Summer sixteen

As I am finishing up college this summer I plan on having as much adventures as possible. Here some of my travels so far...

Warriors finals game in San Francisco. They won against Oklahoma City with a 30 point spread. 

Me flying on Delta from JFK to SFO, btw Delta is my favorite airline. 

In East Hampton for Memorial Day Weekend. I named this flamingo Trevor. 

I'll write more this week. 

Xoxo,

Melody 

Single in the City

The best place in the world to be single is New York City. This is because New York is the magical city of dreams. There's tons of galleries, parks, museums, historical landmarks, bars, restaurants, lounges, clubs, nightclubs, cafes and so much more. When I first moved to New York City in 2013 I was single and had the time of my life, I dated several guys casually and it was so easy and fun going out and meeting new people. I barely knew anyone when I moved but I chose a school in NYC because it is the city of dreams! I wanted a new start after my brother passed in 2012 and anything could happen in New York City. My first weekend there I met my roommate and best friend out in the Hamptons, also several cute guys. I fell in love with the city and the people but more importantly the men. The men and women in NYC who are in my opinion more intellectual, driven and handsome. There's also every type of guy and girl in New York City so whether you have a type or not there's LOTS of options in New York. Whether it be a one night  stand or someone you aspire to date it's really not very hard to meet people. Recently, I became single and rediscovered the magic of the city. Not to brag but it's way more fun being single and going out with your girls and having fun. Afterall friendships last longer than most relationships and nights out or days out can't be repeated. It's always so fun to have those "remember that one time..." moments with your friends and giggling until you almost pee on what you did. Being single again in the city reminds me just how amazing this place is and who knows maybe I'll bump into my future husband on the street. This goes for anyone, come to New York and see where the city takes you!!!

Xoxo,

Melody 

Dinner at Famous Rao's New York

This past week I was lucky enough to have dinner at the 119 year old Rao's Italian restaurant in east Harlem. It is noted as one of the hardest restaurants to get a reservation at. I was lucky enough to score a reservation through a charity auction. 

Rao's has amazing pasta sauce and it is something I have been enjoying since I was a little girl. Walking in it is very warm and comforting. Like walking into a warm Italian family home. The people there are very traditional and you can tell this has been their go to spot forever. 

The food is amazing. They serve it family style and we had three courses. The first course was appetizers. We had calamari, fried mozzerela, salad, fried cod and baked clams. All AMAZING! 

The second course is family style pasta. We had a few types, vodka, lamb sausage and of course meatballs. 

Really tastes like an Italian mom made it all day. Some of the most authentic Italian food I have ever had in my life. 

For our main course we had the veal parmigian, lemon chicken and fresh sole fish. All three were outstanding. 

We were able to stay at our table and enjoy it throughout the whole night. A lot of people with strong Italian accents came in and all seemed to know the owner and management like family. Overall the experience was one of a lifetime and I am so happy I got to experience the best Italian food in the USA. 

Traveling with the Brooklyn Nets

This past weekend my boyfriend and I were very fortunate to be able to travel with the Brooklyn Nets. Immediately after their Friday night game against Orlando's Magic team at the Barclays center in Brooklyn they came to the airport where we were waiting. Unfortunately they had just lost the game. We would be traveling on the team plane to Detroit, Michigan for their Saturday night game against the Pistons. Then after that game return back to New York on the team plane again. Very exciting and unreal! We get to travel with the team and meet the coaches and players !!

My boyfriends mom won this opportunity in an auction at a charity event for the Alzheimer's Association. This was one of the big wins and we were lucky enough to get it. My boyfriend is a huge basketball fan and I would say I'm a pretty big fan as well. 

We went to the signature private airport in Newark, New Jersey. We got there early so has some extra time to wait until the team got there and we could board and depart. The plane was a Delta private plane and it was massive. It was like a regular plane turned into a nice exclusive plane. The front is where the players sat and they had big tables and first class seats. I would say this is the nicest section. The coaches sat in similar seats. Our seats in the back not as nice but still business class seats. There was delicious food and flight attendants. Short flight just over an hour to Detroit. As we were exiting the plane in the front some players were gambling. There was some big piles of money so the stakes must've been high. We got off and they did shortly after. We landed around 1:30/2am. We headed straight to our hotel in Brimingham, Michigan on big bus with everyone from the plane, players, coaches, assistants, media people and then us. 

The next day was our free day. The game against the Pistons wasn't until 7:30. My boyfriend and I grabbed lunch and walked about the cute town. It was unseasonably warm for January. 

Above is my boyfriend Randy standing outside the Brimingham towns movie theater. 

We had to end our day of exploring short because we were heading to the game with the team. This meant early, 4:45 to be exact. I was excited to get to see the players warm up and get some pictures with them. We loaded up on the team bus again and headed to the arena. Once we got there the bus backed into the arena and we were now only yards from the court. 

 

We had media passes so we were able to sit on the court as they warmed up. 

It wasn't long until we started to get photos with the players. 

Above is Brook Lopez and myself.  He was really nice and talked to me ( a couple of sentences) more than the others. 

Above is Randy (my boyfriend), Joe Johnson and I.

 

Above us and Willie Reed. 

Above us and Bagnani. 

Those are just some of the players we were able to get photos with before the game started. The game overall was good but unfortunately the Nets lost to the Pistons. We got to see the press happen after before leaving. It was an amazing experience. 

We took the same plane back as we took over. On the plane ride back to New York the coach Lionel Hollins came up to us as we were sitting. He was very friendly and remembered us from the press. A very nice guy. I immediately regretted not asking for a picture but oh well. 

The flight home was quick. We landed and exited the plane. Again I see 4 players in the front gambling with each other. Even bigger stacks of money than last time! So amazing to see the players just having fun after a game like that.

 We said our goodbyes to everyone we had met and thanked them for such an amazing experience. Overall this will be something I will never forgot and I am lucky it helped support the Alzheimer's Association.  

Bridgehampton Beach

Testing out Ubers new Uber pool feature.

Testing out the new uber pool Uber ride sharing feature. I took my first uber pool today and it was 5$. I went from Chelsea to the east village usually about a 12-15$ cab or uber, sometimes less than 10$ if traveling during off peak hours. Uber pool is an uber where you may or may not pick up another passenger also using uber pool on the way. So you must enter your destination before you can request and it will tell you the amount it will cost to get there and also the possibility of picking up one or two guests along the way. For me there were no pick ups and the ride was a great deal and smooth ride! This ride was only 1.25$ more than a subway ride which for the location I went would've required a transfer. A hassle and more time. For now I like uber pool and think I will start using this more often for its attempt to help save the environment by offering ride sharing, it's cheap prices, safe cars, speed (depending on traffic) and it's so easy. 

Coachella and Neon Canrival 2015 WEEKEND ONE

So this year I went to the Coachella music festival in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, Indio, Rancho Mirage and Palm desert. Basically it is a music festival in the desert in California where music lovers, artists, artist lovers, hippies, hipsters and all sorts of people gather for three days. This was really exciting because it was my FIFTH year attending the music and arts festival and the line-up was incredible.  Some of my favorites included, Drake, Kygo, Odesza, Jack White, The Weeknd, Alt J, ACDC, Kaskade, Alesso and many more. I had a VIP wristband so it made things easier and more exclusive. For some reason it seemed there was more people attending the festival than usual. The outfits were amazing though and there was an occasional celebrity I would see in the VIP area. One person I did get to see was Hillary Duff, one of the friends in my group happened to know her so I felt pretty cool standing like 2 feet from her, growing up I loved her. The VIP areas are great for the food, bathrooms and drinks. The lines tend to be shorter and the food and drink seems to be better with more high-end options. Having famous restaurants from the Los Angeles area sponsoring the event; there were food trucks and stands for higher-end eateries such as Eggslut, Ramen Champ, Kazunori sushi, Beefsteak, Kogi BBQ and many more. One of my favorite areas of the VIP is the rose garden section of it. This is near the Sahara tent, and if anyone has ever been to Coachella they will know that this seems to be the most popular tent besides the main stage at Coachella.

Below is a picture of some of my friends and in the VIP rose garden.

As you can see it was very warm and sunglasses were a must. From left to right: Melody Randol, Chandler melanson, Tayla Burke, Nyjah Huston (professional skateboarder and friend) and Lauren Burke.

We all had a really good time and enjoyed hearing the artists from this exclusive section. 

COACHELLA STYLE

Most of the outfits at the festival are fun, warm, native american, hipster and southern Californian. Girls rock crop tops, shorts, long skirts, flowy dresses, lots of jewelry, flowers in their hair and bright colors. Guys rock  bandanas, sunglasses, bright colors, converse or nikes mostly. Below are some photos of my favorite looks.

Models Ciana Barrom and Giulia Barrom Coachella ready in their crop tops, fun necklaces, flash tattoos, and a big hat for sun protection!

Model Tayla Burke in a Crotchet Top, flowy kimono, strappy sandals and cool desert approved native american style jewelry. One of my favorite looks from the festival. 

Models Sydney Miller, Giulia Barrom and Ciana Barrom. F;annels,  Chunky Necklaces, short shorts, and crop tops were very trendy

Model Meredith Randol rocking a chunky necklace, washed out jean shorts and tight fitting coachella approved top, Model Stan Ruland in black shirt and mens trunks, typical of festival goers to wear bright trunks and tanks

My boyfriend Randy Harris and I in the main stage VIP, I am wearing a Rag and Bone pale pink tank, Rails flannel, Frankie B shorts and a native american style necklace from Scoop NYC. My Boyfriend is styled in a neon green top and stylish sunglasses. 

NEON CARNIVAL

One party I got to experience this year was something I haven’t before, it was the exclusive Neon Carnival party that is invite only. This year it was hosted by Bolthouse and sponsored by some companies such as Don Julio Tequila, Pac Sun and Paper Magazine. Most partygoers including myself, went straight from the festival to party hosted at a private airport. The style is mostly the same but more bright colors and lights everywhere including on some people. Overall it was amazing there are rides, bumper cars, games, ferris wheel and a giant slide. Several popular DJ’s played and lots of celebrity’s were in attendance, I didn’t see them but it was said that Leo DiCaprio, Chris Brown and Justin Bieber and many more were in attendance. I did see famous party man Dan Bilzerian, Paris Hilton and some famous models I recognized. The energy at the party is high and people are excited dancing, singing, drinking tequila and playing games it was truly and experience. It was like an adult playground!  These are two videos I took at the party! Enjoy!

I can't wait to go next year as it is one of my favorite events of the year!

XO,

Melody