Possibilities for the coming Year

Questions by Jenny Blake, LifeAfterCollege.org

• What is one new skill that you would like to develop this year?
• I will learn how to hula hoop going beyond the basic, then add fire to the mix. It seems like it will be a fairly frugal new skill to learn to bring back to the playa.
• What is one hobby you want to practice? 
• I want to practice more yoga, I look at it as a hobby more than exercise.
• Where is one exciting destination you would like to travel to in 2013?
• I would like to go to Istanbul.
• What is one creative project or idea you would like to undertake?
• I would like to finish my picture frame earring holder and wine cork trivets. This year is more about the follow through, not just seeing and recognizing but actually doing.
• What one career move would make the biggest impact on your overall happiness and success this year?
• I will find an accounting internship. It will break up the monotony of my barista job. Also landing an internship will build my confidence in finding employment after Starbucks.
• What one money move would make the biggest impact on your overall financial picture this year?
• I will learn about investing beyond just contributing to my 401k and open a brokerage account after my emergency fund is back to being fully funded.
• Who is one person you would like to meet or reach out to this year? For example, either someone new (and maybe aspirational) or a re-kindling of an old friendship or relationship.
• I would like to reconnect with my favorite old roommate, when I go back to Seattle. I've seen so many changes happen in her life via facebook since I moved away.
• What area of your physical space can you clean, purge or re-organize this year?
• Like most women, I want to tackle my closet again, especially the floor. I still have bags that I haven't emptied from my vacation in September. I look at it and it just is energy sucking.
• What is one adventure you would like have in 2013? Choose something fun, risky, different, or otherwise soul-stirring! 
• I want to go on some more road trips. The first one that comes to mind is to Memphis.
• What is one health or fitness milestone you would like to hit?
• I want to run a half marathon this year. It's one of those goals on my bucket list. I'already have one run on the books for this year the Color Run in April.
• What is one new system you can put in place, or an area of your life that you can streamline or organize this year?
• I want to get more on board with following FlyLady rountines.
• What is one thing you would like to ask for help with this year? Big goals often take a village, and sometimes we get shy or afraid to ask for the help we need. What would you love to have some support around, even if you're not quite sure who to ask? 
• I need help with procrastination. It is so horrible, yet I can't break the cycle. I don't know how to fix it.
• What is THE biggest, hairiest, most meaningful thing that you would like to happen this year? 
•  I would like to get a full-time job in accounting. I am ready for a "big kid" job. I want to contribute more to the shared household instead of Cappy paying for majority of things.

New start in the Lou

So this is a renewed start at writing a blog. Let's start with a little about me at this juncture in my life versus when I started this venture a year and a half ago. I have since moved into a house my boyfriend owns with another roommate instead of the studio apartment I rented in Seattle. Oh and yes, I moved to the Midwest, St. Louis to be exact. Life is so different. It is amazing how stark the difference. I brought one of my old canvas reusable bags to the store and the cashier gave me the "what the heck am I supposed to do with this" look and then hesitatingly put my purchases in the bag. In Seattle, I had been charged extra because I forgot to bring a bag. So it has been an uphill battle to live frugally and eco-friendly, but the choice to live more simply is now a conscious one. I hope my presence will make a bigger difference here than Seattle because I will be an example to those that have not known any better and maybe for you my readers. Or at least you guys, can laugh and judge me while I make the many mistakes I am destined to make. It's going to be shenanigans!

Beginning at Bedlam

So I've been thinking it over for awhile now. I've read many blogs recently especially on personal finance but also just on life post college. They say things about following passions and working and doing something you love. So that is what I'm trying to figure out. I like learning about personal finance cause I've always been straddling the line between frugal and cheap. And I love tips and top 10 lists. Also the other thing that is central to my life is coffee or more specifically coffee shops. In Seattle, you can't through a rock without hitting a coffee shop. We are home to Starbucks, which I love especially when I'm traveling it reminds me of home wherever I happen to be. Also full disclosure, I work as a barista for Starbucks as well. So although I wouldn't call myself a coffee connoisseur, or at least just yet, but I am one when it comes to coffee shops. Also there isn't one supreme one, but there many ones good for different reason. I will go further into this at a later date.

But now I'd like to tell you about where I am currently blogging from, which is Bedlam in Belltown. It feels like the living room of a big college house I used to live in. It's a good place for a conversation with a close friend as well as meeting with classmates to work on a project. The baristos (male baristas) are super nice. I ordered a cappuccino which had very dense quality foam although when I first saw it I thought it might not be the greatest due to the foam and espresso being cooperated into each otherfully like a Vivace cappucino. Nevertheless, plesently suprised by the loveliness of the foam. It has KEXP, a local radio station that plays lovely indie music of the Seattle persuasion, playing. Bedlam seems like what I imagine a neighborhood coffee shop should be, a meeting place yet a place you can also be by yourself, a true Seattle coffeeshop, where we are friendly but in moderation. I also enjoy the bike hanging from the ceiling. It might also be a good place for people watching as it is in Belltown and across the street from good bars, but I do enjoy Stumptown in Capitol Hill for that.

So my hope and plan is to write a post a week on a coffee shop and one on an aspect of personal finance that I'm learning.

(Photo courtesy of Bedlam's facebook page)