New York New York

The Solomon Guggenheim Museum Photo Credit:  Michelle Somers

We flew to New York  a few years ago and stayed in the Chelsea District and absolutely loved it. The food is amaaaazing and in the 10 days we were there we actually had way more eateries to try but ran out of time.

We fell in love with  the Chelsea Market. The hot cocoa I had there was the richest and most divine I’d ever had in my life.  The atmosphere was  cozy with lots of brick and earthen colours.  It was  a great place to people watch.

One day we saw a pop up market happening steps from where we were staying and checked it buying some beautiful colourful scarves.

The bagels are to die for and I bought mine right near the big Apple store on West 14th Street. Oh the Apple store was awesome with cool glass stairs, I had to go in just to check it out. My sister and I bought iphone/ipod cases as a souvenir.

Being in New York I had to try  Crumbs cupcakes which is like a dessert instead of a cupcake. They were filled with caramel  filling instead, that is decadent .

Don’t go during spring break which is when we chose to go because there are so many people everywhere (more then usual).  One of  the things I remember most is that we walked about 4 hours a day. There was just so much to explore and see and not enough time in the day. We would come home at night exhausted from walking so long but we covered a lot of ground.

 Our trip to New York Photo Credit: Caron & Michelle Somers

Now if your on the C Train or any train for that matter and a guy walks in and says to everyone “Open Your Wallets” that’s completely normal. It happened to us and I looked around at everyone’s faces and no one flinched so I figured this must be normal,j then the man went on to say that he was raising money for a charity.

Speaking of The C Train as I was looking through my photos of this trip I found one where I was writing a poem called “The C Train” and I’ve delayed this post today spending time looking for it but can’t find it anywhere. Stay tuned in case I find it.


Our funny moment was when we bought orange trucker hats at some store because we there during a heat wave. Everyone thought we were truckers or something because we clearly looked a little crazy but we didn’t care we wore our hats everywhere to avoid getting sun burn. Another trick we learned years ago living in Hawaii is to take a cotton bandana and soak it in cold water and wear it around your neck. It really keeps you cool so we had that look going on as well. We were attractive looking tourists that’s for sure.


Would I go back again? Yes I would because Caron and I ran out of time and there was so much more we could have done.

Tell me somewhere interesting you’ve been in the comments below? We love hearing from you. #IBN30

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About Michelle
Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.

Travel Tuesday - Amazing Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park Photo Credit:  should-know.com

I received my B.A. in English in California and 3 of my friends were from Arizona so naturally I visited more then once.  While I have so many memories of Arizona one of my fondest is visiting the Grand Canyon. My friend Clarissa lived in the Grand Canyon National Park and I remember we would walk to this area and sit on a ledge and watch the sun set over the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. The colours of the canyon were amazing and I remember trying to soak every second of that scenery into my brain.

One of the things I envied about Clarissa, was that she worked at the Grand Canyon park every summer, and was able to read all the literature books we were assigned each year, ahead of time. Of course those of us who hadn’t read the books yet would pepper her for information to find out plots of the most important parts of the book, in an effort to save some time.

Arizona has a stark beauty to it and I was fascinated by cactus growing everywhere.  You would see huge ones in front of people’s homes and as I’d never seen this before I fond it looked cool. Amidst the hot temperatures, and the cactus and what seemed like barrenness in areas ,we would drive to a coffee shop and immediately I felt like I could be anywhere.

Clarissa’s mom served us the most amazing ‘Buttermilk Pie’ and I’d never had it before. This was swoon worthy and had an almost caramel taste. To this day it’s one of my fondest memories.  She graciously gave me the recipe and I still love it.

We didn’t take continue here. 

About Michelle

Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.

Travel Tuesday - The Philippines

Memories of my Philippines Trip Photo Credit:  Michelle Somers Top to Bottom 1st Row:  Jeepneys driving by, a cooking pot, the beautiful women we met 2nd Row:  The Olongapo City Market, Beach part of the navy base in Olongapo, (Thelma, Amy and I), 3rd Row: White Rock, Rizal Park in Manilla, Manilla Youth Centre

I had originally planned to post about places I have travelled and then inspiration struck and I penned something completely different. Then the worst happened, I lost it all and now I'm hoping my hosting platform can somehow help me retrieve. Alas I'm back to my original plan.

Years ago I had the lifestyle experience to travel to the Philippines. A group of us were working with a humanitarian organization and we all were volunteering to serve people in the Philippines in whatever way we could depending on their needs. I was a teenager and I was nervous but knew I had to go. I was there for 3 months and we were based in Olongapo City.  I remember clearly in one of our briefing meetings that we had to let go of our own culture and adapt to theirs ie. not being rude, not saying no to food we weren't used to eating. Maybe because I was young it was easier for me to adapt but literally the moment I got off the plane I pretended I was on another planet and wiped my hometown from my mind. It's not that I never thought of it but I really adapted and became part of the culture around me. I never said no to any food no matter what I thought of it.

I could talk at length about this experience but I will pick a few highlights from my trip. The people I met were gracious and kind and they didn't have much but what they had they were grateful for.

   The dump in Olongapo Philippines Photo Credit:  Michelle Somers

I remember one day we visited a dump and got to meet the people living there. We brought treats for the families like snacks you would get at a grocery store and everyone was so overcome with gratefulness. It was like we were giving them a million dollars. I remember seeing children playing among the trash and laughing and I couldn't understand why they were laughing with so little but they didn't know anything else. We hugged the families and spoke with the children we met. I remember crying as we boarded our bus realizing that I could be born here. Through tears I remember feeling so grateful for all the things I take for granted.

   Jeepneys in the Philippines Photo Credit:  flickr.com

The culture there is very different, people ride Jeepneys and to walk you need to have a cotton hankie over your mouth because the air is so thick with pollution. Coca-cola was served in clear baggies with a straw which I found so novel.  I tried Balut one day after hearing a man go by our street almost daily yelling "Baaaaalut".  It's a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell and my friends dared me to try it. It tastes similar to a salty egg.

Where have you travelled? I'd love to know in the comments below. #IBN30

See our new blog.

About Michelle

Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.