Saturday night I went to see Hamilton. If you’ve been living
under a rock and you haven’t heard of it, it’s a musical on Broadway. According
to Wikipedia, “in
2016, Hamilton received a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11,
including Best Musical, and was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for
Best Musical Theater Album and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.” So yeah, it’s
sort of a big deal. And since it’s such a big deal it’s semi-impossible to get
tickets. For example, on Ticketmaster right now, the cheapest seat is $448. Per
person.
To be honest, there are some serious Hamilton-heads out
there who know every single lyric and even go to themed-spin classes with the
songs. I am not one of them. Or I wasn’t. In fact, I didn’t even
know any of the music before this weekend. Except the one song performed on the Tony’s.
I always knew I wouldn’t have the money to go to see it on Broadway so I
figured, why bother trying to know the songs?
My best friend was in town over the weekend from Seattle
because her boyfriend bought tickets to Hamilton on presale OVER A YEAR AGO. He
flew from Seattle to see it! He had 4 tickets, and at the last minute, one of
the people going to the show canceled. I told him I would advertise the ticket
on my Facebook so he wouldn’t lose the money. My brother, the protagonist of
this whole story, LOVES Hamilton. He has seen it on tour, but never in NYC. He saw
my Facebook status and texted me asking why I wasn’t going. He said “do you
know the music? Is money the only thing holding you back?” He knows my student loan
situation. I was about to text him back when I heard phone “CHA-CHING!” and
I saw that he Venmo-ed me the money for the ticket!! I texted him back my
extreme gratitude and deleted my Facebook post advertising it to anyone else –
I WAS GOING!
HE’S THE BEST!!
I called my brother, so he could tell me his favorite songs,
and I got to listening! I had 24 hours to learn a VERY
LONG soundtrack. Literally, there are 46 songs. I listened to the songs all
day Saturday and by the evening, I had a better idea of what would go on. The
play was LONG. But it didn’t seem like it! The lyrics are fast, since most of
the songs are rapped, and my brother had warned me I would probably not
understand all of the lyrics. However, maybe it’s the decades of listening to
rap, but I understood a lot of it! The music is super catchy and I’ve been listening
to it ever since.
Mandatory pre-show marquee pic!
Playbill pic.
THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS!
In our seats waiting for an amazing show!
Besties on Broadway.
The coolest part of the story, if this isn’t cool enough
already, is that my best friend’s boyfriend and his brother, went to school
with the musical director, Kurt
Crowley. They’re from Helena, Montana, and not too many people are from
there, so they kept in touch. Kurt stayed after the show and let us onto the
stage to talk with us about the show, and to take photos. There were actors
from the show all around us on stage signing Playbills, but since I didn’t know
the cast well, I didn’t ask for any signatures. We did get some awesome pics,
though! And it’s an amazing experience to be on a Broadway stage, looking out
at the theater; it’s not as big as you’d think! We took some more photos, and
then left. We hadn’t realized that more than 3 hours had passed! A testament to
a great show is that there can be nearly three hours of FAST speaking, and it
seems quick.
Full cast post-show, asking for donations for something (I wasn’t paying attention when they started asking for more money)
I feel the need to end this post with some serious cliché’s –
it was such an incredible experience to be IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED IN THE
GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD! I recommend it to anyone who has the money, or a
SUPER SWEET BROTHER with the funds. THANK YOU AGAIN, BABY BRO!
You’ve probably heard the phrase “money doesn’t grow on trees” or, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Well, ladies and gents, I’m here to tell you that everything you learned is FALSE and there is a such thing as free money. It’s in the form of credit card bonuses and it is complete sorcery.
http://gph.is/1a4df5e
I was never part of the magic until I met my emoji boyfriend who got me in DEEP with “credit card churning,” and I’m loving every second of it. We actually have a little jig we do in our house called the “free money dance.” Not lying. Churning basically means that you get a new credit card to access the sign-on bonus, and then after a certain amount of time, you get another one, and start all over again. Some people think that this affects your credit score, which it does, but usually not enough for it to matter if you do it right. In general, a hard inquiry, which is what a credit card company does every time you apply for a new card, affects about 10% of your credit score. But if you do it infrequently enough, then your credit should be fine.
Yesterday, I just signed up for my 7th credit card in 3.5 years’ time. Aka the amount of time I have been with my boyfriend. It all started when we began to talk to each other about finances. These finance bros get off on this stuff. JK. But really, he was very interested to hear about my student loans, etc. We got to talking and he found out that I had a credit score in the middle 700’s, but had a credit card running balance of about $4,000. He was FLABBERGASTED. Literally, I think I had to pick his jaw off the ground. Maybe not literally, but he was gaping at me. He told me he didn’t understand how a person with my credit score could be paying interest on a balance, when I could just open a new card and do a balance transfer to buy myself time. Now, guys, if you’re confused, I was, too.
Quick explanation: Another reason people like to open credit cards is because they offer “balance transfer offers.” This means you can open a card, transfer your outstanding debt to a new card, and they offer to not charge you interest on it for a certain amount of time. I looked at this, realized I was getting free money, and I was HOOKED. I was able to pay off my credit card debt by saving all of the money I would have been spending on interest, and I did the same thing with my private student loans! I transferred my $6.5K from Wells Fargo to a credit card, and I have been making minimum payments for 18 months, without paying any interest! I have enough money now to pay them off by May, when the interest will kick in (this particular card had a 21-month interest-free grace period).
Again, balance
transfers are not even the tip of the iceberg of this money, as the “real
money” lies in the sign on bonuses. It seems crazy to me that this free money
exists out there in the universe and people don’t access it left and right, but
the truth is, most people don’t know how! There are millions of Reddit threads
on the topic, but it can get very technical, very quickly. I am lucky to have
an in-house financial advisor who is patient with me and explains the
intricacies. I will try my best to give an equally-as-elementary explanation
here.
I am not new to this credit card business. In fact, growing up, our family used to carry around little laminated cards in our wallets that my dad would make, to remind us which cards to use every quarter based on the percentages back we would get on different categories of purchases. Example: January through March, you should use the Discover card for gas, and the Visa for groceries; they’re 5% back. My parents still do this! This is #LevelExpert, and I do not recommend it for novices. Also, although 3% v. 6% does add up, most people “churn” for the bigger money bonuses. The Showcase Showdown, if you will, is the sign-on bonus.
Here’s the
simple summary: credit card companies want to hook you on their cards, so they
offer a bonus if you sign up and spend a certain amount of money, generally
within the first 3 months. These bonuses differ from card to card – sometimes
it’s miles, sometimes it’s points, and sometimes it’s cold hard cash in the
form of a statement credit. The catch here, of course, is that you need to
“spend money to save money.” The trick is not to open a card with a sign on
bonus if you will need to make purchases you wouldn’t normally make in order to
get the bonus. However, sometimes it’s still worth it if you come out on top!
Here’s an example: when I signed up for the Amex Platinum card, they offered a $1K bonus but you needed to spend $5K in 3 months. That is MUCH more than my budget, if you don’t include rent. So, I paid my rent on the card for a month to make the minimum. Rent in NYC is high. Now, this complicates things because my landlord charges 3% on credit card payments. But overall, it was still worth it to get the bonus.
I see some of
you guys rolling your eyes, saying that this whole process isn’t worth it. But
I ask you, if someone said you’d get $1,000 for it, wouldn’t it be worth it?
That’s the trick. You need to get a bonus that’s big enough to be worth the
work.
So far, I have
gotten:
Citi Double Cash for 18 months interest free
Citi Diamond Preferred for 21 months interest free
Chase Sapphire Preferred for 40,000 bonus points
American Express Platinum for 100,000 bonus points
American Express Charles Schwab Platinum for 60,000 bonus points
American Express Blue Preferred for $200 back
Barclay’s Arrival Plus World Elite for $700 in travel back
https://gph.is/2OWJkaQ
I want to let you guys know, I am not the only one out there doing this. A lot of people do, especially if they know they have big purchases coming up where they will be dropping a lot of mulah anyway. Another example: a friend of mine got the Amex Platinum because he bought his fiancée’s engagement ring with it. So savvy.
I have traveled many times now by using bonuses. My trip to Spain last year cost me $120 out of pocket. My trip to Costa Rica was completely free. Durham, North Carolina? Free. I also transfered $110,000 Amex points to a Charles Schwab investment account at 1.25 cents/point, which means I got $1,375 FOR FREE! I have been very fortunate to have someone explain this to me and I hope I have been helpful as well.
Still
confused? Try checking out The Points Guy; he is one of the
most famous churners on the internet nowadays, and you can filter cards by the
category you want rewards for (airline, cash back, etc.). He does receive money
from clicks, and he does have partnerships with certain cards, but he is pretty
clear when he receives kickbacks from companies, and he is also very reliable
with his information. He even has a beginner’s guide!
A few warnings
& tips:
If you have bad credit, you may not get approved for certain cards. Most credit cards rely on your credit score when they decide whether to approve you. You can check your credit score for free on Credit Karma to see where you stand.
Opening cards does affect your credit score, as I said earlier, so don’t do it too often. The general rule of thumb is to not open more than 2/year, or one every 6 months.
Closing accounts too often can also affect your score. When you close a card, your overall credit limit decreases. This increases the percentage of credit you are using (or “utilization”), and lowers your credit score. Try to keep the account open. You don’t need to use the card, just keep it in a safe place. At home.
Beware of annual fees! Some of these cards charge hefty annual fees. Sometimes it’s worth it for the bonus but be aware. You can always downgrade the card after you get the bonus, before you have to pay the annual fee the next year. Downgrading means keeping the account open but changing it to a less prestigious card without an annual fee. This way you aren’t closing an account, but you aren’t paying fees. I did this with my Chase card, switching from Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee) to Freedom ($0 annual fee).
Don’t carry a balance on cards. It can be very tempting to buy things. Especially when it takes 45 seconds to be approved on a new card, and they grant you a $12K credit limit straight out the gate. IT’S A TRAP! Make sure you can pay off your statement balance when it’s due, otherwise you owe interest and then THEY WIN.
A related point: If you’re opening a card to do a balance transfer, make sure you set up auto-payments for the minimum payments. You don’t pay interest, but you still have to make minimum payments, and you don’t want to miss those. Just set it on auto-pay and forget about it. Otherwise they charge interest and again THEY WIN. DON’T LET THEM WIN!
I hope this was helpful. I am not a financial planner. I am not good at this stuff. But I am understanding it more and more every day, and if I get free money and free trips, then I feel obligated to share the wealth. By wealth, I mean knowledge. Y’all b*tches aren’t getting’ any of my trips!
Do you guys have any other tips or tricks? Card recommendations? I’ll need a new one in 6 months!
As you may know, I LOVE to read. I have many “favorite” authors, but my all-time favorite author is Jodi Picoult. One of the best parts of the internet is that you can follow celebrities, keep up with them, and even sometimes (if you’re lucky!) interact with them. One of my 2019 resolutions is to be better at Twitter, and one way I discovered that I am more likely to check in on my Twitter is by following people I’m interested in. Enter: Jodi Picoult. She has such a great Twitter. Not only is she funny, but she’s very liberal, like me, and often retweets other people I want to follow. But I digress, this is not about Twitter in general, it’s about one of her tweets specifically, when she mentioned she was coming to NEW YORK!:
I clicked on the link, because obviously I wanted to join her. And guess what? The conversation was being held in a venue 9 blocks from my apartment. It felt like it was meant to be.
The theme of the talk was reproductive rights. Not only would Jodi (we’re on a first name basis) be there, but Dr. Willie Parker as well! Jodi’s most recent book is about a shooter inside an abortion clinic, and I was enthralled by the plot on page 1. She based the main character in the book, Dr. Ward, on Dr. Willie Parker.
I love reproductive rights. Really
though. I know that sounds weird, but I feel very strongly about a woman’s
right to have independence over her own body. In fact, in law school (#RIP that career),
I was on the board of Law Students for Reproductive Justice. And yes, sometimes
that position involved searching the internet for STD facts for our annual Sex
Ed Trivia fundraiser, but it was for a good cause!
I could not wait to be in the same room
as Dr. Willie Parker, a
world-renown doctor, abortion provider, and author. I have not yet read Dr.
Parker’s book, Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice,
but it has been on my to-read list for a year. I guess I’ve been too busy
reading Jodi’s stuff. I knew they would both have interesting things to say,
and I also looked forward to their interaction with each other, since they seem
so different.
There were a few tiers of tickets, but I bought the cheapest one because… law school loans. Also, the other tiers all included a copy of Jodi’s book and I already have a signed copy, natch. Even my best friend knows about my love for Jodi Picoult, so she mailed me a signed copy all the way from Seattle a few months ago. The day before the event, I was so excited that I tweeted about my enthusiasm, and Jodi replied! She said she couldn’t wait (to be in my presence, no doubt).
I arrived super early because it was blocks from my house and I got a prime seat. The conversation itself lasted for an hour and was moderated by Lizz Winstead, a hilarious Writer/Producer/Comic, Co-creator of The Daily Show, and fierce advocate of reproductive rights. She founded Lady Parts Justice, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of legislative attempts to block women’s reproductive freedoms (straight from Wikipedia, so it must be true). Between her witty commentary between questions, and both Jodi and Dr. Parker’s thoughtful answers, it was a fantastic experience. Most notably, Jodi talked about her experience shadowing Dr. Parker in his clinics for a few days while researching for her book. I loved her description of Dr. Parker’s calm and meaningful bedside manner. And then, she broke out the best story of the night: She said that they did a lot of driving together while she was shadowing him, because he works at clinics in two different states. Once, he was driving and they were eating M&Ms and he dropped one. He was looking for the missing M&M between the seat and the center console and he said “Man! It’s tighter in here than operating in a woman’s vagina!” The whole audience burst out in laughter while Dr. Parker looked to the sky for God’s forgiveness and then to his wife in the front row to mouth “sorry.” The whole thing was hysterical.
Although the vibe of the conversation was light-hearted, they both tackled tough issues. They spoke about the right for a woman to have autonomy over her body, and about the importance of a common language in speaking about reproductive rights, like the difference between a “baby” and a “fetus.” My favorite thing Jodi said was, “Laws are written in black and white. But women’s lives are lived in hundreds of shades of gray. For that reason, it is important not to let laws control our lives and bodies.”
I didn’t get a chance for a selfie with Jodi or Dr. Parker, but I did get some photos of them and I did get a very happy ending. As I walked out of the venue, there was a table outside for Lady Parts Justice, and I asked how to get involved again in supporting the cause. I leaned down to sign up for their mailing list, and two of the girls tabling complimented my hair. I explained about my side hustle, Braid in Manhattan, and they were both elated. They said they would love for me to help them with events and collaborate. I could think of nothing better than reproductive rights, volunteering, and braiding all in one place. I can’t wait to work with them and make a difference, even if it’s by brightening a woman’s day with a FIERCE hairstyle. I’ll keep you posted!
Last weekend I went to Vermont to watch an event most people
will never see in their lives: ski-jumping. And guess what, it wasn’t even my
first time. I hopped in the back seat of the car with my sister and
brother-in-law, loaded up with snacks from Trader Joes, and we took off for
Brattleboro, Vermont Saturday evening. It’s quite a drive to begin at 7 pm, but
we made a few stops along the way.
To start at the beginning, my sister and brother-in-law have
been attending the famous Brattleboro Ski Jump competition at Harris Hill
for 6 years. My brother-in-law went to college in Vermont, which is sometimes a
detour we make on our road trip, but I don’t even know if that is how he
originally found out about the event. Two years ago, I made my first trip up to
watch, and it was everything I dreamed of and more. This year, since it was so
fun, I made my best friend come, too.
I did some pre-ski-jump-watching braiding, because duh.
This year’s 38-hour road trip included a few stops to see my
brother-in-law’s friends, and a quick beer at one of his favorite college bar
hangouts, The People’s
Pint in Greenfield, Massachusetts. We stayed for the night in a
DELUXE SUITE at the Comfort Inn (jk, but they did have free breakfast!). The
next morning, we went into downtown Brattleboro to get delicious coffee at Mocha Joe’s. We
were not the only ones with that idea – there was a line out the door! But we
had stopped there the last time I went on the road trip, so I knew it was worth
it. I got a maple latte, which was AMAZING, and we headed to the hill.
The town of Brattleboro’s biggest event! There were signs up in every store’s window.
GREAT coffee.
THE CREW!
Ski jumping is a sport that most people have seen on TV in
the Olympics, and let me tell you, it’s nothing like how it is in real life.
People plummet down ramps at 55+ mph with no padding or anything, and only skis
on their feet. Then they free-fall/fly with their legs and arms akimbo like a
flying squirrel, and somehow land on their two feet. And you can watch it from
feet away from them. If you’re thinking, “WHAT?!,” then you’re thinking the
same thing as me.
Each year, male and female jumpers in Junior, Open and
Masters categories jump to their death. Well, hopefully not to their death, but
it surely looks that way to a novice. Speaking of novices, the junior category
is comprised of CHILDREN. And speaking of jumping to their death, we actually
witnessed an injury this year, where a 14-year-old girl became unconscious
after a fall. Thankfully she was fine, we followed
up on her on the internet. Anyway, there is definite danger
involved. And despite the fear of injuries, people come out every year to
watch. It’s the most extreme sport I’ve ever seen up-close.
The competition began back in 1922 and is a two-day event that attracts jumpers from around the globe. This year, there were jumpers from Slovenia and Austria who jumped up to 102 meters down a hill and landed on their skis. It was amazing to watch. Even better with hot coffee in my hand and trail mix in my pockets. We watched the warm up jumps from the bottom of the hill, so they landed and skied right in front of us. Also, this put us next to the commentator’s tent. It was helpful to listen to the commentary, because I knew nothing about the sport, and they explained quite a bit as they were killing time. One of the commentators, Nicholas Fairall, was a former Olympian in the ski jump, who was paralyzed from an injury. Even with his injury, and after witnessing the 14-year-old girl lay unconscious on the snow, he said that the sport was “one of the safest.” I do not believe him at all, but I was still happy to watch safely from the sidelines.
Our view from the bottom. Look how high that is!!
FAST BRAIDS! This was one of the jumpers.
ALL FOR THE GOLD AND THE GLORY!
These super young jumpers, ready to plummet.
The best part of a sport that consists of one single downward slope, is that there is no bad place to watch! After the warmup jumps and the first round, we went on the stairs up the side of the hill to watch the final round. Being on the stairs means that I could see exactly where they landed on the hill after they appeared from nowhere, flying over the edge of the slope. It is impossible to describe, so I will refer you to my Instagram videos for videographic evidence. It was thrilling to be so close to the action.
Our view of the bottom, once we went up the stairs.
HOW COOL IS THAT!?
They landed right in front of us!
Spot the flying man!
An almost-fall.
And back up again!
The weather was GORGEOUS and sunny, but it was melting all
the snow and ice from the previous days. After a few hours standing in cold
slush, we left and grabbed lunch in town, then headed back toward New York. We
took a final pit stop at another friend’s house and ate dinner at the quaintest
place called The
Norwich Inn, and continued our drive back to the city. We stopped
one MORE time for food, because of course, at The Donut Dip in West Springfield, MA.
The donuts were supposed to be phenomenal, but it was 9:30 pm at that point, so
they were just ok. An ok donut is better than no donut, though. I’d like to go
back and try them fresh in the morning. Maybe next time!
I can’t wait to go back and watch again. Maybe next year
I’ll compete, the entry
fee is only $25 and it includes lodging! KIDDING MOMMY, THAT WILL
NEVER HAPPEN. But I will most definitely watch from the sidelines.
I love surprises. I don’t understand people who don’t. Why would anyone not like the suspense and excitement behind someone planning something for you!? It’s the best! Thankfully, my mystery (emoji) boyfriend knows this. I mean, he better, it’s been a while, ya know? In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a blog about one of the best surprises he’s pulled off.
He has taken me on many mystery date nights before. From random restaurants he has found, to dinner at a restaurant I love but he doesn’t, and even to row 4 tickets of a Broadway show! You may remember that he even took me to a staycation once in a hotel room that overlooked the freedom tower. I know, I know, I bagged a good guy, here. Well, not to gloat, but he outdid himself. This time he planned a whole getaway!
I went to Washington DC for MLK weekend, and since I was
going to be away all weekend, he asked me what I was doing the next weekend. I
assumed he wanted to Netflix and chill, because we are old and that’s the usual
date night for us. But then he asked me what my plans were for all weekend, and I knew he had something
up his sleeve! I told him I’d reserve the weekend for him. The next Friday, I
packed an overnight bag, and we walked 4 blocks to Avis. He had told me that
Amtrak was too expensive (it generally is, if you only book a week in advance),
so he rented a car instead. I had no clue which way we were going until we got
on the west side highway toward the George Washington Bridge and realized we
were going north.
I wish I could tell you I figured it out then, but I didn’t.
Plus, with traffic, we were barely out of the Bronx an hour later. And then I
had to pee. Word to the wise: don’t drink coffee before a road trip. We had to
stop at McDonalds for a pit stop and a few Chicken Selects. Because duh. We
finally arrived at our destination at 10:15 pm, thankful for the fast food
sustenance along the way.
We were in Hudson, New York! Not Hudson Valley, Hudson Hudson. I knew we were driving
for a while, but I didn’t realize how far it was until our Uber driver later
told us he lived in Albany. I gasped and said “wow, you must have taken a long
trip to get here!” And he told me it was 40 minutes. Woops.
Unfortunately, we arrived so late that only two restaurants
in town were open, so we took an uber to one of them, and had drinks and
appetizers. The food was good, but we were exhausted. We went back to The Wick,
where we were staying, and fell asleep within minutes.
Thank goodness for these drinks after a long drive!
Hudson, New York is home to a very quaint strip of
restaurants and stores, and is supposedly a food destination. This is why my
emoji man chose it for our getaway. What he didn’t know, is that it is also
home to Etsy headquarters. I happen to have a good friend from the gym who
works for Etsy, and she spends a good amount of time in Hudson. As soon as she
saw I was there (because if you don’t Instagram it, it didn’t happen), she started
sending me recommendations. Funnily enough, when she goes to Hudson for work,
she stays in the same hotel we were in! She told us the best food and drink
spots around town, and we took one of her recommendations, Le Merche, for
brunch. She did not lead us astray! This place was fab. I had an egg sandwich
on SUPER fresh bread, and my bf had the Croque Madame, which was delicious,
fresh, and HUGE. I tried it, of course. And the side of potatoes… let’s just
say that the food was so good I barely had time to take a photo of it. And we
all know how rare that is.
My delicious breakfast sandwich on freshly baked bread.
The rest of afternoon I spent doing nothing, while my bf worked. I asked him before we left if he was sure he wanted to go away with so much work to do, and he assured me that he did, and a change of scenery would be nice. Meanwhile, I read a book and styled my hair 5 different ways. I need to keep creating content for Braid in Manhattan to keep my followers happy! Also, my bf is becoming quite the insta-husband. He is so great at taking hair photos! I told he better be careful or I’ll make him go full-time.
So many hairstyles.
And even more hair pics.
Spot my gray hairs?
Emoji man loves to take pics when I’m not ready.
After many hours of blissfully doing nothing, we went to
dinner at W.M. Farmer & Co., which we heard was the SPOT. In fact, every
online article about food in Hudson mentioned this as the best restaurant. We
made a reservation. Unfortunately, we are underwhelmed. The food, although farm
to table, and not bad, was not
overwhelmingly good, and it was very expensive, even for people from Manhattan.
The one remarkable part was the cocktails. I would recommend this place to
anyone looking for a GREAT drink. We each had two and were very impressed.
Since the only reservation available was at 6:30 pm, we had
plenty of time after dinner to mill around. Unfortunately, it was 20 degrees
outside, so we speed walked to a bar my friend had recommended. It seemed like
a cool vibe, but the inside was very smoky (maybe because they are famous for a
mezcal slushy?) and we decided it was too much for us. We went to a bar next
door and had a beer. Then, surprisingly, after a day of doing absolutely
nothing but eating, we were tired and went back to the hotel. We watched
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in bed and went to sleep. We really are an ancient
couple. But that bed was so comfy!! I just love a king size bed. Someday when I
move out a shoebox NYC apartment, I’m going to get one of my very own!
The next morning, we packed up and got ready to leave. The
life of a man in finance means work on a Sunday, so we had to get back to the
city. However, we needed sustenance first! Thankfully, my friend offered a
final breakfast recommendation 10 minutes outside of Hudson, Gracie’s
Luncheonette in the Catskills. We went from watching
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, to pretty much being in an episode of our own. We ate
more delicious food and got a freshly-made donut for the road. We tried to
leave quickly, because it started to snow as we ate. Not just flurry, but SNOW!
I’m from Florida, and my bf is from Texas, so neither of us are too used to
driving in a white-out. Thankfully, he took the wheel and I handled the donut.
I’m pretty talented at feeding the driver, if I do say so myself.
We took toll roads back to the city, and got back within 2
hours! My bf dropped off the luggage and me, then returned the car, and I
settled back into regular life and meal prep. Overall, it was a great 42-hour
getaway with plenty of food and relaxation, and time with my better half. I
have to keep reminding him of how much fun it was, so he knows to plan more
surprises for the future! I promise to keep you guys posted. Do you have any
fun mystery date ideas? Do you know my mystery man behind the emoji? Send him a
text with an idea!
Morning Catskill Kisses in the Snow.
Evening FREEZING stroll. Doesn’t my bf look cold? 😉
I know I keep on saying I’ve peaked, but now I really have. I had the best day of my life when I was in the Macy’s Parade (I’m literally never going to stop talking about that, so you should get used to it). And now, I have had the best night of my life, attending the Heat v. Knicks game in the FIRST ROW, center court. You may remember how my friend got me into The Parade, well another friend of mine got me in to see this game! I am really #winning at this “friends” thing.
Here’s how it happened: My best friend and college roommate
works in media. When you work in media, you tend to have reps for companies you
work with, and they have perks. Lots of perks. My friend didn’t even ask for
this these tickets! She just casually mentioned being a Miami Heat fan, and the
rep was like “let me see if I can get you tickets next time they are in town.”
He didn’t mention they were ROW ONE!!
See me photobombing?
We were basically on the court
Selfie Skills
It was a girls’ night with four of us, and we met up 30 minutes
before the game. These top-notch tickets also come with access to the Delta Sky
Club lounge, which means FOOD. FREE FOOD. There is a catered buffet with lamb,
mashed potatoes, shrimp cocktail, burgers, the whole nine. Then there are also
hot dogs, soft pretzels etc. AND there is a sushi bar with fresh sushi and all
of the condiments. After we finished our pre-game food, we stocked up on
food-to-go to bring to our seats. There were bags of cotton candy, bowls of
candy, boxes of popcorn and cracker jacks. We were loaded up. I should have
brought a bigger purse. We didn’t have time for 16 Handles. Shame. Booze wasn’t
included but I was already too full. Plus, one of my friends is pregnant, so
#Solidarity, or something.
Once we got to our seats with our many snacks, we realized
how AMAZING the seats were. Center court, right behind the announcers. This
came in handy for replays. We could see them on the announcer’s screens in
front of us! Let me mention the celebrities. SO MANY OF THEM! First of all, the
legend, Carmelo Anthony was in the house as well as Sophie Turner. But better
yet, we were sitting directly behind “comedian row,” courtside in front of us
were Hassan Minhaj, John Mulaney, and Leslie Jones! Also in front of us was CC
Sabathia of the New York Yankees.
We were so close, we were almost in the shot when they zoomed in on celebs
We were as shocked as John Mulaney and Hassan Minhaj to be there.
Who is this guy? Def famous but I couldn’t place him!
Dwyane Wade hugging Leslie Jones, and CC Sabathia Photobombing me.
I was so busy staring at the celebs in front of me, that as
I was mindlessly chatting with the random guy to my left about my love for
Dwyane Wade (natch), I got a text from my friend sitting on my right. “Do you
know who we think you’re sitting next to? Elton from Clueless.” Aka Jeremy
Sisto. It was true! I couldn’t place him, but it was definitely the famous “rollin’
with the homie” and I was was rollin’ with him! I tried to google him a few
times during the game, but he was literally sitting next to me, so I waited
until halftime. I finally got up the courage to ask him if he was in Law and
Order (I didn’t want to date myself with the Clueless reference) and he said
yes! He sort of rolled his eyes and he said “that’s me, Detective Lupo,” to
which the guy he was with replied, “You were in Law and Order? Detective
Loophole?” HA! Little did I know, the guy who thought he was Detective Loophole
was actually his costar on his current show, FBI! Who knew!?
The night would not have been the same if the Heat hadn’t
won. That is the whole point of the game, right? It was so awesome to be
courtside, it felt like we were IN the game! We were much more invested because
we felt like we were on the court. And the game was CLOSE! The Heat pulled
through in the 4th quarter and won 106-97. YASSS. It was amazing to
be there to witness Dwyane Wade’s last season, and to wear his jersey, the same
color they were wearing that night! When he left the court, he received a
standing ovation, as he should have.
The fun didn’t end there. My friend (the same one who got us
the tickets) is from Miami, and her sister knows a few of the guys on the team.
My friend, therefore, knows them, too! One of her Heat friends left us
post-game passes at will call, so we were able to go to a special section of
the stands after the game and mingle with the players. Wade is too cool for
that, but a couple of the other heavy hitters came out and chatted with friends
and family all around us! Whiteside, Richardson, Winslow, etc.
It was a dream come true. Everything from the free food, to
the girls’ night out, to the celeb spotting, to the Heat win… it was magical.
And now I can never go to a Heat Game again because it will never compare.
YASSS LESLIE!!!
Half-time crazy show.
Post-Game mingle.
And of course, a hair pic. Featuring Wade’s jersey.
I had the most “New York” experience yesterday. I had
plans to go to the gym after work and have dinner with a friend. Then in the
morning, my friend texted me to say she won lottery tickets to see The Lion
King on Broadway. For $30! Easy decision. I texted my friend from the gym and
told her I had to cancel because… duh. I apologized profusely and told her I’d
probably be pissed if I were her but… COME ON! No choice here.
A little background: My friend enters the lottery for
shows all the time. I’m talking, multiple times per week. And she has won a few
times, too! However, she usually wins on Mondays and Thursdays, which is when I
teach Spin classes and I can’t get a sub at the last minute. Also, she has
never won for The Lion King (supposedly it’s a tough one to win) and I have
been wanting to see it for DECADES. Literally it’s been on Broadway for more
than 20 years. I quickly replied “YES!!” to her text and Venmo-ed her $30.
I knew that security would probably check our bags, so I
left my gym bag at work and just brought my wallet, keys, phone and book for
the subway. It took me 27 minutes door to door from my office. So New York! I
also stopped at McDonalds on the way because the show started at 7 and I knew I’d
be starving by the end. I got 2 chicken selects for $2 and ate them while I
waited in the box office line. Very classy with my McDonalds on the Broadway
line. Luckily, I was not alone. The people behind me were also lottery winners
and they were scarfing down a street meat hot dog and slice of pizza. I also
smuggled pretzels and tootsie rolls in my coat pocket in a non-noisy Ziploc bag.
My friend was running late and I was worried they wouldn’t
let me pick up the tickets because they were very explicit in the email
confirmation about needing photo ID. My friend who has done this a lot told me
to try because sometimes they don’t care. They didn’t care! I just showed them
the email on my phone and they handed over the tickets.
Yayy!! I arrived early.
Waiting in line and eating Chicken Selects.
They gave me the tickets. REJOICE!
We got to our seats 1 minute before the show started, and
unfortunately the tickets were for the VERY last row. Literally no one was
behind us. My experienced friend said that every other lottery she’d won were
Orchestra seats, not Mezzanine and she apologized. However, the seats were
smack-dab in the middle. Also, it became apparent we actually were lucky to be
up above. First of all, The Lion King has two pits of drums in the upper
levels, within the front pillars on either side of the stage. It was very cool
to be able to see straight into the pits, and watch them do the percussion,
which has been described as “the heartbeat of the show.” Also, there were a lot
of musical numbers with choreography and formations that were awesome to see
from above, sort of like how the Rockettes are better to watch from the sky
(Thanks Macy’s Parade for teaching me this). Also, at the beginning of both
acts, there were birds and actors that came out from all of the doors, even in
the mezzanine!
The show was amazing, everything I expected and more. I
loved how the actors were one with their costumes. Like how the zebras not only
made the zebra props move like animals, but they also moved their own legs like
zebras. Or what I expect zebras would move like. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen
one IRL. And those giraffes… on two sets of stilts?? Color me impressed. Young Simba didn’t
have the best voice in the world, but he is probably 10 years old, so that in
and of itself is impressive. And Rafiki? WOAH. I went to look her up after the
show because I was curious about the accuracy of the language in the show, and
sure enough, it’s very accurate. Tshidi
Manye, who has been playing Rafiki for more than 20 YEARS is from South
Africa and is featured on the original movie soundtrack. Also, throughout the
show, she speaks five of the 11 official language of South Africa (English,
Zulu, Sotho and Xhosa). Wtf. That is awesome.
It was such a fun experience, even from the back row.
Sometimes I complain about the hot subways,
or terrible service on the subways, or hot weather,
or bed
bugs, or sirens,
but sometimes, New York is AMAZING. Who else except New Yorkers gets to decide
that instead of Spin class, they are going to attend The Lion King on Broadway
for $30? No one. It was a good New York day.
Curtain Time! Obligatory Playbill pic.
End of show 🙂 Not TOO far away even from the back row!
Sometimes you have to throw in the towel. Or admit defeat. That’s what happened to one of my 2018 resolutions to keep a bullet journal. I realized that there was just not enough time in the day to both do things, and then write about them. Let me explain.
Bullet Journaling, or #BuJo for short, has a cult
following, especially in the crafting/online community. Basically, it was
invented by a guy, Ryder Carroll, to make up for the things he couldn’t do
using an app. It is an analog way to “track the past, organize the present, and
plan the future.” He has a handy 4-minute YouTube video about it here. BEWARE of the YouTube black hole, guys.
My story began by watching that 4-minute video, and next thing you know it was
5 days later and I was at Michaels purchasing 5 types of felt-tip pens and 8
tubes of washi-tape. But again, I’m getting ahead of myself.
In theory, Bullet Journaling is great. You can use any notebook, although Bullet Journal sells their own, because #capitalism. But the point of a BuJo is that anyone can do it, in any notebook they want. Of course, the internet has favorites (the Leuchtturm, Moleskine etc.), but you can use any book. That’s because you do all of the work yourself! You write it as you go. You do most of the work when you first set it up, at the beginning of the year. If you had never heard of bullet journaling, but all of a sudden, you’ve seen it on your social media, that’s because the first week of the year just finished and people were rushing to set up their new “layouts.” In fact, the YouTube black hole contains HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of bloggers showing their 2019 setups. DON’T CLICK IT. IT’S A TRAP.
My gorgeous Bullet Journal (#RIP). I used it enough that I broke the elastic!
Here’s the main gist, and what is included in all bullet
journals:
Index: This is a running list of your pages. Remember that you can do this BuJo thing in any plain notebook. That means you need to write your own page numbers and refer back to this Index as you add pages and update it.
Future Log: This is usually a quick monthly separation of your year, where you add the events that are coming up in the months ahead. This is necessary because you only write the current week’s tasks. You can control how many pages you use this way, or if you need to add anything.
Monthly Log: Includes the days of the month, and the letter of the day (M for Monday etc.). This is a “Birds Eye View” of your monthly appointments and tasks.
Daily Logs (usually done by the week) – Tasks, Events, and Notes for each day, in bullet form, and sometimes starred for importance
Collections: Lists of tasks or other things all grouped together by topic. This is where the Pinterest/internet community gets carried away, but more on that later.
At the end of each month, you set up the next month by looking at any leftover tasks you didn’t complete. You go to the previous month’s tasks, check off the ones you completed. With the leftover ones, if you don’t want to do it anymore, you cross it out. But if it’s still worth your time, “migrate” it by drawing an arrow, then writing it in the next month’s monthly log. If the task is not due for a few months, then you can instead write it in the future log, for the month when it’s due.
This is all meant to reduce distraction and be more productive,
basically a “Konmari method for your thoughts,” according to Vogue. (Marie
Kondo is so IN right now.)
Well guys, I was so determined last year. Not only did I set up my Index, Future Log, and Monthly Log, (all of the photos in this blog are REAL excerpts from my bullet journal!), I also did all of the extra things that the crazy people on the internet do. I even wrote a yearly calendar at the beginning where I wrote out the numbers 1-31 for every single month in tiny little invisible squares. (I got the “dotted” notebook, which is loved by all internet BuJo’ers, because you can write straight, but you don’t have those UNSIGHTLY lines. Lines in a notebook? EW!) I tried to learn how to doodle, to make cute borders, I bought pens of different colors and thicknesses, I googled “how to draw a piggy bank” for my savings page, I really was all in.
My Index & Key (Note my Braid in Manhattan Business Card)
My Business Card is a fold-out easy-reference key!
Yes, I wrote all those numbers myself. I told you I’m nuts.
Yearly Goals (many pages have been redacted #Mueller)
Future Log!
Monthly Log for January (check out those fireworks doodles)
Monthly Goals and steps tracker.
Weekly Log (I was fastidious at this point!)
I even added some momentos with washi tape, like this playbill cover.
The most fun part was the collections, although it also became the most time-consuming part. As I quickly learned from my new internet-blogger peeps, you can make a collection for ANYTHING. The first type of collection is a “habit-tracker,” where you do exactly that. You can track your daily sleep, steps, exercise, food, etc. You can have a graph where you mark every day you successfully make breakfast at home, or go without caffeine, or make it to the gym! I had two habit trackers, for my gym sessions (color-coded by type of workout), and for my moods. The mood one quickly made me realize that I’m happy a large majority of days. Good discovery, I guess, but boring to track after a while. I would sometimes get a week behind on these, which was much easier to remember my gym sessions, but more difficult to try and remember how I was feeling on a particular day. Sometimes I think I faked it.
Habit Tracking! This did not last long.
The other types of collections were more like lists to keep a running tally of things throughout the year. These lists included books I read, stats for my books (gender of author, length, genre), movies I’d seen (there were a lot… this was in the heyday of Moviepass RIP) and also my social media statistics (followers, number of posts etc.). I also wrote about my many many trips and travel stats.
I was doing so well for a few months, especially with the collections. I am a very crafty person, so I was having fun! I used to scrapbook all the time when I lived in Florida, and although I still have most of my scrapbooking stuff, it sits in a box underneath my bed because as all New Yorker’s say, “ain’t nobody got space for that!” Anyway, bullet journaling was a great way to keep crafting, but keep it to one single book with a small(er) amount of supplies.
It was fun… until it wasn’t. It became burdensome. I hit my first hurdle in my very first month with my bullet journal when I went to Seattle and Vancouver. Should I bring my Bullet Journal? How many pens? Is it worth carrying in my backpack? Will I forget it anywhere? When will I have time to write in it if I’m busy hanging with my best friend, hiking and boozing it up? Ultimately, I did bring it with me, but it was difficult to keep up with. I brought it with me on MANY trips, even to Spain! I wrote in it on each train ride between cities to recap what we had done.
One of my trips with my BuJo!
My last trip with my Bujo… notice the blank space.
But eventually, it became a hassle. I didn’t feel like recapping my day. I had never been great at keeping a diary and making a note of each time I fought with my bf seemed stupid and useless. Also, did that make me sad? Angry? Tired? Or was I still overall happy for the day? What would I put in my mood habit tracker?
I also started to fall very behind on my collections. Although I thought it was a good idea and I did enjoy crafting, it felt redundant. When I heard of a book I wanted to read, I put it on my Goodreads “want to read” shelf. Why would I also write it in my BuJo? Also, as I progressed with my braiding, I was bookmarking all of the braids I wanted to try within the Instagram app. Why would I also try to describe it in words in my BuJo? Same thing with my travel: I was already writing about it on my blog (sometimes), so why would I also waste my time and write about it by hand? Everything seemed superfluous and time-consuming.
I spent a few weeks scaling back, and only writing the highlights of my weeks, but I realized I wasn’t even using the bullet journal anymore as it is intended, as a planner and organizer, but more as a diary. Again, why would I use it as a planner when I have Google calendar on my phone, in my pocket? There are some things I miss, like tracking my social media stats, but I may just keep a running list of that in the memos in my phone, instead of a full craft-stravaganza.
Weekly Log (I was fastidious at this point!)
Some of my last full weeks. Note how messy and quick I got.
I understand that some people enjoy bullet journaling as a
creative outlet, but overall, I don’t understand it as a time-saving method. To
me, it was a huge time suck. Although it was fun, I would probably never do it
again. I did, however, learn how to draw a SICK piggy bank! Have any of you
experimented with bullet journaling? What did you think?
Savings Goals! (I did much better than this but I stopped keeping track)
PHEW what a year! People always comment about how much I travel, but I honestly didn’t realize until I saw it written out in black and white. If you weren’t one of the lucky 73 people to get a holiday card from me and my emoji bf, I recapped the travel we did this year, and spoiler alert… it’s a LOT. I would simply post a PDF of the card, but that would require a lot of emoji-placement on my sweet boyfriend’s face, so instead I’ll just recap my travel here. There is still going to be some emoji-placement.
Maybe after you see how I spent half of 2018 in airports,
you’ll forgive me for posting infrequently here. I left the state every single
month of the year with the exception of July, when my best Australian buddy was
here in the USA so I had to stay and eat Tim Tams with her.
I wrote a blog post about this trip, which you can back-reference
here, but the main highlights were a lot of amazing food, gorgeous views of
Granville Market and Deception Pass, having an all-night dance party, finding
$100 on the floor of a pub, Segway-ing up the crazy hills of Seattle, and of
course spending QT with my bestie! Lowlight (is that the opposite of
highlight?) was leaving my phone, which was on airplane mode, in a cab. Somehow
it was miraculously recovered! Not a lowlight after all.
February
– Los Angeles, California
I didn’t blog about this trip per se, but I did go to a
lot of ice cream places and blogged
about that! I had to continue my #30Years30IceCreams with a travel edition.
Also, I’m 31 now, but ice cream is still just as good. This trip was mostly for
work, but every time I am in LA I try to tack on a few extra days to hang out
with my college roommate! I also got to see another friend from college and
watch the Olympics with him. Side note: LA is SO FAR! I always hate that long
transcontinental flight, only to land in the SAME COUNTRY! I’d rather go to
Europe.
March/April
– Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I went to the first Passover Seder at my sister’s house in
NYC, then the 2nd at my parents in Philly! I dragged my emoji bf
with me as well. He is a Seder pro now. It also happened to be my mom’s
birthday that weekend. My family surprised my mom by chipping in for a YMCA
membership for her birthday, the one thing she wanted. She was so happy, she
cried, and the video warms my heart! Thankfully, Philly does not require an
airplane ride, and for this trip, I took my sister’s car. Much more convenient!
I wrote a post about this trip!
(Maybe I wasn’t as bad at blogging this year as I thought!?) My work’s annual
conference changes place every year, and this year I was super excited to go to
Chicago because I’d never been! Technically the conference was in Skokie, but I
extended my trip with my work bestie to explore the city! Highlights included: A
Segway Ride, gorgeous weather, deep dish pizza, a GORGEOUS view from out
penthouse Air Bnb, which had the electricity turned off for non-payment while
we were staying there. Oops.
Vancouver Exploring
Gorgeous Walk to Granville Market
FOUND: $100!!
Road trip with purple bear back through the Canadian border to Seattle.
Quick stop at the GORGEOUS Deception Pass.
Deception Pass Pics
Hike in the mountains outside Seattle with her adorable pup, Charlie.
Segway with the Space Needle!
California Nitrogen Ice Cream
Quick Stop to pose with famous art at the Getty
Why so prickly? (#cactusgarden)
My happy place.
Road trip up to Malibu to a secret beach.
Can you tell she’d been crying?
CHICAGO!! Beautiful view from our penthouse AirBNB before the electricity was turned off.
Always gotta pose with Long Legs where I find them.
CHI-TOWN & SEGWAYS!
How gorgeous is this??
Also gorgeous: deep dish pizza.
Chicago Bronze Cow.
THE BEAN.
May –
Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Madrid, Spain
Yeahhhh… this must have been when my blogging fell off
because HOW DID I NOT TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT THIS TRIP!? It’s also when my Braid in ManhattanInstagram began, and
I’m pretty sure there’s a correlation/causation there. Anyway, SPAIN. GO THERE.
I fell in love with all the places we went, but my favorite was Granada. They
have free food! Literally! Buy a drink, get amazing
food for free. How can any place like that be bad? Also, we planned this
trip during the famous Patio Festival in Cordoba, which was breathtaking.
Cordoba now has the most
UNESCO heritage sites as of this year! Jump on it before everyone else
does. Trust me.
I loved traveling abroad with a group of girls. We all
packed in backpacks and took trains around the country. I can’t wait for the next
excursion.
June –
Charleston, South Carolina
My best friend and I went to visit another friend in
Charleston, SC and it was my first time there. It was fun to travel with a
friend, especially since I usually fly solo (plus purple bear). We had lots of
girly time, and I discovered the amazingness of Truly, a sparking water that
is alcoholic. What? Amazing. We hung out at the pool, and the beach, and we
rode around her neighborhood in her new golf cart. The next time we see each
other will be at her wedding in ITALY! I’ll definitely have to tell you guys
about that.
July –
Beacon, New York
I said I didn’t travel in July but that is sort of a lie, I
went upstate to Beacon, NY for my friend’s bachelorette! There was no airport
involved (thank goodness) but it was still fun to get out of town for a bit. If
you missed my blog about it, you can find it here!
Backpacking for the first time ever!
First train of MANY.
Our adorable Air bnb in Cordoba, actually one of the famous patios!
1st day Cordoba exploring.
First of a LOT of ham and sangria.
Free walking tour! We did one of these in every city.
The famous Calleja de las Flores (Street of Flowers)
GORGEOUS patios.
Inside the Mezquita ( The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, aka the Great Mosque of Córdoba)
City #2: Sevilla!
Spanish Square (Plaza de Espana)
Alcazar
Blogger Photo at the Alcazar
Secret Flamenco show in Seville
More Trains Busses and Automobiles!
On the way to Granada
ALHAMBRA!
SO. MUCH. HAM.
posing on a hike up into the gypsy cave territory.
Mojitos on the top floor od a department store with an amazing outdoor patio
Charleston with my ladies!
Golf Cart Chillin.
Truly Sparkling and a FAB pool.
Bachelorette Party to Beacon!
Wine Tour commence!
How many vineyards can we hit in one day?
Hiking off the wine from the previous day!
More Vineyards
Out of Order Charleston Cycling
Any Airport with an insta-frame in a friend of mine.
August
– WEDDING SZN! New Jersey, Philadelphia, Brooklyn
Within 5 weeks’ time, my emoji bf and I went to 3 weddings
in 3 states. Gratefully, they were all accessible by train, and we even hitched
a ride home from the New Jersey one in my cousin’s car.
September
– Dublin, Ireland
What. A. Whirlwind. Thanks to my job and the many many
Jewish holidays in the Fall, I was able to take a trip with my mom without
taking any vacation days. We based ourselves in Dublin and took a few day trips
out of the city to Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Galway, Blarney Castle, Rock of
Cashel, and many other sites. We went to the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol
(a historic jail), The Whiskey Museum, and a National
Camogie Championship game. Then, as if sightseeing all day wasn’t enough,
it happened that my friend from Florida was in Dublin at the same time with
friends, so I went out and partied with them every night! I think I slept a
maximum of 4 hours/night. It was SO fun, and I can’t wait to travel again with
my mom.
October
– Cancun, Mexico
This trip was for one sole purpose: relaxation. I definitely
needed it after Ireland. Also, this trip came at the perfect time because it
was in the middle of The Great
Bed Bug Scare of 2018! It was Emoji-bf’s birthday, and all we wanted to do
was sleep in and lay by the pool and read. Sure enough, that’s what we did! We
also drank a lot, went to a glow party, and made new friends. But mostly, we
relaxed.
November
– Los Angeles, California
I went to LA again for work and hit up my favorite spots: Santa Monica beach path for a few runs, Philz for coffee, and Sidecar Doughnuts because DUH. Also, I got to have dinner with my college friend, and extended my visit to stay with my college roommate! We saw the BEST burlesque show EVER, Cherry Boom Boom, and now I follow them on Instagram and fall in love with every post. Also, we took a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park which was AWESOME. When we got back to Santa Monica, the smoke in the air from the wildfires was very intense. It’s been a rough year for the LA region.
Wedding #1! I was a bridesmaid in this one.
Wedding #2. How snazzy is my date?
Wedding #3! Same emoji, different dress.
Sister-Sister!
IRELAND! Whiskey barrels.
And lots of kegs.
Visiting one of the oldest jails.
GUINNESS!
Inside the Four Courts.
Up early… out late!
Cahir Castle and a few cannons
Inside the Cahir Castle.
Blarney Stone!
Climbing in and around the Blarney castle (my mom skipped this one).
Rock of Cashel!
Croke Park and CAMOGIE.
Outside the stadium
Cliffs of Moher
Selfie at the Cliffs
More Cliffs of Moher.
Largest glass of whiskey out there.
Galway City.
Trinity College
Selfies in Dublin.
RELAXIN in Mexico!
Beach and Bf = happy Emily
Glow par-tay.
I must be back in LA… SIDECAR!
My happy place.
First time at Joshua Tree. So gorgeous!
Explorin.
Joshua Tree Handstand.
How gorgeous is this??
KING OF THE WORLD!
November
– Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
After we spent real Thanksgiving in NYC because I was in
the Macy’s
Parade (did you guys really think I wouldn’t bring that up again??), we
went to Philly for the weekend to see my parents and celebrate a belated
Thanksgiving. This meant two feasts, which I will never say no to. My brother
came, too! We ran a 5K together as a family and I did surprisingly well,
considering how I swore off running for 6 months to heal my ankle. Most of our
time in Philly was spent relaxing, but we capped off the weekend with a
DELCIOUS third feast at a dim sum restaurant
in Chinatown called Ocean
Harbor.
December
– Delray Beach/Boca Raton, Florida
At the beginning of the year, I was determined to travel
more internationally, which meant forsaking a trip to Florida for the first year
since I moved to New York! But by September, I really missed all my friends and
I found a $207 roundtrip ticket on JetBlue and packed my bags. It’s so fun to visit
my friends and soak in the warm temperatures.
December
– Dallas, Texas
Every year we visit my emoji-bf’s non-emoji family in
Texas for Christmas. It’s fun to get together and hang out, watch movies, wrap
presents and eat way too much! I even snuck in a workout class and a run with
his sisters. Even my brother drove from San Antonio to spend a few days with
us. We went out for dinner and yummy cocktails with a college friend in Deep
Ellum one night but other than that, we stayed pretty close to home. Also, Santa
got me a new phone! Better resolution braiding pics coming soon!
Are
you guys exhausted reading this? Because I am!! I love traveling, and I hope to
do more of it in 2019. What are your plans for the new year? Any exciting
destinations?
As 2018 comes to a close, I want to check in with you guys on your resolutions. Did you make any? Did you stick to them? I wrote a blog last year where I challenged you to make a few, and it’s only fair to tell you guys how I did with mine, as well. Quick refresher, my three resolutions were:
Plan myself less; have 1-2 FREE nights/week.
Get back in the pool and start swimming again.
Do more weight training to become stronger.
The first one was a half-win. I booked myself permanently for Tuesday nights as “date nights,” which made my free time 1/7th less. However, I told my emoji-bf that our date nights didn’t need to be excursions all the time; it could be Netflix & chill. Sure enough, we did that a lot. I did a better job of not making plans on Fridays, which I always regret when I make them. I am so busy all the time, especially with travel (another blog coming soon on my 2018 travel recap), that it’s nice to sit at home and veg out every once in a while. I think I will continue this resolution and roll it into 2019.
Speaking
of rollovers, my second and third resolutions were actually leftover from 2017.
I did a much better job at these! For swimming, I moved to an apartment that
was closer to a gym with a pool, which was incredibly helpful. Before Tuesdays
became date nights, I was swimming every Tuesday. Also, after I unfortunately
sprained my ankle AGAIN over the summer, swimming provided a great alternative
cardio workout. I even swam for weeks using a buoy between my legs, and only
using my arms. I felt so much stronger, and my ankle always felt better after
stretching just by dragging through the water resistance. I have fallen off the
swimming a bit in the past 2 months because of date night and because it’s
COLD! I don’t like being wet and walking the (albeit short) 9 blocks home.
Swimming is always easier with a friend to push you!
My
last resolution to weight train more has been incredibly successful, again
thanks to my proximity to a new gym. I found two classes a week that I enjoy: A
Sunday morning boot camp class, and a Wednesday evening TRX interval class. Between
these two classes, I have increased my strength and I have gained self-esteem
by realizing I can do things I didn’t realize before (like hold a handstand
against the wall for a full minute!) Adding non-cardio workouts to my routine
has helped me stick to a diversified schedule, and the secret was just finding
instructors I liked, and small classes to keep me accountable.
I get down on myself when I fail at resolutions, so it’s important
to recognize success where I can find it. I am all about positive reinforcement,
even for myself. I like to recognize and pat myself on the back occasionally. Some
of my ongoing resolutions that I have been able to stick to are:
Make coffee at home. I prefer iced coffee, so I used to buy it out every day. I have been incredibly successful at making it in advance at home. I have spent a mere $169 on coffee shops in 2018. This may seem like a lot, but I used to spend $75/month! That’s a reduction of $731 for the year.
Speaking of saving money and budgeting, I have continued to stick to my mint. I may not be saving yet but, but at least I know where each of my dollars is going. That’s the first step.
Travel more internationally. As I mentioned before, a blog about my 2018 travel is coming soon. I have fallen off a bit with my travel blogging, but I did make it to three countries outside the US this year, and two of them were new!
Tweet more. Last year at this time, I had about 510 tweets. Now I have 1,147! Not bad! I’m still working on it. Follow me @longlegsbigcity!
Save for retirement. My work has helped me with this; they have an amazing plan where if I put in 6%, they put in 8%! It’s basically unheard of. I was doing really well before our Commander in Idiocy crashed the market last week. Oh well.
Read 4 nonfiction books/year. I have succeeded! This year I read 41 books so far, and 12 of them were nonfiction. My nonfiction selections were: Becoming, The New Jim Crow, Tuesdays with Morrie, Lean In, So You Want to Talk About Race, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Lucky, Wild, When, Shrill, The New Rabbi and What Happened. Follow me on GoodReads for recommendations!
Traveling internationally for the first time with a backpack! (and Purple Bear)
I’m excited for 2019, and I will try and continue these resolutions, as well as add on a few more. My two main resolutions are:
Food prep more and bring lunch to work. This means traveling less on the weekends, so I have Sundays for food shopping and cooking. We’ll see if I succeed. I have my doubts because I already have 3 weddings on the calendar.
Get BraidInManhattan.com up and running and monetize the braiding hobby into a braiding business! Right now, I purchased the domain and I have it redirecting to my Instagram (I’m up to 1,336 followers!). For 2019 I want to do more hair for weddings, prom, events, etc. Do you know anyone who needs a stylist?
What are your resolutions? Do you have any? Leave them in
the comments or let me know how you did with your 2018 ones!
