When & Wear: May 2015

Summer has officially arrived in the city. My first weekend of summer was pretty perfect, even though, despite what the title of this post say, I didn't leave the city at all. Saturday and Sunday my parents came into town to help me move into my apartment (they are actually saints), and when we weren't sweating carrying all my crap through Washington Square Park we were eating delicious food and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Then after they left Sunday I went to stay with a friend, which has been the perfect start to summer. Monday morning we headed up to Central Park, stopping along the way for lobster rolls from Luke's (bucket list item!). With our rolls and my favorite Cape Cod chips we parked ourselves in a shady spot in the park and it felt like the best escape from reality.

I so rarely have days where there's nothing on my schedule, so the two of us took advantage of our empty calendars and spent the day wandering the park. We came across the JKO Reservoir and regressed about 10 years to little kids climbing the rocks. Well, that was until real kids kept photobombing my pictures.

After wandering all the way up to 90th we cut out of the park and meandered down the west side stopping in Pottery Barn, West Elm, TJ Maxx and various other stores searching for apartment inspiration. When we finally made it back home it was time for some delicious chips and guac and a relaxing evening on the couch.

All I can really say ism if the rest of the summer goes like this weekend, it's going to be a hell of a good one :)

SHOP THE POST: Zara dress, J.Crew tee, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Madewell sunglasses, Old Navy sandals

Outfit: City Escape

Summer has officially arrived in the city. My first weekend of summer was pretty perfect, even though, despite what the title...

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

This weekend marks the unofficial start to summer and I'm so very ready for it! In the last week my mind has been switching from finals mode to summer planning and I've been going a bit crazy with all the things I want to do. While I was home last summer I was making lists on lists of all the things I could do in NYC in the summer that I couldn't do the rest of the year because I was either too busy or it was too freakin' cold. I've found the best way to motivate myself to actually get everything done on my must-do list is to write it all down here on Peachy Keen. Writing everything down here for you all to read makes it feel a bit more real and I feel even more accountable for my plans.

So in kicking off Summer 2015, here is my New York City Summer Bucket List! Hope you all have an ah-mazing Memorial Day Weekend!

1. Ride bicycles around the city

I have a serious fear of riding bikes around New York, but a friend who recently signed up for Citi Bike has inspired me to face my fear and practice cycling around the city. I plan to start with some back roads, or maybe even Central Park, but hopefully as the summer goes on I'll actually be able to bike down the street like a pro.

2. Lose my voice at the Zac Brown Band concert

I already bought tickets for the Zac Brown Band concert in August at Citi Field, so I don't know if this can really count as a bucket list item. I am SO excited though and I plan on only listening to Zac Brown Band over the next three months to ensure that I know every word to every song and can seriously lose my voice on the night of the concert.

3. Visit Coney Island and go on the Thunderbolt

I love amusement parks (and roller coasters), so it amazes me that after all this time I still haven't been to Coney Island. I plan on find the hottest sunniest summer day and heading over to Coney Island for lots of rides and delicious hot dogs.

4. Find the best lobster rolls in NYC

As a New Englander I think it's basically my job to find the best lobster rolls in the city. Since I won't be able to visit Maine or the Cape this summer I have to find the best options close by. I plan on trying out Luke's, Mary's Fish Camp, Pearl Oyster Bar and more.

5. Go to an outdoor movie at South Street Seaport

Last summer I made a plan to go to an outdoor movie when I was in the city one weekend, but it fell through, so now I'm making sure I can go this summer! It's the perfect location by the water and they often have food trucks to sooth all my crazy cravings.

6. Spend a Saturday at Governor's Island

When everything gets crazy in the city over the summer I am forcing myself to take a mini vacation to Governor's Island. The day will consist of frisbee, book reading, and sleeping on their amazing hammocks. I've only heard amazing things about the island and have meaning to go for so long.

7. Go to the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise

I've been to the Brooklyn Bridge at basically every time of day, except sunrise. It's absolutely beautiful at sunset and in the middle of the night, but I'm dying to see the sun rise from the bridge, even if it's ridiculously early. Who knows, maybe I just won't go to sleep the night before ;)

8. Eat everything at Smorgasburg

Ok, well maybe I can't eat everything at Smorgasburg, but I haven't even been once yet so I need to go. For someone who calls herself a foodie as well as being instagram obsessed it's pretty unbelievable that I haven't made my way over to NYC's favorite food market. Between hot dogs, donuts, fries, and tacos, I want it all...

9. Get soaked at the Central Park water fight

When July 25th rolls around you can find me at the Great Lawn in Central Park with a ridiculous water gun. Apparently there were thousands of people there last summer and I won't miss it this summer. It's like a huge snow ball fight, but way way better because it's summer and warm and not snowing.

10. Get all my friends together for a huge picnic brunch!

The best part of summer in the city this year is the number of friends I have staying here. Some are coming back to the city from abroad and some are just staying past the end of the semester for work, and we are all going to have so much fun together. Before the summer ends I want to get everyone together for a sunny picnic brunch where everyone can bring their favorite brunch foods and finally catch up with each other :)

New York Summer Bucket List

Friday, May 22, 2015

Very quickly this spring my go-to has become a fun skirt with a plain black tee or tank. The early summer temps have been crazy hot and humid, so a loose skirt is ideal. I found this skirt back in April and because I love anything and everything leather I had to take it. Even with a light color and pleats this skirt has a leathery feel, which makes me feel like it has a bit of an edge.

On another note, I'm obsessed with these sandals. After falling in love with a J.Crew pair that cost way more than I could pay for a pair of trendy sandals I unexpectedly fell on a pair for less than $30 at Old Navy. I have worn them almost every single day and literally walked the whole of manhattan in them over the weekend. I can tell you all that you will most definitely be seeing a lot more of these shoes over the next few months :)

SHOP THE POST: Zara tank, Zara skirt, Old Navy sandals, Rebecca Minkoff bag

outfit

Outfit: Pleated Blush Skirt

Monday, May 18, 2015

In less than a week I'll be moving into my new apartment and I honestly couldn't be more excited. Living on campus the last two years has been a great experience, but moving over and over again and never really getting to settle into a space can be taxing. In the last year I haven't lived in the same space for more than four months at a time since I moved from home, to Spain, and then back to New York.

Now that I will finally have a bedroom to call my own for a more significant amount of time, I've been going all out with my Pinterest boards and inspiration collages. Even though, as my mom likes to remind me, I'll be living in a room the size of a closet (and smaller than some people's closets) I want the space to reflect my tastes and be somewhere I'm excited to come home to at the end of the day.

After scrolling through my Places and Spaces Pinterest board I realized that my tastes are somewhere between country farmhouse and all out glam. Mixing more rustic pieces with hints of gold and sleek black creates a fun yet classic feeling. And maybe I'm just loving blush accents because it's spring, but adding hints of subtle pink and a bouquet of peonies seems like the perfect finishing point. The best part is now that I've figured out what I want the feeling to be I can go search out the best pieces to create it. While I would love to buy everything from Pottery Barn and One Kings Lane, what I'll really be doing is hopping between Home Goods and random thrift stores like Housing Works to find similar pieces at a much cheaper price.

SHOP THE POST: Images via Pinterest, magazine holder, basket, cookbook, blush book, desk, long pillow, fur rug, mirror, blanket, zebra pillow, print

home lifestyle

Interiors: Rustic & Feminine

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

During weeks where the only way I can describe my life is as 'busy' the first thing that generally suffers is my eating habits (aka a lot of takeout), but the next thing to go is any inspiration in getting dressed. What's worse is it feels about a million times harder to get out of the pit of bland and boring than it was to fall into it.

When this happens I always find the best way to re-inspire myself is to do a bit of retail therapy and pick out an extra special item. This beautiful skirt is the result of one of those inspiration seeking shopping trips after a very very long day. While it's still my go-to palette of black and white, the unique pattern was enough to bring back the inspiration in getting dressed in the morning. I've already worn it a couple times and have to say that a great mini skirt really does solve ~~all~~ most problems, at least in the wardrobe sphere of my life.

SHOP THE POST: Gap tee, Zara jacket, Zara skirt, Steve Madden flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs watch

outfit

Outfit: Retail Therapy

Monday, May 11, 2015

In the blink of an eye spring arrived in New York and then disappeared just as fast. As far as the seasons go fall is definitely my favorite, but sometimes I just can't believe how beautiful spring is in the city. The little pockets of flowers and blossoming trees around Greenwich Village and West Village always put a smile on my face.

I've been a bit absent from the blogosphere (and really all social media), but I'm sure all you college students know why... Finals. This semester I've had an extended period of final group projects, final presentations, and then finally (how many times can one use final in a sentence?) I have real finals next week. The reason spring might seem to have passed so quickly is that most of my time has been spent inside starting at computer screens. So instead of blogging during my free time I've been escaping the digital world and hopping between all the parks and green spaces in lower Manhattan.

However, as my crazy schedule begins to wind down and spring turns into summer I can't help get more and more excited about what summer holds. Coming up in the week or so I'll be sharing more about my new apartment and my long bucket list of things to do in New York. If you have anything that you think is a must-do in NYC in the summer please please please comment below. I'm always searching for new fun things to do :)

New York