Thankful

November 27, 2014Leigh Anne Zinsmeister 8 Comments

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…

The 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.

A 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.

Stellar 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.

The 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.

The 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.

A weekend in Dallas

October 22, 2014Leigh Anne Zinsmeister 1 Comment

I’m always surprised how, after six years of living in Dallas and another six of frequent (and, I’ll admit, infrequent) visits, I still come up with new things to do every time I’m in town. Last month’s trip in particular was one big adventure! Here’s a peek at what I got up to:

My parents bought a new house in March and this was my first chance to see it! I tried to get a picture here, but as you can see, Mom thwarted those plans. She doesn’t get to complain about my publishing this, either, since it was a photobomb. Nice try, Mom!

As most of you know by now, I love tacos, but I can’t find authentic ones in the Northeast! I ate two entire meals consisting solely of tacos while in Texas (mind you, this trip was only two and a half days long). The above were from a weekend food truck downtown.

Klyde Warren Park in Downtown Dallas opened in the last couple years, and this was my first chance to visit! It stretches over a busy highway, literally, and hosts tons of cool activities every day! The views of the city were spectacular.

After lunch, we cooled off in the Dallas Museum of Art and then picked up Sprinkles cupcakes on the way home!

Here’s some photographic evidence that my dad was around, too! He and I went out for breakfast-for-dinner and then wandered around a local mall – more for the company and conversation than the shopping, though he does love his tools!

All in all, it was a fantastic visit. I didn’t love Dallas when I lived there, but now I love exploring it and finding its hidden gems!

Thanks again for having me, Mom and Dad!

On going ‘home’

October 15, 2014Leigh Anne Zinsmeister 4 Comments

This post brought to you by the common cold which has left me unable to do anything but work and sleep for the past four days.

A few weeks ago, I boarded a plane to Dallas – something I’d done dozens of times in the past. This time felt different.

I’m the furthest thing from a dog person, but I do love Lexi.

I lived in the suburbs of Dallas from the ages of 12 to 18, and dropped in for extended stays until I graduated from college at 21. Since then, as I’ve taken on full-time jobs and my friends and siblings have moved on, the visits have become shorter, with more time between them. At some point, I stopped referring to these visits as going home and started saying I was going to visit my parents. All of this was natural, and the city felt less and less like home every time a new shopping center was erected or a new highway opened.

This visit, though – this one was distinctly different. For the first time, I was flying out to stay in a house I had never lived in. My parents downsized to a one-story house in the next neighborhood over back in the spring (around the same time I was frantically organizing a cross-country move myself!) I don’t have my own bedroom in this house (though I didn’t in the old house either – by the time they moved, it had long been converted to a home office!) I didn’t know where they kept the spoons for my breakfast cereal or where to find a top sheet for my sister’s bed. I certainly didn’t know the neighbor’s crazy dogs, who don’t seem to sleep.

This was also the first time I’d visited since my parents became empty-nesters! My sister-slash-best friend left for college in August and now my parents only have each other (and Ally’s Doberman-Beagle mix – yes, it’s a real thing). JUST KIDDING. They are living the dream and have booked up every weekend between now and Christmas with vacations and visits from us kids! It was wonderful to spend three days with just the two of them, something that likely hadn’t happened since I was an only child – a stint that ended when I was two-and-a-half. There were no arguments over where to go to dinner (tacos, every night), what to watch on TV (Modern Family marathon) or where to hang out one-on-one (shopping for me and Mom, breakfast-for-dinner at Cracker Barrel for me and Dad).

Truly the biggest difference between this visit and the previous ones? It was the most relaxing weekend I’ve had in a long time. I wasn’t visiting for a holiday or event, so there was no stress there. I got more sleep than I normally do. And really, although it was an unfamiliar house in a neighborhood I’d only visited once or twice for baby-sitting gigs – it felt like home.

I’ll be back soon with a full photo post from this trip! Hope you’re all having a wonderful week.

A weekend in Toronto

October 7, 2014Leigh Anne Zinsmeister 3 Comments

I can’t believe over a month has passed since my trip to Toronto! In some ways, it feels like just this past weekend – but when I think about the gorgeous summer weather we enjoyed, it feels like it’s been an eternity.

Toronto is a city I feel gets overlooked a lot. New Yorkers seem to go to Montreal for their Canada fix. From Phoenix, the trend was to visit Vancouver. While I still hope to visit those cities someday, I’ve always wanted to travel to Toronto. Why is that? I grew up hearing tales of my mom and her girlfriends driving up there from Cleveland for long-weekend getaways, much as I always drove to LA from Phoenix. She loves the city so much that she and my dad went there on their honeymoon – and he loved it so much that they went back a few years later! As I inherited the “city girl” gene, I always knew I wanted my first trip to the Great White North to feature Toronto.

My favorite part of traveling is sampling local cuisine, such as poutine!

I was lucky enough to make friends from this amazing place while I was traveling in Europe this spring, and seven of us from that trip gathered over Labor Day weekend for a mini-reunion! We only had about 36 hours in the city, but as we are all seasoned travelers, we really crammed a lot in. And left plenty for me to see next time!

We found a bar with board games, and I won my first-ever round of Bananagrams!

Brunch is my favorite meal no matter the country.

The timing of our trip meant we got to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays – and the Jays won!

We had to dine at Amsterdam BrewHouse – it’s named for the city where we all met!

A stop at Niagara Falls on the way home was a must.

We joke that I only take pictures of the sights, so here’s some evidence that I was actually there.

It was a fantastic weekend getaway and I already can’t wait to go back!

#BlogtemberChallenge Day 28: September in Review

September 28, 2014Leigh Anne Zinsmeister 2 Comments

What were your highs and lows for this month?

September has been INCREDIBLE! I feel as though I say that every month, but truly, each is better than the one before. It’s been a month of friendship and adventures and welcoming autumn. And it’s not over yet! But here’s a look at what I’ve gotten up to.

I kicked off the month with a bang, waking up in Toronto and driving 10 hours to New York City with a stop at Niagara Falls!

I spent much of the month adventuring around NYC, getting excited and also panicking about fall, hanging out with friends and drafting blog posts.

Last weekend I flew to Dallas to see my parents’ new house (that they moved into 6 months ago…). It was a wonderful three days of eating my weight in tacos, exploring parts of the city I hadn’t seen before and taking dozens of selfies with the dog.

As for lows… I’m not sure September had any! The temperatures have been slowly decreasing, which is wonderful but has set me off worrying about winter (I am so not a cold-weather girl). There have been some stressful days of trying to balance work, the Blogtember Challenge and my friendships, but I think I’m getting the swing of it! All in all, it’s been a month of exploring, learning, and preparing for the new season.

What have you been up to?

A Life of Genuine Delight

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