Hey all! Just wanted to write a short entry to tell you how freakin' excited I am about my upcoming weekend. Very soon (I'm talking about an hour), I will be heading out of Milwaukee and into La Crosse for the next 5-ish days. Say WHAT?! :)
While in grad school, I discovered this awesome little gem called Riverfest. It's quite the fun 4th of July celebration that occurs along the Mississippi in La Crosse. There are bands, food vendors, a beer tent, and most importantly, BINGO! :) Anyway, I am heading up tonight and will there until Tuesday morning. Seriously could not be more excited!! This will be the first time in a LONG time that I will have the opportunity to see everyone I want to see while I'm in La Crosse. Seems like every time I go, at least one of my friends is out of town, so it's super exciting to know that I'll be in town long enough to get some quality time with the people I really care about!
What's on the agenda? That's the thing. I don't really have one, and I love it. A few of the things I may get involved in include: 1) Floating down the Upper Iowa River on a tube (random, I know); 2) Going to the beach and struttin' my stuff in my new swimsuit; 3) Grilling out; 4) Watching a band or two at Riverfest; 5) Checking out a few local establishments, etc. As you can see, nothing that's too set in stone, but for some reason, I still cannot contain my excitement! Eek!
Well, folks. Try not to be too jealous of me as I prepare to have the most awesome weekend ever!! :) I hope you all have a splendid 4th of July, and I will likely be reporting back with some details of all the stellar things I've experienced! Cheers!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Detroit Rock City!
As promised, here is another little entry about my trip to Detroit. (Sorry for the delay!). Rather than spending a ton of time explaining all the finer details, I thought I'd just include some pictures of some of the cool things I saw and experienced. Many people have a pretty negative, warped view of what Detroit is like, primarily because they've never been there, but I would like to emphasize the whole "never judge a book by its cover" philosophy here. I learned SO much about the city that I never knew before going there. I'd encourage you to check it out. And if you're worried about the neighborhoods or crime rates, just follow the advice of one of the locals: "Don't be afraid, but don't be absent-minded." Simple enough! :)
Michigan Central Station
(Built by the same person who designed Grand Central Station in NYC)
Clearly it's no longer in use. Sad.
Canada!
I'll confess, I didn't realize Canada was so close to Detroit!
Sauces at Slow's Bar BQ. My favorite was the spicy!
(Arguably Detroit's most famous restaurant. It was AWESOME!)
Scoreboard at Comerica Park. Very cool!
Michigan Central Station(Built by the same person who designed Grand Central Station in NYC)
Clearly it's no longer in use. Sad.
Canada!I'll confess, I didn't realize Canada was so close to Detroit!
Sauces at Slow's Bar BQ. My favorite was the spicy!(Arguably Detroit's most famous restaurant. It was AWESOME!)
Scoreboard at Comerica Park. Very cool!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Letters From The Future I Wish I Sent...
Since starting my position at MIAD, I've been lucky enough to meet and interact with Katie, the girl who was in my position before me. She is totally awesome, and she coincidentally majored in the exact same thing as me, AT UW-La Crosse. No wonder why we get along so well. ;) Anyway, she left the position because she and her husband are expecting a baby, and today on Facebook, she posted a link to a blog entry that I thought was hilarious. It's called "Letters From The Future I Wish I Sent." Not only is it funny, but I'd also like to think it's true. Can't say for certain, because I've never had children, but since posting the article on my sister-in-law's FB wall 14 minutes ago, 3 of her fellow mamas have already indicated that they agree... So, I think it goes without saying that I will keep this letter around for when I do have kids. It'll probably come in very handy! Enjoy :)
(P.S. Totally random, but I like this whole "letters from the future" concept. I think it could be applicable in many aspects of life, so I might consider writing something like this for myself. Lord knows I could've used a few letters from MY future;).
(P.S. Totally random, but I like this whole "letters from the future" concept. I think it could be applicable in many aspects of life, so I might consider writing something like this for myself. Lord knows I could've used a few letters from MY future;).
Friday, June 17, 2011
NKOTBSB
Yesterday marked one month and counting until I get to see New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB) in concert! (See the videos below to get a taste for what we'll be seeing!) I can't even tell you how freakin' excited I am to see them!!! When some of us ladies were originally planning to see them, we were going to hit up the show in Chicago (which is coincidentally happening tomorrow). However, my friend Ashley is getting married tomorrow, and as much as we wanted to go the concert, obviously there's no way we'd miss her wedding! Anyway, thank the good Lord that there was such high demand for more tour dates (eat that, all you haters who think no one cares about them anymore), because they added a stop in the Cities, and now we still get to see them!! Based on our age, I think it's safe to say that most of the ladies are probably a tad more excited to see BSB since they are more from our "era." Not me. My older cousins were huge New Kids fans, hence the reason I'm so familiar with their music, and I'm beyond thrilled to see them rockin' their olds songs on stage! And just in case you were wondering, I'm listening to a NKOTB playlist on YouTube right now. "Step By Step" is jammin' in the background. Jealous? You should be... :)
Here's a video of one of my fave New Kids songs!
Pretty sweet pelvic thrusts, right?! :)
And here's one of my favorite BSB songs! Oh, the memories! :)
Here's a video of one of my fave New Kids songs!
Pretty sweet pelvic thrusts, right?! :)
And here's one of my favorite BSB songs! Oh, the memories! :)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Innocence
You may or may not know this, but I spent the majority of this past week in Detroit for a work conference. I'd never been there before, and while it wasn't exactly my first choice destination, I was still excited to go! Anyway, I plan to create an entry soon that talks about some of the finer details of my trip, but first I want to talk about a specific moment on the trip that really stuck out to me.
The conference ended at noon on Friday, and many of us conference go-ers had travel arrangements that kept us in the city until Saturday. This meant a perfect day for exploring! Well, one would think... Unfortunately, about half of Detroit lost power during our visit, and the half affected by this outage included just about every destination we wanted to see (primarily museums). Because of this, we spent a good portion of the afternoon walking from place to place in hopes that something, anything would be open. Nope. After awhile, we decided to try navigating Detroit's public transportation system (which is practically nonexistent, mind you). I was with three other people, but I chose to sit with a stranger on the bus while the rest of them were together in the back. Just a little bit of context, the four of us were the only white people on the bus. Not even really worth noting, just an experience I'd never really encountered before. Interestingly, because I sat away from the rest of my group, I was instantly engaged in conversation with many locals, all who just assumed I also lived in Detroit. It was actually kinda cool to talk to everyone. Now comes the experience that stuck out to me...
The person I sat next to got off at a stop, so I moved over to the inside to make room for someone else to sit next to me if they wanted to. Well, across the aisle from me was an adorable little boy with who I'd presume to be his grandma. He waved at me right when I got on the bus, and he kept eyeing me up during the ride. As soon as I moved over, he waved at me again, and then he promptly came over and plopped his little butt down next to me. He said, "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Oh my goodness! How do you resist that?! So, for the next 20 or so minutes, I had a pretty extensive conversation with this little boy who was so enamored and comfortable with me that my heart couldn't help but melt! He was 5, but extremely articulate. In that sense, he reminded me of my nephew Tayt. We talked about everything from his love for Target (that's where he'd just been) to the fact that he loves the "BINGO" song (which he gladly sang quite loudly when I requested it of him). He expressed concern for me that I had to go out in the rain without an umbrella, and every time I'd look at him with a smile, he'd say, "What?!" in a cute, questioning little tone. If it's possible, I feel like I fell in love with this little boy in 20 minutes. I've thought about him a lot. He was so young, so innocent, and so trusting. He felt completely safe with me, and didn't care at all about the fact that we'd never met before. As I got up to get off the bus, I grabbed his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, little man." As I stepped out, he looked back at me and said, "It was nice to meet you, too!" Ahhhh. I could've turned into a puddle. I don't know why, but he had such a strong affect on me. Pretty much EVERYONE on the bus took notice. They were all smiling. :)
Just a little story to demonstrate the fact that no matter who we are, or where we come from, we can find ways to connect with others we don't know. I hope for good things for him in the future, and I think he'll remain in my head for a long time!
The conference ended at noon on Friday, and many of us conference go-ers had travel arrangements that kept us in the city until Saturday. This meant a perfect day for exploring! Well, one would think... Unfortunately, about half of Detroit lost power during our visit, and the half affected by this outage included just about every destination we wanted to see (primarily museums). Because of this, we spent a good portion of the afternoon walking from place to place in hopes that something, anything would be open. Nope. After awhile, we decided to try navigating Detroit's public transportation system (which is practically nonexistent, mind you). I was with three other people, but I chose to sit with a stranger on the bus while the rest of them were together in the back. Just a little bit of context, the four of us were the only white people on the bus. Not even really worth noting, just an experience I'd never really encountered before. Interestingly, because I sat away from the rest of my group, I was instantly engaged in conversation with many locals, all who just assumed I also lived in Detroit. It was actually kinda cool to talk to everyone. Now comes the experience that stuck out to me...
The person I sat next to got off at a stop, so I moved over to the inside to make room for someone else to sit next to me if they wanted to. Well, across the aisle from me was an adorable little boy with who I'd presume to be his grandma. He waved at me right when I got on the bus, and he kept eyeing me up during the ride. As soon as I moved over, he waved at me again, and then he promptly came over and plopped his little butt down next to me. He said, "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Oh my goodness! How do you resist that?! So, for the next 20 or so minutes, I had a pretty extensive conversation with this little boy who was so enamored and comfortable with me that my heart couldn't help but melt! He was 5, but extremely articulate. In that sense, he reminded me of my nephew Tayt. We talked about everything from his love for Target (that's where he'd just been) to the fact that he loves the "BINGO" song (which he gladly sang quite loudly when I requested it of him). He expressed concern for me that I had to go out in the rain without an umbrella, and every time I'd look at him with a smile, he'd say, "What?!" in a cute, questioning little tone. If it's possible, I feel like I fell in love with this little boy in 20 minutes. I've thought about him a lot. He was so young, so innocent, and so trusting. He felt completely safe with me, and didn't care at all about the fact that we'd never met before. As I got up to get off the bus, I grabbed his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, little man." As I stepped out, he looked back at me and said, "It was nice to meet you, too!" Ahhhh. I could've turned into a puddle. I don't know why, but he had such a strong affect on me. Pretty much EVERYONE on the bus took notice. They were all smiling. :)
Just a little story to demonstrate the fact that no matter who we are, or where we come from, we can find ways to connect with others we don't know. I hope for good things for him in the future, and I think he'll remain in my head for a long time!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Etsy Wants
For some unknown reason, I am unbelievably low on finances right now. In fact, so low that when some of my friends asked me to go to a Brewer game today, I had to say no because I couldn't justify spending money on the ticket. Now you KNOW that's bad. :-/ Anyway, in an attempt to cure my unending desire to spend money, I spent some time browsing around on Etsy and making a list of "wants." Too bad it's not almost my birthday or something, because then I'd shamelessly tell you to feel free to purchase these things for me. Hell, you still can if you want. ;) Anyway, just a few things that I'm into at the moment! (And just a note, after I thought about the first item on my list, I realized that I can probably easily create something similar on my own. I guess they can serve as inspiration!:)
Vintage Marble Tote Bag - $89.95
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Baby:)
The only thing that makes me happier than hearing "Baby" by Justin Bieber (and let's be real, that song makes me REALLY happy), is hearing the word "baby" in reference to those I love who are about to bring a little one into the world. Such a wonderful thing! Last weekend, I went back home to help celebrate the upcoming birth of my cousin Jenna's baby. Because she and her sisters all live out on the East Coast, I'm lucky if I get to see them once a year (at Christmas time), so I was thrillllllled to find out I'd get to see them again much sooner! The day was perfect for the shower, which seriously looked like it could have been pulled straight from a magazine cover (see below). I suppose that's what happens when your closest friends from Art & Design school just so happen to also be the ones decorating for you. :) I think it's safe to say that we all had a WONDERFUL time. See some photos below for a glimpse into the day!
The "cake." (No, it was not real.)
Awesome outdoor decorations!
Delicious food!
Each butterfly on the glasses contained a guest's name, in Jenna's caligraphy, of course! :)
Awesome antique baby carriage holding gifts for the baby!
Me and Casey Mae! :)
Me and Drew Elise! :)
Opening gifts for Baby Yasgur!
The aunts with Jenna and the baby-to-be!
Sisters! :)
Cousins! :)
Me and mama celebrating our amazing bean bag toss win! :)
Me and the mama-to-be! :)
Me and Sarah!
Colleen, the popsicle model! :)
The "cake." (No, it was not real.)
Awesome outdoor decorations!
Delicious food!
Each butterfly on the glasses contained a guest's name, in Jenna's caligraphy, of course! :)
Awesome antique baby carriage holding gifts for the baby! 
Me and Casey Mae! :) 
Me and Drew Elise! :) 
Opening gifts for Baby Yasgur! 
The aunts with Jenna and the baby-to-be!
Sisters! :)
Cousins! :)
Me and mama celebrating our amazing bean bag toss win! :)
Me and the mama-to-be! :) 
Me and Sarah!
Colleen, the popsicle model! :)