I missed last week’s gratitude list, which is unfortunate because I’ve had so much to be grateful for lately:

• a sweet one-bedroom apartment in the Capitol Hill area of DC, walking distance to all of the major museums and Eastern Market
• an afternoon of shopping with my friend Jenny
• randomly running into my friend Carly on the streets of Princeton
• Gertrude Hawk Milk Chocolate Crispy bars (love these)
• finding a moving company that I think is going to be great
• eating Ethiopian food with a former professor who is now a friend
• getting a massage (even if left me aching for days afterward)
• catching up with my friend Sonjelle before she left for Ghana
• grabbing some Pho for dinner with a high school friend
• coming up with some wonderful ideas for my new job — which I start on Monday(!!!)
• the autumn wind blowing
• rice krispy treats, made by my mom (so made me feel like a kid again)
• staying warm with cups of rooibos tea
• being inspired by the film Miss Representation

 
What’s kept you busy this week? What are you most grateful for?

Also, the Circle Prints giveaway has closed and the winner is #13 — Kate. Congrats! Thank you to everyone who entered. Remember you have until October 31st to use the code NYAOblog and receive 30% off your order from Circle Prints!

And before we all run off to party our weekends away, I wanted to ask: do you prefer one or two posts a day? Lately I seem to have so much I want to share, though I suspect for the next two weeks, things will be a little light as I’ll be moving and adjusting to a new job. But going forward into the future, what do you prefer?

Happy weekend, my fabulous friends!

{image via Vintage is For Lovers}

I’m a little exhausted right now. After two days of apartment hunting in DC, I found the perfect place. I was even the first application. It was nearly mine! And then they rented the place to someone else whose boss they knew. Heartbreak! I’m heading back down this weekend to search some more. But even though I didn’t get the place, this week held so many wonderful things:

• the smell of autumn in the area
• eating amazing Brooklyn pizza at Fornino
• discovering incredible artists at Crafty Bastards in DC, at the Brooklyn Flea in NYC, at random places in NYC…
• the sights of the High Line
• cups of Pomegranate Oolong tea
• the sun rising over a city skyline
• spending time with my friend Amanda
• lunch the inspiring Melissa (whose blog has a gorgeous new design)
• dinner with the very sweet Kayla
• amazing episodes of Radiolab

 
I’m off for the day, but you have a few hours left to enter my chalkboard message board giveaway — so go!

Have a wonderful autumn and apple-cider filled weekend! Oh, and if anyone has been making Houzz ideabooks, leave me a link — I’d love to check them out.

{painting entitled “Catnap” by Lucian Bernhard}

The weather turned colder yesterday and, and for the first time in the last few weeks, it was painfully clear that autumn is approaching. Not that I don’t love autumn. I do. But I wouldn’t object to a few more days of heat.

A few of my moments of gratitude this week:

• sunlight falling on skin
• warm East Coast bagels with butter
• nights spent curled up with good books
• incredible people and conversation at a job interview
• time spent with my friend Liz
• watching Hercules, Liz’s hedgehog, turn into a ball (seriously so cute)
• relaxing in an Upper East Side apartment on a rainy day
• rooibos red fruits tea and scones
• chatting with my friend Francesca
• meet the lovely Natalie for the first time
• grilled cheese sandwiches (something about them is so fall to me)

Places to wander this weekend:

• Deliciousness found: In Kinfolk Magazine and on their blog.
• For weekend brunch: Maybe these tartlets (so good) and this acai bowl. Maybe both.
• Book suggestions: My massive update at Goodreads., if you’re in the market for a good story.
• For the grad school bound: Some fantastic advice from bloggers, including me.
• East Coast retreat: A gorgeous one in the Hudson Valley.

 
I’m fantastically excited about this evening. Rachel from raenovate and I are heading out to Terrain for dinner and a book signing with Grace of Design*Sponge. I can’t wait to meet her and get my copy of her new book.

What are your weekend plans?

{all images from Terrain}

The possibilities are my favorite part of the summer. But have you noticed how quickly these summer days are passing?  I feel like someone has my clock on fast forward. Luckily, the weather right now is gorgeous and I’ve been taking advantage of it as much as possible. Today I’m heading into the city to see some wonderful friends and tomorrow I have a Girls’ Game Night to head to.

Moments of gratitude:

• Finally beginning to figure out my relationship with food (see this post)
• Spending time with family at my cousin’s wedding
• Enjoying a summer thunderstorm
• Walking barefoot on the patio after the rain stopped
• Having conversations and with good friends
• Attending a meeting of the Secret Science Club in Brooklyn
• Pushing past some writer’s block
• Finding and applying for an incredible job (fingers crossed)
• Eating Greek Yogurt ice cream from Bent Spoon
• Rediscovering a song that matched a drive at twilight perfectly
• Listening to the sounds of the outdoors to put me to sleep
• Watching Melanie win So You Think You Can Dance (I’m obsessed with this solo)

I kinda want to show you a photo of the pizza I had in Brooklyn this week, but I’ll save that for Pizzelles next week. I had just forgotten how good pizza in the NYC/Brooklyn area could be.

Any special plans for the weekend? Have a fantastic one!

{image here}