Sunday, July 31, 2011

I'm Just Waiting 'til the Shine Wears Off

Hello kids! I finally got settled into the new place. Life is starting to return to normal - although I don't have a couch anymore. That's a little abnormal. But other than that, the new place is rockin'. It's the dog days of summer here, and relief from the heat is not even in sight. However, I've been doing everything in my power to stay cool, even if that means drinking a lot of iced tea and wearing dresses (the sacrifices!).


A night of drinks at the VooDoo Lounge encourages me to be silly.

Three different kinds of summer berries! I was in heaven.

So I cut them up and ate them, and they were delicious. Note the avocado in the picture: that's right, the love affair continues and gets deeper everyday.

The three compartment sink at work. I took a picture one day because it seems like some days, this is all I see.

Tiny tea tins that my grandma gave me when I was a little girl. I was always fascinated by her tea tins and so she finally gave me those. I love them still!

View on my way to see Jill!

WATCHING: The Adventures of Pete & Pete, seasons 1 & 2. Exclusively. Also, I saw Cowboys & Aliens over the weekend and loved it.

READING: "This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Secret: I've been stuck trying to read this book for two weeks because in the summer it feels too hot to read.

LISTENING: awesome '90s mix someone made me, Coldplay, the Black Keys.

WEARING: teal cotton dress, black flip flops, silly jewelry.

WANTING: My own personal Artie (the Strongest Man in the World), the weather to be about 20 degrees cooler, to get a 2nd job, for my beach vacation to hurry up and get here! It's 3 weeks away but that may as well be 3 years away. Geez.

-B

Monday, July 11, 2011

A Few Minor Indulgences

As a newly graduated, single, non-professional young adult, it probably goes without saying that I don't have a lot of extra cash lying around. In fact, about 99.5% of the time, this is ridiculously evident in my day to day life. However, just because I am low on funds does not mean that I can't have a few indulgences. Some are free, some are cheap, and some are special just to me. Here is a list of a few indulgences that I partake in on those days where I need to reward myself for being a pretty good kid.

1.) Getting my eyebrows waxed.
You may laugh at this and say, "Ha, an eyebrow waxing? Really?" but it's true. I hate plucking my eyebrows; it hurts and takes forever and I always do it wrong and my poor eyes water for hours afterwards. Instead, I can go to my preferred little salon, pay $7 (well, $10 with a tip... they take care of me), and walk out in 15 minutes feeling like a million bucks. I probably don't look it, because around my eyes is all red and slightly greasy from that stuff they use to get the extra wax off with, but I feel great.

2.) Going to the library.
I love books, always and forever. The library is a guilt-free indulgence. I know that I can go in there and spend hours looking at different books, checking out exhibits, sitting in their broken-in leather chairs and I'm not running up credit card debt. I can read books that are not easily accessible, or brush up on local history. Our library even has a pretty well-stocked foreign movie section (although admittedly, I have spent a lot less time in this area since I've gotten Netflix). I can waste a couple hours in the library and walk out so happy, not to mention fueled with some good reading material.

3.) Going to the thrift store or a used book store.
This is another thing I love to do. Going to the used book store means that I will almost definitely spend a little bit of money, but I'm okay with it. Going in the thrift store means that I may discover hidden treasure (see last posts' thrift scores), but what I really like to do is look at the stuff and imagine what kind of person owned it before it came to the thrift store. Little old lady? Die-hard liberal? Punk rock musician?

4.) Making myself a new mix cd.
This may seem old school, but my car's cigarette lighter has bit the dust and I can no longer listen to my iPod in the car. Therefore, I am reduced to CD's and the radio. Spending a few minutes to make myself new mix cd's makes me so happy, I can barely wait to jump in the car and drive somewhere and revel in the coolness of my new cd. I also love it when I find old mix cd's (which I just did and I am SO SO SO excited about! These are like 7 years old!) and when people give me mix cds... hint, hint.

5.) Driving home the long way so that I can enjoy a prettier view.
There is a very direct way to get from my work to my parents' house. There are also a few other ways that use back roads and take a lot longer. Some days when I have time or need to clear my head or want to finish listening to that rad mix cd, I take the long way home. I feel like I could just keep driving and it would be okay. That sort of freedom is what keeps me grounded.

What are some of your indulgences?

-B

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Nice to Know You

Well, hello! It's time to brush off the old blog. Unfortunately, I have had a series of events in my life that meant that there was no way I had any time for anything besides potentially sleeping.

Since my last post, I came home to find my apartment condemned, got a concussion, and got a new job. Yeah. Not to mention all the little stuff happening in between.

That's right, my super cool downtown apartment has been condemned. It always had its' fair share of quirks and weirdnesses, but apparently it had one too many when the city came to inspect it. I came home from work and there were signs every where that said it was condemned and illegal to occupy. Cool. Therefore, the last week and a half have been spent scrambling to find a place in the same price range in the same neighborhood - no easy feat, since all the college kids are coming back home. I finally found one yesterday and put down a deposit. It's bigger than what I have now, although it does not have the pretty view of downtown. It does, however, have a community cat named Carl, REAL heating and air (oh my!), and a kitchen that more than one person can fit in. It also doesn't have some of the character of my old building, but that's okay. At least I had the chance to experience it for awhile.

The concussion? Well, a friend had recently turned 21, so we took him out to experience the non-existent Huntsville nightlife. Let's just say that at the end of the night, I ended up holding open a window, and then the window fell on my head and gave me a concussion (which I did not even realize until the next morning).

The job? Another coffee gig. However, this one is more in line with my idea of a coffee shop. Wide variety, roast their own beans, make sandwiches and pastries and WAFFLES (!), etc. It's only part-time right now, because I really need to save up some money since I was not prepared to be moving on the fly. My first shift is tonight, we'll see how that works out. Hopefully it's good!

Here is my life of the past few weeks in photos:

A surprisingly mild stout, this was enjoyed on a friends' couch watching Modern Family. I'm totally okay with that.

A Mambo Taxi from a local Tex-Mex restaurant gets the thumbs up seal of approval from my dinner companions.

When I visit the flea market, the food is my favorite part. Here I am devouring an ear of corn slathered in butter and cajun seasoning - divine.

My haul from the Nashville flea market. From left to right: Avocado honey (you will see an avocado theme in my life), bbq sauce to die for, hot chow chow for my mom (she loves it on peas), and peach honey. I told you it was all about the food.

Fresh guacamole! My boss loves it and we had a Mexican themed potluck at work one night, so I made her a small bowl of it. Yum.

Here is also something I made: it may look disgusting, but it tasted great. It had beans, corn, bell pepper, onions, tomato, AVOCADO, lime juice and olive oil. It was a great vegetarian option for taco fillings!

The inside of a perfect avocado, my new love.

Avocado tea! Just kidding. I did buy some loose-leaf from a tea store in Nashville, and it is DELICIOUS! I just wish it wasn't a million degrees outside and that I actually wanted to be drinking hot tea right now.

My two kitties loving on each other. How sweet.

This is the morning after the concussion. Apparently, someone decided it was too hard to deal with a belt, so they just threw it in the toilet.

Thrift scores! These were both $1. So for $2, I got ALL of this Italian cookbook knowledge. Be jealous.

Another thrift score. It went from this....

...to this!

All it needed was a little silver polish.

It shines like a star now.

Hopefully, I will be moved into the new place by next week, and I can give you guys a look at my new house! And don't fret, I'm still in the process of getting a new dslr. One day, these blog posts will not have to consist of lame cell phone shots.

-B