nykeiko plays: Dia:Beacon, NY

Now that my baby girl is entering toddlerhood, I savor the time I get to spend time with her on weekends. She likes to be out of our small apartment and explore so we always make an effort to take her somewhere fun on the weekends. We also enjoy exploring the city with her. She's very acquainted with all the parks we visit, she loves to point at every pigeon in sight and practices her barking at dog parks. She can nap through loud subway trains and honking cars. Swings are always a highlight and water sprinklers are never to be missed. It's not possible for us to sleep in on the weekends anymore so it is easy for us to get out of the house early and be home for dinner. I think we're better at packing on the fly and taking less time to finally leave the house. We might always forget a thing or two but as long as we have her diapers and wipes, everything else doesn't seem to matter. Okay, I lie, we need to bring a bunch of crap like sun lotion, water bottle, hat, extra change of clothes, bib, snacks and more!

To celebrate the end of Summer, we have been setting out doing mini getaways outside the city.

nykeiko shops: Sandro Sample Sale [October 2015 NYC Sample Sale]

Last night, I stopped by Sandro's sample sale. Here's my report for Racked NY. I took over 100+ pictures but really had to trim it down a bit. I liked all the jackets and coats offered in both men and women's section. Of course I don't need a new coat nor anything else so naturally came out empty handed. I always like Sandro's dresses. This past weekend, I stopped by Maje's sample sale with my sister on the last day where an additional 20% off was offered but of course, all the good stuff were gone. Sweaters were still $60 so I didn't go for it. There simply wasn't anything nice anymore anyway! Yay for the wallet.

nykeiko shops: Madewell Sample Sale [June 2015 NYC Sample Sale]

Madewell's first ever standalone sample sale happened and I checked out the friends and family portion last night. Here's my sale report on Racked NY. Prices were fair on some items while others made me question the discount. I'm well aware that J.Crew and Madewell sometimes have these extra discounts on their sale items (like, happening right now with additional 30% off sale for three days!) and I did find some of the items at the sample sale that are cheaper online (like accessories, shoes, coats and sweaters). Nonetheless, I still thought I did pretty okay with this super stretchy and comfy red true sample jersey dress with pockets for $30 and a pair of earphones for $10 (because I go through about one earphone a year).

Aziz Ansari - Modern Romancing New York peeps... [NYC]

Just before heading to the airport for Taiwan last month, we went to see Aziz Ansari live on tour (for Modern Romance) and this was his first show ever at Madison Square Garden. Here are some pictures I forgot to post! Hoping Aziz will find these when he Googles himself one day!

At the beginning of the show, as he has done so in the past, he lets people take pictures of him so that the audience is not tempted to take pictures in the middle of the show and distract others. He poses in front of different pictures and hundreds of flashes go off...

More pictures and video after the jump...

Your feet will thank you....[Fishion Herb Center]

I just wanted to tell you guys about this little place in Manhattan that can offer you what your feet may need. Forget the name, just remember the address. (Fishion Herb Center sounds fishy.) This place is not fancy or anything as you can see from my pictures but if you like a nice strong foot massage for a decent price- come here and ask for Tony, he can give you what you need.

I love foot massages. When a hand starts rolling down my foot pad, my eyes start rolling back. I've had Tony push on my feet so hard one time, it bruised for days. I like it when it hurts. Although I am grimacing and my palms become sweaty for the duration of the massage, I still endure it knowing that my feet will feel great- like walking on air. The $25 price tag for a 40-minute foot reflexology is definitely a great deal for New York city.  I have never tried the other massage services offered here but with the amount of people walking in this place every hour, I have a feeling they have a lot of satisfied customers.

nykeiko plays: Our July 4th staycation in the city ... [NYC]

Here are just a few snapshots from our Manhattan staycation over the holiday weekend. Some of these you might have already seen on my Instagram. It was such a good idea to book a hotel in the city (Thanks to CitizenM!) for two nights and enjoy the city like tourists but without the stress of time factor and the unknown. We ate, we drank and I elegantly coughed up flem while recovering from a cold (which I'm still recovering from). My runny nose and coughing didn't stop me from enjoying our staycation- it only prevented me from getting drunk like I had planned. We were faced with lots of rain due to hurricane Arthur but it was perfect for us to just stay in, canoodle in bed and watch TV for hours. 

On our first night, we did get caught in the middle of a downpour but our hunger drove us to run through it so we could try the new Totto Ramen shop on 51st street in Hell's Kitchen. The rain helped us get seats without a wait and although soaked, we warmed up quickly with our bowls of ramen. We got back to the hotel and watched the thunderstorm from the rooftop bar while eating complimentary red velvet whoopie pies, nutty snacks and chocolate-dipped bacon plus a warm cup of tea (for me). 

My picks on CitizenMag!

On Bleecker Street at Sunset

Photo by David

nykeiko eats: Bespoke cocktails are a thing at Milk and Honey [NYC]

I finally got to try Milk and Honey, a neo-speakeasy bar that Dave has been wanting to try for some time. The bar is easy to find on the internet but in person, you have to look a little harder. Hidden behind unmarked glass doors and black curtains, Milk and Honey has been the go-to spot for New Yorkers to taste some fantastic bespoke (i.e. custom, made-to-order) cocktails. Owner, top mixologist Sasha Petraske opened Milk and Honey back in 2000 at a smaller venue in the Lower East Side. Now that it has moved to the Flatiron district, the intimacy is lost and the venue seats up to 66 people. Every seat was taken even when we were there close to 1 in the morning (Gasp! We were up late right?).

Milk and Honey instead, which was probably the best decision ever! We got our own booth after less than ten minutes of waiting. The bar was quiet for a Friday night and big parties with no reservations were turned away. It was perfect. Oldies tunes played and Dave and I could still hear each other speak. We were therefore able to catch up on important life questions such as : "If you had to eat at one restaurant (unlimited funds) in New York city for a whole week for all three meals, which restaurant would you pick?", "If you find a $100 bill in the subway tracks, would you wait an hour for an MTA agent to retrieve it for you? What about $50...?". You know, important things like that.

There are no cocktail menus here and you get to order whatever you feel like that night. Well, not whatever. (I asked for berries in my drink but they didn’t have any.). You describe to your waiter what your ideal drink is. Maybe pick a spirit you want (gin, vodka, whiskey...), maybe some flavors (fruity, gingery, lavender..) and add a little bit of personality to it (sweet, sour, refreshing, bitter, spicy...) and patiently wait for your unique concoction to be made and served. That night, I went with a twist of a gimlet which had some crème violet liqueur. My second drink was something fizzy (egg white and cream). I was loving being able to customize my drinks. They should make a restaurant with that concept…No, Chipotle is not the same.

Look up....[somewhere on 13th street/6 avenue]

In pictures: CitizenM-Where to sleep in the city that never sleeps...[New York Times Square]

CitizenM room 1414

Welcome to CitizenM 

CitizenM is a Dutch-based hotel chain line that has kicked off in Amsterdam-with great success- and has since opened two more locations in Glasgow and London. Where is the location of their latest venture for helping people get a good night's sleep? Ironically, in the city that never sleeps- New York city! CitizenM NYC is right by Times Square where it really never sleeps...well, except maybe for Earth Hour when Times Square shut off its lights for an hour, yet still attracting a mass to see it turn off :)

When Eva extended her invite to a blogger sleepover party to help celebrate the launch of the new CitizenM hotel in Times Square, I was beyond ecstatic but still trying to keep it cool sorta... How original and exciting! All breeds of bloggers from New York city would be taking over the brand new hotel for one night. To keep everyone merry, there was an open kitchen and cocktail bar along; and live music performances and entertainment (live portrait drawings) throughout the evening. I could have pretended that I am a heir of a hotel owner and do pretty much whatever I wanted (except break stuff)! The goal was to do a soft opening and prep the hotel for its official opening on April 10th. The staff worked really hard to make sure everything ran smoothly and were friendly even at two in the morning.

nykeiko shops: @Shinola Flagship store in Tribeca [NYC]

New linen-bound Shinola journals. One for me, one for a friend. Perfect gift!

I am the type of person who prefers to write things down instead of typing it (well, depends on the size of the task). That is why I always carry my pocket size notebook from Leutchtturm1917 around and have been doing so for the past year and a half.

I jot down my appointments, events, drawings, lists (I love making lists!) and my ideas! If I lost my journal, I would be devastated. One bad thing about my journal is that it is white. Well, was white. After living in my purse/bag for over a year, my book has pretty much become off-white (pretty much disgusting). Oh, and the spillage of a thermos full of green tea in my purse with my journal in it catalyzed the degradation of my pristine white journal. I still kept it though. "The stains gives my journal character"-I thought.

Last week, a Racked editor posted about this linen-bound journal from Shinola which caught my eye! This will definitely be my next journal. Just a couple dollars more than the one I have but this one is made in Michigan, had more pages and the paper is sourced from sustainable forests. It was a no-brainer.

To save on shipping fees, I decided I would check out one of their stockists in NY and Steven Alan was one of them. We were wandering around Nolita last weekend and I dropped in a Steven Alan store on Elizabeth Street. They didn't carry the line but the salesperson told me that maybe their store in Tribeca would. I don't know why I didn't just call to ask but I am glad I didn't because then I got to visit their awesome Tribeca store. They didn't carry it neither but to my delight, they mentioned that there was a Shinola store just half a block away! Oooohhh...and grabbed Dave's hands and merrily hopped over. As we entered, we walked pass a small make-shift coffee shop and straight into a bright open space adorned with bikes, watches, backpacks, journals, leather accessories, men's clothing and all types of artisanal knick knacks. My eyes brightened and jaws dropped when I walked in. It was just an amazing space buzzing with customers.

Shinola Flagship store

A breather...

Finally a breather and some time to blog. Eating home-cooked meal for the first time after two weeks feels wonderful. I made ratatouille last night and tonight, I made mapo tofu and an Asian squash soup with salted eggs. Simple and delicious!

We flew back from Hawaii on Saturday afternoon and we were picked straight up from the airport to attend a wedding in Massachusetts that same evening. The wedding was in the middle of a garden near horsies at Hancock Shaker Village. The air was clean and crisp but so chilly which was a complete shock for my body which has been acclimated to Hawaiian warmth for so long. Yes, take pity on us.

We stayed overnight and got back into the city on Sunday with only a couple of hours to spare before heading to Central Park Summerstage to see Alt-J. I was pretty tired but eager and excited about being back in the city again! The concert was only okay due to many reasons. Someone spilt beer on me earlier in the night (though I was unphased by it), cigarette and weed smokers all over and EVERY person around us were chatty during the concert, simply uninterested in the concert making the whole night unbearable for me. The set ended earlier than we expected (I guess Alt-J only has one album anyway) so I was looking forward to getting a bowl of ramen at the new Ippudo in midtown. A hot bowl of noodles on a chilly night. Perfect.

And finally, we got home just before midnight ...crawled into our own bed... sad to be away from paradise but content to be back home. We missed home.

Did you know Mackage makes bags now? [Coterie International Fashion exhibit 2013]

Mackage

My beloved Mackage brand has quit ready-to-wear and ventured into handbags! I had no idea! It is not even on their website. I liked what I saw today. The purses look so feminine, modern and well-made. Excited to see more!

Mackage purse

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So this is my post-Hurricane Sandy story....just a hell of a commute!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to share my hurricane Sandy story because from what I've read and seen out there, what I went through is not so bad at all. Actually, nothing worth sharing. We did not lose power and only briefly lost the internet during prime hurricane time. All I have to complain about was the painful commute to work days after the storm has gone.

Neighbors' plants and fence

We had a friend stay with us. He was stranded in the city for three days before being able to catch the first bus out of the city. The day after the hurricane passed, some grocery stores and cafes were open around our area so we were able to drink some hot diluted Stumptown coffee at Variety and pick up some provisions for a steak feast. It was also the day when I get a dreadful hint from my boss that he expects me to be at work for the rest of the week. I was so bummed. I thought I would have the whole week off or until the subways started running anyway again. My boss has been going to work during the hurricane because he lives on the Upper West Side and it takes him 20 minutes to walk across beautiful Central Park to get to work. I think he did not really know the severity of the storm and how it affected lower Manhattan and the outer boroughs. On Wednesday, with no subway trains restored yet, the commute to Manhattan from Brooklyn was BRUTAL! So for the last three work days, it was mission 'How to get to work'!

Cute doggy!

Spirits were high when we have food and coffee!

On Wednesday, a coworker rented a Zipcar and picked a few of us Brooklynites up to go to work together. She  picked me up just before 7 a.m. and we decided to take the Queensboro bridge. It was HELL traffic with 3 hours of stop and go. We got to work just before 10 a.m. but we were so tired. On our way back home, we commuted for a total of 4 hours where 2 of them was spent trying to get onto the Manhattan bridge near Chinatown. Lower Manhattan had completely lost power and we plunged into darkness when we drove downtown. While stuck in traffic, we felt bad for all the people who have lost power and heat. It was pretty scary for me to see so many people on the streets with flashlights and I was scared there would be violence or looting going on as we slowly drove by. I finally got home around 9:30 p.m. and the lesson learned from the first day back to work was that we would have to leave even earlier the next day to avoid wasting time in traffic. The next morning, I left the house at around 5:45 a.m. and it was such a great idea since we breezed through the commute and got to work around 6:20 a.m. A 3 person and more carpool rule was also instated for anyone traveling into Manhattan which might have helped with reducing traffic that day. Since we came in so early, we left early too. I got home at about 4 p.m. which was weird, had dinner at 6 p.m. and like an old person, I tried to go to bed at around 9 p.m. but because I am NOT old, I couldn't fall asleep until 11 p.m. or so. Therefore, the next day's wake up time of 5:30 a.m. was a torture and turns out, so was the commute again.

Silvercup studio by Queensboro bridge

Queensboro traffic 

Watching the sunrise at work was nice!

With the carpool rule and people's cars slowly running out of gas, traffic was expected to be a lot better that Friday however, our Zipcar was actually almost on 'E' when it was picked up. My coworker decided to drive it anyway in hopes of finding a gas station that had gas. At that point, most of New York and New Jersey's gas stations were running out of gas and those that were open had long line like at a YSL sample sale. See here if you don't get the reference. A gas station near my house was open and in business but it had cars waiting for several blocks down. People were angry and shouting since there were many cars trying to cut in line. We got in line too because we didnt think there would be another gas station with a better situation but gave up after 15 minutes of waiting since we moved only 2 car spaces and realized that we were not going to make it to work at a decent time if we waited 'til the end.  Driving was no longer a viable option unless we found gas and we were all unwilling to take the free MTA shuttle buses from Brooklyn to Manhattan due to the crowds and traffic. Our last resort was the free shuttle service offered by our company that day. It was all the way back in downtown Brooklyn. The shuttle was not close to the drop-off location of our Zipcar so we decided to park it somewhere closer call Zipcar and claim that we were almost running out of gas and wouldn't be able to drive it back to its original parking lot. That worked out and we walked two blocks to the shuttle stop. The shuttle came early and we got to work at a decent time of 7:20 a.m. with no traffic. Coming back was not so easy as well.  First off, the shuttle was late due to traffic but once it dropped us off back in downtown Brooklyn, my mission was to get home back home to Williamsburg. I could have taken a cab but I felt bad because buses were running again and I could at least try to find my way home. I managed to get home after 3 hours of commute again and was thankful that it was Friday already and did not have to go through this for the next couple of days.

Into the dark side in Lower Manhattan...

Good thing D was not around or else he would be hearing me bitch all night long however, I knew he wasn't any better since he was in Atlantic City helping out his parents. Atlantic city was evacuated during the storm due to flooding and there was loss of power. D had to take care of his flooded basement sooo I was glad he went to help out his parents to pump water out of the house while I was simply trying to get from point A to point B.

So that's my lame little story. Commuting was a biatch and I know I was not alone! Next time, I gotta buy a bike and save the headache of being on a motor vehicle solely reliant on a non-renewable source of energy...Oh and to make matters worst, we are not getting paid for those two days we could not make it into work even when public transportation was completely shut down! Yea..I know.

Jane's carousel was surrounded by water during Sandy but looked okay now!

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