6/2/14

Miserable, Magical Monday

EVERYONE! This is the first Miserable, Magical Monday from the new apartment in Davis. Random grins keep creeping up on my face. I'm really, really excited about this new place. It feels like we've hit the restart button. Here's to a truly miserable, magical Monday.

1. I am really bad at checking the mail. Funny enough, so is Brandon. I know it stems from being spoiled by growing up in a house, where mail is basically brought to you. In a complex, though, I actually have to think about going to the mailbox because it's basically on the other side of the grounds, closer to the office. It's out of the way, but I still can't seem to use that as an adequate excuse for only checking my mail about once a month. Anyway, Brandon and I did grab the mail on Wednesday and I had some fun mail waiting for me!! My best friend Barbara had sent my some gifts she'd picked up for me (and forgotten...womp) before she visited! I don't get presents very often since my brithday is only about two months away from Christmas so I was obviously excited about them. PLUS! She totally bought me a journal I'd been fawning over at World Market just last Monday! As in, I didn't know it existed until Monday and she'd already bought and sent it up to me. What a great friend.

The journal I half-begged Brandon to buy for me last week.
Me seriously modeling the Eiffel Tower earrings.
My pretty, new necklace.
2. Along the lines of things I received in the mail, I got my sister Andrea and honorary sister/birthday twin Holly's graduation announcements on Wednesday as well! I started getting a little misty eyed reading their announcements. The accomplishment that is finishing your undergrad isn't lost on me. I can't wait to watch them walk across that stage. I could cry just think about how proud I am of those women!

3. Now that June is here I really have to start thinking about the various special occasions I'll be attending...as well as what I'll be wearing to these occasions. Really, I'm going to use this as an excuse to go shopping. I'm itching for a reason to go one of Buffalo Exchange's Bay Area stores. Maybe I'll even check out some of the more local thrift stores to see what I can find. I need something to wear to a commencement and to two different weddings.
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4. Brandon and I finally got rid of the (nightmare vehicle from hell) Jetta on Saturday, which meant that we finally had the money to purchase my flight for a trip to Costa Rica with my sister. Like I mentioned earlier, she's graduating college this month and her graduation present wish was to go to Costa Rica. She and I are both passionate about conservation and nature so Costa Rica is an excellent fit. It also doesn't hurt that I spent three months living there during my study abroad. Sadly, I didn't take advantage of the nature scene nearly as much as the bar/discoteca scene while I was there, and I missed out on some awesome adventures. Not to mention I'm terribly shy, so I basically planned my weekend around what everyone else I knew was doing. This time will be different. My sister is an excellent travel buddy and she's open to seeing a lot of the nature and random cultural sites that I didn't even bother with when I lived there.





I think what I'm most excited about is the chance to share an international experience with someone I love. I went to Paris without a friend (though I did bond with everyone on the trip) and studied abroad without so much as a rando from my university (but still managed to make a very, very good friend out of it all). So when I came back after having been challenged and fundamentally changed, a usual side effect of international travel, showing my family a slideshow of my photos felt stupid and inadequate. That and lots of people find it boring to listen to you talk about the time you wrestled through a tough situation and how that photo is meaningful to you because that's where you had a major breakthrough, blah, blah, blah. That's what my journal was and is for. Anyway, now I'm just excited for Andrea to know what the country looks like in person and what it smells like when it rains and what the food tastes like and, ultimately, for her to see a living snapshot of a place I lived in. For some reason I think she'll love it just as much as I did. We're even staying in a few of the same hostels I stayed in almost three years ago! I can't wait.

5. Speaking of traveling, I'm going to brag about myself for a little bit. I am a fantastic travel agent. Ask anyone in my family! I find the best deals on flights and hotels and car rentals (except for that one time in Hawaii, but that was my first car rental ever). Andrea and I will be spending less than $200 total on lodging for over a week of travel. Granted, we're staying in hostels, but they're not run-down, crummy ones. We're also taking advantage of the fact that we have a family friend who lives right outside of San Jose (Costa Rica's capital). Honestly, if the internet wasn't a widely accessible thing and if it was still a legit career move, I would totally consider becoming a travel agent. I would offer it all: the cheapest flight without compromising travel schedule, a place to stay within your price range that will actually semi-impress you, and an itinerary to fit your vacation style. I'd book me.

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6. I've been meaning to write about my love for iPhone group messages. I'm the kind of person who despises reply-all perpetrators in email but looooves group messaging. I have two ongoing group conversations right now. One with my sister and friends Holly and Barbara, and another with my cousins Rachel and Lily. I love both of them. I don't get to see any of these girls too often because of distance and busy schedules, so it's nice to be able to keep my friendships. Honestly, these girls are my closest friends, which feels so silly to say because they're all far way. I guess three years of a long distance romantic relationship prepared me for six long distance friendships, ha! The best part about these group messages is we talk almost every single day, not tom mention I get to share my outfits with them. I really feel closer to these women than anyone else I have in my vicinity.

What all long distance feels like lol
PS: 'scuse le francais.
7. I'd prompted myself to write about Starbucks' new espresso frappucino because it's delicious and the greatest frapp to come out out Starbucks' brain in years, but instead I'll end today's MMM with a promise to tell you all about our moving escapade. Naturally, things that wouldn't have gone wrong for anyone else went wrong for me. You're all lucky I'm a sharer. Anyway, now I have to finish unpacking my apartment. Yay!

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♥ A

1 comment:

  1. That is so nice when your friends just get you and buy you things that you've had stuck in your head. Yay for Costa Rica! When are you guys there? And yay I love our group iMessage. I have another one with Steph, Christine, Summer, and Summer's sister haha.

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