Not many ninja's exist today, yet they all have indomitable fighting skills.

A few weeks ago, my friend Katie at work went on vacation and when I got back to my desk, she left me little present...

A cute little voodoo ninja!

But the best part is the description on the package:

Seriously, so perfect lol

We don't care if we live through the weekend

This past weekend was busy (as per usual) but I came out of it feel surprsingly rested, so I guess that kind of evens out, right?

On Friday night, my friend Katie had a few people over to bbq. My phone has been freaking out (which in turn, causes me to freak out...damn my dependence on technology!) so I didn't take any pictures- but it was so fun! Katie is amazing-she has all these great DIY's she's done and is vegan, though she's just trying a raw diet so she's been bringing me in goodies to let me taste and everything is delicious!

Saturday, my mom and I got tickets to a garden walk around town so we got up and did that, which was a lot of fun! We weren't really sure what to expect but we both really enjoyed it. We walked around 6 houses in the area and even got to go inside one of them- a 16th century farmhouse, which was just gorgeous! They showcased lots of different kinds of gardens so it was nice to see a different mix and different ideas.

 

We ran a few errands then headed home to get ready for my Grandmother's birthday party. It was nice to see all the family together.

Sunday was pretty low-key. I went to work and after I got out, Jimmy and I ran some errands so I could return a few things and deal with my phone. That whole process was surprisingly painless-since it's still under warranty, they will be sending out a new one this week, no charge! Can't get much better than that!

We also went to the driving range after it cooled down a bit and he made dinner for us on the grill. We watched some of the ball game but I got frustrated and turned it off lol I ended up falling asleep pretty early, which is probably why I felt so rested on Monday morning-getting almost 9 hours of sleep, when you're used to running on about four, will do that apparently haha

I've got a pencil full of lead and some water for my throat.

My friend at work has a knack for finding the best stuff on Pinterest, Etsy, where ever. So I wasn't really surprised when I walked into work and saw this on my desk.

It's an engraved pencil! I about died laughing when I saw it-I just think it's sooooo funny!

What do ya'll think?
Am I just silly or doe other people think its funny too?

We gonna come together, we gonna celebrate, we gonna gather round, like it's your birthday.

My sweet friends hosted a belated birthday party for me this past weekend and we have sooo much fun!

After I got out of my internship, I ran over to my friends house so we could start setting everything up-ie lots of food!


I brought some pimento cheese (aka "crack cheese") and made vegan chocolate fondue-yum! We made lots of yummy food including empanadas, spinach pies, buffalo tofu bites and so much more-I just kept eating because it was all so good!

My friend also surprised me with a gluten free cake! So sweet!


I still have some left and I've been eating it all week hehe

I was having too much fun at the actual party to take pictures, but it was basically a repeat of the ugly sweater party (minus the Christmas decor haha)

By the time I left I was pretty tired but it had started to snow and ice over :-( My sweet friend Gary scraped off my windows and car so I wouldn't have to sit and wait for it to defrost (cause I was too tired/cold/lazy to get out and do it myself haha)

Do I not have the best friends ever?

Love them!

One thing's for certain, the devil's a person. Met him at the riverside Perkins, bedsheets for curtains.

Dad: I'm gonna tell you about this, but before I do, I'm just going to say...you can't go alone. You have to find someone to go with you
Me: Um... ok.... what is it?
Dad: Craig Finn is playing a solo show in Detroit
Me: Oh! Oh! I wanna go!
Dad: Uh-huh...
Me: Are you sure I can't go by myself?
Dad: *rolls eyes*

He gets a little freaked out when I go into the city by myself haha

So, as a birthday present to myself, I figured I'd just by ticket and figure out who was going to go with me when it got closer. Luckily, one of my friends had the night off, so we headed out to the city to see the show.
The show was at PJ's Lager house which is in the Corktown part of the city, kinda by old Tiger Stadium. I had never been there, but was kinda surprised by how small it was once we got inside. It reminded me of an old record store I used to go to with my dad in high school-really intimate and kinda old lol

I didn't expect there to be an opening band, but there was-they were called Mount Moriah. They were like a folk-y/roots rock type-chill but good. The girls voice was beautiful-my friend Katie (who went with me) and I both decided she should just go solo lol

It was about this time that my feet started to go numb. Why do I torture myself and wear my new shoes places where I'm going to be standing, uninterrupted, for about 5 hours? I'm a sadist apparently haha

Luckily, the wait and the pain were worth it. I had seen The Hold Steady (who Craig Finn fronts) a few years ago so I knew he put on a good show and I was not disappointed in the least. Lots of talking and joking and good music-can't really ask for much more.

I mean, they have a steel guitar- 'nuff said.

And my favorite picture of the night...

Quintessential Craig Finn.

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My excuse is that I'm young. And I'm only getting older so somebody shoulda told ya.

This year, I decided to treat ma' self (Parks & Rec? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) and take my birthday off. It was quite nice to just be able to enjoy the day and not have to be stuck at work.

I worked on Friday since I was taking Saturday off, but my co-workers let me start my birthday early so I got to leave pretty early. Best co-workers ever. I started my birthday off right- with a nap. It.Was.Glorious.

When I woke up, I met my parents and we went to shul. It was my grandmother's yarzheit (anniversary of her death) so it was nice for the three of us to be there together. After temple, my dad headed home and my mom and I grabbed a snack before running some errands. We went to Cost Plus (which is my new favorite store) and picked up a lovely birthday present that I will be showing ya'll soon :-)

After that we headed to the Creamery to pick up some stuff for our Superbowl meal the next day



and my birthday gelato

Chocolate with pieces of peanut brittle-yum!

Between the sugar crash from the gelato and staying up too late the night before, I decided to take a quick nap before meeting up with my friend to go see a movie.

We saw Beauty and the Beast in 3d and it was so cool! Normally, I'm not a huge fan of 3d movies but this one was the best I've seen so far! My friend brought her 4 year old nephew and he totally made the movie, he was so adorable! About half way through, he put his little head on my arm-seriously, melted my heart! The movie itself was great and I still knew all the songs by heart...love love love!

We went out to dinner later that night, but I think this is long enough so I'll give that it's own post :-)

My brain is super fried. It involves pain to look inside.

A few weeks ago, I found an old online journal of mine. Kind of like a precursor to this here blog.

Except way crazier.

Seriously, I was reading through the entries and my jaw just kept getting closer and closer to the ground. Granted, it was written between the ages of 13 and 15, and I'm pretty sure all adolescent girls are at least a tiny bit insane.

But, woah. Honestly, it kind of freaked me out.

I was battling some things when a lot of it was written and its so apparent- I was really struggling and reached out to people online because I felt really alone. But the thing that really struck me was that I wasn't reaching out for help-I just wanted them to feel sorry for me. No uplifting, no encouragement-just sympathy. And that's exactly what they did-they didn't try to help, they just commiserated. It was really depressing to read.

I couldn't help comparing it to my blog now- and thus, my life. If you would have told me this would be my life at 24, I really would have thought you were out of your mind. But I'm so grateful that my life has followed a plan besides my own. I'm so grateful that I have this blog to document everything. And I'm so grateful for all of you ladies who are so supportive and encouraging and sweet and wonderful.

The people I interacted with on the old "blog" weren't friends. But you guys are-so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

For you don't love me and I'll always be crying over you, crying over you

After the week I had last week (I took my car in for a new battery on Monday, and a new alternator on Thursday...ugh!) I was so looking forward to seeing a movie on Friday night!

The same student organization that put on The Ides of March, was showing 50/50 so me and a few friends headed out to see it.

I had been really wanting to see this, but hadn't gotten a chance so I was stoked to find out it was playing...and for free, at that! It definitely lived up to my expectations-a little predictable, but I loved it. And man, did I bawl like a baby! Though, I didn't feel too bad because my friends were too haha Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan are two of my faves and they were super cute together. I would highly recommend seeing it, if you haven't already.

Have you seen 50/50? What did you think?
Any good movie recommendations for me?

She's not in bacon; not in sausage; and she won't eat eggs.

Last weekend, my friend Katie had a few of our friends over to her house for a little dinner party-she made a delicious vegan meal and it was sooooo much fun!

I brought over a yummy salad...


and while Katie finished getting ready, I hung out with her cat, Iggy Pop...


I made some vegan ranch dressing...


and green beans with vegan "bacon" (which was actually bacon flavored tempeh lol)...


I didn't get a picture of the full spread, but we had seitan "ribs" (she made me tempeh "ribs" so they would be gluten-free-so sweet!), au gratin potatoes with nutrional yeast which sounds kinda weird, but was really good and buffalo tofu bites, which were my favorite (but I'm a sucker for Franks hot sauce lol)

After dinner, we had some vegan cupcakes...


and it wouldn't be a party without some games, of course!


It was such a good time-I hope we are able to do it again soon!

Do you guys have dinner parties?
What are your favorite dishes to bring/serve?
What are your favorite games to play?

I have to bury one more thing in my backyard, once again this year during the Ides of March.

Living in a college town has some definite perks. Growing up there were always parties, there's lots of good food and resturants and lots of people in town. I have a love/hate relationship with the students themselves (why, oh why, must you walk in front of my car? The crosswalk is literally five feet away!) but for the most part its been a pretty cool place to live.

Especially when there is events on campus. Double points if said events are free.

This past Friday, some student orginization was showing a movie for free so me and my friends decided to check it out. We totally lucked out because it was a movie I had been really wanting to see!


I'm pretty sure it's going to be nominated, so I was able to get a jump start on my Oscar challenge. It was really, really good. Besides the obvious eye candy, the story was interesting and new. I know political dramas aren't exactly ground-breaking, but this one felt different than others I've seen. I know Clooney won the Golden Globe for his performance, but I would contend that Gosling was just as good, if not better. He played his character just perfectly-it was really amazing to watch. Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman were wonderful as always-they are both two of my favorite actors and they were perfect accompaniments to Clooney and Gosling.

We found out that the same student organization is showing 50/50 this week (with Seth Rogan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) so me and my friend made a date to go see it-I'm super excited!

(PS I'm taking a film course this semester so I'm hoping that my movie descriptions will evolve beyond just "It was good" and "You should see it" lol)

Have you guys seen Ides of March? Or 50/50?
What did ya'll think?

It's time to have a Christmas Party!

Before things really hit the fan at work, my friend Katie hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater party and it was soooooo much fun!

I stayed entirely too late but we were all having a blast-laughing, dancing, playing games-I just didn't want to leave lol

Pretty decorations...

games, dancing and general shenanigans...

and fun friends!

Every single one of us, the devil inside.

Every year, even though I want January to be a month of rest and catching up, it seems like I'm just as busy as December some days! But it's all good stuff, so I can complain too much :-)

A lot of the busy-ness involves catching up with friends who I hadn't been able to see during the holidays-even some of my co-workers lol

So last night, my friend Katie and I went to grab some Chinese food and a movie. The food-delicious, the movie-not so much haha

We saw The Devil Inside....and it was decent at best.

I probably would have like it a lot more if there hadn't been so many distractions! I apparently forgot what its like to be at the movies with a theater full of high schoolers on a Friday night. Never. Again. will I make that mistake lol

After work on Saturday, I headed over to my parents to watch the Lions play the Saints. Even though the game didn't turn out like I hoped, I'm still pretty happy with how the season ended up. The Lions have made a lot of progress and it's been really exciting to watch them this year. I'm a Lions fan-always have been, always will be- but it makes it a little a lot easier to say that when they are winning. For the first time in a long while, I'm actually looking forward to the next season.

I felt kind of bad last night-we play a playoff pool at work and I drew the Saints and now, since the Lions lost to them, I still have a chance of winning some cash money. So for the rest of the play offs it's.....

GEAUX SAINTS!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting?
Any other football fans out there?

Start with straight shots and then pop bottles.

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays I totally forgot to share somethings...I still have a Christmas party to recap-oy vey!

A while back, I was messing around on Twitter and saw Girl Talk mention a show in Ann Arbor for the next day. I went to check it out but found out tickets weren't for sale, you had to find the bus and they would give you tickets. It was part of a concert series sponsored by AXE-they bring big name acts to small venues in college towns-and Girl Talk was the latest to go on tour.

Gift bags they gave out-believe me when I say it legit smelled like a 13 year old boys room in there lol

I was a little disappointed but figured it was no big deal. As I was leaving work, I remembered my friend Katie is friends with Girl Talk aka Gregg, so I mentioned to her he was in town. Fifteen minutes later I get a text from her that she got us tickets! I was so excited I literally squealed in my car ha ha

The next day at work I could barely contain myself and couldn't wait to leave so I could go get ready!

You have to have some sort of neon to see Girl Talk haha

Katie and a few of our other friends met up for a few before we headed down to the Blind Pig, where the show was being held. The worst part was that we had to wait in line before the show and it was freeeeezing! By the time we got inside, my fingers were so cold I couldn't even text-it was pretty tragic lol But we were "on the list" so we got to cut in front of a few people towards the front- I felt pretty special lol

After we got inside, we made our way up to the front of the Pig (which is pretty easy to do)-we ended up being on the side of the stage when the opening band was performing.

People Under the Stairs were the opening act and they were pretty great. I used to listen to them and they put out some pretty legit hip-hop. It was definitely nice to be able to see them perform in person.

The crowd was a little iffy and I was starting to get worried because of how everything had gone down the last time I saw Girl Talk. We even got into a little fight and got some girl kicked out in between sets. Luckily, after she left, it got a whole lot better.

Unfortunately, that picture is the only one I took because.....

I WAS ON STAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At all of his shows, he brings people up on stage to dance and we were able to spend pretty much the entire concert dancing and jumping around. By the end of it, we were sweaty, gross messes but I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Definitely something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

I was so happy to be able to go and it definitely filled the live music void I was feeling in December. Though, it's back again now...guess I'll just have to find some more live music to fill it hehe

By the way here's a picture I got off of AXE's facebook page....

Place was packed!

(Points if you can find me haha)

You've got a friend in me.

Source: Uploaded by user via Amanda on Pinterest

Ooooh riding Daphne.

Last week, my friend Katie and I made the last minute decision to go see Russel Brand do stand up...and I'm sooooo glad we did!


Tickets had been on sale for a while, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go, so when a Groupon for half off tickets showed up the day before the show-I finally made up my mind and got them!

He was performing at EMU's Convocation Center so we met up, got some dinner and went to see the show!

There was a few contests in the area to find comedians to open up for him, so two guys from U-M performed. They were decently funny, but sitting in front of us were some brothers from one of the guys fraternitys who ended up being almost as entertaining as Russell himself

He was seriously *so* funny! I loved him in Get Him to The Greek, but I've always been kind of on the fence about him because I can't stand his wife haha


His accent just made everything better and he actually seemed like a pretty decent guy-he even came down off the stage and into the crowd to meet people. He was raunchy and hilarious and disgusting and I just loved every minute of it! Plus, I didn't realize it, but he's pretty hot! lol

I'm so happy we went!

Unfortunately, the frat guys in front of us didn't feel the same way. The one in front of Katie fell asleep and kept almost hitting her knee as his head fell backwards-we seriously laughed for ten minutes at this poor kid.

Luckily, he didn't need to feel too bad, because his bro fell asleep too, so they could cuddle together haha

The best part was when the first kid woke up and the tried to make fun of the other one who was still sleeping...seriously, bro? haha

Heaven is whenever we can get together.

As soon as the holidays arr8ive, my life seems to get super boring. It happens every year-I mean, it makes sense considering in a few weeks I'll be too exhausted to do anything but work and sleep so I think I kind of psych myself up for a few weeks of nothing...but doing nothing early haha

But this week, I tried to get in some last minute fun before the Holidaze completely take over.

During the High Holidays, our temple always rolls out the new exciting things happening in the coming year, and this year there was one that caught my eye, so I joined a book club!

This past week was the first meeting, and even though I was by far the youngest one there, I really enjoyed it! We read a book about Heaven that was pretty interesting and even though I didn't speak much, I enjoyed just listening.

I'm really excited to read the next book and looking forward to going back!

After book club was done, I met up with a few friends to get some drinks-normally, not something I'd do, but I'm trying to cram some last minute fun in while I still have the energy!

We went to a few bars downtown and played pool. Before we started, I was talking about how when I used to be good, I was able to hustle pool, but as soon as we started I couldn't make any shot! Seriously, every. single.one. missed! But, of course, as soon as we decide we're done, and I start messing around, I hit everything perfectly! Guess karma was telling me I shouldn't brag lol

Wednesday, I attended a lecture at the local community college. I felt like a total nerd, but it was really interesting! A professor I'd had a few years ago was speaking about her sabbatical that she just returned from-she traveled to Egypt, Israel and Palestine. She was even in Tahrir Square during the uprising! She is an amazing woman and shared some really touching stories and photographs-I was really glad to be able to go! If you want to see some of her photos and stories, check out her blog-I just think it's fascinating!

Unfortunately, I didn't really get a day off this week, because my one day off was full of meetings and my second day off, I spent doing my new internship! I'm seriously enjoying it so much! The environment is so great and the people are too-I'm just loving it and feel so blessed that everything worked out so I'm able to do it!

Double, double, toil and trouble.

After the crazyness that was last week, it's kinda nice to relax and catch up on some sleep. Last Saturday, I was so exhausted by the time I got off of work, it took all the energy I had to stop, get some food and a movie before crashing.



I hadn't really heard of this one, but when there was a line starting to form at the Redbox and I got all anxious and picked the first one I saw haha Luckily, it ended up being pretty good. The story was good and Paul Giamatti and Jeffery Tambor were both great. It was sweet, funny and, at times, kind of sad, but if you're into movies like that, I would definitely recommend it.

The rest of the week I spent getting ready for Halloween.

I decorated a little bit.The window clings are supposed to be "bloody hand prints" haha

Did some nail art.

And carved some pumpkins!

My mom and I figured out we hadn't carved pumpkins in probably ten years and it was so fun!

On Friday, I grabbed some dinner with a few girls I work with and it was so fun to just to relax and laugh! I seriously have been so blessed with amazing co-workers that have turned into amazing friends-I just love those girls!

Tonight, I think I'm going to pass out some candy to the kids in my parents neighborhood and probably watch some Monday Night Football with my dad. Can't wait to see all the cuties in their costumes!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Please remember all of the things I never got a chance to say. Like you look smashing in your fourth grade picture.

A few weeks ago my wonderful friend Rebecca asked me if I'd like to go to a concert with her.

I had only vaguely heard of the band performing, but I love Rebecca and haven't seen her in far too long so of course I said yes!

We had such a good time! The show was in Pontiac at the Pike Room, which is upstairs from another venue called the Crofoot.

Performing downstairs was this metal band called We Came As Romans so it was definitely interesting considering we were upstairs listening to acoustic music ha ha Whoever scheduled those two shows on the same day was not thinking lol

Besides the fact that half the time we could hear the other band, it was a lot of fun. The opening act was a guy called Jeff Pianki. He played by himself and was really really good. It was a small venue so we were able to get pretty close to the stage again. He played his kazoo for a few songs and closed his set with "I Wanna Be Like You" from the Jungle Book- how can you not love that? Lol Plus we decided he was the cutest little ginger we'd ever seen ha ha

After him was Matt Pond PA. I had heard of him before and really enjoyed his set. I've mentioned before that I have a thing for bassist and this one was no exception. Seriously, so cute! After Matt Pond introduced him I totally Googled him too lol Thank god for smart phones :-)

His name was John Courage, by the way haha

Finally Rocky Votolato came on.

I had never heard of him, but I absolutely fell in love with him. I've been listening to him pretty much non stop since the show. I just love his voice, and the songs are so catchy and I can totally relate to a lot of his lyrics. Love love love.

We were able to move front and center by the time he came on and it was so great to literally be like 2 feet from him. I just love intimate concerts like that!

After the show, all three artists hung around and we got to talk to all of them which was great. Rebecca was able to snag two of the set lists and got them both signed. They were all so sweet and gracious. We found out Jeff Pianki is coming to the Blind Pig in Ann arbor soon so were both pretty stoked to go see him again

The I only downside was I looked for my new bassist crush but sadly he was nowhere to be found lol

If anyone sees him, could you let him know I'm in love with him? Please and thank you :-)