holidays

My Week in Instagrams: 11/30/14

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Can y’all believe it’s already advent?! My very favorite season kicks off TODAY! I’m so excited for a month of celebrating the birth of Jesus. It’s already off to an awesome start, with this week full of holiday celebrations.

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I’m usually the type to wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the tree, but my roommate and I both had last Monday off from work so we made a day of it: Saw Mockingjay Part 1, stocked up on Thanksgiving foods from Trader Joe’s, watched every Thanksgiving episode of Friends and put up our tree! What a wonderful day it was.

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Of course when we put up our tree I realized that I didn’t bring any of my ornaments with me in the move – and all of Becca’s are from her alma mater, which is my alma mater’s rival! So on Tuesday I started replenishing my Christmas stash with this ornament featuring the best letter in the alphabet.

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In many ways, Thanksgiving this year was just another Thursday for me, with fewer people in the office and more phone calls placed to family. But I was shocked when getting off the train in Manhattan to find New York City looking particularly charming – especially considering we’d just suffered the first slushy snowfall of the season. It made for a cold but beautiful walk to work.

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Friday was my college’s annual game against our aforementioned rival. It’s considered football’s most intense rivalry, so obviously I had to post some support for my Sun Devils! Tragically, we lost the game. I don’t want to talk about it – but I am forever proud of ASU!

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Finally, last night my sweet friend Chelsea – the very first person I met at Liberty Church back in the spring – hosted an impromptu Christmas party. Santa hats were involved and many photos were taken. Such joy I take from my friendships here in NYC!

Happy holidays, friends!

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Thankful

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Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Before you ask, no, I did not go “home” to my parents’ place in Dallas this week, or back to Phoenix. Home to me now is NYC, and that is where I am celebrating by working at my awesome job, eating an entire pie and Skyping with family members across the country. It’s awesome.

I love Thanksgiving because I love food, but also because I love when everyone is just so happy and thankful for what they have. This year, I’m feeling particularly thankful for…

IMG_2774The chance to live in my favorite city in the world even if it is snowy, cold and gross. That’s right, it finally snowed. But when this city isn’t slushy and grey, it’s really gorgeous and full of things to do! I spent my entire life dreaming of life in NYC, and I’m ridiculously grateful that I got the chance to move here in 2014. Here’s to many more years of an empire state of mind.

IMG_1608A life of travel that saw me visit seven new countries this year, seeing sights I’d only dreamed of and meeting some of the best people I’ve ever known.

10565262_10202902927364697_439605853670126412_nStellar friends near and far who are always here for me no matter the circumstance. When I moved to NYC, making new friends was one of my biggest concerns. It was a process that took many months in college, and that kind of fell effortlessly together in the years that immediately followed. I’m so blessed to have a wide network of friends in the Big Apple. I’m ALSO blessed that my friends back in Phoenix have been willing to put in the effort to continue those friendships despite the distance. See you all in seventeen days!

An understanding family that has come to terms with the fact that I basically never visit for holidays or special occasions. They have even encouraged me to stay where I am and embrace the life that I have. Y’all are the greatest and I can’t wait to see you next month.

1926929_10103671117762396_5212093217949003386_nThe best roommate ever in a fabulous Brooklyn apartment that is bigger and cheaper than I ever could have imagined when I left my glorious one-bedroom in Phoenix. I’ve had some pretty lousy roommates over the years and Becca is everything they were not! Our home is an oasis away from the chaos and insanity of the city, and I cherish every moment we live here.

Liberty Church and everything about it that has truly changed my life in the best way possible.

IMG_2370The little things, including peppermint mochas, morning walks in the park when it’s not too cold, the ability to buy a bagel literally anywhere in this city for a dollar and have it be the best bagel ever, adorable local coffee shops, books that suck me in and refuse to let go, Gilmore Girls on Netflix, a public transit system that takes me wherever I want to go, quiet nights in and crazy nights out, a network of super supportive bloggers I’ve never even met, a bedroom window that faces east and lets the sun in in the morning, life and love and the very ability to recognize what I have and appreciate it.