Love Right Now Is...

This post is inspired by yesterday's post on A Blog About Love.

Right now, love is...

• My baby brother flying across the country on his spring break... and being willing to drive all of my earthly possessions (wellll, OK, minus the stuff that's at my mom's house...) across the country with me.
• My co-workers, who teared up when I told them I was leaving, and then made me want to tear up also.
• My roommate who told me she didn't realize how much she loved me until I told her I was leaving... which says a lot, because I already knew she loved me. :)
• Me at church on Sunday, learning about covenants and reflecting on how a covenant establishes an official partnership between God and me, which means I KNOW He will NEVER let me down! I know I can always trust Him, and He will always have my back.
• Realizing that somehow, someday, I'm gonna have to find a man I TRUST enough to enter with him into the same type of covenant relationship I already have with God.
• Waiting patiently for that day to come and using my time wisely to prepare.
• Making a little sandwich and packing snacks, because you're going to pick up someone you love at the airport, and you know they'll be hungry when they get off the plane.
• When friends throw you a farewell party and you barely have to lift a finger, and the people you love most in DC come.
• When the people you love ALSO bring their dogs! :)
• Getting snuggles said dogs. Because dogs love you no matter what!
• Dreaming of someday soon having my own! :)
• Trusting God enough to be willing to move your life across the country when He says to.
• Baby brothers at home who can't wait for you to get there. :)

That Time I Went to Manhattan and Brooklyn Last Summer... (#FBF)

One of the things I'm really going to miss about working for Voto Latino is the opportunity to travel. I've gotten used to traveling at LEAST once a month, either for work or for fun, and I'm already afraid of feeling a little... claustrophobic and land-locked when I get to Utah! ⊙﹏⊙

That's seriously one of the BEST things about living on the East Coast – the fact that you can get almost anywhere so easily, quickly, and affordably.

This belated post chronicles my travels to the LULAC National Conference last year in NYC (it's in SLC this year! If you're going, come visit me! Woo hoo!).

I've already forgotten the name of my hotel, but I liked it, and it was in this neighborhood, around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater:

One of the people I got to see at the conference was Juana, who I know from her days in DC. Juana actually offered me my very first job out of college. And even though I ended up taking a different offer, I'll always remember her for taking a chance on me. I'm happy that we remain good friends. :)

The other suuuuuper awesome thing about this trip is that I got to see Lee and belatedly celebrate her 30th birthday!!! ʘ‿ʘ

We made plans to go to dinner, and last-minute, we decided to try to catch a Broadway show. We turned a corner and right in front of us was the theater for Jersey Boys! We inquired about tickets (the show was starting in <30 minutes!), and we were able to get seats for $27! (Hooray for student discounts!) The show was so, so good! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Possibly my favorite part was the fact that the crowd was so into the music, we were all singing along to the songs by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. It was a good time!

A few years ago, my friend David introduced us to an awesome (and cheap!) Thai restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. Every time I try to find it I have to look up the location, BUT this time I was smart, and I took a photo of the intersection!

The restaurant is called Yum Yum Bangkok (how fitting!), and it's SO good! And cheap! The pad thai is only $9.95! That's a steal anywhere, but especially in NYC.

Lee lives in Brooklyn, and we spent the next morning exploring and adventuring.

We started our day off with brunch at Station Cafe in Gowanus.



This is Lee's best friend, roommate, and business partner, Sara. Sara is a talented hair stylist, and she JUST opened the cutest salon, Sara June! (Go see her if you're in Brooklyn!) The salon is right next door to Station Cafe, and it was fun to see the construction site right as they were starting.

After the tour of Sara June, we hit up one of my NYC bucket list items – the Brooklyn Flea!

And guess who was there the same day?? (Except we didn't see them?? #fangirling)

 

But hey, Brooklyn Flea, we really liked you!

I also realllllly liked THESE NINA Z CLOGS:

via

And these!

via

But in this color also?

via

The only problem was that I gave up shopping in 2014, which meant I COULDN'T BUY THEM!! ಥ_ಥ

(I'm happy to report I've since purchased a pair! I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can finally wear them outside!) 

After the flea, we took a li'l break at Fort Greene Park.

And naturally, our trip also included a pit stop at Junior's – aka the most delicious cheesecake of my liiife (chocolate mousse cheesecake... mmmm!)

Some carnitas tacos for the road, and I was back on a train to DC that afternoon.

I'm going to miss these little NYC trips, but I'm looking forward to going BACK at least once more this year for my friend Lesley's wedding in September! Hope your guest room is ready for me, Lee! ;)

One Last Hangout (#VLInnovators)

One of the projects I've been managing at my job is the VL Innovators Challenge. We wanted to find talented young Latinos with bright ideas and provide them the $$ and the resources to bring their ideas to life. The only two requirements to enter were: 1- the primary applicant had to be a Millennial (18-34 years old), and 2- their project had to use a tech tool to address a problems in the Latino community.

Last week, we announced our seven winners (woot!), and today, I got to moderate my very LAST #VLHangout with some of our winners.

I guess the whole point of this post is that it's hitting me that I'm really leaving DC. Also, that among the many, many things I've learned during my time at VL, I've discovered that I enjoy being on camera. Who'da thought? (So if you're looking for your next on-screen girl for your next... on-screen thing... let me know! ʘ‿ʘ)

(Oh, yeah... Hey, guys... I'm moving back to SLC next week... It was a hard decision to make but one that I know 100% is the right decision. But it's still very bittersweet... It's so weird -- as a very indecisive person -- to be SO sure about something! But I'm glad for it!)

Anyway, I've just been reflecting a lot on the opportunities I've had in DC, and I will always, always be grateful for this chapter in my life. These five years in the greatest city in the world mean more to me than I can express, and I'm oh-SO-grateful for the people I've met (the very BEST people!), for everything I've learned, and all I've experienced (the good AND the bad). It was in DC that I became... me.