The Bitter End

I went to a great concert on Saturday night  - bobby long. Check.him.out. 

Here's a photo from the concert

I'm a huge fan of the "one-man-acoustic-folk" sound. Anyone have any other similar recommendations?? I'm always looking out for new music.

The Bitter End is also a fabulous venue in case you are ever in New York - highly recommend!!

The Consulting 10

In case you haven't read the "about me" section, I currently work at a consulting firm in New York City.  Before I started, I heard all about the travel, staying in hotels 3-4 nights a week, getting used to having two different homes, yada yada...I also was giving warning regarding [dun dun dunnnn] the Consulting 10. Yes, it's true. Similar to the [not so] urban myth of the Freshman 15, the Consulting 10 is a black hole that mostly newbies fall into.  Buying crappy food at the airport, eating three course meals, and being away from any gym besides the hotels (which is sometimes only open for a few hours) can really take a toll on a girls body!

Not to mention, yesterday, we had Crumbs at work.  Crumbs is a bakery in New York that is pretty famous for it's decadent, delicious, and dangerous cupcakes.  It was a birthday so four cupcakes were purchased...apple crumble, white hot chocolate, death by chocolate and pumpkin.  I have a weakness for pumpkin so it was hard to stay away, but I did! I had one bite of the pumpkin, but I made sure to grab a raisin in there, since that's what makes that flavor so good anyways :)

Here are some before and after [indulgence] photos :

Before: Pumpkin (signature cupcake of the month)

Before: Apple Cobbler

 

The pictures say it all...

Treats at the office are some of the hardest to avoid and is something that I constantly struggle with.  I have found the key is to 1) wear headphones so that I don't hear when there are free cookies in the cafe and 2) try to keep as busy as possible and really think about if I want that food or not. Worst comes to worst, I try to eat the fruit plate instead of the cookie plate if it's available.

Does anyone else struggle with this and what do you do to resist!!?

Gym Bug

In case you don't know me, I happen to work out a lot. This is a recent phenomena in my life - started about 6 months ago, but I feel so much better already.  I am a member of NYSC and have started to l.o.v.e. my gym on 8th ave and 23rd. I know where everything is, I know how to use the machines and gadgets, and I even have gym friends that I see there often! But everyone needs to shake up their workout now and then, right? So my roommate took the plunge a few months ago and purchased a gym membership at Equinox. She definitely is getting pampered while working out, so I'll admit I'm a little jealous. Luckily, I get to reap the benefits of her decision and I got a free friend week at Equinox! Well, of course they are hoping that I buy a membership after this week is over...so I just felt AWFUL about sitting there with this adorable girl trying to talk me into it. Should I feel guilty about this? 

The only thing making me feel a little less like a cheapskate is that I am volunteering at the NYC ING Marathon expo this saturday so I feel like I'm giving back to society.  These even out right? 

Waning Cresent

Waning Cresent is the current moon phase on this Wednesday night. I was thinking about it because I realized that I hadn't even looked at the sky, yet I had been outside for hours. Today I did a Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Training class after work. It.was.awesome. I'll definitely have trouble walking tomorrow but it will be totally worth it. I got the idea from groupon.com, which is something that I 100% recommend in case you love doing new things but are trying not to spend an arm and a leg to do them (and they have it for 35 different cities)! 

Another reason I was thinking about the moon was because, in case you don't know me, I have a slight infatuation with the Twilight phenomena (ahem the Cullen's). I've read only three of the books however because I don't want the series to end! Eventually I will read the fourth, but as of right now I enjoy [re]reading the books on the treadmill and getting lost in the love story between Edward and Bella - it really makes the time fly. Anyways, as luck would have it I exited the subway at 23rd street, on my way home from bootcamp, and found that Peter Facinelli (aka the gorgeous Dr. Cullen) was filming Nurse Jackie right outside my apartment! Fate? I love this city [sometimes]. Above is a photo of the shoot. 

Friday Night Lite[s]

"To go out or not to go out. That is the question." 

When most people think of Fridays, they think of raucous parties and nights out on the town with their girlfriends, boyfriend, out of town friends...I think of homemade dinners, a small vanilla Tasti with rainbow sprinkles and rewatching a Ryan Reynolds ro-co on my computer. You might be thinking, "hmm..pathetic much?" Think that all you'd like; in fact, this typical Friday night routine is one of my favorites. 

Don't underestimate me. The rest of my weekend, usually, is jam packed at my favorite maize and blue NYC bar, screaming the fight song at the top of my lungs, dressing up and grabbing dinner and drinks with my girlfriends and meeting a friend when he gets a chance to leave his cubicle on sundays for a cup of coffee. 

Friday is date night with myself! when I can curl up with a good book, give myself a homemade facial, or simply rehydrate to rid myself of any lingering feelings from Thursday's office happy hour (plus 5). 

Of course, I am 23, single, and human, and therefore a sucker for peer pressure. So, when I get that call at 10:30 saying "Let's go out with X and his friends from Y - they are super cute!" there is that moment of weakness that washes over me. It's tempting to think about what I could be passing up: shameless flirting, dance parties, the chance to meet my next BIG love (ahem, I mean spooning buddy). But if I think about what I actually want to do, instead of what some people say I should be doing in my early 20's, if the answer is stay in have a quiet night, then I'm comfortable with that. 

See, what I've learned in the past 13 months of post collegiate life in New York, is that the key to happiness and smooth transitioning, is balance. I'm not in college anymore, but that doesn't mean that I need to kiss goodbye all craziness and say Hello! to bills and boring nights. 

This blog is my attempt to regain some balance in my life and to hopefully share some insight with other recent grads, budget conscious working girls with shopping additions, food[ies/idiots] who love to try to bake and experiment in tiny new york kitchens, health conscious exercise lovers, and anyone else who just likes to read random blogs :)

I hope you enjoy! And feel free to contact me with any topics, questions, comments that you have!