sleepless in new york

Hello, my darlings. I hope you've had a fabulous week! Mine's been pretty exciting with the road trip-planning but as I mentioned yesterday, I haven't gotten that much shut-eye. I think twenty four hours over the past five nights? That cannot be healthy. On the bright side, I've befriended a new Quirky coworker: the early afternoon coffee. As much I've been struggling to get that same thrill from the city, there's no doubt that I've been enjoying myself... it's not such a bad place to feel "stuck" after all ;).

Yesterday, following an amazing FitNation workout (the personal trainer who runs the class is motivational yet strict, without the drill sergeant nature) and quick shower, I scampered downstairs to put together this beautiful bowl. Breakfast is always such a treat, my favorite meal of the day by far, and I've been on such a blackberry kick. I picked up some gorgeous ones at a local farmer's market in the Hamptons last weekend, in addition to farm-fresh strawberries, cucumbers,and red leaf lettuce. The last camera-shy two were the highlights of Thursday's lunch. Summer is such a great season for produce!

The work day passed rather swiftly but I think it's worth mentioning that I finally figured out a proper snacking schedule. I know I haven't said anything about it before, but it's been tough to determine what and when to eat. I eat breakfast every morning around eight, but since I've been consistently exercising, I'm hungry by 10:30am and I don't want to eat lunch that early or early at all because I work until six and don't want to be starving on the entire commute home. So! I've been having a Pure bar late morning/noon, lunch (a hummus & spinach wrap with crudités, usually) around two, and a FAGE yogurt (the fridge is stocked, I love it) with a handful of walnuts 4:30/5pm. Aren't you proud? ;)

Anyway, as it was my last day of the work week, a friendly happy hour was a must. I met with a couple of SU friends who are living in the city for the summer (they're a year younger and will be going back to school in August--no fair!) and headed over to the East Village for the Loreley Biergarten. 

This German restaurant and beer garden is modeled after the ones in Cologne and is ridiculously authentic. Case in point: bathroom graffiti from real live Germans earlier this month. Oooh... My beer selection was beyond fantastic but everything else, eh. I think it would've been better during the day for the World Cup viewing.

Nevertheless, the heavy German fare was not exactly what the girls and I had in mind for dinner so we walked on over to Soho Park instead. I had been admiring this place for a while solely because it is a café in an "airy garage-garden."  What can I say? I like pretty environments.

For my meal I ordered their homemade vegan burger topped with lettuce, tomato, and the most incredible spicy black bean spread. It was actually kind of delicious and with yet another drink, I was ready for the night to continue.

And continue it did, at least for a little while. We rode on uptown to the Kips Bay area and ended up at the Hill. Fun fact: the last and only time I was at this "upscale sports lounge" was last summer for a beautiful model-laden Modelinia event. I didn't take any pictures, ( this one's from metromix.com) but let me assure you that good times were had... even if we did watch the Yankees and the Celtics lose :(. At least I made some new friends with friends at some of my road trip destinations. We'll see if that actually works out, ha.

For now, I'm just going to enjoy the rest of my leisurely Friday with a bit o' sun exposure, Lost Girls book-reading, and relaxation. Later tonight I'm headed back into the city for dinner at Zengo's, a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant with a fully stocked tequila library downstairs, otherwise know as La Biblioteca. Clever, I know. Today may just be the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Enjoy yours!