holidays

Lately on Instagram

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You may have noticed that with the exception of my trip to Boston, I haven’t been on Instagram quite as much lately. I attribute most of that to my new Snapchat obsession, although I’ll admit that life has just been a little hectic lately with fewer moments to slow down and appreciate the little things. Still, I wanted to share a bit of what I’ve been up to in NYC lately!

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My friend Breanna has been driving our church’s truck back to its home in Brooklyn after services lately, and sometimes I get to ride along! I snapped this while cruising over the Manhattan Bridge a couple weeks ago and it basically carried me through the next few days of early wake-up calls and work on work on work.

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I popped into Best Buy a couple weeks ago for new earphones – for someone with a reputation for being “adult” and “responsible,” I lose and break those things more often than is really reasonable. It gets expensive, especially when I grab other trinkets off the shelves such as this Kate Spade phone case!

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There was a crazy storm here one evening that seriously reminded me of the monsoons we used to get in Colorado and Arizona. But the payoff was an incredible sunset!

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The Fourth of July weekend was weirdly gloomy, but that didn’t stop a group of us from gathering under the Brooklyn Bridge for a six-hour picnic (getting good fireworks spots is seriously competitive!) Eventually the skies cleared up…

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… and we were rewarded for our perseverance with another stunner of a sunset! As well as an incredible fireworks display.

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Wednesday was the anniversary of one of the best days of my life – four years ago, I woke up at 1 a.m. (seriously) to drive from my Orlando apartment (betcha didn’t know I lived in Florida for about 5 minutes!) to the coast to watch the last-ever space-shuttle launch. I got to report, photograph and blog about the event for the Orlando Sentinel and it was 100% the highlight of my career.

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I guess July is always my month, because Thursday was also an anniversary – one year from meeting my best friend Emmie! We met up at the spot where we met – Chloe’s Soft Serve near Union Square – to stuff our faces, reminisce, and hide from a rainstorm that came out of nowhere. Here’s to another year of adventure!

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And yesterday, by some miracle, my roommates and I were all free so we gathered for some Korean BBQ (cooked right at our table!) and the Minions movie (which I highly recommend).

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My week in Instagrams: 5/31/15

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This week was a weird one. It started off with some workdays while everyone else was off for the holiday, and as people came trudging back in, I was off on my staycation. My plans to act like a tourist lasted exactly two days (luckily I did almost everything I was planning on) before I got hit with a whopper of a head cold. The past two days have been spent in bed, which is both a blessing and a curse – I’m not missing any work, but man, I’m on vacation! Oh well.

Here’s a look at all that happened before I crashed.

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After work on Sunday, I settled on the lawn in Union Square with my kindle. I was so engrossed in We’ll Always Have Paris that I was nearly late for church, whoops!

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Before work on the holiday (Monday), the weather was so nice that I decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge rather than take the train under it. It’s so refreshing to get to the office already feeling like you’ve accomplished something!

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Some friends threw a picnic for Memorial Day at Prospect Park (practically my backyard!) so I headed there after work and met this guy, Zeus, who DOES NOT like having his picture taken.

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Tuesday was my friend Katie’s birthday, and even though we threw her a surprise party the weekend before, we wanted to do something special on the actual day. A group of us headed to Butcher Bar in Astoria to indulge in Southern food. The brisket (smoked for 12 hours, as it should be) and Shiner took me straight back to Texas!

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On my first day of staycation, I nabbed half-off tickets to Mamma Mia!, which is closing in September. It was fantastic.

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On Thursday, Becca and I headed to an open house at One World Observatory. Luckily the tickets were free, because as you can see, it was a tiny bit foggy!

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I also had a chance to check out the Whitney Museum of American Art at its new home in the Meatpacking District. It was a lot more fun than art museums usually are, since I actually understood the historical context of the pieces, and there is a beautiful outdoor space as well!

IMG_4302Finally, Thursday night, Becca and I headed to an exclusive shopping event at Anthropologie where I did not buy a hat, but did pick up the grapefruit thyme candle I’ve had my eye on for many months.

Today, I’m going to head to church (my first venture outside in days!) Hope you all had a great week!

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Twenty-Five

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Did anyone else see The Imitation Game? I only saw it because I felt like I should see at least one best-picture nominee before this year’s Oscars, but it ended up making me think.  A lot. And not about the things I was probably supposed to be thinking about after seeing a movie about World War II, homosexuality and (spoiler alert) suicide.

Partway through the film, the only female character in the male-dominated intelligence team announces she has to leave and go back to her parents’ home. “It’s my parents,” she explains. “I’m 25, I’m unmarried, I’m living alone, and they want me home.” The protagonist responds with, “that’s ridiculous.”

It is ridiculous, isn’t it?

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At this point, my roommate turned to me and jokingly said, “You’re not moving to Texas in April, are you?!” No, I’m pretty sure if I showed up at my parents’ home with suitcases today they would laugh in my face (in the most supportive way possible, of course).

At 25 (today!), as an  unmarried woman working in a male-dominated industry who lives with another unmarried twenty-something woman in the same industry, I couldn’t be more grateful for the fact that it’s 2015 and I live in America.

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I’m so blessed to get to live the exact life I want – to work in a newsroom and live in my favorite city and spend all of my money on plane tickets and hotel rooms.I’m even more blessed to have a supportive family and the most insanely wonderful group of friends, near and far.

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This year, I’m taking advantage of this freedom. I’m fully committed to spending my twenty-fifth year writing, traveling, sitting in the sunshine, drinking lattes with friends and eating as much cheesecake as humanly possible. And I’m so excited to do it all with you at my side!

My week in Instagrams: 3/30/15

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This post coming at you a day late because holy crap, last week was busy! I had plans every single day after work – super fun stuff, but as someone who thrives on alone time, it was exhausting. Never again.

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My Monday night community group met in Tribeca last week instead of Brooklyn, which gave me an excuse to wander around Manhattan. I love this building on 6th Ave – it’s actually a library!

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Since we’re still hovering on the line between winter and spring, I picked up these blooms at Trader Joe’s and they’re certainly brightening up my room on the gloomy days!

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Wednesday was our church’s worship night (my favorite nights, along with Sisterhood… and all team… and every Sunday…) Emmie and I joke that we’re the same person, but the unintentional matching outfits were hilarious, even for us.

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Thursday, as you know, was my one-year New York City anniversary! Since the city was rainy and gray, I posted this throwback to my very first night in the city.

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OK, so full disclosure – I was actually supposed to have a quiet night in on Friday to recover from the insanity, but my girlfriends were going to Pies ‘n’ Thighs, and I cannot say no to chicken and waffles.

IMG_3719FINALLY: Yesterday was a long day at work, followed by Palm Sunday services at Liberty! Easter, of course, is the very best holiday. I hope to see you at church next week!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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This day isn’t just about romantic love (as we all know, I’m perfectly happy to have nothing to do with that right now).

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Today, I’m celebrating my love of…

  • My roommate
  • Brooklyn
  • Brunch (red-velvet pancakes and mimosas in particular)
  • Netflix (Valentine’s Day episodes of Friends, anyone?)
  • Napping
  • Social media
  • Texting
  • Beer (let’s just be honest)

Basically, I’m making today about ME – more because it’s a Saturday than anything else, really. But since it is February 14 – why not make today about the things I love?

What are you up to this Valentine’s Day?