If We Were Having Coffee...

Good Morning!!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that although I really don't go to Starbucks much anymore I am really in love with their cinnamon chai latte right now, iced or hot!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I am actually planning on giving up coffee once I finish the stuff that I have and I don't know how I feel about it. I go on these kicks everyone once in awhile but I have been on a new healthy eating regime and I think starting my morning with some green tea would be a nice little addition. We'll see how long it lasts.

If we were having coffee... I would apologize if you are one of my blog readers as I have been really slacking the last two weeks. Things have been busy and I just haven't felt overly inspired to write anything. Give me some time, this tends to happen on occasion and honestly right now it seems to be some type of blog epidemic, but no fear I'm not going anywhere.

If we were having coffee... I would suggest sitting outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having. Tanya got back from Florida Monday night so we met yesterday to have coffee in the park and it was so nice! Outside of Starbucks there is a little square with trees and little tables that overlook the Hudson and its the perfect place to enjoy this beautiful Spring weather.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that this morning is our preliminary move out inspection and I won't lie I am a little anxious because this company seems pretty infamous for trying to take every penny they can from you.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I am kicking myself for not taking advantage of Loft's huge sale this week of 70% off! I filled up my cart with things that I wanted and it came to $273.00 but when I added the discount code it came to $93.00, that is beyond a bargain... but I didn't buy anything. Ugh.

If we were having coffee... I would ask what you are listening to right now because I am looking to change up the playlist on my phone and need some suggestions. And on that note, you know how Apple puts songs automatically on your phone? Well I have a bunch of U2 songs that I cannot get rid of. I absolutely DID NOT put them on there as I hate U2 with a passion but have absolutely no idea how to take them off of there, I know there has to be a way.. please do tell!!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you I have a few things/ places I want to hit before we leave the city but otherwise I feel really good about our time here.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you lately Jason has been really shocking me with just how well he knows me. I swear he has been finishing my sentences and knowing what I am going to say before I even say it.. its pretty hilarious, and he thinks hes totally awesome because of it. I mean really he is.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that we are going to dinner tonight with one of Jason's colleagues tonight as it is his last day on the job today and he is heading back to Quebec.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that although I am not a morning person I have been up since 5am and gotten so much accomplished already! I always feel like that, I hate mornings but when I am up I get so much done and feel so accomplished early in the day.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I have to run to Target today for a few things and it just never feels like a chore because I love Target so much. Truth be told Jason and I were going to stop there the other night before we went to the grocery store but when we were on our way fire trucks and police cars were coming from every which way and when we arrived at Target that is where they were all heading! They were evacuating Target at the time so we didn't get to stop. I'm not totally disappointed because I prefer going by myself, Jason and I just don't care to look at the same things. That reminds me though I should look up what was going on the other night, last night they evacuated Target it was for a bomb threat.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that this stuff going on in Baltimore is really heart breaking, I just don't know what they hope to accomplish by rioting in the streets. The images of what is going on there is outright scary.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I just finished reading Escape by Carolyn Jessop and I REALLY enjoyed it. This book was written by a woman who grew up and escaped a polygamist community and way of life. He life and struggle were absolutely shocking but its definitely a book of courage and strength, I highly recommend it!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I am extremely anxious for Thursday and Friday night TV as this is the week for the season finales of all the shows I watch and they are looking to be AMAZING!!!!

If we were having coffee... I would ask you if you are over the death of our beloved McDreamy on Grey's? I am not.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you we are getting to the point in the job where we are about to leave but still have a bit of time here and it feels like we are in limbo and I hate that. We are going to try and sell our couch and/or bed because we really need a new bed and also because its CRAZY expensive for UHauls so we don't want to have to get the biggest one. I have boxes to start packing but I don't know what to pack on account that we already took home all the stuff we don't need. Not to mention I could pack this apartment in less than a day, I am basically an expert mover at this point.

If we were having coffee... I would clarify that yes we are moving on May 15th but we are only going home long enough to take our stuff home and come back, literally a weekend. Jason will not be finished working so we are coming back most likely for the remainder of May and June but we will no longer be in our apartment or in Jersey City.

If we were having coffee... I would ask you how you are doing!?

If we were having coffee... I would want to chat about the devastation in Nepal and how absolutely awful it all is. Those poor people had no warning and I suppose even if they did what could they have done. Its just awful.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you the people of London sure are dedicated to being around for the birth of the newest Royal baby!

If we were having coffee... I would ask did you know they are coming out with a spin off of Full House called Fuller House and the original characters will be in it!! Am I the only one excited about this?

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I am on a reading binge again but only the most recent one was at all worth talking about. I am just reading and getting rid of the books I have in the apartment and I am running out of time. When I am done with these I have a huge list of books I would like to get!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I am so sad not to be getting a Birchbox this month, I had considered making one this month but I don't think I will. I would still like to go to the Birchbox store one last night but I am running out of things I actually need/use daily and therefore I am just going to spend the money to replace those.

If we were having coffee... at this point we have obviously been talking for awhile and therefore I would probably have to excuse myself to go to the ladies room.

If we were having coffee... this may be the time we have to part ways, I have things to get done before the maintenance people arrive and laundry to fold. It was great to see you ;)

That's it for today guys, I'm really sorry the content around here hasn't been all that fabulous things are just busy. I plan to do a book review on the book I mentioned above and head into the city one day this week and as I have said previously I have some post ideas written down which I plan to put into action, hopefully later on today.

I hope you guys are having a great week, as always thank you so much for stopping by!!

Monday Mash Up... What's up!

Was wondering if I was going to make it here today? I don't blame you.. last week there was some radio silence towards the end of the week and I even missed out High Five for Friday.. but I just didn't have anything to say. It happens.. what can I say.

I had planned to post today but honestly the day got away from me and what I was planning just didn't work out. Wednesday is our preliminary move out inspection which honestly I have never heard of before and as you know we move a lot. Basically it says the head of maintenance will come by and walk around the apartment and look for damage (which there isn't any) if they find any or I suppose anything in general they let you know so you have a chance to fix it before you move out. I wont lie I am a little on edge about this move out on account that I have heard they will do anything they can to screw you out of your deposit.. I will not let that happen. This was the dirtiest apartment we have ever moved into, it took me forever to clean it and make it livable and I was outrageous about my move in inspection and made a BEYOND detailed list of every mark and damage in the place. Should be interesting I guess, but I get along really well all the maintenance guys so maybe it will be fine.

Did you all watch Grey's Anatomy last week and by watch I mean sob hysterically as they gutted us with the unexpected exit of the great Derek Shepherd? I can tell you that I absolutely was not expecting that and I'm not overly impressed by the way they took him out! Not to mention why did Meredith not call anyone?? Like I don't know, HIS SISTER! Good lord! This week should be a really interesting week!

I'm kind of sad all the shows are ending for the season this week but at the same time I am wishing this week away to see them all, including Blue Bloods that was also amazing last week. Seriously though I don't watch a lot of TV.. just a few shows that happened to be amazing this week.

I'm assuming at least one of you reading may also be one of the over 17 million people who watched the Bruce Jenner interview Friday night with Diane Sawyer? I've been considering writing a post on it but I feel like its such a controversial topic and I really don't want to offend anyone. I will say that I am very shocked, I don't know why but because no one was really saying anything besides media speculation I just didn't totally believe that it was true. I am really sad that he has spent his entire life hiding this and how much it has affected his life and relationships in such a negative way. I still may write a post about this.

Jason has Sunday off this week which was great, we had a lazy morning and then walked down to Hoboken for Jason to get a haircut and to grab some lunch. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before or not but I was absolutely dying to try Bareburger which if you know me you are probably wondering why because I don't eat red meat... but they have turkey guys! Bareburger is all organic and not only do they offer beef and turkey but bison, elk, wild boar as well as ostrich meat. Sick. Either way I was anxious to try it and it was AMAZING! I had the SoCal burger which is a turkey burger topped with aged cheddar cheese, pickled red onion, guacamole and alfalfa sprouts on a sprout bun.. I die.. seriously, the best burger I have ever had! Jason had Bison - no I didn't try it, that's gross. He said it was really good though and we have talked about going back to try one of their chicken sandwiches because they looked incredible as well. If you are ever near one (they have one in Toronto) I HIGHLY recommend going!! On a funny side note Jason was hoping to have a beer and when he asked the waitress she said its really hard to get a liquor license in New Jersey and sadly they didn't have no one but if he wanted he could go over to the 7 Eleven on the corner and buy some and drink it there. I was like what? Basically your restaurant is BYOB and she was like.. ya! HA!


So that's my scoop today, its crappy, cold and windy out so I haven't been up to much today. I am going to read for awhile before Jason gets home.

I will be back tomorrow! Hope you guys had a great weekend!!

Springtime in Central Park NYC

Good Morning & Happy Earth Day!

If you follow my on Instagram you might have saw a picture I posted on Saturday of gorgeous Central Park in Spring! Jason had Saturday off which doesn't happen very often and we really wanted to take advantage of his one day off because we are leaving here really soon and because it was suppose to be a gorgeous day. We got up in the morning and got ready to head into the city.. it was an interesting morning, every single pair of shoes that I have give me blisters I swear and I knew we were going to be walking a ton so I really didn't know what to wear. I have running shoes but how awful to wear those with capris.. right? Jason didn't understand my dilemma at of course and it delayed our exit a little. In the end I ended up wearing running shoes and I looked like an idiot but I was comfortable. The struggle is real people!

I was really shocked that the subway wasn't really busy at all, sadly I took that as a sign that maybe the city wouldn't be more packed than usual. Stupid thought. The first summer like day in the city and every person who lives there as well as every single tourist that could possibly fit on the island was out. Good lord!

We toured up to the park and grabbed an ice coffee on the way, I couldn't believe how hot it actually was out! I wished I had been in shorts that's for sure.. however I spared the fine people of New York the sight of my ghostly legs in shorts!

We decided Saturday we were going to see as much of the park as possible and let me tell you it was the perfect day for it. So I wont ramble and I will get to some of the pictures I took!

This isn't a great picture, blame my iPhone but we literally saw a million turtles Saturday! 

The trees in the park were in full bloom and absolutely incredible! It is this most amazing time of year where everything is coming to life again and it just gives you life! 

If you haven't been to Central Park you can rent little sail boats and sail them around one of the ponds in the park. 

It would be nice if people took a picture and then moved aside so other people could get a picture. But... well.. you know! 

This plaque as well as the statue above is of the Alice in Wonderland. 

Cleopatra's Needle. 

This is the reservoir in the park. 

Did you know Demi Moore is currently selling her penthouse in the building pictured above for $75 million! 

Jason and I did a little swooning over these fences. 

The view of the park from Belvedere's Castle (although its really a tower). Its used as a weather station but you can go up to the two lookout spots. 

A view from the second observation deck. 

You know in the intro to the show Friends when they are all dancing around in the fountain full of water? This is the fountain. Funny story I have a picture of myself, Barb and my Mom from 4 years ago when we did a rickshaw tour through the park, the picture is absolutely epic and I really wish I had it on this computer.. I am going to look for it to share regardless! 

Another turtle in Turtle Pond. There were soooo many of them!

I won't lie guys as this point we had walked a million miles and I was beyond thirsty. I couldn't seem to drink enough that day and I was anxious to get to dinner. We left the park which seemed to get way more busy up by the Plaza, literally you could barely move and we made our way back to midtown to hit up Stout. If you've been around these parts for awhile you know that I absolutely LOVE Stout and I was so excited that Jason actually agreed to go as he is not the biggest fan. 

We arrived at Stout and I literally drank all my water, all Jason's and was flagging down the waitress for a refill, at which time I chugged that glass of water too. Dehydration is a real thing. It was a very lovely dinner and drinks, I was so happy we got to go there one last time before we are set to leave which is rapidly approaching. If you're wondering why I'm not jumping for joy its because we are technically just leaving our apartment and will be back in the city for awhile longer. 

So that was our day in Central Park.. before I would have told you the best time to visit the park would have been Autumn but truth be told there is something magical about every season! New York is absolutely a place to visit if you've never been.. put it on your bucket list guys! 

I hope you're having a great week!! 

Products I'm Loving 4.21.15

Good Morning,

I thought I would pop in today and share with you a few products that I have been loving lately!

1. E.L.F Skincare Daily Hydration Moisturizer

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As soon as I heard that e.l.f was coming out with a skincare line I was SUPER excited to give it a try. I personally think that e.l.f is an unrated brand and most people don't try it because they think because its cheap to buy its probably a cheap product and not worth it, I would say with these products most often them would be wrong. I use a ton of e.l.f products and have nothing but good things to say about them. Tanya and I were in the city a couple of weeks ago and popped into the e.l.f store, while looking around we both noticed how absolutely gorgeous the girl working there was, her face had this amazing glow and we had to ask her what products she was using. She said it was the skincare line, she said she wouldn't rave about it if she didn't truly believe it but her skin has felt and looked incredible since she started using it, then and there I knew I had to buy it. 

This stuff is AMAZING! First of all I absolutely LOVE the simple packaging and the pump top! It has no parabens or sulfates and the ingredients are as follows: Purified water and essential nutrients help hydrate and nourish for glowing, healthy looking skin. This lightweight, lightly fragranced moisturizer is infused with skin nourishing Jojoba, Aloe, Vitamin E, and Cucumber to sooth and protect delicate skin. It's also rich in antioxidants such as Shea Butter, Grape, and Orange. 

I have been using this for a couple weeks as my daytime moisturizer and I cant say enough good things about it. It is lightly scented but the scent does not linger, its lightweight and my makeup goes on flawless over top. You really cannot go wrong for $8.00 and I will definitely be repurchasing this!! 

2. E.L.F Golden Bronzer

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You might see a theme in the beginning here! I also recently purchased the e.l.f golden bronzer from Target for $3.00 after seeing a bunch of beauty vloggers rave about it on Youtube! There are 3 different shades that can be purchased depending on your skin tone so there really is something for everything. I am all about the bronze my friends, I use a bronzer every single day to tone down my ghostly-ness and as I am currently running out of the one I use everyday I thought I would give it a chance, how can you not for $3.00?? This particular shade has a sheen to it which I wouldn't usually go for in a bronzer but I really like it, it really warms up your face but doesn't look glittery. I don't use this to contour, or I have but just to give my face some overall color. I use a larger fluffy brush and swirl it around then apply it lightly to me face, it works fantastic. Its really blendable and doesn't cake or blotch on your face.. honestly you cant go wrong. If you are looking for something that will warm up your face as you are anxiously awaiting a tan then I suggest giving this a go! 

3. E.L.F Baked Highlighter in Pink Diamonds

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I have been on the hunt for a powder highlight for some time, I think a highlighter can really change your whole look but good lord are they super expensive. I have a liquid one from MAC that I really like but I just thought a powder one would be nice to compare. I had hoped that e.l.f would have the baked highlighter in Moonlight Pearls but it was sold out in store and is online as well. I decided that I would try the Pink Diamonds as its basically going to blend with my blush anyways so the pink tone really shouldn't make that much of a difference. This stuff is AMAZING! Again for $3.00 you can't really go wrong, but I would seriously pay $10.00 for it now that I have used it! Its beautiful, the color is fantastic, its buildable and blendable and I cant get enough. This is really a great time of year to brighten up your look and if you are looking for a highlighter check out one of the three shades e.l.f offers! 

4. Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Hydrangea 

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I wont lie, I bought this because I had a coupon that basically made it half price.. what can I say I am a sucker for a good deal, plus I love lipsticks. When I went to Target to take a look at them I was really intrigued but the packaging, its super sleek and pretty and that definitely draws you in. All the colors are named after flowers too which is just too cute! I had saw these lipsticks talked about online and so I figured why not give it a try. I went with hydrangea because it was different from anything that I had and I thought really nice for spring and summer. This stuff is SUPER pigmented and if you are looking for a bold lip this is definitely up your alley. Its long lasting which is great and wears super nicely, doesn't feel drying or anything. I have been putting on a regular lip balm and then lightly dabbing this lipstick on to give my lips almost a tinted gloss look and I really love it. There is a huge variety of colors (20) and I believe something for everyone. 

5. Wet n Wild White Eyeliner

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Sadly I cant find a really good picture and the link above is actually to the 'buff' color because I can't find the white one anywhere. I purchased mine at Target and I believe I paid $1.00 for it! I was looking for a white or nude color for my waterline as it REALLY brightens up your eyes, I hadn't actually tried this method at the time so I didn't want to spend a fortune on something I wasn't sure I would get use out of if I didn't like what I had bought it for. I came across the Wet n Wild stuff in Target one day and right there was a white eyeliner, I have heard people rave about their eye shadow palettes although I have never used one so I thought why not give it a try. Let me tell you it serves its purpose well. This stuff is pigmented, it goes on flawlessly and works great to brighten the inner corner of my eye as well. I don't wear a ton of eyeliner but if I was looking to try different colors or something I would definitely repurchase these! 

6. No7 Stay Perfect Smoothing Eye Shadow in Irredescent Purple 

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This isn't really something I would normally buy, especially in this color but I was touring around Target one day (big surprise) and found this on sale from $7.99 so $1.12 or something crazy like that so I figured why not give it a try! Turns out its absolutely amazing and so I literally ran back to get more and they were all gone! Just my luck. Funny story I was super disappointed and then I lost the one I bought for a really long time, not to fear though I eventually found it. This stuff is really great, You can wear it by itself or over a nice base color, it has great staying power as well. I generally put a base on my eyelid, either a tinted eye shadow primer or a cream colored shadow and then I dab this over my lid and sweep it out with a brush to even it out. If you wanted a more bold look then you could use the applicator to blend it out if you would prefer. I really like this, its different and really makes your eyes pop, this is my first liquid eye shadow experience, well like this one and I must say.. I'm hooked! 

That's it for today, I am sorry I know there are a few of you that read who aren't into makeup and I completely understand that but sometimes you just have to share the goods with others! If any of you happen to give any of these products a try or have please let me know!!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a fantastic day! 

The High Line NYC April 2015

Good Monday Morning!

Is there really any such thing? Who wants to get out of bed on a Monday morning to go to work when you just had a great weekend of beautiful weather. Hopefully where ever you are the beautiful weather is continuing this week for you to enjoy, here however we are currently experiencing a hurricane of sorts. The wind and rain is like I've never seen it here before.. and y'all know the wind is always bad here but this is just crazy!!!

Last week I talked about my trip to the New York City High Line and I had intended to blog about it but got mixed up on my days and High Five for Friday cant exactly be posted on Monday so this post had to be bumped.. no big deal because truth be told at the time I hadn't written it anyways! I did however want to make sure I shared this with you for two reasons, one because it was a really great thing to see and two because I like to share things to do around the city as New York is a popular tourist destination and its always great to see activities that would be at your fingertips and reviews on whether or not they were worth seeing.

As I said last week Tanya and I headed into the city early one morning to walk the High Line, oddly enough this is something we hadn't done the last time around living in New York and have talked about getting there this time but haven't made it until now. Its one of those things you kind of want to time right, its definitely more of a Spring or Summer event than Winter of course. Part of the High Line was under construction but that didn't get in our way of enjoying it.

Here is a map of the High Line so you have an idea of where you would be in the city and what you would be able to see.

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I would recommend starting at either end and just making your way from one side to the other, starting in the middle you may not feel the need to turn around and back track and you don't want to miss anything. Of course this is a touristy thing so account for that as well. 

I will say we went on a weekday morning and it was still pretty busy, we started down on West 30th Street and made our way down! The views of the Hudson River are really great, yes we have them all the time from our apartment but regardless its always nice to see the water. Its also a great way to see a lot of Chelsea which honestly is not an area we really frequent. These are some pictures I took along our walk. 

The Hudson River

The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side.

A couple more weeks and I think the whole walk will be covered with beautiful blooms! 

I absolutely LOVE the New York street art, so many talented artists! 

Ha! Typical statement of a New Yorker! 

These canvases were absolutely amazing, we found a gentlemen who had a stand set up towards the end of our route. He had a bunch of different pictures like this and they were amazing. I did purchase one, but not this one. 

I am really glad we took the time before we leave to do this walk, as I said its really great to see a different part of the city and from such a different angle as well. Word to the wise though, don't drink an iced coffee at the beginning of your journey because there are no bathrooms up there and for some reason majority of New York establishments wont let you use their bathrooms unless your purchase something. Ugh.. I struggled a little, I wont lie. 

If you are interested in visiting the High Line or reading more about it you can click HERE for their website. 

After the High Line Tanya and I toured around Chelsea and the Meat Packing district, we had talked a lot about visiting Dough for some of their famous Donuts and after reading THIS article we knew we had to get there. The place is SO tiny, if you weren't paying attention you could walk right by it! Inside is very tiny and quaint and you are greeted by an amazing aroma of fresh donuts and just plain goodness. I decided that if I was going to do this I might as well go big.. so I got four! Obviously they were not all for myself, I was going to bring some home for Jason. I purchased the coconut, plain glazed, chocolate nibs and mocha crunch. I will say my absolutely favorite was the coconut.. by far!

Minus the crappy quality of the picture (I was shaking with excitement) tell me these don't look incredible! 

Coconut!

We couldn't wait until we got home to give it a try! 

Tanya I believe got the lemon poppy seed which she shared a piece with me and good lord! If you are a fan of lemon poppy seed anything this will rock your world! She also got the mocha crunch, coconut and dolce de leche and she said they were all amazing! If you are in the city this is a MUST stop, it will change your life in the best way possible.

Pretty good day right? If it couldn't get any better it was absolutely gorgeous out and we managed to hit up a Trader Joe's which is something that I sadly don't get to very often and forgot just how much I love it! I was a little intimidated by the line (as it wrapped around the entire store) but we flew through it! 

So that is the New York High Line, I will try and remember to link Tanya's post on it when she publishes it so you can see her fabulous pictures (she took a legit camera) and her take on things! 

I hope you all have a fantastic day, and as always thank you for stopping by!