Wednesday, February 8, 2012

"my moooostache brings all the boys to the yard"

Hi Friends :)

I hope everyone has had as much fun as I have since I last talked to you. Heres a little bit of what I have been up to since we last spoke: I had dinner at Fig and Olive with the roomies for restaurant week; I made a visit to the MOMA and saw Van Gogh's "Starry Night" FINALLY, along with many other great works from artists like Monet, Jackson Pollock, Freida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, and more; I attended a City Wide Worship event with friends; I've been continuing with my half marathon training (even hit 5 miles this week, woohoo!); Emily, Kendra and I went to the Martha Stewart show (airing Feb. 13th.... DVR it if you want to see yours truly on TV); AND, we hosted a super awesome Super Bowl Party (did I mention it was super awesome!? AND, the Giants won!!! ... looks like I'm the good luck charm. Let's see if next year I can bring some luck to those Bengals  ;) ).

Although I did want to inform you all of what I have been up to, it is not solely what I have felt inclined to write about this week. Each time I have gone away for an internship, I have learned so much about myself and what I want to do with my life and career. Although I never seem to quite figure it all out, which can be very frustrating at times, I take something away from each experience and it brings me one step closer to the person I have grown in to and will continue to grow and learn from.

This particular experience, in NYC, has been an eye opening one for me thus far. The message at church the past few weeks has been all about the choices we make, that we are "saved by grace but great by choice." This really got me thinking about the choices I have made since starting college, applying and taking internships, the daily choices I make about what to do in my free time, where I spend my money, and even the way I treat and think about people. In a city like New York it is very easy to fall into a life that becomes self centered, insensitive, greedy, and very much routine. I haven't even been in the city for more than 5 weeks and I feel like I have showed a lot of this selfishness for much much longer. I want to be a selfless person; someone who is compassionate, giving, loving, patient, kind, and thoughtful of others. I also want my life to be filled with meaning. I don't want to just go through the motions but carry out every motion with purpose. At the end of the day I may not know why I am where I am or whether or not each job or decision is the right one, but I do have a choice and want to choose greatness. So, here's a list of some of the great things I am going to choose to do in the next year (some may refer to these as "new years resolutions a little late").

1. Personal: Stop feeling guilty about saying no. Remember, it's okay if I can't go to every luncheon, party, or entertaining extravaganza... my friends will understand if I have other responsibilities, right ?!!? :) Relax more, worry less. Worrying accomplishes nothing. (Matthew 6: 27-29)
2. Spiritual: Give more. I want to give more of my time and money to outreach and volunteering, not because I have to but because I want to. Join/create a small group or Bible study. Get into the word more and pray everyday. Have a positive, loving, and compassionate attitude. Be inclusive, not exclusive. (Matthew 5:16)
3. Health: Be healthier, but not in the way of "oh its the beginning of a new year, I want to be healthy." Make it a lifestyle. Running as a daily routine. Run both a half and full marathon. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
4. Career: Keep a sketchbook. Create a website. Be passionate about what I am doing always... remember that God brought me to where I am for a reason. Use my talents for good. (Jeremiah 29:11)
5. Friends and family: Take the time to let the people I care about know it. Express words of kindness, gratitude and love towards them. Write letters, make phone calls, actually take the time to reach out (Facebook & text message should not be the primary source of communication people!!!) (Proverbs 3:3)
6. Lastly, actually make the effort to fulfill these goals ^^^^ :)

I do want to mention that I am no longer even going to try to make promises of multiple posts per week. Although, I would love to do it and will try very hard, realistically I'm pretty slow at this whole writing thing. Hopefully with practice I'll not only be more interesting but will also have more to say ;)
However, one thing I will mention is to keep an eye out for a weekly "Thrifty Thursday" post. More info to come.
Now for the part where the moustache comes in.....
HeHe...Just Emily and I being silly. Make it a great week everyone :)

xoxo Allie Fawn

Thursday, January 19, 2012

lies, excuses, apologies.

Hey Peeps!

So, I feel like a complete liar right now. I had said that I was planning to post every couple of days and have failed at that already, and I apologize. The past week and a half has been good but a little unproductive as I was not feeling well most of last week, so all I really felt like doing was sleeping. I also had to get my laptop fixed so didn't have it for a few days. I know, I know, no excuses right?! Well, I'm feeling much better, I have my laptop back, and I'm ready for some more adventures this weekend and to share more about my life with you.
Although I was feeling under the weather, the past week has been a beautiful one in New York and I have actually been pretty productive. I have been keeping up with my training for the upcoming half marathon in May, and I think I even committed to running a full Marathon in September. I'm not sure what I was thinking then, but I think it will be fun and I'm always up for a challenge. I also finally started reading The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, and I am hooked. I wish I could explain exactly what it's about but I would probably just confuse you. So, look it up. I'm hooked, and highly recommend it.
I know you all want to hear about all the awesome and exciting stuff I have seen and done since the last post right? Well, honestly, I don't have much more from the past week, and again, I apologize. Honestly though, so far it has been really exciting just being here with great roommates, a good job, and such great weather to be able to actually walk around and enjoy the city during a time that is supposed to be horribly frigid and snowy. I am very grateful for that.

So that you all are not disappointed, here are some pictures of my adventures


Enjoy :)
Kendra, Emily, Amy and I at The Horsebox
Pretty sand art at Washington Square Park

Gorgeous clock and lights at Chelsea Market

Liz, Andrea, and I at the Brooklyn Bridge on New Years Eve. 


That's all for now. I hope you guys enjoy my posts. The roomies and I  have many adventures planned for the weekend including great food, art, and maybe even a little shopping therapy? As promised, I will have many more posts (more than once every 2 weeks) to come. 
Have a great weekend friends! 
xo Allie Fawn 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

New York, New Year, New Beginnings

Hi Friends, 

 So, I want to start this off by saying that writing has never been something that I have enjoyed. Also, when I do write, I rarely share it with anyone so this is kind of a big deal for me. But, for some reason I have had a lot of inspiration lately and am feeling inclined to write about my life, ideas, creative thoughts and inspirations, and to share them with everyone. My intentions for this blog are to provide you with insight into my life, advice, fun, laughter, inspiration, and spiritual words and thoughts that are meaningful to me (hence the title, "all good things"). My hope is that I will be challenged by and begin like writing as a new creative outlet. Well, here goes nothing J
After a stressful December trying to find housing, and a long train ride last Saturday, I finally made it to NYC, the city I will be residing in for the next 3 months. I am on my 4th co-op, this time at Aeropostale’s design office working for the Women’s Wovens team. This week at work was a bit crazy but they kept me busy, which is always great. There’s nothing worse than staring at the wall with nothing to do all day.  I  love my team and the people I sit with at work. I also found out that we get free coffee at work all the time as well as free fruit on Mondays! I would say, from what I can tell thus far, this is going to be a great work experience.
I am living in the East Village in a 2 Br apt with 3 other girls from DAAP, Kendra, Emily, and Amy. Emily found me through a posting on The Forefront Church website’s community board. It’s always so crazy to me how I stress about the little things and it always end up working out. God is just good like that.
The week was full of work, fun, and adventures with the new roomies. The four of us had dinner at Hummus Place on Tuesday in the East Village and on Thursday I went to happy hour with some girls from work at a restaurant near Herald Square. I also joined Bally’s with my friend Kathryn who will be my new workout buddy, and I started training for the Flying Pig Half Marathon.
The weekend was also full of a lot more adventures including Margaritas and appetizers at Patron Mexican Grill in Hell's Kitchen, going out to 2A and a late night pizza run at Too Bootz on Friday night with Kendra and Emily. Saturday was a beautiful day so we ventured around Chelsea and Greenwich Village, which are two of my favorite areas in NYC. We checked out the Chelsea Market, walked the High Line, and explored the village all day before coming home to make dinner, nap, read and relax for the rest of the night.
            Sunday is always my favorite because it is the day I get to relax and go to church and learn more about and worship God. Today was especially exciting since I got to go back to Forefront Church and take some of my new friends with me as well. We enjoyed orange juice, good bagels, awesome worship and learned a great message from the book of James. I’m really excited to get involved, learn and grow more in my faith at Forefront these next few months.
            All in all this week has been a start to what I believe is going to be a fun, exciting, and successful new year. My goal is to put up a new posting every couple of days which will include anything from my travel experiences, personal style, inspiration, life lessons, laughter and much more. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy and look forward to hearing from me soon.

Xo Allie Fawn