Grand Central Terminal and the BEST banana pudding.

Photos via Pinterest

I have been completely in love with New York City ever since I was a little girl. I became absolutely enamored with every little aspect of this city I had never visited; the lights, the crowds, the little food shops on the corners. I was obsessed with the culture, the people who knew what they were doing, where they were going. Last spring, it finally happened, I visited the city that had felt like my city for the longest time now. Walking the streets, I felt like one with the city. I didn’t want to be a tourist; I ached to be a local, to be like the others, business wardrobe with a place to walk to every morning. I knew from the moment my feet stepped on the gum plastered, ash spattered sidewalks, this was my city, and I was going to do whatever I could to end up there. Before arriving in the city, I read hundreds (literally!) of blogs about the city, not about the statue of liberty or the empire state building, not about times square or the Brooklyn bridge, but about the city itself. I wanted to know what the locals do. What can I do when I arrive to experience the city in its best light? Not the tourist trodden territory, but the real good stuff, the places New Yorkers flock to on a Friday night for dinner, or a Sunday morning brunch. One thing I quickly learned is that locals don’t like tourists. Which is understandable because they’re invading and not understanding their city. I wanted to reach out to them and say I understand, really, but I’m not like the others. Please teach me how to live in your city, every inch of my body aches to be a part of it. But after arriving in the city I was reminded that the locals are not there to teach me how to be a part of something this wonderful. I needed to learn. So I navigated subways with the seven am crowd, ate lunch from a street cart in union square, and avoided the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery. Instead, I opted for the humble five dollar pint of banana pudding that all the locals were raving about. 

I then proceeded to wander around Grand Central Terminal -don’t you dare call it Grand Central Station, the locals will smell you from miles away. And eat the entire container in approximately thirty minutes. It was that good, thousand calories and all. After being dragged out kicking and screaming arriving home, all I could think about was that pudding…and the city. The thoughts rotated back and forth from pudding to city, pudding to city, and began again. Then life started to get real crazy, I got caught up in the preparing for colleges phase of life, ACT, college apps, and stupidly not finishing my NYU application. It wasn’t until recently, when planning for my next trip to the city (a little over two months now!!) I came across a blog post from one of my favorite city people, talking about the glory of Magnolia’s banana pudding.

I became re obsessed with said pudding.

And now I really want some. Right now.

Luckily, I’ll be in Chicago in about a week and there is a Magnolia’s to drool over there.
hope your thursday is lovely.
xoxo.