Emily's blog

when it rains in the city i always realize how much i miss my car back home.

i could drive around all day and go on adventures without having a raincloud pouring on my head  all day. having the safety and shelter of your car as you travel is so nice. you can drive door to door and you only need your umbrella or something to cover you for just enough time to walk to the door, which usually isn’t a few city blocks. but not here in nyc!

you have to walk to the subway (after discovering which train is the very closest, even if you have more transfers and less street walking)
ride in the subway (so humid it feels like it’s still raining)
walk to your destination (after exiting the subway station and walking a block/avenue in the wrong direction, you find your bearings)

& then you have to repeat those actions to get home. you’re in rain a lot!

if you’ve wandered around in a rainstorm in NYC you may have noticed that the garbage cans on the street start to get filled with broken umbrellas. the city turns into a wind tunnel when it storms and the wind gets pretty strong.

i actually sometimes even opt out of using an umbrella. trying to fight the wind, holding your umbrella, and the wind is blowing the rain all over you anyway so the umbrella really isn’t helping.

one little thing that has kept me dry in this city is my MICRO umbrella. this umbrella has been through some crazy weather and has stayed strong and in one piece! it also collapses to about 6″ so it’s very easy to carry and travel with.

you can buy one for only $10 here at amazon.com

so even if it’s raining, get outside and explore NYC!

today is july 11th.
the 11th day of the 7th month.
you know what that meanS?

FREE SLURPEE DAY AT 7ELEVEN STORES!

at participating 7Eleven stores you can get a free 7.11 oz slurpee between the hours of 7 AM and 11 PM. how clever. i wonder how many more 7/11 jokes they can put in there? actually i’m pretty surprised there isn’t a 7Eleven on 7th St @ 11th Ave. or 7th Ave & 11th St.

find the nearest 7Eleven store here!

COMFORT FOOD

who likes mac ‘n cheese? check out S’MAC!
short for sarita’s macaroni & cheese, it’s an exciting eatery located in the heart of manhattan’s east village.

located at 12th street & 1st avenue – closet subway station? Union Square

what about fried chicken and eggnog waffles? (featured on the food network) then check out MELBA’S!
harlem’s best restuarant serving comfort food that’ll make your mouth water just by readin the menu!

located at 114th Street at Fredrick Douglass Boulevard – closest subway station? 116th Street on the B or C train

maybe you’re more into the old school favorite, when opening your lunchbox was almost like christmas. what kind of sandwhich did mom pack, what kind of juicebox, did i get cooler ranch doritos or maybe its sour cream and onion lays? WELL, imagine your surprise if you got a PB&J from PEANUT BUTTER & CO.

this place not only has your standard crunchy and smooth, but how about a sandwhich called The Heat Is On™ ?spicy peanut butter and chilled grilled chicken, with a little bit of pineapple jam. like a thai satay – only better.

located at sullivan street & west 3rd street – closest subway station? west 4th street station on the ,B,C,D,E,F, or V train

hope you guys get a chance to try some of these places and get some of that ‘back at home’ feel while you’re staying here in the city for summer!

if you try something you like or have another foodie tip for me, leave a comment!

when i first moved to nyc i went grocery shopping and did a double take at the prices.

REALLY!?!? $1.3 MILLION DOLLARS FOR A BOX OF PASTA.
it’s insane, really it is.

however, now that you’re out here on your own, it may be a good idea to do a little more budgeting with your ca$h! my pal Brianna Larson is going to be hosting a budgeting workshop at the new yorker hotel residence tomorrow at 7 PM. just show your EHS id at the front and take the elevator to the 9th floor lounge. there will also be BROWNIES! yum! RSVP here

also happening this week: professional prose - take your writing to the next level!
review common writing mistakes, learn how to master the active voice, clean up the clutter, and get to the point. this event is being held at the clark residence which is located at 55 clark street. easiest way to get there is by taking the 4/5 to borough hall, the 2/3 to clark street, or the a/c to high street! you can take your writing to the next level on friday, july 9th at 7 PM!

ehs is doing a lot of events in the month of july to help you prepare for success. definatley take advantage of these free events. you can learn great information and meet other residents!

okay so i guess i’ve just been having a crazy sweet tooth….
last week it was cupcakes…..
this week it’s

YUMMY!

there are pinkberry’s all over the city. i like to think of it as a ‘healthy’ coldstone. thats not really true, its not as healthy as it may seem, but gosh darnnit its DELICIOUS!

the frozen yogurt mixture is sweet, kind of tart and bitter, but not too much. they used to only have original or green tea, that was only about 2 years ago. now they have 6 flavors! they have original, chocolate, coconut, green tea, pomagranate, and mango. and they even have a seasonal flavor that changes: for summer is watermelon.

what’s really fun is that their seasonal flavor has a happy hour
so from 5-7 PM you can go to pinkberry and get a watermelon flavor with any toppings for 1/2 PRICE!

when you go to pinkberry you can get mini-small-medium-large sizes or you can get a parfait.
i usually get a small or medium size, the medium is pretty big (& could rack you up at a $7 total!)

i used to work at a coldstone creamery back in michigan. i LOVE coldstone. so at coldstone you have mix-ins. here in pinkberry you can get toppings. they have lots of fresh fruit: mango, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, cheeries. and they also have some splurges like fruity pebbles, praline pecans, and white chocolate chips.

hopefully you read my joy burger post, and by reading that you’ll realize when i find a favorite, i tend to ONLY order that favorite.
@pinkberry i get pomegranate flavor with strawberries-kiwi-blueberries-&mango

& HEY MARYMOUNT RESIDENTS!

there is a pinkberry right around the corner on 2nd ave between 54th & 55th Street!

also, fellow marymount-er and ehs blogger paige was obsessed with pinkberry last week – here’s her blog entry about it! obsession of the week: fro-yo

i have some very awesome friends,

The Melillo Brothers

anthony, joe, and nick are a fine trio of musicians, singers, songwriters, brothers, and human beings in general. they are some of the most genuine people i’ve ever met. and man-oh-man, they play some amazing music.

anthony has an album out on iTunes (buy it here) & the boys just released a new EP! if you like their stuff you can contact the band or myself to get the new EP, since it’s not on itunes  yet.

these boys just had their biggest show EVER on sunday night. they played at the world famous WEBSTER HALL! now thats a big deal. what’s even bigger is that they were competing with 17 other bands for a national title that night. there were judges from sony records and also some other big wigs.

after all was said and done, nick melillo walked away with the “best drummer” award and the trio had taken the cake and now holds the national title of the U.S. Emergenza festival. do you know what that means? this is basically the olympics of music, so they will be representing the U.S. and traveling to Germany to compete with bands from different countries  to obtain the world title. AWESOME!

the next day, monday, they were playing a show at rutgers university and they came and picked me up so i could see em. when they were getting close they called to let me know and told me to bring my guitar if i wanted to. i thought no big deal, we’ll hang out afterwards and jam.

WELL.
that was not the case. i had my guitar and my little song book, and while on the drive to rutgers nick turns to me and asks “will you open for us tonight?”
WHAT?! Are you sure? Well of course? Wait really?!

so i did! it was my second time every being amplified with a mic and my guitar, it sounded pretty good, i got a little nervous – i usually don’t ger nervous. this whole guitar and singing thing is still kind of new to me. especially when i’m all plugged in, thats very new.

needless to say, these guys are getting out there and you should know about them and go to their shows and meet them before they have body guards blocking you and you’re wearing a MELILLO BROTHERS t-shirt screaming and crying because you’re their biggest fan. but you may end up like that girl who cried during Sanjaya’s performance on American Idol and get to meet em or get on TV or something.

anyway, THE MELILLO BROTHERS will be in NYC July 8th at piano’s. i’m definatley going to be there, so if you’d like to go with me leave me a comment!

also get in touch with the brothers on these other social networks:
become a fan on facebook
follow them on twitter
check them out on YouTube

lets talk
CUPCAKES

who doesn’t love a good cupcake?
here are some of my favorite cupcakes around NYC and where to get them:

crumbs bake shop  - avg price: $3.50
crumbs favorite right now, featured on their website? S’MORES

magnolia bakery - avg price: $3.25
what sounds awesome on their menu?  PUMPKIN or HUMMINGBIRD

little cupcake bakeshop - avg price: $2.25
what sounds awesome on their menu? CUPCAKE TREE

if you are like my roommate and you can’t eat dairy, gluten, or eggs, THERE IS STILL HOPE!
check out babycakes (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free) – avg price: $3.95
what looks delectable? VANILLA WITH LEMON FROSTING

hopefully you can try out some of these great cupcakes! leave a comment and tell me what you think.

last night i had my first legit acoustic set in nyc!

the group that was putting on this wonderous night of music was called underground artists live.

i played with several other artists. my favorites were joslyn jensen & lonna marie (joslyn is also an EHS employee). and also mathew snow. check out joslyn’s youtube channel or lonna’s music here. and click here for mathew’s jams!

myself & marymount RA samantha!

 there are tons of free music events that go on in NYC every  night!

one of my fave hot spots is Luca Lounge in alphabet city. they have a lot of fun events that have no cover. recently marymount RA khiry took some residents to a free comedy show at Luca Lounge and it was free cover and they had FREE PIZZA!

laughs and some za? sounds like a good time to me!

check out the website for great events coming up at the Luca Lounge

i was honored to be asked to provide the entertainment for a benifit for the MAN UP CAMPAIGN that happened last night.

man up is a global campaign to activate youth to stop violence against women and girls. check out their website here to check out all of the steps they are making to get youth involved. there is a conference happening this year in south africa where youth delegates from around the world will be joining forces to brainstorm on how to stop violence.

i wrote a song for the benefit which was a great hit! throughout the night i played guitar and sang songs. some originals and some covers, it was a lot of fun! the event was held on a rooftop in brooklyn heights, right near the water. this was the backdrop of my performance:

there are tons of events like this that happen around the city! most of the time there will be refreshments and snacks and the cost to get in it sometimes free, by suggested donation, or very reasonably priced. here are some events coming up you may want to check out!

• wednesday, june 23rd – sizzlin’ summer kick-off - big brothers big sisters of nyc’s young professionals will be hosting an event with drink specials, a private DJ, an exciting raffle and more! tickets are only $20 and include one drink. check for more info here
• thursday, june 24th – be cycle & fashion show - one heart channel teamed with 12 famous designers to customise fashionable bikes for the planet. the event shows us how we can be responsible & glamourous! for more info go to the website here
• check out this great website for other events – www.charityhappenings.org

on my other blog i have a series called beverage du jour, i write about interesting beverages i find around the city. it could be a type of coffee, an iced tea, or even an interesting pop flavor i find! i’m from the midwest, so what i call pop you may call soda or coke. i’ll always be a pop girl though.

every friday on this blog i’ll be posting an interesting food fact! may be a recipe, a cool food place, an awesome meal that i had, anything FOOD.

this week, i’m going to write about my favorite food place,

anyone that knows me knows that i would eat joy burger bar every day forever. myself and 1760 RA Janey went to joy burger twice in one day the other day,  and i could still go eat it again.

at joy burger you can customize your burger. they have your standard toppings like lettuce, tomato, and onion, but then they also have toppings like avacado, chili, and even jalapenos! at joy burger bar they make fresh sauces every day: garlic mayo, spicy mango sauce, sweet chili sauce, and chimichurri. this stuff is awesome. and if you live at the 1760 Third Avenue residence, you’ve seen the delivery guys in their navy blue jumpsuits probably every 10 minutes. college students love joy burger because its so cheap! check out their menu  here.

whenever you call they take your phone number and they put your name in the computer, so if you call often (like me) then they say “…emily?” i reply “yep, that’s me!” what’s even better is they ask “do you want the usual?” now that is great service! and also sad that i order from there that often, and always get the same thing. but it’s so good!

here’s my order:
munch (3oz.) burger
lettuce
tomato
raw onion
jalapenos
avacado
chedder cheese
spicy mayo

i get different sides, but my favorites are the side salad with homemade balsamic vinagarette and the fried zuchinni sticks with homemade chimichurri sauce.

how do you get to joy burger to enjoy a meal as delicious as this? get to the 6 train and take it to the 103rd Street station. joy burger is located at the corner of 100th Street & Lexington Avenue. not comfortable with the subway system yet? navigate from where you are here at hopstop.com