Preparations

With Christmas just around the corner, Guillermo and I have decided to spend it with some of his new friends from school.  Three people will be coming over on Tuesday; a Chinese girl, Turkish guy, and Israeli guy.  We are going to have a very multi-cultural day, and I have to say that excites me a lot.  I love making friends with people from other countries and I love learning about their cultures and hearing their stories.  We may be lucky enough to taste food from some of those cultures, but I doubt it on Christmas day.  Guillermo and I are going to cover the ham and one side (the others are covering other sides and drinks), and I'm thinking twice-baked potatoes.  My mom always made them for Christmas and they are just so indulgent and delicious.

I'm still trying to come up with an idea for dessert, too.  Something tasty, but not too tricky. This is my first Christmas as a grown-up that I will be hosting and I want everyone to leave full of food and happiness. 

Deck the Hall

This weekend, I took some time to do at least a little bit of Christmas decorating in our apartment.  Now, I don't have too much space and I had a budget of about $0, but I think it looks kinda festive.  I'm proud!

The first thing I started working on was a paper and twine garland for the hall.  I had paper, paint, and twine laying around so all I did was paint the paper green, cut out leaf shapes, then tie them together along the twine.  Here's what it looks like!

All I did to tie them together was tie a loose knot around the center of the two leaves so the paper didn't tear.  I spaced them out by eye, so they aren't perfect, but that's ok with me.

The other thing I did was decorate the Peace Lilly that my mom got me for my birthday (and I haven't killed yet!!) with some teeny-tiny ornaments.  I got a package of 25 3/4" diameter balls for only $5 from Urban Outfitters and tied them to the leaves of the plant with thin wire.  

The little balls of color are so cheerful. :)

And finally, the small bookshelf we have in the hall is now where we display all of the Christmas cards we have been receiving in the mail.  Family and friends have been sending us cards and its so comforting to see them every day on the way into the apartment.

The ornaments that didn't make it onto the Peace Lilly are sitting in a glass jar from an old, used-up candle on the top shelf for a little extra fun.

Thankful for Friday

Well, Friday is finally here!  This week I'm thankful for friends and family.  We have been getting Christmas cards from our loved ones (and Fitzgerald motors...?) over the past week or so, and even a present already!  Although this year is going to be very different for me, I am sure it is still going to be wonderful-my family is going to be sure of it.  Guillermo and I are thinking about having some of his classmates over for Christmas dinner, since they wont be going back to their homes in other countries this year.  I'm hoping this works out because it would be nice to celebrate with some new friends, so cheers to new traditions!

Here's our Christmas Peace-Lilly

Happy Hump Day!

How was everyone's Wednesday?  Mine was wonderful because I had the day off.  I know I took off this whole past weekend, but because I was so busy the whole time it really didn't feel like a break from work.  Today I got to lounge, start a few projects I've had in mind, and meet up with some friends at a small church group.

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned I went to church with my friend RJ?  Well every Wednesday night they have a small group for 20-somethings.  I have wanted to go since I went to church, but always seemed to work on Wednesday nights and never seemed to have the opportunity......until now.  It was a nice gathering and I even recognized a few people I had met previously.  We sang Christmas carols, ate snacks, and read through a bit of Matthew.

All in all, it was a great day off and a wonderful way to spend my evening.  I hope you all can say the same about your day!  And don't worry-the weekend is almost here!

Success

I would have to say this weekend in Brooklyn was just what I needed.  This is the first holiday season of mine not being surrounded by friends and family, and I have been missing both dearly as of late.  When I was in school I always had friends around and school to distract me, but this year all I have is a lot of down-time to reflect on those memories.

Going to my old home in Brooklyn did just the trick.  I got to see the people I have been missing most, and just in the nick of time because Taylor and Crosby will both be leaving for Rome shortly.  We didn't do anything too crazy, just ate Chinese food, drank, and played Mariokart.  It was really all I wanted; no going into Manhattan to fancy restaurants or seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center or ice skating in Central Park, just time with my friends doing what we do best.  (being immature and ridiculous of course!)

We did manage to go out Saturday night for drinks and merryment.  It was a great time had by all, and the first time in a very long time I have stayed up all night for pleasure, not for school.

I'm Excited to Announce...

Tomorrow I'll be going to New York City!!

Pretty much ever since I moved up here to Boston, I have wanted to go back to Brooklyn to visit my crazy roommates.  The first month after I moved out was really tough, but it has gotten a lot easier being away now that I'm settled into my new lifestyle.  I've barely been scraping by financially, but I decided that its now or never to go down for a visit because my friends Taylor and Crosby are leaving for Rome in January!!  (this trip sponsored by my lovely mom)  Taylor, a fellow Pratt student, is doing the same study abroad program I did 2 years ago (has it been that long already?!?!) and her fiance Crosby is going to go with her and study Italian cooking.  He works at an Italian restaurant right now and the owner is going to hook him up with a friend's restaurant in Rome.  I am soooo very excited for them and I promised I would map out all the best places to go in Rome.  Think: gelato, pizza, €1 shots, etc.

In addition to visiting my friends, I'm excited to be reunited with the amazing food New York has to offer.  Some places I plan on going are:

Urban Vintage for a delicious latte

Luigi's Pizza for THE BEST PIZZA ON THE PLANET

DOUGH for a light and fluffy donut

Choice for more coffee and some tasty pastries

And of course some other Brooklyn staples, like cheap Chinese food, PBR, and Bergen Bagels.

Confession

For a few years now, I have been feeling like a 40-something year old trapped in a 20-something year old's body.  I know that sounds odd and women usually wish its the other way around, so let me explain.

I've never really been one to go out and party it up and go wild.  I've never smoked a cigarette (or anything else), I've never gotten black-out drunk and stupid, I've never "hooked up" with anyone at a party, or anything else young-adult like.  I've always acted more mature than my age, but recently its kicked into high gear.

Don't get me wrong-that doesn't mean that I'm not happy with my life the way it is.  I absolutely love where I am in life and I'm so excited to see what will happen before I am 40-something, but sometimes I wish I could fast-forward.

I want kids.
I want to decorate for the holidays.
I want an apartment large enough to be able to decorate.
I want to craft.
I want to cook and bake all day.
I want to throw dinner parties and brunches, and do all the decorating and cute name-tagging and labeling that goes along with them.
I want to host family for the holidays.
I don't mind doing dishes or laundry.
Sometimes, I even wish I lived in the suburbs so that I could run errands in the car.

The problem with most of those things is that they require a stable income, which I haven't quite figured out yet.

And as I said, I am in love with my life right now.  I just can't help looking forward to the latter part of life.

Do any of you guys feel like you should be a different age?  Am I super weird for feeling this way?  I would love to hear your thoughts.