the girlfriend hour

I am constantly amazed and impressed by my friends. Besides being awesome people, they're quite an accomplished, successful, and interesting bunch. I'm lucky to have them in my life, and since I can't help but toot their horns, I wanted to introduce four of my wonderful friends who mean the world to me...

Lucy on her youtube channel! (Click to view)

The Video Vixen: My friend Lucy runs her own "How To" Youtube Channel. She's shared tips on how to tie a bowtie, make a ramen omelette, and make your manicure last. You're adorable Lucy!

The Fighter: Liz is so fierce. She's works in Sales & Trading at JP Morgan, kicks butt with her taekwondo skills, and always, always looks put together. I cherish our talks and our weekly coffee and lunch dates, Liz.

Mackenzie and I from when I visited Boston last month!

The Visionary: Mackenzie (a friend and former fellow L'Oreal intern) was among this year's Glamour's Top 10 College Women for her anti-tobacco advocacy work! Thank you for being my beauty advisor, Boston host, and reminding me that I'm "worth it!"

The Sister: Caroline is my oldest friend (since the 6th grade!) and truly my soul sister. You are the smartest person I know (Valedictorian, Perfect SAT's, Harvard senior - you are a rockstar). I'm so happy you'll be in NYC with me post-grad, and I love you so much!

These are just four girlfriends who have changed my life with their positivity and love! I can't wait to introduce some more next time around. Do you have friends that have special labels in your head? (I know I'm often labeled "the goofball" heh heh.)

love "pho"-ever

Feeling stressed -- must eat! Had the CRAZIEST past 24 hours, so my friend Mackenzie and I decided we'd eat away our feelings. Typical. Breakfast included chocolate, lunch contained cheesecake, and snacks were fruit popsicles (and more chocolate). But dinner was the best! I took Mackenzie to my favorite pho restaurant, and we devoured spring rolls, summer rolls, and lots of pho with all the toppings. It was awesome.

food for friendships

Some pictures from girl's night/my friend Mackenzie's birthday last weekend = margaritas, guacamole, and giggles galore @ Agave (where I've celebrated three birthdays already, including my own two years ago!). I love getting dolled up with girlfriends only to eat and drink in the most un-ladylike manner. Contradictions are the spice of life!

Also had the pleasure of meeting some new friends from Harvard (or Hahhh-vahd if you prefer), and can't wait to reunite at Harvard's Women in Business conference in October! (In-college cuties can still register to attend "Early Bird" here, and if you're from NYU, check my name off as your campus ambassador -- I'll help you coordinate!) Here's to yummy food, new friends, and future meetings!

boston weekend

Hey friends! I'm currently suffering from a terrible cold from this weekend (It was freezing in Boston!) but still had such a great time and wanted to fill you in! My good friend Justin and I visited our friend Steph (an NYU reunion!) for the long weekend :) If we're facebook pals, then you'll probably be seeing some repeats ... but here are a few highlights from our long weekend trip.

After dropping our stuff at Steph's place, we headed to Beacon Hill, a cute boutique-lined neighborhood and grabbed an early dinner at The Upper Crust Pizzeria. We had a 1/2 "Uncommon" pizza and 1/2 "Beacon Hill." It was delicious.

It didn't take long before we decided that it was too cold to stay outside, so we huddled inside Quincy Market and admired all the food stands. Clam chowder, candied apples galore!

Later, we ventured into the North End to a street that is essentially the Little Italy of Boston. Steph's favorite dessert place is the Modern Pastry Shop, so we each had a perfect, tasty cannoli. I was so touched because after a great conversation with the owner, he gave me mine for free!

Steph's coworker from Trip Advisor was throwing a birthday house party, so Justin (our resident bartender) made some amazing drinks before we headed out.

The next day, we headed over to Anna's Taqueria for Jarritos and burritos. It was so much better than Chipotle! (And equally as delicious as NY's Dos Toro's.) I inadvertently flirted with a cute MIT frat boy (or so we presumed).... by accidentally elbowing him and making him drop his utensils. ;)

We met up with Tiffany, another NYU friend, and all headed over to the South End to visit Tiffany's brother Larry, who lives in a modern & spacious studio while studying graphic design at Northeastern. I loved his space... it even had a fireplace! (Swoon.)

Later, we walked through Newbury St and stopped for coffee at L'Aroma Cafe. It was so frigid, my gloved hands felt blue. Boston doesn't kid around with it's under 17 degree (Fahrenheit) weather! I took my time sipping a large bowl of hazelnut hot cocoa.

Cold temperatures just make me want to pig out. Good thing we went to Giacomo's for some hearty Italian. I had this incredibly rich gnocchi filled with roasted red peppers & goat cheese, served with chicken, mushroom, spinach, and mascarpone plum. Also, did you know that happy hour is illegal in Boston?! We actually ended up drinking wine in our parked car before dinner to warm up!

The next morning on our last day, we grabbed sticky buns at Flour Bakery + Cafe, which many friends have recommended. I took a super tasty bite and saved the rest for this week-- the portion size was gigantic and I wanted to savor every cinnamon-y crumb.

In our last few hours, we met up with Mackenzie (my friend from our L'Oreal internship) at Harvard for brunch. She graciously gave us a tour of the campus, even though it was so cold, she was actually tearing up. (That's a good friend.)

Thank you Steph for hosting us in your wonderful new home town. We miss you here in NY!