High Five for Friday, vol. 5

This week was my birthday week, so this post is a recap of High Fives and Low Fives from my 28th year, as well as a little bit about my goals moving forward. Let's jump right in!

High Fives from 28

1. Traveling as much as I did

Whether it was to Montréal with my family last summer, a short visit to New York orSeattle, or a birthday trek to Puerto Rico for Dhruvi, I have traveled more this year than any other year and I could not be more grateful for those experiences. I officially have thewanderlust bug!

2. Being in a stable job for a full year

I went to grad school right after college, and ever since have been making my way through various contract jobs to gain legal experience. For last year's taxes, I had fourW-2s to collect and fill out. This year I had one. This really put a smile on my face.

3. Reconnecting with old friends

At the same time as I had one friend move away for grad school, I had another two move to SF and I began spending more time with an old friend from law school. Getting to spend more time with these friends has been such a (wait for it, cheesy word approaching) blessing in my life this past year!

4. Learning to trust my own decisions

As much as I can be stubborn and willful, I also have a strong crowd-pleasing aspect to my personality. I have often been the one to ask four different friends and my mom for opinions on a life choice. This year, I've learned that just pleasing myself is good enough; if the decision makes me happy and healthy, then I don't necessarily need to ask everyone around me what they think.

5. My birthday this year

This year's birthday made me feel so special and so loved. I had a small get together at a local brewery and was pleasantly surprised by the number of people that came out for it (including several coworkers) - plus, all of the messages and good wishes I received all day just made my heart swell. It really means something to realize you have such great people in your life!

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Low Fives from 28

1. The Break Up

I went through the ending of one of my biggest relationships to date this year, and now that I'm firmly on the other side, I can wholeheartedly say it was the right thing for us both. That doesn't mean it wasn't incredibly difficult and life-changing.

2. Not getting a job offer

I applied for a permanent position and didn't get it. That's how life goes sometimes, but it was a disappointment to be sure. It also made me incredibly grateful for the time I do get to spend with my coworkers and at this job!

3. Feeling the money pinch

This year has been my worst year to date in terms of budgeting, and it's showing now that I am limited in my future life options by how much money I have. I had an opportunity to move to New York this fall and I can't because I didn't save enough in advance and plan for something like this to come up - I'm going to try very hard not to make that mistake again.

4. Getting out of shape

I had been training for one half-marathon a year for the previous four years. This year, when my group didn't get selected for the Nike Women's Half Marathon lottery, I let myself get completely out of shape since I no longer had a goal in mind. I signed up forthe San Francisco Half taking place this summer, and I'm getting back into it, but it is somuch harder to get back into shape than to stay active year-round.

5. Too much dating

This is not really a Low Five so much as it is a fact of life - love is hard. That's why they write sitcoms and romcoms and tragedies about it. However, my own dating history has previously been a series of long term relationships (or dramatic situations) marked by spells of single-dom. This year, all that changed, and I began the sometimes excitingand somewhat tedious process of going on actual dates, many of which never led anywhere. While I am grateful for the learning experience, it's exhausting, and I'm ready to spend less time focusing on dates and more time on me. It was a necessary venture atthe time, though.

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5 Things before 30

1. This is my most ambitious goal, and it ties into Low Five #3 above: I want to save enough money before I turn 30 that I can take six months off and blog full-time. I want to do it. It's happening.

2. I want to become conversational in Spanish.

3. I want to pare down my possessions so that moving somewhere else someday won't be a complete hassle, and just generally remember the whole "make do with less" mantra.

4. I want to run a 9:30-minute mile for 5 or more miles.

5. I want to continue this journey of trusting myself. Self-esteem isn't all about looking in a mirror and giving yourself positive affirmations (though I've heard that works!); it's about trusting your intuition, your intelligence, your capabilities, and your gut to navigate you through this world properly.

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And now, some things for you!

- Have you heard? Anna Kendrick has a book deal!

- In case you need help with that whole "getting in shape" thing too, Not Your Standard's list of things to keep in the kitchen is on point.

- Cynthia Rowley is one of my new favorite designers, and I'm seeing her pieces everywhere! I would wear this whole look, and this whole look, and this skirt is incredible, and I love how feminine this pairing is. Gah.

- Nerd alert: is anyone else so excited over this Star Wars teaser? Are you going to see the new movie?

- I am in love with this mardi gras bead DIY Katie made. I need to start brainstorming one, stat!

Hope you all have a great weekend!