2025 Is Coming in Hot (er, Cold?) on This Snowy Day in New York City

And photos of last year's snowfall

Hello and welcome! New York Dearest is a weekly newsletter where I write about daily life in NYC. If you’ve found your way over but are not yet subscribed, you know the drill:

Watching the snow fall from my apartment

In the spirit of the new year—and fresh starts in general (because who doesn’t love those?)—I decided I’d wake up at 6am today (I know, I’m laughing too).

Before the baby, setting an early alarm wasn’t worth a declaration. Now? I’m up at least twice a night for hour-long stretches. Come the morning, I’m appalled by my own behavior. Who in their right mind would set an alarm with a baby around?!

In reality, I didn’t get up until 8:30am, and even that was a tall ask. We try again tomorrow, we persevere!

My go-to winter parka | similar scarf

This morning’s glaring snafu aside, I am intent on sticking to a handful of goals this year, chief among them is making time for new hobbies. I feel like my days are starting to blend into one long slog (feed, change, play, nap - rinse and repeat) so I need to shake things up a bit.

First on the list: brushing up on French. I took French in high school and can awkwardly order a croissant while avoiding eye contact, but that’s about it. I plan to spend the next three months brushing up on conjugations (by re-reading this cheeky French children’s book and powering through some workbooks) before signing up for an in-person class come spring.

I’m also learning how to paint for the first time, I took an intro class last week and it was so humbling (is the perfectionist in me going to be okay?!). My goal is to paint one piece a week, which I will be sharing here on Fridays - please hold me accountable!

Our desk/baby changing table moonlights as an art studio too - a table of many talents. Here’s the art book I picked up.

I’d love to challenge myself with photography again this year. Improving my camera skills was a big goal for me in 2024 and I’m happy with the progress made, now I’d like to build on that a bit more. In an ideal world, I’d have the confidence to approach people on the street and ask to take their photos, but between you and me, that feels too ambitious at the moment, so I’m punting it to 2026.

As for the things I’m carrying into 2025, the list is short and sweet:

• Friendships. I want to check in with friends more often. This was a goal for me in 2024 but I think there’s a lot of room for improvement in this arena.

• Solo walks. I plan to continue devoting one morning a week for solo walks around various neighborhoods (I find so much inspiration wandering the city alone without an agenda).

• Being Active. If all goes to plan, I’ll be unpausing my gym membership this week (after a 5 month hiatus, I’m a little nervous about it for some reason).

• Weekends outside the apartment. My raison d'être! Our weekend escapades give me so much joy, no changes here.

I’m keeping the goals simple this year (aside from the early morning wake up calls, apparently). But I’m determined to shake things up.

As for this week, I’m very excited about the snow in the forecast! It’s snowing as I type this and I’m hoping it sticks. In any case, I have a feeling this year will bring more snow days than last year, here’s to hoping!

What about you? Where’d you spend your holidays this year? Did you travel or keep it closer to home?

Cheers!

Antonina