See ya, 2011. It's been real.

I am exhausted. 2011 has worn me out. I was sick for 3 weeks after Thanksgiving, then had the craziness of my birthday, getting ready for Christmas, traveling to Minnesota for a quick 6 days with my family, and now I'm back in New York to close out the year. I've been going to bed at 9 p.m. this week because I am just. so. tired.

I'm heading out tonight to dinner and a New Year's party at Chelsea Loft with some good friends from college that I haven't seen in a while (one is visiting from Denmark!). I'm excited to get out and have a good time and dance and drink and celebrate tonight! It's been too long since I've had a good night out. I had to take it easy on my birthday since I was still kind of sick, so this is long overdue.

Anyway, like everyone else on the internet (and in the world), I am making some New Year's resolutions. Maybe I'll check in on these throughout the year and let you know how I'm doing... maybe I'll forget about all of these by next week... We'll see. Cross your fingers for me.

Resolutions for 2012:

1. Health:
• Refine Method 1x per week. I bought a 10-class pass and have yet to go more than once.
• Actually go to yoga once a month, even just a free class at Lululemon or Athleta.
• Join a summer sports league in Central Park. I'm thinking it will be a perfect summer for kickball after graduation in May.
• 90-second plank and side-plank by next year. I can do a 40-second forearm plank now, but it nearly kills me. This move is the bane of my fitness existence.
• 80 ounces of water per day.
2. 2012 Reading List. I fell a little short on my pleasure reading goals this year, and I have a lot of books to cover in 2012!
3. Set (and follow!) a personal budget. I use Mint.com intermittently, but I'm determined to actually check in every day or every other day and meet my financial goals. I have to start paying back student loans this year, which means I have to start setting aside some of my shoe and beer money to reserve for those loan payments...
• This will also mean following a grocery budget more carefully--making weekly meal plans, bringing my lunch to work, eating out less, and only buying the food items that I actually need for the week... not the Cheez-its, wine, and chocolate ice cream that somehow make it into my cart sometimes...
• I'm toying around with the idea of a one-month shopping ban. I'm not ready to commit to this yet, but we'll see.
4. Rock my Master's Capstone this spring. I am determined to not procrastinate and really come up with a viable (and awesome) business plan for my final project in my final semester of grad school.
5. Career:
• Dress better for work. Even when I'm tired. This may involve actually planning out outfits the night before and getting up a little earlier in the morning.
• Keep my résumé up to date.
• Attend 4 professional events this year with NYWICI and YPG. (I only got to 2 events this last year).
6. Organize:
• Actually use my file cabinet to organize important documents, bills, etc. and organize receipts (they are currently stuffed in a drawer with no system whatsoever).
• Clean out my closet in January, June, and October. Get rid of things that haven't been worn. Re-assess organization. Find a home for all the junk that is just sitting in the bottom of my closet...
• Take all items that need to be fixed/hemmed, etc. to the tailor and take shoes/purse to be fixed to the cobbler. These have all been sitting in my closet taking up space, being unwearable, for at least 4-8 months now... Time to move.
7. Host brunch 1x, cocktail party 1x, dinner 1x for friends. I love playing Martha Stewart and having people over, but I never seem to find time to do it! This year, I want to make this happen. I am having my first cocktail party this year (dates & evites TK).

That's enough. Like I said, we'll see. I feel like I always make these goals in some form or another, but I've never written them down so specifically. I think that should help.

I'm off to get ready for the evening and maybe get some work done before then. Happy New Year to all! Here's to a fantastic night (and 2012) of good friends, good drinks, and of course, glitter!

Happy birthday to me.

It's my birthday next week, and I'll be celebrating in style with the besties. And glitter.

[matching flats + purse from J.Crew for a little birthday present to myself]

Better yet, they were on sale.

[Guess heels]

I got these heels a few weeks ago with New Year's Eve in mind, but now I'm debating. I might return them and just wear the flats for New Year's. If I'm gonna be dancing the night away, do I really want to be toppling over in 4-inch heels? Maybe. Depends how much champagne there is.

God, I love glitter.

Why I Love New York Wednesdays: New Year's Eve

So, as part of this "goal" (not resolution!) to give my blog more structure, I present you with Why I Love New York Wednesdays (to accompany Martha Stewart Sundays). I'll come up with fun ideas for the other days soon... that I can commit to... hopefully!

I got this idea from a recent article in New York magazine, Reasons to Love New York 2010, which covered some events from this year, current popular trends in fashion, food and culture, thought patterns, as well as NYC perennials.

So, why do I love New York this week?

New Year's Eve, of course! There must be a reason why the entire world descends on NYC to celebrate the new year, right? Well, this year I found out for myself. I shared the streets with a few of my closest friends, some random Swiss guys, a handful of crazy people, and a WHOLE BUNCH of tourists, and I had a great time.

(Gillian and me @ Cellar Bar @ The Bryant Park Hotel)

In my trip to and from dinner at Per Lei on the Upper East Side, to the Bryant Park Hotel, to Grand Central, and back to the Upper East Side on Friday night/Saturday morning, I can't believe the sheer number and diversity of the crowds that I saw. As much as I normally hate crowds and tourists, I didn't mind on Friday night. Everyone was just having a good time. New Year's Eve here is such an institution--it's like everyone kind of knew what to expect, or at least had gleaned some of the right expectations from pop culture.

My expectations were completely met. I wouldn't say they were exceeded, but I think I was realistic about the night. I had a fantastic dinner with my friends at a classy neighborhood resto, fought the other UESiders for a taxi downtown, mulled about on the sidewalks with the aforementioned tourists, New Yorkers, and crazy people, and attended a swanky party complete with 5 hours of open bar at a beautiful hotel, and (happily, if not slightly drunkenly) found my way to the Subway at 3 a.m. with no hope of finding a cab home. It definitely ranks up there with some of the best nights out in my life, but I wasn't exactly blown away.

But I guess that's what I expected. So, I come out of my first New Year's Eve in NYC extremely satisfied, and completely in love with this city not necessarily because of my own experience, but because of the way that New Year's Eve here is such a phenomenon in itself--because of the experiences that other people have had here, and fantasize about having here, and will hopefully someday have here on New Year's Eves in the future.

Plus, where else can you drink for 5 hours+, stumble to the public transportation of your choice with your new Swiss friends, and know that 1.5 million people are doing the exact same thing in the greatest city in the world?

The year in review.

I feel like this year has flown by. So, so much has happened in 12 months. January 1st, one year ago, I was freezing my butt off trying to haul all my clothes and furniture up four flights of stairs into my first apartment. Here are a few highlights from the year:

1. My first apartment, completely newly renovated before I moved in, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

2. Hammie & Misko. I have 2 adorable, naughty, smart, cuddly kittens. And I've had them for almost a year with no (major) disasters!

3. I started my first full-time job in May. After being an unpaid intern for 4 months, I worked my @ off to impress the right people and got the job offer. I now love what I'm doing everyday and love going to work.

4. I am halfway done with my Masters! As of fall 2010, I have completed 24 of my 42 credits toward my graduate work. Besides all the group projects, I really enjoy what I'm learning and can definitely see how it applies to the things I'm doing every single day at work.

5. New & old friends. I'm happy that I ended up in NYC because it's so easy to hop a train down to DC and visit my besties from college or for them to come see me. I've had some amazing times in DC, Maryland, and New York this year with amazing friends like Becca, Tamar, Endrit, Jen, Arden, Amanda, Jess, and so many more!

(me & Becca in February outside the Met)

(me & Krista before her wedding in Minnesota in July)

(with Becca & Endrit on top of the Kennedy Center for my graduation in May)

I've also made amazing friends this year at NYU: Gillian, Natalie, and Charity have really made this year great for me. I love my Subway rides and bagel dates with Nat, lunches all over Midtown and one epic trip to IKEA with Gillian, and all the wine and adventures (blowing off yoga) with Charity. (See The Birthday Weekend of Bad Behavior for more examples of fun with friends)

(me & Charity at the NYU SCPS Semi-Formal, i.e. Grad School Prom last spring)

(with Gillian, Erin & Natalie at Coney Island this summer. Charity was there too! She was taking the picture!)

6. Last, but not least, I'm so happy with how much I've actually seen my family this year. My parents and brother have come to visit me quite a bit, and I've made it home several times as well. When I moved last year, I had no idea how often I would actually be seeing them. And especially now that I have to take PTO every time I want to come home! My aunt & uncle in New Jersey have also made a big difference for me this year. They've really helped me out by bringing me groceries and such things or by picking me up and getting me out of the city for a night! It's been a very busy year, and I couldn't have gotten through it without the help of my family!

I have a lot to look forward to in 2011. In March, I'm meeting my friends from high school, Erika & Jenny, in Paris for 6 days, then visiting my friend, Arden, from GW in Copenhagen. I am planning to come home to Minnesota for a weekend or two this summer to spend some time out on the lake! And hopefully, I'll be planning a trip this fall with Natalie, perhaps to Las Vegas or somewhere else warm & fun! Also, hopefully various friends (like Krista&Brady!) will be coming to NYC to visit me.

And a happy New Year to all! I'll be spending the night out on the town with Jess, Amanda, Ashley, & Morgan (all from GW) & Gillian. Here's to a fantastic evening in the GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD!

What I'm wearing New Year's Eve.

As I've been stranded here in Minnesota for an extra 3 days, I've been thrown into a little bit of a panic... I have friends coming to my apartment in Manhattan on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. for New Year's Eve... so hopefully I will make it back to NYC before then to clean, get my outfit ready for the night, pick up some groceries and generally be ready to be a good hostess when I haven't been home in 9 days!

Here's what I'm planning on wearing... some of which I may have to run out and still find on Friday morning... or here in Minnesota tomorrow before I head to the airport...

Little Black Dress: I bought a LBD on sale for $30 at Ann Taylor on Black Friday. Remember back in September when I posted this? Well, I think it's actually the same dress. I never bought it this fall, and I actually never tried it on in the store. So, here I have a dress at home in NYC, and I have NO idea if it fits or if it will look right with the shoes I want to wear... I'm crossing my fingers that it will work!

Gold Glitter "Caryssa" Pumps by Steve Madden. $89.99 from Piperlime. Note: I ordered these for myself for my birthday. When I got them last week, I realized that they are MUCH taller than I thought they were! They are 5 inch heels with a 1 inch platform... I'm not sure how well I'll be able to walk in them, but they are perfect for the occasion! I might have to carry them to the party and change when we get there!
Annnnd accessorize with gold jewelry, black clutch, black tights, and black blazer. Problem is, I'm not sure if the gold jewelry I have will work with the outfit. And I definitely don't have a black blazer that will work! I'll keep you posted as I scramble in the next 48 hours to pull it together!