Again – I am SO far behind on this damn thing. But to be fair – I have been really busy. And I know I saw that quite often – but for realz. I’ve been busy. Since my last entry, I have worked, worked, baked some cookies, moved into a new place (WOOP WOOP) and roadtripped to Chicago to see friends for St Pats. So I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been busy. So the work stuff is boring – but I can definitely talk about all the fun stuff I’ve done J
I baked a batch of cookies a couple weeks ago – on a whim, for no real reason. Other than I wanted to bake something. So I consulted my trusty “Recipes” board on Pinterest to find something to make. I wasn’t feeling cupcakes – so much work. But I figured an easy cookie recipe should do it. I found a recipe for Apple Cider Caramel Cookies. On my pin it said “these taste just like Caramel Apple Suckers!” so I knew that I’d love them. It was a pretty easy recipe, however I had to veer from Super Target to an actual grocery store for the Apple Cider mix. Ah well – I’ll learn someday that Target doesn’t have EVERYTHING you could possibly want. (JK it totally does. And everything you will never need. And stuff that you don’t even know what it is but you buy it anyway.) Anyway – sorry, got sidetracked by Target – story of my life. So these cookies seemed pretty fool proof. There really should be no way I mess these up. Mix the dough, unwrap a caramel, put it in the middle of the dough, roll it into a ball – bake for 20 minutes. Got the cookies in the oven and about halfway through the cook time, I turned the light on to see what they look like. Well they seemed to be spreading more than I had anticipated, and the caramel didn’t look like it had melted. I thought about scrapping the whole deal right then – but I decided to wait it out and see how they looked when they were done. (Cut to 10 minutes later when the timer goes off…) I am actually dreading this moment. But I take them out of the oven, let them cool for a while, taste one – BOOM. Success! They were delicious – and they did taste exactly like caramel apple suckers. Pretty proud of myself on that one. I took them to work the next day and everyone ate them. At least they were out of my possession so I didn’t snarf them down like I’d never eaten before.
Now let’s get to the real exciting stuff – I HAVE MY OWN PLACE TO LIVE! Well I mean I share it with Toby the lion cub, but he doesn’t pay rent or clean so he’s basically worthless. He is a pretty great cuddler though so I’ll give him that. Anyway – my new place is fantastic. It’s a loft-style apartment – basically it’s a glorified studio apartment that actually has a “bedroom.” But it has tall ceilings and visible piping, and it’s so cute. I love it. I moved everything in last weekend and have yet to put it all away. I didn’t realize just how much stuff I had. And I don’t have the storage I had in my last place other than in my closet… so this could be fun. Once I get rid of all the boxes around the place though I think I’ll feel better about it. And once I decorate. Then it will actually feel like someone lives there. And I’ve already had my first glass of wine there so it’s basically home J I’m hosting our book club meeting next week so it can be a mini “housewarming” party with my book lovers. Along with that – I have my own little library. My bookshelf full of books, my comfy chair, and a little table to hold a lamp and a glass of wine or coffee. Don’t even act like you’re not impressed. And I obviously know you’re jealous. Don’t worry – I’ll allow visitors soon J
Speaking of books – and again a little off topic – I finished our book club read today. What a RIDICULOUS book. We read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – her 3rd book I’ve read in 2013 – and it is a complete mind-F. (again – not using profanity like THAT). It was pretty screwed up at the beginning, but as I hit Part 2 – whoa. Ridiculous. I think EVERYONE should read this book – yet another reason why I love “weird” things. And this one is hella weird.
Back to my list of fun things – let’s wrap this up with St Pats. First off – any excuse to head to Chicago is a good excuse. Not even an excuse – just an awesome idea. Chicago is quite possibly my most favorite city EVER. Yes I realize it’s a solid 6 hours away and only in Illinois… but it’s fantastic. The first time I visited was my sophomore year of college. We went in February – and it was miserable outside. I was hungover, it was snowing/raining, and it was cold. I was in no mood to walk Michigan Avenue and check out the sites. But once we hit the city – I was in love. It was gorgeous and ridiculous all at once. I loved it. I didn’t care how cold it was, I didn’t care that my brain was oozing out my ears. I took in all the sites and relished in the wind of the Windy City (see what I did there?) After that quick trip I knew that I’d come back. I visited with my family a couple times since then, and a friend of mine moved out there for a few years so I spent a few long weekends with her. Took in a hockey game, a bar crawl in Wrigleyville, and lots of shopping. And every time I go back – I fall in love with it even more. This trip for St Pats was no different. The best part was I got to see a lot of college friends I hadn’t seen for a while. Friday night we stayed in and had a throwback house party – grilling, card games, beers, shots, late night movie watching – just like the good ol’ days in Ames. Saturday morning we got up and headed to the station to catch the train into the city. After a few brief hiccups (debating on outerwear, the lack of purse space for travel cocktails, a towed vehicle, etc.) we finally made it. The train ride was pretty fun and we were not the most ridiculous looking people on it. That people watching trip was fantastic – I love how people get so into holidays. We did the same – with our temporary neck tattoos and matching “Kiss Me I’m Iowish” shirts. But once we were off the train (and took a potty break) we were off to the Windy City. Again – terrible weather. It was cold and windy, and I didn’t even care. We saw the skyline, the river that had been dyed green, the ass hole drivers, and the street where Batman was filmed. Again – I was in love. Chicago and I will always have a love affair – long distance I’m sure. But still – love. And spending time with my loves there made it even better.
Each time I move toward the closing portion of my blog, it makes me think of Jerry Springer. Yes I watch that show – and I can’t get enough of it. Anyway – the end of his show when he does the Thought of the Day. I hope I provide a little more insight than Jerry, and maybe some entertainment – not quite as much as that one though… but you get the idea. So my words of wisdom today come from an unknown author, but borrowed from The Chive’s website…
“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”
This struck me as important because I’ve had days lately where laying around and doing nothing, feels like something I shouldn’t be doing. But then part of me thinks – why the hell not? A day off, relaxing and reading a book can almost be a better day than one where you’ve packed 11 activities into 24 hours and you can’t really sit down and enjoy any activity. Which brings me to another quip for some “words of wisdom.” After a hard couple weeks at work a couple years ago, I received a gift from a friend of mine to make me happy. It was a sign saying “Do one thing every day that makes you happy.” How perfect. Even if you have a shitty day – work sucks, your car is iced over, you forget your coffee at home – if you can do one thing that day to make you happy (start a new book, write a blog entry, work out, eat some chocolate, talk to a friend, etc.) then you will be much better off. It may not be the happiest day of your life, but if you’re alive and happy – well, then isn’t that what it’s all about?
Don’t worry, be happy…
S
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