I always dreamed of having a perfect summer in New York. What I forgot to factor in, was the fact that I work 40+ hours a week and didn’t make enough money to do the things I truly want: travel and eat lots of food. Fortunately for me, I’m surrounded by some pretty amazing people who helped make my first summer in New York pretty great.
After looking through most of my photos, I can tell you I spent a significant amount of time at sporting events, running around Manhattan, apartment searching, and trying new restaurants.
Here’s some photos that perfectly capture my first summer in the Big Apple.
What a weekend it’s been! I returned to San Diego on Monday for a few days (48 hours to be exact) before I jet set back to the East Coast on Thursday. Call me crazy, but I’ll tell you I’m having the time of my life living bi-coastally.
I am currently recovering from an amazing weekend spent at Dave’s fraternity formal in New Jersey. In March, I was invited to Sigma Nu’s White Rose Formal – this formal not only celebrated the chapter and its accomplishments but also the 115th Anniversary of the founding of the fraternity. It was a very big deal and was hosted at a beautiful resort in the mountains.
I flew out of San Diego on Thursday morning and stayed with Phebe for our typical girl’s night in the city. The first thing we did after dropping off my luggage, was grab a slice of dollar pizza. I hadn’t eaten all day and since she had yet to find shoes for formal, I knew that I needed some fuel before embarking on one of our shopping adventures. We rushed to Macy’s and couldn’t find anything, but we ended finding some cute white heels with studs around the ankles at Aldo.
The following morning, I had an interview uptown and was also able to meet up with my old bosses, which was great . I was very fortunate I had the free time to squeeze in the interview and see everybody! Later that day, Phebe and I headed to Hoboken with all of our gear ready for formal weekend. We got to the house before the boys were done with practice, so we dropped off our bags and beelined straight to the store to grab some snacks to fill up the cooler for the weekend. A cooler, you ask? Yes, you read that right. Right after Dave asked me to formal, I came to learn that it is a fraternity tradition for a girl to decorate and fill a cooler for her date to show her appreciation. Most people know that I have close to ZERO experience or skill with a paintbrush, but I was determined to decorate it to the best of my abilities with some of his favorite things (Volleyball, Beaches, The Chargers and Bills) and surprise him with it. Even though I struggled tremendously with the artistic aspect of decorating the cooler, I would like to believe I excelled in filling it with goodies, transporting it 3000 miles across country, and answering a million questions from other curious flight passengers. I’m in the process of making a time-lapse video and blog of how one should go about making a cooler – I’ll upload that as soon as I finish it! After the boys were done with practice, Dave and I went out to 1 Republik for dinner and later to Tally Ho to play some Jenga with one of his friends. It is weird to think that it had been nearly two months since we had last seen each other, but we picked things up right where we left off.
On Saturday morning we got up relatively early to head to the resort so we could make our tee time at noon. We carpooled with one of Dave’s fraternity brothers, Chris, and his girlfriend Lexi, who also happened to be our golf partners for the day. We arrived at Mineral Springs about 20 minutes before our tee time so we headed right to the club house instead of check in. To be honest, I was pretty worried about my golf game (or lack thereof), but I was assured that we would be playing best ball and it would be fun. Much to my surprise, we had A BLAST on the golf course playing the first nine holes. By the end of the round, we had a little less than two hours until we had to be on the buses headed to the formal venue. One quick cat nap later, we started to get ready and hopped on the bus. This was my first formal fraternity function, and I was beyond impressed with everything! I loved seeing the guys and their dates dressed up and looking dapper in suits, learning about the tradition, and meeting current and former brothers of the fraternity. In addition, the Gamma Delta chapter (Steven’s) was awarded the Rock Chapter Award for excellence in pretty much all that they do. Congrats guys! Overall, the weekend was magical – we had perfect weather and danced the night away – a perfect ending to say the least!
Sunday morning, I returned with Phebe to the city, while the boys practiced. I decided to meet up with my former roommate Erin in the park after grabbing bagels from Tompkins Square Bagels – it had been months since we had caught up. After the boys finished practice, I headed back to Hoboken to meet up with Dave and grab some dinner. As some of you know, I LOVE trying new restaurants, so Dave took me to this great hole in the wall called Tony Baloney’s . I’m not the biggest sandwich fan, but between Vito’s and Tony’s, I think I’ve changed my mind. I ordered the Kaka Sub, while Dave munched on the Revel Boy and split the Shitfaced fries (absolutely delicious). Tony’s is one of my new favorite restaurants and definitely recommend trying it!
I headed back to the airport on Monday afternoon, but unfortunately my flight was delayed nearly four hours and I didn’t get home until past midnight. On a positive note, the flight attendant that I bonded with over the cooler (on the original the trip over), sat next to me before boarding and asked about my weekend!
I had a great weekend at formal and can’t wait for this upcoming weekend, where I’ll be catching Dave and his team, the #1 ranked Steven’s Volleyball team host and compete in the NCAA Championships.
The saddest thing about graduating, perhaps, is the loss of all the holidays and breaks. I really enjoy planning trips and traveling, so this “lost” time really hit hard. Everything really came “crashing down” (excuse my melodramatic candor) when my Instagram and Facebook feeds quickly transformed into a mecca for bikini-clad girlfriends and #nofilter beach sunsets the first week of March. Luckily for me, I have one of the best friends in the entire world who decided to spend part of her Spring Break in beautiful Southern California for a week of shenanigans. It had a been a little less than a month since I had seen Phebe, but it felt like eternity.
Sushi Paradise
Phebe arrived last Tuesday night after a whole day of traveling (4 airports, 3 flights, 2 layovers, in 1 Day) and in typical Meg and Phebe fashion, we headed straight to a sushi bar in North Park, but not after wandering around for a bit to stretch out the legs and get some fresh air. After chowing down on some delicious California, Tempura, and Spicy Tuna Rolls at North Park Sushi and Grill, we headed back to Scripps Ranch to say hit to my parents and get ready for bed.
Pheb in La Jolla
The next day was a pretty lazy day after November Project in the morning, but we headed down to La Jolla to get some shoes for Phebe’s meeting and went to La Jolla to see the seals at the Children’s Pool and explore the area. We stumbled upon this amazing bakery/café and definitely recommend it for lunch if you’re in the area – Girard Gourmet. Phebe got the Chicken Curry Sandwich on Eight Grain Bread and I got the Pear Cambozola w/ Glazed Pecans & Strawberries and substituted the dressing for Balsamic Vinaigrette. That night, my Mom made a delicious Salmon dinner for us and we got to ride in our friend’s Tesla which was pretty cool!
On Thursday, we ventured up to the city of Angels for Pheb’s business meeting. Afterwards, we walked around the shops in Beverly Hills and ate lunch at my favorite restaurant, Urth Caffe. Phebe had this beautiful fruit plate (judge for yourself) and I indulged myself in their Caesar Salad (typical!). We wanted to beat the bad traffic so we headed south to the beaches in Manhattan and decided to get an easy 4 miles in before laying on the beach for a few hours. Heading home, we eventually got stuck in traffic, but it was well worth our boondoggle up to LA. I also decided that if I were to ever move to Los Angeles, I would love to live near the beaches. Meg in Manhattan Beach, anybody?
Riding in the Tesla
Fruit Plate at Urth Caffe
Running from Manhattan to Hermosa
Mid Run Selfie
Hermosa Beach
After a long and exhausting day in LA, we decided to stay in San Diego for the next few days. On Friday we headed to my favorite part of SD, Coronado (also known as Crown Town). We drove down and parked North West of the Del and spent the day on the beach. After braving the elements (we kept getting whipped in the face with sand by the wind), we got hungry and decided to head to my FAVORITE place – Miguels Cocina. Lucky for us, Happy Hour started at 3 so we indulged on some chips, guac and white jalapeño sauce (my absolute favorite thing there) before ordering our margaritas and entrees. That night, we were invited to see an old friend that had recently returned from Memphis, TN for a quick trip. As we made our way up to Bay View Park, we realized that we didn’t have any costumes for St. Patrick’s Day, so we stopped at Buffalo’s Breath, the oldest and COOLEST costume warehouse, where we found tutus and matching gold sequin bras (yes, you read that correctly).
Beach Day at Coronado
Margs at Miguels
Phebe with the Del in the background
My three favorite holidays (in order) are: The Fourth of July (I LOVE AMERICA), St. Paddy’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. That being said, I love to celebrate all three holidays to the fullest, which made Saturday a day to remember. After a few miles in the morning by the house, Pheb and I got decked out in all green and gold for a day of partying with our friends from TN. We started at our friend’s house in Pt. Loma for some early morning shenanigans before heading to Balboa Park for the St. Patrick’s Day Festival. We danced, got on stage (fine, that was just me) and made my Irish ancestors proud before heading back to Pt. Loma for some food, then back to the house for some pizza and a movie (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion).
Car Ride Fun
Best Friends
“I LOVE Everybody”
Sunday was a recovery day for the both of us and we headed back to the beach in Coronado, this time at the Amphibious Base for some more R&R after we bike and lifted for a quick workout. We were planning on going on the boat, but unfortunately, our hot water heater broke so we opted to get out of my parent’s way and head to Nado. Following our beach adventures, we stopped at our favorite coffee spot and grabbed some cool drinks at Coffee Cart (aka Madrid Cafe) before heading up to Del Mar for the sunset. I love watching the sunset at the cliffs in Del Mar and walking the railroad tracks afterwards and knew that Phebe would love it as well!
Del Mar Sunset
Tracks at Del Mar
Always Goofy
Phebe’s flight to San Francisco was on Monday afternoon out of Long Beach, so we quickly headed out of the house on Monday morning to Pacific Beach to walk around and catch some more rays! After a few hours walking the beach, we got in the car and headed up to Long Beach before we said our goodbyes. Thankfully I’ll be seeing Phebe in a month back in New York.
Watching the Sunset in Del Mar
Thank you Phebe for sharing your Spring Break with me down in San Diego, I hope you had as great of a time as I did! Love you.
If somebody were to ask what the three most important things about me are they’d be (in no order of importance): 1. I love to workout 2. My friends and family are the most important thing in my life and 3. I LOVE surprises, both being surprised and surprising other people.
Long story short, I bought myself a plane ticket to NY to surprise my old roommate, Erin, for her birthday, celebrate Galentines Day with Phebe, and see Dave play some volleyball. It was a whirlwind of trip, but a much-needed trip back to frigid temperatures to see my closest friends.
Here’s some quick highlights of my long weekend in the city that never sleeps:
Saturday: landed at JFK and headed straight to Phebe’s in the East Village. After indulging ourselves with See’s Candies, we headed over to my old apartment to surprise Erin. SURPRISE Erin! Cue lots of hugs and “Is this real life?” a la David After Dentist. Head back to Phebe’s place and get ready to go to Hair of the Dog on the LES.
Sunday: Wake up and engage in our old “habits”. We head to Coles to workout and watch the men’s basketball game, then I head to Hoboken see Dave.
Monday: Brunch with Erin at Cafe Gitane followed by a workout at Coles with Phebe. Cafe Gitane is a cute French Moroccan place that is most known for its Avocado Toast. It is absolutely divine – a must try on my list.
Tuesday: Erin’s Birthday! Lunch with my former marketing professor, Ted Philipakos, at local Greek restaurant, Ovelia, in Queens to catch up.
Wednesday: Head to Hoboken to hang with Dave. Grab lunch at my favorite Italian Deli, Vito’s (I ordered the Vito). Watch Dave and the rest of his team destroy SUNY New Paltz in three straight sets with Phebe.
Thursday: Breakfast with Phebe and Etan at Hoboken Gourmet Company. Head back to California. Cue tears and nostalgia.
It was a quick trip, but I’m so glad I was able to see my friends and surprise Erin! Hopefully I’ll be back before graduation!
I can’t believe I’m officially done. I know that I’ve been saying that a lot recently, but the truth be told, a lot of things are officially coming to an end. Mom and Dad flew out to NY to visit for a few days during to the first week of December to celebrate my impending graduation with the President of NYU, John Sexton. Earlier this Spring, I took a class with him titled Baseball As A Road to God, and upon hearing of my early graduation, he invited me to a private ceremony in his office.
It was so great to see my parents again and have them be present for this special moment. The best part of the weekend, however, was not actually “graduating”, rather celebrating with my friends and family at my favorite restaurants including Arturo’s with Dave and Erin, Serafina and Morton’s Grille with Phebe and some local spots with my parents.
It’s weird to think that soccer is officially over. There were a lot of tears this weekend, lots of hugs, and lots of stories. I could not be more thankful for my family, friends, team, fellow seniors, and my best friend Phebe, whom I could not have gotten through the past four years without.
Much love!
First Game
Gaelic Park
Since Freshman Year
Washington Square Park
It’s not sacrifice if you love what you’re doing
Gaelic Park
As I sit here typing my summer recap, I can’t help but think these past few months were my “last summer”. I don’t mean to say that I won’t have days at the beach, or weekend getaways, but going into my last semester of school, the only things I imagine in my near future are long hours, office cubicles, and an entry-level income. That being said, this past summer was one for the books and here are my top 10 favorite things about Summer 2014:
1. FOX Sports San Diego – Is it ironic that I start my list with an internship? Over the summer I worked in the marketing department doing everything from learning about OAP’s (On-Air-Promotions) to helping manage our two brand representatives ( the FOX Sports SD Girls) to writing press releases and drafting tweets. The stuff I learned was only half the fun though; the people I worked with (shout out to Megan, Gema, Jacquelyn, Katie, and Brie… the list goes on) were absolutely incredible. I can only hope that my first job will have coworkers that are half as amazing as these ladies. Did I mention that I also got to cool events and spend my summer at the ballpark? Talk about one killer internship!
2. World Cup – Do sports montages make you as emotional as they make me? When the US qualified for the World Cup and the #IBelieve commercial came out, I was ECSTATIC to say the least. The best part of the WC, besides the US making it out of the Group of Death, was Tim Howard‘s stellar performance (16 SAVES!), putting a GK in the spotlight (He was even named Secretary of Defense on Wikipedia!).
3. Fourth of July – The fourth is my favorite holiday by and far. But, what’s not to like? Hot dogs, fireworks, slip n’ slides and hanging with friends. This year I spent my 4th on Coronado, which is arguably the best place to spend a fourth. There is a sense of camaraderie because it’s such big Navy town and there’s nothing better than watching fireworks on the beach, right?
4. The Beach – What sort of San Diegan would I be if I left the beach off my top 10 things about this summer? There’s no greater feeling than the saltiness of the air, wind blowing through your hair and the sun beating down on your face. The beach and ocean are my place of solace – where I go when I want to escape and I am so blessed to have so many beaches at my fingertips.
5. San Francisco – One of my best friends and teammates, Phebe, lives in San Francisco and I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with her in Marin. It was an adventure (Megventure) filled weekend and you can see all the highlights in my blog here!
6. Boston – This past Spring, I was elected as Vice President of NYU SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee). This position led to an opportunity to represent NYU at the UAA SAAC (University Athletic Association) in Boston the first week of August. I, along with the rest of our exec board and Denise, our advisor spent 48 hours in Boston reviewing legislature, meeting our conference rivals, and conquering a ropes course. I walked away with 30 new friends, a sense of community within our conference, and a black eye (Let me tell you, tag is dangerous!).
7. FOX Sports (LA) – On my last day in San Diego, I drove up to Los Angeles to get a tour of FOX Sports 1’s studios and meet with some people in the communications department. My visit to LA reaffirmed my passion for working in sports broadcasting and desire to continue my career with FOX Sports.
8. Learning to drive stick – I’ve wanted a shiny, fire engine red, Jeep Wrangler for as long as I can remember; the only thing standing in my way (besides the cost) is the fact that I have no idea how to drive manually. One of our closest family friends, Yo and Trena, however, own a 1985 Jeep Laredo and on one of their last days in San Diego they let me “learn” to drive stick. After stalling out what seemed like 100 times and giving whiplash to my passengers, I finally was able to shift up and down through the gears while riding around the block.
9. Catching up with old friends – I was a little weary of returning to San Diego this summer because many of my high school friends were either back at their respective colleges, interning in LA/NY, or traveling the world. Luckily for me, two of my oldest friends, Lauren and Kayla were around this summer and we spent HOURS together giggling, reminiscing and just being girls. It’s sort of strange to think that I’ve known them since I was less than a year old and 21 years later we’re still friends despite all the places I’ve moved and events that have transpired.
10. Spending time with family – Family is not an important thing to me. It’s EVERYTHING. This summer I was blessed to spend so much time with my mom, dad and sister, along with my adopted family (the Staab’s). I know I can always count on them to have my back and support me in all my endeavors. As I end my last summer, I realized how much they’ve sacrificed for me to get where I’m at and I’m eternally thankful for everything they’ve done.
As the leaves turn to orange, the weather gets colder and football season hits full force, I bid adieu to my last summer. I will cherish it closely in my heart forever.
5 D’s of Dodgeball:Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, Dodge
San Diego,CA
FSSD Girls at the Races
What’s better than good friends and fireworks?
#1 in your hearts, #1 on the field
Los Angeles, CA
“Taking over for Eric Wynalda, I’m Meg Patten. On behalf of Rob Stone, Warren Burton, Brian McBride and FOX Sports 1, thanks for watching.”
Los Angeles, CA
7 Miles later… the most gorgeous view with a gorgeous best friend.
Stinson, CA
“She had not felt the weight, until she felt the freedom”
Tiburon, CA
Happiness is the sand between my nose and a sunburn on my nose
Coronado, CA
Best SAAC in the UAA
Boston, MA
Driving them crazy
San Diego, CA
Old Friends are Gold Friends
My Rocks
San Diego, CA
Years of hard work, dedication, blood, sweat and tears into art.
San Diego, CA
It’s amazing to think how little of the World I’ve seen, let alone the United States. I recently traveled up to San Francisco to visit my best friend, Phebe, and one night we met two Swedes who were rambling on about all the countries they had visited. Their stories were impressive – they had left their home countries to visit the United States and see everything it had to offer for weeks at a time. A trip like that seemed unfathomable in my twenties – how could one just drop everything and go for six weeks, or even six months? It was this beautiful sense of wanderlust that captivated me, refreshed me. I was proud that I had “taken the weekend” off of work to visit my best friend; I was mesmerized by these new friends who had “carpe diem-ed” – seized the day.
That wasn’t the only thing I was mesmerized with on my trip to San Francisco. I hadn’t visited the Bay Area since 7th grade – nearly ten years ago (WOW, I’m getting old!) and the only expectation I had, was the inevitable fog in the morning in the city. I was gladly taken aback by the beauty of the Bay Area. Lucky enough for me, Phebe lives in Mill Valley which means not a ton of fog. It is absolutely breathtaking because it is surrounded by mountains and gorgeous views of the skyline.
During the trip, Phebe and I hiked twice – once in Mill Valley and once from Stinson Beach through some beautiful Redwoods. To say I was sore might be a little bit of an understatement – the incline was something I wasn’t used to! The weather was unseasonably warm so we also spent a couple of hours by the pool – I even got burnt! Who would’ve thought?
The rest of my weekend consisted of eating delicious cuisines, relaxing, and then taking in the sights and sounds of Marin! On my last night in San Francisco, Phebe and I embarked on a pub crawl near Nob Hill. This is where the story comes full circle; we met the two Swedes from the beginning of this post at the first stop and instantly became friends.
My words have failed to give this trip and our adventures together any justice, so I’ve created a small photo gallery instead. A picture is worth 1000 words, right?
Mill Valley, CA
Mill Valley, CA
Mill Valley, CA
Tiburon, CA
Belvedere, CA
Photo Credit: Sophia Barnhart
San Francisco, CA
Stinson Beach, CA
Stinson, CA
Vessel Night Club, San Francisco, CA
Marin, CA
Marin, CA
Thank you to Phebe, Momma Pheebz, Burton, Maddie, Julian, Essie and everybody else I may have forgotten for an amazing unforgettable weekend. Can’t wait to visit again!
What’s a football-loving girl to do when she lands tickets to the NFL draft in the middle of finals?The only possible answer is: head uptown to Radio City and spend the majority of her Saturday watching the fifth through seventh rounds. Though there isn’t traditionally a ton of excitement during these later rounds, there was still a lot of buzz following these rounds including the drafting of Alabama QB AJ McCarron in the 5th round by Cincinnati and Michael Sam as 256th overall in the 7th round by the Rams.
I had two sets of tickets available to me including priority tickets that I was able to get online and group tickets through a friend. I had invited my two teammates, Phebe and Julie, to join me so I opted to use the group tickets. After drowning in humidity for almost an hour, we finally were able to get our VIP tickets for inside Radio City. Once we were inside, we walked straight into throngs of NFL jersey sporting fans taking photos next to the Lombardi Trophy and just walking about. I was genuinely surprised at how low-key the event felt. After walking around and getting situated with the layout, we found our seats in the second mezzanine, which provided for a great view of the draft and plush seats to rest our weary bodies on. I saw a bunch of seats up towards the front row and urged us to walk around to see if we could sneak our way up there. As we walked around the floor level, a security guard asked us if we wanted to sit in the front – we happily obliged.
How many times in your lifetime will you get to sit in the front row of the NLF Draft? Hopefully, more than once. Just another bucket list item to cross off my list.
Happy Easter peeps! I hope all of you had as wonderful of a day as I did. Phebe’s friend, Reid, was in town for the weekend and we decided to venture across the Brooklyn Bridge for some fun. Side note: Reid sails at Harvard and has known Phebe since birth – they were born a day apart! People often ask if their twins (I know – how cool right?) Anyways, we took the train down to Chamber Street, began the crowded trek across the bridge and were rewarded with the most breathtaking views of Manhattan and beyond. We had a few hours to explore before Reid had to board his bus so we walked below the bridge, around DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass for all you non-New Yorkers). We were greeted with even more beautiful views, smells of delicious foods and people everywhere. We chowed down on a cleat disguised as a bench on the pier overlooking lower Manhattan. There was a slight breeze in the air, the sun was shining down on us and all was perfect in the world. We wanted to try Grimaldi’s world-famous pizza, but they were closed for Easter, so we opted in for some seafood at Luke’s Lobster. I grabbed the lobster roll, Reid had the crab roll – both were simply divine!
Before we finished our amazing lunch, we spotted the Brooklyn Ice Cream store a few steps away. Since I gave up ice cream for lent, it was only an obvious choice to grab some before heading back to Manhattan. We opted to split a Butter Pecan and Chocolate Chip Chunk ice cream filled cup since we only had a few dollars on hand between the both of us. (Side note: Bring cash with you when exploring – some places still operate on a cash-only basis)
Twas a wonderful day spent with friends exploring the most wonderful city in the world. I can only hope that everybody had even just a fraction of the fun I did today!
