Felt Good To Be Home | NYC Recap

NYC!!!! Looooooong overdue trip. I missed home a lot and it felt so good to be back. It felt like I never left honestly. 

But this trip definitely was more work than in was play. Every single day I jam packed my days with meetings, photo shoots, pulling clothes, classes, brunches and more. I seriously didn't even have time to be jet lagged!!! Although I'm still very much in tune with the happenings and trends of the city (which are important for me to be aware of in regards to maintaining my blog/brand) I knew I had to do some discovering, exploring, meeting and networking and reacquaint myself with the city and with anything new going on. On a day to day basis, I work with several people located in NYC but it's nice to be able to meet in person!

I flew into NJ and spent a day there, visited family and went to my absolute favorite local coffee place: Rook. Oh my goodness was I CRAVING this coffee. If you're ever in Monmouth County, NJ  this place is a MUST.

The next several days I spent in NYC. During the day was all work, but at night I was so happy to see my best friends. We did dinner at Gemma at The Bowery Hotel, drinks at Grey Lady, and then another night did drinks at the Crosby Street Hotel. Another night my friends treated me to dinner at Polo Bar. I reviewed a brunch at Brigitte and got to check out another (amaaaazing) restaurant for brunch with my friend Jeremy of Brunch Boys.

I got to see my dad every day too! He still lives out east and works in NYC. I was so excited to see him and visit him at work.

I couldn't have asked for a better trip. I'll never wait as long as I did again to visit home. It's just hard when you're starting out in a new place to create a foundation for yourself from the bottom up and to take time off to travel, but I have definitely come a long way since moving. I can't wait til the next time I come home to NYC for another productive trip for TGB and to reunite with my amazing friends and family!! 

Here's some photos from my trip! 

Me stopping everything I am doing for animals... nothing new. 

My dad and I at Jackson Hole. 

My best friends! Shonna, Shakira, Marisa & Alex at Gemma. 

I tried out Cha Cha Matcha for the first time! I had the Beautiful Matcha Latte: matcha, collagen, ashwaganda, raw honey, coconut oil and almond milk. 

With Alex at the World of Whiskey class at Liquor Lab! You can find my review of where I became an expert whiskey cocktail maker here.

Naturally my photo shoot was the rainiest of them all because that's my luck but still was a super fun shoot.

Straight from my shoot, I went to Suprema Provisions in the West Village for brunch with Jeremy of Brunch Boys and Elana of Fash Foodies. OMG literally everything I've been craving. This pasta was homemade and insanely good. The meatball? No words. GO HERE FOR BRUNCH!

Following brunch I went to a great seminar at Soho House (for women in the biz!) and then did a mini photo shoot at Jackson Hole. 

Brunch at Brigitte! Click here for the full review! Side note, I didn't do a video this time. The trip was way too crazy but I promise next time I'm in NYC there WILL be a video to go along with the review!

On my last day I ventured off downtown by myself and decided to indulge, trying something everywhere I went (oops). This avocado toast from Bluestone Lane was to diiiiiie for. They are super generous with their avocado!

One of my favorite cafes in Nolita has always been Cafe Integral. I tried their yummy matcha spritzer: matcha, seltzer, lemonade, honey and rosemary! Safe to say I am addicted. And I actually had no idea they have a location in LA soooo I am definitely stopping there sometime soon!

I also ventured off to Little Italy which was a total treat for me considering Southern California has a huge lack of Italian culture. I definitely took it for granted when I was living in NYC. Not anymore!!! I had pizza like 3 times and also brought home Italian cookies but obviously those didn't last long enough to take a photo. 

PS - I wanted to share my new favorite travel hack: the Trtl Travel Pillow! It literally wraps around your neck, hence the turtle-inspired name and provides great support for long-haul flights. It holds your neck in an ergonomic position during rest and is better than a traditional u-shaped memory foam travel pillow. It's super lightweight and comfy. No more awkward neck positions and pain for future traveling! 

And that's it! I have a million other photos - it was hard to narrow down to just a few for this post. I miss home so much already! But my next trip is in the works. Can't wait for next time!

Photography by: Prêt-à-Provost + J. Goldberg Productions + Kiera Wood + me!