Changing Seasons
Boggi, Jimmy, Bailey (the dog), and I, on a peaceful snowy walk
HELLO, LOVELY FRIENDS!
I’ve been thinking so much to myself lately about what I should blog about. To be frank (please don’t call me Frank), life has been moving kind of slow.
…Which is not a bad thing at all! But I feel like I haven’t been experiencing any super eye-opening moments, epiphanies, or anything blog-worthy for that matter.
So, I figured I’d just write about the slowness of it all! We’re soon entering my favorite season, and I have been starting to get SO excited — warmer weather, travel, concerts, longer days, my BURTHDAYYYYY, and so many more fun holidays and events to look forward to. Without further ado, here are some brief life updates — what I’m reading, what I’ve been doing, where I’ve been going!
Jimmy and I’s friend from Iceland, Borgthor (Boggi/Thor), visited us for a lovely week! We hadn’t seen him since we visited him in Iceland last March (AKA when I first met him), and it was so nice to see him again. We showed him around Maryland and D.C., and even took him to UMD to see a basketball game!
Jimmy and I were anxious that the “bouncers” at the game would ask to see his ID after scanning his ticket, so we both made several attempts at photoshopping. Safe to say, I’m effing glad they didn’t ask for any sort of identification.
Pretty convincing, isn’t it?
Alright jokes aside, I did end up editing a pretty kick-ass student ID by taking some girl’s UID I found on Reddit and changing the name and photo. Yeah uhh I don’t wanna get arrested. Continuing on…
With Boggi being here, I realized how grateful I am for growing up/living in Maryland. In every aspect, it’s an incredibly diverse state, and it’s lively, beautiful, safe (well, for the most part). We experience all all four seasons, and live in an ideal location. Like come on! We’re on the east coast so it’s easy to fly to Europe, 2 hours away from the beach and 40 min from DC where I am. Even NYC is only a few hours away. We have a fascinating history, and DC’s incredible landmarks and museums are right down the street. I could go on and on… Anyways, I’m just really freakin’ grateful to have grown up here. And I’m so grateful we got to show Boggi our home.
After saying a sad goodbye to Boggi, Jimmy and I decided we will visit him in Iceland again soon!
In the same vein, I got to meet up with some friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time recently which was so refreshing/recharging. I saw my friend Camilo, who literally just opened up/took over a coffee shop/wine bar (Downtown Brew’s! Check it out! It’s fantastic!). He made me his signature creation, a cookie latte, and showed me how to make my own with all the fancy bean grinders and steamers and espresso machines. Yeah, I’m a barista 😎 (I made an absolute mess and Camilo had to clean up after me).
My delicious (and beautiful) cookie latte à la Camilo!
Plus, I recently got to catch up with my other friend, Lilly, who after seeing my blog linked in my goodreads bio, reached out to me (shameless plug, follow me on goodreads here)! We made plans and caught up in DC over a lovely dinner and we each had SO SO MUCH to catch each other up on. Lilly, if you’re reading this, I just put one of the stickers you gave me on my new journal!
Which leads me to….
Today, one year and one day after starting my Everything Journal, I officially finished it! I was feeling super sentimental reflecting on how much I’ve evolved since I started writing in there, and all the crazy life changes I experienced that put me on that path to growth. It’s so inspiring to have a book filled with my stream of consciousness from the past year. I’m super excited to fill up this new journal with even more jumbled thoughts, as I do here!
And as I mentioned previously, yes I have now joined goodreads in an attempt to hold myself accountable and read more! I am currently reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan for my book club with my roomies (#4212GangRiseUp), and The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan. The Opposite of Loneliness is just incredible. I’ve never really read anything like it. I feel awe-inspired whenever I read it, and it draws this creativity out of me that I haven’t seen in years. It’s lead me to write poems and essays and music and it makes me feel ALL sorts of ways. I would really recommend it if you’re looking for a good book to read. And DON’T skip the introduction.
I’ve also been climbing a lot recently! Finally got a climbing membership for the first time since the summer, and am climbing much more consistently. I feel myself getting better and better each time I go, I feel very excited to get back (and past) the level I was at over the summer.
Jimmy and I, along with his dad’s friends, and his friend from school, saw Lunar Vacation this past week at the Atlantis in DC! We met the lead singer before the show even started. I love live music because it always sounds so much better than in the recording, and this show was no exception. I had a blast. We’re seeing Inhaler next, and if you know me, you know I love Inhaler. I’ve seen them twice now (March ‘22 and March ‘23) and am BEYOND happy that they’re coming back to DC, this time in a bigger venue. It’s gonna rock (pun intended).
“You’re in love and I’m unluckyyyYyyyYYY”
This brings me to today!
I’ve been reflecting a lot on hygge lately (see: Most wonderful time of the year?) and have been immensely proud of how I’ve kicked seasonal depression’s ASS this winter. It is rewarding to know that these changes I actively decided to make had such a positive impact on me.
As we leave winter and enter spring, I have a lot of really exciting travel plans coming up! Jimmy and I are attempting to travel to all the “I” countries in Europe in the next few months. We just bought tickets to go to Italy at like 12AM! We leave in 3 weeks! I’ve never bought an international flight so last-minute. We’re planning to go to Ireland with his family this summer, and hopefully can hit up Iceland sometime in June or so. I can’t wait for all the insane scenery we’re going to see!
…So tell me! What are you up to? What are you reading and eating, where are you going, what are you doing?
With love,
