The Weekend...

I apologize for my brief stint of only posting "Daily Photos"... I suppose I've just been a bit down in the dumps this weekend. It was so nice to come home on Friday evening after work and just rest. I was relaxing for the entire evening, watching several episodes of The L Word, and I managed to sleep in, too! Then yesterday I decided to venture uptown to Times Square where the new flagship Forever 21 store opened on Friday. I didn't feel up to it Friday and Liz and I had said we'd go at some point this week, but I was bored and itching to check it out so on the train I went. Times Square was of course packed, being that it was Saturday, but oh my gosh. You cannot believe how monstrous the Forever 21 is! 4 GIANT floors... it's the size of the Manhattan Mall in Herald Square! I had always thought that nothing could beat the huge 3 story Forever 21 in San Francisco, but it has met it's match for sure. I was in there for hours. Getting lost, finding amazing dresses, getting lost some more. I ended up coming out with a few really really great buys. The only thing I hate about Forever 21 is the sizing! Ugh! I left with a dress in an XS, S, M, AND L! I just don't get it! I have to try on every single thing because nothing fits the same. So frustrating! I'm wearing the dress I bought in an XS today and it fits like a glove. I'm so so very in love with it! So cute! (It's actually coral... not orange like it appears in the photos. Crap lighting!)

dress: forever 21, tights: walmart, flats: kmart.

I came home and again, just relaxed for a bit. I dyed my hair and talked to Mike. Finished season 3 of The L Word, then I took a nap. A glorious nap! Mike and I Skype'd for a bit and then went to sleep. But not before he could tell me the bad news. Seems like my excitement for FEMA to "right a wrong" was a bit premature and they have denied us assistance, yet again. I cried for a while (for a whilllleee) and then I tried to go to sleep. It's just a scary situation to be in. So rather than worry myself too terribly much, I took some of what I have for my NYC Fund and transferred it over to my savings immediately. That means I'll be living on very little in NYC but at the same time, maybe it's a life lesson I need, ya know? It WILL work out. It has to. It always does. This will test my ability to really pinch pennies and make the most of what I've got. Mike also transferred over the same amount as I did and we're going to just start really watching every penny. I've been doing really well thus far... not spending extravagantly or anything (obviously, since we just paid off the couch and Georgia's surgery) but I'm not a person who likes to be in debt. I don't have a penny against my name and I don't intend on starting now. I have credit cards, but the balances are all at $0.00 and if my mom taught me one thing, it's "DONT RUIN YOUR CREDIT!" haha I'm proud of the fact I haven't let credit cards take over my life, but I suppose I'm only 22 so there's still time. Must keep on top of it! 

I'm very bummed out that FEMA continues to overlook us, while TWO of our roommates received aid. They had told Mike we were seriously overlooked so they would try and fix the situation. The case worker went over our application and apparently the first roommate that applied must have claimed some of the same things (being they had pots and pans in the kitchen so they claimed the kitchen, but all the appliances and 90% of the dishes in there were mine) so we were denied. It's unfortunate but rather than dwell on disaster, Mike and I just need to pick up where they left off and try to make the best of it. It's teaching us that: 1) Life isn't always fair. 2) The only place to go from the bottom is up! 3) To live in a way that we can afford. As much as I may feel that this is a curse, I also feel that it is a blessing. Rather than being handed a large sum of money to "make our worries disappear," we're having to push through it together and really tackle the situation. This will prove incredibly rewarding in the future. I have faith that everything will be just fine.

With that being said, I scoured the internet looking for apartments yesterday. Much to my dismay, no one wants to give us a 5 month lease. Obviously. And if they did, our rent would be so high for the two of us, it wouldn't be worth it. Plus the several hundred dollars for Georgia's pet fee. This morning I started looking on Craigslist for rooms for rent, etc. Thinking this may be a better bet since we'll have a dog, need to have a short-term lease, and we have no furniture. We found a really really nice house in Spring Hill (about 15 minutes from my school) and Mike is going to look at it tonight. We don't know the size of the room available but it's a darling house with a pool, etc. Not that that really matters to us but the price is nice and he's willing to let us leave in mid-to-late December. Things will work out.

I just got home from a quick trip to KMart at Astor Place. I picked up a few odds and ends and I'm going to start writing back my penpals today. I received a lovely letter from Tamara all the way from Germany! That's 3 Germany things this week! Apparently we're loved over there! (I love Germany, too! Such a gorgeous place to visit!). If you're expecting a return letter/package from me, it will be sent later next weekend. Mike gets into town on Thursday and we're going to scour the city for great little odds and ends to put in the packages and what not! I like to make one big ol trip to the post office! 

Also, I have a couple SMALL ads available still for the month of July! Just $15 for the entire month. If you'd rather have a large ad, shoot me an email and let's talk!

Here are a few screenshots of Georgia being adorable the other night on Skype! She kept stepping all over Mike to try and get to the computer. It was the sweetest thing in the world. I miss her so much!

xoxo