The reason I started my blog was to document my life after moving from the NW over to NYC. Everything from my successes, struggles, changes, and city adventures, they’re all here for all of my friends, family, or just readers looking for an inside look at NYC life.

Whether or not you’ve visited the city or not, my goal has always been to give you an inside look to what life here really is like minus the stereotypes or show business glamour. Today I came across a really cool website that has put together an aerial panorama of Manhattan so no matter where you are living you can jump right into the city in high-resolution right from your computer! Check out this link, click your desired resolution, let it load, and jump right into the skyline!

I love the spring in NYC. After the cold and dark winter months, it is wonderful to watch the seasons change as the sun comes back out to play. One thing that I think is a big misconception about the city is that it really is just a “concrete jungle”. When you think of New York, you don’t think of tree lined blocks or even flowers much at all. Quite the opposite is true though, and let me mention there are trees outside of Central Park. Along the blocks, trees actual do line the streets and flower beds below. Because of the extreme seasons, the plants are re-planted often with seasonal plants. Summer flowers throughout the summer and into the fall, pine branches or these cabbage looking plants in the winter, and tulips in the Spring. While the spring flowers don’t last too long before being re-planted for summer, I absolutely love the stunning tulips around the city in the spring. I’ve also fallen in love with.. flower boxes.

There is something about having fresh blooms outside your window that is appealing to me. Not to mention they add a nice touch of dimension to the bricked apartment.  exterior. They also seem like the perfect solution for the girl who loves flowers, but can’t seem to keep any alive inside an apartment.. not even the indoor plants. Oops! So these seem like the perfect solution. We don’t have any window boxes at my current apartment, but maybe one day…

I’m so excited to finally write to you all about the Death Cab for Cutie concert! I bought tickets for the show in late January as a Valentine’s Day present to Chris and it feels like it seems like we’ve been in count-down mode forever! 

I was also pretty excited about the concert because 1. It’s a band that Chris and I both enjoy (this doesn’t happen, more often than not) 2. The show was at the Beacon Theatre and I have only heard great things about the venue 3. They were performing with an orchestra! How often does that happen at an alternative rock show? and 4. Death Cab is from Bellingham, WA — shout-out to the home state!

The venue, lived up to every one of my expectations. The theatre is done-up in ornate detailing from wall-to-wall expressing vintage and classic decor.  I would expect nothing less from Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel who was the “brainchild” behind the Beacon and its sister theatre the Radio City Music Hall. When you walk through the doors you can envision the past musical, dramatic, and other arts acts that have taken place within its quarters all the way back to the 1920’s.

At 2,600 seats, the venue also provides an intimate concert experience compared to other larger venues. Don’t let me forget to mention that it is also known for its phenomenal acoustics, which makes it a favorite for concert-goers. Because of the size, and the steepness of the seats there really isn’t a bad seat inside the venue. Pssst, if you haven’t caught on already I really LOVED this concert and theatre ;-)

So how was the actual concert? Truly amazing. Definitely one of my favorites in the city so far. Death Cab is a band I’ve been listening to since the early 2000’s (They started in 1997) so it was so awesome to see them in concert and listen to songs I’ve really grown up on over the last 12 years. Ben Gibbard is the lead singer, and he really has a way of capturing emotion in his songs. Chris really said it best by saying no one does depressing much better than their band. Which, well, sounds depressing, but the great thing about their music is they can take deep emotion from hardships and life and turn it into something inspiring. Add in the 8 piece string section from Magik*Magik Orchestra and it really just added a completely different dimension to their music.

Definitely a night to remember here in the city and every cent well spent on tickets!