9.28.2011

I {leaf} autumn



I really do. I love absolutely everything about it. I love waking up to the damp, crisp, dark mornings and wrapping up in a warm blanket, sipping pumpkin spice lattes or apple cider to stay a cozy warm. I love wearing jeans, sweaters and scarves every day. I love adding blankets to my bed for the chilly nights. I love the warm colors. I love the smell of burning leaves and apples that always hangs in the air. I love going for a long walk on a chilly day, crunching leaves with every step. I love waking up to football every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I love absolutely everything about fall. 

Pet peeves

A few co-workers and I were discussing how went venting to each other helps calm our nerves and finish the day at work calmly. But on rainy, gloomy days it's difficult not to dwell on them a bit longer than necessary. It made me think of pet peeves and the completely irrational annoyance that accompanies them. It's not as easy to vent to other about personal pet peeves because someones pet peeve is another minor annoyance, or maybe even less.


Here are a few of mine:
Not using your car's turn signal
People having aloud conversation in a quiet room
Incorrect usage of your/you're or there/their/they're
People driving slowly in the far left lane
When people show up late to something
People walking slowly and blocking the sidewalk so you can't walk around them

Southern style football

At the University of Wisconsin we wear jeans, t-shirts, ball caps and face paint to football games. At the University of Mississippi they wear khakis, button-down shirts and dresses. No face paint. 

On Saturday, a few friends and I drove down to Oxford, MS to experience the ultimate Southern football experience: tailgating at the Grove followed by cheering on the Rebels of Ole Miss as they took on the Georgia Bulldogs. It was definitely a different experience. Being a Wisconsin native, I thought I knew everything there was to know about tailgating. Hell, I thought we practically invented it here. I was wrong. In the Grove, a grassy area near the football stadium, thousands of people set up tents and elaborate tailgate parties. Some of the tents I snuck a peak at even had floral arrangements as centerpieces, silver serving platters, champagne flutes for a morning mimosa and chandeliers hanging from the bars. In one shocking word: fancy. I don't think I would have appreciated the experience quite as much as an undergrad as I do now though; it felt grown-up. 

The game was also a ton of fun. I learned a new cheer that I fell in love with completely and also a few others that Mississippians sing with a little more class {and less cursing} than us Wisconsinites. It was an incredibly fun {and different} experience. 

Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty
Who the hell are we?
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss, By Damn!












9.21.2011

Badgers at Soldier Field

On September 17, my friends and I headed to Soldier Field, home of the {gross} Chicago Bears, to watch the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Northern Illinois Huskies. It was an odd experience, watching a college team play at a professional football stadium, but it was so much fun! We stopped at my favorite bar in Chicago beforehand to grab an Oktoberfest brew and headed down early before the game. I actually ran into a few old college friends outside the gates that I haven't seen in years! It was a mini-reunion of sorts. 

The game was a bit too tight for comfort in the beginning, but the Badgers ended up pulling off a win to stay undefeated. I hope I can also make it up to Madison for a game this season... Camp Randall is by far the best place to watch a college football game. 







9.13.2011

Little sister goes to college

This week, my little sister started college. Such an easy sentence to say, such a difficult concept to handle. 


First, I can't believe how grown up she is. I remember, like it was just yesterday, chasing her down on her big wheel because she wouldn't come inside for dinner, and watching Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Coneheads on endless cycles, and cheering her on as she ran hurdles in her elementary Olympic games. And now, she's a college student?! Wow. 


And the second reason I'm having a tough time coping with my little sister in college: it brings back so many great memories from my college years. This should be good, right? A little college nostalgia is healthy. But, I truly miss those years-- and it makes reality sink in... I am no longer near that time in my life. I have also grown up greatly. 


Now this is Ceci's turn to make memories that she will cherish for the rest of her life {and possibly a few she will shake her head and laugh at years from now also}. She's going to do great!

9.11.2011

Another Brewers game

I think I've gone to far too many baseball games this year. I've averaged about one a week, which, according to my bank account, is too many. At least they're always fun and, thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers, always a good game. I do think today may have been my last game of the season though.


A few friends and I began tailgating bright and early this morning. Too bad it was so hot and sunny that we mostly just melted in our chairs instead of eating all of the delicious food the we prepared. {I am a bit upset that I woke up at 6 a.m. to make a pasta salad no one even took out of the cooler. At least I'll have lunch packed for tomorrow.} Despite the profuse sweating, it was an incredibly enjoyable afternoon. 





The Brewers won the game! And what a game it was. It was a bit of a nail-bitter at the end until John Axford came in to close out the game in the 9th inning.



Ten years

Ten years ago I was sitting in my teacher's office when a fellow student rushed through the door to tell us a plane crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center.  I had the same initial reaction as my teacher: it must have been a small one-pilot plane that flew off course. We quickly saw how wrong we were.


It wasn't until I saw the Towers fall that I actually understood the gravity of the day. I spent the rest of the school day watching the news of the event, unsure of what it meant for our country and the millions of people it personally affected. It's still difficult to think about how this moment affected our country and the world.



Look at more instagram images here

9.10.2011

Pinterest

Have you heard of this new site called Pinterest? I am absolutely addicted to it; it's fabulous. What is it? I'll let the site explain it to you; it'd do a much better job; "Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

You can create a 'board' for just about anything: home decoration inspiration, favorite music, fashion inspiration, craft ideas, recipes you'd love to try and more. Just be warned that perusing a topic can become very addictive and you end up spending hours finding 'decoration inspiration' on Pinterest and online to share. It is convenient to have a virtual inspiration wall or idea book rather than a folder of magazine clippings though. Log in and try it out. 

These are a few of my boards, they're home and fashion inspiration, I believe. 





9.09.2011

Dresses, ties, shrimp and cocktails.

No, I'm not going to a wedding. I'm going to an Ole Miss football game. What a difference from a University of Wisconsin game where we would wear jeans and Badger red-- or the craziest outfit you could find, complete with a red and white mohawk. At the University of Mississippi, I've been told, football games are more of a social than a sporting event. It's an excuse to mingle in the Grove, sip cocktails and grill delicious items you would never find at a typical Midwestern tailgate.

I'm really excited to venture down south in a few weeks to experience a completely different kind of college football.





{Second photo is via my friend Hannah}

9.08.2011

My week, in photos

Sometimes I think I have a really crazy week. And then I look at the pictures and it doesn't look so crazy. Then, I wonder why I was freaking out so much. 






9.07.2011

Reconnecting with college friends

It's true that after high school you lose touch with friends. After college, the same threat is there, but you're much more willing to fight for your friendships. Maybe it's because you can connect to these friends on a deeper level or they were there when you truly made your transformation from young to adult. Either way, you try harder. After graduating from college, my best friends scattered across the country for work, graduate school, medical school, marriage and other reasons. However, unlike many friends from high school, I think we've done a great job keeping in touch, even if it is wicked hard. 


One of my best friends from college, and my "cousin" {actually, my cousins' cousin, but we great up together}, Danny, was back in town this past weekend. He moved out to Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago for a medical physicist residency at a hospital. He loves it there so much that I'm not sure we're ever going to get him back in the Midwest. Since Dan got a rare chance to visit back home, we all got together for a cookout and bonfire to reminisce of college days and enjoy each other's company. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of friends from college that I haven't seen in years! {It was also a bit weird to hear what they were all up to in their lives now. It's so crazy to hear that the guy you always found passed out in a bar on any even week night is now a successful lawyer.} 


I hope we get to do a lot more of this in the future. Then, we'll be able to hang out without first answering the essential questions: "Where do you live? What are you up to now?" Also, I miss college and those friends a ton. I'm going to try a lot harder to keep in touch, as I'm sure Dan will also. 

9.02.2011

this week, according to my iphone

it's been a crazy, busy week, but also a lot of fun. it was full of chinese and wine with friends, class, silly stories from silly kids, delicious food, happy hours and more. i wish every week was as eventful as this one. {also, i have to remember to take more pictures.}




hope you have a good weekend!
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