Making The Most Of The End Of Summer

I cannot believe it, but the summer is sadly winding down. I recently invited a few friends of mine over and we had a whole day of what summer is really about: sunshine, being outside (of course in a pool) and making memories!

DSC_0016

In 10 days I head back to my second home, Kent State, for the next four months, which is why I have decided to make the most of my time while still at home.

Most of my plans for the rest of the summer consist of spending a lot of time in my pool, but I also have plans to see as many of my friends from home as possible because I don’t get to see them often.

DSC_0012
I am also planning on going up to Baltimore this weekend with one of my best friends, Jake, my sister, Payton and my mom to a peach festival! I do not really know what this peach festival entails… but I am hoping there will be some awesome peach cobblers and homemade ice cream!

It is so important for college students to have some relaxation time during the summer because we know as soon as we get back to school, it is time to hit the books again. I cannot even begin to think about the group projects that are ahead me this semester!

DSC_0031

Annapolis, Baltimore and D.C. have so much to offer in the sweet summer time. I live so close to Annapolis, and go everyday, so I have decided in my final week at home, there is one thing in D.C. I want to do and one thing in Baltimore I want to do before I head back to Kent.

In D.C. I want to head down to Georgetown to shop and then grab dinner in Dupont Circle at my favorite restaurant called  Mission. And in Baltimore I want to go with my mom to this awesome place my mom showed me on Instagram, Graffiti Alley.

Although I definitely enjoyed the  majority of my summer in NYC , I could not ask for more for the end of my summer in Annapolis.

Now I am going to go jump into the pool in this heat wave!

img_2782

 

NYC Will Always Have My Heart

I cannot believe it, but my NYC summer experience has come to an end. Unbelievable, right?

IMG_3096.JPG

New York City became my home this summer and I feel like I legitimately left a piece of my heart there. When I first arrived in the city, I kept saying “I think I am going to have a great summer but I definitely do not see myself here after graduation.” WELL, I WAS WRONG. This summer my heart grew fonder as the days went on.

From learning the subway to mastering the different areas of Manhattan, to becoming closer with girls in the classes and internship to discovering so many amazing restaurants, my summer in NYC is one I will never forget.

I lived in the Upper West Side, which I always compared to the suburbs of the city. My internship was in the Flatiron District and my classes were in Midtown. I loved my classes and I definitely learned a lot of about myself and what I want out of my future at my internship.

I interned at a fashion PR firm, which was definitely an experience I always dreamed about. For the past three years I have said my dream was to work in fashion PR, but after interning in a fashion PR firm, I learned that I LIKE fashion PR, but I don’t LOVE it. I am so grateful for the experience I had at the agency I interned for. I was able to work at both New York Men’s Day (the opening event for NYFW) and at New York Men’s Fashion Week.

IMG_3155

This summer was amazing, and I think one of my absolute favorite things was getting to try all the different trendy foods that were all over Facebook and the internet this summer. For example, Frosé, the roll-up ice cream and I went to the bakery , Union Fare, which sells the rainbow croissants, but they were sold out by the time I got there so I tried their cookies and cream croissant, which was just as fabulous!

Image-1

Exploring was also amazing. You would think in the eight weeks I was there, I would have been able to do everything I wanted to, but I didn’t. If I did not have class or my internship, I probably could have, but I know that I will definitely have to do the things I wanted to do this summer first as soon as I am back in the city!

IMG_3172

Another thing I loved about being in NYC, everyone wants to come and visit! My sister, Payton and best friend, Amanda came twice, my friend Mary came with Payton and Amanda on their second trip and my friend Erin came up for a weekend trip. The FUNNIEST thing was Erin and I sleeping in my twin sized bed in my dorm room, haha!

IMG_8335

During my friend’s visits we explored all around Manhattan and went to Brooklyn! In Brooklyn, we adventured in Williamsburg and DUMBO, which is in the picture below.

IMG_8473.JPG

DUMBO: Down Under the Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass 

Dumbo was gorgeous! The architecture, the view of the Manhattan Skyline and the view of the Brooklyn bridge are out of this world. The area is located right in the middle of the Manhattan bridge and the Brooklyn bridge.

This summer also included going to Her Conference. Her Conference is a conference hosted by Her Campus, an online magazine for women in college. I am a writer for Her Campus Kent State and I am also in their blogging network! They hosted a kick-off event, hosted by Rebecca Minkoff. I attended the event and had the chance to meet her. I fan-girled so hard! She was so sweet and even signed the inside of the bag I purchased that evening.

IMG_3357.JPG

I cannot believe all of the things I did within these past eight weeks. These were just a few highlights from my summer. I truly cannot believe this summer is almost over. Summer 2016 is definitely my favorite summer yet!

img_2782

Happy second birthday, DD, the Cavs win & my second week recap! 

Time is going by so quickly! I cannot believe I’m already finished week two in the city. 

I’m sad that I wasn’t able to post this on Sunday, but I was a little busy rooting for my team in the NBA Finals! I have seriously adapted very well to living the city life. I have always known that I would thrive living in a city and not just “right outside of one.” 

Week two events: 

The week started off with my going to my new favorite place, Dry Bar! I had a 7:45 a.m. blowout appointment. I seriously love the Dry Bar on the Upper West Side. 

The Upper West Side has become my home. I live on West 88th, which I’ve been comparing to the suburbs of the city. 
I have my classes in Midtown/the Garment District (West 39th) and my internship is in the Flatiron (West 20th). 
On Tuesday I had one of my classes, but this this isn’t a regular class, it’s a cool class ;). This class we get to go around to different fashion showrooms, stores and offices to meet buyers/ merchandisers and learn more about their companies. This past Tuesday, we got to go to Rebecca Minkoff in SoHo. Oh my gosh, it was fantastic! We met with their lead store manager and learn how Rebecca Minkoff is a leader in fashion technology; even her store is full of technology. My class even received 20% off merchandise in the store after the tour, you know the thrifter in me LOVED the discount! 

It was so funny shopping after the tour because I was face timing my sister because she also loves Rebecca Minkoff, so I knew she’d want something! While face timing my sister and shopping, I was talking to the store manager because I realized they sold the Rebecca Minkoff x Minnetonka Moccasins collection. The reason I thought this was so cool, is because the agency I’m interning for represents Minnetonka! 

After me telling him this, he invited me to an event they had that evening for Minnetonka. I went to the event later that evening and learned that it was being hosted by Rebecca Minkoff and two awesome bloggers who run Mimosas and Manhanttans. They were such sweet girls! 

Fast forward to Friday- 
My roommate, her friend from work and I went to dinner at this amazing Italian restaurant, Vapiano. It had a different concept for a restaurant. Their website can definitely explain it better than I can, but the food was great. I had pasta, wine and dessert for only $25, which is hard to come by in the city. 

Saturday was my favorite day last week because it was Defining Danie’a TWO year anniversary! Can you believe it? Because I can’t. To celebrate, I went to a rooftop bar called Loopy Doopy! They serve prosecco, rosecco (rosé and prosecco 😉 ) with Popsicles in the glass!!!! It was AMAZING. 


We had amazing views, I had great company with me and I honestly couldn’t have asked for more to celebrate Defining Danie’s second birthday. 


On Sunday, I met a friend doe brunch at a restaurant that I found right near where I live called Good Enough to Eat. If you are ever looking for a great brunch restaurant, don’t even second guess, go there!!! I had banana walnut pancakes, eggs and turkey sausage. 
Right after brunch, I met a few friends from my internship to go see the musical Wicked. I cannot believe that I haven’t seen that sooner. We sat in the 8th row, it was fabulous. I really need to give a huge shoutout to my friend Cayley because she received the tickets from her grandma and then invited me! The musical was so great. I wasn’t exactly sure what the plot was before going, I only knew that it was based off of The Wizard of Oz. The actors in the show were some of the best I’ve ever seen. 

After the show, I rushed to a bar called The Blind Pig, so I could save me and my three friends seats for the NBA Finals game. As most of you know, I go to school in Ohio, about 45 minutes outside of Cleveland, so the Cavs have really become “my team.” It was so fun because all of the girls I watched the game with were from Ohio, so we were all rooting so hard! 

When they won I started ugly crying of happiness! We were actually screaming we were so excited. I honestly wish I had been in Cleveland that night. When Lebron cried on TV because he was so proud of his team, my heart was full of so much pride. 
Thank you to everyone who has made it with me for the past two years of Defining Danie! Thank you to everyone who continuously reads my posts, shares them, follows me on social media and honestly just supports me through my blogging dreams. I cannot wait for another two years with all of you!