field notes from new york city
some music while you view 💕
Shooting friends in Bushwick
Finding all the bougiest matcha spots in the city with Hannah
My friend Corey always introduces me to the cutest studios in the city. Today at NRTHRN Strong 💪
Everything in New York takes more energy – getting places, grocery shopping, finances. I think as you get older too you just realize what (and who) is worth your energy or not. I've resisted this refinement a bit because I've always had a lot of energy and I want to do all the things. But life becomes simpler and more potent when you only put your energy towards what's truly important and gives you energy back.
NYC Marathon. Had a teary-eyed moment seeing the whole crowd dancing full-out and cheering on the brave runners. 🥹 Gives you the same sort of pride you have for your favorite sports team.
Absolute Beginner Heels Workshop at Broadway Dance Center – so fun and challenging! Also I've learned that "beginner" dance classes in New York mean 3-5 years of training. Absolute beginner means the one I go to. Also the instructor asked if I was even born when this song ("Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls) came out in 2006 🥹😂 I said yes very much so.
Another New York friend I first met in Texas, Gerard! 🩵
Started CrossFit again after 6 years away. Best decision (thanks Em!). Community, skill progression, don't have to think about what workouts to do to hit goals, less discipline needed than when I workout alone, getting out of my head, doing something that comes naturally that I have experience in, back in touch with warrior spirit!
Brave chicken crossing the road. Hope he looked both ways first.
By a stroke of luck (getting a $75 meet-and-greet ticket for free), got to meet and receive guidance from (!) legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb.
🏆
Don't underestimate the person strong enough to hold an open heart. 💟
I live in a fourth floor walk-up, so I prefer buses to the subway because it's fewer flights of stairs to walk. I also continually have The Proclaimers' "if I could walk 500 miles" in the back of my mind since living here.
Playing scripty for a short film my friend Danny wrote. I wanted to be a movie director when I was little, so meeting likeminded people and doing anything film-related here feels like a dream come true. 🎥
Hannah & Winnie on the Upper West Side ☺️💕
Rainbow on a cloudy day
Discovered cardamom buns
9/11 memorial workout ❤️
First day of Beginning Acting Level 4 for Film/TV. We did intros in front of the class and camera. Then wrote a monologue in 10 minutes and performed it.
Living my "Save the Last Dance" dreams at a 3-week summer intensive with the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Two hours every morning doing drills and being out of my depth with a class full of trained dancers... I guess the acting classes are paying off 😄
Nothing quite like a sunny day in the city ☀️
Seeing Maria Popova (creator of The Marginalian) at the Morgan Library & Museum
At my favorite local coffee shop
Doing a mix of yoga, mat pilates, and HIIT at a local studio
Memorizing lines on the subway, feeling very New York
Sunday afternoon
Trader Joe's – a place where the prices are normal!
Domino Park
“Acting is moving with truth through imaginary circumstances.” Sanford Meisner. Doing a shoot with Amanda 🎥
Acre in Greenpoint
🖤
Kacey Musgraves Deeper Well tour 🪐
Jon Batiste at Radio City Music Hall
Feo showed me the best bars in the city. He's a professional.
Harlem
Jazz show at The National Arts Club in Gramercy Park
View from apartment rooftop
Swan Lake with friend and past nutrition client, Pearl. ❤️ First time meeting her in person since we met online in 2020. So many people come through New York, and it's been fun to get the chance to meet up and do something fun together.
Metropolitan Opera House
Two city rats
Working from a hipster coffee shop in Bushwick
Aurora Borealis on NYE was truly magical ✨
Vintage shopping in Brooklyn
Em visiting from London!
Gelato break with the work crew
Meet Lucy 💗
Joshua Charow at Westwood Gallery. He documented NYC artists in their lofts.
Alexander Technique class at HB Acting Studio. The technique is used by performance artists to relax. It's interesting as both a person and a performer, helping you become aware of the tension you hold in your body so you can release it. I also did a private session where we did fun things like sit down really slowly to notice how I am moving as I sit, or letting the instructor pick up my arm while I keep it as relaxed as possible. It feels more fun to learn relaxation techniques when it's in service to an art form.
Sundays
After a year in Manhattan, making a home in Williamsburg
Cherry blossom season here is beautiful 🌸
The Drama Bookshop is dramatic
My favorite scenes to do are comedic, even way back when I was little and directed and starred in my own little shows. The energy is so light and playful and it's fun to share those vibes with the audience.
Many cute independent bookstores
Subway mosaics 🍒
Go-to in Chinatown for rice rolls
Nolita 🌙
I have a handful of friends from Texas that have been fun to reconnect with here. b'artusi with Anna. 🩵
Started a consistent yoga practice at Sui Yoga. Honestly yoga feels like rehab for competitive athletes, encouraging you to listen to your body and do what feels good.
A dance audition of like 80 people where we were each called up to the stage to dance for 20 seconds and judged on how well we get the crowd to follow our dance. The judge was like Simon Cowell, it was the scariest experience 😅
Filming for acting class
Living in the city has deepened my appreciation of nature
New York keeps you honest. It's exactly what I wanted, like next-level coaching – constantly challenging you, a place that is teaching you what you need to be a more expansive version of you.
Lunar New Year with the book club 📚
It's so fun living in these little vignettes that feel like movie scenes. Like this dim and warmly lit restaurant in Manhattan when it's cold outside.
Fun fact I lived down the street from Anna Wintour and ran into her one time 😎
My favorite vegan gluten-free chocolate cupcake lives here until it comes home with me
Grocery shopping is one of the hardest things here lol
New scene around every corner
Coffee shop culture
Making a home in West Village
Secret gardens between skyscrapers
Jazz in New York City is a favorite vibe ❤️
Evening runs along the Hudson River
Pottery class with Anna, another friend from Texas 🤠
Outside the lines
Central Park
Casual walk down the street
Seen at The Whitney Museum
Brought my new tree home in an Uber
Smalls Jazz Club
K-pop dance classes at I Love Dance in Midtown
Online K-pop dance classes bc in person classes moved so fast 😅
The Whitney Museum
Dance lessons at The Gibney
Pilates. I like it and it's challenging, but seems a little unnecessarily complex with the machines? Also costs an arm and a leg unless you're doing an intro special (pictured).
Visiting with my friend and stylist, Jenn @haveastylegasm. She's running her business, writing her first book, and traveling the world! 💗
Keep all your eyes open
New York Songwriters' Circle at The Bitter End (where Lana del Ray and Lady Gaga have performed)
Finally watched Sex & the City, as a 35-year-old who just moved to New York City. Always late but right on time!
Alpha Industries office
Running into spurts of nature in the city is so lovely. The tulips in spring are beautiful.
It's important to do nothing and stare at the sky
See with all your eyes
Private lessons at Dance With Me Soho! Learned the basics of the waltz, tango, bachata, and swing.
Caffe Reggio in Greenwich Village
Simply getting around here is a thing. Walking or taking the subway takes up energy in a way that driving doesn't, and I've had to learn to take that into account, which is hard as someone who just wants to already be where I'm going. New York is teaching me to enjoy the journey. 🧘🏻♀️
There are so many people everywhere here, fashion becomes a way to quickly identify who some of your people are. Becoming more expressive with my clothes here.
Book reading with Zachary Pace at McNally Jackson Seaport about the female singers who have shaped him
There are so many smells of all kinds in the city. Getting a whiff of a really good smell here brings a lot of joy. New appreciation for that freshly showered + lotion and perfume + clean clothes smell 🫧
Resident turtles at my apartment building
Keep it moving
Dinner with Alla, a New York friend from Texas 🤠
Figuring out where you want to live in NYC is an exercise in knowing who you are and what you want, because compromises must be made. I asked my friends and family who have lived in New York where the best place to live is and set my sights there as a starting point. Move-in date was one day after my Airbnb stay ended. On my way to West Village!
Williamsburg
Airbnb host's dog, Apollo!
Airbnb stay with a wonderful Venezuelan woman during my first month in NYC while I looked for an apartment.
New New Yorker