Another month gone by, I cannot believe it. And to be quite honest, life hasn’t slowed down one bit. Part of me loves that, the other part of me wishes it would. However, I don’t think it will until May 1. Ah well. Lots of news and life updates happening around these parts.

The reason things have been so busy is because we’ve been in house hunting mode. Originally, my lease was up at the end of March, but there was too much going on with weddings, traveling, and work to even fit in a big move. The process of trying to find a place can be real daunting, especially when you have such requirements that include affordability and having at least 3 bedrooms. (I have Biscuitdog and he has three cats.) The first few places we sought out were a real let down. It was difficult to not become discouraged pretty quickly as we felt we would never find something. Then, magically, the universe presented the most adorable house to us in a cute neighborhood late one night. Within five minutes of taking the tour, we put down a deposit and let out a huge sigh of relief.

It might not look like much from the outside, but I am so in love with it. It’s got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room area, kitchen, dining room, foyer, and a Florida room in the back that extends the entire width of the house. There is also a huge fenced in yard which I’m almost positive is going to be a dream come true for Biscuitdog. It’s all wood floors throughout and has so much natural light coming in. I could just squeal with excitement.
Even though we have a month to go until the move in date, we’ve already begun hunting for furniture and treasures. This morning we got up at 9am and headed out to some local thrift spots and consignment shops. Once again the universe was sending us magical energy as we found the most wonderful vintage couch for only $85. The photo above isn’t really doing it justice as the sunlight makes it look extremely faded. But, it’s actually in perfect condition. I think there must have been plastic on top of it for decades. We also scored a rad table and chairs, and a chair for my writing room. One of the wonderful things about Brett is that he has similar taste to mine, and only wants to decorate and furnish the house with vintage and antique pieces. It’s so rare to find a guy who is actually into that type of style, and I am so happy that he is one of them.

[Source]

Naturally, I’m becoming obsessed with scouring the internet for a bit of decor inspiration. Earlier this evening, I fell into the black hole known as Pinterest. I think I lost two hours of my life without realizing it. My desktop is quickly becoming covered with photos. I was going to share a few on the post, but I always feel bad about re-posting images from Pinterest as they never have the source info. I’m also seriously swooning over the home tours on Elsie and Danielle’s blogs.

If you have any recommendations for good decor inspiration or home tours, share them in the comments!

Welp. It’s March and I’m finally starting to get my act together in 2013. Better late than never though, right?

Since the beginning of the New Year there has been literally non-stop stuff happening in my life and around me. I’ve got loads of posts in my queue but have had zero time to post them. So, if all of a sudden there is a mass update in your Google Reader, don’t be surprised. I seriously have so much to share about what I’ve been doing.

Firstly, I’ve been seriously geeking out over health stuff. I’ve begun a green smoothie challenge, did a 3-day juice cleanse (to be blogged), and been experimenting with going vegan. It’s all been a pretty seamless transition that I can’t wait to share. I also re-started (for the millionth time) Jillian Michaels’ ‘Ripped in 30′. You can only imagine how sore I am this morning.

I also got my hands on an Erin Condren planner! Finally! It arrived yesterday, and I’ve already spent over an hour putting in events, blog post ideas, and workout schedules. I’m so in love with how it came out. I totally couldn’t resist the page of stickers. Yes, that’s Ryan Gosling.

I’ve got to run off to work now. (My new job totally rules) But, expect to see me posting a whole lot more in 2013. I know I always say that, but this time I mean it! Seriously!

So, it’s Tuesday night, and I’m feeling a little up to doing some rambling on the ol’ blog. I’ve actually got a few things to blog about, but I feel like they deserve their own posts. So, for now, I’ll just free write about some other stuff.

This morning I stopped by a new local juice bar + raw kitchen that opened near my house called Myapapaya. (I’m going to give them a separate blog post soon) I picked up two juices to try before venturing into cleansing. The fruit heavy one was oh so delicious, however the green one was a little harder to get used to. But, after a good amount of swigs, I think I’ve warmed up to the oh so healthy taste. Shame on my tastebuds for being so used to soda! So,  I’ve decided that I want to do a 3-day juice cleanse. I’m also considering (depending on how it goes) taking up a once a week juice cleanse habit. It’s about $50 a day at Myapapaya, which isn’t too bad. I know I could purchase a juicer but I rather try something out for a few weeks rather than dive headfirst into it in the beginning. I’ve found that it’s easier for me to do it a little bit at a time and that way I have a better chance of achieving my goals. I’m pretty excited about this cleanse. My body really needs it. I especially feel like I’ve let myself go and it’s really upsetting.

I really want to create a meditation space within my apartment. But, living in a studio apartment makes it a bit difficult. My goal for this week is to figure out where I can cut some space to make some room for my own little space to clear my mind and energy. I’m thinking about checking out this book, Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice. I love this post on Design Sponge, although their picks are a bit pricey. I think I’m going to snag their idea with more affordable options.

I’ve been on Pinterest for the last hour or so drooling and swooning over the meditation spaces of others. So envious. My ultimate dream would be to have a little fort filled with pillows and cushions and magical things. Maybe it’s not too far fetched? Fingers crossed.

On a completely random note, I need a serious blog layout overhaul. I just keep going back and forth between super simple and clean or fun and more reflective of my personality. Sigh. Serious blogger gurl problems.

Time for bed!

For the last two years, I’ve been working as the nightlife editor for a Village Voice paper down here in South Florida. After the company went through a series of layoffs, our Editor was let go of around June/July, and we had our office moved from Fort Lauderdale (and a mile away from my apt) to Miami. For the last 6 months, I’ve been driving back and forth to our Miami office three times a week. This might not sound like a lot, but it’s been costing me a pretty penny. Additionally, because of my schedule and all the driving, it made it nearly impossible to focus on school full-time, which put in a weird spot. I knew I needed to come to a decision. While I absolutely love my job and feel so grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve been given because of it, my education does come first. I’m working toward a goal, and I’d like to be able to see it through to completion, so I can move on to the next stage in my life. But, at the same time I was scared. I had job security, and was unsure if I was going to be able to find it again. The job market is horrible and who knows how long it would take me to find a job. I fought with my mind constantly because of this fear. Fear is a funny thing, it runs our lives and has a way of holding us back from evolving or making changes. I’ve let it control me before in relationships and life decisions. But, I knew I couldn’t let that happen any longer.

And then an amazing opportunity presented itself. It was as if the moment that I let go of the fear, and let the universe know that I was willing and ready to find change, it all came together. Within days, I had found a new job at a local consignment shop in Fort Lauderdale and put my notice in at work.

I’m sad to say goodbye to my job at the New Times, but I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life. With my new job, I’m able to attend school full time and have extra time in my life for freelance writing and to get my focus back on this blog. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that each closed door brings an open one.

I really believe that 2013 is going to be a magical year.

So, here I am sitting in my yoga pants, hopped up on Motrin, eating chocolate, having an SVU marathon, and dealing with stupid cramps. Needless to say, my desire to be in a good spirits and send out good energy into the world has fallen to the wayside. What can I say? Once a month, being a lady is a pain in the ass. Although, I couldn’t imagine being a guy and having to walk around with that thing between my legs. I just can’t grasp the idea of that at all. I have no idea what I’m rambling about right now. I swear, it’s all the pain medication I’m on for these hellish cramps and migraine. Luckily, I have a massage today.

I’m also going to meet with a TM teacher for the first time tonight. I’m pretty excited about that. And then tomorrow I’m going to see author Gabrielle Bernstein speak in Miami at her book launch for “May Cause Miracles”. I am so completely looking forward to it. I couldn’t be happier about the fact that it’s happening in the first month of the new year.

So, I watch a lot of SVU. I mean, who doesn’t? But, sometimes I find myself wondering if it’s really good to be having all this negative imagery stored in our brains. I mean, I’m pretty surprised that I’m not some sort of sociopath after watching all this Law and Order, CSI, and Criminal Minds. Ya know?

Ok, I have no idea where this blog post is going. I’m just letting my brain spew out randomness.

PS – what are you favorite period cramp remedies? Or what keeps you in good spirits during this lovely time of the month? I hear exercising helps out the cramps, but c’mon! Who wants to get out of bed and work out? Hahaha.

Well, it looks like Monday is here again. I can’t believe the first two weeks of January are already behind us. Slow down 2013, please. The first two weeks of January have been a little scattered. School started back up again, and I’m in classes full time so getting adjusted and putting my schedule in order has been taking up quite a bit of time. But, now I think I’ve got the hang of it and can input a proper amount of time on getting back into blogging. There’s also a few other things going on that have kept me busy as well, but I can’t discuss it just yet.

The other thing that I’m trying to work on is figuring out the best time to work out. After my 20 minutes of meditation, I’m doing 20 minutes of yoga. I’d like to get in the Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred in there as well (which I think is about 20-30minutes) but I don’t know if that is overdoing it on the morning routine. The problem is, when I get home from school or work, the last thing I want to do is work out. I really need to start getting to bed earlier so I can properly wake up at 6am. I dunno why I’m so adverse to falling asleep early. I’d probably feel a whole lot better if I did.

Speaking of working out, I downloaded this app that I’m definitely going to have a love hate relationship with. You snap a photo every day of yourself, and at the end it puts it together as a time-lapse video so you can see the progress. While the end result is probably great, the whole getting to that point is torture. I hate taking “before” photos. But, I guess it just provides for more motivation.

Can you believe I haven’t gone shopping yet in 2013? I know some of you are thinking that’s no difficult task. But, I promise, for me, it’s a big deal. I used to go shopping at least once a week just for clothing that I don’t ever need. So, I’m really trying hard to curb that habit. So far, so good.

Did any of you watch the Golden Globes last night? If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was. I know I lost a follower or two during that. But, oh well. Sorry I’m not sorry. Anyway. I don’t usually like award shows, but I was so excited to see Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host. They killed it when they were actually given screen time. Also, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, amazing. They should only let comedians/improvers host and present at these things as opposed to actors who have the most difficult time with the teleprompter.

Ok, I have to go watch Season 2 Premiere of Girls. I’m so in love with that show and Lena Dunham. I totally teared up during her acceptance speech last night.

Anyway! Onto a new feature I would like to do every week. I’m going to start making gratitude lists on a weekly basis. Also, I’m going to include something called love letters that is basically a list of things that are making me happy this week. Sounds cheesy? Maybe. But, I think I reminding myself what I’m grateful for on a regular basis helps the soul. PLUS, I love making lists. Duh.

This week I’m grateful for:
+ Waking up without a hangover
+ Starting each day with 20 minutes of meditation
+ Feeling sore from new yoga poses
+ Biscuit’s unconditional love
+ My family’s constant support of my ever-changing life choices
+ My relationship with BW

Love Letters To:
New books, meeting random bull terriers on the street, delicious sushi, new magazines, Nutella on bagels, the local farm, the white noise app, Mickey Mouse footie pjs, discovering new blogs, meeting new sober ladies, tofu scramble, dorky school supplies, $5 black leggings, and star fruit.

Every year I make a long list of resolutions, and 99% of the time, most of them don’t get accomplished. However, this year the air feels different, and I think being sober has a lot to do with that. I think now that I’ve got a year of sobriety behind me, I’m set up to really accomplish a lot of the things that I want to work toward. I’m also trying to create a list that focuses more on the positive as opposed to phrasing everything that focuses on the negative habit or behavior.

1. Complete my AA and transfer to start my BA. This has been a long work in progress. Because I can only go to school part-time, it’s taken a bit longer to get my AA degree. But, now I’m only about 2 credits away and I cannot wait to transfer to another school for my BA.

2. Maintain a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Instead of putting down “lose weight”, I’ve decided to focus more on making it about being healthy as opposed to a perfect number. With keeping healthy and focusing on making this a positive experience, the rest will follow. I think when I’m focusing on working on an overall lifestyle rather than a number, it’ll be easier to achieve.

3. Go on a major shopping freeze. Seriously. This is no joke. I have waaaaaay too much shit. My closet is popping, and my rolling racks are falling over. Enough is enough.

4. Go on an adventure every week. Florida is full of kitschy and off the beaten path types of things to do. Additionally, I just want to try all sorts of new things. One of the things that’s on the top of my list is attending my first Bar Method class. So whether it’s a new attraction, restaurant, project, or class, I just want to try something new every week.

5. Shop local almost completely. Less corporations, more local shops. Last year, Brett and I went 30 days of only shopping local and while it was a little bit of a struggle, it wasn’t all that difficult. I’d like to do this more on a regular basis.

6. Create my photography/writing project. I’ve got a creative writing project that I’ve been wanting to work on for a very long time. And what better time than now.

7. Complete Gabrielle Bernstein’s “May Cause Miracles: A 40 Day Transformation” Her newest book launched on January 1, and I couldn’t resist purchasing it up on my kindle.

8. Share more about my journey with sobriety. More and more often, I’m hearing from people about my journey with getting sober at 28. And I really think I need to talk about it more just so the information is out there. I really wish when I decided to get sober there was a a 20-something girl sharing her stories and struggles with sobriety.

9. Be more open. To be quite honest, I’m not the most open and friendliest person on the planet. I don’t know what is wrong with me or what it stems from, but I have a tendency to be very closed off. I also have a knack for passing judgement very quickly on someone before getting to know them. It’s horrible. I’m embarrassed to even admit it, but I guess that’s the first step toward making an honest change.

10. Go on a retreat. I’ve been looking into an assortment of writing and meditation retreats, and I absolutely cannot wait to go one. I’m not sure which I’ll choose just yet, but if any of you has tips or experiences, please share with me.

11. Write something every day.

12. Experience life off social media. I’ve already deleted Twitter and Facebook apps from my phone. I’ve told myself I’m only going to open Instagram if I post a photo. But, I also want to experience being in the moment more rather than photographing it. It’s definitely a catch-22 for a blogger, but I think I need to learn to save moments for just myself.

13. Become the best version of myself.

For me, 2012 was about making a transition. It was the first time I was sober, in a healthy and real loving relationship, and when I began meditating. It was the first time I allowed myself the opportunity to begin to find out who I really am and to deal with a lot of issues head on, as opposed to escaping them. 2012 was the year that set me up and prepared me for the long road I have ahead of me. Getting sober prepared me for the journey that I’ll be embarking on this year. The journey of living a truly fulfilling and magical life, in turn becoming the best version of myself.

In my next post, I’ll be sharing 13 resolutions/goals that I have for 2013.

 In just a few days we’ll be bidding farewell to 2012 and welcoming in 2013 with open arms. At least I will be. Not that 2012 has been a bad year in any way at all. In fact, 2012 was such a magical year for me, so much so that I was way too busy to blog about it. That’s one thing that I’m pretty disappointed in myself in regards to the past year. But, the year is coming to an end and there is no reason to be obsessing over all the faults and flaws that happened. All I can do is learn from them and figure out what I need to do in order to change. However, instead of talking about the somewhat negative things that went on this year, I rather spend this post discussing all the magical-ness that happened in 2012.

First and foremost, my sobriety. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have officially hit the one year mark! The anniversary was actually on October 23, and I had a whole post planned out, but sometimes life just takes over. So, come January 1, I’m going to write a nice post about that. But yes, I can’t believe it. While I did give up alcohol in 2011, I spent the entire full year of 2012 living the sober life, and it couldn’t have been any better. I am so fucking proud of myself. Yeah that’s right. I’m patting myself on the back. I think I’ve earned it.

Second, falling in love. I know it may sound weird that I’m making this #2, but giving up alcohol allowed me to finally be in a real, and healthy relationship. But yes, falling in love, real love, happened this year for me. I almost don’t even know how to put it into words. BW is the most wonderful person and boyfriend, and I’m so thankful for him coming into my life. He never ceases to amaze me, and I’m constantly learning from him every day. He’s helped me become a better version of myself, and I absolutely adore him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.

And finally, interviewing and meeting John fucking Waters. (If you want to read the interview, here is Part I and Part II) Seriously, it was definitely on my bucket list of things to do and I can’t believe it actually came true. He is the sweetest, most hilarious, and kind human out there. I feel very lucky that I got a chance to share a conversation with him.

Honorable mentions: Seeing so many amazing shows: The Kills, Eddie Vedder, Florence and the Machine, Puscifer, and Cursive. Going to Disney World for the first time in over ten years. Discovering meditation. Falling in love with creating writing. Beachy staycations. Hemingway the bird. Working on my book. Getting closer with my sister. Moving into a tiny studio apartment. Lots and lots of reading. Being a few credits away from my AA. Starting the process of becoming a better version of myself. And of course, Biscuitdog always.