June in NYC!!!

Woah! Moving to NYC was a whirlwind from the second I walked off the plane, got whisked into a taxi and taken through heavy Times Square traffic to the front door of my building where a short, white-haired man with glasses and a thick NY accent talked the deli workers at the Turkish deli below my apartment into letting me in through the deli because it was raining and my landlord wasn't there yet. Welcome to New York City! It's a new way of life...




...including, the wonderful world of

Laundromats

Here's my roommate Trish our first time in a laundromat:

Schlepping your laundry down the sidewalk each week and changing all your cash into quarters is rewarded by meeting the most interesting characters. 

Since this first experience, we've gone laundromat shopping. Our favorite one (not pictured) plays music. I'm talking Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson--good stuff. And nobody even cares, they just belt it out loud while folding their underwear, and so do we. 

Please, somebody, come to Manhattan and open a laundromat with seating, WiFi, and electrical outlets--that simple. People will come from miles away just to get stuff done while they make sure nobody steals their clothes. 

Madison Square

The Shake Shack at Madison Square! The Flatiron Building, and a first glimpse of the
Empire State building:

Another view of the Empire State building:

Central Park

Nature is a little bit hard to come by in Manhattan. Trish and I went jogging in Central Park, then we figured out we live only a few blocks away from the Hudson River, which has a really nice running trail alongside it.

The Hudson

Radio City Music Hall

Some graffiti near my place

The Apollo Theater

Brooklyn Bridge

A couple days after I got to NYC, I met up with my girl Ash who lives in Brooklyn.
~amazing rice pudding where all the fat is free, spicy shrimp tacos, lower manhattan, walking across the brooklyn bridge~  That bridge is magical.

Eataly

A couple weeks later, Trish and I were lucky enough to spend an evening with Bishop and Sister Dew from our church congregation back home! They are so fun :) and the food was so delicious.

Rockaway Beach

with roomies Trish & Erin & singles from NY, NJ, & CT

Canal Street

hahahaha. Out of control. "Cute baby, I have watch for you, cute baby." "Checkitout checkitout, Coach-i, Chanel..." 

The Freedom Tower

Street Yoga in Hell's Kitchen

I have some street ball footage, but it's really shaky, so I'm not gonna post it. And while I'm not quite street enough to play street ball, I have done what I would call street yoga.
The little city parks here have no grass--just concrete and rubber.
The only background music was the noise of kids playing, cars incessantly honking, ambulance/cop sirens blaring, and the comments of homeless people walking by. Deep breathing made embracing the smells of the city my only choice. It was kind of surreal to feel relaxed and at peace with myself and with my surroundings, and I was grateful.

May in Seattle

Pictures of some of great times I had in the month leading up to moving across the country. The past year back in my beautiful hometown has been a great one, filled with memories. In the last month or two, I got to do a lot of things I had wanted to do for a while:

The Japanese Gardens

Folklife Festival 

This man's instrument looks like something you would hang from the ceiling of a castle:

Hiking Mt. Si

with my Monday hiking buddies: Cory & Martha (and Kellie). I miss this and you ladies so much!!

Sushi Night

with great people & my proudest sushi :)

Lake Washington

A chill evening in downtown Bellevue. I'm seriously from the most beautiful place on Earth. 

The Seattle Great Wheel

On a gorgeous day! These pictures are taken from inside the wheel.

The Seattle Temple

that sky...

Goodbyes are the worst. I've met some wonderful people during the past year. And obviously, I'll be back. Could be in a month, could be in a couple years! My life is nuts. It is what it is.