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By kilax, March 21, 2012 5:05 am

Time for an NYC recap! I was out there for work last Tuesday and Wednesday, then Erin came out Wednesday afternoon and we left Friday night. It was a whirlwind trip! I like to play pretend tour guide, so we fit a lot in. 

Erin actually wrote a really good recap on her personal blog. Check it out here! Make sure to read to the end so you get to the part about the boob job. And read Erin’s confession that she likes NYC pizza better than Chicago-style (gasp! secret – me too). Oh! And our almost run-in with a celebrity. 

In fact, just read her recap. It’ll be better than mine. Promise. 

…

Are you still here?

Even though I told you her recap would be better?

Okay… here we go, anyway!

Since Erin had never been to NYC I wanted her get a taste for as much of the city as possible. So I made a google doc list of recommendations and planned the trip by area and also by time of day – there are some things I think are better at night – like Little Italy and Times Square! Here’s the run down:

Wednesday: Highline, Washington Square Park, Little Italy via Broadway
Wednesday was special because Kelly (a Chicagoland blogger) was able to join us for our adventure! It was my first time meeting her and the three of us had a lot of fun. We walked from our hotel to Little Italy, about 4 miles. 

Thursday: Lower Manhattan: 9/11 Memorial, TKTS, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Charging Bull, Liberty Island, Ellis Island
Midtown: Flatiron, NYC Half Marathon Expo, Times Square, Broadway
My first time seeing a Broadway show! We saw Once and loved it. And we ate dinner at 10:30 afterward. Very New Yorkish? Ha ha ha. 

Friday: Central Park
Midtown: Times Square (lunch with Gina and Steve!), St Pat’s, Rockefeller, Bryant Park, Library, Grand Central, Empire State Building

The point of this trip was to see as much as possible and I think we were both exhausted by Friday night (if not sooner?)!

I know I am leaving out a lot of the details about the trip, but a girl has to have some secrets, right? Just kidding – I have no secrets. But I have talked about a lot of these places before, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! And really, read Erin’s recap – she took the time to write all the fun little details. 

What I did want to say is how this was my first “Girls Trip” ever (I don’t count the time I lived in Rome and traveled with my classmates) and what a treat it was. The truth is, I could spend a lot of time with Erin anywhere and have a great time and intriguing conversations, but it was really special to be in NYC, just the two of us. NYC holds a special place in my heart and it meant a lot to be there with one of my best friends!

And really, there are not many people I could spend 24/7 with and not get sick of! Just being honest here… (see? no secrets!)

Who do you think you could hang out with 24/7 for a few days on end and not get sick of? Have you ever had a Girls or Guys Trip?

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By kilax, March 15, 2012 5:00 am

I’ve mentioned that I am apt to give opinions when someone asks for them. I’ve mentioned that I am a very open, until I have a reason not to be. Have I mentioned that I blabber? And it takes awhile to get a clear story out of me, if ever? That I ramble? That my thoughts don’t always connect (to outsiders I mean –  they do to me)? That this is an example of that?

These quirks got me by before. It doesn’t seem like they will on this work detail, if it happens. Someone on the team is so obsessed with diction/semantics that I was constantly getting corrected on how everything I said was wrong. “That may be how you do it in Chicago, but not here.” Okay then. That is all I am going to say about that. 

If this detail happens I am either going to end becoming really blunt and direct (which would probably come off as bitchy) or beaten down. We’ll see. 

Wednesday night it was beaten down. It took awhile to perk my mood back up. 

But I got there – after (during) a wonderful evening with Erin and Kelly. Kelly is in town for work, and walked to our hotel, then we walked to the High Line,

to Washington Square Park, 

down Broadway, then to Little Italy. We walked four miles from the hotel… and even more for Kelly. I think we deserved all of that food and wine? (And whine?) I really had a lot of fun! Just what I needed. 

Have you ever had an encounter with the diction police?

I am happy I have friends like Erin and Kelly who will put up with me the way I am!

The winner of the PB2 Giveaway is Losing Lindy. Please email me your mailing address and I will send it to you (kilax@ilaxstudio.com). Thanks to everyone who participated! 

Comments (21)

By kilax, March 14, 2012 4:54 am

It’s so weird being in NYC for work, when I normally come here for “play.” Every time I get in the subway my brain tells me to figure out how to get to Gina and Steve’s house, but that is not always where I am supposed to be going!

Sometimes it is though:

But I’m working too. And my work involves some play. Well, fun is a better word:

Anyway, I guess if I am going to be coming out here more for work, I better get used to the feeling of NYC being a place of work and not just play. I can’t look at every day as an “explore NYC” opportunity.

Or can I?

Ha. I guess the bottom line is that I don’t want NYC to lose its magic feel if I start working out here. But maybe the new work will be so exciting, it will only make the city more exciting! I think that is a possibility! 

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By kilax, February 21, 2012 4:47 am

Check out Gina’s awesomely hilarious recap of the Cherry Tree 10-Miler Relay.

Sometimes when Steven and I travel on social vacations* I feel like the whole trip has gone by and I haven’t spent much time talking to Steven – I will have been too busy talking to the people we were visiting. Steven and I get in the plane/car/whatever to go home and I’m like “Hey! How have you been these past few days?! What’s new with you?!!!”

Not to say we are ignoring each other or not talking to each other – we just aren’t having those one-on-one conversations I am so used to having every day. It’s a weird feeling – like we have been on a vacation together, but not entirely. There will be conversations he participated in/things he did that I missed and vice versa. And even if we spend the whole day together, we are around other people, so when we are alone at night, before we collapse in bed from exhaustion, I’m like “How are you?” Then I pass out before we even converse. 

Not saying it’s a bad thing at all, it’s just interesting. Steven left for NYC on Sunday morning (the 12th) and I arrived there late Wednesday night (the 15th). We just got back yesterday, so it feels like I have not seen him for awhile, even though we were together the last five days having a great time. 

Can anyone else relate to this nonsense?

In my mind, it’s just pointing out the different types of vacations Steven and I take. Most of them are social, like this, and we love it. We rarely do something just the two of us, although we would like to for our five-year anniversary in September!

Alright, so what did we do in NYC this time? There was LOTS of eating. 

Lots of Luca Snorgling.

Exotic Car Driving (first two photos by Gina)

General Touristy-ness

Lots of chillin’

Ha ha ha. 

It’s really hard for me to leave NYC, not knowing the next time we will see Gina, Steve and Luca. We all want to plan our next trip, but our schedules are too wonky to book tickets now. And I am such an impulse, instant-gratification, got to do it NOW sort of girl, it’s hard on me. But I know it will happen. Patience…

The good news is, this trip is EXACTLY what I needed (just like last year). I felt stress-free and happy the entire time. I forgot about the issues bothering me at work – I couldn’t even remember what they are. I hope that continues for awhile. I told Steven I am going to try a lot harder to leave work issues at work. I think I will even leave my work phone there and ignore it during non-work hours when I have to bring it home. 

*Going to see people, such as visiting my family or Gina & Steve.

Comments (13)

By kilax, February 18, 2012 5:21 am

I feel so comfortable when we visit (and stay with) Gina and Steve in Queens. And it’s not just the awesome comfort of being around friends you totally love and feel you can be 100% yourself around… but also the comfort and familiarity of the city. I’ve only been to NYC five times in my life (four of those being in the last year staying at Gina and Steve’s house) but I really feel at ease when I visit. It feels counter intuitive to write that, since NYC is such an active city (how could one feel at ease?), but there is just this lack of worry when I am here. I feel confident, like I can figure out what I want to do, and how to get there, without much planning. I just feel comfortable. Part of that is being with friends, but I think part of that is my love for the city (and wayfinding). I don’t consider myself to know a lot about the city, but I just feel a lack of intimidation and a strange level of comfort – more than I feel in the actual city of Chicago.  The feeling is similar to how I feel at my home and surrounding areas in the Chicago suburbs.

Am I making sense to anyone?

I wonder if this is a connection people make with NYC (only) or if it’s just that visiting another city time and time again makes it have the comfort level of “home.”

Are there any cities you visit (besides your hometown) that you feel an extreme level of comfort in?

Maybe people who travel over and over to the same place for work?

Or maybe the friend connection is vital to this feeling?

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By kilax, January 28, 2012 5:51 am

Last time I traveled I packed an overabundance of workout clothes. This time, it’s all about an overabundance of purple.

Oops?

I am going to make a wild guess that I like wearing the color purple.

This is where I would ask you guys if there is a color you wear more often than others, or what your packing methodology is, but since I have already written posts about both, I will skip it. Geez, I feel like I am really running out of material!

Oh! Here is something to ask that I really do need help with – how do you keep your things organized while you travel?

When I am in a hotel room, it’s really easy to keep my things organized because I have so much space. But when I stay in someones  homes, I feel like my things explode all over… and it makes me crazy having my stuff everywhere! I usually wear two outfits a day (exercise + street clothes) when I travel, so I just have so much extra clothes. And all the other stuff that comes along with being a runner. 

Do I just need to take the time to repack my suitcase each time I use it, to keep the mess contained? Or should I stack things up around it (like I started to in the picture above)? Or should I just shove everything back in it?

Also… how am I going to fit all of this stuff I bought at HyVee in to my suitcase?! Damn you HyVee and your awesome food selection!!!

Comments (23)

By kilax, January 12, 2012 5:30 am

• Today’s my best friend Erin‘s birthday! Happy Birthday Erin!

One of my fave pics of the two of us

• A coworker mentioned that one of her New Year’s resolutions was to be “more liquid.” I was all “huh?” so she explained it means to go with the flow, be more accepting to change. That is a very cool way to say it. And a good goal. I am kind of a brat when I don’t get my way (at home anyway – I try to behave in public). Have you heard that saying before? Are you very liquid?
• Would you believe Steven is in Miami and asked me if I wanted to come this weekend and I declined? I decided traveling to Iowa last weekend and KC at the end of the month would be too much travel. Yes. I am an old lady. Picture of the ocean from his hotel:

• Speaking of being an old lady, I actually purchased, on purpose, dorky holiday earrings for next year. Who wants to make a reservation now to take me as their holiday party date? Don’t all ask at once!

• Since I am totally cool, I traveled with my scale to Iowa, to keep my eating in check this weekend. Lame? Yes. Did I gain any weight while I was there? NO. And that made me feel good. For once, I did not overdo it (too much) while visiting family. 

• I really liked Abbi’s post, Consistently Inconsistent, about her struggles with deciding which animal products to consume. Check it out!
• I met a local blogger for lunch on Monday – Losing Lindy. Check out her blog! She is a beginning runner, fellow Chicagoland-ian, and has a 4-year-old son.  
• Carol has a great post, Faith & Pay Off, about how difficult it is to eat healthy when we don’t see immediate results. 
• Sunny wrote a really interesting post, Fear of Parenting, about her fears of becoming a foster parent. I hope some of you parents click on over to give her some input! I didn’t have any, but she raised some very interesting questions. 
• My close friend Jen has a guest post on Fitnessista’s blog about her birth story. Check it out here!
• And in case you missed it last week, Erin wrote a really cool post, Balance, about being the best version of herself in 2012. 

Comments (19)

By kilax, January 5, 2012 4:43 pm

Who else packs just as much (if not more) workout attire as regular attire when they travel?

So so guilty of this… I have one top for each day I’ll be gone, and one pair of jeans… but multiple exercise outfit options. Ha ha ha. To my credit, I am doing two runs and a Zumba class. That makes it better, right?

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By kilax, November 15, 2011 6:07 am

Apparently, Data turned in to an interior designer while we were in NYC.

Wow Data. Thanks for rearranging the dining room table set up for us. I really like it! Very modern. 

Data seems to be really happy to have us home (I wonder how long that will last). We were in NYC for a long time – we arrived on Friday the 4th and got back Saturday the 12th! The funny thing is, in the beginning, it felt like we had all the time in the world, like it was the longest vacation ever. Then by the end, it felt like the days were just speeding by!

We were able to see and do (and eat!) everything we wanted to, but there is always so much more to do there. I’m already excited about our next (unplanned) trip. I just love visiting NYC. I love wandering around, just stumbling along things to see and do (and eat!*). I feel like there’s something for everyone there!

And what made it even better is that we were staying with our friends Gina and Steve in Astoria (Queens). So after our long days in Manhattan on our feet, we were able to go back to their house and chill.

I love the area of Queens they live in. It totally reminds me of when I lived in Rome – (somewhat) quiet streets with housing, right next to little shops**, selling all sorts of things and services. Lots of people out and about. Tiny little speciality grocery shops. People selling stuff on the streets. It’s a fun place!

Every time I visit NYC I wonder if I would like living there. My company has an office in Manhattan, so it’s a possibility to transfer. Manhattan seems really crowded though. And that is why I like living in the suburbs of Chicago (rather than the city) – because there are not many people, it’s usually quiet, and it’s really green. I don’t mind the crowds when I am in NYC on vacation, but I wonder if it would get to me if I lived there. Probably! Sometimes I am annoyed in Chicago and all I do is work there!

Have you visited any place on vacation and thought “I might like living here?” Where was it?

*We saw so many random vegan and vegetarian restaurants!
**They also have more mainstream stuff, like Starbucks and CVS.

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By kilax, November 12, 2011 5:08 am

A small glimpse of our November NYC trip…

Friday November 4

Empire State Building in ING colors for the marathon

Saturday November 5

Dash to the Finish Line 5K (photo from here)

Sunday November 6

Brooklyn Bridge (taken by Gina)

The other Team Kim (taken by Gina)

Fred Lebow Place (taken by Gina)

Monday November 7

We love the Subway!

One World Trade Center

9/11 Memorial

Tuesday November 8

The Old Times Square ball

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Atlas

Wednesday November 9

The High Line

Flatiron Building

New York City Public Library

Thursday November 10

S’Mac

Statue of Liberty

Friday November 11

Union Square Greenmarket

abc carpet & home

Washington Square Park

More words to come!