June was a craaaazy busy month, but that's because it's finally SUMMER and time to get outside after the endless drone of winter and the non-existent spring. We kicked it off with free VIP tickets to the JerseyFest Food Truck Mash-Up (thanks Michael!). Blue and I stopped attending these because though the food trucks were good, the lines were certainly not, and sometimes they ran out of food before you even got to try it. But with these tickets we got in 2 hours before everyone else and some specialty dishes. Plus, we finally learned how to do it right from prior experience. Not only did we split everything we tried, but we brought tupperware to bring home even more good eats for dinner. Here's some other stuff that happened in June...
BOOK CON! I attended my first NY BookCon and it was awesome! So many books, and authors, and fellow book nerds all in one place! If you've ever been to a comic con it was kind of like that, except with books and literary swag. My favorite parts were getting to hear James Patterson and Bill Clinton talk about the book "The President is Missing," a panel with Rainbow Rowell and Charles Soule called "Marvel: From Pose to Panels" co-presented with NY ComicCon about the similarities and differences between writing novels vs. graphic novels, and "The Reel Real" panel about the process and what's it's like having your book turned into a movie with Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapien's Agenda/Love, Simon), Lauren Oliver (Delirium series), and Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil series). Oh, I also got Sarah Morgan to sign a free copy of her latest book, "Holiday in the Hamptons." It was such a fun experience!
We went to see Vertical Horizon, Tonic and the Gin Blossoms perform at a local theater turned venue. Be still my 90's loving heart! They had so much energy and were just as fantastic as they were back then (minus Robin Wilson... he was lacking, but everyone else totally made up for it).
Blue and I attended the PopSugar Play/Ground, which promised to be fun pop-up weekend (with single day passes available) filled with yoga by Kayla Itsines, panel discussions with Mindy Kaling, Kate Hudson, Arianna Huffington, and Tiffany Haddish among others, shopping, free makeovers, and concerts by Tinashe and AlunaGeorge. It was not fun. It was a hot mess, which I should have known because even the online schedule was a disaster. Honestly I should have known when I read the description for one of the panels described as a "talk about owning your smart-girl self." It was very, very YOUNG (think early 20's- I'm 34...) and very crowded. I think we stayed for 2 hours (including the panel discussion). I'm glad that we went (no FOMO here), but ecstatic that I was able to get tickets for $20 instead of $70.
I think the best part was that afterwards we found this tiny Southern comfort food brunch spot called Spoonfed NYC serving up fried okra, grits, and fried chicken and waffles.
I joined my mom at Trinity Church for a Pulse Nightclub memorial mass and reception, and on the way back found some really cool recent murals near the Oculus.
Michael joined me for a night at Gulliver's Gate. I first heard about from my friend who builds models there. Basically it's an entire world of miniatures. And yes, I mean literally the world. There was a New Year's Parade in China, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the Sphinx in Egypt, even the Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca. My favorite parts were the interactive ones though; they give you a key to insert in certain places and you can make Santa and his reindeer circle a mountain, raise and lower the London Bridge, and even get your face to appear in Niagara Falls! You also get a "passport" that has things to look for in each location (like the Beatles crossing Abbey Road in London, pictured below). If you are in the NYC area, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out!
I had to take 8 days off from work or lose them by June 30th, so I didn't work any Mondays or Fridays the whole month. I can't say I did a whole lot during that time besides rest and relaxation, but I did redo my bedroom (does anyone else remember doing this as a kid/teen?) and purging a whole lot of stuff. That pic below was the second Vietnam Veteran pick-up this month! I'm really happy with my room now; I feel like I'm finally utilizing the space well and everything has a place. (Sidenote: when you move your bed, waking up and not seeing the same view you wake up to every day is very disorienting.)
Always good eats- sliders, seafood Paella Valencia, personal pizza, and classic mac n cheese for national cheese day.
We celebrated some birthdays with day drinks at a local bar, my friends came in from Denver for a short weekend trip and I met them in NYC, and I saw some old coworkers turned friends for dinner at my favorite Portuguese restaurant.
The month ended with a quick trip down to Key West, FL for my friend Kathy's wedding. It was extremely hot, but the ceremony was short and the food was great and after the reception we all went out to Irish Kevin's and danced the night away... until my shoe literally fell apart (pictured below) and I hobbled back to the hotel in one shoe. Also of note: they had a mac and cheese AND a mashed potato bar which is something I've always wanted for my wedding. It was as amazing as I thought it would be. Also, check out that Cheeseburger in Paradise wedding cake (ya know, because of Jimmy Buffett)! It was alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate with cream filling. Nom.
That's it for me. What's new with you?
Linking up with Kristen!
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