places I love // an east coast adventure (DC + New York)

On a whim with some vacation days to use up, I headed east for a weekend with the sister. One leaky roof later, we found ourselves without a place to stay. We turned the weekend into a DC staycation with a quick jaunt to New York City for the night thrown in for good measure. We ate all the good food, jumped in a few ball pits, got friendship bracelets permanently welded on, and managed to find wonderful new places to check out. Here are some highlights //

DC//
We stayed at the line, ate all the meals (hello a rake's progress!), dove in a ball pit at the national building museum, hung out at the coolest clubhouse, visited our favorite first family at the national portrait gallery and spent a dreamy night in America's only national park with a music venue tucked inside (wolf trap!) seeing a gathering of our favorite bands.

NEW YORK//
We stayed in the tiniest hotel there ever was, got perfect permanent friendship jewelry at catbird, visited our second installation of the color factory, had incredible meals at Olmsted, Jack's Wife Freda + billy's (are cupcakes a meal?), and soaked up every second in one of our favorite cities.

It was perfect.

places I love (snaps from NYC).

one 10 hour layover. 

a downpour. 

+ one of our favorite cities. 

hello, nyc. 

you were rainy and gloomy and we should have taken it as an omen for weather to come. but instead we made the most of it. happy bones coffee, the whitney, a shop full of eggs + comparing faces up close with one of the worlds most beautiful humans (hey karlie kloss!). 

before I bring you down a rabbit hole of posts about the latest adventure, a few snaps from this beaut of a place. 

because it was a great way to kick things off. 

before we knew it, we were euro-bound for a quick second...and then off to a new continent. 

stay tuned... 

hotels I love (the nolitan).

I'm not too picky about hotels. 

I've stayed in rooms where I have a menu of available pillows. 

Where 95% of the lights aren't working. 

Where you wake up to the most beautiful view of Big Sur you can imagine. 

Rooms on water. Rooms on stilts. Rooms attached to the back of some lady's Vietnamese hut. 

Hostels in Paris with smells you've never experienced before. 

Rooms where you sleep in bunk beds. 

Where you don't have a "door" or really a "mattress" and your "roommates" are river snakes and lizards. 

Each one an adventure. 

But I am a sucker for a beautiful, creative space. 

A big sucker. 

I booked a couple nights at The Nolitan in the (you guessed it) Nolita neighborhood of lower Manhattan, knowing nothing other than I needed a place to stay, sort of near NYU, and in a "fun" part of town. 

It quickly became one of my favorites. 

I was welcomed with wine and snacks, and everyone was friendly, smart, and totally helpful about the neighborhood. It bears repeating. Wine. and Snacks. 

My room, while COZY in size, made up for it with bright, creative and playful design, furniture I lusted after and a KILLER view. 

It came with great treats like awesome bath products (who doesn't judge a hotel by the quality of their bath swag!?), free slippers, an iPod dock, a yoga mat, etc. 

Every afternoon the hotel offers happy hour, where guests can hang out in the lobby, have snacks and make friends. And the lobby comes equipped with board games, books, and great design, all snuggled into a homage to the epic 1970's conversation pit. 

If you're brave enough to take on the NYC streets, the Nolitan offers skateboard and bike rentals. 

Long story short, it's a pretty cool place. And the neighborhood is one I quickly fell in love with. 

So consider tucking yourself in at The Nolitan the next time you're in the big apple. Maybe hop on a skateboard. Play some Sorry with a friend. It'll be fun. Pinky swear. 

love.lauren