That's all folks!

The statistics...

NYC Favorites:

• Grocery store: Trader Joe's (reasonably priced food, and man did mom geek out when she saw the cart escalator system. To view 40 seconds of fun, click here)
• Park: Riverside park along the Hudson. Hands down.
• Hole-in-the-wall eatery: Pommes Frites (I will miss those fries dearly)
• Museum: Natural History (I like dinosaurs)
• Market: Chelsea Market (Give me some sweet jazz music and trendy indoor shopping on a rainy day anytime!)
• Cookie: Levain Bakery (I told my mom this all I wanted for my birthday was one of these hurkin monsters)
• Cupcake: Brooklyn Blackout - divine goodness - from Two Little Red Hens (Mom said it was worth the Guggenheim museum flop to make the trek up there)
• Shopping: I should say H&M, but I'm going to say Chinatown (dang! I can haggle:)
• Show: Do I really have to just pick ONE? Can't do it. I liked em all!!

The past three weeks...

After signing off at Coltrin, I quickly did my laundry, packed and got ready for my sisters and mom to fly in to the city for a girls weekend. And it was the BEST WEEKEND EVER! Despite the constant rain Sunday and partly Monday, we had a ton of fun. I was their all-inclusive pro tour guide, food guide, subway guide, potty guide, and a whole freaking suitcase full of fun. :) Here are some photos for proof...

After all the fun and a lloonngg flight back to the west, we took care of some business in Utah. AKA: Wrestling Rugrats and attending my brother Riley's Kneaders Grand Opening. And after a week of bouncing around from place to place and feeling homeless, I finally made it back to Washington where I've mowed the lawn, ate raw corn on the cob, frequented Wally World, visited good friends, canned peaches, went to the rodeo, enjoyed Columbia Basin sunsets and was severely depressed about the shopping choices.

Next stop? Rexburg! BYUI University Communications, you better be ready for me. Cause I NEED to be put to work.

Chicken and Waffles

Yes, you read that right. Chicken and Waffles. And no place better to eat them than at Sylvias in Harlem. After a quiet Saturday Brooke and I went to Sylvias in Harlem to get some good ole Soul Food. We've been waiting all summer to go to this place, and we finally did. A great last hoorah!

For dinner I had fried chicken and waffles. I could feel my arteries hardening... but it was sooo yummy.... I just couldn't stop eating it.

So. If you ever go to Sylvias, this is how you do it right.

First off, enjoy the delicious cornbread to start. Then, order chicken and waffles. Skip ordering your lemonade though... It's 2.50 and Country Time. When they bring out your meal, cover your waffles with syrup and pour some of their famous hot sauce in a saucer on the side. Then, proceed to cut your chicken, dip it in hot sauce, then get some of that yummy waffle on the same fork. Put it all together and what do you get? Soul food....

Harlem

Home.

Two weeks from today I'll be closer to home than I have been since April 15. I'll be livin it up in Utah for a week, back in Ephrata for a couple, then onto Rexburg. Here's what I'm looking forward to during that time... in no particular order.

1. FAMILY
2. FRIENDS
3. Kneaders Bakery and Cafe
4. Riding in/ driving a car
5. Sleeping in my own room - might very well be for the last time... ever.
6. Barb & Eds
7. Leavenworth (hahahahah)
8. BYU-Idaho
9. My new job with University Communications
10. All my clothes I left back at home (I had to think of a #10)

Favorites.

I've had a spectacular summer. It's been everything I could have hoped for and more. I'm grateful for all my new friends, experiences and the growth I've experienced this summer as an individual. Here are my top ten from this summer (no particular order).

1. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
2. Shakespeare in the Park
3. Billy Elliott
4. The beach
5. WA D.C.
6. Delicious bakeries
7. Fox & Friends concerts... Plain White T's, Sister Hazel, Augustana, etc.
8. American Ballet Theatre
9. Monday movies in Bryant Park
10. Delicious food

What I won't miss...

This is horrible to say, but there are a few things about this city that I won't miss after I leave here in a couple weeks.

Can you believe it??

Two weeks from today! Flyin' out for Utah.

Here's my three least favorites about New York City...

One. The smell... dirty city streets are definitely not my thang.

Two. Hot summer dayz... I'm confident in the fact that I've perspired (it sounds more lady-like than sweat) more this summer than I ever have in my entire life.

Three. Metro Cards... I've had three go out on me this month. Don't ask. It's a touchy subject.

I was going to do ten, but I couldn't think of anymore past number three... See following posts for what I'll miss most, my favorite summer events, and what I'm looking forward to when I go home.

weekend.

Saturday Brooke and I ventured down to the Financial District to go see a few sights. We ate at the Sandwich House for lunch, visited Trinity church, the Wall Street Bull, The Smithsonian National Museum of the Native American, and Battery Park. Afterwards we headed uptown to enjoy some Baked by Melissa - unbelievable small cupcakes that aren't particularly worth the cost - while sitting in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. We acted like we belonged, therefore people assumed so. We also made a pass through Tiffany's to pick up some jewelry brochures.

This weekend we also enjoyed the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens as well as some Venezuelan food (Arepas Cafe) and french dessert (Balthazar).

No big.

Photos below.

Trinity Church

Yoda

Movie Makers Paradise

Arepas

Balthazar

This is Amateur Night!

Ever heard of Ella Fitzgerald? Smokey Robinson? Michael Jackson? Then you have the Apollo Theater to thank.

The Apollo Theater in Harlem is one of the most famous music theaters in the United States. And last night? Brooke and I went! We got to Harlem around 7:00 p.m. and got our tickets for the show. The theater was soon jam packed with people.

They started out with their opening show - the house band and a soul train dance off.

Then came the kids division of the competition. My favorite was a number with two kids - "Alter Ego" and their rap routine. "Put your hands up! SQUEEZE! Move your muscles to the beat!"

Last was the adult division. The audience has ultimate power over who gets eliminated in this round. And sadly... one got booed off the stage. Oh well! That's why they call it amateur night.

If you ever have the chance to, go to a show at the Apollo. It changes lives.