101 in 1001

In 20 years, you will be more disappointed by what you didn't do than by what you did. -Mark Twain

When I first saw Mackenzie's list of 101 in 1001, I thought it interesting but not for me. You see, I don't do well with making plans (like moving to NYC on a whim) and I can find setting a time restraint on things to be more stressful than motivating-which is why you'll never hear me set a goal age for marriage, kids or any of those other "milestones". I have, however, come to think that vocalizing your goals can be productive, like telling myself I was finally going to finish this list I started 6 months ago and share it with you all. Whether you follow along with me over the next 1,001 days is entirely up to you!

1. Write my 101 things
2. Join a master’s swim team
3. Be active at least 3 times a week for one month
4. Get my second tattoo (December 2013) 
5. Run a mile without getting winded (or having hip problems)
6. Run a 5k
7. Stay up all night & watch the sun rise over the city from a rooftop
8. Be in a parade in NYC
9. Upgrade to a newer dSLR camera
10. Start shooting black and white film again (September 2013)
11. Develop and print in a darkroom
12. Sell a photographic print (digital or film)
13. Pay off my credit card debt
14. Go to Paris before I turn 26
15. Learn how to meditate
16. Read 5 books in French
17. (Re) learn Spanish
18. Go hiking in the Appalachians
19. Regain my flexibility
20. Learn how to sail (or at least go sailing!)
21. Do five different DYI projects for the home (1/5, spice racks)
22. Volunteer at an animal shelter
23. Take an advanced photoshop class
24. Learn Adobe Illustrator 
25. Go to 10 different art exhibits (2/10, JP Gaultier in Brooklyn, Charles James at the Met)
26. Get up earlier than the latest possible time I have to for at least 1 week
27. Be at least 5 minutes early to work for at least 1 week (January 2014)
28. Do yoga in the morning for at least 1 week
29. Get back on pointe
30. Take classes in: hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, broadway, ballroom (1/5, hip-hop)
31. Learn to make cinnamon rolls (March 2014)
32. Get a photography image published by a magazine or major website
33. See 10 broadway plays (1/15, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder)
34. Participate in a dance performance
35. Go to five different ballets (2/5, JR performance, Young NYCB performance)
36. See a concert in Central Park
37. Go to all the major art museums in NYC (MoMA, Met, Guggenheim, Whitney, New Museum) twice a year
38. Get a membership to the NY Botanical Gardens
39. Visit the Cloisters
40. Go hiking in upstate New York
41. Spend a weekend on Fire Island/the Hamptons (October 2014)
42. Go to the beach 10 different times between during the warmer months
43. Do a boudoir photo shoot
44. Send Christmas cards to friends
45. Get a blowout (April 2014)
46. Spend a whole day pampering myself (sleeping in, massage, mani/pedi, etc.)
47. Get business cards (September 2013)
48. Take an art class
49. Wear something other than jeans for an entire week
50. Learn how to make a button down shirt work on me (Winter 2013)
51. Go to the NYC transit museum
52. Post on my blog every day for a week
53. Read at least five “classic” books (0/5)
54. Rent a car for a roadtrip (10/19/13-trip to Storm King)
55. Spend a weekend hitting up the best antique & flea markets
56. Redesign my blog to better reflect my style
57. Invest in a designer/everyday bag (Spring 2013, Botkier bag/resort 2015 Pashli)
58. Attend a NYFW show outside of work (September 2013)
59. Visit five new cities (0/5)
60. Maintain a comfortable emergency fund (at least 3 months of expenses + a little padding!)
61. Send snail mail to friends for birthdays, holidays and other events each month
62. Go for a bike ride in Central Park
63. Take lunch to work every day for a week at least 10 times a year
64. Visit 10 jazz & blues clubs for live music (1/10, Little Branch)
65. Invest in at least five designer-level, classic wardrobe pieces (5/5) (Alexander Wang Vest, Theory Sweater, Mary Katrantzou heels, Acne sweater, Suno Dress)
66. Clean out my wardrobe at least 3 times a year
67. See a Cubs game in Chicago
68. Have a picnic in the park (Summer 2014)
69. Have guests over for a meal on our (overly spacious) back porch
70. See 10 new classic films à la Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly etc. (0/10)
71. Get a facial
72. See a comedy show (Summer 2014)
73. Buy a pair of designer shoes (Choos, Louboutins or Blahniks, etc.) just because
74. In one week: go to a dance class, spin class, for a run and for a swim
75. Cut out sweets for one week
76. Continue my education with French classes (December 2013, Duolingo App!)
77. Re: #76, continue my education with photography courses
78. Purchase coffee for the person in line behind me
79. Go to yoga every week for two months
80. Make five vintage clothing purchases...bonus points if they’re under $50 each! (1/5) (Vintage blue dress)
81. Put up a gallery wall in my apartment
82. Invest in 2 new high-quality & original pieces of art for the wall (1/2) (Van Holmgren Original)
83. Go an entire month (eek!) without shopping for clothing/accessories etc.
84. Make a truly killer playlist (March 2014)
85. Take a day (or weekend) trip once a month for 6 months
86. Spend an entire day away from technology (phone calls with family not included)
87. Celebrate two years in NYC (10/12/13)
88. Make a noticeable change to my hair (December 2013, turquoise hair, May 2014, lavender hair)
89. Purchase something from Tiffany’s for myself, just because
90. Go to a multi-day music fest
91. Take someone’s portraits in film
92. Set and/or adjust my career goals each month
93. Smile for no reason every day
94. Learn to be nicer to strangers on the street (also known as don’t intentionally run into people in your way, even if they’re being an idiot stopped in the middle of the sidewalk on their cell phone)
95. Play a musical instrument again
96. Re-learn how to play the piano
97. Drink tea instead of coffee for one month
98. Swim before work three days a week for two weeks
99. Learn how to make sushi
100. Surprise my best friend for a weekend trip (Visited Phoenix, January 2014)
101. Let go of inhibitions and conventions

...and if we want to make this a nice, even number of 102, let's make that goal to run into Ryan Gosling on the street :)

*image via

Fitness Notes

Few, if any, of you are aware of this, but Blonde in this City is not my first go at blogging! In college, I started using Tumblr & gradually began to create my own content that morphed into a fitness blog. Once I moved to NYC in 2011, it fell to the side as I looked for jobs & winter approached (you could probably find it online still, if you really wanted to), but the desire to stay fit in my adult life has not left me. 

I'm not exactly what you'd call the "athletic" type, though I've been a dancer & competitive swimmer nearly all my life. There were a handful of other sports sprinkled in there, but those are the two that stuck (and will never leave me, either). I was a truly horrendous runner growing up, which I later found out was caused in part by a heart murmur and shortness of breath. A fairly severe dance injury to my hip (seven years ago today, to be exact!) shattered a lot of hopes I had of continuing to dance through college and I still experience pain and setbacks from it on a regular basis. I've come to accept that I'll never fully recover, but I know that keeping myself strong is the best thing I can do! 

Finding time to be active can be a struggle in itself; I joined a gym towards the beginning of the year, mainly for access to an indoor year-round lap pool, but also for motivation. I can't afford to be paying for something I don't use! I took up ballet again last spring, although it's been a few months since I've made it to a class. Yoga became a regular part of my routine post-college, particularly when I was going through a bad period in a relationship. Stepping away from everything to focus on my breath and how my body feels has helped awaken a deeper desire to better myself. Lastly, like I said before, I'm not a runner by nature but I look at it as a challenge to overcome. I started jogging around my neighborhood in Des Moines over my summers in college and I opt for a treadmill at the gym instead of an elliptical now regardless of my pain levels that day. My shallow breath capacity makes it tough to run even a mile without getting winded, but I hope one day I'll feel comfortable and strong enough with running to sign up for a race!

Staying consistent is tough, but I've recently set some goals for myself to make sure I'm getting in some activity a handful of times a week no matter how busy I am. My options are endless, from $5 yoga classes nearby to ballet to Broadway Dance Center to my gym & the pool to a run in my neighborhood!  Having a lot of choices is a helpful reminder that exercise isn't a chore. In the end, it's not about a number on a scale for me, but about how I feel from the minute I get up until my head hits the pillow at night. 

Do you have any fitness tips, exercise regimens, or places you go to for motivation/inspiration? I want to know! (I didn't touch on food or nutrition here & plan to at a later date, but it's never too early to learn something new-so share those, too!)

*image via

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once"

Growing up, I was a pretty active child-I had a HUGE backyard (more on that later) and a HUGE house to run around in, with two siblings, and my parents worked from home. Over the years I participated in softball, dance, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, bike riding...and we have a basketball court in our backyard.

Eventually, I dropped most of those (as competitive sports, at least. I still enjoy biking, tennis & ball!) and wound up swimming and dancing through high school, along with color guard (marching band...concert band the rest of the year) every fall. Yes, fall is making me nostalgic for these things! Anyways, I really grew to love dancing and was finally starting to reach my full potential when I got injured from not warming up properly.

To make a very long story short, I didn't dance again for six years. During that time, I had recurring dreams about recitals and classes, choreography and costuming, every single week. WELL, once I moved to New York City, I knew I had to take advantage of all the adult classes and studios everywhere! I started with a Groupon deal to Ballet Academy East and have been taking class one to four times a week since late March! I adore it (and the recurring dreams haven't happened since). The perseverance and dedication it takes, along with the strength required of every muscle, combined with the opportunity to grow each class, makes it one of my favorite forms of exercise even when it's so much more to me.

Stretching out before a mid-level class on Sunday

Before center work

One of my favorite things about BAE...they've added a modern class! The teacher, Ginger Thatcher, has an amazing and impressive background.

Creeping on a ballet class for teenagers earlier tonight!

If you've ever been interested in ballet or any form of dance, I cannot recommend strongly enough looking into adult classes near you! It's never too late to start, and what it does for your mind, body & soul is inexplicable. (And, if you're in NYC, come take a class at BAE!)

Also, I've gotten to see THREE of the major ballet companies since moving to NYC: American Ballet Theater, City Ballet (George Balanchine's company) and Paris Opera Ballet-who performed my favorite ballet of all time, Giselle, this past summer at Lincoln Center. I could have died happy that day!