Week Five

New York Stock Exchange

...probably not the happiest place right now!

A restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn

that made me miss my Nana! 

The Jonas Brothers!

The days are all starting to blend together, so I will try my best to remember the details of this past week....

Since Rachel left last Tuesday, me and Serena have been doing a lot of hanging out at the apartment but we also have had some pretty eventful things happen! 

On Tuesday I went to a class at the New York Health and Raquet Club (we get a membership through King's for cheap!) called Fluidity. It was kind of like a mixture of ballet, pilates, and yoga and ended up being a pretty intense workout. Since it's been so cold outside I haven't been running in Central Park and I figure until then I am going to need some exercise since I find myself not doing as much walking with taking the subway everywhere. On Tuesday I also went to a coffee shop called Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea and got my first manicure and pedicure since I've been here (it was much needed, too!). 

Wednesday night Kristin came over and we took Kiko on a long walk. Every Wednesday when I get back from class at around six I usually take Kiko on a walk before dinner. Since Wednesday is my longest day of class I am always ready to be outside and get some fresh air! 

Thursday was a rather interesting day as it started with me going to the wrong place for our field trip. We were supposed to meet at the Tenement Museum, but instead I went to Fraunces Tavern, which is where we went today. Although the field trips are optional and we are not required to attend them, I was bummed for going to the wrong place! The tour was only an hour and it was already 10:15, so by the time I would have gotten to the Tenement Museum the tour would have been at least halfway over. I decided since I didn't have to pick up Serena until 3:30 I would spend the next couple of hours exploring somewhere new! I decided to take the train to the Park Slope area of Brooklyn. I went to a vintage/trade shop called Beacon's Closet, walked down their 5th Avenue, got some delicious coffee at Gorilla Coffee and then ate at a cute cafe called 'sNice. I headed back and made it just in time to pick up Serena from school. 

The Jonas Brothers (Serena LOVES them!) were in the city from Wednesday through today and were staying at the Trump International Hotel just across the park. Serena and her friend wanted to go wait outside the hotel for them and requested that I join them, which really meant being their chauffeur. :) It's been crazy driving around the city this past week with taking Serena to school and everything...definitely a little more intense than what I'm used to! The girls waited for about an hour and decided it wasn't worth it especially if they had no idea when they were getting back to the hotel. However, Friday morning the Jonas Brothers were going to be on the CBS early show, which was right at 59th and 5th Ave....4  blocks from the apartment! Serena, her friend Moira, and I all went to wait in line at 9 a.m. hoping to get to see them. The Jonas Brothers didn't get there until noon, but the wait was well worth it when the three studly boys arrived and we were able to see them in the flesh as well as watch the interview! I have to admit, since being here Serena has made me into quite the JB fan...they are just so lovable! AND they love Jesus! Anyway, this was definitely a fun experience! Friday night me and Serena relaxed, made dinner, and watched Titanic because she had never seen it before! 

Saturday (aka Valentines Day) was really great for several reasons:

1. I met a bunch of girls at King's for the 10 a.m. showing (half-price baby!) of "He's Just Not That Into You"....wasn't a huge fan, but still fun to go with a big group!

2. Took Serena to Brooklyn for lunch and shopping! It was her first time riding the subway EVER! Crazy! We went to an adorable place for lunch called Ella Cafe and she bought some really cute clothes at a store nearby. 

3. Dropped Serena at a birthday dinner and picked up a friend from school named Tiffany at her apartment. We hung out for a while then picked Serena up from her dinner and all came back to the apartment. Serena made us Spaghetti Carbonara, which was delicious! 

4. At around midnight the three of us went and picked up Anne and Mason after Mason had just proposed to Anne! Anne is one of my best friends at school and has been dating Mason for 5 years now. They are both amazing and have been such an amazing example of what a God-honoring relationship looks like.  Mason completely surprised Anne with taking her to New York and planned an elaborate, romantic evening for the two of them, ending in his proposal to her in Times Square! Anne came back with me to spend the night and Mason went to a friend's apartment, so I got to spend some time being excited with her! I am SO happy for them! What a wonderful Valentines Day!

A really neat thing happened on Sunday at the 6 o'clock service at Redeemer. I sat next to a girl who was also by herself and introduced myself since the service hadn't started. She told me her name was Jessie and she was a Junior at NYU. We continued talking and turns out she's from Houston and just transferred to NYU last semester after spending two years at Randolph-Macon. We totally connected and continued to find similarities and mutual friends as we talked. We ended up going to Serendipity for dinner afterwards since we both had not eaten dinner! I was so encouraged by our time together and knew it was not a coincidence that I sat next to her at church. We already planned to meet for breakfast Thursday morning and I'm so excited to get to know her more! God is SO good in the way He provides! 

Rachel got home from Spain today and we had a good time catching up at dinner. Tomorrow night I am going to the Milly fashion show with her and Serena and I am so excited! :)