♪♫ Carmen - Lana Del Rey
I can't believe its been months since my last post! Oops! Well, my last semester was super busy. I did full time classes and worked part time, so I had no real free time. As soon as the semester ended, I went on my first big trip... to New York City! I went by myself and spent ten days having the best time of my life. I tried to jam as much as I could into the trip, and here are the highlights...
» Went to Times Square.
» Took a boat ride around Manhattan.
» Saw the Statue of Liberty.
» Went to the Musuem of Modern Art, where I saw The Starry Night by Vincent VanGogh, and other famous paintings by Salivador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, and more.
» Saw famous buildings from TV shows; the restaurant from Seinfeld (where I had lunch), Carrie Bradshaw's apartment from Sex and the City, and the apartment building from Friends.
» Saw the famous Stonewall Inn, where pride began.
» Went to the top of the Empire State building to see the view at night.
» Went to the American Museum of Natural History, where I saw real dinosaur bones!
» Explored East Village/Alphabet City, the neighborhood that the musical Rent is based on.
» Went to see Wicked on Broadway, which was great!
» Went to the Katz' Deli, an authentic Jewish deli where I got an amazing sandwich and a black and white cookie.
» Went to Washington Square Park.
» Went to Central Park, and saw the fountain that the Friends' fountain is based on.
» Went to Bryant Park, which is a lovely place to sit and watch whats happening around you.
» Went to the Coney Island boardwalk, where I listened to Lana Del Rey while eating soft ice cream.
» Rode the subway everyday!
» Went to the New York Public Library, which has stunning architecture and a display room of old books and other historical items.
» Finally got Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream (aka Stephen Colbert's ice cream). It was so good!
» I had a ticket for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but sadly the writer's strike happened and it was cancelled.
» Went to a very fancy restaurant to try truffle pasta for the first time. It was good, but defintely overhyped.
» Saw Rockefeller Centre.
» Saw Radio City Music Hall.
» Visited Brooklyn briefly. I will definitely spend more time there whenever I visit again.
» Saw a Louis Vuitton store for the first time! This is exciting because I always wanted one of their bags, but I'm poor, so I just looked through the window at the bags, haha.
» Had authentic New York pizza and bagels!
» Went to Grand Central Station many times.
» Did lots of aimless wandering around Manhattan.
» Did lots of shopping!
Speaking of shopping, here is what I brought back...
Nine bookmarks (from the gift shops at MoMA & the public library), a mini mug and regular mug, a book of mushroom art (from the public library), a ton of ticket stubs/reciepts (to keep for the memories), the metrocard I used during my trip, the playbill from Wicked, a few postcards, a zip up hoodie (which is the most expensive thing I bought at $48), a Victoria's Secret Pajama set (found at a thrift store in perfect condition for $12!), and a Sex Pistols shirt (bought a punk store in East Village).
I also bought a bunch of souveniers for my friends and family. Overall, I stayed within budget, which I am very proud of myself for! I definitely wanted to buy way more stuff! Anyways, it was an overall great experience and I will definitely go back someday. However, there was an issue at the airport when I was returning home. The flight was delayed/cancelled multiple times. I ended up having to stay in a hotel in New Jersey (near the airport) for the night, and didn't get home until 24 hours after I was supposed to. Air Canada gave me a $600 voucher for my next trip, which I think I'm going to use to go somwehere tropical next spring. Maybe Cuba or Hawaii? Not sure yet. All I know is that I definitely have the traveling bug now that I have experienced my first trip (& did it by myself too!).
After my amazing trip, I got amazing news; I have been accepted into the social work program at my local university! Although its local, I signed up for the online program, because I want to save gas money (plus I prefer online). I'll also be doing it part time, which will take three years, and it starts in September! I am so excited! Speaking of university, I am almost done my current degree. I am over halfway done my practicum (two weeks left to go), and then I have the rest of the summer off! I plan on doing lots of local traveling, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
I will also be thrifting a lot more in the summer. So far in 2023, I haven't found a lot. It hasn't been as lucky as 2022 was. Here is what I got so far...
From left to right; a multicolored monogram Louis Vuitton (its definitely not real but I always wanted one as a teen in the 2000s & it was only $12 so I had to get it), a vintage mushroom lunchbag, a vintage tericloth apron, a crocheted cushion cover, a tea towel calendar from 1987, a vintage '60s floral tote bag, a small vintage pillow case, a vintage mushroom tile coaster, two vintage Easter candles, a groovy candle, a vintage floral coin purse, and a vintage fairytale book.
That is basically all for now. Since I will soon have a lot of free time, I am hoping to keep up better with writing blogs. Hope everyone is doing well!
» Went to Times Square.
» Took a boat ride around Manhattan.
» Saw the Statue of Liberty.
» Went to the Musuem of Modern Art, where I saw The Starry Night by Vincent VanGogh, and other famous paintings by Salivador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, and more.
» Saw famous buildings from TV shows; the restaurant from Seinfeld (where I had lunch), Carrie Bradshaw's apartment from Sex and the City, and the apartment building from Friends.
» Saw the famous Stonewall Inn, where pride began.
» Went to the top of the Empire State building to see the view at night.
» Went to the American Museum of Natural History, where I saw real dinosaur bones!
» Explored East Village/Alphabet City, the neighborhood that the musical Rent is based on.
» Went to see Wicked on Broadway, which was great!
» Went to the Katz' Deli, an authentic Jewish deli where I got an amazing sandwich and a black and white cookie.
» Went to Washington Square Park.
» Went to Central Park, and saw the fountain that the Friends' fountain is based on.
» Went to Bryant Park, which is a lovely place to sit and watch whats happening around you.
» Went to the Coney Island boardwalk, where I listened to Lana Del Rey while eating soft ice cream.
» Rode the subway everyday!
» Went to the New York Public Library, which has stunning architecture and a display room of old books and other historical items.
» Finally got Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream (aka Stephen Colbert's ice cream). It was so good!
» I had a ticket for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but sadly the writer's strike happened and it was cancelled.
» Went to a very fancy restaurant to try truffle pasta for the first time. It was good, but defintely overhyped.
» Saw Rockefeller Centre.
» Saw Radio City Music Hall.
» Visited Brooklyn briefly. I will definitely spend more time there whenever I visit again.
» Saw a Louis Vuitton store for the first time! This is exciting because I always wanted one of their bags, but I'm poor, so I just looked through the window at the bags, haha.
» Had authentic New York pizza and bagels!
» Went to Grand Central Station many times.
» Did lots of aimless wandering around Manhattan.
» Did lots of shopping!
Speaking of shopping, here is what I brought back...
Nine bookmarks (from the gift shops at MoMA & the public library), a mini mug and regular mug, a book of mushroom art (from the public library), a ton of ticket stubs/reciepts (to keep for the memories), the metrocard I used during my trip, the playbill from Wicked, a few postcards, a zip up hoodie (which is the most expensive thing I bought at $48), a Victoria's Secret Pajama set (found at a thrift store in perfect condition for $12!), and a Sex Pistols shirt (bought a punk store in East Village).
I also bought a bunch of souveniers for my friends and family. Overall, I stayed within budget, which I am very proud of myself for! I definitely wanted to buy way more stuff! Anyways, it was an overall great experience and I will definitely go back someday. However, there was an issue at the airport when I was returning home. The flight was delayed/cancelled multiple times. I ended up having to stay in a hotel in New Jersey (near the airport) for the night, and didn't get home until 24 hours after I was supposed to. Air Canada gave me a $600 voucher for my next trip, which I think I'm going to use to go somwehere tropical next spring. Maybe Cuba or Hawaii? Not sure yet. All I know is that I definitely have the traveling bug now that I have experienced my first trip (& did it by myself too!).
After my amazing trip, I got amazing news; I have been accepted into the social work program at my local university! Although its local, I signed up for the online program, because I want to save gas money (plus I prefer online). I'll also be doing it part time, which will take three years, and it starts in September! I am so excited! Speaking of university, I am almost done my current degree. I am over halfway done my practicum (two weeks left to go), and then I have the rest of the summer off! I plan on doing lots of local traveling, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
I will also be thrifting a lot more in the summer. So far in 2023, I haven't found a lot. It hasn't been as lucky as 2022 was. Here is what I got so far...
From left to right; a multicolored monogram Louis Vuitton (its definitely not real but I always wanted one as a teen in the 2000s & it was only $12 so I had to get it), a vintage mushroom lunchbag, a vintage tericloth apron, a crocheted cushion cover, a tea towel calendar from 1987, a vintage '60s floral tote bag, a small vintage pillow case, a vintage mushroom tile coaster, two vintage Easter candles, a groovy candle, a vintage floral coin purse, and a vintage fairytale book.
That is basically all for now. Since I will soon have a lot of free time, I am hoping to keep up better with writing blogs. Hope everyone is doing well!