From Our Travels... Manhattan

We were in Manhattan for New Years eve and day visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was so lovely to walk around the city that I used to visit so often when I was a kid. My trip up north already seems so far away now that we're back in our routines. But, I must say it's nice to be working again, catching up with my co-workers and touching base with vendors. The first day of my last semester of classes started yesterday and I can already tell that this semester is going to be so different from last semester. I love my teacher for my Event Management class (kind of like our capstone project) and I cannot wait to taste wine every week in my History and Culture of Wines class. There really are perks to being an Event Management major, such as our electives in which we sit in a classroom that has a bar in it, as well as most of our "group projects" consist of us planning an event. I'm happy to say that I am so glad that this is what I chose to study + have a career in. After all of this, these past 4 years of college education, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Anyway, about our visit to Manhattan! We walked up and down Broadway on the upper west side, our stomping grounds. We even took the subway downtown to shop. We love oddities (check out our decor) so we had to check out the shop Obscura from the TV show Oddities. They had a lot of unique items, but with their recent fame from the show, most of it was priced above what we wanted to spend. Although, it was still nice to check it out and see the gems in this tiny shop!

I love the feeling of the city, especially on holidays like New Years eve and in winter time when the city just feels so alive. It has a spirit that no other city has, and was the perfect place to spend NYE. We visited old favorites like the shop Evolution. We picked up some great items to bring home with us like a coyote skull and a lantern fly. We walked around so many streets, each one reminiscent of my childhood.

A new place that we visited that is actually old to my family is the Dublin House. It's a bar that my great grandfather used to go to everyday because he was a numbers man for the Italian mafia. It was kind of amazing to be at the place that my great grandfather had spent so much of his time. I barely remember my great grandfather since I was so young when he passed away, but I have this amazing black and white portrait of him that my father took. The portrait is the epitome of him, a cigarette in his hand and a stern glare right into the camera. It's something I will treasure forever, and I can practically see the same pose of him at this bar. 

I haven't mentioned my New Years resolution, but it actually came to me after reading a few other bloggers NYE posts. I've always written in a journal, and my resolution last year was to write a bit of prose every day, even if it wasn't good. It lasted only a few weeks, and while blogging definitely helped me write more than just journal entries more often, it still isn't on a daily basis. With the wedding, classes, and working, I can't commit to blogging every day. But what I can commit to is writing my favorite moment from every day. So far it's going great, and each of the 8 entries thus far have made me smile. Some of the moments are quite personal, and I can't exactly share them on this blog, but I can share that they are moments like tearing up while saying goodbye to family, sharing a laugh with S's sister, and getting a reality check from my brother. So far, I love it. In a year, I can't wait to have collected 365 favorite moments. 

Adieu, Yelle