Weekend Snaps - Florida Edition

Hello hello from bright and sunny Florida! I am floating on cloud nine after the Super Bowl last night. I've been a Pats fan my whole life so the range of emotions I went through last night - let's just say I was an EXTREME emotional roller coaster. I wore my favorite Patriots tee, of course.

This weekend has been exactly what I needed - a far away space from the madness that has taken over DC, and an oasis of warmth for my soul. To be honest, I've been mostly lounging by the pool, taking naps, with intermittent trips to Costco because somehow it's the place to be, according to my grandfather.

Here's to a couple more days of eating all the food, soaking in all the sun, and reading ALL the thriller novels I brought (has anyone else read Remember Mia? I AM ADDICTED!) Keep up with all our adventures on the Instagram.

Snapshots from NYC

I’ve been spending the last few days reflecting on last year and how I want things to change in the coming year. I’ll admit, I’m not sure what that’ll look like QUITE yet but I do know I want to continue bringing you high-quality posts that are useful and fun! And I also know I want to do a lot more with travel in 2017 so here are some snaps from last weekend’s trip to NYC and the places we visited!

Saturday
We arrived in NYC early Saturday morning and quickly rushed to Time Square to we could do the whole, been there, done that before the crowds got crazy. We saw the Christmas tree (so tall!!), visited the NBC studios, got royally lost multiple times within the building, and then immediately rushed OUT of that area to pick up our keys from our Airbnb rental in Chelsea.

When we arrived at our Airbnb, I was blown away It was on THE cutest street, super accessibly to Chelsea Market and right around the corner from the spot I'd booked for brunch. We figured we'd be hopping around the downtown area for drinks and such all evening, so it was central to everything we wanted. PLUS inside was so dreamy...high ceilings, brick walls, and two great sized rooms for our guests and us. If you ever go to NYC and want to stay in the Chelsea area, I'd highly recommend the place we stayed, which you can find here! 

Next we set off to Chelsea Market for some lunch. It was terribly crowded but the food was 1000% worth it. The hubby grabbed tacos from Bienvenidos, while I couldn't resist the ramen at Mok Bar. Then we got Halva treats from Seed + Mill afterwards which was SUCH a treat!

Next up was coffee - of course. Luckily, Blue Bottle was right across from Chelsea Market so we fueled up on caffeine before heading back to our Airbnb for a bit of R&R before dinner.

After resting for a bit, we got all gussied up for our night out. I wore this gorgeous Alexis jumpsuit with a Shinola cross body, bracelet and matching hoop earrings, all from Rent the Runway. 

Around happy hour, we set out for an the Italian dinner! It was nestled in East Village called Misirizzi! It's pretty new to the area and it's cozy, intimate setting was perfect. I had the Tris Di Canederli, which is apparently becoming QUITE THE THING in the food world. While it used to be a ‘poor man’s dish,’ today, chefs around the country are giving it a major makeover for the masses.

After dinner, we hit up The Standard for drinks right around the corner. The cocktails were great. The people watching was better.

We finished off the evening watching fireworks from the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight...although I'll admit - it was not the BEST spot. I definitely wish we had gone down to Battery Park instead. Although...you certainly can't beat this view.

Sunday
Even though we went to bed at an astonishing 1 AM (those who know me know I am NOT a night owl), I woke up bright and early to get ready for brunch...and to catch the morning light through out windows, of course. ;)

We arrived for brunch at Tipsy Parson (just a couple blocks from our Airbnb) around 10:30. It was relatively empty by then which had me a tad nervous, but within a half hour, the place was bustling! Everyone in our little group agreed that this was our FAVORITE part of the trip - the food was THAT good. I took some fancy photos with my actual camera because the space was SO CUTE - and I'll be sharing those later! But in the meantime... 

After brunch, we waddled back to our Airbnb, packed up and went down to the 9/11 Memorial to do a little reflecting...It was quite humbling to be at Ground Zero. I spotted a rose on one of the names, indicating that today would have been their birthday, and said a prayer for his family. I honestly can't imagine.

Before heading out of town, we stopped for one last coffee at Cafe Grumpy (which I kept accidentally calling Grumpy Cat Cafe much to the chagrin of my coffee-snob hubby.

SO there you have it! What did you do for New Year's? Also let me know if you like posts like this and I'll work on getting some more destinations on the travel calendar! (Any excuse to travel is good enough for me!) Xx!

Hello from New York!

Hello hello from New York City!!

Just wanted to check in and wish you all the happiest of weekends! Also - be sure to follow along on Snapchat and Instagram (@JULIENGARMAN on both) as Alicia Tenise and I BASICALLY take over NYC. Kidding. But kind of not. ;) 

Today we started off the day strong with room service and some #robelife moments. Typical, I know. We're just about to head out to visit a few showrooms, drink ALL the coffee and do a Snapchat takeover for Rent the Runway! Be sure to follow along on their Snapchat @RENTTHERUNWAY at 2 PM to see what looks we're pulling for shows and events this weekend!

Weekend Snaps - Memorial Day Weekend

There’s nothing, and I do mean nothing, like a 3-day weekend. (Well, except maybe a 7 day weekend! HA!)

On Friday, I flew down to Orlando to visit some of our best friends who moved there last year. It’s funny - we’ve visited them twice in the last 6 months but didn’t manage to visit once during the 4 years they lived in Nebraska lololol!

Airport style // wearing Lucky Brand jeans and ADIDAS sneakers

After a three hour delay (not getting me into Orlando until about 9 PM), I was more than ready for a few drinks. We headed downtown to Artisans Table for dinner then over to Tap and Grind (also best name ever) for some beers and people watching. LET ME TELL YOU - the people watching on Friday night in Orlando is like no other, friends.

Saturday we quickly got ready and headed to Daytona beach. I’ve been waiting to wear my new favorite Triangl bikini since it arrived in March and the bright color seemed like the perfect fit for the Daytona atmosphere.

I don’t always go into the ocean, but the temperature was too good to miss out on. So we played monkey in the middle (as a an upper twenty-something does) in the water until our arms got sore. Then we  ate all the guacamole and chips and soaked up every last bit of sun. But not before the tastiest ice cream from a local shop. 

I joked on Instagram that before a trip, I’m all green smoothies, brown rice and cooked veggies. But once I’m on vacation, all my willpower disappears and I end up eating everything in sight. Except I wasn’t joking and I actually did eat ALL THE THINGS.

Genuine Glow collection, exclusively at Blue Mercury // Ditto sunglasses (use code ITSJULIEN for a free month!) // Angela Roi bag

Before going out that evening, I tried out the new Estee Lauder “Genuine Glow” collection that just launched at Blue Mercury. YOU GUYS - these pieces just took me summer makeup routine to a new level. My favorite of them all is a blush and lip creme in “Peachy Keen” which you’ll be seeing my wearing non-stop until Fall arrives.

Sunday we went to Waikiva Island, the most fun little “island” that had corn hole, kayaking and live music. We rented a few canoes (and even spotted an alligator in the water!) and raced down the stream to a natural spring…luckily, it was netted off to keep all the crocs away. We swam and relaxed there (with about a trillion other people) until we got hungry and canoed back. 

Wearing Cocosand Swimwear bikini

We took it easy that evening and started planning our trip to Yosemite coming up at the end of this month! I can’t wait to share all the fun things we have planned for it!

Wearing Cuyana slip dress and saddle bag

Monday we enjoyed a pool day and we made a new puppy friend. We went out to a nicer lunch so I got to wear my new Cuyana slip dress! It’s absolutely stunning. You’ll definitely be seeing more of it around these parts.

Tell me - how was your MDW?!

5 More Minutes

I don’t know about you, but I FOR SURE needed 5 more minutes when I woke up this morning. You’d think I’d get used to it after YEARS of needing to wake up early after a long weekend but NOPE. In fact, I feel like it gets worse. (See: 10 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues)

Everyone’s been posting about being ready for a new year with all their lofty goals and I’m just over here like barely motivated to look presentable for work today. The struggle has never been more real.

While I get my motivation up and at ‘em, here are a few highlights from the past couple weeks (to prove I wasn’t a lazy sloth the ENTIRE week ;))

Grabbed brunch with some friends at Le Diplomate (wearing Sophie Blake cuff)

Took my sister to our favorite winery, Stone Tower in Leesburg

Celebrated a pleasantly warm Christmas in the country (shop my dress and scarf here)

Visited the future site of my Aunt-in-Law’s B&B

Made (and subsequently ate) all the ricotta pancakes

Watched the sunset on skyline drive

Chopped off some more hair (thanks to the great Nadine Matar at PR @ Partners on K Street)

Tried a new coffee shop (King Street Coffee in Leesburg)

Fell in love with Darling Magazine (and tried green nail polish - LOVE)

Finally visited JRINK Juicery! (YUM)

Got my first shipment of goodies from From the Farmer! Can't wait to share more about them!