Spring Cleaning

I love spring for many reasons, but one reason is because of the freshness and new start it brings! I will never be a minimalist (no matter how I try or want to be, it's just not in the cards for me), and could never see myself completing a full on Marie Kondo type of clutter "cleanse."  But, I do think that there is such satisfaction that comes along with organizing and getting rid of the things that we no longer want or need or that doesn't bring us JOY.

Of course my closet closets need purged of shoes, purses, and clothes I no longer wear. Of course I should dust under all my picture frames and vacuum under my bed.  But that's not the only type of spring cleaning that is on my to-do list this season.  The ones that I have already began to focus on this season relates to the cleaning of my social media profiles, computer files, and, the one that is bound to be very time consuming, my camera roll. But, even still, there is a type of spring cleaning that is even more important...

Social Media

I love social media as much as the next person, my favorite being Instagram, but goodness it is a time waster.  So often I scroll through posts and skip through stories because I have no desire or interest in some of the pages I follow anymore.  Why repeatedly do this? Follow people or pages that are interesting and relevant to you, and you will notice that you're automatically spending less time on Instagram because you wont have to waste time going past the pictures you really enjoy! Also I am taking this season to check my own profile and scroll down and delete old pictures that I once thought were a good idea. Same with Facebook... "Who is that?" is a common question I ask myself if I ever choose to scroll on Facebook anymore.  I literally do not know where some of my Facebook friends came from, nor do I know when, where, or if I ever met them in real life. Do I really need to be Facebook friends with people I don't care about/don't care about me? No, not really.  Again, I also used this Facebook purge as a time to double check what photo albums were public and what ones I had set to private. While I don't want to delete them, no one needs to see my embarrassing high school or college albums.

Camera Roll/Computer Files

For some reason, I can not just take one picture. I have to take 25-100 and then choose my favorites. Then I never take the time to delete the ones I don't like, so I am left with a camera roll full of the so many of the same photos from different angles! Not only is this an issue on my phone, but also my computer.  While it might be overwhelming, I plan to go through these and get rid of the less than stellar angled shots.  At the same time, I have so many old text threads and files on my computer that are doing nothing but taking up space.  I never go through old text threads, and I probably will never ever need the essays I wrote my freshman year of college...or sophomore, junior, or senior for that matter. Think of all the space they are taking up!  

Heart

After thinking about all my de-cluttering I need to do, thinking of the bag of clothes and pile of shoes I will have to donate/sell, cleaning up who I am following on social media and what I are presenting to others, and clearing up some space on my phone/computer, I took a step back and thought: Wow, if I have these many things cluttering my room, my social media, my phone and computer, how many more things are cluttering my heart? Life is busy, life is full of things to do and stuff to buy, and this and that, but what is important in life? It's not things and stuff. It's not what you have in your closet or how many followers you have or how many likes you get or even about getting just the right angle on a photo. It's so much more. LOVE is what life is about. It's about love that comes from the Lord. It's about how do you take his love and extend it to others! I don't know about you, but my heart is the real thing in need of spring cleaning.  I need to rid myself of all the unimportances, of all the time and mind and heart consuming things that simply do not matter, because truly these are nothing but mere things.  God is love, and He is what is important.  Let's rid our lives of things, and fill it with the One who loves us relentlessly.

Happy spring. You are loved.

Xo,

New York City

New York City: Where the buildings are tall, yellow taxi cabs fill the streets, people are everywhere, and shopping and restaurants are plenty. What a fun city full of energy and exciting sights and sounds.

A long weekend here was a perfect, fun getaway for my parents and I. We filled our time by seeing all the highlights and tourist attractions, walking miles on end, figuring out the metro system, and of course - eating!

After we arrived, Ubered to our hotel, and dropped off our luggage we set out for the day. Our hotel was a block off from Times Square, so we stopped there to admire the buildings and bright signs as we made our way to Central Park, which is massive and very uniquely quiet and serene to be located right in the middle of the city. We walked through the park all the way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or better referred to as the Met. In fact, I drug my parents here for the simple fact that I needed to go to the Met Steps and act like I was on the set of Gossip Girl. Then, I got even more excited because we were just a few blocks away from the Madison Avenue Lilly Pulitzer, which was more beautiful than any Lilly store I’ve been in! From there we took a bus back to Times Square area and then got ready and went out for a nice supper. Walking through Time Square at night looks so different than in the day.

One of my favorite parts about New York was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and taking pictures along the way. We spent some time in the DUMBO area before taking the metro to The Bagel Store, which you may remember from a few years back when they became famous because of the rainbow bagel, also known as “The Bagel that Broke the Internet”! In all honesty, it’s quite a ran down hole in the wall of a place with mediocre tasting bagels, but they are beautiful nonetheless, so I was more than content! That evening we went to the most delicious pizza place, John’s Pizza, before we went to watch Waitress, a cute broadway show with excellent singing!

Another favorite part of mine was taking a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. She is so magnificent and beautiful! We ate lunch at Eataly (my heart!) and then went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which was quite a somber experience. We made our way to LRoom, which had SPARKLY LATTES! Another DREAM come true! Delicious and glittery! From here we went to the Soho and Flatiron area.

Monday morning we got up very early to head to Rockefeller Plaza for the Today Show. It’s been my mom’s dream to meet Kathie Lee and Hoda, and we are proud to say that after arriving at 5:15 am, we were first in line to enter the plaza! Once entering the plaza, we found the best place to stand and waited. It was very cold, but the energy and excitement kept us going. The plaza crew workers were so fun and kept us entertained, and the energy levels expecially escalated when the cameraman would pan the crowd! At 8:30, Al, Savannah, Hoda, and couple other members of the Today show cast came out to the plaza. We got to shake hands with some of them and even got a photo with Savannah! Unfortunately they were only out for a few minutes, BUT were DIRECTLY behind them and therefore on camera almost the entire time they were outside! We are basically famous, what can I say haha! Sadly my mom did not get to say hello to Hoda when she was on the plaza, and Kathie Lee was not on set that day, but we still had a great experience and I am glad we were able to go! After going back to our hotel to defrost, we decided we had done all the things we had wanted to, so we took the metro to New Jersey so we could say we had been there and so I could cross another state off my list (my goal is to go to all 50 state before I turn 30!) We got coffee and walked around Hoboken, then headed back to the city where we went to Union Station and then made our way back through Times Square for a final time. We took the metro all the way to JFK Airport, which was actually quite simple after using it throughout the weekend! We said goodbye to the Big Apple and made our little town that felt especially small after being in such a big city all weekend. 

I am so glad we got to experience NYC! Although there is never a shortage of things to do there, four days was the perfect amount of time for us to see and do everything we wanted to while still having ample time to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Xo,

Season of Self Improvement

Lent is something that I’ve not observed before and don't really observe, but as it serves as six weeks of self-examination and self-reflection in preparation for Easter, I can think of many ways in which I need to better myself. Of course it is common to give something up for Lent, such as social media or television or a certain unhealthy habit, but instead I have decided to take on a discipline, rather two disciplines, to better myself. 

Firstly, I will prayer journal every day. Lately I have not been taking the time to sit down in the quiet and write down what is on my heart. While praying silently or aloud is just as effective, knowing that as Psalm 55:16-17 says, “As for me, I call to God…and he hears my voice,” there is a closeness I feel to God when I write to Him. For me, putting the pen to the paper is a great way to get all my thoughts and feelings out. I also love going back through old prayer journals to see what I prayed for and how God has answered prayers or changed my heart. This increases my intimacy with the Lord, and there are no reasons I have not been doing this, rather than filling my time unwisely. This is the perfect season to regain that closeness with Him who this life and this season are about. 

Running is something I really enjoy doing, but in the winter I get a little lazy since I don’t enjoy the treadmill too much. When I run, I use it as a time to reflect on the day or to think about the day ahead. Often I also listen to praise music throughout this time and allow it to be a time of worship. During Lent, I will run at least 1 mile every day, no excuses. Hopefully as the weather becomes warmer, I will be able to run outside and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation amidst warmer weather!

These two things will be simple to do, but will take time and planning on my part of when I will accomplish them. But they will be help my better myself and grow in my relationship with the Lord. 

What will you do to better yourself during this season of Lent?

Xo,