Have I Been Exploring New York City Enough?

When people meet me, I tell them precisely two things: I probably have never heard of or been to that place you're talking about and have not watched the movie that you're referencing. Both of them, quite frankly, come down to time and me being comfortable with being a repeat offender with just about everything I do. I wear the same outfits, eat the same things, frequent the same places, the same areas, watch the same movies. I mean, I've seen Gilmore Girls seven-freaking-times, which probably isn't all that normal (I blame Netflix, they made it so accessible!). I'm a creature of habit through and through, try as I might to, well, not be. 

I've been meeting a lot of new people and a lot of different food and drink and spots, in general, come up and there's usually a blank look on my face followed by a series of massive floating question marks that hover over my head. I guess I didn't realize how often I don't leave the house or stray from the norm not only since I've moved here, but from when I've visited. I mean, I do go to Veselka a lot, but how can anyone resist those pierogi on a regular basis?

There's a lot of lost time during the week. I'll occasionally do things after work, but it always throws off my entire mood for the next day. I'm usually more tired and I feel like I missed out on free time to work on my blog, shoot photos, think of ideas, catch up on reading, basically a FOMO of chill time. But then by the time the weekend comes, I usually have laundry to do or groceries to pick up. It's basically two days of freedom that I'm supposed to try to fit things into and I usually just...don't. 

Big shocker, right? 

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I have lists of places I want to go and try out. I keep them flagged on my phone and saved in my collections on Instagram. The issue is...these places cost money...that I probably don't have. It's no surprise that I'm stressed about money and while I hate to talk about it I feel like it comes up a lot because, well, New York City is expensive and while there's a ton of stuff you can do for free here, it's not the easiest thing in the world to find people that will want to do free stuff with you. Which is completely fine. Just because I'd rather save my money than spend it doesn't mean everyone needs to follow suit, that's not necessarily fair.

There's part of me that uses this as an excuse though and I wonder if things will change if I ever get ahead of myself and can make that credit card balance level out. Will I always convince myself that spending money on food and drinks is a bad idea because that money can be saved? Is it just an excuse at this point? 

I'm not quite sure where my issue with spending money on food has stemmed from. I've never and will never consider myself a foodie. I was talking about this at work the other day and I'm just...not thrilled by food? I obviously don't like food that tastes bad, but I tend to just eat for sustenance and like, you know, stay alive. I couldn't really be bothered by what I'm actually eating and the quality of it (I mean, within reason, I'm not throwing back McDonald's on a daily basis). I'm sure this is all killing my father who is a chef and is most likely still resenting the fact that I grew up to feel completely indifferent towards cuisine in general.

It just seems like a lot of the places that people expect you to see involve some sort of monetary value. Don't get me wrong, I haven't explored nearly enough of this city, but I've seen quite a bit of it just walking through the streets. Walking around and looking up is how I prefer to spend my time in the city. I'll pass by these restaurants and bars and will make a mental note, but then I keep on traversing by on my mission of the day to explore whichever neighborhood I chose. 

Maybe one day I'll venture in, but for now, I'm content with how things are going.

Top: Isabel Marant (via Cleveland Consignment Shoppe)

Shorts: Forever21

Shoes: Old Navy

Sunglasses: Miu Miu

Bracelets: J. Crew and Kate Spade

And here are a few shots that I'm not supposed to share because they're blooper shots and aren't all nice and pretty, but #ThisIsRealThisIsMe y'all!