Hello friends!
I had quite the adventure on Friday – if you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you already know that I spent Friday doing a full day cooking video shoot in NYC with Fitness Magazine and Oster! I’ll be sharing more details and specifics on when you can see the videos come mid June, but for now, a little teaser. :)
My partner in crime for the weekend was fellow blogger and friend Courtney – we were so excited to get to work on this project together! We arrived in NYC via train on Thursday in time to catch up over dinner.
I was originally thinking it would be fun to go to Pure Food & Wine (dying to try this place), but my train was late and by the time we checked in, etc., something close and easy sounded better to us. A little Yelp search found a well-reviewed Sushi place right by our hotel called Sushi You, so we decided to check it out.
It was a tiny little place and we snagged the last table. We were the only non-Asian people in there; I took this as a very good sign about the food! We started with some edamame – always a winner.
And then we shared some rolls. Their sushi was excellent – definitely recommend this place if you’re in the area! Hit the spot.
Quick selfie outside the restaurant, obvi.
And then it was back to the hotel and in bed by 10 – we had a big day ahead!
On Friday morning, I wanted to go for a run to get in a little “me time”, fresh air, and movement before the busy day. We had to be at Fitness Magazine’s studio by 8 a.m. so it would have to be an early one, but as always I knew it would be worthwhile once I was out there. Earlier in the week, I emailed my buddy Theodora: “Soooo… you want to come run with me at 6 a.m. on Friday morning, right?!” After a little bit of radio silence, she somewhat reluctantly said she was in. ;) 6 a.m. it was; alarm was set.
Soooo worth it.
From my hotel, we set off towards the east to run along the water. After a couple fails where we couldn’t get across to the path…
We found an entrance and enjoyed the stunning views. It was so beautiful out on Friday morning!
This is how Theodora feels about running with me at 6 a.m. ;)
I didn’t bring my watch but we ran for about 50 minutes and had a great time chatting and catching up. Such a nice way to start the day! Thanks again for getting up ridiculously early to run with me, girl. You rock! :)
There is nothing like starting your day on an endorphin high, just sayin’. :)
After the run, I quickly showered, packed up, and was in the lobby by 7:50 to walk over to Fitness with Courtney. Our hotel was essentially next door, which was awesome. We were treated to a quick breakfast when we arrived and then it was straight into hair and makeup! How fun – I wish I had someone to do this for me every day. ;)
We also got to meet our fabulous stylist for the day, Felix (love his website name)! He was so much fun and did a great job with wardrobe and accessories, too.
I shot 3 cooking videos – a smoothie recipe, a fiery red salsa, and a lemony zucchini salad – and had different outfits/hair for each one. It was such a cool experience to learn what goes into a cooking segment on TV. Lots of takes (to get various angles), food stylists, a big production crew… it’s quite the undertaking! Everyone on set was so nice and I quickly got used to reading from a teleprompter, too.
Here’s a zoomed out behind-the-scenes view:
We broke for a quick lunch around 1 but otherwise it was go-go-go all day. Each video took around an hour or so to film, and then the food stylists came in and got some still shots of the food, too.
After our individual cooking segments were finished, the final video of the day was both me and Courtney! It was so fun to get to do one together. :) We were a good team!
We did a few still photographs after the videos and then wrapped up around 6 p.m. We headed straight to the train station from the studio and I was home around 11 that night. What a whirlwind, exciting day – I can’t wait to share more details (and see the videos myself!) come June! Stay tuned. :)
I’ll be back tomorrow to share me and Matt’s weekend adventures – it was a GORGEOUS weekend here in DC. For those of you that ran the Nike Women’s Half, how was it? I’m glad it was so pretty out for you guys!
What’s your favorite cooking show and why?
Sounds like a super fun video shoot. I’m excited to see the videos and the recipes!
Look at you, so professional! You’re going to share the video’s, right? I’d love to watch them :D
I used to watch the Food Network A LOT growing up. It’s how I learned to cook! I loved Everyday Italian
Yes, I will definitely share them! :)
Can’t wait to see your video’s too! My fav cooking show used to be “Extra Virgin”, but they changed the format for this new season, so I am not liking it as much. I used to like Mario Batali’s shows, he made a lot of stuff that I would never make, but I still liked it. I guess now my fav is Giada. Or the woman that does the spicy cooking! Some of them are really personable.
What a crazy 24 hours! Can’t wait to see the video! And getting up that early looks like it was worth it for many reasons.
How fun! I love getting my hair and make up done for special occasions – it’s such a nice treat. Can’t wait to see and hear more about the videos. Sounds like a wonderful opportunity – congrats! It’s hard to pick a favorite cooking show, but I really like Giada or Trisha Yearwood’s show.
You’re prettyyyyyyyy.
Wow this is so cool!! I can’t wait to see the videos! Congrats on the awesome opportunity! :)
What an amazing experience! Your hair looks amazing btw. I wish mine would hold a curl like that!
I love so many cooking shows! Basically anything on Food Network, except for the competition shows. I must say that the show I watch the most is Drive-ins, Diners, & Dives, just because it’s so entertaining and fun to see what might be hiding in a random city.
That is so cool, and you looked great in all those shots! I like Guy Fieri’s shows the best, but I like the Pioneer Woman’s recipes.
So much fun with youuuuuu. We ARE a great team! Let’s do it again soon, mmmkay? :)
Yes, please! :)
SO fun! You ladies look stunning.
Food stylist is such an interesting job title! I just started blogging, and it’s much harder to get good pictures of food than I anticipated. I really appreciate your post about taking better food photos. Thanks!
Looks like great fun — and looks like you did a great job!
What an awesome opportunity! And your hair- just gorgeous!
Looks like a lot of fun. Great opportunity and they did a wonderful job on your hair & makeup!
What a super fun day! Yesterday, the Nike half was AMAZING! Loved it!
So glad you had fun out there!
At least it’s bright at 6am now :) And your hair…stunning!!! Also that restaurant does sound amazing..pinning it for if I ever get back to NYC!
So true re: being bright at 6 a.m.! Such an upgrade!
Looks like you had such an amazing time! Can’t wait to see the videos!
What a cool experience and whirlwind for sure! My favorite cooking show is Everyday Italian. I just love Giada and all of her food always looks so fresh and delicious!
NWH was incredible! Such an awesome course and flat as a pancake! I ended up heading home with a huge grin and PR! Glad you had fun this weekend!
Awesome!! Last year’s race is still my pr! :)
Wow- sounds like you had a fun day!! I’ve been to NYC once but didn’t get the chance to run- boo :( Hopefully next time.
What a great weekend!!! Your hair and make-up look gorgeous!!!
What a cool weekend and even better than you could share the experience wih a friend. I’ve love to have the recipes!
What an awesome experience for you and Courtney!! :) I cannot wait to see the videos and the recipes you share! Were they your own recipes? Congrats on an amazing and fun job!!
Thank you! The recipes were from them but they were great!
So fun! My first video shoot was terrifying. I’m still too afraid to watch the videos… but can’t wait to see yours! xo
I want to see your videos!!