My Absence

My absence in this blog stems from me actually LIVING and being SOCIAL. It's crazy to think that I moved to Maryland almost 5 months ago and I don't regret that decision for a day. Sure, there are days I wish I could be hanging out with my closest friends in California. Or days where I wish nothing more than to be eating and drinking with my mom and dad, however, this experience is so much more gratifying. I keep thinking about one day when I have kids or make new friends. I can tell them all about how I once spent sometime in my life living in the great city of Baltimore. This weekend I drove to Virginia and it was absolutely beautiful. I stopped in Old Town Alexandria to have lunch and walk around. I then drove the measly hour to get back to Baltimore. It is still insane to me that I can drive to not one, but many states within the span of a few hours. I have now made visiting every state in the US my number one on my bucket list, (yes, number 1, one, uno, if I could include every language for "one" I would...) so if anyone would like to help me with this goal, I would love you forever.

In May, I am going to visit Christopher again and we've decided to make a trip to Memphis, Tennessee. It started with me just dilly dallying at work, trying to find something to do in Little Rock for my long weekend when I stumbled upon the fact that Memphis is only 2 HOURS(!) away from Chris. My dad told me Graceland was there and I was sold. Who wouldn't want to see the King of Rock's great estate?! I'm pretty darn excited. Thank god Christopher is okay with me dragging him to visit other states and cities. We're also planning on making a day trip to Philly to see the great historical sites, oh, and eat an infamous Philly Cheesesteak. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked on the next few months!

Anyway, I will try to post more soon about life, food, work, whatever comes to mind. I hope this finds you well!

xoxo

Adventures with Cooking

Tonight was by far the biggest struggle to make dinner. After a long day at work and an even longer time waiting at the doctor's office followed by grocery shopping,  I drove the struggle train trying to make dinner. However, after pushing myself to try and eat healthier, I didn't want to ruin today by eating mac and cheese (even though it's one of my top 10 favorite meals).

I decided to make Turkey Stuffed Peppers by Skinny Taste. I've been finding a lot of awesome meals on this website and in my quest to eat healthier/learn how to cook, this is my go to. I'm hoping tonight's dinner looks like this:

Skinnytaste.com

Although I'll be happy with pretty much anything at this point.

New Year, New Me

Along with a new city, new work, new daily routine, new cooking skills, I decided to add a new hairstyle into the mix. I've been growing my hair for about 3 years now. My very fine, typically blonde hair was starting to hate me. I'm sure picking at my split ends probably didn't help either. A few days ago, I walked into the Phillip Michael studio that is a few blocks down for my house for a simple consultation and walked away with an appointment to chop and color my hair darker. I can't tell you much lighter my head feels without all that hair weighing me down, not to mention how much easier it will be to blow dry and straighten my hair now!

Before

After

The weekend before last, my handsome boyfriend, Christopher, came to visit me again in Baltimore. We spent the weekend traveling to Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware, Rohoboth beach, watching the 9ers and Ravens games, drinking, sight seeing, and enjoying each other's company. Long distance is definitely not the business, but we already have plans to see each other for the next few months and in about 2 weeks I will be making my first visit to Little Rock, Arkansas. Enjoy pictures from our weekend!

This treehouse was sold on ebay for $1 and was originally assembled by a couple of people at Burning Man every year. They eventually got tired of hauling the pieces back and forth and decided to sell it. So, the owner of Dogfish Head bought the piece for $1 and then had to pay some ridiculous amount like $300,000 to ship the parts. He then flew out the people selling the treehouse to construct it on the property 

Chris at Fort McHenry

At Fort McHenry looking out at the Harbor 

Birthday Dinner!

Christopher getting to experience the insanity that was the Ravens going to the Superbowl

Snow!

It finally snowed in Maryland! I've received many questions about how I feel about the snow, how the Californian is doing in the weather, etc. etc. I'm actually doing really well! It's surreal to see snow falling on my car and while I'm driving. Enjoy some pictures:

I'll update tomorrow about last weekend when my boyfriend came to visit!

Birthday Festivities

Yesterday was my 22nd birthday and despite being so far from home, I had a fabulous day full of flowers, treats, and far too many drinks. My friend Rachel was so sweet and made a birthday card that held signatures from most of the people I work with. My amazing boyfriend sent me gorgeous flowers. My mom and dad sent me a gorgeous bouquet of roses and lilies that smelled absolutely amazing. My bestest sent me delicious chocolate covered treats from edible arrangements. I went to dinner at Burger Brothers, a great burger joint in Towson (not too far from my work). I topped off the night with far too many drinks, which didn't make for a pleasant morning. Overall, my first anniversary of being 21 was everything I could have hoped for!

Birthday Sunrise 

Birthday flowers from Christopher

Line up of birthday shots for the bar

Rachel, our new friend Katie, and I

Too. Much.

Beautiful flowers from my parents

Happy New Year!

I apologize for my lack of posting! Over Christmas and New Years, I was spending all my precious moments bathing in California sun, laughing with my closest friends, and enjoying all the In N Out, Jaliscos, and other delicious home cooked meals that I could stuff my face with. I can't tell you how much I appreciate every minute that I got to spend with my family and friends. One of my big presents for Christmas this year was an amazing Nikon camera. I'll let my beginning photography skills speak for my 10 day vacation at home. Enjoy!