Brooklyn Botanic Gardens...

Hello everyone! So I know I have been mia for a week or so and was supposed to upload my best dressed for the Teen Choice Awards but some last minute things came up and I wasn’t able to post which I am very very sorry for. But to make it up to you I am going to do one post today about my mother daughter day at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and then tomorrow (Monday) I am going to post my best dressed and my thoughts on the MTV VMA’s. I absolutely promise tomorrow you will get this post because I am honestly so excited about the awards (mainly the red carpet) so just keep an eye out for it. 

However, before the VMA’S, I am going to tell you all about my day at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. If you live in New York or come on vacation I 100% recommend going to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Not only was it very peaceful and relaxing but it was extremely beautiful. I’ve always loved nature but after my trip to California and even after spending my time abroad I have found a new love for the outdoors and nature. The last time I went to the Botanic Gardens I was a baby so I don’t remember going at all and I kept telling my mom all summer how I so badly wanted to go and we finally did! Although we probably didn’t pick the best day, because it was very hot and humid, we still had a great day. My favorite part of the entire gardens was the Lily pond. Since I was little I have always loved lily’s, sunflowers and peonies so to be able to see an entire pond of different types of lily’s was absolutely stunning. My mom loved the Japanese garden which was absolutely incredible. I can’t put into words how breathtaking it was but I will post pictures below which in my opinion doesn’t do it justice. The best time of year to go I would say would be in the Spring. This way you can see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom. My mom and I plan to go back in the Spring so we can see them. If you do go and you are a student bring your student id because you do get a discount. Honestly it wasn’t expensive to go. I think, for both my mom and I, it came out to under $20. They say you can’t bring food in, only water, but they weren’t checking any bags but just to be safe I would say don’t risk it. They have a little cafe inside but they didn’t have the best food options so I would say eat before you go. We did spend quite a few hours here but it was so much fun time just flew by. 

I had such a great day yesterday with my mom I can’t wait to go back with her in the Spring time. Like I said I 100% recommend going here. It was so relaxing and it’s such a beautiful place to go with friends, family, kids or even a date so I would definitely consider it. Like I said I will be posting tomorrow about the VMA’S so don’t forget to come back tomorrow and check it out! Until then I hope you have an amazing and relaxing Sunday. Talk soon! 

Sincerely, Sam

Things are getting loopy...

Hello everyone! I know it’s Sunday and I said I would post Saturday but I had a lot of things going on this week so I was delayed a little bit. I am posting today for you guys instead. I am really excited about today’s blog post because I had such a good time here and I know you all will also. On Saturday night Jamie and I went to this rooftop bar in the city called Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar. It is located in the Conrad hotel in Battery Park City. I am sure you have seen pictures on Instagram because it is extremely Instagram worthy but I will post pictures at the bottom of this post. They are known for having an ice pop in your wine. Right now you are probably like what are you talking about but I swear it will all make sense once you see the pictures. Before that let me give you a little backstory with it so you know what to expect if you pay a visit. Since it’s a rooftop bar it can’t hold an insane amount of people so they do let you put your name on a list and once the bar isn’t over occupancy they send you a text message to tell you that you are allowed up. This is a great idea because it gives you a chance to walk around and explore a little bit because the water is about a block away so it’s nice to not just have to sit and wait for your name to be called. However my one and only complaint was that since the bar is very tiny they don’t have enough seats for everyone so people are standing on top of people and it gets very hot so it becomes a little unbearable especially on those hot summer days. Jamie and I got lucky enough to get a seat right away but some people I saw were standing for 2 hours. However the entire rooftop has an incredible view of the city so you will see the gorgeous view no matter where you are. 

 

Another thing to keep in mind is the time of day you want to go because like I said this place is very Instagram worthy between the drink and the view. My suggestion is to go before the sun sets because if you go at night you won’t get a great picture of the drink because it’s dark and the flash will reflect off the glass. I went at 7:30 and I would honestly say it was the absolute perfect time because we got to watch the sunset and it was absolutely gorgeous. Pictures will follow. When it comes to what to wear you can dress very casual  I was in a long sleeve sundress with a little pair of heels. Jamie was in a dress and she wore sandals. I saw some people very dressed up and some in just jeans so just dress for comfort. Keep in mind that this bar is only open from April to October so if you want to go soon is probably better. The prices are a little pricy but not too bad considering it is the city and the view is incredible. The drinks with the ice pops come out to $22 each but you have more than enough that you will only need one drink. They have about five flavors of these drinks so far because it is fairly new so I am sure they will start to make more flavors but Jamie and I both got the strawberry peach margarita prosecco. It was out of this world. I absolutely loved it. It was sweet but still had that wine taste. I loved it so much that I will definitely be going back. They don’t serve food however, downstairs from the hotel, they have a Chinese food place, an Italian place and a Shake Shack so you can eat either before or after if you were hungry. I highly recommend this place because I had a really great time and I know you will also. If you visit here please let me know because I want to hear all about your experience. For more pictures and updates my Twitter and Instagram is listed above so come say hi. Come back next week when I discuss my best dressed at the Teen Choice Awards. Very very excited about that! I hope you have a great week ahead of you and I will talk to you soon. 

 

Sincerely, Sam

Play Ball...

Hello everyone! So as the weather starts to change and the flowers start to bloom it’s time that my favorite sport starts up again. Baseball. Since I was a little girl my dad and I would sit on the couch and watch baseball together. I loved it because it was something my dad and I always looked forward to and got to do together. My favorite team is the Yankees for multiple reasons but yes one of them is because of Derek Jeter. As most of you might know, Derek retired last year and it is slowly killing me. Since I was little all I remember was Derek Jeter and to go to a game and not see him play is very weird and sad. Last weekend I did have the opportunity to go to the Yankee game for the first time this season and it was awesome. I went with my best friend Jamie and my dad. Our seats were really good (section 208) and closer then I’ve ever sat before. The entire time I was hoping to catch a baseball but no luck so maybe next time! This game was a very exciting one because it was against the Boston Red Sox. A little spoiler we did lose the game but that’s ok because there’s always more games to go to and the season just started! 

The best part of my day was lunch time(are you surprised?). Every time I go to the Yankee game my go to food is a hot dog and a lemonade because the lemonade is out of this world and hot dogs are my guilty pleasure. This time I got a few other things for the first time and let me just say how amazing it was. If you are going to a Yankee game I honestly recommend everything I had because it was just out of this world. When I first got there I immediately got my hot dog and my lemonade which I have to say was the best lemonade I’ve ever gotten at the stadium. When we got closer to our seats there was an overwhelming smell of french fries and garlic and I had to see what it was. Turns out Yankee stadium has garlic fries. Now I have heard of this before at the Yankee game but I never got around to trying it until today. I am not sure if anyone has ever had the garlic fries from Yankee Stadium but it comes HIGHLY recommended. Basically it’s the skinny fries, like the ones you would see at McDonald’s, with garlic and some parsley on top.. Jamie isn’t a very big garlic fan but they were so good I told her she had to try it and after she did she even said how good they were. Unfortunately for me we got the small size because we never had them before but next time I go I know for a fact I am getting a large! (which is probably really good for my diet lol). I didn’t add any ketchup to it because I felt it had enough flavor without it but you could always add it and see how it tastes! After we had the fries it was time for my hot dog which I was most excited about. I always get the kosher hot dogs because I don’t eat pig (for my own personal reasons) but honestly you could get any hot dog in the stadium and I am sure it would taste just as good. After I finished all this food I swore I was going to be full for the rest of my life. Wrong. By the 4th inning I was starving so Jamie and I decided to go find a snack to eat. We found the most amazing snack ever and honestly it’s been a week but I am still NOT over it. Oreo churro’s. Need I say more? A churro made of oreo!!! You can probably tell I love oreos which is true. They are my favorite cookies but I do also love churro’s, Jamie and I decided to share one and it was so worth it because it tasted amazing! We got a fresh one so it was warm and then we dipped it into the cream frosting and I swore I died and went to heaven. I am not sure if they sell these anywhere else because this was honestly my first time seeing it but if you find it anywhere get one you won’t regret it. That was all the food I ate at the game because honestly after that churro I was really full! (until dinner hehe). 

As spring and summer approach it is always fun to go to a baseball games with friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends. Sometimes it’s hard to pick something to eat because they have so many options! If you’re at a Yankee game everything I described was extremely good and comes highly recommended. If you go anywhere and see this oreo churro please get it and let me know if you loved it as much as I did! Even though the Yankees lost that day I had a great time with my dad and my best friend and can’t wait to go to more games this summer. Hopefully next time we win and go all the way to world series. LET’S GO YANKEES! Come back next week where I talk about an amazing tea that will help get your body ready for bikini season! Hope everyone has an amazing weekend! 

Sincerely, Sam

We're All Mad Here...

Hello everyone!  As I said last week at the end of my blog I will be talking about my day at Alice’s Tea Cup in New York City! It’s always good to go for a girls day in the city but often times things can be expensive and the food might not be all its hyped up to be. My three friends (Jamie, Caitlyn, Megan) and I decided to go for lunch in the city and catch up because it’s been a while since we all hung out together. I had such a great time. I swear all I did was laugh that day but I also got some delicious food that I would like to share with you. When we were first trying to pick a place to go we all had zero ideas. A few days later Megan and Caitlyn suggested we go to Alice’s Tea Cup. Now I was instantly like YES because I love tea. After I told Jamie and she looked up pictures of the food they have there and the menu she was instantly in also. They have a few places in the City but we went to the one on 6th Avenue. One thing I suggest is whenever you are going to a new place to eat always look up pictures on Instagram, Google, Facebook, etc and see what other people are getting and what they think of the food because it’s always good to get someone else’s opinion before you go and spend a ton of money. Also call and see if they take reservations so you don’t need to wait long to eat! Unfortunately this establishment only takes  reservations if your party is 6 or more. After looking at probably a hundred pictures on Instagram (I wish I was joking) Jamie and I saw these two meals that we were dying to have. Apparently they have the best French toast in New York because every single person was raving about this and almost all of the Instagram tags were of the French toast. Jamie however had her heart set on eggs Benedict which actually did look very tasty! Unfortunately for us they stopped selling breakfast at 4 and we were there at 4:30. Which is ok just means I have to go back to get it (which I plan to).

 

When we first got there it was pretty packed and there was a little bit of a wait time. In total, we waited an hour which isn’t so bad because we were four people. What I really liked is that they took our phone number and called us when our table was ready which was great because it’s close to 5th Avenue so you can go shop while you wait which is exactly what we did! After we got the phone call that our table is ready we practically ran back because we were so hungry! Once we sat down we noticed there were two floors which I didn’t actually get to see because we sat downstairs. The place was beyond adorable. They had Alice and wonderland pictures, quotes and pictures of random models recreating scenes from Alice and Wonderland on the walls. It was a rather small place but it was very cozy. They had 3 booths on the right side and on the left were 3 table and chairs set up for parties of 2. They were very kid friendly, they even had hooks on the walls that had butterfly wings that little girls can wear while eating. When we first sat down I was overwhelmed with all the tea options (they had an entire menu on just tea!) because I didn’t want to pick the wrong one! I wound up sharing a pot of tea with Jamie and we decided on Birthday tea. When we were in Disney they sold the Mad Hatter loose tea in a tin and I really wanted to try it but wasn’t sure if I would like it so I never got the chance to so, when I got here and saw they had the tea I was so pumped! Caitlyn and Megan shared the Mad Hatter-”Tea for two!” which came on a caddy. (Pictures to follow). This included 2 choice of scones, 2 pots of tea, 2 different types of sandwiches and assorted cookies. Jamie and I decided since we couldn’t get our French toast or eggs Benedict that we would share a pot of tea and get scones with it. For our main meal we had a burger with fries. 

Since tea always comes first in the meal we had that first. I personally didn’t need anything in my tea because it was pretty sweet without it but some people don’t like the distinct taste of tea so you do have the option to put honey or sugar in it. Honestly I think it smelled just like regular tea to me but a little sweeter because it did have a floral ingredient but it was delicious, definitely on my top 5 favorite teas. Caitlyn and Megan really enjoyed their tea as well which is always a good thing. Next our food came and boy was I hungry. The burgers were definitely the size of my head. I didn’t know how I was going to finish it all but with great difficulty I did finish it all! It smelled and tasted just like a burger off the barbecue which is one of my favorites. The fries were crispy and golden made to perfection. Caitlyn and Megan got turkey sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches which they said were absolutely delicious. After the main course we finally got our scones which I was super excited for because they are known for their amazing scones. All four of us got a different flavor and every single flavor was divine. Jamie got a buttermilk scone, Caitlyn got the chocolate butterscotch, I got the vegan cranberry orange and Megan got the number one seller which was the pumpkin scone. It came with raspberry jelly on the side to put on it and I don’t think it could have been any better if you ask me. When I finished the scone I was so sad because I didn’t want it to end! It complemented the tea very well also! After we finished and paid the bill I was very sad to leave because the food was so amazing. I just wanted more! From here we went to 5th Avenue to do some shopping (would you expect anything less from me?). I had such a great day shopping, eating and catching up with old friends and I can’t wait to do it again soon. If you are in the New York City area or live in New York I highly recommended checking  this place out They have multiple locations so you are always near one so check them out! If you are new to my blog then hello and welcome! Be sure to check back next Saturday when I post outfit ideas for Coachella! Talk to you soon! 

 

Sincerely, Sam 

Brunch with a view...

This weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go for brunch at a place I’ve been dying to go to for the past two years. Right in the heart of New York City, there’s this amazing rooftop lounge called 230 Fifth. If you live in New York and you’ve never been there, I suggest you pay a visit soon because you certainly will not regret this; and if you are planning to visit New York in the near future, make sure you put this on your “must see” list before you leave. 

My best friend Jamie and I had such an amazing time that I thought I would share my experience with all of you. About two years ago, I was on Instagram (of course) and I saw this beautiful picture someone posted of her lunch from a Manhattan rooftop. Immediately, I showed Jamie the picture and said, “We have to go here”. We always tried to make it work to go, but it was never the right time. About three weeks ago, we just decided to treat ourselves and have brunch. We made a reservation, which I highly suggest because it does get quite busy, but it’s not absolutely necessary. 

When we arrived at the building, we took this tiny elevator up 20 stories. Now, if you’re like me and you’re freaked out by elevators, you might not like this part because the elevator moves very slowly, but I just took deep breathes all the way up (which actually helped!). Once we got to the rooftop level, the hostess, who brought us right to our table, greeted us. The room was really cool and different. The chairs were funky—some were shaped like circles and some like squares and the colors varied from green, white, black and purple. Our first thought was “wow, this is bigger than we thought.” Once we got to our table we looked out the window and there stood the Empire State Building. This was pretty cool because for our entire meal we stared at one of the most well-known sky scrappers in the world. 

After we sat, a waitress came over and put red band bracelets on us, probably to let the wait staff know we were over 21. With brunch we had the option of either champagne or a mimosa. Now Jamie and I aren’t very big drinkers at all, but we have been dying to try a mimosa since we turned 21, so we decided to get one of those. 

While our drink was being made, we headed over to the buffet to choose our brunch. They had a ton of options, but I think they needed more variety for their food selection such as turkey bacon. They had all the usual: bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, French toast, bagels, fruit, etc. I decided to get French toast, pancakes, waffles, roasted potatoes, a banana, and an omelet of spinach, tomato, and cheese (pictures to follow). Once we decided on our food, we couldn’t wait to sit down and eat it because everything smelled amazing. When we got back to our table our mimosas were waiting for us, as well as a carafe of water. First, I had to try the mimosa, which I have to say I was disappointed in because I expected it to taste a lot more like orange juice and I didn’t actually taste orange juice at all because it was very bitter, maybe due to the type of champagne this restaurant serves. It wasn’t something I would get again, but I was glad to have tried it here. Now came the best part—the food. First, I tried the French toast because it smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and it was just calling my name. Once I bit into the French toast I knew this was the most amazing French toast that I have ever had in my life! Not only was it light, thick, and fluffy, but also it tasted like vanilla which was incredible because it wasn’t too sweet and wasn’t too bland. The maple syrup on it made it taste a hundred times better because who doesn’t love maple syrup!  After this I knew I had to try the waffles. Unfortunately, I did not think they were as good because they were a bit bland, even with the syrup. In my opinion, they could have added vanilla to the mix to give it a little kick. Next up was the roasted potatoes and boy were they good! The potatoes were sprinkled with herbs giving them a very flavorful taste. They weren’t very burnt, which I seem to find usually happens when you go to a restaurant these days, but were soft and cooked just right. They smelled like a vegetable garden and garlic all mixed into one. Next up were the pancakes!  The pancakes were not my favorite because they were very thin, not fluffy and I also felt as if they were a bit dry. Then again, I’m comparing them to Ihop pancakes, which are my absolute favorite. Finally, it was time to try the omelet that was the best omelet I have ever had in my life. What made this omelet different was that I asked for mozzarella cheese, which I never had before, which made it taste creamy, not too tangy which I find American cheese to do. In addition, the mozzarella cheese paired really well with the spinach and tomatoes. With every bite of this omelet I kept hoping it would never end because it was just that good. Once I finished everything on my plate I was so sad it was over because it was delicious, especially the French toast and the omelet. 

Before we went up to the rooftop, we paid the check, which you should definitely consider before eating here because it was pretty pricy. For our brunch, it cost $65, before tip. If you live in New York or have ever been to New York, usually the things that you really want to do are very pricy so I wasn’t too surprised. After we paid, we finally went up to the rooftop. Since this is open all year round, they have heat lamps that give you the opportunity to eat outside if you want, but we just decided to eat inside.  The roof is a large area that can hold about 300 people.  Once we got outside, we saw the entire city right before our eyes and it was pretty amazing. Right in front of you is the Empire State Building and to the right is the Chrysler Building. From up on the rooftop you can even see the beautiful Freedom Tower as well as the rest of Manhattan. To me, this was the best part because I have been to the city numerous times, but I’ve never seen the entire city in front of my eyes. We were also lucky that it was a beautiful sunny day outside and that there was still snow on the ground that made it feel like a winter wonderland. After about twenty minutes of taking this all in, and taking about a million pictures, we decided to go on our way and enjoy the rest of our day shopping in the city. 

Now that I finally did this after two years, I am really happy I was able to go. This was an experience I will never forget and, hopefully, I get to do it again really soon. I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for taking the time to read it! Talk to you soon in my next blog! 

Sincerely, Sam