An NYC trip to most would probably consist of shopping, site seeing, and … more shopping? I’ve definitely had a couple trips like that before – with the mandatory visits to Bloomies, Saks, and Bergdorfs – but this NYC trip was a little different. Take the basic recipe, add in two bloggers who have an addiction to cafes and latte art, instagram-nazism, and several outfit changes, and you’ve got our quick 3-day NYC trip.
My girlfriend, and fellow blogger bestie, Vic of The Lust Listt and I decided to take this impromptu NYC trip as purely a content-spree. Isn’t that a little crazy? Our boyfriends definitely thought so 
. We chased after our favourite cafes, gorgeous architecture, and, most of all, we chased light #ridiculous (haha). We tried to fit in as much as possible but definitely missed a bunch of places on our list – 3 days is only so long right?
Because we were only going for 3 days, we didn’t check any luggage (also.. can we talk about how expensive baggage fees have gotten, GEEZ). I tried to pack as light as possible and by some miracle, fit 4 pairs of shoes and 6 outfits into this carry-on. Needless to say I was proud of myself 
Here’s a completely raw account and recap of what we did, the places we loved, and some of the best photo ops in the Big Apple.
p.s. all these photos were just quick snaps from my phone, expect a slew of proper NYC posts and outfits shots to come 
DAY 1: UPPER EAST SIDE LADIES
Vic and I grew up in the era of “xoxo, Gossip Girl“, and although we didn’t get to hit up the steps at the MET, we definitely wanted to pay hommage to the Upper East Side, where movies are kind of like real life (#richkidsofInstagram?). We arrived in NYC around 3 PM, so we didn’t have a lot of time, but we did manage to hit up a couple of our must-see spots: NY Public Library, Ralph’s Coffee Shop, and H&M Home.
The existence of Ralph’s Coffee shop probably sums up the Upper East Side perfectly. If I had to give them a slogan it would be somewhere along the lines of: “fueling you with delicious and beautiful coffee, in the cutest café, situated in the curated Ralph Lauren Boutique so you never really have to stop shopping”. Okay, maybe a bit too long for a slogan, but you get my point 
And, of course, we wandered the bustling streets and snapped pics of the Empire State and all that cheesy NYC stuff.
DAY 2: SOHO LOVIN’
Soho is probably my favourite spot in NYC and a must whenever I go on an NYC trip. Maybe it’s something about the beautiful buildings, elegant stores, and cobblestone. Of course, Vic and I spent a lot of time shopping here. We did, however, skip out on most of the traditional stores (like TopShop, Opening Ceremony, APC, etc), although we popped in here and there. Instead, we actually mapped out the best consignment stores in the area and visited each and every one of them.
It honestly angered me how many amazing consignment stores there were (and the amount of deals in them). I scored this Gucci, barely worn, classics for $50 at my new fav NYC consignment store (that actually just opened this year) Filmore and 5th. And no, that’s not a typo, F’REAL FIDDY BUCKS 
For cafes, we hit up Greeceologies, where they specialize not only in their coffees, but their delicious yogurt mixes. The decor inside was beautiful and they have the quaintest little back patio where you can really be left alone to your thoughts and java (or get some writing done ). We also hit up Happy Bones, but the barista was in a horribly foul mood, so we drank our coffees and jetted out of there #badimpression.
DAY 3: HIPPIN’ IN EAST VILLAGE
Places like East Village are a great place to end your last day on an NYC Trip. It’s quieter and there are a lot less tourists (so the streets are a lot less busy, which is great when you’re trying to take street style shots 
We also visited some pretty cool consignment shops while we were in East Village. They’re definitely different than the ones you’ll find in Soho. There’s a lot more “vintage” stores, so you can definitely find those Levis cut-offs you’ve been searching for. This shot with this scary-looking robot (I don’t actually know what it is) is from a highly recommended consignment store called Tokio 7. We didn’t find anything but there were definitely some good pieces.
We also visited Ost Cafe, which is by far the best coffee we had the whole trip. The vibe was definitely a bit more hipster there (there were French-New Yorkers there talking about their life goals and pursuit of making it as a successful NYC artist); but it wasn’t as pretentious as you would think. The staff were also super fun and down to earth.
We finished off the night by stopping by this cute Fries-Pop-Up (I don’t know what else to call it) called Friterie. It reminded me of the Takoyaki stands they have in Tokyo, but for fries. The thick-cut fries were delicious, but they’re probably better well known for their exotic menu of sauces.
We probably walked a good 10 kms throughout the trip (and in doing so, definitely saved money in cab fare). If you do want to do a cheap trip like we did, stay somewhere outside of the city (we stayed in Flushing, Queens but super close to the subway) and opt for a week-unlimited subway pass ($31) instead of cabs or Uber.
And that concludes our quick escape to the Big Apple. We had a blast and spent less than $800, including flight, hotel, AND shopping. Make sure to stay tuned for the outfits shots coming up soon – the architecture itself made the outfits look 100 times better
I’ll end this NYC trip diary with some wise words from Tom Wolfe:
One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.
