A Little Life Update

First off, I apologize that my blog has been a bit quiet lately. It has been a crazy couple of months. Between the ending of my semester at school, the holidays and the passing of my sweet Emmylou, I didn't have all that much time or motivation to get on here and write. Now things have settled down a bit, which has given me time to think, plan out and gather inspiration for the new year.

I generally don't make grand resolutions because I have a hard time following through with them but my biggest one this year it to not give up on anything that can bring me joy, regardless of how much it brings me out of my comfort zone.

I've gotten in a bit of a rut of making my decisions based upon how easy they are. Much of this was brought on by the move to New York and feeling a bit isolated. I started watching a HELL of a lot more TV than ever before and not getting out of the apartment to meet others because it took so much effort to find like minded people near my age in the suburbs! News Flash: Making friends in your later 20s is much harder than ever before!
But I am officially done making excuses and on to making life more interesting and more exciting for the upcoming year.

What helps you get out of a social rut?





A couple goals for the upcoming months:

• Actually exercise - not with any weight goal in mind or a specific look but with the idea of being proud of what my body can do again. This has not been achieved by my many Modern Family marathons on the couch. 
• Read something inspiring - Hoping the book Wild will start this one off. I LOVE travel/adventure memoirs
• Travel to at least 5 new places this year. This could mean India or a part of Brooklyn I've never been to but I want a new experience. 
• Continue learning new ways to eat better but maybe also learning how to do this on a budget. I seriously cannot afford all the crazy new things I find at Whole Foods. 
• Spend less time on my phone. I've seen a lot of people mention this one and I think it is important. There is a reason I don't put a lot of instagram, I generally find that when I'm trying to capture the moment via camera, I'm missing the actual experience and I'd like to see real life a bit more than I have been. 
• Make time to call family and friends more. It was really easy to get out of this habit while living in Yonkers because we had no service in our apartment so you literally had to make time outside to call people. 
• Get outside more - by this I mean more than going outside with the dogs. I mean really experiencing nature, whether it is hiking or just sitting outside and reading, I need to just be near green space a bit more. 
• Make time to be creative - Sometimes creativity goes on the back burner when you have to write research papers all the time but I hope to set out time to write a bit more, sing a bit more and maybe even craft if I get a good idea. 

There are many others but lets not burn ourselves out. Do you have any goals for the new year?

Boo at the Zoo - Day Date

Shawn and I have been meaning to make a day date at the Bronx zoo for the last couple of months and have been failing but we FINALLY made it this weekend! I've always loved going to zoos, not only because it is something fun while getting a bit of exercise but its a great place to learn and no matter how many times I go, I always learn something new. To make matters even better, it was all decked out for Halloween, which made the experience that much better! Did I tell you I adore fall?

Love this dude

The peacock sat next to us the entire time we ate lunch. My biggest triumph is when he ate french fries out of my hand. Potentially stupid move? Maybe but it was totally worth it.

They have a costume parade twice a day which is lead by some of these awesome costumes and they all try to get the kids to chant as they parade through the zoo. I have to say, I don't know if I've ever seen so much cuteness in one place.

We sat an watched the sea lions for around 30 minutes. I realized that they are potentially one of the funniest animals alive. We got there about 20 minutes before feeding time and you could tell they knew that time of day. They kept jumping out of the water and calling out at the gate where the trainer comes in. Watching them interact with each other but also with the trainers once they got there was incredibly enjoyable.

And lastly, I figured since this is also a fashion blog, I'd show a little outfit post. My day to day style is very casual and I LOVE flannel in the fall. This is a gorgeous 1970s flannel that just found a home in CA but you can find the sister shirt that I found with it, here. Other than that, just my cheap skinny jeans from forever 21, my fave brown boots and my grandmother's petoskey stone necklace.

Birthday Apple Picking

Emmylou had her first farm experience this year when we headed up to Harvest Moon Apple Orchard. She could not have been more excited. She about jumped off of the hayride when she saw an entire field of chickens (she is a real bird chaser) As we walked by the pasture with goats and donkeys, this little guy came running to greet her. I'm not sure who was more afraid/intrigued by the other. It was a beautiful fall Saturday, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love fall. 

Although I didn't snap a photo, I also had my first fresh cider and doughnut of the season!

A Quick Trip Home

Last week I was enough to fly home and surprise my mama in Michigan for a belated birthday present. It was so wonderful to be in the place that shaped me in my favorite time of year: the beginning of fall.
I tried so desperately to fit it lunch dates and drink with old friends, that the 3 days went by in a absolute whirlwind. I had completely meant to take pictures of the beginnings of fall foliage as a snapshot of what I see as the most beautiful time of year but I was much too distracted by my friends and getting updates on their life.


I won't bore you with the updates on everything I did while I was home but I will bring in the nostalgic moments I had that made me think and feel much more than I have lately running though all the deadlines of day to day life.

Shawn's old dorm room.

Derrick and Matty walking through Campbell Hall

First we started off at an old favorite bar, had some nice micro brews and then decided to walk through our college dorm and reminisce about all the crazy shit we used to do. The halls smelled the same and I started to miss the care free life when sitting around in my sweatpants drinking beer with my best friends was a normal occurrence.


My friend Angela and I also went back to our old high school and soccer field where we spent most of our evenings during high school. Oh yea and I forgot to mention, I was doing all of this on my birthday. So if there is ever a time you would like to feel like you are growing older by the minute, go visit your old HS on your birthday.

I also got to share many shaded runs on a country dirt road with my favorite little girl, Lily.

AND the only fashion related thing I did while I was home was thrifting with my dad and little brother. My bro likes to thrift shop just as much as I do so it was necessary to go at least once while I was home and here is a pic of some of those finds.