{I Heart} Girls' NYC Weekend Blurb

For a while now I've wanted to get some photo books printed of the various trips I've taken instead of developing individual photos and getting massive photo albums for them. I love seeing full bookshelves and having organized photo books on them would be just lovely!

So when I won Kait's Blurb Giveaway right before our girls' trip to New York (seen here and here), I figured it'd be the perfect test trip since I was going to print multiples and I could see how both softcover and hardcover were. I don't think it made much of a difference (only a few bucks), but I Googled for a coupon code as well (I think I found 20% off) and placed 2 separate orders since Blurb only allows for one promo code to be used per order.

On the left, the ImageWrap hardcover and the softcover on the right. I chose the Standard Landscape size (10 x 8 inches).

Sadly I'm not made of money so the bride-to-be and I got the hardcovers with premium paper (in lustre finish) while the others got the softcovers with standard paper. Only softcovers with over 80 pages can have text on the spine and I made them to be 60 pages, hence the lack of text on the top two copies.

Inside!

The photos are a bit grainy so I think I need to use a higher resolution on my camera if I plan to make more of these books.(Though I'm not sure if it's because of my camera settings or the printer...)

For the most part, I had a ball of a time playing with the pre-set layouts as well as creating some of my own.

I like that you can cram as many photos as you want on a page, without having to pay for each individual print if you were to develop them normally.

Next time I need to scrutinize every photo edge though. I found a few of these slight gaps throughout the book.

I even listed the things we ordered at Marea, otherwise we will never remember what we ate despite having all those photos.

Mandie's a rebel and uses Hipstamatic instead of Instagram, but I picked my fave ones from her photos and put them chronologically across two pages.

On the back cover I listed our itinerary and put the photo I took of the map of Central Park. 
No matter how many times I refer to this map, I always take the wrong path! (And I don't mean just on this trip.) Oh well. We still got to where we wanted to go, we just took a bit of a detour.

I was pretty impressed with the packaging! Those babies did not budge in the box at all.

I was really impressed with the speed! I submitted my orders on the Friday before the Canada Day long weekend and had the books in my hands 10 days later! I thought it would take at least 3 weeks! The quality of the books were great as well, though after reading through the forums I'm not sure if the graininess of the photos were due to my photo resolutions or the Canadian printers.

I definitely want to make more books and have a neat little collection, but I take forever to sort through photos, let alone formatting them in the different layouts.

Have any of you started a collection of photo books?

{Out & About) Girls in the City - Day 3

Continuing from Days 1 & 2, here are photos from Day 3 of my girls' weekend in New York!

The view from Michelle and Cera's room. They even had a nice view of a sunbather on the neighbouring rooftop. Mandie, Fiona, and I got a nice view of some office.

Pancakes from Clinton St. Baking Company. There was an hour and a half wait for a table so we opted for some takeout.

Fun on Brooklyn Bridge.

Manhattan Bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

On the High Line. The popsicles are Mango Chile and Coconut - definitely needed on a hot day. (I love that popsicles are making a comeback!)

Some of the food we had at Marea. Pickled cucumber (?), Hawaiian Blue Prawn Tartare, Charred Calamari, Grilled Octopus, East & West Coast Oysters, Braised Octopus & Bone Marrow Fusilli, Lobster Ravioli, Crab & Sea Urchin Spaghetti, Seared Sea Scallops, Roasted Guinea Hen, Grapefruit gelee (? I think I'm making this one up), Affogato with Brown Butter Gelato, Bomboloni, Carrot Sponge with Carrot Ginger Sorbet, Hazelnut & Dark Chocolate, Mignardises to end the night.

The girls at Marea.

My home away from home - Times Square.

Hanging out on the steps of TKTS in Times Square on our last night.

It seemed like forever from the time we booked our tickets to actually flying, but once we were in New York, it was over in the blink of an eye! I wish the trip could've been longer, especially since it's our last group trip as single girls!

{Out & About} Girls in the City - Days 1 & 2

A couple of weekends ago the girls and I headed down to New York City (I know, I know... again?!) to play tourist and for some bachelorette festivities for Michelle!

It was hot, my feet were beat, and I'm still catching up on lost sleep, but it was worth it to reunite (4 from Toronto, 1 from Winnipeg) and hang out before everyone runs off and gets married!

The Flatiron Building and the 9/11 Memorial.

Shake Shack at Madison Square Park. Yum! Not sure about that hour long wait though... I don't think I've ever waited that long at the Midtown location. Or at Burger Joint which I might prefer more.

Of course I took them to Georgetown Cupcake. The free, secret flavour of the day was "your choice" because the 'DC Cupcake' episode that night was of the opening of the SoHo location.

I want that mixer. White Chocolate Raspberry, New York Cheesecake, and Red Velvet.

At the MoMA. Some Keith Haring (top left) and an 'interactive' piece (bottom left) where patrons are encouraged to take some candy (apparently it gets replenished).

Resting tired feet at the MoMA.

Admiring Jackson Pollock at the Met.

At the Met. There's a REAL deer in the middle picture just above!

Resting at the Met (see a theme here?) and some Warhol (bottom right).

On the steps of the Met. We just need some yogurt and it's like a scene from 'Gossip Girl'! Minus the expensive wardrobes and trust funds though.

After the Met, a walk around Central Park to visit Alice in Wonderland and the Conservatory.

Overlooking Turtle Pond and the Delacorte Theater (where I'll be next month!).

I took a picture of the map so that we could walk the East side of The Lake to cross Bow Bridge, but somehow we ended up on the West side instead. All the trails/paths look the same!

I wanted to hit up a bunch of food trucks but lack of time and tired feet didn't allow that to happen. One of the ones I'd heard about was Wafels & Dinges. I also knew that one of the ones I really wanted to try had a cart location in Central Park, but I couldn't remember which food truck it was. When we were in Belvedere Castle, I saw a yellow cart across Turtle Pond and thought it could be Wafels & Dinges, so we headed over and IT WAS! Best random sighting ever!

From top to bottom: Whipped cream and speculoos spread/Dulce de leche and bananas/Speculoos and strawberries. The order form on the back of the box. The inside says "you lucky dinges!". The cart where the magic happens. 
The 'wafel-0-meter': Studies have shown* that altruistic attitudes might shift dramatically when wafeling. Check your wafel-o-meter prior to sharing to avoid serious side effects.
*Study conducted by Belgian Ministry of Culinary Affairs, Department of Wafels.
Left to right it goes: Plenty left to share ... Think twice before sharing ... Forget about sharing at this point.
Dinges [ding-uhs] noun, plural: Used in place of the noun or proper noun, when you can't remember the name of: (1) a thing, (2) a person, (3) your wafel toppings, (4) like, uh, you know: stuff

Getting slightly lost in Central Park. The bottom left photo is of turtles, not in grass, but in the algae filled Lake.

At Bethesda Fountain. I had to remind them of that one scene in 'Home Alone 2'!

Bethesda Terrace.

The Mall.

Then it was back to the hotel to nap and getting ready for dinner.

Back in our hotel (minus one) after some bachelorette 'fun' ;)

Photos from day 3 to come later... there's way less since I didn't take many photos from day 4.

I did realize when we were back home, however, that I failed to take them by Rockefeller Center and the New York Public Library/Bryant Park and we should've tried to fit in a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. Oh well, there's always next time!

{Out & About} Springtime in the City

Another month, another trip to New York! Of the six days I was there, they were forecasting rain and thunderstorms for five. Luckily the weather changed for the better and it maybe drizzled for half a day? I love NYC in the spring! The summer is just too hot when you're sweating while standing on the sidewalks or waiting for a subway train (fingers crossed that it's air conditioned) to roll in because the station feels like a sauna.

I'm also not a fan of New York in the summer because of all the tourists that flock to the city, which I got a taste of last weekend. It bothers me in any city, but for whatever reason it aggravates me the most in NYC because regular New Yorkers are always in such a hurry, you'd think visitors would get the hint and NOT stop suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk to look up at the skyscrapers or take a photo of a family member who is also blocking the way! And must they really walk 4 people side by side along a busy sidewalk?! Half the time I end up walking on the street by the curb just to get away from everyone lol.

Anyways, I digress... Though I realize I titled this post "Springtime in the City", there are no outdoorsy pictures whatsoever. Oh well! On to some photos:

A sampling of the eight shows I saw this trip. 

(First Row) 'How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying': Say what you will about Nick Jonas, but he was terrific! A million times better than Darren Criss, though Daniel Radcliffe was still the best overall. 'Death of a Salesman': Phenomenal performances by the cast! 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes': Megan Hilty in another Marilyn Monroe related role and she was freakin' adorable, on stage and off! Love her.

(Second Row) 'The Best Man': Almost didn't see this because of the political topic, but I'm glad I did. Talk about amazing cast. 'Death of a Salesman's Biff: Andrew Garfield. 'One Man, Two Guvnors': I want to see it again! Love James Corden.

(Third Row) 'Newsies': Another great ensemble! Awesome seeing so many 'SYTYCD' dancers as well. 'Once': Haven't seen it on Broadway yet, but I loved it off-Broadway at the NYTW. Cristin Milioti has such an amazing voice. 'How To Succeed': Had to snap a shot before it closed (May 20).

Can't remember exactly which cold ramen noodles these are since the website is in Japanese and I can't find the English version, but it was tasty! Though I had the soup one and it did get salty after a while. But the deep fried oysters were delicious!

It was my second time being in the city during the Rebecca Minkoff Spring Sample Sale and this one was way crazier than my first time 2-3 years ago!

Girls were tossing bags around everywhere. There was absolutely no organization whatsoever this time around!

I wish I had gone earlier as it was slim pickin's by the time I went on the second and last days, but I still managed to find nice colour combinations for crossbody bags for Mandie and myself after a little digging. I was only supposed to go to pick up a bag for her since I had just bought another bag as a treat for myself (for getting switched from contract to permanent at work), but I couldn't not buy! Sigh...

 Georgetown Cupcake in SoHo! Pictured are my favourites, Red Velvet and Vanilla squared. Also pictured is the free Chocolate PB Chip which was one of 4 free cupcakes that I picked up over my stay! Because the premiere of the second season of 'DC Cupcakes' was airing on the 11th, instead of the limited 100 secret flavour cupcakes they usually have each day, the promo was for one free cupcake of your choice all day long!

 My $2.50 falafel at Mamoun's Falafel in Greenwich Village. When I walked in there was one guy who had just finished ordering and by the time I sat down with my order (1 min later because they are super speedy), there was a huge line of at least 30 people ordering nonstop.

The 7th Avenue Donut Shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's like traveling back in time! I don't normally like crullers, but goodness it was so light and airy, I ate it before I could take a picture, obviously. Loved that behind us were 2 police officers. In a 24hour donut shop. In New York. Classic!

I love how the stools emerge from the bar!

And in less than a month, I'll be back! Not for theatre, but for a girls' weekend/bachelorette! I'm tired just thinking about it since we'll be cramming in eating, shopping, museums, other tourist attractions, and more eating, but at least we'll be staying in the city! No trekking to/from Brooklyn for me this time!

I really need to make non-New York related travel plans though... All my vacation days are being eaten up by these trips and I have another in the works for July for Shakespeare in the Park (Into The Woods with Amy Adams)!