When I got a concert notification for Leighton Meester, I have to be honest, I didn’t know she had moved into music. I was a huge fan of Gossip Girl though so I texted my friend I used to watch GG with all the time and we decided it would be fun to check it out and support her. 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I have to tell you the girl can seriously sing! Her album has a folk low-key vibe with heartfelt lyrics and it is definitely moving into my music rotation. Give it a listen for yourself on Spotify!

Dose of my “Subway Mixing” Playlist

Today’s preview, Leighton Meester “Heartstrings”

Gung Hay Fat Choy! My boss has a tradition every year of treating our office to a trip to Chinatown to celebrate her heritage with some Dim Sum and I’ve been lucky enough to join over the years. If you’ve never tried Dim Sum before, I absolutely suggest that you check it out! I highly recommend my boss’ choice, the Golden Unicorn!

Dim Sum is such a cool experience because it isn’t your typical sit-down restaurant. Once you sit down in their banquet room, the waiters come around with carts that you can pick what you’d like to order and then stamp your card. I’ve been pretty lucky to have had my boss there to show us the ropes and suggest some delicious dishes, but now that I’ve been a few times I feel like I’ve figured out some of my favorite dishes! Oh hello little steamed pork rolls and dumplings! YUM! 

After Dim Sum, we ventured a little further into Chinatown for the Chinese New Year parade to celebrate the year of the goat! Or sheep, depending on who you’re talking to!

I’m a huge fan of all things glitter and confetti, so you can imagine how excited I was about these confetti launchers — I imagine that’s not their real name, but I’ll go with it. They were like the typical party poppers but WAY bigger, and way more awesome. People were shooting them off everywhere too! I think it’s the one parade I’ve been to where they encourage you to shoot things off at the people in the parade.

It was truly such a fun time and the perfect bit of culture for the weekend!

I’m so thankful it’s Friday! After working 11 days in a row with my day job, I realllyyyy needed a weekend to slow down a little bit, and sleep in! So here’s a look at some of my favorites from the week!

1. One of my favorite blogs to read Kelly in the City posted about this really cool one-second-a-day video her husband made over the last year and I really love the concept! It seems like such an awesome way to look back on your year day-by-day at the significant and maybe insignificant parts that sometimes get forgotten. Check out her post on the video and if you’re inspired to make your own, you can do so through the 1 Second Everyday app!
2. The plunging temps in the city this week — including the wind chills of -20 last night — have turned the city into Elsa’s winter wonderland and the people aren’t the only ones freezing. Turns out the fountain in Bryant Park got a little bit of the icy treatment this week too. 
3. Okay, one more thing about the cold weather and then I swear I’m done ;-) The temps have been so low that there have been Snowy Owls spotted in the city! Owls that normally live in the arctic! Thanks "Siberian Express" air, NYC is colder than Antarctica and attracting arctic animals now. Now how do we get some penguins up here?!
4. Want to feel really broke for a second? Check out these digs. This 1-bedroom Upper East Side apartment is renting out for more per month than most houses cost. For a pretty penny of 300k a month, you too can live in this 1200 square foot apartment penthouse at The Surrey. 
5. Miss P has been on a tour of NYC since winning Best in Show earlier in the week in the city. She celebrated with some steak, met Michael Kors and even went to the top of the Empire State Building! I’d say the pup is having a good week!