Comfort Zones

I would say these photos are quite different from all of my other photos.  These were taken upstairs on my roof.  I usually come up to tan due to the fact that I have no privacy downstairs and practically live next to a man who I should never be wearing a bikini in front of.. (beating around the bush by using nicer phrases).  Living in Queens, there's not many convenient places in which I can shoot so I had a great idea of shooting on my roof.  I initially planned on doing these myself but my intern (hehe jk my good friend) Evelyn came over one day so I decided to take advantage of her since she usually takes my photos anyways.  

I would say these shots are not what I would usually do and I definitely changed up my game a little.  These are much more "street" than I'm used to so it was a little weird posing for them.  As Evelyn was taking these photos she was like "Who are you?? You look so street." I kind-of liked when she said that because it showed I was stepping out and doing something I've never really done before.  I've never had that "bad bitch" vibe and I'm always categorized as "cute" and "tiny." I used to feel some type of way because who doesn't wanna be a bad bitch right? But over time, you have to realize you were born with a certain look, a certain vibe, a certain personality and the bad bitch life ain't for me. I'm in no way trying to pose as a bad bitch in these photos but I took inspiration from Sophia Chang, a YouTuber, who's style is such a mixture of styles and reminds me of my own style. 

I think it's important to stay true to who you are – but it's also good to try new things and step out of your comfort zone from time to time.

Below is my second fashion YouTube video! Go check out my Fall Lookbook ft. my Stuart Weitzman 5050 Boots!

Ruby's Cafe

Ruby's Cafe has grown to be one of my favorite spots in NYC – an Australian restaurant just as Dudley's but without the bad service.  Yes, Dudley's has horrible service, so I'd recommend Ruby's over Dudley's. 

This was only my second time at Ruby's but I fell in love after my first visit and am still in love after my second.  The first time, my friend and I ordered the Creamy Chicken Pasta – rigatoni, sun dried tomatoes & cream for $13.50 and the Chicken Schnitzel Salad – bibb lettuce, sweet chilli & mustard dressing for $14.  I am a huge pasta fanatic (if I had to pick only one food to eat for the rest of my life I would choose pasta) and this pasta was BOMB. It was so damn good. The chicken schnitzel was also super tasty. We also ordered a side of truffle fries because you can't go to an Australian restaurant without ordering a side of truffle fries because they are scrumptious as hell.  I've tried it at Dudley's and there it's a bit more sour + mustard-y but at Ruby's the mustard flavor is a bit more subtle, which is more to my liking. The piece of chicken they give is also quite generous.

My second time here we ordered the Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta – rigatoni, baby peas, tomato sauce for $13.50 and their crispy rice dish (not sure of the name because I don't see it on the website).  I think crispy rice is an Australian thing because I've tried it at Dudley's as well. It's a bit sour because of the sauce used but it's a very light dish, minus the enormous block of (halloumi?) cheese that I mistaken for a piece of chicken.  The spicy sausage pasta was not as good as the creamy chicken one but it was still delicious. I can't wait to go back to try new dishes because they haven't let me down!

The set-up of the restaurant is super simple yet cute and the service is great. I think a requirement to work at Ruby's is to be Australian because all the hosts/waiters I've encountered have an awesome Australian accent! I highly recommend this restaurant, mates! ;)

RITUAL

I was lucky enough to be reached out by Ritual to try their app and receive a $20 credit. Ritual is a food-ordering app where you get to place an order at a specific restaurant/cafe and you'll be notified as to when to leave to pick up your order.  When you arrive at the food spot, your order should be waiting for you at the counter! 

As of right now, Ritual is only participating with restaurants in lower Manhattan: Financial District, Brookfield Place -- Hudson Eats, etc. The destination I chose for lunch that day was Brookfield Place, Hudson Eats.  On the app, it shows you a list of restaurant choices and the location. I decided to go to Hudson Eats because it's consisted of a bunch of vendors so I'd have the option to go to two places since I was bringing along a friend.  First, I was going to get Skinny Pizza but then I stumbled upon Tartinery.  I had no idea what a tartine was but with the help of Google I found out that it's an open-faced sandwich, pretty simple but French so a little fancier.  When it was time to order, I opened up the App and went to Tartinery's page and clicked "Roast Beef Tartine" and added it to my cart. My friend wanted a bagel from black seed bagel so I attempted to add that to my cart as well, but it turns out you have to do it separately, which was kind-of a bummer for a few seconds but it was no biggie.  I punched in my credit card number and clicked check-out and that was it! It said my order would be ready in 6-10 minutes.  My friend and I walked to Hudson Eats to look around and damn, it was PACKED. Understandable since it was around 12:30, lunch time. We found the Black Seed Bagel counter and I saw a little brown baggie with my name on it! I was shocked that it was already done since it had only been about 3 minutes since I placed the order. Then we found our way to Tartinery and waiting for us was another brown bag with my name on it. It definitely saved us a lot of wait time, and it was super fast. If you're ever in a rush, I definitely recommend this because it will, with no doubt, save you time.  After placing your order, when it's time to get your food, you just go to the pick-up counter where usually they will have a Ritual sign.

Signing up was super easy which makes it easier on behalf of a consumer.  Be prepared to either take or upload a selfie because that's part of the set-up process (this caught me by surprise) but it's so the employees can recognize your face before giving your order to someone else.  Hopefully, Ritual will expand throughout all of Manhattan because I did find it really efficient and helpful.

If anyone is interested in this app, you can email me kaaayng@gmail.com and I can invite you to the app and you'll be able to receive $10 in credit -- $5 off your first order and $5 off the second!