heart eyes for new york.

The other night, scrolling through Instagram, I saw this photo and literally thought, "Heart eyes emoji!" (What does it say about me that I sometimes think in emojis?)

(Photo: Caroline Donofrio)

droolworthy.

Is it weird to call a view droolworthy? I don't even care. Look at this.

Caroline, the lucky woman who gets to look at this view every day, writes:

"It's like living art — the helicopters, the weather patterns, the cabs speeding over the Manhattan Bridge in the distance. There is always so much movement — it never gets old. Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'll take in the vastness of what's going on outside and immediately feel calmer. It makes me aware of how small I am, in the best possible way."

Drool.

(Photo by Nicole Franzen for A Cup of Jo)

central park in fall.

Central Park in Fall. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Or perhaps I just have a romanticized idea of it. 

But still.

When I saw Erin's photos, I couldn't help but imagine walking down one of those colourful paths, arms linked with Tony, coffee in hand. Laughing and kicking at the fallen leaves. Yup, romanticized idea for sure. (If I'm being honest, I also imagined how scared I'd be there after dark. Home Alone, anyone?) 

But still. That skyline. Those leaves. The colours. Central Park in Fall. New York. 

P.S. Quintessentially New York and New York is always a good idea.

I don't think it would for me either, SJP.

"From any street or dock or corner or angle, seeing her just never gets old."

(Photo by Sarah Jessica Parker)

quintessentially new york.

I saw this image and thought, "This view is so quintessentially New York." (And then I had to google "quintessential" to make sure it means what I thought it meant.)

P.S. Empire state of mind and spires of NYC.

(Photo by Yossy Arefi, for A Cup of Jo)

these streets will make you feel brand new.

There's just something about this photo. I literally did a sharp intake of breath when I saw it, and when I exhaled, thought, "I just want to live there! I want to be walking down that street right now, popping into stores, grabbing a coffee..."

P.S. Please tell me you sung the title of this post. No? Okay, read it again and tell me you aren't at least humming.

P.P.S. NYC tips and etiquette.

(Photo: Dooce)

can I move there now?

The view from the back of a taxi in NYC is much prettier than the view from the back of a taxi in Beijing. Can I move there now?

(Photo by Design Mom)

nyc tips and etiquette.

These graphics from Nathan Pyle's book, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette, might make other people change their mind about wanting to live in NYC, but not me. Nope, I'm stubborn. Besides, after living in the crazy city of Beijing, surely I'd be fine in Manhattan or Brooklyn. 

And this just looks like fun.

(Images: NYC Basic Tips & Etiquette by Nathan Pyle, via A Cup of Jo)

new yooooork!

I saw this photo on A Cup of Jo and practically broke out singing "New Yooooork!"

nyc sunset.

Just saw this photo on a Facebook friend's profile and thought, 'She is so lucky.'

P.S. NYC sunrise.

(Photo by Kris Corey)

the chalk walk.

This picture was the first one to make me think (yell loudly in my head), "I want to live in New York!" I saw it months ago and then forgot about it until I found it again a couple weeks ago. 

I suppose you could make colourful footprints anywhere, but Katie lives in Brooklyn and she's the one who did this "Chalk Walk," prompting me to dream of brownstones, skyscrapers, and yellow cabs.

(Photo: Katie Sokoler)

nyc sunrise.

If this photo doesn't make you want to pack your bags and head to New York City, I don't know what will.

(Photo by Kelly Framel)

new york is always a good idea.

Yes, yes it is. 

And if I hadn't recently started paying off my student loan, I would be buying this print from Sarah Tolzmann's newly open Print Shop. 

She's offering free shipping worldwide(!) until January 13. Which means I could get it shipped for free to Beijing! And yet, I've still managed to not click "Add to Cart." You guys know how much I love New York; I'm showing some serious self-restraint. Surely karma will reward me somehow, right? 

empire state of mind.

This shot. This shot right here makes me want to move to NYC. I just feel it. 

The photo is by Liz Fabry. I just discovered her blog and am scrolling through her archives, falling in love with life. The photos are beautiful and her Weekend Breakfast posts make me want to eat breakfast right now. 

swings in NYC & a present from a friend.

It's reasons like this I wish I lived in NYC. A swing art installation? Yes, please!

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I received my first Christmas present in the mail last week. Melissa sent me a wall calendar with photos of New York landmarks. I think my favourite part of the whole gift was the sticky note she stuck on the calendar with the word "Someday!"

(Photos by Philip Greenberg for the New York Times, via Cup of Jo)

spires of NYC.

Bekka Palmer's post "The Spires of NYC" made me wish I lived there. Of course.

hurricane sandy: people are good.

If you know me or have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I love New York and want to live there. Even if this wasn't the case, my thoughts would still be with all of the people affected by Hurricane Sandy -- not just New Yorkers, but everyone who was affected.

I can only imagine how it feels to go through a storm like that, and then to deal with what comes after. I've been feeling very fortunate that I don't know what it's like. I've also been feeling happy -- hear me out -- because this week has proven that people are good and people are strong. My Twitter stream and blog reader have been full of people offering help and positive thoughts. I've been amazed at people's generosity and amazing-ness in general.

East Coast-ers, I'm thinking of you. I hope you're okay and you know you're not alone.

(Photo via Joanna Goddard)

NYC taxis.

Saw this photo by Laura Mayes and immediately thought, "I want to live there!" Of course, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to take taxis. 

(Photo via Laura Mayes' Instagram)

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

This Nora Ephron classic had been on my list of books to read for a long time. A really long time. When Nora died almost a month ago, I went to the library the very next day. It was time to read I Feel Bad About My Neck, the book that so many people have raved about. I knew I would probably love it. And I did. 

Below are the passages I would have highlighted or underlined as I was reading, had it not been a library book:

On the magic of reading:

"Reading is one of the main things I do. Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss."

"The state of rapture I experience when I read a wonderful book is one of the main reasons I read, but it doesn't happen every time or even every other time, and when it does happen, I'm truly beside myself."

"When I was a child, nearly every book I read sent me into rapture. Can I be romanticizing my early reading experiences? I don't think so. I can tick off so many books that I read and re-read when I was growing up... I wanted so badly to be Jane Banks, growing up in London with Mary Poppins for a nanny... Little Sara Crew in Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic A Little Princess was my alter ego... I wanted to be... Anne Frank, and Nancy Drew... and Anne of Green Gables -- and in my imagination, at least, I could be."

"Every so often I look up from the book and see a roomful of people waiting for me to make a decision about whether the music is too soft or the thunder is too loud, and I can't believe they don't understand that what I'm doing is Much More Important. I'm reading the most wonderful book."

This passage made me want to move to New York City:

"I'm in a rowboat on the lake in Central Park. Fortunately I'm not rowing the boat. I'm still in college, but soon I won't be, soon I'll be living here, in New York City. I look up at all the buildings surrounding the park, and it crosses my mind that except for the man rowing the boat, I don't know anyone in New York City. And I barely know the man in the boat... I vow that someday I will know someone in New York City."

P.S. Marta's valentine to Nora Ephron.

I want to live in new york.

I visited New York City over a long weekend in my senior year of high school. Ever since (and probably before that) I've dreamed of living there. At the very least, I want to visit again!

Sometimes I see/hear/read something that makes me think, "I want to move to New York!" I've decided that when I see something that makes me think that (or yell it in an overexcited way), I'm going to share it here. And maybe someday, I will live there. 

A girl from my Education Programme recently went on a vacation to NYC and I spent a bit of time looking through her album on Facebook. You can guess what I was thinking as I clicked "Like" on the three photos above.