bakelove - made in nyc

bakelovenyc is a blog about everything i love in life (mainly baked goods & corgis). my creative outlet.

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Weekend Warrior

{Central Park : photo via http://bit.ly/PluFFV}

Hello hello my little autumn babies! It sure is feeling like October should here in New York. There are a couple of things I truly love about New York City in the beginning of the fall season:

Obvious but not specific to NYC: Boots. Scarves. You can ask any woman and she will proclaim to you, with a certain giddiness, "its boot and scarf season! Now get me my Pumpkin Spice Latte!"

Coffee Shops / Bars / Restaurants: Especially here in the East Village, where places tend to already be small and cozy, shops around the village light more candles, turn on warm glowing lights, start coat check. There is a certain feeling of walking into a cafe where there is a comfortable, warm crowd, friends [or lovers] cackling over funny stories, leaning over the tables enjoying glasses of pinot noir all while the wind is howling outside.

 Walking underground for the subway: Ok, so maybe I will never truly "love" this, but when it starts to get cold and wind is whipping at your face, you start to welcome the heat the subway welcomes.

Well there you have it. I'm sure if I took more time to really think about MORE things I love about NYC in the fall, my list would be huge (red wine season, ability to wear my favorite army coat from Zara, leather accents, pumpkin ANYTHING, honeyscrip apples {although they are expensive, the only apples I buy}, mums, bike rides, hikes, leaves, rain boats...ok stop.) Halloween. Finally saying "Its a McSorley's kinda day". OK.

I did have quite an eventful weekend. On Friday, Sloane, myself, and a friend of ours saw one of our favorite music bands, Dispatch, at Radio City Music Hall. It was so so good. Largest crowd they've ever had. We jammed out and had great seats. Songs have been stuck in my head all weekend!

Saturday. Ohhhh Saturday. It started off with a WINE AND PIZZA TASTING EVENT with two of my favorite people ever (Aaron and Samantha) at New York City Vitners. Never been? Gotta go. The wine person (aka sommelier) was fantastic and the chef (Ryan Smith) was knowledgeable and quite witty. The pizza (who doesn't have a special name) was all sorts of cheesy, bacon-y, crispy and more cheesy deliciousness. The wine paired wonderfully with the choices of pizza, and I ended up buying half the wine store.

After an eventful bike ride home (motorists hate bikers and vice versus), it was time for a nap. I fell asleep while reading my new book, Gone Girl, and waited for Sloane to get back from sailing. We then dolled ourselves up for an epic Jay Z concert that was held at the new Barclay Center in Brooklyn. Note to self: need to go to more 'rap' concerts. Other note to ...self : JayZ is the epitamy of cool. I mean, really. Oh, and even his boo Beyonce made a surprise visit for the last night of his concert series. Girl can shake it.

It was a rather quick concert without tons of bells and whistles (much different than Dispatch, obviously) which led us to end the night at Va' Beh, an authentic, open-air restuarant in Brooklyn. After a couple Peronis, it was time to end the night.

Now, I can't feel comfortable ending this post without a description of how Sloane and I's Sunday went. Since I love lists, I'll give you a run down so you get the gist.

-10:30 AM wake up

-Rainy, 54'F

-Maple Lattes from Van Leeuwens

-Homemade banana & blueberry pancakes

-Crockpot full of simmering chili

-Mumford & Sons

-Knitted beanies

-Oversized Sweaters

-Rainboots

-Research on Italy for our honeymoon

-afternoon espresso & cortado at il buco

-lights and darks from McSorleys

-Clothbound cheddar, french baguette, truffle oil

-60 Minutes

-Bed by 9:00pm

So,'Weekend Warrior' may not be the best title for this post, because lets face it, there wasn't much to fight against :-)

Recap in photos:

{Friday Eve actually started out with happy hour w/ Meredith in West Village}

{Pre-Pizza kitchen at New York Vitners, photo courtesy of Aaron King}

{Sunday morning flapjacks}

{Chili!}

{Ze cook, Sloane, in ze apron}

{came across the beaut from Montauk the other weekend}

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Think More, Consume Less

New York City is not an easy place to live in. "Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of". Well, to make those dreams come true, in this city, you gotta work your freaking ass off really really really hard or it will eat you alive. Not only is there constant pressure of being super-duper successful, standing out among your peers, but there is a constant need to stay current. You gotta move with the city. There is so much to do, so much to see, eat, drink, wear, buy, listen to. There are definitely days, weeks, even months when it becomes a struggle. Friends want to go out to that new posh restaurant on a Wednesday night? Well, of course I need to go, of course I WANT to go. I want to show my friends I am involved, exciting, fun to be around. That I can handle impromptu situations whatever they may be. 

Last night I was out with some girlfriends (of course I can go for a couple 5 drinks on a Wednesday! Sure!) and as always, had a great time. We gladly paid $13 for a glass of wine (okay, so...3 glasses of wine) at an underground restaurant, talked about our lives, what we want them to become, complained about the extremely poor service. $100 later, we hailed a cab to another spot, drank some beers and listened to live music. All in all it was a great night, but dolla bills out of the 'ole bank account none the less. 

Anywho, on my walk to work today, there is a parking meter at the end of the block that has some graffiti written all over it. I've read it time after time, thought about it, then forgot about it. "Think More, Consume Less" is all it says. Although this morning I have kept thinking about it. And I'm still thinking about - hell, I even wrote this whole post about it. The point is this: I consume a bunch of shit every day. Sometimes stuff I don't need, sometimes things that I (think) I need, sometimes things I actually need (like chocolate). 

After a pretty intense break down of this month's spending habits, I've realized I consume too much and don't think enough. So, this October is going to be different. No new consumption for me. No new clothes, no new make up, hair products, mani/pedis, nothing that is just plain stupid. I have enough - MORE than enough and consuming things like this does not make me happy. $13 glasses of wine definitely make me happy, especially with my gals, but maybe twice a month instead of twice a week.

So here's to a consume-less October. Packed lunches, recycled outfits, at home manicures. Of course, if you feel the need to provide me with lavish gifts, I really fancy J.Crew.

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Day Dreaming - Amalfi Coast

I found my mind drifting off this morning to somewhere I've never been. To this picture above - the Amalfi Coast on the southern coast of Italy. I imagine small, quaint streets with local Italians eating croissants and lattes on cobblestone streets. The streets are a little busy, but when you sit down at a local cafe outside (where the tables are a little rocky and unstable due to the cobblestone underneath) you can hear the waves crashing on the shore. Its early, say 10am, but you don't really keep track of time because this isn't the type of city for it. You just know that the sun is hitting your face in the right places, warm, but it is thawing out the tip of your nose from a chilly morning walk. A bit giddy due to the fact that you have no plans, no obligations, just a menu listed with savory Italian pastries. You and your other order a couple of different ones to try, and your grin is ear to ear. Enjoying everything you dreamt and imagined this day would be like. Its everything Anthony Bourdain said it would be and then some.

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Wine Weekend : Long Island

{Vines in Jedediah Hawkin's backyard}

I fell in love again this weekend. No, not with another man, but with another city (ok, I guess its more of village or town than an actual city). I'm not 100% sure if Jamesport, Mattituck, Southold, Greenport Long Island are considered "North Fork" but that is what I am going to refer to this general area as. Regardless, this past weekend was simply magical.

It started as a crisp Saturday morning in NYC made perfect with egg sammiches and maple lattes from VanLeeuwen with Sloane. We packed up our ZipCar (best investment a city dweller could make) with our road bikes and headed east. ITs about a two hour ride so Sloane and I had a couple of hours for good conversation and "Remember When" stories (we have a lot of these!)

I was getting rather giddy while on the "main road" into Jamesport because it was everything I imagined - a quaint town with wineries lining the streets and big, open fields that let your eyes go on forever. We stayed at the beautiful Jedediah Hawkins Inn which was fantastic. The service was spectacular and they made our trip to the local wineries super easy by supplying us with comfy cruising bikes. Since we had a couple of hours to kill before we checked in, we hopped on those bad boys and rode to our first winery : Sherwood House Wineries. I think between Sloane and I, we tasted about 18 different wines. What? They were free thanks to Jedediah Hawkins ;-)

As if life couldn't have gotten much better at this point, we explored the grounds and saw that there was a barn inspired wedding being set up for later that evening. I was clearly on cloud nine, and kept telling Sloane to "look at this! how cute are these!" We met a lovely gentleman named Anthony who owed an event planning business called Moriches Catering. He gave us some great advice as what to expect in the next year (pre-wedding) and not to worry about too much - all people remember is the food, music, and booze after-all ;-)

The next two hours we enjoyed some corn on the cob, hot dogs, and apple cider donuts at the next stop. After we had our fill, we headed over to Jamesport Vineyards and had even more Chardonnays that tasted like butter and full bodied Merlots. Oh - and we listened to a reggage band while sitting in the sun (NBD!) Needless to say, after such a boozy afternoon we were ready for a nap.

After a great dinner at The Riverhead Project that night, we fast forward to Sunday morning. We woke up early and went on a 10 mile bike ride around Jamesport and this is when I officially fell in love. Now - I claim to be a "city girl". I love the hype and energy the city offers me, but TO BE HONEST there is a part of me, (and a part of Sloane) and longs for a simple life. A nice home along the water with a boat, anorandack chairs, and a corgi. A corgi named Pickles. Well, we may have just found this place. A home right along Peconic Bay. *Sigh*

We finished up our weekend with a Lazy Bone brunch at Jedediah Hawkins Inn (one of those brunches where they just keep bringing you food and you don't know what to expect besides deliciousness),  and pastries from Junda's Pastry Shop. Oh, we also took a 2 hour car ride to the very most east part of Long Island (literally, it said "road ends here"), picked up a whole blueberry pie, ate a lobster roll from Love Lane Kitchen, and listened to the newest Dave Matthew's album - Away From the World.

Its going to be hard to top this one.

{Jedediah Hawkins Inn}

{Sloane found this at Sherwood Winery & tried to talk me into putting it in our living room}

  {Merlot at Jamesport Winery}

{A perfect day}

  {flaky croissants : happy girl} 

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M & N Wedding

It's been over a month since my last post. August was an insane month with different commitments left and right. There were flights to Detroit for cousin's weddings, changes at work (meaning more of a work load), different things to plan for our own wedding, camping trips which lead to extremely bad allergies and a pretty tough cold. But with all that, and most importantly, this past weekend was one of best friend's wedding in Plymouth, MI. After a much awaited 2 years, the day finally came where we could all celebrate with her and her new husband, Nick.  

I figured that even though there were lots of different things to post about with this past month, Melissa's and Nick's wedding obviously trumps all these events. It was such a great weekend spending time with my closest friends and creating memories that will be reminiscent for a life time. Honestly, I tend to get separation anxiety after I see my girls for a few days and suddenly they are no longer around. But, it is a comforting feeling knowing that we are all growing up to be successful, beautiful, smart women with such a bright future ahead of us. There are some things that will never change and I am confident in saying that our friendships will be one of those - no matter how many miles away. 

I can't help but to post some beautiful moments from Melissa and Nicks wedding I was able to capture. Melissa was such a gorgeous bride I can't stop looking at them! Weird, maybe. But don't you agree?

{beautiful lace dress}

{putting on the veil right before the ceremony - amazing!}

{mother and daughter}

{humane society of michigan donation card + chocolate covered almonds}

{Sloane and I}

{Melissa and I at the rehearsal - St.Johns Inn}

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Summer Streets

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a few days. Last week was rather busy at work, so I didn't have much time to post.

This summer has required quite a bit of traveling for both Sloane and I. It seems that most of July and much of August we have off weekends where we each are in different spots. Last weekend it was Vegas for me, and this weekend Ohio for him. Each year he goes to Put In Bay, Ohio and does a sailing trip with his dad and close friends. This weekend I stayed in the city, or house rather because it was so hot. I mean 87% humidity, feels like 96'F hot.

Although, I did manage to pull myself out of the air conditioning and participate in Summer Streets on Saturday. Summer Streets is a Saturday event every other weekend in August that closes down Park Avenue (in NYC) from all the way downtown to 72nd Street near Central Park. Its open from 7am-2pm and is a free for all for bikers, runners, unicyclers, walkers, pogo-stickers (saw it), scooter-ers,..you get the jist. And as you know, there is nothing I love more than a nice bike ride in the city without the traffic. I worked up a nice little sweat and finished it off with a stop at the Union Square Farmers Market.

I finished my weekend with some wedding planning, work emails, organizing around the house, and a pizza from my favorite pizza place in the city - Rubisoa.

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

{Scallions from Union Square Farmers Market, well, actually Keith's Farm}

{Nomnomnom - Baguette, honey/lavender goat cheese (GASP), and a topping of honey comb}

{New bike? Surly via NYCVelo in East Village}

{Rubiorosa Classic Pizza - my fave}

{Sloane and his dad - instantly put a smile on my face when he sent me this!}

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Friday Flights

Yesterday morning I was suppose to fly out to Las Vegas for my good friend's bachelorette party.  Unfortunately, the flight was rather delayed due to a bad storm in New York City (and other issues with the airline and agency I booked the tickets through - a story in its own). I was rather surprised with myself that I kept my calm and anxiety low in a rather stressful situation. I think as you get older, you just learn to accept things they way they are and situations come and go. In the long hall, everything will be okay.

So, what helps ease stress more than shoe shopping? Exactly - nothing. So, I bought these fabulous red suede heels from Zara that I am super excited about. I've been a sucker for ankle straps lately (like these in my last post) and the red just seems to be the right pop of color.

I am also looking forward to reading Emily Giffin's new book, Where We Belong, on the long flight. She is one of my favorite authors.

Have a great weekend everyone. I'll be posting some pics and good eats when I get back from Las Vegas!

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Openended Weekend

Sorry its been a hot second since I posted. As you know, this past weekend has been a rather tragic one for Aurora, CO and many other communities across the United States. Although it didn't effect myself or anyone that I know directly, one can't help to think of putting themselves in that movie theater, as we all so easily would do. My heart and prayers go out to everyone was involved or effected by this senseless tragedy.

On a lighter note, this weekend was spent pretty much being a home body, roaming about the city enjoying the beautiful weather. Sloane was with his buddies this weekend at the Firefly Festival, so I had the [spotlessly clean] apartment all to myself. Although its nice to have freedom to roam about 5th Avenue as long as I want, get my nails done, read fashion blogs for countless hours, life is better when Sloane is around :-)

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

{blue sued shoes from Madewell. Perfect for my up & coming engagement photos}

{coffee and eggie from Abraco - East Village (need to try the Olive Oil cake!}

{ice cream bubbles at Pink Olive gift store - East Village}

{J105 picture for Sloane - Boat Basin downtown NYC}

{blue cheese pecan scone at Joe's Coffee - West Village}

{game night at a friends house - I lost}

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Kale avocado tomato feta bacon yaddah yaddah yaddahhh #bakelovenyc http://instagr.am/p/NUExPpNcKR/

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Office Treats

I sure do get a lot of joy out of baking treats and giving them to people. I think my love for baking came while living and working from home in California, and of course my never ending sweet tooth. In the middle of the day, I would have a strong craving for chocolate chip cookies and it was easy to hop on my bike at 1pm on a Wednesday and ride up to the local Pavillions (oh how I miss large, super-store-like grocery stores *sigh*). But, I'd run into the problem that I would only allow myself a couple of treats between Sloane and I and the rest would go to waste.

That's when I started handing the left overs to Sloane's office, Jobspring Partners. First it was left over chocolate chip cookies for the people on his team (3-4 people). It was a rare occurrence at first, but then people started asking for them. "When is she going to bake again?" Sloane would hear almost every week. I remember one time I baked Red Velvet Cake Balls (these were a pain in the balls to make) and I never heard the end of requests for this. The baking for 3-4 people grew quickly to his entire office that consisted of about 12 people. That's a lot of time in the kitchen and a lot of trips to Pavillions.

Well, I'm here to report things haven't changed. I still am the designated baker for Jobspring Partners, but now in New York City. I'd say that the treats have gotten better, requests have gotten larger, and feeding an office of 19 requires new recipes left and right. Not to mention New Yorker's are demanding. Oh  - and one of them is allergic to chocolate.

So last night since it was a cozy 98 degrees at 8pm, I decided to stay in my AC and bake up these little guys : Nutella Mini Donuts/Muffins. I found the recipe here. I liked that they weren't fried and I had every ingredient in my kitchen. Also, cinnamon & sugar has always been a huge fan of mine every since I was a wee little thing. How good do these look? They are dipped in butter for goodness-sakes.

{i hate cleaning up}

And yes - all 20 of them went to Jobspring Partners. My truest fans out there :-)

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Detroit Visit

Alright folks. We are in the midst of summer and I am getting a bit anxious with all these summer sales and pre-fall clothing lines popping up in my favorite stores. What the heck am I suppose to buy? Summer dresses and tank tops that are 60% off just to wear them a few times before September is knocking on our door? Light sweaters that I definitely can't wear right now in this 90 degree heat? Oy vey. What is your outfit buying agenda the rest of this summer? Help a sistah out!

On another note, my girls weekend in Detroit was fabulous. There is nothing like seeing the girlfriends that mean the most to you and can kick back to normal routine even when you haven't seen them in 9 months. It literally feels like we are back in our college days, laying around on a hot summer day, trying on outfits for each other and making inappropriate comments back and forth. Melisa's bridal shower was beautiful and she looked amazing in her Alice & Olivia peplum dress. Peplum just may be a favorite thing and I really hope it is a utilized shape this fall!

Here are some photos from the bridal shower and me just bragging on how pretty my friends are, don't you agree?

{Melissa (in the middle) with her mom, soon to be mother-in-law, and brides maids}

{Laura and I with our yummy cupcakes. Carrot cake took the win}

{Laura, myself, and Kaitlin - love these girls}

{Italian treats made by mama Applegate. Complete with white wine and watermelon}

{A photo I took from the airplane while we were flying back into NYC. My phone was definitely suppose to be off but I couldn't help taking a photo}

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Girls Weekend

I can hardly withhold my excitement for this weekend. I'm traveling to the Detroit-metro area for my best friends bridal shower. Although it will be a quick trip (less than 48 hours), there is nothing like seeing a group of girls that mean the world to you even if they are spread all over the country. I'm looking forward to glasses of champagne, laughing at the stupidest things, celebrating Melissa's up and coming wedding, and poking fun of each other because we can. Just writing that puts a smile on my face. I'm sure I'll have a lot to report on Monday, but here is a [rather] recent photo of my ladies:

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Peachy Keen

I've been spending some serious time (but not money!) at the local Union Square Farmers market here in NYC recently. This time of year yields some of my favorite and freshest produce found all year round : large heirloom tomatoes, juicy and sweet yellow peaches, plums, apricots, and ears of sweet corn.

My office happens to be right next to the farmers market so almost every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I make it a goal to walk through the market and pick up some goodies for lunch or dinner. Yesterday I made this Tomato, Peach and Corn salad with Feta found on, who else, Cupcakes and Cashmere.

This was a simple salad to make, although coring peaches can be a rather messy task (hence why I did not take any photos of the halved peaches). I was a bit hesitant on how all the flavors would mix together, but as mentioned in the recipe, some how they just do. I think it is the combination of acidity and sweet and the crunch from the homemade bread crumbs. By the way - home made bread crumbs are SUPER simple and so delicious. I picked up 4-5 slices of sourdough from Dean & Deluca, tore them into small pieces, and crisped them in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Yum yum yum.

I brought some left overs for lunch today, I hope it is as good as yesterday!

{the finished product - nomnomnom}

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. Stay safe :-)

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Wedding Thoughts

A day doesn't go by when I'm not thinking of my up and coming wedding. It seems that some nights (ok, and most days) my life consists of perusing Pinterest, Style Me Pretty, Wedding Gawker, lover.ly, looking for the details that is going to make my wedding my [our] own. Since Sloane and I are getting married at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe Michigan, I'm leaning towards a nautical theme. I mean, we aretaking a sailboat from the ceremony (at Bay View Yacht Club) to the reception. Doesn't get much more nautical than that. Yet there is fine line between making the theme noticeable and noticeably cheesy.

Here are some inspirations that I've been dying over:

{found from StyleMePretty Wedding - I ordered this striped fabric here and am very happy with it as a table runner}

{These wedding programs made by Blue Tulip Design on etsy}

{in love with old school Polaroids - we even happen to have a camera}{photo from LacedinWeddings}

{white tulips via Splenderosa}

The great thing about having our wedding at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club is that one of my bridesmaids and our dear friends, Mandy and Geoff, got married at the same spot. Mandy has been nothing but helpful in helping me figure out what will work in the space and vendors in the Detroit-Metro area. To get a better idea of our venue, this is a photo their photographer took of the entry way into the ballroom {the ballroom is up the stairs}

{photo by TheShootingGallery}

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Coldplay & Triathlon Weekend

What a weekend it was. I can say that this was one of the best summer weekends so far with lots of activities that will go down in the books. First and foremost : Coldplay concert. Un-real. Yes, it is very "teenage girl" of me to be such a Coldplay fan, but their concerts are absolutely fantastic and I look forward to going to more. We were lucky enough to have 8th row on the floor so we saw Chris Martin up close and personal. I about had emotional breakdown when they played one of my favorites from their new album Mylo Xyloto - Charlie Brown. As mentioned in my previous post, Coldplay has a soft spot for both Sloane and I since it reminds us of our carefree days in Laguna Beach, driving in the jeep with the top down. {sigh}. Here are a few of my favorite snapshots we took while at the concert in Philly:

{laser show during "Hurts Like Heaven"}

{paper butterflies & Chris Martin, shot taken by @nycsloane}

Subways in Philadelphia are definitely not utilized like the NYC Subway system:

{lonely soul -walking down subway hallway, photo taken by @nycsloane}

It also happened to be the New York City Triathlon on Sunday. Sloane is officially a triathlete, completing a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run in under 3 hours. He is one of the most inspiring people I know, and I know many would agree. I honestly think that I should be a NYC volunteer for these events. I really do enjoy watching all the participants and cheering them on.

{@nycsloane 5am in the morning - ready to go for Camp Interactive}

{post tri, pre beer}

{transition area post race - perfect little day}

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Today's deliciousness : iced maple latte from #VanLeeuwen http://instagr.am/p/MvqGRKtcO_/

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Independence Day

It was great to have a day off of work in the middle of the week. It's like Wednesday didn't even exist. It was a sticky 95 degrees yesterday and I enjoyed the morning by hoping on my cruiser and biking along the West Side Highway. After a good 8 miles, I changed into my bathing suit and enjoyed some sunshine (and sandwiches) with Sloane at Hudson River Park. After probably a bit too much sun, we rode home and enjoyed the AC. As Sloane napped, I, of course, baked a delicious blueberry crisp I found from Eat.Live.Run (one of my favorite food blogs). It was super easy - next time I'll definitely add more crisp on top... so I can also eat it right out of the bowl.

{finished product. so delicious with vanilla bean ice cream}

Later, we met up with some friends for dinner and enjoyed the New York City Fireworks on the West Side Highway. It was very special to me because it was Sloane and mine's 4th year anniversary. As the fireworks went off, we reminisced about our first 4th of July together and listened to Coldplay on his phone.

{fireworks hanging from the trees. photo taken by sloane}

{nothing says america like a walmart truck in the background. photo by sloane}