Miserable, Magical Monday

Hi guys! It's a holiday Monday! You know what that means.

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1. Great news: I love my new job. I'm about two weeks in and the change of pace is incredible. I think my favorite things about it are my boss -- one of the most fashionable people I've ever met -- and the amount of people close to my age. The fact that my colleagues are in their mid to late twenties is so refreshing. I know age shouldn't be a big deal, and honestly, I didn't always care about age in the workplace, but after working with people who saw me as "kid" or "honey," I developed a new bullet on my work wishlist.

2. MORE BIG NEWS! If you follow me on intsagram or know me on facebook you probably saw that I bought a car. Yep, Brandon and I purchased a vehicle of our very own. It's a Toyota Yaris and I've named her Hedwig because she's white and I'm forever 21 (the age I started reading the books, not the store). I have to admit that I wasn't entirely prepared for how effing long it takes to buy a car. Good grief! I mean, people had made me aware. It's not like I went in there blind like I did when we bought the Subaru (biggest mistake ever), but I thought everyone was exaggerating. They were not. It took hours and I walked on the lot basically knowing what car I wanted. I literally got there, asked the salesguy to find the car, looked at it, test drove it, and said, "Yeah,  I want this." The scariest part of car buying is the warranty push at the end. They get you when you're weak. I mean, you've been sitting there for hours trying to buy this one car. Then they take you to the back and park the car right outside the window. At this point, you're tired, thirsty, and could totally stress eat a hamburger. Our guy was nice but still pushy, but overall it was a painless experience as far as car buying goes. And now I've got a car that gets awesome MPGs and won't completely freak out on me (God willing).

3. Last month I put a pineapple on the shopping list under the impression that I would cut up some of it to make Hawaiian Pinterest Chicken one day. If I'm honest, I'm really good at the recipe finding and grocery buying parts, but really horrible at the the execution of the recipe. It's like this: I dig the idea of being a really great cook but hate actually having to cook complicated dishes. Anyway, I made the marinade and we had Hawaiian Pinterest Chicken for family dinner a few Fridays ago. The texture of the chicken was just OK, but the flavor was good. I think I'd bake or crockpot the chicken next time.

4. This is a gratuitous piece of information, but my hair is getting long and I love it. I've been waiting years to get anywhere near this length so it feels like some sort of accomplishment. Really, I just haven't gone in to get my hair cut in a year. But my hair has grown more than normal in that time. So that's cool. Let's move on.

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5. Other news! My best friend and I started a blog together. It's called Darling Dragons and I think you should check it out. We're writing about books, news, travel, local eateries, and work. We should be incorporating recipes, home decor, and fashion sometime soon. It's basically a bunch of everything. Alright, shameless plug over.

6. I have to tell you the story of the almost-lost blazer. At one point I owned three black blazers, all with different cuts and details. I gave one away because it was too boxy on me and the other accidentally took a ride in the dryer and no longer fit. So when it came time to dress up for my job interview, I knew I had only one choice. I didn't remember this blazer as my favorite, but once I put it on and stylishly rolled up my sleeves, I was in love.

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But the blazer mysteriously disappeared after that interview! It wasn't in my car or Brandon's truck. I cleaned out the closets, organized my dresser, looked all over the house and still couldn't find it. It was very upsetting. Then, one day, I went to plug something in behind the couch, and I saw it. This pile of black fabric huddled on itself. I grabbed it out and sure enough! it was my blazer! Needless to say I've worn it like four times in the last two work weeks.

7. I spent Saturday cleaning my apartment and lounging by the pool reading Mockingjay. Yes, I've definitely read it before, but my sister gave me the brilliant idea to read it again before the first movie comes out. I tend to let my emotional journey hog my memories of the book instead of the character names and plot (this is also true for TV and movies), so hopefully this time I end up remembering important plot points instead of just sobbing half way through the book. Also, I finished Divergent and hated it. Review of it coming semi-soon.