Gray's Papaya

Friday night we tried out Gray's Papaya and each got the special; two dogs and a fresh fruit drink. It was pretty good, under $10 for both of us, and we left feeling very full and satisfied.

It was a pretty decked out little dive. They have a bunch of drinks we want to come back and try. We got the papaya but want to give the orange or coconut ones a try. 

Its right by the temple so maybe we will swing by after a session one of these days. 

Have a great Friday everyone!

New York Public Library

The public library a couple blocks down from us has a very poor selection. There are times that I think the Fairfield  library would suit us much better, they at least have cool movies.

So to get some subway traveling reading material we headed to a Library in Chelsea because that is where we planned on spending our Saturday. We were pleasantly surprised to find this was the library we had googled. 

We walked up a spiral staircase and were surrounded by stained glass windows and tall book shelves. It really made me want to crack a book open and read it cover to cover right then and there. 

I guess that is one nice thing about not being in school, we now have time to read something besides text books. 

 Happy Thursday everyone!

People Watching Wednesday

1. Public Places

There are many homeless people wandering around New York City. There is one that lives on a corner right by my office even. I have seen them sleeping, asking for money, and eating a small meal at McDonald's. I have only ever once seen what I wish to never see again. I noticed a man leaning against a wall on the stairs that lead down to the subway. I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to be so secretive about until I saw the drain and heard the sound of flowing liquid. That's right, I saw a man peeing in a public place. I averted my eyes before seeing anymore and hurried on my way. Zach says he has seen that a handful of times. My fingers crossed that it is a once in a life time thing.

2. Train Drivers

There are often announcements about train delays, stops, and public announcements projected through out the entire train. Sometimes the person speaks to soft or they don't enunciate and you hope it wasn't anything important. Well on one particular ride home we had a very loud female announcer. It was a busy time of day and with lots of people trying to get on it prevented the doors from closing. So, to fix this dilemma we all heard "Please stand clear of closing doors! Either get on or get off!" Every other syllable came out in this shrill squeak. So NOT pleasant on the ears. 

3. Repetition, repetition, repetition

On the trains we often get performers. They tend to really like hanging out at non rush hour times from 125th street to 59th because its about 10 minutes of uninterrupted performance time. We have seen hip hop dancers, break dancers, singers, preachers and instrumentalists. Our favorite is a flute player. Imagine the flute Peter Pan plays, yeah, it looks like that. As far as we can tell, he only knows two songs, Scarborough Fair and Sound of Silence. We have come to this conclusion because we have heard him close to 10 times between the two of us and those are the two songs he plays in the same order and style, every time.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

IKEA

We finally made the trek out to the IKEA in Brooklyn to pick up a new set of table and chairs. 

We used a dolly and took a bus and a few trains to get our furniture home. It was a bit of a haul but we got eveything home in one piece with out too much sweat.

As soon as we got home we got it all set up. We have used it everyday since. I know, crazy! It has been a nice experience eating at a real table and being able to face each other and still have space for our plates and a meal.

 

Our cool poster is a print of the subway map we got downtown from Lineposters.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

The State of the Allens

I know it looks like it is all fun and games over here in New York, and it is but there's more. There's work. 

Zach has finished his internship and is now working for Coltrin & Associates. He is getting a lot of great experience working with clients and the press. We both really enjoy his co-workers and find ourselves spending a lot of time with them outside of work. 

 

I am currently working for a publishing company called Graphis Inc. I originally thought I would be working with an interior designer but decided against it when offered the executive assistant position at Graphis. I really love working there and filling my days with a little more purpose. 

 

We have decided to work here until we are prompted to move elsewhere. We really enjoy the city. We live in a quiet enough neighborhood, and there are enough parks, that we feel like we are able to get those breaks from the crowds and busy city life.  

We are beginning to make friends. Like I said we have work friends and we are starting to make friends from church. We even have our neighbor Jonathan that we always see walking his dog and talking to neighbors while he has a smoke. 

We are starting to feel a little more settled, now that we have a kitchen table, and have had guests and the missionaries over for dinner. We have pictures on the walls and feel like we have turned this place into our own. For being a studio it is quite spacious, and for now, it's the perfect size. 

 

There are so many things we love about New York like the endless possibilities of places to eat, places to go, things to do and people to watch.

Happy Monday everyone!

Steak 'n Shake

Zach took me a on a hot date one evening to this delicious burger joint. We each got a burger, fries and a shake. The burgers reminded me of In-N-Out which I quite enjoyed. The milk shakes were pretty good and their skinny fries were a fun change of pace.

Would I go again? Yeah, but not before trying a couple different burger joints out first. There are too many one-of-a-kind places to try out to settle for a favorite just yet.

It is located just north of Times Square right below David Letterman's studio. This is the place he actually had some one grab him food from on the show one time.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Cross Country

Saturday morning Zach and I hopped on  the 1 train and headed to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for a cross country meet. No, we don't run, unless it's from something like a car or a bird or any other potentially harmful thing. But, Zach's cousin Lexi does run, and we wanted to cheer her on.

There were a lot of runners and we were so proud to see Lexi was one of the front runners the whole way. She ran a 6K and did it in 23 minutes. Though she said it was not what she was hoping for, I was blown away. We counted as she came across the final stretch, she was in the top 20 out of what, 50 to 70 girls? Yeah, we're proud.

The weather was perfect and the park was gorgeous. We were so glad to see Lexi and meet her fun roommates. I feel more motivated to keep running a little more every week.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

First Broadway Musical

My Grandpa Rick came into town this past week and treated us to a fabulous evening. We stopped by the TXTs booth in Times Square to find some discounted Broadway tickets. We were able to get tickets for the hit musical 'Once'.

Before the show we enjoyed some huge burgers at a fun little restaurant covered in caricatures. We were all immediately reminded of my sister Kimberly and her work. 

We loved the show and recommend it for anyone who even remotely likes Indie music or has seen  the movie. We had a wonderful time visiting with my Grandpa and really enjoyed being able to be with family. 

Thank you for the wonderful evening Grandpa! 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Ending Summer

Labor Day weekend Zach and I spent an afternoon at the beach. It was so warm and beautiful.

We took the A train all the way out to Far Rockaway. It was a long ride but was worth it to put our feet in the sand and feel the Atlantic ocean.

Since then it has begun to feel significantly cooler in the mornings and evenings. So much that I have started wearing a sweater to and from work! I am so excited to be wearing warmer clothes and for cooler weather. So good by wonderful summer full of NYC firsts, and hello fall!

Happy Monday everyone!

A Little Diner

 On Labor Day we wandered around Chelsea and walked around a lot of neat stores. We really love the downtown feel and enjoy wandering around it and pointing out all the cute places we would like to live in.

After window shopping we decided to stop at a little diner called Star on 18.  The prices were really reasonable and the helpings were large. We had a server who kept our glasses full and was always close by to assist in any way possible. I loved it! It was a quite, friendly place and the food was delicious. Zach got the french dip while I had a bacon and mushroom grilled cheese.

While we were eating we saw a bus pull over accompanied by a cop car. We all stopped and stared as we tried to figure out what was going on. A lady was taken off the bus and hand cuffed right outside the diner. Apparently she had gotten in a fight and the calm 40is year old lady in a cardigan was escorted off the bus and surrounded by 5 or so cops while she was stuck with her hands behind her back, When we left, everyone was still standing there and the whole thing looked pretty silly. But it made the whole dining experience more than worth it.

Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy your weekend!