8 Questions

Erin over at A Real Housewife tagged me in this 8 Questions game. I get to answer her 8 questions, come up with 8 of my own and then tag 8 followers to keep the game rolling. I do love a little game of blogland tag!

1. What would you request for your last meal? This always seems to change depending my mood, but I'm going back to one of my originals and saying butternut squash ravioli with sage sauce, roasted veggies, salad, lots of crusty bread, coffee and wine.

2. Who are you closest to in your family and why? Definitely my Mom because she is as much my best friend and confidant and she is my mother. We have semi-enmeshed relationship, and I love how close we are.

3. Who is your favorite artist and current song? I love Augustana and "Boston" will always be one of my favorite songs. My current song obsession is off of a mix that my bestie sent to me from Australia and I have no idea who sings it. Haha...

4. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake or a hot fudge ice cream sundae.

5. What outfit is your 'go-to' outfit that always makes you feel fabulous? Freshly washed denim pencil skirt, V-neck top (the exact one depends on my mood) and wedge sandals if it's warm or tights and my black suede boots if it's cold. Oh, and throw in a cardigan if it's chilly.

6. What is your least favorite aspect of your current job? Certain people's general lack of knowledge of what myself and others in my division do, but never-ending assumptions that they know everything.

7. When you were a kid, what was your dream job? Either a princess or an author and illustrator of children's books.

8. Do you prefer online shopping or actually going to the store? Actually going into the store. I really need to try things to determine if each item is worth my money.

And, I tag the following fabulous bloggers:

Ashley @ Kiwis and Cocktails
Courtney @ With Gratitude
Jess @ LittleMsSunshine
Kaity @ ambition never goes out of style
Micaela @ Dolce Vita
Caitlin @ Love Life
Jamie @ Probably Jamie
Marz @ Royal Mail

To answer these questions:

1. What is your favorite US city and why?
2. If you could go on a shopping spree at any store where would you go?
3. Who is your favorite historical character?
4. What is your least favorite chore?
5. Were you afraid of monsters as a child?
6. Do you believe in ghosts/the supernatural?
7. Which do you dislike the most: going to the doctor or the dentist? Or do you not mind going to either?
8. Did you have braces when you were younger?

Ready, set, go!

Sunday Quotes #5

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, love by love though the stars walk backwards.
-ee cummings-

The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, in spite of ourselves.
-Victor Hugo-

Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population.
-Albert Einstein-

Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.
-Pat Conroy-

Understand, I'll slip quietly
Away from the noisy crowd
When I see the pale
Stars rising, blooming over the oaks
I'll pursue solitary pathways
Through the pale twilit meadows,
With only this one dream:
You come too.
-Rainer Maria Rilke-
First Poems

The test of true literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.
-Elizabeth Drew-

Fill in the blank Friday

1. The most adventurous thing I've ever done is wander around Europe while on a school trip. Not overly adventurous, I suppose, but it certainly is when you're only 14 years old and cannot speak the language of the country you're currently in. I'm a pretty cautious, over-analyzing person.

2. If I were a pair of shoes I would be a pair of well-loved, colorful flip-flops: comfy, always there to slip on and able to brighten up an outfit.

3. My preferred mode of digital communication is definitely texting. I've never really been a phone person (other than with my Mom) because I kind of dislike having to just sit and focus entirely on the phone call. I much prefer being able to multi-task while texting.

4. I feel happiest when I've just finished up a good convo (in person, via phone/texting or skype) with my Mom or bestie, I'm decked out in loungeware and am either settling in at home with a cup of strong tea and a good book, or curled up at Barnes and Noble with coffee and a book. I also feel happy during evening walks when the sun is setting over the mountains.

5. A little dream I have for my life is to fall in love and get married...and explore the world together.

6. The one modern convenience I could NOT do without is my cell phone. It's pretty much attached to me and I would be lost without it. Also, Mapquest has saved my directionally challenged butt on many occasions. Oh, and I'd be lost right now without Skype to keep in touch with my adventurous bestie. Obviously, I cannot pick just one modern convenience.

7. Music, movies, TV or books: if I could only choose one to enjoy I would pick books, hands down! I love the feel of books, the smell of books and books' ability to whisk me away to anywhere I want to go.

Another Fall Fashion Find

(source)

This is the best picture I can find of my latest Fall purchase. As I'm sure everyone has figured out by now, I'm a bit of a cardi junkie, so the fact that this is the first cardigan that I've bought so far is pretty impressive. I picked up this little beauty in black and cannot wait to wear it! I love the ruffle detail, that it has a zipper rather than buttons and the fact that it looks good open as well as zipped. I'm sure I will be getting a lot of use out of this cardi!

I kind of want to live here...

The contrast of the bright green against the stark, winter white? Love.

The Austen-esque style? Be still my heart.

I think I see Mr. Darcy waving to me from one of the windows. Sigh.

Sunday Quotes #4

Do what you love and you will find someone who loves the same thing. Don't look for love, beg for love or suffer for love. Just live.
-Unknown-

Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.
-Blaise Pascal-

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.
-Ashley Montagu-

But Oh! The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearless on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together.
-Dinah Maria Mulock Craik-

You can't depend on your judgement when your imagination is out of focus.
-Mark Twain-

There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.
-Christopher Morley-

Fall Fashion Find

I just had to show you all the fabulous purse that I bought the other day. I'm really picky about my purses, especially when it comes to shades of brown, and this one is perfect so far. I'm in love. I've been on the hunt for the perfect I'm-ready-for-Fall messenger style purse for a while now, but hadn't found anything that was an absolute must-have (keep in mind that I'm surprisingly frugal)...until Wednesday. I found this little beauty at Target and now feel really cool strutting my stuff with it (ha!):


What's your must-have piece for Fall this year?

Fill in the Blank Friday

I've kind of been copping out lately by really only taking the time to blog Lauren's weekly blanks, but at least I'm making an appearance on here, right? Work has been super busy and I just haven't felt like putting all of my random thoughts in writing. I vow to start posting more soon!!

This week's blanks focus on TV Shows, and while I love a good book, chatting with friends at a coffee shop and going for long walks, I also love television! I know that being from Colorado I'm supposed to be all about the outdoors, but sometimes the perfect evening calls for vegging out in front of the TV...and I don't see any shame in that.

1. My favorite current TV show is either Royal Pains or White Collar. I love both of these shows and even look forward to re-watching the episodes while sipping my coffee on Saturday mornings! Oh, and I love Dexter, but I have to wait for the seasons to come out on Netflix since I don't get Showtime.

2. The TV character I can relate to most is Monica from Friends. She's neurotic, OCD and the mother hen to all of her friends, but still knows how to have a good time.

3. My life is like (fill in with TV show and why).... I'm actually not sure. In college it was a bit like a Friends episode; when all of us girls are out together it has Sex and the City vibes, but overall it's just my life...not a TV show.

4. My all time favorite TV show is Friends. I loved (still love!) that show and was seriously kind of heartbroken when it ended. For some reason I don't own any of the seasons on DVD, but I do still catch re-runs whenever I can.

5. A TV show that is ridiculously stupid, but I continue to watch is, like Lauren, Jersey Shore. It's like a train wreck: I just can't look away!

6. My favorite TV couple is Tess McLeod and Nick Ryan from McLeod's Daughters. Seeing as this is an Aussie show that received very little play time in the US, I'm not sure how many of you may have caught any episodes, but I love these characters! From the very first episode these 2 were meant to be together!

7. One TV episode I could watch over and over again is the final episode of Sex and the City. I've always been on Team Big (I'll take Aidan for myself, though) and I loved that he went to Paris to get Carrie back. Obviously, my romantic heart is bleeding out on the page here...

Hiking Bobcat Ridge

Oh, what a lovely weekend! I was in absolute desperate need of sleep and some serious "Erin time", and luckily got both. I spent all of last week sleepwalking my way through some mental hang-ups rather than actually sleeping, so come Friday I was a wreck. I was past the point of exhaustion and pretty much on the verge of tears all day long. I also put in some extra hours at work last week because my inbox is over-flowing! It felt good to do so, but it only added to my stress levels.

Chatting with Jamie on Friday served its purpose and transformed me from a scary, on the edge, sleepwalking thing back into Erin. 'Twas a grand thing! I was able to go for a long walk, drink some tea and get 10 hours of much-needed sleep Friday night. Saturday and Sunday were both spent playing catch-up. I had errands to run, an apartment to clean and things to do. I saw a lot of my parents, which is always a lovely thing in my book, and even had a little social movie outing (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was quite good! Quirky, but good). But really, the focus of this weekend was my sanity. That sounds odd to say, but if anyone had witnessed the state I was in at the end of the week, my statement would make perfect sense. Thankfully, I had just the weekend that I needed and I'm back to sleeping well (despite one minor sleepwalking incident last night) and feeling like my "normal" self!

I think the highlight of my weekend was actually my Sunday morning hike with Mom. She is, by far, my favorite person to hike with and we had a great time. We went to Bobcat Ridge (where I had a near panic attack inducing encounter with a snake last year) and just hiked our little hearts out. We chatted, I took pictures and we both took in Colorado's lovely scenery. There were hardly any other people on the trails, but we did see several horseback riders out, which is always fun. The weather was perfect for a hike and it was a great way to start off the day!

I hope everyone else had lovely weekends!

Sunday Quotes #3

You are unrepeatable. There is a magic about you that is all your own.
-Unknown-

Some stories do not have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity...
-Gilda Radner-

We live in a crazy world, and if you want to get through it with your body and soul even a little bit in tact, you might as well be crazy yourself. It couldn't hurt. And it might just help.
-Unknown-

Take chances, take a lot of them. Because honestly, no matter where you end up and with whom, it always ends up just the way it should be. Your mistakes make you who you are. You learn and grow with each choice you make. Everything is worth it. Say how you feel, always. Be you, and be okay with it.
-Unknown-

You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you.
-Isadora Duncan-

I needed this

I truly believe there is nothing better than a best friend. I finally had a much-needed, long phone conversation with Jamie tonight and my entire world feels as though it's been righted. I've been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the past 10 days and really just needed to talk with the one person who would understand it all without my needing to explain anything. But Jamie's in the middle of a move, and is therefore without internet at her new house, so Skyping has been impossible. So, rather than clear out my psyche through good old fashioned conversation, I've been attempting to work things out through odd dreams and excessive sleepwalking. Obviously, something wasn't working...I needed an EJ fix! We hadn't had a legit conversation in 2 weeks, which doesn't seem like too long, but to us it's practically an eternity. But isn't that how it's supposed to be between true friends?

And tonight we talked, and talked and talked. Ahhh. My soul feels lighter, some weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I feel happier. Thank you, Jamie Lynn for knowing me so well and for needing tonight's phone call just as much as I did.

fresh tomatoes, velvety Pinot Noir and Jane Austen only add to my lovely evening.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. Birthdays are wonderful things! I love birthdays - mine and friends' and family's - and I think every one should be able to indulge in a day that is all about them, to celebrate the day they became a part of the world.

2. My favorite birthday memory was my Mom always taking my birthday off of work so we could go play. We usually wound up in Estes Park playing putt-putt golf, eating lunch and shopping, but no matter what we did, she always made me (makes me!) feel like the most special girl in the whole world.

3. A birthday tradition I (or my family) has is letting the birthday person pick out what he or she wants for dinner, either homemade or going out to a restaurant. I know that's probably pretty normal, but it's what we do. Birthdays typically mean family time, or at least a family dinner. My best friend, Jamie, also always puts together the most amazing themed birthday gifts; definitely tradition!

4. If I had to choose one birthday meal to eat for the rest of my birthdays hence forward, I would choose ...I have no clue! Probably pasta with veggies and a cream sauce of some sort because it's total love on my part, but I like being able to pick whatever I'm in the mood for on my day.

5. My birthday is on June 20th - I'm a Gemini...totally emotional and bipolar. haha!

6. If I could take a birthday trip I would go to Ireland. I want to visit this country so badly and I think June would be a gorgeous time to visit. Plus, maybe I'd find an Irish hottie to be my birthday gift. Someday...

7. The best gift I've ever received for my birthday was a gorgeous ring that my Mom gave me for my 18th that I wear nearly every day. It's totally unique and I love it! This year's birthday package from Jamie also tops my list, probably because we miss each other and it was wonderful to essentially have a little piece of my bestie come to me in gift form. She knows me best and her gifts brought tears to my eyes.

Way, way late Fill in the Blank Friday

Hi everyone! Why yes, I am still alive, thanks for asking. :-)

My friend got married this past Saturday so I was quite busy all last week and this past weekend. And, of course, thanks to stress, lack of sleep and CO's constantly changing weather I'm battling a little sinus infection, so my energy level has been way down. But, I'm feeling a little better today and I just couldn't let a week go by without filling in some blanks. I'll fill you all in on the wedding in a bit and I'll make sure to post a few pictures.

On to the blanks:

1. Today for breakfast I ate a honey whole wheat bagel with butter. I have a total weakness for bagels...well, really carbs of any sort.

2. My go to/never fail recipe is either chicken stir fry or quiche. I know I've talked about quiche on here a lot, but I really do make a killer quiche! Chicken stir fry is pretty easy, but I have to say that mine is pretty tasty. And, there's nothing wrong with an easy go-to recipe.

3. Something I eat that other people think is weird is nutella on my bagel. Most people don't think the nutella is weird, but something about it being on my breakfast bagel wigs people out. I think it tastes amazing, and it makes me think of my first morning in Germany because I ate nutella on toast for breaky. Oh, and I can eat spoonfuls of nutella straight from the jar and my family and friends find that to be weird.

4. My worst cooking disaster ever was a botched baked cauliflower dish. I put entirely too much cream in the dish and it become more of a sauce than a side dish. It tasted great on pasta, but that wasn't the dish's intended purpose.

5. If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life it would be coffee. I love the simple, creamy taste of coffee ice cream, plus I'm a total coffee addict so I'm sure this isn't a surprise.

6. One food I hate and avoid at all costs is olives. I cannot stand olives and am only willing to pick so many of them off/out of a dish. Yuck!

7. What is your favorite meal? Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Breakfast all the way!! I love breakfast foods, I love going out for breakfast and I love starting off my day with talk and laughter over coffee and yummy food. I'll judge a breakfast place more on its atmosphere than it's food...but the food is obviously important, too.

Sunday Quotes #2

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
-Carl Jung-

I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.
-Wilson Mizner-


I want to be puzzled and charmed, to experience the endless, beguiling variety of a continent where you can board a train and an hour later be somewhere...different. I want to be a tourist.
-Bill Bryson-
Neither Here Nor There

I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world.
-Peter Ustinov-

Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson-

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in all the world.
And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.
And this I must fight against: any idea, religion or government which limits or destroys the individual.
-John Steinbeck-
East of Eden