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Two weeks ago I headed over to the Big Apple for a long weekend trip. The moment I touched down in New York, I was instantly happy. There are no words to describe how much I love this city. I am already looking to book another weekend there soon! The last few trips to NYC were quick ones, so I was excited to relax and spend time frolicking around the city like I used to. Everyday I miss the city so much, and to be honest, I would move back in a heart beat. Until that happens, I will take any excuse to spend time in my favorite place on earth.
I flew in on Wednesday morning and the second I put my bags into my hotel room I rushed out to walk around my favorite area, my home away from home, Union Square. I walked up and down 5th Ave. shopping at Club Monaco and Kate Spade, sat in Madison Square Park, and enjoyed a refreshing smoothie from Liquiteria— the skinny and green monster are my two favorites!
From my snapchat: Mtate24. I am sure everyone was just as excited about me drinking a smoothie as I was!
Club Monaco’s beautiful flower and book shop. I could spend hours in this place!
That night I went to Cookshop for dinner, one of my favorite restaurants in the city, with a good friend of mine, Mary, from The New York Junior League. We both had the spit roasted cascun farm chicken—–oh my goodness it was SO GOOD! I had the best time catching up with Mary, who is getting married next summer! I am so grateful Mary was in my provisional group when I joined the NYJL. We have been good friends ever since we met and have spent many nights together getting dolled up to attend balls and movie premiere parties, sipped on mint juleps during Derby parties, and clinked glasses together at Junior League events. She is a wonderful friend and one of the nicest, smartest, people I know.
The next day I got up bright and early to take a Soul Cycle class….. I.died. It has been over a year since I have taken a class, and well, it showed. I was still happy to be there, even though my tap backs were not so graceful. After Soul Cycle, I went uptown to the Upper East Side to walk through The Frick Collection. This was my first time at The Frick and I have to say, it is so, so beautiful! Can I move in? If you have the time, read the history of The Frick. Very interesting.
After The Frick I walked to Madison Avenue to shop around and buy some macarons at Laduree. I only intended to buy one…….and yet I ended up buying 6. Not sorry at all, they are worth every calorie and every penny. After Laudree, I walked to the Duck Pond in Central Park. When I lived in NYC, I used to sit by the Duck Pond for hours, thinking, enjoying the weather, watching the ducks. It was my little escape from the craziness of the city. After the Duck Pond I walked down 5th avenue and went shopping—stopping at Bergdorfs first of course.
Heaven does exist 🙂
Thursday night I met my friend Elizabeth in Union Square and we walked downtown to Jack’s Wife Freda where we met our friend Michael for dinner. Michael and Elizabeth are two of my favorite people in the whole world, and it makes my heart so happy to have spent some time with them. They both make me laugh so much, it felt like old times– conversation not suitable for blog 😉 Jack’s Wife Freda is another delicious gem in Manhattan. We shared fried zucchini chips and the grilled haloumi. For my entree I had the peri peri chicken. You really can not go wrong with anything there! After dinner we walked to a local bar and continued our fun evening together. Elizabeth is one of the goofiest/funniest people I know and that is why I love being around her, and both of them are the nicest, sweetest people I have ever met! I miss them both so much already!
Friday morning I was up early for my first conference of the week, FashionistaCon. This conference was about how to break into the fashion industry. I have completely changed careers and starting from the bottom, trying to work my way up. This conference was a lot more professional than the other conferences I have attended and was very informative. I loved hearing from the founder of Ringly-– a startup company where your ring sends you color codes of notifications from your cell phone. Entrepreneurs are my favorite type of people. I love hearing about their driven ambitions and creative ideas. This blog is not a startup but it is a business, and I have a lot of ideas of where I want this business to go and a few kick-starter ideas in my head… TBA/TBD 😉 I think it is important to surround yourself with like-minded people.
Besides my admiration for the entrepreneurs, fashionistas, and creative minds behind some of the biggest fashion brands, I was most enthralled from hearing the journeys of Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and Marissa Webb, creative director of Banana Republic and designer of Marissa Webb. Both women are so inspiring. They stuck to the belief that they could achieve anything with hard work and doing whatever it takes to make it. It made me seriously consider begging Carolina Herrera to let me take out the trash for free if I could spend time at CH learning.
During the conference I had the chance to sit down for a one on one mentor session with Staci Gillian, Managing Director at HL Group. Here I was able to discuss my goals and what it will take for me to reach my goals. Staci was a huge help as she gave me lots of great advice on my career and reassured me that I am on the right path and doing the right things to grow in my career and business.
Favorite quotes from the conference:
“Have no fear and just do it. Be innovative, make mistakes, and keep driving forward”
-Marissa Webb
“So many people are lazy. Do your homework, it’s so hard, and it’s what will set you apart from the competition”
-Julie Fredrickson
“Always ask why are we doing this, rather than how”
-Julia Rubin
“I don’t want to be the first to market, I want to be the best”
-Bobbi Brown
“It’s easy to do a lot of nothing than doing one thing well”
-Lane Gerson
“Stop thinking, start feeling”
-Bobbi Brown
“Work your ass off!”
-Marissa Webb
I am so grateful I was able to attend the conference. I left feeling motivated and ready to go after my passion and my career!
The beginning of my trip was jammed packed and full of inspiring moments, laughter, and happiness. I will post the rest of my trip in another post. I did so much, I had to break it up!
Great pics!! Those macaroons look amazing!!