Goodbye 2011!

Today + Tomorrow

{A Letter to Myself}

You can do it. If not today, then tomorrow.

You thought you’d have a steady job after you graduated college. You thought you’d get a raise by Christmas and a promotion by Easter.

You had a schedule; you planned your future down to the last to-do on your life checklist.

Sure, you graduated just fine. Without a job.

You took a chance and moved to New York. Without a job.

For four excruciating months, you networked and interviewed until you thought your head would fall off. Still no job. You were scared, frustrated, and just plain tired. You wanted to give up.

Then, it happened. You landed a freelance job at a national magazine. It isn’t your dream gig. You don’t have a yearly salary, you don’t have benefits. You don’t even have the promise of work next month. But it’s a start.

You have today. You have tomorrow.

“All great achievements require time.” Maya Angelou

Weekly Crushes

Google’s year in review. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s Christmas prank.

If New Year’s Eve could be bottled, it would be Supernova from American Apparel’s new glitter nail polish line.

Zara’s silver oxfords. Jewelry for your feet.

This song… from the Citibank commercial… you got a problem with that?

Weekly Crushes

My first NYC Christmas tree. Lugged ten blocks and hauled up two flights of stairs, red velvet bow and all.

Our L and K tie-dye ornaments found at Anthropologie.

Homemade decorations. I made our snowflake garland with some printer paper, a pair of scissors, Elmer’s glue, and glitter. The majority courtesy of the dollar store.

Basking in the tree’s twinkling lights and addictive aroma while munching on homemade (kinda?) Pillsbury Christmas-themed cookies. Watching Sex and the City for the bajillion-th time doesn’t hurt either. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Daddy’s Girls

The ladies and I feasted at Big Daddy’s last Sunday for brunch.

I judge diners by the size of the drinks. Big Daddy’s got an A+ for for their giant plastic cups. We were thirsty. Karaoke does that to a girl.

I decided that I should eat as much as humanly possible. Vodka does that to a girl. Round one: blueberry cobbler milkshake. The graham cracker crumble topping was epic.

Round two: an omeletted stuffed with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and American cheese, sweet potato tots (the death of me), multigrain toast, and a side of perfectly chewy bacon. You better bet I cleaned my plate.

Needless to say, we rolled ourselves home. But we did it together. Friendship does that to a girl.

Where in the world is G?! She’ll be back soon. New York does that to a girl.

Weekly Crushes

The light show outside Saks Fifth Avenue.

Unsuspecting hot men on the NYC subway system.

This perfect New Year’s Eve party dress – business in the front, party in the back. Oh, and it sparkles. Duh.

The gigantic homemade cinnamon bun at Blue Moon Café in Baltimore. Worth the hour wait.

Holiday Cheer

It’s the most wonderful time of the year 
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer” 
It’s the most wonderful time of the year 
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings 
When friends come to call 
It’s the hap- happiest season of all 

There’ll be parties for hosting 
Marshmallows for toasting 
And caroling out in the snow 
There’ll be scary ghost stories 
And tales of the glories of 
Christmases long, long ago 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year 
There’ll be much mistltoeing 
And hearts will be glowing 
When love ones are near 
It’s the most wonderful time of the year 

There’ll be parties for hosting 
Marshmallows for toasting 
And caroling out in the snow 
There’ll be scary ghost stories 
And tales of the glories of 
Christmases long, long ago 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year 
There’ll be much mistltoeing 
And hearts will be glowing 
When love ones are near 
It’s the most wonderful time 
It’s the most wonderful time 
It’s the most wonderful time 
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

“It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” Andy Williams

Lately

I have tumultuous love-hate relationship with New York City.

On weekends like this past one, when the air is fresh and crisp and the trees are a one-two punch of color against the cornflower blue sky, my heart leaps as tall as the skyscrapers.

The debut of the annual Starbucks red cups don’t hurt my mood either.

I strolled through Central Park for three hours on Saturday, sipping hot tea and catching up with S, my long lost college roommate of two years. We ended up at Belvedere Castle, which offered us a spectacular view of the park.

The fiery colors in the park popped.

Okay, okay, enough photos of leaves. But truly, is there anything more beautiful than autumn in NYC? As long as no awful smells waft by unexpectedly, you don’t run into any rats or cockroaches and you manage to avoid those puddles of putrid who-knows-what that linger on the roads, that is. (Remember when I said this was a love-hate relationship?!)

We met up with G after exploring the Upper East Side, where S fell under the spell of a Burberry circle scarf at Michael’s. Go there and bury your face in the floor length fur coats. Works like a charm. Insta-smile!

On Sunday, I gathered the crew to watch some NYC marathoners run their tails off.

It was a rush to witness the city bond and cheer on complete strangers. I’ve decided to run the marathon next year. In the past I’ve favored reality TV marathons, but hey, people can change. If it’s on the blog than it must be true. Remember when I gave up baked goods for 31 days?

Bring it on, 26.2.

 

 

Happy Halloweekend

Embrace your inner child this Halloween.

Oh, hey there.

Seeing double?

Say Grace

Oh.

My.

Grace!!!!

G and I traipsed around Fifth Avenue for  Fashion’s Night Out last Thursday, sipping champagne and absorbing the hyperactive state of the shops. I spotted Grace Coddington, the Creative Director of American Vogue, at Prada. My inner stalker was set loose.