Weekend/Week Recap Randomness

Friday is here; hip, hip, hooray! I had a random (last) weekend and week…which really isn’t a bad thing. Random is better than horrible, so I’m all about random. And so, to top it all off, I figured I would post a random collection of thoughts for ya. Starting with…

{Oh! Canada!}

I am heading to Ontario, Canada tomorrow. After narrowly avoiding ringing in the new year with total strangers up north, I finally got another trip on the Schedule. I am excited for this trip for several reasons. One: it’s a TRIP. I haven’t been anywhere for FIVE weeks. I am going stir crazy in the office, and while I’m always glad to have any hours they can give us in-house, I am sooooo ready to hit the road again. Two: I have never been to Canada, so I’m kind of excited to get another stamp in my passport. Of course at work, I’m all like, “oh, Canada; yeahhhh, no biggie.” And in my head I’m like, my phone won’t work. I can’t Google-map everywhere like I usually do. (Yeah…even in KC. I’m geographically challenged.) I don’t know how to convert kilometers into miles. I am going to get SO lost. Do they have Panera in Canada? What do I say when I go through customs? (I’ve heard that sometimes, Canadians do not care for Americans coming in to “steal business,” and I have been instructed, when asked why I am crossing the border, to “not say too much, but if you say too little, you’ll probably get pulled in for questioning, too.” Awesome.) Do I need Canadian money? I need new Uggs because it is super snowy and icy and my flats are just not gonna cut it. Ditto on a new scarf and new mittens. Moral of this story? I’m sure I’ll have something funny to report back next week. Be kind, Canada. I’ve always liked your sparkling water (Clearly Canadian, anybody??) and you gave us Ryan Gosling, so let’s stay on good terms, eh?

 

Last weekend, a few pals and I completed a Westport mini-pubcrawl and I managed to take a few (totally random, of course) pics.

{Bloody Marys at Beer Kitchen? Yes, please.}

{No idea what we were laughing at. Probably something really dumb.}

 

Ignore the KU hat; it was a bet and although it is terribly ugly, I must say, it was warm.

 

Also, this happened when I thought I could take reservations at Port Fonda. The actual hostess was not impressed. I believe the evening ended quite soon after this.

 

Let’s see, what other tidbits of randomness this week? We had a fun girls’ night on Tuesday, where Kelly and I managed to spend over $30 on olives, cheese and candy at HenHouse, Sarah  cooked us up a fab meal, and then we all saw a fantastic-slash-pretty depressing movie. Meryl Streep should def win the Oscar, because she was fabulously manic and out of control as a cancer-ridden drug-addict matriarch of a pretty nuts-o family. (August:Osage County. Check it out.)
 

I went to Pilates Mat class on Thursday night and wanted to die.

I went to Happy Hour with my coworkers on Thursday night and had a ball. It’s embarrassing how quickly I can be talked out of working out.

Rascal caught yet another mouse in the garage and tried to bring it in the kitchen to proudly show it off. (I caught him before he dragged it in this time, thank GOODNESS.) In other wild animal news, I'm pretty sure there is a stray cat living under my house. The foundation is cracked in the back and last spring, when I was attempting to de-straggle my poor yard by raking leaves and such, I saw a kitty run under the house into what I assume is part of the crawlspace. And now, every so often, I'll hear a scritchy-scratchy noise that sounds like it's coming from under the floorboards. While it totally creeps me out that something is crawling around down there, let's all keep our fingers crossed it's a cat and not a racoon. Or a possum. Or a skunk. (Also, thank goodness I'm renting.)

 

I’ve been listening to Bastille radio on Pandora at work and I’ve fallen in love. So, dear Bastille, please come to Kansas City. I neeeeed to see you guys in concert!
 

I watched a solid four hours of Bravo programming on Wednesday evening and while Real Housewives of BH, Vanderpump Rules and 100 Days of Summer didn’t really move me, Shahs of Sunset was surprisingly insightful. (I know, I know…my taste in TV is terrible.) Also, the finale of American Horror Story: Coven? Horribly underwhelming. I don't know if I've been desensitized or what, but since when does FX do happy, feel-good endings? I was prepared for something totally awful and creepy, and I was let down.

 

I’m off to go pack my snow gear and download a few episodes of Gossip Girl (more scintillating TV, I know) for the plane tomorrow. Cheers to a great weekend and the end of January! (And let’s all keep our fingers crossed I don’t get snowed in up in Mississauga...)

Beautiful Brows (And Winter Ramblings)

Hello, hello, and happy Friday! So. Here’s what’s been on my mind lately. Prepare yourself for some deep thoughts. Dear readers, I pose a question for you:

{Seriously?}

How does one grow out their eyebrows without looking like a squirrelly hobo who forgot to get her eyebrows waxed? I mean, Lord knows that I have the follicles to work the brows, but I can’t go more than 10 days without cleaning them up. (I wish I had a pic on hand of me in 7^th grade...I had caterpillars, people. Big, dark caterpillars, creeping on over my eyes.) I’ve read articles on eyebrows and how you’re supposed to use makeup to fill them in during the interim and let them grow-grow-grow in nice and thick, but…no. I mean, I don’t allow myself enough time in the mornings to try and shade in my brows. I barely allow myself enough time to get dressed and drink half a cup of coffee in the mornings, so I highly doubt I will get myself up 10-15 minutes earlier to shade and contour, as directed by the tutorial above. So this is obviously a huge dilemma for me, currently. Also, on a side-slash-kind-of-related note, Cara Delvigne is totally my girl crush right now. She is so darn pretty, and her brows are to-DIE.

 

Okay, I know this is a short and totally random post—I’m stretching my writing muscles and getting back into the habit of getting my thoughts down. I feel like January kind of a terrible month. February, too. But January…man, January. It’s cold, the sun goes down at 5 o’clock, all you want to do is eat salty, carby things and snuggle on the couch with a cozy blanket. (I’m hoping this isn’t just me.) Rascal does things like catch mice in the cold garage and bring them into the kitchen and let them go…and the little mice think, “ah man, it’s sure warm in here! I think I’ll stay and live under the refrigerator,” and then I am shrieking and trying to coax these dang mice out with a broom. (This happened. Last night.) And I always feel like January makes me feel restless. I want a change…I want to vacation somewhere; I want to find a new job; I want to cut my hair; I want to redecorate my house; I want to move to a new city; I want to make my life different in every way I can…and then, when I don’t (because, really, some of these changes are ridiculous—and expensive), I feel bummed. And defeated. And unmotivated. And very…blah. And then, when March finally comes and it warms up and I can have drinks on a patio and take walks outside and smell fresh grass and the sun doesn’t sink down until 7ish or later, I feel better. I feel happy. I look forward to whatever I’m doing. I don’t want to move to Dallas, because gosh darnit, it’s too hot there in the summer anyway. I want to write about my weekends for the blog. I want to vacuum because the sun is shining and I love the way it comes through the windows and reflects across the floor. I love running errands because it’s fun to find a surprise at Target. And I am content. But these 60 days of January and February…these guys just drag, and drag, and drag…

 

So…I’m going to write this here and hopefully my written optimism will transfer to my physical self. Here’s to some sunshine and to these winter months moving forward just as fast as their cold weather can blow them on outta here. I plan on spending the weekend soaking up some friend-time, family-time, and cocktail-time, and pretending that a bloody mary indoors in January is just as good as a John Daily at Woodside by the pool.

 

 

{Cara 1&2/3/4}

Life-Catch-Up-Blog-Post-Part-Two/Three/Four/I know, I’m a Bad Blogger

Turkey Day:

My fam gave thanks with our typical festivities—my parents hosted all of my mom’s side of the family for a full day of food, drinks, laughter and lots of loud conversing (the Christensens are known for their voices that carry. They’re also notorious for mixing up names of family members of various age—Chelley, I mean Morgan, I mean Caitlin…). I may be biased, but my mom’s Turkey Day spread is the greatest meal of all time. And who doesn’t appreciate drinks before noon?? We toasted each other, gave thanks for our blessings, and took a moment to remember those who we missed. No matter how many years pass or how our family changes (we had several new faces in attendance this year), Thanksgiving remains a constant reminder of how amazing my family is and how blessed I am to have them.

 

Did I take any pics of the fam-bam? Not really. Oh, but I did make a homemade apple pie! I know, WHAT? My domestic pal Kelly gets all the credit for that one. A few pics to prove the homemade goodness:

 

Novy’s Birthday:

Speaking of very important family members, someone celebrated an inaugural birthday over Thanksgiving weekend. Miss Nova turned the big ONE! This little turkey baby is quite the ham (see what I did there??) these days. She is walking, talking, fake-coughing, singing; you name it, she’s doing it in the cutest little way. I might be biased, but I do believe that she is THE cutest one year old. Ever.

{Her first taste of chocolate, on her actual birthday...it went well. Notice how she's pulling her daddy-o's hand toward her...}

{CAKE! She was ready for round two at her party...I'd say her sweet tooth has come in.}

{Too adorbs, right? Love you, sweet girl!}

And the rest…

Andddd now Christmas has already come and gone, and New Year’s, too. A winter collage of the last holidays of 2013:

{Snow for Christmas}

{So blurry, but all the Christensen cousins (minus Drew) and Grandma in the middle.}

{With my cousins, Carolyn and Caitlin}

{New Year's! I didn't end up in Canada. (If you couldn't tell.)}

{Did you know the word of 2013 was "selfie"?
Aside from weeping for our culture and humanity (at least it wasn't "YOLO"),
I figured I should jump on board. Hence, my New Year's selfie.}

 Lots of family time, lots of friend time, lots of memories made. Hey 2013, you weren’t terrible. (You weren’t super great, either.) But 2014? I think it’s gonna be good. #2014isouryear, if you will. Yep, I hashtagged like it’s a word. I'm making my own rules in 2014. Cheers, friends! May the new year bring you many blessings and lots of love. XO!

Pilcher-McBryde Pharmacy (Catching Up, Part One)

First off, yes, I know, I know. It’s been a hot minute. Lots going on, blah blah. Everyone has a lot going on. So, no excuses—here’s what I meant to post a million days ago.

Pilcher-McBryde Pharmacy was the coolest place I’ve been so far (in terms of work travel). The actual building the pharmacy was located in had so much history. According to Mr. Alfred, who has worked at Pilcher-McBryde for over 40 years, Mr. Pilcher, around the turn of the century, asked the bank for a loan of 25 cents. He wanted to go to pharmacy school, despite not having finished high school. (I’m repeating this—not entirely sure of the validity, but Mr. Alfred seemed pretty legit to me.) Anyway, at first, he was denied the loan, but eventually found a generous donor top supply him the hefty sum and he was able to enroll. (Again…I’m not sure the actual fee for enrolling was a quarter, or exactly what the quarter covered. But I’m going with it.) So…that’s how the pharmacy got started. The coolest part for me was that the building just went on and on, in terms of space and nooks and crannies. The actual pharmacy itself was on the ground floor, but there were several back staircases that led up to either A) the “attic” office, directly above the pharmacy (and also the “women’s restroom,” which was…interesting); or B) the entire rest of the building. A couple of the techs took me on a tour one afternoon. A few highlights:

{Three stories of history. And isn't the sign cool?}

{Views from the second floor}

{Yeah, those are just pills, hanging out, spilled all over the table, from who knows when.
I was kind of shocked that no one had cleaned this place up-there were a lot of treasures that could be unearthed.}

{Old business ledgers from the 1800's//Advertisements...Aspirin was 12 cents!}

{With my fav tech, Jess. Good people, cool place, and plenty of southern hospitality.}