Gurlz Night Out

So, let me just preface this post by saying that I am the first person to completely avoid Times Square all together. It's touristy, obnoxious, loud & messy, which is also the textbook definition of a group of drunk girls in NYC.

After an extremely busy week, a girls night was in order. It's honestly been like pulling teeth trying to get me to go anywhere lately. I'm so tired at the end of the day that all I want to do is slip into my leggings & curl up with my boyfriend, Netflix. Saturday finally won this week, though. I rounded up some of my girlfriends, Lauren, Emily & the incomparable Calzone aka Kali. We all had kind of a late start, but we met up & headed to The High Line in Chelsea. It was gorgeous but PACKED. I started to feel like we were in a single file line for a Disney ride that we were never actually going to get to ride. I cured my woes with a Apple Jasmine popsicle from People's Pops.

When we finally figured out how to get off The High Line, we started walking around trying to find a little place to eat. This can be tricky when you're living on a budget but still want to look like a cool-as-fuck New Yorker. Our question of the night quickly became, "Where can you get a lot of food for a little money?" We finally settled on a little place on the Lower West Side called Riviera Cafe. It wasn't necessarily the most glam place in the world but it had good food, wine, sangria & $4 margaritas. We somehow ended up there for, like, a good three hours. 

We moved on to a random little bar to get some kamikaze shots. I do not like liquor, I repeat, DO NOT LIKE LIQUOR. I usually avoid shots at all cost, but my mom taught me what a kamikaze shot is & I haven't looked back. It's my go-to-shot forever because it's the only one that I can even remotely stomach. So, I convinced everyone to get them & they were a hit. Thanks, mom.

Two shots deep each & suddenly we were headed to the one place that I loathe: Times Square. You can see it from miles away & once you're in the thick of it, it actually looks like it's suddenly the middle of the day because of the glow from the thousands of screens. Also, everything is open. Have you ever needed something from Forever 21 in the middle of the night? 'Cause this is your place. 

What stupidly drunken night is complete without McDonald's? We all grabbed some burgers & fries and sat on the red steps in the middle of Times Square. We laughed at everything, stared wide-eyed at the the sparkly things around us & Kali literally made the prettiest faces the entire time (as per usual).

In my drunken stupor, I was absolutely enamored by the entire thing. You can just feel the energy & everyone is so excited to be there. It's contagious. So contagious that we felt compelled to have a Spice Girls moment. #GIRLPOWER, baby. 

Here's to good friends, junk food & strong kamikazes.

Love,

A

Day Drunk in Williamsburg

This past weekend, I finally ventured to Williamsburg with Auntie Anne, Uncle Afsheen, Tinne & Skye. On the way, we stopped by a record fair which made me totally regretful that I didn't bring my record player with me. There were so many gems that I would have loved to add to my collection. We hopped on the L at Union Sq. & got off at Bedford Ave. We were all starved so we headed straight for the trendy food vendors at the waterfront market. I kept calling it the Brooklyn Flea Market even though it wasn't the Brooklyn Flea Market. I had some pasta topped with the most amazing sauce I've ever had, Vietnamese iced coffee & an apricot raspberry popsicle from People's Pops. 

Walking around the market was amazing. There were so many cool vintage booths set up. I ended up walking away with a little floral jewelry tray for $1 & a framed alphabet card that reads "n is for nest" to make my new nest a little nestier. 

Then the real fun began. When we were heading back we popped into a couple cool bars & all of us, sans Skye, proceeded to get a little bit day drunk. I obviously can't remember any of the names of the bars but one of them had such a cool interior & an amazing playlist. When they started playing Fleetwood Mac & my tipsy self audibly declared that I do not like them. It wasn't until the very next song came on & I started singing all the words that I realized that I actually do indeed enjoy some classic Fleetwood Mac songs but only because I didn't know that they were Fleetwood Mac songs.

As we were all knocking back a couple bottles of wine, we ate the most amazing french fries & country pâté. When we were walking back home Uncle Afsheen mentioned meatballs & showed us this amazing little place but we weren't hungry enough to go in. Taking the subway back while drunk was interesting. Auntie Anne & I wore our sunnies the entire time & I was laughing at everything. When I'm intoxicated, I tend to think I'm a really good photographer so I added some of my masterpieces above. They truly show off my steady hand. 

We had dinner in Chinatown at an amazing little place called Nom Wah Tea Parlor where I proceeded to eat everything in sight. It was delicious. The only reason that I remember the name is because of the photographic evidence. If you stop in, make sure to try their fried rice & pork buns. Too good.

 I can't wait to adventure more this weekend.

Love,

A 

To the (Lazy) Moon & Back

 After hyping it up for a whole year, J finally took me to Lazy Moon while we were visiting Orlando last weekend. We've always wanted to go together but ended up bailing out last minute for some reason or another. I'm glad that we finally took an extra 45 minutes to drive there because it sure was delicious. 

Let me make it known to you that although J talked about Lazy Moon non-stop prior to our visit, no amount of build up could have prepared me for how amazing it actually was. One slice of pizza could easily feed a small village & was practically un-eatable without the help of a fork & knife. J got what I like to call 'The Jake', a slice of pepperoni pizza & I switched it up with a pineapple and ham. To our surprise, it was 'Free Dipping Sauce Friday', so J delved into classic marinara & I had the best ranch I've ever eaten. In typical A & J style, we cleaned our plates without a problem.

Lazy Moon kept us happy & full all the way through The Vaccines show that we went to at The Social later that evening. It fueled us through yelling lyrics, dancing like fools & finally meeting one of our favorite bands. I highly suggest driving out of your way to check it out, it will be well worth your time & your belly will thank you.

Love,

A

Lack-of-Labor Day Weekend

J & I were joking all weekend about how Labor Day weekend should really be called Lack-of-Labor Day weekend because we tried to do as little as we possibly could. Last week was our first week back at USF and we were pretty excited to veg out summer-style for a few more days. I know it sounds easy but sitting in class listening to your professor read every single word of the syllabus can really eat away at your soul...

On Friday we did what J & I do best and had a dinner // movie date. We went to Boston's, where I introduced J to the amazing world of crunchy green beans & he tried their new #PIZZABURGER. Then we went next door to Veterans & watched You're Next. It was gory & had a good plot twist, so naturally J & I walked away happy.

Saturday was a day full of last minute adventures. At first the natural planner in me hated the idea of impromptu plans, but J quickly warmed me up to them with his skills of persuasion. We started the day with a yummy little lunch at Panera Bread & wandered over to Microgroove Records where I found New Order's Blue Monday on vinyl for $2.99. On our way home, we spotted the quirkiest little comic book // music store on Hillsborough called Green Shift. As Jake & I wandered around the store that looked like it might be on next week's episode of Hoarders, he told me all about his days of comic book collecting. Watching him stare in awe at all the old vintage microphones and amps made me remember why I fell in love with Jake in the first place. He's passionate about so many things & can find beauty in even the rustiest old equipment.

Later on J persuaded me to go to the first USF football game of the season. While football isn't really my cup of tea, I had fun people watching & yelling at the players with Jake. Even later that evening, we decided to go to the Tampa Pitcher Show to check out the live action performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show that they do every Saturday night at midnight. As RHPS 'virgins', Jake & I were pretty much clueless the entire time. Let's just say my favorite part about going to the Pitcher Show was the Shrimp Fra Diablo that J & I ate. It was "exxxtra diablo".

Sunday has become our favorite day of the week lately because of one thing: BREAKING BAD. We got some homework done during the day & came back to Jake's dorm to have a little Breaking Bad watch party with some friends. We ordered some pizza & ate some wings while we anxiously waited for Walter White's next move.

Even though we spent the majority of the morning tackling more homework, Monday was great because J & I were just happy to not be at school. We lounged around during the early afternoon & grabbed a late lunch at PDQ. In the late afternoon, we took a little trip up to Orlando to meet up with my family. On the way up, J put together a little playlist full of our favorite songs (get Spotify Premium, it's the seriously the coolest). I swear that the best times I have with Jake are when we're listening to music together and talking about anything. I haven't been able to keep my mouth shut around him since the first time I opened it. He's just the greatest when it comes to conversation & it's just another thing that I absolutely adore about the boy.

Although we are sad to see this weekend go, we're surprisingly excited to get back into the swing of things at school. We both love our classes so far & this semester seems to be full of new adventures. September is going to be the best month yet & I am so ready to see what the future holds.

Love,

A

Retro Dates

 

 

At the beginning of the summer, A & I had the idea to go on a series of "retro dates", taking part in some activities that were big in previous generations. Because Tampa has an apparently unlimited array of retro options, we decided on a bowling/arcade date, a trip Johnny Rockets, & a night out at the roller rink. We even saw The Shining on a blow-up screen at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Downtown Tampa at midnight for free. As it turns out, retro dates are right up our alley: they're cheap & very silly.

For our bowling night at Tampa Lanes, $14 each bought us three games at the pins and 40 (an actual staggering amount) arcade tokens. Heeding to the "best two out of three" philosophy, A & I were tied up heading into the third game (she absolutely destroyed me in the second), but I emerged the ultimate victor. Taking our talents to the arcade was another treat in itself. They actually had a Top Skater game, which I haven't played since I used to spend hours on it in Dave & Busters as a little kid. A proved to be quite the little sharpshooter at both Hoop Fever and Extreme Hunting. You should see that little girl put down an e-Bison. Whoa.

Our trip to Johnny Rockets was a delectable day date. I grubbed out on a classic meat-and-cheese burger, one that I am constantly ridiculed for by waitstaff (I just don't like lettuce or tomato, k?), but A scored an absolutely gorgeous "Number 12", complete with Johnny Rockets' "red-red sauce", aka a chili-ketchup delight that competes with Sriracha sauce for first place in my heart for "condiments that aren't Heinz Ketchup". 

We made the pilgrimage to United Skates of America for a night of rollerskating fun. From my days as a kid rollerskating at Kabooms in South Florida & skateboarding endlessly, I figured skating would be a breeze. When we arrived for all-you-can-eat pizza night (I know), we noticed we were at least 5 years older than the oldest kid there. Dodging through 11-year-olds ripping through the rink backwards & trying not to slam into actual children, we realized we looked a little less like Ellen Page from Whip It & a lot more like this guy. If there's one thing A & I are not afraid of, it's making fools of ourselves. Maybe because we can't avoid it.

Retro dating is easy to accomplish when you're looking for some weird, affordable fun. Check out your city's arcades, lazer tag arenas, or if you're lucky like Tampa, drive-in movie theater.

Love,

J