lately, philly

philly, with a little new york sprinkled on top as always.

"what if joy is my only metric for success?"

- sarah jones

sounds good to me.

{weekend wandering through the national gallery of art}

"the most powerful weapon on earth is a soul on fire."

- ferdinand foch 

this weekend // an NYC bucket list

{streetbird nyc // central harlem}

{williamsburg and manhattan wandering}

{a boat cruise that took us by the statue of liberty 6 times}

something big happened this weekend guys: i finally accepted the fact that i will never enjoy wearing a pair of high heeled shoes.  after spending an excruciating few hours in some 2-inchers (borrowed from a friends closet), i came home the next day and bid farewell to the lonely last pair of my high heeled collection to which i had always whispered, "one day," a phrase often heard by the kid picked last in gym class.  also that night, in my vodka and soda infused stupor, i thought i had lost my friends scarf that i had borrowed and proceeded to order her a new one online.  of course, when i divulged her with this information, she laughed and said she had picked it up at the bar.  i'm never leaving the house again. 

in the same vein of ridding myself of all things that do not bring me comfort (i.e. heels), i have become quite obsessed with tidying up my little room here in harlem.  maybe it's because i'm moving soon and the thought of dragging all that crap cross-region is horrifying?  maybe it's because i like the validation of successfully selling an article of clothing at one of those trendy williamsburg thrift shops?  for those who ever attempt the latter, i'll have you know that the only thing they took last time that i brought two garbage bags full of clothing was a see-through tank top that i had bought in london last summer for 2 pounds.  jaw dropped to the floor, i proceeded to drag my overflowing garbage bags to the donation store around the corner.  i'm not bitter at all.

here's to finishing my thesis, earning my master's degree in 14 days, and comfortable, flat-footed shoes. 

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now, A BUCKET LIST FOR THE REST OF MY TIME IN NYC: 

things i want to do/see:

• the cloisters
• the new whitney museum 
• moma ps1
• fulton st station 
• go back to coney island 
• top of the rock 
• shakespeare in the park 
• new york philharmonic on great lawn 
• kayaking on the hudson 
• bryant park movies

things i want to eat/drink:

• drinks at loopy doopy 
• eat a meal on stone street 
• wythe hotel bar
• russ & daughters 
• vanessa's dumplings
• frying pan
• bakeri
• reynard
• prosperity dumpling
• standard hotel 

pop bottles in the ice, like a blizzard

we bought a 14-dollar neon green, plastic sled and were sorely disappointed when the snow didn't reach the top of our knee caps.  we (i) participated in a columbia undergrad snow ball fight, if participating means you threw snowballs at strangers that didn't throw them back.  we ate cumin-lamb burgers and sipped cafe au lait as the winds blew by and wondered where we'd be this time, next year. 

"the noise can be deafening and the crowds exhausting but it's all balanced with moments of sheer awe.  there's something really calming in knowing you're but a tiny tiny speck working within some much larger version of the world.  new york never lets you forget that and i find that very soothing." 

- molly hartman

things i love lately: valentine edition.

{silly goose + bdays}

{valentine letters to high school sweethearts (letters FTW!)}

{miami beach reminiscin' for my valentine}

{happy nails}

{new postcards that will make me miss nashville even more}

happy valentine's day to you.

"i began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life.  if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead.  embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. lukeward is no good. hot is no good either.  white hot and passionate is the only thing to be."

- roald dahl