With a bowl of sushi in one hand and a can of Diet Coke (I know, super unhealthy, but I can't live without it) in the other, we ascend to the 48th floor of friend M's apartment. The first time ever. And that's weird. Because friend M has lived here as long as I've known her. But we've never sat on this ultimate New York rooftop terrace. Until today. We've decided to work outside in this summery weather. For the first 20 minutes, we pretend to be productive. But in the sun, still digesting a decadent bite of fresh fish and with the Empire State Building almost so close it feels like you can touch it, working is of course totally impossible. What follows is an extensive iPhone shoot. We grab a bottle of wine from downstairs. And all those emails, I label as worries for tomorrow.

So there you are in SoHo and your coat is actually way too warm, you have to take it off and then you spend the rest of the day slightly irritated with that thing under your arm…

And not even 24 hours later, you can half-shiveringly pull the fur coat (made of high-quality polyester, of course) out of the closet again. This is New York.

Cheerful little roses and mom sending me a photo of a photo. Now that first part is always nice and the last part is not that strange. Mom is quite into photos of photos. I receive weekly grainy iPhone 5 shots of old pictures of me as a baby and such (yes, the longing is great). Only now I'm not in it with a Nutella smeared face, no, I'm in Grazia! Together with Anouk, with whom I visited London Fashion Week. Mom is proud. And so am I.

Friend N is pregnant. For 20 weeks, a little human has been swimming in her belly. And finally, we see each other again. On the left her decaf cappuccino, on the right my green tea.

We agreed to meet at Cafe Clover. The super cozy and wonderfully decorated restaurant has a good menu, a great atmosphere, and very nice people around. Now you can't see a soul in this photo, but that's because we've lingered on the blue benches after lunchtime. While the staff eats together before dinner has to be served, we are allowed to stay seated. And that is exceptionally nice in New York. Here, ‘no rush’ really means ‘no rush’.

Just a quick note. This never gets boring, does it? Of course, I miss the Netherlands sometimes, but New York has become my home. I really don't want to leave here anymore…

The best part of my week happens here. For loyal readers, it may be known that my best friend lives in San Francisco and we have the rule that we always fly to each other when one of our men is ‘out playing’. So her husband on a business trip? I go to San Fran. My guy on a company trip? Friend MJ goes to New York. Now I'm on my way to the city of the Golden Gate. But none of our loved ones are traveling. And: friend has no idea I'm coming. Why? She's turning thirty in a few days and I can't just let that pass by. Together with her husband, we've set up this surprise trip. While she is at Justin Bieber with friends, I sneak in with the key from under the mat. I can't wait for this moment. You understand (to be continued).

Here we go! Flying with sunset. Always a fairy tale.