Why Relax On SundayZ?

"And He rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had done."
- Genesis 2:2

I never really believed in resting on Sundays. I mean, yes, in college when Sundays meant laying on the floor of my apartment with my roomies watching hours upon hours of trashy reality TV, yes - I believed in resting on the seventh day.

But ever since I graduated, I haven't been able to sit still.

I guess the thought of sitting behind a computer at work all day every day during the week just leaves those two glorious days of the weekend free and open to stuff full with activities, food, and fun!

Sundays, I've found, can be the most promising activity-laden, food festival filled and absolute funtastic day of the week! And this past Sunday might have been my best.

I was left to my own lonesome devices for the morning as TT happens to be quite athletic and plays in an ungodly number of baseball/softball leagues on weekend mornings. So I snoozed and stretched and made an utter mess of the blankets as I'm prone to do. In my defense, if you wake up and your sheets are smooth and neat, your dreams must not have been that adventurous!

I gathered some treats for breakfast and putzed around, applied to a few jobs, watched the newest episode of Parenthood (which if you don't already watch, I highly suggest you start), and got myself ready for the day. As appealing as a lazy morning might sound, I had had my fill quite quickly and by noon with the windows flung open and the sun shining in, I was itching to get outside. I was probably too excited to see TT when he finally got back from being an athlete but who wouldn't want someone to leap immediately into their arms upon opening the door?

We started the day (afternoon -__-) with burgers at The Burger Club, a fantastic burger spot in Astoria that offers a wonderful selection of exciting burgers of all different meats and toppings. From turkey to veggie to tuna and corned beef, there's a burger to fit whatever taste you might be craving....and a small assortment of non-burger items in case you're feeling boring.

I mean, why would you ever NOT get a burger?

TT was quite set on the Bison Burger - with homemade BBQ sauce, jalapenos, crispy onion strings & pepper jack cheese.

I had a bit more difficult of a time perusing the extensive menu but eventually decided on the Stuffed Burger - topped with smoked mozzarella, crispy prosciutto, and basil pesto.

(I had to eenie-meenie-meinie-mo myself between the Stuffed Burger and the Carolina Burger which boasted pepper jack cheese and homemade coleslaw, all topped with slow-cooked pulled pork! Until next time, Sweet Caroline-a)

We ended up going halvsies with both burgers to truly enjoy the experience. Ordered a side of perfectly crispy fries and voilà! Would you look at that!

Drooling

There's nothing better than a well-made burger. I was partial to my choice as I thought the Bison was a little dry but both were absolutely superb. And do you see the dipping sauces on the side?! I'm a sucker for sauces and the chipotle mayo did not disappoint.

After lunch we headed into the city to continue our egg hunt. If you haven't heard, the city of New York has teamed up with Faberge to host 'The Big Egg Hunt'. Over 260 hand-crafted eggs designed by famous artists and architects have been "hidden" around Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. We have spent the past few weekends searching for the eggs and with the beautiful weather Sunday, we couldn't resist going back out for more.

"Pandamonium" by Dot Zacharias at 11 E. 20th St.

Some friends met us at the Flatiron Building and joined in on the hunt for a few blocks before heading off to do their own activities. But the selfies were glorious while they lasted!

'Columbus Egg' by Stamberg Aferiat/Tsang + Villanova at 175 5th Ave.

'Britto Egg' by Romero Britto at 175 5th Ave.

'Bartlett Egg' by Jennifer Bartlett at 55 Lexington Ave.

It's always great to bring others in on the fun!

One of the eggs took us to Avant Gallery on Madison Ave. I almost dropped my iced coffee when I saw pieces by Murad Osmann hanging on the walls! Osmann is a fantastic Russian photographer. His work was introduced to me by a friend via Instagram, actually. He is known for his absolutely stunning series "Follow Me" which documents his travels all around the world with his beautiful girlfriend.

All of his pieces show him holding his girlfriend's hand as she leads him to international monuments all around the globe. I just think the placement and the colors are so fantastic. It actually feels like you're there! What a phenomenal job -- to just travel the world with someone you love and document it.

You can find more information about Osmann here but you might be better off just following his adventures on Instagram!

Our next egg was on the ground floor of the Empire State Building. We pushed our way through the droves of camera happy tourists in line to go up to the top to get our selfie with the egg. Once snapped, TT admitted that this was his first time in the building.

What.

How can you possibly live in New York City and never have been to the top of the Empire State Building?! Yes, of course it's touristy and true New Yorkers obviously DON'T go to the top because we are just so0o0o much trendier than the common tourist.

But it's NECESSARY! It's something you SNEAK IN when you have friends visiting so you can act like THEY are the tourist but actually you just wanted an excuse to go to the top. #inception

Obviously we went up. It wasn't even up for discussion.

So we joined the lines of the common tourists, proudly put on our earphones for the audio tour, and waited for the synced elevators to take us to the top of Manhattan.

There's something quite different about experiencing a city from above. Now, you might say everyone experiences NYC from above as long as they are in one of the thousands of skyscraper highrises that decorate our streets.

Let me rephrase.

There's something quite different about experiencing a city from above WHILE outside. The same feeling is captured by standing at the top of the Duomo and looking out over Florence, or at the top of the Eiffel Tower as you survey Paris beneath you. It's incredible to see how detailed the layout of a city is - the street grids, the building placement... And it's even more incredible to see all of the tiny people below you going on with their lives, seemingly oblivious to how spectacular everything around them really is.

We were more than lucky with our spontaneous rendezvous. The weather was perfect and the crowds were manageable. We were able to throw a few elbows to get to the very front and take our selfie....obvZ.

Hey Mom!!!

I also learned what the panorama function on the iPhone does! And believe you me, I will be using this MUCH more often. It's spectacular!

After circling the top a few times we headed down to refuel and charge up our phones. Like true millenials, our phones were almost dead and the anxiety it was giving us was awful. Luckily, this great new bar had just opened up a few blocks from the ESB called Bottomz Up! They boast 45 60" HD flatscreen TVs, a full menu "inspired by the timeless American tradition of tailgating," and most importantly to me - free to use phone chargers!

We ordered some beers and a dozen oysters to snack on while we waited for our phones to get some juice. I normally wouldn't order oysters from a sports bar but they have a giant raw bar right as you walk in the front door and apparently are known for their sushi! So, why not? First time for everything, right?

They were actually quite good! Much better than expected. The chargers were really the shining point in my eyes. I mean, what better marketing is there than to get people in your doors to use your free chargers and then bombard them with delicious food and drink to make them lifelong customers?

We determined we had about 45 minutes left of sunlight which was just ample enough to get down to the Lower East Side and see the Bowery Mural I've been wanting to check out for the past few weeks. The Houston Bowery Wall invites different artists to create enormous murals on one of the highest regarded mural walls in the United States. It was painted originally by Keith Haring (one of my favorite artists!) in the 1970s and has since rotated through an impressive roster of artists including Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, and Barry McGee. Most recently, the torch has been passed to Brooklyn based artist Maya Hayuk, and her piece is beyond spectacular.

Bowery and Houston Streets

Apparently, we've inadvertently walked past the mural a few times in the past few weeks and TT has noticed it. I was obviously too engrossed in finding the next egg to let the mural distract me. But this time around it had my full attention!

The cherry on top was running into a girl who was waiting for her boyfriend to arrive and offered to be our official photographer.

Now, I'm all for a friendly helping hand in getting a good snapshot instead of taking a haphazard selfie but I am not exaggerating when I tell you this girl took her job more seriously than most people take applying to college.

 

 At one point I think she was laying on the floor to get a different angle!

 

I am so thankful to her boyfriend for being a few minutes late because now we have these super trendy pictures jumping in front of art! :)

#trendy

After the sun set we headed back to Queens, took our shoes off, and fell almost immediately asleep. A day filled with burgers, oysters, friends, art, and plenty of sun was the perfect cap to an already great weekend. #SundayFunday definitely lived up to its name :)