West 113th Street and Riverside Drive

Manhattan has been amazingly beautiful lately. It doesn't hurt that, aside from

the occasional cold winds, the weather has been equally perfect. I wore a sweater

outside the other day. A sweater! And no jacket! Bless you, Mother Nature.

But for now, I'm off to catch a train to celebrate Christmas with my family and my fiance.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful and happy holidays!

A Year In Review

Photo from him.

I suppose the appropriate time for a year-in-review would be January, or at the very least December, but I'm

doing it in November — specifically this day in November — for a reason. You see, it's not every year that

you take your first adult job and schlep your belongs to a too crowded apartment in New York City. And it's

not every year that it has been exactly one year to the date since said move-in. Totally confused yet? Good.

Spring isn't that great. Fall is the best season of all.

CoatsDonutsApplesPumpkinsLeavesOhMy!

Now go listen to this obligatory fall song.

The Avenues

The Avenues.

Even if you know only a little about me, you'll also know I lived in Utah for a few years while receiving my undergrad. It's somewhat wild that I managed to stay sane, and it's even wilder to think that I not only survived but truly enjoyed my time there. I studied, I danced, and I even followed certain school traditions (Ahem). Saying that I had—and still have—school spirit would be an understatement, and I'm sure one day all those photos of me with painted blue face and wild outfits will haunt me. Actually, just admitting to them is probably a bad idea. Now you all know, too.

But I digress.

I left in a bit of a whirl. I finished graduation, went home to my empty rental house and full-to-the-brim car, and left. I don't even think I changed out of my graduation dress. And you guys, I cried. From my house until about the end of the canyon. It was like I was experiencing the saddest scene from every after-school movie made (the depressing ones, not the ones with drugs and pregnancies). I think I even heard Green Day's "Time of Your Life" as I replayed every memory from college. If I wasn't crying I probably would've laughed at the ridiculous scene that it was.

More than anything else, the leaving part, and spending the next few months figuring out my future, left me a little wanting. I guess I thought I needed some closure, some sort of ending, or at least a better one. It was as if I felt Utah owed me something. Like I wanted to her to say, Hey you, get back here for a minute! So I did. It was between the Dominican Republic and its sandy beaches or Utah. And in my infinite wisdom, I picked Utah. And dragged the boyfriend along with me. It's those mountains! Those great friends I have who reside there! They made me!

Now I'm back in my apartment listening to the sounds of my neighbors outside bickering about who left trash on the stoop, and feeling content. I guess I got all the jitters out of my system. I can finally plan that summer vacation without feeling the west tugging at me.

West Country

Battle Creek

Sundance

Top o' the Mountains

Nature Time!

Five Things I Learned on My Trip to West Virginia

The view from the lookout at New River Gorge Bridge

1. Despite best laid plans and travel routes, you'll probably inadvertently set your GPS to "Avoid Toll Roads" and take a detour through the depths of America. (Hey you, New Jersey!) It'll probably also take about two hours before you realize and start silently praying for a highway! An interstate! For all that is good in the world, anything without red lights!

2. I used to find it odd that European tourists come en masse to sightsee around Harlem on Sunday mornings. Then I went on a Sunday drive around the "real" West Virginia with a genuine local. Or, Jeff's Terrific Tour o' Trailers! Suddenly those tourists and I have a lot in common.

3. West Virginia really hates Ohio. Don't ask about it either. Although Ohio has a cool zoo with roaming kangaroos and I didn't see any kangaroos on my weekend in WV.

4. Three words: Acid Washed Denim.

5. Even with its insane ratio of Cracker Barrel's to residents, West Virginia isn't so bad. In fact, it's downright pretty.

Rockaway

Rockaway Beach, NY

It's amazing where a MetroCard can take you these days.

Home Sweet Home

Port Authority

After a weekend spent with ten hours on buses, a bunch of subway rides,

and time away from the city, it feels so good to be home.

(Even if home means a hot apartment with friendly cockroaches.)

Upstate Instagrams

 Palmyra, NY

 Antique Shop Grammar

(Also, great antique shops in Palmyra. Who knew?)

 Lake Canandaigua

End of the Bridge at Niagara Falls

New York was too much, what with its heat waves and crowded sidewalks.

So we took a train, and then a car, and drove until Canada.

(Not having your passports means Canada is the end of the adventure.)

Unfortunately, the weekend ended and we had to come back.

Evi Lemberger

(Photo by Evi Lemberger)

A Sunday afternoon beach picnic in Far Rockaway.
(Which is, not unsurprisingly, very far).
And an encounter with Evi.
(We taught her about Twitter, and she told us about being normal.)

Atlantic City

Atlantic City, a land of funnel cake and deep-fried Snickers.

I Spend Vacation Days Willingly Incarcerated.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia, PA

Ain't no Good Friday like an Eastern State Good Friday.

Healthy Treat Seems Like An Oxymoron To Me

Rockport, MA, and the giant elephant ear I somehow had all to myself.

My sister, Amy, posted some photos she took during our weekend trip to Massachusetts for Dad's big 6-0. And they include this gem, which is even more photographic evidence that despite my best efforts to convince everyone I'm a healthy eater, I have failed miserably.

Whale Watching

The trouble with whale watching is now when I see programs on Animal Planet or Discovery I'm going to be all, Nope, still not as cool as seeing whales IN PERSON.

Philadelphia City Hall

I was in Philadelphia last month for Independence Day, and got to share this amazing dusk-time skyline with the other thousands of tourists cramming the downtown streets to watch fireworks.

Also, this is right out of the camera. So a big shout out to Mother Nature for this one.

Nature and I, we get along quite well

North Lake, Catskill Mountains, NY

Bonne Journée

I like spring break so much I had two.

Reno, NV

WPB, FL

Today I love warm weather and Paris editorials

They're not my weather averages, of course, but in not too long I get this for a whole week. Can you imagine? Every morning when I walk to classes, hunched over to limit my body's exposure to the cold and wind, I remember, just a few more weeks until WARM! It's amazing what the mere thought of warmth can do for your ambition to make it through winter.

Photo via Eliza Magazine Fall Issue

And just for those who were curious about my bowling habits, tonight I bowled a whopping 56. Literally. That's awful even for me, the girl who can't break one hundred. I hope we can still be friends, despite my lack of bowling talent. Maybe it can even become one of those moments we try to remember when one of us is feeling pretty crappy, and we say something like, "Hey remember that time you bowled a 56? At least this isn't as bad as that!"

I'm thankful for Steve Jobs

Just like every year, Thanksgiving dinner included everyone discussing the things each of us was thankful for. This year, however, Steve Jobs and Google Reader made my list.

Just so you know, I'm thankful for other things too, like family, friends and all that. And Thanksgiving holiday in a warm climate, like California. I highly recommend it to everyone.

The Grandparents, my cousin Zach, myself and a baby. The baby isn't mine, just to clarify.

A pretty typical photo with our clan. I don't exactly know what each the poses mean, but they represent each person perfectly.

The beach, and my shadow for the week, Bear. I'm thinking of ways to sneak him over to Utah with me.

[My camera forgot to make an appearance this trip, so all these photos are thanks to Amy]

Vieux-Québec

I came across this photo today, one I took over the summer while we were in Québec City. More than anything it made me want to sit and people-watch, eat crepes, and visit art vendors.

Maybe this weekend when I'm not thinking about school? But then again, maybe not.