It's hard to believe that one month ago we said goodbye to our life in New York. On one hand, it feels like we only left yesterday and we'll be back soon. On another hand, it almost feels like we haven't even left. We've been so busy settling in and doing all the typical things that we would do in New York that I've barely noticed my skyscraper view has now been replaced with one of palm trees and beaches. Not to mention, the temperature when we left New York was about the same as the temperature in LA so there hasn't been any big weather shock.

On a completely different hand, it actually feels like we left an eternity ago and I barely have any recollection of life in New York. This month has been one of the craziest and it would take me days to even recount the amount of things we've had to go through on this move, but I'll save that for another day and another post.

Instead, today, I wanted to focus on more of a one month post-move check-in, things we're missing, things we aren't missing at all, some of my favorite memories, and last but not least, what I realized the city taught me.

New York is one of the greatest cities in the world, hands down, and I'm so grateful for the time we got to live there. As much as I was ready to leave and move on, the closer it got to the move date, the harder it was to say goodbye. I started questioning everything and every decision, crying constantly, thinking we had lost our minds for leaving stability in the greatest city ever (Like, who does that??!). I became convinced that as soon as we got outside of city limits, I was going to start having severe FOMO about everything and everyone we left behind. I was 1000% sure we had just made the dumbest decision of our lives. In fact, I was so sure, that, even though we had already spent thousands of dollars to move, cancelled our lease and said our good-byes, we came very close to calling the whole thing off. Very, very close.

Through teary talks (on my part) we determined we had already come this far, so we might as well continue on through. Moving day came, our stuff went. We cleaned up our apartment, closed the door, and around 8pm on Saturday night grabbed slices of pizza from our favorite local spot and hit the road to DC. After 7 years, it seemd wrong to live the city in such a late rush but at the same time, it seemed so fitting for the city that's always in a rush.

I'm happy to report that after we got over the moving day hump, we haven't had one single case of FOMO for New York. FOMO for stability and our stuff (that's still on a moving truck), but not for New York. I'm surprised, but also simaltaneously thrilled.I'm sure it will come at some point, but for now, I'm happily relishing in new places, new things, moving struggles and remiscing.

5 Favorite Memories

1. The time we took a helicopter ride over the city will forever and always be a favorite memory.
2. Christmastime in the city is always magical, but I'll never forget, a few years ago, on a nothing-special-kinda-day, just wandering the city and Central Park in the middle of a giant snowstorm.
3. Our wedding with those skyline views
4. The time I walked past SJP on the way to my birthday dinner (and then she later tweeted me HBD!!!)
5. Some of the very special projects and events I got to be involved of because of my job, like this or this

5 Things I Don't Miss

1. The weather
2. People's attitudes, negativity and general unpleasantness
3. Poor quality, high-priced, over-Instagrammed food
4. Packed subway rides
5. Not being able to open our windows and/or sleep or relax because of the noisy highway outside our apartment

WEARING: SIMILAR BLAZER, TANK, SIMILAR JEANS, SHOES, SIMILAR BAG, EARRINGS, SIMILAR SUNNIES

5 Lessons from New York

New York, was, hands down, one of the best life teachers I've ever had. No amount of schooling, mentors, or books could have ever strengthened me, smartened me and toughened me up, the way that city did.

1. It taught me to not take no for an answer
2. It taught me to stand up for myself, especially during times that I would have normally stayed quiet
3. It taught me to hustle, like I never had before
4. It taught me to get outside of my comfort zone, with food, people, cultures, experiences and work
5. Most importantly, it taught me to have drive and chase my dreams, no matter how tough things got, no matter what got in your way, no matter what tried to stop you

5 Things I Miss

1. I don't miss transportation via subway, but I do miss how close everything is and how accesible things are.
2. I miss the multitude of places that are open for dinner past 9 or 10pm.
3. I miss the energy (sometimes).
4. I miss our pretty little neighborhood and walking past all the pretty brownstones.
5. I miss how close we were to Ikea (we went from being 5 minutes away to almost an hour haha).