thedoughnutdiaries

[thedoughnutdiaries]

“April showers bring May flowers!” ☔️🌸

We made it to Spring, y’‘all! As a Spring welcome, you can get any phone case from Case App 20% off! I got this cute, whimsical cacti case photographed above. The colors are perfect for Spring ✨Head on over to their website and take a look! They have tons of trendy cases. Once you find a case you like, use the code “DOUGHNUTDIARIES20” at checkout to redeem!

Enjoy! 💗#ad

XO, Grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hey all,

i have been wanting to do a home tour of our apartment for a while now and finally got around to taking the pics today! mind you they were on my iphone so the quality isn’t that great and i did a LOT of editing in vsco, but you get the gist of our home pretty well :)

coming this october, we will have been in our astoria (that’s in queens!) apartment for 4 years!!! what we thought was just going to be a one-year thing has lasted us this long. i remember when i first moved out to nyc how daunting apartment hunting was. it was right after college and tyler was still living back in minneapolis so i was embarking on this journey alone. i had no where idea where to begin - there are so many websites and sometimes it can be hard to tell what is real and what is a scam. i scoured manhattan and the boroughs on weekends, after work and even during work sometimes. it was a nightmare. i actually remember walking through brooklyn softly crying to myself and thinking how this is NEVER going to happen. but, i came across a listing on craigslist for a junior 1BR located in astoria. i didn’t know much about queens, but the commute was really short and the apartment had charm. so i went and looked, made a downpayment and two days later it was MINE! i called up tyler and told him to book his one way flight because, baby, WE HAVE AN APARTMENT! 

for a long, long time our apartment was kind of a sad place. since it was our first place ever we started from scratch with all of our furniture besides the bed (thanks aunt jane and uncle brian!). with only one of us having a job right away (tyler was still searching for one) ikea was basically our go-to place. ugh, i wish i could show you the evolution of our apartment so badly!! for a while it was just white walls, a futon, a kitchen table and a bed. but eventually we both had jobs, and promotions happened and we were able to really make it our own. :) just to be upfront, i have a VERY heavy hand in the decorating (if you thought tyler picked out the unicorn pillow, think again! haha). tyler though knows that once i have a vision, he might as well just let it come to fruition because there is NO stopping me. and i love him so so much for that quality :) i think if i didn’t go to school for advertising, it definitely would have been interior design. i particularly love mid-century modern, so a lot of our apartment has that vibe. but hey, tyler did the gallery wall above our bed (one of the first things he did when he moved out here!) and that has been a staple in our bedroom. it is filled with art tyler has made, photos we love, and art done by my talented friend samantha. <3 

living in nyc and in a tiny apartment garners lot of questions. it is a bit foreign to our family and friends back home and to be honest, suburban life is just different from city life. one isn’t better than the other and there are pros and cons to both scenarios. obviously space is a HUGE topic of conversation. the truth is it is really challenging. like a lot of people who own a house or even just a much larger apartment, we don’t have the luxury of having a lot of “stuff”. sometimes that can be a pain, but i’ve seen it sort of as a blessing in disguise. not having space really makes you think about what you need vs. what you want. 2-3 times a year tyler and i will go through all of our clothes and clean out things we no longer wear and donate them or take them to this spot, buffalo exchange, to try and get some cash back!! doing this is actually very cleansing. my rule is typically if i haven’t worn it in a year, then out it goes! we also LIVE for space under furniture. we store a ton of things under the bed and couch in plastic bins. also, our closets help enormously. lucky for us, our apartment has two pretty spacious ones that go all the way up to the ceiling (our ceilings are 10ft!). so we are able to do a lot with that space as well. sure, i would love to have a spare closet for more things or even hide all of that junk above our cabinets, but we are working with what we have and so far it hasn’t been THAT bad. :)

you might also notice in the pictures above that we don’t own a tv. based on the layout of the apartment, there isn’t really a great spot, however i do have something in my mind that i have been wanting to do, but i’m just trying to convince tyler to get on board ;) stay tuned. for now, we just watch shows off our ipad and computer and it works out! (sling and netflix is basically all you need in life). we also don’t have a dishwasher, which DEF sucks sometimes, but it forces us to clean our dishes right after we eat - it is a pain and a plus at the same time. and don’t just assume that i do them, tyler and i usually trade off who does dishes based on who made dinner so that it is fair for the other person :) and if you were wondering if we had a washer/dryer, we sure don’t! but luckily our laundromat is just right around the corner. i really thought that was going to be difficult to get used to, but it isn’t bad at all. and if you are feeling super luxurious, you can do wash and fold - you drop your dirty laundry off and you pick it in a clean, folded bag :) i actually have yet to do this...what am i thinking?!? 

as i mentioned, we have done a TON of modifications over the past 3 years. everything from painting, to new furniture to my most recent project - the kitchen counters and backsplash. YOU GUYS. if you are renting an apartment and your countertops are hideous, i highly recommend trying marble contact paper. it completely transformed the space. and if you hate your boring painted wall, you can buy removable backsplash tiles! i am so happy with how it turned out (let me know if you are interested more on this topic!). 

there is still a lot of work i want to do with our aparment, but i really feel like we have maximized our space in all ways possible. tyler and i love coming home to a space that feels cozy and personal vs. a drab blank slate. for you renters out there, paint your walls, hang up art and make the space your own. you will feel SO much happier - flowers also help :) all in all, tyler and i are very happy with our cozy junior 1BR apartment. who knows how much longer we will be in this exact space. all i know is i am enjoying the days we are here because i know it will be so sad when it comes time to leave! 

xo,

grace

ps - almost all of our furniture is from target, cb2, wayfair and west elm! 

[thedoughnutdiaries]

The amazing video Tyler made from our disco party last night. He is so talented and he captured the magic perfectly. I love you, boo!

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hey all!

for those of you who missed it in my previous post, this is day 2 of our 4 day palm springs adventure. :) 

the second day was our “hit the road” day. we had a rental car the entirety of the trip, which was the best decision we could have made, and we used it to take a drive out to salvation mountain. you can read the back story of salvation mountain here, but i had been wanting to see it now for a while. the journey out to salvation mountain was crazy. we were just driving through the desert making random pit stops where the scenery looked cool. we stopped at coachella valley to walk in this palm tree forest, which in hindsight was cool, but i couldn’t get the “WARNING SNAKES” sign outta my head the entire time. needless to say, it was the quickest hike i’ve ever done. we also stopped in these AMAZING palm tree rows. unfortunately, the palm trees are technically off limits to the public so tyler and i tried to sneakily get a photo. which did NOT work out because we were too scared the entire time!! the rest of the drive was pretty eerie. we drove along the salton sea which was so beautiful, yet desolate. basically the salton sea used to be this destination for families in the 50s and then it became this salt ridden lake driving all living things out of it! ok, sorry didn’t mean to get dark, but it was SO WEIRD. one other highlight of the car ride was TUMBLEWEED hahah. it was so funny because neither tyler or i had ever dealt with that before being from the midwest and living in nyc. we were like “what do we do?! do we stop? do we run it over?” - we didn’t run into it, don’t worry ;) 

an hour and a half later, we arrived at salvation mountain! we drove through some very poor ridden towns (not to mention boarder control, that was a first), but i’m so glad we went out to see it. the mountain was built around the 80′s and its quite unbelievable to think that one man did this all on his own (the meaning of it is a little odd, but to each their own!). now, me being me i had this whole photo op idea of me standing in front of the mountain with the perfect amount of wind in the jumpsuit/ scarf outfit...buttt it didn’t quite work out the way that i envisioned. haha! when we got out of the car it was TOO windy. my hair was a mess and sand was flying all around me! not to mention, when we did get to a “photo worthy spot” i got yelled at and was told i wasn’t allowed to wear my white heels on the mountain in order to preserve the clay (ok, FINE!). so, after about 15 minutes of looking at the mountain, we hopped in the car and drove back :)

what makes for an interesting ride back through the middle of the desert where there is nothing around you? having to go to the bathroom. yes, that was the WORST. by some stroke of luck, we happened upon these two porta pottys that were somehow decent. but man, we were REALLY scared for a good 30 minutes. once we got back into palm springs, we stopped at in-n-out - i had never had!! it was pretty yummy, but i’m partial to shake shack (or culvers if i’m back in WI!). 

by the time we finished eating, we still had so much of our day left (we were up again at 6am!) so we decided to just go drive around and look at homes in the old movie colony! that was SO cool! we saw frank sinatra’s house and elvis’ house (photographed above!). after checking out some homes, we went to this place called the tonga hut - the oldest tiki bar in palm springs! it was definitely very old inside, but the drinks did not disappoint. you could say i’m pretty close to being a tiki drink connoisseur (since these ones have the least alcohol flavor!) and these were pretty up there in my books...for what it’s worth :)

the rest of the day was very chill. we went back to the hotel and hung out on our balcony with some drinks. then meandered down to el jefe for some more tacos (because why not??). a little later we went back down to check out the hot tub and then called it a night! driving through the desert is pretty exhausting it turns out. 

stay tuned for day three!!! :)

xoxo,

grace

what i wore: pink jumpsuit: asos | shoes: asos | scarf: vintage 

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hello!

hope your weekend has been going well!

i am so excited to finally share with you our trip to palm springs!! if you follow me on instagram, you may have already known tyler and i were there seeing i posted ~6 photos a day (oops!). but i couldn’t help myself and i will NOT apologize because PS was one of the most amazing places i’ve ever been. and tyler agrees, too! i am going to write about our trip in phases since we did so many things and there are countless photos to show for. so let’s talk about day one!

you might wonder why in the world we even chose to go to palm springs, it is a little random especially because we weren’t going to coachella (i’ve never been nor do i have the desire to) and we aren’t over 60. in all honesty, i don’t have a straightforward answer. if i had to really put my finger on a reason, it is one-part seeing it featured in “the oc” YEARS ago when they all go to oliver’s parent’s house in palm springs and summer is wearing that adorable t-shirt that says, “PS, i love you” - you oc fans know the one! another part is because of the glitz and glamour of the 50s and 60s. it was the ultimate get-away from LA for big movie starts like Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Nat King Cole, Debbie Reynolds - the list goes on and on! i am also a HUGE fan of mid-century modern architecture and palm springs is a haven for it. tyler mainly wanted to go for the warm weather and hey, that wasn’t bad either! :)

we already knew this trip was going to be somewhat of an adventure before even getting on the plane. for those living in nyc, we had a horrible snow storm literally a day after it was 60 degrees. long story short, our flight ended up getting cancelled and we luckily got out the next day. once we touched down in ps, it was 9pm and as tyler and i were walking to pick-up our rental, we could see the outlining of the mountains in the dark and we both got all excited and couldn’t WAIT for morning. we found a great groupon for the saguaro and i’m so happy we stayed there for our first time in PS! it is super colorful, the pool is to die for, and the restaurant attached, el jefe, has some of the best nachos and tacos tyler and i have ever had. in fact, we immediately ate there the night we arrived. we knew the food was going to be great and what better way to start a vacation by eating nachos and sipping margs? 

going from east to west coast time was a bit challenging, but i was grateful because it made us get up early! just about every morning we were up at 6am. we would sip our coffee on our balcony while listening to the birds and staring at the mountains (sounds corny, i know). that simple routine was one of our favorite parts of the trip! it was so peaceful and picturesque. i think tyler and i both have this idea that once we’ve “made it” every morning we will wake up and sip coffee on a porch or balcony and ease into our day as we please and those PS mornings were definitely a taste of the good life. so at about 8am, tyler and i were READY to go explore. mind you our reservations for breakfast weren’t until 10am so we had some time to kill. for the first 10 minutes, we were driving around in awe of how beautiful the scenery was. mountains + palm trees + sunshine. YOU. CANT. BEAT. IT. maybe it is just because i didn’t see mountains until i was 20, but there is something about them that makes you feel things. for example, tyler was taking a photo of mountains before breakfast and shouted “I FEEL SO ALIVE” and i knew exactly what he meant ;) the first spot we checked out was the pink door. this door basically is IG famous and i wasn’t about to miss it! there are so many statement doors in PS. people are definitely not afraid of patterns and color (like me!) which is one of the reasons i came to love this place so much.

for breakfast, we headed over to the parker hotel to eat at norma’s! i had seen so many people eating here on IG and other blogs i follow - i’m happy to report it was so worth it. i had the “waz-za” waffle and tyler had this yummy egg & sweet potato hash. also, the interior of the parker is to die for. the pic above with the “drugs” sign is part of their lobby. swoooooon. 

after we ate, we decided to go check out downtown! i had a few stores i wanted to hit up to see if i could score any 60s vintage pieces. and let me just say, i hit the freaking jackpot. we went to a little more upscale vintage store called the frippery and it was the best experience. i walked in and the first thing that caught my eye was this adorable floral & polka dot jumpsuit with a matching cropped jacket. i tried it on and the rest was history. you will see the outfit in my PS day 3 post! we also went to this adorable shop, dazzles. they had allllllll the colorful vintage 70s glassware (UGH. i die.) not to mention that classy blue car parked out front 24/7. 

the next scheduled event for the day was our massage back at the parker! we had a little more time to kill post shopping so we drove out to see the cabazon dinosaurs! its super cheesy, but very worth the 15 minute drive. finally, spa time! tyler and i majorly treated ourselves to a spa at the parker. it was our v-day gift to one another and holy cow, it was great. if you ever have the chance to splurge, i highly recommend you do it at this spa! 

we headed back to the hotel after being super relaxed and decided to go hang out at the pool before dinner - such a treat! i will say, that i like the idea of the pool probably better than being in it. i knew we were going to a nice dinner after and i didn’t want to get my hair wet so i didn’t “fully enjoy” the pool that day haha. once we were ready for dinner, we stopped by this place called seymour’s for drinks! it is part of the restaurant mr. lyon’s which has been around since 1945! that was super cool. the vibe is very speakeasy with velvet chairs, dark lighting and good cocktails. we probably would have stayed there all night if we didn’t have dinner plans! post drinks, we headed right down the road to the ace hotel where we ate at their restaurant, king’s highway. the vibe of the place was so fun and we had a great meal! 

it is hard when you feel you peaked the first day of the trip, but we knew ps had much more to offer! can’t wait to share the rest of our trip! stay tuned :)

what i wore: shoes: sweedish hasbeens (old) | pants: asos | sunnies: asos | top: jcrew (old)

[thedoughnutdiaries]

wasssup* weekend!!

you guys, this weekend could not have come soon enough. these past few days at work have been so stressful and i was just LIVING for waking up at 8:30 on saturday and having that super chill morning on the couch. BUT while i did get to sleep in a little, it wasn’t exactly a “chill” morning ;) tyler and i had gone out to dinner on friday to this place called lilia, which by the was so yummy. i could eat their mozzarella toast all. day. long. but, so ok, i was woken up by tyler (which in itself is weird). he was like, “boo - i left my backpack at lilia!! and i tried calling and they aren’t answering their phone. but, they have a cafe that’s open right now so i was thinking we could go down there.” meanwhile, i’m listening and thinking about how good my dream was (it was about buying puppies) and how now i have to get dressed in the next 15 min and be a real person. BUT after all of that, we got dressed and were out the door by 9. that’s VERY early for us to be out in the world on a saturday, but it turned out to be great! we were able to get tyler’s backpack, and lilia has these amazing pastries (as shown above!).

since we had all this time, we figured we might as well hang out in williamsburg for a little longer. we tried out a new place for breakfast, sweet chick. if you at all love southern food then you have to try this place out! i ordered the eggs with biscuits and mushroom gravy. tyler got a black bean patty with salad and eggs. it was all super good!!

once we finished breakfast, we popped into a few more shops in the area, and then i had the most BRILLIANT IDEA. i knew there was a grocery store close by that sold jeni’s ice cream. for those who have not experienced jeni’s ice cream yet…it is actually the best ice cream tyler and i have ever had. the only catch is that it’s only sold in super fancy grocery stores or high end cheese & meat shops! ugh. it is probably for the best though - jeni’s is NOT cheap (~$15 per pint!). as i was saying though, i knew there was a place close by that sold it! so off we went to pick it up :) unfortunately, they didn’t have my favorite flavor, sweet cream and biscuits, but honestly any flavor would be good. we ended up with a pint of their vanilla and their strawberry.

now we are back at the apartment and i’m about to go HAM on this jeni’s ice cream very soon.

have a great rest of your weekend everyone!!

xo,

grace

ps - hat: urban outfitters (old) | jeans: target | shoes: asos | jacket: j.crew (on sale!)

*do people still think of scary movie when they hear “wasssuppp”?? because that is always the first thing that pops into my mind ;)

[thedoughnutdiaries]

happy sunday everyone!

before i start i want to say one thing - everyone should be treated with basic human rights. if you do not share those beliefs, then you may not like the first part of this post and i ask that you kindly do not follow me any longer here or on social media. i do not mean to be cold, but i only want supportive and and kind followers. thank you for following while you have!

ok, to get on with it...this weekend has been one of the most empowering weekends of my life. as i’m sure you know, yesterday millions gathered to join and march in the women’s marches across the world!! that right there gives me goosebumps. just thinking about how many people stood up and marched for what they believed in is empowering AF. although i did not make it to d.c., tyler and i joined up with my friend rachel and her squad to march for women’s, minorities, and basic. fucking. human. rights. it was SO amazing. i had a lot of reservations and anxiety about even doing the march because being around that many people in a huge city is overwhelming, but after about 2 hours of going back and forth on the matter i put my pantsuit on and said “LET’S FUCKING DO THIS.” tyler was like, “OK!” - reason #33712937129 i love him. when we got to 42nd and 6th, we could hear the wave of happy cheers and i knew this was the right choice. the love and support and power you felt marching in the crowd was indescribable. i didn’t have a sign, but it didn’t matter. marching with some of my bests and loved ones was a great feeling. i am a huge believer in peaceful protests and even more so when they’re about smashing the patriarchy. i don’t care what party you stand with, this march was bigger than us all and i’m so happy to have been a part of it!!

above are some pictures of rachel and i! rachel had a GREAT sign. the other is me in my nasty pantsuit with my “future is female” shirt because, duh. also, you can’t see it but i repped my michelle obama pin on my blazer because i love her to the moon and back.

today, tyler and i pretty much chilled and i finished up some projects around our apartment. i have once again gone into my psycho diy and decor phase and i can’t wait to share pictures!! it just has to be perfect prior to me doing so :) before we relaxed though, we meandered over to the target by us so i could pick up some stuff and about 100 other impulse purchases because what else does one do when they are at target? i have been wanting to remake these zucchini chocolate chip muffins i made a while back. they are SO GOOD. and you don’t feel bad eating them because you are practically eating a vegetable and there is no butter! woo hoo! check out the recipe here.

as part of the 100 other things i didn’t need from target, i picked up this cake stand from the dollar section (cute.) and this heart garland (ALSO V CUTE) and hearth shaped muffin tins which didn’t really work, but it’s the thought that counts. to be totally honest, i really only like valentine’s day because of the decor that comes with it. :)

if you ask me, that’s a pretty diverse weekend :) hope everyone enjoyed theirs!

xoxo,

grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

happy mlk day everyone!

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again - mlk day is one of the most underrated holidays out there. not only does it celebrate a man who did so much for progression in this country, but it is one of those holidays you kinda need post christmas break. tyler and i are very lucky in that we get two weeks off for christmas and new year’s eve which is just enough time for you to get in the habit of not working. then all of a sudden it is full steam ahead at work and you’re left like, “hey! wait a minute, i got pretty used to doing nothing and now you want me to WORK?!” - so having that nice little three day weekend is a pretty great blessing in disguise. 

this past week was kind of a doozy - i have been staying in our apartment as i was sent to the ER on monday and missed almost this whole week’s worth of work. anyone ever had a ruptured ovarian cyst? if so, you know the pain i am talking about. if not, i wouldn’t ever wish it upon anyone. it is some of the most intense feelings of pain i’ve ever felt. i’m STILL not fully recovered yet and it has almost been a week! but i am on the mend and will be ok soon (i better be ok for our palm springs trip in february!!). thank you to all my friends and family who checked to see if i was ok and most of all thank you to tyler for getting me all the soup a girl could ask for <3

since i was feeling a little better on saturday, tyler and i were able to go and do some fun things this weekend! on saturday night we met up with our friends david and kristen to go to the museum of sex exhibit - night fever. you guuuys, it was incredible. i myself am a disco baby (my mom for a brief period of time was disco instructor!!) so this exhibit was everything! the exhibit was so fun - music was bumping, lights were flashing and disco balls were turning. it even has a built in bar where you can get disco doughnuts (glitter included), boob jell-o shots (yes, we indulged) and some classic 1970s drinks. kristen and i were having a TIME - we literally did all the boomerangs if you saw my insta story. the best part is the exhibit is free to see! 

today, tyler and i were going to get an “early” start to go visit our favorite greenpoint spot - peter pan donuts. i say early in quotes because that really meant we left at 11:30...oops! if you have never been, peter pan’s is so old-school inside and the doughnut flavors are classic. not to mention it is SUPER cheap. we got two bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches (which i HIGHLY recommend you get), two red velvet doughnuts (also highly recommend) and coffee for $10. you have to admit that is pretty darn good, no matter where you live. now we are back in our apartment, tyler is playing video games (it’s a recent development..) and im sitting here sipping tea and listening to the la la land soundtrack. have you seen yet?? it is so good!!!! if you haven’t seen singing in the rain, i recommend you watch that first and then la la land and see how similar they are. after i saw la la land, i took it upon myself to learn tap this year soooo if you know anyone offering tap lessons in the nyc area hit me UP. not joking :)

have a great rest of your day, folks!

xo,

grace

ps - coat: asos on sale! | skirt: zara | t-shirt: other wild | shoes: swedish hasbeens (old) | hat: j.crew (old) | sunnies: quay (old) ... sorry i have so many old things!!

[thedoughnutdiaries]

let me start off by saying that in no way shape or form do i consider myself a beauty expert. half the time i usually go for the products my friends recommend (have you visited the daily pretty lately?) or whatever packaging i think looks sophisticated (don’t lie, i KNOW you have done it, too!). 

however, when something works i feel super compelled to share it. i have always had the typical mild “acne” breakouts. usually they are the kind that are under the skin meaning they are pretty stress induced - especially if you are in/over your 20s - but nevertheless are embarrassing and take a hard hit to your self-confidence. why can’t i be like one of those girls in the commercials who washes her face, flips her hair and has one of her friends grab her to tell her they look awesome and go grab coffee sans make-up!? is that so hard?? well yes, it is when you live in a world of pollution, stress and when your best friend lives half-across the country and can’t run into your bathroom to grab you (i’m looking at you olivia). so now that you know what i’ve dealt with, i want to share with you my skin regimen that is (fingers crossed) still working! i haven’t broken out in over 2-3 weeks which is a huge step for me. 

morning routine:

glossier milk jelly cleanser

glossier super pure serum

glossier super glow serum

glossier priming moisturizer

mario badescu rosewater spray

evening routine:

glossier milk jelly cleanser

neutrogena light therapy mask

glossier greens galaxy pack mask (3x a week)

glossier moisturizing moon mask (3x a week)

glossier super pure serum

glossier super bounce serum

glossier priming moisturizer

mario badescu rosewater spray

mario badescu drying lotion

you will see that based on my pictures and routine, half of the products are from glossier. i whole-heartedly believe in this company and their products and am glad i invested my time and money into giving them a shot. i use all of the glossier products everyday except the masks - those i usually do every other day. i also recently started using the neutrogena light therapy acne mask and i’m obsessed. the price is right and i think this is a huge contributing factor as to why i haven’t broken out (not to mention you feel very futuristic and hip using it). the mario badescu drying lotion i use on any impurities like scars or areas that are prone to breaking out (for me that is my chin). i put in on in the evening and sleep with it over night. prior to using, i give myself a good 4-5 mists of rosewater spray - it feels so good on your skin and is very hydrating. 

the best part of all of the above products is that they are affordable. everything i use listed above combined is roughly $200. i know that sounds like a lot, but just think that sometimes two products individually can cost $80 and know that you don’t have to invest in everything at once. baby steps. ;) also, if you are located in the nyc area i highly recommend you stop by the glossier showroom. the employees are super helpful (not to mention look like glossier angels) and you can sample the products.

i hope you found this helpful!! as mentioned, i am not a beauty expert and would recommend you consult with your dermatologist if you have severe acne on what works for you. i have mild-stress induced acne and wouldn’t want to lead anyone astray! 

xoxo,

grace

p.s. - let me know if you would like to see more posts like these in the future <3

[thedoughnutdiaries]

“i smell snow.”

happy sunday, everyone! if you didn’t know, that is a quote from my fav show gimore girls and it felt very appropriate to open with :)

for the third year in a row now, there has been this dreamy blizzard that happens like clockwork in january. each year tyler and i have woken up looking out our window and seeing these tiny flurries dancing outside our fire escape. i usually end up staring in awe hoping it will never stop and that we will be happily trapped in our cozy apartment with our christmas tree (yes, it is still up!), warm drinks and a good binge-worthy tv show. in my hypothetical dream, businesses are also still open so that we can get take out :) 

usually the routine is we sit inside for the morning and then muster up enough strength to change out of our robes and into our snow boots (not to mention my giant black wool coat that i only wear when i know snow is past my heels! see here and here.). there is also a lot of persuading tyler because it is really just an excuse for me to pretend i’m the snow queen of astoria and have him document my reign :) but because tyler is the best and he selfishly wants a beautiful snowy photo as well, we head out into the storm and takeover the streets on our block! i’m always so shocked that there aren’t more people taking advantage of this snowy wonderland...where is your inner child, people?! 

after the photoshoot is over and tyler’s fingers are frozen, we would normally head back inside for the rest of the day. but this year was different! we had plans to go into the city and seeing the streets and buildings covered with this white blanket felt unreal! i love the snow especially in nyc because for once everything feels very quiet. there are less people on the sidewalks and new york becomes this utopia you only see in movies. it also feels like it’s still christmas which is always a huge plus in my book. to say the least, tyler and i are big fans of snow (when it doesn’t cause our roof to leak) and we take advantage of it and all it’s beauty whenever we can. what is your favorite thing to do when it snows??

xoxo,

grace

p.s. - top: anthropologie (sold out!) | skirt: zara (similar here) | boots: sorel | hat: j. crew (last season) | coat: vintage find from my dad! | lipstick: mac ruby woo

p.p.s. - thank you to vicente for giving me that extra push to get back on my blog! 

[thedoughnutdiaries]

helllloooooooooo,

i’m just gonna say it, it has been a long time since my last blog post. i can’t believe i have gone the whole summer without posting anything. i honestly don’t even know where the time went and i’m sad that i let it slip through my fingers. 

for those who know me, you know that there have been some crazy life events that happened over the past couple of months, even year! i won’t get into all the details because i try to focus on the positive things here. but one thing i do want to talk about is how i was made to feel guilty about my blog by someone i knew. they made me feel like i was being selfish by wanting to have an outlet to showcase the things that made me feel happy. this person said i was putting my blog first before them (which i found hilarious considering i only posted maybe once a month, and also who even says that?). i was called a lot of things that i am not and unfortunately i let that get to me. having a blog where the main plot is your life is going to be about me and include photos of me, so if you don’t like it then you can kindly go to another site. all in all, i finally am starting to feel those positive and inspirational vibes to blog again so i thought doing a blog post on what felt like real NYC fall weekend was appropriate. 

fall has always been and will be my favorite season - i feel like it is everyone’s go-to favorite, but I seriously LOVE FALL. the fashion, the layers, the changing colors, the chai lattes, the fall recipes, and obviously hocus pocus. it is just the best.

tyler and i worked our way over to our favorite neighborhood coffee spot this morning, astoria coffee. mainly because we wanted coffee, but mainly because i wanted to wear my new clogs. let me tell you about my new clogs - i LOVE them. they are made by toms (right??) and they are so comfy! the heel height is also just right, not to tall but tall enough to make me feel cute. i promise this isn’t a promoted post, but it might as well be because if you are looking for a pair you should get them. i had to order mine off amazon because there aren’t any left on the toms website, but they also come in black and a cute heather grey. 

you know what other store has it going on right now? target. but let’s be real, when do they not have it going on?? my green trench and jeans are from there! i own two pairs of jeans from target right now and they are my favorite. if you haven’t taken a look at target’s fall collection right now, head on over - once again, this is not a promoted post. i just really love target. <3 

so you get it. fall is here. i’m back to blogging and life seems pretty great. we are heading to burlington, vt next weekend where it is going to be peak fall colors. my instagram can hardly wait!

hope you are happy i’m back! i know i am.

xo,

grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

happy sunday!!

we had ANOTHER day of great weather so tyler and i headed over to LIC to visit the LIC Flea & Food market & Gantry Plaza! hope you enjoy!

xo,

grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hiya!

the ice cream bug has got us (meaning me) real bad. yesterday tyler and i ventured down to ice & vice to get one of their seasonal cones! i got the food baby cone (curated by @foodbaby!). you guys - this cone was SO GOOD. i don’t even know how to describe how good it was so i’ll just tell you what was in it -  vanilla ice cream with concord grape, rainbow sprinkles, raspberry coulis and “doughnut soil” (you read that right... DOUGHNUT SOIL) in a blue corn w/ honey layered cone. YUP. tyler got one of their classics, “milk money” - toasted milk, sea salt and chocolate ganache. his was deeelish as well. 

the weather was so beautiful outside (again!) so we strolled through chinatown on the way there. the colors in this neighborhood are so crazy beautiful. one of the best places to get a good picture is in this little alleyway featured above. after we ate our ice cream, we took a little walk over the manhattan bridge. it is so nice to finally be able to go outside!! 

hope you are having a great weekend!

xo,

grace

ps - dress is from asos! | moccasins are by minnetonka | backpack - sole society and sold out!

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hi friends,

hope you week is off to a good start! 

i don’t know if it is the warm weather creeping in, but for the past month or so, i have been itching to go to oddfellow’s ice cream and try one of their oddpockets. an oddpocket is a brioche bun with ice cream, a drizzley sauce, and a crunchy topping! tyler and i went this past saturday to their east village location (the other one is in williamsburg) and got a matcha-crunch ice cream scoop with hot fudge drizzle and crunch cornflakes topping!! O-M-G it was so delicious. if you love ice cream and bread, then you gotta go get one of these things. also, how cute is the decor in there? the jesus holding the ice cream cone is everything. 

the other pics are from the rest of our day! it was a perfect sunny afternoon so we just walked around the soho/chinatown area. 

have a great rest of your week!

xo,

grace

what i wore: jean jacket, leather skirt (nasty gal, but similar here!), striped top (out of stock!)

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hi all! 

now that the weather is getting warm, i wanted to share a fun, fruity and super easy drink recipe - grapefruit fizz! this has become a recent favorite of mine for spring and summer months. 

here is what you’ll need:

100% ruby red grapefruit juice

one bottle of champs (i prefer a brut)

one lemon

fun paper straws (optional, but 100% recommended!)

the directions are pretty self-explanatory, you just add as much (or little) champagne as you want, fill up the remainder of the glass with grapefruit juice and top it off with a freshly squeezed lemon! voila! it’s also a lot more fun to drink if you have a cute cup and a colorful paper straw...trust me ;)

sip, sip, enjoy!

xo,

grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

ok ok - so this is pt. 2 to our amazing 70 degree weather day! pt. 1 is just below in case ya missed it :) SO as i was saying, brooklyn botanical gardens is a must see! on top of all of their cherry blossoms, they have these rows of tulips that are breath taking. seriously, the color in these flowers gives me life. MOM, if you’re reading this, we are going here next time you visit!! 

after leaving the garden, tyler and i thought it would be a good idea to get some ice cream, because when is eating ice cream not a good idea? on the way we happened to find this yellow wall sooo we stopped because everyone knows yellow is my jam and i was also wearing a v cute dress. and my feet REALLY hurt from my purple clogs (that i adore), so i wasn’t about to go a whole day looking cute and not get a full-length outfit pic ;) i swear i’m a real person most of the time. 

moving on! the ice cream we ate was from ample hills creamery - if you have not been, GO. i always get their cookies and cream, t goes for the vanilla because he is #basic (but he would disagree if he were reading this right now and say “vanilla is the MOST complex flavor of all time!!!”) ;) love you boo! and because today was so nice, i treated myself even more and got my ice cream in a m&m cone! which i will probably never do again tho, because it was just too thick and i couldn’t finish it.

that’s all! enjoy the rest of your sunday!

xo,

grace

[thedoughnutdiaries]

hi there!

i’m not sure where all of you live, but nyc has been #blessed with gorgeous weather this weekend!! today got up to 70 degrees!!! after a long and dragged-out winter, it is so nice to finally be out enjoying this spring weather! 

tyler and i thought it would be a great day to go and check out the brooklyn botanical gardens. somehow we have never been even after living here for nearly 3 years! i don’t even know how because after visiting today, i was in LOVE. although the cherry blossoms are not at their peak, we couldn’t wait to go see the ones that have already bloomed. it was like we were in some sort of fairy-tale land! we are definitely going to have to go back once the blossoms are at their peak (thank goodness for that cherry-blossom radar map!).

there were a LOT of other beautiful flowers, but i couldn’t upload them all into this one post, so check out the one right above to see all the tulips :)

if you live in the city or are visiting for a weekend, i highly recommend you go visit and stop and smell the flowers ;)

xo!

grace

ps - my dress is from h&m this season (not available online)!