Sunday October 28, 2012

A Fancy Art Gallery and a Random Stroll

I'm still trying to take everything in and familiarize myself with the city. So what better way than to go to China Town, an art gallery and take a stroll in the lower east side? 

This is the Marc Straus art gallery that I went to. Big fancy front doors and big open space inside. I never really understood that, the whole open space and nothing in the gallery but the art. I know the focus is mainly on the painting but I feel like it would be enjoyed more in a different environment. But hey, that's just me.

 Walking through the gallery, I was pretty much the only one there, besides the employees, who were all super super nice to me and recommended other galleries to go see. The art that was being showcased was that of the artist Marcin Cienski. His art was creepy cool. Just the way he used light and shadows was extremely good, leaving your imagination to tell the backstory. If you want to see the paintings that I saw click on the linky http://www.marcstraus.com/exhibition/marcincienski/index.html

The gallery was right on the edge of China Town. I didn't explore China Town too much...with the strong scent of fish and all it wasn't reeling in my interest. But here is a quick pic for ya.

Now, time for a little stroll....let's go!

Ok, so how cool is this?! I ran into Zarin Fabrics!! For those of you who don't watch "bad t.v" it is the business of Jill Zarin from The Real housewives of New York. I felt so "fancy" for a split second. I didn't see her nor anyone from the show but they did have articles posted by the front door of her...close enough!! 

Random cute restaurants...

Just the sign from this furniture shop looks fun!!! Most of their merchandise looked like it was from the 70's...not really my style. 

I first took this next picture because of the cool tattoo shop, but then I noticed the silly monkey just chillin on the steps up top!! Do you see him?! 

Look how beautiful the buildings are here...

This was a store with different people selling their products. Sorry guys, I can't remember the name of it. I actually forgot I even took a picture inside but I really like this view from the upper level. That's something common here in NY. The buildings may seem small or the entrances may not be "selling" the place, but once you get in you realize its usually more than one level. 

One thing that I'm noticing that the "trendy" and "popular" stores do is they hold open call interviews for hire. Just like with modeling how they have casting calls..it's like that, but for a job. Here is a line seen at American Apparel. Crazy. 

They must give their employees one heck of a discount if they are willing to go through a process like that...no thanks. 

On the way home I decided to stop at Washington Park and have a seat...been getting my workout with all this walking, that's fa sho!!

Pretty pretty...as you can see the sun was starting to set. It's actually peaceful to sit in the park and just people watch and listen to people play music. With a city FULL of people and even a park full, it has a sense of serenity.  Sometimes that's what we have to do in life. No matter what hand we are dealt or our living situation. If we wait for everything to be completely perfect or up to our standards on perfection, well...we are going to be living one unhappy life. We need to find the joy in the little things. We need to find common ground with others. We are all living in this busy city. In this busy life. Don't forget to find your serenity. 

Oh, ps. Here is a look at my neighbor's very festive Halloween stoop! BOO!!

Sending my love from NYC and to hoping you always find serenity!!

Tasha!

Monday

October 23, 2012
                              A Little Late!!

I know! I know! Im a little late on my Monday blog...but cut me some slack, I'm still new :)

Some days are not as exciting as others and somedays we don't really know where we are going. Monday was one of those days. I didn't want a case of the "Mondays" getting the best of me so I decided to head to a coffee shop to get some work done. I headed to Lincoln Center to go to this super, sun lit place that I had found while researching...Although when I got there it was a little different than expected. As you can see it is a GORGEOUS place literally made out of just windows with all of the beautiful light shining in!

The review that I had read on this place said that it was a great place to go to write but when I got there I noticed that no one was working nor was it a place fit for a "working" afternoon. I guess this once writer savvy place had turned into a place to just dine. But at least I got a neat picture for you guys!

So I continued my stroll and went into a familiar Starbucks (laptops always welcome) and found a cozy spot. By cozy I mean, it was the only place to sit and two seconds after sitting I was sharing my  table with a nice girl while we both ate our lunch. The lady sitting next to me was rather nice as well whom was so polite in inquiring about turning the blinds down a little as the sun was peaking. A little later on an elderly man sat at the table with me who periodically kept asking me how to work his new tablet and we shared some laughs! Here in New York we share our close spaces with others and its not a big deal at all....its life. 

After a full afternoon of working my brain was fried so I walked around, ran into this "big ol' gal" around 80th street 

and went to some home furniture stores (which were purchase free bc nothing caught my eye that was special enough) and headed home. But before going home I stopped at 112th and Broadway to score me some "bubble tea" that I have been craving for a while. 

I went to a place called "Tea Magic" that was really cute

They have SO many selections of teas to chose from!

But I chose the chocolate milk bubble tea and it was YUMMY!!

See those little ball like bubbles in the bottom?? Those are the "bubbles" in bubble tea. They taste like gummy balls. I noticed it kept me from chugging the tea bc I would have to chew with every drink!! haha That doesn't sound like two things that go together!!

The coolest part of the tea was how it came sealed after they made it with this really cute picture of a little girl and her puppy! 

At first I tried to peal the plastic back because I was a little confused but then realized you just poke it with the JUMBO straw they give you and the plastic seal works as a lid!! How cool!!! 

Sometimes in our day, or even in our life, we have this idea of something that seems so great and we set our minds on it that when it comes to, it's not exactly as we expected. (Just like the coffee shop that ended up being just a place to dine) But that's OK!! Because THAT is how we learn, that's how we learn to think on our feet and know that just because something doesn't live up to our expectation or let's us down, that there isn't something else out there that was meant for us. 

We have to know that if we keep going, something IS going to come. That we can't give up or get discouraged. Everything ended up working out just fine, even though in that moment, it didn't seem like that was going to be the case. I ended up having a wonderful day, getting the work done that I needed to, interacting with some wonderful souls, seeing some cool and BIG artwork and ended the day with something simple yet made me smile and reminded me that everything WAS and IS going to be ok!

Reminding you to stay encouraged and to keep going!!!

What's meant for you is usually just right around the corner of what seems to be a disappointment at the time.

Sending love from NYC!!

Tasha

Sunday Funday

October 21, 2012

As my first blog I really should introduce myself but I can do that later, for now you are going to go on an adventure with me in...

NYC

I live in Hamilton heights in Manhattan, right by the Hudson River and today we are going to go on an adventure. One filled with beautiful scenes and some unexpected treasures. 

This is my super swaggy outfit for the day, it was great until we got down to the river where it is MUCH colder. So I had to come back and get my coat!!

Dont these stairs look fairy tale like??

Which they were no "fantasy" especially since I had to walk them twice!!

Eating lunch is a lot more fun when you can sit and relax by the water

After lunch we decided to take a walk along the river and enjoy the beautiful weather. Little did we know what we were about to embark on. We found these wonderful treasures!!

 This is a piece of wood that was being smashed and beaten up by the waves. But as a result it came out so smooth and beautiful. And then we stumbled across this neat piece of "tile-like" number while we were venturing off the trail. I'm guessing that it was an old number that was used to label a field because it was by a really busted up old home plate. 

Now let me introduce to you the George Washington Bridge!!

Beautiful huh?! As we got to the bridge we noticed this little gem sitting right under it.

The Litte Red Lighthouse

Today was a great "unexpected" day. It was one of those days where you just go with the flow. Sometimes we try too hard to plan everything out and make sure that everything is going to be perfect that we don't allow any spontaneity into our lives. We came across some beautiful, rare and unexpected treasures because we ventured off the walking trail and were not doing what everyone else was doing. It was like we were kids again. We were having so much fun just "exploring" and getting dirty that we didn't care if we looked foolish. Unlike everyone else we walked away with things that we can treasure. 

Sometimes doing the "cool" thing and doing what everyone else is doing will usually just get you the same result as everyone else.  Don't do what everyone else is doing, instead do what YOU wanna do. Listen to that voice inside yourself, like you used to do when you were a kid. If you listen to the "you" that used to be, you will find out who you are supposed to be. I dare you to enjoy life the way that you want to. Not how everyone is doing it, but how you envision. I guarantee if you dare to be different you will walk away satisfied, learn a few things and be able to collect things that no one else was able to from your experience. 

I believe in you, now you believe in you!!

Sending lots of love from NYC

Tasha!