A little background: Although I have loved living in NYC these past few years, loved being close to where I grew up and my parents, loved working in midtown Manhattan and feeling like I made it (ok midtown isn’t that great but still…), loved being in the epicenter of it all, loved exploring the city and especially my beloved Upper West Side, I’ve also been missing a few things BIG TIME. Those things include: my boyfriend (currently in Buffalo, NY); the beach (close, but not close enough to NYC); grilling and outdoor space (I am technically writing this blog from my rooftop, but A) I share it with about 50 other residents B) it’s 2 flights up instead of out my back door and C) grills are prohibited by NYC fire code); and New England in general.  Because of all these reasons, I am considering – or dare I say planning - a relocation to Beantown this summer.

Before I leave: One of my roommates suggested I write up a “before I leave NYC” bucket list and I think that’s just what I’ll do.  There are A LOT of things I’ll miss about NYC and I plan to share them here daily (or maybe weekly because we know I’m not the best at keeping up with this thing!) as well as things I’m excited about for my next adventure.  In addition, I want to do and see as much as possible in these next few weeks that I’ve always said, “I live here, I can do that anytime” about.  Even though I’ve been spending time in NYC since I was born, there are definitely far too many places (mainly restaurants and bars let’s be honest) that I need to get to before I go!

The first thing in the “what I’ll miss” series is the soothing sound of the jazz saxophonist that seems to be constantly playing as soon as the weather turns nice on the UWS and my rooftop deck, however shabby it is. 

Please leave your recommendations for me on places I must get to before I go!

I recently returned from a way too short visit to Napa Valley in which I immediately learned – or rather confirmed – two things about myself:

1) I love wine.  Not just in a superficial “I like getting a buzz on” way but in a much deeper way.  I love the smell.  I love the way holding a wine glass feels in my hands.  I love the intimacy of sharing a glass of wine with people I care about. I love the atmosphere of wine bars. I love spending a glorious sunny day at a vineyard touring and tasting.  Oh and coincidentally, I also love cheese, chocolate, pasta, steak and pizza, all of which go amazingly well with wine. (You think I’m kidding about the pizza but there’s nothing better than some Pinot Noir and a pizza topped with mushrooms and green peppers…) There’s   also just something awesome and calming about nearly everyone I’ve ever met who works in the food and wine industry. They all seem so relaxed and happy. They take pleasure in the simple things in life as well as the finer ones. They take time to stop and smell the roses so to speak.  I’ve begun to start channeling my inner “tasting room liaison” whenever I’m super stressed out and have been reminding myself daily to not take everything so damn seriously all the time. And yes, that’s an actual title of one of the awesome fellows at Flora Springs Winery.

2) Being outside instantly improves my mood.  So yeah, I should probably do that more often. I already knew I was a certified beach-lover for life but I’ve expanded my outdoor obsession to now include, mountains, valleys, pretty much any area of picturesque landscape, nature-y smells and sunshine will do in fact.

In case you’re planning a trip to Napa Valley yourself (and I bet you will be after reading this), here are some AllieZog endorsed “Napa in a Day” recommendations:

Ehlers Estate for some classy tastings with a majestic setting and expert staff.

Robert Mondavi for the views and to say you’ve been there.

Flora Springs Winery and Vineyard for their cool tasting room, outdoor patio/deck area and fun social media savvy staff!

Ad Hoc for dinner. It’s a Thomas Keller restaurant which admittedly meant little to me before, but once I was briefed on his other restaurants I was all “ohhh fancy.” It was pretty amazing in all seriousness.  The chef sets a 4 course menu each night and they are very accommodating to food allergies and vegetarians etc.  They had a cheese course.  A whole course dedicated to cheese!  This course came between dinner and giant family style ice cream sundaes.  Also, they made cauliflower taste not just ok, not just good but actually delicious – and twice!  Once in a tiny little cup of creamy cauliflower soup and once as a grilled entrée.  There was also pork belly, veal, polenta, and a famous fried chicken which unfortunately wasn’t on our menu that night. Are you salivating yet?

Until I can return to wine country for an extended stay, please enjoy my photos and have a glass of wine for me tonight friends!

Actual beach – very nice!  I’d give it 4 umbrellas out of a possible 5. (editors note, this is a patent-pending rating system for beaches everywhere.  5 umbrellas means the absolute bluest water, the whitest softest sand, easy accessibility and availability of amenities such as beach chairs, food and drink.)

Restaurants/bars – there were many – and we didn’t sample enough for me to give an official rating here.  The places I did eat had good food and drinks aplenty so no complaints there. One random thing about the restaurants at least right along Ocean Drive was there aggressive tactics to lure you in by way of their “5 dollar breakfast special” or “happy hour 2 for 1′s.”  Pretty much cafe along Ocean Drive had a barely dress hostess  shoving a card in your face and saying something to the effect of “join us for lunch?”  Also worth noting is that every place pretty much had the same special, making it errrr – not so special!

Pools – don’t get me started on this one!  Apparently in South Beach, pools aren’t meant for swimming but rather are there to serve as a tempting tease of cool refreshment that often times you are literally not allowed to go into.  I envisioned the pool area of our hotel (which was heavily promoted on the hotel’s website) to be a sprawling oasis of cool water fun. I even penciled in “lounging by the pool” as a group activity for our team.  Little did I know that the “pool” (and that’s using the word loosely) was roughly the size of an oversized bathtub and partially covered by a makeshift dance floor (very safe).  Because of this, you actually weren’t allowed to swim in it even if you could find a little corner to dip into (which didn’t exactly stop my group, but I digress…).

Town - Among the pluses was easy to walk to lots of stuff, easy to get cabs to further areas, plenty of restaurants, bars and stores and palm trees and ocean views made for a nice area to stroll.  My favorite time of day for “exploring” the town based on the 3 days I was there was roughly 8am on a weekday.  At that time, the town was quiet and all the Miami meatballs (we’ll get to them later) were definitely not awake yet.  The only people up were the pleasant locals serving up coffee and breakfast (for a cute local coffee shop check out Pinocchio cafe just off Ocean Drive for homemade pastries and a friendly Italian owner).  Among the minuses was a lack of unique shops (most shops were chain stores or cheesy souvenir shops) and the lack of a good old-fashioned ice cream parlor (a MUST in any beach town if you ask me).  Luckily we were able to satisfy our ice-cream craving with some surprisingly delicious Gelato from Lecca Lecca cafe.  Not familiar?  It’s the same place Snooki and friends works on the Jersey Shore’s Miami season.  Nuf said.

People/Scene – Now here’s where South Beach just can’t stack up to my most beloved beach towns.  Without stereo-typing, the crowd that frequents SoBe is for the most part…how should I say this…ummm, not my type.  Some (ok a lot) of them could have very easily been a castmate on the Jersey Shore.  The general vibe of Miami was not laid back like other beach towns but actually pretty fast-paced with a big focus on drinking giant margaritas the size of your head (literally) often with two Coronas as “garnish.” The bar scene echoed this same sentiment with most drinking establishments being fist pumping dance clubs.  My perfect bar (especially in a beach town) encourages drinking while comfortably seated in a booth, on a bar stool or better yet on a comfy outdoor couch on a patio (this is due largely to my recent revelation that I am in fact, a TERRIBLE dancer and being 30 comes with the added bonus that I no longer have to pretend I’m good or even dance at all if I chose not to).  My perfect bar also ideally has a juke-box packed with country music, oldies and other fun hits to sing along too.  A live band or opportunity for karaoke is equally acceptable.

Cool Activity Alert – Miami is a really beautiful place from a scenery standpoint. Clean, blue-green waters, pretty art deco style buildings and palm trees and waterways galore. It’s actually a pretty large city and there is much more to it than just the South Beach strip area.  We were able to see a good chunk of it on our way to and from the brand new Marlins stadium (awesome) and then going on a boat tour around Miami and particularly Star Island.  We took a Thriller Miami Speedboat tour and I’d highly recommend for a pure adrenaline rush and for some celeb mansion scoping.

As a whole, I’d give Miami 3 our 5 umbrellas.  A nice place to visit with some beautiful beaches but not going to creep into my top 5 any time soon!

I’m curious, what are your thoughts on Miami?  Is it one of your favorite vacation spots and if not, what beach towns are?

(Note – I wrote this post from an airplane but I will add photos to it soon!)

When I’m sick…I can’t speak for every lady out there, but when I get sick, I immediately get cranky, depressed and weepy as an added bonus.  I just want someone to make me soup, fetch me more tissues, keep my Gatorade and gingerale supply fully loaded and appease my whining.  I know it sounds like a dream job but someone’s gotta do it!

When there’s a mouse in the house! As luck would have it I made it 30 years of my life without ever seeing a mouse and then broke the streak a few months ago when at least one little bugger took up residence under our stove.  I became a paranoid mouse-obsessed shell of myself as we waged our own little war via glue traps, poison packs and other assorted animal cruelty methods.  (Editor’s note if any PETA supporters are reading this,  my roommates and I did throw out all the glue traps when we read about the torture a mouse may endure if getting caught on one.)  Friends, family and coworkers all came to my support with helpful remedies and tips for mouse-fighting but without a man around to bravely set the traps, move furniture and poke around for potential victims, I was left to my fend for myself.  In others, I borderline stalked our poor handy man with a barrage of texts, emails and panicked phone calls – if you’re reading this Rick…sorry about that!

When I can’t figure out my taxes…I’ve never claimed to be a financial wizard but over the years I’ve successfully mastered both Turbo Tax’s and H&R Blocks “do it yourself” tax platforms and felt pretty confident in my abilities as a self-tax doer.  Things got slightly more complex with multiple jobs and city taxes and different addresses and somehow I missed a measly little form or two causing the IRS to “get in touch.”  Do I attempt to fix it myself? Find an accountant? Go the local H&R Block route?  If only I had a man around to make these tough decisions for me…sigh…

When I want to try that new romantic restaurant…As noted above I’ve learned to appreciate dining alone or ordering takeout for one when my girlfriends are busy.  But there’s certain places that you just can’t go alone – or even with your gal pals – without looking totally pathetic.  That new little romantic Italian joint that plays soft jazz, has floating candles on the tables and specializes in “romantic fare you can share?” Yeah, that will just have to go on my “when FF visits” list for now…

Any other LDR’ers out there?  What are your “I Need My Man” moments?  I’d love to hear ‘em!

1) Sundresses, flip-flops and other assorted resort wear make their ridiculously early appearance.  Yes it was warm out today but let’s get real, it was NOT sundress weather.  Plus, no one from NYC looks good in a sundress in March.  You’re pasty and out of shape from a winter of eating, drinking and laying on the couch for hours at a time watching House-Hunter marathons.  You owe to yourself and the rest of the city to AT LEAST wait until mid-April before baring shoulders and thighs.  Agreed?

2) The line at Starbucks is extra long because everyone needs an iced coffee or frappucino to celebrate the sunny weather and also, you’ll take any excuse to go outside mid-afternoon and bask in the pre-spring sun.  (editors note, I was indeed one of the “I need a frozen beverage” people today.  See?  Us NYC’ers are sooo predictable!)

3) Sun-worshippers take to social media to express their excitement about the weather.  Facebook statuses about summer and tweets about rooftop bars ensue.  And don’t forget to instagram a picture of yourself outside “enjoying the fab weather!”

4) Every women in the city needs a pedicure immediately.  Nail salons become THE after-work destination for every respectable NYC lady (unless of course you’ve found one of the coveted early-opening outdoor cafes which brings me to number 5…)

5) Random folding chairs and laughably small tables suddenly appear on the sidewalk outside of every establishment that can clear a few feet of “outdoor space.” Even the local deli or coffee shop joins in on the action throwing a few haphazard chairs on the sidewalk. Some places even go so far as to advertise, “yes our outdoor terrace is open! Umm newsflash NYC, 7 chairs on the sidewalk amidst a sea of afternoon foot traffic is NOT an outdoor terrace.  Visit any New England beach town for more insight into the term “outdoor terrace” and then come talk to me!

Spring is in the air folks and that means the days of tanning at Central Park can’t be too far away.  And we all know how I feel about that….  Happy Spring friends!

Anyway, I remembered (or rather reminded myself) that I love writing and would start doing again and I also told myself (see last post) that I would start doing more things to make a name for myself.  Well call it fate or call it a coincidence but the very next day I get contacted by CNN to appear on their CNN Newsroom show.  I also got a tweet from someone at CNN who told me he “lives for my blog” which pretty much made my life since I didn’t think anyone except my parents and my loyal Newport buddies actually read this thing!

Someone once told me that if you leave things in the universe’s hands they will work themselves out and I’m pretty sure that’s true.  There are highs and lows, ups and downs, setbacks, surprises, and things to work out, but at least tonight, I’m giving my crazy overactive, overanalyzing, ball of stress, plan-making mind a rest and having a lil’ faith…

Here’s a clip from my network television debut.  It was only about 3 minutes so I figure I got at least another 12 minutes of fame left in this lifetime!

Comments welcome…and yes, I know I say “I know” a lot!  Rookie mistake, I’ll do better next time!

1) Post-30 life IS blogworthy! In my twenties, I thought my life was a lot more exciting, funny and blogworthy, but post-30 Allie Life is actually quite interesting and hilarious – maybe just in a slightly less obvious “crazy night out” kinda way…

2) THE LDR community needs a voice! I’ve been in a long-distance relationship for nearly two years which I thought left my in a sort of blogger purgatory, meaning I couldn’t really blog about the single life OR the couple life.  I realize now that I have LOTS to offer fellow LDR’ers and could totally start a whole new genre of relationship blogs!

3) To explore other interests! (also known as “get a life!”) The last few years I’ve pretty much been functioning in the typical NYC mode of “live to work” rather than work to live, which I’m not complaining about because I love my job, industry and coworkers but I do have have other interests besides social media that I want to write about and explore. Social media, marketing and branding play a big part in my life and will obviously be present on this blog BUT I’m excited to have a space to chat about random stuff which may include my travel aspirations, my relationships, this crazy city and anything else that moves me.

4) Personal Branding.  Ok this may sound a little “marketer-speak” to my non-industry friends but hear me out.  I bought the alliezog.com domain more than 5 years ago  and have been going by the nickname Zog (and Zogger, Zoggy, Zogette, Lil Zog, etc.) for as long as I can remember. For all my loyal Zog-supporters and for myself, I want to make sure I am harvesting my personal brand and keeping the Zog traditional alive!

5) For the writer In me. I majored in Journalism in college and thought I’d be a newspaper reporter or magazine columnist as a career.  I wrote my first “book” at age 7 which was infamously deleted from our old Commodore 64 computer never to be recovered.  One of my life goals has always been (and still is!) to write and publish a novel.  I can’t claim to be a writer unless I’m actually writing (more than just emails, to-do lists and occasional non-sensical ramblings in little notebooks).  Step one, write often, Step two, repeat!

I’m open to suggestions for future blog topics as well as words of encouragement to keep me going!  What do YOU want to hear about?

PS – what do you think of my redesign?

That being said, I realized the beauty of vacations – they are an escape from your normal everyday life and are meant to be temporary. When I lived in Newport, RI people used to tell me my life was like a permanent vacation (which was kinda true) but that got me thinking…what’s so wrong with that??

I think you can determine where your truly meant to live by where you’d vacation if money were no object. My vacation destination preference always, always, always would be a beach. It could be argued that if I lived by a beach I might choose to explore big metropolis’ or jungles or deserts on my vacations – not true. When I lived ON a beach, I still vacationed to other beaches. To me, beaches are like snowflakes in that no two are exactly alike. I dream about experiencing new beaches and beach towns and comparing them all one-day in some giant interactive info-graphic… (the nerd in me speaks)

Sure I want to see other cities (London, Paris, Sydney and Rio De Janiero top my international list), sure I love escaping to some fresh country or mountain air and there are definitely a few non-beach places on my list of must-go’s (Alaska and Central America’s rain forest region to name a few) but my ultimate win vacation destination is beach.

I understand why living at the beach may not be the most practical. I get why people flock to big cities. I obviously appreciate how “lucky” I am to live and work here. I just think that people who do live here aren’t always outwardly honest about how it really is (unless their rich, then yeah, their life probably rocks). If you’re like me and don’t have a trust fund, a rent-controlled apartment or a driver, then you probably do that thing NY’ers do where you convince yourself

that your life is really awesome and it’s totally normal to spend $2000 plus a month to live in a glorified closet because yeah, you can tell all your friends that you live in “the city” (because to NY’ers there is only one!). <– *Editor’s note – I sometimes do this too…

I know how after a glorious NYC filled weekend of brunching and central parking and frolicking or even an excitement-filled weeknight adventure (complete with bar-hopping and bomb scares on a Tuesday night) you start to feel that “I love it here and could never live anywhere else” feeling. Despite all my whining on this blog, I’ve felt it often – I promise! My one difference is when I leave the city I am not filled with that “omg I miss it and need to go back” feeling that I hear others are (or claim to be). I am more often than not thinking how I could be happy in X-place and how if I lived in X-place I’d probably be able to have all the things I dream about but can’t afford in NY (little things like…say…a closet, or outdoor space, or somewhere to store my beach chair…)

So what do you think folks, is life meant to be a beach or should I stick it out in NYC just a little bit longer? Comments please!

PS – Please enjoy a few pics from my trip. It was truly beautiful there!