New York Bound!

In 2.5 weeks I will be heading to New York to visit some of my close college friends. I can't wait to experience New York during winter/Christmas time! After a long weekend of working 10 hour days, I figured this trip would be a nice early Christmas/birthday present.

Being Thankful pt. 2

Happy Thanksgiving from Charm City! So far, today has been wonderful. I started off with a 4 mile Turkey Trot through the inner harbor and saw some of the most amazing views.

Don't mind the sweat, just finished off 4 miles!

Although everyday I have things to be thankful for, I think today is a great day to spend a little extra time acknowledging those people and places in your life that make you who you are today.

Today, I am most thankful for these two wonderful people. I talked to my parents earlier today and it is still so weird that I'm not at home for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to spend time with them during Christmas! My parents have always supported me in whatever path I choose to take. When I told them I was moving to Baltimore, they weren't the happiest of parents, but they both understood that this was something I wanted and needed to do. They still support my every decision and have given me so much good advice. I love you both to the moon and back and can't wait to start boozing with you when I'm home.

My Auntie Cindy is such an amazing and strong woman. She's been battling breast cancer for over a year now and still finds a way to wake up in the morning with a smile. She has always been one of my closest friends. Our trip to Hawaii back during March is a memory I'll carry with me forever. 

I don't even know where to begin with this girl. She's my bestest and for good reasons. I can't tell you how many times I've walked out to her car or she's walked into my house and we are dressed in the same outfit. We look at each other across the room and already know what the other one is thinking. We have matching jewelry and matching hair. Sometimes were disgustingly ridiculous, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Seriously though, this girl has always been there through thick and thin. Even after going back to the same guy 2 or 3 times she still manages to put up with my stories and crying. I am so so so thankful she came into my life and that she will always be my best friend. I mean someone has to be blonde girl from Bridesmaids at your wedding;)

Other things I am thankful for:

• Torrey time/phone dates
• My closest friends back in California
• UGS and all the great people it brought me too
• SLO and all the gorgeous views and people there
• Theta for everything that it has taught me and the life long friendships I've created
• Phones that allow me to keep in touch with everyone back in California
• FALL ON THE EAST COAST (seriously!)
• Wine!
• My great work environment
• Being happy

Oh and this guy:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Being Thankful pt. 1

This Thanksgiving marks the first Thanksgiving in 21 years that I will not be stuffing my face full of turkey and mashed potatoes at home. It is also the 2nd Thanksgiving I will not be able to spend with my grandmother who passed away last July. I don't even know how to begin to explain to my blogger world how strange this Thanksgiving will be. I am fortunate enough to be spending tomorrow's big festivities with my boss and his family (I'm sure I'll have some interesting tales from that one). However, this definitely does not replace the heart wrenching emotions of not being able to spend Thanksgiving at home. I kind of realized before my move how much I love spending time with my mom and dad and how thankful I was to have them around still, but I don't think this really hit until the second day I was in Baltimore when I REALLY realized how much my parents do for me (thanks mom and dad!) I miss not being able to run errands with my mom or grab a drink with her. I miss not being able to have my dad walk into my room and show me some space picture or some weird fact about the Wienermobile (side note: my dad wanted me to be a Hotdogger...look it up...no seriously, that's what he wanted me to). I miss all these things on a daily basis, but I think it really hits home when I'm not at home for a major holiday. I am so thankful that I get to go home for a solid week and a half during Christmas/New Years.

But let me stop talking about how weird this Thanksgiving is and begin to tell you what I am grateful for. I'm thankful that I had this amazing opportunity to move to Baltimore. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and a job that keeps me fed and happy. I am thankful for a great work culture and so many wonderful coworkers that I get to see on a daily basis. I am thankful that I have a form of transportation that allows me to explore this great (and the not so great parts) of this wonderful city. I am thankful for just about everything that I have in my new life in Baltimore, including my glass of wine that I'm currently drinking. Check back tomorrow when I post my more sappier blog post about everything I am thankful for. For now, I'm heading to bed and preparing myself for the 4 mile turkey trot I signed myself up for....yikes.

Playing Tourist in Baltimore

To all my closest friends and family who are still keeping up with this - I apologize for the long wait!

This past week has been SO SO busy and even that's an understatement. I've been working anywhere from 8-11 hours at work and even went into work today. It's peak season for printing, along with many other industries, and you can definitely feel the chaos as soon as you enter the shop. The great thing about all of this is I actually LOVE what I do, so I don't mind the crazy hours and long days.

Anyway, last weekend one of my closest friends, Christopher, came to visit me. It was great to have such a familiar face in Baltimore. We acted like tourists all weekend, which was great for me since I haven't seen most of Baltimore yet. Christopher came in late Friday night so we didn't do anything that night since we were both exhausted from work/travel. Saturday morning we woke up late and decided to see the famed National Aquarium in Inner Harbor. Spoiler: If you've been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, this one sucks, unfortunately.

These are just a few photos from the Aquarium. About halfway through looking at the aquarium, I was about to have a melt down from lack of food (no, seriously, a full on melt down), so we went to Phillips and ate delicious seafood. It was a little pricy but SO worth it. I told Christopher he needed to get seafood at least once while in Baltimore. After food and finishing up the rest of the aquarium, I drove Chris down to Fells Point and Canton so he could see the old cobblestone streets and the cute rows of houses, restaurants, and boutiques. Later that night, we went to the bars in Federal Hill and watched the Oregon Ducks game while drinking a few beers. Christopher finally got to try National Bohemian! Natty Bo (as it is more commonly referred to) used to be brewed in Baltimore and is the pride and joy of their beers. However, this beer tastes like water, somewhere between a Natty light and a Coors light. It's disgusting, but it's cheap and easy to drink AND it USED to be brewed here, haha.

The next morning, Christopher and I woke up late again and walked down to one of the bars to grab breakfast burritos. The Ravens game was going on later that day in Baltimore and since the stadium is walking distance from Fed Hill, the bars were all packed! I told Chris it was like being in a grown up college town. After our delicious burritos we walked back to my place where we rested and hung out until we felt like getting up again. This is where our adventure begins. Christopher finds out my bedroom door is locked and I have no key to get in. COOL. After much plotting, I realized I had opened the window to my bathroom earlier that day and figured out we could get through the window. However, the window is a few feet from the ground and even 6 foot 2 Christopher can't reach without some sort of stepping stool. I remembered there was an Ace Hardware in Fed Hill so we walked the 10 blocks to rent a ladder, carried the ladder back 10 blocks, managed to somehow maneuver my way in through the window, and unlocked my door. After returning the ladder, Christopher and I decided that we would scratch our original plans and go watch the last quarter of the Ravens game at a bar with multiple drinks. Well deserved drinks. Later we went to Brewer's Art in Mount Vernon and had delicious food and drinks. He left early, early the next morning while I went off to work. Overall, I had such a great weekend!

In other news, I bought my first down jacket today and had to call my mother to explain to her why this was so exciting and strange. Who buys down jackets in California? No one. Well maybe someone does, but I don't know them. Later tonight I'm going over to my friend Rachel's house to have an early Thanksgiving. I promise to be better at updating this blog! Until then, I hope all is well wherever you may be!

Welcome to my new home!

Welcome to my bedroom! I apologize for the mess

Bookshelf to the right of the door

My own bathroom 

Close up of my living area

So. Much. Space.

More storage

View from my balcony!

Why, hello Baltimore

I could get used to this

I apologize for the absence! I've been busy moving into my new house in Federal Hill! I got my pod moved here on Monday and finally unpacked all my stuff tonight. It actually feels like I'm a resident of Baltimore. Work has been slow, but only because I've been doing basic rotations. Next week I should start being more busy as I get settled into my digital printing rotation right in the middle of our peak season. Anyway, wanted to give a quick update. Christopher is coming to visit this weekend so I'll have plenty of touristy pictures and updates:)