New York wasn’t always the plan. For a long time it was my dream, but then I spent the summer before my senior year of college living in DC. It was without a doubt, one of the best summers of my life and I spent my senior year of college vowing to anyone who would listen that “this time next year, I’ll be in DC.” Over and over. I was like a broken record.

But then five days before graduation, everything shifted. I still didn’t have a plan and a friend/college roommate needed a fourth roommate in her Brooklyn apartment and “it would be so much fun to live together again!” And it was. I learned a lot about myself and life during that first year in Brooklyn and would not change a thing. But once I got into Brooklyn, those childhood dreams of living in New York resurfaced. And I discovered shortly after moving to Brooklyn, it wasn’t the right fit. Manhattan. I needed to follow Carrie Bradshaw and Blair Waldorf and live in the city I’d always dreamed of.

So in May of 2009 (more specifically THIS exact week) I made the leap to the Upper East Side. As crazy as it sounds, I spent the first few nights sleeping on a comforter on the wood floor because I was too excited to wait for my parents and the movers to arrive (NOT something I recommend). I still remember that first night of making grilled cheese and eating tasti d lite on the living room floor and as cliche as it sounds, it’s one of my fondest New York City memories.

This apartment. For all its flaws, it will always be special to me and hold the magical distinction of being my FIRST Manhattan apartment. I’ve grown up so much since I moved in here. I’ve lost and found myself more times than I could count.

So much can happen in four years. I’ve found a career that I adore after a frustrating amount of false starts, I’ve made an incredible group of friends (however they hate coming to visit me because apparently my offer of “I have a lot of wine” is not enough to entice people to climb 5 flights of stairs), and I’ve turned this neighborhood into a home.

I’m only moving about 200 feet away (at some point I ought to share how I’ve fallen into all of my living situations. I’ve never had a ton of trouble finding an apartment, but I’ve always had the pleasure of the worst room in the place. Win some, lose some.), but it truly feels like I’m about to begin a new chapter. Tonight I will go to bed for the last time in a tiny walk-through room. Tomorrow morning a new chapter in my story begins. I can’t wait to see what it brings.

Things that are shocking to me: Realizing that I graduated college 4 years ago today.

For some reason I keep thinking about J. Courtney Sullivan’s “Commencement” and her quote about your first year post-grad being “your freshman year of life.” It’s funny that I spent the freshman, sophomore and junior year of life trying to figure out my identity and what I wanted to do with my life and in December, right as my “second semester of senior year” was starting, everything fell into place as it was supposed to.

I guess the universe is kinda cool like that.

Among my friends, I’m not known as “the domestic one.” I don’t always do that well in the kitchen and frequently have been known to respond to dinner party invites with “great! I’ll bring wine.”

But after seeing this recipe on pinterest, I think I have a new treat to bring to parties.

Ladies, I present the Diet Coke brownies. Fudgy, but light and fluffy at the same time. The only two ingredients are a box of brownie mix and a can of Diet Coke. Whisk out all the lumps, pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes and all of the sudden you have a great dessert that your friends will LOVE.