somewhere over the rainbow

long time no see, bloggerinos! September is halfway through and I've been a busy little rainbow-srtiped bee. 

I guess that makes another unintentional hiatus for The Ocean! for those of you who may have recently started to check in on my little slice of internet, I'd like to tell you this kind of abrupt absence is uncommon... but I'd be lying. this is real life, people. sometimes sleep > the internet.

I KNOW WHAT I SAID.

this past week two of our friends from Newfoundland came to stay and explore the Big Apple. between hosting, sightseeing, and regular life stuff, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for the blogosphere! it was a hectic week, but an enjoyable one.

on the weekend all four of us spent a gleeful afternoon in Coney Island, wandering the boardwalk and getting slingshotted into the air and whatnot. Brandon hates rides, so with Andrew and Janet here I finally got to try some out! specifically, the new roller coaster- the thunderbolt- and the giant slingshot thing where they rocket you into the big blue sky. we also had Nathan's hot dogs and pizza from L&B Spumoni Gardens. Coney Island, I tell ya!

dress + shoes- Modcloth // bag- Marc by Marc Jacobs // sunglasses- vintage via Brooklyn Flea

of course a day spent in the brightness of the boardwalk and amusement parks lends itself to an equally colourful outfit, so I went with a rainbow dress and funky accessories. I discovered that this dress is something of an eye-catcher, for better or worse... at the Freak Show I got pulled on stage not once, but twice to be the assistant- they lit a fire with my tongue because I'm magical- so I'm basically employed there now. then later at dinner the performer pointed me out and talked to me while singing. as someone who doesn't feel much like an attention-grabber, this dress made me feel quite noticeable! 

to top it all off, that very same evening my parents surprised me and met us in Manhattan! they just showed up. I couldn't believe that a) they came all the way from Canada for one day to see us, and b) Brandon could keep a secret. all in all it was a pretty ridiculous day! 

there is lots more to say and there are lots more pictures to share, but that's enough for my little "welcome back" post. thank you for youe continuing patronage to my little internet world! please come again.

(when this all became a restaurant, I don't know... sometimes these posts get away from me.)

come and stay a while...

it's no secret that since moving to the Big Apple Brando and I have been running a sort of cultural exchange program; meaning, basically, that we have frequent visitors from far and wide. and I love it!  not only does it bring temporary roommates to hang out with, but it gives me an excuse to go out and explore this big beautiful city some more. 

in August we were lucky enough to have two sets of visitors and tons of great weather, so I spent a lot of time galavanting around NYC and eating pizza. (the pizza is a big tourist attraction.) here are some pictures from our recent friend-time adventures... 

I'll never get sick of visiting Central Park, or walking the Brooklyn Bridge. or of the pizza, of course. 

more friends are coming in just two days, and I can't wait!

so if you're looking to come to New York at some point... hit me up. take advantage. we'll eat food and play bingo. you'll love it. 

she talks like june

I guess now it's Labor Day weekend?

what?

well, even though I feel like the summer swooshed by me so fast that it made my head spin and my eyes go googly like in an old-timey cartoon, I'm looking forward to fall. not that September will really be very autumnal, but the temperatures will start to drop and the craziness will start to slow down. soon enough I'll get to wear tights again!

but, not yet. I still have summer-ish plans; to go swimming some more, to visit Montauk, ride the new roller coaster at Coney Island, maybe even to take a short road trip. summer lives on in your hearts, people.

dress- Modcloth(still crazy on sale!) // boots- thrifted // bag- vintage // belt- old // fleur-de-lis earrings- Bueno Style

I feel like it should be on a blooper reel-type post, but I kind of like that picture of me making an annoyed face! I think I look sassy. so I used it. bam!

I've dubbed this look "urban cowgirl," not realizing till just now how much it sounds like a sexual position. but we mustn't be afraid of using the word cowgirl in other contexts, people! you may think that I'm basing that outfit title solely on my choice of footwear- cowboy boots, doi- but I think this dress has a bit of a rockabilly vibe to it as well. florals and gingham and lace? just call me Annie Oakley!

actually I'd prefer Calamity Jane because she was more outrageous and friends with Wild Bill, but I'm basing that perception solely on my deep-rooted love for Deadwood. 

but check out the neckline on this dress! so cute I can't stand it.

Brando and I snapped these pictures as the sun was setting in Williamsburg. I have to say, while many New Yorkers seem to have this impression of Williamsburg as being pretentious and obnoxiously hipster, it's one of my favourite neighbourhoods. there's an endless supply of amazing restaurants, the cheapest movie theatre we've found in the city, and our favourite movie-themed bar. plus, it's really easy to get there on the J train.

if you happen to live in/near NYC, or are just visiting and want to check out the origins of the modern hipster, here are my fave Williamsburg establishments so far! (click "read more")

who wears short shorts

is that title too obvious? perhaps. 

on thursday Brandon and I finally made it to a summer screen movie in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I don't know what took us so long, because it was delightful! we spent the afternoon walking around Brooklyn Heights beforehand. I had definitely the most incredible bagel I've ever had from Montague Street Bagels (get the cranberry apple chicken salad and die happy) and we admired the pretty tree-lined streets of the neighbourhood. 

and on our way there we watched a guy throw up on himself on the subway, so I guess it was an exciting day for everyone.

hat + shorts- Modcloth // shirt- Williamsburg boutique (?) // bag- Steve Madden (gift) // shoes- Walmart

this outfit felt a little vaudevillian, hence the cheeky pose! 

I've been hesitant this past year to embrace the cuteness of shorts, especially in the summer when tights aren't an option to smooth out my thighs and hide other imperfections... but these were on sale and I thought, screw it- shorts are cute, and I wanna wear cute things. to hell with insecurity! live while you're young!

...oh my god, did I just kind of quote One Direction?

let's ignore that and focus on my personal triumph of wearing shorts in public. 

Brooklyn Bridge Park is one of the places where it really hits me that I live in New York City. there's always something cool going on- like outdoor movies, or free kayaking in the East River- and the views of lower Manhattan are spectacular. it gets me every time. 

the movie screening on this particular thursday evening was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which I'm kind of embarrassed to say neither of us had seen before. but that made it even more enjoyable! Paul Newman was such a fox. and he looks pretty darn good next to the big city lights, don't you think?

I will take you to the ocean

well, it seems I'm a little behind. this weekend is nearly over, and I'm still not done babbling about last weekend. to be fair, there was a lot to talk about, and it kinda makes up for doing nothing all during the week. 

I've only told you about last friday; there's still two whole days left to ramble on about! 

after our night of epic free concerting we woke decently early (for people who had been drinking, especially) on saturday to make the trek to Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Parade. basically a giant kickoff to summertime where gazillions of people dress in over-the-top mermaid (or vasiou sea creatures) costumes and walk around the boardwalk. obviously it was my first time there, and while I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, it certainly wasn't what I got. 

the costumes were awesome, and definitely the best part of the parade. I wish I could have snapped a few photos, but our view was so restricted that it really wasn't worth the bother, as verified by the one semi-usable picture above. there were thousands of spectators so showing up even an hour-and-a-half in advance didn't really help much with snagging prime viewing locations. I would definitely recommend finding a cozy spot along the beachfront part of the parade route so you're not just baking in the hot sun while staring at the back of people's heads. this place was overcrowded, even for me. and I love being lost in a crowd of mermaids... we'll know better for next year.

while I didn't see much in the way of the parade, at least I got to play on the beach like a mermaid, right? 

Coney Island bonus: on the way home, Brando and I made a stop at L&B Spumoni Gardens for some famous Sicilian pizza. we saw the place on Man Vs. Food way back before we moved, and I'd been dying to go- they put the sauce on top of the cheese. I don't know why this excites me so much, but it does. 

and turns out it makes a big difference, because it is now my favourite pizza in the world. and I don't even usually like thick crust. 

oh my gosh. it's just so good.

moral of the story, boys and girls; after a bit of a lacklustre public event, it's all worth it if you go out for pizza. 

friday night lights

I had fully intended to have this post up sooner, since it's kind of a "part b" to my last post. but I'm kind of glad I slacked off until today; I had a bit of a rough day, and rough days are best treated with happy memories. it's nice to remind myself why I like my life so much. 

last friday, I met up with Brando after my aforementioned lovely afternoon in the Prospect Park area. we planned on going to the FREE concert in the park for Celebrate Brooklyn. Amos Lee was playing, and Brando's a huge fan of his, and the opener was a local band that was supposed to be amazing. so yeah, friday night plans. 

while we were in line to get in, a lady in a stunning red polka dot dress came up to us and asked if we wanted to be "VIPs." of course my reaction was "what do I have to do?" but it was nothing! she worked for an event sponsor, Squarespace, and they were just handing out special bracelets to people in line to get access to a dining area, open bar, and front row seating. AWESOMESAUCE. it was probably the coolest thing to ever happen to me. I think maybe they were hoping for some good publicity, since we had our fancy-shmancy camera in tow, but little do they know... my internet fame is fairly subdued. 

anyways, it was really cool of Squarespace to do that and I want to declare my love for them for giving me my favourite NYC night so far. 

as you can imagine, the evening after that was pretty spectacular. we were literally in the front row, with unlimited free booze, and the concert was amazing. the local band was Lake Street Dive and you guys, I think they're my new favourite. after the set I immediately went to the merch table and bought their record. and I'm madly in love with the lead singer. she's my hero. 

Amos Lee was as genius as we anticipated (with a rockstar lady bassist), and I got some glorious snaps of the whole shindig. 

check it. 

(this is quite the long post, so click "read more" to see the rest of the photos!)