one BIG city summer.

i was informed that i kept a few people hanging.

haha.

all worries aside,

i have made it home.

two weeks ago today. haha.

AFTER:

ten incredible weeks

twenty-three hundred miles

ninety pounds of luggage

two delayed flights

six college credits

one great internship

i am happy to say that it feels great to be back.

my experience in new york exceeded my expectations above and beyond.

i really could not have asked for a better situation.

i literally feel like a whole new person.

first things first...

what i learned

trust the process.

if you keep up with my personal blog, you might have read and saw the process it took me to get to where i ended up. there were moments where i had no idea what would happen, or where i would end up this summer. BUT seriously without a doubt, i know that new york was exactly where i needed to be this summer, working for exactly the right design firm i was suppose to be with, living in the exact location with the exact roomate i was suppose to be living with. when you're doing your part, and doing whats right, the big guy will make sure things fall into place. i firmly believe this. GO CONFIDENTLY IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR GOALS & DREAMS.

people.

the city was QUITE the wake up call for miss smalltown burley girl. new yorkers are polar opposites from what i was use to. people don't go out of their way to say hello, or thank you for visiting their business, or tell you to have a good day. it's one man for himself, worrying about number one! however, you will come across "down to earth" people, who you seriously will come to appreciate more and more. people will treat you exactly as you treat them. i realized just how one's words and actions can affect another's mood, day, or even week. i was a little nervous to come home, because i was afraid that i had adapted to the new yorker's selfish ways, but i hope that i haven't.

don't underestimate yourself.

when i first started out on this adventure, i had no idea what i was capable of doing. i'm my own worst critic. i sold myself short, when in reality i should have been confident in the skills and abilities i have collected throughout my life and schooling. i surprised myself countless times. never in a million years, would i have guessed the number of opportunities i would be given, and have continued to recieve since being back.

comfort zones.

life begins at the end of your comfort zone. since highschool i have come LEAPS & BOUNDS, when i look back at how quiet and shy i use to be. but this summer put a whole new perspective on comfort zones. in fact, im not sure if i even have a comfort zone at the moment. that sounds a little funny, but let me explain. being in a whole new environment, work space/surroundings, atmosphere, you learn all sorts of new things. you're asked to do things you wouldn't normally feel comfortable doing, like catching a taxi, riding the subway, client meetings... the list goes on and on. i use to be terrified of trying new things, including food, and well.. lets just say, now i CANNOT WAIT TO TRY NEW THINGS.

standards & morals.

my whole life i have lived in a place where i have been surrounded by people with similar beliefs, interests, hobbies, morals, ect. this sumer however, was not the case. never, ever, have i EVER, been faced with so many people who are so different from me. thank goodness for the standards and morals i was taught to live by, otherwise, this summer, my life could have ended up in a totally different direction. the gospel has always been a strong part of my life, but this summer made me appreciate those beliefs even more. i learned that doing the right thing, can at times be inconvenient, but people will respect you for standing firm and sticking up for your beliefs. there were so many times it would have been so easy to push my standards aside, but holding true makes you a stronger individual.

work ethic.

i don't know how many times throughout my life, i have wished over and over again, that i wish i didn't have to work. wouldn't it be so easy to just go to school and play? instead of going to school and working? i am so grateful that my parents have both taught me to have a work ethic. as i entered my internship, i was prewarned by previous student interns, that they got so tired of working for free and thats why they didnt enjoy their internship. i decided from the beginning that i wasn't going to look at my situation that way. although i wasn't getting paid with money, i was getting paid with knowledge and experience i wouldn't recieve ANYWHERE else. i made a goal to show up to work everyday with a good attitude. and to keep that good attitude, despite what i was asked to do, or what tasks they asked me to perform. three weeks into my internship, KR sat me down and said how already she was so pleased with my work ethic, that she was now willing to pay for my food and transportation expenses, after seeing how hard of a worker i was. i was extremely flattered. hard work pays off.

honestly.

this post could be miles and miles long.

filled with lessons and lessons i learned and relearned.

i wouldn't trade this summer for a thing.

i am extremely grateful for

the opportunity i had to pursue my education this summer.

for the people i met.

for the things i learned.

for the people i missed.

for the lessons i learned.

for the person i became.

it was a journey.

with my work, explorations,

and a few funny stories.

i traveled with a suitcase full of outrageous blessings.

on a quest for inspiration, knowledge, beauty, and quiet joy.

i became an explorer, a designer, a writer,

an individual.

all in one BIG city summer.

thanks for following me :)

puddles & packages...

so i had totally just walked home from work in the pouring rain.

and when i say pouring, i mean POURING.

falling down like cats and dogs.

and to add to this lovely little picture i am painting you,

while i was waiting on the corner to cross the street a taxi went flying by,

hitting the rather large, nasty puddle of water and who knows what else,

and completely drenched me and 3 others.

i thought this stuff only happened in movies?

anyways,

i get home.

not in the best mood.

and then...

i hear a knock at my door.

low and behold, it was my main man, carlos.

carlos said he had a package for me.

i looked at the box

and boy...

the tears started fallin'

my dear friend alex haynie,

bless her heart.

sent me the nicest package ever.

complete with all my favorites.

diet coke, fruit roll-ups, granola bars, laffy taffy, queso,

finger nail polish, ect.

you name it. it was in there.

totally unexpected. totally made my day.

thank you alexandra lee haynie.

can't wait to reunite in logan when we both get back from our adventures.

love youuuu :)

don't judge.

haha.

please do not judge me

by the grammar or spelling errors

contained throughout my posts.

i just reread over a few of them

and seriously could not stop laughing.

sometimes i just can't get everything from my brain to the blog fast enough.

hence all the mistakes.

akfj;sklahgsakfgsk

xoxo- lish

its gettin hot..

boy, oh boy

did we get a heatwave this week!

yesterday, temperature hit a record high of 104 and with humidity.. that adds up to a whopping 112.

yep, read it and weep.

i did.

people are actually dying from the heat. literally.

last night on the news they sad there has never been so many heat related tragedies..

i literally could feel my sandals melting on the pavement while i was patiently waiting for the light to change.

luckily. my apartment and office are both air conditioned.

praise the heavens.

moving on...

this week i also had my first legit client presentation,

totally nailed it! :)

KR has been having me scheme a few things.

i pulled a few fabrics for her aunts project.

she loved it!

huge relief.

one of our clients wasn't too impressed with one of the schemes for his library.

so i chose a new scheme.

he loved it!

also, a huge relief!

goodness, im actually starting to feel like i might be headed on the track of knowing what i'm doing.

its a good feeling.

however,

i forgot to mention that during my presentation,

i had a total blonde moment.

thank goodness they all laughed, and embraced my hair color.

i said...

"and this will go in Justice's bedroom..."

instead of saying..

"and this will go in Honor's bedroom..."

hahaha. seriously the whole table was laughing.

i immediately knew i had said the wrong name as soon as it shot out of my mouth.

justice. honor. same difference. both have to do with the court system. right?

out of all the problems i could have had hear in new york, i'm glad that the only one i've had to have is having to hold back my laughter. seriously it is SO hard not to laugh at someone on the subway. or bust a gut when you over here a conversation on the street. or nearly fall over when you see a man dressed up like a woman. seriously. if i laughed at these, i'd probably get beat up.

its a real struggle i tell you, not being able to laugh.

i love laughing. haha.

last sunday during relief society, i got a random, BAD case of the giggles.

seriously it was so bad.

it was right before the closing prayer and i just randomly started giggling.

FOR NO REASON AT ALL.

the super bad thing is

that janna started giggling too. and during the prayer, i was doing my best to hold it in, but i could feel my body literally pulsating, and shaking as my arms shrugged back and forth, hitting those sitting next to me. as soon as i heard amen, my laughter escaped.

tomorrow. i'll try to be more reverant.

last night.

was spent in SoHo.

love that place even more, every time i go there.

dinner was great. :)

{embarassing moment.}

totally pulled a marilyn monroe

while walking over the grate in the sidewalk above the subway.

too much surprise,

my skirt blew clear up, practically to my ears.

i couldn't stop laughing.

so embarassed. so embarassed.

today.

we headed up to an area up by our church house and did some exploring.

we found jonathan adler's home decor shop.

which i loved.

seriously. he just became one of my new favorite designers.

his shop was freaking awesome.

and i want my apartment to look just like it. i cannot wait.

we then hit up the guggenheim museum.

today my exploration reconfirmed the fact that

a: i am not a museum fan. never really have been.

and

b: i think it's because i am ADHD and can't stay in one place for long periods of time.

but none the less..

it was a neat place to see.

and i appreciated the architecture.

especially, since my professor made me sketch that building sophomore year.

it's way cool seeing it in real life.

and the art work wasn't too shabby either.

we then hit up a new little pizza shop we found.

divine.

im not kidding guys,

i could eat pizza every meal.

and most days, i do.

and i have a double chin to prove it. :))) (<---- haha thats a smiley face with two chins...)

i've come to a few conclusions..

you know you live in new york when...

... you say "the city" and expect everyone to know that it means manhattan.

... the subway actually begins to make sense.

... the most frequently used part of a vehicle is... THE HORN!

... you go to dinner at 9, when the rest of the world is getting ready for bed.

... you've gotten jaywalking down to an artform.

... $60 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag, (super depressing).

...you're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.

... you run when you see a flashing "do not walk" sign at an intersection.

... there is no north or south, its uptown or downtown.

... someone bumps into you and you check for your wallet.

... rather than waiting safely on the sidewalk to cross the street, you wait inches away from speedy traffic waiting to cut through.

... you walk a mile in 12 minutes and think everything should be open 24/7.

... a yellow light means speed up.

... you cross the street on a greenlight and if you were to get hit, you'd blame it on the driver for not watching.

...you cross the street anywhere, except for the actual corners, and yell at cars for not respecting your right to do so.

... ordering dinner consists of these main food groups: pizza, chinese, italian, mexican or indian.

... you don't even notice sirens.

... more people live in your block, that your entire hometown.

.... you secretly envy your taxi driver's driving skills.

... your doorman is russian, your grocer is korean, your deli man is israeli, your laundry guy is chinese, your favorite diner owner is italian, the watch sellar on the corner is senegalese, your last cabbie driver was pakistani, and your favorite vendor guy is egyptian.

a few others...

...the other night i nearly wet my pants as i watched a homeless man cling on to my roomates leg as we were walking home from dinner. seriously. close call.

... people, men in particular, are a little bit more forward here, i won't miss the whistles or extremely inappropriate comments as you walk by. hahaha, although sometimes extremely funny.

...i watched a grandma almost beat the crap out of a mom and two little kids, because one of the little kids had accidentally bumped into the grandmas leg. in burley, im pretty sure it wouldn't have been quite as dramatic.

...even after 10 weeks, i sometimes still am in shock, when i am greeted by a client or accquaintance, with a kiss instead of a hug or handshake. haha, its what they do here.

... people aren't afraid to show their affection for one another.. anytime, anywhere. they do not care. haha.

this place has opened my eyes.

although sometimes, i wish i could have closed them.

haha.

(if you want to hear stories, i'll tell you. but you might become nauseated or cry. perhaps both.)

haha.

you see things here, you won't see anywhere else.

that's when you just laugh and say to yourself...

"only in new york."

the church is true!

the church IS true!

long time. no post.

ok so apparently

i have been slacking,

i've had like 6 people this week ask me

how i'm doing, because i haven't updated my blog in a few weeks.

i had no idea so many people were following me.

haha.

this is going to be a LONG post,

but now i'll catch you guys up...

work is still going great. we have seriously been so insanely busy, it gets busier and busier each day. i've had to step it up a few notches. but its been great because i have gotten to get my hands into so much more. i think i've been involved of just about every detail and aspect of design. before coming here i had no idea just how much goes into the design process and how important it is to stay on top of things and be organized.

i absolutely love the relationships i have gained from my internship. the ladies i work with are a hoot. i seriously consider them my friends and am sad when i think about leaving them in two weeks. we are constantly giggling or telling each other stories.

we even share brainwaves.

sometimes we show up wearing similar outfits. we crave the same things: ice cream sandwiches, diet coke, and chocolate covered almonds.

i love our office vibe.

last week the street in front of our office was closed to traffic because they were filming a tv series. it was just me and olga in the office for the afternoon so we decided we'd run downstairs and scope out the celebrities. as we were reading through the casting list, we immediately found a name that was familiar to us, and we INSTANTLY got the giggles.

our conversation went a little like this.

o: "he is so 'dum' cute!"

me: "oh my heck i know!"

o: "no seriously, he is so 'dum' cute!"

me: "his eyes.."

o:" OH HIS EYES. SO 'DUM' CUTE!"

we run back up to the office and started googling pictures of him. before we know it, 3 others from the other office had wandered in and were enjoying the eye candy as well. me and olga still laugh about our celebrity crush and sometimes we send each other emails of pictures of him or funny things during the day and patiently wait for each other to open the email and we both just bust up laughing from across the room.

truth is, i love this woman. her accent, her personality, and her laugh. i love hearing her laugh.

the sr. designer, susan, asked me the other day who my favorite designers were...

i start naming a few..

and then i finish off the list with her name.

she went silent.

i look over at her

she was like seriously dying with laughter.

so then i got the giggles.

the office was looking at us like "what the heck are these girls laughing about?"

she could all but try to explain to them what was so funny.

"she.. lisha..she said i was one of her favorite designers...."

as she continued laughing.

all day she just kept saying,

"lisha, i had no idea you were this funny."

it is one of the most satisfying feelings when you are able to make someone laugh.

amongst all the laughter, we still manage to get the job done.

i seriously am so grateful for my office environment, especially hearing the horror stories from the other girls' situations this summer.

this past week i had the pleasure (sarcasm) of cataloging all the bolts of fabric from left over projects. it took me a good 3 days, haha.

i only go to work 8 more days. how crazy is that? i'm looking forward to a client meeting wednesday, and preparing for our install the following wednesday and my farewell luncheon the day i leave. these next two weeks are going to ZIP right past me.

it's a bittersweet feeling.

this past week, kade, my son,

(haha that's what me and alex call him. we constantly refer to kade & gelyn as our children)

came for a visit.

he's been like a brother to me this past year as i have gotten to know him better.

it's been so good to see another familiar face from home. i'm glad he got to visit. kade, janna, and i have had a jam packed week. trying to cram as many events as possible into 5 days, has all but worn me out.

its been funny to see his reaction to things here in new york, it seriously is a whole other world over here.

here's what we did this week:

sprinkles cupcake shop. oh my gosh. SO GOOD.

i had a banana cupcake.

hands down, best cupcake i have EVER HAD.

the highline.

went to the top of the rockefeller center.

SO MANY PRETTY LIGHTS.

if you ever get the chance, GO!

FAO Schwartz. BIGGEST TOY STORE!

we found a random bike taken over by the "knitting society." these people are hilarious. they go around knitting around random things, light poles, benches, and sometimes even people...

grimaldi's pizza & walking the brooklyn bridge. :)

all in all, a great week. hope he's had fun!

the closer i get to going home, the more and more antsy i become.

i can't wait to enjoy the last few weeks of summer in burley.

with family and friends.

haha i seriously am SO giddy.

regan text me this week and said,

"don't be surprised if i attack you when i see you."

totally made my day.

i'll probably be in culture shock for the first little bit.

being able to look completely around me and see

MOUNTAINS AND LAND,

not BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE.

i can't wait for bonfires, sun valley, MY MOM'S COOKING, harman family parties, the cassia county fair, DRIVING, nice people, catching up with friends and family.

things i have missed so so so much.

bahhhhh....

i'm a little excited if you couldn't tell.

this has definitely been such a learning experience for me and i wouldn't trade it for anything.

i feel like a whole new person. i have learned to appreciate so much.

my good friend alex said to me the other day,

"lish, you are so strong now, i'm just glad you're on my side. people better watch out!"

haha it's true, new york has given me a backbone.

let's hope i can find a happy medium..

don't want to scare off too many people. haha.

and am so ready to start school again and enter the next phase..

the week i leave, aspen is coming to spend a few days with me.

i cannot wait to have some time with her, before we both get home, and she gets married.

14 days left in the city.

8 days of work.

but who's counting?

see ya'll soon :)

red. white. & blue.

oh independence day.

4th of july.

my heart was a little torn this year,

not being able to spend it on the good ol' snake river like i have since... well since forever.

but i'd have to say that monday was still a great holiday.

most of the day was spent across the river with the rest of the girls celebrating

the holiday with the jersey boys.

we took a train over to hoboken, new jersey so that when it was firework time, we could watch the firework show with the manhatten city skyline behind over the hudson river.

holy heck. such an AWESOME view.

it was gorgeous.

haven't seen anything quite like it.

if you ever have the chance to spend the 4th in the city. i would highly recommend it.

they sure know what they are doing.

{funny story.}

so lately i have realized some habits i have picked up since being here, some really great ones, and some not so helpful ones, such as being kind of rude, like the rest of this city.

well yesterday we show up a few hours early to save good seats for the firework show

and camped out for a while.

the sun sets...

we all stand up and start watching the show, at first it was great.

we had THE perfect seats. we could see in perfectly. no complains whatsoever.

well as the show went on, more and more people started showing up, standing wherever, regardless if people had been saving places and such.

next thing i know, some dingle brain was standing directly two rows ahead of us. i wouldn't have minded, except for the fact that im a whopping 5 foot and this man was a little taller than i, but accompanying him was his iPad. and he thought he should record the entire thing.

hence, blocking our view of the show.

people start complaining all around me, yet no one would say anything.

so me, being the brave soul that i am, (haha not),

shout,

"we were here before you, would ya please put down your iPad, before i hit ya with it!"

(instantly i think, "uh where the heck did that come from? i would NEVER say that.")

the jersey boys start laughing. the girls start laughing.

the man turns around, looks at me.

meanwhile i'm nearly wetting my pants, laughing, yet scared out of my mind!

so apparently, i'm not as intimidating as i thought i was, because he didn't move his iPad.

and his iPad is in just about every single one of our pictures we took.

haha oh well.

lesson to learn: lish. keep yo mouth shut!

i'm lucky there was a row of boys ahead of me, or maybe i would have been the one that got bopped in the head with the darn iPad.

and if ya'll want to see the hudson fireworks show,

i'm sure the kind iPad guy uploaded it to youtube immediately. :)

SIDENOTE: NOTICE THAT iPad BOY IS IN BASICALLY ALL MY PICTURES. hahhaha.

the train ride back to the city was HILARIOUS. i have literally never laughed so hard in my entire life. the train was so jam packed that literally it felt like sardines. there was no where to hold on to. if the train leaned left, we went with it. if it slammed on its brakes, we moved with it.

all of us girls were just laughing.

too many bodies.

too many smells.

too many stops before we got off.

too many attitudes.

too good not to laugh.

meanwhile back at home, i missed quite the excitement, or so i am told.

i received a picture of my dads face from a family friend.

at first glance, i thought,

"ok weird. why would they just send me a picture of my dad's face?"

then i looked closer.

and read the caption.

buried in my father's face, was what looked like a 3 pronged fishing hook.

i got queezy.

what on earth?

i wont drop names, because it was a complete accident, but someone got a little fishing happy on the dock and managed to catch dad right in the face while he was out in the boat.

not so fun.

my mom had the pleasure of taking him home and cutting it out with the wire cutters.

but hey at least it makes a good story right? ;)

random.

so they say that TEXTING & DRIVING is dangerous.

good grief.

well so is TEXTING & WALKING.

i had a near death experience this week.

so alot of the restaurants or laundry mats

have basements that are accessed outside through a seperate entrance

in a "man hole" type crawlspace. and when its super hot outside, they leave

the panels open.

well leave it to me.

i had just got out of the office and was checking my text messages, off in my own little world,

when it occured to me that perhaps i should look up.

WELL PRAISE THE HEAVENS THAT I DID, because

i was about 3 inches away from this.

i can't even imagine trying to explain how i got myself into that mess.

haha. so take a lesson from me.

don't text and walk.

no bueno.

things are still going great on this end.

taking full advantage of my last weeks here.

and looking forward to friends from home coming to visit over the next couple of weeks.

it will be a blast. i cannot wait.

this summer has been so great.

they say new york is the city of opportunity. and i'd have to agree.

since arriving here, i've been thrown opportunity after opportunity.

causing me to think a little more long term on some decisions

i will have to make in the next little bit.
this summer is exactly what i have needed and so much more.

i really don't know how i lucked out so well.

i have absolutely nothing to complain about.

my living situation is ideal.

the crew at KRI is perfect.

and the experiences i have had, have been even better.

you don't always end up where you think you'll be,

but

you always end up where you're suppose to be.

scatter-brained.

goodness gracious. i don't know what my deal is, but my brain hasn't been with me at all this week. i've had a nasty cold all week and i think the cold medicine has gotten to me, oh and i sound like a man. but that's ok, my weekend has officially began. and its a super super long one. thank you independence day. :)

things at the office this week were INSANE, to say the least. we were so extremely busy. phones were ringing off the hook with the spread of the wallpaper and fabric line in new showrooms and a few new projects. they had me start answering phones. ha the phones we use in the office have about 903 buttons on them, and after hanging up instead of transferring callers...

i gladly resigned from that job.

since the beginning of my internship i have been the sole organizer of getting things ready for KR's book launch. as part of this launch, she will be sending out 500 signed copies to her clients, closest acquaintances, family, and people she has come in contact over the years. i've gradually worked on compiling the list and finding the addresses. well this week.. we talked about how we would go about getting labels, packaging, and also each book will be accompanied with a personal letter from KR. well during our discussion, we talked about how tacky the labels we ordered would look if we printed the address on them because the printers used a special font that we didn't have access to. a few ideas were thrown around. we wanted them to look different from your everyday mail. someone said we should use a typewriter. haha that got shot out the door. then, one of the designers popped up and said

"OH MY GOSH, HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN LISH'S HANDWRITING? SERIOUSLY, HOW GOOD WOULD IT LOOK TO HAVE THE ADDRESS LABELS ALL HAND LETTERED?"

(they all turn to me.)

i thought they were kidding, so naturally, i laughed.

ha nope. not a joke. i guess the 40 required hours of learning architectural lettering for steve's class my sophomore year has more than paid off.

(i don't know if i'm being serious or sarcastic with my last comment..)

anyways i started doing that today, and i actually enjoyed it! i only made it through page 1. haha but i have 4 weeks to get it done, so i should be alright.

tonight, we hit up times square.

that place is crazy at every time of the day.

random things:

one:

the team had a "welcome alisha lunch" yesterday at ABC kitchen.

so delicious. so cute. so expensive.

here's a little look into the restaurant.

the menu changes daily, based on what they buy at the farmer's market each morning.

kinda neat.

basically the only thing i could pronounce on the menu was ravioli.. so thats what i ordered.

and it was delicious.

in the same building is ABC Home. a 6 level store. i went up and down every floor. couldn't pick my favorite because every floor was freaking sweet. mix of modern with vintage. furniture, lighting, bedding, accessories, dishes, you name it, it was there.

and i LOVED their displays.

two:

janna and i weren't quite willing to dish out $18 for a stinkin' toilet bowl brush at the grocery store. so we googled dollar stores in nyc. ha and... we found one. mapped it out and found it.

HOLY CRAP! SO SKETCHY! hahaha like really. i can't even begin to explain to you how hilarious this dollar store was. 3 floors of random stuff located on korea street. no one spoke a lick of english. at times, i thought someone may or may not whip out a gun. all the cashiers were women with scarfs around their faces. and i swear i could literally feel the grime on the floor crawling up my legs, BUT we found a toilet brush. mission accomplished.

three:

our tv, is now officially showing picture in shades of blue and green only.

i don't know what happened, but i don't like it.

haha.

four:

a couple of weeks ago after work, i came home to my apartment door wide open. a little shocked. of course i thought of the worst case scenerio. scenes of CSI ran through my head. expecting to find all my stuff missing, a bum eating my food, or a dead person on the floor, i hesitantly walked into my apartment. luckily, all i found was a man, who looked JUST like the scary homeless guy off of the movie dennis the menace. i walked in, i think he could tell i was scared. he was like do you live here? i replied that i did. long story short, his name is carlos and he's our maitenance guy. he was just fixing our fire alarm. but holy heck did he scare the crap out of me....

i've actually became pretty good friends with the guy.

everytime he sees me he calls me "little blondie."

truth be told, i'll actually miss the guy when i leave.

just another day at the office...

KR: "would you mind writing martha a quick letter regarding next week for me? i'm in a hurry!"

lish: "martha? like are we talking THE martha?"

(giggles)

KR: "yes alisha, the martha."

(i walk over to my computer, trying not to freak out.)

as i repeat in my head...

"HOLY HECK, I'M WRITING MARTHA A LETTER!"

i just pinched myself.

i totally wrote martha stewart a letter today.

i wrote it like 989.3478 times and kept erasing.

she should get the letter tomorrow.

i think we're gonna be BFF's now.

no big deal.

oh, i love my job. :)

these guys got soul!

ok so i don't donate money to bums, because they scare me.

however, i did give these fella's a few dollars.

i could have listened to them all night.

they sure had soul!

most random post ever.

so this weekend janna and i took a lovely little adventure downtown.

first stop.

canal street.

you here all the stories of how sketchy people are.

LITERALLY SO SKETCHY.

but so fun.

bargaining. my new favorite thing.

(ok not really but it was an adrenaline rush.)

first shop we went to was a perfume store.

these two oriental guys start spraying me and janna with all this perfume.

headache instantly.

i saw ed hardy perfume, usually back at home its $90 for the set.

i asked the little man how much, he said "60 dolla!"

i shake my head and walk away.

he grabs my arm.

"how much you pay, i go down to thiddy ($30)"

me: "i'll come back."

him: "you buy now, i give it fo ten dolla, ten dolla!"

me: "SOLD!"

AND THAT'S HOW ITS DONE FOLKS.

haha, wait a week from now, i'll be posting on here saying i got some skin disease from this awesome perfume...

hopefully that doesn't happen.

knock on wood ;)

second stop: BLEEKER STREET

ohhhhh bleeker street. how much i love you.

back in october, when i came out here with my parents, we did a walking tour. our tour guide introduced to us this lovely little pizza parlor, i've dreamed about it ever since i left. so it was about time for a reunion. seriously one of the best pizza places you'll ever find. the crust is super thin and oh my heavens, DIVINE. its was also voted food network's best pizza.

soooo delicious.

third stop: greenwich village & soho.

two of my favorite little districts.

i think i leave half my heart here everytime i visit.

the aparments are so stinking cute. and theres so many cute little restauraunts and fun places to see. we found the apartment that the TV show "friends" is based from. so of course, we had to take a few pictures.

oh sidenote: can i just say, where the heck would i be without an iPhone?

like literally i'd probably be in kansas or somewhere, lost and out of my mind.

because i use this baby for everything. google maps, map quest, and hopstop have been the most useful apps ever. yesterday i think i googled about 90 times, and used the maps three times as much. i get so turned around so easily here, its INSANE.

the subway was crazzzzy this weekend. so many people all shoved into such a small space. never before has my head been shoved into so many armpits. so gross. i got a little queezy at moments.

not a good thing. won't miss that.

today after church we hit up central park. gosh i love that place. it seriously is gorgeous, no matter what the season.

funny story.

so today as we're sitting on one of the benches in the park, trying to figure out if we were on the west or east side of the park, a lady on the bench across from us shouted, "you girls live here." me:" for the summer, yes!"

she hops on our bench, slides over all creepily.

"you girls interested in buying clothes while you here?"

at first i was a little taken back, cuz for a second i thought she was insulting my apparel.

hahha

then she said, "cuz i can give ya'll the inside scoop on the clothes in jersey!"

(her accent was SOOOO heavy. and SOOO funny)

"ya'll know where port authority is?"

i nodded yes, but really i had no idea where it was.

"well what you do is hop on such and such bus..."

and then she starts describing all sorts of directions, she must have known i wasn't listening.

"ya'll have a notebook!"

i hand her my notebook and pen.

she draws this map.

i just nod my head like its making sense.

it really wasn't.

"now up on the left will be a strip mall, they have all the good stuff. leather jackets for $100, you know the ones that are $3000 here. and they also have tommy figahill (tommy hilfiger) and juicy cutoora. (juicy couture)"

at this point i was really really really DOING MY BEST NOT TO LAUGH. i look at janna and she was trying not to do the same. it was hilarious. bless the ladies heart for wanting to help the girls out with the best shopping places though. she was a hoot!

then her husband walks by.

he shouts,"honey i found my helmet, lets go."

she stands up, "girls i wish you the best this summer. enjoy the east!"

as she runs sluggishly after her husband we hear her say, "honey those girls are from utahhhhhhh."

he just looks at her like what the heck!

oh people are characters here.

central park is filled with so many of these characters and free spirits.

i kept telling janna i need to be more like them, and just let loose and not care what people think.

i took my own advice on the way home.

after we got off the subway, we were headed towards our apartment. we live on a pretty calm street, so we were surprised to see a bunch of cars lined up. the light was a little slow. so as were walking, one of the cars was bumping so pretty sweet music. i'd never heard anything like it. so as were walking the sidewalk behind some trees, i just start busting out dancing. janna starts giggling. then i start giggling. no big deal right? just lish, being a free spirit, letting go of some energy. no harm done right?

WRONG.

the guy in the land rover leans his head out the window.

"Yeaaaaaahhhhh! Girl! Yeah!"

oh my heck i was so embarassed. i start laughing harder. janna starts laughing harder. we start walking super fast. we were like good grief we need to make it to our apartment before the light changes and this guy sees us again.

bad timing. SUPER bad timing.

we enter the cross walk just as he pulls towards it.

he shouts "keep it going baby, keep those moves going!"

i literally was so embarassed. i shake my head, wave, laugh, and then dart in the opposite direction so he wouldn't follow us home.

i think i learned my lesson.

lish, no more free spirits.

ok so another thing i've noticed myself doing, is here in new york, if you're talking to a new yorker, and they agree with what you're saying they will say ," aw ya ya ya!"

ya i say that now.

i didn't even realize it until the other day when one of the girls was asking if i liked the new rug pattern and i replied,

"aw ya ya ya!"

goodness.

funny.

oh and hey i also ventured out and found a laundry mat.

best $40 i've ever spent.

(sarcasm)

each load costs 24 quarters, and the dryers cost a quarter for every 6 minutes.

however, i did feel pretty cool when i put that 20 dollar bill into the change machine and it started shooting out tons and tons of quarters.

i felt like i had won the lottery.

you guys are gonna kill me, BUT i have to post about more food.

but by now, this shouldn't surprise you. ha :)

but there's this great little place in madison park called the shake shack.

the burgers are delicious, and so are the fries.

for you burley people, its like AC Drive-In, but on steroids.

seriously so so delicious.

we also have gone to a little italian place down on the corner that has the best crepes.

(actually averi's are better, but these will do for now.)

and the guy that works there speaks zero english. its hilarious. because we are pretty much regulars there now and is always smiling when he sees us two blondes walk in.

the other night, with all the humidity from the rain, the sky looked SO CREEPY.

gotham city at night.

just waiting on batman ;)

GUESS WHAT?

today i met my halfway mark. :)

can you believe it?

i am so happy.

4 more weeks and then i'm homeward bound.

i'm kinda getting excited if you couldn't tell...

xoxo

jam.packed.week

this has been the busiest week yet.

we have gotten so busy at the office,

which means i have gotten to dig my hands into alot more things,

and its been SO fun.

i have learned so many things this week, something new everyday.

monday was just tons of office work.

after work i met up with the rest of the crew and we all went to a new venue called the highline.

basically, its old railroad tracks and station, that has been renovated, only 2 phases are done so far, but it looks amazing. one was a reflection type park, and the other is an interpretation of mario nintendo world. i couldn't believe just HOW quiet it was. i kept thinking, are we still in the city?

tons of developers have also renovated previous apartment buildings, and built new ones to accomodate for the area. its a thriving place for real estate right now, i can't imagine how much something like that would cost. the apartments looked amazing from what we could see.

tuesday i had more materials to deliver back to the D&D. that took a good 3 hours. i got some pretty funny looks riding the subway with a tote the size of me, jam packed with tons of fabrics..

what was even funnier, was me actually trying to carry it. but i got the job done. all 18 floors. then i had to shop around for some new fabrics for a new project katie got. and then susannah took me to a project that they had literally just finished an hour before we got there. they have been working on it since october. located right on madison avenue, a jewelry store. i have never seen anything like it in my life. i seriously think my jaw hit the floor once or twice. the company has been around for years, but they had decided to move locations, and step up their esthetics a notch. we arrived just as they were getting final touches ready for the cocktail party later that night for the reopening. as you walk in the main retail area, all 4 walls are covered in white leathered tiles ($$$$), finished off with bronze nail heads. you can tell so much detail was put into it. this was a project that both katie, and her husband peter did together. so classy, sleek, chic, but modern at the same time. the pictures below REALLY DO NOT DO JUSTICE. as you walk in, it seriously just looks like a retail space, BUT low and behold, there is actually a hidden entrance/exit. through the exit it leads to a small vestibule, on the left hand side is a secretary's desk, and to the right are two fancy doors, which is acutally an elevator.

upstairs was unbelievable.

as you enter the floor you are in a huge foyer, lined with doors on both sides, located within are the accountants offices, owner's, and corporate offices. at the very end of the hall are two HUGE french doors. behind those doors was a huge room, kind of like a VIP room, its a room used for their BIG MEGA customers, the room was awesome.

a fireplace, a huge shiny conference table, and eventually, there would be rows and rows of more jewelry cases for their EXTREME jewelry that was too hott for downstairs.

haha. and just when i thought i had seen it all, susannah asked the owner if i could see the rest. what??? THERE'S MORE??

the owner takes me back into the hall and opens one of the doors, which then leads to a trap door looking thing, he opens it and we go inside.

literally,

i am not even kidding when i describe what i saw next.

it was like a mini santa's workshop. around 15 men at little workdesks lined the room.

all holding little tools. all wearing glasses with magnifying lenses flipped up, all working so meticulously. some were carving REAL LEGIT DIAMONDS, RUBIES, and EMERALDS.

seriously the coolest place ever.

i didn't know things like this even existed. the room was quiet. the owner said these were 15 of the nation's finest craftsmen that had been working for him for years. it seriously was insane.

COOLEST PLACE EVER.

i can't even imagine how much the jewelry cost. i felt scared even just looking at it. haha. but this visit probably made the top 5 list of things i've done so far in the city.

here are a few pictures we snapped, i'll get more and BETTER ONES.

today was an early, long, but FUN day. i hopped on the train with nathalie this morning bright and early, 7 am to be exact. grand central station is quite the place that early in the morning. so much hustle and bustle, everyone scurrying to work. we headed to connecticut to a project. oh my goodness. so freaking pretty. i had forgotten what it feels like to not be in the city. the house was adorable. located in the hills, SO GREEN, with no neighbors. reminded me of home. cute shutters, tons of windows, huge white colonial columns, and old with TONS of character. the house had like six porches.

we pulled up and they had gardeners all over the property, pruning and trimming the yard.

it was gorgeous. we were there to supervise a carpet installation and go over some final design decisions with the client before she has her baby. basically i followed around nathalie and the client with a notebook, jotting down every word they said, and then took tons and tons of photographs of the antiques and paintings she wants to keep and where we wanted to place them. i got to use a sweet camera, so i felt pretty nifty. then i vacuumed the carpet after the installers left. honestly, the house was unreal. i'll see if i can get some pictures. it was so quaint and cozy. i loved it. i get to head back out in a few weeks. our final installation will be on july 19. can't wait for that.

a few more things..

remember how i said i could eat nyc pizza for every meal?

yeah, i'm seriously not kidding.

i.cannot.get.enough.

this one by far has been my favorite.

a cute little place called vezzo.

bbq chicken, fresh mozzerella, jack, and cilantro.

yummy. my stomach just growled.

after a month in the city, i have come up with a few theories:

theory one:

all things in the city either

a) build character

and/or

b) build calve muscles

haha :)

literally, people are a whole different kind over here. you have to be pushy, bold, and have a backbone to get things accomplished here. seriously EVERYTHING & EVERYWHERE. no one has patience and they are constantly in a hurry. never slowing down. i never thought i'd be like that. here in new york they have this thing called "pedestrian rage" i literally didn't realize i participate in this until today. i caught myself darting across the street, regardless of it not being my turn, i ran anyways. seriously, do i really not have an extra 30 seconds to swear until the next light change, that i was stupid enough to run in front of like 4 taxi's and a street vendor?

HAHAHA OH LISH.

constantly...

i find myself multitasking even more than i am already use too.

and gee whiz, i wish you could see my calves. they are HUGE. like literally i put on my jeans the other day, and it was almost a struggle, haven't ran into that problem before.

which leads me to another random thing,

first time i had worn jeans since being here.

i have never felt so strapped down. most days i just wear a skirt or shorts to the office. i don't know what im going to do when winter rolls around in logan, and i'm trapped underneath 9 layers and boots.

also...

i have decided that i really cannot go one subway ride without having a story.

people are so funny. there's actually a website that has tons and tons of pictures of what people have seen on the subways, its updated daily, i checked it out yesterday and i really couldn't stop laughing.

the other day as i was riding, a man entered the train, you can always tell when a preacher or a person wanting money is going to start talking, because they all have this same look on their face, and then they take this huge deep breath and just start talking.

i'm always interested in what they have to say...

anyways this man goes to the middle of the subway and holds onto the pole..

"people of uptown train 6, i am not a bum, i am not a begger, i repeat i am not a bum, i am not a begger. i am simply a man asking for money."

(haha k guys, i dont know if you heard him, he's not a bum, he is not a begger, BUT he is asking for money...)

then he continues

"i am not homeless, but i am jobless. people may say i have "lost" all four of my jobs.

BUT PEOPLE OF UPTOWN TRAIN 6,

i do not look at it that way.

i have not "lost" four jobs, because i KNOW where they are.

Those four jobs lost me, they have no clue where i am!"

the whole train busts up laughing.

he did make a very valid point...

so funny.

oh my heavens this post is getting extremely long.. and its like 1:12 am. and i need sleep. so we will continue this later.

peace.