Read MoreColette
One of the most frequent questions I get is where I like to eat and explore in the city, so I figured why not start in my own little neighborhood? If you didn’t know, I live in this little sanctuary in Brooklyn called Williamsburg — over the years, the neighborhood has gotten a lot more “hip” and although new places have been popping up left and right, I’m still loving the same spots I did when I was a Brooklyn newbie. I found Cafe Colette and its indoor garden on a whim when I first moved to Brooklyn. Two years later, it’s still my go-to spot for a Sunday brunch, a weekday lunch, or even for a round of cocktails with my girls. Jay and I went out for a nice lunch earlier this week because it’s so rare to be able to spend a morning together with our busy schedules as of late and snapped some photos of all the goodies and of this beautiful garden! 🌿 Cafe Colette specializes in gin cocktails, and what’s a mid-week brunch without a cocktail or two? 😉 The colette cocktail is my go-to, made with gin, herbs de provence and sparkling rosé. It comes out in a cute little coupe glass in the cutest tinge of pink, and it’s crazy delicious. I also love the neon negroni, which is Cafe Colette’s little twist on a classic negroni. It’s made with gin, aloe vera, melon, suze, bianco vermouth and topped off with a dash of chlorophyll (which satisfies the bio nerd in me) and it glooows! As for food, their cheeseburger is a MUST-GET. It’s Jay’s favorite and I always make him split it with me because it’s so darn good! 🍔🍟 If we’re coming for brunch, I love their cast-iron French toast with housemade vanilla butter, and we’ll usually get their mushroom toast to split as an appetizer because ya gurl can’t resist that runny egg yolk. #yolkporn 🍳 The decor in this place is just too perfect, also. I love the rustic chairs and the wooden benches in the garden.🌱 There’s always sun shining through the skylight, creating this perfect illusion of spring even if it’s freezing out. It’s our favorite little green haven away from the bustlin’ streets of Brooklyn. Since we came out to a nice little weekday-date (a treat because we’ve been cooking so much lately) I decided to wear my…
Read MoreFavorite Cookbooks + Recipes
If you’ve been keeping up with me on Snapchat, you’d know that I’ve really been getting into cooking the past few months. Being able to work from home is a blessing, to say the least. Since I’ve been living in this apartment, I’ve skipped out on a lot of the way-past-midnight library sessions and that one-dim-desk-lamp all nighters (that I’m sure we’ve all experienced as a part of our dorm days), and been able to focus more on work during daylight hours and getting that adult time schedule together (just as I’m about to graduate… Better late than never, right? 😅) To compliment my newfound I’m-an-adult attitude, I’m all about cooking easy meals that are delicious and healthy. Nothing feels better than to be able to quickly whip up a dinner feast after a long work day (and NOTHING feels better than knowing you have leftovers in the fridge for the next night) and it’s so 👏🏻 much 👏🏻 cheaper 👏🏻 than ordering takeout every other night. I’m always looking in fun cookbooks (or on Pinterest!) for dinner inspiration. Even though I don’t have any dietary restrictions, I tend toward vegetarian/vegan/seasonal food cookbooks and recipes — I find that the flavors are delicious on their own and it’s very easy to incorporate a meat into the dish (because you can pretty much toss chicken into anything) and still feel like you’re getting your fill of veggies for the day. 1 – The Love & Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews I’ve followed Jeanine’s and Jack’s food blog, Love & Lemons, for YEARS. So when they announced they were releasing a cookbook, you know I was on that Amazon pre-order list. My favorite recipes: vegan carrot waffles, grilled mexican corn salad, farm stand peach pizzas. 2 – Cravings by Chrissy Teigen The tagline is all the food you want to eat and it’s seriously a book of all the food I want to eat. Chrissy gives recipes for all things breakfast, carbs and even includes a chapter just on thai food. I could live off this cookbook for the rest of my life and be extremely satisfied, I’m sure. My favorite recipes: lemony arugula spaghetti cacio e pepe (my go-to weeknight pasta to make), pounded papaya salad (s/o to bestie Hannah for making this my favorite thai dish to date), pineapple-grilled short ribs. 3 – The French Market…
Read MoreSnow Day in Brooklyn
This is what every New Yorker wants: 1. a beautiful snow day, preferably with gentle flakes that stick to the ground (but not to your eyelashes), creating a white wonderland 2. for the weather to immediately get warm the next day and melt all that snow away. I love living in New York. I hate the grueling winters that make me absolutely dread going outside, even though I love being outdoors always, but when those beautiful flakes hit the city, it makes those 5 months we spend in below freezing weather worth it. We were anticipating this snow storm all week. We’re typically early risers, but on Saturday we woke up before sunrise, set the heater next to the window and watched the first snowflakes speckle down onto the street. It’s all so magical! Even four winters in the city later, watching the snow still gives me this extremely giddy feeling — one I can only assume a child gets, haha! 😝 When the sun rose and the clouds dissipated a little, we layered up and got our butts onto the streets. We walked toward the Williamsburg bridge for a little and met a puppy who brought his ball over to me! I always say dogs love me because they know how much I love them and I think this scenario just proves it. Jay snapped a few quick pics, which warms my heart because he knew how much I would treasure those pictures, then we made our way into one of our favorite neighborhood bars and took some more pictures along the way! I decided to wear my Free People earmuffs that I snatched before winter because I love all things furry (faux, of course) and pink. I’ve ultimately decided that these earmuffs are completely up my alley — Jay thinks they look extremely silly, but they warm up my ears and I think they’re adorable. Wear what makes you feel good, girls! 🙋🏻=🐰 After we got home, we made some white chocolate hot cocoa and put on The Day After Tomorrow (obviously his choice because why would it make sense to watch an apocalyptic film about the next ice age when it’s blizzarding outside… 🙄) and started to vacation plan for my last spring break! We decided on a location but our plans aren’t completely set yet. So I’ll share those with you once they are — but get…
Read MoreThanks A Million, 2016
Happy 2017, my loves! 🍾 I really wanted to write this post as a brief wrap-up of 2016, but as I was typing out and reflecting upon my life and all the changes that came about this past year, I could not stop thinking about how much you guys have changed my life for the better. So firstly, thank you, dear readers. I am continually astonished by your kind words, your sweet comments always and the simple fact still remains that I don’t really understand why you even care at all about my weird little life. But I am incredibly grateful that you’re here, right now, reading this, and I always hope that I can bring a little joy to you the way you’ve given so much to me. 💕 Some personal highlights of 2016: I turned 21 this year! CRAAAZY! Finally able to go to bars and drink willy-nilly, although I don’t drink/go out that often, it’s still an amazing freedom to have. 🍻 I traveled more this year than ever (and hope to continue this in the future). I went to the Dominican Republic with some amazing girls at the beginning of this year as a part of a medical mission trip. My boy and I took our first road trip together to Washington D.C.; and a second and a third to LA and Joshua Tree, all of which were wonderful. I spent a summer at home, which was the longest I’ve been home since I left for college, and it was the best being able to spend so much time with my family whom I love dearly. I finally addressed some anxiety issues through a few therapy sessions and a ton of self-help books, and now I feel mentally stronger than ever. I’m always hesitant to talk about anxiety and stress (and the bad aspects of life) but it’s so important to emphasize that obstacles such as mental health are completely normal, and no one’s life is as perfect as an Instagram page could seem. I took my MCAT! I needed to put that in just because I spent most of the year studying and preparing for that exam and I’m very happy that it’s finally done with. I found a boy who I’m head-over-heels for; who constantly supports my endeavors, and pushes me every day to be my personal best while knowing my limits and respecting my boundaries. So…
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