Lazy Saturday

This is the first weekend in a long time that I have made plans to not make plans and it feels pretty great. I would normally avoid inane posts like this that just tell a lot of nothing, but I'm taking this 30 days of blogging thing pretty seriously!

You know it's a good day when you shower and then put your pajamas right back on. I think I can, however, force myself to get dressed in order to meet friends for dinner. :) 

Happy weekend, everyone!

(And just for giggles:)

5 Things I Love

And so what if they all happen to be from Anthropologie? I just got the new catalogue. Gets me every time.

In other news: I saw my first holiday commercials of the season last night. You have no idea how hard I've been fighting the urge to start listening to Christmas music since then! Of course it doesn't help that twinkling lights are already going up everywhere around the city.

Let the holidays begin!!

Money Money Money

It's not exactly news that we live in troubled economic times, but in some ways I think the tumultuous economy has helped bring everyone back down to earth in terms of personal finance. For the first time in a long time, people are learning the value of living within your means and just saying no to unnecessary debt!

After my first year on the little adventure I like to call "financial independence," I just wanted to share one of the best tools I've found for helping me manage my money. The best part? It's free.

Allow me to introduce you to my friend:

This website links to all of your online bank accounts, credit cards, savings accounts, investments, and even loans to help give you the best snapshot possible of your personal financial health. A few of my favorite features:

• Budgeting tool
• Automatically imports all of your transactions
• Categories for your spending and income that you can customize
• At-A-Glance Insights: Charts and graphs galore to show you where your money goes, your net worth, how your habits are changing over time, etc.
• Ways to save: Mint takes a look at your overall finances and tells you how much alternate banks, credit cards, savings accounts, etc. could be helping you save money every year
• Alerts you when unusual spending takes place or when bills are due
• iPhone application makes it easy to use and access on the go

It's as safe and secure as any U.S. financial institution and comes highly recommended and recognized by BusinessWeek, Money Magazine, you name it.

Just my two cents. :)

Spotted: Gossip Girl Filming

Hey there Upper East Siders (or just my readers)...

A few months ago Gossip Girl was filming near my apartment in SoHo and I never shared the pictures. Selfish, I know. This episode aired a few weeks ago and it was so weird to watch it- like a very fabulous case of deja vu.

This scene featured Dan, Blair, and Vanessa who was making out with long-lost half-brother of former flames Serena and Dan (classic GG story line).

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

One More Chance?

So I hear from my dear friend Bethany that November is National Blog Posting Month (fondly referred to from this point forward as NaBloPoMo). Upon reading about her commitment to post every day for just one month, I was immediately convicted about my own pathetic lack of posting and basic abandonment of my own sad little blog.

30 days... Surely I can do this? I have a backlog of pictures and subjects I have been meaning to blog about, so this is my golden opportunity to get caught up! Starting now:

Every day on my walk to work, I pass the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue (you know, the one actually on 5th Avenue?). The window displays are always gorgeous, but recently they had a Chanel display that I loved so much I actually suppressed my fear of looking touristy for a few minutes and took some pictures:

They had set it up to look like a fabulous black and pink vintage train and some of the cars were cut away so that you could see into them. Several car windows (like the one above) were playing scenes from the movie "Coco Before Chanel" which at the time hadn't yet been released.

I still haven't seen this seemingly delicious movie, but it is definitely near the top of my list! (Ah, the list... perhaps that will make a good post for another day this month?).

For all its reputation of being such a hard city, sometimes New York just has a way of sending you little love letters that melt your heart and this was definitely one of those times... le sigh.

Five Things I Love

Another Tuesday, Another few things I'm loving this week...

1. This Weekly Workout Plan Checklist from RealSimple.com

For someone like me who is lacking in the fitness self-discipline department (to put it mildly), this workout plan makes having a daily workout routine actually seem manageable and dare I say... FUN?

2. Wash and Fold Laundry Service

A staple on the Lower East Side unless you enjoy spending an entire Saturday in a hot, crowded laundromat. If only they could put it all away for me afterwards... le sigh.

3. The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast on iTunes

Call me a nerd for listening, but I love the hopeful way Dave talks people through their personal finance issues using the philosophy of living within your means. Especially in these economic times when so many are losing sleep, not to mention their homes, his message is more important than ever.

4. Project Runway's Althea

She may only be 23, but Althea is one of my favorite designers so far this season. I can't wait to see what else she is going to come up with!!

5. American Wife

This fictional account of a Republican first lady is definitely inspired by the life of Laura Bush, but fictional is still the key word here. One fact not in dispute: Curtis Sittenfeld is an amazing writer with a gift for vivid characterization and I loved this book!

My Bonus crush for the week: This SEPTEMBER weather!! Blue skies, not too cold for shorts, not too hot for a cute cardigan. Ah, perfection.

Love,

Allie

P.S. I will definitely be hitting up my neighborhood bakery Sugar Sweet Sunshine for their pumpkin spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting this week. So much for #1 on my list!

Apologies from a Wayward Blogger

Dearest Reader,

I hope you have not lost all faith in me as a blogger just because I went missing for so long. With this post I will begin to make amends and hopefully restore your trust. There are so many things to share due the amount of time that has lapsed since I last posted, but I will try to dole them out separately rather than overwhelming you with it all at once.

As an appeteaser, let's start with the long-awaited pictures of my apartment, shall we?

My Room

A Few Details

Our Living Room

Our Purple Nook

The People Who Really Make This Home

(Please note our fifth roommate, John.)

I do hereby pledge to post more faithfully in the future!

Cupcake Out.