New York (Dec 3-7 2016)

I can’t believe that I am so behind on all my posts. That’s ok. This one will be short as this was a brief trip to NY and I actually did not stay in any new hotels.

The first two nights I stayed over with the founder of LifeTold in Queens. A bit of a trek from the city, but still a great visit. After spending a leisurely weekend getting nails done (PaintBox), brunch at Balthazar and shopping, I stacked up my meetings (as per usual) for Monday and headed over to my other friends apartment in the city.

After making a crucial trip to Caravan Stylist studio I was ready to meet and greet! Later in the night I attended three fun holiday parties: RESIDENT Magazine, Fairmont Gold party (possibly this best party I have ever attended in my entire life!) and this real estate broker party (which definitely showed a different side to New York).

The next day, after a interview shoot with T’Zikal (see the interview on my News & Events page) I went to the BELLA NY holiday party which was also very fun.

I headed home to spend the rest of Dec. working away (clearly too busy to post this! Ha!).

ELENA:)

NYC Recap

 

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I can’t believe its’ been a month since I was in New York. Time definitely flies by…

I checked into the Q&A Residential Hotel on the Saturday evening to be welcomed to one of the largest hotel suites I have ever stayed in the city. The last time I stayed in the quiet financial district area was 5 years ago, so I was curious to see how the area changed. That night, I settled in by walking around the area – the subway and the huge Duane Reade was across the street. I can’t sing the praises of free strong Wi-Fi and fridge that could hold my Invo Coconut Water for the Sunday morning shoot.

Read my article for RESIDENT Magazine on Q&A Residential Hotel here.

Sunday morning, I had a great time with Bianca Bruno and Nicky Styles (editor from The Trend’n Female) shooting a how-to braiding guide complete with Victoria Hair clip on extensions. I’ve never had extensions before so I was quite curious to see how well they would blend into my own hair. It turned out perfect! They were not heavy at all and easy to take out at the end of the day.

Stay tuned for the How-To Braid guide in BELLA LA and BELLA NYC coming out soon.

After the video shoot, we met up with some friends and had brunch at Gentilly, a new spot in the West Village. I had a great tofu scramble and got schooled on three different ways on how to drink rose courtesy of Maison Marcel. It was great reuniting with Caitlyn from Tease Tea and picking up my favourite Earl Grey tea. My plans fell through for Burger & Lobster that night as well as my attempt to have chicken wings at Pok Pok – so I’ll have to put that on the list for next time.

The next two days were FULL of meetings:

I surprised myself not taking a cab even once! Google Maps is my new favorite friend. The biggest surprise of Monday was meeting Britney Spears’ first tour manager tied with being asked to write a pro Trump article for a magazine for $200 later that night.

Tuesday’s meetings were scheduled back-to-back and being caught in the rain was an unwelcomed surprise. I stopped by CINER to check out some new fashion jewelry and visit the lovely ladies. My friend, Lexicon of Style introduced me to a café called Culture Espresso that had cute wallpaper and fabulous décor. Rare for Midtown. Tuesday night ended by meeting Susan Mallery, NY Times #1 Best–Seller who was launching a romance novel entitled, Best of My Love.

I had two impromptu meetings on Wednesday, pre flight home. I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful shared working space of Neuehouse. I loved the Restoration Hardware meets NYPL vibe. Such an inspiring space. I grabbed a quick lunch with a friend at Back Forty West before heading back to the hotel to grab my luggage and a package that had arrived in the nick of time before my Luxury Car Ride swept me off to LGA.

ELENA:)

ps: To find out what the package was… scroll to my next post.

 

NYC Photo shoot

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m actually enjoying catching up on old TV episodes and sleeping. I have finally finished the Lili St. Cyr biography I have been reading as well (read all about it in a future post).

Back in NYC, I teamed up with my friends from Flytographer to shoot in the streets of Soho. This time, the fabulous Mayleen was behind the camera and we had a lot of fun. She schooled me all about Miami, shooting notable clients and how to be fearless in a “coat that looks like a shag bear that didn’t stand a chance.” Here are some shots with hair and makeup by Bianca and Anthony. As you can see, I’m a fan of the profile shot;)

ELENA:)

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Fatty Cakes NY Review

Let it be known that I can’t be trusted with reviews about food. Especially anything that contains sugar, as my sweet tooth makes things biased. So I look to people with incredible palates and have constructive foodie thoughts to aid in such reviews.

Meet Gillian: New mom, wife of Meat & Bread mogul, boxer, baker, nurse, friend and food blogger. I can’t think of anyone who is more qualified to give me a honest opinion on cookies. And these aren’t just any cookies!

FattyCakesNY offers a multitude of scrumptious cookies all available in full cookie cakes which is a huge win-win. Keep her in mind for your next event as owner, Jennifer Taylor Miller can also can assemble mouth watering dessert tables and customize your very own FattyCake.

Shipping is usually only available to the US, so I jumped at the chance to have this unique taste test opportunity north of the 49th parallel. And once the cookies arrived from their home in Brooklyn, NY to Vancouver (Thanks Jennifer and Heather!) I split them up and we handed out the awards….

Note: I must say that’s its kind of odd that last summer I was introduced to Fatty Sundays, also from Brooklyn. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Drumroll please! The FattyCakeNY Awards…..

The Betty Jo (Red Velvet cookies with white chocolate chips & cream cheese fudge filling). 

Gillian: Winner of the best all-around cookie. Great cookie filling ratio.Nice cookie.

Elena: Winner of best cookie to claim that you baked on your own. Can you really go wrong with Red Velvet anything?

Build me up, buttercup (Peanut butter chocolate brownie cookie with peanut butter cups).

Gillian: Winner of the best in show cookie. Delicious. Guilty Pleasure cookie. Love the crumbly texture and good with a cup of tea.

Elena: Winner of best cookie to get rid of the Monday blahs. So wonderful. I wish I had another!

The Original Fattycake (Chocolate chips, oats, oreos, pretzels, & potato chips with peanut butter).

Gillian: Winner of the best cookie to eat when you are stoned. The pretzels and chips become stale and chewy (not in a good way).

Elena: Winner of the best cookie to eat on a long 8 hour flight. It’s like the everything bagel (but better). And there is a certain time on a long flight where you crave everything at once. This cookie will help.

The Chipwich (Salted chocolate chip cookies with beer caramel and vanilla cream filling).

Gillian: Winner of best cookie to cure a hangover. Too much salt and vanilla in the filling.

Elena: Winner of best cookie to eat after Bikrams yoga. Yup, the salt will help with your pH Balance.

Dark-n-Stormy (Ginger molasses cookies with Sailor Jerry rum cream filling and a hint of lime).

Gillian: Winner of best present for a drunk uncle. Too much cinnamon and too sweet.

Elena: Winner of best cookie to give someone who actually likes molasses. Molasses reminds me of the part in To Kill a Mockingbird when the kids invite a friend over and he pours syrup all over his dinner. Unnecessary.

The Drunken Piglet (Maple cookie with bourbon bacon brittle, Brooklyn Blast! beer caramel, finished with maple, brown sugar & sea salt).

Gillian: Winner of the cookie you will immediately regret eating. Maple is overpowering.

Elena: Winner of the cookie to eat if you miss Sunday Brunch. A little less maple and a little more bacon.

Thanks again for allowing us to review:)

Be sure to check out FattyCakesNY and share your thoughts on social. Follow FattyCakesNY on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @Fattycakesny

ELENA:)

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