Vintage New York

I have to let you all in on a little secret—I'm in love. Capital L-O-V-E...with New York City. I can't really tell you when my fascination began, since I don't even really know what prompted me to move here, but after nearly three years I've discovered a deep love for not only the hidden secrets and beauty of present-day NYC, but an appreciation for its past. There's rarely a day I don't pass an old building or notice a unique architectural detail and wonder about the history of the property. It's amazing and completely mind-blowing to think about the millions of people who have walked these streets before you!

If you're interested in learning some of the crazy, unique things about New York City's history, a few of my favorite blogs that post regular updates are: Vanishing New York, Ephemeral New York, Forgotten NY and Lost New York City. And, if we ever meet in person, I'd be more than happy to share with you some of the secrets I've learned—many of my favorites are about the NYC subway system, including a recently-discovered abandoned station down near the Bowery.

P.S. I'm thinking about starting an NYC guide of some of my favorite places to eat, shop and visit around the city—sound off in the comments below if you have thoughts or suggestions!

Images via Vintage Everyday

P.S. read about my first anniversary in NYC and my love letter to NYC on Year Two

Two Years: A Love Letter to NYC

Two years ago, I checked over my (two large) suitcases and my childhood bedroom one last time and hopped on a plane for New York City. I’d been here all of once, 10 months earlier, in the middle of a 19-inch snowstorm and had barely left midtown. I knew no one other than distant acquaintances, and didn’t have so much as a job prospect. I’d just gone through a very weird and bad breakup-ironically with a man who lived on Long Island-and was in need of a change and a challenge. As life always goes, I got everything I wanted and then some, along with some things I didn’t along the way. 

The last two years has been full of ups and downs, happiness and heartbreak. There have been many struggles and truths I never dreamt I’d encounter so deeply or so harshly that have helped me to grow, every single day. Life in New York isn’t always kind or perfect, but I wouldn’t change it for anything right now-so here’s a little cheers to you, NYC, and some of the things you’ve taught me along the way.

Things I’ve learned from living in New York 

1. What neighborhood you live in determines your friends, and often your social schedule.
   Especially if you don’t live in Manhattan, no matter how close to the island you are.
2. You will not get a job because you’re looking for it, you’ll get a job because of someone you know.
   You may not even get the job because of anything to do with your skill set or resume, either.
3. You can be surrounded by millions of other people and still feel very much alone.
   This isn’t always a bad thing, though, and you’ll find you have friends there for you when you didn’t even realize it.
4. You will forgo closet space for longer than you ever thought possible.
   And in some cases, end up living in a room not much bigger than one
5. You’ll learn it’s OK to spend time at home to yourself doing nothing while telling your friends you’re too busy to go out.
   The couch & TiVo will become your best friend at some point every few months.
6. On that note, you’ll suffer from severe FOMO when you see all the things everyone else is doing.
   But you’ll realize that you can’t make it to every. single. event. you get invited to. There are so many (really cool) things happening in New York at any given moment, but you’re a human being who needs rest and downtime just like everyone else.
7. You’ll go through phases of making and shedding friends.
   Usually, these are people who are in their first few months of living in NYC.
8. You’ll find yourself preaching about the ways of NYC to friends who’ve not yet hit their first year here.
   Because everything really is different after a year. You know when someone tells you they’ve been out of school for a year, like it’s a long time, and you laugh (and feel old)? That’s what it’s like with people who’ve just moved to NYC. Also, don’t ever date these people.
9. Brunch doesn’t count if you don’t have three different drinks in front of you.
   Coffee, Water and something alcoholic.
10. Spend time wandering the city alone, and you’ll learn some of its best secrets. You’ll never be able to share all of those with someone else, though-New York is unique for everyone.
11. Some days, you will hate the city-but it will hate you back that much harder.
    As a good friend of mine puts it, “New York is like the slightly abusive boyfriend that you like to show off.” And when you love New York, she loves you back even more. 
12. When you go home to visit, everyone will be so impressed by you and the fact that you live here.
    You want to tell them the reality is you spend Friday nights on your couch because you’re too tired to go out, and events are considerably less glamourous than they look on television. But you don’t, because you kind of enjoy the aura living in NYC gives you.
13. People who walk around looking at their cell phones deserve to be run into. And people who get on the subway before others have a chance to get off should be smacked. 
14. You will get out of the subway and go the wrong way more often than you’ll admit, no matter how long you have lived here.
15. You’ll get excited about nice cab drivers, and wonder why people think it’s surprising when you say “Thank you” and “Have a nice night!”.
    Once a Midwesterner, always a Midwesterner.
16. You’ll join at least one online dating site and likely vehemently deny you ever have to your friends, but you’ll make a surprising amount of memories and friends because of it. You’ll also have some really bad dates, ranging from overly intense to incredibly weird.
    Like ones where he’ll insist on “one more drink, one more drink” until the bar closes-then give you a quick, bad kiss in the middle of the subway station before turning and RUNNING away, never to be encountered again. There will be dates with people just visiting NYC-that will include NYU dorms-and dates with far too many actors. Dates with men who find you intimidating, and with those who think you are boring. If you are me, you’ll have the incredibly terrible bad luck of running into nearly all of these men on public transit or the street at some point. (Yeah, I have some stories...)
17. You will finally decide you can afford to join a gym and spend hours selecting one based on amenities and proximity to your work/home life, only to never go and then move jobs/homes.
18. You won’t be able to go back home every time you want to, even for holidays.
    But you’ll find out that the memories you create with your new family out here are even better, like when you host nearly 20 people in your slightly-larger-than-average apartment for Thanksgiving because they can’t afford to go home then, either (hello, Baby’s Fifth Thanksgiving this year!). 
19. There will be days when you feel sad, stressed and more overwhelmed than you ever imagined anyone could be.
    Luckily, these will be balance out by days where you’ll be in complete and utter awe of the beauty and compassion of this city that you call your home.
20. In the end, there’s nowhere else you’d rather live. New York has taught me more about myself in two years than I had learned in my previous 20+.
    The first time I flew back to the city after a trip home, I looked down at the skyline as we flew over at sunset and knew that this was my home now. It may not always be my home-who knows where I’ll be in a year, five years, or even ten-but for now, I’m going to enjoy every minute I have in this magical city.

Miss my thoughts on year one in NYC?

*image via

The Home T

If we've met, you already know I'm pretty proud of where I come from. If we haven't, you certainly know now! Born & raised in Des Moines, I moved to NYC about a year and a half ago (this Friday, actually-eek!), but I consider both places my home. I've been rocking this acrylic state necklace for a while now, but this super soft tee is a recent addition after I discovered The Home T last month. 

Not only does it help me represent my state pride, but a portion of all their proceeds are donated directly to research for Multiple Sclerosis, a cause much closer to my heart after learning that it affects the mother of a close friend (we're doing the MS Walk 2013 later this month in NYC-you can help by donating to our team page here!). 

T-shirt, The Home T (wearing an XS) | Necklace, MUZ Designs | Bag, Francesca's Collections

Jeans, Joe's | Shoes, Target (very old!) | Lipstick, Revlon Love That Pink | Nails, OPI Koala Berry

If anyone's feeling extra generous, my birthday is next month & I'd love the New York versions of this tee & necklace to honor my second home (wink, wink)!

Pictures courtesy of Jessica

xx

Insta-life

I see a lot of things & feel the need to immediately share them (or later-gram them) on instagram. Here's a few I want to share with you! Follow me at Rosamapose.

Halloween. I am Sookie.

Post-Sandy in Astoria.

UES

Dreaming for Christmas.

Wafels & Dinges, my Sunday tradition.

Coney Island love.

VIP at Irving Plaza on Tuesday!

That beautiful building turned BLUE!

Aftermath & Recovery, Part 1

This post is going to be a little dull and depressing, but hey, it's what's going on in my life right now.

I spent the last 2.5 days stuck in my apartment, with the worst of the storm hitting us around 8pm last night. We'd been listening to wind whip around for several hours, although we never had pouring rains. Our lights started flickering during my cookie baking adventures, but we seemed to be doing okay. About halfway through cookie baking, I heard a loud noise and looked out the window. The (already dead but still standing) tree right outside my kitchen window had fallen over in a huge gust of wind. At the same time, my roommate yelled from the front of our apartment.

The metal awning that had been attached maybe a foot below my bedroom window/above our front door had completely blown down in the same gust. As I was calling our super, our downstairs neighbor knocked & the awning blew up against our front gate-as evidenced below. 

We got everything secure and thankfully made it through without much other damage, although we lost cable & Internet for a while and had several more bouts of flickering lights. A power line also snapped about half a block up after glowing bright orange and sparking for several minutes.

Thankfully, this was the most excitement we had to deal with although I have many friends who were evacuated or dealt with flooding in their neighborhoods. I ventured out today and saw that a lot of trees around us not just splintered but were completely uprooted, several on top of houses or blocking entire streets. NYC isn't made to hold up under weather like this. I still can't get out of Queens, or even really my neighborhood, but life is slowly continuing.

xx

Hot Fall Style Trends in NYC...guest post!

I'm happy to say Blonde in this City has its first guest post, from Alex at Alex's Journeys. She put together a great recap of fall fashion in New York City-it's definitely a different world when you get dressed here than it is in other places! 

Fall has arrived and New York City fashionistas could not be happier.  This season’s weather means clothes can be strategically layered both indoors and out. It is not yet cold enough for heavy coats that obscure figures and hide striking ensembles. Scarves are still worn for effect instead of warmth. Jackets and sweaters are reintroduced into wardrobes, and fashion becomes much more deliberate. Style doesn’t have to be sacrificed solely for comfort like it may be in hot summer months or an icy winter season. 

The style of those in Brooklyn brings a separate edge from chic Manhattan trends. The typical Brooklyn girl allows for form-fitting layers as a foundation for a layered look. As the weather gets cooler, they will trade their skimpier shorts for structured pants. The edgier end of the fashion spectrum is focused on angles this season. The pants are skintight and simple. Jackets end at the hips. The whole look is very androgynous. Both genders can wear this look well. Men will have an easier time, since this trend is not about flaunting curves. Women with shapely figures will have a harder time pulling off this look, but high heels add an advantage.

The upscale trendsetters in Manhattan are obsessed with flouncy A-line skater dresses. The skirts flare out dramatically and have been fashion favorites ever since Zooey Deschanel and the ladies of Mad Men reminded everyone that women can be feminine and sexy without showing a lot of skin. As long as the waist looks slim, everything else will fall into place. These flirty looks have become so popular recently that low-end retailers stock them at very affordable prices. This makes it easy for a financially cautious fashionista to try out an A-line silhouette without spending a lot of money. Skater dresses are available in all sorts of fabrics and patterns. When they are made out of high-quality fabrics and sewn with princess seams at the bust, they look formal, while short skater dresses in striped knit fabrics are cute and casual. The prevalence of flattering casual dresses allows for women to wear dresses in any occasion. 

With more of an edge, the girls in Tribeca are still wearing their neutral layers this fall. Now, they can incorporate chic leather jackets with wrap around scarves into their wardrobes. The fall weather keeps these young women looking stylishly windswept. This look translates well from the office to nightlife.

Alexandra is a travel enthusiast who loves to write about fashion, beaches, food, and the wonderful things in the world.  She provides her own insights on vacationing to the blogosphere.  If you would like to learn more about her, follow her @alexsjourneys on Twitter or visit her blog alexsjourneys.wordpress.com

They Were All Yellow

It really is fall. The leaves are finally changing color here (although this photo is actually from two years ago, in Iowa-sorry to cheat but it was taken by yours truly!) and the temperatures are mild and cool. My immediate reaction once I can no longer wear summer clothes, which really used to be a lifeguarding swimsuit & something comfortable over it for about a decade, is to immediately switch to sweaters and layers and boots and coats. It dawned on me this week that it's still pretty nice here in NYC, having been in the 60's most of the last few weeks, so my usual knee-jerk reaction to dress like it's an Iowa winter has been rather unnecessary. It has also ironically been much warmer back in Iowa than here, when there's usually a frost or two by now and some light flurries of snow. 

As much as I'm not a cool or cold weather girl (the irony of growing up in the Midwest and moving out East is not lost on me here), I do love the gorgeous changes fall brings to my scenery. Hopefully, I'll get to spend a little time admiring the legendary east coast fall foliage this weekend. 

What's your favorite thing about fall? Leave a comment below!

Currently...

The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky | Jeffrey Campbell Martini Studded Flat | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist (Deluxe Edition) | Jo Malon, Pine & Eucalyptus Luxury Candle 

Mario Testino, MFA Boston Exhibit | Brooklyn Flea & Smorgasburg 

Any of these on your radar right now too? Let me know in the comments below!

One Year.

I'm not sure if I really mentioned this in the previous weeks I've been posting, but last Friday was my one-year anniversary of moving to New York City. It was meaningful and yet uneventful, which is perhaps the best of combinations for my life right now.

When I decided to move here in September 2010, I'd never even been to the city. Or, really even east of Tennessee, unless you want to count Florida. But hey, I like to dream big. A few months after that, I received a decent chunk of money from a bad car accident I'd been in during the summer of 2009, saved most of it, took the rest, and made my friend Steve take a week off work and head out east with me. We stopped in D.C. for a few days, where my brother had been living since the previous fall (I've since been back more than half a dozen times, like my recent trip detailed here), then headed to NYC on the same day it snowed 19 inches of heavy, wet snow. Having never been here and knowing no one in the city, neither of us knew better than to really leave Midtown aside from our trip to the Met. I left not knowing when I'd be back.

In August 2011, I was wrapping up my job as a manager/lifeguard at a pool I'd been visiting since childhood (where I'd worked for seven straight years), and I ended up in touch with an acquaintance who offered to help me with getting a place to live settled in the city. In October, we signed a lease, and I moved on the 12th of the month. I arrived to an apartment in Queens, in a neighborhood I knew nothing about, with no furniture, no job, no true friends here and a bedroom better suited to being a walk-in closet.

On the 12th of October, 2012, I celebrated my anniversary after I left my full-time job where I manage a variety of online and media-related aspects with a dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village, surrounded by friends and great conversation. Afterwards, I headed home and curled up with wine, nail polish and several episodes of Downton Abbey. Sure, maybe I didn't celebrate the way most people my age would, but I honored it in a way that's true to myself (and got to wake up at a decent hour without a headache!). I got my job a few months after I moved & learned my way around this city as I went. I have made so many memories, new friends, good friends, added to my vast collection of crazy stories that happen in my life, tried new things, attended events I never could have dreamed I'd see before (New York Fashion Week [twice]? Hanging out with Ne-yo in the recording studio? Seeing the Paris Opera Ballet dance Giselle at Lincoln Center? All three, check), started dancing again, traveled around the East Coast and I still have so much more to do here!

A lot has changed in my life over this past year, while other things have stayed the same. So, it was a lot like any other year of any other person's life. I miss my friends (especially Kaitlyn & Steve, & their dogs), and my family, and Des Moines and especially my dog, Mollie. But I would miss these opportunities I've been presented with even more. I have been blessed with the chance to get to know myself away from the influences of my childhood & youth and grow as a person each day. It has been a challenge, and will continue to be one, but I can't imagine a better one to face. I don't know where I'll be on the 12th of October, 2013, if I'll still be living in NYC or even the USA, but I do know I look forward to chasing my dreams and being dazzled by where they take me next.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art during my first visit, January 2011. 

With my mom & sister on the top of 30 Rock in July 2012. 

Stripes on the Steps

Last weekend, I met up with Jessica & Tracy to try and find another Fall Festival. Jessica & I tried once before and it was just a bunch of street vendors selling the same junk you see everywhere in NYC all the time! That weekend, we ditched and headed to Brooklyn for Smorgasburg & some flea shops (Smorgasburg comes highly recommending by yours truly-just about every type of food or drink you could imagine at reasonable prices!). This time, we headed to the closest bar with pumpkin beer on tap, which happened to be The Ginger Man, a great bar in Midtown that I happened to visit with my friend Steve on our first-ever trip to NYC almost two years ago!

We got authentic pretzels! My photo definitely doesn't do them justice, 

& I don't think my words could either.

At the Ginger Man for the first time in January 2011, eleven months before I moved here.

After our food & drinks (I had a beer, my second entire one in my life-I'm much more a wine drinker), I suggested a walk over to my favorite building in New York, known to most as the library. 

Sweater, Gap | Jeans, 7 For All Mankind (similar) | Boots (old), Chinese Laundry (similar)

Necklace, bracelet, Sequin | Skeleton Key Ring, Ashley Nizolek (on sale!!)

Nail Polish, Butter London in Slapper

Sneaky me also snapped this shot of Tracy & Jessica for Instagram while we were there!

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once"

Growing up, I was a pretty active child-I had a HUGE backyard (more on that later) and a HUGE house to run around in, with two siblings, and my parents worked from home. Over the years I participated in softball, dance, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, bike riding...and we have a basketball court in our backyard.

Eventually, I dropped most of those (as competitive sports, at least. I still enjoy biking, tennis & ball!) and wound up swimming and dancing through high school, along with color guard (marching band...concert band the rest of the year) every fall. Yes, fall is making me nostalgic for these things! Anyways, I really grew to love dancing and was finally starting to reach my full potential when I got injured from not warming up properly.

To make a very long story short, I didn't dance again for six years. During that time, I had recurring dreams about recitals and classes, choreography and costuming, every single week. WELL, once I moved to New York City, I knew I had to take advantage of all the adult classes and studios everywhere! I started with a Groupon deal to Ballet Academy East and have been taking class one to four times a week since late March! I adore it (and the recurring dreams haven't happened since). The perseverance and dedication it takes, along with the strength required of every muscle, combined with the opportunity to grow each class, makes it one of my favorite forms of exercise even when it's so much more to me.

Stretching out before a mid-level class on Sunday

Before center work

One of my favorite things about BAE...they've added a modern class! The teacher, Ginger Thatcher, has an amazing and impressive background.

Creeping on a ballet class for teenagers earlier tonight!

If you've ever been interested in ballet or any form of dance, I cannot recommend strongly enough looking into adult classes near you! It's never too late to start, and what it does for your mind, body & soul is inexplicable. (And, if you're in NYC, come take a class at BAE!)

Also, I've gotten to see THREE of the major ballet companies since moving to NYC: American Ballet Theater, City Ballet (George Balanchine's company) and Paris Opera Ballet-who performed my favorite ballet of all time, Giselle, this past summer at Lincoln Center. I could have died happy that day!

Musings from my racing mind

Well, I wish I could say this is my first blog post ever, but it's actually my second go at a blog.

I used to write and maintain a healthy living blog over on tumblr, but once I moved to New York City (almost a year ago...the time has flown by!) it became harder to manage my time for workouts, and even harder to maintain regular, original content.

I'm still working out the direction this will go, like all bloggers first do, but I want to keep a collection of my thoughts, inspiration, desires and hopefully integrate a bit of my old healthy lifestyle posts, as well. I work in fashion (jewelry!), love design and spaces, know my way around a camera (degree included!) and have so much inspiration in my life from my city, my job, my friends, and the blogs and sites I visit on a regular basis. There's been a lot rolling around my mind lately that I want to keep in one place-no better time to start than now!

SO, I suppose one can expect a general lifestyle blog to evolve here, complete with interior shots, fashion inspiration, wants, and my own style, and all the other lovely bits of my life!

I'm going to leave off with a photo I snapped on my (shiny new!) iPhone on the subway earlier today...