Color Cravings: Stop It, I'm Blushing

The other day I was pinning away on Pinterest and it hit me; analogous warm hues drive me crazy. I think the trend has been coined "floral blushes." Pairing red and fuchsia or pink and wine just seems like the right thing to do, don't you agree? I took a little inspiration from Kendi Everyday and Thakoon Fall 2012 for this palette.

 J.Crew nail polish

If you like these colors you can incorporate them into your wardrobe on your nails. Start by painting your thumb, pointer, and index fingers magenta and your ring and pinky burgundy. You never know where it could take the rest of your outfit!

American Apparel Neon Nail Lacquer in Neon Violet / Essie in Secret Story

Not to Be Forgotten

Hello! I'm finally back in Cincinnati from NYC and San Diego. School is up and running and I feel like I've barely had time to catch my breath. While I was on vacation I realized that I forgot to tell you about some fun things that happened in my last week in NYC!

March 14th: Emily wanted to have a "pre-bachelorette bachelorette party" (we probably had the first one ever in history) so Amy and Allie planned it. After work, we met a few friends in Bryant Park for a picnic. The weather was glorious and perfect for some bread & tomato sandwiches as well as treats from Georgetown Cupcakes. If you've ever seen the show DC Cupcakes, the lovely owners recently opened a new location of their bakery in SoHo. Emily had been wanting to try them forever so I picked some up for the party. The pink vanilla were really delicious, although the frosting was really different—almost marshmallow consistency. The night ended with a dance party and Two Boots of course!

 Georgetown Cupcake SoHo / kitchen bling /
pink boxes like Babes in Toyland / cupcake art

March 16th: Adam was back in town to pick me up from New York. He took me to breakfast at Max Brenner's before my last day of work because I wanted to go there all quarter. I got sugar waffles with bananas and caramel and now I dream about them every night. Adam also showed up at work to bring my coworkers cookies from The City Bakery as a thank you gift. Cookies must have won them over because he got to stay for lunch. After work, we met my roommates for our last dinner together at Momofuku's Ssam Bar. We got fancy drinks at Booker & Dax and then got seated next door for a decadent Japanese feast. My favorite dish was the spicy grilled rice balls. I could eat them for a whole meal. The rest of the night felt a little serious because we dropped Allie off at her bus back to Cincinnati and Adam helped me pack all night.

my breakfast / Adam's huevos rancheros burrito

I promise to post about my roadtrip very soon. I just need to accomplish some things on my three-page list before I do more blogging.

I can't wait to see all of my Cincinnati friends this week!
Kendralala

Friday Farewells

This is it, my last night in NYC!

It's a bittersweet feeling. I learned a lot about New York so I updated my NYTD list here and here just for you! If you visit the city in the next year you should try some of the things I checked off my list, they're really worth it.

I'm sad about leaving New York because I had such a blast exploring the city with my roommates. We bonded over The Bachelor, at too many ice cream cones, and braved Brooklyn together. I never thought I would enjoy sharing a tiny apartment with three other girls so much. My three months in the city also gave me lots of time to think and explore who I am as an adult. It was a wonderful and scary feeling to be in a huge place figuring out my life. I realized more than ever that God has some exciting things around the corner for me, even if I have no idea what they are! New York will always hold a special place in my heart because I discovered so much of myself here.

On the flip side, I'm so excited for next quarter because I miss Cincinnati. I miss my small group, friends, and everything about my social life back home. Spring quarter means I get to play soccer as well as see all my studiomates! I also miss Emily's and my apartment with all its space and furniture that we actually own. I miss real grocery shopping and cooking. Most of all, I miss Adam and that's why I'm excited about this next week! We're going on a spring break trip with a purpose because Adam is moving to San Diego for co-op for the next five months.

The Plan:

1. Cincinnati–Granville: Adam drives his car packed with everything he'll need for the next two months
2. Granville–Cleveland–Manhattan: Adam switches cars at my dad's house and brings my car to NYC
3. Manhattan–Cleveland: We move me out and drive back to spend an evening with my family
4. Cleveland–Des Moines: Using Adam's car, we set out on our actual trip! (I know, so much driving before we even get to the good part)
5. Des Moines–Denver: More driving
6. Denver–Moab, UT: A little driving and then some good old fashioned hiking!
7. Moab–San Diego: We moved Adam into his new apartment just in time for his birthday and I visit for a few days.
8. San Diego–Cleveland: Just me, flying back all by myself
9. Cleveland–Cincinnati: I drive home just in time for classes the next day. Whew! I'm sure I will be exhausted and jet lagged.

 goodbye NYC / hello SD
photos from Pinterest

I don't think I will have much time to post while we're on our trip but I will tell you all about it afterwards. That reminds me; I have decided to continue blogging beyond my life in NYC because I feel like my life is at a turning point. Who knows where I'll get a job this summer? So if you're interested, I invite you to be a part of my indefinite experiment as a blogger. Buckle up, folks.

Talk to you soon!
Kendra

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday! Here are the things I've been excited about lately:

new bag / addictive reading / Once / Greek yogurt

A few weeks ago I wrote about my obsession with neon bags here. Since I can't afford the one that I want I grabbed this neon piped version from Aldo for $55. Not cheap but a fun take on fluoro to tide me over until I can buy a Cambridge satchel.

I finally started the first book of the Hunger Games series. I actually finished it about 8 hours after starting it—it's a quick read. I'm trying to hold off on the other two books until my roadtrip in a week but it's driving me crazy. But I know if I start them I will do nothing but read until they are finished. Adam and I plan on going to the midnight premier on March 22nd in San Diego. I've also been doing some stalking and found these ideations by famous designers for Katniss's fire dress. Finally, if you love a good theme song, check out this guy's playlist for the first book. To me each song perfectly describes each major event in the book. Spoiler alert! If you haven't read them yet he annotates the songs with what happens in the book.

Remember how I saw my first Broadway musical this week? Well two days later I saw my second. Emily really wanted to see a show so she begged me to try for lottery tickets to Once all week (the Theater District is really close to where I work). I figured I would have to show up every day for a week but I won on the first try! Lottery tickets (for Broadway) happen when a show is going through two weeks of preview showings. Two and half hours before each show they let anyone enter in a drawing for up to two out of twenty available tickets. If you win you still have to pay for the tickets but you get a significant discount for good seats. I wasn't sure how I felt about Once at first, but by the end of the show I was in love with the main characters and original music. All the actors play the instruments for the show so there is no orchestra. You can even order a drink at the on-stage bar before the show. Guess I'm going to be addicted to Broadway from now on!

Speaking of addictions, I might really be addicted to Trader Joe's honey Greek yogurt. I've had like four bowls of yogurt, granola, and bananas in the past two days. Oops.

Finally, I'm looking forward to hanging out with Lizz and Emily who are visiting on a Fine Arts trip this weekend! I'm so excited they're in town, hopefully we can spend Saturday together.

Have a fun weekend obsessing over the Hunger Games (I know I will),

Kendranamo

Love(ly) Weekend

It's been too long! I'm sorry I took such an extended break from posting. Things are getting really busy because I leave New York in, eep, ten days! But I knew I needed to post when Adam asked me why I hadn't. (I think he secretly wants me to write a post all about him. I'll humor him this one time ;)

March 1st: To keep my mind off of Adam's arrival later that night, Amy and I took an Advanced Beginners Contemporary Ballet class at Capezio. This was a dumb decision on my part because I've never taken Contemporary before so I'm obviously not in the advanced category. This was reinforced by the fact that I was sore head to toe before the class was even over. Walking was a real project all weekend.

Benny Ninja teaches at my dance studio!
Remember him from ANTM?

Adam's plane was set to land at 11:20 pm and in a last minute decision I decide to meet him at the airport. Thanks to a good quarter of the subway lines being under construction it took me over an hour and a half to get to La Guardia in Queens. Mental note: don't bother waiting for the bus out there. It could take an hour. I wandered around the airport for a while trying to find the right gate until someone grabbed me from behind. Nope, I didn't get mugged, but my wonderful boyfriend somehow found me before I found him! Sneaky guy. We didn't get home until 2 am thanks to more senseless delays.

I owed Adam a BLT for every day he stayed in NYC because of an old bet we had. So, starting at 2 am I made him a sandwich. Cooking together is something we really miss so he ended up helping me rather than just watch.

 2 am snack

March 2nd: I woke up feeling like someone dropped an anvil on me and dragged myself into work a bit late. Luckily, Adam rescued me for an early weekend around two. We grabbed Bahn Mi subs and set off for Grand Central Station. I thought it was absolutely stunning, it's amazing how it's maintained it's class over the years. The new Apple store on location respectfully utilizes the stairs and archways as a showroom rather than implanting their usual glass storefront. We also wandered up through part of Central Park. And by part I mean we walked forever and still only covered a fourth of the grounds.

 pretty chandeliers / crazy tall windows / center of the station

Since Adam is German and loves a good plate of spatzel, I treated him to dinner at Edi & the Wolf. It was a long wait for the awesome back room so we sat at the bar. But we got star treatment and the interior was just as interesting up front. Pricy, but excellent Austrian food. The day was long and rather expensive, so we stayed in with the first Mission: Impossible movie and a dessert order from Insomnia Cookies.

March 3rd: Of course, I had to show Adam Chelsea Market because I'm not very original with my planning. When we had seen everything we picked up a hazelnut Ronnybrook Milk Bar shake (highly recommend it!) and strolled along The High Line. And by strolled I mean found the nearest open reclined park bench and sprawled out. But we really did get some exercise in when we walked all the way back to my apartment.

 enjoying the sunshine

I took forever picking out the perfect skirt ensemble (you've already seen something similar so I didn't bother taking pictures) and then we taxied off to Eatery for dinner and a show. I got Mac & Jack which is baked mac n' cheese. Nothing spectacular, but Adam's eggplant ravioli was superb. The highlight of the day was going to Wicked with Adam. Seeing a musical on Broadway and learning the full story of Wicked have been two mental goals of mine for a while. Somehow, without my ever saying so, Adam knew what to do to help me accomplish both things! I wonder what else he can read in my mind...Anyway the show was great—I was most impressed by the set and costumes. Glinda was pretty talented too. Adam really enjoyed everything as well.

March 4th: After Hillsong NYC, Adam, Allie, Amy, Emily, and I met Tyler, Erin (Amy's sister) and Nick for brunch at the Sunburnt Cow again. It was even more fun with tons of friends! Witnessed a few people running around in inflatable fat costumes. Not sure what that was about. Lazed around the rest of the day until I dragged Adam to Pomme Frites and our favorite ice cream shop. I'm such a healthy eater.

All in all it was a great weekend. Adam, thank you so much for coming and making it extra special. You're so wonderful to me :)
Kendra

You're Far Away, But Not Today

My boy is visiting me in NYC today! I'm so excited that I'm wiggling in my seat as I'm writing this. It's been exactly eight weeks since he went back to Cincinnati after moving me in here. I think I've been pretty good at keeping myself busy and not focusing on missing him. But last week was about the time I decided that enough was enough and I was sick of not being able to see him. I think he's pretty excited too because I got a surprise delivery of flowers at work today! I have lots of plans for our weekend so starting tomorrow I will be on a mini blogging hiatus.

 the perfect range of violet to burgundy flowers

I'll just wish you a happy weekend early before I write a book on how FREAKING EXCITED I am!
Kendriesta (Kendra + Fiesta because that's what's happening with me right now)