Covering the Basis for the Critical

I'm pathetic. I don't even want to look at the last time I posted, but I know off of the top of my head it's nearing the two week mark. Not OK. I will get better at this ridiculous schedule thing, I promise.

I was obnoxiously informed by one of my most loving co-workers that my blog has turned into nothing that I promised it would be. While I initially started it claiming I'd focus on finding balance with fashion, fun, and fitness on a frugal budget, I've strayed into my dating life, drinking habits, and religious views. And as much as I adoringly wanted to hit him for criticizing my blog, he was right. Sort of. While having fun, shopping, and working out take up generous portions of my time, so does drinking, spiritual speculation, and failing miserably in the dating world. And considering the ridiculous number of page views on posts that featured a drunk dial from my ex boyfriend and my humiliating blackout that included a drunk dial to my daddy, I don't think you mind reading about any extra-curricular material. Nonetheless, just for this darling co-worker that puts me in my place during every shift we share, I shall make a point to touch on all that I've promised you. And then some.

Fashion. As in shopping. As in I have done wayyyy too much of it in the past two weeks. Ok, month. But it needs to stop, because the numbers in my accounts are dwindling, and my fridge and gas tank will not fill themselves. It has not all been for nothing though, because there are some fabulous additions now sitting in my wardrobe. As in these babies.

When in doubt for what to buy yourself for your birthday, always head to the shoe section. And finding anything in leopard print is just an added bonus. And the fact that I found them in a shoe warehouse, allowing me to pay my rent this month. Happy birthday to me. Another pair of stilettos I could potentially take a tumble in after a few too many drinks - just what I needed.

One of my best friends came to visit for my birthday, so having fun has not been an issue. I did the unthinkable and took off the entire weekend of work. There were lunch dates, shopping and nights out in the city, sleepovers in Brooklyn, and lazy mornings laying in bed. To say this was all done on a budget would be a blatant lie, but best friends don't come every weekend. Sadly, once she left, my reality of work schedules and homework piles was waiting right where I left it. I was able to take a break to see some family in the city last night, and there's a night out in Long Beach in my very near future, as in tonight, so I haven't become socially awkward quite yet.

As for fitness, the majority of my workouts have consisted of shaking a drink mixer, squatting down to be eye level with the beer cooler, and running around tables on wing night. I've tried to fit in actual runs, yoga classes, and an elevated treadmill that burns ridiculous calories at the gym, but my schedule has been a little crazy. There always seem to be periods of time where this happens, and all I can do is remind myself that it's not the end of the world if I can't work out every day. I just do what I can when I can, and move on. Life will slow down.

So if you were becoming as critical of my blog content as my coworker, relax yourself - I just covered it all. And for those of you who actually appreciate my cynical viewpoints on dating and over-indulgences with drinking, no worries. As long as I continue to have pointless encounters with awkward guys and gin and tonics to numb the annoyance, the stories will keep coming. At least this way, someone will benefit from the entertainment of the never ending unfortunate situations I find myself in.

Budget? What?

Remember that thing I have...ughh what's it called...the one I'm suppose to do all of my balancing on. Oh, yes. A budget. Ring a bell? Yeah, me neither. Probably because I've been blowing my fricken budget like a whore on the Vegas strip. I've been coming up with some pretty noble justifications for myself though (aka excuses). I just moved into a new apartment, I should appreciate the U.S. currency after the headache of the Euros, I needed some things for school, I'd been working hard and needed to reward myself. The most recent excuse to pop into my head after spending an hour too long in the mall yesterday - 'it's my birthday...month'. Thank goodness for my savings and work schedule filled with the best shifts, or I'd be bringing the balance back to Iowa soon.

So, where has all this hard earned money from getting people obliterated, hoping they'll experience their own devastatingly humiliating blackout so I don't feel so bad about mine, gone? Well. If I reveal that, then I will start to feel guilty, and I really don't think that's going to help anything. No worries mama, nothing illegal or sketchy - just shallow and superficial, making me feel like a typical spoiled brat. Just know that I have not suddenly won the lottery or discovered a trust fund that my parents had been hiding from me all these years. The start of the school year always means money with the bar where I work, considering it's located across the street from one of Long Island's biggest universities. There was a little extra cash laying around, I took the opportunity to act like I have a lot more money than what I do, and after my birthday week with one of my best friends coming from home, it will be well past time to start saving again.

The blog was quiet this week, and the only reason I have to explain that one is school. There's something about reading Gerald of freakin' Whales and learning about the Spanish subjunctive that just drains all of my creativity and motivation. School has always been a love/hate relationship with me...over the summer I tend to forget about how much I hate it. When you combine five classes with a full time work schedule, there's not a lot of time left to recap my drunken nights or to criticize whoever is annoying me at the moment. 'It's time to be done' will be my most over-used expression in response to questions regarding school. It is absolutely time to be done.

Despite the mountain of homework that I never seem to make a dent in, the blog will not be abandoned. I have some newly discovered perceptions on school and my time management that I'll most likely ramble on about in the short future, ironically while I'm avoiding the books stacked next to my laptop. Those perceptions include screwing homework when necessary to do other productive things like blogging, yoga, and manicures. And I won't even need the excuse of my birthday for that.

Speaking of the birthday, it's tomorrow, and I'm officially falling into the age box of a grandma...abuela, yia yia, whatever you call that saint of a woman who makes your favorite cookies and never forgets to send you cards in the mail. I'm her age, in less than 24 hours. Being away from home around my birthday always makes me a little homesick, but that is where the glory of my most recent excuse comes in. Until the horror of it all passes, I'm going to spend my money on whatever my little, still youthful, heart desires. Before I have to buy things like wrinkle cream, depends, and glue for my dentures.

Family Away From Home

If there's one event in a girls' adulthood that makes her miss her mama, it's moving. (There are actually countless events, but this is the one occurring at the moment). She may be lacking the muscles needed, but trips to Ikea and Target to pick out furniture, bed linens, and bathroom accessories are just a lot less exciting with my mom half the country away. Sending pictures on my Blackberry and receiving gift cards through the mail can only suffice for so much. I want to actually have my mom here to see me wipe out an entire display of 'As Seen on TV' Ped Eggs with my overstuffed cart at Bed Bath and Beyond. The seester Abby would probably appreciate that one too. I miss my mommy. Wah.

And just for the record - I abandoned ship at Bed Bath and Beyond. Because I did, in fact, knock over an abnormally large display that I still believe jumped out of no where, and I was not about to take responsibility for it. So I hit up a few local stores, put my hair up and fedora on, and hoped I wouldn't be recognized when I went back a few hours later for my intended purchases. True story.

One week and counting until moving/vacation to Greece, and I am proud to report I have made some progress on my to-do-list. I should elaborate on my trip, before you begin to assume I'm actually hoarding thousands of dollars for exotic vacations and pretending I'm financially independent so you won't secretly despise me.
I've mentioned my previous job as an au pair - the reason for moving to Long Island. The job itself was temporary, but the place that was created for me in the family is not. I love those two little boys with my whole heart, and I gained so much from my year with them - the most valuable to me being a big, loud, beautiful, Greek-American family. Going beyond the immediate family I lived with, I was welcomed with open arms into the homes of their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents - and I know I always will be. They are the most incredibly compassionate and generous people I've met here, and I am blessed to have them in my life. Aside from my boys, the family lives in Brooklyn, so I may not be able to see them as often as I'd like, but they are such an important part of my life here. I was thrilled for my own family to be able to meet them during a visit last summer - they were able to understand the praises I had been singing since meeting them my first weekend on Long Island.

My YiaYia and Papou

My handsome boys

Our faces sum up it all up

Anyways. Enough of my photo bragging. This family of mine has a house in Greece, where they often stay during the summers, and lucky little Leah is going to pop in for a visit. In terms of funding, you must know that I literally took an extra job last school year, as a high school tutor, to pay for this trip. So do not assume I have my daddy's credit card numbers written down somewhere - it took enduring hours and hours of attempting to decipher broken Urdu, deciphering way too many inappropriate Spanish comments, and relentlessly encouraging effort from punky, know-it-all high school students for me to go to Greece. And I know, before even leaving, that it will be beyond worth it.

After all of this Asian invasion living and endless shifts at the bar, getting off of Long Island for a few weeks cannot come soon enough.

Jackets in July

While my stubbornness is the dominant trait I possess that has been passed down from my mother, my ability to bargain shop follows it closely. That woman had me scouring the sales racks at JC Penny as soon as I was able to read a price tag. Every August, my mom and I used to take our annual trip and buy new school clothes and supplies for the coming year. I always looked forward to this day with my mom, free from my two brothers' rough housing and my little sister getting any of my hard earned attention. My mom was probably just happy to fit all of the shopping into one day with me and shut my sassy middle school mouth up with a soft pretzel. Little did she know she was implementing one of the greatest life lessons I have learned, and will use until the day I die - always start with the clearance rack.

Now I won't deny, there are some items that are on clearance for a reason - no one should be wearing them. But if you take a few minutes to sort through the holiday sweaters and wool ponchos, there's a good chance you'll find some pieces with prices so low, you'll almost feel guilty. The key to success in the clearance rack is shopping outside of season. I will tell you now that concept is the biggest contributor to my overwhelming wardrobe that comes with a very underwhelming price tag. Buying jackets and sweaters in July may seem foolish at the time, but you're getting it at a fraction of the original price, and unless the piece is an extreme trend from the previous season, it's almost guaranteed to still be in style in the colder months to come.

 Just to prove the truth in my theory, I recently went to Nordstroms Rack strictly to window shop and left with three amazing bargains (Yes, for me, strictly window shopping hardly ever results as just that). I snagged a gray cotton cardigan, originally $54.00, for only $8.50, a Calvin Klein chunky knit cardigan that had once been $90.00 was only $13.54, and my steal of the week - an olive green canvas jacket that was originally priced at $108.00 was marked down to $16.80 (pictured - and I will confirm that is the size of my closet behind it, and that will be discussed in a later post). With prices like those, I can't blame myself for not sticking to window shopping. The same applies to summer essentials, specifically swimsuits. As soon as September hits, you should be running to the sale rack to snatch up your classic black bikini for next year, along with the tunic and flip flops you know you'd be purchasing next season anyways.

Shopping the clearance rack for items that aren't necessarily needed at the moment goes beyond clothing as well. For instance, recently window shopping (again) at the mall led me to one of Bath & Body Works' infamous sales - $3.00 for any classic scent of body wash, lotion, and body spray. Who doesn't go through countless bottles of body lotion during the summer? Knowing it would eventually go to good use, I left with three bottles of lotion, two bottles of body wash, and one body spray - completely stocked up for the rest of the summer, and spending only $18.00 to do it.

Unless you're a shopping trip away from someone signing you up for TLC's "Hoarders: Buried Alive", out of season shopping and reasonably stocking up on sale items is always a guarantee money-saver for a shopaholic, and a great way to build a wardrobe with classic essentials at a price that won't break your budget.

Blogging My Balance

 Welcome! I've been contemplating the idea behind this blog for a while now, and decided it was time to stop fussing over the details and let it materialize. I'm currently studying English at a university on Long Island, and writing has always been a passion of mine. I've lived in New York for almost two years, and can safely say moving here was the best decision I have ever made for myself. There's nothing quite like packing up your car and driving halfway across the country by yourself to initiate responsibility and personal growth.

While my writing will always be personal, I don't necessarily plan for my blog posts to revolve directly around my life. Instead, I want to share my advice and experiences of starting life on my own in New York, hoping you may learn from my mistakes or find relation to situations I find myself in. I go to school, hold down two part time jobs at local sports bars, and love to go out when I can. I strive to live a healthy lifestyle, which does not always coincide with a college lifestyle. Trying to balance all of these aspects of my life is often overwhelming, but I would not have it any other way.

As I reveal more of myself in my posts, I hope you are able to see a little bit of yourself in them as well. I'll give my advice on how to cut back financially, share my best money-saving shopping tips, and explain how I get myself back on track health-wise after a rough night out. And I'll most likely throw in a good bar story every now and then.

So check in and entertain yourself as I dread the first of the month rent payment, squeeze in workouts between bar hopping, fight for the last of my size on the clearance rack, and deal with all that falls in between.