In all seriousness, I'm pretty much in the same place I was one year ago (minus the sweet apartment I technically could not afford). I'm still living in the Boston area, though I was bent on high-tailing it to New York long ago and never looking back. I still visit New York; I wave to it from a distance and yes, sometimes blow it a kiss. I still have dreams of staying there on a more permanent basis. But the longer I'm here in New England, on the south "shuah" (that's "shore," sort of), the more Mary Lou's coffees I gulp down and treks to the beach I make, even - and especially - on snowy winter days, I realize just how much I've become attached to this strange and charming place. The honeymoon isn't over quite yet.
I'm still writing. Still making music. Still telling stories. The fact that my day job involves writing at all still thrills me. Not that it's all roses, of course; on the difficult days, 15 hours in, when I'm ready to flee and do something easier, I remember when things were "easier," when I was doing some job and not my calling, and how much harder that actually was. So at this point, I'm grateful, happy to be where I am and doing what I'm doing. As the saying goes, "Wherever you go, there you are."
And speaking of going places, although I claim contentment in my surroundings, I still feel that pesky ol' travel bug biting me now and then. While I sometimes make mini road trips around the region, truth be told I don't get out much (curse of a writer; chained to the desk). I keep daydreaming about buying a plane ticket to some place far away, or selling my Neon (yup) for a VW van and following all of Route 66. Well, enough of the daydreaming... Dreams are just reality waiting to happen. :)
This is the year I'm going to stop daydreaming and do something. Call it a late New Year's resolution; who says you can't make them in March? After all, the weather has decided that it's still very much winter, so I'm thinking I have some leeway. Besides, I haven't even started my ramped-up diet and exercise plan yet. Whoops. :P
Of the many goals I want to accomplish, including publish a novel (or ten), record an album (or 50), win a Pulitzer, fly to the moon... Traveling to Europe is pretty high on my list. So now that I'm determined to make it happen, soon, it's just a matter of which country (or countries?), and when?
And, oh, yes-- what to wear? (Lest we forget that this is a fashion blog...)
And another "oh, yes"... How to do it on the cheap? See, I'm not a best-selling author or award-winning journalist, yet. I'm not a trust fund kid (although I'm sure I'd be great at that!). I am by no means independently wealthy or, well, wealthy at all. But I have dreams, darn it, and that's why God made credit cards. Er, I mean, that's why I'll search for travel deals and save my pennies. And buy less shoes. ;)
Some of my lovely blogger friends are already in Europe and know of many wonderful places to wander to, I'm sure! Will you help me? And let me know what you're looking forward to this year, and how in the past year you've changed. I'll ask you what I ask all of my story sources when I'm looking for a scoop (I swear, it works): "What's new and exciting?"
I'll tell you what's new and exciting for me... After months of hemming and hawing last spring, I finally caved and bought my very first Taylor guitar. It was a splurge but a calculated one; I cut back my spending and put the guitar on layaway and spent months making weekly payments (the guys at the local music store must've liked me, since usually the layaway policy is for 30 days). I didn't buy the Cadillac of Taylors, but this one still took quite a bite out of my income. I picked one of the least expensive American-made guitars that Taylor makes, because buying American is important to me; that was a priority in my purchasing decision. It was the right decision. I took the guitar home in September, the day after I went solo to a Jason Mraz concert and fell in love with music all over again. The next morning, I couldn't stand just making payments anymore; I wanted to bring that beautiful mahogany guitar home! So I marched into the music store and forked over the rest of the money. Now, I play my Taylor daily. And I've started a band. Life is good.
Wow, a long post, but we've had catching up to do! I hope to hear from you, and how you've been. Tell me, what's new and exciting for you this year?
Love,
Erin
