about once a week-ish i pack up my stuff and head to a new neighborhood to wander and work. the change of scenery is good for me [i’m much more productive in new spaces], and it gives me the chance to walk new streets, check out new shops, and try new cafés and restaurants.

i thought instead of writing separate posts for each outing – especially since i’m only seeing a small slice of each neighborhood – i would instead share these in monthly installments. below are the places i explored in april.

upper east side / carnegie hill.

you know i love a good bookshop, and the corner bookstore is definitely a good one. it’s a small, cozy, intimate space and includes two benches under the windows where you can sit and peruse the books you’ve collected. they also have a very diverse travel section that includes not only standard guide books but also a lot of travel writing that caught my eye.

madame bonté café was a lovely place to sit and work for a while, and the avocado toast was very good. it’s a small space, so especially around lunch seats are hard to come by, but the food and drinks are good, the staff are friendly, and the wifi is fast.

the painted lady saloon is across the street from madame bonté and so was a great place to stop off for a post-laptop-session drink. the happy hour prices were good, the bartender was friendly [he reminded me a lot of pat turns], and the tomato soup and grilled cheese were perfect on a rainy day.

kew gardens.

kew & willow books is also going on my list of favorite new york bookshops. they fit a very diverse selection of books into their small space ranging from bestsellers to local authors, and i especially loved their basket of books paid for by customers that were available for lgbtq+ youth to take. and as a bonus, the bookseller who was working when i stopped in is named vina! first time in my life i’ve ever met someone with my same name, even if it’s spelled differently.

i was in kew gardens for a hairscut at posh hair studio on the recommendation of maggie. it’s tough finding people who know how to cut my combination of curly / wavy hair, and denisse was great. we had a fun conversation, and she cut my hair exactly how i wanted. highly recommend and i will be back.

it was a beautiful saturday afternoon, so i took advantage of the sunshine and went for a stroll through forest park. i saw a small smidge of the park and would love to return to explore more of the trails, but even the small bit i walked was lovely.

crown heights.

i went to crown heights so i could visit café con libros, the intersectional feminist bookstore / coffee shop. it’s a tiny space, but their selection of books focus on the asian diaspora, feminist reads, latinx works, caribbean literature, lgbtq+ authors, and similar genres and i had a great time perusing their shelves.

i wanted to work for a few hours and happened upon barista & the baker, a lovely kosher bakery and coffee shop. they have great indoor and outdoor space, and i love the large community table in the center of the space. also the barista made a very sweet attempt to draw a smiley face in my hot chocolate, and you know i am a sucker for good customer service like that.

there are obviously many more places to visit in each of these neighborhoods, but these were the ones i managed on my adventures. i’m looking forward to discovering new neighborhoods in may!