Recurring Series

A Weekend in Pictures – April

I began my weekend with a quick trip to my hair salon for a hair appointment. I only needed to freshen the color and I had my stylist add more red tones than violet. It’s hard to really see that in the above picture, but I’m very happy with the result. And my hair is finally long enough to donate! (It’s about 9 inches in a ponytail right now.) So I miiiight be going back to a bob this summer – we shall see!

After my hair appointment, I came home and took a wonderful nap. Then, Dutch and I went to the park to go for a walk! Unfortunately, it was super hot outside (89 degrees with 51% humidity!), so we only made it a little more than a mile before he was tired. I feel bad for taking him out on such a hot day. From now on, I think our long walks will either need to take place on weekend mornings (and probably before 8am!) or not at all. As a small, older dog, he doesn’t need a ton of exercise (and he gets in three walks per day of about 5-10 minutes each), but I know he enjoys these long walks. But I also don’t want him to get heat stroke. Oh, Florida and your crazy weather.

Saturday afternoon, I made the drive up to Orlando to spend the day with Emilie! She was in Orlando for just a day before embarking on a cruise (so jealous!), and the timing worked out perfectly when we could meet up. I’ve been reading her blog for about a year and a half now, maybe a little longer, so it was really fun to turn our URL friendship into an IRL one!

I arrived around 12:30, we had lunch at the Cookes of Dublin and strolled around Downtown Disney (escaping into every air-conditioned store we could find – it was hot, hot, hot on Saturday. Florida skipped spring this year, apparently, and we’re already experiencing summer-like temperatures and humidity.). We refreshed ourselves with ice cream at Ghirardelli’s and enjoyed some prime people-watching. It was a fun afternoon, and I am so glad I was able to meet up with her! I adore meeting blog friends!

On Saturday evening, my mom and I enjoyed a few rounds of Scattergories, one of our favorite games, while eating dinner. We laughed until we cried, formed even more inside jokes, and it was just a really good ending to a wonderful day.

Sunday morning was a fun one – brunch book club at the pool! We do this every couple of months once the weather warms up, so this was the first one of 2015. It was overcast and windy, though, so not a super nice day – but it was a bit cool (well, cooler), which was a nice reprieve from the intense heat and humidity. We all brought brunch dishes (mine being a “parfait bar”) and one kind soul brought mimosa ingredients (mmm!) Since only one person of the seven of us there actually finished this month’s book (I eventually abandoned it – could not get into it!), we didn’t have our usual discussion about the book. But we did have plenty of other things to talk about and it was a really fun morning/afternoon with my favorite girls!

The rest of my weekend was spent in the best way possible. I was able to get some stuff done (ran an errand and grocery shopped), while also relaxing and being lazy. I took a long bubble bath, started a new book, and caught up on some blog reading.

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend. I feel very satisfied this Monday morning, and I can’t wait to see what this week has in store for me.

How was your weekend? What’s the weather like where you are?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 42)

1) On Saturday night, my brother and older nephew came over for game night. We let my nephew pick the games he wanted to play, so we started with Sorry Sliders, which is a really silly game, but my nephew loves it because you get to slide and crash the pawns. After two rounds, he was finished and selected Chutes & Ladders next, but got rather annoyed when my brother ended up winning. Gradually, we convinced him to play Monopoly with us, and he handled that game pretty well! But halfway through, he got bored and started spending the time when it wasn’t his turn coloring at our coffee table. Oh, well! That’s a lot of games for a six-year-old! I’m hoping there are more game nights in our future, though, because it was so much fun!

2) I’m trying to get back into the dating world, and I’m trying to do so in a completely different way than I did before. What I’ve started to realize is that I’m not interested in settling down. While I would like to find that forever guy, I also don’t feel that pressure for marriage or commitment. I just want to have fun! Date around, meet new people, gain experience. I want to take dating a lot less seriously than I have in the past, and just have fun with it. When it comes to relationships, I can be a very intense person, overanalyzing and overthinking every aspect of it, and I want to be less intense. We’ll see how this works.

3) My mom and I are 22 sleeps away from our cruise! We are getting so excited about it. We’ve booked two excursions so far, and we’ll be booking the third one very soon. We’re really going all out for this one, something we haven’t done since our cruise in 2012. I just need these next three weeks to pass by as quickly as possible.

4) Recent podcast episodes I’ve enjoyed: Book Riot’s celebratory 100th episode, Stuff You Should Know about blood types and the history behind them, The Lively Show interviewing Hal Elrod (this one made me teary at certain parts!), and Stuff Mom Never Told You on the OCD phenomenon. (And yes, I am super behind on my podcast feed.)

5) Happy weekend! I have such a fun weekend planned. Today, I have a hair appointment (just freshening up the color!) and later on, I’m taking Dutch on a long walk. Tomorrow, I am spending the day in Orlando with Emilie (our first time meeting – I can’t wait to hug her!) And then on Sunday, it’s Brunch Book Club at the Pool! We’ll have mimosas, eat some delicious brunch food, hang out in the pool, and chit-chat the morning/afternoon away! Yay!

How was your week? What do you have planned for this weekend?

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in April

feeling happy and so darn satisfied with my life right now

anticipating my upcoming cruise (33 days!)

obsessively researching the stops on our cruise and what we’ll do while we’re in port

reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

thinking about my spring/summer capsule wardrobe and what pieces I need to make it complete

finished with apartment hunting – we looked at 13 apartment communities, so I think we were plenty thorough

happy with my workouts lately – lots of cardio intervals on the stationary bike & elliptical at the gym and strength training; I am sore and sweaty following each workout, which feels so good

writing for one hour each morning on the weekends

planning to take a social media/blogging break sometime this summer

using a cash budget system effectively this month

hoping to take two more vacations this year (North Carolina and a short weekend cruise)

cleaning off my makeup each night using makeup removal wipes + cleanser and moisturizer, in the hopes this clears up my skin (it seems to be doing the trick)

wanting to dive back into the online dating world (I needed a break from it all, but I think it’s time to get back out there)

working on my blog a ton, so I can launch my new blog theme sooner rather than later

watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

preparing my workload so being gone for a week next month doesn’t put me too far behind (and very thankful that April is 4.5 weeks long, so I can finish up my April deadlines early, and get started on my May deadlines in April!)

wondering if I should get a waterproof case for my point-and-shoot camera for taking pictures underwater during my snorkeling excursion

What are you currently reading, anticipating, and planning?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 41)

1) Have you heard of Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund? If not, you should definitely follow him on Instagram and/or Facebook for the cutest pictures and funniest videos. It’s one of my favorite accounts – and not just because Crusoe looks exactly like Dutch. Some of my favorite videos are Cops & Robbers, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Crusoe watching football. (I’m glad to know he’s not a Patriots fan! Haha!) Anyway, Crusoe is vacationing in Florida right now, and he “hosted” a meetup at Fort Desoto Dog Beach, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from me! So, last Saturday, my mom, Dutch, and I met Crusoe and got some pictures. It was so much fun! Crusoe was super chill and posed for so many pictures. And it was super nice for his parents to do this for him! 🙂

2) I had a really wonderful Easter. It was super low-key, which was nice. My mom and I invited my grandparents over, as well as my brother and his family, for sandwiches. (My mom also made homemade potato salad, which is SO YUM and I’ve been eating leftovers of it all week!) My newest nephew slept the entire time, but I was able to have some special one-on-one time with my older nephew. We hunted for eggs and then he decided he wanted to play some games! It blows my mind that he is now old enough to play games AND understand them. He requested for my mom, my brother, me, and him to have a game night soon, and that warms my heart more than anything. My brother, mom, and I used to have regular game nights before Jovy was born, but gave them up once he came into our lives (because Jovy time > game night!) And now we can have game nights again – with the most special little boy! I can’t wait!

3) Did you hear that there’s a new podcast coming that further explores Adnan Syed’s case (a la Serial)? I am really, really excited, and have already made plans with my two coworkers who listened to the podcast to listen to this one together. Obviously, it won’t be nearly as good as Serial and it won’t have the same journalistic appeal that Sarah Koenig brings (and it’s probably going to be incredibly one-sided since it’s hosted by the attorney that brought the case to Sarah’s attention and who fully believes in Adnan’s innocence), but I am intrigued to hear more about the case and Adnan and the latest happenings.

4) I’m listening to an audiobook currently (Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin) and I love the reader of this novel so, so much. It’s read by Cynthia Nixon (yes, the Cynthia Nixon!) and she has such a soothing tone to her voice. Plus! She does not make up funny voices for the characters. Her voice may go up a little when she’s reading a line from the little girl or one of the snooty moms, but she doesn’t make up these weird low-pitched voices for the men which. I. love. so. much. It’s really so distracting to me when the reader makes up voices. So, yay Cynthia Nixon! Rock on, sister.

5) This weekend is going to be a fun one! Today, a few coworkers and I are going thrift shopping. Tomorrow, I have plans to work on my novel, sit by the pool, and attend a cousin’s birthday party. And Sunday will be low-key: cleaning, grocery shopping, more novel writing, and maybe more pool sitting. Yay!

How was your Easter? Any fun weekend plans?

photo credit

Categories: Recurring Series, Travel

A Weekend in Pictures: Savannah

My Savannah weekend was wonderful! I am so glad my mom and I decided to do this race and spend the weekend away in Savannah. It was a quick trip (we got in late Friday afternoon and left early Sunday morning), but it was really the perfect amount of time. Let’s recap! (And sorry… this post is going to be insanely long!)

Our drive to Savannah was easy-peasy! We hit a few slow-downs, but nothing major. We arrived around 3:30, checked in to the hotel (Hilton Savannah Desoto in the historic district.) The above picture was the view from our hotel room – pretty sweet!

After checking in and dropping our stuff in our room, we immediately headed downstairs to the expo. We were given some incredible swag – my favorite being the New Balance tote bag! It is roomy and made of really great material, so I can’t wait to put it to use! We also got a drawstring backpack and a pretty magnet. At the expo, Publix was there handing out free gifts: a strainer, earbuds, sunglasses, and an infuser water bottle. Fleet Feet was also there, and they had a fun wheel you could spin for some awesome prizes. My mom won a 20% off coupon and I won a 10% off shoes coupon. I’m hoping I can just go online and use it because what a great prize, yeah?!

After checking out the expo, we headed back to the hotel room with our loot and then relaxed for about an hour before heading out for dinner. I remembered Crystal Beer Parlor from the list of recommendations Jess had given me last year, and when I realized it was just half a mile from the hotel, I jumped at the chance to go! This place has so much history. It opened in 1933, making it Savannah’s second oldest restaurant. But this place first started operating in early 1900’s as a family grocery store.

For my dinner, I ordered the Classic Crystal Burger with a side of fries and a cider. All were fantastic! The burger was juicy and delicious, the fries were crisp, and the cider was yummy! (Cider, fun fact, is the only “beer” I will drink, and that is because it is not really beer. At least, that’s what all my beer-loving friends tell me, haha. It’s more like sparkling apple juice than beer.)

After dinner, we walked over to Forsyth Park, since it wasn’t too far from the restaurant. It was beautiful as the sun was getting ready to set and the park was pretty empty. We found the finish line of the race (!), which was pretty fun. And we walked around the park – with me sighing in delight about how pretty this park is and how much I love being in Savannah – until deciding to call it a night and go back to the hotel.

From there, I took a shower, read for a bit, and then fell asleep at 9:15. Because I know how to party.

And then it was race day! It was cooooold Saturday morning. Florida had been having straight-up summerlike temperatures the past few weeks, so I’d been feeling a wee bit spoiled. It was 40 degrees on Saturday morning and I was not prepared. I’m glad I had my long-sleeved pullover, but it definitely was not warm. Luckily, we only had a 10-minute walk to the race site, so we didn’t leave the hotel until about 7:10 and the race started at 7:30. By the time we got down there, took a few pictures, and got in place, it was time to go!

The race itself? It was okay. I knew I was going to have a tough time when I was struggling barely half a mile in. Eventually, I decided to adopt a run .1 mile, walk .1 mile interval. This worked quite well for me! I managed to hit all the intervals and it allowed me to walk slowly and recover since I could catch up my pace with my runs. It also made the race go by at warp speed, which was nice.

The course measured long (3.22 miles) and I wound up with a finish time of 47:30, which is not the >45:00 I wanted, but I am still happy with that time. It puts me under 15-min/miles (all throughout training, I was averaging 16-17-min/miles), and I honestly cannot be mad at myself for not finishing in what I might deem a “better time.” And that’s all that matters… the fact that I feel good about how I finished.

After the race, I met up with my mom who finished way before me and we found mimosas! The perfect way to end a race, if I do say so myself.

Races that give you a medal for completing a 5k are my favorite kind of races. 🙂

We didn’t stay long in the park after the race because it was still super cold and we are Florida girls with thin skin! We can’t handle it! So, we walked back to the hotel and decided to eat in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We just didn’t feel like venturing back out in the cold. Their breakfast was… okay. Nothing special. Just meh.

After breakfast, Mom and I went back to our hotel room where we took the most deliciously pleasing naps. Postrace naps are the best kind of naps, yes?

(We actually planned to just nap until housekeeping came in to clean our room and give us new towels. Except at 1:45, we were still waiting on housekeeping. We finally had to call the front desk to have them bring us towels so we could take showers! I would never recommend this Hilton location in Savannah – it’s a rundown hotel with walls so thin you can hear your neighbors talking. Definitely not worth the price at all.)

Eventually, we were able to procure towels, take showers, and get ready for the day! Saturday afternoon was beautiful! We checked out an adorable bookstore, had ice cream at Leopold’s, and walked down River Street.

Around 5:30, we wandered up to Rocks on the Roof for some pre-dinner drinks. My mom got a beer and I ordered a Savannah Tea, which was good but a bit too strong for my liking.

For dinner, we decided on Huey’s on the River (another Jess recommendation!) I know this is the go-to brunch spot that I must try the next time I’m in Savannah, but I did enjoy their dinner menu! We actually decided to sit at the bar rather than wait for a table in the restaurant, which was an A+ decision. The bartenders are phenomenal and made me immediately feel at home. (Also, one of them bore a striking resemblance to Sam Jaeger, or Joel from Parenthood. For a second, I though it was Sam!) (I wish I had the courage to mention this to him!) (Safe to say, he was very, very, VERY cute.)

For dinner, I got a simple burger and fries meal, though I wish I had tried their red beans and rice. I was just in a mood for a burger, even though I had had one the night before. (I rarely eat burgers nowadays, so it felt like such a treat!)

And that caps off our trip to Savannah! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and I took a bubble bath, read, and then fell asleep at 9:30. I want to feel lame for being 27 and on vacation and falling asleep before 10pm… but I just can’t. That’s just the perfect epitome of who I am – a girl who has one drink and doesn’t want anything else, who fancies a good meal with fun conversation, and who just wants to take a bubble bath and read at the end of the day more than anything else.

We left Savannah early (around 8am), and got back in town around 3pm. And this guy was super happy to see us! He went to “camp” while we were away, and he had a blast (they texted my mom three pictures of him having fun – I love that they do that now!) He spent most of Sunday night in a deep sleep. Poor guy was tuckered out from all his camp adventures! 😉

And that was Savannah! Such a wonderful weekend, such a wonderful city. I still feel deeply that I will move there someday. I’m not sure when, but Savannah is where my heart is. Simple as that.

How was your weekend?