Weekend in the City and Thoughts on Appreciating Where you Live

I recently joined an amazing organization, The New York Junior League, and had the opportunity to meet and mingle with wonderful women in the city. It's been such a rewarding experience so far. But because of my obligations as a new member of the League, I haven't been able to travel and explore outside of New York as much as I would have liked. So instead, I've been doing tons of fun things in the city and enjoying the beautiful weather that has (finally) come our way. Sometimes I feel like I get so wrapped up in traveling to the newest most exciting destinations that I forget that my very own city is an exciting destination in itself. It can be hard to appreciate where you live when you fall into the trap of routine and a mundane life. You naturally start to get the impression that you have all the time in the world to experience things so you just think that there is always next time. Once you move away you start to realize that there was actually a lot you never had the chance to accomplish and you begin to wish that you hadn't wasted your time in the city. That is how I feel when I reflect back to my college years in Austin- I didn't do so many things (eat at Franklin bbq, swim in Hamilton Pool) when I lived there because I wasn't adventurous enough and I regret it immensely. I never want to under-appreciate my life in New York (my dream city) because I worked so hard to get here and know that eventually one day I may have to move back home to Texas. In a few years, it may cost the same for me to visit Europe, but it will definitely cost more for me to go back and visit New York if I'm no longer living there. So in an effort to never waste a single New York moment, I spent this weekend throughly enjoying the New York life.

Junior League Fall House Tour

I spent Saturday morning volunteering at the League's Fall House tour which is a fundraiser to raise funds that the League uses on their community partners. I was one of the lucky individuals helping out at the VIP house, which turned out to be one of the many homes of New York socialite and artist, Carolyne Roehm. The two floor apartment inside an Upper East Side luxury building was beyond gorgeous and a delight to see. The light filled high ceiling living room reminded me of the Metropolitan Museum of Art actually just because of all the priceless artwork displayed. Although it did feel a little depressing returning home to my tiny Hell's Kitchen apartment after volunteering in Roehm's home all morning, I still had a lot of fun! Isn't her home beyond beautiful?

Tompkins Square Dog Parade

I met my friends on Lower East Side for an hour of dog watching and tons of doggy licks. The annual Tompkins Square Dog Parade was adorable as usual and it was filled with so many dog owners and their beloved pooches decked out in Halloween costumes! I'm not sure if the dogs realized how cute they were, but some of them sure liked to pose for photos.

Dessert

No weekend is ever complete without dessert! I have the biggest sweet tooth out there and I love trying out new dessert spots on my Yelp bookmarks whenever I can. This past Saturday I drank this DELICIOUS matcha strawberry latte from Boba Guys ( I added boba into the drink because why not) and devoured this horchita (roasted green tea) flavored ice cream from Matcha Cafe Wabi. Boba Guys arrived in the city last year by way of San Francisco and is known for using fresh whole milk instead of the powdered milk many other bubble tea shops use.

Brunch

What is the weekend without brunch?? I ventured (my friends forced me) into Brooklyn for Sunday brunch at Cafe Luluc's and absolutely fell in love with the cute Cobble Hill neighborhood. Being the true Manhattanite that I am, I rarely leave the borough just because I feel like everything is so convenient and close by. But taking a day in Brooklyn and wandering into the shops around Cobble Hill after devouring my plate of eggs benny and fries was the perfect Sunday.

Photoshoots

Brooklyn has so many iconic and beautiful places that we were literally taking our cameras out every few seconds to capture it all. Having spontaneous photoshoots with my friends is always a lot of fun and Sunday's was no different.

What did you guys do this past weekend? Did you explore your city?