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…
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.
As many of you probably know, I have been teaching fitness classes for 13 years. My favorite workout of all time is step aerobics, but I have mainly been teaching Spinning classes for the past 5 years.
I run sometimes but I largely hate it. Remember when I ran a marathon? LOL #NeverAgain
But guess what??? The gyms are closed. Indefinitely. Who knows when we will take another group fitness class?? No spin, no step, no nothing. So I have taken my talents to the pavement and I have started running again. A lot.
This blog post isn’t about my current running, though, it’s about my January running! Remember January? It was about 19 years ago. Or it feels like it. Anyway, my current return to running reminded me of a blog I meant to write after I completed a run streak in January.
At the beginning of each year, I put multiple goals in my Bullet Journal for the year. One of my Fitness Goals this year was to complete a month-long run streak. Run streaks have become more popular over the years, but I never attempted one because I have always had so many other fitness things going on, from teaching classes, to going to boot camps, training for races, etc. According to Runner’s World,
“a run streak simply means running on consecutive days, for a set period of time, without fail. The rules are simple: you set your intended timeframe, and then all you have to do is run (most runners opt for a minimum of one mile) every single day. Your run streak can be for weeks, months, or for the exceptionally committed runner, forever.”
Well, ladies and gents, there was no way I was doing that craziness for a full year. I wanted to be realistic, so my goal was one uninterrupted month. This year, with no marathon on the calendar and only teaching 2 classes per week, it was the perfect time to attempt a streak (with my clothes on). I figured, why put it off? Let’s start in January. Better yet, I got a head start and began on December 31st.
And guess what? For someone who had semi-recently run 26.2 miles, running 1 mile was still TOUGH!
Always with the #fastbraids and on-brand shirts.
Even though I generally work out a lot, I always allow myself one rest day per week, sometimes two. The difference between one rest day and zero was way more noticeable than I thought it would be. Also, I had to add the mile on to my already existing workouts. On Mondays and Thursdays, I got to the gym early for my spin class and hopped on the treadmill for a warmup mile. The mile itself wasn’t terrible, but Spin class afterward was way more difficult. I even adjusted my settings sometimes (Shhh! Don’t tell).
On Wednesdays and Fridays when I went to 7:00 am boot camp at the gym half a mile away, I left the house 5 minutes earlier and ran out of the way to make it a fulll mile before I got there. 7:00 am circuit training is never a cake walk but after a mile? Even harder.
And let’s not even talk about the few days when it was pouring rain. You know how people say “you can do anything for 10 minutes?” That was how I finally wrapped my brain around taking my butt off the couch and into a torrential downpour. I put my phone in a Ziploc bag and hit the pavement for 10 minutes. It was not easy.
Overall, I guess I’m glad I did it but I probably wouldn’t do it again. I only totaled about 45 miles, since I was rarely running more than 1 mile a day. I prefer what I’m doing now, which is a longer distance, taking walking breaks when I want, and taking days off when my legs feel like it.
For people who struggle with motivation, the 1-mile-a-day may be motivating because you will feel guilty breaking a streak. For me, I prefer making my own schedule rather than being tied to a made-up one. I did get brand new sneakers shipped to me in Texas yesterday, so I’m excited to continue hitting the pavement (when I feel like it).
Have any of you guys attempted a run streak? Were you successful? How long did it last?
Bullet Journal Run Streak! I made a foot stencil, and flipped it for the alternate foot btw.
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
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.
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.
What are you guys up to today? Sitting at home in social isolation? #SAME. I wanted to entertain you for a bit with a blog post. I solemnly swear that I will try to post as least one blog a week while we are in these crazy solitary times! I actually wrote this blog more than a month ago, but it seems like the perfect time to share it, since we are all cooking from home, scrambling for groceries, and ordering in. I got a pleading email from Seamless to support your local restaurants from ordering in. If you DO order in, please remember to pay ahead, and let the delivery person leave the food outside!
If anyone wants to video-chat me, please feel free! Also, if you have specific requests for blogs, leave them in the comments! Want to know what I’m doing to stay active while the gym is closed? How I’m staying sane? How I’m doing on my 2020 goals so far and what I’m able to accomplish of them from home? Let me know! Be safe out there. ❤️
If someone gave you a Christmas gift that involved staying at home for an 8 hour delivery window and then cooking elaborate meals by yourself, would you jump for joy? Probably not. Well, neither did I, but that’s what happened in 2018 when my bf and I were gifted a one-week subscription to HelloFresh.
In theory it was an adorable idea. No grocery shopping, new recipes, fun activity to do together as a couple while not having to leave the house in the middle of winter. Unfortunately, I knew that is not how it would pan out in our household, since I’m the only one who knows her way around the kitchen and I’m the only one home from work before 8 pm. I wasn’t looking forward to it, so I never used the gift certificate. When Christmas 2019 rolled around and we still hadn’t used it, we got some heavy-handed reminders from the gift-giver (my bf’s sister), and she told us the gift was going to expire. I put it in my bullet journal to order for the next week. Easy, right? NO.
The gift card had been sent to my bf’s email address he no
longer used. I spent 20 minutes chatting online with their customer service representative
to place the order, until they said they couldn’t help me and told me to call
instead. 40 minutes on the phone later (one hour total), I finally placed an
order for three meals, two servings each, and I had an 8-hour delivery window
on the following Saturday.
Oh, also, they required a credit card for the “free” order,
so that they could charge me for the recurring service. There was no way to
order only one week. They said I needed to cancel the next week’s order one
week before I received the next box, but after I received the current box,
which was one week prior. Catch 22, no? I had a feeling I would be calling
their customer service people again a week later to request a refund.
As I am sure you are realizing, by the time the box actually arrived, I wanted to throw it directly in the trash. But I am a good not-yet-sister-in-law, so I didn’t throw it in the garbage – I reworked my regular meal-prepping and grocery shopping so I had three days to make the meals I received: Gouda Pork Burgers with Caramelized Siracha Onions and Potato Wedges; Cheesy Beef Tostadas with Long Green Pepper, Tomato Salsa and Hot Sauce Crema; and Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Creamy Lemon Tomato Spaghetti. In theory, you can go on the website and make substitutions for meals or pick different ones. But after the hour I had already spent on the phone with them, I just told them to send me any three.
The meals arrived in a box with ice packs, with the meat separate, and then a big brown bag with the rest of the ingredients for each meal. I was scared to open or separate anything, so I rearranged everything in our fridge to fit these huge brown bags. Living in NYC, we have a VERY small fridge. We barely had room for the 3 bags and a Brita pitcher and a dozen eggs. In hindsight, I probably should have taken everything out and repacked it in gallon-size Ziplocs or something else so we would have more room. Anyway, the time came for me to make the first meal, and I was ready. I took the meat & the brown bag #1 out of the fridge and started following the directions step by step.
Step 1, Meal 1 (pork burgers), I looked at the recipe card, which told me what to “bust out.” These are items you’re meant to have in your house. Unfortunately, living in an NYC apartment with a minuscule kitchen, the first two items they called for (a zester and grater), I didn’t have. They also called for olive oil and butter, which I had, and sugar, which I didn’t have. In addition to the ingredients, they tell you which pots and pans to “bust out.” Spoiler alert, it’s like, your entire kitchen. or at least an entire NYC kitchen. For each meal. Usually when I make burgers it’s a one pan meal. For these HelloFresh burgers I “busted out” a baking sheet, a medium pan, a large bowl, a large pan, and a small bowl. WTF?
Ingredients with their individual paper bag.
Burgers in the pan!
Finished Product!
Meal 2, tostadas, required a medium bowl, small bowl, large pan, and baking sheet. Meal three, the parmesan chicken and pasta required a large pot, baking sheet, zester (still didn’t have one), strainer, and medium bowl. I ran the dishwasher after every meal I made! Also, there was barely enough of each meal to make my fiance and me satisfied. It was 2, small-sized servings, and if I was eating after the gym, which is pretty much every dinner I have, it was not enough food. Plus, it didn’t leave any food for leftovers to bring for lunch. I like to mealprep for lunch, but I was cooking so much for these dinners, I didn’t have the energy (or dishes left) to cook for lunches. I ended up spending far more on food for the week than I usually would have.
I know what you’re thinking… were there any pros of this
meal plan at all?? YES. The food was DELICIOUS. Honestly very, very good,
restaurant-quality food. Also, I was pushed to try cooking things I had never made
before, and I kept the recipe cards, so I could make them again on my own. Who
knows if I ever will, though, because it would mean buying all of the
ingredients. Which brings me to the next good part – it came with all of the
ingredients. As I said in the “con” section above, it was just enough of
each ingredient, so we had no leftovers. But the good part was, it was just
enough of each ingredient, so I didn’t need to run out to the store to buy
anything, except sugar. When the recipe called for sugar that I didn’t have, I
just left it out of the recipe and the caramelized onions were not so caramelly,
but still delicious. I liked that I could eat different recipes I had never
thought to make, or never knew how to make.
Ingredients and recipe card.
Gourmet Chef Emily!
Another pro was the timing. Each meal only took 35-40 minutes. If I was making more servings and I would have had leftovers for lunch, this would have been a good amount of time. Since it only fed each of us one meal (and left us a little hungry), it felt like too much time. I think I would get a bit quicker if I did it more often. For example, I learned the hard way that I should read the entire recipe card and instructions before beginning the meal. In Meal #1, step 2 called for paprika, and step 4 called for “the rest of the paprika.” But I hadn’t known that, and I had used it all in step 2. Oops. I learned to read the whole thing first, which made the recipes go much faster. If I had more practice with it, I think I would learn even more tricks to make the meals quicker.
I learned some things I will definitely use in the future,
like that crema is just hot sauce, water, and sour cream with a touch of salt. Or
that you can put tortillas in the oven with a sprinkle of olive oil and fork
piercings to make them into tostadas. Or that anything looks more
instagrammable with a lime wedge on the side.
As soon as I had my box in hand, I went online and canceled
my subscription so I wouldn’t be charged. Overall, I doubt I would order it
again, especially in such a small serving size. If I did it again, I would
double the serving size so I could have leftovers or lunch, with the same
amount of cooking time. I liked learning new things, and I would like to
eventually have a whole binder of Hello-Fresh recipes I could whip up at a
moment’s notice. Maybe someday if I win the lottery and I have a lot more time
on my hands. And sometime between now and then, I’ll get a much larger,
full-size fridge to fit the big brown bags of ingredients, and I’ll buy all of
the things a person needs in their kitchen so they can “bust them out” when
necessary, like sugar and a zester.
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!
This may be the most exciting blog I’ve written. I know you guys loved to read about my student loans and fitness classes, but what you were REALLY waiting for was a proposal from the mystery-man-behind-the-emoji. And it happened! I was completely surprised and I had no idea I would be publishing this blog this week. I thought I was going to write about HelloFresh. No offense to HelloFresh but this far exceeds anything that post would have been.
Of course the first question everyone asks about the proposal is, “How did he ask??” Actually, the FIRST question everyone asks is, “When are you getting married??” But when I tell them I have no idea, the next question is “how did he do it?” Since the proposal was a surprise, I decided to write this blog in first person, mostly in the order in which I found out the details, not in chronological order. There was a lot of pre-work and scheming that went into the proposal, ring choosing, etc, but I didn’t know about any of it until after. Let me start on Friday night, Valentine’s Day.
As is the case with pretty much every night we try and go out, I was running late. I had taken a comp day from work because I had been working long hours all week. Even though I woke up at 6 am to go to the gym, I was relaxing and running errands all day. Gym, laundry, grocery store, etc. My emoji-boyfriend (… um… emoji-FIANCE… um… should I call him Chris now?) was also working from home Friday, so as I was folding the laundry as he was in the shower getting ready for our date, which was a surprise.
I had showered earlier and asked him for a brief outline of the date, so I knew what to wear. He said, “dinner and a show, but not crazy fancy dinner, I know you hate that” (true), so I pulled out a semi-casual dress. When he got out of the shower the apartment was completely steamy, and if you’re a girl with any sort of wavy hair, you know that means – absolutely no style will hold in your hair. Of course this caused me to be even later. I quickly straightened my hair and put a 1-minute French half braid in my hair. This may seem like an inconsequential detail. But it just proves how much of a surprise this proposal was. I would NEVER have had my hair straight and/or with a haphazard braid if I had known. HELLOOO I have 4 different curling wands/irons AND A BRAIDING BUSINESS. I would have PREPARED. Alas.
We left the house 15 minutes later than intended and headed to one of our favorite wine bars in our neighborhood called Vanguard. Luck was with us, because there were actually two seats left at the bar next to each other, which I was surprised about on Valentine’s Day. We each had a glass of wine and paid as soon as the bartender poured because we were in a hurry for our dinner reservations. I couldn’t tell you a single thing we talked about, probably a show we are watching on Netflix. After our wine, we put our coats back on and the only clue I had was that we were taking the 2-3 train southbound.
Around 14th street, Chris asked if I knew where we were going. I said, “no clue, somewhere downtown?” When we got off the train at Chambers Street, I still had no idea, but I remember making a comment about being jealous of girls going out in groups for Galentine’s Day. LOL I mean, don’t get me wrong, obviously I LOVE my FIANCE but also I love my girls. If i had known there was a diamond on the horizon I probably would not have made that comment.
We were walking for what seemed like an hour in 18-degree weather (it was about 5 minutes), when Chris asked again if I knew where we were going. Again, I said no, but then I realized that we were in front of Bubby’s in Tribeca, the restaurant where we had our first date. For a SHORT second, I thought maybe he would propose, but then I realized it’s just a restaurant we both like, and that he could probably get a reservation there on Valentine’s Day. Also, the Tribeca location where we met was closed for renovations for a few months, so I figured he just thought I’d be happy it was open again.
Before the date even began he brought me home flowers while I folded laundry!
My insta-story as the night began (long before I knew what was going to happen).
Thank goodness for these biscuits!
Kisses and emoji bfs (fiancés?)
The hostess seated us, and the server announced a prix fixe option including unlimited champagne for 90 minutes. Since we both don’t love champagne and we also wanted to order off the menu, we said no to prix fixe, and ordered our own drinks. I had a Bourbon Sweet Tea. Yes, this is an important detail too, so you understand how much we are about to drink. It was mango infused bourbon, sweet tea, & lemon. Of course we ordered biscuits to start. If you ever go to Bubby’s, GET THE BISCUITS. In hindsight, I was certainly glad I had some carbs in my stomach because by the time the meal came, I was too excited to eat.
Some of our conversation at dinner was about our first date, what we talked about then, etc. Chris later told me he was trying to set up the proposal, but as usual, I was completely oblivious. He also later told me that he took the day off of work because he knew he was going to propose, and I ruined his alone time by taking a comp day – also completely oblivious to that. ANYWAY.
When our main courses arrived, I started cutting up the avocado in my cobb salad when Chris said, “before we have our food, I have a question to ask you.” FULL STOP. That was when I knew. If you know me, you don’t come between me and my food unless it’s for something amazing.
Then Chris started in on his semi-planned proposal (maybe he planned to practice in the mirror all day, but I ruined those plans by hanging out on the couch).
He said that since this was the place where we got our start, he wanted it to be the place where we had our next start. Then he said a lot of amazing things about me and how much I mean to him. I pretty much blacked out when I realized he was going to propose. But I later asked him what he had said, and my memory was almost spot on. Then he asked me to marry him and took a FABULOUS ring out of his coat pocket. AND I SAID YES!! I was so excited I couldn’t even cry. I did say, “Should I be crying? I feel like I should be crying.”
Now before I go on with the story of the night, I want to take a quick break to address this ring. Y’all… this thing is GORGEOUS. I mean. Showstopper. He did SO WELL. This is not the first time my adorable fiance has bought me jewelry, and let’s just say, it’s been hit or miss. We have made exchanges on more than one occasion. But this?? 100% perfect. How did he do it??? Well duh, he had some help from my friends. I couldn’t leave something this important up to chance. I mean, ladies and gents, we had been dating for 4.5 years. Yes, I was COMPLETELY surprised that he proposed on that night, but did I think it was coming?? I sure hoped so! I had sent a photo of the type of ring I wanted to anyone I thought he might ask. My mom had it. My best friend had it. My sister had it. His sister had it. Sure enough, I found out later that he asked my BFF and she did me proud and showed him the photo. And he got it exactly right, if not better because it is SO SPARKLY. I didn’t post a photo on Facebook because that’s tacky but if you want to see it, I’ll gladly show you. Either in person or photographic evidence. Ok, now back to the story.
So remember we already had a glass of wine at the wine bar and a whiskey drink at dinner because we hadn’t picked the prix fixe option? My now-fiance had called the restaurant ahead of time to tip them off, so the server was waiting for the right moment to bring over a bottle of champagne, on the house. I don’t love champagne but I do love free stuff! Needless to say, I could barely eat because I was so excited. So instead I just guzzled champagne while staring at my ring every time I brought the glass to my face. The next day’s hangover was worth it.
We finished the entire bottle of champagne and got ready for the next stop of the night. But first, I went to the bathroom and texted a photo of the ring to my best friend. The text read something like, “This is completely unexpected so my nails look like sh*t and don’t show this photo to anyone but OMFG!!!” Of course she started texting me back with a million questions but we were already en route to our next destination, West Side Comedy Club.
We love going to comedy shows together, and especially when they are right in our neighborhood! This show was a special 9 pm Valentine’s Day show about relationships. There were single comics, queer comics, comedians who were enagaged, comedians who were married and performing together, comedians who were married and performed separately… it was a lot and it was hysterical. I love shows with multiple acts because if one person is terrible or not your style, you only have to put up with them for 10 minutes. But overall, they were hilarious. The tables had chocolate Hershey kisses and hearts on them, and best of all, despite the club having a 2-drink minimum, our server forgot to come back to us so we only had to have one drink each, which was ideal after the chugging of the bottle of champagne at dinner.
Insta-story continues (no one knew I had a ring on my rfinger!)
CHOCOLATE. It’s a celebration!!
When the show was over, we hustled home in the cold and passed out. Too much to drink. I woke up early the next morning because I had to teach a spin class. One of the girls I see often at the gym saw me helping someone adjust their bike and said, “Did you get engaged or have I never noticed that ring?” and I said, “I got engaged,” and she said, “Congratulations! When?” and the whole room went silent just as I said , “Last night.” I went from telling two people, to telling 25. Woops.
After spin class, I took a quick shower and rushed off to get my nails done so I could take a proper photo of my new pet rock, as I have taken to calling it. I used the ring light (no pun intended) that I have to take hair photos to show off the SHINE properly. Once my nails were 100, we went out to brunch and then Chris told me he booked a hotel room for us! We packed overnight bags and headed to the Conrad Downtown.
Brunch post-manicure.
Getting ready to set off on our staycation.
Bags are packed, we’re ready to go!
We had a water view room where we could watch the ferries go to and from New Jersey. I was in the room for approximately 60 seconds before I put on the softest most luxurious robe ever and sat down in bed. Chris promptly took a nap and I read my book. Being engaged is EXHAUSTING! After a little energy boost, we finally started the mandatory phone calls and texts to tell people before the news broke the internet. It’s not like I’m Kim Kardashian, but y’all know people have been waiting for this for literally years. Legit, every time I go on a trip with Chris, my DM’s are filled with messages that just say “💍?”
The second we got there I put on the robe
Large beds are the best thing ever!
View at sunset
View from inside the atrium of the hotel
We called his siblings, and I texted my friends, I called my siblings, and after a few hours of that, we went to dinner at El Vez. I usually don’t drink at dinner, but it was a celebration! I had two margaritas. Ok, I had three.
I told Chris how much anxiety I was having about posting on social media. The pressure is intense! I have been seeing engagements on my feed for at least a decade. I have seen everything from cliche to disgusting. I didn’t want to be either of those things. I definitely was not going to post “I said yes!” I thought about just posting a photo of us from the restaurant. But people have been seeing photos of us at restaurants for YEARS. I didn’t think people would believe me without seeing the ring! But I don’t believe in just posting a photo of the ring. So garish. So materialistic. Also, it’s not about the ring (but goddamn that thing is so pretty). I said to Chris, “Quick, get me with this taco so I can show people the ring.” Chris is great at taking photos of my hair. But of me eating? Not so much. There were ten outtakes. We finally got a good, “Does this taco make me look engaged” photo, which is very on-brand, and cliche but not too cliche, and I decided to post the taco and the happy couple pic. But I still wasn’t ready.
When I was asking him who else I needed to tell, it came out that he went all the way to Philadelphia to ask my parents for their blessing! I had no idea. He had told me he was out to dinner with a friend in New York, which I blindly trusted. I guess that’s a good thing? Anyway, my parents already knew when he was set to propose. My mom took a photo when they were together in Phily and wanted to post it on Facebook, which my dad and Chris promptly told her would ruin the entire purpose of the surprise. And since my mom can’t keep a secret and knew she couldn’t post about it, she told my sister. Then she felt bad so she told my brother, as well. And my sister didn’t want to hold it in, so she told my best friend. BASICALLY, everyone knew except me. This made breaking the news much easier.
We went back to the hotel Saturday night, slept a longggg time, and when Sunday rolled around, I was finally ready. Around 3 pm, I said to Chris, “Are you ready to break the internet??? Let it rip!” And I posted on two Instagram accounts and on Facebook. As of this writing, we are at 392 likes on Facebook. I still need a good photo for my Braidstagram with ring on display, I’m waiting for the perfect moment.
It’s been a little longer than a week since he proposed, and I’ve slowly been asking him details about how he planned it. Turns out, it’s been a long time coming. He bought ring-sizing instruments from online and sized one of my rings when I was at work. I fully sabotaged this plan by telling my best friend the wrong size, which he trusted. The ring is currently back at Blue Nile, being resized… I miss it so much.
I promised you guys a grand reveal of his face once we were engaged, so here it is: the very happy couple a few minutes after his proposal. Was his cute face worth the wait? I SAY YES!
Ring so shiny it GLOWS
We always need to experiment with different lighting, but we look good in all of them. Duh.
Last week I went to a spa for the first time and it was magical. Really, like stepping into a dream. Specifically, I went to SoJo Spa, and I am definitely going to be making a trip (or 10) back. Here are a few reasons why:
First of all, it was almost free. Ok, it wasn’t free, but I
had paid for it last year as a Christmas present for my bf and we never used
it. So pretty much I had forgotten how much I had paid for it and it was free.
In reality, it’s $75 on the weekend on $55 during the week, which is actually a
bargain since you can stay there for like 14 hours.
Second of all, the transportation was free. This is actually
true. They have a free shuttle that picks you up from midtown Manhattan! This
is a huge perk because the spa itself is in New Jersey (I know, ew), and it’s
not easy to get to NJ without a car. Plus, tolls! I was happy to book us seats in
the shuttle 2 weeks in advance online, and not have to worry about getting
there and back. The only drawback was picking the time in advance. I didn’t
know if I’d want to spend the whole day there. In hindsight, duh, I should have
taken the last shuttle back, but at the time I wasn’t sure. We picked the 11 am
shuttle there, and the 6 pm back; it left exactly on time and the ride only
took 20 minutes.
Morning Shuttle, left exactly on time!
Evening shuttle, also exactly on time and free!
Third of all, they have Asian-inspired food in their dining
hall, which is some of my fav cuisine. It’s Asian-fusion, with sushi, bulgogi,
salmon rice bowls, udon, etc. When we had lunch, it came with a surprise bowl
of miso soup. Yum.
I realize I haven’t actually talked about the spa yet. Let’s
get to the good stuff.
When we were dropped off at the spa from the shuttle, there
was a huge line to get in. This was a little annoying because it was cold. But the
line actually had HUGE heaters, so eventually the top of my head was burning
hot. Not ideal. But it moved pretty quickly, and we were inside within 15
minutes. Then we paid/scanned our gift certificate, had our bags checked (I had
to chug the remnants of my iced coffee), and proceeded to the “shoe lockers.”
The whole facility is a shoe-less facility, so you put your shoes there for the
day, and the “key” to the locker is a wristband you wear all day. You can pay
for food with it, massages, and also open your main locker with it upstairs.
We went up to the 4th floor where the locker
rooms are and got changed. They give you a towel and a robe to wear all day
over your swimsuit. A majority of the facility is coed, so swimwear it
required. I am pretty used to stripping in front of other women in gym locker
rooms, so this was normal for me to change into a swimsuit. For the shy people,
there were changing rooms but there was a line for them.
I locked up all of my valuables, took my book, and explored
the locker room a bit. There were about 100 showers with nice toiletries (which
I never used), and also women-only hot tubs and saunas. There was an interior
exit and an external exit to
many many hot tubs, each with different purposes. I had told Chris I would
meet him at the foot massage path, a shallow pool with flat and rounded stones on
the bottom. This is meant to “provide walkers a natural foot reflexology
massage while improving balance and heightening body awareness.” What it really
did was KILL my feet. There was a sign that said, “advanced to the left, beginners
to the right.” Unfortunately, I started on the wrong end, so left was right and
right was left, and I had no idea what I was doing besides that fact that I was
crying in pain and holding on to the railing for dear life. Oh, also, I couldn’t
find my bf and my phone was in my locker. I slowllllyyy got to the other end of
the foot path, went back to my locker, and told him to meet me at a more
central location.
Once I was with my emoji-bf who is much smarter than me, he
helped me realize that we were walking on the wrong side of the foot path, and
things got much easier from there. We took off our robes in one of the many
heated tents, and quickly shuffled into the first hot tub, or “silk bath,”
which “utilizes state-of-the-art Japanese white ionization technology that
infuses hot spring micro-bubbles directly to the water to nourish body tissue
and improve skin elasticity.” Do I believe any of that? Maybe. But it was a
nice hot tub either way. We then made our way to the hydrotherapy pool, which
was one of my favorite spots of the day. It’s a pool with various little
cubbies you can stand and sit in, which have jets aimed at different parts of
your body. Shoulders, calves, hamstrings, lower back. It was glorious. After
trying out a few different cubbies, we headed to the Dining hall for some Asian
fusion.
The death trap aka foot massage path.
Outside pools and fountains, some of them closed for winter.
Infinity Pool we didn’t go in.
After lunch, feeling refreshed but a little tired, we
decided to do some exploring, then check out some of the saunas. We stopped by
the gym ($5 extra fee, but like, who wants to work out??), we saw the infinity
pool which was packed with people taking selfies, we saw the yoga studio, and
checked out their “coworking space,” which was really just a corner with a long
desk and 6 office chairs. After walking a few hundred steps, it was time to
relax again and find the saunas. It was packed! Granted, it was a three-day
weekend, but it was a little annoying to go into the first sauna and find it
packed like sardines. Luckily, there were many options. We eventually found room
to lay out on the ground in the charcoal sauna, and spent about 15-20 minutes
baking in there.
After that, we headed to the relaxation lounge,
and I finally got a chance to dive into my book. I even took a little nap.
After my nap, I was reinvigorated and ready to sweat some more, so I did some
sauna hopping. I went to the red clay sauna, the Himalayan Salt sauna, and the
white clay sauna, I mixed in some times in the ice room to cool down, and even
spent 15 minutes reading on the hot stone beds.
I met up with my bf, who was still relaxing back in the relaxation lounge, and we watched the sun go down over Manhattan and realized we only had an hour left before changing to go back to NYC. We made a plan to hit up some of the things we hadn’t seen yet, and started with the Ganbanyoku Room. This is “bedrock bathing,” which is basically Japanese hot stone therapy. According to SoJo’s website, you lay down on a “heated black mineral slab which emits far-infrared rays and negative ions to speed up the release of toxins from the body through perspiration. Pressure points around the body that are in contact with the stones are stimulated to alleviate joint, muscular and nerve pain. Other benefits include healthier skin tone, blood circulation and improved immune system.” Again, not sure I believe any of that. But what I can say for sure is it was HOT. I mean like 110 degrees. You must put towels down under every part of your skin that is showing including your toes. I lasted approximately 8 minutes in that room. We then headed back to the pools for a final dip. First to the carbon-rich bath, and then to the Hinoki, or white cedar bath.
No pics!! Relaxation only!!
View of the GW Bridge
Nighttime in the hydrotherapy pools
Steam!
Unfortunately, our time was up (if we didn’t want to miss
our free shuttle back to NYC), so we went back to the locker room, changed,
checked out by scanning our wristbands and paying for any extras, and headed
back downstairs to our shoe lockers.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. It was crowded, but on the Sunday of a 3-day weekend, it was no more crowded than I expected. I still was able to experience everything I wanted – 4 saunas, 5 hot tubs, I finished half of a book, spent time with my bf, AND I got to take a nap in the middle of the day. I can’t imagine going in the summer, because my favorite part of the hot tubs and saunas was the cold outside air in between. However, there are cold pools and waterfalls, and chaise lounges for tanning in the summer. Those were all closed in January. I may need to check it out in June and write a compare/contrast blog by season. Anyone want to go with me?
On Wednesdays we wear pink. And we also go see Mean Girls on Broadway. Let me tell you it was SO FETCH. It was probably my favorite day of the year so far. And that’s only because October 3rd hasn’t happened yet.
For those of you who are lost, you should really brush up on your Mean Girls movie quotes. From here on out, I promise to tell you about my experience and not just quote the movie. My experience was AWESOME. Really. You guys know I set annual goals for myself, and the best way to make your goals a reality is by telling people so you stay accountable. In this case, I told all of my friends that I wanted to see 3 Broadway shows so they would invite me with them. TADAA my plan worked! Well, sort of.
My good friend has a way better memory than me (or is better at setting alarms on her phone), so she remembers to enter the lottery online to win tickets to Broadway shows almost every week. She even enters for shows she has already been to. Two weeks ago, she won tickets to see Mean Girls on Tuesday. Unfortunately, she asked me if I wanted to see it, and also asked her coworker, and we both said yes. I told her it was fine and I could go another day. Little did I know, another day would be THE NEXT DAY. And better yet, it was WEDNESDAY!
The way the Broadway
Lottery works, for the non-New-Yorkers among us, is that you enter online, and
then you find out the day before if you won. The tickets aren’t free, but they
are drastically reduced. In this case, they were $47.50 each. The main drawback
is, you never know where the seats will be, or if they will be together. Also,
the person who wins the tickets needs to be present with their ID to pick them
up. My friend, even though she won the lottery, said I could pick someone else
to go with since she had already seen it. I picked my sister, and she was
thrilled to join me even though she hadn’t even seen the movie. (She doesn’t
even go here!!) My friend went to the theater to pick up the tickets and be my
sister’s and my official Mean Girls photographer, and then left to go home.
What a good friend, amirite??? She’s no Regina George. Plus, we got lucky. The
seats were together and they were orchestra row R.
Even though my sister hadn’t seen the movie, she had me, Mean Girls trivia extraordinaire, to coach her through the experience. I explained how OBVIOUSLY we needed to wear pink. I took out all of the pink in my dresser (literally, I laid my shirts out on my bed and sent pics to my sister) and asked her which I should wear so we could match. True to her word, my sister showed up in a bright pink dress and a light pink, sparkly scarf in her hair. We both had packed snacks, like professional show-goers. In my sister’s bag – chocolate covered raisins (in a Ziplock bag so they didn’t make noise, duh), and a bottle of water. In my bag – cut up pieces of apple, lifesaver gummies, and chocolate mint bark thins. We were ready for show time.
Marquee and our major pink outfits
Obligatory Playbill pic
Anyone want some PINK!?
The stage, so much pink!
It was SO
GOOD. Like… one of my favorite shows in the past few years, and I have seen a
LOT! And better yet, my sister loved it and she didn’t even know the story
beforehand! She said it reminded her a lot of real high school dynamics (she
works in a school), and she especially liked Damien, both the character and the
actor, who she recognized from when he played one of the elders in Book of
Mormon.
It was a fun
experience for me to see a familiar story acted out in real life, and I loved
the addition of the musical numbers. I had a bit of trouble understanding the
words when Regina sang, and when I said that at intermission to my sister, she
said the same thing. Actually, she may have said it first and then I said, “omg
me too.”
But by far, the funniest part of the show was Aaron Samuels, the main character’s love interest. I am pretty sure that they didn’t cast him thinking he would be the funniest part, but… let me explain. On any given day, it doesn’t really matter if you can sing. And most of the time, you can’t even tell if someone isn’t a fantastic vocalist. But when you’re on the stage of a Broadway production, surrounded by amazing vocalists, it should be a prerequisite. And if you CAN’T sing? Let’s just say, people notice.
Poor Aaron
Samuels, though, or I should say, poor Cameron Dallas… he was
TERRIBLE. I mean really really bad. In the first Act, he only sang a few lines.
And at intermission I said to my sister, “what is going on with him? Is he
sick? Is he really bad? Did you hear that?” So, we did some research in the Playbill.
Usually, the playbill is filled with paragraphs of stage credits for each
leading person. Shows in high school, shows on Broadway, traveling productions
in the US and abroad… this guy? He has 20 million Instagram
followers. And zero stage credits. We had a serious a-ha moment. He was
cast because he is an influencer!! It made so much sense. There were screaming
girls in the audience, all in attendance to see their favorite YouTube sensation.
No matter at all that he couldn’t carry a tune to save his life and there are thousands
of starving actors in NYC dying for their big break. Honestly, it pissed me
off. But also, it cracked me up.
In Act 2, he sang a lot more. There was even a scene that was supposed to be a quiet scene in a bedroom, but it was difficult not to gawk at how bad of a singer he was. The entire theater was tittering and talking, and at first I thought people were making fun of him, but NOPE. It was his teeny bopper fans fawning over him! When the show ended, they jumped out of their seats to give him a standing ovation and rushed the stage door to try and grab selfies with him. Meanwhile, I googled him to figure out what his talents were that got him 20 million followers. They were definitely not singing or dancing. (Spoiler alert: they don’t exist. But he did struggle with addiction and started a charity about that.)
UPDATE! I saw it again! I was saving this blog to make sure I posted it on a Wednesday, and in the interim, I actually saw the show AGAIN! After attending the show, my sweet emoji-bf who was out of town told me he was so jealous. To my surprise, he said he had always wanted to see it. I knew he loved the movie but I didn’t think he would be interested in the showtunes version, but I was wrong. 6 days later, my friend won lottery tickets AGAIN and of course I said yes!! And I attended the show with him and he loved it.
Overall, the show was a GREAT time and I would recommend it 100%. Take yourself, take your boyfriend, or take your kids, especially if you don’t want to be a regular mom, you want to be a COOL mom!
Oops, I did it again. I wasted my time, got lost in the hype. Oh baby, baby.
That’s right guys, my failed 2018 resolution and I had another go-around. I am happy to say that with some major adjustments, I had slightly more success, which was largely because I changed my mindset and stopped caring about succeeding. Of course, I’m talking about bullet journaling.
For those of
you who are new around here, a bullet journal is “a way to track the past, organize
the present, and plan for the future.” Sounds awesome. Unfortunately, it is
VERY time consuming, especially if you want it to be cute! Which, of course I
do.
If you are too lazy to read my blog from last year, the TLDR is that in 2018, I went down the BuJo Youtube rabbit hole, got obsessed with many different “habit trackers,” I got behind, I was tired of writing down everything I did, and I basically gave up on both the journaling aspect, the “tracking the past” aspect, and decided I would just use my google calendar to “plan for the future.” I decided to ditch the BuJo since it became a time-wasting method instead of a time-saving method.
But then I got
a 40% off coupon for Michaels (seriously, I get one every 2 weeks, how does
that store make money??) so I decided to buy a new notebook and start again
with some adjustments.
The main parts of the bullet journal concept remained: the index to keep track of where everything was, the future log to put things for later in the year, the monthly log, weekly logs and collections. My main addition was a lot more scrapbooking. I kept little mementos from things I attended and attached them to the pages with Washi tape. For example, many many playbill covers, “Beat” stickers from football games, my ticket from the Belmont Stakes, tickets to Knicks/Heat games, and bus tickets and mementos from my travels.
Index
More Index
Why do I write this out every year?
Planning the dots so I know how much fits on a page
Future log for future planning
I need to space this better in 2020
The main changes in 2019 were to my collections and to the way I tracked my weeks. Between those changes to my actual bullet journal, and the change in my attitude about keeping up with it, aka my “IDGAF mentality,” I was able to successfully keep up with my journal all year long.
Collections:
Last year, I got reallllllyyy behind in tracking my moods. Also, it felt repetitive (yay for being happy most of the time), useless (why does it matter in December that I was sad for 2 days in January?), and also it was difficult to track if I fell behind. There’s actually a psychological phenomenon about this called rosy retrospection, and when I was a week behind, I just assumed I had been happy the whole week. Which is dumb and pointless. The first thing to go in my 2019 BuJo was the mood tracker. I decided to keep my 10,000 steps a day tracker, because it was easy to fill in if I got behind thanks to my FitBit app, and I kept my daily workout tracker, because I wanted to see the distribution of my workouts as I tried to add in more strength training to my routine.
Steps and Workouts
Blogs Posted. MUST write more!
SO MANY BOOKS.
Impressive travel for the year.
Savings goals all hit!
Never looked at this.
Social Stats.
Marathon Training Schedule
Marathon Training ACTUALLY
I chose to get
rid of pages I either didn’t use, or pages that were repetitive because I was
tracking the data in some other way or in some other app. For example, I got rid
of my “To-Read” page because it was easier to add them in the Good Reads app,
and I always had my phone with me to add books as people recommended them to
me. I also got rid of the ratings on my Movies Watched page, because I could remember
how I felt about a movie without writing it down. I got rid of my “braids to
learn” page, because they were bookmarked in my Instragram. I also got rid of
my “Key” because after a year of bullet journaling, I didn’t have to remind
myself what the symbols meant anymore.
The last thing
I wanted to do was make my life MORE difficult, but I did add on a few new
collections of pages for my 2018 layout. First, marathon training! I added my
training schedule based on the Hal Higdon method, and I added pages to track my
training and miles. I liked seeing it all together, instead of scrolling
through my Nike+ app. Also, I liked writing down how certain runs felt to me, so
I could remember that I sometimes had bad days, but they were often followed by
much better ones. I also added a Braiding calendar at the beginning of each
month. The “braiding community” often puts together “twins” for people’s
birthdays, where you do a similar style or type of style for someone’s special
day, or you just have a certain hashtag to add. This was hard for me to keep up
with because they are often planned in advance so I reserved a page each month
for this. I may not do this next year, because I often forgot to check my BuJo
before posting for the day, anyway, and they are often planned early for the
next month, so I couldn’t write them down anyway. TBD if this collection makes an
appearance in 2020. I also added a collection of “hair hashtags” but I never
ended up looking at it, so I think it will also get the boot in 2020.
I LOVED my
Savings Goals page. Not only did I get a chance to draw my adorable piggy bank
again, but it gave me a lot of pride and a sense of accomplishment to see that
I was making my goals for the year. Speaking of goals, I also loved my goals
page and will continue that for 2020. Also staying in 2020? My social stats
tracking page, my blogs posted page (really trying for 24 this year), my spin
themes page, and my reading stats page. I read 35 books last year, and
definitely met my goal of non-fiction v. fiction, with 9/35 non-fiction! Only
6/35 were written by men, though. I need to work on that.
It was super
fun to see my travel summarized on one page, so I will keep that for 2020, as
well I was away 90 days, traveled 23,965 miles x 2 (there and back! 47,930!!),
and I took 18 trains and 18 planes.
Weekly Log:
I think I was better able to keep up with my BuJo in 2019 because I changed the way I journaled my weeks. I often got behind by a day or two in 2018, so in 2019, I decided not to split up my weekly logs by day. I just gave a single page for a week, and jotted down a few memorable things about the week. The main reason I use my bullet journal is to remember goals and tasks I want to complete for the week that may not be incredibly important enough to set phone reminders, but make me feel good to check off and save me money. For example, for my tasks, I wrote down when I needed to cancel my Clear membership before the free trial was over. Or I wrote down that I needed to make a dentist appointment. Book a hotel for a wedding I was going to, buy more paper towels, frame my diplomas, RSVP to a wedding, Venmo request my bf for the electricity bill, buy a wedding gift (lots of wedding-related tasks). I also grouped my goals in this category, for example, publish a blog about my BuJo, apply for 3 jobs, finish my continuing education class final project. Writing down these small goals and tasks reminded me to do them, and also incentivized me to complete them. There’s really nothing like ticking a box or crossing something off of a list.
Monthly and weekly layouts, including braiding calendars. Featuring my terrible doodles.
IDGAF:
The main reason I was more successful in 2019 than in 2018 was because I did not give a f*ck. Here’s an example. In September, I went on a vacation to Paris with my bf. I brought my bullet journal. I did not write in it one single time despite already having laid out the pages. In 2018 I would have been upset with myself. In 2019, I just kept on going. In October, I went on a vacation to Greece. I was determined to keep up with my Bujo. Again, I brought it with me and I collected little mementos throughout the trip, and I didn’t write in it once. I just taped my bus tickets and winery pamphlets onto the pages and continued on. My lack of self-loathing for being behind in my bullet journal helped me continue.
The clarity for WHY I was journaling was helpful. For me, it’s to keep track of things I need to do, and to have a little reminder of my year at the end. And if I forget to write something? It’s not the end of the world. Has anyone out there tried their hand yet at bullet journaling? I bought some new Mildliner “creative markers” and I can’t wait to see how things change in 2020!
P.S. I still cannot doodle to save my life, but my piggy bank drawing is still adorable!
