le petit déjeuner

My favorite restaurants are those that take you on a journey and transport you to a far away place. And the ones that take me straight to Paris are among my favorites. Over Christmas break, my high school best friends and I decided to switch up our traditional brunch place to try the recently opened Boulangerie Kayser on the Upper East Side. Following traditional Parisan rules, an establishment cannot be called a "Boulangerie" or bakery unless it makes all of its own bread on the premises. Therefore, when walking into the smell of fresh baked bread and buttery croissants is overwhelmingly delicious. The atmosphere is lively at 9am, with friendly waiters in striped sailor shirts and friends and family sipping coffee at the traditional marble cafe tables. The croissant I enjoy is the best I've had in a while and it is easy to pretend we are in Paris. 

Olivia 

{photos by Olivia}

home for the holiday

Home. This word is unique to each individual. We each have our own connotations that come to mind. For me, coming home for Thanksgiving is the best week to be back in New York. It is a short and sweet week of traipsing around my old stomping ground, eating my parents' incredibly delicious home cooked meals, brunching and museum exploring with my best friends, shopping with my little sister, sitting by the fire, reading, napping, bike riding, attending an annual Christmas tree lighting, watching my favorite movies, and truly relaxing. We're not stressing about Christmas shopping quite yet, not every day is too cold to spend time outdoors, and we really cherish the few days we have with each other before the last stressful month of schoolwork. The holiday spirit already is in the air at this time of year. My high school put wreaths on every window, couples are carrying trees up to their apartments from the Christmas tree seller on the corner, and there is a general sense of the magic that the holiday season brings in New York. 

Olivia 

{photos by Olivia}

gobble gobble

Today we reflect the things we are thankful for. Sadly we only have one day set aside for this when honestly it should be our first thought every morning and our last thought at night. Sometimes the bumps we hit in the road of life leave us feeling distraught and bring darkness on all the good things we have but even that darkness should be thanked. The mistakes, the fails, the dysfunction of life make us who we are and forces us to grow so be thankful for the darkness. Be grateful for all the opportunity we have. The opportunity to choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice. Life is hard and sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to but the choice to look at good and to smile that in itself is a miracle. I know I am grateful for the wonderful friends and family that have given me courage when I felt weak, laughter when I’ve felt like crying, and love in endless amounts. Be thankful for every morning you wake up and see the sky. Today and everyday reflect on the blessing in your life and smile.

Lauren 

{photos by Lauren}

rhino and dino

Dinosaurs. 65 million years ago the greatest creatures to roam the earth mysteriously vanished.  Anyone that has scene The Land Before Time, Jurassic Park, We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story can relate to the fascination with these animals. I mean it’s a totally healthy obsession to keep miniature dinosaur figurines by your bedside.  The Tyrannosaurus rex with its baby arms and giant fangs. I don’t know why but the bloodthirsty killer I imagine the T-Rex being is my favorite.  The Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Velociraptors are all right but just not quite as cool. The uncertainty of what happened to them and the mysterious theories keep me wanting more. I want to travel to unknown lands and uncover fossils. I want to uncover the mystery buried within the sand but for now I’ll play with my plastic dinosaur friends.

Lauren 

{photos by Lauren}

sweat it out

Often times the absolute best stress reliever is sweating it out. When this is also combined with a dark candle lit room and awesome Yoga instructors who laugh with you when you lose balance instead of intimidating you, its even better. Black Swan Yoga is the coolest yoga studio I’ve ever stepped into. I can forget about what’s bothering me, set an intention for my workout, and put my whole heart into mastering some crazy yoga positions. I hadn’t been all semester, but last Friday night, it was the perfect way to end the week. Sometimes you have to throw out tradition and choose something new and exciting to do, just because. It makes life interesting and makes you feel good. 

Olivia 

closing time

Sometimes we need those defining moments that bring light to an end. An end of a love. Those moments where you realize sometimes things just don’t work out. Sometimes its not meant to be. Sometimes that fairytale that plays out perfectly in your mind is just that, a fairytale. Those moments where you hold hands for what could be the last time. That feeling where you know you will be okay but you will be okay on your own. I am starting to doubt goodbyes. How could one word end something so powerful. Those people that come into your life and change you, change you forever. A goodbye doesn’t justify the change that took place. The growth and love that once was there does not go away. So I am done believing in goodbyes. It is never goodbye, it might be an end of something that once was but it is just that an end. Closure is the best word to define these moments of ending. Endings bring new beginnings. Terrifying new beginnings. But isn’t that part of the adventure. 

Lauren 

{photos by Lauren}

run away

Sometimes i want to run away. i just want to get away from everything and everyone and escape. I want to escape the world and its issues and people and their problems. I want to breathe and stop carrying the world on my shoulders. I want to feel something and nothing at all. 

 That nothingness you feel when you take in a sunset and breathe fresh air and just walk. Just walk and just be and think about nothing but where you are. I feel like nature is the one of the only moments that grounds me, that brings me to the present. 

You can escape obsessing over the past and stressing over the future. You can escape the world while enjoying it for it's bare necessities and sometimes that's all we need.

Lauren 

{photos by Lauren}

a productive afternoon

Sometimes a change of scenery is exactly what is needed to make an unproductive day suddenly very productive. This was just what I needed this weekend as I faced a long to-do list of school assignments. A friend brought me to Food Heads for the afternoon to have lunch and study. The atmosphere was perfect. We were the only people in the restaurant and chose a table cast in sunlight by the window. The atmosphere was fresh and quaint, with plenty of sunlight, cute mismatched tables and chairs, and good music playing.

I had a cup of their spicy pumpkin soup, which was delicious and seasonal. I am also addicted to lemonade, so I loved that they had free refills of tasty homemade lemonade. In this cute space, I revamped my resume, checked some things off of my to-do list, and even doodled with some crayons Food Heads supplied. I can't wait to go back for more future productive study sessions.

Olivia 

{photos by Olivia}

dig deeper

Why are we all searching for some sort of love? Why do we think that love will fill whatever sort of gaps we have created in our lives? Don’t get me wrong love is an experience that alters every part of your existence but why are we so desperate to find something so vulnerable and bare. Instead of looking deep into ourselves we search for love from others, some sort of recognition but I think the problem with is love is that we search in all the wrong places. Before we can truly love we must love ourselves. We have to look in the mirror and see every fault, every flaw, and every mistake and learn to accept that we are all human we are all built with imperfections and love them. Love every part of yourself. Stop looking to others to fulfill whatever holes you’ve dug with a shovel of self-despair. Instead of digging start filling that hole yourself, face the dirt of whom you are. We all deserve an undying love but who says that person loving has to be anyone but you.


Lauren 

{photos by Lauren}

spellbound

Halloween. A day to be anyone you want to be. A day to scare strangers. A day to stuff your face full of sugar. Halloween is a throwback to child hood. It’s a day we anticipate all of October. The build up is filled with Hocus Pocus, Halloween town, and movies that make you hide your face under the covers as if that will keep whatever monster in your room from you. We buy candy corn and carve pumpkins to prepare ourselves for the big day. Then the day comes and in the spirit of Halloween we dress up and become everything we wish we were, a princess, a zombie, or a ninja. Our wildest dreams come true. As the sun begins to set a mythical world develops full of creatures from storybooks and movies. The party begins and we lose ourselves to our costumes. The real world melts away and we are given a chance to forget the world. We only get this one night where the calories don’t count and the judging ends at the mirror. The fright night only happens once a year so I hope everyone enjoyed the great pumpkin’s visit last night spreading Halloween cheer. 

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