How is August over already already? Last week I was sat in my parents' kitchen on a rainy Wednesday afternoon and it hit me that we are two-thirds of the way through the year!! How the heck did that happen?! I found myself on vacation (I'm embracing "being American") over the Bank Holiday weekend and back in Blighty for a friend's wedding followed by a week's "stay-cation". It's ironic when you have to fly 3,000 miles just to be home! Having literally had dreams of trolley-dashing Tesco and escaping the mad prices of New York (everything but a $1 pizza slice is extortionate), I've been stocking up for winter! Literally. I'll be amazed if there isn't a nationwide shortage of Heinz Salad Cream as a result of my visit.
September always feels slightly melancholic despite it being the start of my favourite season. It must be the inherent 'back to school' vibes from years gone by when you know the light evenings and summer holiday fun is at an end. But new wardrobe, better TV and cosy evenings in, what's not to love? This past week, I found myself clearing through my cupboards, packing away the bikinis and summer playsuits, and discovering what winter items hadn't been devoured by moths since I'd stowed them away. 'Autumn-sorting' as opposed to 'Spring-cleaning' if you will. Entirely satisfying.
It's been a crazy year. With everything that happened in 2016 - the wedding, moving house, leaving our jobs and travelling the world - it was always going to be a tough act to follow. This year got off to a bizarre start; we were on a come down from our crazy adventures honeymoon-ing overseas and found ourselves living at opposite ends of the country in our respective parents' homes while we waited for the New York offer to be finalised. Now, we're six months into being New Yorkers and have set-up home in a downtown Manhattan apartment. The stereotype of working all hours and living off coffee is so true - did you know the average New Yorker only gets 10 vacation days a year and doesn't even take them all??! Utter bonkers if you ask me. After six months of steam-rolling through, moving the team out here and being part of a new start-up arm of the business, I was ready for my straight-jacket fitting and a month in a rehab facility. Cue massages, lots of cups of tea (thank you, Mum) and lung-fulls of country air. Despite working for the same company for five years previous, there's been an interesting cultural shift from London to New York. I'd certainly never have dreamt of working six months straight in London, at least, there would have been the odd weekend away to stay with friends outside of London or escape to the country for some home-cooking. It occurred to us that Ryan and I have never spent a solid six months in one place without so much as a night away - until now. It's no wonder living in this busy metropolitan city that we were both due a change of scenery and luckily that's what August provided for us both.
Fast-forward a few days and now I'm back in the Big Apple. The warmer climate has been welcome after the nippier temperatures of the UK (after a glorious Bank Holiday weekend I might add). I'm clinging onto my holiday zen as much as possible. I've been rejuvenated by seeing all my loved ones, drank enough alcohol (honestly, are anyone elses parents a bad influence?!) and laughed more in the office in this past week than I had collectively pre-trip. Sometimes, absence makes the heart grow fonder - yes, I was so glad to get back to our apartment, our view and enjoy some one-on-one time with The Husband. And sometimes, a little distance helps give you the perspective you need to see the bigger picture. So, New York, bring on Part 2.
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