I don’t want to over-egg the Easter puns, but today was an eggstravaganza. One festive activity was making treats that nearly resembled Cadbury’s creme eggs with my friend Meghan (‘Megghan’). As devotees of Buzzfeed, we’d come across this cracker of a recipe a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a go. It involved …
Read MoreArchive / March 2013
March 30, 2013
…petted a horse in Grand Central Station
Today I headed to Grand Central Station to pet a horse. There’s an explanation: Performance artist Nick Cave is holding a seven-day exhibit showcasing his 30 straw-like horses at the station, and twice daily they put on a performance. Grand Central is great for random things like this – if you remember, I went to a …
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
…skipped over the Manhattan Bridge
Spring has finally shown its face and tonight I wanted to make the most of it. I’ve already been to the Brooklyn Bridge, so I decided to shake it up by heading over the Manhattan Bridge instead. And whereas I ran the previous time, tonight I opted for a different mode – a skipping rope. …
Read MoreMarch 28, 2013
…turned the cube at Astor Place (just)
Whenever Dylan and I passed the massive cube sculpture at Astor Place, he would tell me you could spin it – and I’d make sceptical noises. Well, it turns out that he was actually right about something the whole time. The cube is a huge steel sculpture by Tony Rosenthal that was put up in …
Read MoreMarch 27, 2013
…sat for a portrait in Central Park
I’ve been visiting a lot of art since starting this blog – MoMA, the New Museum, street art – but what about me and my picture perfect mug? I spotted some artists in Central Park today and decided to get a portrait. I approached one friendly-faced man and asked if he’d paint me like one of …
Read MoreMarch 26, 2013
…bought dinner for a stranger
I’ve been spending like a maniac recently. Today I paid for rent, phone bills, airline tickets and vats of cheese crackers. It means I have about $23 in my U.S. account until payday. Which I will no doubt spend on beer tonight and then coffee tomorrow or something I convince myself I really need, like …
Read MoreMarch 25, 2013
…visited a flower show (to kickstart Spring)
This is what New York looked like today: Seeing as Spring isn’t coming to me, I decided to go to Spring. After work, I jumped on the N train to Herald Square and headed to Macy’s for its massive annual flower show. A flower show doesn’t sound like the most inspiring thing to do, but …
Read MoreMarch 24, 2013
…went to a bridal shower
It’s been a bit of a wobbly week as far as matters of the heart go. But today I got to see why it’s all worth it in the end: My friend Bree grinning from ear to ear at her bridal shower – the first I’ve ever been to. Bree was so happy to be …
Read MoreMarch 23, 2013
…fermented vegetables
Today I headed back to the Brooklyn Brainery for a class on vegetable fermentation. I decided to go because I’ve enjoyed my other cookery sessions and because it was vegetarian. If I’m honest, I knew nothing about fermentation – or what it even was, really – before going along today. It meant that, for the …
Read MoreMarch 22, 2013
…had a makeover at Bloomingdale’s
When I was younger, I was a devotee of My Girl, desperate to be Vada and impress my own Thomas J. I spent many of my younger years thinking that baggy clothes were somehow flattering and generally looking very rubbish. One offshoot was that I was so late to the makeup party that I decided …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2013
…travelled back in time (to New York in 1993)
Tonight I went back in time – twenty years, to be exact – to see a New York of days gone by. The New Museum on the Bowery is currently showcasing art from 1993 – almost like a time capsule – that gives a brilliant insight into what was on the mind of New Yorkers …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2013
…hacked a computer
Faced with the silence of a post-break up social life, I have found a new job to keep me busy: Computer hacking. Just kidding, FBI. (And it’s not been that silent really, fear not.) But I did pick up a few tips at an Intro to Hacking class at the Brooklyn Brainery, a great little …
Read MoreMarch 19, 2013
…had a hot stone massage
The horrendous things I have to do for this blog, eh. Tonight I headed up to Dyanna Spa on 21st Street for a hot stone massage. I’ve long seen adverts for the treatment and, because of the pictures accompanying them, I assumed I’d be laying with rocks carefully placed on my back as I smiled …
Read MoreMarch 18, 2013
…had a tarot card reading
After yesterday, I’m trying to come to terms with how my life has lurched in a different direction to the one I’d foreseen this time last year. So I thought it might be interesting to have a guess at where I’m heading next. Which means I was easily lured by the gaudy sign above a Nolita doorway reading: …
Read MoreMarch 17, 2013
…broke up with my boyfriend (and then we watched a movie about naked nuns together)
Dylan met me as I landed at JFK this afternoon and, a couple of subway stops later, we’d agreed to break up. We’ve realized that we want different things and that something’s not been right for a while. But after a lot of honesty and a little bit of joking to take the edge off, …
Read MoreMarch 16, 2013
…cooked an Indian Banquet
Since living in New York, Seamless has taken a hefty chunk of my pay check. But today I rekindled my love for cooking with a course in London. And there’s no modesty here: The results were impressive. Mummy Warren and I headed to Acton to create an Indian Banquet under the instruction of Angela Malik. …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2013
…looked over London from the top of The Shard
After going to the Empire State Building last week and overlooking Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat this week, today I completed the hat-trick. I visited the top of the newly-opened Shard in London so I could look over my capital city. With a view like this, it makes one wonder how somebody could possibly not want …
Read MoreMarch 14, 2013
…played Pooh Sticks
After a joyous eight-hour delay in Edinburgh airport yesterday, I finally made it to my parents’ house in West Sussex. And this morning I appreciated the countryside with a visit to Pooh Bridge in Ashdown Forest to play pooh sticks with my Dad. The game is the creation of A. A. Milne, the author of …
Read MoreMarch 13, 2013
…toured the Scottish Parliament
Last night when I was wondering what to do today, my friend Neil kindly offered to show me around the Scottish Parliament, where he works for Alex Neil, the health minister and the MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) for Airdrie and Shotts. After taking him up on his offer, I’m now convinced Neil also works …
Read MoreMarch 12, 2013
…climbed a volcano
Four days after I went to the top of the Empire State Building for a view of New York City, I have completed Edinburgh’s equivalent: climbing to the top of Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s Seat is a dormant volcano looming over Edinburgh – one of my favourite cities in the UK. Its steepest part is at …
Read MoreMarch 11, 2013
…had a mud treatment
I’m on holiday, so it’s about time for some pampering. Today Lauren and I went to Eve Spa in Paisley to unwind with the help of mud chambers, Chinese salt treatments, saunas, steamers and aroma rooms. There was lots of gossiping and even more sweating. I’ve never really done spas, so I wasn’t sure what …
Read MoreMarch 10, 2013
…ate haggis in Glasgow
When in Rome Glasgow. This morning I arrived in Scotland for a few days and soon stocked up on some traditional Scottish food. Or traditional Scottish scran, as the natives would say. Among my shopping was haggis, a dish that seems to be the stuff of folklore. It’s a mixture of sheep’s pluck (heart, liver …
Read MoreMarch 9, 2013
…had a personal juice bar tasting
One of my roommates came home early this morning wearing work out gear, carrying a dubious-coloured smoothie and grinning from ear to ear. She told me I had to try the juice bar around the corner and seeing as I’ve a grim head cold and needed to squeeze in a quick ‘new thing’ today before …
Read MoreMarch 8, 2013
…went to the top of the Empire State Building
Tourist time. I’ve largely stayed away from the tourist hot spots until now, but I can’t get through this challenge without heading to the Empire State Building. And I’ve been to the top of the Rockefeller Center before, so I was interested to see how they compared. While the Rockefeller Center is a simple lift up …
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