As a girl who NEVER gets away, this long weekend up north was just what I needed. My roommate is living in NYC this semester due to her internship in the city. I was absolutely dying to get up there to visit with her, sightsee (this was only my second trip to NYC), and eat our way through the city.

I ended up taking the earliest flight I could find on Friday morning so I could get there with time to spare in the afternoon. I arrived in NYC at around 1:30 and got on a bus that took me to city. I was getting off at Penn station (they told me it was the second stop) so that’s where I got off.. turns out it wasn’t Penn station lol. So I bobbed and weaved through the streets of NYC with my suitcase in tow, headed to Catherine’s apartment.

We made a beeline for Ellen’s Stardust Diner (aka the most touristy restaurant in all of NYC, besides the Times Square Olive Garden lol) where your waiters do karaoke while you eat. Honestly, amazing. I felt like I was watching a Glee episode the entire meal but I was loving it!!

After the Stardust diner, it was starting to get chilly but we trekked over to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) to check out the fashion exhibit they had going. Oh, and we got in for free since it was a Friday! Add that to ya bucket list.

Omigosh, y’all. If you love museums and fashion history you MUST go visit this exhibit at MoMA. It was seriously the coolest thing. As a fashion student, seeing things that I have been learning about in my classes and being able to name the designer or history of it was such a great feeling. Fashion lovers unite!

burger + fries tees // spanx leggings (on me) // superega platforms

Catherine and I met up with my bestie from home Gav for a Halloween party. Obviously we had to be burger and fries. Literally the easiest, best costume (and comfy too). We had a little too much fun on Friday night! A slice of $1 pizza was absolutely needed after that night (Two Bros has my heart).

dress // sunglasses

Saturday morning started off on the subway headed to the Financial district. We got Joe’s bagels… omg the best bagel I have ever had and totally worth the 15 min wait. Then made our way to the Staten Island ferry (where we met up with Catherine’s friend from internship, Isa and her friend Sophia) so we could have a free shot at seeing the Statue of Liberty. The weather was perfect and honestly we were scared that the ferry would be freezing, but it was not bad at all!

After Staten Island was DUMBO, Brooklyn. To be exact, the HOME of Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl. Yes, I was totally fan-girling. I can’t help myself y’all. It was the cutest little place. We ended up hanging out in DUMBO’s park for an hour. The view of the Brooklyn bridge and the city was so gorgeous.

A picnic in Central Park was up next. We racked up at Whole Foods on all the essentials: a baguette, brie, sandwiches, soups, cookies, and champagne. With the picnic blanket spread out, we feasted our hearts out (I was hella hungry).

Sunday was super gloomy and it was raining all day long. We visited our favorite founding father’s grave at Trinity Church, Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop in Greenwich Village and then went to SoHo for some retail therapy.

I racked up on some fabulous basics from my faves: Zara, H&M, Steve Madden, and Bloomingdales. My flight was at 5:55pm so I had to head back to the airport after SoHo. It got delayed so I arrived back in NOLA pretty late.

Thank you NYC for giving me a fabulous weekend and thank you to my hosts who made everything all the better (Gav and Catherine)!!

lots of love, Madison