Day 6: Work On Updating My Wardrobe

Do you ever look at your closet and hate everything in it? This happens to me more often than not these days. I hold on to a lot of clothing for sentimental reasons, and others because I hope one day to fit into them again. Then there is the in between -- clothing I don't even particularly like but wear because it fits me, covers what needs to be covered and generally gets the job done. What fun is that?

So, I've made one of my goals this summer to get rid of the old, faded, ugly and unstylish. While I don't have a lot of money to blow on new clothes before my paychecks start, I want to start shopping in new stores and work to define my own style.

Today, after a lunch with friends, I made a stop at a new store and picked up some new things. I'll have to return two out of three of the things I bought since the dressing room line was too long for me to want to wait on (this is typically the way I shop) but I felt good about starting off on conquering this goal. 

In the end, the clothes will be just one part of a complete, upgraded adult life. Regular exercise, better diet, less drinking, spending quality time with my husband, meditation -- these are all part of what I want from my lifie once I get back to a working schedule. I'm on my way.

Also...this

Tonight, 10 pm, flatiron, I'm walking alone. a man walking past me calls me sexy and then tells me to watch my back. Scary. #YesAllWomen
— Amanda Ernst Kallet (@amandanyc) June 6, 2014

Day 5: Catch Up With Good Friends

I am so incredibly lucky to have the most amazing friends. And I mean amazing in that they continue to love me and want to hang out with me even though I have been busy and selfish and turned down invites to see them for the past two years. Amazing because they are smart and driven and successful. Amazing because I can spend hours catching up with them over drinks and mac and cheese and it can feel like only a few minutes passed -- and only a few days since we last spent time together.

Tonight I got the chance to catch up with the lovely Mel, one of my former roommates, and celebrate graduation, new jobs, new relationships and summer. And we ate the most delicious dessert: an ice cream sandwich flight (pictured above). Who cares that we had promised to eat healthy? All bets are off when you're catching up with an old friend.

Friends: take note. I want to see all your pretty, shiny faces in the weeks ahead. Make time for ice cream sandwiches (or something similarly yummy).

Day 4: Say Yes To Different Events

I'm a homebody by nature. I love nothing more than sitting on the couch with my dog watching one of the thousands of television shows that I like to watch. From time to time, I get invited to events, but I've turned down a lot of things in the past two years because there were literally three different school-related things to do every night, not to mention all the homework and reading I had to do on a fairly regular basis.

Tonight, I decided to attend an event organized by my undergrad university's alumni office. My alma mater, Boston University's College of Communication, recently hired New York Times media columnist David Carr as an adjunct professor. The event tonight was a networking reception followed by a panel led by Carr. Shawn and I went together; it was a fun thing to do together since we're both in the same industry. And, we ended up meeting another couple there -- the woman was a recent MBA grad who worked in advertising (like Shawn) and the guy worked for my company as an editor. Small world!

Normally, I would have found some excuse to not go to this kind of event. This summer, I want to make time to try new things, meet new people and grow my network even more.

Day 3: Go To The Gym

Two years in business school can wreak havoc on a waistline -- especially the waistline of someone like me who hates going to the gym even when I have the time and the energy. It's been over two years since Shawn and I moved in together, which is when I quit the gym and started eating excessively and drinking daily (mostly his fault). By the time I had started school six months later, I had already gained a significant amount of weight.

Last January, I re-joined a gym in an effort to get into shape for our wedding the following August. I managed to drop some pounds before the wedding thanks to better habits and anxiety -- but not because I got better at going to the gym. And, all the weight was back again after we ate our weight in butter and cheese in Europe for two weeks on our honeymoon. I even added some more in the last few months of school!

Flash forward to now -- its summer, we have a place to stay at the beach every weekend and I can't bring myself to sit on the beach in a bathing suit. I won't feel comfortable in my own body until I can look in the mirror and recognize myself again. Therefore, one of my biggest goals this summer is to go the gym. Combined with eating better (and less) and drinking less, going to the gym will help me get back to fighting weight.

Today, I woke up early, took the dog for a walk and got my butt to the gym. I was showered and dressed and ready in time to meet a friend for coffee at 11:30 and I felt incredibly accomplished. Will I be able to do this every day during the summer? Not likely. But if I get into the habit of going to the gym 3-4 days a week, I will be happy.

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Day 2: Practice A New Signature Look

I got married last August. In the months leading up to it, I was dying to change up my hair but I wanted to "look like me" at my wedding, so I held off. In January, I chopped off several inches of hair and got an ombre dye job -- slightly blond at the tips. It was a welcome change and I loved it!

Before: November 2013

After: January 2014

A few weeks ago, I had my ombre highlights updated and lightened even more to give my hair a blonde, summery look. The latest dye job dried out the ends of my hair more than it had the time before (I also didn't get a hair cut this time around because I want to grow my hair out a little more again). After some trial and error, I realized my new hair looked best when I did double duty with hot tools - either running a straightening iron or curling iron through it. I like the "beachy wave" look -- think the way everyone's hair looks on Grey's Anatomy -- but I could never accomplish it on my own.

I started reading up on tips and tricks for the best ways to make and keep curls. For my graduation I did my own hair and I thought it came out pretty good!

So one of my goals for the summer is to practice curling my hair and getting good enough at it that I can accomplish it in the morning before work or in a few quick minutes before I go out at night.

Today, I did my hair before meeting a friend for lunch. The curls didn't stay for very long (I have to work on that, too) but this is what it looked like when I was done:

Getting better!

Also: adding "Practice Taking Selfies" to my summer list. But down somewhere near the bottom.

Day 1: Start A New Blog

Well. That was easy.