Big City Living, Miscellaneous

Holiday Tips… HELP!

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It’s the most wonderful timeeee of the yearrrr. FALSE. It’s the most STRESSFUL time. Every year, I agonize over holiday tips. Who needs one? Who doesn’t “need” one but deserves one? How much? Do I pool the money? Or do individual gifts? How much did I give last year?

This year is even worse! Everyone is struggling and I am lucky enough to still have a job, all of my family members are healthy, and I even got promoted this year (humble brag). So I’m feeling pretty fortunate. But how does that translate into tips? This is, in my opinion, one of the worst parts of being an adult, right after laundry and understanding the difference between a W2 and a W9.

For tips, first, I need to decide who gets them. You’d think this would be a simple process, but it’s not. Growing up, I remember my mom always left tips for the postman. He even would leave an envelope for us so we didn’t forget. But now, I work a full-time job and if I ever see the mailman/mailwoman, it’s in passing, and they don’t even know which apartment I belong to. I’m one of many little boxes on a wall. Also, they usually have airpods in, and I’ve never had a conversation with them. It’s not like the friendly neighborhood suburban mailmen who actually walk up to your physical front door. But… they’re working so hard this year. And the absentee ballots!! I’m so thankful to USPS!

The guy who REALLY deserves the cold hard cash is the Amazon delivery guy. We get approximately 7 packages a week. Yes, you read that right, at least one per day. But it’s not like we have a relationship with the UPS guy. This is NYC. Again, the packages just sort of magically show up here while I’m working.

Now let’s talk about the people who I actually come face to face with. During Covid, there are VERY few of these people, and even so it’s mask to mask, but let’s say pandemic aside, who else provides services for me that I should tip.

Our cleaning person. This is a no-brainer. She definitely gets a holiday tip. But how much? She didn’t clean for us for 8 months this year. I sent her money periodically while we were out of state, but I know she’s hurting and I’m sure a lot of her clients have discontinued her service. We have her back now (our chore chart didn’t work, more on that another time), but she’s only been back for 2 weeks. And then the even harder question: how much do we give? The amount we pay for one cleaning? Like a bonus? Or a lump sum $100. Or more? This is a more difficult tip to give because it’s usually in person. Or should I do it by Venmo so I don’t need to see her face? Is that cowardly? I have tried googling these answers, by the way, but there does not seem to be a consensus.

There are other people I may tip on a normal year, a hairstylist, manicurist (before I did my own!), even a dry cleaner, but this year, I haven’t really seen any of those people.

In NYC, there is only one group of people who ALWAYS gets tips: building staff. Doormen, concierges, porters, superintendents. They always send around a happy holiday card to remind us of their names so we don’t forget them. Also, they’re the ones dealing with our Amazon dependency. And this year, they are putting their health and safety in jeopardy every day commuting to our building, interacting with 3,000 Doordash delivery men, and with idiots who take their masks down in the lobby.

BUT HOW MUCH?? When we lived on 96th Street, we had a building staff of 8. We gave $50/person. That’s $400. Split between two people, it was reasonable. But would we have given the same amount if we lived alone? When I lived in that same building as a poor law student with 3 roommates, I think we each gave $50 (total of $200 for the apartment). Whether I gave $400 or $200, we were barely acknowledged for our card.

But in our building now? We have 6 people, and again the past two years we have given $50/person and we have been treated like KINGS. A majority of our building now is rent controlled, so I think it’s abnormal for people to give that much. It was SO appreciated. I almost felt bad. If we could afford $400 in the other building, should we have given the same here? How do you split that by 6 evenly? Should it be an amount by person?

And more importantly, do you give the same amount each year? There is a such thing as inflation. And this year, as I said, we are more fortunate than many others. Do we adjust for that? Our expenses have decreased. Well, Chris got me a ring so I should say my expenses have decreased. And the final question, do we put cash in an envelope for everyone? Or do we split it up into individual envelopes? It probably appears nicer together because the amount it higher, but is that the point? Shouldn’t it be personalized?

You can probably tell by the amount of question marks in this blog post (28) that I do NOT have any of the answers. How do you guys dole out holiday tips? Any tips, pun intended, are appreciated.

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Miscellaneous

Purple Hair, Don’t Care

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Hi Guys! So much has happened since we last spoke and there are so many things to write about. I went to another lake house, I went on an airplane during Covid times, I’m back in New York, AND I’m in quarantine in 500 square feet with my fiancé. But the most important thing that has happened: I dyed my hair purple!

This may not be so exciting to you, but it is to me. Here’s why:

  1. I’ve wanted to do this for years.
  2. It’s the only cool thing I have done for myself all year (getting engaged was pretty cool but it wasn’t my doing).
  3. There’s really no better time for it.

When I say I’ve wanted to do this for years, I’m not exaggerating. A year ago, I got serious enough about it to go on Pinterest and Instagram and find my perfect inspiration photo. It’s been in my phone and bookmarked since then. Once I knew what I wanted to do with my hair, I needed to find the perfect time and the perfect stylist to create my look. You guys know I have a whole Instagram dedicated to my hair (hair in general, but MY hair during Covid-19). It’s not like I trust any old shmo to color my crown!

Approximately 2.5 years ago, I started following Sydney Lopez on my braidstagram, and even though I don’t color hair, her creations were SO gorgeous that I semi-stalked her and liked every single photo on her feed, replying to her stories, etc. 2 years ago at Christmas, I realized she lived and worked an hour away from where Chris’s family is, so I tried to book her when I was there for Christmas. Unfortunately she told me she doesn’t usually work that week, and when she does, she’s booked solid months in advance. Makes sense, I guess – she has 125K Instagram followers.

Anyway, when I found myself back in Texas, this time for 6 months and offseason from Christmas, I figured I’d hit her up! She recently had a baby, and was constantly posting on her stories about Covid safety (she even called out her drive-through people at Whataburger), so I felt comfortable with her safety measures. Next, I just needed her to have space in her calendar. When I slid into her DM’s, she said she hadn’t taken new clients in years, but she felt like she knew me, i.e. my stalking totally paid off. I made the appointment for the weekend before I came back to New York. I figured it would give me a fresh start and the perfect autumn hair.

The morning of my appointment, I picked up my mobile order from Starbucks, chugged it during my commute, and got ready for 4+ hours in a mask. She told me when I booked the appointment that it would likely take 4-5 hours, and included “cut, blow dry and style, & tons of pics of course.” She gets me.

When I arrived, she offered me a disposable mask so my cute one wouldn’t get dyed purple, and we were off to the races. The salon was adorable. It was set up so that each stylist had sliding glass doors around their chairs. She told me that pre-Covid, they had the doors open all the time, but it was so great for the pandemic because they didn’t need to make structural changes to the salon, they just slid the doors closed. First, she redid my balayage so my hair would be super light to paint purple over. In between steps while my hair was processing, she left the room and closed the sliding glass doors so I could take mask breaks. But honestly, it wasn’t bad to wear one at all. It’s difficult when running (more on that in another post), but when you’re sitting down chatting, or playing around on your phone, it’s not a big deal.

Speaking of chatting, we chatted the entire time! One of my favorite things to talk about is how people came into their careers, since I work in career services. Her story was so unique, and she actually didn’t go to cosmetology school until she was 29 years old, very old for the industry. It was so cool to meet and talk with someone IRL who I met through the internet! I met my fiancé that way, after all.

When she was mixing colors, she said, “it looks like your inspiration pic has some pink and different tones of purple; are you ok if I blend in multiple shades?” Of course I said YES. In all caps. She’s the professional. She did my regular balayage, darkened my roots (because grays), rinsed, painted it purple, rinsed, dried, and styled, and then the photoshoot began! Check out this Reel of the process.

She gave me some great posing tips for future braid clients, and we took photos in two locations so we could get different lighting. First, inside with a ring light, then outside in a parking garage (all white) with indirect sunlight. It looked SO GOOD. She absolutely nailed my inspiration photo. In fact, I think she did even better! And of course, since you guys know my new obsession with dip powder nails, I did my nails to match in preparation for the new color.

I can’t think of a better time to have purple hair. I have no in-person meetings, the color barely shows up in Zoom lighting, and it’s not like we are planning a wedding or anything! I am absolutely loving my new hair, and I’ve been styling it in braids every day, multiple times a day, just because everything looks so much better in purple. What do you guys think??

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Miscellaneous

PeppiGel Manicures, My New Home Hobby

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Month 6 of quarantine coming in hot! What types of activities have you all been up to? I am slowly realizing that all of the things I used to do for fun – going out to restaurants, shows, concerts, movies, bars, hanging with friends – I can’t do any more. That leaves me with quite a bit of extra time in the house. This has led me to a huge expansion of what I’m calling Home Hobbies. You guessed it – hobbies I can do without leaving the front door of my house or donning a mask.

I started my Home Hobby Quest by ordering a mannequin head and attempting more and more intricate braids. Recently, I have semi-mastered a 7-strand ribbon braid on Quarantina.

  • 7-strand braid!
  • Curved braid practice.
  • Quarantina looking snazzy.

Then, I ordered a tripod and learned to edit videos so I could make braid tutorials. I even made a Youtube Channel! More recently, I downloaded the SignSchool App to start re-learning American Sign Language. But my new ultimate obsession/addiction/money-sucking, all-thought-consuming hobby has been learning to do my own gel dip manicures at home. Enter PEPPIGEL.

PeppiGel is an at-home dip powder system that doesn’t use UV lamps and doesn’t contain any of the 9 harshest chemicals found in beauty products. But besides that? It’s fun as heck and more addicting than alcohol. Not that I haven’t had a pina colada on the side once or twice while dipping. I learned about Peppi from a friend as I was scrolling Instagram stories (another Home Hobby), and saw her AMAZING nails. Of course I jumped on her, as any good internet-policer/Karen does, and asked HOW she went to salon in the middle of NYC in a pandemic. To which she said, “I did them myself!” Me: “WHAT?? HOW??”

  • My Starter Kit (plus 5 other colors I ordered)
  • My very first Peppicure!
  • Nail decals I haven’t used yet.

The basic premise is, you use their 3 liquids in a specific order, and together with the many different colors of powder, it creates a salon-quality manicure that lasts up to 3 weeks. Or so people say. I usually get so excited to use new colors/bored of my old colors/just bored in the house that I have been changing them every 10 days or so.

Now, when I show my nails in my Instagram story, or on my various aforementioned braid tutorials, people are in awe. The awe is usually followed by, “but is it hard?” The answer is… sorta. There is a steep learning curve. In my first attempt, the gel was SUPER thick and the edges were jagged. My second one, I still struggled with the straight cuticle line. But I’m learning new techniques all the time! I attempted tie dye a few weeks ago, and angle dipping last week.

And no worries, there are tens of thousands of ladies in the Peppi Cult to help you out! Think I’m exaggerating? Their private Tips & Tricks FB group has more than 43 thousand members. People post photos of their latest manis, ask for photos of new colors they’re considering buying, post funny nails memes, or just ask questions like, “My brush for liquid #3 is all stiff, what did I do wrong?” Within 5 minutes, there are 20+ replies and tips from other group members.

Me after literally 3 weeks in the group.

Still not sure if it’s a cult or a pyramid scheme? Kind of both. In fact, I have a code to give you if you want $15 off your starter kit! It gives me a discount, too. But beware, it’s incredibly addicting. Within a month of ordering my kit, I now follow them on Instagram, I subscribe to multiple nail artist Youtube Channels for tutorials, and I’m considering getting Pinterest. Considering. And keep in mind, I’ve only been doing this since July 22nd! It escalates quickly.

It’s less of a pyramid scheme, and more like an ongoing Tupperware Party for fancy nails. And speaking of parties, they have one every single Tuesday!! It’s not like I’m doing anything else! On Peppi’s official FB page (liked by 108,174 people and followed by 114,084), they host a Tutorial Party weekly at 8:30 pm ET, where they teach different techniques and tips. There is a whole secret lexicon like the “apex method” and “use an orange stick around the cuticle” and “tap tap versus scrub ombre.” Oh, and they do giveaways! Sometimes it’s based on trivia and sometimes it’s random if they reach a certain amount of people watching. And the entire time, comments STREAM in with people buying the sale color of the night… and 7 other colors. Some of these women have swatches of more than 100 colors and rolling carrying cases! I created a Bingo Card/Drinking Game for FB Lives. Anyone want to watch and play with us??

Personally, I don’t have a carrying case yet, and I’m only at 12 colors (3 more on the way!), but I do have a Google sheet with color swatches in one cell, thanks to my sister, and links to the color in the next column. The colors all have super fun names, and they have quickly become a second language. I did my nails for a weekend getaway to a lake in blue (Pontoon Party and Just Say Yes). I am already planning a new manicure for my purple hair when I color it in September (Summertime Sadness and Disco Party). And I’m considering which autumn colors I should get that would go well with pumpkin picking (Chianti or Scorpion Venom?). And what about Halloween? Maybe Candy Corn nails (Onyx, Mighty Mango and Boombox Baby?). Or Florida Football (Manowar and Mighty Mango?) By the way, I just wrote that whole paragraph from memory. I didn’t check the website once.

  • Peppi #1, a little thick!
  • Peppi 2, attempt (fail) at angle dipping
  • Peppi 3 prep… tie dye!
  • Tie Dye success! Still working on cuticle lines.
  • Peppi 4 for the lake, gorgeous angle dip AND cuticle lines!
  • Nails at the lake.

Clearly, I have a problem. But it’s such a pretty one! I never painted my nails before because they chipped so often and frustrated me. Also because I have no left hand dexterity and got it all over my hands. But I am absolutely loving this new hobby of mine. And if I ever stop buying colors, I may even save money from not going to a salon ever again! Some women in the group do their own nails for their weddings. Want to join me on the cult journey? Check out the website, and don’t forget… USE MY CODE to help fuel my addiction!

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Miscellaneous

Top Golf Social Distance Date

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I asked you guys for social distance date ideas 2.5 months ago and we finally went on one! Needless to say, my Bullet Journal Goal of one out-of-house date night/month has not been being achieved. Another Covid casualty. We went to Top Golf and had a blast! Hopefully the fun we had will last me another 2.5 months. It met all of our criteria for a date: relatively close-by, open air, masks mandatory, fun, out of the house.

By the way, when I asked for your advice for date ideas, NONE OF YOU COMMENTED. What’s up with that??? Thankfully, I asked my Instagram followers on my private Instagram a week later, and I got a few great ideas. We didn’t do any of these (yet), but I wanted to post them here in case you are looking for things to do. Ya know, since you won’t find any in the comments of my last post.

  • Puzzle night
  • Top chef cook off, quarantine style, use only what’s in the kitchen
  • Hiking
  • Slip and slide in the backyard. Along with the kiddie pool, add White Claws for a water park day
  • Bake macarons
  • DIY Paint and Sip (order canvases on Amazon)
  • Drive-In movie theater
  • Bonfires & Boggle

Anyway, we haven’t done those things yet, but we are now golf pros!! JK, we are both AWFUL. We failed in glorious fashion but we didn’t care.

Since we are currently residing in a Covid hot spot, we wanted to go on a date at an off time. We decided on a weeknight at 9 pm. We made a lane reservation earlier in the day, and I even put on makeup for the occasion! I think the only things that mattered were eyebrows and eyelashes because masks, but it still felt good to have a reason to put on a bra. A real one. That I don’t pull over my head (what!?)

Top Golf required masks in all inside areas, which meant you needed one to check in (contactless) and to walk through the lobby to your outside lane. Every person working there was wearing a mask at all times, over mouth AND nose. Yes, I need to specify that here in Texas. I was impressed. The inside bar was closed, and the bathroom doors were propped open and facilities were being obsessively cleaned. Even the clubs were being sanitized between each lane turnover.

The actual golf lane did not require masks, and between each lane they had floor to ceiling clear tarps, sort of like shower curtain liners. It felt very safe. On the actual greens there were no tarps between, and most people were not wearing masks once in their lanes, so I just staggered my putts when someone was on the green in the lane next to ours. In bowling, that’s common courtesy so I didn’t mind. By the way, I’m MUCH better at bowling.

We both ordered drinks and had them at the table – masks off only when we were behind our tarp! It was really nice to have a drink I didn’t make myself. Even if it cost 5x more than the ones I make at home. It was the first time I had a drink outside the house since March 13th! We decided not to get food, because we were still iffy about the kitchen etc., but it was fabulous to socialize, even to say “thank you” to a waiter (masked, of course).

We took a few photos of each other as well as videos, where I was usually swinging and not even making contact with the ball. Oops. We tried a few selfies. There’s no handing your phone to strangers nowadays, so it’s a good thing I am VERY well-practiced at selfie-taking. I attempted to teach Chris how to smize. He thought it meant opening your eyes as wide as they go. It made for some pretty funny pics.

  • Chris attempting a “smize,” me laughing at him.
  • Both of us “smizing”
  • A cute pic! (Notice our lane neighbor)

Are you wondering when I’m going to tell you our scores? NEVER! We were so bad that at one point we accidentally golfed for each other, and let me tell you, it did not matter. We will not be competing against Tiger any time soon. It was a fabulous date night for my sanity and mental health, not so much for my confidence. If you have a Top Golf near you, they outline their safety precautions for each location online. Feel free to call ahead to ask questions, as well. I recommend it!

Check out that ring!
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Miscellaneous

Quarantine Birthday

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The way this year is going, a good percentage of us are going to be experiencing quarantine/social distanced birthdays. In fact, if we don’t get a vaccine any time soon, it may even be two birthdays for some of us. Morbid, I know. But I’m writing this blog as a retrospective about how fun these solo birthdays can be! My birthday was almost a month ago, and I’m still thinking about it. Granted, I may still be thinking about it because nothing else has happened in my life since then and I have no plans for the future. But it could be because it was AWESOME.

First, I want to remind you that birthdays are kind of a big deal for me. I have been throwing themed shebangs ever since I can remember. There was my Tutu 22, my 23rd Revenge of the Nerd, 2-4 Ready to Score, 29 Neon Sign. I could go on. Anyway, the point is, I was pretty dang bummed when I realized I’d be spending my birthday without costumes, without friends, and in the house. My mom asked me about a month before my birthday what I was planning on doing and I said “well I’ll tell you one thing I am NOT doing – a Zoom birthday party.” I have been SO zoomed out! I am on zoom meetings morning ‘til night for work, and the last thing I wanted to do was feign happiness in front of the computer while physically drinking alone. Sounded like a recipe for disaster. So, I started to plan ahead to make sure my birthday would be something to look forward to.

I also will remind you here that ICE CREAM is a big deal for me. Remember, my whole 30th birthday was based on me eating enough ice cream to curb my sugar cravings for months?

Let me tell you a story – when I was 22 years old, living alone in Florida with my first big-girl job, my office chipped in to get me a big birthday cake. Not just any birthday cake, a CUSTOM ICE CREAM CAKE. Homemade ice cream, unique flavors. Let me tell you as a 32-about-to-be-33-year-old, I NEVER stopped thinking about that cake. I literally thought about that cake for a decade. About a month before my birthday, an idea came to me – maybe I could find a place in Texas to make one for me! I started feverishly researching places that were open, had curbside pickup and unique flavors, and I called around. I finally found one! Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream. It was 30 minutes away, which I figured was nothing for a good cake. They promised 2 layers of ice cream in any of the 110+ flavors they had, and cookies crumbled in the middle, plus hand-decorated. I ordered a heart-shaped blackberry and vanilla fudge swirl cake and started to salivate.

Food is an integral part of any quarantine birthday, but even better? The GIFTS. After around my 17th birthday, I had sort of given up on receiving birthday gifts. Yes, I usually get something from my boyfriend, maybe my parents, maybe a check from my grandma or something small and thoughtful from a super close best friend, but usually the real present is their presence! I throw a shindig, people come, buy me drinks, maybe bring homemade cupcakes, a bottle of liquor, something like that. But a quarantine birthday?? Since no one can actually spend it with you they send PREZZIES!!! And with the mail being sort of messed up and slow delivery times, people send them early. This year, I got my first delivery about 10 days early, a whole BOX of insomnia cookies! Then I got a box with my FAV (only) sneakers I run in from my Mom. Then another box with Golden Girls socks from a friend living in Scotland at the moment. Then another from a friend in Seattle. Then another from a friend living in Miami at the moment. Then an egift that arrived in my inbox on my birthday. It was like feeling the love from around the world in my own house! (Or in Chris’s family’s house.)

My favorite part was the thoughtfulness. My BFF in Miami knows me so well that she bought me the exact same inflatable pool that I had ordered for myself! Thankfully I found out early enough that I could cancel my order. My other BFF sent a Nipyata, which, if you haven’t heard of it, is AWESOME. Basically it’s all the fun of a pinata but with the addition of booze. It came with a stick, a blindfold, and twine to tie it up. It was family fun for everyone! The kids got the candy, I got the Fireball.

Then there was the actual day of my birthday. It started with breakfast in bed, which was set up while I was braiding my hair (natch). Then there was a bouquet of flowers waiting for me downstairs and balloons from my fiance’s family. And I got gifts from my fiancé including new running headphones (they didn’t work well and we had to return them, but it’s the thought that counts!). And he also gave me a little bell he said I could ring for him to be at my beck and call whenever I wanted for a whole day. After digesting my amazing homemade breakfast, I did my favorite kind of workout (step class DUH), and then showered and blew up my pool so it would be ready for my bday weekend. Then I decided to REALLY treat myself and go see my one friend I have in Dallas.

My friend from college, Nathan, who I see every time I come to Texas for Christmas, actually has a birthday one day before me. After 2.5 months living 20 minutes away from him, I finally MASKED UP and went to go see him. We stayed outside and brought his dog to the dog park, then we bought some coffee and it was SO NICE to see a friendly face, even if only from the mid-nose up. We didn’t actually drink the coffee because masks.

Then I took the car to pick up my amazing birthday cake. Unfortunately, or hilariously, they got the words messed up. Instead of “Happy Quarantine Birthday Emily” they said “Happy Birthday Quarantine Emily.” Who’s “Quarantine Emily?” She sounds lame. All was forgiven because it was delicious. And I got myself a scoop of cinnamon ice cream for the drive home, too, because there’s no such thing as too much ice cream on one’s birthday.

I got back from my ice cream errand just in time to do my hair and makeup. My mom had planned me a “surprise” that she named “It’s a Philly Thing.” Honestly, I had no clue what it was. I don’t have any friends in Philly. The only people I know are my parents. Also, she sent me a zoom link and I had specifically said I didn’t want a zoom party. But one thing I’ve learned in my 33 years is that when your mom tells you where to be and to look cute (hair and makeup encouraged), you do it. I had my drink ready, and I logged in. Surprise!!! It was a zoom party! But not exactly. It was 26 consecutive 5-minute zoom chats! That’s right, my mom (with the help of two of my friends) organized 26 separate groups to wish me a happy birthday. Creativity was encouraged and OMG people were SO CREATIVE. I had slide shows made for me, poster board signs, videos with my friends/relatives kids, acrostic poems, birthday hats, musical numbers, people dressed up like Carol Baskin and Joe Exotic, friends making me guess dirty jokes as a drinking game, and one of my coworker’s videos ended with a photo of a cake she made me… AND FEDEX-ed ME! Chris presented it to me at the end of the call. WHAT!? It was absolutely AMAZING. I felt so incredibly loved and appreciated. But WOW was it exhausting! 2+ hours on Zoom with new people every five minutes is hard! Good thing I had ice cream cake afterward to perk me up again!

The next day I had a zoom brunch with my friends (all of whom I saw the night before, but I didn’t know that was happening of course). And the e-gift I mentioned before? It was for a liquor delivery from Drizly that arrived the next day with my favorite drinks, Angry Orchard, Aperol Spritz supplies and Moscow Mule gummies! I made an Aperol Spritz and took my Zoom call to the pool with me! It was the PERFECT weekend.

If you have a quarantine bday coming up, maybe these ideas helped you so you can make the most of it. I hope you have friends and family that are as awesome as mine!

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Miscellaneous

Social Distance Date Ideas

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Hey all you cool cats and kittens! Today’s blog is different. Instead of giving you guys ideas, I’m soliciting them from you! Saturday marked 9 weeks that my fianceeeee and I have been here in Texas with his family. That is a full 5 weeks longer than we were engaged and living alone. Needless to say, despite being safe and healthy, there are some downsides to living in a house with 6 other people – namely, the inability to be alone and go anywhere together! Yesterday we took a v romantic 25-minute car ride to Whole Foods to drop off an Amazon return. SEXY. So yeah, we’re looking for ideas.

In 9 weeks, we have had one date night (besides our SUPER romantic nights of watching Ozark while I cover my eyes and sometimes walk away because it’s too scary for me). Our date night, however, was super fun! Chris bought a tarp/picnic blanket from Walmart (contactless pickup), we packed a bottle of wine and picked up some takeout from a restaurant. Then we went to a park at sundown and had a picnic! Bonus, we downloaded the Michelle Obama documentary from Netflix and brought the iPad, although we ended up changing that plan because of cold and bugs at sundown. I highly recommend this date idea. Or if you have an SUV with a back you can sit in, you can park in a parking lot somewhere and do this, no picnic blanket needed! Next time, we may even picnic in the backyard so we can both drink.

  • Perfect spot for a solo picnic
  • The full spread
  • Selfie!

Picnic Date Tips:

  • Bring utensils and napkins, some restaurants don’t provide that.
  • If bringing wine, don’t forget the corkscrew. Cups optional.
  • Bring layers of clothing if the sun is going to set.
  • Related: wear comfortable clothes. You’ll be sitting on the ground.
  • Remember the ground may be wet! I linked our picnic blanket above, $12!
  • ABSC. Always Bring Solo Cups.
  • Also, note to self, remember a spoon next time, This is Chris drinking soup bc we forgot one.
  • Another tip: download a movie on an ipad.

There. I gave YOU an idea. Now you all owe ME one! I had a friend tell me she did a flapper-style 1920’s theme night with Amazon-purchased accessories. Show me what you got!

Here are the ground rules: must be socially distant or at-home, must be low maintenance (he already planned one EXTRAVAGANT date weekend this year for our engagement, I’m cutting him slack), must be fun, and bonus points for themes. I’m a sucker for them. Write your ideas in the comments below or send ideas directly!

  • 2 photos, 2 people.
  • Getting ready to leave means getting ready to mask up for the parking lot. See it hanging off his ear?
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Big City Living, Miscellaneous

Frozen on Broadway

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Do you want a build a snowman??? Since it’s supposedly snowing some places in the north in late April, I figured it was the perfect time to talk about going to see Frozen on Broadway back in February. Ya know, back when we could do things like go to plays, sit next to people, hear people sing from a stage and not on zoom in their own living rooms. SIGH.

Anyway, as you may remember from my 2020 goals, I wanted to go and see three Broadway shows this year. I had already seen Mean Girls (twice!), and thankfully, I won the Frozen lottery before Broadway went dark. I knew that Frozen was on my to-see list, and I wanted to be prepared. Unbelievably, I had never seen the movie (GASP!). For some of you out there currently quarantined with your small children, this probably seems physically impossible, but it’s true. Thankfully, my no-long-emoji-fiance loves Frozen and bought a 3-year pre-subscription to Disney+ so he could watch it on repeat. Ok, that’s a lie, he got Disney+ solely for the Mandalorian and Marvel movies, but still. Lucky for me, I had Frozen at my frost-bitten fingertips.

At the beginning of January, I invited my best friend to my house so we could binge Disney movies and I could braid her hair. Many hairstyles were done that day, but better yet, I was initiated into the Frozen cult and now I cannot LET IT GO. (Get it?)

Once I saw the movie, I was ready to see the Broadway show STAT, but I had to wait until I won the lottery. Ballin’ on a budget! My very first blog post talked about tips for (cheaply) living in New York including free stuff and discounted stuff, the only way to live. Broadway lottery is a big tip.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long to see the show – I won the lottery on February 28th for the next night. I asked my best friend if she wanted to be my +1; it only seemed right since she was there with me when I saw the movie for the first time. She had already seen the show, but supposedly they had recently changed some of the music, so she had mentioned wanting to see it again. Sure enough, she said yes to being my +1 and we started to plan for the next day!

I LEAPED down to Times Square on February 29th to pick up the tickets. (Get it? I’ll stop with the puns now.) You may remember, the hard part about lottery Broadway tickets is that the “winning tickets” are sometimes crappy seats, and sometimes not together. I went to the theater two hours before showtime and got the tickets. They said Orchestra Row A, and I couldn’t believe it. Were we in the FRONT row?? They also said “Partial View,” which I’d hoped didn’t mean allll the way to the side.

But first, we went to dinner at Carmine’s, a New York City classic. It is great for huge family gatherings since the portions are MASSIVE and there are usually many leftovers. For the first time in forever, (pun again… I can’t stop!) I went there with only one person and we knew we couldn’t have any leftovers. We ordered one dish between us, and trust me, it was more than enough. The plate was larger than our heads combined.

Chicken Marsala over Fettucini. Enough for an army of 2.

We rolled out of there and hustled to the theater, which was thankfully next door because ironically, it was FREEZING. The usher led us down the aisle, allll the way down the aisle, to the front row, DIRECTLY behind the conductor! That must have been why it was “partial view” but it was so awesome to watch him conduct the whole show. He was not in the way at all, and I mostly forgot about him except for the times I was specifically watching him.

  • PRIMO Tickets
  • Front Row Seats
  • Conductor!
  • Quick look into the pit during intermission

The show was FANTASTIC. I expected the production value to be high (I mean come on… we are talking about Disney money here), but it even surpassed my expectations. Olaf the snowman was hilarious, and the Let it Go scene made me audibly gasp! I loved all of the outfits and sparkles, and DUH the braids. I could NOT get over all of the hairstyles. Fun fact, my emoticon on Disney+ is Elsa, and it has been since before I even saw the movie. She had a braid, I couldn’t resist. How could I possibly not like a show about winter and cold (my fav season), with plenty of sing-along-able music (love), and braids (DUH). It was amazing.

I highly recommend seeing Frozen when Broadway is open and we are able to see shows and gather in groups again. I may even be slightly biased since this show and dinner at a restaurant were some of the last things I did in New York. I miss my city so much, and I can’t wait for things to get better so we can resume a bit of normalcy. In the meantime, if you have a Broadway itch that must be scratched, Andrew Lloyd Webber is streaming some of his biggest musicals online for limited times. Each show goes live on YouTube on Friday at 2 pm ET and usually remains viewable for 48 hours afterward. It’s not quite Elsa and Anna, but it’s still pretty awesome.

My main tip for when you see Frozen: expect to find confetti “snow” in your hair and clothes for WEEKS after. I had to shake out my clothing at the door of my apartment, and I looked like I had large dandruff flakes in my hair as well. #worthit

  • All of our favorite characters
  • And even better, Kristoff and Sven
  • Post-show snow on the stage, and subsequently in my hair, coat, bra…
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Miscellaneous

True Life: Engaged and Quarantined

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February 14th, I got engaged to the love of my life. One month later on March 14th, we made the split-second decision to flee our home and asked his sister if we could temporarily stay with them in Texas. And here we are on April 14th, basically moved in with my future in-laws with no end in sight and trying not to kill each other. At least once a day I catch myself looking down at my ring, taking a deep breath, and reminding myself that I signed up for this. But did I? Did any of us?

I think everyone can agree that besides Tiger King, the only thing keeping us sane in 2020 is the abundance of memes on Instagram. My personal favorites are the ones like “Day 27 of Quarantine, I have realized that I can’t stand the sound of my husband breathing.” I spoke to a friend recently who said she never realized how loud her partner chewed and has now resorted to playing loud music whenever they dine together. Which is every single meal, every day.

Don’t get me wrong, things could be worse. SO MUCH WORSE. I have a roof over my head, a job, and plenty of (too much?) food. I also have a loving partner who said last night that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. To which I said, “Really? Still?”

Living together is hard. I remember when Chris and I first made the decision to move in together, about 1.5 years into our relationship. I was SUPER nervous about it. I had lived with people my entire life, from parents to roommates, to more roommates, then MORE roommates, because NYC, ya know? Anyway, I had never shared a room with someone besides for one year in a dorm with a roommate who basically slept at her boyfriend’s apartment. And I certainly had not shared a bathroom with a boy besides my brother, who I could just hit if he left the toilet seat up. But a tiny 1-bedroom apartment with a man who I couldn’t just hit when I got annoyed? That was uncharted territory. And it was not easy.

There were socks everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. I would take the sheets off and find anywhere from 2-7 single socks at the bottom of the bed. Socks in the bathroom, in the living room under the couch. RIGHT next to the hamper. And don’t get me started on the dang toilet seat. It’s an ongoing battle. We are still in training, much like when you adopt a puppy, but it’s “please don’t pee on the seat” instead of “please don’t pee in the corner on the rug” (but also sometimes that).

Thankfully, this quarantine happened after Chris and I had already been living together for 3 years, so we had both come to terms with each other’s eccentricities. We were prepared. Or we thought we were.

Narrator: “They were not prepared.”

Living with each other in your own home is one thing but living in someone else’s home is a completely different thing, especially when it is one of your family’s homes. Don’t get me wrong, I love his family. First of all, they are INCREDIBLY generous allowing us to come from the heart of the pandemic in NYC and move in on 6 hours’ notice, literally. Also, they have never been anything but welcoming to me. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is not my house.

There’s a level of comfort in knowing where the containers are and knowing that each top has a bottom because if it doesn’t, you throw it out.

Or knowing that the pillows are the right height so your neck doesn’t feel off all day.

Or knowing that by 11 am, everyone is awake and you can blast music to do a workout class or run the blender to make a protein shake.

Or knowing when the dishes in the dishwasher are clean. (Side note: I have spent 4 weeks now using my incredibly stealthy detective skills to try and figure out their system. I still have not made any headway.)

If you’re sitting at home reading this and playing the world’s smallest violin for my troubles, I get it. There are people out there struggling to survive. People in abusive relationships or without loving partners. I am lucky to have a loving partner, but he treats this house like it is his parent’s home with mommy dearest to clean up after him. Except she isn’t here, I am. And I am the guest, so I feel the need to clean up, pitch in, cook, fold laundry, etc. He feels the need to do NONE of those things except prance down the stairs when he smells bacon. This literally happened today.

This is certainly not the way I would have predicted our engagement to go. Thankfully, we have both been really busy with work. As you know from my previous blogs, one way we try to stay sane and keep from yelling at each other for breathing is by having a weekly date night. This has disappeared. I keep telling him he needs to plan something for me. ANYTHING. A picnic for lunch. A hike. Breakfast in bed. He told me today he is “just waiting to surprise me.” I told him it’s been 4.5 weeks and I’m sick of waiting. But what other choice do I have? Where am I going? Literally NOWHERE.

The good news is that we were not in any rush to get married, so we haven’t lost money or time on deposits or slashed dreams. The bad news is that there are no future plans in place to keep us together. We are holding it together by a tiny band of platinum and a not-as-tiny diamond. And love. Sometimes. When he picks up his socks.

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Miscellaneous

Social Distance Schedule

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Hey guys, how are you doing? Keeping busy? My mom sent her day’s work-from-home schedule to the family group chat this morning. She’s a busy woman. There was cleaning of rooms, pedicuring of toes, and best yet, DOWNLOAD INSTAGRAM. That’s right y’all, my mom is officially on Instagram. Since most of the people who subscribe to my blog are her friends, let me be the first one to tell you to follow my mom! She needs followers!

Anyway, back to the schedule, she inspired me to send her my schedule for the day:

8:00 am Wakeup

8-9:00 Do hair to put on the gram

9-9:15:00 Try and be creative with a breakfast avocado meal

9:15-12:00 pm Be mad about work

10:00 Coffee date with my mannequin head

12:00 Walk around neighborhood trying not to be frustrated about work

12:30 Convince one of the boys to take a photo of my hair outside

12:45 Try and be creative with a lunch avocado meal

1:30 Get more frustrated with work

4:00 Solo Dance Party

5:00 Try to convince one of the boys to exercise with me

6:30 Shower but probably not wash hair bc why bother

7:00 Try to be creative with a dinner avocado meal

6-11 Try not to murder Chris

See??? I’m busy too!! If you guys don’t know why there’s so much on there about avocados, the short version is that somehow we came into a free case of avocados that I am trying to eat/use before they go bad.

So back to the schedule. If you have been on social media at all (if you haven’t… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!), then you’ve seen many parents’ schedules. They include wakeup times, bedtimes, physical activities, craft activities, outdoor time, school time, scheduled meals, etc. Basically, doing THE MOST.

God bless those parents. I do not know how they will continue with that level of discipline. Personally, I relate a lot more to the Israeli woman who is screaming at her iphone in her car, trying to escape her 4 kids at home.

If you haven’t seen it… I highly recommend it.

Then, if you hit up the meme accounts, like @no.fucksgiiven, or @wheredidmyvodkago or @fuckjerry or @quentin.quarantino , you’ll see very different schedules. Basically, trying to stay alive, trying to stay sane, spending 88% of your waking hours on screen time, and eating every single snack at your house. Also, completely giving up on all of your new year’s resolutions because like… WHY BOTHER?!

(Mommy – you should follow those meme accounts! It may inspire your schedule for tomorrow.)

I like to think my schedule is a healthy balance of both. I have a Zoom Happy Hour on the calendar for Thursday (which is still 2 very long days away), but most of my day revolves around cooking food, exercising, and trying to consciously stay out of the kitchen to eat all of my food. I told my BFF I was going to write this blog, and she sent me her schedule, as well. Please note, she is a nurse in Seattle, so her life and schedule is MUCH more stressful than anything I am dealing with, but there is still a lot of overlap.

10:00 am Wake Up

10-11:00 Read news articles about Corona and panic. Sometimes cry.

11:00 Make eggs for breakfast, but not the usual amount because I’m rationing

12-1:00 pm Open work emails and panic again

1:00 Go for a run and wonder why there are so many cars on the road

3:00 Prolong shower

5:00 Shower*

6:00 Beer*

*In the next few days, shower and beer may fall into the same time slot

Reading her schedule made me realize that I had left “panic” out of my schedule, but don’t fret, it’s an all-day event, so just assume it belongs in all of my waking hours, and sometimes my sleeping ones, too.

We have our HUGE event of the week scheduled for tomorrow… “try not to get coronavirus at the grocery store.” Wish us luck!! What are your schedules looking like? Leave them in the comments.

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Long Legs and other Personal Problems, Miscellaneous

Date Night

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It’s TUESDAY!! And that means Date Night. Date Night is something that is sacrosanct in our house. It’s how I have lasted years through CFA studying, and years in a relationship in general with someone who works upwards of 70 hours/week. Every Tuesday, there is a recurring event in my google calendar, (shared with my fiancé), “Chris and Emily Date Night.”

Why Tuesday? To be honest, date night started at the very beginning of our relationship. Girls love to create their own rules to make sure they don’t seem too “available” or “easy.” My self-designated way of doing that? I told him I was only free on Tuesdays! It made me seem unattainable and super busy, it meant no sleepovers (duh I had work the next day), and it was a great way to get through the week. Both of us had busy schedules, I was teaching 3 classes/week at the gym and he was working 90 hours/week at the time. It was important to set aside time to see each other. Slowly, it became a tradition. Nowadays, if I have something else I need to do on a Tuesday, I ask in advance if we can switch date night to another night of the week. I love that it ensures that we see each other or make dedicated time for each other at least once.

When we moved in together, I didn’t think date night would be necessary anymore, but I was wrong. Even if we fall out of the habit for a few weeks because of work travel or other things, we can always feel the distance start to come between us. I guess that’s what living in New York means, everyone is so busy!

I know what you’re thinking… every week??? Don’t you run out of things to do? Isn’t it expensive?? No, and sometimes.

When we first started dating, I used to complain that Chris’s only date ideas were going out to dinner. Not that I don’t like dinner, hello, I LOVE food, but I like doing activities. A long time ago, I sent him a list of possible ideas. Now, I have a running list of date ideas in my Bullet Journal. Some still involve dinner, but at cool spots, like a Liberian restaurant, or a Japanese place that has a prix fixe menu set to old-school vinyl. And some involve actual activities like mini golf, bowling, pottery, and holiday markets.

  • DANGEROUS Date Night, ax-throwing in Brooklyn.
  • Yummy Date Night, make your own ice cream.
  • Fancy Date Night, out to a Broadway show.
  • Casual Date Night, out for a margarita.

Some of them are relatively cheap or free, like walking around a new neighborhood, and some of them are pricier, like seeing a Broadway show. And about half the time, they don’t involve going anywhere at all! One of my favorite date nights involves cooking dinner at home, watching Netflix (we STILL haven’t finished The Wire), and maybe walking across the street for ice cream after. The purpose of date night isn’t to spend money or explore new places (although the latter is a cool perk), it’s to spend time with each other and not get lost in the hustle and bustle of New York. It gives us a designated day of the week where I promise not to teach at the gym or go out with friends, and Chris promises to try and get home from work at a normal hour.

Most recently, we went to Dave & Busters. Taking the subway and the getting out at Times Square, especially amidst the Corona situation, is not usually something I would volunteer to do. The food was sub-par and the table was a little dirty when we got there. But the drinks were half off until 7:30 (helloooo $6 watermelon margarita!) and the quality time together was so much fun! We spent an hour after we ate just playing air hockey, ring toss, skeeball, corn hole, and various other games. I think we got a LOT of tickets, but it’s all virtual on the cards now, so I can’t be sure. We had so many credits left on our play cards, that we decided we’d need to go back another time and cash out on our winnings, then.

  • Air Hockey Champs. By that I mean me. I am the champ (ok, I lost twice).
  • Lots of tickets won on ring toss.
  • Coronarita. DANGER.

I always think of myself as a trendsetter, but Date Night has definitely caught on with some of our friends. I recently found out that two close friends of Chris’s have take the idea themselves, and they designated Wednesdays as date night. Having a weekday date night makes it low pressure (no need for an all-night Saturday marathon date) and it’s also easier to make reservations or get tickets to things. I hope to combine some of my “Date Night Ideas” with my “New York Bucket List” items soon, like going to the Guggenheim or seeing Alvin Ailey. Good thing there are 52 Tuesdays per year!

Do you have any awesome date ideas? Leave them below in the comments!

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