Summer 2011 - Day 5

Summer Fridays are the best days.

Trains were a mess this morning. Got to Secaucus and there was a train broken down on Track B, so all the outbounds had to go through Track A and they were all at least 20 minutes late. One came bound for NY but came on the wrong track. OY. So we finally caught like the 8:08 at 8:25. Hustled out of Penn, chatted with Sarah in the elevator (have I mentioned how much I love my team? I love them. A lot.) then dashed to my desk and up to the 9th floor to talk to Elyse Kretz, VP of Talent Development for Private Brands. (That was off the top of my head. If it's correct that's impressive, right?) She was really interesting. It's cool to hear about how private brands are beneficial for Macy's.

From there I met with my final project group, which consists of the six interns from last summer. Haha. We all had a lot of ideas. It's amazing how prepared everyone was. I feel good about it this year.

From there, Prescella and I dropped stuff at my desk, chatted with Kristen (Kristin? I never remember who spells it which way...oh well. I still love my team. Haha) then we walked down to Adorama. It was a little warm, but it was a nice walk. Returned my portfolio, then made our way to Madison Square Park. One of my goals of this summer was to make it to the original Shake Shack (or any SS, really) so we decided today was the day. We waited in line for an HOUR and finally got our food. We both got Shack burgers and we split cheese fries and a Hopscotch Concrete. And I got an Arnold Palmer because I was about to DIE of thirst. Srsly.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Hands down one of the best burgers I've ever had in my life. Everything else was super yummy too. Totally worth the wait. The funny thing is, about 3:30, there was like no line. I KNEW going into it that 1:30 on a Friday afternoon would be awful, but it was all part of the experience! After we ate, we sat for like two hours just chatting and catching up. I'm SO glad Prescella is back this year. We have way too much fun.

After that we walked to Union Square. She caught the subway back to Brooklyn and I went to Duane Reade to get an Honest T Lemonade because, again, I was about to DIE of thirst. (I DRINK A LOT OF WATER. I WASN'T HYDRATED ENOUGH. LEAVE ME ALONE.) So then I just waited outside Nordstrom Rack and observed people. It was hilarious. The Children International guys had a terrible time of trying to get people to stop. One guy finally did and stopped to listen intently, which I think surprised the crap out of the CI guy. Haha. I also saw a guy in a "Utilikilt". I kid you not, this thing exists:

I also saw a creepy clown. Sarah told me there is one around Union Square that likes to expose himself to people. Isn't that lovely? The fashions I saw were...interesting. Lots of questionable choices going on.

As I was waiting for Sarah, someone came up and was like, "Hey!" and I turned around and it was Heather Rousso! Yay! So we got to chat for a while and we decided to plan some summer outings on Sunday when we go to the Met for the McQueen exhibit (I CAN'T WAAAAAAIT). Then Sarah showed up, I said bye to Heather, and we went to Nordstrom Rack.

NR is dangerous. It's one of those stores in which you will go broke saving money. We walked around for a while then she found some good stuff. I told her I'm great at shopping for other people and spending their money. I was correct. Hehe.

So from there we walked to Grey Dog, this cute kitschy little restaurant just off Union Square. I loved it. I got a yummy country salad, just veggies. So delicious. So we sat and ate and chatted for a while. I LOVE hanging out with Sarah. She doesn't treat me like her husband's little cousin, she treats me like a friend, and that's SO nice to have. :) Especially because she grew up in the city so she's lot of help and lots of fun. :)

From there we started the journey back to Penn. We passed all the food trucks and found Coolhaus, a neat little truck that's supposed to have amazing ice cream sandwiches. Of course we were curious, so we went for it. I got a red velvet cookie with coffee toffee ice cream. Yummmmm. All hand made, all delicious. Sarah got a brioche cookie with lemon thyme sorbet. It looked delicious too.

We eventually made our way up 5th back to Penn, passing by all the weird wholesale places that look skeevy and sad when they are all shuttered at 8 o'clock on a Friday night.

Hugs and good byes and I was on my way back to Passaic. The people on the train from Secaucus were looooud and obnoxious. Bleh. But I made it home, chatted with Nagymama, and now I'm ready for bed. I'm SO excited to sleep in tomorrow. It's going to be amazing. Tomorrow will be laundry and organizing. 

I sort of wish I were going to the BBQ festival, because it was fun last year, but there's not really anyone around who wants to go. Maybe I can convince Heather to go Sunday. :P We shall see. If you are in the area, you should go. It's really neat.

Aaaaanywho. I need sleep.

Oh wait! Outfit!

Please excuse the mess.

Top: Target. You can't tell, but it has these adorable ruffles all down the front and around the neck. It's lined in jersey and super comfy.

Cardigan: Either Old Navy or Gap Outlet. I looove cardigans from any Gap, Inc. store. :)

Pants: Who knows, but they were a terrible idea. For one thing, it was HOT today. Not as bad as yesterday, but still pretty bad. Also, they were suuuuper baggy and I didn't realize it. They didn't start to sag til I hit Secaucus. Oy. I looked like I was wearing someone else's pants. Not cute. These are going in the bin.

Shoes: Toms for Neiman Marcus. You can't see them, but they are adorable grey lace up ones exclusively made for Neiman. Loooove them!

Fun story, I texted Rush last night to make sure they were appropriate for Casual Friday. They were. haha

So yeah, there you go. And you've heard about my meals.

Here's how I rationalize the food:

I eat pretty healthy all week. I make a point to. And when I go out, I make it a point not to over do it. But eating is just as much a part of experiencing New York as sight seeing, so I'm not going to refuse to go out just because some of the stuff isn't great for you. I showed control by splitting everything at Shake Shack with Prescella, and I got a SALAD for dinner, which is hardly bad for me at all. Sure, the cookie sammich was NOT good for me, but it sure was tasty, and I will make up for it. :) I also walked all over the place today.

Long story short: live a little.