Christmas is Coming!!

This is probably going to be my last post of 2013....because I am headed back to Chicagoland tomorrow for TWO WHOLE WEEKS!!!!!!! (cue happy dance)

The past couple weeks I've been hanging out, Christmas shopping, and getting more and more excited to have an extended trip back home. About 2 weeks ago I went to my first Kappa Kappa Gamma alum event which was the East Bay Alum Association Christmas party. We gathered at this swanky house in the hills above Oakland. Super fancy pants. It was great to meet other sisters out here of all ages and backgrounds. I definitely plan to become involved with a local chapter, I met the PDC (Province Director of Chapters) and she was very excited that I was interested in being an adviser. Yay for being social!

The oldest woman in the front row was a hoot, I could have talked with her the entire night.

I've loved receiving all the happy Christmas cards and small festive packages from family and friends over the past couple of weeks. One of my favorites and most intimidating/fun to open was a gift from my best friend, Kristen. She had made a homemade body scrub and sent me a small plastic container of some as a nice little surprise! Trouble is that the container got a crack and a very small amount of the scrub leaked out and soaked through all the papers and wrappings. As you look at this sequence of pictures I took while opening it, not knowing what was underneath, try to imagine the terror/joy upon finding each layer.

First: I found this strange bag stuffed into my small mail box

Next: A strange gloopy package. The tape had lost its stick and is weirdly soupy. The entire package is soaked through with grease. I also discovered this was from Kristen, and therefore anything could be inside. 

I peel through the paper and gloopy tape to find body scrub! And a weirdly soupy card with ink that has seen better days haha

And here is the culprit! That small amount leaked out and left me with a mostly solid mass of scrub and one very oily package. But never fear, with a little more liquids it is good as new! 

While they have seen better days, the directions survived.

This is actually a really good scrub. I used it the next morning in the shower and was left with nice and soft but not weirdly oily or over exfoliated skin. Thanks Krisio!

Well I am going to bed, I've got a hot date with a cabbie at 4am tomorrow! Gotta make that early flight! I'll be back in Chicago for two weeks so let me know if you want to see me. My first week is already booked solid, so seriously talk to me if you're interested in week 2. It's like people like me or something, they want to see me! I'm okay with it, I love feeling loved :)

Speaking of feeling loved, check out my beautiful fridge with all the Christmas cards. Thanks everyone! Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Trip to Chicago(suburbs)!!!

When I started this blog I had grand plans of posting about once a week. As you can read, that hasn't really happened lately. Trouble is that when I get home at night I am sick of being on a computer all day! Sorry I've been absent, internet.

ANYways (to be read in the tone of my mother), I'll give you all a recap of my fantastic, whirl-wind of a weekend back in Illinois.

I flew home on Thanksgiving morning and when I was timing when I needed to leave my apartment to get to the airport I forgot to factor in time to park and get from long term parking to the terminals. When I remembered on the drive over that when you're checking bags for a flight that you need to have them in at least an hour ahead of time, I almost died. Instead of dying I hit the gas and hoped no cops were on the road at 4:30am. Thankfully the airport parking people have their stuff together and instead of having buses take passengers from the parking garage to the terminals every 15min, the buses were just rolling in one right after the other so I didn't need to wait long to get on a shuttle to check my bags.

You may be wondering why I had bags to check for a 4 day trip. I flew Southwest so I took advantage of their free checked bag policy and brought home some a suitcase my parents let me borrow for the move, Christmas gifts, and a TON of wine. Seriously, about a ton. My bags were overweight there was so much wine. I ended up taking out my pillow and stuffing the pillow case with random heavy things to have as my makeshift carry on. I'm just thankful I didn't decide to bring a real carry on! On the way back west it was much easier and lighter with only one bag being checked.

When I arrived back in Chicago for the first time since July, my wonderful boyfriend was there to greet me with wonderful flowers. It had been just over 2 months since we had seen each other (when he came to visit me) and I was obviously overjoyed :)

We went back to my parent's house for a Thanksgiving dinner with my immediate family, where he met everyone for the first time. I am pleased to report he did well, even started to learn pinochle. We also had my friend from college, Hannah, come to our dinner as a "misfit" and it was wonderful to catch up with her too. We hadn't seen each other since graduation!

On Friday it was my turn to meet Bobby's family! I think it went well....you'd have to ask him just how well but I enjoyed meeting everyone and we had DELICIOUS thanksgiving left overs for lunch. Seriously, I can't imagine how wonderful it was when it was first cooked because I cleaned my plate with the leftovers. His family then left to go to the German Christmas market downtown and we snuggled on the couch to watch the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special. We both thought it was a bit of a let down. It was good and enjoyable but for the hype surrounding it we were expecting more.

That evening we went on a fancy date to Cooper's Hawk and while we were waiting for our table just happened to partake in a wine tasting. During this tasting we discovered that the activity we have done most is taste wine. So now we're officially the wine tasting couple. I'm completely okay with it. Instead of getting an appetizer with our dinner we decided to do the wine and cheese pairing flight which gave us each 4 wines and a nice platter of cheese to eat them with. We split the tastings up between before and after our meal but that meant that on the table during dinner were a ton of wine glasses, because we may have each gotten a glass with our entree. Hey, it's already been paired up for you! It would be a shame not to complement your food so perfectly.

We looked like alcoholics

Needless to say, we lingered for quite a bit after our meal to work some of the alcohol off. We also took a walk around where the restaurant was because we're cool like that. We got done with the official portion of our date around 10pm-ish but neither of us wanted to call it a night so Bobby called up some of his friends and we met them at a bar in Palatine (water for him, he had to drive me home still). It was fun to see his friends again, I had met some of them over the summer and hear about them all the time. On the drive back to my parent's to take me home we jammed to some Christmas music, apparently I do a great Josh Groban. If you were wondering, I was indeed a bit hung over the next morning. 

Then comes Saturday! AKA baby shower fiesta day!!
Yep, you read correctly, Heidi's baby shower was fiesta themed. How fitting for a Spanish teacher, right!? Altogether there were just shy of 60 people in the house and we decided the limit should be 50 in the future. It was quite tight/noisy but at least it was full of love! I wish I had taken pictures of the decorations because they were so cute and just perfect (thanks Amy and Mrs. Hummel!) but alas I'm a dumbo and didn't take any pictures. Heidi has them on her camera. Thank you to all who came and are helping Baby Hummel (name still, TBD) get a great start in life!

Sadly, Sunday had to come eventually and my crazy weekend back home was to come to a close. We finished cleaning from the party and had a generally lazy day.

A lot of Sunday looked like this. He was cold and refused to use a blanket....

The immediate family plus Erin and Bobby was again gathered for a late lunch/early dinner before I left. My flight was delayed about an hour and I didn't end up getting back to my apartment until 1am California time, aka 3am Chicago time and I didn't get any sleep on the plane :( It was a crazy trip but was wonderful to be back home, even for that short of a time. But in less than 2 weeks (2 weeks from yesterday, actually) I'll be back for Christmas! And I'll be around for two whole weeks! YAYAYAYAY I CAN'T WAIT!

What No One Tells You

I've learned a few things in my first few months of being on my own. I pass onto you what I have found to be weird little life lessons that no one ever warns you about. It may seems like common sense for some of these things but others I had a "What the John?" moment when they dawned on me. And I know lists like this have been done but I like to think mine is a little different. Things that pertain to real people. Not the weirdo hipsters.

1. You have to feed yourself, every meal, every day.
This is a mysteriously weird struggle for me. I love to cook, cooked for myself all throughout my senior year of college, but yet I cannot seem to feed myself like a grown up. I often ask the boyfriend what I should have for dinner and emote on how I eat like a 12 year old boy. Lately lunch has been PB&J with a cup of apple sauce and animal crackers, I kid you not. Tonight I debated between crackin open a can of Spaghettios or getting a corn dog (thanks to this video, corn dog won: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5yCOSHeYn4&noredirect=1 ). I have popcorn for a meal at least once a week. I won't let myself buy pizza rolls because I know that is all I'll eat until they're gone. The struggle is real people, the struggle is real.

2. Routing numbers don't change if you move out of state.
Learned this lesson the extremely hard/frustrating way. So I know routing numbers are based on your state and when I moved and changed my address with the bank I assumed the routing number would change as well. When I was setting up some online bill payments I opted for the electronic check (no fees!) and had to enter my bank account's routing number. Since I don't have checks I always look it up online and this is where I really screwed myself. I bank with Chase and their online listing of routing numbers opens in a pop up window that isn't as large as the page itself, meaning you need to scroll left/right or up/down to see all the information. However, you can see the state name and routing number just fine without scrolling left/right. What you can't see is the disclaimer telling you the routing number pertains to the state in which the account was created, not the address you have on file. Long story short I was late on two of my bills before I figured this out. Everyone moving between states please learn from my mistake.

3. I'm in the freshman year of life.
Do you remember the freshman year of highschool or college? That's what your first year of "adulting" is like. But I have a feeling that this feeling lasts for longer than a year. I was discussing this blog topic with my old roommate, Sarah, and she summed it up as "everyone treats you like a child". While we both realize we're still learning a lot and have a long way to grow in our jobs it is extremely frustrating when you've been to college, trained in specific things, and people don't take you seriously. We're smart girls, she's an engineer and I'm a meteorologist, it's not like we went to school and found husbands. I can't wait for the freshman year to be over, just like high school and college haha.

4. Automatic bill pay is awesome and super frustrating at the same time.
Auto bill pay is a gift from the gods. I can have the money automatically taken out each month and don't need to worry about being late on a payment! Slow your roll, check that fine print before you get too lazy. A lot of systems need a weird amount of time before the payments become automatic, make sure you keep up with payments as the automatic-ness is getting set up. Most places will allow you to choose a day that is anytime after your bill is issued and the date it is due which is awesome. I have most of my bills withdrawn the day after I get paid so I barely even know the money is there before it is all gone. One place that doesn't let you chose the day is Comcast. It told me my payment will be withdrawn "around the 2nd of each month". This month it was taken last Friday, the 22nd. Basically I never know when Comcast is going to collect, I've called and they are zero help. If you know the secrets of Comcast, please help. Yes, I know I could just pay it myself but I really want to figure this out.

5. Tax forms are really confusing in a different state than you're used to.
I don't know if this is just another weird thing in California or if it was filling out forms I wasn't used to but I struggled hard core willing out the W4. I won't get into specifics, because it was so confusing I think I blocked the memory, but just be warned it may be weird. All I know is that I am probably paying someone to help me this year. Before you write me off as being a wimp in not doing my own taxes please know my company had a relocation service and there was money taxed but I don't want to have it taxed again and there is something about the miles moved? I don't know, I need professional help.

6. You may start working out just because you're bored. 
For my college friends who know I considered my physical fitness routine walking briskly around campus, this may come as a bit of a shock. I actually am in the habit of going to the gym a couple days a week now. Simply because I don't have much to do and I feel bad about sitting for eight straight hours. I also work out now because I don't want to be that person who peaked in college, went out into the real world and got fat. Shallow yes, but if it keeps me healthy then what does it matter the motivations!

7. You will probably realize that you don't have any real hobbies. 
If I'm alone in this, then don't tell me. But I believe my generation has had so much online stimulation with various forms of social media, and being addicted to checking it all and reading it all, that we don't have true hobbies. If someone asked me one hobby I had right this moment I would bawk for a moment and then probably say eating or cooking (ignore #1, I really do enjoy cooking. It's just a struggle to feed myself).  I guess blogging could be considered a hobby but I want to find one that is not electronic and is active or stretches my brain in some way. To me, that's a real hobby.

8. You'll find out who really cares about you, and who you really care about. Especially if you move far away.
Friendships take a lot of work when you don't see the people every moment of every day like you do in college. You'll make time for the ones that matter most and feel bad about not making as much of an effort with others. Now, if I haven't talked to you in awhile please don't be offended. I just generally suck at keeping in touch. I consider friendships maintained if I talk to you once every few months and it was a conversation through snapchat about some french fries. Also, with the time change between California and the Midwest I never know when it's okay to call people. When do people go to bed vs not wanting to be bothered? I usually have a 2hr block after work before it's too late to communicate with most normal working people, and even that is pushing it. Please know that I try and it's a struggle.

9. Healthy Choice frozen meals are a gift to lazy twenty-somethings.
I know this goes along with my first point but honestly, frozen meals are your savior. Especially if you're living alone. Cooking something also means you have leftovers for at least a couple of meals afterwards so you better really like whatever it is you're making while at the same time being prepared to not want to eat it again for another month. Frozen meals, my personal favorite being Healthy Choice, are the warm, not horrible for you, satisfying answer to the lazy "I don't want to eat the same thing for the next week but I'm hungry" sentiment. If you haven't had Healthy Choice crust-less chicken pot pie then you haven't lived.

10. Time moves slower in the real world. 
Before, there was always a set academic calendar with nice little chunks of time that seemed to pass quite quickly. Now time is measured in actual days and weeks and months which, for me, makes it seem to move slower. I don't have a million projects due in two weeks, a different sorority function every weekend, or endless meetings and events to plan. I knew I was busy during college but didn't realize just how it helped the time pass until none of it was happening. Also, the future is like really really long. Before graduating everything was done to be able to graduate and get a job, move away from home, the whole she-bang. Now that I've done all that I need a new life project.

I could probably go on forever, like usual, but I'll stop before I bore you all. Feel free to call me out on just being dumb or if you disagree with anything I've said above. I'm always curious if others are feeling the weird early 20s struggle like me.

My First Solo Trip into SF

Hi all!

This past weekend I got a new hair-do and took my first solo trip in San Francisco! So many activities!
Let's start with the hair :) I've been debating changing my hair up for some time now but since I am lazy I don't want to color it then deal with roots and I've had the pixie cut so dramatic chopping was out of the question. Growing out that pixie and killer acne defined my awkward years. I decided to go back to an old favorite and go back to the curls! Ladies and gents, I have curly hair again! I found a place on Yelp that does "air perms" where you go home overnight with the curlers in and it's supposed to be a more natural process that is better for your hair.

This was me on Friday night

I'm generally not a fan of "selfies" but the turban was too funny not to document. The salon I went to also specialized in cutting curly hair so I was very confident it would turn out well when I went in. I am very happy to report that I love my new hair and it is insanely healthy, despite the perm, thanks to the air perm process and subsequent deep conditioning that's included. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my completed curls to share, I'll probably snap one when I'm at Heidi's baby shower over Thanksgiving weekend!

Since I went in Saturday morning to have the curlers taken out and my hair cut I decided that I shouldn't waste a good hair day on boring stuff like laundry (that's what I did Sunday) and instead I would venture into the city.

I've been into the city with people who have come to visit me but never yet by myself. Please don't think this is sad or that I was lonely, I LOVE exploring new places on my own. No one to slow me down or to compromise with on where to go. If you're worried about me being safe, don't worry. When I explore alone I go during the day and stick to highly trafficked areas.

I had wanted to get a few Christmas gifts downtown as well as to walk around the Saturday morning Ferry Building farmer's market. I also walked along the waterfront all the way to Pier 39 to get some SF themed gifts at one of the tourist trap shops. Unfortunately I couldn't find what I wanted to but I did find out that pier 39 is like seal Mecca! THEY'RE SO LOUD! I don't know how I missed this before but it was super cool to just see all these fat dudes chilling.

After pier 39 I made the trek back to the Embarcadero BART station and called it a day. Then Sunday was a mostly boring day of laundry and scavenging in my own apartment for food because I was too lazy to go grocery shopping. It's thrilling to be a young 20-something haha

So far this week has been pretty uneventful. Only one major thing, THE WEATHER BROKE! It's rained yesterday AND today. It's so weird. Thankfully this weekend is forecasted to be back to sunny with highs in the mid 60s. I know, I'm spoiled. I also have been looking at the weather in Chicago on Thanksgiving weekend.....brrrr

Just 8 more days until Thanksgiving and being back in West Chicago for the first time since July!!! I CAN'T WAIT!

Also, please check this company out! Goldie Blox is aiming to make cool engineering toys geared towards young girls. Maybe think about getting the young girl in your life something other than a doll this Christmas? GO SCIENCE!

Another “I’m getting old” Moment

So first off, a preliminary “old” moment. I had meant to blog about this topic last week (or was it the week before?) but I completely forgot. I’ve got a mild case of sometimers. I have lots of “I should blog about this” moments that I forget and really need to start keeping a log of them.

Here is why I am now realizing I’m kinda a grown up. I got an email saying my first ever quarterly statement for my 401k is now available for my viewing pleasure. I’ve officially put money away for retirement and it has earned interest that is viewable on a statement...a statement of adulthood.

Then I remember I am still kinda a kid too because I don’t know if you’re supposed to capitalize the “K” in 401k (or is it 401K?). I could easily look this up or just observe it somewhere and make a mental note to remember but the sometimers gets in the way. I need to start doing memory exercises or something because I have a horrible memory.

Real time reporting: Looked up the correct nomenclature and it should be typed 401(k). If you cared to know.

Another “kid” moment regarding 401(k)s is how I say 401(k) in my head. I know I heard it this way on a tv show at some point but I can’t for the life of me remember where, was it Friends? Arthur? Sometimers strikes again! Anyways, whenever I read 401(k) my inner voice says “four oh wunk”.

But then I get all “adult” again and read articles like this: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/-how-i-saved--1-million-163720104.html and get all excited about compounding interest and decide to actually look at what I’m investing in and take an active approach to my retirement account. I’m going to be a millionaire people, better start sucking up now.

To end, since everyone likes pictures and in honor of the first real snow of the season back in Chicago, here is a snapshot of sunset in California taken from my porch. 

I'm sad I'm missing the snow....but I also like being warm

Not Much Happening Here

Hello internet,

Ever since the sister sister visit my life has been nicely quiet. Nothing too noteworthy or exciting. I got my car back on Monday, all shiny and practically new again. Hopefully this time is lasts for more than a week!

Biggest event of my life: my lemon tree has little lemons on it now! They're so cute and green at the moment. There are a zillion of them! It's getting colder at night so I bring it inside to protect my harvest. This tree is like my pet.

They're even bigger now, this picture is about a week old

Lately I've been doing a lot of baby shower planning and Christmas shopping because I am just that good. I am trying to have anything that I need to purchase in California done by Thanksgiving so I can use my two free checked bags flying Southwest to transport stuff when I fly home on turkey day. 

So that's all that's new with me! Not much but it's nice being able to do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it. I've settled in and now am learning more about the area, if you know of anything I should check out, let me know!

Sista Sista Weekend!! Part 2!

Sunday rolled around and we took our sweet time getting ready in the morning. After some research into public transit options we decided to take BART into the city then cabs/walking from there. That's just how sucky public transit is here. The only thing I hate more than sucky public transit is needing to take a cab. It's one thing to take a cab when you're lazy but it's another to have very few or no other options. I could go on forever about my public transportation opinions, but I'll spare you, my dear blog readers.

We headed to the Presido, a part of a national park but it was open but it was by stuff that was closed and I think this whole "nation parks are closed" thing is a bunch of bull. At least for parks in the middle of a city like this one. Anyways, we went there because there was a congregation of food trucks! One of the things Maggie wanted to do while she was in SF was eat at a food truck and we had the best opportunity to do just that. Apparently during the summer this happens at The Presidio every Sunday and I need to make friends so I can go every Sunday because it was amazing. Lemon ricotta donuts, carnitas tacos, bacon/shallot/cheddar biscuts, banana and dulce de leche empanadas, and wood fire pizza were all consumed. Tummys were filled to the brim and we somehow figured out how recycling vs composting works....maybe.

This was the only picture I took on Sunday. Me and the pizza truck!

From there we walked 2.2 miles to get to Ghiradelli Square. We followed Heidi's GPS on her phone and we were convinced it was set to "Adventure Mode" because we went places the normal GPS shouldn't take you. Since we had worked off most of the food we gorged ourselves with at the food trucks we rewarded ourselves by splitting a sundae at the Ghiradelli cafe. Then we took a nap on a grassy park thing that was nearby and watched a couple doing cirque de sole type yoga practicing...Only in San Francisco... Then we walked down to Fisherman's Warf basically so Heidi and Maggie could say they saw it. We stayed there all of 10min then took a street car back to BART and went back to my apartment for a evening of baby shower planning and take out food. 

I loved having my sisters visit and can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving. I've decided they visited on a freakishly chilly weekend because when I got out of work the past two days it was in the 80s and warmer outside in the shade than it was sitting at my desk. Oh well, at least California didn't spoil them too much! 

If you're wondering how my car fiasco is going I finally have made progress on getting repairs made! The police report was finally available on Monday (after 10 business days, aka 2 real day weeks) and the motorcycle guy's insurance company is taking liability for the accident which means I don't have to pay anything and they are being super awesome with finally getting my car repaired. Apparently the other guy was so out of it after flying off his motorcycle that he didn't even know my car was hit by his bike. His insurance had no clue there would be someone with a claim against him until my insurance company called them after I submitted the police report. But tomorrow, aka Thursday, morning I drop my car off at the body shop and have a rental as long as it takes for the repairs to be completed. All with zero cost to me! I can't wait to have this behind me! I realized today that my brand new car has existed inured in my presence more than it has intact. That's not okay. 

I have no super concrete plans for this weekend other than a phone call to catch up with my bestie and a skype date with a Kappa sister to drink wine and talk about our post-grad lives. I can't wait to sleep in and not have anything urgent to do! 

Sista Sista Weekend! Part 1

First, before the fun of my sisters visiting, I promised a recap of the bluegrass festival. I met up with Terry and Pat, my dad's childhood friend's cousin and his wife, and they took me to what I think is one of my first real SF experiences. Hanging out in a park, listening to music and enjoying good company/food. I think this picture sums up the crowd nicely. I tried to get a video of them dancing but I was too slow.

...hippies...old hippies...

Now onto the fun of this past weekend!!

Heidi and Maggie came to visit because they love me so much and Heidi had Columbus Day off from school and this weekend also happened to line up with one of Maggie's off weekends. It was just meant to be! I picked them up from the airport late Friday night, didn't hit any poles, and we pretty much just got back to my apartment and crashed before our fun filled Saturday.

Saturday morning we didn't really know what we wanted to do but knew we had a sail boat ride scheduled for that night so we would want to drive to wherever we were. Well we drove right into San Francisco and I can confidently say I never want to do that again. Holy hills, Batman! Never. Again. 

On the way into the city we stopped at my office so Heidi and Maggie could see where I work. The found the place quite nice and we stole snacks from the snack closet. I think the company can spare some Famous Amos and juice boxes. 

This is my desk!

They enjoyed the game room

After the field trip to my office we started out our day by going to Golden Gate Park and walking around, seeing some of the sights. Among other things, Heidi had her tarot cards read and we walked through a rose garden. Naturally we had to stop and smell the roses. 

From there we thought it would be cool to go see the Full House houses. Ya know the ones in the opening credits when they are having a picnic on some grassy knoll? Well they're called the Painted Ladies and driving to see them was when I found myself in hilly driving hell. And then in parking hell. I got so wound up and so frustrated that I got a headache. Many expletives were used and I may have cursed the entire city of San Francisco at one point. The houses were pretty but in our opinions there were far prettier ones in the area and we were underwhelmed. 

pretty.....but not gorgeous

After the painted ladies we decided that driving across the Golden Gate Bridge would be cool so we headed north! But just before the last exit before the bridge, we decided that we would try and get somewhere along the shore on the San Francisco side of things to try and take a picture with the bridge. Because of the government shutdown, most of the coast is "closed" because it is a lot of national park land but as evidenced in many different parks around the nation you can't really keep people out of an open area like that. It became "enter at your own risk" and we were just fine with that. 

Yay probable trespassing! 

Then we drove across the bridge!

Then we took more pictures on the other side of the bridge and of San Francisco!

For dinner we stopped at a random Italian place we saw on the side of the road and had some delish homemade pastas. Then it was time for the sail boat ride. I had seen this deal on Travel Zoo for a city lights bay cruise with complimentary desserts and champagne and have been waiting for new visitors so I didn't have to go alone. It was awesome! The people of SF Bay Adventures were super nice and while we had dressed warmly, they provided everyone with blankets and we didn't even have to share. That's top notch service in my book. 

Maggie and I aggressively snuggling to stay warm

Cheers to a sister weekend!
(don't worry, Heidi gave her drink to us)

We went under this bridge, I think it's famous or something

That's the end of day 1! Since this is getting rather long and it is way past my bedtime I am going to call it a night and leave you in suspense for Sunday's activities. Just a warning....they were delicious. 

I Feel A Little Older

Today...I received my California license plates. And put them on my car. The most car maintenance I've ever done is refill the washer fluid then drive it to get fixed. This required a screw driver, people.

Thanks for the Valpo alum plate holder, Hans and Maggie!

It doesn't get more grown up than license plates from a state that you didn't grow up in on the car you bought all on your own without a cosigner and an alumni license plate holder!

Also, yesterday I went to a Hardly Stricktly Bluegrass.....I'll blog about that later. Preview: it was everything I was told San Francisco would be.

It Is What It Is

I have a confession to make: I backed into a pole. It happened when I picked my mom up from the airport over labor day weekend. In all my years I never once injured the car I was driving and then when all the financial responsibility is on me and I'm in my BRAND NEW car, I back into a freaking pole. I had a ding in my bumper for quite some time and just had it fixed 8 days ago. Onto today's story.....

Today I decided that a little retail therapy was in order since I was bummed out about missing homecoming and I had a few things I could actually justify making a trip out to get.

I headed back out to Livermore, to walk around the outlets there a bit and hit up the mall that had a store I needed. While driving there and slowly getting more and more frustrated with California drivers I began to miss the ding on my bumper. When you have a ding on your bumper people tend to give you a little more room on the road. They think to themselves, "oh she's not afraid to get scrappy, better give her lots of breathing space". Don't pretend like you don't think that about banged up cars too. On more than one occasion my mom has yelled at me for initially parking next to a car with a bad bumper or smashed in door. I usually call her crazy and move the car, not thinking much of this added perk of having a banged up car. No one wants to get real close to you! It's awesome and I missed it.

On my way home from a delightful day of shopping I decided to take the scenic route. Highway 84 through Niles Canyon, for those of you who may know the area. Well it's a rather twisty and turny and beautiful stretch of road. When I was going around one of those turns a motorcycle also happened to be going around but unfortunately did not have as good of control of his bike as he would have liked. He hit the guard rail flew off the bike and the bike skidded across the road and right into my beautiful, newly repaired, freshly washed car.

I am okay and I believe the guy is okay. He went away in an ambulance but he was up and talked to the police for awhile before they took him away. I saw no blood and he wasn't obviously mangeled. Thank goodness he had a helmet and whatever type of special jackets motorcycle riders wear. Those and the guard rail easily saved his life.

Unfortunately my car is not okay. His bike banged up my driver door and front fender and no one is going to want to come near it with a ten foot pole now. I also got quite a few stares when I drove back to my apartment. I hear the breeze as I drive so it's not closing properly. Let's just hope the weather stays wonderful and I don't need to worry about the rain.

My poor car :(

I just can't believe that I went 7 years without incident and now, within a month, I've had two things happen that require body work. I was telling my mom about this and she was saying how my Aunt Dawn was going to go out and get me a St. Christopher medal (patron saint of travelers), have it blessed, and send it my way. Then I remembered that I already have one! I had it in my old car the entire time I drove it! I know I packed it away somewhere, now I just need to find it and find it quickly before something else horrible happens. I get a good chuckle out of this one, the non-religious girl is freaking out because she misplaced her Saint medal. ...but in all honestly I really need to find it.

Now, after talking with the insurance people I am assured that I am not at fault and the other guy's insurance should pay for all my damages. I am left sitting here, drinking wine out of a mug, and thinking "it is what it is".

In case you're curious I am drinking a 2011 late harvest sauvignon blanc from Thomas Coyne. It is completely delicious and I am very deserving after an evening like the one I've had. 

Still on Cloud Nine

Last weekend was the best weekend I've had in a very long time. Why, you ask? Because my boyfriend visited me :)

What? You didn't know about him? Despite having a blog I do remain a very private person and honestly we're a little crazy so I wanted to make sure it was really for real. And I am happy to report that we're not only crazy but also crazy about each other and it is really for real :) If you want to know how we met, ask me in person. It's a little embarrassing/adorable and too much for the internet to handle.

So! Onto the tales of our shenanigans!

After picking up Bobby (that's his name) from the airport we went straight to the Ghiradelli Factory Store. It smelled so good! I want one of the houses that is around there; I would be salivating my entire life. We got a bunch of random chocolate squares and I am still eating them. I literally just finished "Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Caramel" and yeah, it's even more amazing than it sounds.

On Friday evening we tried to go see the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, romantic right? Well we thought that Golden Gate Park would be a good place to be. We thought wrong. It was all forest-y and kinda in a weird valley and couldn't see any sort of vista or pretty sunset. Please if you are from SF and know of a good spot to see the bridge, let me know! The sun was setting quickly so we decided to give up and head towards the ocean and find a beach. We walked on the sand for a little while and got a small taste of the Pacific Ocean before it got too cold and headed back to the car.

It was also very foggy and cloudy. Kinda creepy but kinda cool. 

We drove around looking for somewhere to have dinner and found a place called Mel's Diner. I had THE BEST meatloaf of all time. The gravy was to die for. I dipped my veggies in it.

Saturday rolled around and it was raining. No, that's a lie....it was POURING. All morning it rained and rained and rained. I hadn't seen it rain since I'd gotten here and stared out the window for few minutes in disbelief. We had grand plans of doing some wine tasting but those were quickly squashed. Instead we headed into San Francisco (it stopped raining while we rode the BART in, of course) and saw the ferry building and went to the Exploratorium on piers 15/17. It was so cool! I would describe it as a children's museum where grown ups can play and learn too. We got a kick out of the drinking fountain.

Afterwards we had dinner at Pier 23, a restaurant I had been to before when I visited SF looking for an apartment with my mom, aunt and cousin. It's this little shack with awesome sea food and Bobby and I happened to score an amazing table right on the water. We even think we saw an otter swimming around! We both got the fish and chips (yummo) and for an appetizer he got me to try oysters on the half shell. I can now confidently say they're not bad but not really my thing. If my life depends on it, I will eat a raw oyster.

PROOF

Since our plans of wine tasting on Saturday were ruined by mother nature we moved those to Sunday afternoon. SO MUCH FUN! We went to Livermore, Napa and Sonoma's cooler cousin that is far less touristed and much more economical. And also way closer to where I live.  I had found a winery, Thomas Coyne, with the help of Yelp which has free tastings so we headed there first. It was one this amazing, old, rustic vineyard and the tasting was done in an old barn type thing where the original winery (not the same as the current one) would make their wine and was built back in the 1800's. Unfortunately the property was sold and they are being forced to move from their perfect location to another part of town without nearly as much history and character. Thankfully the grapes they use are not grown on that property so their wine will continue to be awesome. We had an amazing time there, bought a couple of bottles, and decided to hit up another tasting.

The second tasting was not nearly as impressive and the wines were more expensive. The staff also wasn't as personable and it kinda felt to me more like they were bar tenders than wine people. We both felt that the wines had nothing special going on, it was wine we could get at any grocery store and for probably half the price. No wine was bought. 

I then decided that if the website is crappy then they are focusing on more important things, like their wine. So we hit the internet on our phones and found a winery without a real website. Should be amazing right? So totally right! We went on the hunt for The Singing Winemaker because I thought it sounded like fun. I actually still can't find a website for just this winery, just Tesla Vintners where it and another winery are housed. We didn't know there were going to be multiple wineries on site when we got there so we actually first walked into the other place, Ehrenberg Cellars. This is where we found out we could get a package deal and buy tastings at both places so, of course, we signed right up. They also had this cute little photo backdrop thing and they dressed us up and took our picture. When my phone uploaded the pictures to my google drive it "auto awesomed" them and made a little mini movie/flip book/gif. I had no clue this was going to happen and every time I see it, a huge grin spreads over my face.  

Sorry if we're too adorable for you, get over it. 

While there it alternated between us being the only customers and other people coming in and out. We met this awesome older couple, the wife happened to be a life coach and she told us the secrets to success. Sorry but I can't share. After our tasting we headed over to The Singing Winemaker and met the singing winemaker himself. He was walking around, playing his guitar, and singing. I honestly thought this was some sort of gimmic but apparently we were there at the right time and got to meet the guy in the flesh! We also had some great wines while we were there and ended up buying a dessert wine (read: 18% alcohol) called Karen's Kisses. Since we had done quite a bit of drinking by this point we lingered a little while in the picnic area and soaked up a bit of California sun before heading back towards home. I think the coolest part of going to the Tesla Vintners was after they closed some of the employees and the two winemakers also just hung out in the picnic area and drank wine, shooting the breeze. I want that to be my life one day.

Also something totally cool, the winemaker at Ehrenberg signed my bottle! And he let me taste some wine that hasn't even been released or labeled yet. It should be out by Christmas time, the guy is a business man so he was probably trying to get me to come back for it. It is definitely going to work because I LOVED their wines. Seriously considering joining their wine club - called "the whiners". I am also definitely going back to Thomas Coyne, just a whole different level of the amazing. 

I now realize it's rubbing off :( and please ignore my failing craft project in the background

After sobering up we headed back to my place to eat pizza and sushi, drink some wine we had just bought, and watch a movie for our last evening together.

Overall it was an amazing weekend. The most fun I have had in a long time! We're a couple of goofs and it was so good to see my man again, we hadn't seen each other since I left in the beginning of July! We talk every day and gchat but it just isn't the same as being in the same room with somebody. Only 2 months until Thanksgiving and we can see each other again! I had wanted to get a nice picture of us when we went wine tasting but that didn't happen. Somehow I think the silly pictures dressed up and standing in a barrel are more fitting :)

I am still on cloud nine from his visit and getting more and more excited every day for my next set of visitors, my sistas! Columbus Day weekend can't come fast enough!

A 2nd Chance for San Francisco

Guys....I'm almost to 1000 page views! Last I checked before posting this I was at 988, so maybe you're lucky number 1000! I feel like Sally Fields accepting her Oscar, "you like me! your really like me!". If you say I'm too young for that reference I say you don't know my old soul and also that Sally Fields is a timeless and gifted actress beloved by all.

Also if you haven't heard "Roar" by Katy Perry, I suggest you do so. I've linked in for your convenience because I love it that much. Awesome song to jam in the car and scare the other drivers next to you at a stop light with how majorly you're getting into it. Not that I know from experience or anything....GIRL POWER

Enough of me helping you to empower yourself, let's get back to silly stories of my life.

This past weekend I finally had an enjoyable time in San Francisco. I'll admit, my sampling size is rather limited....limited to one visit on a cold/dreary day when I would have rather done anything but walk around a city. It was when I visited the bay area back in early June to hopefully find an apartment (which failed miserably) and we decided we needed to see the city at least a little bit before leaving. It was cold, it was damp, it was a Tuesday evening. Nothing of note was happening, I was very unimpressed and left thinking it was a sad excuse for a major city. Sorry if I offend people who are from here but I had Chicago and London to compare it to. I still have major issues with the city - public transportation super super sucks! - but it does have a ton of character. 

I went downtown on Saturday morning with a couple of my coworkers, one of the girls was another RA visiting from our Hoboken office for the week so it was fun to hang out with her again. We went to the Ferry Building and I discovered the most beautiful, vibrant, amazing smelling farmer's market of my life. SO MANY COLORS. It was amazing and I can't wait to go back and explore for myself, without other people to distract me. 

We walked around for awhile and saw stores and stuffs. Walked up way too many steep hills for my comfort level - because public transportation super super sucks! - and ended up at Ghiradelli Square. UM HELLO YUMMY! It. smelled. amazing. I got chocolate covered espresso beans and chocolate covered blueberries. So so so so so so so good. 

--side note: I discovered I live a mere 25 min from the Ghiradelli factory store and outlet. yep, that's on the list of things to visit.

Since we were right there we walked over to Fisherman's Warf and sat and saw some sailboats. We missed the America's Cup races, I don't even think we were in the right spot and it was too late for that anyways. I saw a little teeny bit of the Golden Gate Bridge but I'm not letting that count as my first time seeing it because I didn't get the full majesty of it. We could see Alcatraz but it was weirdly hazy so the picture didn't turn out.

Since I started with current jam, I'll end with another current obsession: The Avett Brothers. They started showing up a lot of my Mumford and Sons Pandora; one thing led to another and now we're in a committed relationship. I just downloaded Mignonette and it's on repeat while I work. One of my favorites is below: 

Happy Tuesday!

A Midwestern Girl on the West Coast

I've noticed a few things since I've been here. Strange things. Cool things. "What the John?" kinda things. I'll share a few of them now but I suspect this may become a recurring post as weird things happen or I make random observations.

Last post I commented on how the small booklet on the restaurant table wasn't drinks or desserts. There is nutritional information everywhere and it is in your face. I agree that it should be readily available if requested but if I choose to remain blissfully ignorant please let me do so.

It is always sunny. All the time the sun is shining. Glaring in your face as you're trying to drive or walk around. I would kill for an overcast day right now. Yeah, in the morning it is a little cloudy but that's all gone by about 10:30am and then it's all sunny for the rest of the day. Only once has it been cloudy that I've noticed since I've been here (about 3 weeks now). I'm told that it rains in the winter....I don't believe them.

How am I supposed to drive with this?

People here, meaning silicon valley, have money coming out of their knee caps. It's exhausted all other traditional routes (ie. eyeballs, ears, armpits) and is now pouring out the knee caps as well. How do I know this, you ask? By observing the parking lot at my office. There are 3 Tesla cars I regularly see, a super nice BMW with a bike rack on top, and there isn't a car that is more than 5 years old. Seriously?! It's bonkers. 

I know this is a cultural thing, I am closer to Asia on this coast, but there are a million thai restaurants. As someone who doesn't particurlarly enjoy thai food this is problematic. Whenever we go out for lunch in my office it is to one of two thai restaurants that are nearby. I don't detest it enough to ask to go somewhere else, I can always get sweet and sour chicken, but I've had thai food three times in the past week and that is way above my comfort level. 

Californians seem to want you to love everything and they want to help you love everything. When asked if I like thai food and I tell someone "it's alright, I'm still getting used to it" (complete lie, I don't like it and I'm just being diplomatic. I'll probably binge on granola bars at my desk after lunch) they'll reply with their favorite places to get thai food and at least three dishes I should try to help me try different parts of it. For a normal, rational person that's a very nice suggestion. I, however, am not always normal and rational. I'm crazy. I see this as smothering. You may be thinking now, "she's not appreciative of how they're trying to welcome her" I am appreciative, that's why I lie and listen to them, it's just that every. single. person. is that helpful person. There is a point when it just becomes too much. 

Traffic here is insanity. I took a wrong turn and ended up in gridlock traffic on the highway for a half hour just trying to get to the next exit. Also their signage is weird, my mom can testify to this. They don't always have signs parking when the lanes at an intersection are right/left turn only but rather paint it on the road. This is troublesome when there are lots of cars (which there almost always are) and you don't know which lane goes where (how I ended up on the highway in gridlock traffic). And the cycle of stop lights...don't even try to understand because it isn't consistent. 

That's enough ranting for today. One of the cool things about California is that I can grow a lemon tree in this climate!! I've always loved lemon everything and have wanted to get a dwarf lemon tree to have in a pot on my porch and now I have one!! And it's starting to bloom so I'll have lemons in no time!!

Moving and FINALLY Feeling Settled

This past week has been bonkers. BONKERS I TELL YA!

On Friday I packed up my hotel room for the last time (happy dance) and picked my momma up from the airport (happy dance and happy hugs) and spent my last night in a hotel on a crummy mattress (super happy dance)!

Virgin America lets you check up to 10 bags at $25 each. Way cheaper than shipping my stuff!

Saturday rolled around and it was TIME TO MOVE INTO MY VERY OWN APARTMENT!!! If you couldn't guess already there will be lots of all caps in this post. They are meant to convey excitement.

We moved my suitcases into the apartment and went in search of furniture. On Friday evening I had done some scouting so we didn't have to go a million places if there wasn't anything worth seeing. During my apartment search I had driven past a Macy's Furniture Outlet and during the scouting mission found a few couches I liked that were good prices. We decided on one that was supposed to be a section but did not have the chaise lounger part attached. Fine by me! One side has this awesome angle that is perfect for watching TV and I'm actually leaning against it right now as I'm typing. It's fantastical! We also found an awesome deal on a mattress and another awesome deal on an accent chair. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that everything was on sale in addition to outlet prices? And that since it was labor day weekend everything was another 10% off on top of all those discounts? Yeah, that happened.

So once we purchased the goods we went to pick up the U-Haul van I had rented for the day. We figured it would be a tight fit....yeah we were right. It was like playing furniture tetris to get it all to fit. The guys that helped us were great sports.

The doors wouldn't close....we tied them together

We drove back to my apartment, thankfully it wasn't far, and had my childhood/high school friends Kevin and John (both also recently moved out here) meet us to be our muscle and actually move the furniture. We would have either died or been crushed by my couch without them. 

After we moved that stuff we went off to get stuff. Ya know, all that random stuff you need when you move and set up a new place to live. We basically, single handedly stimulated the economy. After a long long long day of shopping and driving all around the east bay we finally stopped to have some dinner. 

Alright Chicago friends, when you walk into a restaurant and see some sort of small book on the table what do you think it is? Specials? Drinks? Desserts? Ha. Ha. Ha. Not in California (at least in Claim Jumper). It's nutritional information. When you're in the mood for a drink that's not exactly what you want to find. 

Don't look at how many calories are in a chicken pot pie. Just don't 

After some setting up and lots of little random unpacking/cleaning things we finally went to bed. I slept on the first comfortable bed I've encountered in two months. My new mattress is like sleeping on a cloud. Every morning when I wake up I don't want to get out of bed. That never really happened in hotel beds. I was much more productive in the morning in hotel beds. 

Sunday arrived and we went in search of a kitchen table. After some returns made to Lowes and a trip to Costco we stumbled up on Krazy Pat's Furniture Outlet. Outlets are my favorite. Krazy Pat himself helped us! He guessed prices. We suspect he was drunk. We got a great deal on a dresser, nightstand, and kitchen table with delivery. And I was fully expecting to wait awhile for the stuff to arrive but they were delivered yesterday. Krazy Pat may have been an alcoholic but he did good business. But here's what you really wanted to see, pictures of my place with all my stuff! I cleaned up just for you guys. Also, before you think my life is super glamorous and I can afford all these new awesome things all on my own please know that probably 60% was gifts. People seem to like me and I am forever grateful. 

Taken from standing in the back corner, by the window and nightstand

Taken from the doorway. The lamp on the nightstand was $5! With CFL lightbulb! Go Goodwill!

Bathroom. There is more counter space but I couldn't fit it in the picture

My kitchen with the new table and chairs. Mr. Ethan Apple sent me the "I love bacon sign"
For a toddler he has great taste

From behind the couch looking towards the living area. The front door is just out of sight to the right. 

My couch and chair. I'm in love. 

So after a long day of more buying stuff and putting more stuff together and way to much California for my sanity to handle we deemed Monday a tourist day. Krazy Pat had told us about the Winchester Mystery House (link) and we had both heard about it previously so we decided to give it a visit. It was pretty cool, quite the maze of rooms. The crazy lady that built the house just built rooms on top of rooms and enveloped old buildings on the property and build crazy short steps on her stairs. When she died they stopped construction right away and repairs are still being made to the house with original materials because they had so much on hand at the time. They never knew what she wanted built day to day so they just had a ton of building supplies. It was wild. 

After touring the house we went to dinner at ...try and follow this... my dad's childhood friend's second cousin's house. One of "The Walsh Boys". And by "boy" I mean middle aged. He and his wife had my mom and I over for dinner and it was the first home cooked meal I've had in two months. It was awesome. They're wonderful people and it's good to have the phone number of a responsible adult just in case I ever need it. They also invited me to a concert with them and some of their family, nieces and nephews and people more my age, in early October that I'll probably go to.

We had one last night of mother/daughter togetherness then a goodbye the following morning. Always difficult saying bye to the momma but I'll be home before I know it! And I have a brand spankin' new apartment and lots of visitors to occupy myself with in the meantime.

This is getting rather long so I'll save the saga of my cable/internet set up for another day. It's comical in a "this would only happen to me" sort of way.