NYC

A night in

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It’s a Saturday night, I’m in New York City, and I’ve been in my pajamas since 7 p.m.

I know, I know. There’s a world of opportunity out there! A million fun things to do in the city that never sleeps! But here’s a secret – I do sleep. At least I try to. Last night, I did not. I got home from a Halloween party in Queens (see, I’m fun sometimes) at midnight, because the MTA hasn’t figured out an efficient way to transport people between outer boroughs without making them transfer in Manhattan. Another rant for another day. Anyway, I got home around midnight and woke up at 6 a.m. today to head to the office.

I was a mouse, duh, but I was also Karen Smith.

I was a mouse, duh, but I was also Karen Smith.

There are a million arguments for staying out or at least staying up: Movies! Parties! Bars! Heck, my college’s homecoming is tonight – surely if I’m going to watch a game this season, it should be this one, right? But it doesn’t even start until 11 p.m. and my old-lady side is winning out. I’ll sleep in an ASU sweatshirt and call it cheering them on.

Frankly, today – a cold, windy and rainy one here in NYC (though I hear from friends in Chicago that it’s snowing, so you know, counting my blessings) – nothing sounded better than coming straight home from the office. I didn’t even go to the grocery store like I planned (I have no food). I’m spending tonight with Amy Poehler’s book, catching up on Scandal and falling sound asleep before midnight, and I’m feeling good about it.

Besides, we in the US (excluding Arizona, sorry friends!) get an extra hour this weekend with which we can do whatever we choose. So I’ll use that to do my shopping tomorrow. Or I’ll sleep some more. Hard to say.

Hope you’re having a good weekend, friends!

My week in Instagrams: 10/26/14

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Looking at my Instagram profile over the past week, one might think I am the sort of person who enjoys the “great” outdoors. I assure you I am not that sort of person. I do, however, appreciate how beautiful nature is this time of year, particularly here in the Northeast – orange is my favorite color and for now it is all around!

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Early in the week I spent some quality time with my friend Breanna, whose birthday was yesterday! Bre lives in Park Slope, a neighborhood I had yet to visit, and I might have been late to lunch because I kept stopping to take pictures of the trees.

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Wednesday was one of those days where I had a small amount of time to kill before work, so I decided to  take the train a little further and backtrack through the park. Naturally I got caught in the rain, but somehow this city is still beautiful even when it’s wet.

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On Friday I realized I hadn’t been to the High Line in a while, so I headed there to check out the foliage. Gorgeous, of course.

IMG_2854This week has wrapped up with a visit from my friend Jenny, who I recently visited in Toronto! Yesterday Jenny, Taylor and I headed to the East Village for bottomless brunch at Poco. It was one of those brunches where you completely lose track of what time it is because you’re just having too  much fun. It’s been such a treat to have a bit of a vacation without leaving the city!

What have you been up to? Follow me on Instagram here.

My week in Instagrams: 10/19/14

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Hello friends! I hope you’ve all had a lovely week. I’m finally feeling 100% after a week battling the common cold. I hear I missed some stunning NYC weather while I was sleeping away for days on end, but I’m excited to be back in action! Here’s what my life looked like lately, through filters of course!

Astor Place

Sunday was my first day in our company’s fancy new office! To be honest, I’d been dreading the move a bit because of the new commute – two transfers as opposed to zero before. But as soon as I found my new desk and saw the view out the window – all of my complaints vanished. The space is amazing too, and it’s already done wonders for my attitude.

Central Park

By Wednesday I was feeling mostly healthy, so I headed to Central Park before community group to check up on the foliage. The leaves seem to be so slow to turn this year! But I did find some stunning colors near the pond and get this shot just before the skies opened up and I got rained on. Sigh.

Timehop

Does anyone else use the Timehop app? It goes through your social media profiles and lets you know what you were up to on this date in years past. It’s so fun to go through every day – and when I saw this tweet I sent last fall, I couldn’t help but smile. Who knew that within six months I would sell that car and move to New York City! Dreams really do come true.

Kickball

Finally: The week wrapped up last night with a churchwide kickball game! Emmie and I dressed up as m&ms and played for Team Manhattan. All of my middle-school PE dreams came true when I scored a run – no one could have seen that coming! I’m pleased to report that we won the game. Hooray!

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My week in Instagrams: 10/11/14

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Hello friends! I hope your week has been fantastic! Here’s a peek at what I’ve gotten up to:

Instagram quilt

When I was in Dallas in September, I saw this gorgeous quilt in my parents’ living room (my mom made it, of course.) When she came out to visit a week later, she brought it to me! She’s quick to insist that it’s not a “keeping warm” quilt, but I beg to differ. It’s been perfect for curling up with!

Instagram Chrysler building

With some time to kill after work on Wednesday before meeting a friend, I wandered midtown taking photos – one of my favorite things to do! The reason I posted this one, though, was to go along with my favorite quote so far from Let’s All Be Brave: “Sometimes, you set sail without a view of the destination, trusting the tools you’ve got. And once you get there, you stay. You move forward, not backward. You burn your ships.”

Instagram skating rink

Yesterday I made my way up to Rockefeller Plaza – my favorite spot in the city – and was startled to see that the ice rink had already been installed! Winter is coming much, much faster than I anticipated. And yes, I did finally buy a coat.

Instagram FEED supper

Also last night, my darling friend Katie, who works for FEED, threw a FEEDsupper! Many of us gathered in her adorable Astoria apartment for a night of friendship and a home-cooked southern meal. Special thanks to Katie’s mom for coming up from Alabama and cooking for us!

Instagram JordanFinally, the week wraps up with a celebration. Today is my very best friend’s birthday! I haven’t seen Jordan since I moved from Phoenix in March, but we will be catching up on celebrations in person in just 63 days! This gem is a throwback to our college graduation party in 2011, and I promise the knife was used to cut the cake and nothing more.

What have you been up to?!

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Be Brave: Speak Up

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This week marks the first week of a new season of church community groups! This fall I’ll be reading Let’s All Be Brave with a group of the strongest, bravest women I know. As we explore the concept of bravery, I hope to share some of my thoughts here with you all. Consider this the first post in what will hopefully become my Be Brave series.

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Last week we gathered in the Flatiron district to get to know each other and to begin discussing the idea of bravery. Mind you, this was a room full of women who all, at some point and for some reason, have dropped everything and moved to New York City. Not exactly a cowardly bunch. But there is always, always room for making improvements, taking risks and diving headfirst into what God wants you to do – what he asks you to do.

As we chatted, it occurred to me that the moment in my life that required the most courage wasn’t the one when I stepped onto the airplane to New York. It wasn’t the next day, when I bought my first subway pass and navigated public transit for the first time. It wasn’t the next week, when I walked into an unfamiliar office, sat down and began to work.

What I believe to be my bravest moment took place a year ago now, over breakfast (tacos, of course) with my parents during a trip to Dallas. It was the moment I first vocalized my desire to live in New York City.

In that moment, my perspective shifted from Maybe I could/should do this to I should definitely do this and I almost definitely can. What was I so afraid of before speaking up? A couple things. First, I was worried no one would understand my dreams. My life in Phoenix made sense. I had a decent job, a one-bedroom apartment all to myself downtown, my brother in the same apartment complex and my grandparents a short drive away. I had a 401(k) and put enough money into savings to be able to travel quite a bit. Why would I want to put all that on the line, to trade it for sharing a smaller apartment, distance between myself and my loved ones, zero savings? I didn’t even understand the desire myself; how could I expect others to?

My second fear was that I wouldn’t be able to make my dreams happen – or that I would change my mind and chase a different dream instead. I was afraid of accountability, even though I needed it more than ever.

My parents, of course, were completely supportive and have remained so throughout this entire journey. They would have been even if I’d changed my mind. That support, and that of my friends, gave me the courage to take further steps, and ultimately to make the move.

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The tacos that started it all

This journey all began because I was brave enough to speak up, to vocalize my dreams, to seek support. I’ll always consider the start of my NYC adventure to be that September breakfast, even though I wouldn’t board a one-way flight for another six months.

So if there’s something on your heart, a dream that feels impossible, don’t feel like you have to fulfill it today. Just talk about it, and the rest will fall into place.