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“you do not just wake up and become the butterfly,

growth is a process”

Happy Friday! Today marks one week from moving into my new apartment! I still have a lot to unpack; knick-knacks that I haven’t unwrapped, waiting for my console to arrive to put them on. I also have ordered new furniture like my desk, console, chair, etc and have to assembled everything this weekend. So my apartment is still filled with lots of boxes and is a mess, but I am happy.

When my mom left Sunday afternoon to fly back home to Columbus, I did start to feel a little lonely. It finally sunk in that I will be by myself mostly 24/7. Although I have lived alone before, this is the first time I have lived alone where I didn’t have an office to go to. I know I will have days I will feel lonely and days that I will be grateful to have time to myself. But mostly I am so very happy I am living in my studio apartment! I wanted to live by myself again before I get married… whenever that will be. Anyway, the one thing I did notice this week was how I was less stressed out and felt really calm. I think it’s due to not having to schedule around my roommates or feel like an inconvenience if I am cooking dinner or watching my shows on TV. It’s like a weight has been lifted off and I can just relax and enjoy life. I feel like I have taken a major step forward in life. Things are really starting to come together- career, relationships, finances. All are growing, all are happening! I am feeling pretty grateful and blessed right now.

Besides settling into my new place I had a few events to attend to this past week. The first being the Lilly Pulitzer Holiday Party. It was held at their new showroom in Midtown. Lilly knows how to throw a good party and I had the best time! They were so kind as to send me this dress to wear to the party. It’s a great dress to have as it can be worn year-round. Anyway, it was nice to be surrounded by palm trees and steel drums, making me feel like I am on vacation even though it 40 degrees outside. We also got to choose a special gift to give someone– I got something for my sister Amanda. Not sure if I am going to give it to her for Christmas or just give it to her when I see her during Thanksgiving. Maybe call it a Thanksgiving Day gift? I’ll give it to her and she can decide when to open it. The party was so much fun and I had the best time chatting and catching up with everyone.

After Lilly, I went downtown to the opening of Thakoon’s new store in West Village. Thakoon, for those of you who may not know, won the CFDA award back in the early 2000’s as a womenswear designer. Back in 2017 he put his label on pause as he restructured the company to be direct-to-consumer with attractive price-points. Now he is back with everyday basics that can be both casual and elevated. There were some beautiful camel color chunky sweaters that I was eyeing and need to have. The party was great and I got to meet Thakoon himself! He is so nice!

Last night I was supposed to go to Emily’s party at Burberry down in Soho. Unfortunately Emily has food poisoning (poor girl!) and the party was canceled. And unfortunately I did not know that until I showed up…and no one was there. Luckily the salespeople at Burberry were so kind as to give me a private tour of the new seasonal collection. Honestly, it was great! Although I showed up to a party that was no longer happening and took the time to get ready and travel downtown, I still got to see the new collection. I also got to walk in the rain and listen to music on my headphones which is one of my favorite things to do, life’s simplest pleasures. (well it doesn’t have to be raining I just like walking around listening to music in general).

As mentioned I have a lot of unpacking and assembling furniture to do, so that will be my weekend. Unpacking, working out and watching Hallmark Christmas Movies. This is my first weekend in the new place and I want to enjoy it! I have a new book I am reading, The Alice Network, that I can’t put down. I have been really into books about WWII lately. Well I have always been historically attracted to that time period. I love historical fiction and non-fiction. History has always been one of my favorite subjects, it’s one of my dad’s as well. He is always watching old war movies, reading books about Presidents and historical events, etc. But mostly I like history because it’s basically gossip if you really think about it. You are gossiping about people and events that occurred. It’s all very fascinating to me. Anyway, The Alice Network is about an American college-age girl, named Charlie St. Clair, who is looking for her French cousin Rose who disappeared during the war. Charlie, also known as Charlotte, is accompanied on her quest to find her cousin by a woman named Eve who was a spy during WWI. It’s so good!

Speaking of historical pleasures, I have also been binge-watching Dickinson on Apple TV (as well as The Morning Show, SO good and worth watching– I mean it has two of my favorites, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston, what more can I ask for!!). Dickinson is very off the wall and that is why I like it. It’s set during the 19th century when Emily Dickinson was alive, but the way the characters talk, the music, and evening the dancing is very modern. Worth the watch but I can understand if it comes off too bizarre– she does have a lot of dream sequences but don’t we all.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

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