home sweet home.

Posted in las vegas by Nicole Aguirre

as most of you probably already know, i have moved back home to las vegas. although i’m out of the city for now, i’m still closing some loose ends on my connection to living there which has kept me pretty busy. since i have moved back, i have continued to learn some life lessons from the realizations that i’ve been having about my big transition back home.

i know this is cliche, but aren’t cliches what they are for a reason? because maybe they’re true? i’m 25 and i’m having a crisis, and it happens to be the crisis that most 25-year-olds have. i’m at a place in life where i feel as if i have no goal or plan to work toward. i’m at a place in my life where i feel as though i have fallen behind. this is a very uncomfortable place for me to be in, as i have always had “my plan.”

moving to new york was part of my big plan of life. i had everything figured out and it was all falling into place perfectly. i got my “dream job” with kate spade, easily transferred to 5th ave, and i was on my way to my “big break,” whatever that even means. after a few rough patches at work that i will leave a mystery, i realized that my path was becoming a little more complicated. i panicked and started looking at other options, especially since i was now living in the land of opportunity. to make a long story short, within a couple of weeks, i realized that moving home to las vegas was the best answer.

i’ve been home just a little over two months, and as much as i miss new york city everyday, i know that it was the best decision. i’m making strides in my personal life, the areas that i have always felt so behind in; but now i’m feeling behind in my career. i transferred back to the fashion show mall where i started my journey with kate spade. i’ve never been promoted since being with the company. here i am, two years later, in the same store, with the same title/position, and just a touch more money than what i started with (that’s a whole other story). i love my job, i love my company, and as most of you can tell by my social networks, i’m very passionate about the brand. kate spade has become a huge part of my life. i’ve invested so much into the company that i literally moved across the country for my job. right now, i feel behind. i thought my career would look different than it does. for a 25 year old with a college degree, i thought my career would be more meaningful by now.

i had a choice to stay in new york city, but i made a hard decision to come home. i knew i was letting go of all of the opportunities that were at my fingertips. i looked at jobs in my field of study (integrated marketing communications), and surprised to find that through several interviews, i would be taking more than a $10,000 pay-cut on my annual salary. it baffles me that a job that requires a college degree pays significantly less than the job i have now which requires very little knowledge and experience. i feel like something is backwards. i decided that this wasn’t the right time in my life to pursue a job in my field of study because i’m not at a place in my life where i can take a massive pay-cut. a huge reason why i moved back home was to get ahead financially, pay off debt, and save for my future. at least now i know what to expect.

after that, i realized that for now, i will continue to pursue my retail career. everyday i’m making a conscious decision to be comfortable in my routine and in my job, even though i’m not really challenged anymore. i know that for whatever reason, this is where god has me and i will be patient in this new path, because i followed his voice by deciding to move home. i still expect big things to happen, whatever and whenever they may be. i think i started to let my career define me and that is a very dangerous place to be in. everyday i do my best to remind myself of why i moved home, and all of the reasons are things that have nothing to do with my career. if i cared more about my career than the important things in my life, i would have stayed in new york city.

so with that being said, here i am back where i started, ready to dream bigger. sometimes i even think god let me experience new york to help me realize what i have been blessed with all my life. i don’t regret one single moment of this back-and-forth-across-the-country journey because what i have learned is more valuable than the thousands of dollars spent on moving and living in new york.

whatever you do in life, don’t regret it. whatever it is, for that moment it’s supposed to happen, and if you let him, god will use it to teach you and grow you.

biggest lesson so far: god’s plan > my plan.

28Feb2013

an unexpected change.

Posted in new york city by Nicole Aguirre

what defines failure?

sometimes people base success and failure off of their own standards and sometimes it’s based on what others think. very recently i’ve been in a place where i’m questioning a lot. if you read my last post, you know that living in new york city has always been such a huge dream of mine. it’s one that i’ve accomplished even though i’ve only been here eight months, and so much has already happened in my life and in my heart since my last post.

lately i’ve been doing some “soul searching” if you will, and to make a long rambling post a little shorter, i’m to the point where i feel like i’m choosing between two huge dreams of mine. the first is getting married and having babies. i desperately want a family of my own. i’m in love with george and someday we want to get married, travel, start a family, and enjoy our life together. right now, it’s just a matter of time…. and a little bit of money. the second is to have an amazing career in the fashion/pr/marketing industry, preferably with kate spade or another corporate retailer of my liking, and as we know, the corporate offices reside in new york city.

i can be completely honest when i say that i’m like an inch away from my dream job, or at least the beginning of it. i’m doing really well at work and i’ve heard some good things about my name floating around the corporate office. how can this interfere with dream number one? well, if you didn’t know, it’s like impossible to have a comfortable lifestyle in new york city unless you’re rich. no, really. i’m serious. even if you make $100k, your one or two bedroom apartment in the city is going to be smaller than anything you can get in las vegas or los angeles for the same price. not to mention that if you go to the food emporium on the corner of 49th and 8th ave, you’re going to pay $7 for chicken breast. one basket of groceries turns into $50, and will barely fill two shelves of your fridge. and i don’t think i need to remind you all that adding kids to the equation only makes it more complicated, not just the cost that comes with supporting kids, but things as simple as carrying a stroller up and down the subway stairs. doesn’t sound fun to me.

i know it might seem silly or stupid and i may be coming off a little selfish, but if i know i can make a better quality of life just by changing my location, then i think that’s the smartest choice. it’s the smartest choice financially, it makes the most sense for a long term investment in my future and the lifestyle i want, and i’ll be closer to my family and friends.

i’m coming to terms that i might have to let one of my dreams go, and when i think of that there’s no comparison to george or family. i love him more than my career, more than any job i have, more than kate spade.

this is where my values come in. it was a friday night when i asked george when he realistically sees us getting married and settling in, and the answer was at least three years as long as we live in new york. i wasn’t really okay with that answer so after a little arguing, praying, budgeting, and hypothetically thinking, we started to play out our different options. the next day i woke up feeling so uneasy in my heart and decided to call out of work. i was unable to function because i was so emotional. it was literally overnight that i realized what was most important to me and what i wanted in my life. that morning i cried in bed while listening to the jackhammers and sirens on 8th ave, and george suggested that i ask my mom for advice. i called my mom and dad and talked with them on the phone for about two hours.

at the end of our conversation, my parents were so supportive and gave me great advice for this emotional and spiritual place i’ve been living in for the last month. after weeks of tears and praying and worrying, george and i made a mutual decision to move back to las vegas.

this process has been the most scary and stressful one that i’ve ever dealt with. i’m in a position where i feel like i have to choose between two totally different life paths. we are both confident that we are making the right decision. not to mention, this process has brought us closer together and has brought another level of maturity to our relationship.

so there you have it. i finished school, moved to new york, and learned that no job, no city, no amount of money will ever matter more than living in god’s will, being with family, and making your values your first priority in life. i knew this was the right choice because just the thought of going back home gave me so much peace in my heart. don’t get me wrong, i’m absolutely in love with new york and it will always be a little piece of home to me, but i’ve come to terms that i’d rather have a savings account, more living space, a family, and a comfortable lifestyle more than saying i live in new york city.

when i moved here i never thought that i’d leave so soon. i was certain i’d be in new york for at least five years, but sometimes god allows certain things to happen in life so you can learn what’s really important. new york was my lesson in realizing what my values are and what i really want in life.

new york is a great place to visit during the spring and the fall, and it will always have things that no other city will ever have, but trust me when i say it can be a miserable place to live if you’re used to a different lifestyle. i’m not going to miss not having air vents in my apartment, or not having laundry, or having a slanted floor that creaks, or hearing sirens at 4am, or walking in 19 degrees to work, or paying $9 for my face wash when it’s only $4 in vegas, or riding the subway with homeless people. things i will miss: central park, the beautiful architecture of the old buildings, my co-workers, the best gel manicure at fresh spa on 15th, city bakery, the free sense of street fashion that really can’t be duplicated anywhere else, and all of the opportunity that comes with being in the city.

so with all of this said, was moving to new york a failure? at first, i felt like it was. it cost thousands of dollars to get here and to continue to live here, but the lessons that came with it and the perspective i’ve gained was worth every penny. i’m glad i learned this lesson now at 25 years old, rather than later in life when i’m 40 and never truly knowing what’s important in life.

i am confident i made the right decision by fulfilling my dream to move to new york, one of the hardest cities to live in, and i’m even more confident that i’m making the right decision by moving back home. the pictures below are proof i made the right decision by coming to new york. it was an experience of a lifetime, and i’m proud to say it was a great success.

more details on our move back to vegas coming soon…

13Jan2013

new york, new beginning.

Posted in new york city by Nicole Aguirre

“i’m moving to new york city.”

“yes, really.”

sometimes in life, you just do things because you know you have to. because it’s in the core of who you are, because when you were 18 and you watched the devil wears prada for the first time, you knew that you belonged there, and the only thing holding you back was time… and money… and graduating from college.

then suddenly it’s six years later.

since i moved to new york six months ago (with a pit-stop to puerto rico for a wedding), i’ve learned so much about my priorities and what i appreciate in life, as well as what i’ve taken for granted. it might seem silly to some of you reading, who have been on your own for a long time, but for me, all of this was new. some things have changed, and some haven’t. i have weekly phone dates with my parents. we talk about my work, my lovely boyfriend, and i ask questions regarding “grown up things” like, “hey mom, what’s a normal price for chicken breast and toilet paper?” of course, everything in new york city is more expensive, so all my comparisons have to be mathematically figured out to the cent or dollar to figure out what “cheap” is for me. luckily, clothes are the same price everywhere! (meaning las vegas and new york). one plus to buying clothes in new york is that if your subtotal is under $110, you don’t pay the sales tax. you know what that means? if you’re buying two dresses at $100 each, you should do two separate transactions and save yourself the $8.75 on each dress and go buy yourself that chicken breast for dinner.

the days definitely go by faster, so i’ve learned to plan my life by day and time much more than i used to. when public transportation is the majority and not the minority, you’re not living on your own time anymore, and you can’t leave for work when you please. nobody wants to walk 3 blocks in the rain and then wait for the train if they can help it, right? i’m living in a city with 8 million other people who have to catch the train for work too. so, keeping this in mind, you learn to walk fast, buy a watch or two, and start a collection of rainboots and umbrellas. everyone has to be somewhere, some people can be sidewalk hogs and walk in a horizontal line while your running for the bus, and some people will just stop right in the middle of the sidewalk and ruin the flow of traffic.

perspective. sacrifice.

i used to have a car, i used to have space. i used to have updated appliances and a garbage disposal in my parents house. i used to have washer and dryer two feet from my bedroom. i used to have a door that separated my room from the rest of my house. i used to have extra money. i used to have room for furniture. i used to live in the same city as my family and my best friends, and the best co-workers.

perspective. sacrifice.

i often tell myself “you didn’t move to new york city to stay inside.” i may not have a lot of space and all of the amenities that most of america has in their homes, but i live in the heart of one of the most amazing cities in the world and that makes all of my “problems” worth being here.

my job is absolutely wonderful. working on 5th avenue is like a dream for anyone who takes retail seriously. i’ve personally helped susan sarandon, and have made eye contact with katie holmes (i know, woop-dee-doo), and spotted sharon osbourne in soho. in new york, you just never know what or who you’ll see, and that’s part of the fun of living here and working here. i have a great relationship with my boss, and my boss’s boss, and this year things are going to happen for me. when i first moved, i had a rough time at work and was under a lot of pressure and a lot of stress, but after a couple of conversations with the right people, things have improved immensely, and the hard work is starting to pay off.

the holidays were interesting too. my first thanksgiving and christmas away from home were more bitter than sweet, but there were still some sweet parts too, like this:

for the most part, living in new york city has been everything i expected it to be, especially the being broke part, but all of the struggling that comes along with living here is worth it. there is so much to see and do, and so much opportunity that everything kind of balances out in the end.

and don’t get me wrong when i say “struggling” and “broke”…. i can still shop and go out to eat once in awhile.

sometimes i wake up and look outside my window, which looks like this by the way:

and i think to myself, “omg i live in new york city. who does that?!”
it’s kind of fun and it makes me feel adventurous. like, i actually said “i’m moving to new york city” and i just did it and that was it. and here i am. my brother and sister-in-law recently came to visit during their vacation, and i asked my brother what he thought of nyc, and he said it really is like the movies, and it’s so true. everything is so beautiful.

for a quick recap of my first six months in nyc, take a look at the pictures below.

enjoy. xo.

the brooklyn bridge.