My NYC Weekend

Posted on February 11, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

A few weeks ago I made a weekend trip to NYC to watch my good friend get married and it was a blast. I’m just so glad I had pretty warm weather (considering it was January in New England). To think that if they got married this past weekend, we’d all be stuck there! For those of you reading this while currently trapped in the snow, just know that it will soon look like these photos again and then before you know it, spring time!

The wedding party was shacked up at the Ace Hotel (super hip swanky hipster heaven) in Midtown. It was pretty affordable, as my good friend Sally (Also attending the wedding) split the costs. It had a large lounge lobby, which I assume had free wifi given the crowd. They also had shops, a bar and a coffee shop. At night the lobby turned into a nightclub. As a hotel guest I could bypass the line and go right in… Im too-cool-for-school. The photo above is of the coffee place Stumptown. This place felt like a Portlandia skit and often the line was out the door.

After the Saturday wedding, I spent Sunday and Monday with my childhood friend Carrie exploring the city. Since moving to Los Angeles, whenever I come to NYC Im tight on time and trying to see everyone I can. Given that Christmas was only a few weeks prior and I got to see lots of people then, this was a nice excuse to spend Sunday and Monday just being low-key and hanging out. I can’t tell you the last time I just “hung out” in NYC. Carrie and I visited some of her favorite stores + flea markets. It was so relaxed and nice to not have an itinerary.

We went to a giant flea market on the West Side around 76th St (near the Natural History Museum). We then walked down Columbus Ave stopping in at cute places, like Paper Source and the American Folk Art Museum, until we ended up in Columbus Circle and warmed up in the mall.

Carrie and I are both in the market for new glasses so she said we HAD to go to Warby Parkers showroom, and it was the best decision ever. It’s located in the Puck Building (aka Grace’s Design office building on Will +Grace). This beautiful building has larger than life Puck statues on the exterior… it stand out. I’ve seen this building on Will and Grace for years, so it was cool seeing it in person. Inside Carrie knew exactly where to go (as there was no signage and it seems like a private building). Sure enough their showroom is on the fifth (?) floor of this building. Here are the Warby Parker offices as well as a place to try on all their glasses. It was surprisingly busy for a store hidden in a signless building. For $100 Warby Parker gives you the frames and the prescription lenses AND donates a pair of glasses to charity. How cool is that? Plus the glasses are so cool looking. Once you create an online account, they send you any 5 frames for free to try on for 5 days. They even send you the return shipping label so this all costs you nothing. Genius. It was nice visiting their showroom, but this way if you don’t live in a major city you can also try on their glasses. Do it!!

After our glasses shopping (which was super fun) we visited the Housing Works Thrift Shop and Bookstore and Brooklyn Industries in Soho.

After a quick walk around Soho, it was time to head to the airport I’ll be back NYC and hopefully next time it will be longer than just a quick weekend.

Bye Bye NYC, Hello LA

Posted on January 21, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

Back to the warmth of Los Angeles. I’ve had a great time seeing friends and celebrating, but back to reality I go. This trip was very easy (nice not navigating with giant luggage) and made me see how doable a three day trip to NYC can be. Hopefully that means this can happen more often. Happy MLK day!

In a New York Minute

Posted on January 18, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

I’m off tonight to NYC for a very good friends wedding. It’s a whirlwind of a trip (as it’s just a weekend away) but I’m sure I’ll come back with plenty to share. I’ll do my best to stay warm. I hear Los Angeles is in for some warmer weather this weekend, so get outside and have fun!

The Connecticut Science Center

Posted on January 17, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

The last adventure I’ve been meaning to share with you from my holiday on the East Coast, is a very fun trip to the Connecticut Science Center. Three friends joined me for some science fun up in Hartford and we had a blast. While this is clearly meant for children, my 26 year old friends and I had so much fun and I learned a ton.

This modern, narrow, colorful new building sits along the highway in Hartford next to the Convention Center. Both the east and west walls of the museum are glass allowing in light and great views of Hartford.

Most of the exhibits are interactive and feel like games. In the photo above we were in the sports and medicine floor, where you pick the helmet you want to test. Put it on the dummy and then use a lever to drop the 5kg weight to see the impact the different helmet have on protecting your head.

I had to share the above simulator! This creepy robot human can simulate 3 different types of sceneraios that the viewer gets to pick. One of the options was “Drug rash” (which I suffered from a month prior). It shows you how the vitals change as this “person” suffers from the illness. My medical genius friends said this is a tool they used in college to learn and practice on.

Oh, snowy gray Hartford. It’s come a long way. I’m thinking if I get to go back to CT in the summer, it’s worth making a trip to Hartford to experience some of the summer events they advertise.

The above photo is of an exhibit involving robots and mechanics. This exhibit is where you and a robot are shown a picture and you have to match the shapes to the photo, in a race against the robot.

The have a full wing dedicated to SPACE! It was so much fun. If you have ANY interest in space, you’ll love this exhibit.

They had a robot-dinosaur! In the summer they have a rooftop garden, which I image allows for more excellent views of the city.

The have animals! Granted the animal selection is small, it’s still really fun to watch them.

We accidentally skipped a section, and I’m SO glad we decided to check it out before the museum closed because it was the music room. Above, my friends were playing on a digital projected music board. It’s basically a digital version of that scene in Big, with the floor piano.

We got in a little more fun in the energy room, just before the museum was closing. They have a game where air blows through the triangle cone and the goal is to use the air and motion to get the beach ball into the hoop. So much fun!

I honestly can’t recommend this museum more. It’s great for children, but adults can have fun too. It’s a little pricy ($19?) but it’s worth your time and money.

Ninja NYC

Posted on January 15, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

I haven’t talked too much about my holiday in NYC / Connecticut / Cape Cod, but more of that is coming, I promise you. While in NYC just before Christmas, I met up with friends and got to experience the restaurant Ninja.

This restaurant is completely Ninja themed. The waiters are dressed as ninjas and the decor feels like something out of a movie. The experience begins by taking an elevator to the dining area. We were then led to our table, as all of the tables feel very secluded and private. When you order from the menu, it has symbols on it indicating which meals come with Ninja presentations.

These presentations are in the photos above. They lit food on fire, and used weapons to serve the dishes… and much more.

My sushi (above) came with a magical fog (dry ice) which added to the presentation.

Above is a photo of the dessert we ordered. It looks like breakfast but it was a tasty dessert. All the dishes were fun and the night was enjoyed by the whole group. It’s a pricy meal, so save if for a special occasion and it’s fun with groups (as the more specialty meals ordered, the more ninja magic you get to see). Check it out if you get the chance in New York City.

Headed Back To Reality

Posted on January 4, 2013 by LifeAbsorbed

I’m on my way back to la la land and leaving the cold behind. Do This Today will return tomorrow. Happy ~~Thursday~~ Friday!

Merry Christmas 2012

Posted on December 25, 2012 by LifeAbsorbed

(Thank you font PW Christmas)

Merry Christmas all! There’s nothing like the holidays to be close to loved ones, say thank you to all the special people in your life, eat and be merry. I’m spending time with family in Connecticut and about to start playing family games. I hope you all have a merry Christmas. As you probably can tell, I’ll only be able to update sporadically until the new year, in order to spend time with friends and family. Don’t worry, as Ill be back to talk New Years Resolutions! Be making your list, as I have a big one I’m working on. Here’s a christmas tree ornament of me when I was a wee-lass:

Boston

Posted on November 22, 2011 by LifeAbsorbed

Time for my weekend wrap up, aka my weekend Boston getaway. It all began with me leaving work around 6p (and driving through some rough neighborhoods to avoid traffic) and parking my car at AirPark LAX (the cheapest place I know of to park at LAX). I made it there with plenty of time, grabbed a Starbucks mint hot chocolate, and hopped on my Virgin red-eye (9:30p) flight to Boston.

After a flight with minimal sleep, I arrived at 5:30am in Boston. I took a cab to meet up with my parents at the Park Plaza Hotel they coincidentally were staying at last weekend (for a medical conference). I arrived by 6am and chatted with my parents in their room until 8am when my mom had to head to the conference. My Dad and I decided to grab a quick protein-filled breakfast and then begin our speedy Boston adventure. We decided to cut across the Commons and explore Charles St. area. We stopped in a cute brunch place called The Paramount. This was exactly what we needed. This tiny modern diner has quick turnaround.

You start by getting in line and ordering your breakfast (I went with a tomato, basil, mozzarella omelette and fresh fruit cup) and then we look for a seat. The place was very busy, but had a quick turnover so that seats become available fast. It’s a great place for something filling and fresh, but not a good place to go if you plan to sit for awhile (like a catch-up brunch date). From here we kept walking along the adorable Charles St. We got on the T (their metro) and took the line to Harvard (Cambridge). From here we saw where students were “Occupying Harvard”. They had guards around the entrance to Harvard Yard to protect/fight the protesters? Their intentsions were unclear, but Harvard was pretty bare at 9:30am on Saturday except for these uniformed officers.

We continued on to Harvard’s Sackler Art Museum which didn’t open to the public until 10a. We waited in their vestibule just to get out of the cold. Eventually my Dad was able to score us 2 free tickets because he has a Massachusettes address (free to MA citizens on Saturday). This was a fun museum, although not very big. They had a large collection of maps/prints on their top level. This was a fun exhibit, seeing how people in the 1600′s+ perceived the globe. The first level had modern art with a range of impressionism up to now. The second and third floors had antiquities that Dad and I didn’t care to see, given our schedule.

We moved along to Harvard’s Natural History Museum. This museum was AWESOME. Plan time to really explore this place. They have a special deal for residents on Sunday, but as this was Saturday, we payed full price. From there we walked up to their third floor which houses most of this wandering museum. If you go to the right wing, you enter the room of geodes an continue on to rooms that focus on the earth and cultural impact on nature. If you enter the room across from the stairs, you will see a room filled with glass replications of plants. You won’t believe that these species are made of glass (for scientific purposes). Be sure to continue on to the left wing (this was my favorite!) to see their many rooms displaying stuffed life-sized animals and skeletons. They had hundreds of birds, mammals, insects.. so on and so on. Every room had something cooler than the room before. For artists, this is a great place to practice life drawing and examining animals that you could never get close to in person (let alone get them to strike a pose). This place was awesome and if you’re in town you must go. (Please pardon all my cell phone pics, I left my nice camera in the hotel.)

Eventually we had to be on our way to follow the schedule. We walked down to MIT to explore some Frank Gehry architecture (Stata Center) and see some smarties. After that we rushed across the Longfellow Bridge (while listening to my fathers complaints of exhaustion). We passed a cute paper shop back along Charles Street called Rugg Road Paper Company (which reminded me that I needed a wedding card for later that night). After purchasing a card my dad left to go see my mom on her lunch break from the conference while I met up with my good friend Dot you took the bus into Boston for the wedding. As we were tight on time, we grabbed a quick lunch with my dad and then we hit the road to get to Andover Mass. Kaliegh’s wedding was awesome. It was so lovely and personal and it screamed Kaleigh. For example the delicious cake was funfetti (Travis, the groom, insisted) and the icing was covered in hot pink sprinkles (had to be pink, Kaleighs favorite color). Catching up with my good RISD friends and getting to spend an entire night with them was so special.

The next morning, we attended the wedding breakfast and then said our goodbyes. Dot drove back to NYC with our friends Sally and Si, while I drove back into Boston to spend my last 4 hours on the East Coast with my parents. My mom had this day off, which meant the three of us could spend time together. We walked all over through the parks, down Charles St, up through the rolling hills of stately townhomes, anf by the Capitol. We grabbed a bite at 75 Chestnut. I had the pumpkin sage ravioli (yum!) and we enjoyed a great lunch together. They had live music and large mimosas.. now this is a girls brunch kind of place. I would happily go back.

After this, we said our goodbyes and I was off to Logan for my return flight. My weekend in Boston was over, but it was a packed, fun weekend. Now comes Thanksgiving… Denver anyone?

LifeAbsorbed

Los Angeles on a budget!

Category Archives: NYC/ Boston