NEW YORK CITY: FAVES

This post is so late and I apologize, but lets get to it. New York was fun and exciting and just how I remembered it. This time I took the local perspective and avoided all things touristy. I think the most touristy things I did were walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and the Chelsea High Line. I walked like a maniac and rode the subway everywhere, even though I still don't understand the subway system. But by the time I got back to California my poor little feet were blistered and hurt. How do women wear heels?

I also forgot how wonderfully diverse New York is. I thought the Bay Area was very diverse, but in New York you just hear so many more languages and accents literally everywhere you go. I could definitely see myself living in New York one day, I would like to give it a try within the next two years or so.

The Strand Book Store

A must for my fellow bookworms. A three story building filled with books, its like heaven!  

 Located in East Village, only a few blocks away from Union Square

Molly's Cupcakes

A must for dessert especially since you can sit on a swing or play games while devouring treats!

Located in East Village.

Surf Bar

A must for strong tropical drinks. Made me feel like I was in San Diego again, especially since the floor is made of Sand!

Located in Williamsburg (Brooklyn)

New York's Overrated: 

Chelsea High Line. I know its a super cool concept. And maybe I just went at the wrong time. But it was more of a hassel than anything else. It was ridiculously crowded to the point where I could barely walk. And although it was cool seeing NYC from a different perspective, I was not super awed or anything. I'll take the street level any day.

My favorite Neighborhood:

Sweet and quaint Nolita. I find it charming and smack dab in some of the busier, more well-known neighborhoods making it a prime spot. If I move to NYC one day, I would live here.

Stay tuned for a picture post tomorrow!

THANKFUL

I'm thankful for my health and the love of amazing friends and family.

Its been another year of learning, and I am thankful for the lessons I am constantly being taught.

There is just so much to be grateful for, and I try to remind myself daily to never take anything for granted.

Hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving!

GIFTING MADE EASY; THE TRIFECTA!

I love buying gifts for people! I enjoy finding that perfect something that will bring joy to someone's day. I secretly get a rush out of seeing someone super excited about opening a gift from me. And although I think I do a pretty good job of picking out thoughtful gifts, there are many other times when I am just down right stumped on what to give someone. I tend to run into  the same problematic situations when it comes to buying gifts. Maybe I've exhausted all my fresh ideas on what to buy them, maybe they've grown and I don't know what they would like anymore, or maybe I'm just broke and cannot afford to get them much. I'm sure one of these things have happened to you guys at some point!

Luckily, I've developed an easy go-to plan in case I'm having trouble finding a good gift for someone. It easy, cheap, and something that any lady (you can switch out the flowers for something else for a male) would appreciate.

THE GIFT TRIFECTA

1. A Pretty Coffee Mug

2. A Good Book

3. Flowers

It doesn't get easier than that! And its thoughtful and cute. The picture above is the gift trifecta I put together for my friend's mom this past weekend. The coffee mug I bought from target for under $10.00. The flowers were from the farmer's market in Little Italy this past weekend. I stumbled across the cutest flower stand that the sweetest fall arrangements. I bought two mini bundles for $6.00. Lastly, I bought the book Gone Girl in Spanish for around $12.00 and wrapped it in some paper bag type wrapping paper that I had lying around. A simple gift for less than $30.00, which can be done for even cheaper than that. What girl wouldn't want to read a good book, while sipping coffee (or tea) in a cute coffee mug, while being surrounded by flowers? Sounds like perfection to me. 

NANOWRIMO: END OF WEEK 3 UPDATES

You know that feeling, when you've been busting ass and meeting every deadline, and you are so so close to the finish line that you can almost see it? And when you catch glimpse of it, you heart starts to beat a little harder in anticipation. Your drive changes from giving 100%, to straight beast mode? "I'm going to fckin kill this!" You tell yourself. You've almost reached your goal and it feels damn good. Thats pretty much how I feel right now!

Week 3 of NANOWRIMO started off pretty bad, well really really bad. Thanks to personal issues I didn't get a chance to write. Overtime at work + a scratched cornea meant I was not going to write anything for a while. Have you ever had double vision before? Let me tell you that you don't want to have it. Seeing double of anything is just so completely freaky and horrible. Take care of your corneas people! Anyways, once I was finally healed I got back to writing again. And I hit the ground running. I'm not even sure how much I wrote over the last few days or so, but its been more than I have during any other time of the month. Beast mode was definitely activated!

And now its officially the last week of NANOWRIMO and I am at 47,000 words! Say what? I got this! I'm actually aiming to hit 55,000 words by the end of the month. But we will see. And then what will be in store after the month is over? More writing of course! I know that my story at 50k words is no where near completion. I'm aiming overall for an 80,000 word story. Goodness that is such a large and scary number. It's scary and exciting all at the same time.

And I want to post excerpts and I will post excerpts, but honestly I've just been writing to get the ideas down and nothing sounds exactly how I want it. The perfection in me wants to wait until I get some editing in before I start sharing. So maybe in December?

I'm almost there! The finish line is in sight! 50,000 words will be accomplished!

YO CREO QUE...

If you would have told me that at any point in my life that I would be spending a Saturday Evening, sitting in a bar, amongst strangers, in Tijuana, speaking Spanish (of course) I would have never believed you. Never ever. In a million years.

But never say ever, right verdad? That is exactly what I did this past weekend. I went to Tijuana with my Spanish teacher (and some of her other students/friends/family) for some food, drinks, and karaoke. I drank white wine from my favorite winery. I listened to live Mariachi music. I laughed, and listened, and practiced. I fell in love with the metropolis across the border. No anxiety. Just pure joy of talking to strangers and learning their stories. I became inspired. Many had traveled the world, learned more than one language, and experienced what life had to give them. I couldn't help but be enriched by their stories and be filled with desired to see everything that is out there. I pushed my personal boundaries this weekend, by doing something on my own. I went to a new place with new people and I enjoyed every. single. second.

I am at a point in my life where I am being more independent than I ever have been. I once feared being isolated. I felt extreme anxiety over having to do something or go somewhere by myself. And now I accept it and I embrace it. For the past year I tried to run away from it, literally, to only be brought back to the same point. I moved back to San Diego where are my closest friends were, only for them all to move away within 2 months to begin their new lives elsewhere. It stung. I felt like the connections and relationships I was so desperately seeking, left as soon as I got a chance to experience them again. I can't help but feel that it is all happening for a reason. or two. or three.

It is clearer than ever that it is meant for me to be alone at this time in my life. I have only two main goals right now in my life: to write a published novel and to travel the world. If I were not alone I might be distracted from doing those two things. If my life was packed with social events that would take away the free time that I now use to write. If I had people or relationships holding me back, they would cause me to be more reluctant to leave in the first place. I remember feeling that way when I was in college. I almost never wanted to leave and go home in fear that I would miss something exciting when I was away. If I had a steady relationship, I would not have gone through a break-up that would help create the fuel that inspires some of the hardest scenes I have had to write. Everything happens for a reason. And I've grown wise to learn to listen instead of running away. There is a time and place for everything. There will a time for me to have strong relationships. a best friend. to fall in love. But right now is not that time. Right now is the time I focus on myself and conquer some goals.

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

I'm sorry I've been MIA the last few weeks. I've been trying my best to settle back down after my extended trip to NYC (which was great by the way, lots to share later). But one of the biggest things I've been wanting to do is really focus on writing my novel. Since I was literally all over the place since late September (San Diego-->San Francisco-->LA-->NYC) I got very few chances to work on my novel. Even though I was having fun and seeing loved ones, I was kind of bummed that I was falling behind on a major goal of mine. I guess I got lucky, because I stumbled across NANOWRIMO which stands for National Novel Writing Month.

For those of you that have never heard of NaNoWriMo, its a world-wide challenge to complete a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Along the way you update your word count to track your progress. The further you progress the more badges you earn! Talk about some cute motivation. Also there are meet-ups and write-ins organized in your region, so you can get involved with people trying to reach the same goal. The end result? Completed novels and maybe some prizes.

So far it is day 5 of the challenge and I am already 26k+ deep in writing. Of course, I kind of cheated because I started my novel back in September. I am simply using this platform to finish the first draft of my story. I am hoping to hit between 50,000-60,000 for the first draft. I've been righting on average around 1,000 words during the weekday and significantly more than that on the weekends. Keep me in your best wishes!

Maybe I will work up the courage to share a few snippets from my work :)