New Traditions

How does a single twenty-something in a city far away from her family spend Thanksgiving? I've been pondering this question for weeks now. Last year was my first Thanksgiving living away from California and my family. I didn't mind because I was able to go to Iowa, and for the first time spent the holiday with my mom's side of the family. But this year I'm working and couldn't manage to get away. The only other time I've been away from my family during the holidays was while I studied abroad in college. But that was one of the best Thanksgivings I ever had- in Madrid surrounded by 100 of my closest friends, eating a feast, and clubbing into the wee hours of the morning. I figured this year I might try and get some friends together and have a Friendsgiving in Chicago, but they're all out of town. So now what? What do single people like myself do on Thanksgiving when they have no one to spend the holiday with?

Start my own traditions, I guess.

Fortunately my older brother is in town on business this week, though we've both been so busy we haven't managed to see each other yet. Since he'll be working until tomorrow evening, I need something to fill up Thanksgiving day to avoid dwelling on my homesickness and the fact that I'm spending the day alone. Plus, I could use something to do other than watch Seinfeld reruns all day.

I decided the best way to make the most of my single girl Thanksgiving is to do some things I enjoy. The best I could come up with: running, drinking, cooking {and eating, of course}. Luckily for my wallet, Nordstrom is closed on Turkey Day, or retail therapy surely would've been involved as well.

So after running the Turkey Trot 8k tomorrow morning, I'll go home, open up a good bottle of wine, roast some brussel sprouts and turkey breast, and bake a homemade pumpkin pie.

This is a lousy alternative to being surrounded by family and people I care about, so in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm trying to focus on the silver lining and things I can be thankful for. And there are upsides to being alone during the holidays. I don't have to be polite by eating gross food {like green bean casserole, sick}. No listening to my dad and uncle shout in Italian across the dining room table. No significant other's strange extended family to deal with. And I can drink as much wine as I want without judgment. Yay!

As I start new traditions tomorrow, I'll be thankful for the friends and family I'm apart from and for the many blessings in my life. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday- and if you need a drinking, baking, or running buddy tomorrow, holler at me.

Workin' for the Weekend

I don't really have much to write today, other than the fact that I'm counting down to the weekend- it's 50 hours away to be exact. And even though my weekends entail "work," I get paid to basically socialize and meet people. It also helps that I get to drink for half-off once I'm off the clock- booyah.

Part of why I'm longing for it to be 5pm on Friday is because last weekend was soooo much fun. Between friends visiting, sweet tea vodka lemonades, hitting up hot spots, and having an excessively good time, this work week has been far too tame. The only bright spot is that I've begun working out again and finally feel myself emerging from the funk I've been in. Thank you, endorphins.

So here's to hump day and being that much closer to a two day hiatus from corporate life. Because Monday-Friday I am dying a slow and painful death at the hands of monotony and boredom.

West Coast, The Best Coast

Even though I'm happy as can be to call the Midwest my home, every now and then I get hunger pangs for California. Although I miss my friends and family, I'm good about keeping in touch with them so it doesn't feel like I'm 2,000 miles away. It's the physical aspects- sunshine, palm trees, the beach {and my dad's veal gorgonzola}- that are what I've been missing lately.

For reasons that are a mystery to me, I get an absurd amount of junk mail {just ask my roommate, Jackie}. But every now and then there's something good in my gigantic pile of mail that makes receiving so much correspondence slightly less annoying. Case in point: a catalog from Swell, and the photos inside made me so excited to go home for the holidays next month. How lucky I am to escape Chicago winters for a place like Southern California...

{some of my favorite photos from Swell}



If I ever move back to California, I need to learn how to surf.




I love the idea of being dressed for winter and heading to the beach.
Even though I never did once in 23 years of living there.




Body surfing is my favorite thing to do {besides bronze} when I'm at the beach.
This photo makes me look forward to next summer already!
Having salt in my hair and smelling like sunscreen- doesn't get any better.



 

Thankful Friday

Though I no longer have weekends thanks to working Saturday and Sunday at the bar, I still love the feeling of Friday. And as the end of the corporate work week gives way to the cocktail-filled work weekend, I'm always a little thankful.

Today I'm feeling particularly grateful for....

  

Good friends.
{Especially Lauren who is visiting me this weekend!}

 

The opportunities I've been given.
{On the bus this morning, I saw a homeless man carrying a newspaper tucked into a dictionary.
It was a reminder of how lucky I am to have been afforded a world class education.
Not to mention having the means to access a dictionary via an iPhone.}

New décor for our living room!
{Including these pillows.}

Culinary inspiration from Ina Garten.
{I'm making my favorite dinner tonight- minus the lentils.}

And of course, I'm especially thankful to live in Chicago.

The High Life

I have a serious weakness for shoes, and the higher the heel, the better. Gotta work the gams, after all.

But I'm being fiscally responsible and only allowing myself to window shop via my desktop monitor. While doing so, I saw these beautiful Lanvin wedges. So gorgeous.

 Ah, what I would do to have $1,280 laying around so I could give them a home in my closet and on my feet. {Actually, I don't think I could ever rationalize that pricetag, so I'm relying on the shoe gods to answer my prayers and send an affordable knockoff version my way soon.}

Très belle.
{photos via Nordstrom}

Rise & Shine

A month after starting my job at the bar, I'm still adjusting to my new and schizophrenic schedule. Going to bed very late some nights, while going to bed very early on others is totally messing with my clock. I'm a night owl and I wake up Monday-Friday feeling lethargic. Seems like it might be time to tweak my routine in order to put a spring in my step.

As I perused Stumble Upon at work today, I found this blog and really enjoyed a post about training yourself to be an early riser. Waking up at 5am wouldn't be feasible on Sunday mornings when I've gone to bed an hour prior due to a late shift at the bar, but I think it could be just what I need to start accomplishing more each day {namely working out since my routine has completely fallen by the wayside lately}.

Then again, waking up at 5am to go for an early morning run in the winter sounds pretty terrible. Maybe a stop at Pret {my new obsession} would sweeten the deal.



Sunrise in Chi-city {via Everywhere Mag}



For You Politicos Out There

In light of my recent post regarding dissatisfaction with our government, I thought I'd pass this link along:

whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com

An easy [and humourous] way to keep tabs on the boss man's productivity. Barack 'n' roll, folks.

Not mentioned on the website: Obama maintaining diplomatic relations with the Easter Bunny.
[photo via upi.com]

Happy Friday, everyone!



The Woman Who Has Everything

My mom's birthday is in a mere five days, and I still haven't gotten her a gift. She is the hardest person in the world to shop for. Someone once told me that "you can take the girl out of Iowa, but you can never take Iowa out of the girl." My mom epitomizes that saying. 24 years in Orange County, and she is still as low maintenance and down to earth as she was when she was tying up hogs and shucking corn on the farm. [I don't know if she really tied hogs, but the visual made me laugh a little.]

So what do I get her? Clothes? Maybe, but she likes Old Navy and I'd sooner jump in front of the 156 bus than set foot in that place. Jewelry? No, she hardly wears the baubles I've gotten her in the past. A new purse? Nope, she insists that she only needs one and still likes the Gucci my dad got her over a decade ago. And so commences my annual struggle of what to buy the woman who has everything and wants nothing.

Mom, I know you read this blog, and just yesterday you told me I should find a way to "capitalize on my gift." So I'm going to publicly make you an offer and do just that, even though I don't think this is what you had in mind. Come to Chicago for Thanksgiving since all of your babies will be away this year [and 2/3 of us will be here!]. It should be easy to convince Dad to do so because Thanksgiving falls on his birthday, and you know how he loves taking trips to celebrate his graceful ascent into senior citizenship. I know Chicago in November is no St. Barth's, but make it happen. And if you do, I will squire you both about town and treat you to the best tour of Chi-city available. What better way to belatedly celebrate your birthday? [Plus, that will take care of Dad's birthday too. I'm out of ideas for him as well, and he doesn't need another jewel-toned Lacoste polo.] I anxiously await your response. But in case you decline, I'll be spending my lunch hour at Nordstrom wishing you'd give me a gift idea.

My default gift for Mom: a bouquet of her favorite flower, the iris.
C'mon Mom... Chicago would be way better!

Our Jarhead

My brother graduated from SOI at Camp Pendleton yesterday [I don't know what the hell that stands for because the Marine Corps abbreviates everything]. Now that he's finished a month of infantry training that must be completed after boot camp, he'll ship off to the fire academy in Texas tomorrow. Since it's impossible for me to jet back to California for every family [and USMC] event, I instead have to live vicariously through pictures showcasing my incredibly deep gene pool.

Either Gianluca got bigger or my dad got shorter. Both are possible.

Between these two, it's no wonder I don't bring boys home.

Don't let him fool you- he's still a mama's boy.

Casting a Vote for Apathy

I have had several people today ask me if I voted. And for the first time since turning 18, the answer is no. [Sorry Noodle, I lied... even the martyrdom of suffragettes in the 1920s wasn't enough to get me to the polls.]

I want to vote, to care about the issues, to believe campaign promises. But I can't. I'm still completely disillusioned after the election of Obama, an election I actively participated in, a campaign I helped with and donated to, that I just couldn't stomach listening to a single political ad or looking at my California absentee ballot. And so I didn't.

The day after Obama was elected, I remember waking up and feeling like it was a new day and that the world had changed. I'd been abroad in Barcelona during Bush's tenure and experienced firsthand what it was like to be a gringo overseas during the height of American Imperialism. We had little to no respect internationally, and I thought that certainly a changing of the guard would fix our image in the world and our many problems at home. And now, two years later, most things are worse.

Aside from my disenchantment with our government and the political process, the other reason I'm not voting is because I don't think a person should voice their opinion if it's an uninformed one. With all the ballot measures, politicians, and judges to decide on at the polls, it takes significant time to adequately research and make educated decisions. And unlike plenty of people who did vote today, I know that I can't rely on smear ads for objective and correct information. In summary, I think it is far worse to cast a vote for a person or proposition you know nothing about than to not vote at all. So I sat this one out.

I know my reasons for voting abstinence are bad ones. You can't be apathetic and expect anything to change. But I needed a reprieve from the pundits and the politicians, most of whom are speaking out of their own interests and not ours. I've cared about the issues since before I could vote, and all it did was make me worry and stress about things that can't or won't change. People say that if you don't vote, you can't complain. So until 2012 when I can muster up the nerve to pay attention to this politico crap again, I won't be complaining.