Welcome To New York - My Summer Adventure

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to travel to New York. If you look back on some of my posts, it was always mentioned as a place I wanted to visit. I finally made it happen this summer. I planned a birthday trip for both my mom and me!

It all started when I was scrolling on my Instagram and noticed that Luann De Lesseps had added more dates for her cabaret show. I have to admit, a guilty pleasure of mine is The Real Housewives of New York. I've been watching since it premiered, when I was 12 and have been hooked ever since. I came up with a plan; where we'd stay, found reasonably priced airline tickets, etc and pitched the idea to my mom and voila! We were going!

I thought I'd share with you some of the highlights of the trip! Of course, I took lots of pictures of my food. :P

On the plane....ready for takeoff!

 We landed bright and early - before 8 AM!

I found us an Airbnb that was located close to Times Square. We walked around and stumbled upon this little restaurant called Sliced. Breakfast sounded great and the prices were super reasonable. They're known for their open faced sandwiches. We figured the food would be just ok, but it was super tasty. Great portions as well. We ordered their egg salad small toast and their red quinoa salad. The food was made quickly and very fresh. They also threw in a little dessert. 

Having studied fashion, I wanted to check out Fashion Institute of Technology's museum. 

Currently, they have an exhibit called, Fashion Unraveled. 

 There was a lot of art that I passed by on the street. I really loved this piece.

I had to check out Diane Von Furstenburg's flagship store!

I went to Chelsea to see Mary Boone's Gallery. We also explored the Chelsea Market....So cool! It has a giant food hall and many unique shops.

For dinner, we went to Beauty and Essex. When the one in LA had first opened up, I really wanted to go. It didn't end up working out because of how long the waits were. I was excited to go to the one in NYC. If you go, make sure to check out the bathroom. :P

We took a walk at night to see what Times Square looked like all lit up. It's just like in the movies....It's truly the city that never sleeps. 

Whenever I travel, I love to check out the vegan spots. Eat by Chloe is my fave! I am constantly craving their mac and cheese. It's made with cashews and sweet potato and it is topped off with a shitake bacon. I love everything I have eaten here. They have locations in other major cities such as LA, Boston and Providence and are even in London. By Chloe is 100% vegan and plant-based and offers salads, burgers, pasta, breakfast options, fresh juices and a variety of baked goods and the most delicious ice cream.

Writing that paragraph just made me want their food soooo badly!

Of course, I was looking forward to Countess Luann's show, but what made it even more exciting to me was the fact that it was being held at 54 Below. It's literally located in the basement of the former Studio 54. I loveeeee me some Studio 54!

The next day, we went to brunch at a place I found on Yelp. It's a cozy little spot known for seafood. They have "hidden bathrooms" with bookshelves as doors which I thought was neat and the rest of the décor is kind of nautical. The place has an elegant, but casual vibe and the staff were super friendly. We ordered the Eggs Scandinavia (An eggs benedict with smoked salmon) and their chocolate chip pancakes. 

My mom's pick was for us to do a Radio City Music Hall tour. It was pretty cool...Learned a lot of historical facts. 

 Walking through Times Square 

 That night we had tickets to see Bernadette Peters in Hello Dolly. Before the show, we went to Katz Delicatessen. OMG! It was heaven. The portions were huge and we had to scarf down our food so that we could get to Broadway in time. It was delicious...Just being there was a cool experience!

The show was incredible!! I can't believe I had the pleasure of seeing Bernadette Peters perform!!

My cousin Niesha lives near the city, and wanted to take us around town for the day. Her wonderful friend Dan came too and we had such a fun time! 

One of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas used to be Max Brenner. They closed that location, and so we went to one in NYC. YUM! 

They took us to Greenwich Village, which had a vibe I totally liked. 

Dan insisted that if we liked Middle Eastern food, this was the place to go. It's legit! They've been around for over 45 years. Authentic, family owned, small hole in the wall kind of place. 

 Local bookstores make my heart happy!

 We took a stroll through Central Park at sunset.

Even though I don't eat cheese, I really wanted to have that NYC pizza experience...so we found this place called NY Pizza Suprema. They've been in business for over 50 years and had some vegan/vegetarian choices. 

We were only there for five days, but got to see a lot. Until next time, New York City...

Have you been to NYC before? What was your favorite part?

As always, if you have any questions, leave a comment below or feel free to email me at TheZenFashionista@Gmail.Com 

To subscribe to my blog, you can click the subscribe tab at the top of this page, comment, or give it to me personally. I really appreciate it!

Until next time,

XOXOTheZenFashionista

August Thoughts...

Happy Monday!

It's been a while since I last posted, but I am back! This has been a year of growth, introspection, learning, wonderful experiences, and so much more.

I've been a busy bee studying for the majority of it and am now a certified Transformational Nutrition Coach! In addition, I also have begun working as a social media manager (and am loving it)!

I just got back from a trip to Providence, Rhode Island and at the end of June traveled to NYC for the first time. Stay tuned for a post of my adventures! I also plan to do a 23 things before I am 24 post (I  turned 23 on July 11th) and have some ideas to start an interview series to empower women.

Today's blog is a personal one, which y'all seem to really enjoy.

As, I ended 2017, I wrote a post called, "Your Feelings Are Valid," where I expressed my desire to surrender, honor myself and my body and just be. That is exactly what I did for most of the winter and spring time and it was well worth it.

I spent a lot of time sleeping, reading, going for long walks, sitting by the water and mediating, eating cleaner, and letting all the overwhelm I had felt, fade away. It's amazing how clear one can get, when all the chatter and noise is removed. For the first time in a long time, I could hear my own thoughts and not have it clouded by everyone else's...

Spending time alone brought up emotions. When it was just me, myself and I, I was able to really listen and see what needed love and to heal inside. I'm going to share with you three of the biggest things I worked on.

1. Always Apologizing

A dear friend, looked at me one day in the midst of me apologizing to ask what I was sorry for? I began to notice, I would say sorry all the time, when it wasn't warranted. I wondered why I did that, but for the moment decided to just become aware and notice. I sat in front of the creek near my house, staring down to the bottom of it and began to cry. It became clear to me. Growing up, I wasn't expected to be a perfectionist, but there were still standards. For the most part, I was a straight A student. In other aspects of my life, I was constantly being told, "you just don't do things right." I was never shown the "correct" way or told what I did wrong. It made me feel like I couldn't do things and would always assume it was never good enough. My mantra for this year has been that I AM ENOUGH, which is quite fitting. Once, I became aware of this childhood wounding, I then noticed that in conversations with people, I would get a feeling in my stomach that was indicating the person talking, was going to criticize me. 99% of the time that never happens and truly just noticing these things and logically saying to myself..."And so what? What's the worst that could happen?" the trigger began to heal.

2. People Pleasing

I also worked on my people pleasing pattern. As a child, I wanted to feel loved and so I would do whatever I could to please the people around me. You can be nice and kind hearted, but still respect your own boundaries. It's always been hard for me to say no, because I begin to feel guilty. The more I practice honoring myself, the easier it becomes.

3. Manipulative Love

I am a very sensitive being...Part of that is because I am a Cancer, which is a water sign. I'm that person who sees a movie in the theater and will without a doubt start crying...It can be a comedy, and I bet you, I'll still shed a tear! Lol.
I don't like conflict and will do my best to avoid it. In the past, when people would get upset with me, whether they were right or wrong, I would give in to what they were saying. I didn't want to argue with them, it seemed like a senseless battle. Usually, once I would cave, the person would then show me an abundance of love...This was toxic and I've noticed this has been a pattern with many people in my life. I've decided to step up and show up. I deserve to speak my truth and instead of being shown this emotional manipulative love, I choose to love myself and that's enough. It's truly empowering. At first, it felt scary, but once I started speaking up, I felt more balanced and in control and I won't go back to my old ways.

I also created other habits:

• I found I felt my best when I had 8-9 hours of sleep per night. 3-4 hours just wasn't cutting it.

• Listened to Binaural beats/frequencies - I noticed I was getting overwhelmed and that led to anxiety and something that has helped me is to play these sounds to clear the energy from my day.

• I was big on smoothies and juices, and eating clean, but now I drink at least one protein shake a day. Depending on how my gut is doing, I sometimes will drink two. 

• I stopped using the microwave. I was aware of all the dangers and not to mention that most of the foods we microwave are processed, but it was so convenient. I made a commitment to stop using one and haven't used it in over seven months! 

Currently, my focus is on physically clearing my surroundings...Getting rid of papers, clothes, etc. That combined with all the emotional and energetic work has me ready to open myself up to what's next. 

The one constant in our life is change and I am continuing to evolve and better myself each and every day. 

I write posts like this as a way to share my journey, but also in hopes that this may resonate with even just one person who reads this. We are all on this planet together, and you are never truly alone...

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Do you enjoy posts like these? Have a suggestion on what I should write about next? What new habit would you like to form? What is your goal for the next week?

As always, if you have any questions, leave a comment below or feel free to email me at TheZenFashionista@Gmail.Com 

To subscribe to my blog, you can click the subscribe tab at the top of this page, comment, or give it to me personally. I really appreciate it!

Until next time,

XOXOTheZenFashionista

TheZenFashionista's 4 Fave Vegan Beauty Products

Happy Monday! I was asked to write an article on my favorite vegan beauty products for an up and coming magazine, so I thought I would also share it here! It was hard to choose just 4!



1. Devita Moroccan Rose Facial Toner

I first discovered this product, four years ago. It's my favorite toner that I've tried. I love the smell and the feel on my skin. I also sometimes will use it to set my makeup or throughout the day. It is made with rose oil, aloe vera, green tea extract, rosemary, sage, and witch hazel.


2. Milk Makeup

About a week ago, Milk Makeup announced that going forward, all of their products would be 100% vegan. If you are not familiar with Milk, they developed a following quite quickly and have some of the coolest holographic and cruelty free (and now all vegan) products.

During the holidays, I received their holographic stick in Supernova Lavender. What I love about this highlighter, is it not only looks great on my skin, but it is made with ingredients that moisturize, such as coconut oil and mango butter.

And because I think this brand is super rad, I have to also recommend their tattoo stamps! I have the star stamp and it is really fun to incorporate into my beauty looks.




3. Unicorn Snot 

Ok, so I am obsessed with this stuff! It's vegan, cruelty free, and magical. Who doesn't love shimmer? My favorite is the purple glitter gel. You can put it on your face, which I have used above my cheekbones...You can place it all over your body (arms and legs), and I have even put it in my hair. They also sell lip gloss and recently came out with loose holographic lip glitter.

4. Frank Body Everyday Face Moisturiser

A few years ago, I found this brand on Instagram. Trying their original coffee body scrub was all the rage. Since then, more products have been created. My personal fave is their face moisturizer. It's lightweight and isn't greasy. This is super important when I am looking for a face cream. Otherwise, it gets flaky or makes me look oily. It's full of amazing ingredients such as vitamin e, coffee seed oil, shea butter and more. So much love for Frank Body!

What is your absolute favorite beauty product right now?

XOXOTheZenFashionista