Summer Love (and Ramblings)

So I've been rather M.I.A for the past month. I blame summer in this glorious city that I'm still completely enamored-head-over-heels-in-love-with-can't-get-enough-of! I just passed my three months of living here and this place continues to feel like home every day. :)

My social calendar is still crazy and on top of hanging out with my new friends a few times a week as well as now-weekly happy hours with coworkers, June also included a trip to Atlantic City/the Jersey Shore for a girls' weekend, dog sitting on the Upper East Side (for free in exchange for staying a block away from Central Park...I had NO CLUE how many people own dogs in this city, those 7-8am walks definitely opened my eyes!), my Dad visiting twice on business and my Mom visiting for an extended weekend! July is already turning into a similar busy month since my brother is coming to visit this weekend, a girlfriend is coming on the 22nd and my Dad's coming for business again on the 28th. No complaints here, though, because I love visitors! (I also got the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with the lovely Single Filez during her NYC vacation...we had a blast walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and eating amazing pizza at Grimaldi's! I totally agree with Jon Stewart, by the way. I must be turning into a real New Yorker.)

The plus side was that with my parents visiting for a handful of days during the month, they paid for all our meals out and gave me a bit of spending money (mostly for expensive groceries) so I was able to send $200 to my Roth IRA, $100 to my Travel Fund, $100 to my Gift Fund and still have a bit of leftover to be used as I wish. Yay for still being able to save!

I also just had a fantastic July 4th weekend where three of four nights were spent on rooftops. I will admit, however, that the lack of a grill is just killing me. I miss grilling, let along being able to do it ALL year 'round in San Diego! Oh well, small sacrifices for living in New York.

On another note, my current sublet is up on July 31st so all too soon I'm about to embark on yet another apartment hunt. The hardest part is that I really, REALLY want to stay in my current neighborhood, Hell's Kitchen. A 15 minute walk to work? A bajillion restaurants around the corner? Only 2-3 avenues from almost any subway line? Ability to get on the roof of the building and see all of the fireworks on the Hudson? I love it so much more than I ever expected to, especially since I knew next to nothing about the area before I moved to the city and just happened to get my first sublet here. I've already started sending out some emails to ads on Craigslist and all my friends know that I need a place for August 1st, so we'll see if anything comes from that. I just need to heed all the advice I previously wrote about and try to be patient with this crazy process again. Oh, and keep an open mind about possibly moving to a different neighborhood. Even though it hurts my heart just thinking about moving away from here!

How's your summer going? Also, shout-out to a sweet reader (hi, Dee!) who emailed me and made me realize how long it's been since I posted. :)

A Saturday in NYC

On Saturday I spent all day with a friend who was in the city visiting her younger sister. I absolutely love it when people visit, even for a day, and who want to do anything/everything...especially EAT! We had a blast catching up and exploring the city. The weather started out great (high 70s, some clouds) and by 4pm it started raining - but that didn't stop us!

Here's what we did, in order, along with my recommendations. See the nifty Google Map at the bottom! :)

• Hester Street Fair: a small craft/food market in the Lower East Side. I'd never heard of it but this was our meeting spot at 1pm. I'm not much of a crafts person...but I was all about the food! After having only a light breakfast, I couldn't resist the descriptions of the empanadas at the La Sonrisa stall. The coconut curry chicken empanada was AMAZING and I'm definitely going back just for that! It was $3 and worth every cent. I also had the pulled pork slider for $3.50 because I was hungry and it was good, but it didn't come close to the empanada!
  
  
• BisousCiao macarons: after lunch, we wandered up and down the awesome, fun streets of LES. We stumbled upon this macaron shop that I've been to before and since my friend had never had one, I said we had to stop in! I got the rose and she got the lavender and honey. A fantastic dessert! Macarons are $2.50 each. When you buy a box of any size, starting at 6 for $15, they package them up beautifully and it makes you feel like you just walked out of an overpriced boutique...which you basically did!
  
  
• Delicatessen: We then made our way from LES to SoHo in search of afternoon refreshments aka cocktails. We were hoping for something outdoors or at least with an open-air concept. The wait at Delicatessen wasn't bad and ended up with a table right next to the sidewalk which was perfect, especially when it rained for 30 minutes during our time. We split an order of the truffle parmesean fries and I had an outstanding lychee-ginger martini. It was exactly what I was looking for! Light and sweet, but not overpowering. While the service was a bit lacking (the hostess came up to our table at one point and asked us how long we had been there, basically trying to kick us out even though we were clearly eating/drinking) and the place was packed, it was really fun. I'd go back here for the fries and the martini! My share was $20. We tipped well because our awesome waiter saved us from the hostess and basically told her off. Win.
  
  
• Shopping near Broadway in SoHo: A quick gander through some stores on/near Broadway in SoHo. It gets crazy with tourists and locals alike, so head down the side streets. Check out some of the street vendors off of Broadway for interesting pieces. I've bought good quality, semi-pricey necklaces and bracelets (~$30 each) here before and there are a lot of unique finds!
  
  
• Dinosaur BBQ: My friend (plus her younger sister and entourage) were determined to go here. Even with the daunting wait time of TWO HOURS! I'd never been to an actual BBQ restaurant before. This was a blast! The bar definitely took some of our money during the waiting time and I'd highly recommend the Donkey Punch which is rum + fruit punch served in a mason jar. For $8, it was more than enough to last me through the wait AND dinner! For dinner, I got the 1/4 rack BBQ pork ribs. It came with 4 ribs, a small piece of cornbread and two sides (I had the mac & cheese and vegetable which was collard greens) for a mere $10.50! And I had leftovers! Definitely worth the wait time. Note: I learned via Yelp that they DO take reservations, which is fairly new.

View A Saturday in NYC in a larger map

Partyin' Partyin'

The past two weekends and the week in between found my social calendar PACKED and I loved every minute of it! Going out every night and brunch every day on the weekends, going for drinks with my upcoming roommate last Tuesday and hanging out with two Australian backpackers for the past five days who are friends of one of the girls in the current sublet. (Yes, I'm finally getting along with one of them and yes, being social = expensive but worth every penny!)

That also means I've been bitten by the international travel bug...dreams of London in September and perhaps Munich in October, and Thailand one year from December?! I forgot how amazing it is to connect with fellow travelers. I was incredibly impressed that they saved up for their year-long adventure for two years prior to embarking. Hooray for savings and it's turned into the adventure of a lifetime for them! Hmm...I wonder if I could convince one of my best friends to go traveling together for a whole year. Now that's a true test of friendship.

I got my first New York care package from my Mom! It included my favorite Cadbury Mini Eggs, a second towel, refund checks, a new necklace, two tank tops, face wash and a slew of mail. Yay! So random but always things I need. Mom knows best for sure. :)

Oh and remember when I mentioned getting a gym membership? Well I got the corporate discount last week so I paid $50 for April ($29 unavoidable processing fee and $21 April pro-rate) and I'll pay $54/month going forward for an all-access, one-year pass. I went today and while yes, gyms are very expensive here, my discount is an amazing deal and totally worth it! Just glad I didn't have to pay it all up-front. Perfect. :)

Thursday Thoughts

I'm not doing very well on updating my budget this month. I'm keeping a rough track but most of it is in my head. I'm finding that because I don't live paycheck to paycheck, I don't need to be so diligent about tracking my spending. However, I do love knowing what I have leftover at the end of every month and choosing what to do with that extra money! At the end of February I plan on making some charitable donations because I definitely fell off that bandwagon in 2010 and that needs to be remedied.

Also, I need to add a line item to my budget for Kindle purchases. I'm finding some Kindle books are more than their paperback counterparts but there are a lot of $5 ones which I am more than happy to pay for :) I've already read the entire Hunger Games series on it! (I used an Amazon gift card so all the books were free.)

I'm still in the waiting game on the NY job that I interviewed for a few weeks ago. Instead of being stressed and anxious about it, I'm actually at peace: they are a huge company that most likely has much bigger fish to hire than me! The HR rep I've been interacting with has been very positive about the whole situation so I figure it's just a matter of time. :) (But I'll probably call again if I don't get another update by next Tuesday.)

I received my second eBates cash back check! Here's my referral link in case you'd like to sign up. That $20.65 will serve nicely for some of the social events I have on the horizon. I also finally shifted some money around in my bank accounts and sent $2K to my Roth IRA for 2011 thanks to my bonus! I've also done some shopping recently, including three necklaces from various stores, three v-neck t-shirts from H&M ($6 each in lots of colors! LOVE!), a sparkly 3/4-sleeve shrug from Charlotte Russe and a long black sweater, also from H&M. All of those items came to $50 total!

I'm addicted to my iPhone! I've had zero service problems thanks to Verizon so far and I have a lot of apps on it... from games to music to productivity and the best part? They have all been free! Okay, time to stop the random updates/thoughts and read a free book I downloaded from the Kindle store: Life from Scratch. :)

Lusting

iPhone for Verizon

Kindle 3

[via here & here]

Weekly Money Check Up

The weekly money check up is hosted by My Pretty Pennies. See her post here! :)

[image via]

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on renewing my AAA membership for $48.

2. Today I feel good towards money. Why? Because it's a three paycheck month! :)

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was have a Sunday night roommate family potluck dinner. I contributed homemade hummus and a bag of chips, so it was an inexpensive side dish. The company was worth any cost, thought!

4. I will consider this week a success if I renew my car's registration! It's due by Oct 26th and I'll be out of town on vacation...

5. If I could could quit my job for a month and travel throughout one country, I would choose ohh this is a hard one! I'm obsessed with India and Vietnam, but I've been to both those countries already... so, I'll go with Egypt. :)

Weekend Spending Report

I know, I've been a bad blogger recently! My posts have been few and far between. Sometimes it's just hard to find inspiration to write, especially about monetary matters when everything about my finances is basically automated. Set it and forget it! :) Plus, work is just draining me even without working any overtime, there is just a lot more to do and learning a lot of new responsibilities due to a co-worker quitting a month ago has been interesting on top of my regular work. I was able to do 1.5 hours of OT last week, which will be reflected on this upcoming paycheck, hooray!

On another note, here's my weekend spending breakdown:

• $15, hookah bar & a drink with friends on Friday
• $27.81, gas (my tank was at 1/4)
  
• $5, lunch at Rubio's with some girlfriends on Saturday
  
• $4, individual-sized Pumpkin Spice bundt cake as part of a gift
  
• $3.51, Target for gift bag + tissue paper + a snack
  
• $41, my tab for girlfriend's birthday on Saturday night (I forgot how much fun piano bars are!)
• $12.50, delicious brunch with girlfriend & her husband on Sunday
  

Having an awesome weekend that included LOTS of much-needed friend time, a Sunday afternoon nap and a roommate family dinner of pot roast, mashed potatoes and mac & cheese? Worth. Every. Penny! :)

Larabar Contest

I won a Larabar giveaway last week! I was recently introduced to the bars by my Mom who sent me a few in a care package. I had heard a lot about them but find them a bit pricey ($1.25+/bar) but they are really healthy with only 2-5 ingredients per bar. Perfect for a pre- or post-workout snack!

While I was browsing the website, I saw they were doing a giveaway because one of their flavors (Cocoa Mole) is being retired. I entered my information on a whim (who doesn't love contests?!) and was notified via e-mail that I won! My prize pack will arrive in a few weeks and supposedly includes a t-shirt and some of the now-expired Cocoa Mole Larabars! I love free stuff...especially when it has to do with food. :) Thank you, Larabar!

Monday Money Check-Up

This week I'm participating in the Monday Money Check-Up hosted by My Pretty Pennies! :)

1. The most I've spent this last week was on a pedicure! $27 including tip which is more than I normally pay.

2. Today I feel good towards money. My budget is looking to come quite a bit under for the end of August, and it's a long weekend with fun plans plus payday!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was hang out with friends! Board game night on Friday and movie/wine on Saturday night. :)

4. I will consider this week a success if I go to a State Farm office and get renter's insurance. Seriously!

5. My favorite room in a house is the kitchen and living room. I find both very comforting, inviting and relaxing. :)

A Day at the Races

I am so excited for Saturday! A group of my friends plus my new roommates and I are all going to the famous Del Mar Racetrack. I've never been and neither have most of my friends. It's going to be an all-day excursion which are exactly the type of adventures I love... and oh, there will be tons of people-watching to be had! :) Entrance fee is $6 and we are going to bring our own folding chairs/blankets. (Getting a reserved seat in the stands is an additional $10.)

First, Beerfest starts at noon. I don't like beer, but I do enjoy a good cider... and since I've been told there are 75+ types, I figure there should be at least one cider for me! $15 for 5 samples.

Races start at 4pm. Bets are $2 each. I'm not a gambler, so I'll probably just bet the minimum per race. Two of my friends are AVID gamblers so it will be interesting to see how much they bet!

Finally, the main reason we are all going (sorry horses, we're not coming just for you!)... WEEZER in concert! The entrance fee includes admission to the concert which is great. However, since we'll be there almost all day, I'll pack some snacks but will mostly likely buy an overpriced hamburger or something for dinner, maybe $10?

For all of that and maybe a few dollars for parking, I'm budgeting $50. All of those items add up quickly - but it's cheaper than going to a regular concert and I'll be spending the entire day with friends! :)

Selling Furniture

Since I'm moving next month, I realized I should get rid of some furniture I own! I'm keeping all my bedroom items (bed, dresser, bookcase, desk, lamps & shoe rack) but I need to sell some of my living room pieces.

The first piece I'm selling is my beloved LoveSac! I bought it in my senior year of college and it's been awesome. Everyone loves it because it's so huge and comfy! It's so fun when we have lots of people over... but let me tell you, it is a hassle to move it! Since I'm petite and it literally takes two grown men to carry/lift it, it needs to go. Plus it screams "college" instead of "young professional." ;)

Since it's gently used and still in fantastic condition, I'm hoping to get $250 for it. That's what the other ones I've seen on Craigslist recently are also going for. If it doesn't sell within a week, I'll start dropping the price until I can sell it.

That would be a nice chunk of change to help me out when my own move comes around! :)

This & That

My life has been very busy lately, and I am loving it! :) I went home two weekends ago for my younger brother's college graduation and spent $18.50 over 4 days. Gotta love it when my parents spoil me on my few trips home every year!

My social life has been blowing up, which is exactly what I have been needing. Most of my best friends moved away after college and those I met while studying abroad live in other states, all around the country. Let me tell you: it's very difficult to make friends after college. I joined a book club last August through Meetup and I'm finally getting close to some of the girls. One of them has invited me out for happy hour and I've seen a movie with another. You know what's a great feeling? Becoming friends with someone where it's so easy to get together and you talk as if you've been friends for years! :) Now, if only I could meet some other single girlfriends?!

I also went to SeaWorld on Sunday with my roommates and spent $7 on dinner since our park tickets were free! On Monday I had a no-spend-day when I went to a free outdoors bootcamp in the evening. A girl I know from college is trying to become a personal trainer and wants to work with some women so she invited a bunch of us to her make-shift bootcamps... which are basically just getting together outside to work out. It was fun and really refreshing to be in the beautiful park at the bay since I'm always inside at the gym, even if it was just her, her roommate and myself! In fact, my legs are still sore from all the drills we did: sprints, lunges, and squats. We also used free weights, resistance bands and did some mat work plus 10 minutes of stretching at the end. She was really good and targeted all different muscles, plus she made sure we were doing everything correctly. She's going to offer the sessions 3x a week to start and eventually get up to 5-6x a week, for FREE until she gets her personal training certificate! :)

Last night I spent $13 for dinner at my book club meeting. A little more than I had anticipated, but I absolutely love the group so I'll pay that 1-2x a month for the wonderful company! Today my department at work had teambuilding at the local fair. Our tickets were comped but we had to purchase our own lunch, so I spent $7.50 on a delicious gyro. No fried poptarts/twinkies/butter for me! (Yes. You read that right: FRIED BUTTER. Gag!)

To top off my increased social activities, I'm finally heading to Denver this weekend! So. Excited. Since USA won their soccer game today, I'll probably end up watching the game with my friend at some bar on Saturday and she's going to show me all around Denver on Sunday. A quick 48-hour trip, but weekend getaways are one of my favorite things to do! :) I've budgeted $200 for it.

I've also started my apartment hunt! I'm seeing a second place tomorrow so I'll post about both places soon. Happy Wednesday! :)

May Networth

Can you believe it's June already?! I can't, but I'm SO excited about this month! I have two weekends away: one for my brother's college graduation (huh?! when did he grow up!) and another to Denver to visit a girlfriend! :)

Like most people, my networth decreased in May by 4.74%. This was due to the decrease in the markets and a lot of spending, including a staycation ($150 from my Travel Fund), just over $100 on clothes, buying my plane ticket to Denver (another $214 from Travel Fund), getting a much-needed haircut ($65) and lots ($70) of Memorial Day fun on a boat!

I know I need to reign in my spending this month, but we'll see how it goes since I will be traveling and now that it's summer, all my friends want to do a lot of outdoors activities... like spend lazy afternoons drinking and watching sports at the plethora of awesome local bars, going golfing, trips to Disneyland, etc! But hey, I'd MUCH rather have a social life, and I'm trying to expand my group of friends so therefore spending a bit of money is necessary. :)

Laptop Issues

My Dell laptop is having issues! It was my graduation present from my parents two years ago and it's held up well. I had to re-install the operating system a few months ago when I got a ridiculous virus, and I ended up putting Windows 7 on it. However, starting middle of last week I've been getting disk error warning messages. Yikes!

I back my computer up once a month, but I immediately backed it up again once I started seeing the messages. I'm fairly tech-savvy, so I know the hard-drive is probably dying. Sad! My roommate took a second look at the message and agreed with my conclusion. He's doing some research for me to try to find the best deal on buying a new hard-drive plus some additional RAM, which my laptop is definitely in need of since it's not really equipped to run the new operating system. (It used to have Windows XP... and I definitely did not want to put Vista on it!) This will probably run me ~$140, according to roommate. Not horrible and totally worth it! Plus I know how to do the installation myself. :) But, I *might* take the money from my emergency fund, as it IS a large expense that doesn't fit into my regular budget... We'll see, maybe I can finagle it into June's budget since I am going out of town for two of four weekends!

I mentioned the fact that I was having some laptop issues to my parents last week. They know I take really good care of all my belongings, especially my electronics. A few days later, they e-mailed me and said they'd be willing to split the cost of a new laptop with me in the near future if it came to that...but only if I become a Mac user! What! I did not expect their generosity, so I'm thinking within the next two years, or sooner if it really gives out, I'll save up half the cost of a new MacBook. My FIRST Mac computer!! (I told myself when I got this Dell laptop that, whenever it died on me, that my next computer would be a Mac.) :)

TGIF!

Happy Friday! It's going to be a nice, long and fun Memorial Day weekend!

I've been really busy this week in terms of a social life! I went to a baseball game on Wednesday with some co-workers and a friend (tix were free, I paid for dinner for my friend and I, $15.77)... Last night I went out line dancing with the same friend and bought dinner for us (he covered our drinks), $12. And tonight my roommates want to kick off the weekend with a bar crawl! It'll be fun because it's supposedly a large group of people. I'll probably offer to drive, which will keep my costs down so hopefully I don't spend more than $20? I'm also finally getting a haircut this afternoon! That will run me about $60 including tip. My hair hasn't been cut since mid-December, so I can't wait! However, my stylist was unavailable and I really wanted to get it done today so I'm seeing a different stylist at the same salon. I trust her recommendation, though, so I'm not worried! :)

I'm volunteering on Saturday and I need to make a Costco run, too. I'm also planning to watch some Stanley Cup playoff games (possibly at a hockey bar? hopefully with cute boys?) and the Indianapolis 500! Hey, look at me, I'm turning into a sports fan! ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Family Weekend!

My parents are coming into town tonight to visit me until Monday! I am so excited, as I haven't seen them since Christmas. They like to visit me once a year. We have a ton planned and I can't wait! I love having them come visit because they love to treat me to nice dinners and fun activities that are generally out of my budget. :)

On Saturday, we're going for dim sum and then we're playing golf in the afternoon. I made dinner reservations as a surprise Japanese restaurant for Saturday night, and I also want to take them to an awesome downtown bar with spectacular views of the city.

On Sunday, we're going for pho and then an afternoon hike if the weather's decent. I'll probably also do some shopping with my Mom! On Monday, my car is going to the shop to finally get it's 60K maintenance. It's almost at 70K... oops! My parents have offered to pay (they're way too generous!) but after some discussion, we've decided to split whatever the cost turns out to be.

To top it off, I have a friend coming into town this weekend, too! Luckily, she's staying with my old roommates, but we'll all be meeting up for drinks/dinner tonight before my parents arrive.

What are your weekend plans? Hope it's a great one!

Why is March taking all my money?!

According to some other bloggers, March has been a crazy month in terms of spending! I can relate... even though I went on a weekend getaway and spent a crazy weekend in Vegas (thanks, Travel Fund!), my spending has still not been good. And March isn't even over yet!

Maybe it's the fact that it's officially spring? Or because of daylight savings time?! Whatever the reason, I have been spending a lot more on various activities! I've been going to the driving range more frequently at about $10 each time. I've seen some movies, had wine or food at my book club meetings (I normally stick with water!), and had a lot of little expenses that have just added up. I've also bought some birthday gifts this month - totaling $55 but that'll come out of my Gift Fund, which still needs to be transferred.

I know I'll have to buy a few more groceries over the weekend. And I'm also playing golf ($30) and possibly going out with my roommates. I'm not sure if I'll be able to save any extra money this month... it would be the first time that's ever happened! But I'll try to save $50 from budget leftovers.

Happy Friday!

In bullet point format :)

• It's PAYDAY!
• I rented a movie from Redbox using a free promo code.
• I had $100 leftover from my February budget, which I put into my Roth IRA.
• My roommate's parents are in town... and they're taking us out to my favorite restaurant for dinner tomorrow night! :)
  
• I'm going over to a friend's place for dinner on Sunday to watch the Oscars (The Hurt Locker FTW!) and have dinner. I'll be making this appetizer and I'm excited!
• I bought a cute beach coverup dress for $21, which was the remainder of my clothing allowance I gave myself from my bonus.
• I put $85 into my CL/25th Fund! :)

Have a great weekend!

Hello, March!

Can you believe it's March already?!

I had a blast skiing this weekend with my friends! We unfortunately had some set backs and didn't get to the ski hill until 1pm, so we only got in a few hours of skiing. And after not going for 6 years, my body is sore this week! But it was so much fun, even if it was an expensive day trip! I ended up spending $105 for my gear rental, half-day lift ticket, food and my share of gas.

I have been thinking a lot about my 2010 goals recently. I'm excited to say I've already completed some of them and I'm on track to meet others! So far, I've joined a volunteer program and now I'm taking a month-long golf class. Both are going great and I'm meeting new people which is always fun. :)

Weekend Adventure!

I'm going skiing on Saturday! I haven't been in six years... a very long time, especially since I started skiing at age two! I have all of my winter clothing and my ski boots, so I will just have to rent skis and poles. I'm going with a group of friends and I know it'll be a lot of fun, even though I'm sure I'll just be on the green runs doing the pizza stance... until I get back into being a tree-skier! ;) Below is my breakdown of expected costs:



Ski Rental: $23
Lift Ticket: $66
Lunch: $15
Gas (my share) : $15

Total: $119

I forgot how expensive skiing is! I do own skis, but they're at my parents' house. (I was never really interested in skiing down in California during college, plus I keep forgetting to bring them back here with me when I go home.) I know I could save some money by bringing my own lunch... but there's something to be said for an awesome, hot meal at the lodge during a day of skiing! :)

Do you have any exciting weekend plans? Are you a skier/snowboarder, and how long have you been doing it?