A couple months ago, my younger sister Adrian moved to Brooklyn, NY! She’s been in the theater world for her entire life, so she decided to give it a go in the best city to become a play actress. We’ve always lived in the same state, but now that she seems so far away, I immediately planned a visit. I wanted to go before it got too cold (I can’t do the snow…) and October was the perfect time of year. Keep reading for photos from my trip and a mini travel guide of the cutest spots in the city!
xo Carm
Day 1
I flew into NYC and took a cab to Adrian’s townhouse in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn. She lives on the 3rd floor and her apartment has so much charm and character. It’s got the tiniest kitchen ever, but two of the most beautiful marble fireplaces!
We headed into Manhattan and stopped by the Free People in SoHo where Adrian works before walking to By Chloe, a vegan fast-casual restaurant with the cutest branding. I got the Guac Burger which consisted of a black bean / quinoa / sweet potato patty, guacamole, corn salsa, lettuce, tomato, tortilla strips, and chipotle aioli on a whole grain bun. YUM — I’m craving it again just thinking about it!
After dinner, we walked around the corner to the Glossier showroom. It’s located in the penthouse of a nondescript building and was an explosion of millennial pink. Adrian, who is a self-proclaimed “no makeup” girl, got really into it and ended up trying almost every product and buying two of their new eyeshadows! I stocked up on some Boy Brow and bought a peachy shade of Cloud Paint blush.
Day 2
We started the day with brunch at the cutest little spot called Egg Shop. I got a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and a morning mule to drink. Adrian got an open-faced sandwich with eggs and ricotta and a negroni to drink. Yummm.
After brunch, we walked around the shopping area in Williamsburg. I’ve been dying to visit this shop that I follow on Instagram called Leif Shop, so we popped in there and it was so much fun getting to see it in person. From there, we stopped by Aesop — where Adrian bought the best smelling hand lotion — and the Mast chocolate shop where they were literally making chocolate behind the counter! We also stumbled upon the cutest independent book store called McNally Jackson and the coolest ceramics shop called Mociun.
We took a water taxi to the intersection of Washington St and Water St in DUMBO to take photos in front of the quintessential Brooklyn backdrop. I guess word spreads fast because there were about 50 other people there taking photos as well! Afterwards, we stopped by Milk Bar and got a scoop of cereal milk soft serve ice cream. To be honest, it wasn’t quite as delicious as I was expecting, but I am a notoriously picky eater! I will say though, that the dessert itself was as cute as ever.
Adrian got us tickets to see an off Broadway show that evening called “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play,” and it was SO good! It was a super small, all-female cast and they had us laughing and crying the entire time. After the show, we walked to a hot pink-themed, Italian restaurant called Pietro Nolita. It ended up being one of the best meals we had on my entire trip! Adrian got the Violetta to drink — lavender vodka, elderflower, lemon, honey — and I tried the Nolitarita — tequila, mezcal, hibiscus red chili, lime, orange — and the Rosa — vodka, aperol, lemon, orange, prosecco. For dinner, Adrian had the homemade gnocchi with lamb ragu and parmesan and it was AMAZING. I had the spaghetto al pomodoro and we split the grilled brussels sprouts because we couldn’t resist!
Day 3
We went to one of my favorite places Jack’s Wife Freda for breakfast. I got the eggs benedict that had a hot pink, beet hollandaise sauce and Adrian got a grilled chicken sandwich and french fries. After breakfast, we spent the afternoon in SoHo stopping by different shops. We checked out Artists & Fleas, which is like a marketplace-style shop for local makers and artists in NYC, and stumbled upon the cutest dog store called Wild One. Our treat of the day was grabbing a scoop of edible cookie dough in a cone from Cookie Do. It was SO good, but get a small when you order — I love cookies / cookie dough more than the average girl and even I couldn’t finish it!
Later that day, I met up with Hillary and we went to Color Factory. She moved to NYC after we graduated college and I haven’t seen her in about two years so we had so much fun catching up. Color Factory is like this experiential museum with little activities, photo opps, and yummy snacks all throughout the way. It was so much fun to explore.
Day 4
Before flying out on my last day in NYC, Adrian and I spent the afternoon walking around the MoMA. My favorite pieces were definitely the Matisse paintings — I especially loved this one called “Goldfish and Sculpture” — but there was also this super cool exhibit of town mockups made out of paper. After lots of walking, we grabbed some fresh pasta before I headed out. It was the perfect way to wrap up my trip to NYC.
