HelloGiggles Feature: Four Situations That Make Your Miss Your Mother

Hi! So here is something AMAZING that happened... One of my essays got published on HelloGiggles! 

[My mom <3]

They say that when you move to your college dorm room for the first time you begin to realize how much you need your mother. I happen to think that is not true.  I mean how independent are you really when you move to college? I feel like when you move out to the real world, as an adult, far away from home, is the time you realize how much you need your mother. I, for instance, decided to pack my bags in my sunny South Florida home and move to the wonderful New York City. As independent as I am, there have been certain situations that have me wondering "What have I done?" and "Where is my mom?"

1-When rent is due.

Yes, we all want to be big time hot shots and be financially independent. We all want that beautiful apartment in a gorgeous building overlooking Central Park. Let’s face it; you probably live in an old, tiny, 2 bedroom-Brooklyn walk-up with four other roommates. If that’s not enough to get your spirits down, how about having to come up with your first share of rent, and, gasp, you don’t think you’re going to be able to make it because you decided to buy those designer boots instead... "Hi, mom? Um, I need to borrow some money so I don’t have to sleep on a subway bench."

2-When you get a cold.

Seriously, what is it about a cold that absolutely makes you miss your mother? Maybe it's the fact that rarely anyone else will make you chicken noodle soup, rent out your favorite chick flicks (i.e. Clueless, Mean Girls, Breakfast at Tiffany's) and tuck you into a warm blankie. Unless you have found the perfect boyfriend/husband who isn't closeted, let's be honest, most everyone you know works a hard 9-5, and will not come take care of your sniffles.

3-When a mind-blowing hurricane attacks (or any other natural disaster)

OK, so as a native Florida girl I should be totally prepared for a hurricane or any other form of storm coming my way. Truth is I've always had my parents prepare for everything, and I've just sort of tagged along for the main event. Now with high winds, flood watches, hurricanes, and snowstorms, I'm freaking out. I need my mother to yell at me and tell me what to do and hold my hand while telling me "Everything is going to be ok" when I have to go out in the snow to get to work.

4-When you get a nasty stain on your clothes.

Picture this: you’re sitting on your couch watching How I met Your Mother re-runs eating delivery Pad Thai, when suddenly that scrumptious little orange noodle decides to slip through your chopstick and make its way onto your favorite white blouse. Where is mom with all those fantastic stain removal home remedies that do all the things our $6.99 detergent doesn't do?! We don't want to pay our corner Laundromat to do it...mom does it for free!

So whenever you feel annoyed when your mother is smothering you with phone calls and voicemails, don’t. Karma will come kick you in the ass and you will get a cold, stain your clothes, and a crazy natural disaster will happen, the day rent is due.
Hope you enjoyed it!

xx,
Andee D

Istagram Week

[Me at Ferrara. Ferrara treats. Argo Tea]

[Boqueria tapas and dessert]

[Boqueria. Meat packing district street art. View from the Standard. Monument]

Although I have been MIA this past week is all in good intentions. I have been busy during the week going to interviews and job hunting. I have also been exploring the city  and enjoying its land marks to the fullest. This past weekend was (again) filled with delicious eats. A recommendation I make to everyone is Ferrara in Little Italy. Ferrara is the oldest espresso bar, it has been opened since 1892!! There you cane get delicious dessert treats and espresso drinks, a definite must if you come to the City. I also went to The Standard Hotel's Boom Boom Room. My what a gorgeous place to go to! It is a bar that faces the Hudson River as well as the rest of the city, I recommend you go when the sun is about to set, so you take in the beauty of New York City. There was a great Jazz band playing, with a tap dancer! Sunday was shopping day (sadly not for me, considering I have no income yet) and after a long day of walking down rivers of tourists on 5th avenue and down Broadway, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We stopped for brunch at Boqueria, a small and cozy Spanish tapas restaurant. The plates are small but my are they delicious. They have a wide variety of tapas I recommend you try them all!! I hope that soon I am able to get a job in order to have a little extra money to explore the city and go shopping!!

xx, Andee*

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Weekend Good Eats

My weekend was a foodie's dream come true, since all I really did was  eat and drink on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My Friday night started with a simple and cheap burger from The Corner Bistro a tiny restaurant with quite the buzz. The menu is very simple, in fact, they don't even have menus, they have one on the wall and that's all you get. I had the Bistro Burger (not pictured) and I don't know if it was because I was starving, but the burger tasted like heaven. There is no wow factor about the place really, they serve you the food in paper plates, but the place was tiny and cozy, perfect for the younger crowd. Saturday I met up with an old friend from high school, Sherlly from Ecualombian at the Breslin. Sherlly had mentioned that they had the best lamb burger in town, so with out hesitation I agreed to lunch there. Well she was right, it's probably the juiciest lamb burger I have tried in a while (second picture). The bread was fantastic as well, and well the thrice fried fries were out of this world. Aside from the food, the service was great as well. The restaurant is adjacent to The Ace hotel which is also a very nice place to go on weekend nights. Sunday finally rolled around and we did the things New Yorkers do so well, have brunch. A group of us decided to meet at 12:30 at Yotel for brunch. This has to be the funkiest and modern hotel I have ever been to. It has such a hip and young environment. Their brunch was fantastic! We ate a day's worth of food in less than two hours. I recommend the sweet chili bacon, their cod sliders, the meatballs, the chilaquiles, and crab wontons (all pictured above). I also enjoyed their spicy tuna, and disco fries. Oh and for dessert we had this delicious pineapple french toast. All of this food plus 12 more platters went down easily with the help of some mimosas and sangria.
I guess this weekend I ate a week's worth of food, but I was nothing more than happy, and maybe a little over stuffed. Going to all these Delicious places also made me realize one thing, the food will taste twice as good if you have good company. And I did. This weekend overall was fantastic.

xx, Andee

PS- Follow me on Instagram: andee_d :)

Out & About

Today was a fantastic day for me in the city. I had an interview with a company I would absolutely would love to work for, and if you ask me, I think I kicked ass. After my interview I was feeling a little artsy and took a train to the MoMa. I love it there. The galleries I saw were fantastic, I liked them so much better than last year's, I snapped tons of pictures of the art but I didn't feel like sitting 3 hours on instagram on my phone. But the one artist that struck me the most was Philip-Lorca diCorcia his photography was stunning., unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of the pictures. After my visit to the Museum of Modern Art, I took a stroll down the busy 5th Avenue, an drooled at all the window displays, especially Louis Vuitton's. During my walk I almost felt obligated to stop and buy a delicious falafel on pita.
To finish off my adventurous day, my roommate invited me to have dinner with her friends. We went to a Japanese American Pub. A new concept for me, since usually at Japanese restaurants I get sushi, because it is the greatest thing in the gastronomy world.  But the focus of the menu was on their ramen noodles. When you mention ramen to me I picture the 65 cent ramen noodles you get whe you're in college. But these were made from scratch, and had all these scrumptious things added to it. It was so delicious and full of flavour, definitely not your college-budget ramen. It was a great evening, and to finish it, as I left the restaurant I looked up to see the beautifully lit Empire State Building shining against the barely dark sky. Picture perfect.

xx, Andee

Welcome to New York

[1- View from the taxi. 2- Turkey burger from Harlem Tavern. 3- Times Square. 4-Wall Street view]

As many of you may know, July 14th was a huge day for me. July 14th was the day I arrived to New York City, as a permanent resident. I had been wanting to live in New York since I first came to visit with my parents for my 15th birthday, and now at my 22 young years, I am finally here. I kept waiting for an opportunity to fall at my feet, weather it was school, an internship or a job. But none of that came knocking at my door, so I decided to take a leap of faith, and just pack my bags and move to great New York.
It has been four days since my arrival to the hot hot city, and I don't believe I belong anywhere more than I do here. There is a presence in the hot air that tells me that I'm right where I belong. Things are just starting to happen. Maybe it's the fact that every time I put my iPod on Shuffle mode, Frank Sinatra's New York, New York come on within the first ten songs, or maybe it's the fact that I got a phone call after applying to one of my dream company's for a interview. I don't know exactly what it is yet but I know I'm in the right place.
Things for me can only go up from here, and once I'm settled with a job, I'll get my own place and eventually I'll get the Boston Terrier I've been wanting to get. I am just so happy to be here, I cannot wait to see what the universe has in store for me.

xx, Andee

Destination: Los Angeles California

This post is about 4 months late but better late than never. Back in January I took my first trip to Los Angeles with 9 other girls to celebrate my friend Izzy's 22nd birthday. The trip was a crazy mix of adventures, good food, fashion and a good time. There were a couple of celebrity sightings, Mark Salling (Puck from Glee), Gerard Butler (I couldn't even speak to him, all I did was stare, I just couldn't!), Lil John, and Dave Navarro. I ran into Mark Salling at a little shop in Venice Beach. Which also happens to be my favorite spot of the entire trip. It was so bohemian and happy, full of free spirits and amazing sunsets. Santa Monica was also gorgeous and I totally recommend it! I saw Gerard Butler having sushi at Koi, which by the way has probably the best sushi I've ever had, their spicy tuna is killer, and their fruity Sake is amazing as well! Lil John was DJing at a club in Hollywood, we had VIP but it was so crazy packed I left. We saw Dave Navarro at a tiny local bar with live music, after eating at the best hole-in-the-wall authentic Mexican restaurant. I went to the usual tourist spots but if you do happen to go to LA, I highly recommend having dinner at Koi, a little on the pricey side but so worth it! Also you must must must have brunch at Toast Bakery Cafe, the decorations are so cute, their food is delicious (i had the smoked salmon platter and it was delicious) and right next to it there's an amazing boutique called Your Style Lounge with amazing picks and everything under $100. That street in general is great for shopping and brunch. A fun night spot is Harvard and Stone. Now this place is packed with hipsters, but it is something different and fun, they play jazz and it's just very home-y.

(Dessert sampler at Koi)

(the tattoo I got in Venice Beach!!)

(the birthday girl)

(Santa Monica Pier)

(View of Santa Monica Pier susnet)

(Some of the girls at TOAST)

(waiting for our plane at LAX)

Happy New Year! 2012

The year 2011 has finally come to an end, and part of me couldn't be happier. Not that I had a bad year, a lot of good things happened to me and my family, but I definitely could have had a better one. This year I don't plan on making resolutions I make every year and two months in not follow them. This year I am starting a little different. I am gonna carefully write down my resolutions, print them, and frame them. I'm gonna keep that on my night stand, that way when I go to bed I remind myself of what I want, and when I wake up, I work on them. Anyway I hope everyone had a wonderful and glamorous New Year! Make the best out of it and never forget what you want. Cheers to 2012!!

[little sister <3]

[Gorgeous older sister]

[Amazing dessert table!]

[champagne for midnight!]

[Mexican Pozole, our last 2011 dinner]

[my babies!]