Review | New York City's Cat Café: The Meow Parlour

TIA HERE and oh my god, guess who just went to another cat café. Yep. Me.

In case you've forgotten somehow, I'm currently in New York City, where there is a wonderful little cat café called the Meow Parlour, among other things. My wonderful study abroad friend Alanna and I spent the day at the Natural History Museum and had brunch at Broadway Bites and had great fun. As night fell (around 7 p.m., although we were a bit late because subways never run when you want them to), we arrived at the Meow Parlour where we had made a reservation months prior with friends Thelonia, Lea, and Winnie. This is not the first cat café Alanna and I had visited together, and it certainly will not be the last!

FIT Dorms Room Tour | Kaufman Hall

TIA HERE with a post for anyone looking to live in NYC briefly (like for the summer). There are a lot of different options with a lot of different prices, but I thought I would just talk about the living situation I'm currently in and post some pictures.

So for those of you who don't know, I'm staying at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) dorms, specifically Kaufman Hall. I'm in a double with Victoria, which includes a kitchenette and private bathroom, with two beds in a studio-style room. Without further ado, here are the pictures of what it looks like:

A Final Salute to NYC

street art, spotted in the city

TIA HERE with a final post about my summer in NYC. It's been almost a month since I left and I have now been in Copenhagen for two weeks, but I thought it was necessary for me to write some concluding remarks about the city that had occupied my life for two months of the summer.

A Day of Food with Mom

some vegetables at madangsui

TIA HERE with a post all about my day with my mom, who came by to visit. Her hotel was in K-town (Koreatown) so we stopped by a Korean barbecue restaurant called Madangsui. Although everything was well-made, I discovered that I'm not really a huge fan of the style of eating. I think part of it may have to do with the fact that I'm not that into eating meat in general (except for salami and fish/shellfish) so I don't get as excited about it as I think I'm expected to.

How to Do Karaoke in NYC

entrance to karaoke duet 35

TIA HERE and all I can say is KARAOKE. As someone who finds singing a huuuuge stress relief and super fun, karaoke is the perfect type of weekend activity. I've gone maybe five times throughout the span of the summer with friends and family, and it's remained just as enjoyable each time.

Grabbing Brunch at Lafayette

the front door of lafayette

TIA HERE with some photos from when I first came to NYC and got brunch at a restaurant called Lafayette (obviously located on Lafayette St.) with my dad. The place is alright--beautiful aesthetic with beautiful people in sunglasses at every table, but slightly overpriced. It's definitely a restaurant to go to if you're looking for a fancy brunch with your cool, well-dressed friends with money. The waiters rock adorable suspenders and look just as classy as the people eating. I don't have a strong enough opinion of the place to offer a review, but I thought I would still throw up some photos I took of the place. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Review | My New Favorite Place to Eat

TIA HERE with a rave review of my new favorite place to get food in the entire world. There is a Korean bakery called The Paris Baguette (Confusing right? Is it Paris or Korea?) that you can find in Koreatown (near the Empire State Building). It is, by far, my favorite place. Have I said that yet? I'll say it again. It's the best. Starving and with Winnie, as always, we stopped at The Paris Baguette virtually at random and were entranced by the selection. The baked goods were all expertly crafted to look as beautiful and delicate as can be—and they tasted amazing. There were so many mysterious food items that I wanted to try, but (during my first visit) I settled for a brie and turkey croissant sandwich, a long bread-like pastry with chocolate chips, a very soft, strawberry-flavored cake of some kind, and a bubble tea. That was the meal that converted me to the church of Paris Baguette.

Exploring Coney Island

TIA HERE with seven posts left until the Copenhagen posts start, even though by the time you’re reading this I’ll already be there. The countdown has begun! Currently, I’m sitting in JFK (where I will be for HOURS) waiting for my flight to Copenhagen. What better way to spend this time than to write the rest of the NYC posts I have piled up?

A Foodie Day with Grandma

TIA HERE with the dish on some of the dishes and restaurants I visited in NYC while my grandma was in town. While we did not eat at all of these places, we explored them with passion. First, we went to see Eataly, which is like an enormous, Italian-inspired market-meets-restaurant. It's incredible! Like a maze of food, it takes you from gelato to bread to meat to seafood with swirling aisles of shelves and tables--it's overwhelming, tightly-packed, and a delicious must see. We didn't get anything because we weren't hungry at the time, just visiting to see Eataly in all its glory. However, we did ogle other people's meals as we wandered by, and I filmed a lot of the store to give you guys a visual (see video above!).

Les Misérables, Heathers, Once, and If/Then | The Musicals I Saw in NYC

the heathers musical stage

TIA HERE with a song and dance for you to enjoy! This summer I had the amazing opportunity to see three Broadway musicals and one off-Broadway musical. The verdict: J'ADORE! Let's go through the list, but keep in mind that all of the pictures you see here are from when I saw Heathers: The Musical, as it is generally frowned upon to film during a musical (and is illegal, I think) so I did not bring my camera (or camera mindset) with me to most of the shows. I did happen to have it on the day I saw Heathers however, which is why I have a couple photos here of that!

Review | The Little Owl

TIA HERE with a little review on a little restaurant called The Little Owl. My often-mentioned friend Winnie Yelped the place and she, me, and my other friend Thelonia met up there. From the outside, I was already smitten. How could I not be? It looks so charming and nice!

I Was in the Same Room as Beyoncé

TIA HERE with all the power of Beyoncé and Jay Z flowing through my veins. My dear friend Winnie and I were able to snag somewhat cheap tickets (around $50) to see Beyoncé and Jay Z as they stopped by MetLife Stadium on July 12 as a part of their On The Run Tour. I can't believe it's been a month since it happened! (If you haven't noticed, these posts are quite backed up/scheduled, so by the time you see this, I'll already be in Denmark, but still uploading posts about New York City. Crazy!) Anyway, how to summarize the experience of seeing Beyoncé in the flesh? Let's start at the beginning, shall we? When things went all wrong...

Review | Desserts and Discoveries

TIA HERE with the scoop on where to get a nice scoop of ice cream, a cup of crème brûlée, or some macarons. Of course, there are tons of places in the city where you can get incredible desserts, but I thought I'd offer my two cents on some of the places I stumbled across. These are, by no means, famous New York City dessert locations, but if you're looking for somewhere well-known, there are already a thousand lists all across the internet. Instead, I hope to offer a little peek at some places you may wander past on the street and not know much about. It's a very specific list of three different places I tried out while in the city, and will hopefully give you a taste of the vast variety of dessert places that may not be on any must-see lists, but are just as worthy of a try.

Exploring Williamsburg [Brooklyn]

TIA HERE with a little taste of Brooklyn. On a sunny summer weekend, my dear friend Winnie and I trekked off to Brooklyn—one of the boroughs of NYC, just across the bridge from Manhattan. We decided on Williamsburg (well, Winnie decided because she did all the research!) to seek out some of the amazing graffiti that the area is well known for. Along the way, we made some cafe stops to fight off the heat, passed an art exhibit with an incredible line, and stumbled across Smorgasburg, a weekly Brooklyn food and flea market. Ever heard of a ramen burger? That's where you go to get one—if you're willing to brave the three hour long line (alas, we were not).

Review | Bedford Baking Studio

TIA HERE with the scoop on a little Brooklyn bakery called Bedford Baking Studio. I stumbled across the place while wandering Williamsburg in the hot summer month of July, and I stopped in mostly for a drink and something to eat, but also because it looked so darn cute. Although I didn't glean this information at the time, I now know that BBS is a family-run, Turkish bakery-meets-coffee-shop. When I was there, like always, I went for the cheaper menu items.

A Day in the Life | Interning in NYC

TIA HERE with the lowdown on what it's like to be a summer intern in the City of New York. To give some background, I'm doing two internships--one that is three days a week and the other that is two days a week, both spanning in total from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday--basically a full time job. Both places are on the same street, coincidentally, so it takes me 35 minutes to commute (read: walk) each morning. My hope with this post is to give you the layout of my day and week, so if you are considering an internship in NYC, you'll have an idea of what that might entail.

Review | 5 Common NYC Eateries

TIA HERE with the latest dish on some of the dishes I’ve been trying while in the Big Apple. Although you should be expecting detailed posts focused on specific restaurants and cafes in the future, I’m going to start out with the basics.

10 Things NYC Taught Me

TIA HERE with a list that I've compiled based on my own personal experiences this summer. While some of these things may not have to do with NYC directly, they are all things I learned these past few months, interning and living in NYC for the first time in my life. Hopefully, you'll be able to glean some worldly and lifelong knowledge from this (insert pained groan) listicle.

Welcome to Duo Diaries!

TIA HERE with our very first post! This will be a little intro-of-sorts about us (the authors and creators). Check out the video above for the basics, and read below for more!