NYC Coffee Shops

If you follow us on Instagram (which if you aren’t then you totes should @popcosmo) then you know that I’m basically taking a coffee shop tour of NYC. I frequently find myself going to coffee shop after coffee shop if I have a few minutes to kill or need to charge up my phone. The good news is that there are loads of trendy coffee shops here. Loads. Like one on every few corners. When I met up with blog friends Sloane and Gracey for our photo excursion we stumbled upon one called Blue Stone Lane Coffee. It. Was. Amazing.

Just walking into the coffee shop we knew we would have our Instgrams covered for the rest of the summer. There were just so many pretty little details and the shop was huge! Funny story though, I don’t drink caffeine and I ordered an iced decaf latte. Apparently in New York if you don’t drink caffeine then you are an alien that should be shunned because almost every single barista in the place was making fun of me. They were nice enough to actually serve me a decaf latte though, so points for them.

If you ever find yourself in New York City, or in the West Village specifically, then you must visit Blue Stone Lane! It’s gorgeous and everything you could ever want in a coffee shop.

xox ~chloe

 Do you have any trendy coffee shop recommendations for me while I’m here?

Humans of New York: my 1 degree of separation

I know New York is all I’ve been talking about lately, and this post is no different, but I just wanted to pop in a tell y’all a little story. But first of all, for those of you wondering, my internship is going so well. Like I can’t wait to go to work in the mornings fun. I’ve been busy taking product pictures, editing product pictures, organizing, and, of course, steaming drapes, pillowcases, etc. But it’s all fun and I really feel like my hard work is helping the company so I'm contributing too.

via HONY

Anyway, I’ve been walking home from work on most days (which is about 30-ish blocks). I absolutely love walking because it’s so fun to be a part of the New York City rush, plus I really love people watching while I’m walking. A few days ago I was walking through Times Square (with thousands of people) and I saw this dude with a huge mohawk wearing all black clothes. We were walking together for a while and even though he looked super dark and at first honestly kind of intimidating, he was dancing to the music from his iPod and he just seemed like an overall nice person because he smiled and chatted with anyone who remarked on his hair. He was so interesting because of the juxtaposition between his outfit and hair vs. the personality he was emitting.

On my "wish list" this summer is to see Brandon from Humans of New York. I envy how he is able to show another side of people that we normally would never be able to see or even understand. While I haven’t seen Brandon yet, I was browsing Humans of New York last night and I came across the mohawk dude’s picture. Turns out, I saw the mohawk dude the exact same day that his picture was taken and featured. I was SO excited when I saw his photograph and learned a little more about his story. So instead of trying to figure out my 6 degrees of separation, I now have 1 degree of separation since I was walking side by side with the mohawk dude. Well, at least that's how I see it. How cool is that?

They say New York is huge, but I’m learning that it really is just a tiny island.

xox, chloe

Do you read and like Humans of New York?

10 Reasons to Love Denver

Ok, so I just got here... and Chloe isn't even here yet. But seriously, Denver is like a puppy: it just begs to be loved. You can't see it or experience it without falling in love with it. My newbie impressions have me madly in love with my new town and may explain why, despite a less than stellar move, I haven't lost my patience yet. I haven't yet had a chance to explore new dining or take any excursions, so I'm surprised how easily I was able to jot these down and come up with my top 10 reasons to love Denver (so far):

1. It's always sunny. Well, almost, except for an afternoon sun shower or when it hails. But then it's sunny and dry again right away.

2. Despite the sun, it's not too hot. But if it is, just find a shady spot and you can actually cool off. Why? because...

3. There's no humidity. My Alabama family needs to visit to experience this.

4. Everyone is happy and friendly. I'm serious. I haven't met a rude person yet. I know I will (I'm not naive and we ALL have bad days, but the ratio of rude to polite is strikingly low).

5. Everyone is attractive. Not that I'm looking, but beauty comes from within + everyone is happy => everyone is beautiful, right?

6. If you don't believe #5 then trust me when I say that everyone is fit. 'Cause they are. Well, I think the state average is, at my guesstimate, probably at 90%. But it must be newcomers like me who make up that 10% and I will be changing my fit party soon.

7. People don't talk about biking to work or for pleasure... they just do it! My son and I joined goodnessknows for Bike to Work Day and had a blast and even made 2 new friends: Kerrigan and Suzanne. Denver B-cycles are everywhere in Denver and people use them. The ride we took at 6:30 this morning to celebrate #BiketoWorkDay was packed with us and commuters. And thanks to goodnessknows, a new snack bar, I had a very healthy treat... chocolate, cranberries and almonds. Yum!

Olympic Skier Bobby Brown Photo by Jack Dempsey/Invision for goodnessknows/AP Images

8. Everyone is outdoors either gardening, biking, running, drinking coffee.... Well, why not?! You don't sweat, you aren't hot, and...

9. I haven't seen a mosquito. Not one.

10. And my main reason to love Denver: my hair is frizz-free. I can not over-emphasize the importance of this having grown up in Alabama and fighting frizz my entire life. Welcome to hair-freedom.

Denver is bliss and there are certainly more than 10 reasons to love Denver, so if you know Colorado better than I do, tell me what you like about the area and I'll can be sure to explore it!

xo ~kim