Yes, I'm still alive.

Hey everyone,

I just got back from NYC 3 days ago. I don't think i've ever shopped and eaten so many desserts in such a short period of time! Probably not something i'd want to be doing for an extended period of time but it was all worth it ^^ Good times!

Feels great to be back home in TO. If I haven't talked to you since getting back, I will get in touch soon. Never thought i'd admit that i'm happy to return back to my routine, not necessarily the work but I do miss my work outs and fruits/veggies...hmm does that make me sound like a health freak? Oh well, maybe I secretly am one.

The last two days of the trip were jam packed and the weather was gorgeous! Perfect for walking...just make sure you don't make the mistake of wearing new shoes you think are comfy...you'll see what i mean as you read :) This whole trip felt like a shopping tour of New York more than anything else. Jenny and I were on a mission. I needed to get some more preppy clothes into my wardrobe while she wanted to get more colour and funk into hers. The rule for her was 'no black or white tops & no solid colours!' I, on the otherhand didn't have any governing rules.

Between getting back to the hotel late and working, it didn't leave much time for updates so here comes my massive update on what we did...

day three :: soho

After having shopped and overspent at Woodbury, we all decided that from this day on we will wear ALL the stuff we purchased at least once so we can soil them and not have to declare them at customs just in case they do a search. Winnie was pretty paranoid about that 'cause she's seen it all. I've never experienced the ugliness but I don't think i'd want to after hearing her stories.

We started our day with breakfast at Tasty's (local deli) then walked to the MoMA museum, where there was an exhibit on art from the Dada: one of the twentieth century’s most influential avant-garde art movements that came as a response to WWI. Very interesting indeed.

We then had lunch at Payard's, a really nice french restaurant on Lexington Ave. The ambiance was very warm and cozy, reminiscent of a classy restaurant you'd find in Europe. The first thing you're drawn to when you enter is their huge selection of desserts. Very drool worthy. I had a cold asparagus soup and warm chicken salad - delicious! And of course we all had to try one of their many desserts.

Continuing on, we took the subway down to Bleeker Street and walked around the Village. Lots of cool shops, restaurants and historical architecture. We went to Atrium looking for True Religion jeans for jenny. They didn't have the pair she wanted and I tried on a white TR jean skirt that had some bead details on the pockets (yeah, sounds tacky but can be thrown into the category of being beach-y, summer-y and fun...therefore cool). Jenny tried it on too....We both bought it. That's one step away from preppy for Jenny.

Next stop was Soho. OMG there were soo many good shops there and not enough time to see them all! Lots of locals were selling jewelry and art on the streets as well.

We went to Peep, a trendy thai restaurant on Prince Street in Soho. The pad thai there was amazing *drools* and the presentation of the food was oh so nice. Prices were very reasonable too.

The washroom was 'the mirrored door on the left.' It was this small dark room with a screen above the sink showing foreign films, which unfortunately was also the only means of illumination. Whats weirder is that once behind the mirrored door you can look out and see the dining room and the random guy who checks himself out in the mirror. Interesting concept.

Most of the shopping was window shopping but i did get some shirts at the Ben Sherman store, that'd be one step towards the preppy look for me. And I also got some tshirts for working out later on. Gary tried on a bunch of funky jackets throughout. Some retro, and others that just made him look like he belonged on broadway or dancing with mary poppins. I have pictures...oh wait i only have one.

Afterwards, we had dinner in korea town. Forgot the name of the restaurant...but the food was really good there.

We then walked back to the hotel. I wanted to try out the hotel's fitness facilities but ended up spending the evening and wee hours of the morning working on the BookNuk project. It's finally going into production and will be sold at Indigo so i'm pretty excited about that. I think i even slept with my computer that night...no, not because i was excited but because i was working in bed and then drifted.

items acquired: TR skirt, gentle fawn tank & 2 tshirts, Ben Sherman jacket & shirt


day four :: lower manhattan

Today i got up at 7:00 realizing that i didn't get around to uploading some files so i quickly did that and then we all headed out for some breakfast at Burger Heaven. We had eggs and potatoes *again*...funny how i always end up eating eggs and omelettes for breakfast whenever i travel.

Next, we went to times square and tried getting some last minute tickets to a broadway show. That didn't work out too well so instead we went shopping on 5th avenue and Saks Fifth Avenue.

That was when i noticed a hole at the tip my left shoe. And I've only had these shoes for 2 months...cole haan's gonna be hearing from me.

At Saks, Jenny found a pair of comfy COH jeans and I bought a bottle of Bliss shampoo and conditioner based on her rave reviews. I tried it out when I got back and i must say that my hair felt really shiny and smooth after using it :) Now i wish i bought more!

Next, we took the subway to Canal St and walked for a bit in chinatown. It was so crowded there! Even more so than the one in TO. It's even worse if you get stuck behind a person with really bad BO, which we did...ewww. We continued walking and ended up little Italy. There was definitely some FIFA fever happening there. Every other guy on the street was wearing an Italy soccer jersey.

We were all hungry and looking for a place to eat so we went to the first Italian restaurant we saw that had seating available. We ate some pasta and salads at Cafe Napoleon on Mulberry Street then afterwards we passed by a bunch of Gelato stands. Very tempting but everyone was too full for dessert. Continuing on, we explored the lower east side of Manhattan, which is said to be the new hot spot for cool artsy shops, fine dining and night life.

The hole in my shoe was getting bigger so out of desperation i got a pair of flip flops at the nearby swimwear store to change into. They were comfy.

I have to say, all this shopping provides good mind stimulation. Just seeing the variety of products out there has been really inspiring. At some points I'd see something and think 'omg i could have done that' or 'that could've been done so much better.' So it really got me thinking that i should put my creative juices to work and start some kind of money making venture. Definitely something I want to be doing in the near future.....starting NOW :)

Moving on...

Gary's a big Moby fan so our next destination was Teany at 90 Rivington Street, a vegetarian and vegan teahouse opened by Moby and Kelly in 2002 that serves 98 teas and tasty desserts. It's a nice cozy, contemporary space that's a great place to meet up with friends. Toronto can certainly use a place like this. I had an iced vanilla green tea with a slice of apple berry crumble. It was worth skipping the gelato for! Everyones desserts looked so delicious. Again, i have pictures.

Afterwards, we somehow ended up back in Soho. New York's one of those places where you can just keep spending and spending without really thinking much of it. I got a ring at Teno. There were so many nice ones to choose from. The guy helping me looked a bit like orlando bloom but with really curly hair. His name was Hector.

We then headed back to the hotel to drop off things and get changed for a night out or as Winnie would say, 'to soil more clothes.' Jenny wore the funky pink diesel top i got her in Woodbury and i wore the white shirt I got in soho and these white Geox loafers i got. Rockin' the prep, Jenny style! Though I did feel a bit overdressed compared to the others, especially since we were just going for dinner at the deli.

Anyways, we walked via timesquare to Carnegie Deli, which was a good 20 blocks from our hotel. My shoes were killing me! The back kept jabbing into my heels. By the time we got there I had a couple of blisters...gross!

The sandwiches at Carnegie were HUGE and so were the cheesecake slices. I had a corned beef sandwich and the meat was stacked at least 3 inches high. Some of us had to save half for the next day. Imagine ordering a sandwich with 'extra meat'...one guy did and it was almost double in size. I think i saw him taking some video footage of it. There was also a woman who ordered a slice of cheesecake and refused to share it. It was a 3x4 inch slice...biggest slice i've ever seen! The 4 of us ordered a slice, split it 4 ways and still couldn't finish...probably cuz we were too full. It was gooood cheesecake though!

We took the longer route back as we walked on 7th, 6th and 5th avenue, went through Rockefeller Centre along the way - which was beautiful at night, then we walked on madison avenue. My shoes were getting so unbearable that i had no choice but to step on the back of shoe, which made it much better!

=====
Note to self: never buy Geox shoes again! They're highly over rated and not exactly the most comfortable shoes. Not to be worn for any extended period of time that requires continuous walking. In other words, wear it to look good at the office.
=====

11pm, we got back to our hotel room. The evening was still young, for me anyways...it was almost bedtime for the others. I finally got to try out the hotel's fitness facilities, which was tucked away behind the eating area on the mezzanine. It was a nice clean space fully equipped with free weights, an exercise ball, matts, treadmills, and a lat pulldown and leg extension machine. They even had lemon water and towels. Just perfect! I also had the room all to myself which made it all the better!

I felt so energized afterwards that i stayed up most of the night.

items acquired: shampoo/conditioner/soap , 2 flip flops, a ring

trip stats:
Money spent
hotel/valet: $300
purchases: $1300
gas/tolls: $30
food: $200
cheapest meal: $5 breakfast @ Tasty's
most expensive: $29 lunch @ Payard
meals: 12
eggs consumed: 8
desserts: 4
water: 10 servings
hours worked: 6hrs
earliest morning: 7am
latest night: 5am

Ok this update took a really long time to write. I hope it provided some entertainment value and didn't put anyone to sleep.
Pictures will be coming soon so stay tuned :)

~ E.