Christmas Home Tour & I love Winter #Holidaze

One of my absolute favorite things about Christmas, and the winter season in general, is spending cozy, relaxing time at home. I still love to go outdoors in the winter too, dressed in weather appropriate clothes, but there's something so comfortable about being indoors when it's freezing cold, snowy, or nasty weather outside.

I love decorating my home for Christmas, so I thought I'd show you what I've done in my apartment to get ready for the holidays. Enjoy the video!

I also wanted to share some picture of a beautiful walk I went on this weekend with my boyfriend. We've had a bit of snow already, but recently we had some beautiful hoar frost, which has turned all the trees into delicate, spindly white icicles. It's a unique weather setting that transforms the surroudings into a beautiful winter wonderland. See for yourself!

We drove to a lake where there's a nice walking trail, and as I'm driving I look out the window and see THIS!! I just had to stop the car on the side of the road and snap a picture.

We got to the lake and had a chilly walk around. I forgot my gloves! I hate having cold hands, but when I got back to my car I found a spare pair of gloves in the...wait for it...glove compartment!! Wow really? Who woulda thunk it?

The lake is so beautiful when it's frozen. I think still a tad too early to try ice skating on it quite yet.

By the way, if you're always cold outside in the winter - here's a piece of basic advice. Buy a high quality outdoor jacket, preferably one made for skiing or snowboarding. They are made for proper winter climate, will keep you warm, dry, and most importantly will completely block out wind and cold air. I like to wear my wool coats more in the city, of for going out for an evening somewhere, but when I'm out and about in nature, I always wear this Roxy snowboarding jacket. Matched with a hat and gloves, and the hood up, I can be outside for hours in this thing and be perfectly cozy and warm. Wool coats always let in a breeze or draft somewhere, and sometimes they're not even made of 100% wool and thus aren't even that warm.

Outdoor jackets can be quite stylish nowadays too, with most brands catering to women with cute, more tailored styles. Honestly, this is probably my most worn jacket in the winter, since I actually love this time of year and like spending time outdoors. I love the bright turquoise color too and the faux fur trim is cute.

Do you like winter? Do you spend time outdoors as well, or do you prefer to stay inside when it's cold?

Autumn Splendor

I had to share some of these images I shot on my favorite running route a few days ago. I drained my iphone battery with pictures and videos, just trying to capture the beauty that is autumn. There's no greater way to enjoy this season than in a deserted, quiet forest on a beautiful sunny day, with leaves crunching underfoot. These are just some quick iphone snaps, nothing super creative with my SLR.

It certainly makes it so much more enjoyable to exercise outside when you've got scenes like that surrounding you. The only problem is that I had to stop every few meters to whip out my phone and take a picture!

This last one was shot in the evening from my rooftop patio, the mountains in the background.

How have you been enjoying autumn this year?

On Spinal Injuries and Press Samples...

I've been a bad blogger. Oh well. I'm not going to make any excuses about the lack of updates here because things have been busy.

First off, a week ago I was rushed by ambulance to the ER, and subsequently hospitalised for 3 days with a spinal injury. I lost control of and had a lameness in my legs too. I don't want to go into all the gruesome details, but it was scary and extremely, utterly painful. The worst pain I've ever felt in my life - and I'm not being overly dramatic. I've never had to be rushed to the ER in the middle of the night before, so incapacitated by pain that I couldn't walk or move. The spinal area is where many of your nerves are bundled, and an injury that affects one or numerous nerves - well it ain't fun, that's for sure! Since some might wonder: no - it was not due to an injury from my workouts or fitness regimen. But I will say that morphine is one hell of a drug!!

Anyway, I am slowly on the way to recovery. I am back at home but my movement is still restricted, and there's still some pain. Sitting for long periods is uncomfortable. I'm bored out of mind, I can tell you that. Lying around watching TV or reading all day is fun for maybe 1 or 2 days, after that it becomes mind-numbing and depressing. I'm giving my body ample time to heal, because I want to avoid surgery if at all possible. I'll have to see how things develop. I currently can't film any makeup tutorials due to this either.

This also means that my #SummerFit fitness and workout series on Youtube will have to undergo a - hopefully temporary - hiatus. I was told to avoid any kind of exercise and fitness for 6 weeks! Maybe more, until I am entirely pain free. After that, I'm uncertain at this point if I will be able to do the same intensity of exercise as I did before, and I might have to look into alternative workout routines that are suitable to my injury. It's really sad, going out on my runs was such a balanced routine for me and a literal breath of fresh air, and I'm going to sorely miss kicking around the fallen leaves on my forest trails this autumn.

OK so now that's out of the way, I wanted to address something that's been bugging me. I deliberated whether or not I should even talk about this, but in the end, I think it needs to be said. It concerns my "What's in my Mailbox" video series, and some comments I've been getting, which need to addressed by me. I'll go through some of the comments and my response on them.

"You seem really ungrateful for all the things you're getting."

I don't know why some people think I am ungrateful, I thank every single company (both verbally in the video and personally by email) for all the products they send my way. How many times do I need to say thank you until I am deemed "grateful"? Do I have to speak in a fake, bubbly tone of voice, or maybe bounce off the walls? It's really a condescending assumption to make, because the truth is - I am grateful for all the things I get sent my way. I am one of the few Youtube gurus who publicly shows all the items and packages sent to me. Other gurus get press samples too, but maybe they don't feel comfortable sharing that so openly. I do it for transparency, so you can see what items I get sent, and which ones I buy myself. To me, there isn't a huge difference anyway. I hold products to the same standards, whether I purchased them myself, or whether I received them for free. Also, it's fun to film and most of my viewers love watching these videos, it's a bit like Christmas every time!

"Why would you say something negative about a product you got for free? That's so rude!"

Let's get something straight: These products are sent to me by PR in the hopes of advertising a product (for FREE no less) and getting the name out there to their target consumer audience. They are not sent to me because Company X wants Julia to have a lipstick just because they like me so much. Well, they probably like my video and the work I put out there, but they also know that there is a HUGE audience attached to my work - namely you, the viewer and reader. A big company like Illamasqua or L'Oréal or what have you, probably is not going to send out hundreds of dollars of merchandise to a Blogger or Youtuber with 50 followers. It's not worth their time or resources to do so. I'm sorry if that sounds mean or arrogant, but this is the hard truth behind online marketing and just how things work. In today's age where print media is majorly on the decline, online media and bloggers play an increasingly important role for brands. It may be as simple as sending some free products to a prominent blogger, in the hopes of being featured on a popular online platform.

I have worked extremely hard for more than five years to get to a point where companies send me their merchandise for free, because it is in their interest to do so. The brand stands a lot to gain from being featured on my channel. A recommendation from me, a link, or a rave about a product, means someone out there will probably buy that product. Established Bloggers and Youtubers have a huge influence, and our opinions matter. I have often purchased a product that another well-known blogger or Youtuber has raved about - who hasn't? This is why I am extremely careful choosing what products I recommend, because I know the influence I may have. That being said, what works for me, might not work for everyone else, of course.

Also, I want to give an honest feedback to you - my viewers and subscribers. You are my number one priority, not the brands! I honestly don't care if some company gets offended if I don't rave about their product because I didn't like it so much. My critiques are honest and thoughtful, I have never trashed a company. Our input might help that company makes changes to a product, to be more popular with consumers.

Does a Book reviewer for the NY Times get admonished for giving a book a bad review, simply because the book was sent to them for free? In what kind a screwed-up reality are we in that a Blogger is admonished for *gasp* speaking their true opinion on a product? These aren't "gifts" and "presents" sent to me, these are press samples sent for review. And that's what I'm going to do: Review them.

"Why don't you give that makeup away because you have so much? Why don't you donate it to a women's shelter?"

I think it's actually really poor form to outright demand that Bloggers and Youtubers do giveaways. You would never go up to a stranger or a friend and ask them, "Hey, why don't you get me a present?" Would you do that? I just think it's rude.

That being said, I have held numerous expensive giveaways in the past (Hakuhodo brushes, Canon cameras, Stila palettes, etc.) and I plan to do more in the future. However, as all the samples I receive are already opened and used by me, I'm not sure how I feel about doing a giveaway with what are essentially my "castaways". Also, there is the hygienic aspect to consider, as some things cannot be properly sanitised. I do give away tons of used makeup to my family, friends and colleagues, who can often dig through boxes of makeup at my house and take home whatever they like. I have never resold or made monetary profit from any of the free press samples sent to me!

About donating it to a women's shelter: It's a great idea in theory and when it was first suggested to me, I actually contacted a few shelters near my area to see if they would take it. None of them would take my cosmetics! Many of them said it was due to hygiene issues, and others said it was due to a lack of storage space for non-monetary donations. So that's the end of that.

Also, I actually enjoy testing out and using the products - I mean that's why they're sent to me in the first place. I love showing you all what new products are coming out, what is worth the money, and what isn't. If I didn't have PR sending me those samples, I would never be able to afford to show you half the things I do! For example my Halloween videos - those are some of the most expensive and time consuming videos I make. If I didn't work together with brands, I couldn't afford to make my Halloween videos and costumes as elaborately as I do.

Most successful makeup artists, and top Bloggers and Youtubers are able to get the vast majority of their products for free. We have all had to work extremely hard to be able to attain this opportunity. Many of us still spend our own money on top of that for makeup products, camera equipment, and additional materials to do our craft.


"I'm going to start a Youtube channel / Blog to get free products! Can you tell me how to do that?"

Please don't. If that is the driving force behind you starting a Blog or a makeup channel on Youtube, you are never going to enjoy the experience. Do it for the right reasons! You will have to put in hundreds and hundreds of hours, and maybe years of hard work, to reach a point where companies will contact you to send you samples. I have heard of one website called Influenster where you can sign up to get free products in exchange for an online review, that might be an option for Bloggers who are just starting out. (I personally have never used their service so I can't say how they work.) If you are already an established Blogger with a huge following, publish a business email where interested companies can contact you if they like your work. All companies that have sent me products have contacted me directly, or I have met them personally at events and business meetings. I turn down the majority of offers from companies to send me products, and only accept offers from brands that genuinely interest me, and I think might be beneficial for my audience also.


I hope that's cleared up some of these misunderstandings. If you still don't understand, then please just don't watch those videos and leave nasty comments. The majority of my viewers who watch those videos really enjoy them, and I enjoy making them, so I will continue to do so.

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.


xo,
Julia

My Summer Rooftop Party

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I threw a big party at our new place. When we moved into our Penthouse, I knew I wanted to throw a big housewarming shindig here in the summer - you can't let 80 square meters of rooftop patio go unloved! Haha! We eat dinner out there almost every night, we have a gas BBQ which we use a ton (I highly recommend the Weber Q by the way, it's phenomenal and the meat always comes out even and perfectly grilled) and when it's sunny I lie on my sun lounger and sunbathe - bad for the skin but oh so good for the soul! (Don't worry, I use a really high SPF.)

We began to organize and plan our party about a month ago, and let all our friends know the date well ahead so they could reserve it on their calendar. So important during the busy summer weekends! Then last Saturday was finally the day. We prepared most of the food on Friday evening, and got our shopping done on Thursday. We ordered two kegs of beer at a great local brewery, which we could just pick up on the day of. I had bought colorful paper plates, napkins, cups and all that stuff the last time I was at IKEA. As much as I hate it from an environmental aspect, disposable is really the way to go here. I don't know about you, but I do not have 30 plates or enough cutlery for such an event, and it makes clean-up so much easier. Plus, no drunk people dropping your fine china in a daze! Just make sure you opt for recycled paper plates and stuff.

Doing most of the work way ahead of time saved us all the stress on Saturday. All we had to do was set everything up, pick up the kegs, and wait for our guests. I even had time to lounge in the sun and enjoy a strawberry-watermelon vodka margarita. Might as well get a head start - *hiccup* !

We gave our guests a flexible time slot, and wrote from 6 pm onwards til open end on our invite. At about 6:30 pm, the first people started to arrive. I was so busy hosting and making sure everyone had a drink and was taken care of, plus of course talking to everyone and having fun, that I didn't even have time to take that many pictures. But here's a few that I took! Because of privacy reasons, I'm not posting any pictures of my friends on this Blog right now. I'm not sure if everyone would like that, due to my public life.

CHOW TIME!!

We set up the seating area outside on the patio obviously, and our apartment has a wrap-around glass front with a huge sliding door. So you can basically open up the front of the apartment to connect with the patio - very cool! We set up the food on our dining room table in pretty, colorful bowls and dishes, along with all the plates, cutlery, and non-alcoholic drinks. That way, everyone could just help themselves buffet style, and all we had to do was fill up the dishes again when they were running low. We had made all the salads in gigantic Tupperware containers, which we stored in our cool basement overnight because they didn't fit in our fridge.

Tossed mixed green salad with tomatoes in the centre, and a massive quantity of potato salad that was just perfect for the BBQ. We made about 6kg of potatoes for that salad! We washed all the lettuce and stored it in ziploc bags in the fridge for easy refilling.

I made several homemade dressings and dips. It goes without saying that everything is made from scratch here! I don't eat ready-made food and I'm not about to serve my guests something out of a can or a jar. On the left is my homemade salad dressing - I used a hand mixer to emulsify and it and it came out so creamy and smooth. I filled it into an empty plastic water bottle, and just filled up the sauce jar when it was running low.

I also made a Spicy Peanut Sate sauce (pictured on the right, above) and that was also a big hit, with some people asking for the recipe. It was mainly chunky peanut butter, sautéed onions, ginger, chili, and some Thai herbs and spices. I made it a couple nights ahead of time.

I also made fresh Tzatziki with Greek yogurt, cucumber, and loads of fresh herbs from my garden, and Hummus, which is made from Chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemons and Tahini (sesame seed paste). We bought several loaves of bread for dipping up the sauces.

This Melon & Pancetta Bacon Pasta salad was absolutely delicious and I'll definitely make it again sometime. It also contained tons of basil and fresh mint leaves, and a yummy dressing. I used three different types of juicy, perfectly ripe melon and it was so refreshing - a perfect summer dish! Yummy.

Fresh crusty olive bread for dipping the Tzatziki, Hummus and Spicy Peanut sauces. We also bought different baguettes and more breads to refill the basket.

All I can say is: Cheers! This was 30 Liters of beer - this picture was taken the day after when the beer had long been swilled away. Kegs are the easiest and most cost effective way to offer your guests an alcoholic beverage. It comes way cheaper than buying bottled beer or wine, and you can often get some really interesting varieties at some micro breweries. We ordered a 20L keg of an amber beer, and 10L of a light lager. Make sure you also have some non-alcoholic stuff to drink too, though!

Now we obviously didn't have seating for that many people, so we organized some extra tables and benches from someone we knew. They were a pain to transport by car since they are really long, but each table and bench combo fits 8 people comfortably. Then we pushed our own patio table together, so that everyone had space to sit and eat. They fit perfectly on our big patio, and it was so great to finally be able to use all that space! On the tables we served a variety of chips and also olives as little snacks and appetizers, so that our guests would have something to munch on right away while mingling.

Since everyone likes different things to put on the BBQ, we asked everyone to bring their own meat and grilling food. This is pretty much standard practice in Switzerland when invited to a larger BBQ party, because meat is really expensive here when compared to other countries, so no one ever expects the host to buy meat for 30 or more people - well unless it's a wedding or something like that. If I throw a smaller dinner party, I'll of course pay for the meat, but for a larger party, it's really the easiest way to make sure everyone has what they like, also for vegetarians! That way I made sure to provide all the rest. 

We lucked out and had absolutely phenomenal weather, and a gorgeous sunset. We put our stereo speakers outside and blasted fun, summery music - Cuban Salsa, Lounge, drum&bass, downtempo - you name it! It can get quite windy sometimes on our rooftop patio, but luckily that evening was very pleasant and warm. The sun set and I lit all the candles. I don't much like electric or solar lights on the patio, so I got loads of candles and put them in a bunch of empty jam jars. Super inexpensive, wind-proof, and if you get the larger IKEA tea lights (not the standard smaller ones) they will last you for many hours.

I also purchased these three large, ultra-wide candles from IKEA which I had burned down to the right height over the course of a few weeks prior. Both the candles, and the candle vases here, are from IKEA. Put some sand, or salt (cheap alternative), on the bottom of the vase, then stick your candle into that as a perfect base. When it was dark, I carried out and placed one vase on each table. I also had lots of lanterns going, unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the beautiful night time atmosphere at our party, which sucks!

These thick candles need to be lit for several hours if you want them to burn down evenly, so they take a bit of thinking ahead. Light them in the afternoon if you plan to use them in the evening for a party, so that the wax will burn all the way to the edge. Otherwise, you will get a candle tunnelling problem, which can cause the wick to not burn properly after a while.

We have two bathrooms in our place, so we made one for men, one for women. I wanted to make some humorous signs, so I printed these out from the computer.

Channing Tatum for the Ladies...

And sexy Rosie Huntington Whitely for the men!

It was an absolutely wonderful party. With a bit of planning ahead, it can be very easy and stress free. Just don't leave everything to the last minute! Buy your groceries at a discounter, make dishes that features seasonal produce to avoid high costs, or buy things in bulk. It wasn't that expensive to throw such a party for that many people, and it's definitely something I plan to do again! Everyone had so much fun, and we were laughing, eating and talking well into the night. Make sure to set the right atmosphere with music, decorations, lighting and even some pretty flowers.

Here are some of the containers that I planted for our patio - I have a couple more that I didn't photograph yet. I love the tall grasses blowing in the breeze, which adds some interesting movement, and the flowers at the base add some color.

My lavender in bloom! This is my all-purple container.

I hope you enjoyed my post! Leave a comment below if you're planning to throw some kind of a BBQ or a party this summer, and what you've got in mind for decor and such. I just love entertaining in our new place.

xo,

Julia

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Draw My Life

There have been a slew of Draw My Life videos on Youtube, and so many of you requested that I do one! I hesitated for a long time because actually, I'm a fairly private person and very careful about what I share on Youtube or on the Internet in general.

I changed my mind on doing this video many times, but then I realized that I don't want to portray myself as someone who is "perfect", as someone who doesn't have problems and issues just like the next person. Sometimes I feel like there is such a struggle to always look and seem flawless on Youtube, but it's really not who I am. I mean, I have gone through dark periods of life, had both amazing and troubling experiences, and faced challenges that I struggled to overcome. And most of all, my life doesn't revolve all around beauty and shopping. Before Youtube, I did a lot of traveling and soul-searching that shaped me into the person I am today. I wanted to share that previous life with you.

You can watch it below, or see it directly on Youtube here.

Here are some more drawing excerpts - the video is in watercolor!

Chocolate Shoot with Smart Studio

I recently collaborated with Smart Studio (you know from the car company Smart) to produce a fun, short film about Switzerland. The studio is essentially a Smart car, modified with surround cameras to give an intimate feel. The Smart team travels around the world meeting local "Insiders" to show them around the city they visit, and get a closer connection with the culture and scene.

A few weeks ago I filmed with them at a confiserie (a chocolate making bakery) in Zurich. It was a lot of fun - we learned how to make a chocolate cow! The tasting was the fun part of course. You can watch the finished video on Youtube.

Check out Smart Studio on Facebook for more fun videos of the team jetting around the globe and meeting local bloggers, artists, designers and musicians. The videos are always really amusing and designed for a young, engaged audience.

Here's some pictures from the shoot!

The host Pete and I outside the Confiserie Pfyl in Zurich

It's chocolate making time, complete in our sexy food-handling outfits. There were large vats of liquid milk, dark and white chocolate - yum!

Pete and I made this chocolate cow - we named her Heidi!

With the film crew and the "real" chocolatiers from Pfyl Bakery.

HEIDIIIIIII!!!!!!

Thanks so much to Smart Studio for the fun day - I had a blast!

A Foodie visits New York City! Travel Diary

This will most likely be one motherlode of a post, so here's the short version:

I spent a week in New York! I've uploaded four "Postcard" videos so far on my Youtube channel to give you a small impression. Here are the links:

Postcard 1: Arrival at the Hotel & Limo
Postcard 2: Fashion Night Out in Soho
Postcard 3: Ground Zero on 9/11 & Times Square
Postcard 4: Amazing Sushi and Fuerza Bruta show

I also uploaded loads of pictures of my trip on Facebook, click here to check them out.

Now for the longer version...

My boyfriend and I arrived at Newark on September 7 to sweltering heat and humidity and a painfully long security process at the airport. Security was bumped up because of the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, and it took us about 1 1/2 hours until we finally exited Newark. The wait was worth it - we got picked up in a Limo!! Inside cold beers and cokes were waiting for us, a welcome relief.

We sped off to the W Hotel located right in the centre of Manhattan on Lexington Avenue, it was quite posh! We were on a corner room on the 9th floor so we had a really cool view of the skyscrapers around us. We also got some Bliss products in our bathroom and they smelled so lovely, and I've forgotten how nice it is to have a housekeeper clean your room everyday and make your bed.

You can watch the video I filmed about our arrival, the limo, and a room tour of our hotel:

During our time in New York, I had some of the best food ever. New York is a great place that boasts restaurants of every culinary direction that you could possible imagine. From shops specializing in rice pudding to sushi to hamburgers, there's probably nothing you couldn't eat in New York. I threw my diet to the wind and ate to my heart's desire! (Although with all the walking and sightseeing we did, it balanced out.)

Where to start? From scrumptious breakfasts at our hotel...

...to amazing burgers at Joy Burger Bar in Harlem. This place is great! It's a small retro diner where you can build your burger to your taste - everything from the size of the patty, to the toppings and sauces. There are a lot of varieties to choose from! I chose one with mango chutney, garlic mayo, and sautéed onions along with the usual toppings, with a side of sweet potato fries. The fries were served with maple syrup, it was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the burger was so good!

My boyfriend went for the larges patty but was a bit more traditional on the toppings, but it was still good nonetheless. The fries were home cut and so yummy!

Since I absolutely love Asian cuisine, we gorged ourselves on Japanese and Thai food. First up was sushi at The Loop restaurant. The calamari was mediocre but everything else was delicious! They make a lot of interesting, non-traditional sushi rolls too, which I had never tried before. They do brisk business with delivery and take-out, but have a small but nice restaurant as well.

One of my favorite restaurants we tried was Yakitori Taisho because it was like stepping into a backstreet in Tokyo. Yakitori is Japanese skewered meat prepared fresh before your eyes, and everything we tried was freaking fantastic! The prices were very affordable, although they don't take reservations so you normally have to wait a bit for a table. We ordered a pitcher of Japanese beer for about $12, our bill at the end for 2 came to about $85 (but we seriously pigged out.)

Another great Japanese restaurant we tried was Sakagura, which serves Izakaya (Japanese tapas.) It wasn't as young and lively as Yakitori Taisho, the crowd was a bit older and more conservative, but the food was really good as well. They had a ton of sake varieties available!

One evening I met up with an old friend of mine who now lives in hipsterville Williamsburg, Brooklyn and he showed us around the area. We hit up Sea Thai restaurant, which was a very club-like atmosphere with a DJ, dim lights, great decor, all set within an industrial designed restaurant. The food was pretty good too, I had green papaya salad as a starter, then crispy duck as a main. Didn't like the cocktails so much, they tasted really sweet and chemical.

Another great place to grab a bit to eat in New York is the legendary Katz's Delicatessen in the Lower East Side. This place has been around since 1888 when it was founded by Russian immigrants, and everyone from Bill Clinton to Snoop Dogg has eaten there. The best thing to eat here is hands down the pastrami sandwiches, which don't come cheap starting at $15.75 a pop. They are actually quite huge, so my boyfriend and I shared the Reuben, which also has Sauerkraut and cheese on it. Definitely worth it though, the pastrami is mouth-watering and falls apart in your mouth.

I could probably go on and on about the amazing food in New York, but believe it or not, we actually did a lot of sight seeing as well!

I went to check out Fashion Night Out in Soho, where all the stores have special events going on in celebration of NY Fashion Week - celebrities at the stores, DJs playing club music, and all the display windows are elaborately decorated.

Watch my video to see what I wore for this special night out, and get an insight into the atmosphere!

Another really special trip was our day on 9/11, it was actually the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, so the whole city had special memorial services and events going on, as well as anti-war and anti-racism protests.

We started out on the Brooklyn bridge...

...then walked down to Ground Zero where I did a lot of filming to capture the atmosphere and the demonstrations.

It was a moving experience. Here are a few more pictures from that day.

 

In the evening we went to Times Square where I took this fun picture. There were tons of tourists there of course, but you can't leave NYC without seeing Times Square at night. I also did some shopping at Sephora for the voters giveaway and got some goodies. ;)

Some more pictures from various places.

We had a overpriced drink in Little Italy. What a tourist trap! I wouldn't recommend eating Italian food here, there's probably many better places around the city. The waiter assumed I was a New Yorker and he seemed surprised to see a "local" there. It was just ultra kitch, no real Italian-American flavor left.

Sweating in Central Park! It was so damn hot but what a lovely park in the middle of such a metropolis.

Elmo is my homeboy! Around Broadway area.

The WTC memorial lights made for some spectacular night sky photography...

Nighttime around Lexington Avenue.

Saks on Fifth Avenue:

Flatiron building:

We did a lot of shopping! I have a haul video coming up about that, but in the meanwhile, here I am goofing around at Century 21, a massive department store where you can get designer duds for less. You can get lost in there, there's so many floors!

St. Patrick's Cathedral...the lady in green had awesome hair!

 

 

We also went to see an amazing show in New York called Fuerza Bruta - it rocked! Best show I've seen since Cirque de Soleil. I filmed a lot, so make sure to watch my video to get an impression. I highly recommend you check it out if you're ever in New York, it's a wonderful collage of sensory, visual and acoustic performance. Loved it!

Overall this trip was a whirlwind of impressions, sights and tastes. I would love to go back someday, even if it's just for the amazing food and shopping! Thank you so much to the nail polish company ANNY that gave me this amazing prize, and to my voters who made this possible. I am eternally grateful.