weekend play by play.

If sitting on the forth floor of the campus library during class breaks on a Monday morning doesn't snap you back into reality then I just don't know what will..

This weekend the rooms and I had a lovely getaway from school and headed to Nashville and stayed with her family.  Their loft in downtown Nashville looks like this:

I was completely in LOVE with the giant windows, the hardwood floors, and the open layout of the unit.  But the neatest feature of all was the exposed brick.  I felt like I was living an HGTV dream. 

So, now that I have adequately expressed my likings on the place where we stayed here's how the trip went down:

Friday night we had dinner  dinner(S), both of which were delicious.  It seems I am currently suffering from chronic hunger.  I'm seriously baffeled at how I can manage to be hungry ALL. THE. TIME.  After the second meal (in my defense, both meals were fish- not very filling, right?! right.) we went to The Stage, a seemingly popular bar in downtown Nashvegas. 

The Stage was crowded, country, and the people were a hot mess.  Not really bringing any bar-going attire, I wore a very conservative Landsend turtle neck, a button up jacket, and a scarf.  Cute, but not necessarily the come hither look that much of my competition was sporting.  You live you learn right?  Regardless of the endless rejection (except for one 50 year old man-grody), we still had fun discovering our new favorite venue of people watching.  Note to all my single ladies out thur- leave the turtlenecks at home.  They get you no where, trust me.

Saturday we went shopping in Green Hills and in Franklin.  I turned down buying a scarf I loved for $250, and a pair of to-die-for boots that were $1,280 (not even justifiable when you break that down to price per foot).  Franklin, Tennessee is precious as you can see here:

 

Filled with cute boutiques, friendly people, and in our case gorgeous weather-Franklin was a perfect way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.  That night we went to see Shrek the musical.  I was so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open but the production was phemonenal.  I am still amazed at the talent of the cast.

Before heading back to Tuscaloosa sunday afternoon we got brunch at the best little cafe, Margot cafe.  If you are ever in Nashville this is THE place to go for Sunday brunch.

The place had a great atmosphere and I can still taste my mozarella and broccoli omlette with crispy potatoes, mmm it so so good!

Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Cheers to a new week!

It's the WEEKEND!

It is finally the weekend bloggers! What are you doing to celebrate?  The Nashvegas road trip begins in t minus 4 hours. Let the FUN begin.

In other good news, I e-mailed the company I got the new template from and they ever so kindly offered to fix the header problem themselves.  Hooray.

Last night, I made a REAL dinner.  Most of my dinners consist of an english muffin, shredded cheese, and turkey.  I know you are wondering with meals like every night that how I am not a size two. Don't worry I've asked myself the same question for the past 21 years.  Damn metabolism.  I think mine slowed down when I reached the ripe old age of 3.  Anyway instead my usual "barely sandwich" I eat for dinner, I baked chicken and broccoli. Check it out:

There are many reasons I do not usually cook meals such as this, the two main being: ingredients are so freaking expensive.  Five dollars for a jar of minced garlic, like how often do I use minced garlic (uhh, never).  My fingers are crossed that the expiration date on that sucker is 2101.  And the second reason I do not whip up Paula Deen dishes on the daily is: dirty dishes are still piled up in the sink. See that's the thing about cooking, the work isn't over when the meal is on the table.  No no, you slaved over the stove then you must slave over the sink.  And, that's the WORST.  Regardless of the burden of playing chef, it was still as tasty meal and definitely something different I enjoyed, perhaps I will make eating "real" food a weekly thing.

I also watched Garden State for the first time last night recommended by Meg.  If any of you haven't seen it, I suggest renting.  Great characters, music, and lines. What more could you ask for? I mean really.

Well, I am going to attempt productivity in my last hour before my next class!

Happy weekend!



road trip.

Because it's spring semster and we need to live a little, and because the rooms has family in Nashville that we can bunk with we are taking a road trip bayy-bee!  This weekend we are hitting the road to Nashvegas to take in the sights and dine with Taylor and Carrie.  Kidding about the last part, unless we actually do see them in a restaurant and pull up chairs at their table (wouldn't put it past us).

Our plans so far include: walking around Franklin, and going to see play Shrek.  This should be so fun, because I LOVE plays and love the green ogre and his donkey friend!  If you have any favorite sights or restaurants in Nashville, please let me know! I'd love to hear some suggestions.

Franklin, TN!

How embarrassing is a headerless blog?  Pretty.  But I just don't have the patience to learn how to do it right now.  With the help of my Dad I finally got the background up, but the header file is not cooperating, so until I muster up that little virtue of patience this blog will be header-less.  Don't hate.

What have your days looked like lately?  Mine are looking like this:

Note all of the To-Do Lists.  I am obsessed with list making, I think I inherited it from my mother.

I had my two and a half hour seminar tonight and found out the date of my ten minute presentation.  February 23.  Already DREADING it.

Happy hump day bloggers.

just call me monica.

Monica Geller that is. I cleaned, and cleaned, and CLEANED this morning.

For Christmas I asked for dusters.  And low and behold sweet Santa brought me just that.  

The swiffer dusters.  I was impressed with these little suckers, and they are disposable which is nice for me because storage is lacking in Apartment 5.  Take a look at my de-cluttered, swiffered clean desk and nightstand. 

My room hasn't seen this side of clean in forever. Monica would be so proud, now if I could master her ways in the kitchen and snatch a funny hubs like Chandler, I'd be set!

And moving out of the fictional character realm and back to my actual life...  Last night we went to the gymnastics meet.  Not as much trash talking went down as at the basketball game Tuesday night, but still entertaining. 

Then Meg and I went to see No Strings Attached.  I didn't have high expectations and mainly just wanted to see Ashton on the big screen for a couple hours (what a cutie) but I cannot tell you how good this movie is.  You need to see it, and take me with you because I will be seeing it atleast one more time in theaters, if not twice.

Have a lovely Saturday!!

happenins

Hey hey bloggers!
I bet you thought I had fallen off the blogging bandwagon.  Nope!  I'm not giving up New Year's resolutions until at least February.  How has every one's week been? I have been a busy bee learning, learning, learning in my new classes, and napping when I am home.

I have too many random thoughts to focus on one topic today so I will theme this post "Hot Topics".  You know, like the ones Barbara, Joy, Sherri, and Elisabeth discuss everyday, except these are more personal and less political. And here we go..

Monumental moment of the week: I became a basketball fan.  It has never been my favorite sport to watch  because I have a theory that no team is exceptionally better than another, it just comes down to the last 10 seconds (or in our case, 2 seconds) of luck.  But boy oh boy, after Tuesday night's game I think I will be a regular at the Bama basketball games.  Amanda and I give ourselves partial credit for the win as we were coaching from the stands.  She would yell, "Put it up" and I would yell "Help em out" until someone finally made a shot.  We are expecting an offer from Anthony Grant any day now..

Phone picture, not the best quality!

Fun fact of the week: Single men have mortality rates 250% higher than married men.  I am going to include this on my e-harmony profile (when I make one, that is..) "We may not have 35 levels of compatibility, but marry me and stay alive!!"

Favorite text of the week: "Just so you know, I miss you"- from my mother.  I MISS YOU TOO!

Best song of the week: Firework by Katy Perry.  The first Katy Perry song I have actually liked.  I have been listening and dancing to this song on repeat.

Best meal of the week:  The taco salad I am about to devour at Iguana Grill.  YUM YUM YUM! Speaking of, gotta go get ready.

Hope everyone has a lovely Friday!

weekend wrap up.

Hi friends!

How is your three day weekend?

This low key weekend has been exactly what I need to get back into the swing of school.  I have been able to finally purchase my school supplies (scored on notebooks at Wal Mart yesterday for 94 cents), my room and bathroom are actually clean, and I did some laundry. And in case you were wondering, I am now answering to "Domestic Goddess".

I have also started Jillian Micheal's Thirty Day Shred with Abi. The workout DVD is only 20 minutes in length, thanks be to God, because I would shred right to pieces if it was a second longer.  Today was day 2 of the thirty day challenge, which is always the most painful because one, you are still sore from yesterday and two, your body has yet to adapt to the pressure. If I don't have Jilly's abs at the end of this bad boy, I am going to be upset because my whole body is in pain.  Washing my hair with shampoo was a struggle today, I can barely life my arms and I won't even go into detail about my rear..

Here's hoping we get good results.

My big plans tonight are watching The Bachelor. Who are everyone's favs this season?  I love Emily and Ashley S. so far!  I think Brad seems like a nice enough, down to earth guy. I still don't get why everyone's panties were in a wad about him not proposing on his previous season.  He didn't love them.  Would you rather be dumped and slightly heartbroken, or led on by a meaningless proposal and find out down the road he didn't ever love you?   Best of luck Brad, all I can say is you better be pickin someone because America may actually come after you this time if you don't. 

Happy Monday everyone!

lazy saturday.

I hope this post is finding you on a happy Saturday.  Whether it was filled with action packed fun or as lazy as possible like mine, I hope you are enjoying your day off!
Spring semester has an altogether different feel than fall semester and this is mainly noticeable on the weekends.

Fall semester looks like:

 Weekends are full of tailgating, football, and friends.

And Spring Semester looks like:
I will spare you a picture because it was a shower-less Saturday.  I took the trash out at 3 pm in my jammies and got condescending looks from visiting adults in our hood, so I caved and got dressed for the day.  And by dressed I mean black stretchy pants, a t-shirt, and a hat (perfect for hiding a multitude of hair issues).  After I finally decided to begin my day the rooms and I were off to Target for some essentials.  I needed snack bars, diet cokes, concealer, and school supplies.  Well, the school supply aisle was useless.  I got the last notebook that didn't contain graph paper.  However, I did find a gem in the clothing department.  I found a shirt that looked comfy and cute, and I knew I needed to buy it.  Don't worry to ease my mind from buyers remorse I made the sacrifice and put the expensive snack bars up to purchase a baseball tee that is styled similar to this:

This shirt is from J. Crew and is probably cuter and higher quality than the solid neutral Mossimo brand one that I purchased today.  However I saved 45 dollars by buying at Target.
In equally exciting news, rooms introduced me to Train's new song "Marry Me" tonight. It is SO sweet.  If you haven't heard it go listen, go listen now.

happy weekend!

Bloggers, it is finally the weekend.  It is unfortunate that I am this excited about the weekend, seeing how it was only a three day week.  Also unfortunate, I am not loving my classes thus far.  Hopefully this will change because as nerdy as it sounds I really enjoy learning and typically love the material of my courses.  Minus these (insert dirty word) computer courses which I am required to take but have NO DESIRE to learn about.  I can tweet, blog, and fb stalk.  So what exactly do I need CS 202 for?

Although I am not in love with my classes YET (there is still hope) these are some things that I am loving:
-Uggs.  Whether you think they are fashionable or tacky I would seriously die without that fur around my feet this time of year.
-Hot water. I took a shower today and the hot water only lasted a minute, and I am not exaggerating.  I had to finish rinsing the shampoo out of my hair in the sink.  Never taking hot water for granted again.

-My 2011 planner I got for Christmas.  

-Diet Sunkist.  I don't know what it is but I have been on a huge Diet Sunkist kick lately!

Happy weekend!



first day of school. whoo. hoo.

Well the Spring '11 semester has officially begun.  I feel like Christmas break lasted forever, but when I was making the trek to class this morning it seemed like no time had passed at all. Weird.  Even weirder, on my walk to class (in 24 degree weather, mind you) I saw multiple girls wearing leggings as pants.  AS PANTS.  I'm not dissing the look, but this trend in Winter weather bewilders me.  I will not sacrifice comfort for fashion (if you want to call it that) in 24 degree weather.  The line has to be drawn somewhere.
I have 3 classes on Wednesday. One at 9, 12, and a 2.5 hour long seminar from 5-7:30 at night.  My first class of the day was successful.  I made it to the right room and everything.  I say that as some high feat, because for my second class of the day I went in the wrong class.  I sat down in a classroom of maybe 25 people, was passed the syllabus and read HD 322- Creativity yadda yadda and immediately thought hmm this doesn't seem right. Sure enough I needed to be in the classroom two doors down.  I don't really have a valid excuse for this seeing how as a 21 year old I should be able to read room numbers with 100% accuracy.  Oh well.  The equally disturbing part of this story is my actual class, HD 202, is a nightmare.  The professor actually cracked a joke on giving a criminal background check as a stocking stuffer.  No one could even muster up a pity laugh. Bless her.

I am so tired.  It is going to take me a while to adjust to this getting up at 7:15 thing.

..and because every post needs a picture. This is what I wish I was doing today.  I would much rather be kayaking in sunny Hilton Head than bundling up for my seminar tonight!

Happy Wednesday!

ice, ice baby.

Hello bloggers.  Hope you are all snuggly warm and are surviving this so called blizzard of the south.  I am a little upset because I was expecting more snow than this.  Curse all you weathermen, you always make promises you can't keep.  Sadly, all Bluff Park got was a layer of ice.  While the ice is still pretty, it is not functional for snowmen, snowballs, snow angels or basically any other thing with the root of the word being SNOW.  

Since the ice layer isn't much for playing outside, I will spend my day inside reading Eat, Pray, Love, and blogs.  I WILL get on the treadmill again, which I promised myself I would do both Saturday and Sunday..but other things came up, important things like afternoon naps. Maybe I will do a few loads of laundry, and I will definitely be packing my bags for Tuscaloosa tomorrow.

HAPPY MONDAY!

NYC- in pictures.

Brooklyn Bridge!

Cheers to Junior's.  You can catch our attachment to this restaurant in the NYC words post.

 

We made a trip to Harlem to eat at Miss Sylvia's and it was FREAKING DELICIOUS.

Dad and me outside of Sylvia's.  This was the COLDEST day of our trip.

Me and moms in Times Square with snow!

Dad in our Central Park carriage ride.

The Plaza.



Grand Central Station.  This was one of my favorite things we did, the building was gorgeous and was a great people watching facility!



View from the Top of the Rock. 



"Just Jack".  We went to see Promises, Promises and it was PHENOMENAL.  I absolutely loved it.  It was so neat to see people I usually watch on television, in person on stage.

NYC- in words.

The Lester's take the Big Apple. From the beginning: My parents surprised me on my twenty first birthday with a trip to NYC. I was clueless, more clueless than the Jersey Shore cast is to reality, and that's pretty in the dark. Anyway after some shed tears (yes, I am THAT emotional and was THAT excited) and big hugs I started reading two NYC travel books, also given as gifts. The first sentence I read, or maybe it was just the first sentence that I distinctly remember was this: "Don't worry. You will not be able to fit everything you want to do in your trip but it's okay, you'll be back."

The book was right: We were NOT able to fit everything we wanted to do into our trip AND we all can't wait to go back. We of course wanted to see all the tourist sites that the city had to offer and we made it to several- the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Macy's and others. The plethora of other places we wanted to visit but didn't have the time made it to our"NY Round Two" itinerary.

The tourist sites are great but are not my favorite part of travel. The main reason I love to travel are the people. I love to observe the mannerisms of the natives, and usually spend large quantities of time trying to imitate their accents. So, when I travel I try to make friends. (Nod your head in agreement, Jamie M) I usually seek out waiters, employees, or whoever looks friendly enough to be interrogated by my questions and engage in some nice culture blending conversation. When traveling somewhere seemingly polar opposite than Sweet Home Alabama, I usually start with "So, can you tell we aren't from 'round here?" In NY without hesitation we get a YES (shocker,I know) every time. Conversation flows from there about hometowns, stories from our tip, and my ever popular inquiry about how the hell they can know all the subway lines like the back of their hand.

This trip, our main man was Carlton. We met Carlton at Junior's, a restaurant across the street from our hotel. We started and ended every day at Junior's bakery and restaurant. This week-long habit is now why I am currently taking the Special K challenge. Carlton was our thin young waiter who offered more than pleasant service for our dinner the first night. When we went back the next night for dessert, he remembered everything we ordered. Strangely, this was not creepy. It was more so, comforting. That's right we Alabamians had a "regular" to order in NY. After we shamelessly scarfed down our cheesecake, yellow chocolate layer cake, and pound cake we became best buds with Carlton. We found out his hometown, learned about his family in Virginia, compared Birmingham to New York and laughed at the major differences, we talked about Broadway shows, etc, etc, until Carlton promised that he would remember us if we came back the next year. So now when we go next time, we have someone to visit.

I will spare you the conclusion paragraph about why traveling is my passion. But it is. For reasons such as Times Square, the Top of the Rock, and Carlton.

mm mm chicago-cago.

After our family trip to NYC at the beginning of the break (which deserves a post later) I have had nothing but the big city on my mind. I love the city lifestyle, or atleast I love visiting it, and hope I will love living in it because I am looking to Chicago for grad school. I love the sense of urgency the city brings, the massiveness, the residents walking everywhere, and yes, I even love the public transportation. It's so efficient! Thanks to the trains in NY, we got all over that city..quickly. One of the cutest things I saw in the big apple was a precious little boy, probably a 4th grader, who hopped on the subway with his backpack opened his book and read all the way to wherever his stop was. While he was multitasking like a pro, my family and I were conversing in our slow southern drawl, mind you, "Is this it? Is this where we get off?" Ahh, yes that will be my first task in conquering the city as a resdient, figuring out the red, yellow, freaking roy-g-biv lines with train 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C., yadda, yadda. Jamie Myers, if you are reading I am expecting a tutoring session on subway maps from you before my departure!

Anyway, this post is about Chicago. And the title comes from the beautiful ballad my friends and I prepared before our choir tour trip to Chicago in the summer of '07. It went something like "Wickeds (the play-although I am sure plenty of wicked people inhabit the city as well) in Chicago mm mm Chicago-cago..Nave Pier is in Chicago mm mmm Chicago-cago..Pizza's in Chicago mm mm Chicago-cago." It was really cute, obviously, and we each had a verse that described all the acitivies we were doing in Chicago. As much as I loved that song, I loved the city more. Our time was rushed, but after taking in a Cubs game, visiting the Navy Pier, exploring the Museum of Science and Industry, seeing Wicked, and catching a glimpse of the waterfront, and Magnificent Mile, Chicago (mm mm Chicago-cago) had my heart!

I saw all that to say this... my friends and I want to venture up to the Windy City for Spring Break 2011 and I could not be more excited! Two of them have never been before, and I am convinced they will love it. Sometime in this Spring Break adventure, my parents are going to meet me in Chi-town to look at graduate schools! How am I this old? Time flies fast, but I am excited for this next chapter in my life and am looking for some change..I guess in the form of a brutally cold winter.

Regardless of where I end up for grad school, I am gauranteed some time in Chicago in the next few months and could not be more excited! I have been googling the "Top Ten" things to do, places to eat, etc. If any of you readers out there have suggestions about must see Chicago attractions or restaurants please let me know. My family and I depended completely on suggestions for food while in NY and it worked out beautifully! Every meal was a happy plate! You leave a suggestion, and maybe I can get the group back together for a special rendition of Chicago..mm mm Chicago-cago! Fair trade?!

Ps- yet again Blogger is not cooperating on my location of my pictures, so they came before the post (as if you couldn't see that) but pictures are courtesy of Staley's facebook album titled none other than mm Chicago-cago. And they are in order: before going to see Wicked, cheering the Cubs on in Wrigley field, and us outside of the Museum of Science and Industry!

Toodles yall.

twenty eleven.

First post of twenty eleven! Hope all of you bloggers are enjoying this new year so far and are not too miserable from your resolutions. It is day 4 of my diet, meaning day 4 of no chocolate (yes, I'm DYING) and I feel like I should atleast be a size 4 by now. Sadly, the scales and my pants do not agree. Screw you holiday weight, screw you!

Other resolutions I have vowed to keep...until February.

-Loose the excess poundage (see angry paragraph above)

-Keep my car clean. (ha..ha..ha)
-Journal.

-Volunteer/ Community Service

-Update my blog regularly (permission to laugh was just granted)

Today, inspiration hit like a MACK truck. Not that I have ever been hit by one, but that seems like an appropriate (and dramatic enough) metaphor to compare my burst of inspiration. I crafted with paint and scrapbook paper not 1, not 2, but FOUR canvases. You can see the canvases at the beginning of the post (odd I know), because blogger (the best website ever, duh) messed up and will not let me arrange the post as I wish.

Canvas explanation:

1. Based off the Nickel Creek song, "When You Come Back Down". If you have never heard it, I would suggest giving it a listen.

2. Roll Tide.

3. Was inspired by the color on Kate Spade's website! So bright and cheery!

4. Again, wanted to work with color and I have always loved the bird scrapbooking paper!

Cheers to a New Year, yall!!