Follow My Spring Break Home *2019*

Hey everyone! Happy Spring Break! Although many people are traveling to Punta Cana and the Bahamas, and going on service trips; I went home to New York for the break to just have some time to clear my head and see some friends. Going home wasn't a bad option for me because I love spending time with my parents, friends, and dog. Also, I live in Brooklyn so there is always new and exciting things for me to do while I am home. 

Right now is the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, which is a big deal at my school since Providence College is part of that league of sports. While I type this post, I am watching the Villanova University vs Providence College game. Tonight, I will be attending a networking night at Madison Square Garden while the remainder of the games play out today! I will hopefully be writing about my experience there soon...

Here's what my Spring break has looked like so far...

I love LED lights, so I made my friend take a photo of me at The Little Cupcake in Brooklyn. You can find this photo on instagram: here

 Monday 

Over the weekend, my dad and I went to the Supermarket since I was desperately in need of fruits and vegetables. At school, I do not eat as much fruit as I would like due to their limited selection (no berries at all!), so I needed to take advantage of being home and eating as much as I want to. I've been making bowls with clementines, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I will either eat this with my breakfast or as a dessert.

Later that day, I went to Cocoa Grinder ( a chain of cafes located in Brooklyn) for lunch. Right now, I am on a trend of eating less chicken, beef, and pork; so I ordered the vegan steak bowl. It was so delicious. The bowl had brown rice, cooked kale, tofu in seasoning, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The bowl is very filling, and I was so obsessed and will most likely buy it again in the future.

While I was at Cocoa Grinder, I was working on a blog post that will be up on Sunday! I also ordered myself a hot chai latte to go with my meal and blogging.

Tuesday

My dad and I went to the gym in the morning. I was on a grind at school for a few weeks of going often and then stopped, when I get back, I need to re-evaluate how I slacked at the gym and make an effort to go. Summer is coming up, and I really want to be working on a body that I am happy and confident in. On that note... post-breakfast I ate avocado on a baguette with turmeric, salt, and pepper. On the side, two Morning Star veggie sausage patties.

Being away from my dog, Bosco, has been hard so I have been taking so many photos of him while I've been home.

Later that day, I headed to downtown Manhattan to get lunch with my friend, Aubrey. We have a tradition now of going to Jack's Wife Freida when we are both back in the city (we both go to college in New England). This place is a Meditteranean breakfast/lunch place in Soho that I love so much! Their cappuccinos are so good!

Both Aubrey and I had Green Shakshuka with Challah Bread on the side. I've never heard of shakshuka before, but my first experience with it was pleasant. I had the option to have feta with it, and it was a nice touch. Last time, I ate the Meditteranean Breakfast from this restaurant which I also recommend.

You can see more of Aubrey and My adventures in New York City here.

We ended up walking to Washington Square Park and hanging out by there for awhile. We also went to PetCo to look at the animals, and Barnes and Noble (to skim books, sit around and talk, and charge our phones). Washington Square Park was very lively as the weather is getting warmer, but also because NYU is still in session.

We went to Cafe Reggio on McDougal street for dessert, it's a small Italian cafe with large art pieces and sculptures on the walls. I ordered Italian cheesecake, and Aubrey had Tartufo. This cafe was filled with groups of people talking, lone people working on their computers, and just all the different types of people that live in NYC. The music was very organ (the instrument) heavy, which fully does set the mood of the place.

Wednesday

I didn't take any photos, but today was my day of spa regimens. I had my hair cut & straightened (will be posting pictures of that to instagram), my eyebrows threaded, and my nails painted. It had been about two months since I've been home, and all those cosmetic routines are so much cheaper in my neighborhood than when I am at college. My hair was also too long for my liking and I would constantly be complaining. My mother and I went to get Bubble Tea after everything which was really nice. Do you have a favorite flavor of Bubble Tea?

 I love sushi. Last week, I facetimed my parents asking if we could go to this Japanese Buffet restaurant called Sake. I hadn't eaten sushi in a while, and I knew if I was coming home; that's one of the things I would want. We went last night, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I ate some of the sushi shown but also vegetable fried rice, and miso soup.

More pictures of Bosco :)

Even though it only looks like I've only been eating on my break, I swear I have done other things. The food is just too good in New York to not take advantage of it. I've been spending the days home relaxing, catching up with people, watching Basketball, blogging, and doing homework. It was a much-needed break. 

Do you have spring break? What are your plans?

xx

Christina Madeleine

Family Weekend 2019

Happy Sunday everyone! It's been about a month since I last blogged, and trust me it's been a whirlwind. I know that I said that I would be posting once to twice a week,  but life has been a bit tough recently and I haven't been able to post. I have a few partially written blog posts that I will be finishing up, so March will be filled with more of 'This Fashion Girl'. This weekend was Family Weekend at my college, so my parents came up and we had a very busy 24 hours. Here's a little insight into how I spent my family weekend.

Just making a call from the Dean Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.

At 12pm, I met my parents at the basketball game. Providence College was playing Marquette at the Dunkin Donuts Center (our home arena). I had been to all the games this season except for two, but this was so exciting because it was sold out because of alumni & family weekend. Unfortunately, we lost the game, but hopefully, next season will be a lot better. Our freshman basketball players are so good. This was my parents first time at a PC basketball game, and they had such a fun time. 

Afterward, I hung out in their hotel room for a bit. My mom and I went to get my eyebrows threaded, which was such a necessity at that moment. Then we went to Friskie Fries and bought fries with chicken, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and sauce. We might've devoured it before taking any photos...

Then, we went to the hockey game at 5pm. My school was playing UMass Amherst, and we won 3-2! This was super exciting because of the last two games they played each other, Providence had lost. The arena was filled too because of the weekend, and it was fun to have at least one win for the day. 

For dinner, my parents took me and my two friends, Colleen and Alex, to dinner. We hung out in the Dean Hotel first and took some photos before going to RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen, which is a very yummy tapas restaurant.

This phone is located outside of a karaoke bar called 'The Boombox'.

The three of us posing with the cute red phone. You can check out more of those photos on my Instagram!

 The Next Morning...

 My parents and I went to Rebelle Artisan Bagels and bought three different sandwiches to split. Above is the "Breakfast Sammi" which is a spinach frittata and bacon on a bagel. My mom got egg and bacon on a bagel (not shown, but either she or I will post it on insta).

 Lastly, we bought cream cheese and lox bagel. I have never tried lox before, and it's very good. I've been to this store twice, and have only gotten the "vegan dream," which is absolutely delicious, but I decided to switch it up this time. Rebelle is partnered with NitroBar, and so they have a cold brew tap, so I had to buy it.

Before this weekend, I hadn't seen my parents in person since January 12, so spending even twenty-four hours with them meant a lot. Although we facetime a lot, there's nothing like being present with people you care about. Also, it's so fun for them to come up here because we get to try out different restaurants and cafes for breakfast and dinner that I wouldn't have gone to. It's more of an opportunity to discover more about Providence and catch up.