Visitor Time

Okay ya'll I'm just going to pretend it's on purpose that I post every two weeks. I have less than two weeks left in the city and though I swore I would get better about blogging as the summer went on, I failed. Instead of slowing down things seem to get busier and busier each week. My relationship with my phone is even suffering. (gasp, i know right?) If you know me well, you know my cell never left my hand but that is hardly the case these days. I now find myself responding to texts days later because I'm so caught up in the life I'm living here. It's refreshing, actually...maybe I'll bring this habit back to Columbia with me. I'm sure many of you would be very happy :)

This past weekend my whole family came to visit, 3 of the 4 being first time New Yorkers. I loved being reminded of how dazzling this city is when I saw their reactions to things like Times Square. After living here, I've kind of grown to hate that specific location because of the endless supply of tourists and the inability to navigate the sidewalks quickly. But, they reminded me just how breathtaking it really is to see all the bright lights. My dad commented on Thursday night as were walking out of the Broadway show, West Side Story (so good by the way) that it looked like it was still daytime even though it was 10:30 at night.

Maddie, my youngest sister, is like my mini-me so I thought she would be just as in love with this city as I am. She surprised me though, commenting that she could never see herself living here. It made me realize that living in New York definitely requires a certain type of person.The strong willed won't survive here, in fact they will hate it. Getting pushed around on the subway and being surrounded by crowds of thousands of people each day can't bother you. My sisters decided they would be much happier living in the country, which I could never do. So my conclusion is this, everyone has a place that makes them feel at home, and this is mine.

So recap of what I showed them...

Thursday I got off work early to meet them at the hotel. Then I took my mom down to the seaport and we decided which Broadway show to go see. There is was debate between Mamma Mia, Chicago, and West Side Story, but in the end the latter won. By this time is was almost 6 p.m. and the show started at 8 so we hurried back uptown, grabbed some quick sushi and to Broadway we went. The show was spectacular as I expected and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Then we were off to Times Square to take them to the brand new Forever21 store. I'm pretty sure Sarah and Maddie were in heaven. It boasts an incredible 90,000 sq ft, 4 levels, and an endless supply of clothes and dressing rooms. After doing some browsing the whole family was tired from their day of travel and they called it a night.


Friday the weather decided to "rain on my parade" a bit. The plan was to go see The Statue of Liberty but with the rain we decided it wouldnt be worth it. Instead we explored the seaport and financial district, where I live, and took the Staten Island Ferry to get some views of the skyline and pass right by Lady Liberty. We also visited the Wall Street Bull to get the ultimate tourist picture.

Later I introduced them to the wonderful world that is Century 21 (a discount store full of the top designer brands for 70% + off). Maddie ended up finding her prom dress for next year already, and Sarah got some great Paige white jeans. Even Dad found a few things he liked!

The rain had all of us needing a little pick me up so I showed them to one of my favorite spots in my neighborhood, Candy Nails. They offer a manicure/pedicure combo for just $16.75, amazing right?! All of us girls got the combo and relaxed and dad headed home for a nice nap.


Then it was dinner time in Little Italy, my favorite! Though the rain prevented us from being able to sit outside in true Italian fashion, the food was still delicious. It was a much appreciated nice meal after having pb sandwiches and microwave meals as the main staples in my diet for the past few months.

Saturday we shopped down 5th Avenue, explored Central Park, and met up with an old family friend. Oh and did I mention we saw Justin Timberlake?! He happened to be shooting his newest movie, Friends with Benefits, on the corner we happened to turn. Of course, my sisters and I got out our cameras and started snapping pictures. Got to have the evidence!

It was a busy day and we ended up not making it to dinner until almost 11. We had some mexican food that wasn't quite as good as the first time I went there, but Adam joined us and it was a lot of fun. Sarah and I ended up walking home around 3 a.m. after a fun filled night on the town together. I think she is still shocked at how much this city really never sleeps.

Sunday was supposed to be a day at the Yankees game, but again rain decided to change our plans. Instead Maddie and my dad went to see the King Tut exhibit in Times Square while my mom, Sarah and I decided to do a little shopping in SoHo, the best place to shop in the city.

 To finish out the trip, it was cupcake time! Nothing says New York like a cupcake. My family got to experience my the fabulousness that is CRUMBS Bake Shop. We each tried a different flavor with mine being the winner of the the day, the Raspberry Swirl.


There were several other random things we did but that's pretty much the jist of it. I wish I could have shown them more but there is only so much you can do in 3 days. Ive been here 2 months and I still have yet to see everything.

Two weeks from now I'll be back home for one day then it's back to resume life as normal at Mizzou. I'm kind of nervous I'm going to have reverse culture shock coming back. Time will tell.

Until next time,

Allie 

Gossip Girl or Gucci Girl, You Decide

Hey Upper East Siders,

Gucci Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite.

Spotted: Chuck Bass back in town sporting new arm candy from Paris. That bleeding heart didn't last long with this new blonde bombshell to heal the wound. Will this new candy be too tart for Blair? Only time will tell.

You know you love me.

XOXO
-Gucci Girl

Ok, I had to. That was just too much fun.

Anyways as you can probably tell I was on the set off Gossip Girl last night where I got to see them filming scenes of an episode depicting Fashion's Night Out. If you don't know I am the biggest gossip girl fan ever. Seriously, I want to be Blake Lively (Serena) and Chace Crawford is my dream man. So being on set was pretty much a dream come true.

Spoiler Alert: Chuck does indeed survive his gun shot from the finale of last season and he has a new girlfriend that he brings back from Paris. She is played by Clemence Poesy from Harry Potter (Fleur). My guess is she won't last long but who knows.

I got to see Ed Westwick (Chuck), Lily, Rufus, and Erick on set filming last night. I am going back for more tonight because I heard that Blake (Serena) and Leighton (Blair) will be on set. So excited! I also have made some friends on the set and they told me about getting cast for a few scenes so you just may see me in an upcoming episode! Enjoy some pics of what I got to see.

Still living in dream world,

Allie

Miss Lily Bass looking beautiful as always 

Ed (Chuck) with his new girl. I'm a Chuck and Blair fan, so I don't like her

Rufus (getting his makeup touched up) and Erick 

Can't wait to watch this episode now

One of the several times we made eye contact. Pretty sure we're in love haha

About to shoot the limo scene

Filming literally right next to me. AHH!

The set in day light. 

More to come. Stay tuned!

VIP

Life in the city has been pretty good these days. I am so much more comfortable at work and really loving it. I also, for the first time in my life, have really taken an interest in fashion. I'm the girl who used to throw on the first thing I saw in my closet and be out the door. Now I find myself reading fashion blogs and watching runways shows in my free time, trying to learn about the latest "in styles". I never thought I could see myself in the industry but this summer has changed my mind.  However, sports is and always will be my passion. This point was reaffirmed on Monday when I got the chance to fire off questions to a senior sports writer for ESPN Magazine in the class I'm taking here in NY. I have previously written feature stories about Sean Weatherspoon and Kim English for Mizzou Athletics and that was some of the most fun I've ever had. I definitely do not see myself in magazines though, so I'm thinking that being a publicist for sports figures will give me the sports fix I want AND let me be in the entertainment PR world. Two of my favorite things, perfect! (not so perfect is those jobs are far and few between).

Enough about real world stuff, I know what my friends really want to hear about iswhat I've been up to since my last update from Central Park row boating. Well things have definitely changed and my friends and I are discovering ways to mingle in some of the best places in the city- por gratis (free). It has been a pretty fabulous few weeks with lots of royal treatment. It all began with the Mizzou trip to see Alicia Keys performing live on Good Morning America. We were given VIP wristbands and got to enjoy the show from front row! I made it on the show several times, thanks to getting in good with the cameraman. Click below to see my big debut (im at 0:15 and 1:40)!

Alicia Keys GMA

Hearing Alicia sing 'Empire State of Mind' live gave me goosebumps. I am constantly playing that song in my head and it continually motivates me to keep working hard to land my dream job in NYC, so it was pretty incredible. By the way, Alicia looked absolutely gorgeous - I don't know if cameras haven't done her justice in the past or if she is just glowing thanks to the baby bump.

There she is! 

Kat and I enjoying the front row view 

Later that day we were off to the Wall Street Journal to meet with some Mizzou grads working there and ask questions about the newspaper world. We got some good insight and realized the Mizzou Mafia is strong as ever in the big world of NY journalism. Last stop of the day was to ProPublica, an investigative journalism company. Their work was really impressive and very interesting but by this time most of us were feeling the effects of waking up at 4 am for GMA. 

A look inside WSJ 

Morgan and I with the DowJones sign, the parent company of LOTS of journalism outlets

Still drowsy from our big day me and my roommates opted for a night at the movies to see Toy Story 3. Definitely a good choice. We laughed and we cried and spent our walk home remembering nostalgic stories from our younger years. Go see it if you haven't yet. 

The next day was my trip to the brand new Mets stadium courtesy of my new friend, Austin. Morgan had family in town so she couldn't go with him and knowing my love for sports she kindly asked me to join him and I accepted. Little did I know what kind of seats we were in. I would have been more than happy in nosebleeds but Austin hinted on the subway ride there that his uncle may have "hooked it up." Upon arrival we were told to enter through the VIP gate where we were handed free Mets hats and taken up to the suite level via elevator. I'll just say this- the owner of the Mets suite was right next to the suite we were in. AMAZING! 

We were directly behind home base with a perfect view of the whole stadium. To make things even more exciting, Prince Harry was throwing the first pitch of the game that day. Later in the game the people who were in the suite with us gave us tickets to go sit in the 2nd row behind the Mets dugout (umm, awesome!). It was very entertaining down on the field (people were screaming funny things to the bat boys to get their attention so they would get a ball) and we were so close I could basically high five Jose Reyes. I also met the most adorable little girl who was in the suite with us and may have even landed a babysitting gig. Getting home was a bit of an adventure but we stumbled upon Little Italy and got a delicious seafood pasta and calamari, my fav! All in all it was a pretty perfect day. 

Our entrance- VIP!

Prince Harry on the mound 

Told you we were close, see

Austin and I with our view in the background

A glance of the suite we were in, and my new fav lil girl- Jen

Sunday continued the VIP trend of the weekend with a trip to Governors Island for the Vueve Clicquot Polo Tournament featuring Prince Harry (yes, I got to see him twice in two days - at this rate I'll be a princess in no time ;) 

I had never seen polo played in real life before so that was really neat. I also got a high-five (well two actually) from Nacho Figueras, who is rediculously famous in Argentina for his polo playing skills (think Kobe or Tiger Woods status). Watching him and Prince Harry battle it out with their teams was amazing. I never thought I would be so close to the action but they rode right along the edges where we were standing on their horses. I even witnessed Prince Harry fall off his horse right in front of me, which was a bit scary. No worries though, he hopped right back up and continued playing.

 At half time, we got to go stomp the field to fix all the divots that were made in the ground. It was then I realized how many celebs were attending the days festivities. They had a seperate section roped off just for them to stomp on though many of the high profilers stayed put in their private tents. People such as Ivanka Trump, Mary J. Blige, Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, Alexis Bledel, and many more. I did not realize it was going to be such a star-studded event. It was insanely hot that day though so we didn't make it through the whole match, but I will be back for more next year (crossing my fingers).

On the ferry, headed over to Governor's Island

Opening Ceremony 

Out on the field 

Prince Harry after his fall

Oh hey, Nacho!

The Prince in action!

So now you are only two weeks behind on my adventures. Next up 4th of July weekend then Boston Trip. I'm far busier than I expected, so bare with me. 

xo-

Allie 

Learning New Things

WARNING: THIS UPDATE WAS WRITTEN 2 1/2 WEEKS AGO. Yes I know, I'm not good at this. Here it is...

So as promised, I am going to update you all on how my domestic skills are coming along now that I live all on my own. Last week, I did laundry for the first time since being here (that's 3 weeks of clothes, but whos counting). I was avoiding it at all costs but it got to a point where I had no choice unless I planned on wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts everywhere I went (which is weird because back home thats the ONLY thing I do wear, here- no way).

 

This would be the very first time I have done laundry 100% on my own. No one to ask what shirt goes in which water temperature, no just folding it once its dry - this was all me. So here's how it all went down. I gathered all my clothing, towels, etc and dumped it into one big pile. Then I sorted it by colors, because I know thats how my mom does it at home. Then I loaded three huge bags and to the laundry room I went.

 

I will admit I tried to call my mom to get some guidance on the way down the elevator but got no answer. My logic was this, if I ruin all my stuff - at least I have a good reason to go shopping. Kidding, well sort of.

 

After about 3 hours and 4 loads later, laundry was complete and I didn't mess a single thing up! Whoo!!! So proud of my new skills. Next up, trying to cook without an oven and stove- top and only plastic silverware and plates. Report coming soon because I really want to see how good of a meal I can make with very little supplies (well, and I'm just really sick of Lean Cuisines so I'd eat anything at this point).

NEW:

I completed round two of laundry tonight. 4 loads, nothing got messed up. I'd say I'm pretty much an expert laundrist (I'm allowed to make up my own words) now. 

As for the cooking, things have improved drastically for me because I found a Trader Joe's. Tonight I made broccoli and shrimp penne pasta, all on my own. (aka it wasn't a frozen dinner) It was delicious and my skills will definitely be ready for my big apartment in the fall. Lucky for my roommates, I will be an experienced chef by that time AND I will have real tools to use (ex. an oven). 

Next update will include my 4th of July activities followed by my weekend trip to Boston. Get excited, I have very fun stories. 

Behold: My Laundry