Today was such a pleasant day! We had spring weather and took a long walk along the East River – all the way from 34th Street to Chinatown. Since we both worked a lot for the last few days and I went out with colleagues on Friday night, we took the time to catch up on joint personal time. I love taking walks anyways. But there is hardly anything better than walking through the warm sun right along the sea and talking to my love. Well, maybe we should have brought Canavar with us in his cat stroller to make it perfect. But he most likely would have not enjoyed seeing all those happy dogs everywhere.

On the other end of our walk we explored a bit the neighborhood where the Lower Eastside and Chinatown merge into each other. On the one hand, there are many residential buildings and stores that have all writings in Chinese on them. On the other hand, there are several new modern buildings and little fancy cafes and restaurants. The side streets are full of little galleries and fashion labels. Supermarkets like Trader Joe’s are moving into the neighborhood. The area is being gentrified. And still, we also had a late lunch in a vegan restaurant because it appealed to us. Also, we were so hungry by then that we didn’t want to look any further. Afterwards we had two coffee and a piece of chocolate cake as dessert in a Chinese bakery – for less than $6. I wonder if there is enough space in Manhattan for all worlds. But maybe this is also the island’s secret: there is something for everyone as long as you know where to look.

|Watched| Balloon; GNTM, The Protector, Glow Up, Great Greek Myths
|Read| How not to die*, The New York Times, Time Magazine*
|Listened to| David Guetta
|Done| enjoyed President’s Day at home, worked from Tuesday to Friday, we finally got to pick up my engagement ring, went with colleagues to the movies Friday night to watch the German movie “Balloon”, attended a blogger meetup on Saturday
|Eaten| pasta, chickpea stew, mattar paneer, roast tofu, salad, bean burrito, blackbean burger, bagels, chocolate cake
|Drunk| water, coffee, white tea, beer
|Thought| I am tired. And this week hasn’t even been that stressful.
|Been happy| when my engagement ring arrived – after five and a half weeks
|Laughed| when after the cinema on Friday night we went to a great Irish pub and talked about everything and anything
|Desired| what about those snow days?
|Bought| nothing except for food and the movie ticket
|Clicked| there aren’t many German movies in U.S. American cinemas – go and watch “Balloon”: ‘Balloon’ Review: Flight Club. Two families flee communism in a handmade hot-air balloon in this cozily conventional thriller.; a fun take on Hogwarts as an educational facility: I Went to Hogwarts for Seven Years and Did Not Learn Math or Spelling, and Now I Can’t Get a Job; I loved this introduction of the founders of a chain of vegan (ice cream) cafes in Austria: Job Report: Cecilia & Susanna, Veganista / The LALA; Target carries many clean beauty brands nowadays and this article helps to get some ideas what to try (first): You Won’t Believe These Clean Beauty Steals We Scored at Target; Blair presents her favorite photography locations in New York City: NYC PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATIONS // MY FAVORITE SPOTS

© janavar

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