2014: A Year in Review

Well, now that it's New Year's Eve, I suppose I should post the obligatory year in review.  For me, 2014 has been a really mixed bag of great things and awful things.  It's been a year in which I've regularly felt sad, scared, lonely, proud of myself, excited, and loved.  I know, what a mixed bag of emotions.  What can I say?

Some of the definite highlights of my year include:

• My best friend's engagement, and going wedding dress shopping with her at Kleinfeld
• Reconnecting with old friends and making a few great new ones
• Visiting some girlfriends in DC and touring the Capital building
• Going to some really fun and gorgeous weddings over the summer
• Launching my company's new website
• Traveling to French Polynesia with Jeremy

Yes, we really stayed there.

I've also dealt with a lot of challenges this year, and those have weighed on me heavily.  I'm going to focus on the positive right now, but I think not acknowledging that I've been dealing with challenges would be phony.  It's so easy to paint the picture of a perfect life on Facebook, Instagram, or a blog, but I'm not going to do that.  I'm going to keep it real and say that 2014 has been a bitch of a year in a lot of ways, and I'm glad it's over.  I'd also like to thank the people who have loved and supported me through it all, especially Jeremy whose love, kindness, and commitment has never wavered. 

In 2015, I'm looking forward to moving back to Boston and being close to so many people who are a support system for me.  I'm looking forward to being the Matron of Honor in my best friend's wedding.  I'm looking forward to paying off all of our debt (minus the new car payment).  I'm looking forward to driving said new car.  And I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

Until then, cheers to a happy, healthy, and safe New Year!

Xoxo,

Cathy

Car Buying - Tips and Tricks

We finally did it!  After several years of big city living, in which we regularly rode the subway, walked, and occasionally opted for a ZipCar, Jeremy and I finally bought a car of our very own.

Since we're moving back to the Boston area, we had to have some very real conversations about where we'd live and how we'd commute.  While living in a city is great in that you don't need a car, we're getting to the point that living in the middle of a large city isn't for us anymore.  It's great to be within walking distance of the grocery store, shopping, and subways, but city living can be very expensive.  And you typically don't get a lot of space for that money.  While we haven't decided exactly where in the Boston area we'll live, we do know that we'll want more space.  I think it's a safe bet to say that we won't be living right down town, and having a car will be a good idea.

While we were home for the holidays, Jeremy and I did some car shopping, and ultimately decided to buy a VW Passat TDI.  (If you don't speak Car & Driver, like me, that means it runs on diesel instead of gasoline.)  We're really happy with that decision, since our car will get around 40 miles per gallon.  Aside from that, our car has some nice leather interior, a moonroof, roomy interiors, and an absurd amount of trunk space.  (I think this might mean shopping trips are in order!)

After having visited many car dealerships prior to our purchase, I've compiled some car buying tips for any of you who might be car shopping.

1. Know your budget.  First, unless you can afford to buy a car outright (ie. have no car payment), you're going to need to figure out how much you can afford for a car payment.  Make sure that before you arrive at this number, you've factored in a car payment, car insurance, parking fees, excise taxes, tolls, warranty payments, and fuel costs.  
2. Do some math.  Now that you know how much you can afford for a car payment, you can figure out the general price range you're looking in.  Be mindful that you can stretch out a car loan as long or as short as you want.  In general, I think most financially savvy people would agree that if you cannot pay off your car within 60 months maximum, you can not afford the car.
3. Know what kind of features are important to you.   Everyone has different priorities.  For me, I cared about getting a car with great fuel efficiency, strong resell value, spacious interiors, and great safety ratings.  To be honest, I also really wanted a car with all-wheel drive for New England winters, but I wasn't spending the money on an Audi A6, the Audi A4 was too small, I wasn't going to pay for a Mercedes or a BMW, I didn't trust the Subaru salesman as far as I could throw him, and I didn't want a gas guzzling SUV.  So, I compromised on that one.  What's important is to know what matters to YOU and what you're willing to compromise on.
4. Go to a reputable dealership, and bail if something seems fishy to you.  This is so important.  Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with a strong moral compass, particularly in the business world.  Trust your gut.  If you're seeing or hearing things that are concerning, do business with someone else that you can trust.  When shopping, Jeremy and I strongly considered Subarus.  They're among the only non-luxury sedans that come with all-wheel drive, and they're generally regarded as safe, dependable cars.  However, when we went to the dealership, we were really disturbed by what we saw.  The salesman didn't ask us any of the proper questions (what are you looking for, why do you need a new car, when do you need the car, what's important to you, etc.)  What few questions he did ask (like "What is your budget"), he directed at Jeremy only.  Whenever I spoke, he rudely cut me off.  He bragged endlessly about how fantastic of a salesman he was, that he drove a BMW, and that the dealership sold more than 10 cars per day.  He had almost no inventory to show us, and except for a used car that had not yet passed safety inspections, he did not show us the interiors of any car.  He then demanded we put down a deposit on a car.  (He didn't seem to care if the deposit was for the used car that we did not test drive or a car that we saw from the outside only.)  When we told him we were not comfortable doing that, he dismissed us as not being serious about buying a car.  I've majorly digressed here, but my point is that if something feels wrong, walk away. 
5. Make sure you know what your warranty covers.   And then decide whether or not you'd like to purchase an extended warranty.  Gap insurance is also a good idea if you're buying a new car.
6. Negotiate.   Remember that you don't get 100% of all of the deals you don't try to negotiate.  See if the dealership is flexible on the price of the car or extended warranty.  Even if you negotiate $500 off the cost of the car, that's $500 in your pocket.  All they can say is no, and all you can say is that you tried.

Happy shopping!

Xoxo,
Cathy

Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

Hi and Happy Hump Day!

I have some rather large news, and now that everything is official, I can finally let the cat out of the bag... 

Sorry.  I couldn't help myself.  Anyway, Jeremy received a super exciting job offer to work for a company in Boston.  It's a really fantastic opportunity for his career, so after a lot of discussion, we agreed that he should absolutely take the opportunity.  So, we're moving back to Boston at the end of January!  We're both really excited.

Until then, we've got so much to do, including packing up our home in Chicago, buying a car (or two), doing all of the things in Chicago that we've never gotten around to doing, and celebrating the holidays.  It's going to be an insanely busy next 5-6 weeks, but we're glad to be going home to the East Coast.

So glad I can finally share the news with you all.  Stay tuned for the updates on this insanity!

Xo,
Cathy

New Beginnings

Hi there!  I'm Cathy, and this is my blog.  To be brief, I'm a 20-something East Coast transplant into Chicago.  I love sarcasm, fashion & beauty, travel, novels, animals, and appreciating the small things in life.

You may know me from my former blog, Well Done Beauty, where I endlessly obsessed about all things beauty related.  I loved that blog.  We had a good run.  But over time, blogging felt like an enormous chore to me.  While I love makeup, and a good smokey eye still makes my heart go pitter patter, I absolutely hated having a "beauty blog."

Every time I wanted to talk about current events, recipes, travel, or goings on in my own personal life, it just felt so out of place to do so on a beauty blog.  And while I'm sure some readers really enjoyed hearing me drone on and on about eyeliner or the epicness that is Tom Ford lipstick, it just seemed inauthentic to me to only depict such a small portion of my life.

On this blog, I'll be sharing my unpopular opinions, recipes, personal goals (via the 101 in 1001 Challenge I've undertaken), beauty tips and tricks, travel moments, and whatever other random meanderings I deem appropriate.

Welcome.  I hope you enjoy the journey!

Xo-
Cathy