Red Lips and a Mouth full of Gold

Tonight I am blogging from Orlando and you know what's the weirdest thing? This is my fifth day in sunny Florida and I haven't missed New York at all! The sun, blue sky, palm trees and pools are most likely the reason why I haven't thought about the gray and really cold Big Apple yet. Good for me.. I get to enjoy a full last week of summer before returning to the cold East Coast. I do miss my dearest friends and sister though, especially because she is leaving New York tomorrow.
However, while I am exploring Disney World and its sparkling charm, you get to see some shots of one of the last clubbing nights with my sister. That very night I made a special discovery - New Yorkers are so rich, they only dance on golden floors... at least at Pink Elephant, a glamorous underground club where we had a blast! Great interior and beautiful people, no original girls but beautiful, tall and skinny ones - I think that's a New Yorker disease - please get me some realness! The music actually sucked though, the DJ did not play Lil Wayne, Jay Z or Drake once, so no hip hop hooray for us that night.

The night ends at SL... again

So much harder at Times I cried a River, you dried my Eyes and brought me back to Laughter

Hey there, after confronting you with some personal issues in the last post and getting some very surprising positive feedback (I will make sure to reply when I get back from my vacation), I am going to write about a private matter again - this post is dedicated to my wonderful, loving sister Nina!
We have unfortunately gotten there, we have reached the day of Nina's departure. My big sister with who I experienced all my adventures in New York, is going back to Germany next week - more or less nonvoluntarily. Since I am going on vacation to Disneyworld, Florida, I have to say goodbye to her today and it's breaking my heart. We went through all ups and downs together, we laughed and cried side by side, we celebrated our fabulous life together. I know we will be back together in Germany (as soon as I am leaving the US in December we will be reunited) but it's never going to be the same, IT'S NOT NEW YORK!
Nina, you helped and supported me in any way you could. You helped me find and develop myself, you were there for me when I went through the most difficult times, in embarrassing situations - no matter how hopeless some moments seemed, you were my lifesaver.
But you were not only there for me during the darkest times, in fact we went through many more happy moments together! We explored Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Vegas (unforgettable hot tub sessions), Washington DC, Chicago and Miami (even more unforgettable moments). We partied in over 34 clubs during the last two years, we met countless celebrities (Hey there, Gerard Butler and Chris Brown), we spent so many nights philosophizing about life, our future and men, we speeded down the New Yorker rivers on jetskis and speedboats, we met the craziest homeless people and partygoers ("Wow, what did you take? You're in such a great party mood!" - Not to forget Lenny's acrobatics), we hiked through the deepest woods in Upstate New York and we celebrated the new year and our new life at Times Square with millions of people (Hello 2011 and 2012)... but above all we took New York by storm, the city that will always stay in our hearts!
Nina, I admire your power, your extraordinary sense of humor and the effortlessness with which you take life as it is. I am overhappy to know that you will stay by my side for the rest of my life, thank you for being who you are - my amazing sister! My life is better because you are in it, I love you!
PS: Now I have to stop writing because I am shedding tears already!

A very special Person once told me I should further personalize my Blog...

 
Dear readers, I'm neither sure how many of you actually do read what I write on my blog, nor do I know if anyone's interested in my personal life at all. The basic idea that came to my mind when I started this blog was to show the people out there how fabulous life in New York City can be to bring it closer to all the New York lovers. I never wanted to expose my feelings, mood or private matters, simply because I think that no one is interested in that. However, sometimes I do write about my feelings or let people know if anything bothers me (for example in this post).
The other day I went for dinner with a person whose opinion I sincerely appreciate, a person who knows me better than I do. So we went to this fancy restaurant in SoHo - seafood, yum! If you read this, dear person who took me out for dinner that night, it WAS the first time I ever had oysters (sorry I lied) and considering that you like seafood a lot (and eat loads of oysters) you have most likely noticed that anyway.
So this person tells me I should personalize my blog more... you know, writing about my experiences from a more personal point of view, about my feelings or thoughts I have. Now I ask myself: Why would I want to do that?
First of all I think my blog is pretty personal, unlike fashion bloggers who only talk about the latest fashion trends and how many pairs of shoes they own, I do write about my personal experiences in New York City.

One of my concerns is that my future boss might dislike what I'm posting here since I try to be as sincere and criticial as I can and some people might not like that. In addition to that, my privacy is everything to me, my friends and people who know me well also know how I am feeling, I don't think they have to read that on my blog as I am in contact with them anyway. 

In addition to that - thoughts running through my mind right now: Did I gain too much weight since I came to the US? Should I go to Afghanistan as a war correspondent to cover stories firsthand from the war zone? I seriously want and need to do that. How many suitcases do I need to pack to bring everything I accumulated in NYC during the last two years back to Germany and why do all my books have to be so heavy? (I should buy a Kindle) Why do so many people care that I do not have an iPhone? Am I old-fashioned just because I adore handwritten (grammatically correct) notes and letters which do not include text language like lol, rofl, smh or wtf? 

Dear person who asked me to personalize my blog, is this what you would like to read every day? I do not really consider these thoughts as interesting or enriching, but maybe you do?

Love, Laura

PS: Yes, those ARE Instagram pictures and my best friend Yasemin edited them for me.

Hello Brooklyn, how you doin'? Where you goin'? Can I come too?

Hey there, to be honest... I am actually sitting in class - yes, even I have to educate myself once in a while! This is rather sad because I have to spend the whole weekend on campus even though it is the last weekend I'll get to spend in New York City with my wonderful sister. She's leaving the United States in two weeks (let's just not think about it) to go back to our home country Germany and since I am going on vacation (yay, Disneyworld in Florida for me... Nina, that does not mean I forget about you!) I would rather spend this weekend with her instead of sitting here in front of the screen in school. Please do not think that I'm not working hard, it really is my job to write a blog in this class called "Enhancing your digital lifestyle". 
And let me tell you this, it feels so good being back in school (at least for the weekend). If some of you did not know - I am working with kids and basically spend the entire day with them so this is a fantastic escape for me!
I do not neglect going out with my sister though so the evenings are all ours. See, my weekend looks exactly like this: Friday - work from 6.30am till 4, class from 6pm till 8, clubbing from 12pm till 4am; Saturday - going to bed at 4am, waking up at 7am, class starts at 9, class ends at 8pm, heading back to the city for another party night with my sister Nina; Sunday - probably not coming home before 4am again, getting up at 7am, sitting in class from 9am till 3pm - and finally, hello weekend! For now you get to see some pictures of Brooklyn, enjoy!

Brooklyn's latest hotspot - Barclays Center

The Botanic Garden

Freedom means the Opportunity to be what we never thought we would be

 

Wohoo, after almost two years of exploring every single corner of the city (even the darkest ones, you know...where people actually get shot) I finally made it to Liberty Island! When I came to New York in December 2010 I compiled a list of approximately 500 things I wanted to see and do in the Big Apple. Two years later there were only two things left on this list - a date with the Statue of Liberty and a performance by the New York City Ballet. A couple weeks ago I could at least check my visit to America's toughest border-control agent - on the job for 126 years now!  

So here are some fabulous shots of the New York Harbor and Lady Liberty, not only a symbol of freedom to millions around the world but also a monument that stands for international friendship and hope!

We HEART Manhattan

The Artist in me

One of the reasons why I am not writing a fashion blog is that I simply have more to talk about than just fashion. As you can see in this post I don't even always care about the way I'm dressed - a casual plaid shirt paired with jeans and Converse always works for me. Besides, New York City has so much more to offer than just hip fashionistas!
Thus I am taking you to the wonderful Brooklyn Bridge Park today (one of my favorite parks in the city) or more precisely to the DUMBO Arts Festival which I attended last year already (click here to see the post). When I checked out the art pieces with my best friend Yasemin last year (Yasemin, New York misses you tons), we had a marvelous time - for this reason I just had to go back to see what the artists created this year and again... it blew my mind! Not only the weather was worth going to the festival - check out this fascinating shot I took of the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan right before a thunderstorm! I am always admiring how creatively and uniquely artists express their thoughts and ideas by transforming them into sculptures, paintings and other works of art. Just look at those phenomenal pieces of art every single genius created! This year we were even allowed to actively participate by painting a huge board with other festival-visitors. Enjoy the picures!

Our very own piece of art