Over the past few weeks my Instagram has slowly become less of a log of my day-to-day activities and more a mixture of current sights, throwbacks and blog promotion. I may start to reconsider this blog feature and make it more of a regular update rather than a strict Instagram feature, but in the meantime, here are some little glimpses into NYC life lately!

This one’s poor quality, but important for a number of reasons: Christmas lights! America! And the Empire State Building: Although it was lit for a different cause, orange is the color of CRPS Awareness, and November is its month. I snapped this shot to honor my sister.

Another morning, another stroll through my favorite park. I know Washington Square pops up in a lot of these posts, but it just goes to show how beautiful and varying it really is.

On a hard-earned day off last week, I had planned to stay in bed binge-watching Master of None. But the sunlight was streaming in the window and I thought: How much longer will it really be warm enough outside to sit by the waterfront with a good book? The answer, of course, is not long at all. So off I went.

I realize I haven’t been back from Africa for even a month yet, but I’m already knee-deep in planning my first few trips of 2016: a long weekend in DC, a week in Phoenix and several days in San Francisco with my best friend Jordan! San Fran has long been on my list to visit (and I even almost moved there in 2014 instead of NYC!) and I’m so excited to finally check it off.

Rounding out this post with a little throwback celebration: Jordan and I are proud 2011 alumni of Arizona State University, and yesterday the football team absolutely crushed the University of Arizona. It’s the oldest, fiercest college rivalry in America and I couldn’t be prouder to be on the winning side. Sun Devils Forever!

You can follow me on Instagram here. And if you’re looking for other accounts to follow, I suggest Travel Mail – they featured some of my work recently!