My first week in NYC

Jun 4, 2014 | Sparkly Love

So far my first five days in New York have been pretty wonderful. When I arrived at the Airbnb apartment I rented in Brooklyn, the host was having her 40th birthday party. I was really tired and feeling a little less than fresh from my full day of travel, but I decided to throw on a dress, wash my face and put on some red lipstick! It’s amazing how these simple things can really change your mood in a matter of seconds. Everyone I met at the party was really friendly and when I mentioned that I was from Vancouver, they raved about what a beautiful city it is. It made feel pretty proud 🙂

The women who owns the Airbnb is a published writer and one of the guests that I met at the party is her editor. I mentioned to him that I was writing a book, and it turns out that he knows my agent in Vancouver. Talk about a small world! This also gave me a little nudge from the Universe that I better start writing! The party ended with all of us up on the rooftop wearing glowsticks around our heads and necks. It felt like the perfect way to start my monthlong New York adventure.

Since arriving, I’ve spent a lot of time on my own which has been great at times and a bit lonely too. I’ve never travelled alone before and I think it will just take some getting used to. My cousin lives here and we are really close friends, but she is acting in a play and hasn’t had too much time to hangout. The friends that I have in NYC are from the Marie Forleo Mastermind group that I was part of 2 years ago. I have plans with some of them this weekend which I’m really looking forward to. They are such amazing women and I always feel so inspired when I’m around them.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful and I’ve spent a few of the days laying in the park reading and thinking about the direction I want my life to go. It’s a great thing to do and I feel like when I’m at home in Vancouver I never really get the chance to do it. It seems like I’m always so rushed and have a fully packed schedule. It seems ironic to come to New York to get away from it all, but in a way that what it has felt like so far.

About a month ago, I started Transcendental Mediation. A friend of mine recommended it because I had really bad insomnia for about 2 months straight. So brutal! T.M. has become very popular because Oprah featured it on her show a few years back and there are a ton of other celebrities who do it too. The basics of T.M. is that you are given a mantra and then you meditate using this mantra for 20 mins twice a day. Besides feeling calmer, happier and sleeping better, one of the other perks of T.M. is that you can pop into their centres anywhere in the world for group mediations. On Monday night I went to the David Lynch Foundation headquarters and did a mediation with about 10 other people in one of the most beautiful spaces I’ve ever seen. I wanted to take photos really badly but I felt like it was a sacred space and I didn’t want to be a creeper! Overall it was an incredible experience and learn more about the practice.

One of my favourite things to do in New York is explore. I love taking the subway and getting off whenever I have the urge to. There are so many amazing neighbourhoods and they each have their own flavour and uniqueness. I really like the Meatpacking District and spent a large chunk of yesterday at an open air restaurant catching up on emails and drinking a Peroni! It was lovely and I felt so privileged that I’m am an entrepreneur that can really work from anywhere in the world.

The women who owns the Airbnb is away for the next few weeks so I have the place to myself. It’s really the perfect space filled with books, art and fresh flowers. It’s in a great part of Brooklyn and I can really find anything I need within a 5 min walk. My goal while I’m here is to connect to myself and nurture my mind, body and spirit. I even bought a yoga mat today so I can stretch my body out after a long day of walking. I’ve also been reading a lot which I love to do. Kindles are really the most incredible invention because you can whip out your book anytime, anywhere and you don’t have to feel self conscious if you are reading some weird spiritual book like I usually am 🙂

Sparkly New York love,

Jenna

To see my New York adventure photos click here. If you have any comments, please share them below!

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