The Big 2-4

I am going to keep this short, but I promise to write more later about SaraMarie's stay, birthday activities and other going ons.

Right now I just have to say this:

Thank you to all my wonderful family and friends (near and far) who have celebrated me entering my mid-twenties in style. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!

Any ideas for my 25 before 25??

I wish I wish I wish

Alright here they are...finally some more grounded birthday wishes:

These are on the list since my hair is getting long enough to the point that straightening it doesn't make it look "hip" or "edgy" anymore but rather just young. It takes me double the time to get ready these days since curling my hair adds another step BUT if I had these I could dry, roll and then makeup and dress and then voila! My hair would be curled while I was multi-tasking.

My one suitcase is nearing the end of its life and buying luggage isn't something I really find all that exciting, so maybe for a gift I would be excited about it?

If these really work like they show on tv...I must own them.

And thanks to anthro, I would love these weekend clothes staples:

Coffee Cup Knowledge

I am sure we have all heard these but my coffee cup subtly reminded me of these important phrases:

• Kiss Slowly & Forgive Quickly
• Remember Where You Came From
• Tell Someone You Love Them
• Question Authority
• Marry Your Sweetheart
• Re-Read Your Favorite Book
• Dream Big, Act Bigger

Thank you Caribou Coffee for reminding me about the simple things in life that are important but sadly and much too often take a back seat to other things.

Some more Overthetopness

Since we are nearing the 7 day countdown mark, here are some more of my lusting wishes:

Courtesy of Tiffanys:

Diamonds by the Yard

 

 And as well all know I have lusted for one of these classy little keys to my heart for awhile now.

And this was keep me occupied for awhile...

And this would keep me laughing...

Or a puppy. A great dane puppy would be much appreciated.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack

Alright alright alright...I know you have all been saying "Where the heck is this girl!?!". Ok maybe not. But I'll keep telling myself that so I have motivation to blog! But the reality is...life is busy. When did life just become plain busy. The strange part is I know I am busy, because I hardly feel like I have time to do anything on my personal (or my work) to-do lists! Don't get me wrong I am enjoying myself, but I just wonder how the hours in my day are flying by!

A brief work and life update and then I will write some specific blogs. Work has really been stressing me out lately. My boss is just about to go out on maternity leave and I am a little nervous to be running things again. Granted I am hopefully going to have help this time around, but I also know there is about 7 times more work than there was the last time she was out on leave. Luckily I know I have also grown a lot and have a lot more competencies this time around. I think my biggest concern is that people won't come to me because they think I am too young or inexperienced, but I don't think most people understand how trustworthy and responsible I am. I will give myself that...I am trustworthy and responsible. In good news, we have been making some hires, which is always really fun and exciting, and I really feel like I have been a contributing factor into bring in good talent into the company. It is really exciting to see someone who you were the first person to see their resume get hired after going through the recruitment process. Warm fuzzies.

My bedroom is a disaster even though I spent almost all of Sunday cleaning the little apartment. Granted the kitchen is in good shape, but I seriously haven't even had time to pick up a shoe!

This past weekend was...an event. I was supposed to go to a DC United game but got word that a very near and dear friend had wound up in the hospital from complications with pneumonia. So I spent time with my friend on Saturday. Luckily you could see he was in good hands and I was relieved to hear him be released on Monday to go home and recover from there. Tonight we spent some time together again. I brought over the fixings to make some tacos and we watched the finale of greys. I also had some magically parking karma when I got home, so I had a great evening! My thoughts and prayers are still going out for a speedy recovery for my friend as I know being homebound can not be the most enjoyable experience.

In other breaking news....my dad got a new car!! Black and Gold....so obviously a pretty awesome set of wheels for him and his football loving passion!

I am thrilled for Friday and am hoping that I can reduce my 5 to-do lists down to a more manageable 2-3 and still manage to get home and do some crafting, cleaning and general doingabsolutelynothingbecauseIamadultandicanstayinonafridayandnotfeelguiltynotonesinglebit.

I have some craft projects on my mind and also some planning to do for Saramarie's visit! (She arrives on TUESDAY!!!). I also need to start gearing up for my last week as a youthful 23 year old. Just around the corner is the big 2-4. meep!

Also....Happy Birthday to me...The Bachelorette Season Premier...MAY 31!! Thanks ABC!!!

Still Not Anywhere Near Practical

Alright, to continue my birthday WISHES (yes they are JUST WISHES!!) I am sad to say...I think I want an iPad. Mainly because I have wanted a kindle or something that I could digitally store books on. Anyways, I don't really want to talk about it since I kind of hate to admit I want one. But yes, I want an iPad.

I saw this the other day too:

I really like how modern this watch is, but yet still retains a classic and timeless look. Via Macys by Burberry.

For awhile now I have been thinking that it is probably time to let go of my sorority t-shirts and figure out some way to hang on to the memories associated with them rather than having a stack of them laying around. The idea of cutting them up use to make me really sad. But the reality is, I am too old to wear them. So I would absolutely love to have a quilt made out of my t-shirts. Campus Quilt Co. has done some amazing work and I would love to have something made like this:

Image: CampusQuilt

Well that is all for now. I am exhausted. Ready for Friday. (Tomorrow is Pickle night with Erin!) I am looking forward to a great weekend. I am hoping to sleep in and maybe hit up a delish brunch as I am craving breakfast foods. Any plans this weekend friends?

Birthday Month

Well I am a bit behind on announcing that is it my birthday month. I am a big birthday fan. Per Jamie I may start on documents my very-over-the-top-not-really-realistic-birthday wishes. I also need to start work on the 25 before 25. OH MY. That is so scary. Next year I will be 25. AH. I can already feel one of the 25B425's....1) Do not have a quarter life crisis about the fact that you are turning 25.

Anyways, let's shift out attention to some fabulous birthday wishes and not about how old and decrepit I am getting.

Birthday Wish Number One:

I would feel ultra sweet and cute in this Lilly

Pretty sure with those bows...it was designed for me. If I was planning on having a summer wedding (which I am not) all you ladies could expect to be put in this.

This would be a blessing since I am constantly lost in DC...ugh. (and no...to all of you curious minds...this won't be used for a voyage back to the other coast...not yet anyways :))

And I want Darby's camera. She posts such wonderful photos of her family and I wish I had a camera that could capture the beauty of my life. Don't get me wrong I A-dore my little coolpix my parents got me, it is hands down the most amazing little thing to throw in my bag. But when I want to really photograph something I want something that is going to get the job done.

courtesy: Letsgodigital

Darby has all the details of her camera on her blog. Le sigh...I lust.

Alright. Well those are my fanciful first three wishes. Maybe the next three will be a bit more grounded. Like focuses on the fact that I need socks, and shirts, and clothes in general. Or that my bed is still sitting on the floor. But let's be honest here. If we can not longer wish for a pony (since that dream died long long long ago) we might as well wish for the adult equivalents.

A Face Lift

My first issue of my Living Simple subscription (free with the purchase of their wedding planning magazine that I have yet to send to Nicole) came in the mail and I naturally flipped through it in record speed to devour all the amazing-ness of it. Well I saw these:

TILE TATOOS!

via: 2Jane

They are simple to apply. Are cheap as chips. Come is some great designs and thus make we want to convince my roommate that it is time to give the bathroom a facelift! We will see. We have VERY different decorating and design styles so it would be a challenge to come to a consensus on a pattern/colors. Anyways, I want them.

The No-Good-Very-Bad Attempt at Homemade Fruit Rollups

Well this was a epic culinary fail. But luckily for your entertainment....there are photos!!! Ok so the idea came from Darby (who is A-dorable ps) at A Fly Through Our Window (read her blog-- you will fall in love with her and her family!). ANYWAYS, she posted her recipe on her blog with pictures, and it just looked too good to not try. Plus, I love fruit leather, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups--fruit anything basically. So here is her recipe for all you brave souls who obviously aren't going to pay attention to my epic fail.

So it started off with a trip to the store. Then I chopped and cleaned my lovely strawberries (Which are totally a steal right now!).

      

THEN we stuck the berries in a blender (first time it has made an appearance since the move) and added the applesauce and lemon juice. I few minutes swirling in there and I had my beautiful pink/red puree.

After the blender we (I mean I) put it on the stove and added my sugar.

So at this point all is going/looking well. I reduce to the point of Darby's directions. Pour onto my lined cookie sheet and pop it in the over which is set at the lowest temp. my oven can go. So we wait. And wait.

and wait.

and wait...

and check on it.

and wait some more....

and some more...

and then it starts to solidify and look like fruit leather/roll up material. But the center was still gooey. So we wait.

and wait.

and then we ruined it. By waiting. Ruined.

Crispy, not rollupy.

Disaster. That made it in the trash.

Boo.

I have no idea what I did wrong, but I am kind of determined to get it right. A few things: I think I need to bake in a friend's oven (preferably one that is newer than mine). I think the temperature regulation was a bit off. Also I think I could have reduced it a bit more before the cookie sheet. Anyways, if anyone has attempted Darby's recipe and rocked it...send me your tips!

Recovery and Perfect Weekend

I am finally back among the living. I am not 100% but considering how sick I was, this is a vast improvement and I will take it. At this point I have a lingering cough, runny nose and am pretty much exhausted from doing ANYTHING. Luckily I had an awesome weekend and was ready to head back to work on Monday.


Friday I worked late since I was pretty behind from spending Monday in bed. But when I am focused and can manage to battle my growling stomach, staying late when not a lot of people around is great. I headed home and ate some left overs while watching TV and then caught up on 19 Kids and Counting and Grey's before heading to bed. (Now after my marathon of 19 Kids and Counting I am having a reoccurring dream about being the Duggar family's nanny...OMG)


Saturday morning started off at a leisurely pace, with me relishing in the freedom to sleep in. Around 1 I met up with a friend and went to Cheesetique in Del Ray. This had been on my to-do list for a long time when I lived in VA, but just had never found the time. Well what finally pushed me to make the effort to drive out there was looking online and seeing that they had a "Grown up Grilled Cheese" made with Beecher's Cheese. Beecher's is made in Seattle and is absolutely delish, so I had to go try this grilled cheese. We had a lovely little chat and got to sit outside and enjoy the sun (and wind).


After a great lunch we headed to Old Navy to look for some summer clothes, and then stopped in at Barnes & Noble. Since we had made the trip out to Alexandria we figured we should stop at the Crate and Barrel outlet and then also go to Whole Foods. The WF in Alexandria is the the only place I have found mizithra cheese which is one of my all time favorites. So naturally I bought a little wedge of that to munch on over the weekend.


We headed back in to DC to check out a kitchen store in Capitol Hill called Hill's Kitchen. The store is amazing! I could have spent hours and hours just looking at all the kitchen contraptions and books that are available here. But the real find.....IDAHO cookie cutters! (Blog to follow on making Idaho sugar cookies!) Hill's Kitchen had an amazing assortment of kitchen gadgets, pots n' pans, knives, practical and impractical. I will for sure be going here for my next set of married friends, birthdays, Christmas, etc.. They have a variety of price points too which makes it even more enjoyable of a store!


After dinner we fulfilled a DC goal I have had for a long time: Eat at Good Stuff Eatery (Top Chef Spike Mendelsohn's burger place). The burgers were very good. Juicy, flavorful, appropriate portion and seasoned well. The fries...a bit soggy which is not my favorite. But the crowning jewel of the night...toasted marshmallow milkshakes. There are not words to describe how amazing these were. It really tasted like a marshmallow roasted on an open campfire. MMmmMmMmMMM.

My cheeseburger (tomato rejected) and the fries

The evening concluded with watching a movie and some TV which was perfect since all that moving about had pretty taken it out of feeble-cold-ridden body.

Sunday I went grocery shopping, cooked some enchiladas and watched a series of fabulous movies (good TV on mothers day!)

Preparation

Final Product!

It was a blissful weekend and luckily it recharged me for a busy busy week.

The Gatorade and Tylenol Diet

I don't even know where to start. I feel so awful. I tried to search for an image to share that would convey the level of misery I am feeling. But I quickly found that in fact a puppy with an ice pack on its head 1) does not represent how awful I feel and 2) irritates me (which happens when I can't sleep, speak, breath or eat normally.

I. am. sick. blah.

So I will be back when I am done living off of Tylenol cold and flu and/or have seen a doctor and/or slept for 6.78 days and/or stop being irritated by pictures of dogs with ice packs on their heads.

Sneeze.

At least I am not requiring the air conditioning to be running on high since I am so cold I am wearing pants and a sweatshirt in addition to a down comforter and fleece blanket to bed.

Ok. Taking my dying body to bed.