Following Rabbits Blog — do it

I work a regular 9-5 office job, but I also do a lot of work on my own time between blogging, writing my novel, and cooking up all kinds of creative projects. When summer weather kicks in, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer in my sweltering apartment. I also find I'm much more productive when I grab my laptop and head somewhere cool where I'm away from the distractions of home (the kitties, the TV, bed...) Starbucks is usually pretty packed (and I'd rather not buy a $5 coffee every hour to appease the barista) so here are a few places to check out around the city that offer free wifi and a fresh scene.

Greenwich Village
Bowery Poetry Club - 308 Bowery (at 1st St)
Have a beer, socialize, see a show... oh wait, we were working, right?

West Village
Brewbar Coffee - 327 W. 11th St (between Greenwich St. and Washington St.)
Have a vegan cookie: Peanut Butter Persuasion or Phenomenal Pumpkin Spice

Union Square
Union Square Park - at 14th St and Park Ave
Snag a bench or a place on the stairs and a snack from the farmer's market

Murray Hill
SubtleTea - 121 Madison Ave (between 30th and 31st Sts)
Their vanilla cream tea is yum!

Midtown
Bryant Park - 42nd St between 5th and 6th Aves
I looove Bryant Park! Get a tea or ice cream sandwich at wichcraft and pull up a chair or a spot on the lawn

UES
Choux Factory - 1685 1st Ave (between 87th and 88th Sts)
Cream puffs! (Enough said.)

I just got back from spending four days down in Florida. I've never been to the panhandle before, and I have family who live there, so we rented a gorgeous beach house in the Villages of Crystal Beach in Destin. The house was 4 bedrooms, and we had 8 to 12 people sleeping there comfortably every night. The beach was within walking distance- gorgeous! Love the Gulf Coast... usually I'm a Sarasota/Lido Beach girl, but it was beautiful there. 

We flew into Pensacola on Friday afternoon and went to AJ's for a few beers. The sun was blazing, and the view of the harbor put me in vacation-mode. (They also had Shocktop on draft, which made me a super happy girl!)

Friday night we went out to dinner at McGuire's. People sign and hang dollar bills everywhere in this place! The portions were ridiculously huge, and the food was excellent. They also brew their own beer- I had the raspberry wheat- was really good. Was tempted to bring some home with me, but couldn't justify carrying it in my tiny duffel bag that I brought for luggage.

Saturday we hit the beach! Was such a perfect day... not too humid, barely a cloud in the sky, ocean wasn't too rough. Lots of sun, swimming, and a big picnic lunch! 

Saturday night we went to Baytowne Wharf for a BBQ dinner and dancing at the Village Door. Dinner was pretty good, and we had a really fun night dancing it up. At midnight, we requested that the band play Mustang Sally to wish my mum, Sally, a happy birthday. Ha! They called her up on stage and she dragged me with her.

Sunday we took a drive out to visit another of my cousins. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on the way back. I think my uncle probably got a little peeved that I was taking photos and being silly... gotta document every bit of my adventures! Here's my cousin and me on the side of the highway waiting for him to change the tire:

Sunday night we all went to the beach to catch the sunset. It wound up raining, but the lighting and clouds were awesome looking.

^ my mum and me

Was SO good to catch up with a bunch of family I haven't seen in years! (And spending time at the beach, getting a tan, relaxing, and eating tons of good food wasn't so bad either...) Can't wait for them to come up to visit the Big Apple so I can show them the same hospitality and a fabulous time!

I haven't had an evening of bar hopping and walking the city streets in a long time. There's something to be said for aimlessly wandering around, exploring, laughing, drinking, getting late night eats and rolling into your apartment at sunrise. Last night I met up with Hugo at Mercury Lounge to check out Apollo Sunshine. (He even bought a paper ticket from someone outside so I could have one, since he knows I'm weird and love that kinda stuff!) Their sound was kind of all over the board... no two songs really sounded similar. They did play a few songs that I really liked. Check out Singing to the Earth, Breeze, and Magnolia.

After the show we stopped by Rockwood Music Hall and listened to Julian Velard play for a bit. I really like his music! I ended up downloading a bunch of his songs today. It was just him and a piano, which was great. I almost wish the songs I downloaded of his on iTunes were more raw, stripped down tracks. He's playing at Rockwood again on June 18 and 19- definitely check him out.

We left Rockwood and walked over to Kenny's Castaways on Bleecker Street. (Walking in we had a random sighting of Lewis Black chillin' at the bar with a lady-friend.) Hugo's friend, Chris Seleski, was playing there with another friend of his after hosting an acoustic open-mic event. It was after 1:30a by the time we got there, so it was quieting down. Chris took a break and called Hugo up to entertain the crowd for a bit. He played four or five songs for us, including his Journey/GaGa mashup, Mudsmilin' and Save the Last Dance for Me. Yay! (If you haven't heard his music yet, you're a bit behind, but I'll forgive you. Check out his FB fanpage and the posts I wrote about him here and here.)

When Chris finished his set and Kenny's was closing down, we walked over to Veselka for some food. I got blueberry pancakes and Hugo ordered pierogies with mushrooms and sauerkraut. (Here's where I raise a skeptical eyebrow at his plate and point at the three cups of condiments asking what the hell he had going on. The cups were applesauce, onions, and sour cream.) I can't tell you people enough times how bad I am about trying new things... but really, this was not something on my must-try list. He got me with "when was the last time you had sauerkraut?" To which my answer was obviously "never", so he convinced me to try a bite- with everything on it. And as much as I winced while chewing ("that's your 'like' face?! I don't want to see your 'dislike' face!") I did really like it. Honest. I must be more open minded about food and more willing to try stuff.

By the time we paid it was nearly 4am, and we walked up to Union Square to get a train back to Queens. I got home after 5am, with the sky brightening up and the birds already singing. I crashed out for an hour and a half before getting up for work. (o_O) Really fun night, though! I'm always happy to check out new places around the city and love getting turned onto new music. Work wasn't all that bad today, thankfully, and I leave at 4:30a tomorrow for a long weekend in Florida. Life. Is. Good.

Last night I met up with some friends on the (far!) West Side at Lucky Strike. Bowling can be uber expensive in the city- a friend and I once paid nearly $100 to bowl at Bolmor for a couple hours! Lucky Strike offers bowling from 8p-1a on Monday nights for a flat $22. I got off the train at Times Square, and made the trek over to 12th Avenue... which was much further than I anticipated! We got drinks and watched a bit of the Sox/Yanks game at the bar before donning our rad footwear and getting our bowl on. The place was a lot nicer than I was expecting- the furniture and lighting is pretty posh! (There was also some great portraiture artwork of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren- which was random but cool.) There is waitress service at the lanes- we didn't eat but they have a surprising menu... tuna lollipops and tomato-and-cheese s'mores, anyone?! They also have cheeseburgers and fries if you're not feeling adventurous. (I'm not really a germaphobe, but the thought of eating finger food while bowling seemed kinda icky.) We had some technical difficulty with our bowling lane... it wasn't calculating our scores correctly, but they eventually switched us over to a different lane. All in all we had a good time- lots of laughing and high-fiving and booing each other. It'd be a fun place to have a party or go on a first date... just give yourself time for the walk and eat *before* you bowl.

I went home to Cape Cod this weekend for Mother's Day, and got a nice surprise. My grandmother on my dad's side found a photo of my great-grandmother when she was in her 20's- and we look very much alike! 

I had never seen photos of her when she was young, so it's a really great thing to have. I also have several old photos of my grandmother on my mum's side, and it's always so much fun for me to learn stories about their past. I've been piecing together my family tree for a long time now... my lineage on my dad's side is traced back to President John Quincy Adams, and my Nana on my mum's side came over to Ellis Island, NYC from England on the Mauretania- a White Star Line sister ship of the Titanic. Here she is when she was young: 

I LOVE old photos! Everyone just seemed so much more glamorous back then, didn't they? I also have had this photo of my Nana (pictured above) when she was a toddler, with my great-grandparents, who look ever so dapper in 1930's England:

Anyone else have any great old family photos? I'm always interested in new ways to research lineage and my family tree, so lemme know if you have any tips! Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there!