NEW YORK - DAY 3

When you hear the words "Spring Break," many things come to mind, including, but not limited to the following:

1) James Franco's character in

Spring Breakers

 creepily saying, "sprang break forever"

2) A week of questionable levels of alcohol consumption in Miami or Cabo.

3) Generally just getting very intoxicated

4) Getting the chance to work on the tan that you're pretty sure you once had, but which has somehow faded to a pale, ashy shade over the winter...

5) NOT SCHOOL.

I'm still asking myself why, when my friend who attends Columbia asked me to go to a class with her, I agreed. What was I thinking??!!!

I somehow convinced myself to get up at 8:45 in the morning and make my way uptown in the freezing cold (No, seriously. The second I stepped outside the apartment to head to the subway, my eyes started watering. It was

that

 cold).

After a torturous two hours of listening (but not really) to a woman talk about fossils and geology and something about chemistry, I could officially say I had attended a class at Columbia. Worth it? Maybe not.

Hungry from all the time I had spent listening (or rather, not) to a lecture about rocks and who knows what else, I was excited to meet up with my cousin for lunch at

Sarabeth's

, one of New York's most well-known (an somewhat bougie) brunch spots.

We decided to split the avocado toast and coconut-rum waffle. So healthy, right? I mean, avocado has great fats in it...and coconut is also good for you...and um...rum is uh...good for your happiness?

I was somewhat let down by my experience at Sarabeth's. After hearing and reading so many rave reviews, I was expecting a lot. I mean, the food was pretty good. The avocado toast was topped with feta, which was delicious, and the coconut-rum waffle was a cool twist on a traditional breakfast item, topped with mango-pineapple jam, toasted coconut and rum syrup. But the service was terrible. Absolutely awful. In conclusion, the food didn't disappoint, but I would rather have my bougie brunch experience somewhere where the waiter actually asks how we're doing and doesn't throw the check down on the table. Yikes. I said that.

As if we hadn't already stuffed ourselves at Sarabeth's, we headed directly to

Lady M

. Lady M is known for their mille crepe cakes, which I had known about for a long time, but had never gotten around to tasting. Apparently, Lady M has locations in San Francisco and Beverly Hills, so I really don't have an excuse for why I haven't gone yet. I guess it's because I'm not really a cake person? I'd much rather go for an awesome ice cream cone, or a super fudgy brownie, or a chewy chocolate chip cookies.

This place made me a believer, though. After much debating, my cousin and I decided to share the green tea mille crepe and the chocolate-raspberry torte. I don't know why we thought we were going to finish both. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.

There's no exaggerating when it comes to Mille Crepes - Lady M does it best. As delicious as it was, I couldn't even finish the green tea crepe cake and raspberry-chocolate bar I split with my cousin 🙊
A photo posted by Caitlin Taylor (@foodieescapades) on Mar 30, 2015 at 4:38pm PDT

When we could finally breathe again (we actually sat at our table for a solid half hour until we didn't feel like we were going to throw up from being so full), we headed to the New York Public Library to take some pictures. In my daily Instagram scouting for cool spots to eat or shoot at around New York, I stumbled upon pictures from the library and knew I had to go. To get that picture. Not to read. From the very moment I knew about the New York Public library, I was attracted to the beautiful chandeliers and detailed architecture, immediately excited by the prospect of all the incredible pictures I could take there. Not once did the amazing collection of books contained within come to mind.

What does this say about me??

Ok ok ok last pic for today, I promise. Sorry for the spam. Blame it on New York.
A photo posted by Caitlin (@caitlinntayy) on Mar 25, 2015 at 6:37pm PDT

Bomber Jacket - Topshop

|

Sunnies - Toms

|

Beanie - Mary Meyer Clothing

NEW YORK - DAY 2

My "I'm being blinded by sunlight and it's also really fucking cold" face
A photo posted by Caitlin (@caitlinntayy) on Mar 22, 2015 at 2:01pm PDT

It took me 10 minutes just to figure out how to embed that ^ picture in this post. Just sayin'.

Maybe my inability to perform such a simple task has to do with the fact that I have yet to recover from my trip. I think I'm still on New York time. It's probably a sign that I should be there, instead of back at school. That's definitely it.

My first day back from Spring Break, one of my friends asked me, "so did you basically just eat a lot on your trip?"

At first, I was kind of offended. My mental reaction went something like this:  "I mean, I walked a lot, OKAY?!! The health app on my phone said I was walking about 7.5 miles a day...Is she calling me fat? I'm working on it okay?!! I'm working on it!!!"

...And then I remembered the Snapstories I posted each day, and I remembered how those Snapstories consisted of 100 seconds of all the food I consumed each day. So it probably DID look like all I did was eat. I mean, that was pretty much all I did. Yeah, she was right.

Yes, I did eat a lot of awesome food while I was in New York. No ragrets. I enjoyed every damn bite.

See this delicious looking pizza you wish you could eat right now? That shit was awesome.

Roberta's

represents everything pizza should be. Located in a graffitied nook of Brooklyn, the famed pizza spot is packed from the get-go. No worries, though! In addition to their main indoor dining area, they also have two tented areas with first come, first serve seating. Enjoy some drinks while waiting for a table inside, or start chowing down in the Tiki Room (that's where I was).

Now we get into the pizza. I don't know why I always decide to write blog posts at like midnight, because it's when I'm the hungriest, and I always have to recount really delicious meals to you guys. I love writing about fashion and food, and sharing my favorite foodie spots with anyone who's reading this, but I'm just so hungry now...

I'll just get to the point already. I'm sorry.

We ordered the Romaine, a caesar-inspired dish served with candied walnuts. I especially loved the addition of mint to the traditional caesar dressing, which was way better than I expected it to be. Mint??!!! In caesar salad dressing??!!!! Sounds totally disgusting, but it was amazing. I'm going to make my caesar salad with mint from now on.

We also split a "Fantastic Original" (I think that's what it's called...it's not on the menu, but it's like a traditional cheese pizza with mozzarella and one other cheese I've never heard of, and it was amazing), with mushrooms, roasted red pepper, and an egg, added. INSANELY GOOD. HEAVEN IN MY MOUTH. PILLOWY, YET THIN CRUST. Do you sense my enthusiasm, or should I go on? I'll go on anyway. The egg was perfectly runny and was just like a sauce all on its own - but wait - now it's mixing with the most delicious marinara sauce of all time??? A perfect marriage is what this was. You could make the trip to Brooklyn JUST to eat this pizza, and it would be worth it.

After Roberta's, we headed toward Bedford to check out

Mast Brother's Chocolate

. The second I stepped in, I was completely overwhelmed by the most delicious smell I have ever smelled in my entire life. It was like stepping into a vat of the best chocolate ever, but without all the weird and gross things that that would actually entail. Forgive me for my awful imagery. It's late. I'm jetlagged.

Bonus pic of me looking like a stereotypical Asian tourist in front of Mast Brothers. It's my Japanese side shining, what can I say...

Just to give you a sense of when each of these things happened within Day 2 of my trip...

wow this is going to sound really bad...

let's just say that within 3 hours of leaving the house, we were already at our third food spot,

Matcha Bar

.

I discovered Matcha Bar via Instagram soon after it opened and immediately added it to the top of my NY list of places to eat. I LOVE matcha. Traditionally served hot, without any sweetener whatsoever, matcha is quite bitter. In the states, it's never served in this traditional way, but rather, it's scooped (very sparingly) into frappuccinos and lattes. At that point, the matcha is pretty much rendered irrelevant, overpowered by tons of flavored syrup. Matcha Bar has made it it's mission to serve matcha in ways that pay homage to its origins. Their menu includes traditional matcha drinks (unsweetened), as well as other more subtle drinks for those who are unused to the flavor.

Faced with the impossible decision of picking just one drink, I ended up picking two - the matcha hot cocoa, and the cold matcha with fuji apple juice and ginger.

*"Best of Both Worlds" by Hannah Montana plays in the background*

Insanely good. The drinks were both very different, the cocoa more chocolate-y than matcha-y, while the iced matcha was much more traditional, sweetened only naturally with fuji apple juice and a kick of ginger. Does the fact that I drank the iced matcha count as doing a juice cleanse? It's like I didn't even eat pizza for brunch, because I drank iced matcha afterward. Right?

Sound logic, amirite?

After we each had two matcha drinks (my cousin ordered a traditional hot matcha, then a matcha chai latte), we explored some stores before making our way toward Brooklyn Bridge park. Evidence=that overexposed, super touristy pic of me in the alley with the Bridge in the background. 

MORE FOOD. It was Shake Shack, okay? It had to be done. I didn't even have a choice about going, really. Let me just say, their 'shroom burger could convince every meat-lover in this world, including Ron Swanson (so maybe that's a bit of a stretch...), that veggie burgers aren't disgusting.

I tried to take a day-long break from posting pictures from New York. Obviously, that didn't happen...
A photo posted by Caitlin (@caitlinntayy) on Mar 31, 2015 at 12:43pm PDT

Shirt - Levis

|

Jeans - Madewell

 |

Beanie - Mary Meyer

 |

Crossbody Bag - Kate Spade

| Shoes - Converse

I need to stop writing this post now because my stomach is growling and I'm getting dangerously close to ordering a large pizza (any size pizza is a personal pizza if you just believe).

NEW YORK - DAY 1

In January, I decided I was going to spend Spring Break in New York. Not in Miami, skipping along the beach, raving all day and getting my tan on. Oh no. I was set on spending Spring Break - a time when most head to the warmest cities they know of to tan on the beach and get back some of the color they lost during the winter - in 30-40 degree weather.

And I couldn't be happier with this better decision.

After the most turbulent flight I've ever experienced (like I actually thought I was going to die, and I'm not at all a religious person, but I was DEFINITELY praying), I finally landed in New York, wearing clothes fit only for a California "winter," and sporting some awesome bags under my eyes.

Despite my lack of sleep, I was so excited to be in the city that I forgot all about the trauma of the flight and I was ready to begin exploring. We first headed to

OatMeals

for breakfast.

To all of you oatmeal haters out there - yeah, all of you who think oatmeal is just a pile of mush - this place will change your mind. With tons of flavor combinations and a build-your-own option, OatMeals promises to satisfy even the most adamant of oatmeal-haters.

I went with the Antioxidant Awakening, topped with dried pomegranate seeds, dark chocolate chips, greek yogurt, chia seeds, and honey. It was like eating dessert for breakfast, except it's actually really good for you! I couldn't have asked for a better start to the trip.

My cousin ordered the Tropical Sunrise, which had delicious bits of dried mango and shredded coconut. 

After our OatMeal's, my cousin headed to school and I decided to wander around SoHo for a couple hours before meeting with

Edward

, who I met off Instagram. Despite my initial convictions to NOT spend any money on clothing during this trip, I bought a top at Madewell within my first 30 minutes in SoHo. I definitely have a problem.

After fleeing the shops for fear of burning through my entire savings, I headed to

Happy Bones

, where Edward and I had agreed to meet. The shop was tiny, with white-washed brick walls and three tiny tables. Perfectly minimalistic and charming, this coffee spot is a New York treasure.

After 20 minutes of passive-aggressively looking over at people who had long-finished drinking their coffees and were just sitting there doing nothing, we finally got a table and chatted over Dough donuts (hibiscus and passionfruit-cacao nib) and lattes. This was one of the smoothest latte's I've ever had in my entire life.

Edward, his friends and I got to know each other over donuts and coffee (there's really no better way to get to know someone), then explored more of SoHo and checked out the New Museum. All I'm going to say is, you have to go to the Sky Deck. The view is absolutely unbelievable, and the lighting is to-die-for.

(...I'm realizing that so far it looks like all I'm doing on this trip is eating...)

After an hour-and-a-half wait, we finally got a table at

Jack's Wife Freda

(lunch at 3:00pm, anyone?). I got the poached eggs and halloumi, served with pesto, roasted tomato, and charred bread. I wish I could eat this every single day. I also want to steal all of their sugar packets, which are super adorable and have little messages on them.

By 4:00pm, my feet felt like they were going to fall off. One of my goals for this week is definitely to keep my outfit game one-hunned. But my feet. They are dying. Note to self: chunky-heeled boots that are a tad too small are bad all-day walking shoes.

After parting ways with Edward and his friends, I met up with my cousin again and we grabbed some light bites at

Boulton&Watt

, then made a final stop at

Momofuku Milk Bar

for some cereal milk soft serve and crack pie (which is actually crack), before conking out at 11:00pm.

Basically, Day 1 was a huge success. Rallying for food and Instagram meet-ups is always a good idea.

DIY TISSUE PAPER GARLAND

If you've been following my blog, you probably know I have a slight obsession with pinterest.

Over my winter break, I decided to attempt a few DIY projects, one of them being this streamer garland inspired by the

Confetti System

. I first heard about the Confetti System a couple of years ago when I was browing Stumbleupon. I was blown away by their creative projects and thought about how cool it would be to have one of their pieces in my room.

Then, a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon (so punny) 

this DIY

.

You can use the above link...I pretty much followed the original poster's directions, but have some tips of my own, which I will outline below.

I am absolutely in love with the finished product, but be warned...this project takes about 4 hours for a 1.5-yard garland, so if you are impatient, this might not be the best for you. That being said, I highly encourage you to try this regardless of your craftiness/level of patience.

I promise, you won't be disappointed.

You will want to obtain some twine and different colors of 20"x30" tissue paper. I bought my twine from OSH, and my tissue paper (in baby blue, light pink, dark pink, and metallic gold) from the Container Store. Another optional (but highly recommended) item is "Command" hooks, which are the perfect way to hang your masterpiece without damaging your walls and whatnot.

1. Take a piece of tissue paper and fold it once lengthwise, then twice widthwise. Cut the folded (vertical) sides so the only folded sections are at the top of the now-four, folded in half width-wise, pieces of tissue.

2. Line up the four sections of tissue; starting from the bottom, cut thin strips up the paper, leaving a 2" uncut section at the top. Repeat this step with each color you want you use. (I would suggest coming up with a pattern - for example, my patterns was gold, dark pink, light pink, light blue, so I would repeat step two with 1 sheet of tissue in each color to start with).

3. Unfold each section of tissue, then roll the tissue, making sure the fringe does not get tangled.

4. Starting from the middle of each rolled section of tissue, twist the tissue until the entire uncut portion in the middle is twisted. Create a loop with the twisted tissue and use Tacky Glue to fasten the loop. Repeat this with all of your first-batch sections of tissue.

5. Cut a 2-yard length of twine and start threading the loops through, tying them on to secure. I left about a 3/4" gap between each of the pieces, but you can definitely adjust that to whatever you please.

6. In the previous step, I said to cut a 2-yard length of twine, but you can make your garland however long you want. I used a total of 3 sheets of each color of tissue, and 2 yards of twine for my project, so hopefully that helps you determine how much of each material you need.

To fasten your garland to a wall, place two Command strips on the wall, then tie the remaining twine at each end of the garland (you can tie on additional twine if you don't have enough at the ends) onto the hook part. And you're done :)

I love these colors I used, but I also bought a light green as well a cream color, and am also on the hunt for metallic silver tissue paper (they didn't have any in stock when I went), so I will probably making another one of these in the near future.

Good luck, and may your room/home/living spaces be forever Anthro/Confetti System-inspired.

LOUNGEWEAR OUTFIT INSPO

sweater weather

sweater weather

 by 

caitlinntayy

You know those days (possibly, everyday) when all you want to do is wear sweats and a baggy tee, even though you have to go out in public?

I think I have one of those days at least 5 times a week.

I created three sets on Polvyore that can (hopefully!) provide you with some outfit inspiration that will allow you to wear those sweats you slept in last night to your classes the next morning, without looking disheveled.

The first set is probably my favorite because of the shorts. Yes, I get that the pair pictured here are a tad short...like 'both cheeks hanging out' short...but this is just a starting point. The main idea here is: pair a (somewhat sexy?) sleepwear-inspired short, perhaps made of satin or chiffon, or one with a lace detail, with a comfy, oversized sweater. I guess I didn't really include shoes here, but I would say go for a plain, pointed-toe flat, high-top black converse, or chelsea boot. Actually, I would say those shoes would be great for any of these three outfits.

lounging at home

lounging at home

 by 

caitlinntayy

This next look provides a bit more coverage...

Tuck a loose-fit, plain white t-shirt into a pair of slightly-fitted joggers. Wear a cute bralette underneath to make the look a bit more delicate, and add some jewelry - perhaps a thin gold choker and a ring. Got a cool pair of shades? Throw those on, too! A t-shirt and pair of sweats is just a starting point. This foundation itself is very plain, so feel free to accessorize.

lazy sundays

lazy sundays

by

caitlinntayy

This last look is pretty similar to the second look, except you could do athletic/sweats-inspired shorts instead of pants. I also love the idea of a sportswear-inspired bralette, as opposed to a lacy one. I'm particularly obsessed with

Alexander Wang's Spring 2010 collection

, which incorporates the concept of underwear as outerwear, through a sportswear interpretation. Going out to run errands? Throw on a longer gold necklace and gold watch to slightly upgrade your look.

I hope these sets gave you some inspiration that will enable you to remain comfortable during those God-awful 8am lectures, while still looking great.