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!

Busy week!

Such is the life of a grad student working full-time.

Because I've had almost a month off from school (classes start on this coming Monday), I have felt an enormous pressure to do something incredibly significant and awesome with my time off. And yet, relishing my precious time off, I have spent my time split between work, the gym, and my bed. Honestly, I have wanted to do nothing but sleep since Christmas!

Which, while completely necessary, also makes me feel like I am wasting this beautiful gift of free time!

Which causes stress and anxiety and (mental) exhaustion!

When I should be relaxing and enjoying my time off.

This is why I have not written anything this week. I have been busy trying to accomplish 1,001 things and trying to sleep away my to-do list at the same time. Next week, things should be back to normal when I'm tossed back into the school/work routine. And then I will continue to (attempt) to accomplish incredibly awesome things.

Lesson learned: free time is gift best spent snuggled in bed with 2 naughty kittens & a good book. Don't stress about reorganizing the closet, cleaning out the pantry, doing your taxes (yet), and cooking gourmet meals every night. Those things are best when saved for the rare free & calm Sunday during the school semester!

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!

Working girl.

So, it's apparently been a long time since I've blogged about anything... but that's because I started my new job! I'm officially a young professional in NYC now! And I've just been exhausted since I started. I'm not used to the 9-5 sched (plus the two days a week I have my grad school classes).

I was hired full-time at the publishing company where I was interning, and it's absolutely amazing. I'm an editorial assistant in the pub office of one imprint, which means I'm doing some more managing ed/administrative work along with normal editorial responsibilities. I get to work a lot with the different departments for various parts of the pub process, so I'm really learning a lot. And I'm so happy just to have a job and be on my way!

I can't stress how important for everyone just out of college or trying to break into a new industry to accept an internship or a lower-level position first - it opened soo many doors for me! I know we can't intern forever, but if you get in the right internship, and impress the right people, it can definitely lead to a full-time job.

Coming up soon (I swear!): Business casual chic - I need new work clothes!