Friday Food for Thought

Happy Friday! I have more posts in the works. But I am going to continue to bring you a little Friday cheer just in time for the workday! Here are some of my favorite moments of the past week.
...It may have been such a memorable week that I have more than the normal five!


1. Jimmy Kimmel Video. Of course

Courtesy: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
This has been a favorite of me and my friends for the last few years. Our favorite may or may not have been four or five years ago when the kid turns and goes "You sneeeeaaaaky mom." However I still enjoy every year when these continue to come out! Did you know that this year he played the same trick on his two year old daughter? Ruthless, and hysterical.

2. Cubs and The Onion

Courtesy: the Onion

I don't know if you noticed this week, but history was made. Now while I root for an underdog as much as anyone else, and this was a phenomenal game. I think my favorite thing is the article that came out on the Onion. Millions of Drunk Cubs Fans Rioting In Heaven Following World Series Win. It's funny and memorable.

3. First week of working at Target

If you want another quick funny read, a man documented his favorite moments from his first week at target and they are solid gold. I wish more of humanity were like kimpossibooty who posted it.

4. Beauty and the Beast

Courtesy: of Entertainment Weekly
I don't know if you are obsessing over the live action Beauty and the Beast, probably not. No sane human probably is. However, it is literally filling all of my desires. Not only do I get Emma Watson as Belle, the perfect person and who I had been dreaming to be Belle for, longer than we know this movie was going to be possible. We also get Dan Stevens as Beast/Adam. Yes I'm a Downton Abbey fan. Another great fact? Emma was just as excited as I am, but you can read more about that here, and check out all of the photos that were recently released here.

5. Go Vote.

Courtesy:Dwight Burdette (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I don't care who you vote for. I don't care what is important to you. I don't care if you think this is a trap. I don't. What I do care is that you vote. If you hate both Presidential big party candidates. Don't vote for them. I still want you to but that's neither here nor there. You make a huge difference at your local level. I'll probably do a huge post on this on Monday, so I can give you more facts about millenials and voting.

Now I don't know if you read The Skimm. You should, I also get The New York Times and the BBC delivered to my inbox, but the Skimm does the best job of actually explaining what is going on. They have an entire page for voting, and how to get more informed. Please Please go see it here. And if you have ANY questions about voting or how to get ready for it. Comment, email me. I promise to respond. Because this is so so so important.

Dessert: Yes you get dessert this early in the morning!

Wyoming Win

Yes not only did Wyoming beat Boise for the first time ever, we are ranked and in the leagues to go to a 'bohl' game ;) It truly has been an amazing week. Now go enjoy the rest of dessert!

Wonder Woman

This needs no more words except: About darn time!

Friday Fodder

Jumping right in here! Little video centric.

1. Lady Gaga Carpool Karaoke

Honestly I can't get enough of this video. It's just something that continually makes me smile. Especially when they use Bennedict as a vocal warm up. Her voice is just amazing.






2. Homesick Candles

Potentially a phenomenal idea. Especially for those, like me, who've been displaced from their original home states. I was so excited when I learned about these candles and hopped on the website. All in all they look great. Personally I don't think the person who made Wyoming's has ever been there, or has any vague idea about what Wyoming should smell like. However the vast majority seemed spot on. I feel like if I'm really homesick and I want to feel better I'll buy Utah's, Colorado's, or Texas's because all their descriptions hit what Wy-home-ing smells like to me.
I'm sorry I couldn't resist that little insert. Let me know if you have one of these candles or if you think the description looks like home!






3. National Anthem, Hockey, and Painting.


I said that this was going to be video-centric and I'm not sorry. While our election season may have us tearing our hair out at least this is a feel good we can all like.






4. LinkedIn Learning
To balance all the fun, here's something that you can work on to improve yourself if you're bored on this Friday. LinkedIn Learning, this week for free you can go and take the courses offered by LinkedIn to help make you more competitive at work and in the career market!








5. Teen Slang: DC Edition



I don't know what it is about late night comedy, but they're killing it recently. Or I mean always. Here's a little tidbit that might not be as amazing to others as it is to me, just be glad you didn't listen to me when I first heard it. I may or may not have laughed a little too hard. There's just something about having to listen to the 24 hour news cycle at work that made this great.






Have a safe and exciting Halloween this weekend! And in case you haven't seen it yet here's some laughs, what are you going to be for Halloween?!

Brida

I've been devouring books lately, and will probably have quite a few more literary adventures to post in the near future. However, Brida stood out to me far more than the trove of others. As a huge lover of fantasy and escapism Brida was an interesting mix of reality, religion, romance, and possibility.

As with other books from Paulo Coelho, when I finished reading Brida it felt as if the whole world had shifted, yes it's one of those books. Similarly with the other books I've read from Coelho, it seemed to come at a point in my life when I most needed it. A fast read, that kept me entertained and I was able to read in a cozy Sunday evening. As can be evidenced by my pictures with my salmon turnovers and homemade creamy potato soup. I'm certainly enjoying this fall weather and using the early evenings to their advantage!

 It was nice to see a main character, around my age, learning where she fits in the world in a way that is so realistic. The book shows that not everything is perfect, and sometimes your life path changes in ways you hadn't expected, but like everyone else we learn to deal with it and move on. The best part? This was not the main struggle that Brida tries to overcome, but simply another part of a normal life.

 I love a book that can teach me something and Brida did. The material strays into what modern witches identify as, how their religion works, and how our universe works while realizing that one of the most important questions we can ever ask is, "Who is my other half, and how will they help make life better?" This is wonderfully shown that a soul mate is often not your only love in life, and that a soul mate isn't necessarily the person you're meant to be with my the one whose been put in your life to teach you something.

The novel grapples with both young love, and past loves, and yet still manages to find it's way into your brain, into your soul to see where this applies in your life. I truly adore Paulo Coelho and would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the book! Brida receives one of the largest recommendations I can give!

Friday's Fodder

So I may have a problem with alliteration. I'm working on it, well slightly, I'm also trying to convince everyone that it's flannel friday and we will see how that works out. I've been having issues with my internet at home. So, now that it's working again here are my top five picks from the last week!

1. Closer - Acoustic Version

This popped up on my facebook page, and I'm in love with Conor Maynard's voice. See why I fell in love:

Both of these two are incredible artists. You can listen to Conor and Alexa at these links!


2. Levo League - The First Time I Felt Like a Grownup...
We've been there. The first time that we feel adult. Sometimes we get those feelings and then as we grow older we have them again. I always thought it would come with my first apartment or my first 'big girl job' but somehow it didn't. Driving across the country? Sure it was scary, but it didn't hit me. Traveling as an adult with friends because I had the money and I wanted to? An amazing trip, but we still felt like college kids (maybe because the majority of the rest of them were). My first time I felt like a grownup? Making a budget, checking my credit score, and then getting internet/phone/tv at my row house sure I'd had college apartments, but I haven't lived at a solid location, let alone a house, since I was in high school. And I very much look forward to making my own style choices, I mean when I have the money for that.


3. Vegetable Spiralizer
I can't even tell you how amazing this has been for me. I'll explore more about why in a later post, but, I've fallen in love with this! Also you can make noodles then throw them in a blender and pulse for a few minutes and make rice. What's better than that. Below is an example of my Zoodles. I'll add more recipes soon.

4. Prime Pantry 
I've recently found out that if you have a prime account you can get things at extremely discounted prices and then shipped straight to your house. Food, cleaning products, beauty products, and more. It's taken up my spare time at work just seeing how many things I could get that I want at a discount and sent to me. So far it looks like I'll spend far more money than I need to, but I am going to need to buy these things at one point or another. Also right now they're doing a deal where if you get 5 items in your box that fall under a certain area then you can get free shipping!


5. Love your life - Embody the passion you want in the world
I don't know about you, but for me these last few weeks I've been surrounding myself or seeing motivation and inspirational quotes. Which I love, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, however I love when this brings new vocabulary into my life. My favorite so far is below. Trying to become who you really are can

Moving in, Making friends

I have, as you may have seen, recently moved across the country. Now next week I'm going to add more about moving tips because as a recent grad, a lot of it was a huge learning curve for me too. However, one of the most important things to our health is socialization. After moving to a new city sometimes it's easy to get lonely. I know that I am a huge social butterfly, and normally I just adopt friends of friends and people within my extra-curriculars.

Being fully immersed in the workforce and not involved in much besides work can put a stopper in creating new friendships, so here are some tips from me on how to meet people when you've just started over:

1. If you have friends (old, acquaintances, conference connections, classmates) , or friends of friends who live in the area shoot them a message.

Sure you might not get a response, however chances are likely that getting a cup or coffee or going for a drink might not seem outrageous. All you need is to get your foot in the door.

2. Join in on office plans.

I know this might seem obvious, but your office is one of the easiest places to make friends. You don't have to be best friends with your coworkers, but these are the people that you're going to be seeing most often, and being friendly with them can't hurt your relationship. You may end up finding your social circle that way. Or being directed to other people you may have never met otherwise.

3. Meetup

So far I've been looking a fair few places, but meetup seems to be a phenomenal way to go out and meet new groups. They have groups for anything that someone could possibly dream up and if they don't you can start that group yourself! And the best part is, you don't have to join in conversation or go to events if you don't want to but you have the opportunity to see what's going on.

4.  Try looking for a book club, maybe even a cooking or dancing class.

If books aren't your thing that's fine, however they are probably one of the best ways to meet new people in town. The best part there are all different kinds of book clubs, for different genres, those we only discuss, those who go out and get drinks, those who host at their homes. You can find these in a number of ways, meetup, or websites. My favorite way? Go to your local book store or library they are going to have the best recommendations and know the people in the area around you.

5. Go to the gym, no I'm not kidding.
Not only is it good for you to work out, and it makes you feel happy too, but going to a gym on a regular basis or taking classes you'll start to see the same people around. Maybe after yoga you could talk to the person rolling up their mat next to you and see if they want to get coffee. Or on the treadmill next to you. That way you know you have at least one thing that you enjoy in common.

All in all, when moving to a new city it's scary and intimidating. And in a new city, you have to be the one who pushes the envelope. That can be incredibly scary, but scary can be worth it. This is who you want to be, and how you want to build your new life and you have the right to do it however you want. Go out for a coffee friend date and it doesn't click? You don't have to go again. Being an adult and being social can be harder than it was in college, but everyone needs to have their people.

If you have any tips for meeting people in a new town I'd love to hear it! 

The Little Paris Bookshop

If you like me think that things happen for a reason, normally to teach us something in my case, then have you ever thought about what books happen in your life at a specific time? I do. I've found books and then never read them, until one moment and it was exactly what I needed at the time. That was how The Little Paris Bookshop was for me. I found it while waiting in the LAX airport on our 10 hour layover from Argentina.

Now, I'm not normally a romance girl. There might be reasons behind that, but for the most part they're just too sappy for me to fall in line with. However, The Little Paris Bookshop caught my eye and even after I left it on the shelf I kept thinking about it so much that I had to go back and buy it. 

Then when I opened the book I started truly reading. Not just the all encompassing absorption reading that I normally jump into mind you, but the most intimate form of reading, which meant when I saw something that stood out to me and was calling to my soul, I annotated. I underlined. I made a note. I laughed. I cried. 

Because it was that good. 

The main character, Jean Perdu, not only is someone that readers can identify with, but he acts as we all want to. Raw and with emotion, overwhelmed and someone determined to break out of the monotony of their everyday life. He shows us that love can be the greatest factor in our lives. Whether that means to damage or heal. Most of all he shows us how impossible it is to live without love. But the true beauty is that in the beginning Jean didn't know any of this. Both the readers and Jean learn these lessons at the same time, and perhaps even a bit too late. 

Love can hurt, and heal. Love draws people together in strange circumstances. Like three very unlikely men on a boat pursuing love their long gone loves. And if I ever see a floating bookstore traveling downstream, I know that like Max I would jump on in heartbeat. And if you ever see this book on the shelf, I can only say that it should jump into your hands, with so many amazing lessons and a true appreciation for books themselves, The Little Pairs Bookshop is perhaps the most important book that I have read in all of 2016, and it has helped me through a strange time of my life as I know it will help so many others, it truly is a literary prescription.  

And to those who do read it, I don't know if it will mean as much to you as it did to me, but there is a part about Argentine Milongas. To me it gave a wonderful feeling of nostalgia for the country I was just leaving, and made me realize that little moments have large impacts. 

The Flight of Time

***Note this is a post I had written from January and never got around to posting***
**It is no longer my last semester, however after graduating, and after losing one of my closest friends this year I can only say that these memories are far more precious than you would ever believe. So make them, and remember them**

Last semester flew, literally. I'm not sure where half of it went but I know I enjoyed it immensely.

Similarly to last semester break also seemed to fly by.

I have a few tips for helping with this, because these memories are precious and somehow I always feel that spring semester flies by even faster. 

1) Keep a Journal - You may think this one obvious and silly, but its real. Journaling helps and it helps memories and figure out how you felt, it can take you straight back to that time. Now I may be far too addicted to journals because each one that I see I fall in love with a little bit. Right now I'm on a gift leather bound journal but I love Peter Pauper Press. And here's the best thing about journaling. There is no right way to do it. Bullets! Stories! Scents or tastes! One sentence journals! Plus it helps work out whats piling up in your head, something I think we all need. 

2) Be in the moment - By this I mean actually enjoying it, and not living behind a camera. Sure a good picture or two snapped is wonderful, and I am far to guilty of my favorite socialization medium being snapchat, but the places we get those memories we are so fond of? Actually participating in the moment. What I seem to remember is no matter how beautiful the image you see is, that Iphone is never going to do it justice. So why not just remember it for yourself?

3) Talk to your friends - whether this is during the moment for you or reminiscing afterwards somebody else in your group is going to remember a detail you forgot. And remembering it again? Nothing feels better.   

4) Make these memories - I know this one sounds obvious and kind of silly, but the reality is that sometimes we get too caught up in what's going on in our lives to break out of the monotony. We get sucked into our rut. This is my last semester in college so we are planning little things that we are going to love, but most of all we are open to spontaneity (which may or may not have lead us to climbing onto roofs one night to see if we can...) which I think can bring the most memories. 

For me this semester and this year is all about the adventure of life. I'm going to start being an adult soon, a real adult anyhow. But before I settle down into what may become the next few years of my life, and the true beginning to my career I'm going to have some wonderful adventures. 

The Inside Passage: What to wear

This has been my summer, or well my year of travel. So far I've gone to two states on opposite ends of the country, and one country. 

Mexico and Florida were beautiful and wonderful. And maybe if people want I can upload how I packed for those trips. However I always feel like packing for warm weather is so much easier. Packing for Alaska, even Alaska in the summer. That was more challenging. 

So here I am detailing what I packed and how it traveled. I'm going to warn you, I'm trying to learn how to pack minimalistically, which I still have bounds more to learn about but I went in a carry on and a day pack backpack. The back pack held odds and ends like my homework that had to follow me on this trip. But here are some pictures to show you how I went for 11 days in a carry on. 

To start off I used REI's expandable packing cubes, the REI suitcase, and my L.L. Bean day trekker backpack to pack. Now I'm giving a heads up for warning my suitcase and day trekker are old, like several years so much that I couldn't find my suitcase but my family has alway found great products from REI, and the day trekker has gone under some serious renovation since I got mine. 

Packing cubes have probably saved my life. I'm not joking either. I had my suitcase packed before I bought them and it gave me probably almost 1/2 of the suitcase back. My trick is to roll everything inside the packing cubes and it will help so so so much. 

I packed one pair of jean shorts and did end up wearing them, but that was because we had unusually warm weather for Alaska. Because of that warm weather I was able to read out on the deck in my shorts. The one thing that I don't have on there is my outer layers. DON'T FORGET TO PACK A RAIN COAT! I took a winter coat as well and wasn't disappointed. That's because when we went to watch the glaciers I was able to throw on my winter coat, ear warmers and gloves and just stay outside and watch the glaciers. It was so worth it. 

I was also on a lovely little cruise that only had 55 people on it. I recommend an un-cruise of the inside passage. We were able to go out hiking, sea kayaking, and follow whales. I'll do a follow up of Alaskan Dream Cruises because the cruise deserves its own post.  However, one of the nicest things that they did was supply us rain boots and rain gear, so I'd check with the cruise you're taking because I was very happy to have rain pants when we went kayaking.

I hope this helps, I hadn't been too sure what to pack so I figured I'd share what worked well for me! My trick is to pack a lot of neutrals and then use the scarves to put more color into whatever you're wearing at the time. I may add my backpack and toiletries at a later time. Also the swimsuit was for the polar plunge which was actually one of my favorite memories!

Good luck packing!