Elle and Kat's Fabulous Adventures XOXO

Hi loves! I'm so sorry for being MIA last month, I had a lot of deadlines I need to get done and I wasn't feeling great, not only physically, but just feeling crappy about myself in general.
Luckily, I just got back from my recent vacay and I'm feeling a thousand percent better and ready to write.
So where did I go?
New York City Baby!!!!! *Cue Schuyler Sisters singing "In the greatest city in the world"*

As I may have mentioned a few time before my best friend Kat  lives in Brooklyn and just graduated from library school *proud bestie moment, have not stopped crying* and a few months ago she invited me to come down for BookCon, which is like ComicCon but for BOOKS *squeals* naturally I accepted because I haven't seen my plutonic soulmate in two years, and I missed her very dearly. So last weekend I went to the big apple and let me tell you, I had to best time EVER!!!!

(Don't worry, I have photos, well, Kat took photos, I was too awestruck)



Okay so I was oddly nervous about coming to NYC, I've only been once and that was on a 5th-grade field trip to the Bronx Zoo, so it's safe to say I've never experienced "real" New York City, so I was nervous. I lived in very small towns so a big city was like "whoa!". 
Turns out I had nothing to worry about! New York, except for a few minor differences, is not really different from Vegas and Atlantic City, places I've been going to since I was a kid. The subway though is a confusing monster that makes no sense to me. If I lived there I would understand it, but I depended on Kat to not get us lost. 

Friday! 

This is the day before BookCon and our main "free day" in the city which means...Gossip Girl Tour *throws confetti*. Well it wasn't JUST gossip girl but a trinity of our favorite things: gossip girl, books, and ice cream (we tried throwing witchcraft but I couldn't find the time) 

The Met 

Spotted, Queen L on the steps of the Met, plotting not only her bestselling novel but also how to rule Constance Billards. 

Seriously, true Gossip Girl fans cannot go to New York City without gracing the step of the MET were no less than five people at a time where also taking Gossip Girl pictures. I planned my outfit to be very "Blair" (my favorite character on the show) and I think I achieved that. 

Central Park 

Central Park is probably the top of the list for most people visiting the big apple, and I was no exception. To be fair, these did have a lot of literary and gossip girl lore that I needed to witness with my own two eyes. In the first picture on the left is the same spot Chuck and Blair got married (*sobs*) The bottom left is I think the duck pond from Catcher in the Rye (or I'm gonna pretend it is).  Also ran into some literary cuties such as Hans Christian Anderbae and Robert Burning Love (I'm terrible) 

The Hamilton Store 

So if you know me, you know my intense love for Hamilton. I probably listen to at least one song from the album every day, its an obsession. So naturally, when Kat told me that there's a Hamilton store, I had to go (also stand in front of the Hamilton sign). While the Hamilton Store turned into an expensive gift shop that DID NOT have anything in my size (I ended up buying a cheaply made overprice notebook) But the Schyuler Sister mural made up for a lot of things. 

The Strand 

Going to The Strand is a Holy Experience to a bookworm. With 18 miles of books, if it wasn't so busy in there I would have spent ALL my time there. There was so much to see and look at and browse that I was both completely overwhelmed and utterly in love. Seriously, it's only competition for my happy place is probs Birchbark Books in Potsdam. I didn't want to buy a whole lot of books because I was both on a budget and knew I was buying books at Bookcon, but I did buy a few things. The first is the Sylvia Plath poster "Kiss Me and you will see how important I am" which is one of my favorite quotes from her journals (probably my favorite she's written oddly enough)  and I haven't seen it anywhere before. Plus I want to buy more prints for my future apartment (if I plan for an apartment, the universe will give me one, right?). I also bought "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness" by Nagata Kabi. I've been looking for this manga forever and so happy I finally found it in real life. 
Stuffed Ice Cream NYC

Kat and I joke that the weekend was a "do it for the Gram" weekend, as we took tons of photos and went to very instagramable places, but sometimes Instagram can lead you to amazing places, like Stuff Ice Cream NYC which is the BEST ICE CREAM EVER. It's super small inside but very pretty and they have really cool ice cream flavors Andres Peppermint to White Chocolate Lavender. I got White Chocolate Lavender and Cookie Monster, originally I got this two just for the colors but it was SOOOO GOOD. The next time I got to NY, it's at the top of my list. 
Rose and Basil (Yes we had Ice Cream before brunch) 

Another Instagram stop that was the best decision. This is probably the cutest little cafe. It was so cozy with it's pink bricks and chairs and mood lighting. I wish I took more pictures of the inside because I totally want all it's decoration tips. I got a Rose Latte and a Grilled Cheese Sandwhich which has to be THE GREATEST GRILLED CHESSE OF MY LIFE. It's three different types of cheese on brioche bread and it was delicious. Rose and Basil is known for their desserts that we were too full to order, but if you go to Rose and Basil, order dessert. 
Books Are Magic 

Our last stop for Friday was Books Are Magic which is the cutest independent bookshop in Brooklyn. Highly recommend it for anyone shopping for books in NYC. It's very organized, lots of space, and they have a lot of sign copies of books which I thought was super cool. I ended up buying Literary Witches because:  witch vibe. 

Saturday! 

Book Con!

Saturday was the first day of BookCon and OMG it was so magical. Kat and I dressed up as vintage Hogwarts Headgirls (I was Hufflepuff and Kat was Ravenclaw). There were so many highlights in this day I had to narrow it down to Top 3: 

• All the Shopping! I got to see a lot of cool people that I follow on Instagram and bought stuff from in the past (Out of Print, Jordenene, The Bookish Box, OwlCrate, etc) and met them and bought from them which was really cool to see someone you "know" from the internet in real life, and kinda seeing how your shopping really helps a small business. Also, I went crazy with the W.W. Norton sale: $10 hardcover, $5 paperbacks, buy four books get a free tote bag.  It was wild! 
• Panels! There was so much going on, I only was able to go to one panel but it was so good! It was "Tor Presents: LGBTQ+ Authors on Gender and Identity in Science Fiction" which featured V.E Schwab, Seth Dickinson, Charlie Jane Anders, and others. It was really cool, for both a writer and a reader to talk about gender and sexuality and how to create better representation in lit. 
• Meeting Amanda Lovelace! I was so excited to get tickets to the Amanda Lovelace book signing  (author of The Princess Saves herself In This One and The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One). She is one of my favorite modern poets and one of the few writers who actually nail ED narratives. She was really sweet and nice (though very shy!)

New Territories NYC 

After a full day of conning, we needed an ice cream pick up and what better place than New Territories. I'm a sucker for waffles and anything pretty. My ice cream is called "B with the Rose" which is a black tea and rose infused waffle with chocolate ice cream a ginger snap cookie and chocolate shaving. Yum!!!

Sunday! 

Hamilton Grave 

Guess who saw Hamilton live on Broadway?! Lol but I couldn't leave NY without visiting Alexander and Eliza's final resting place. I actually got very teary as I put pennies on their graves (you do that when you visit a soldier grave, fun fact!). 
BookCon 


My last day in both New York and BookCon were magical! Here are the highlights: 

• Meeting my favorite Mackenzi Lee who not only signed my book but also complimented my dress and handwrote the quote I'm going to be tattooed on my body! Seriously she is the sweetest, kindest, person out there!
• I went to so many panels on Sunday, but my favorite was "Re-Orientation: LGBTQ Creators of Mass Media Culture and the Stories being Told" that featured Mackenzi Lee, Dhonielle Clayton, Damon Suede, Harper Miller and Heidi Heiling. It was just such an insightful, fun panel and it has a really good quote from Damon Suede where he said "Keep writing your own stories because those white, straight, male book people are also locked in towers, and they need us to save them" Iconic!
• I met Rainbow Rowell at the Starbucks line and I told her I like her shoes!

Anyway, that's my first New York Trip, one of my many! Did you go to BookCon this year? Did you visit NYC ever? Let me know in the comments and follow me on twitter @deathbydiamond or Instagram: sarcasm_in_heels

Stay Stylin' 

Elle