I'm putting it out there early.

I'm going to make this brief. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'm just going to be blunt and say that for my birthday, I want an iPod. I don't care what color. I don't care who buys it for me. But since mine was stolen last year out of my car, my life just hasn't been the same. It's time to bring it back.

I'm putting it on the table early so that the intense campaigning can begin now.

Thinking about starting a Facebook group or a Kickstarter to spread the word.... this may be taking it too far.

I'll think about it before I make any moves.

An iPod, people! September 24th! Get on board.

Mobile Uploads

I have fallen behind. There is much to share, but I do not have it in me to write a post chronicling every detail of the past week.
"But, Julia-- don't write a post chronically every detail. Just hit the main points!"
Oh, dear friend, how sweet and naive you are. I would loving nothing more than to do a brief but informative post on the going ons of my most recent days, but knowing myself and more specifically, my blogging self, that just simply will not happen. One tangent will lead to another tangent, which will then lead to some sort of romantic comedy reference, which will then in turn remind me of the recent loss of the amazing Nora Ephron to which I will begin writing a more serious and emotional few paragraphs only to find myself then circling back around to an inappropriate attempt at humor to wrap the whole post up. You see, I'd like to just hit the main points, but it just wouldn't work out.
Needless to say, due to my inherent and insatiable quest to be known, I will still be filling you all in with the most tried and true method of the much loved "Mobile Upload" Post. I've grown to love them and I hope you have too. For the record, this is quickly becoming just as long, if not longer, than initially intended.

Let's begin with the Saturday that followed the wonderfully boring Friday.

In the morning, I packed my backpack and headed for a coffee shop that is quickly becoming one of my favorites, McNally Jackson (the very site of my last weekends brief but torrid love affair with an older man), 1) because of the lovely bookstore that is in conjunction with their cafe and 2) the amazing raspberry jam filled scones that are served at said cafe.
During this particular visit, I enjoyed my scone and an earl grey tea while typing almost every thought that I've ever had about this summer into an anonymous word document on my computer with the fervor and spirit similar to that of a high school marching band at the big game. Type type type. March march march.
Due to the lack of line breaks and indentation, it is obvious that I was less concerned with formatting and more preoccupied with the intended task at hand, but in order to maintain my grammatical credibility, I want you to all know that I did, in fact, comb back over my writing and do some proofreading. Yes, I essentially edited my own journal entry. Curse you, Mrs. Wilder. I wish I could quit you.
The content of this page will never be revealed. That's one secret I'll never tell.

After 6 pages of one whole paragraph, my computer died suddenly. So, I concluded that it was time for my next adventure: the Renegade Craft Fair. I heard about the Renegade Craft Fair last summer when it was in LA, but I wasn't able to go. This year, I heard that it was in Brooklyn and I thought it'd be fun to check it out. The Craft Fair is essentially an open market for local artisans and makers. Basically, picture Etsy and a group of Brooklyn Hipsters having a love child and you will have the Renegade Craft Fair. 

So many tattoos. So many home made metal triangle necklaces. So many hand pulled Sigur Ros prints... I wanted to die. 

I mean, I'm not going to sit here and even going begin to claim that I in no way have any sort of hipster vibes in my blood because 1. saying you aren't a hipster is basically screaming "I'M A HIPSTER" 2. I did voluntarily and knowingly go to a craft fair. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn (what else do you expect to find in Williamsburg than millions of hipsters) BUT, I will say that for some reason, I thought that it would be a little more original than necklaces made out of reclaimed bowling alley floors and Korean Taco food trucks. Come on, BK. Step your game up. 

I will say that this lovely jam table really knew what they were doing with their flavor originality. Just enough familiarity that I'm not afraid to sample their product, but enough novelty that keeps them from being just another Locally Farmed and Produced Organic Brooklyn Jam Stand and goodness knows we have enough of those. ...When did I become so jaded? 

The view was lovely, though. The sight of Manhattan across the river really is something. In the spirit of full disclosure, I've decided to put up all three versions of this photo. Why I would put so much effort into editing this photo, I don't know. 

Also, I saw this woman on the subway ride back home. She's been on Bushka before. 5 blog reader points to anyone who recognizes her.

Later in the evening, I was able to go to dinner once again with my Aunt Beth who was in town for the night. I must be sure to mention that her flight attendant co-workers and friends, Pam and Heidi were also there-- something I carelessly forgot to mention the last time we all went to dinner, which was in no way a reflection of the amount of enjoyment I got out of their company (Ok, Pam?! :)

Beth took me to some secret jewelry shops near her hotel and once again spoiled me by letting me pick out a few things. So fun. 

Then we headed to dinner at Eataly, an Italian restaurant that is also a market, a cafe and a bookstore near Madison Square Park. 

The last time Beth was in town, she told me about their Bronzino, which is essentially a whole fish that has been cooked and is then served. The whole fish. On your plate. Staring at you.  I was not brave enough to order it, but I did have a bite and it was absolutely delicious. 

I stuck with what I knew and ordered scallops that were out of this world. 

Look, Pam and Heidi-- you made the blog! 

Me and Beth.

The aftermath of a Bronzino well enjoyed. I will definitely be going back to Eataly. Delicious. 

For the record, I majorly cleaned up at the sample sale. I will post some pics of a few things I got, but until then, that's all for now!

Happy Friday!

Stop at nothing.

I am heading to work in 5 minutes to get there 2 and a half hours early for one reason and one reason only: Employee Only Sample Sale.

I've already heard stories about the punches thrown and the blood spilled at previous Employee Only Sample Sales, but I will stop at nothing to get the $5.00 clothes and $2.00 shoes that dreams are made of. I am wearing flats and I am ready.

Bring. It. On.

Things that happened since the last time we talked:

I am so so so happy to report that this week was super super boring.

Contrary to what your conventional definition of 'boring' may imply, this is truly wonderful news. Why? Because boring means routine. Boring means comfortable. Boring means grocery shopping after work. Boring means I finally truly understand the difference between the Uptown and Downtown trains. Boring is good.

This realization came this evening when (post boring induced nap), I was sitting in my room and considered how different this Friday felt in comparison to the last three. I feel..... what? Bored. Yes. Bored bored bored. And then it hit me! You can truly only really be bored when your aren't occupied with other feelings like anxiety or excitement or fatigue or whatever. This is wonderful!

Now, I don't exactly want this boring to last forever because, I am in New York City, after all and boring would be an extreme waste of time and resources, but I'm ok with a little bit of boring. And hopefully soon this feeling will be replaced with something like fun or joy or sopreoccupiedthatIdon'tevenhavetimetodisectmyfeelingslikethisanymore, but until then, I'm happy with the delightful neutral of boring.

Let's take a look back at this boring-tastic week. 

Work was very slow this week. Which allowed me ample time to get pretty creative with my paper clip twisting strategies. I came up with this paper clip photo frame. It's hard to tell in this picture, but it's almost like a paper clip tripod. And then you can slip a notecard or a photo in and it is a little homemade frame!!! Pretty genius, if I do say so myself. Other intern, Jenna, was no amused. I also suggested that we write and preform a skit for the sales execs in our downtime. She declined. 

Walking home from work this week, I found two gems. 

1. This beautiful brownstone. This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice. Something about it is just magical. I want to live there, please. 

2. This poster outside of a small (I'm assuming) vegan restaurant. I literally laughed out loud when I walked past this advertisement for their vegan tomato soup. So odd for so many reasons. 

One of the many glamorous tasks that comes along with the sparkling honor of being a Marc by Marc Jacobs Sales Intern is getting to double check spreadsheets and placed orders. And then triple checking them... and then checking them again. And then again. And maybe one more time... And then going cross eyed. 

As previously mentioned, I went grocery shopping after work this week. Something that was extremely overwhelming due to the 94,872 people that were also grocery shopping at 5:30 on their way home from work as well. And I didn't have a grocery list. Which... I shouldn't even have to explain why that is really hard for me. One word: tailspin. Anyway, all of the stress and confusion was washed away when I found... wait for it... VEGGIE NESTS!!! What are veggie nests? Only the greatest food offering ever to come out of the freezer section of Trader Joe's (which is saying a lot because their freezer section is obviously UHHmazing). I had looked for them the last TWO times I was at Trader Joe's and the search proved unsuccessful, but this time... this time, was different. (Basically the only person who will truly appreciate this news is Casey. She gets it. Which is why I texted her this picture immediately. I didn't text her the picture that I took of myself proving how excited I was. But here it is. She'll see it now.) Casey, here's a picture of me. It's of me being really excited because I found veggie nests. (Now she knows). 

This made my week.

Oh and if you're wondering why I'm sweating so much, it's because it is literally hotter than the surface of the sun in New York right now and I've decided that I'm going to walk to and from work from now on. And lucky me, I decided to pick this week, the hottest week in the history of the world, to start my new walking pledge. So shut up. You'd be sweaty too. 

GOOD THING THEY DELIVER ALL OF YOUR GROCERIES TO YOUR DOOR!

The generous men and women of MBMJ decided to add to my SWAG pile and throw in this watch too. Pretty sa-weet. 

I had this sushi for lunch today from the market and it was so so mediocre. I would seriously rather it be rancid and disgusting instead of what this was. Bland and unmemorable. Because then, you have no excuse to waste it and not to eat it. But you're hating every bite. Ugh.. this nearly ruined my perfectly boring week, but I'm going to let it go. 

See!? Totally normal and perfectly boring, right? Almost like I'm... dare I say... getting comfortable here? What!? Stop. Is it really happening? We'll see. 

PS- I also want to add make one more point for the Boring team and say that I did, in fact, spend 2 hours of last evening watching a documentary on George HW Bush called "41." It was wonderful. And hardly boring to me, but it seems that it should be included in the sum of this week. 

This Weekend: Mostly cheese.

Ok, so maybe not I'm blogging everyday... but still-- I'm trying. 

Let me just start off by saying this: What a difference a week makes. Last weekend, my first real weekend in the city, I felt like I was wandering around this big ol place like a lost puppy. No real plans, no real direction, and no confidence in my capability of being able to handle this summer. And when Monday came, I was so so happy to have work back to fill my day with something a little more preoccupying what the last two days had had to offer. 

This weekend, I could feel such a change. Even with having even fewer plans and even less direction, I felt more confidence in the fact that I had made it one more week. And that I had handled the last weekend quite all right on my own, so why couldn't I handle this weekend? It was a feeling that I had been waiting for since the first day I got here: control. Even after telling myself for the past few weeks that this situation and this summer is all in my control, I don't think I quite believed it until Saturday when I felt it for the first time myself. 

Ok, So on Saturday, I went to a coffee shop in Soho that I had seen earlier in the week after walking past it on my way to work. 

I got there sort of early and was alone for about 10 seconds until an older man named Darryl came and sat next to me. Let me tell you a bit about Darryl: Late 50's. Divorced. Looks a lot like William Shatner. One son about my age. Paid $20,000 for his genetically perfect lesbian cat. Doesn't sleep around much. Is a millionaire. Has a "healthy" collection of "very expensive" art. Loves the band Kurt Vile and the Violators. 

How do I know all of this? Because he asked me on a date to go see them with him that evening. This was the moment I'd be preparing myself for. The moment when the man in the unmarked van drives up to you and asks you if you can help him find his lost $20,000 dollar cat. I politely said no. To which he replied, "What could happen? There will be hundreds of people there. And I'm a very, very powerful man in this town so people would recognize me if I were to try and harm you. Is it because you have a boyfriend?" OHHH!!!! You're powerful!?! Why didn't you just say so in the first place!! I'm such a sucker for huge, inflated, mid life crisis themed egos!! So I simply replied, "No, I don't have a boyfriend, but I am just not interested." To which he gathered his things, put his Hurley baseball cap on backwards and left, but not before telling me that if I changed my mind, he'd be waiting for me outside the gates of the park from 6:30-7:00. How romantic. I am so so so made at myself for not asking to take his picture. 

You may find this hard to believe, but I don't get randomly hit on too often, so although extremely creepy and a set back in my quite morning with just me, a cup of tea and my raspberry scone, I must say, I was a bit flattered.

(This leads me to another point-- While walking down the street in New York, the men are quite vocal about their appreciation for the opposite sex and, while I may be taking a few steps back in my 21st century Women's Lib handbook here, I have to say that anything shouted at me that is not crude or vile in any way is not only acceptable, but welcomed. To the man on the corner of Lafayette and 3rd that told me I was beautiful, I thank you. Some women might have found you offensive and shovenistic, but I found you kind and endearing.) 

I digress. 

On Sunday evening, I was so so so happy to get to have dinner with one of Kaitlin's best friends from school (and my friend too) Natasha. Natasha lives in Jersey, so she graciously made the hour and a half trek to the city to eat macaroni and cheese with me and listened to me do about 2 and a half weeks worth of talking. 

Here, Natasha and I are taking pictures of each other to send Kaitlin. Just to make her jealous. Meanies. 

And as if we hadn't had enough cheese, we braved the Saturday night crowds to head up to Times Square (WHICH I OFFICIALLY HATE) to eat cheesecake at Juniors (recommended by Baille). The cheesecake was UHHHmazing. So much chocolate. Tash had to roll me out of the restaurant. 

Wait? What's that? More cheese to discuss? Of course! On sunday, I wandered around SoHo some more and made my way to Dean and Deluca where I stood in awe of their cheese selection (and pretty much every other delicious looking thing in the store) for about 20 minutes. Oh, Dean and Deluca, not only were you the birthplace of Ben and Felicity's lasting love, but you will also be the birthplace of many a food baby for poor, emotionally fragile, #summerofdreams, Julia. 

THEN LINDSAY CAMEEEE!!! My dear friend, Lindsay, is in New York because this crazy girl is in the top 5 of Seventeen Magazine's Pretty Amazing Contest where she gets to be pampered and photographed in the City for the next 5 days. If she wins the whole shebang, she gets $20,000 cash monay and to be on the cover of the magazine! WHAT?! Needles to say, this girl's schedule is a little packed over the next few days, but I got to squeeze a few hours with her at the Highline and Chelsea Market. 

YOU NEED TO ALL VOTE FOR LINDSAY G HERE.

Last night, although technically not the weekend, I was able to have dinner with my amazingly generous Aunt Beth who took me out to dinner at Balthazar AND got me a cupcake from Georgetown cupcakes! Soooo delicious. Heading in our separate directions in the subway, we discovered that we are both big Bachelorette fans, so I went up to her hotel room and we watched it together before she put me in a cab and I headed home. So much fun. Thanks again, Aunt Beth!!  

Anyway-- this post took considerably longer to write than I was expecting and now I must hurry and get ready for work. 

Too-da-loo!

Happy Father's Day!!

So so sad that I am so far away from my Dad on this special Sunday. Definitely been missing him (and the rest of my family) a little extra today.

Dad, I love you so much and I am bummed that I missed the big crab feast this year, but I have to say thank you because without your love and your support and your encouraging voicemail messages, I wouldn't be here, getting to learn so much and being able to have such an amazing experience. And this is just one of the reasons why you are such an amazing father.

Here are a few more reasons:

You're sense of humor.

 You're ridiculous sleeping habits.

 Your sportsmanship. And your mad golf skills.

 Your fever for dance.

Your Mr. Cool good looks. And our currently matching haircuts. 

 And how much you love your girls.

LOVE YOU, DAD! 

Mustache Man

I've seen this man a few times on the my morning ride on the L train to Union Square. He is always so interestingly dressed. I wonder who he is and where he works that inspires such a strong aesthetic point of view in him every morning when he gets ready for his day. Or maybe it just comes naturally. 

After work today, I walked a block and a half to Georgetown Cupcakes Soho and enjoyed a latte and a peanut butter chip cupcake while I sat on a stoop and people watched. A pleasant gift to myself for it being Friday. 

This is what I was sitting across the street from. Boy oh boy do I love me some brick. 

Be In it.

After a monumental 2 hour Skype date with my mom and sister this evening (with a little bit of Donny P sprinkled in for a few minutes) I have decided that it is imperative for me to truly be in this summer with full force and full conviction. Whether it is hard or easy does not matter. What matters is that I am here. And that I soak up every ounce that it has to offer.

With that being said, I am going to do my best to blog at least once a day. That may mean a whole post or it may mean two words or even just an image, but I feel that if I do not take active steps to record and document the intense incubator like growth process that is this summer, I will forget it. And forgetting this and everything that has come and will come with it is something that I already know I do not ever want to happen.

Oh, the wonders...

Today, I learned that Trader Joe's delivers groceries. To your door. For $2 dollars extra.

WHAT?

Yes.

Rain makes me happy

Today was wonderful. I had work (of course) until the reasonable hour of 6:30 (ok-- sort of reasonable) when they released me of my duties. I decided that it would be in my best interest to walk home. Although it was slightly raining, the cool breeze and sputtery droplets of water felt so nice on my cheeks as I listened to music all the way home.

I even took an alternative route and discovered a really beautiful street that I had yet to see.

After I came home and dried off for about 15 minutes, I decided that I hadn't had enough fresh air for the day so I set off down 1st Avenue to the Meatball Shop-- a restaurant that has been on the top of my list since I read about it last week-- to pick up some eats to go.

I walked there. Ordered. Took my food. Walked back home and enjoyed the rest of my evening in my pj's watching the Bachelorette.

What a glorious evening.

I am happy. And I'm getting into the groove. Finally. It's happening. I knew it would.

That's a lie. I knew it would. Then I didn't think it would. And now-- it is.

I am getting into the groove.

Here's to an even groovier tomorrow!

My first day in New York.

Today is Saturday. The Saturday that I have been simultaneously praying for and dreading. I have no work today for the first time since I've been here-- really longer than that because of how rushed this last 10 weeks has felt. And with all the possibilities of the city finally available to me, I feel this overwhelming responsibility to spend these moments carefully. And really- to spend this summer carefully. In this single week that I've already been here, I have felt so much and given so much and changed so much. Something that is not easy for me to admit to.

I can already tell this summer is one of growth and challenges and pains but an incredibly special time.
Last night, I got home from work around 6:00- much earlier than the late nights I have been pulling since market started. I sat there, on my small bed, in my small room in the silence before I realized that all I wanted to do was sleep. So I did. I slept for 5 hours. When I woke up at midnight, I felt like I was trapped. Maybe I was still dreaming. So I went back to sleep.

I woke up this morning knowing that I must explore today. For some reason, the phrase "Explore or explode" kept running through my head. That made me laugh. So I got up. Changed clothes three time. Left my apartment and my two sleeping roommates and started walking. Towards the L train. I must go to Brooklyn. Brooklyn has been taunting me. Every day, at the end of work, I get on the L train to go home from uptown Spring St. and I always get off the train just before we reach Brooklyn. So I knew that I had to start there.

I've never felt so alone. I've never felt so alive.

I'm sitting in a coffee shop on Manhattan Ave. It's cold outside and a man with a three legged dog is eating the most delicious looking sandwich. How amazing would it be if I just walked up to him and his dog, said hello, took a bite of his sandwich and left. Ha! Maybe I will. I feel a bit reckless.

The tone of this post is like nothing I've ever shared before on this blog but I feel like its ok. This summer is already such a surprise compared to anything that I was expecting and an important experience and it calls for complete transparency.

I apologize for being less accessible to you all this week- blogwise, texting, calling. I promise I'm doing good.



(one last thing: I have a feeling that I'm going to maybe get a lot of concerned texts/ phones calls in the next 24 hours. Seriously. I'm fine. Haha. This is the first time in my whole entire life that I have been challenged in this way. It's good! I promise!)

Triathlon

Remember when I called finals a "Marathon"? Well, apparently the game makers decided to turn it from a marathon to a Triathlon because I'm still going. Since I arrived here a week ago today, I have worked every single day from early morning to sometimes 10:30 at night. I am very very tired. And I am pretty overwhelmed. I will blog more extensively soon, but right now, I have to get out of bed and get dressed because work starts at 8:00.