Home Sweet Home

So I spent this past Sunday and yesterday at my parents house on the eastern end of Long Island. When I got to thinking about it, I haven't spent any time here in the winter except for Christmas and Thanksgiving vacations since I was in high school! That's a long time...  I've forgotten how beautiful it is when there's not the distraction of Christmas lights and holiday decorations everywhere. 

These are a few pictures from the beach by my house... hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking them! Now, it's back to the city for me.. More later : ) 

ATTN:

If anyone has happened to notice (thank you for reading!!), I don't have much of an 'About Me' on my blog, or even a blog description for that matter (hence, the title). I'm sorry if that's disappointing, but for those of you who know me outside of here, you can see that the same holds true for both my Facebook and Instagram pages. With the exception of what can be deduced from my pictures, I don't disclose too much about myself to the public audience.

With that said, I've been keeping a diary since I was in 7th grade. Since I started, I've gone through probably 6-7 journals, filling them up with my deepest thoughts and feelings. At first, I'd mostly write about what I did that day. As time went on, I graduated to writing reflections on a days events and even some streams of consciousness. Now, I write everything: goals, concerns, song lyrics, criticisms, bible verses, detailed memories, and self-reflections. You can learn a lot about yourself by keeping a diary. It's like keeping a memoir of your life while living it, and it's very rewarding to look back on. Not to mention, it's the one place where you can be completely, %100 percent selfish with your thoughts and attention.

My past 2 diaries have started circa the beginning of January with a list of New Years Resolutions and have ended with a reflection on my year; where I started vs. where I ended, and what I have to look forward to.

Below is a picture of my current diary. It started a little unconventionally, with a reflection of the past year instead of resolutions (though those are featured later and, embarrassingly, made known to some close friends). In this diary are some of my deepest secrets, surprising confessions, and fondest memories from the past year. NO, I am not going to make them public knowledge but I will share one small entry with you that will hopefully give you some insight to the non-existent 'About Me' portion of my blog: a quote from Diane Von Furstenberg:

"I didn't always know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be."

A Few of my Favorite Things, Right Now

Depending on what's going on in my life at the time and/or what mood i'm in, the "Top 25 Most Played" playlist on my iPod is constantly changing. Some are old, some new, some are happy and some are sad; Regardless, most recently I find myself listening to the following:

• Starlight - Muse 
• Promise - Ben Howard 
• The Keepers (The Knocks Remix) - Santigold 
• If I Lose Myself - One Republic 
• Amen Omen - Ben Harper
• Lost at Sea - Zedd feat. Ryan Tedder
• The Fray - Ungodly Hour 
• Stars - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals 
• Genesis - Grimes 
• Dog - Andy Bull feat. Lisa Mitchell 
• Real Hero - College feat. Electric Youth 

This bedroom...

and this loft apartment.. 

And these sentiments...

Anyways, Molly left yesterday, so back to work for me! More later.. 

Sunday Bloody Sunday

...... Or in this case, Sunday Bellini Sunday : ) My cousin Molly is in town for a couple days and yesterday was spent frolicking around the east village and lower east side. First, we went to get some brunch. We wanted to go to Penelope on 30th and Lex for some #nutellafrenchtoast but the wait was almost 2 hrs, so we went to Banc instead. Note to Readers: For anyone who's had the same experience or would like to avoid a ridiculous wait for brunch, head over to 30th and third and check out Banc. I didn't think they served brunch there but it was really good and we were sat right away.

Next, we headed to Ace Bar on 5th st. between Avenue B and Avenue A to meet up with friends for some Buck Hunter (I think that's what it was called?). It's this arcade game where you hunt bucks and the player who kills the most "bulls" wins. I sucked. So bad. Haha, but it was so fun. After Ace Bar we headed to Hounds Tooth because my friend Alex wanted to say hi to some friends of his who were in town. It was a cool place but we didn't stay for long; it's in the theater district.

Circa 7:30 we started to get hungry for dinner so we all headed over to this hidden-gem byob indian restaurant, Bhiatti House. I'm not sure what the exact address and I can't even find it on Yelp, but it was to die for!! We had to wait for a table, so in the meantime we went across the street to Stone Creek for a beer. I've never had Indian food actually, so this was my first experience, but I was in heaven.

I think you get the gist of it...

After a very funny, very delicious, and very expensive dinner (thanks again, Ryan haha), we headed to where else but the Wharf. Our last stop of the night thank god! 

Today we're just lounging around my apartment watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower and eating my Mema's special-made oatmeal cookies : ) Tomorrow we want to go museum hopping and maybe even the zoo, but whatever we decide to do I'll be sure to fill you in afterwards! 

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

I had a friend ask me yesterday if I got any Valentines, this is how the conversation went..

Friend: "U get any valentines?"

Me: "A couple of people wished me happy valentines day, yes : )"

Friend: "That's not valentines, u have to get cards or a rose"

Me: "Lol says who."

Friend: "Says common sense"

Well I wish my phone hadn't died before 6:00 pm because I did in fact receive a rose. From the bartender at #PublicHouseNYC. And so did my Aunt. And everyone else in the bar... haha. But it still counts! After a couple Stellas we walked to meet my parents for dinner at Park Avenue Tavern. It was my first and possibly only time going there (unless I can convince my parents to take me), but it was the perfect Valentine's Day dinner. Mom and Dad are the most enduring couple I know, and they are still very much in love after 26 (I think?) years of marriage. The four of us were talking non-stop; sometimes all together and other times separately, but they'd sneak smiles at each other every once in a while, embracing what Valentine's Day is all about. 

My sister, Amy, sent me this picture all the way from San Fran with the caption, "Romantic looking night in the neighborhood.."

Maybe that's why my parents were sneaking smiles at each other all night..? My Dad kept saying to me, "I'm so proud of you, Kel. We're so proud of you. I love my girls." It always makes me so happy to hear, and I love him for bearing with me. After a change of heart in my career path as a Speech Language Pathologist, I am doing my best to capitalize on the opportunities here in Manhattan, but at times I still lost and unsure of what I want in life. My sister is doing extremely well at her company and is hopefully soon-to-be-married to the love of her life, Jared, but I know for certain that my Dad is equally proud of us and as long as he keeps smiling, I'll keep smiling : ) 

Time for work!! AHHH I'm going to be late!!!!

Castle Rock meets NYC

Met up with my Aunt Melissa for dinner at #UlyssesFolkHouse.. Haven't seen her in a while since she lives in Colorado with the rest of my mom's family, so we had lots to catch up on : ) Definitely making an effort to visit #FiDi more often!

Good Morning : )

A little brisk to have the window cracked, but the (humble) view from my apartment comes to life when you can hear the background noise! I'm hoping it will have the same effect on me..