Julie Recaps the News and Other Adventures

Hi friends! I know I haven't updated in a while. I feel like every entry, I promise to be better about updating and then I never am. My fault.

I guess there's been a lot going on. I feel like I've been super busy. I've been in Boston the past two weekends, once for a Red Sox game and the other for a fancy wedding.




Those were the shoes I wore to the wedding, btw. YEP. They were pretty serious. Comfortable? HELL NO. As in, there were times where I did not think I would be able to take another step, because my feet hurt so bad. Luckily, I had brought my sparkly gold flats to change into for the dancing portion of the night. Which took up a big portion, because I love dancing.

So, it was my second-cousin who was getting married. And, while Kara and I were there, we met another second-cousin that we didn't even know we had!!!! And turns out, him and his wife are totally awesome and cool and now we want to become best friends with them. So - FAMILY WIN.

Also, it was open bar all night.

And the weekend before was the Red Sox game. They were playing the team from Minnesota. They won! I can't even tell you the last time I watched a whole baseball game. Like, I can't even tell you. Turns out - it was really fun being there. Now I know who Dustin Pedroia is! It was me, Kara, my mom, my cousin Evan and my Uncle Bob! Great time. I had a hot dog and a beer. Classic ballgame eats.

Other than exciting events I have been attending, not much has been going on. Been working a lot. It's been good. I'm so lucky to work with awesome people at both jobs. There's not one person that I don't like.


SO. The first portion of the title of this entry was, "Julie Recaps the News," which I will do now.

THE OTHER NIGHT, we were all watching the news at like, 10pm or something. I think it was after Dancing with the Stars... (go Chelsea!), and they did a story about a group of students that went on a whale watch. Now, this whale watch ended very badly, as the boat hit like this giant wave and a bunch of the students were injured. I think it was off of Cape Cod somewhere. And, they interviewed this one girl from the boat and she had to have stitches in her lip and everything. So, at the end of the news story, the news lady is like, "and the worst part of the whole thing is that the students didn't even get to see any whales, but all received rainchecks so they can go again."

NOW. My mom, Kara and I all started laughing pretty hard at this. THEY GOT RAINCHECKS?!!? Awesome. But was even MORE AWESOME, was that the whole news team starts laughing too. Like, the two newscasters sitting at the desk, the reporter on the scene, AND then they cut to Matt Nois who does the weather, and he's standing there laughing too!!! IT WAS HILARIOUS. And, I have laughed every time I have randomly thought about it ever since then. Which has been a lot, because I'm pretty lame.

And then the next night on the news, Matt Nois was doing the weather and he made a joke about the whale watching trip story from the night before. We all started laughing again. SO GREAT. And it really made me appreciate the "News Team" community. Like, everyone standing in their respective places, ready to read the news. It's kind of a funny set up.

Anyways, today I went searching for the video of the story online, and I found it, but they cut it out at the end just as it's starting to get good. The news ladies start laughing a little bit, and then the story ends.

But I encourage you to watch the video here. And, there's a bonus when they interview the high school girl with the stitched up lip, because she has on GREAT nail polish. Girl from the video, if you're reading - LOVE IT. Love the nails.

Aahhhh, anyways. That was a good time.

So, I have to go to Target tonight. Need some eye drops. Also, cold medicine. Also might buy some cucumber and some limeade to make cucumber limeade smoothies at home. We made them at work last night and they were delish! So, I want to recreate them.

Ok. Well, I hope you all are having lovely evenings. OH! I've seen some movies recently that I will quickly recap you on:

1. BRIDESMAIDS: Excellent. Ohhh I laughed pretty hard at a lot of parts. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are kind of unstoppable. Definitely recommend.

2. PROM: Loved it. A lot. And the bad-boy male lead in it TOTALLY looked like Tony from Crash Kings. Yes?



Thomas McDonell, from PROM.


(warning:: hott, sweaty musician...)



Tony, from Crash Kings.

THEY LOOK ALIKE, RIGHT?!?!!? They do. They totally do. During parts of the movie I was just smiling, because it reminded me of being at a Crash Kings concert. Minus the Crash Kings songs. And Ryan and Jo. Also, Mike and Jason. haha. I guess they're a big part of the Crash Kings experience too. But, more so Ryan and Jo. :)

Anyways, Prom was awesome. The dress-trying-on montage was definitely a highlight. Many lame prom jokes were made that night, and I take full responsibility. Haha.

3. FAST AND THE FURIOUS: I know this is called something else, but I can't remember what it is. It's the sequel. FAST FIVE. That's what it's called. I had never seen any of the first Fast and the Furious movies, but I went with some friends who were fans. It was a good action movie. I'm a fan of The Rock, so I enjoyed it. Yes, I am a fan of The Rock. He seems like a nice guy. Anyways, fun movie.

4. NO STRINGS ATTACHED: Yep, the NatPort and Ashton "friends with benefits" rom com. Um, LOVED IT. It was totally funny. Really, I just love anything that Ashton does. I find him highly enjoyable to watch and look at. It was light and fun. And yet another joke about the Prius. Yep, just keep making fun of it, people. It seems in every movie, there is a lame character who drives a Prius and everyone can't stop making fun of him. Well guess what?? I was the one getting 56 mpg the other week so HA! Joke's on all of you, bitches!

5. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: The sex movie. It was all about sex. People having sex everywhere, all over the place. Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway. Eh, it was alright. I enjoyed it less than I thought I would. Depressing because it was also all about the pharmaceutical industries and how they only want to screw people over. Pun only semi-intended.


So, yep. Been watching a lot of rom coms. Don't judge. I'll get back to watching serious movies soon enough.

ALRIGHT. I guess I should go be productive. OH! I forgot to tell you the best thing!!!!!

RUBY TUESDAY TURNED 7!!!!!!!! Yep! The big 7. On May 6. We were gone most of the day, which I was upset about, but we celebrated when I got home. She got lots of new toys and treats. And, it's been like, three weeks and not even all the new toys are lost yet! So, that's a good thing. I went to three different stores looking for this compressed catnip ball, which I finally found her. The things we do for our kids.

ANYWAYS. I guess now I should go get dressed finally and go do my errands.

OH WAIT!!!! I'll tell you about songs that I love right now:

1. "Young Blood," by The Naked and Famous. I admit, I didn't start liking this song until I heard it in 'Prom.' But, now I love it.

the bittersweet between my teeth
trying to find the inbetween
fall back in love eventually
yeahyeahyeahyeah

2. "Help I'm Alive," by Metric. WORDDDDDD.

come take my pulse the pace is on a runaway train
help i'm alive
my heart keeps beating like a hammer


Two great songs for you to enjoy!!! Enjoy!

Ok, now I guess I'll go. I might also buy chicken salad because it's my favorite food in the whole world and why not?!?!

Hope you all reading this are having a great night. I'm gonna have a great night. I have no plans, but I'm gonna make it fun. DUH.

Alright, we'll talk soon.


LATERRRRR.

this night is sparkling

UPDATE:: I'm STILL in a great mood.


So much and so little has been going on in my life, I don't even know where to start...


1. FURR. I hope everyone knows this song. If you don't, you can check it out here. It's a song by the wonderful band, Blitzen Trapper. Keith got me into this band back in the fall. They are so great. Definitely check out their record, also titled 'Furr.'

Anyways - this song has been such a source of comfort to me. Like, it seems to fit into my life so beautifully, which is what I love about it. It's just a song about a transformation. A boy turns into a wolf one day, and his skin turns into fur and he lives with wolves for like, 6 years. And then when he meets the girl he's supposed to marry, his fur turns back into skin and he turns into a man.

I just listen to it and am like, "hey, it's okay." Like, being in a transformation phase, a life transition,an ending, a beginning, a fresh start... it's okay. It's all okay. Because one day, you'll turn into the person you're supposed to be. And sometimes lately, I just feel lost. Like, people enter my life, they leave, I enter, I leave, I move, I meet, I change, I learn, I cry because I'm heartbroken, I cry because I'm so happy, I'm inspired, I'm pathetic, I'm home, I'm out of place, I'm lost, I'm home again, I'm evolving.

But it's all okay. Because, one day, I'll turn into the person I'm supposed to be. But, right now, I feel like I've got the furr. I'm changing, man. I used to always think that big things never happen to me. But, they do. Things are happening. I've felt like, every emotion imaginable in the past 6 months and that's awesome and scary.

RIGHT NOW, however: i'm a rattlesnake, babe, i'm like fuel on a fire.

Love that lyric. I did feel like fuel on a fire today. I FEEL GREAT TODAY. Today is a good day. Fuel on a fire.

Here's Blitzen Trapper performing Furr on Conan. BONUS: they're also super cute.


2. Video of a kitten riding on a turtle. Don't think about it! Just watch. We might have watched this video a lot when I was in Brooklyn. MIGHT.


3. I dyed shirts purple tonight. Three of them. I asked my mom and Kara if they had anything they wanted dyed purple, and they both did! So great! Now we all have purple things!! There was one day where Kara and I were like, "Let's all wear plaid shirts today!!" So me, my mom and Kara all wore plaid shirts and went out to dinner. Yep. 'Cause we're that awesome. So, we'll wear the purple shirts on purple day.

I instituted Theme Days at Eddie Bauer, the retail store where I work. YEP. I was like, "hey guys, let's have THEME DRESS DAYS!!!!" And all the other associates were like, "UUGHHHHH" but the managers were like, "YES!" So, today was "T-shirt Tuesday." We all had to wear the Eddie Bauer essential tee, currently on sale for $7.99. (wow what a great deal.) They could be any color, but they had to be the t-shirt. It went awesomely. I loved it. And one of the managers, Jen, requested that I match my nail polish to my shirt. YEP. So, I woke up ten minutes early this morning to repaint my nails. GREAT. I'm kind of rocking that job. To the max. Obvi.

I have to come up with the next Theme Day. Something easy, but also fun and awesome. Maybe it will be Purple Day.

We should have Ruby Red Day on Friday, in celebration of Ruby Tuesday's birthday. Yep - she's turning 7!! I went out birthday shopping for her this afternoon. I'm not done yet. I couldn't get everything I wanted. That's right, I've known for weeks what she's getting for her birthday. I think I've told like, everyone I've come into contact with that it's Ruby's birthday this week. I mentioned it at work today, even. Yep - RUBY RED DAY. Too bad I'm not working on Friday. Oh, I just love Ruby Tuesday. She's the best.

I realize I've gone off the bullet points. Or, numbers, rather. This is still all under number 3. That's okay. I'm ending now anyways.

Yes, I must away to sleep. I'm very tired. Burnt out, if you will. Keeping with the 'fuel on a fire' theme. ALRIGHT! I hope everyone has lovely Wednesdays.

LAST WEEK ON WEDNESDAY: I actually said aloud, "I can't believe it's only Wednesday." And then I was like, "OMG I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT." Unexpected Crash Kings song title worked into normal conversation?!?!?! #AWESOME.

Also - I miss Crash Kings. Like, A LOT. Why can't they play a show around here!!!??? Like, NOW. I haven't seen them since D.C. in OCTOBER. That was like, a thousand years ago. Wow that was a great weekend.

Ohh ok. I'll go to bed now. Have a lovely rest of the week. Let's all continue to be in excellent moods.

Oh! More exciting news!!! About my dad!! He voted for the very first time ever!!!! The very first time EVER!!!!! He could never vote in the USA because he wasn't a citizen, but now that he moved back to the homeland, Canada, he can vote!! And they just had their big election!!! Isn't that cool? I think this is great. :)


OK. Excellent moods: GO!

#IFEELGREATTODAY

Oh, hi! I didn't see you there.

FAVE OPENING FOR A BLOG ENTRY?? Check.

Ok. I am in a good mood today. I might even say I'm in a great mood today.




Documentation of my great mood.


1. I don't have to work today!! In fact, I have TWO DAYS OFF IN A ROW. No way? Yes way. I was "on call" today for my retail job. I know what you're thinking... "On call?? For a retail job?? It's just clothes!!" Yes. I have the same thoughts. But, whatevs. So, today, I was on call from 10-2. The rules are, you have to call in an hour before your shift to see if they need you. Now, this proves tough because I like to leave the house 40 minutes before my shift to make sure I have enough time. So, that doesn't leave me with much time. So, I like to call like, an hour and fifteen minutes before my shift.

So this morning, I called in around 8:50 and they said I didn't have to work!! Nice! I was super happy. I've been on call three times so far since I've started working there, and all three times they haven't needed me. But each time I haven't gotten my hopes up... I've prepared to go in. So, I've been in super great moods each time, because I'm not expecting it.

I'm trying this new thing where I don't get my hopes up. Twice recently, I've gotten my hopes up very, very high for things that haven't worked out. So, instead of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst," I'm going with, "prepare for the worst, prepare for the worst!" Because, the "hope for the best" part of that statement always wins. So far, I think I'm doing okay.


2. See that scarf I'm wearing in the above picture? BACK STORY!! So, that scarf used to be part of a bed sheet that we found when we were cleaning out my grandmother's apartment. And it was going to be thrown away, because it was kind of old and faded, but I thought, "SCARF POTENTIAL!!!" So, I saved it, measured out a nice section and voila! New scarf. Loves it.


3. I think I'm going to try and get back to my minor craftiness. Like dying things and making jewelry. And scarf making. Today I was like,

JULIE: I'm going to repaint my bedroom tomorrow!!!!

But then immediately I was like,

JULIE: Ok, hold on...

I quickly realized that the project was too big. And every time I decide to paint a room, I usually end up ruining it. Also, my bedroom is a disaster and cleaning it out with take an army. So, I'll stick to the small stuff.


4. 'Wires,' by Coconut Records. I've been loving this song lately. And actually, I've been getting back into my Coconut Records roots. It's really where I belong. SUCH a great song. It's one of my faves. It's been putting me in a good mood when I find myself in a sad mood.

Had a lot of things to say
Had a lot of points to make
Put me down on walk sweet take before you go away
Close the door in case you stay
And I can't believe it's already tired
Oh go and cut all my wires


5. And speaking of Jason Schwartzman.... I've been rewatching season 1 of Bored to Death! Man, it's so funny. Like, way funnier than I remember it to be. That's not saying that it wasn't funny the first time around. No, it was totes hilars. But, it's even funnier now. Great. Anyways! So, the show is about a writer who begins to moonlight as a private detective. Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis. Awesome. So, on the episode that I watched today, they went to investigate at the "Brooklyn Coop!" Which was the Park Slope Coop that I was at last week!!! OMG, I kind of flipped out. They started talking about it and were like, "yeah, you have to be a member to shop there..." And I was like, "holy crap they're talking about the place I just was!" And then they got there and the name had been changed, but they were talking about being in Park Slope, so it was definitely the same coop. AWESOME. Right?! Me and Schwartzman. We belong together.


6. Shock Top! My new fave beer. Thanks, Aliya ♡


7. I think I'm done for now! Kara and I are going to the gym. I'm kind of dreading it. My great mood has lessened to 'good.' But, whatevs.


OK! I hope you all are also having a great day. We'll talk again soon!! It's super windy here today and I think that means a change is coming. Let's hope it's a good one. Nay, a great one.



LOVESIT!!!

Brookyn, Brooklyn, take me in...

WHAT A STRANGE WEEK I HAD LAST WEEK. I put that in all caps to emphasize my point. It was a week of extreme emotions. Like, covering the whole spectrum. WEIRD. Oh man, so weird. So, it was kind of perfect that I had a trip to Brooklyn planned for the end of the week. Elizabeth was flying up from Austin, and Joe and Aliya already lived there! So, it was an almost-complete MOD 16 reunion. Kerianne couldn't make it :( But, we'll see her soon.

So the last time that Joe, Aliya, Elizabeth and I were together was in Ireland!!! Yes, that's right. I hadn't seen Elizabeth since DUBLIN. Crazy, right?!?! UM, YEAH.

Remember this one? This photo was self-timered in Doolin! If the four of us started an indie-rock-folk band, this would be the cover of our first record.




Also, note the bras hanging from the bunk ladder. Keepin' it classy 'cross the globe.

So, I had seen Aliya over the summer in Chicago, and then in Ogunquit, and I had seen Joe when I was in Manhattan back in October. FINALLY we were all able to adventure again!

We had a GREAT AMAZING TIME in Brooklyn.

I left late Wednesday morning. Stopped for gas and coffee. No matter how much gas prices rise, I never seem to pay more than like, $27 to fill my tank. I think that's still the most I've ever paid for gas. Weird. But, awesome, because I was getting 52 mpg on the trip down to NY.

So, the ride down was super easy. I kind of switched up my directions mid-trip because I looked at the GPS directions and it was saying that I should go on 91 and 95 and I was like, "no thanks." So, I called Kara and had her give me alternate directions, because I knew I wanted to stay on I-84 most of the way there. So, I did. And it was still super easy.

I had only ever been over the Whitestone Bridge once before, and it was my second year at Hampshire when I drove to the Bronx to visit Maria. It was on accident, and one way across was $4.50. I thought THAT was outrageous. THIS TIME ACROSS, it cost me $6.50. One way. Unbelievable, right?? Yes.

But, I made it. And driving through Queens I drove under Queens Boulevard, which was exciting, because it is referenced a bunch on Entourage. I might have actually uttered aloud, "You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard" whilst passing under... (Entourage reference.)

ANYWAYS. I drove through Brooklyn under I arrived at Joe's house!!!!! Parking on his street is super easy, and I was able to get a spot right in front of his house! And on the correct side of the street. (Street sweeping purposes.)

And I rang the buzzer and walked up to Joe's apartment and ELIZABETH WAS THERE!!!!! Lots of hugging took place. As well as lots of exclamations of excitement. SO GREAT. As it turned out, Joe was off filming a Pretty Reckless charity concert, so we wouldn't see him until later that night. (Taylor Momsen, of Gossip Girl fame, is the lead singer of the band, so it was pretty exciting.)

So, Elizabeth and I sat on the floor and talked. Ohhh it was great to see her.

Then Aliya called after she was out of work and we planned to meet up with her for drinks in Manhattan. She was at a Sporkful podcast event, so we would meet her there. So, eventually we found our way from Joe's house to the train station and took the train right onto Houston Street!!!! Which was where we saw Crash Kings back in May at the Mercury Lounge. Also, that was where I saw River City Extension for the first time. MEMORIES. So great.

We made our way to the East Village and ended up at Drop Off Service, the bar where we were meeting Aliya. AND THEN WE FOUND HER!!!!! Ohhhh reunions are so great. It was a super exciting time. We drank hard cider together!! We stayed there for a little bit and then ventured back to Brooklyn. We went to TJ's to pick up delicious things to eat. Including goat cheese, chocolate ice cream and ginger cookies. YUM.

Then we went back to Aliya's lovely apartment, met her roomie, also a Hampshire alum, and proceeded to make dinner! Delish. And YAY - with friends. The friend euphoria was still intense. AND THEN JOE SHOWED UP!!!!!! So great!!!! Then we all sat around, drank red wine, ate chocolate ice cream and ginger cookies, and talked until the early hours of the morning. Even though Elizabeth and I didn't have any of our things with us, we opted to stay at Aliya's house rather than walking the 2 miles back to Joe's house. So, we set up shop in the living room and I slept great that night.

The next morning Elizabeth and I woke up and Aliya had already gone to work. So, we hung around only for a little while, and then headed over to Joe's house. But not before getting awesome coffee from this super cool skate shop/coffee shop, Homage, right around the corner from Aliya's house.

It was a lovely walk back to Joe's. We got back and Joe was awake! We all hung around a little bit, then I took a shower and Joe went out to get BAGELS. Yummm. Then we ate lots of bagels with hummus and did some more hanging around. Then Joe needed to be off on another important assignment, so Elizabeth and I made ourselves at home. We took over Joe's iTunes and ended up listening to a recording that Joe had of Elizabeth, Aliya, Kerianne and himself at SAGA one day. Remember SAGA? The Hampshire dining hall? YEP. Ohhhh college. That was like, 45 minutes. Nice.

Then Joe came back after about an hour or so. We decided that we wanted to walk around Brooklyn before we had plans to meet up with our friend Finn, who we went to Hampshire with. (Brooklyn is basically like an extension of Hampshire's housing developments.)

So, we walked over to Prospect Park. Saw the famous, Grand Army Plaza, which I had never seen before, so that was cool. I didn't want to seem too touristy by taking pictures all the time, so Joe, Elizabeth and I devised this story that I was a location scout taking photos for a new spy thriller rom-com starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. Clever, right?

These are the pictures I came up with:




Secret spy meeting under a quaint bridge? Check.









Sp pretty, right? Joe said one time he was walking past the boathouse and he saw a giant film crew! Everyone was wearing period costumes and they had giant wind fans trying to create waves. COOL. We sat in front of the boat house for a long time and people-watched. There were lots of small children getting way too close to the lake. We were nervous. Also, there was "Hott Legs." This girl wearing a very short mini skirt was walking around with a personal long-range photographer. We watched their photo shoot from across the lake. HOTT LEGS.





More boathouse. We hadn't seen Hott Legs in a while and then..... SHE WALKED RIGHT BY US. We tried not to stare. Joe said,

JOE: I think I was the only one staring at the camera and not at her legs.

He was right.





Joe, Elizabeth and Julie!! Together in Prospect Park.

Then we continued on our walk.




That location was for the other secret spy meeting/love confession portion of the movie.

Then! We exited Prospect Park and took the train back to Manhattan to 14th Street. Union Square! Where Joe and I had met up before. "Our park." I had also been there with Ryan a heck of a lot. Last April, in fact, we stayed nearby to Union Square with Ryan's friend on our way back from Philadelphia. And we ate at the same coffee shop twice in one day with two different people!!! It was funny. So, Union Square is fun. And this time - we were meeting up with Finn!! Who, I hadn't seen since I graduated from Hampshire in 2008. So great to see him!!! He suggested that we go to this restaurant, Thai Terminal, for dinner. I loved this place. It reminded me of being in the Airport Lounge, because it was furnished like one. AWESOME.

Food was great, mango thai iced tea was excellent, company was wonderful. Aliya joined us after she got out of work! And Finn's brother, Thomas, joined us as well!! We knew him from the times he went to visit Finn at Hampshire. And we would all hang out in MOD 16. Super fun.

Then, we google mapped a bar on Aliya's phone and found our way. The 11th Street Bar! It was a great time. I had some kind of a Southampton beer....?? I don't understand beer, but it was called Southampton something. And it came with a slice of lemon. I thought it tasted like cinnamon. Delish.

Then we ventured back to Brooklyn and parted ways with Finn. Super fun night.

I stayed at Joe's house that night, while Elizabeth stayed with Aliya. Nice!

The next morning, we all had plans to meet up at DOUGH, this lovely doughnut shop not too far from Joe's house, in Clinton Hill. Aliya's dad had found this shop on a food blog and told Aliya she should go! They have delicious flavors including: blood orange, passion fruit, chai cream, hibiscus, cafe au lait, and lemon poppy. I tried a hibiscus because I was curious about it, and also because it was this gorgeous shade of fuschia. And it had dried hibiscus flowers on the top. It was super tangy and fruity and delicious. SO GOOD. I ended up bringing some home for my mom and Kara. Yumm.

Then, Joe had to leave to go to work. He works at the Park Slope Food Coop, which is like the most brillz place ever. It's a grocery store, but you can only shop there if you work there. And all work is volunteer. So no one's getting paid, but the benefit is that you are allowed to shop there. And since they have to pay no employees, the food prices are super cheap. And there's like, 14,000 members, so all you need to do is work 3 hours every month and that's it! Great plan.

Aliya, Elizabeth and I walked around Clinton Hill a while. Went to a hardware store, went to a dollar store, went into a cutesy clothing store. Then, decided to go visit Joe at work. But, we didn't want to walk there because it was far away.

That's us in Dough. (Hotties.)

So, we walked back to Joe's house, got into my car and drove through Brooklyn until we found a parking spot close to the Park Slope Coop. We found a spot like, two blocks away, so that was awesome. And we walked in and had to announce ourselves as visitors, because we were not allowed to shop there. And then this beautiful woman named Karen came over and gave us a tour!! Of the grocery store! And explained a lot about it and the way it works. It was like the best time ever. Love that place. I can understand why Joe is obsessed with it.

Then we found Joe!

Joe's job is "walker" which means he helps people walk home with their groceries. Nice guy, right? On this particular day, he walked someone home and through conversation, he learned that this man's niece went to Hampshire and that Joe actually knew her. Small world.

After visiting the Coop, we drove over to Aliya's house and found a great parking spot like, two streets over. NICE. Now the plan was to meet one of Aliya's friend Amy for Vietnamese sandwiches!!! OMG DELISH. Like, we walked into this place and it smelled amazing. And the food tasted exactly like everything smelled. OMG SO GOOD. It was seriously like delicious. I was blown away. I would eat there like every day if I lived in Cobble Hill. Amy is in fashion designing school in NYC, so she told us all about all the rompers and bathing suits she makes.

This place was just across the street from Aliya's house, so we walked over there after and explored her backyard!

Backyards of Brooklyn! That sounds like the name of a coffee table picture book. Aliya's backyard was super cute. That fountain was in the backyard next door.

That night, we had plans to go to Camp, which is a bar right down the street from Aliya. Best bar ever. It's all camp themed with smores and games and movies. Um, funnest bar ever.

We all talked about it and decided we wouldn't get the smores. Because, they were $16 and we hadn't had dinner really and we also wanted to buy drinks and so we decided instead, we would go to TJ's after the bar and buy things to make smores at home instead.

And then Aliya and I got up to the bar to order beers and open and tab and we were like, "screw it! Let's get the smores!!" So, we got the smores. And they were awesome.

Here's Camp:

SMORES. MINI CAMPFIRE. IN BROOKLYN.




Elizabeth doesn't actually eat marshmallows because they're not vegetarian, but she was an excellent roaster. This also meant that Aliya and I ate like, 6 smores each. True story.

Ohhhh it was a great, great night. Super fun times. And, may I mention again, that Aliya and I ate all the smores. Yeah, like all of them.

Then we walked back to Aliya's house. But not before stopped at a 24 hour diner and getting some onion rings. Then we stopped at a little bodega and bought some eggs.

Then we went back to Aliya's house and made scrambled eggs with spinach and goat cheese! So good. And we drank some more wine, ate some more ginger cookies and played Ticket to Ride! This was the first time I had ever played this game. It was pretty confusing at first, but once you understand the game and the point of the game, it's super fun. All about creating different train routes across the country.

We also did laundry that night.

Then sadly, Joe had to leave. And we had to get to bed because I needed to leave early in the morning. I was supposed to leave Friday night, but opted for Saturday morning instead. So, I said goodbye to Joe :(

We all went to bed very shortly after and woke up at 7:30am. While I got ready to leave, Aliya and Elizabeth walked across the street to Dunkin Donuts and picked me up a coffee and a bagel. Thanks friends!

Then, sadly, we had to say goodbye. I was very sad to leave, as it meant going back to the real world and not fake Hampshire world.

The drive back north was good, no problems. Stopped twice, once for gas, once for bathroom, and arrived home just before 2pm on Saturday.

I told my mom all about our exciting activities in the city, showered very quickly, and then had to leave for work around 3:20 or so. I was kind of like, super flustered at work for a bit because I had just driven from BK and got to work and it was pretty busy. This was clothing store work, not coffee shop work. But eventually the night calmed down and it was okay.


WHAT A GREAT MINI-VACAY I HAD. Ohhhhh it was so, so, SO wonderful to see my friends. Like, so great. Mod 16 rules Brooklyn. To the max.

Hope you all are having wonderful, friend-filled times wherever you are as well. We'll talk again soon!




Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in...

chocolate ice cream should help

these things are never what we want them to be.




i always listen to River City Extension when i'm in a sad mood.




also, i think i'm going to Brooklyn tomorrow.

how exciting is this?!!?

My friend Laura won her dream wedding!!!! Remember how last week I posted that you all should vote for Laura and her fiance Nolan because they were in the running to win a $100,000 dream wedding!!?!?!! YES. WELL THEY WON!!!!!!!! The winner was announced over the weekend!!!!

It was a pretty big event in our house. My mom is currently on vacay in Florida and before she left Kara and I said,

KARA AND JULIE: Now, we're not going to bother you with anything while you're on vacation.... But we'll let you know if Laura wins the dream wedding.

Here! Read this story and watch this news story about it!!!! It's so awesome. What a great thing. Laura and her family are such absolutely wonderful people and I've known them seriously like, for forever. Kara is BFF with Laura's sister, Mary. They're great people. What a great thing.

I'd like to send a huge blog congratulations to Laura and her fiance, Nolan!!! ♥♥♥♡♡♡


Now, where to go from there, right? I should have saved the most exciting news for last, but that's like the hardest thing ever. Sometimes, you just have to start out with the best.


I think I'm going to go with the numbering system to finish off the update. This won't be very long.

2. I worked for 11.5 hours on Saturday! HOLY CRAP, right?? It really brought me back to the ol' days working at Hannah House, where sometimes I'd work from 8am until 10pm. And then until 8am. It was confusing. But, it was long. So, on Saturday I worked in the coffee shop from 7am to 2pm, got home around 2:40, took a super super quick shower, left for work at 3:20, worked at Eddie Bauer from 4pm to 8:30pm and then came home. And then there was a little party at my house. Some awesome people came over. It was a funnnnnnn time.

3. I dyed my hair :( It got to the point where it was looking kinda blahhhhh. So, I picked out a nice dark brown shade and dyed it. All of it. No more teal :( It was very, very hard to say goodbye. But! It's hair! So, it's quite possible that there will be more tealing in the future. I also got a lovely hair cut from Tia at Great Clips in Dover, NH. This is the discount hair chain that opened up a store back in the winter. And, shortly after they opened, they had person dressed in a giant shampoo walking around on the sidewalk, and - they blew me a kiss. SO - I really wanted to go there. And WHAT A GREAT TIME. I just loved Tia. She was such a nice person and so enjoyable to talk to. And BONUS - what a great hair cut! I'm loving it. It's like, fresh and light and kinda bouncy. Super hott, if I do say so myself. So, I totally recommend Tia. I can't wait for my next cut.

4. Kara and I are starting a blog together!!!! A FOOD BLOG!!!!! It's not quite ready yet, but here's the idea: Kara is a great chef and a FANTASTIC baker. I'm a super awesome blogger, as you all know (haha). So, Kara will cook and bake and I will photograph and blog. Kara likes to experiment with new recipes and ideas in the kitchen, so why not share it all with the Universe?!?!?! That's right - the UNIVERSE. I'm pretty excited. I did some blog designing yesterday and I must say, it's quite hip.

5. And all that blog designing got me to thinking that maybe I want to revamp THIS blog.... I'm going back and forth. Like, total revamp. Update! Spring cleaning! We'll see.

6. New friends! With starting two new jobs, I have met lots of new people. Lots of new coworkers. And, I have to tell you that everyone I have met has been like, the most nice person ever. EVERYONE at BOTH JOBS is AWESOME. I feel like I have made so many new friends and gotten to meet some lovely souls. This makes me very happy, because, generally as a person whose work ethic is that of a princess, it makes going to work MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE.

Speaking of princesses...

7. IT'S APRIL!!!!! ROYAL WEDDING MONTH!!!! Are you guys as excited as I am?!?! A normal girl is becoming a PRINCESS. It's awesome. Oh, Kate Middleton, she's so pretty. AND - the Royal Wedding is happening on the same day that the movie PROM is released!!!! I hope everyone has watched this trailer because I AM SO EXCITED. It's a movie all about prom. Planning the prom, buying a dress, who are you gonna ask!?!!?!? SO GREAT. I mean, YES, I'm all about the indie, low budget, foreign cinema flicks. I love them. But sometimes, you just need a movie about prom. And that's what PROM is. That will be a great day. Prom was so fun.


Hmm. And now, I believe it's that time of day where I take a nap. I'm pretty tired. And I have the day off. And it's raining outside. Perfect nap day.

I hope everyone has a great start to the week!!!!! I'll talk to you again soon!!!


☸ ☔ ☁


(that last one is a cloud... but it semi looks like a pile of dirt :/ )

...and then I saw River City Extension!!!!

The DAY AFTER MY BIRTHDAY, River City Extension was putting on a show down in good ol' Hamden, CT at one of our fave places, The Space. We had been there a few times before. Good people, good vibes, funky place, easy drive. Tickets were only $10, and Kara bought me one for my birthday! So, all I needed was a full tank of gas and the open road!!!!

I had tweeted to the band that I was coming to the show, and got this response from James, the RCE bass/banjo player:



I laughed for a while after reading this. James is kind of awesome like a lot. He's the one who fronted like, $40 to make sure we all got into their show in the summer. Great guy. Great musician.

There were some cool bands that opened for RCE. Including a bluegrass band where the lead singer looked like my old friend Cynthia from high school. [shout out to Cynthia if she's reading...!!]

I met up with Jo! And her friend Kato, and also, Ben Silver and Holden!! Our "Space" friends! But also friends in real life!! It was super fun to see everyone. People are so nice there.

Met up with RCE guitarist/djembe player, Nick, in the vintage store on the second level of The Space. That was fun. Also found lead singer Joe downstairs and told him his new haircut looked sharp. It did.

And then they finally played some music!!!!

They opened with just Joe and Mike playing their new song, 'Golden Tongue (Thanatopsis),' which is one of my faves. I was SO HAPPY they played it.






The fine gentleman on the far right in the plaid shirt is James, who sent me the 'Maine bitch' tweet earlier.





DAN. DAN DAN DAN DAN!!!!!! This was the 6th time I have seen River City Extension, but only the 3rd time Dan has been performing with them. So, it was super cool that he was able to make it!!!! It's just not the same without the trumpet.




Joe, Mike, Sam, James and Nick!!!! The right side section of the band.




And the left side section of the band.... Pat, Dan and Jenn!!!!

What a great looking band.









LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!! James switched to banjo for 'Letter to Lainie.'





And Jenn switched to bass!!! Love it.




And then Jenn switches to trumpet for 'Mexico' and it's the best thing ever. Also love this picture of Joe. Also - Pat comes out from the keyboard to do some hott dancing!!!!! (I still always want to call him Kevin.)

AND BONUS - you can see the new RCE drum head!!!!! With their super cool infinity logo!!!






River City Dancing is the best. I realize I capitalized the D in dancing and I didn't mean to. But, I'm going to leave it. It's a great alternate name for the band. I also didn't mean to write 'dancing,' I meant to write, 'Extension,' since that's the name of the band. But, I was thinking about what great dancers they are. Hence the River City Dancing. Enough explanation.

Then we hung out with the band after the show. I was catching up with Dan and all of a sudden Sam RAN over and yelled, 'Happy Birthday!!!!' and gave me a big hug. Then, I got lots and lots of birthday hugs from the band. And also normal people. Which was kind of the best thing ever. Did I mention they're the best band ever?

So then, me, Jo, Kato, Ben, and Ben's girlfriend Marisa had plans to head over to the 24-hour diner just down the street for some late night eats. And then we thought it'd be fun to invite the band to come along.


AND THEY DID.




And that was the time I went to a diner with River City Extension. It was a super fun time. Like, SUPER FUN. We got to the diner before the band and the hostess was like,

HOSTESS: How many?
BEN SILVER: Um, there might be 5 of us, but there might be like, 20.
HOSTESS: .....Ok....

Best thing ever. Ben took that picture with his phone. And I stole it from him for blog purposes.

And then it started to snow. Fast. And I remember that I had like, a three hour drive home. So, I left about 12:30am and headed north.

WORST DRIVE EVER. Like, maybe ever. Well, not ever. Worst Drive Ever would have to go to the time it took me like, 36 hours total to get from Western Massachusetts to Berwick, Maine. A drive that should have taken 3 hours.

But! This was my first time driving in a snow storm with Morgan (my car, duh), so I wasn't sure how she would hold up. But, she was great. The weather, however, was TERRIBLE. Like, I couldn't believe how bad it was. It was like, 25 mph on the Mass Pike. I was pretty certain I was going to die that night. On multiple occasions I thought:

1. I can't believe I'm going to die the day after my birthday.

but then I thought,

2. At least I got to see River City Extension one last time.

So, there was that.

But!! I made it home just after 5:30am. It took me a very long time. And I gave Morgan a kiss on the steering wheel once we were safely in the garage.

Overall - GREAT NIGHT.

Videos!!

- Ballad of Oregon - my fave RCE song.
- Today, I Feel Like I'm Evolving - another favorite
- Elephant - a song from their first record! GREAT SONG. The beginning reminds me of an overture to a musical.

And then the band went and played SXSW and were named one of the ten best performances by Paste magazine!!!!!

So, if you haven't already - go start listening to RCE. They will probably blow you away, so be prepared.

Alright!

In other news: Go watch this awesome short movie made by Hampshire College kids!!! Called, The Incident at Tower 37, this movie has been getting super great reviews and winning all kinds of awards all over the place. And, HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE!!!! Probably one of my favorite places in the whole world. Yep. It's a really great movie that makes you think about water consumption and how it's affecting the different ecosystems around us. Only ten minutes, GREAT MUSIC, and really great animation. Enjoy!

I think that's all for now. I'll get better about updating. Now that I maybe have exciting things happening in my life, I might actually have things to write about.

But now! I have to go to the post office to mail my BFF a birthday card. Yes, that's right, Maria's birthday is TOMORROW, March 30. Mark your calendars!!!! Sorry the card will be a little late. Better late than never, which is the theme of my life.

Also - I cut my hair. Also - I dyed it too. But, I have to dye it again because the dark brown actually came out kinda reddish, and didn't totally take out the teal. It's weird. It's very rare that my hair will actually take on the color it's supposed to be.

Also - I learned how to make espresso and other fancy coffees for my new job at French Connection Cafe and Coffee Shop - opening THIS FRIDAY, in Springvale, Maine. Come visit me and I'll make you a delish raspberry mocha.

Also - come visit me at my other new job at the Eddie Bauer outlet store in Kittery, Maine. I won't make you a raspberry mocha there, but I will help you pick out a hott outfit.

GREAT!!!!

OH OH OH OH!!!!!!!! One of my oldest friends, Laura Plaisted, is getting married and is in the running to win a dream wedding. Like, a real dream wedding. I've been friends with Laura since like, first grade and Kara is BFF with Laura's sister, Mary. So, WE ALL can help her win the wedding by VOTING HERE!!!!! She's a finalist and the voting ends on FRIDAY!!! One vote per day, and watch her totally awesome video.

- RCE
- hampshire movie
- coffee shop
- eddie bauer
- maria's birthday
- laura's dream wedding

I think I covered everything I wanted to talk about. Blog success. Love when that happens.

OK!!! Have a great day! It's Tuesday, I believe, so there's no excuse for it not being a great day. It's nice and sunny here and the temperature is a balmy 44 degrees!! (That's, Fahrenheit.)

We'll talk soon. I really do miss you all. I'll be a better blogger.

TAKE CARE! be well, friends.



☠ ∞

Kara and Julie Adventure to CANADA!!

Here are the pictures from Canada that I promised you a while ago. Better late than never? Yes.

So! Now it's time to adventure back to Canada with me and Kara! Here's what we did:


We left Berwick very early on 31 January. Like, really early. Stopped a few times for bathrooms, food, unsuccessful trips to the bank aanndddd.... NIAGARA FALLS!!!










A "Defunct for the Winter' Amusement Park!!! Martin's Fantasy Island, to be exact. Western New York's favorite and most affordable family theme park! Who knew?!





We had no idea where we were going, we just followed signs for The Falls until we hit this parking lot:




We ended up not parking there, because it was like, $10. But, we parked right across the street for $5. Of course, it was like the coldest day ever in the history of upstate New York, so that extra few feet across the street was painful. But, worth the $5 savings.


But then BAM -





Snowy Niagara Falls!




Picture where Kara fell asleep real quick. Too much excitement!

We looked at the picture and I was laughing so hard, and we took another photo:





We finally got it together. This is a nice one, actually.








I like that last one too. 'Oh, sister my sister.' 'Sing to me of the man, Sister...' 'It was the best of sister, it was the worst of sister.' 'Thank God Sister got that job at the bank!'

And that was the segment of the entry where I take well-known first lines of books (and a poem) and replace them with the word 'sister.' (that last one was for Maria. i hope she's reading.) Blog points if you can name the books/poem the lines come from!


And then the next day, we woke up early and took the airport shuttle to the Toronto Pearson International Airport for our flight across the country! We ended up in Vancouver, where we found the "super small plane" gate, and took a super small plane over to Vancouver Island!






Plane shots! To quote the lady sitting behind me on the plane, "This is no better than flying in a tin can!" True that. The scariest part was actually just sitting in the plane. Once we got in the air, it wasn't so bad. There were like, maybe 25 seats total. It was crazy.

So then we landed and saw MY DAD!!!!! Who we hadn't seen in over 5 months!!! That was the longest I had ever gone without seeing him. It was a very fun reunion which immediately included a trip to the nearest Tim Hortons. The reunion with my Canadian Gram and Aunt and Uncle was also awesome and SUPER FUN. We hadn't seen them in like.... 5 years? Or some outrageous amount of time that should never happen again.

Kara and I slept good that night. We were tired. And we had the most comfy bed ever to sleep in.

The next day, Kara and I decided we were going to TAKE ON THE DAY and adventure out on an enjoyable walk. There is something called the 'Courtenay Riverwalk' that is about 5 minutes from my dad's house and it's a nice path along the river that stretches for a number of kilometers. It is described on the website for British Columbia as, "a lively promenade for walkers, joggers and people-watchers."

These next photos showcase the glory and wonderment that is the Courtenay Riverwalk.





This is the Courtenay Airpark, which is where tiny planes fly in and out of. It's very fun to sit on a bench along the riverwalk and have a tiny plane land like, 50 feet from you. Trust me.





Ya know, snow-capped mountains. Like, right in your town.





American HOTTIES on the Riverwalk!










Yep, we're adorable.





Canadian pride on the Riverwalk!!! Who wouldn't be proud to be a Canadian?!?!





Dad's Cookies in the grocery store! This has a story:

So, when my American family was up in December celebrating my Grammy's 98th birthday she kept mentioning this company, Dad's Cookies, that used to be at the end of Princeton Street in Somerville,MA, where my mom grew up. And nobody had ever heard of Dad's Cookies before, and for some reason she kept bringing it up. This location of Dad's Cookies was confirmed by some of my aunts. So imagine mine and Kara's amazement when we found Dad's Cookies in a Canadian grocery. AMAZEMENT.


That Saturday, our Aunt Liza took Kara and I to Hornby Island, which you have to get to by ferry, by way of Denman Island. We drove the car onto the ferry, then drove off onto Denman Island, then had to drive across that island to the next ferry point, and then drove onto the final ferry over to Hornby.

While on the Denman Island ferry we encountered a hitchhiker hippie. Ya know, like you sometimes do. Her name was Raje... or something like that. She said her real name was something like, Susan or Nancy, but the name 'Raje' was given to her while she was in India at age 21. Yep. She was basically a Hampshire College student. And she had lived on Hornby Island for like, 25 years or something. Crazy island folk. Anyways, she hitched a ride with us while we drove across Denman Island to the other ferry point. And then we dropped her off at her house once we got onto Hornby. Nice lady. And the first time I had experienced picking up a hitchhiker. Canadians are so freaking nice.


Then! We went to a beach!!








There was lots of driftwood.






And cool rocks!






We walked up a secret path we found leading away from the beach and ended up at this Isla Taco place!!! Who knew?! It was closed for the season, which was a bummer.





And right next to it was this creepy little graffiti hut! An island bathroom, perhaps?


While on the island, we were on a fossil mission. We wanted to find some hardcore, awesome fossils and pretend like we were fossil hunters. So, with information given to us from Raje the hitchhiker, we found the best place on the island to fossil hunt. (Hornby Island is kinda famous for its neat fossils.)

Lucky for us, it was this other gorgeous beach with beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background.








We found some maybe-fossils that day. We had this great rock smasher tool that we used. You may not know this, but it feels great to smash a rock into tiny pieces.


After our rock-smashing adventure, we headed back to the ferry dock to catch the boat back.









What a great day we had!! It was super fun having a girls day with Liza, who is totally awesome.


We arrived back at my dad's house to the horrible news that our grandmother had passed away. So, we unexpectedly had to take a flight out the next morning.




TINY PLANE to get off of Vancouver Island!!! Not much bigger than a person, as you can see here.






But - how awesome - we could see right into the cockpit!!! It RULED. I want to be a pilot. It was super foggy the whole way to Vancouver. Kinda scary, especially knowing you're around all these giant mountains. But, we made it!!!

We had like, maybe a 2 hour wait in Vancouver before we flew back east to Toronto. From Toronto, we called the hotel shuttle and this darling man came to pick us up. He was the best. I might have already mentioned how awesome he was. But, he was seriously the best.

It was like, 11pm by the time we got back to the hotel, but we knew the Denny's is open 24-hours, so we drove over. The waitress remembered us from when we were there the week before :) It was nice. Like, coming home! We had delicious Denny's food! Yumm.

Then we headed back to the hotel, slept like princesses, and woke up semi-early the next morning to take on the long drive back to Maine. It was a looonnngggg drive back. Or, at least it seemed that way. But, we didn't hit any rush hour traffic through Albany, which we were semi-worried about. Smooth sailing all the way home!

So, that was our beautiful, awesome trip to Canada! Everyone should be Canadian, because it rules.

Hope you enjoyed taking a mini-blog-vacay with me! Let's do it again soon!!

I will be blogging again soon with MORE PICTURES, STORIES, AND EXCITING TIMES. As always, duh!

Have a great Friday!!! What's with this nice weather?! Enjoy!!!!