Brooklyn in Bloom: A Trip to NYC in April

Where we’re at: I’m recapping my travels in 2019, including this trip to New York City in April.

Here’s the thing: living under three hours from my old stomping ground of New York City, I would have loved to have been there every other week! Who wouldn’t? But in reality, I was lucky to make my way there at least once a quarter.

And so those trips, when they did happen, were jam packed with friend time, work events and meetings, and distinctly New York moments I just couldn’t get anywhere else in the world.

This trip was planned ahead, with several motivations. But a few days before my planned arrival, I was texting with my college friend Liz when she casually asked what I had planned for that Friday. A low key dinner with Kristin, I replied, before asking her what was up. “Matt proposed LOL” was her reply. So Liz.

I absolutely adore Matt and Liz and have been lucky enough to have them visit me in Martha’s Vineyard and in Thailand — and I was over the moon that I was able to make it to their impromptu engagement party in Brooklyn!

Not only do I love Liz and Matt, I love weddings and all the many excuses they give us to gather. I’m so excited for the beautiful wedding slash Pratt reunion headed our way in October 2020 — and whatever kind of bachelorette weekend we can lasso Liz into before that too!

The reason I was lucky enough to be in the city that night was my childhood best friend Kristin, who lives in a beautiful studio with her fiancé, had the apartment to herself for a weekend. Considering their space limitations we don’t normally get to go full slumber party anymore, so I was super excited to visit.

I wished I could have arrived earlier, but scheduling conflicts at home meant I could only make it for the last night of her fiancé’s trip. So we made the most of it with a fun Mexican dinner in Manhattan before heading into Brooklyn for the engagement party — Kristin visited me in the city often while I was in college there, so she knows and loves all my college friends too.

The next morning, we took advantage of Kristin’s close proximity to the theater district to rush tickets for Mean Girls The Musical.

I kind of forgot that there were so many ways to get non-full priced Broadway tickets out there — online ticket lotteries, or rushing, like we did. It means you show up on the day of the show at a specific time and wait in line for first-come, first-serve tickets for a fraction of the price — in this case, $40 a pop.

We were idiots and showed up exactly when the box office opened and were met with an enormous line — so big we kind of questioned if we’d get tickets at all. We scored and nabbed two of the last ones, then scurried off to brunch at Kashkavel Garden to toast to our success.

Back at the theater, we marveled at how amazing our seats were, helping us feel justified in our purchase of extremely overpriced theater wine. The show was fun and fizzy but frankly, I’m glad that we had gotten the discount tickets — I wasn’t obsessed with the music and think I’d have been slightly disappointed if we’d payed full price.

The good news? I had a super fun day watching a high school tribute with my high school bestie, and felt my love of theater totally fired up — I vowed to start prioritizing Broadway more often when in New York. After all, how cool is it that the epicenter of the theater world is right there at our doorstep?

Oh, and I felt totally justified in treating myself to a Chandonut, a sparkling rosé donut with edible rose pedals from The Doughnut Project on the way out. It just seemed on brand (AKA pink.)

That night I moved over to Brooklyn to stay again at what I lovingly call The Commune — a beautiful brownstone where eleven or so artists and dreamers live, many of whom are among my closest friends.

I love landing here — it’s the coziest, love-filled space.

And that was my base for my final three nights in New York, where I bounced around between Manhattan and Brooklyn making the most of my brief time. And I wasn’t sure if it was the weather or my mood, but it seemed like everywhere I turned, bright, colorful murals greeted me.

It felt like spring.

What was I running around to and from? Well, needless to say, all my favorite workouts were on the list — I was eager as always to take classes  at Y7 Studio with the teacher trainers from my yoga teacher training, as well as with my new friend and aerial inspiration Brenna Bradbury, who I’d met in the Dominican Republic.

I also, of course, squeezed in as many friend dates as possible. Often, feeling wildly out of the loop on what’s hot in the city, I let friends lead the way. But when I met Liz after work one particularly glorious day and we simply went for a stroll looking for anywhere with outdoor seating, BoCaphe caught my eye — and I insisted we have a bite there.

It’s now officially on my New York hot list! I can’t wait to go back.

Another afternoon, while killing time before an event, I had a work date with my girl Erica, the hardest working chick in travel, at her office at WeWork.

My coworking space envy was off the charts!

After, I met Brenna for what would be the meeting where we’d plant the seeds for what is now our upcoming aerial retreat in Tel Aviv! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be collaborating with this girl.

Together, we hopped to one of my main reasons for being in the city — an event with my partners at KIND Snacks. I really loved being a part of the #KINDcollective in 2019 — it’s a brand that just embodies everything I love! Healthy snacks made of real ingredients, an admirable company ethos, and something that makes my travels happier and healthier.

I’ve been super proud to create Instagram content for them and include their products in my Wander Women Retreat welcome bags.

If you’re not already a KIND enthusiast, try out their build your own box feature on their website — I’m a huge fan of caramel almond and sea salt bars, dark chocolate almond mint bars, and almond butter breakfast protein bars. You can find all the hard-to-get flavors there!

Of course, I couldn’t leave New York without an Amanda date! At the time we were dreaming up a trip to Jamaica together (which eventually morphed into my birthday trip to Mexico, instead) and so dinner at Miss Lily’s seemed perfectly on-theme — and you know there’s nothing I love more than a theme.

After, being as we were in the West Village and all, we spontaneously decided to go to a comedy club. I love stand up, and am thrilled anytime I can rope someone into a show with me. It was hilarious — duh.

Gosh, do I love this city. This trip was no different from any other in that it left me wondering — is there a time I’ll call one of the five boroughs home again?

Time will tell. But dang, spring sure looks good on you, Manhattan.

Till next time, New York — I love ya!

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