Scenes from a weekend

 

 

 

What was forecasted to be the snowpocalypse of 2013, turned out to be a single day of big, wet snowflakes that left the roads wet and the grass lightly dusted in white.  Quite the let down as blizzards go, if I do say so myself.  Luckily the weekend wasn't wasted.  There was bacon and eggs, dogs chasing each other in the snow, gorgeous sunsets, a mother-daughter shopping extravaganza, dinner with friends, and snow covered rockies set against a blue Colorado sky.  

Weekend Recap

(via)

Weekends are such wonderful things!

+ Friday happy hour with my friend Chelsae...gin and club soda for me, vodka cranberry for her, mussels, artichoke and sundried tomatoe flatbread, and pommes frites.

+ My first experience taking one of Tony's dogs to the vet...Ringo is not a fan, but he did well.

+ Target wandering and used bookstore browsing.

+ Dinner and drinks for Tony's sister's birthday at my favorite Greek restaurant.

+ Cuddling, playing ball and wrestling with the dogs.

+ Started off Sunday with coffee and homemade blueberry pancakes.

+ Taco salad and a (spicy) bloody mary...I like being able to take Tony out on little dates since he's always cooking for me.

+ We made a beef and veggie soup, and I baked this fabulously easy, and seriously tasty, bread.

+ Tony and I finished off the weekend with a nice, albeit windy, lakeside walk that offered up some more gorgeous views of Long's Peak.

Weekend Recap

+ Pizza date with Tony at Ragazzi's, complete with salad, a glass of chianti, and hand holding while chatting about our day.

+ While Tony went off to play golf Saturday morning, I read my book and lounged with the dogs.

+ Found a new walking route and enjoyed the gorgeous view of Longs Peak.

+ Lunch, a little shopping, and wandering through an open house with my Mama...lots of laughter!

+ Tony and I had a drink with a bunch of his friends to celebrate the birthday of a mutual friend.

+ After a drink and lots of birthday wishes, we made our way to a barn dance! We ate, had a few beers and danced...I'm horribly uncoordinated, but Tony stuck with me and my simplistic dancing.

+ We ushered Sunday in by meeting Tony's dad and cousin for breakfast.

+ I took my cranky-pants self for a long walk, texted with Jamie, and indulged in a much needed nonfat latte.

+ Went shopping with Tony (all for him!).

+ Ate wonderful homemade fish tacos...my man can cook!

Despite being cranky on Sunday, it was a fabulous weekend overall.

The balance between Summer and Fall

This weekend had me craving Fall just a little bit. Granted, I did spend some time laying out by the pool, keeping my tan up and eating frozen yogurt with my Mom, but thoughts of Fall are still in the back of my mind. I'm not sure if it's because I'm over the hot temps or if it's the afternoon mini monsoons we've been having, which make me crave tea and reading under blankets, but I think I've hit my Summer peak. I'm not ready for the days to get shorter, for the pool to close nor for my little patio garden to bite the dust, but I am more than ready for chilly, brisk mornings, pumpkin spice lattes and cardigans...you know, just a few of my favorite things. I'm also ready to rock the new skinny jeans I found for $9 (yes, you're reading that correctly) at the Ann Taylor Outlet this weekend. Perhaps that little deal is what's really putting me in this Fall mood...that and the pumpkin spice lattes, of course!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Another week has rolled on by and it is once again Friday. I love Fridays. I don't think I truly appreciated Fridays (and the weekends) until I graduated and started my job in the real world. I'm lucky that I love my job, but there is nothing sweeter than knowing you have 2 days to do whatever you want (or often need to do), and that knowledge always seems to make Fridays go just that much faster.

1. The last thing I ate was a glazed donut with hot pink and chocolate striped frosting. Perhaps not the healthiest start to my day, but it sure is a sweet one! (haha, horrible play on words...feel free to judge me).

2. The next thing I'd like to eat is salmon fish 'n chips and a caesar salad. The caesar salad I can do because that's what I packed for lunch, but the salmon may be a little more difficult...anyone want to drive to Oskar Blues in Longmont and pick me up some? Please and thank you.

3. The best things involve friends. I have an amazing family and wonderful coworkers, but it's the times when I'm with my friends that I find myself feeling happiest, most confident and completely true to myself. There's nothing in this world that can compare to being surrounded by those people whom you've specifically chosen to have in your life.

4. Something that makes me supremely and utterly happy is traveling. I have wanderlust at all times so badly I can practically feel it radiating off of me, and any chance I get to give into it is like pure magic.

5. Sports are neither here nor there for me. I do love the Red Sox, and follow their season, but my life schedule is not determined by sports. I've also gotten more into NFL Sundays, but once again, my heart doesn't break if I miss it.

6. I miss Jamie Lynn! We've both been incredibly busy, and she's reveling in the fact that her Master's work is done so we haven't managed a good Skype date in a while. Random messages back and forth, but nothing of substance. It's time to schedule a date!

7. Right now I am superbly happy. It's going to be a good day!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Lauren's blanking all about summer vacations today, so feel free to link up! I mean, come on, who doesn't love talking about summer vacas?

1. This weekend I'm planning on doing some cleaning and reading, picking my Mom up from the airport, visiting Corey and baby Landon (!!), possibly going for a hike and hitting up the Taste of Fort Collins, and I'm looking forward to it!

2. My last vacation was the most amazing trip of a lifetime to Australia. I'm dying to go back (but you all know that already).

3. My next vacation will be a long weekend in Boston, hopefully.

4. My favorite way to relax is with a long walk followed by reading with a glass of wine.

5. When vacationing one should always relax and have fun. I'm big on planning things out, but I have to agree with Lauren: a little spontaneity is important! You should always take pictures, too...there is nothing wrong with a little documentation.

6. When vacationing one should never pick fights, nor turn down a really good opportunity; you'll probably regret it later.

7. The best part about a vacation is travel. Stay-cations are lovely, but having the opportunity to get away from it all for a little while is a fabulous thing. Whether you're off to a new destination or an oft-frequented one, there are always new adventures to be had.

Fill in the Blank Friday

I seriously look forward to filling in Lauren's blanks every week! I highly recommend jumping on this bandwagon ASAP, folks.
Happy Friday, loves!

1. My favorite quote is "once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit." ee cummings. This is just one of many, many, many quotes that I love.

2. A bad habit I have is eavesdropping! I love listening to other people's conversations, but I am not always too stealthy about it. Sometimes I get really into what they're saying and I end up blatantly staring, or completely ignoring whoever I'm with.

3. The first time I felt like a "grown up" was when I bought my dining room table. Just about everything else in my apartment is a hand-me-down of some sort, or was purchased by my parents, but not my table.

4. Weekends are either crammed full of things I didn't have time to do during the week or they're nice and leisurely and full of coffee and pjs. No matter which end of the spectrum my weekend falls in, they always involve a heavy dose of "me time". I love weekends!

5. When I was a child I wished my name was Aeryn. Haha, yep, I didn't mind my name, but I wanted it spelled differently. I even went through a phase in high school where I spelled my name like that and my teachers just went with it. Oh, and I also went through a phase where I wanted to go by my name from German class, Amelie. I still think it's beautiful.

6. I wish I could work 4 10's instead of 5 8's. I love three day weekends and find myself putting in more than 8 hours most days anyway, so why not make the most of it?

7. A secret I have is that when pouring myself a glass of wine I choose which wine glass to use according to the little charm I have on it. The charms are of travel landmarks in London, NYC, Paris and Rome, and when picking my glass, I think of where I would love to be enjoying a glass of wine in that moment. Last night was Rome...the Coloseum to be exact.

I heart 3 day weekends

Weekends are splendid things. A lovely little reprieve from the chaos that seems to be everyone's lives during the week. But, a 3 day weekend? It doesn't get much better than that! Ok, so a full on vacation beats out a 3 day weekend, but let's not go there right now...

(I don't mind a break from this...and yes, that's my blog.)

Anyway, this weekend was the first one I've had in a while that wasn't chalk full of things I needed to do. I hadn't over-planned, hadn't put off a bunch of things throughout the week and my list of chores was miniscule. This meant 3 days of time that was all mine!

On Friday, I left work early enough to fit in a long walk before the sun went down, cooked up a little dinner, poured myself a glass of Zinfandel and settled in on the couch only to receive a text that said, "Trivia tonight?". I couldn't resist, so off I went to a local pub for trivia with the boys and the usual gang of people. It ended up being a bit of a shit-show kind of night (I was sober cab) for the boys, but there was a lot of laughter in the end (and a little kissing).

On Saturday, I didn't get home until noon and proceeded to lounge on the couch, drinking coffee and watching Beautiful People on Netflix. Does anyone else remember that show? Jamie and I discovered it during a Sunday homework marathon while we were still living in the dorms. I wish it hadn't been cancelled; I still want to know what happened to the characters! I didn't shower until almost 4, which was heavenly, ran a few errands, scarfed down a bowl of cereal and then met my friend Lisa for a couple of beers at my (our) favorite bar, Lucky Joe's. We enjoyed our drinks, ate a ton of peanuts, psychoanalyzed the current boys in our lives and had one hell of a time people-watching...typical girls at the bar, right? It was so much fun!

Sunday was another fairly unproductive day. I slept in, showered, and ran around town with my Mom. We did a little shopping, she generously bought me several things and Mom gets major points for putting up with my cranky mood. I am not built for 2 late nights in a row! Kind of lame, but true. I am so glad that I went out both nights, but I don't know that I would have done it if I hadn't had a 3 day weekend. I finished the day by going for a walk, cooking a nice dinner while watching The Golden Globes and enjoying a cup of tea before happily falling asleep on the couch.

Today started off with a full brekky, another long walk (notice a theme?) and a movie with my parents. We saw The Fighter and I was floored. The cast was amazing, and Christian Bale impressed me to no end, especially after seeing the footage of the real Dicky; he was dead-on! Christian Bale is sometimes criticized for taking his roles a little too far, but in my opinion he's incredibly talented. One look at him in The Fighter and you know you're looking at a has-been, crack-head who's lost in the world; it was the perfect transformation! He absolutely deserved his award last night. Watching Amy Adams in this movie made me want to watche Julie & Julia. Her two roles are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but she's wonderful in both. So, I rented a copy of Julie & Julia, did a load of laundry, ate some leftovers and baked a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. It was a low-key day, but a lovely one.

Now the real question is, will I finally clean my bathrooms or put it off one more day?

What a lovely weekend

I've slacked again on that whole post-about-your-weekend-at-the-beginning-of-the-week thing. Oh well, I'm pretty sure all of you lovely readers would expect nothing less from me these days...and I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint.

As compared to last weekend's cranky pants theme, this weekend was lovely. It was chilly, there were a few snowflakes and the air smelled like winter in the mountains. There's really no other way to describe the smell of approaching snow here in Fort Collins, much like the smell of Fall is intricately woven with the scent of aspens and the Rocky Mountains. That connectedness to the moutains is one of the things that I love most about my town. It's a lovely comfort to me. Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but I hope it's painted a pretty picture in your mind. Come to Colorado! Get lost in the twists and turns of the mountains! You wont regret it.

So, the weekend? Right, back on track...

There was some definite shopping, both for myself and for Christmas gifts. I found the perfect ornament for the lovely Micaela for her ornament swap! I had an idea in mind of what I wanted for her and was lucky enough to find it. I'm still looking for another thing or two to complete the package, but soon it'll be on it's way to lovely Virginia...I hope she loves it! This weekend also involved a few glasses of zinfandel. Cold winter nights call for a glass or two of red wine, don't you think?

I picked up my glass snowflake ornaments and LOVE them! You'll have to excuse how dark the picture is, but it was the best way to show off the iridescent quality of the glass. So cool! I was worried that I'd be disappointed by the final results, but I'm delighted. One or two will go to good homes as gifts, but I think I'm going to have to be greedy and keep the others for myself.

I had a lovely father-daughter date on Saturday. These kinds of afternoons are extremely rare, but lovely when they go according to plan. Dad and I went camera shopping, got hooked in by e-readers (worth it's own post) and finished off our date with frozen yogurt. We both have major sweet tooths and I had owed him a fro-yo date since Father's Day. And even though it started to snow while we were eating our frozen treat, there was a fire going in the shop and the flakes were those gorgeous, fat ones that look very poetic as they fall to the ground.


There was also quality mother-daughter time this weekend in the form of wandering around Old Town, browsing the stores' Christmas displays. While Mom didn't partake, I snagged a hot cup of coffee to keep my fingers warm while we explored (naturlich). I was anti-jacket, because obviously a cardigan is all one needs, right? Hmmm, maybe a coat would've been a good idea...

And, to top off the weekend, my friend Lisa and I met up for a movie Sunday night. She snuck in Starbucks for us, I smuggled in candy (what else are giant purses good for?), we both wore our lounge clothes and we had a great time! I love dates with Lisa!

Belated weekend recap: gloomy days were here...

I'm not really sure what's going on with me, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to my blogging. I constantly have thoughts running through my head, and think, "I need to blog about that!" multiple times each day, but then I get lazy and never put pen to paper (so to speak). So, here we are on a Wednesday and I'm finally sitting down to blog about my weekend...pathetic. Oh well. And to all of you who have stuck with me: Thank you!

This weekend wasn't all that exciting; in fact, I was in a fairly crappy mood for the majority of it. I was wallowing in myself a tad, which is never pretty. I was hormonal (a terrifying thing with a Gemini personality), missing my bestie and questioning what the f*ck is going on with the guy I'm dating (or should it be "dating"...too many questions at the moment). All of these things seem to be perfectly normal occurances in a girl's life, but combined together plus my lack of sleep made for an Eeyore-like Erin. I was snappy, prone to tears and not really up for social mingling. It was a little scary. haha...

Anyway, things are better now and there were some definite highlights to my grey-clouds-hanging-over-my-head weekend:

- Mom and I indulged in pedicures on Saturday! I enjoyed a cup of tea and we flipped through the latest Vogue while our toes were made pretty with deep, Fall hues.

- We wandered into my favorite store in Old Town and I got a little giddy thanks to the Christmas decorations.

- I made glass snowflake ornaments with my mom at the glass studio. This was the first time in a few years that I actually worked with the glass myself, and it felt good!

(the "before" picture...can't wait to see them fired!)

- I got my meningococcal vaccine thanks to my employer's free clinic. Even though a shot isn't very exciting (and has left me with quite the bruise), it did make my parents happy to know that my vaccination is up to date.

- Some very cool bottle decals finally made their way onto my kitchen walls. They've been stashed behind a piece of furniture in my dining room for entirely too long.

- Mom and I found the most perfect lamp at Pier 1...on sale!

- I found out I'm paired up with the lovely Micaela for her ornament swap! I cannot wait to find the perfect ornament for her, and to see what she sends me.

(Mostly) disorganized thoughts on my weekend...

I had such great intentions to be productive this past weekend, but in the end, I accomplished next to nothing. Surprisingly, that was/is just fine with me. We all need lazy weekends, right?

Friday

Work sped by, which is unusual for a Friday.
We have a new student hourly, whom I adore, and chatting with her while I worked made the afternoon fly by. I love when that happens!
After work I ran some errands, took an Economics quiz and made pizza for dinner.
Then I went out on a date (not my first with him).
I've become oddly (for me) wiggy about labeling things lately.

I know I haven't really mentioned much about my forays into the dating world here, but, yes, I went on a date.
We played trivia and drank beer.
I apparently do not store very many random bits of knowledge in my brain, at least not sports related ones.
But, I still had a great time.
There was cuddle action.

Saturday

Morning came entirely too quickly.
I spent the majority of the day drinking coffee in an attempt to trick myself into thinking I was well-rested.
I nearly hit a buck that decided to run into the road on the way to my parents' house.
I kid you not, it practically plotted leaping towards my car.
I went for a long walk in the Colorado Fall sunshine, and sweet-talked my friend Chelsae into wandering around downtown for a bit.
I'm pretty sure I spent more time in my sweats than I did in real clothes, which is always one of my favorite things.

Sunday

I woke up to the sound of rain, and immediately opened all of my windows to let the fresh air in.
The weather was perfect for indulging in too much coffee (notice a pattern?) and watching trashy BBC drama.
Has anyone ever seen BBC's Footballers' Wives? I love it!
I have this thing for British television, and have always loved this show.

I finally added the seasons to my Netflix so I could start from the beginning.
I worked out and attempted to start on some homework, but failed miserably.
Mom and I had a coffee date and then wandered around Target.

She talked me into spending entirely too much money, but I love my purchases...there just might be a new polka dot cardi in my closet.
The day concluded with Skyping Jamie and cooking a giant pot of soup.

I'm paying the price now for not getting my homework done, but hey, c'est la vie! I had a lovely, lazy weekend and am willing to kick myself a bit for my lack of productivity. Some weekends just aren't meant for checking items off of my to-do list.

If I had endless amounts of money, I would live in Cherry Creek and lose myself in Anthropologie

When I need a quick break from staring at numbers and printing off calculation tapes (boy, does my life sound dull or what...and yet, I'm actually a sucker for it), I tend to find myself typing http://www.anthropologie.com/. I love the style of Anthropologie, the colors and the general design of their website, but I'm rather frugal and Anthro prices are rather the opposite, so I lust after pieces far more often than I purchase. In fact, this summer is the first time that I've actually bought anything from Anthropologie. I'm happy to say that I'm the proud owner of 2 shirts purchased on sale, the most amazing crab mug and a gorgeous candlestick holder (thanks, Mom!).

This past weekend my Mom and I decided to take advantage of having 3 days off and went to Denver for a little shopping followed by an afternoon at the Denver Zoo. I don't have any of the Zoo pics uploaded quite yet, so that will have to wait for a post of its own, but I can assure you that it was a fabulous, albeit hot, time!

Cherry Creek Mall has long been one of my favorites in Denver. As I've blogged about before, I love the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, and would kill to live there...but, that would take a heck of a lot more money than I will probably ever make. Oh well, that's what dreams are for. Anyway, shopping at Cherry Creek is always a fun time, and this past weekend didn't disappoint. A couple of shirts were purchased, some jewelry, shorts for Mom and 2 new items from Anthropologie. Now, normally when we're down at Cherry Creek my Dad is with us (we're big on family outings) and he can get whiney when Mom and I are shopping, so I usually just run in and out of Anthro. Not this time. This time Mom got to experience the wonder that is Anthropologie and I think she finally understands my lusting. We browsed the sale racks (remember, I'm frugal), made our selections and headed to the fitting rooms. Of course, just about everything was cute, but the first top I tried on was The One. It's beautiful with a ruffle detail around the neckline, fits my bust well and isn't too short; plus, I can wear it under a cardigan, making it perfect for Fall. I had to have it! It was more than I would normally spend on a top, but when it's right, it's right...that, and I knew I would regret not owning this lovely top.

(the white top with black detail in front is the one I bought)

Along with the top, I found a sweet, vintage-looking candlestick holder and countless other things that I wanted but didn't purchase. Just being in that store makes my heart smile.

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!

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Every year I look forward to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. It's always bloody hot, always crowded and always a good time. For those of you who don't know, Cherry Creek is an affluent neighborhood in Denver, and one of my favorite areas. The houses are older and gorgeous and I dream of getting to tour one or two of them someday in my lifetime. I always try to sweet talk my dad into driving up and down the streets so I can gaze at the houses, but he rarely gives into me...but, that's ok.

Anyway, going to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival has been a family tradition for years. We enjoy lunch together, stroll up and down each street checking out the vendors and we end the day by getting snappy with each other because the heat has finally to gotten to all three of us. It's grand!

This year was no different than any other. We got down to Cherry Creek early, did an initial stroll down a couple of streets and then ate before the crowds arrived at The Cherry Cricket. The Cherry Cricket is a bit of a dive bar and grill that serves up incredible hamburgers! My best friend Jamie and I love this place, Iowa Girl Eats and her husband have raved about it and it was recently featured in Denver's 5280 magazine. I highly recommend chowing down here if you're ever in Denver.

(horrible, horrible picture of me)

So, we wandered up and down each street, checking out the vendors that caught our eye. Mom and I are always drawn to the jewelry, and both of my parents love fused and blown glass. We saw gorgeous oils on canvas, unique sculptural pieces and beautiful photographs. I bought one abstract of the Denver city skyline that has taken up residence at work and really brightens up my office, and I bought a hand painted photograph that I've been coveting for 2 years now. I love photography (probably because I really don't have much skill myself) and I have a thing for European city scenes. This photograph caught my eye at a previous years' Cherry Creek Arts Festival and I have literally been thinking about it ever since. It's of a man walking next to the grafiti strewn Berlin Wall in 1989. It's stark, war-torn, poor, realistic and extremely powerful. I just had to have it this year, and I cannot wait to get it framed and hung up!

After a few hours, all three of us had hit our limit of sweating and moving through the crowds, so we headed into the Cherry Creek Mall to cool down and do a little more shopping. I happily got lost in Anthropologie (and bought the cutest mug and ruffled top) for a bit and Mom and Dad browsed through kitchen accessories. We were all happy, no longer sweaty and ready to call it a day. Cherry Creek Arts Festival 2010 was a success!

And, on the way out of town, I snapped a quick pic of one of my favorite sculptures:

A bit of catching up

Things have been busy! Do you ever feel like you plan too much, even though, when you look at it on paper, it doesn't really seem like all that much? Yea, sometimes that's how I feel about my social life. I'm an only child who relishes in her alone time, right? Yet I can have entire months where I have something going on nearly everything single evening. WTF?! So, apparently I am actually a social butterfly who plans, plans and plans until one day she feels overwhelmed by too many people and activities, goes into cranky-bitch mode and then takes some much needed time for herself before starting the process all over again. Yep, that sounds like me!

All kidding aside, I really love doing things with my family and friends, and because I'm a planner, I do like seeing my calendar full of writing...but sometimes I need a break. And this past weekend served as such for me. It was my first weekend since finishing up my Accounting class (I got an surprise A!), the sun was shining, the weather was CO-gorgeous and my pool was open! So, naturally, I spent a lot of time reading by the pool, frying my poor little body to a crisp and lazing about with my coffee. It was wonderful. It felt like summer break and I felt like a student again. My love of reading has been renewed and I once again have a stockpile of books from the Library. Yes sir, feels like summer break to me.


This week has been busy, and I've had some frustrating encounters at work, so needless to say, I am once again ready for a break. A real break, not just a weekend. You know, like a vacation break. And, lucky for me, I get to hop on a plane to Baltimore tomorrow evening and soak up some Chesapeake Bay sun, gossip with my Baltimore Bestie, eat fresh seafood and just RELAX. Hooray for 3 day holiday weekends from work and accumulated comp time. Oh, and, I also get to see Sex and the City 2 with said bestie! She had just moved East when the first SATC came out and we've pouted ever since about not having been able to see it together, so now we're making up for lost time and planning a girl's evening complete with Sex and the City amazingness! I'm pretty sure this weekend will have to involve a cosmo (or two) at some point, don't you think?

Tonight it's dinner with my parents, painting my nails, maybe dragging my butt to the gym (becuase I will be gorging myself on stuffed sopapilla goodness) and hopefully doing a load of laundry. I'm working from home tomorrow in order to put my multi-tasking skills to good use, and then it's off to the airport!

Does anyone else have something fun planned for their Memorial Weekend?

ps- I cried during the LOST finale and am not 100% in love with how they ended it, but that's ok. Still, my Tuesdays seem a little sad and empty now.

pps- I officially have business cards at work...that's right, I'm legit now!

I've been sick, but I so love filling in the blanks...even several days late!

I'm alive, I swear I am! Nearly a week away from Blogland was making me a little crazy, but I just didn't have the energy to even attempt a post.

I had to go to Pueblo (in Southern Colorado) for work on Friday, which meant that my day started at 6:30 am, and then due to weather and traffic through Colorado Springs and Denver, I didn't actually get home until 8:15 pm...a very long day. Added to the already long and tiring day was the fact that I was starting to get sick.

So, come Saturday I was feeling pretty crappy, and wasn't really in the mood to do much of anything. I did a little thrifting and some shopping, but mostly just kept it low-key. I studied a bit for my Accounting final and went to bed early.

Sunday was another easy-going day. I planted my little herb garden, my Mom planted a couple of pots for me, and my Dad bought me a patio tomato; I took my Accounting final (horrific) and did a little shopping with my Mom. We both found some awesome deals at Ann Taylor Loft and I picked up a couple of cute tops at American Eagle.

I still wasn't feeling too hot yesterday, so I did some work from home and just rested for the majority of the day. I finally finished the book I was reading, Angelology, soaked up some sun on a nice, long walk and ended the day by enjoying dinner with my parents. I still sound a bit froggy and have a lingering cough, but am feeling more like myself today!

And, now that the recap is taken care of, on to some of Lauren's fill in the blanks (even though Friday has come and gone):

1. The very best thing about Summer is that carefree feeling that the evenings hold. Even though I've been in the working world for 2 years now, and "Summer Break" no longer exists for me, there is still such a sense of freedom when I leave the office. Summer evenings are full of possibilities!

2. My first crush ever was a boy named David in 5th grade. He was my very first boyfriend, and such a sweet boy.

3. This may sound really silly but I'm kind of afraid of the dark. Yes, I am 23 years old and still turn on every light in my apartment when going to bed. I get freaked out walking into my dark bedroom from the dark hallway.

4. I squeeze my toothpaste from the bottom. I'm a bit of a control freak, and have been known to re-squeeze my friends' toothpaste if they are middle squeezers.

5. My absolute favorite "comfort" food is green beans. Canned or fresh, I really don't care, but there is something about a giant bowl of green beans that just makes me smile.

6. A random fact about me is that I sometimes dream in German. I took 5 years of German in Junior High and High School, and even though I've lost a lot of it, I still dream entirely in German every once in a while. It's kind of cool!

7. The one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is my cell phone. It allows me to stay in touch with family and friends, holds my calendar, can serve as my alarm clock and just overall keeps me connected.

Weekend recap and a little Baltimore Bestie bragging

Hi everyone! I feel like I've been gone from the blogging world recently, although in reality, I haven't, but whatever. It feels like I haven't blogged in a bit, so I say just go with it.

This past weekend was fabulous! Busy and tiring, but lovely all together. My Baltimore Bestie, Corey, and her fiance, Matt, were in town this weekend! Woohoo! I just love that girl to death (and Matt, of course) and loved having her in the same town again. I miss our weekly coffee dates, our running commentary through the worst stats class ever (Senior year...how was that already 2 years ago?!), homework dates with hot tea and sweats, going to see chick flicks and weekend drinks at Lucky Joe's. I miss having someone around who just gets me and who I can tell anything to. Neither Corey nor I are really phone people, so we make due with Facebook, texting and flying to visit each other. When we do finally get each other on the phone, we have to clear our schedules because we'll chat for at least an hour and a half, or until one of our phones dies. She's one of my kindred spirits and I'll love her forever for that!


Anyway, Corey is pretty much amazing and has spent the last 10 months planning her wedding while working full time and completing her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology. She has drive and time management skills like none other, and has worked her butt off to accomplish her goals. And, I am proud to announce that she is officially a Master's Program graduate; that's right, she wrote her thesis, completed her coursework and can now add M.S. after her name! Like I said, this girl has ambition!

So, school is over, the wedding is just a few short months away and Corey and Matt took the opportunity to come out for the weekend and get a few more things checked off of their To-Do List. Corey got her dress fitted, I bought my MOH dress (loves it!), she had her hair and make-up trial run, Matt and Corey met with the florist, we managed to fit in a few drinks at Lucky Joe's and ended the weekend with a little DIY-ing with both families. Out of town guest bags were put together, a lovely card box was made and lots and lots and lots of tissue paper flowers were created. In fact, I would say that Corey, her Mom, Matt, his Mom and I could be called master tissue paper flower pomander-makers! Everything is turning out gorgeous, and I cannot wait to see the whole set-up in August. The wedding is going to be beautiful!

It's always bittersweet to say goodbye to good friends, but I'll be heading out to Baltimore in 2 short weeks, so it wasn't too bad this time around. I miss them already, but Memorial Weekend will be here before we know it, I'm sure! Now, I just need to find the time to catch up on my sleep...

Fill in the Blank Friday

Can I just say how excited I am that Friday is finally here?! I feel like I could sleep for days, and am looking forward to sleeping in this weekend, relaxing and procrastinating studying for my Accounting test that's due Sunday night.

Anyway, moving on from the humdrum that is my life, let's fill in some blanks! If anyone wants to participate, head on over to Lauren's blog, grab the blanks and have at it! 'Tis quite fun. This week is all about movies:

1. My absolute favorite movie of all time is either An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Debra Kerr or the 6 hour, BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. *sigh*

2. My favorite movie as a child was The Last Unicorn. I used to rent this every weekend and imagined that unicorns lived in a stand of trees that was across from my house. I was a bit obsessed with unicorns as a child, and they still hold a special place in my heart. And yes, I do own this movie...it was $5 at Target a while ago and you would've thought I'd just won the lottery when I saw it. Just more proof of how cool I am...

3. The best movie quote ever is Mr. Darcy's declaration of love in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice: "You must know...surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." Add in the incredible sunrise over a field of wildflowers to Matthew MacFadyen's perfect delivery of these lines and you have the ultimate, swoon-worthy scene.

4. My favorite actress is Rachel McAdams. I think she is absolutely lovely, versatile and talented. My favorite actor is Morgan Freeman. This man possesses more talent in his pinky finger than many other actors (in my opinion).

5. The movie I could watch over and over is Persuasion. You all have read many posts about my obsession with this story and movie, so I won't bore you with repetition, but I do love this movie.

6. My favorite movie genre is either Romantic Comedy (no shock, I'm sure) or Psychological Thrillers. I love trying to guess the twist before it happens, which I'm actually fairly good at. Oh, and I love a good indie or foreign film as well.

7. A movie I'd like to watch this weekend is Coco Before Chanel. I've had it from Netflix for nearly a month and just haven't made the time to sit and watch it. I've read amazing things about it, and love Audrey Tautou, so I'm sure it wont disappoint.

Fill in the Blank Friday

I seriously love Lauren at the little things we do...'s weekly feature! It is a fun little thing to do on a Friday, and I look forward to it every week. It makes me think, and I like that!

1. The best day ever was when I moved into my current apartment. It's all mine, no strings attached and has completely become my haven. Plus, moving into it meant that my final tie to the Ex was gone and there are very things that are more exciting than that!

2. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast because I love breakfast foods, I love starting my day off on a good note, and going out for breakfast is my greatest little pleasure in life. And, because breakfast is the perfect excuse to drink excessive amounts of coffee while chatting with loved ones.

3. This weekend will be about pampering myself with a new hair cut and highlights and getting a manicure with my Mom; it'll be about relaxation because I'm kind of cranky today and just need to chill out a bit; and hopefully it'll be about seeing a movie with my good friend and getting ahead on my homework.

4. Never in my life have I smoked pot. I feel like that is an unusual thing for someone my age to say, but I've never had a single ounce of desire to try it and I cannot see myself ever trying it in the future.

5. The only thing better than a chocolate chip cookie is a fresh, homemade, warm out of the oven chocolate chip cookie!

6. I could really do with some Jamie and Corey in my life. I'm going through bestie withdrawals and would kill for a night out with those two ladies...but, alas, we all live far, far away from each other so phone calls, texting and skype will have to do for now.

7. The most recent thing I bought myself was the lovely Second Thoughts necklace from LuLu's. I wore it earlier this week and love it! I wear a lot of charcoal grey, so it'll be nice to have a little something to jazz up my grey with. Oh, and I just bought placemats for my new table!

Masterpiece Theater

I think I'm becoming obsessed with Sunday night Masterpiece Theater on PBS. I keep stumbling upon wonderful new movies that I just can't help but watch.

Last Sunday, after spending 3 horrible hours on the longest homework assignment known to man (optional end-of-period accounting spreadsheets are useful, but time consuming, just fyi), I needed a little break before tackling my accounting quiz also due that night. I settled into my comfy chair, turned on the telly and started flipping through channels. I usually flip right past PBS, but this time my eye was caught by an interesting-looking period piece. It only took me about 30 seconds to realized that I was watching one of Masterpiece Theater's Jane Austen movies; and then it only took me an additional 15 seconds to realize it was Persuasion, one of my favorites! I don't think this story gets nearly enough credit; it's constantly over-shadowed by Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. True, I madly love both of those stories as well, but Persuasion has always given me a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever I watch it.

I'd never seen the Masterpiece Theater version of Persuasion, and I must say, I was hooked immediately. It is certainly my favorite adaption to date! In fact, I just purchased my very own copy, so I can get swept away by Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth whenever I need a little pick-me-up. I cannot wait to get the DVD in the mail this week!

Speaking of Captain Wentworth, (Rupert Penry-Jones in real life) imagine my surprise when I saw his handsome face peering at me from the telly as soon as I flipped to PBS tonight. No, I was not lucky enough to have an encore performance of Persuasion; rather, tonight's Masterpiece Theater is Hitchcock's classic The 39 Steps...another fantastic movie!

Prior to Persuasion, Masterpiece Theater drew me in with it's 3-part mini-series of Jane Austen's Emma. This was beautifully done, but confirmed what I'd been thinking for years: I love Mr. Knightley, but really cannot stand Emma!

So, for the past 5 Sundays, Masterpiece Theater has won my nightly attention...and I truly hope it continues to do so for the next 5 Sundays.