New York, New York

“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” - Tom Wolfe

the bride with me creepin behind in the backseat.

One of my very dearest friends, Vikkie, is getting married in two weeks. For her bachlorette party we decided to do a weekend in New York City and boy was it amazing. I'm one of those people who wholeheartedly loves NYC. I truly believe I belong there so when I step foot on city grounds, I'm happy as can be. 

We didn't do anything over the top but we still had an amazing time!

Friday: Drove from DC to NYC and of course, sang the entire way up. We relaxed  once we got there because we knew it was going to be our one "crazy" night. We sipped mimosas, took forever getting ready, and just chatted before heading out. The night held dinner and drinking, Distorted Diznee, and karaoke. This was my first time doing karaoke and it was a lot more fun than I thought. I guess the liquid courage really helps.

I do want to take a minute to tell you about Distorted Diznee. Oh, my, gosh was it the most hysterical thing I'd seen in a long time. Four drag queens dressed up as Disney Princesses singing Disney mixed with modern day songs. If you're up in New York, you need to see these queens. Their shows rotate and they're actually almost done with Diznee but they do have others that seem like they'll be just as fun: Valentines, Broadway, Halloween, and Kristmess. I was planning on going up in December anyway so I'll definitely be adding this show to my to-do list. I will say as a warning that this is not kid friendly.

Saturday: Brunch at this adorable diner that was also very good. Roaming the city and Central Park. Everytime I go to NYC, I go to Central Park but have never explored it the way I should. We went through the entire park and had so much fun. Walking through certain parts all I could think of was, "Whoa. This is where Something Borrowed was filmed and same with Big Daddy, and pretty much every other movie ever!" I know, cheesy and don't ask why I thought of those two specific movies, but oh well. Later in the day I took my friend, the bride, to get a blowout from Drybar. For dinner we went to Agave a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar. After we went to Marie's Crisis Piano Bar for a bit and had a blast. Saturday is Showtunes so of course my friends and I loved it.

the beautiful bride - second from the left.

the only group shot we got and it's perfect!

Sunday: Starbucks and a drive home. Although we did stop at White Castle. I've never been and had only seen it in Harold & Kumar. We all wanted to make a pitstop so we did. More of a fun experience than for good food.

we weren't high but Harold & Kumar did inspire us.

Overall it was a super fun weekend and I'm glad Vikkie got to enjoy it with her favorite and best gals. I can't wait for my next trip up, I'm hoping for December. Until then, I'll leave you with this wonderful reminder, "a bad day in New York City is still better than a good day anywhere else."

I Jumped Out of a Plane

"If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try." - Seth Godin

No, really. I literally jumped out of a plane. For my birthday I took the entire week off. I mean, I didn't exactly do it in the way that it sounds. My manager had the week off already and it just seemed easy enough to match my vacation to her week off and the timing just happened to be perfect. I had a staycation where everyday this week I did something different to fully enjoy my time off. I'm not going to go through all of it but I was blessed enough to have family from Charlotte come surprise me. I was so, so happy.

My big moment was going skydiving. I've been thinking about this and planning this for a while. I mentioned it to a friend I made through work a couple months ago and he was all about it. I purposely waited until I made my deposit before letting my mom know. Once I did, she FREAKED and rightfully so. I'm actually petrified of heights (mainly the free fall) to the point that I can't go near the railing at the mall.

The desire to do this stems from my desire for "more" and "adventure". I haven't traveled (without the purpose of visiting family or a bachelorette party) in I don't even know how long. I don't do anything super exciting with my life and that makes me sad. I had a moment where I thought, if (God forbid) something happens to me right now, would I be happy with the way I've lived my life? I need to fill my life with more excitement, adventure, and happiness. So since I promised to make 27 my best year yet, this was how I wanted to start. Skydiving celebrated four things for me: my birthday, facing my fear of heights, crossing an item off my 30 Before 30 list, and new beginnings and adventure.

I can't even begin to explain how amazing the experience was. I think it's important to try something that really pushes you out of your comfort zone. The freefall was a rush of adrenaline like no other, and the parachute down was just breathtaking. I was able to look around and see perfectly blue skies, gorgeous green mountains and grass, and my surroundings in a way that can't be explained. 

I will definitely be skydiving again. I even want to try it in another country like New Zealand or Dubai (UAE). I dare you to try something new, to step outside your comfort zone and follow the quote, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." This experience made me realize that that quote is more true than one would think. Until next time, take a risk. :)