18, 2014 

I went for a super casual outfit for my second to last day with a pair of shorts from Nordstrom, a bright blouse from Old Navy, and my fav sandals from Gap. I accessorized with my Betsey Johnson watch and two bangles.

 I took this shot on the ferry ride over to the Statue of Liberty.

I went up inside Lady Liberty and up into her pedestal (128 stairs I think... I'm not sure... but there were a lot!).

With the audio tour I was able to hear all about the history of the Statue of Liberty. I never realized how large she was, and in the museum I learned all about her construction.

 Inside of Lady Liberty is her original torch that she used to carry.

 This is a replica inside the museum (that's inside of her) of her foot. Here I am "comparing" my foot  which is a 6 and 1/2 to hers (they are no where close in size!!).

Because the statue is made out of copper, the stone on the outside is streaked with green.

It was a short ferry ride to Ellis Island where we took a tour of the island and the museum.

Walking in the museum (that used to be where all the immigrants were admitted) was like walking through history, and I could almost feel the presence of the thousands of immigrants that passed through there to gain admission to the United States.

 Inside of the building was yet another beautiful ceiling!

I occasionally stopped looking at the ceilings and looked down ;).

It was a gorgeous day, and there was a beautiful view of the city (that's where the cover photo of this post came from).

My sister caught me taking a selfie... and here it is!

After a long wait for the ferry back to the city, it was a short walk from the subway station to Greenwich Village. At Magnolia bakery I got both the red velvet cupcake (with cream cheese frosting) and the vanilla cupcake (with buttercream frosting). They were both absolutely delicious, and I ate both!  

Day 7

August 19, 2014

My last day in New York, this has been such an amazing trip and I don't want it to end! Just being here has been awesome and I can't wait to come back. Before hopping on the plane back to Cali I wore a Nordstrom B.P. printed body con skirt, black tank top, and jeweled black sandals I got at Nordstrom Rack (for a steal, only $10!). Little note about the body con skirt-- B.P. carries Lily White's body con skirts that I absolutely love! They always come in really cute prints (geometric/abstract) in darker colors with bright pops. These skirts are so comfortable to wear and super easy to dress up or down.  

I accessorized with my Betsey Johnson watch, Alex+Ani bangle, and new MET bangle.

My last few hours in New York were spent getting last minute souvenirs, sending out post cards, a little bit of shoping,  visiting the Plaza Hotel, and going to  Magnolia bakery (yes, again!). The Magnolia Bakery was inside of Bloomingdales, so while my sister shopped, I got a coconut cupcake (which is my favorite flavor).

Super squinty in front of the Plaza with yes, another cupcake! (from Magnolia's Bakery in Bloomingdale's)

I like to be super comfy on planes, so I changed into workout clothes: a gray GAP tank, black Old Navy geometric capris, and my Nike Free Runs.

My flight home was delayed for about 2 hours and with the terrible/untrustworthy airport hotspot (no movies, T.V., or blogging without wifi!), my sisters and I resorted to drawing on my tablet's paint app. Here are the "masterpieces" that were created-- a sketch I drew of Audrey Hepburn (up for your interpretation) and my sister Niki's still arts.

my "Audrey" painting

"Niki's Masterpiece"

"Citrus"

While in "the Big Apple", I fell in love in just a week.... with the sights, the sounds, and the amazing (AMAZING) food New York has to offer. I cannot wait to go back, and it is my dream to live there for a couple (maybe more?!) years. I hope you enjoyed reading this post, it took me so long to publish it because of the thousands of photos I had to sort through and then edit.

All over I saw the letter M (especially at the MET- where the architectural looking M is their symbol).

(In your best Gossip Girl voice read my sign-off.... ready GO!)
XOXO,
Megi D. ;)