independence day at 230 fifth Ave

walk in here. go all the way down the long hallway until you reach the elevators with 1 sliding door instead of 2. go in and hit 20. get off and walk up the stairs past the penthouse. arrive on rooftop bar/patio, no cover (usually. we paid a 2 drink minimum for independence day festivities)

enjoy yourself immensely and try not to get kicked out for sneaking into the VIP section during the 4th of July fireworks show

the penthouse

the patio

for a mere $250 you could reserve your very own table!

organic mint for my mojitos

my lilypond bag has the perfect cupholder

waiting for the sun to go down, and fireworks to begin

(2 mojitos and 2 pear martinis deep)

the empire state building and in the middle (itty-bitty) is the chrysler building

(luke's favorite building in the city)

rinky-dink bathroom

almost looks tropical, right? amazing sunset

a little underwhelming being higher than the actual fireworks. regardless, i only got this (and other) shots because when a security guy looked the other way, i darted right up in the VIP section and just started snapping away. a real paparazzi in training! i waved for luke to follow, and as soon as the guard turned again, luke was right up there with me. sadly, our victory was short-lived. luke had been spotted by a waitress and we got the boot. yep, we got kicked out immediately, but were relieved to go home anyway (we had been standing for 5 hours) so we got a cab and watched the recording on tv, which was a more spectacular range of views anyway :)

 this was only the second year they've done the fireworks on the hudson river between new jersey and manhattan. in years past it's always been on the east river between manhattan and queens/brooklyn (which would have been perfect since we live so close to carl shurz park) next year, we will opt for a VIP seat on one of the barges over the hudson and sit underneath the show

i hope everyone is having a whimsical summer and getting to play as much as possible

an attempted rescue

while wandering around in brooklyn, scouting out areas to possibly live in, we spotted this poor little bird trapped in a window display. the business was closed for the 4th of July holiday weekend, but luckily there was a phone number to call in case of emergency. a lady answered and had already been notified by someone else. she assured me that her brother was to come and rescue the bird! i'm not really a big fan of birds in general, but i hate to think of anything suffering

poor little thing

what a sad little face!

i am hoping that the guy followed through and was able to get this tiny creature out safely

chow

lucky rice
i specifically took an afternoon off of work to attend this event in my office building.
i did this for 3 reasons:
1) i'm half korean and am extremely interested in asian cuisine (i LOVE it all!)
2) there was going to be FREE FOOD to sample
3) last but not least, angelo sosa from top chef was going to part of the panel discussion

angelo sosa

the panel discussed different ways of making asian cuisines more approachable other than just americanized chinese and sushi.

did you see the video of the gourmet lunch on the L train? it was put on by 2 underground supper clubs in NYC, mike lee (& crew) of studiofeast and a razor, a shiny knife. watch it 

i loved how the panel argued for or against having fusion restaurants that are maybe more mainstream and appealing to the typical american, or choosing to be truly authentic and traditional

the tasting was held out on the rooftop terrace, right in the heart of midtown

viatnamese chicken and vegetarian betel leaves

really tasty!

 check out purple guy in the background

angelo is SO tall in person (aren't tv people supposed to be super tiny in real life?) anyhoo, i said "wow! you're so tall!" when i met him (what a moron) and he laughed and whispered in my ear that he was wearing heels? he was truly humble and fascinating to listen to. very well spoken and a damn genius with asian fusion

he had samples of tomato curry soup from his restaurant social eatz (where we just ate 3 nights prior)

so creamy and spicy!

someone was a little careless with their soup, geez-louise. not me, promise

maharlika

halo halo "mix mix"

corn, avocado, coconut milk, purple yam, tapioca pearls, macerated strawberries, and crushed ice.

a traditional filipino dessert.

doesn't it sound crazy? when i was waiting in line to get one of these, they actually ran out :( must've been good!

oh em gee, for real. these are shrimp and chicken shu mai dumplings from red farm stand

you better believe i ate about 20 of these. no exaggeration. oh man do i love DIM SUM!

malaysian pork shoulder with peanuts and grits from cafe asean

sooo hearty and scrumptious

'yahm touw pluu' or thai chicken string bean salad from

qi bangkok eatery

string beans, steamed chicken, toasted coconut, coconut cream, lime, roasted chili jam, shallot and soft boiled egg

WOW, really good stuff!

seriously, angelo is so tall. or are the thai just small?

they pretty much got wiped out of their string bean chicken salad!

cheryl tan was selling her food memoir, so i had to buy a copy and have her sign it

bon appetit!

cheryl actually had samples of singaporean pineapple tarts, and she ran out, too! dang

to the north of the patio, you could see 59th street and the south end of central park

and up further

and to the south you can almost see bryant park down at 42nd and of course, radio city and rockefeller center

this is where i walk to work every day

i had such a great time and was glad i took the time off so i could mingle, EAT, and soak up my surroundings.

adventures nyc in central park

i headed to the park (back on June 25th) to say hi to luke and check out the outdoor festivities for adventures nyc.(remember the rooftop cocktail party for the sponsors we attended?) man, it was steamy out! the sun was blazing and luckily, the rain stayed away for the day (we've had quite a stint of humid, muggy heat/rain here) 

The North Face had so many engaging activities going on

like drawing your favorite outdoor activities

snowcones that were free, but you had to earn them with your energy...

...like biking for 5 minutes...

...and teeter-tottering or see-sawing (however you say it)...

...all to power...the snowcone machine! how cool is that?

planet explore

pledging to embrace nature and explore

trying out climbing

watching some cool ski moves

hanging out with conrad anker (TNF athlete), justin and luke

(he's climbed everest several times, gah!)

you could pick out a T-shirt design to be screenprinted right in front of you

you could practice setting up a tent

reminders for leaving the earth the way it was when you found it, or better (i call that the girl/boy scout way. or just plain common sense?)

birkenstocks are my favorite comfort shoe, so i had to visit their stand. turned out, the guy working the booth is actually friends/coworkers with our friend from KC that works for birkenstock!

i didn't stick around for the climbing (it was hot and i had errands to run) but was glad that kids in the city could be exposed to it. having lived and worked for TNF in denver, i've seen plenty of cool bouldering/climbing events anyway

you could fish for catfish!

i loved watching the kids and their parents having a go at it

luke had been working since early in the morning, setting everything up with all the crews. i was glad to be able and stop by to get some pictures and show my support for the great outdoors :)

trying to keep cool with dry ice

trying out kayaking, alongside the rowboaters and gondola

so awesome to see all the new yorkers swarming central park and making the most of a sunny, summer day outdoors (don't worry denver, my heart still belongs to the rockies)


what's your favorite thing to do outside?

i miss rowing/crew.
i LOVED being a part of such a powerful team sport. being out on the placid water early in the mornings as the sun was rising=unforgettable