Current Obsessions

1. Hot Chocolate from Caribou Coffee



I looooooove Caribou Coffee! I wish there were more of them around here, but luckily there is one very near my awesome boyfriend's house, and so lately I have been going there to hang out on Tuesday afternoons. I leave my house a little early to beat the suburban rush hour traffic, order my DELICIOUS soy half-milk half-dark hot chocolate, sit and read until he gets home, and then we have our TV night. I have come to quite enjoy this Tuesday routine, which I only mention because right now my car won't start and it might mean that I can't do this today :( we'll see what happens...

2. Candy Corn



Part of our Halloween decorations are 2 dishes of candy corn, and I can't stop eating it! I'm so glad fall is here, for many reasons, but I always enjoy the return of candy corn to the candy aisle.

3. RIOT, Paramore's 1st album



I've had this album on my iPod for a long time, but lately I can't stop listening to it! I really like this band, I wish I had their newer albums but the only new-ish songs of theirs I have are the ones from the Twilight soundtrack....lol.

4. How I Met Your Mother



I've always liked this show, but in my opinion seasons 4-6 were pretty crappy. The characters stopped being themselves and started becoming too over the top, and the jokes were just trying way too hard to be cool. But, season 7 just started, and it's been great so far! It's like they finally stopped trying to be cool and started focusing more on the characters actually doing things that their character as a person would do. I can't wait to see more!!

Big Fail...

So for all my good intentions, I have once again failed to regularly update this thing....whoops. I have been busy applying for jobs, which is unfortunately not going well. I finally put in an application at Barnes & Noble (where I've worked on and off for about 7 years), and I'm hoping to hear from them soon! I got totally played at an interview for a "marketing position" which turned out to be a pyramid scheme, so I'm glad to at least be applying to a company I know and trust.

But, despite this, I am SOOOOOO excited to have become an AUNT!!!! My nephew Judah Gavin was born on 9/10/11 (awesome birthday!), and he is SUPER adorable. I am so happy that he is finally here, and I can't wait to see him grow up (and buy him tons of cute stuff!).

In other news, thanks to the most awesome best friend and roommate ever, I now have an iPhone!!! :) It isn't hooked up as a phone yet, since right now I'm still on my mom's family plan (which is free for me and I can't afford my own bill yet), but so far I LOOOOOOVE having it! My favorite apps are Words with Friends, Curls on the Go (which gives me my "frizz forecast" for the day, telling me if I'll be having a good hair day or not, lol), and Instagram. Here are a few pictures I've taken with it so far:

My brother and sister-in-law's dog Taz, he is sad that he's not the baby of the family anymore:


My nephew Judah:


My roommates' dog Noel begging for attention:


Rory!:


Rory again!:


So, in my spare time, I've been doing a lot of thinking and chillaxing. I've especially been enjoying reading the The Pioneer Woman and watching her new show on the Food Network! I've also really enjoyed reading a blog called Katie Cupcake. Her sense of style is really neat, and her posts make me want to go out and buy so many clothes! I've never really had a huge interest in fashion or style, but reading her blog (and watching The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo) makes me want to think more about my personal style and give my closet a little more "direction." This might be easier once I have a job and know what kinds of clothes I can wear there! Until then, I am going to try to update this thing more, beginning with some of the fun new recipes I've tried lately :)

Almost Home

In honor of today being my second to last full day in D.C., I thought I'd share some things I will miss about my job and this wonderful city!

1. Touching History

I will most definitely miss how close I have come to some of the most interesting books and documents I have ever seen. Today I got to observe the hyperspectral imaging of 2 such documents, both written by Abraham Lincoln. One was his draft of the Emancipation Proclamation (pictured below), and the other was a copy of his first inaugural address that was typed/printed with many handwritten notes/corrections attached that flipped open to reveal the original text below. It was SO COOL to be so close to something that good ol' Abe had ACTUALLY written in his own hand...definitely one of the highlights of my time here! And, of course, there is the gorgeous Ptolemy atlas that I have been working on all summer, as well as many other cool things that some of the other interns found and exhibited.




2. FOOD!

There are some seriously yummy restaurants here! Those of you who know me well know that I tend to get incredibly specific and intense food cravings for a particular dish from a particular restaurant. Unfortunately, the following D.C. institutions are not very easily accessible from Chicago, and so if a craving strikes I will be pretty much screwed....lol. Good Stuff, We The Pizza, and Firehook provided me with some deliciousness that I will definitely miss (especially the milkshakes made from homemade gelato.....soooooo good!)! I will also miss the convenience of Eastern Market, and all of its quirky vendors. I hope to find a farmer's market back home, because Eastern Market's delicious local produce has definitely turned me into a farmer's market devotee!









3. Things to see and do!

One great thing about DC is that you are never too far away from something cool! The free museums and monuments, as well as the events put on by these institutions, provide almost endless entertainment options that are almost always free! Even though Chicago/the suburbs has tons to do as well, I will miss the Botanic Gardens, the National Museum of the American Indian, taking walks around the Capitol Building and down the Mall, and of course the Library of Congress's beautiful Jefferson building and all of its exhibits.

Sleepy

I have been sleepy, almost constantly, for the last two months, hence the lack of updates. I plan to start blogging more regularly soon, though! In the mean time, here is a list of goals I have for August:

1. Get a JOB!!

2. Once I get a job, formulate a budget and stick to it!

3. Go to Chicago Comic-Con and not spend more than $20 (lmao, we'll see how that works out...)

4. Go to the Ren Faire and not spend more than $20 (again, we'll see how that works out!)

5. Make time for all of my wonderful friends, who I have missed since being gone!

6. Somehow repay my amazing boyfriend for all of the hard work he's done fixing my car for me!

7. Be a better cat mom and take Rory to the vet.

8. Work out at least twice a week/go to the gym at least once a week*

*note: I have a gym membership that does not expire until next year, and so I feel the need to go there even though it's slightly far from where I will be living when I get home because it's kind of an expensive gym. But, the group fitness classes make it totally worth it!)

9. Re-read the Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr books before November when the final book in the series comes out!

10. Clean/organize my room

I think 10 is good for now. I may add more later :) Happy August, everyone!

Trying Again!

Earlier this year, I posted some of my goals for the year 2011. So far, I've done okay, but I have definitely not eaten vegan nearly as much as I wanted to. Since I just moved to DC and there is an awesome organic/health food store pretty near my apartment, I am considering this a fresh start (minus the milkshake I had on my way home from the store.....it's like a billion degrees here, I couldn't help it! lol).

I bought tons of healthy food from the store, including oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, apples, zucchini, cucumber, kale, and more. I have to say that I really enjoy shopping at this store save for one thing: the semi-judgey produce guy I encountered today! I asked him if the store sold any peaches, because I was really craving a peach, and he was all like "well when we do, they are locally grown and organic, but it's a little EARLY for peaches, we USUALLY don't get them until AUGUST...." oh, sorry I'm not a FARMER, dude, I just assumed that since it's 5 thousand degrees here and basically almost summer that maybe you'd have a peach! lol. Nah, he wasn't that bad, but he did make me feel slightly dumb for wanting a peach. In any case, I plan to make and bring my lunches to the Library of Congress, and hopefully I will lose a little weight from eating a healthy, vegan, whole-foods diet and walking around DC so much!! :)

Summer is here!

I finally feel like summer is here! I don't have very many words, and this place was beautiful, so I will let the pictures from my family's recent trip to Florida speak for themselves :)

It may be...

It may be cold-ish here in Illinois...but in less than 2 days I will be enjoying sunny Florida with my family!



It may be hard to choose what to pack to bring to DC, since I am flying and will be carrying my own luggage from the airport to my new apartment...luckily I am good at Tetris, so hopefully I will be able to fit everything I need into my suitcase(s)!



It may NOT be good for me...but I really enjoy eating cookies for breakfast! lol



It may be annoying when she wakes me up, but I still love snuggling with my Rory cat and letting her sleep in my room at night.



It WILL be hard to leave my boyfriend, friends, and family for 2 months...but I know it will be worth it for the amazing experience that is sure to come when I leave for DC in less than 2 weeks!