In case you missed it on Instagram, I went to NYC with my best friend last week for a couple days. Technically, it was like three-ish days, but we only got two full days together since we both got there late Wednesday night and she left early on Saturday morning. Anyway, it was my first trip to NYC this year (I know!!) and I was super excited to get some time in the city with one of my favorite people!
As usual, I found us a dope (and cheap!) AirBnb in Brooklyn, which was our home base for the trip. Not only is it usually cheaper to stay in Brooklyn, but I love the neighborhood vibe it has compared to Manhattan. The place we stayed was super cute and spacious, but the only downside was that the hosts decided last minute to stay in town and were crashing on the couch while we were in their bedroom. I thought it was gonna be super awkward, but they were super chill and SO nice, so it worked out perfectly! They also had a cute little dog that reminded me of mine 🙂
Day 1: Manhattan
The first day, we still hadn’t planned ANYTHING for our short trip, so we started off by getting brunch around the corner from our AirBnb. Once we finished, we still hadn’t figured it out, so after aimlessly walking down Fulton St for a little while (and dying because it was SO hot and we both decided to wear pants), we decided to hop on the C train and head into SoHo.
It was a great place to start, cuz we both love shopping!! We spent the next few hours wandering around and going into a bunch of random shops – some chain stores and some specialty/pop-up shops – mostly taking pics but also buying a couple things.
After a couple hours of walking around, we were ready to get some more food and a drink. The weather randomly took a severe turn for the worse – cloudy, rainy and cold – so we tried to take an uber to a bar nearby but that was a fail so we just ended up walking lol (but not before stopping to take a few pics!)
I had been wanting to check out While We Were Young since it opened a couple years ago, so we headed straight there. They did serve food but the prices were um *cough* a little different, so we went across the street to get tacos at Otto’s. They had a “taco tuesday” special which was really confusing cuz we were both sure it was thursday (it was).
After attending to our daily taco quota, we were ready to empty our wallets for a cute cocktail and pics of the adorable bar. I ordered the Uh-Huh Honey (tasted like a Penicillin with mezcal) and Tiff ordered the It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right. They were both SKRONG but really good!
Since it was just the two of us and two other girls, we all ended up talking to the bartender for a while about alcohol (well mostly me), and he made another free drink for me and Tiff! We left there feeling prettyyy tipsy (:
After those drinks our next mission was getting coffee to balance out, which required us to go to about three places so I could find one with almond milk. Are hipsters over almond milk already?? WTF!
It was already dark by that point, so we decided to walk to the train and head back to Brooklyn. Which means that we stopped for dessert and went into about 3 stores before making it to the train. Why are we like this?
The train ride home took FOREVERRR and was such a confirmation that I can never live in NYC lol. We were absolutely exhausted when we got back, but I had already told my friend we would come over since she lives super close to our AirBnb, so we rested for about .2 seconds before getting up to go get food and visit my friend.
There was a soul food spot on the way over, so we stopped there for what we THOUGHT would be a quick to go order. WE THOUGHT! It obviously took forever, but was really bomb so I guess it was worth the wait. I finally got to see my friend after SUCHHH a long time, and check out her super cute new apartment! By the time we left at 1 am, I was an actual zombie, so I just ubered us home and PTFO!
Day 2: Brooklyn
The second day we decided not to bother going back to Manhattan – not just because we were exhausted from the day before, but also because it would have been dumb to stay in Brooklyn and not even spend any time there. Plus, we both had a lot of territory in BK that was undiscovered!
Since neither of us had really ever been to Williamsburg, we decided to start there. I had a brunch spot bookmarked there, so we hopped on the J train and headed over! It was a bit of a walk from the train to the restaurant, but it was a beautiful day and we were happy to walk around and explore.
When we pulled up to Sunday in Brooklyn, we were both very underwhelmed by what we saw. Online it looked SUPER cute, and well worth the splurge for the drastically overpriced food and drinks. But in person it was dark and boring inside! Definitely not the aesthetic we were going for OR worth wasting our money!
I had a backup, so we walked all the way across Williamsburg to get there. Thank god it was worth the trek, because we were both FAMISHED when we got there! It was seriously the cutest place ever, with TONS of natural light and plants everywhere! Very much my vibes.
After brunch, we spent the next few hours walking around, taking pics, stopping in little stores, TRYING to thrift shop, and getting random treats. We also stopped by the waterfront and sat for a while, which was so peaceful and relaxing!
We decided to head back around 5 or so to chill at the AirBnb for a few hours before going out. It felt so nice to get back before dark this time, and the few hours spent relaxing at “home” were sooo crucial! I took a shower while she napped, then we both chatted with our hosts and ate our leftovers before getting dressed up to go out.
We initially planned on going out in Manhattan, but I was both wary of going out without a real plan in a city of overwhelming options, and still too exhausted to think about that train ride again. Instead, we opted to head to a bar nearby in Brooklyn and figure it out from there.
As soon as we walked in, we knew we made the right choice! The bar was small and had a neighborhood vibe, and they were playing some old school RnB when we walked in. Yesss! The bar filled up as the night went on, and the DJ did not fail to keep the vibes on all night long. We ended up spending the whole night there!
By the time we got home, we were tired but SO happy with how the night and the rest of the day turned out! It was a perfect little trip.
The next morning, Tiff left before I woke up, and then I got up a few hours later, showered and went for a walk around the neighborhood before leaving.
It was a short but sweet trip, and I’m already excited to go back! 💕
Ohhh. What was the name of the bar in Brooklyn?👀👀
Bed-Vyne Cocktail!! There were a couple other bars in the vicinity that looked cool but we didn’t make it to any others lol