Helllloooooo It's me... (In my Adele voice)

I was wondering after all this....

(Ok let me stop! It's been a while...and alot has happened.)

It's been a minute since I penned words for the outfit section of my darling blog. By now you already know I made that big move to the city that never sleeps, the big Apple, the concrete jungle and any other name that is out there. To be honest so much has happened this year that at times I was not at the right frame of mind to post pretty much anything. I felt like a juggler in a circus trying to keep an eye on what's going on while praying and hoping that none of my balls drop.

With all the changes going on in my life it felt like a rollercoaster of some sorts. In regards to the blog, sometimes I had zero inspiration, other times it was writers block, then there were times I zoned out completely. My thoughts were focused elsewhere and that sadly had me neglecting my blog. Earlier on, while conversing with a dear friend of mine, I remember him telling me not worry about my blog, I needed to take care of myself first. The rest will come. Lo and behold, hear we are!

So let's play catch up as to what I have been up to this last couple of months.

 I moved to New York. Finally! If you have ever moved to a place, even down the street in your own neighborhood, you know it takes a good minute to finally settle in. Figure out the lay of the land then recruit your team. By team , I mean the people who will be of service to you. They become part of your extended familiy. Johan, my trusted Dominican barber, is one such guy. He is on of the few people I met when I was settling in. First time I met him I was in dying need of a haircut and my hablo espanol was cringe worthy. Johan is easy on the eye, he looks like a guy from the cast of La Muher De Mi Vida. He probably works out seven times a day from the sheer size of his biceps. He wears those musclemania-esq t-shirts over his apron. I swear it's an apron! When I told him my name, he pronounced it as ROZZIE!! Yikes!! Then is was RAaSHE!! We finally settled on ANNA! So every time I walk into the barbershop, he opens up his arms and say ANNNNAAAA!!! I get two besos on my round cheeks, then ushered onto the chair as if a highly important guest. He then goes like how's your day and what I have been up to. I stutter my  little Spanish while he secures the barber cape on me. He tries to teach me new words all the time. After he sufficiently believes I have gotten the new word of the day in. He gets busy getting my baldie right while humming  some Bachata song that's playing on the radio. He at times sings out loud. His energy is very infectious. By the time I leave am all Gracias and Hasta Luego while he quips Denada ANNNAAA!!!  C'mon, if that ain't immaculate service, I don't know what it is. Johan endeavors to bring my Spanish up to scratch. That and my scalp of course! Johan wants to know my plans for Thanksgiving. Family I tell you.

The family will grow eventually. The manicurist, lilly or Jen for down under,  fellas at the gym, the Superintendent  of the building just incase there's a pipe leaking or the heater stops working in the midst of a polar vortex. God forbid!

I mentioned on Change that I had completely taken out meat from my diet, red, white,any color! All out. How long will this last? I do not know but for now I am reaping the benefits of it all. As if one transition wasn't enough, I had to go ahead and add another change, this time towards my diet.

Truth be told, after a month of not eating meat, the craving somewhat stops. Life as we know it changes. I used to be the person who always said I can never stop eating meat. Well, look at me know. Never say never right? Today, I happened to weigh myself after 3 months and the scale was -10lbs. I stared at those numbers as if they had spoken to me. I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this! Well damn!

I brought it up while I was chatting with my sister Flo and we decided that a few factors played a major role. One was the stress of that move, two all the walking I do and the few gym sessions I commit to weekly, and lastly, the most important one, the diet. Super clean. Vegan diet. I feel pretty amazing and my energy which had never been an issue is supercharged. Sometimes I feel like I drank two cups of coffee, and a can of redbull. I love it. I have been struggling on meals now and then because you can only eat chickpeas and lentils for so long. I am figuring out creative and appetizing ways to make my meals. 

    When Mary, the wonderful lady who will be taking my outfit pictures asked me where I wanted to take the first pictures, I decided on Times Square. The most obscenely packed, madly crowded, exciting, and brightly lit place I could think of. It is a hive of activity! I won't be a New Yorker, officially, until I get my NY State ID. That my friends, requires you to be a resident for at least a year. With that said, I can proudly proclaim that I am still a star-struck, dazed, slow-walking, out-of-towner. I make no apologies. Being an out-of-towner comes with privileges, like taking pictures at Times Square and other touristy places in the near future. New Yorkers avoid Time Square like the plague. All that hustle and bustle can be a tad too much but that did not deter me.

Mary and I met up at a Starbucks on Times Square. It was our first time meeting.We had been conversing through emails and such earlier on. We are going to embark on some really cool stuff especially on the lifestyle section of the blog. She is really wonderful and loves photography. For this first post, I wanted to capture the energy, the people, the lights, the bustling craziness that is New York city and what better place to do that than Times Square.

The weather recently has been quite nice, no beanies were required to cover up my head on this day. I could let Johan's work flourish. I wore a mint coat over a sweater dress then paired it with plaid blanket and  some patterned tights.  I have started adding links to similar items on my tagged section that way you can be able to recreate your own looks. Happy shopping. So this is me saying Hello from this other side. Welcome back and as always, thanks for stopping by. Hasta Luego! Yes! or Si! is more like it.

Mint Coat: Forever 21 (Similar)

Sweater Dress: Necessary Clothing (Similar)

Patterned Tights: HM (here and here)

Shoes: ASOS (similar)

Bag: Vintage Chanel

Blanket Scarf: Necessary Clothing (Similar)