Weekend Weather = Ice Cream!

The weather this weekend is going to be BEAUTIFUlL. We've had, what feels like, the longest winter this year and I am ready for summer and the beach! All the ice cream shops around the area are opening up and it makes me SO excited! Because all the ice cream shops around the area have been closed all winter, I searched for ice cream shops every time I went to the city and came across some new favorites. I'm stoked to explore more this Spring/Summer and I'll make sure to compile a list of my favorites so you can also hit them up! 

In the meantime, I had this delicious goodness last weekend in Brooklyn, NY. The shop is called Van Leeuwin Artisan Ice Cream. They use fresh hormone-free milk and cream from local farms, which is always more appealing to me. I am so upset I didn't get to try their affogato but it's okay because I'll definitely be back there again. Read my tip here and give them a try! :)

Happy 23rd Birthday, Kyle!

Days like these make long distance relationships a pain because it's another special day that we're not able to celebrate together. The last time I was with him on his birthday was 5 years ago when we were in high school. We've missed many birthdays, anniversaries, college graduation, job promotions, and other celebratory events due to the distance between us. Although we can always celebrate ahead of time or after, there's something special with spending your actual birthday with those closest to you, or your anniversary with the person you share it with. Well, I'm hopeful and I look forward to the day where that'll happen once again. Just have to stay positive! I made this quick video in honor of Kyle's 23rd birthday!

Kyle's 23rd Birthday Weekend!

So this past weekend I went up to New York to celebrate Kyle's 23rd birthday (which is TOMORROW) early! Kyle and I are not really good with planning ahead of time and usually we spend about an hour asking each other "what do you want to do?" or "what now?" so most of what we ever do is spontaneous. Saturday was A LOT of walking. We ate brunch in the city, grabbed some good old La Colombe coffee, walked over the Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn, walked all around Brooklyn, grabbed dinner, ate ice cream, and spent the rest of the night watching How I Met Your Mother back at Kyle's apartment. Whew... I still have blisters. 

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FOOD (some of the yummy food I had this weekend that I definitely recommend if ever you're in the area):

• Union Republic (Jersey City, NJ) - try their Nose to Tail Ramen! My tip here. They even have a Foursquare deal for a free small drip coffee or agua frescos with purchase of $10 or more!
• Café Orlin (New York, NY) - ANYTHING. They have tons of delicious brunch options. Also they have this deal that includes your choice of eggs benedict, a small cup of orange juice, and a cup of either a cappuccino, latte, amareicano, or tea for only $16. My tip, here.
• La Colombe (New York, NY) - Their espressos are smooth, with so much flavor, which makes their iced latte to die for. They have locations in NY, Philly, D.C., and Chicago. Try them out, if there's one near you! My tip here applies to any of the locations. 
• The Halal Guys (New York, NY) - Combo Chicken & Gyro over rice! This is such a popular street food in NY and you MUST try it. They have different locations around the city and just recently opened up their first ever restaurant! It was the first time I tried them and I loved it. My biggest tip is that if you're in the city looking to try them out, look for their locations ahead of time! There's a lot phonies out there and they'll try to fool you saying that they're the real Halal Guys, but don't fall for it. My tip here.

A really cool feature that I love with Foursquare is that you can make lists ahead of time and save awesome places like these to, say for instance your "NY" list, and then you have an organized location to look up where you want to go when you do go to NY! :)