Much needed escape

I’m off to NYC again this weekend,
to spend time with some of my favorite ladies,
doing what we do best;
manicures, eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing.
I can’t wait for the fun to begin : )

photo courtesy of we heart it

I wish I could wear these on an actual boat

Yesterday after work I decided it was finally time for some retail therapy, considering the stressful several weeks I’ve been experiencing. I had been contemplating some boat shoes for awhile now and with the arrival of chillier weather (and my distaste for wearing sneakers outside of the gym) I decided some comfortable, non-fancy-flats were necessary and acceptable.

I am quite happy with my purchase of these Sperry Top-Siders but have only one issue; the shoes need to be worn in and stretched out a bit and fast, since they are rubbing my heels and giving me some little blisters. Any advice!?

Recent Inspiration

Over the past few weeks, these little discoveries have been mini-doses of joy and inspiration:

the chic look of everyday-wear-sequins

(photo and inspiration courtesy of cupcakesandcashmere)

fall baking ideas at Williams-Sonoma

fabulous fall nail polish colors courtesy of essie

my daily little bits of fun and ideas thanks to Daily Candy

this amazing top;

my classic love for nautical style

sprinkled with this-season’s love, sequins

and after today, a day where I felt perpetually exhausted,

and empty and cold from the dreary rain outside,

all I wanted was a little treat.

And these pretzel M&Ms were great.

Another wonderful reminder for when things get crappy.

Thank you Olivia for describing my September so well and

assuring me that it is OK to believe in the power

of a good coffee and tasty treats.

*homemade apple cookies from freshly picked apples

Watch out Miranda Priestlys!

Hear ye, hear ye! Save the assistants! Save me!

I heard about this book a little while back

but as I was catching up with my blog reading the other evening,

Jordan at Ramshackle Glam reminded me about this fabulous find!

I plan on picking up this lifesaver ASAP and digesting it 100%.

One of my favorite sections of Jordan’s interview with the author:

“I started Save the Assistants because I realized

it was possible to have an entry-level job and

pay your dues in a given industry

without being unhappy or being treated like dirt.”

-Lilit Marcus

This is so simple and honest

and yet it was a lightbulb moment;

I can grow and learn and start at the bottom,

and still love my work

and enjoy every day

and be treated with utmost respect.

And then her other great piece of wisdom:

“The best advice I can give anyone, no matter what job they have, is to always remember who you are outside of the office. I’m lucky now because I have a job that I really love, but it’s still important to make time for other things I care about, like my friends, my family, my non-work writing projects, and causes I care about. When I first moved to New York, I couldn’t get a writing job to save my life. So while I worked crappy admin jobs that had nothing to do with my real interests, I wrote as much as I could in my spare time – that often meant writing for free, or getting bylines on websites no one had heard of. But it didn’t matter. If you really love something, you’ll keep doing it, even if no one pays you or you have to schedule it in at weird times. It was my outside-of-work writing, including Save the Assistants, that eventually helped me get the job I have now. Not only will pursuing your interests outside of work help you get experience doing what you really want to do, it’ll also make you feel good about yourself and relieve some of that stress you accumulate between 9 and 5.”

And that is why I write and read and surround myself

with things that make me happy.

Sometimes I just need

a little reminder.

And I'm back.

I expected a brief hiatus during my chaotic moving experience.

I did not however expect this hiatus to last over a month.

My apologies. One stressful issue led to another and something had to give.

Instead of recapping in depth all that has happened over the past 30+ days,

let’s resort to a brief bulleted list:

• I have relocated to the North End of Boston. The move was stressful but I am finally at home and thoroughly loving my new apartment. Things are falling into place and I love the cobblestone streets, smells of garlic and pastries that lingers at all hours and the convenience of being downtown.
• A day after the move (that was conducted in 98 degree weather), my parents visited and I don’t remember the last time I was so thankful for their support. My Dad hooked up all my appliances and got everything working, as my Mom folded and helped me organize all my stuff. I couldn’t have done such an amazing wardrobe detox without her. Their visit was bittersweet per usual but as we ventured up to Maine and enjoyed lighthouses, taffy and lobster rolls, I ate up all the pure happiness of their visit.
• I’ve heard it been said that you can’t have it all at once. So while my living situation was thriving and the boy and I were enjoying each other, work became difficult. Every day was a challenge, a struggle to stay above ground, and intensely stressful. Nothing was going right and everything was becoming painful. For several weeks work took over my life and drained everything else from me. This past week I felt some relief and control over my situation; I’ve learned I must take care of myself and that it isn’t worth the amount of pain and stress I was suffering from. I don’t wish to go into details but things are better currently and I hope the rough patch at the office has passed.

With my work situation consuming my life,

my sleep, appetite and energy disappeared (as did my time to write, read, relax).

But I did mention to sneak in some fun in September;

I went apple picking with the boy and

baked delicious apple cookies and apple bread and

received numerous compliments and recipe requests.

I road tripped to NYC to spend a much needed weekend with my girlfriends

where we danced the night away and laughed til our sides hurt.

I gobbled up lemon ricotta pancakes at Sarabeth’s in NYC

and have been talking about them to this day;

they were THAT good.

The boy and I were away from each other

for a couple weekends in a row due to our mutual crazy lives

but took advantage of the time together with late nights, tv and

my new favorite dish: pumpkin raviolis.

And I’ve continued to primp and prep my new place,

cooking dinner (or grabbing eggplant & ricotta pizza slices) with my roommate

and indulging in the return of our TV shows.

And so today, going forward,

I plan to leave the hiatus behind, and

welcome myself back to writing and doing all the littler things

that I love that I’ve missed lately.

I will be returning to the gym and passing on those frequent pizza slices.

I will be reading and relaxing in front of the tv

before crawling into my comfy bed for some solid sleep more often.

I’ve greatly missed all the blogs that I enjoy reading

and am excited and anxious to dive in and

soak up all that I’ve missed out on this past month.

It’s good to be back.

Moving Day!

Today I’m relocating my belongings and my life to a new apartment.

My summer subletting with a group of boys is finished

and I’m off to the North End with a girlfriend of mine.

Packing is no fun no matter what,

but with the temps hitting 97 today,

I’m dreading it all that much more.

It doesn’t help that I have little energy

to even pack up in the first place.

Here’s a scene from my room last night.

I had high hopes of packing well and organized;

that quickly went out the window

and the garbage bags emerged instead.

And then the joy of procrastination came out

and I found myself doing a couple loads of laundry,

making new playlists on iTunes,

filing my nails,

and baking a dozen cupcakes for the gentlemen

complete with tropical fish sprinkles.

I have so many various emotions with this move.

I will so much better when I’m all in my new place

and the fun parts begin;

organizing my room, decorating,

trips to the Container Store, etc.

Let the fun begin.