12 Packs and Automatics

Yesterday was an exciting day on the Snapple front! Not only did I discover a new diet flavour, Cranberry and Raspberry, I also discovered that you can buy them in bulk! Good old Fairway!

My 12 pack of Snapple, that will keep me going. 

After a mornings work in the office I took time out to go for a 'driving lesson'. This was both hilarious and terrifying in equal measures! All of a sudden I felt like I was 17 again on my first ever driving lesson; I had no idea what I was doing! It was my first time driving an automatic and it was a Volvo which felt like a truck in comparison to the Fiat 500 and Ford Ka that I used to drive. Plus everything was on the wrong side! An hour later I had (kind of) got to grips with it and stopped trying to reach for the clutch peddle! I must stress that no pedestrians, passengers, drivers or vehicles were harmed as a result of me being on the road! 

Petrified and I hadn't even left the Ikea carpark! 

Last Nights View

Last night I went for cocktails at The Standard Hotel in the Meat Packing District, and for once the view was better than the cocktail...

Avocado Tattoos and Jam Jar Gins

Yesterday was a super busy & fun day of exploring (and getting lost) in Brooklyn! 

I decided to book myself on a bike ride tour of Brooklyn as a way of getting to see different areas. I haven't been on a bike (other than the on at the gym) for years, so I was a little bit rusty. I had a bit of a wobbly start, when I say start, I mean the first 3 hours (out of 4!) and then just before the end of the ride, before we boarded the ferry, I fell off and went skidding across the gravel, with the contents of my basket flying everywhere! I even stopped the traffic as a guy got out his car to see if I was ok. Very embarrassing. But luckily I'm fine, just grazed palms. 

No, its not a fly on my lens, its a helicopter. 

One of the stops on the bike ride was a roof top 'farm'. Not really the kind of farms that I'm used coming from Devon, but it was an interesting and insightful visit all the same. Its not open to the public so it was a bit of a treat being able to visit it. The really crazy thing was seeing all the plants being grown on a roof with the back drop of the Manhattan skyline.

As well as the farm we visited and cycled through lost of other cool places in Greenpoint & Williamsburg; some of which I will definitely go back to explore further. We finished up in Dumbo where we had a coffee at Brookyln Roasting Company. This was much need after the shock of my fall! Then we headed back to our starting point on the ferry. 

Once helmets and bikes were returned I was left to roam on my own, which I thought would be fine as I had my trusty map & subway map of Brooklyn with me...or did I?  It turns out somewhere along the way I'd lost my map! Eek! I had no idea where I was or what was near me, so I wondered around for a bit until I came to some shop and managed to get direction to a book shop where I could by a map of Brooklyn (or so I thought). Once I found the bookshop, I discovered all their guide books and maps were of Manhattan! How ridiculous! After explaining my predicament to the shop owner he managed to dig out a crappy small  map of Brooklyn which I bought through desperation. 

This was written on the side of the Brooklyn Beer Brewery which I stumbled across whilst lost. 

Once back on track my next mission was to find a bar that I had been told to check out - Duck Duck Bar . Luckily I found it without much trouble and it was perfect timing as I was in need of a cocktail!

The cocktail was so good that I ended up staying for a second one and had a chat with the bar girl. She was really nice and had a tattoo of an avocado on her arm?! I asked her what the story was behind it and she said she just liked Avocados. Well I guess you can't argue with that. 

After leaving Duck Duck it was time to head to a BBQ I'd been invited to by some people I met in the the store last week. It was being held at a bar in Williamsburg call bar called Good & Co.  It was a really fun evening, the bar had a lovely beer garden which was where the food was served and there were lots of fairy lights and music which made a great atmosphere. And the G&T's were severed in Jam Jars!

Rain Stopped Play

Although I still went out exploring, todays incessant rain really did dampen my spirits. On that note, I'm out of Gin. 

Lost in Translation

For those of you who are just too cool and didn't see my Facebook entry this morning, there was a bit of an explosion over breakfast. As I got out of the lift onto the roof, (porridge and coffee in hand), I was greeted by an unexpectedly large number of people. This would have been slightly odd at the best of times, as the roof is usually quiet, but it was 7am and today is Sunday. To make the whole thing more dramatic, there were also two or three helicopters circulating overhead. I was immediately approached by someone who must have spotted the bemused look on my face, and told that an 11-story building was about to be blown up on Governors Island.  At this point I was quite pleased I had my porridge as it provided a snack to go with the live entertainment. After a tense build up, everyone waiting in silence with their cameras poised, there was a incredibly loud, rippling bang followed by a massive, expanding ball of smoke, like a giant piece of cotton wool. Then after all the excitement everyone went back inside, (and probably back to bed!) which gave me chance to enjoy my coffee in peace. 

Later, at the store, I had a few more bemused moments! A lady said 'I'm sorry for busting your chops.' I was like 'Er...excuse me?' I've since looked it up on 'Urban Dictionary.com', (I know I'm totally lame, but it feel I need to know what it means in case someone says it to me again), and for your information (and mine!), it means 'I'm sorry for giving you a hard time' or for being demanding, which incidentally she wasn't. I was also asked if we sold 'dopp kits'. After asking the girl to repeat herself several times, I ended up asking her to spell it but was still none the wiser. I later found out that it's an 'old school' word for washbag (well why didn't she just say so??!). 

This afternoon was full of more excitement - I cleaned the windows, I had a squeegy and everything! And then I went to say hi to my new furry friend from the store next door, Hope. She's the incredibly cool dog from Foxy & Winston. 

I bet she knew what 'Busting your chops' meant!

Of course I did get some proper work done in between all the nonsense! It was a very entertaining day, now time for a drink! 

Awards Night in NYC

There was one BIG plus point that I forgot to include in my last post...look what arrived in the post....

... tickets to The Independent Handbag Awards! Very exciting!! :)  But what am I going to wear?? 

Blackouts & Freebies

Today has had its good points and bad points....

- I went to get my morning iced coffee from Baked (good) but I left my 'cellphone' on the counter (bad). 

- We had some really annoying, high maintenance American girls in the store (bad) but then 3 brits walked in, all from Cornwall (good) and I was like 'What the hell are you doing in Red Hook???'

- Too many high voltage appliances running at the same time fused the electrics so we were sweltering in a dimly lit store (although I blagged it by lighting some candles and claiming that I was creating an ambience, (no power cut here!)), I also had a dying mobile and laptop, (bad); on that note, how did the human race exist without Apple? Anyway, then the guy from baked gave me a free iced coffee to cool me down (good).

- After the power cut debacle, (bad) I went for a cocktail (good) and you'll be very surprised to know that it was the first cocktail since I've been here!

Right now I'm sat on the roof in my favourite spot watching the sunset. Sorry, I'm not trying to get all romantic on you, but never-the-less it is stunning! 

Before I go and pour myself another drink, I want to say 'cheers darh-lings' and send lots of love to my 3 beautiful gals back home...

xxx