Ok,
So New York City. Amazing.
I saw many places and many people. But it was an absolutely ridiculous time for me mentally. Here I was back at the scene of the crime, where I had visited schools for my undergrad years. It was a battle between admitting to myself of a lost chance, and the fear of acknowledging that New York City might be another place for me to live and to attend grad school. Options are more scary than limits to me. In this case, I have to be able to trust myself that I'll be able to make the right decision when deciding on a school (even if it's for 2 years). However, this trip made my schema of decision making thoroughly get tested.
As usually, though, I had an amazing time, and saw two of my absolute best friends. Back in my strongest of nerd years, I associated with our school's "Drama Mafia," and immediately felt at home with a group of people that shared my love of "making scenes" in public and finding obscure musical theme songs on repeat on my CD player. (oh yes, before the magical time of the nano iPods...) These two have been my rocks, and even forgave me as I decided to settle on a place close to home, rather than moving to the East Coast. Any reservations that I've ever had about a friend moving away is met with my cognition regarding these 2 amazing people. Scott and Emily, I will love you forever. (Keep in mind that this yuppie might move in with them one day!)
I digress. As a self-proclaimed yuppie, I had a hard time budgeting. New York City is indeed expensive. During my 4th day, I was wandering around, looking for any place that even had a suggestion of "dollar menu," and couldn't find anything under $20. For Lunch?! That's DEFINITELY not the Chicago way. This kind, presumably Slavic woman (perhaps a Polish woman like myself) led me out of the rain into her cafe. Obviously, I could see that she
had an interest in getting my business, but I was not about to complain about food and warmth. I ordered the cheapest and, what I had hoped to be, the most filling entree on the menu. "Grilled cheese panini," apparently must include bacon and mayonaise in this establishment. Oy! What's a veggie girl to do? I peel off as much as I could.....but was still hungry! Mind you, this is after another trip to Babycakes. There was no way that I was going to pass up their red velvet cakes while I was still in NYC! NYC is the place for cupcakes! I went to Magnolia, and rather than getting the plain of plain, I got a pumpkin cheesecake. Running just under $5, it was worth every penny.
Now, I have a slight obsession with food. Especially baked goods. I find that it is so nice to just work on a project and have a homemade finished product that you can experiment with from time to time. Every major holiday, I have requested some form of kitchenware. Last Christmas, it was an AMAZING mixer. Cheesecake for this girl is a breeze now. Many of the people I know have joked that I am minutes away from quitting my psych degree path and taking on a bakery of my own....To sum up...don't tempt me....
In general, I'm going to stop writing now, as I find it hard to stay on topic when you've got money issues, financial issues, and you're technically still in the office. Tonight I'll be studying and making spelt flour blueberry scones. HUZZAH! :)
More yuppie thoughts later...
6/16/09
5/31/09
Cupcakes
So I will frequently be discussing my obsession with cupcakes. This next place is fantastic for cupcakes, regular and vegan alike.
Molly's Cupcakes was introduced to me by my roommate from my freshman year. Having gotten off to a rough start, we're now very close friends and try to meet up when we can, and she always know what kind of food, tea, coffee, shopping places, etc. that I like! She suggested the Pita Pit (near the Red Line Fullerton stop) for some vegetarian options. After that we took a nice walk to Molly's Cupcakes!
Having already had my morning "cup" (which for me is usually about six) of coffee, perhaps the strong Intelligensia coffee was a mistake for my heart rate. Intelligensia being so delicious (and about as fair trade and organic and wonderful as it can get), I was still not hesitant to order a mug along w/ my strawberry shortcake cupcake. Delicious! Just the right size, price, etc. For any other yuppies out there, I say take it there!
There are a few other cupcake places that I plan to try out, so I'll have to let you know about those as well.
Yay for Molly's! Check it out!
Molly's Cupcakes was introduced to me by my roommate from my freshman year. Having gotten off to a rough start, we're now very close friends and try to meet up when we can, and she always know what kind of food, tea, coffee, shopping places, etc. that I like! She suggested the Pita Pit (near the Red Line Fullerton stop) for some vegetarian options. After that we took a nice walk to Molly's Cupcakes!
Having already had my morning "cup" (which for me is usually about six) of coffee, perhaps the strong Intelligensia coffee was a mistake for my heart rate. Intelligensia being so delicious (and about as fair trade and organic and wonderful as it can get), I was still not hesitant to order a mug along w/ my strawberry shortcake cupcake. Delicious! Just the right size, price, etc. For any other yuppies out there, I say take it there!
There are a few other cupcake places that I plan to try out, so I'll have to let you know about those as well.
Yay for Molly's! Check it out!
5/30/09
Melody Gardot and Kate Maki
Very talented women to listen to when you just wanna chill out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM9JBNRDJzE&feature=channel
http://www.myspace.com/melody
Melody Gardot-
Sexy jazzy music that seems like it should take you back to a different era....I know it's not really "taking me back" because I'm not old enough, but she's got a bit of Edith Piaf plus Peggy Lee in her voice. Stupendous!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ybDRLHvy-g
http://www.myspace.com/katemaki
Kate Maki- She opened for the Great Lake Swimmers when I saw them, and the poor lady had to entertain us as the band was super late after getting stuck in southern IL. Yikes! She's extremely down to earth and soulful. Take a listen! I feel like her Canadian accent just makes her that much more adorable!
So yay for women who can sing and perform!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM9JBNRDJzE&feature=channel
http://www.myspace.com/melody
Melody Gardot-
Sexy jazzy music that seems like it should take you back to a different era....I know it's not really "taking me back" because I'm not old enough, but she's got a bit of Edith Piaf plus Peggy Lee in her voice. Stupendous!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ybDRLHvy-g
http://www.myspace.com/katemaki
Kate Maki- She opened for the Great Lake Swimmers when I saw them, and the poor lady had to entertain us as the band was super late after getting stuck in southern IL. Yikes! She's extremely down to earth and soulful. Take a listen! I feel like her Canadian accent just makes her that much more adorable!
So yay for women who can sing and perform!
Crossroads
Yay for Evanston!
Not a sentence I ever thought I'd write, but the store Crossroads Trading Co. pretty much made my week. I found a Coach wristlet there for 20 bucks. As in a 100 dollar venture turned cheap. Amazing store. A friend of mine suggested also looking for presents! Fantastic. Someone wants to buy me cheap designer stuff? Go ahead by all means!
http://www.crossroadstrading.com/cm/Home.html
Not a sentence I ever thought I'd write, but the store Crossroads Trading Co. pretty much made my week. I found a Coach wristlet there for 20 bucks. As in a 100 dollar venture turned cheap. Amazing store. A friend of mine suggested also looking for presents! Fantastic. Someone wants to buy me cheap designer stuff? Go ahead by all means!
http://www.crossroadstrading.com/cm/Home.html
5/28/09
Babycakes NYC
YUM!
You will soon realize that I have a deep obsession with cupcakes. What a perfect confection! My recent athletic jump into the vegetarian lifestyle has also led me to try vegan dishes as well. Upon going to the marvelous Metropolis coffee house (in Rogers Park) they had vegan cupcakes available for purchase. A little guilty for nabbing this yumminess from someone who might've actually been vegan plagued me until me first bite. How. Delicious.
So I looked for vegan cupcakes! Babycakes NYC is a bakery that makes vegan, mostly gluten-free, and lower-refined sugar (important for those of us at risk of diabetes [and in my case, pre-diabetes]) treats for all! An important critique is that many people with coeliac disease (a condition that renders people unable to eat gluten-a little more extreme than just a gluten intolerance) have been upset that the cookbook contains spelt flour, a very not gluten free ingredient. But guess what? She has a gluten intolerance herself and discusses the differences in her cooking in GREAT detail. Maybe I'm just not very sensitive, but I tried out one of the recipes and it came out DELICIOUS. Yay for agave nectar sweetner.
And so I'll begin making more and more cupcakes. Delicious.
Oh, did I mention that I'm definitely going here in NYC? That's what sparked the post. *wink*
http://www.babycakesnyc.com/menu.html
You will soon realize that I have a deep obsession with cupcakes. What a perfect confection! My recent athletic jump into the vegetarian lifestyle has also led me to try vegan dishes as well. Upon going to the marvelous Metropolis coffee house (in Rogers Park) they had vegan cupcakes available for purchase. A little guilty for nabbing this yumminess from someone who might've actually been vegan plagued me until me first bite. How. Delicious.
So I looked for vegan cupcakes! Babycakes NYC is a bakery that makes vegan, mostly gluten-free, and lower-refined sugar (important for those of us at risk of diabetes [and in my case, pre-diabetes]) treats for all! An important critique is that many people with coeliac disease (a condition that renders people unable to eat gluten-a little more extreme than just a gluten intolerance) have been upset that the cookbook contains spelt flour, a very not gluten free ingredient. But guess what? She has a gluten intolerance herself and discusses the differences in her cooking in GREAT detail. Maybe I'm just not very sensitive, but I tried out one of the recipes and it came out DELICIOUS. Yay for agave nectar sweetner.
And so I'll begin making more and more cupcakes. Delicious.
Oh, did I mention that I'm definitely going here in NYC? That's what sparked the post. *wink*
http://www.babycakesnyc.com/menu.html
New York City
I shall be venturing to New York City in less than a week, my third visit in 4 years. I never quite understood my draw to this city, but cannot escape the natural feeling that I have a sense of independence. After all, my visits have all been made alone. My first was to visit my first choice of school: NYU. You'll notice a typical "yuppie" student by those who have my same claim, "Oh yeah I almost went to NYU...." met with an exasperated sigh and the crushed dreams of a potential hipster fashion designer or the next Scorsese with a vision to bring life to film and film to life. Me? I was pre-med. Was being the key word. Having decided that perhaps not over medicating a nation with enough problems (you know, insomnia, eating disorders, depression, Munchausen's by-proxy, etc.- things that clearly can only be solved by popping pills), I switch to the social sciences with psych, a program that I rationalize would have been just as ok at NYU as it is at my current school. I occasionally wonder what would've happened if I'd pursued a theater major, and led a similar lifestyle, perhaps 3 times more expensive, but similar all the same.
I am excited to go back. Now I will be searching for exploration as well as a potential living space. Would I ever re-consider the chance to live in New York at some point? In order to stay neutral, I had vacated the option 3-ish years ago when I started school here and adapted. Adapted and began to love the city that I had been so close to, yet so far away from with my sheltered suburban upbringing. What a wonderful place. I'll continue to think, but more explore. I've realized often enough that life gets to be too difficult when you think too much. Hopefully the scenery of NYC will help me stop for a bit...
I am excited to go back. Now I will be searching for exploration as well as a potential living space. Would I ever re-consider the chance to live in New York at some point? In order to stay neutral, I had vacated the option 3-ish years ago when I started school here and adapted. Adapted and began to love the city that I had been so close to, yet so far away from with my sheltered suburban upbringing. What a wonderful place. I'll continue to think, but more explore. I've realized often enough that life gets to be too difficult when you think too much. Hopefully the scenery of NYC will help me stop for a bit...
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