August Playlist

When I was little, August always meant that it was one month closer to school, new clothes for school, and my birthday.  A fresh start if you will in September (another year older, new grade and new clothes). So even though the last playlist I featured was only about 3 weeks ago, I feel the new month needs some fresh, new songs. I have been browsing through Spotify and all of these songs sound a little cheeky and playful, the personification of August.

West Coast - Coconut Records

Hymnals - Grizfolk

Jungle - X Ambassadors, Jamie N Commons

Lake Michigan - Rogue Wave

Luck - American Authors

Dirty Paws - Of Monsters and Men 

Anything - Hedley

Young Chasers - Circa Waves

Bad Habit - The Kooks

Secrets - Mary Lambert

New York, New York

Last weekend I stayed with my friend Gio who I had met during my brief stint at FIT. Every single time I'm in New York I always try to cram as much as I can into a short period of time. However, on this trip I just kinda had my legs do the walking with very little pre-planned outings.  

The view from Le Bain 

First, I would just like to say that unless you absolutely have to, don't take a bus from Buffalo all the way to New York. It sounds like the cheapest route but in reality you can't get your sanity back. Anyways, my first night back in the city and my only wish was to go to a rooftop bar that weekend. So my wish was granted in the form of Le Bain on the roof of The Standard Hotel. In short, the view was spectacular and I really can't wait to go back to go check out the Biergarten.

The next day I decided to take Gio to the best view of the city: the top of Rockefeller Center, also known as, Top of the Rock. He had never been and it's been a while since I've been up there. I say the best view because you can see both Central Park and the Empire State Building. We spent about an hour up there just taking in the sights and so many photos!

View from Top of the Rock: Empire State Building, new 9/11 Memorial, and in the distance, Lady Liberty

After Top of the Rock and walking aimlessly around the city, I wanted to check out Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. If I were to had one drink for the rest of my life, I would be content with their vanilla milkshake. Best. Milkshake. Ever

Strung with lights, the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park would make the ideal date

On my last day Gio and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (another first for myself). Of all the times I've been to New York, and even living there for a short period of time, I've never had a chance to make the trek across the bridge. 

Canada: Ottawa

Back in early July one of my best friends invited me to go to Canada with her, her mother, grandmother, and her aunt. It was an adventure to say the least. I had been to Toronto but I've never been to Ottawa, so we all crammed into a tiny rental car and hopped the border for the day.

Ottawa, Ontario is the capital of Canada and home to the Canadian Parliament. The day we decided to go it literally poured the entire day. But, that didn't stop us from exploring the lovely city. I thought Parliament (pictured above) resembled Mr. Big Ben across the pond in England.

The grounds of the Parliament had stellar views across the river into Quebec and it did not disappoint. 

So, we decided to cross the river and see the views from the other side:

not too bad aye?

Buffalo Riverwalk

On one of the recent visits before I actually moved to the new apartment, the beau and I went down to the Buffalo Riverwalk. More specifically, it's where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie. 

You have to drive to the end of W. Ferry St., cross a bridge onto an island in the middle of the Niagara River, and then enjoy a nice leisurely walk (that just so happens to go underneath the Peace Bridge that leads to Canada).

Oh and at the end of the Riverwalk someone duct taped an American flag :)

Wearing: Aeropostale cropped top & American Eagle overall shorts

About Time

So when I took this initial picture (above), I was visiting Buffalo and it was probably the worst winter I have ever lived through; coming from Central New York that's saying a lot. Little did I know that by summer I would be living a block right from this very spot. 

AND, I have come to the conclusion that summer in Buffalo makes up for the god awful winters that you have to endure. It's warm all the time with a slight breeze coming from Lake Erie + the occasional summer thunderstorm. It has taken my significant other and I four years to get to this point. This point meaning, actually living together, as in just us, and this wait has been totally worth it. 

Warped Tour 2014 + Summer Playlist

A couple weeks ago, I went to Warped Tour in Buffalo for the second time. Most of it was to see nostalgic bands that I haven't listened to since 2005-2006 + to catch up on some current favorites. It was myself and 3 other guys, including the beau, & even though it felt like we were caught in a hurricane, we made the most of the day. 

Warped Tour kinda kicked off my hunt for some good summer tunes and in turn I have compiled a playlist of sorts for the rest of the summer. Hope you enjoy!

Cool Kids - Echosmith

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

All The Way - Timeflies

And We Danced (feat. Ziggy Stardust) - Macklemore

Stay With Me - Sam Smith

Buzzcut Season - Lorde

Light Me Up - Birdy

Maps - Maroon 5

A Sky Full Of Stars - Coldplay

Ain't It Fun - Paramore

When You Were Young - The Killers

California (Tchad Blake Mix) - Phantom Planet

   

Walt Disney World

Last week I visited one of my best friends who moved down to Orlando to work at Disney World. Gifted with a talented voice, while she is not auditioning to be a Disney princess she works at Animal Kingdom driving tourists around in a truck for the safari. Can you say pinch me? Anyways my father had extra points for all his traveling and got me a ticket the week before Easter. Highly recommend that if you do not like children, do not go at this time. They are everywhere! Anyways, while she was working I would just sit by her complex pool, read, and just unwind. A lot of family issues have just come up as of late and it was nice not to worry about them and kind of focus on myself.

On the days where my friend had to work, we would spend the nights at Downtown Disney which is open to the public and gives you a small taste of Disney. We spent a lot of time at Raglan Road, an authentic Irish pub whose musicians were hired straight from from Ireland; it brought back so many memories. This hot air balloon was always so majestic looking.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to Magic Kingdom and seeing the new addition to Fantasyland, Beast's Castle from Beauty and the Beast. Disney's concept of it was a restaurant in which you can eat in the West Wing, the Ballroom, or a room that had a bunch of pictures from the film. Of course we ate in the ballroom and the ceiling was painted just like the movie!

And of course, no trip to Disney World is complete without a picture in front of Cinderella's Castle. This is my new apartment by the way, the rent is a little steep but totally worth it (just kidding! I wish) ;]