Monday, February 16, 2015

Treat Yo Self 2015


While most celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday, a few friends and I celebrated a different kind of holiday. For months we've been talking about having a Treat Yo Self 2015 and on February 14th it finally happened. 

 If you don't know what Treat Yo Self is, watch the video below from Parks and Recreation. Those writers are seriously geniuses because everything about this concept is perfect. 


We had so many ridiculous activities on our itinerary. It included everything from "brunch with mimosas" to "pretend we're buying a puppy."  There was never a chance of us getting through it all, but what can I say? We're optimists. I've documented the day's adventures below. 

Side note: I apologize in advance for how long this post is and the amount of pictures I included. Just take comfort in the fact that it's not even a fourth of what I took. 
Brunch
Alex, Tara and I started our day with an early 10am brunch at the Cookshop in Chelsea. It took us forever to find a place for brunch. We definitely didn't think through the fact that Valentine's Day might make reservations difficult. But the stars aligned when we found the Cookshop. Weeks ago when we made the reservation online, Alex and I wrote in the comments section "Instead of saying Happy Valentine's Day, can you please say 'Happy Treat Yo Self 2015?'" We fully expected nothing to come of it. 

Enter Sean Patrick. All I can say about our waiter is that I want to be his best friend. The first thing he said when he came to our table is "Are we ready?" To our puzzled faces he said "for Treat Yo Self 2015!?" We cheered. There was not a single time he visited our table without uttering the words "treat yo self."


Our cocktails were amazing. Alex had the Gentleman Collins, Tara had the Kumquat Ginger Margarita and I had the Blood Orange Mojito. We had a debate with Tara about whether it was too early for tequila in her drink, but Sean Patrick quickly set us straight on that one: "Not on Treat Yo'self Day!"



I forgot to mention Tara and I cabbed it to the restaurant because, well, "treat yo self." Also the subways were a mess, but mostly "treat yo self." 



I had the egg white omelet with roasted butternut squash, sautéed spinach, herbed goat cheese, and sage-walnut pesto. I'm hungry just thinking about it. There were so many delicious looking menu items, that Alex couldn't even decide. He just told Sean Patrick to surprise him, and the Huevos Ranchos that arrived to our table did not disappoint.  



Alex brought Treat Yo'self personalized M&M's to brunch. Obviously, Tara and I died because he's perfect. They said some of our plans for the day like "Venti Coffees," "Cupcakes," "Mimosas," and of course "Treat Yo'self!"


There was no way we were leaving without taking a picture with Sean Patrick.

Best Buy
This stop was a spontaneous decision that ended up being a high point of the day. I was having problems with my camera's memory card which necessitated the purchase of a new one to take photo's for the day. I intended to buy a $10 card, but in true Treat Yo Self Day spirit, Tara and Alex talked me into buying the 8GB Eyefi Mobi. I fully expect it to change my life and here's why: it has the ability to send pictures from my Canon camera wirelessly to my iphone through wifi and I'm assuming magic. All I can say is, I am about to step up my insta game

We left the store, but not before Tara and I did the entire Donna and Tom treat yo self monologue for some employees. They were about to roll on the floor from laughing so hard.  


This is the first picture with my new memory card! The other girl on the escalator is clearly not as into it. 

Anthropologie
"Buy something small and unnecessary from the home goods section of Anthropologie" was something I put on our itinerary. I was incredibly successful too, with the purchase of this adorable tea towel. A birthday cake recipe is printed on it, and I have big plans to see if it actually works. As of now, I'm skeptical.



As a bonus, Anthro was giving out heart shaped mini chocolate raviolis! Treat yo self, am I right?

Chelsea Market
Anthropologie is in Chelsea Market so, of course, we looked around afterwards. It's definitely one of my favorite spots in the city. If you're in New York and haven't been, I promise it's worth the trip. 




Artists & Fleas spotlights local artists and vendors. It is always super busy and packed with so many unique things for sale. Tara explained it the best when she told us, "I just said 'excuse me' to a mannequin." Alex treated himself to a Snoopy shirt. 


Puppies
Why wouldn't Treat Yo Self Day involve pretending to buy a puppy? At this point in the day we were joined by our friends and fellow treat yo self enthusiasts, Will and Carter. 




We absolutely fell in love with this little guy. If we had adopted him I would have wanted to name him Aziz after Aziz Ansari and in honor of Treat Yo Self Day. 

Venti Starbucks Coffees
I have never had a Venti Starbucks drink before and now I know why. No one needs a coffee taller than their face. That being said, I still finished my Skinny Vanilla Latte in under 10 minutes. 


We also had plans to give the Starbucks workers names of Parks and Recreation characters instead of our own. They never asked, so naturally I just borrowed their marker and wrote them myself. 


This is my favorite picture of the day. Shout out to the lady who had her friend hold her cigarette just so she could take this picture for us. 

N.Y. Cake 
This was another one of my additions to the itinerary. I've always wanted to go to N.Y. Cake which is a wholesale baking supply store.  They have every baking related item you could ever dream of owning. It was so completely exciting and overwhelming that I nearly had a panic attack of joy inside (not joking, ask Tara or Alex). I wanted to treat myself to something wholly adorable and unnecessary and what I found was a cookie cutter shaped like a scotty dog. It was just perfect. 



This aisle smelled like chocolate and I never wanted to leave. 


Will bought us all Disney Princess rings that I'm assuming were supposed to be cupcake toppers. He then distributed them according to personality. I'll leave you to guess exactly who's who. 

H&M
We had plans to recreate this perfect Parks and Rec scene of Tom coming out of a dressing room wearing all stripes and telling Donna "Treat Yo Self." 



I'm fully impressed with the result. #nailedit


Of course, Will and Alex bought these hats too.

Dinner and Drinks
Will recommended this victorian inspired restaurant called Lillie's for dinner and drinks. He had me at "victorian." This place was so beautiful. There was live music and the food was great. Not to mention, taking a quick break from nonstop running around the city was just what we needed.  





Oh. My. God. These sweet potato fries. 


Cupcakes
Is there a better way to end a day than with cupcakes? I'll answer that. No. No, there is not. Cupcakes were on the Treat Yo Self Day itinerary from the start and so we stopped in City Cakes after dinner.



We got Salted Caramel, Double Chocolate, Red Velvet and Cookies n'Dream (Nutella stuffed with an Oreo). It was buy 3 get one free, which was just icing on the "cup" cake. (get it?)


Our day ended in Will's apartment, eating cupcakes and M&Ms while watching Family Feud and 500 Days of Summer. I couldn't have asked to have spent a better day with better people. 

So the way I see it, there are really 2 take aways from all of this: 

1. Treat Yo Self. Seriously do it. It's so fun and good for your mental health.
2. That Venti Starbucks drink is most definitely unnecessary. 
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P.S. In case you're wondering, we are already planning Treat Yo Self 2016. See you next year. 

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