“A good relationship is when two people accept each other’s past, support each other’s present, and love each other enough to encourage each other’s future. So don’t rush love. Find a partner who encourages you to grow, who won’t cling to you, who will let you go out into the world, and trust that you will come back. This is what true love is all about.”

Being Alone.

What a lovely surprise to finally discover how unlonely being alone can be.

Is it bad to be alone? Never before had this thought cross my mind, but a recent conversation has left me questioning whether or not I should feel strange about my comfort with the A word.

I have always been someone who likes to keep to themselves. After a long day at work my favorite thing is to walk home by myself, make dinner for myself and go through my daily blogs that I have missed. On the weekends, I like to walk around new parts out of town and try new restaurants or go to concerts - and if I do all of these things alone, it does not bother me. In fact, I have never even thought of it has strange. Would I like to have someone walking with me, eating dinner across a table or dancing circles around me at a concert? Of course and I do have these people, who make my heart wiggle in all the right places.

Is it okay to like to be alone?


Is this an insecurity?


Help?

Rain, rain, rain.

Good morning! New York City is dark and rainy today. These are the type of days I love waking up to. I love the dark overcast of rain that erupts a cozy feeling in everyone. I believe that the rain provides a sense of unity over strangers whether its having the same floral umbrella or laughing at how deep that puddle was that you just stepped in. And ultimately, everyone wants to be at home under a blanket streaming Breaking Bad, but none of us actually can due to the work week and so we all address each other in a new and friendly way.

For example, at my morning coffee shop where each day the three people behind the breakfast bar crack jokes with me instead of asking me what I would like because they already know it. We talk about the weekend and new music as if we meant to meet up like this. And on this rainy Monday we will talk about how we did not expect any rain on the forecast or talk about how it is the perfect day for a hot coffee instead of my usual cold one. Then, I will walk to work with my coffee erupting a cozy feeling in me and the rain will be a little bit more pleasing.

Do you like the rain?

Rainy day song from Neko Case's new album.

Friends, Drinks and the NYC Outdoors.

 Today marks my second week of living in New York and it is still very magical. From the early mornings of walking to work with a perfectly brewed cup of coffee from Gasoline Alley to the late dinner and drinks at The Smith - it has all been somewhat of a dream.

This weekend began with an after work adventure to The Frying Pan. The Frying Pan is a seasonal bar on one of the last remaining historic lightships that was rescued from the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. The views are very lovely with paddle boarders, sailboats and pier activity. The bar offers a great selection of beers, delicious sangria, and a bucket of Coronas for those who are truly feeling the summer vibe.

On Saturday, my best friends spent the day in the city with me. After the afternoon arrival, we headed down to the Financial District for Beekman Beer Garden. Beekman is the only outdoor bar where you can have sand between your toes and a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. We met up with a couple of other Ithaca alumni and giggled over the perfect sunny day and sipped on beer.

Beekman was followed by a night walk along the East River to dinner at The Smith. The walk was long, private and beautiful emphasized by fisherman and the large underbellies of the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. I was left in complete awe by the corners of these bridges being touched by the setting sun. It made these large structures seem to delicate and homey.

Dinner at The Smith was very delightful. The meal was catered with potato chips with melted blue cheese and burgers and beer. The Smith ambience and extremely delightful staff cannot be met by many other places.

And then there is today. Today, my friends took their separate trains back to New Jersey and I took a nice stroll to Brooklyn Heights to give myself thinking time and get my head back into the work week. Now I am ending the weekend with a glass of wine and Sylvia Plath with a few interruption of Breaking Bad. 

I hope you all had such wonderful weekends with lovely people. Tell me about it below. 

Here is a song to end your weekend right. 

Her.

It was confirmed last night that if I ever had an extraordinary love story, Spike Jonze would need to direct it. The trailer for the sci-fi rom-com was released yesterday and I am desperate to see the finish product. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde and Scarlett Johansson's voice as the digital girlfriend of Joaquin, named Samantha. Joaquin's awkwardness and need to have a relationship with anything really sets up a true romance with Samantha. This type of desperation and love reminds me of Lars and the Real Girl, where overtime these "characters" begin to take human form.

Spike Jonze is also an extremely talented director and makes this film look so unbelievably gorgeous. He has also teamed up with Arcade Fire again (see: The Suburbs). Arcade Fire will score the film, along with releasing a new album in October, with Her following after on November 20.

Watch below and keep your ears open for the adorable quote at the end about falling in love:

Stay With Us

Happy Wednesday. I made a promise to myself to update my blog each and every day. While this post will be short and sweet with a feel-good song, I will have a post to follow up tonight.

Since moving to the West Village, I have been walking everywhere and taking in everything that the city has to offer. Although I go back and forth on loving and hating the city sometimes, once I'm walking through all the neighbors and taking in the rich personality, it becomes clear that I am seriously in love. Living in a city let's me walk everywhere I would like, which means I have the time to listen to new music and rely on the old. Below is the song that will accompany me on my walk to work today and I suggest adding it to your commute playlist as well.

The band is Seoul from Montreal. The band keeps their music hush-hush and describe it as "blue, breathless, gentle and absolute." (Blue?) Anyways, listen to Stay With Us below and download it.

Green walls, waffles, and doing you.

I have always been the person who moves fast - when I get what I want, I want same-day delivery. For instance, I graduated from college on May 19, moved home May 20, and started my first job May 21. Two weeks ago, I saw an apartment and scraped up my bank account to get it and tomorrow I will be moving in.

There a three facts (at least) that accompany this move that leave me with a pit in my stomach. 

Tomorrow I will no longer call the room I spent my angsty teenage years in. Everything will have been moved out and all that will be left are my favorite green walls I used to sing and dance around in pretending I was the next Florence Welsh.  The room that has been my safe haven since I can remember. The one with the perfect view of woods and a tree with a branch meant to sit and read a book on. It's the fact of not be able to go back to my green room and stare at that branch while singing and dancing.  

It's also the fact of not seeing my parents each day when I schlep through the door at 9 pm and greet me with such positivity it makes me feel like Wheaties would make a box out of me. It's also missing the little things like mom buying me my favorite whole wheat waffles and new salad dressings to try. 

It's also about being terrified of trading in the familiar for the unknown and doing it by myself as the new girl. College defined the person I was for a while - it planned out four years of my life, it planned who my friends were going to be and planned out who I could be after four years with my friends. Now everything is left up to me and, you know what, it's scary and it fills my body with anxiety. But it's exciting and it's change and it's a test of everything I have done in the past four years. 

So while I sit on this train scared about what is to come, I keep in mind the three more facts:

1. Where ever you are and as long as you are happy, there will always be a big green room to dance and sing in but you have to paint the wall green and you have to know the song. 

2. Eventually you will have to buy your own waffles so you might as while cheer yourself on while you do it. 

3. You can have your green walls and waffles but it's no fun sitting with them wishing you had become what you wanted.