Wowzers, it's that time again... This weekend marks living in New York for 6 years! I feel like every year this day sneaks up on me -- the longer I'm here the faster time seems to be going. Even when life gets a little crazy though, this is one post I make sure I write every year because I think it's so important to share milestones and document where life has taken me. I must say, this year does feel quite a bit different to write too. SO much has changed in the last year (exciting stuff!) that while there are certainly many constants, my life as a whole looks a lot different than years past. 

My NYC anniversary has always been a little bittersweet for me. While I've enjoyed my time in NYC I've been pretty outspoken with my struggles with homesickness which has always been something that tugged hard on my heart. And while I definitely still have my moments I don't feel sad at all today.. It may have taken 6 years (dang that's a long time) but with all the changes in the last year I'm feeling prettyyyy great about everything.

On biz...

In the last year I've had 4 pretty major life changes -- I left my long-time job, started my own business, moved in with Chris, and then moved into a new apartment. Holy changes! While every year certainly brings growth, you could say I added some miracle grow to this year because it's been a heck of a year for personal and professional growth.

While all of those are pretty big changes, starting my own business has definitely been the biggest change. This time last year, I had some ideas and goals in mind for taking a chance in the freelance world, but let's be real here. I had no idea if I'd actuallyyyy be able to make it happen. It was certainly a big risk, but no risk no reward right?! While I certainly did some planning (and saving mulah) I approached starting my biz with the same mentality I did moving to NYC... Why not?! If it doesn't work out I can always move back.. or find another adventure. And while I'm not normally one to brag... guys can I take a moment to say that I have KILLED it since taking this risk?! Serious #Humblebrag right there but I am SO proud of how well I've done so far. Don't get me wrong it has been A LOT of work and late nights, but danggg has it been worth it. Even more than being able to pay those bills -- which is obviously top priority -- proving to myself I could do this has been so rewarding. It turns out I'm a lot better at this business thing than I thought I might be 😉.

More on that reward part too! This flexibility thing... ah-mazing. We've had so much going on this year so having the flexibility to take off a little early any day of the week, meet a friend in town for biz in the middle of the day or book flights mid-week has opened so many doors. I just booked a trip home for October and December which will be my 3rd and 4th trips home THIS year! HOORAY for being able to work anywhere I have a wifi connection! Which means I will have officially spent more time (and still have some to add) back in Washington in the last year than in the previous 5 years combined... And that's a BIG deal to me. I've been so much happier and while airport goodbyes still suck, knowing I can come back for a visit pretty much whenever I want is an incredible feeling.

On moving...

I've been dating Chris almost as long as I've lived in the city (6 years next month) and while I was ready to live with him at least 3 years ago, he's always been on his own schedule. After being very patient... ok let's be real I haven't been that patient he finallyyyy decided this was the year he was willing to part with his longest long-term relationship.. his apartment. Of all of the changes over the last year this one was the easiest for me. Let's get real.. when you live on the same block and stay over at least 6 of the 7 days you pretty much know what you're getting into and I was very excited about this new chapter for us. Plus, being able to split rent while I embarked on my freelance adventure was certainly a nice perk too. 

The toughest part of moving in together was actually the fact that we ended up doing it twice. After Chris moved into the studio we ended up having to move again because my landlord sold the building (yes that's happened twice to me now). That process was a little stressful at times, and I was nervous about applying for the first time being self-employed but looking back the process actually was pretty smooth and now we have a much bigger space. Helloooo having a bedroom and backyard! So even though that caused a lot of stress, I'm very happy with where we are now and cannotttt wait to share an apartment tour now that I'm done with all of my projects (more on that later). I was joking earlier you know you've made it in NYC when you have enough space (in our case indoor and outdoor) where you can be lazy and text the other person from another space haha. So according to my theory we have finally "made it".

On the city...

With all of this year's changes, I can honestly say I enjoy living in the city SO much more. While I liked it before most of the time.. even after being here so long, it always felt temporary to me. And while I certainly don't know if I'll be here forever, with the changes over the last year I have totally different vibes about it. Plus working from home perks... if the weather is God awful -- dead of winter and summer I'm talking to you -- you can minimize some of the time you have to go outside. Not having to commute the majority of the time is a whole other reason to love the city more now too! 

I finally feel like I can have the best of both worlds and it is such an amazing feeling. This sounds soooo cheesy, but I've had this dream vision for what my life could look like one day if I worked really hard and I truly feel like it has become a reality in the last year. So cheers to you NYC, it's been a wild ride and it's certainly not over but boy am I excited for the next year together.

Oh hello! It's been a minute or two. I know, I know. The good news is... I've been busy! Not like the oh yeah I'm busy, but the ohhh yeahhhhhh I'm really busy. Being busy is suchhhh a blessing though! I just hit my 7-month anniversary of branching out on my own so the fact that I'm living this dream is so worth all of the hard work and long hours I've been putting in :)

The truth is, on top of all of the amazing work projects I've been working on some other big life things -- mostly good with a little touch of holy crap what are we going to do! So here's a rundown of what I've been up to!

BFF visited NYC: After almost 6 years of living in NYC, my BFF Danielle visited the big apple! She came for a long weekend and boy did we do the city! Her Fitbit could vouch for us on that one too ;-) It was so much fun to catch up (I hadn't seen her since her wedding) and share some of the city with her.

Chris Moved In: You read that right! It may have taken over 5 years of dating.. but Chris took the plunge and said farewell to his apartment he lived in for 12 years. I KNOW! It was a big deal. There was a lot of packing.. donating.. and cleaning involved but somehow we downsized and fit all of our things into the studio. That is until we got some other news.. more on that later though.

Visited Washington: Just as soon as Chris got moved in and settled (ok well that was really me..) but once we got everything in order I headed back to Washington for 2 weeks! Thanks to the lovely Hardersens, I was able to head back west for a visit and to watch their pups while they embarked on a seriously ERT (epic road trip). I got to do soooo much when I was home (in between working) which totally reminded me of why I decided to jump into the world of entrepreneurship. I got to catch up with my Grandma, check out my Aunt's amazing lake house, catch up with one of my besties from PDX and show him some of the sights in WA, and of course spend some quality time with the fam bam. It. Was. Amazing.

Bachelorette Trip in Connecticut: As soon as I headed back east, I stayed in NYC for one night before hitting the road again. This time, up north for a bachelorette party! It was my first one and we had sooo much fun celebrating the bride-to-be! Connecticut casinos are no joke..

Apartment Hunting: Sooo back to that apartment news.. Originally our plan was for Chris to move in (his lease ended before mine) and then a few months later we were going to find a bigger place. After moving and getting settled we decided 1.) Man, we reallyyyy don't want to have to move again and 2.) While it would be tight we could suck it up for a year. The big man upstairs had a different plan in mind though.. While I was in Washington, I received a panicked call from Chris saying we got a letter in the mail saying my lease wasn't being renewed. Being across the country I immediately called my landlord's office (which wasn't open at the time).. let's just say it was a long 12 hours of waiting for them to open. I woke up early to call them the second their office opened and come to find out they're in the process of selling their buildings and aren't renewing any leases. I did not take the news well and was pretty upset.. I mean I just went through this 2 years ago with my last building! 

Sooo just like that it was back to apartment hunting, which as you've read on past blogs is a big pain in the b-u-t-t in the city. Plus we had so much going on in June and July.. it was just not something I wanted to have to deal with, but such is life. So I started stalking listings like the true apartment stalker I am and we saw apartment after apartment. It was a little early to start looking since we didn't have to move until Aug 1 (things are available immediately here or maybe a month in advance) but I mostly wanted to look at the market.

After seeing a bunch of places, being let down by brokers (sorry brokers but some of you really suck) I found a listing.. In fact, I prefaced the link for the listing to Chris with "Ok, this is kind of dumpy but it has a shared backyard and checks some of our other boxes" and they were having an open house that night. So I suggested we stop by on our way to the Billy Joel concert we were going to. I mean hey, the perk of NYC apartments is they take 5 mins to see. So we did just that and the place wasn't that bad.. andddd the "shared backyard" turned out to be a private backyard! It's not the fanciest place in the world, but as soon as we saw it and then found out they have unlimited laundry in the building we knew we needed to jump on it. It checked off our boxes, was available Aug 1, was no fee (YESSSS!), 1 bed, outdoor space, dishwasher (old but it has one) and decent storage. If we could have applied right then and there I would have -- because that's what you have to do here. Instead we had to wait until Monday because it was through a management company (my old management company actually!). So I obsessed and obsessed some more over the weekend. We showed up at their office right when they opened on Monday though, got approved within half an hour and signed our lease that day. So phewww after all that stress it all worked out and for the better! Sooo there will definitely be more apartment posts come the end of summer. Just wait until you see what I do with this backyard!!! So now we just wait.. but that's taken care of!

Chris' brother's Wedding: Chris' brother and beautiful fiance got married over the 4th of July weekend out on Long Island. They are just the best so it was so amazing to be there for their big day! It was a full weekend of love, delicious food, and lots of dancing! It could not have been a more perfect weekend and celebration!

Bachelorette Trip in Nashville: As soon as Chris' brother's wedding was over I was off to visit Nashville to celebrate another fabulous bride-to-be in Nashville! Nashville has been at the top of my bucket list to visit so I was pretty pumped for this trip! It did not disappoint either! All things country music, southern food and southern charm are soooo up my alley. I own way too many pairs of cowboy boots for a New Yorker.. haha. When I have another minute there will definitely be a trip highlight post because we had so much fun!

Moving: Now back to that apartment thing... we're a week away from packing up and heading to the new place. So there's that too!

I know, I know, when I said I've been busy I was not lying! If there's one thing life has taught me in the last 3 months it is that it doesn't slow down for anything! Which is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking at times! It does all work out though one way or another! So now you're in the loop! Stay tuned because I do have some fun shenanigans to share that I've squeezed in between all of life's craziness!