One of the newest places located in the East Village is Snowdays Shavery, and it is definitely worth the trip! They serve delicious shaved cream, which is a popular Korean and Taiwanese dessert that is quickly taking over America. I am sure that many of you have tried shaved ice before, however shaved cream has a little twist. It has an icy texture like shaved ice, but it is also creamy like ice cream. It just melts away in your mouth. For weeks I had been seeing pictures from Snowdays, so one day as I was walking around downtown, I knew that I just had to stop and try some of this delicious snow cream. They have amazing options. First, you pick the base, which is the snow cream. They have Yeti Tracks, which is a combination of cookies and cream and blueberries, sweet cream, which is a condensed milk flavor, matcha green tea, and coconut. Then, you pick your toppings. There are so many to choose from, but a few are pocky sticks, mochi, nilla wafers, waffle cones, fruity pebbles and even crazy things like grass jelly. Lastly, you choose your drizzle. You can pick from a variety such as condensed milk, salted caramel, peanut butter, and whipped cream. I went with my family, and because it is impossible to decide what you want, we decided to share two flavors. We ordered a sweet milk shaved cream, with peanut butter drizzle, and Cap’n Crunch. Next, we ordered one of their recommended combos called Yeti Food. It consisted of yeti tracks snow cream, with bananas, waffle cones, and a blueberry puree. They pay close attention to detail, and even give you spoons that react to the cold, so as you are eating, the spoon changes color. It was one of the most delicious desserts that I have ever had, and I would definitely choose this over normal and boring ice cream any day. Be sure to get there early because the line gets long. My family arrived around noon on a weekend, and there were only a few people in line, but once we started to eat, the line was out the door. They spend time making each cup of snow cream, so the line does not move very fast, but it is definitely worth the wait! Location: 10th street b/w 1st and 2nd Ave Check back in to hear about another new fave of mine, The Stanton Social! Stay Classy Valley,
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Sorry I Don't Sleep EnoughIt may be incredibly ironic that I’m sitting in my bed writing this piece at 12:16 am, but it may be even more ironic that Rachel has written against this very topic. You see, I don’t seem to get much sleep, if any at all. While Rach sits at her desk proudly writing about how bad lack of sleep is for all us mortals, I sit on my bed wondering why I can't do the same. On top of the fact that I probably shouldn’t be writing this piece, but rather sleeping until the late 5:45 am alarm awakens me in my sound slumber, the number one reason why I can't sleep is because I just can’t find the time. When is there really any time? I mean among the bountiful list of extra curriculars I pour my heart into, not to mention the studying I need to do for the ACTs that are creeping up on me, or the errands I have to run for my parents, it becomes difficult to find any time for myself let alone 8-10 hours for my brain to restart. You see I’ve always been a busy person. I’m the busy person who loves the thought of being a busy person and the adrenaline of having a packed schedule. While I of course enjoy the occasional down time, filling my schedule with countless activities is the reason I can hop out of bed at that blaring 5:45 am alarm. Whether it’s preparing for my weekly PVBBG meeting, getting up extra early for my Executive council meetings, staying after school to plan, plan, plan with my choir board counterparts, volunteer, make a video, take photos for the latest photo shoot or many many more it’s these things that make me want to be busy. For the sake of the people I’m helping and affecting, I love to see their smiles. On a day I have work at Old Navy sometimes it can be extra stressful. I have a big responsibility to act as an adult at my job and become the best retail seller I can. This of course can come as an expense to my social life and schoolwork on occasion. While I can work my schedule around certain things, sometimes I have to wrestle myself out of bed to get up for that 8-hour shift on Saturday or that 5-hour shift after school. Thank goodness that because I'm a minor they can only keep me til 10:30 pm the latest. This means that only after 10:30 pm is when I can start studying for that huge physics test. I drive myself home, race upstairs to plop down on my bed, exhausted from 8 hours at school, 5 ½ hours of work and now another 3 hours of homework, yeah it can be take a toll on my sleeping schedule. It does get tiring but I would never take it for granted. I work with friendly people, make good money during a time when some people can’t even get a job, all while still being able to get a good education. So while I’m sitting here ranting about my busy life, showing you a very small fraction of the craziness, yes I could’ve been sleeping. And yeah maybe my 5 hours a night sleep schedule could be one cause of my headache disorder or the fact that I get tired in school, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Will I strive to get more sleep than I am currently? Of course. But it wouldn’t be a very good success story if I didn’t tell you what life was like before I made the change. Check back in a few months and maybe I’ll have a new regime ready for all of you. Maybe I'll be the teacher instead of the student and let you know how you can be a busy bee and have your sleep too. Goodnight PV, sleep tight. Stay classy Valley,
What’s Happened To Our Brown Paper For anyone who knows me, they are highly aware of my almost OCD efforts to make sure that any type of food I put into my mouth is either a healthy sized portion or good for me (or both). I would consider myself a major food snob, but I direct the source of my food snobbery towards my equally food-snobbish parents, who cringe at the thought of restaurant bread that had been previously frozen, or god-forbid they are served a Starbucks coffee that isn’t freshly brewed (does that count as food?) In my struggle to maintain a balanced, healthy diet in a lunch cafeteria filled with soggy pasta and stale french fries, I generally try to give myself a time frame of between 10 and 30 minutes every night to figure out something to make myself for lunch the next day. However, as I ventured farther and farther into my junior year, I realized that the unavoidable laziness that comes with the third year of high school (among many other perils) had finally caught up to me, even after I had sworn it never would. I soon found myself dishing out more 5-dollar bills than I could count in order to pay for my weekly lunches consisting of fried chicken with giant pieces of fat on the end and bags of my ultimate snack food guilty pleasure, Chex Mix. No matter how many bottles of water I downed to try and counteract the fatty foods, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was doing something terribly, terribly wrong. I find myself asking what truly is the deciding factor between how we dictate the quality of our lives. For myself, quality food and putting good ingredients into my body is a huge factor in the overall quality of my life. As I sat staring down at the piece of chicken fat in my hand (I swear it was giving me the evil eye), I realized that it was not necessarily the type of food I was eating that was creating such a strange void in my heart, but that I suddenly missed the crinkling of my brown lunch bag as I proudly poured my carefully planned meal onto the blue speckled half-moon lunch table. I missed the taste of whatever healthy or “healthy” food I had generated for myself (notice the second healthy in quotations, as I will often try to convince myself of a food’s nutritional value). Moreover, I missed the idea that I had worked (semi) hard for something that meant a lot to me and that in the end, made me feel better than living off blue bags of Chex Mix with the weird tasting pretzels. Perhaps my life would be better if I could just squeeze a few more homemade turkey and brie sandwiches in, or something non-food related, like a few hours’ worth of thrift shopping, where I can feel good for being on my feet and even better for leaving with a cheap pair of Lucky Brands. Either way, my happiness seems to be centered, on, simply, happiness. We must remember to not stray too far from that, as I've found that most of our unhappiness comes from the forgotten notion that there are things in this world that legitimately make us happy. It seems that my brown paper bag is a little farther away then I was hoping, but not so far that I've completely given up. Hand me a chocolate bar, wait a couple weeks for the weather to warm up, and I'll definitely come around... Stay Classy Valley,
Homemade Late For Your ChaiVia Stash Tea As far as I’m concerned, as long as there’s still snow on the ground, it’s still winter. And as long as it’s winter, there is no reason why I should stop drinking my all-time favorite drink, chai tea laté. If you're a chai tea lover like me, you’re aware of its deliciously addicting effects. But why spend $3.25 on a Tall Chai Tea Laté from Starbucks when you can make one twice as good and in the comfort of your own kitchen? As much as I adore Starbucks' all-too-sweet chai tea, I can promise you that, bias as I am, the homemade version is so much better and much better for you (I actually can’t promise that last part…) So, to begin, you will need a chai tea mix. To make it easier for myself, I went to Fairway and picked up the Stash Double Spice Chai Black Tea. I figured the “double spice” would mean double the flavor, but I’m sure any brand of chai tea would taste just the same (there goes those sneaky marketing tactics again.) You can also go the old fashioned route and make your mix from scratch. Next, you will heat up a pot of water. To make this a chai tea LATÉ, it would make sense to add milk. I like to use the Trader Joe’s almond milk. Actually, any kind will work, this is just what happened to be in my fridge at the time I was writing this. If you don’t drink almond milk, stop what you’re doing and buy some because this stuff is totally awesome . Would I take a swig of it with nothing else added? No way – I hate almonds. But I love to drink the milk with tea, hot chocolate, or even added in my cereal. Then it tastes good. Never alone. Never. If the thought of mixing milk and water grosses you out, just use one or the other. To each his own, right? Once you have your hot water or hot milk or hot water/milk, add the mix in and let it seep for as long as your little heart desires. Add half a spoonful of honey and a SMALL drop of vanilla extract. This stuff goes a long way, ladies and gentlemen. Do not abuse it. As a measurement tactic, I’ll often pour an amount equal to the size of the nail of my pinky into the cap, and then into the tea mug. Finally, a “dash” of cinnamon (whatever that means) or whatever other spice you like for your tea. And voila! A homemade better-than-Starbucks Chai Tea Laté! Alas, I do not have a picture to share with you, so I encourage you to use your imagination of what your über delish drink is going to look like (you can use the above picture for reference). I can, however, show you what you will most often catch me drinking my tea in… Thanks to my friend Ashley for the kick-ass mug. You're the best. And incase you were confused, yes, I am the world's best mom. If you know me, you will understand this. Stay Classy Valley,
Why The Hell Don't I Have a Date? Sometimes, as I lay in my bed thinking and over thinking and racking my brain for possible answers to all the unanswerable questions I have, my brain slows to one single thought. Today, upon stepping out of the shower, I was hit with that thought: prom. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked about who I was going with. Me, Myself, and I ? Beyonce couldn’t have said it any better with her fourth consecutive US top five single. Did you know it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 24 weeks? Me neither. Thanks, Wikipedia . I have my dress already. It’s pink and it has lace and I love it dearly. So at least I've figured out one piece of the puzzle. However, I’ve grown weary of the race to find a prom date. Actually, I’ve been tired of it since the beginning of the junior year. As all my friends gathered ‘round to express their sorrows about whether someone would ask them, I sat and thought really hard to about the possibility. Will someone ask me? As quickly as the interest took hold of me, I found myself equally uninterested, and ultimately stopped caring until March came around, aka, prom season. And now, with prom being in less than a week, I am taking a stand against the belief that girls (and guys) must go to prom with a date. Perhaps it is easier for a girl to go with girlfriends than a guy to go with a bunch of guys (social norms and all, but we’ll save that discussion for another day). However, this idea that prom is the end-all of high school and not having a date will leave you ultimately screwed or some sort of “loser” absolutely boggles my mind. It’s like all the talk of feminism and individualism and being able to do things on your own have fallen completely down the drain. Girls (and guys, although I’m pretty sure no guys read this,) I urge you to look at yourself in the mirror, or do what I do and just stare at the ceiling. Either way, do something that makes you reflect upon your own self, not some version of yourself. Really think about whether having a date to prom will, in the end, make your life any better than it already is now. Because if you do get yourself a date, you’ll have the pictures to show off to your friends, right? (#instagramnation?) Or, because in 20 years, you'll stand next to the person you love the most and say boy, I’m so glad I went to prom with what’s-his-face even though it has absolutely nothing to do with you. It. Doesn’t. Matter. Prom to me is a time to celebrate high school and the years we have before we enter the adult world filled with jobs and drama and real life consequences. Right now, we are teenagers in some of the best years of our lives. I know it isn't easy, so don't think this is all coming from a place of ignorance. We work hard and we get stressed and it sucks a lot of the time, but why sulk at something that is being thrown to celebrate all the bridges we've built and crossed? Who we go or don’t go to prom with doesn’t really impact that. So to all my single ladies, put your hands up. Get ready to dance. Get ready to have a great time, and stop thinking about what people expect you to do and start thinking about what you expect of yourself. And keep in mind that as pro-dateless as I am, I am not anti-date. However you will be attending prom, just surround yourself with people you like and have fun. Stop stressing. The end. Stay Classy Valley,
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