Travel || NYC

The last weekend in July Julie and I took off to stay a few days in NYC / Boston and spend time with lovely women friends. We laughed a lot and ate a lot and walked, walked, walked. It was a very full + active time, and made me so grateful to be a young person with freedom and resources to travel. Below I’ve shared some photos and words about our time in New York.

DAY 1 (thursday)  :

walking : Times Square, Bryant Park, Union Square Park, the Strand.

noms : NY soft serve (eeee!), Blue Bottle Coffee (that cappuccino!), Ngam (Chiang Mai Fries were A+), and Sundaes and Cones for our second sweet treat (I got the tiramisu ice cream and it was on point, but the green tea was super refreshing and wonderful too. Shout out to Julie for tasting practically every flavor before she chose).

fun people : We had dinner/dessert with a two of my sweetest friends from school, Yumi + Sarah. It was such a funny feeling to see them because it seemed totally natural—there was nothing out of the ordinary in meeting for dinner, just lots of happiness and love. The thing about having cool friends all over is that although I don’t talk to everyone regularly, I have this great sense of pride at knowing these wonderful people doing wonderful things.

                    

DAY 2 (friday) :

noms : Breakfast at Mudshop (super cool vibe/design, good coffee and food), lunch at a tiny Italian restaurant in the Upper East side (thinly sliced lemon on a sandwich! who knew?), macarons from Ladurée, dinner at Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown, tiny dessert plate from a place in Little Italy. Bubble tea!

walking : Museum mile (+the National Academy Museum), little Japanese food store where Julie and I stocked up on candy, Central Park, SoHo, West Village

       

DAY 3 (saturday) :

noms : Breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel (AHHHHHH DELICIOUS!!), Jack’s Coffee (really good iced cappuccino), tiny pastry shop, Gran Electrica (Niki and I got matching tacos and they were delicious.

walking : The High Line, Chelsea Market (I bought a boob mug), Brooklyn Bridge (+waterfront park), (shops in) Dumbo.

We averaged 10ish miles of walking a day and saw so much of the city that way. Niki took us to all the hip spots 😉 and did a great job picking out the places we visited. Also the salesgirl in Alice + Olivia complimented my dress, and I’d say that’s one definite way to measure success, tehe.

Lots of love to you, Niki! See ya soon, kiddo.

Summer on Film \\ 001

Some photos from the first week of summer vacation. I have several more rolls developed and several others waiting to be shot.

Hiking the Eno with Julie.

Late afternoon at the Green Bean, writing.

Boba tea with lovely hilarious people.

Walking, walking, walking, usually the same paths to the same places but more often now with the company of a podcast.

Lunch date.

More hiking, more walking, more chocolate and laughs.

Candles before bed.

He doesn’t love posing but I love taking pictures and this one is lovely.

I think every roll I take I love a little bit more. This first try was new for me because I’d never shot in color before and I was still figuring that out. It’s amazing to me how differently my brain works when trying to capture an image in black & white; it requires an attention to different elements and an awareness of unique capabilities. I wish I could develop these myself (I miss the process so much), but dropping them off at Walgreens is more efficient + accessible + works just fine.

Feb. 8 : Feb. 14 & Feb. 15 : Feb. 21 & Feb. 22 : Feb. 28

We’re about to get real caught up on photos of the week, friends.

Some say that February is, hands down, the worst month. And some arguments, I’d agree, are pretty convincing. But I’ve found that, as cold and dark and generally sad as February is, it’s passed surprisingly quickly for me the past few years. Broken up with travels home and the day of love and permeated with a whole lot of work, it’s all at once here and kind of horrible and kind of happy and then, suddenly, gone.

On the first day of March I think it’s appropriate to get caught up. To take stock and accept the losses and be proud of the wins. That’s the crucial balance, isn’t it?—maintaining the ability to evaluate with softness, to embrace flaws and failures and focus on the future without giving negativity the permission to consume you. So here we go. Let’s emphasize happiness. Let’s give attention to being productive and kind and doing the right things, for ourselves. Grab a cup of coffee and we can start now.

Sunday Feb. 8 : So much Spanish reading. Like seriously, so much. But i made french press coffee to make it better (which it always does, amirite?). Sidenote, I’ve been using at least three different colored pens to annotate anything lately. Hehe. Am I five years old or a college student with effective study habits? You decide.

Monday Feb. 9 : Working on the layout for Tufts Observer issue 2 (#money). This ended up being my least favorite layout so far but overall I’ve been really enjoying working on the magazine in general and am really proud of the articles and visuals we’ve been producing.

Tuesday Feb. 10 : Self portrait. Selfie? I was really feeling this outfit-just leggings and the best blue goodwill (Land’s End?) button up. Casual and cool(ish).

Wednesday Feb. 11 : Here is Claire’s closet. We were having a fashion show. Heh. Nuff said.

Thursday Feb. 12 : It was snowing again. Sigh. This was on the way into Boston to take care of some last minute things before my Friday morning flight.

Friday Feb. 13 : Look! The ground still exists somewhere in the world! This was on the way from the airport home (after the Olive Garden, ahem). It wasn’t warm but it was warmer and I was so happy to see a world that wasn’t white.

Saturday Feb. 14 : Guys I calculated and I had 5 cappuccinos in 4 days while at home. Maybe that’s a problem? Yolo. I really like this picture-maybe the way you can see tiny bubbles on the top of the coffee of the intricate hearts or the little spoon nestled between cup and saucer. This was at Caffe Driade with Mike and Julie. Lots of essay writing and laughing and caffeine drinking (obvi). Intense heart eyes.

Sunday Feb. 15 : A beautiful drive from Greensboro to Boone.

Monday Feb. 16 : This is an iPhone pic and not a great one at that-but it captures the spirit of the night. Tired and cold and very dark. Missing home is always the worst right when you leave it.

Tuesday Feb. 17 : lol.

Wednesday Feb. 18 : Lunch at Tamper with Claire and Sahar. Great coffee, overpriced food. And why do they put it on those huge plates?! Ahh it drives me crazy! Food should fit the plate it’s on, is all I’m saying.

Thursday Feb. 19 : Here is my bed. And here are my pajamas. Yay.

Friday Feb. 20 : Grey Season at Sound Lion in Harvard. Super cool Boston group hosted by Sound of Boston. I’ve really gotten into their music recently and this was a super fun little show.

Saturday Feb. 21 : Breakfast and Magnificent (magical marvelous majestic) Muffins & Bagels after grocery shopping and before work. So many noms.

Sunday Feb. 22 : Dinner at Greek Corner with Aunt Debra and Uncle Justin. Seriously, the best gyros around. Sososo good. I was feeling stressed out with homework and an overflowing schedule but this dinner was on point. Mmm.

Monday Feb. 23 : So guys I eat a lot of food if that was unclear. I brought this clementine to the dining hall. And that mug. Ha. #ohwell.

Tuesday Feb. 24 : Hi let’s go do more homework. This girl walked into my picture (which was fine) but a sweet old man waited until I was done to go into the library. ❤

Wednesday Feb. 25 : Lunch. Exams. Matching sweaters (not pictured).

Thursday Feb. 26 : The darkroom. So much love for that place.

Friday Feb. 27 : I got a manicure ahhhhh. And it was great. And you wanna know what? Out of all these colors I chose black. So there.

Saturday Feb. 28 : Breakfast with Yumi and a crepe and a large green tea. So refreshing and really happy.

I can hear spring, folks. It’s calling my name. Let’s finish this season strong.

Xoxo.

Feb. 1 : Feb. 7

Sunday Feb. 1 : Laundry in the nighttime. And fresh sheets! Sleeping on fresh sheets is just the best thing, let me tell you.

Monday Feb. 2 : Snow day pt. 3. Cuddles and the best cheesy English muffins.

Tuesday Feb. 3 : First day in the darkroom! It was super cool to go through the process of physically making a picture, and made me so excited to make many more.

Wednesday Feb. 4 : The line for Mail Services. Some nice repetition, amirite? A study of the things people do when they wait in lines–People in lines 2k15. Out on the shelves any day now.

Thursday Feb. 5 : It’s a print, it’s a print! Of Sahar being beautiful, as always. Seriously, guys, making these things is so cool. Eeek!

Friday Feb. 6 : We had the sweetest dinner at the sweetest restaurant in Beacon Hill. I’m such a fan of that area and it’s always lovely to discover new treasures. The food was delicious and it was quiet and cozy and absolutely perfect for a freezing February night.

Saturday Feb. 7 : Brunch for Eve’s birthday at Gaslight, which I highly, highly recommend. The waiter was super nice and the food was incredible. The coffee was bottomless. We managed to spill something again! Claire had Chamomile tea at 11 in the morning (?)! Everyone was a little fuzzy but it was good eats with good people and that’s something I’m always grateful for.

Jan. 25 : Jan. 31

Sunday Jan. 25 : A double chocolate muffin to share and in extra huge cappuccino because it was free! But I swear there were like 5 shots in that thing. Eeeeeeeeeeee!

Monday Jan. 26 : This morning was really nice. My desk was really messy. That tea was really delicious.

Tuesday Jan. 27 : AHH AHH AHH IT’S A BLIZZARD // on the way to the layout for the Observer.

Wednesday Jan. 28 : The aftermath. We didn’t have school (although we probably could have) and so Claire Sahar Eve and I went to DPH. I had cake for breakfast. I mean, it was basically a holiday right? Yeah. I thought so.

Thursday Jan. 29 : Walking to Diesel for coffee and croissants- the best Thursday morning activity with the very best Thursday morning breakfast partner.

Friday Jan. 30. : Late night Easy A watching (aka I love Claire’s bed and her love for cheesy rom-coms).

Saturday Jan. 31 : Back bay. Not pictured: Dr. Dog concert with Sahar that night. So many good feels. Saturday takes the cake. Mmm. Heh.

Jan. 13 : Jan. 24

Sometime late last November, I started craving a change of pace. There were a lot of moments last fall when a strange sort of gloom swooped down and settled quietly on my shoulders and rested for an hour or an afternoon. It made me ache for an escape, and I decided I needed a project. I’ve always loved creating things and making art and using my hands and using my mind and I needed a way to do this every day, and also I needed a way to just do something everyday. I’ve never been good at accounting for my personal projects-it’s so easy for me to make goals and then let them slip quietly away. I was tired of it. I needed something to create and hold on to and make into a presence in my life, something to be responsible for and productive with outside of school.

So on December 1, I took my first [big camera] picture of the day. And I thought I might make this project just for a month or maybe 6 and then knew it had to be a year. Mostly, it’s just making me really happy. I’m learning a lot. I’m looking around me and finding beautiful things and finding a way to capture them in a beautiful way, one that’s exciting and eye-opening and humbling at the same time. It’s a good way to get out of a funk, I tell ya. It’s an outlet for growth every single day and also an opportunity to understand that yesterday, in it’s physical form, is gone. It’s a really delightful way to let go of the past and welcome the moment in which you are existing with open arms and a full heart.

Below are the photos I’ve taken since I returned to school; the rest are on Flickr. From now on I’ll be sharing photos here every Sunday, if you’d like to keep up with the project.

Tuesday Jan. 13 : First full day back with two of my very favorite people. We had lunch then went to Harvard that night for Shake Shack and a movie. It was exhilarating to be exploring again-moving around and feeling the life of this second home of mine.

Wednesday Jan. 14 : Day 1 of classes. Back to drinking tea, loving my bed, and trail mix (#noms). PS, bought that hat at Urban Outfitters for a whopping 90% off. PPS, how is a hat from Urban Outfitters $50?

Thursday Jan. 15 : Snow! Libraries! This feels like it was taken late at night but I think it was actually like 5:00. Sigh.

Friday Jan. 16 : The T post-grocery run. We went to Star Market. We bought a box of clementines to share. I had to ration them to myself for the next week to keep from eating them all in a day.

Saturday Jan. 17 : Boston. It was good to be back in the middle of everything again. I felt quiet and a part of something.

Sunday Jan. 18 : Claire and I had a stellar day. Delicious sandwiches from Flour, a quiet hour at the ICA, and then 2 peppermint mochas from Strbks (plz?). I love the blue in this and the bareness of buildings in construction.

Monday Jan. 19 : Hallo again my dearest friend aka the library. At least the light is good. And there’s a nice window to look out of.

Tuesday Jan. 20 : Tea & blog reading in the afternoon.

Wednesday Jan. 21 : I took a walk! To Davis! Just to pick up a cappuccino from Diesel and come back and mostly as an excuse to take pictures and enjoy being outside. It was rad. Also the ground/floor/area below my feet is grimy but I like it? That is all.

Thursday Jan. 22 : Looking up and feeling alive. En route to Mr. Crepe and some belgian chocolate toasted coconut goodness.

Friday Jan. 23 : Giggling under the covers like kids.

Saturday Jan. 24 : Post brunch pre art store also snow. We had the best food at Cafe Luna (like always) and afterwards I was walking slowly behind and looking and picture taking (also like always.) I may or may not have caused a miniature coffee fiasco i.e. spillage but I’m happy to have the best friends i.e. they were not outwardly embarrassed at my clumsiness.

Xoxo

Olive