January 31st, 2011 (Day 31)

Mondays are my day off. Therefore, today I had a wonderful catch up day. Lots of errands and homework. Not the best day, but I feel accomplished and my mind feels peaceful now that all of these things have been taken care of!

January 30th, 2011 (Day 30)

I love my baby boy. He is so super cute.

Proof:

Hi.Cute boy.

He is extra awesome because he has a patch that has an uncanny resemblance to Australia on his side.

January 29th, 2011 (Day 29)

Lauren and I went to see No Strings Attached tonight. We went to the MJR at Patridge Creek, so what better to represent this day than a picture of the awesome holiday lights at Patridge Creek!

This is a lame representation, but everyone who has been there knows they're pretty awesome!

January 28th, 2011 (Day 28)

My favorite half of a roommate (Corinne's boyfriend, Jordan) hung some pictures up for me and I'm very excited about them! They've been sitting in my closet since August waiting to be hung up. Finally some Georgia O'Keeffe in my bedroom! Yay.



Sorry, I didn't make my bed for the picture. I never make my bed and to do so just to make the picture look better felt too staged and fake. So, embrace my messy bed!

January 27th, 2011 (Day 27)

Partially thanks to Eminem... the entire Detroit/Warren/8 Mile area gets such a bad rap. I don't understand why. My internship is about a block away from 8 Mile and while it isn't the nicest area, it is far from the worst. It just made me think a lot about misconceptions and negative stereotyping. This is one stereotype that I have personally found to be incorrect.

The infamous 8 Mile Road.

January 26th, 2011 (Day 26)

I realized that Corinne, Jess and I have a problem...



I think the magnet sums it all up, "Seriously...one household needs 5 boxes of Special K cereal?" 5 different flavors of Special K, I might add, too.

January 25th, 2011 (Day 25)

My day was boring so I will spare the details.

There is a recognized historic neighborhood that is only 1 block away from my apartment. It is like going back in time. The street is cobblestone and the houses are all Victorian style and look like dollhouses.


Here is one of the houses:


I love exploring my new city!

January 24th, 2011 (Day 24)

I finally got an organizing solution for my closet. My closet is a fairly big walk-in closet, but it has no shelves or bars or anything to hang or store things in! I've just had things sitting on the floor in there, and my clothes stuffed into my dresser. I was going to get a shelf with a bar on the bottom to put stuff on and to hang stuff on, but then I saw this little rolling closet solution and I thought it was perfect for a rental space! No drilling anything into the wall. I can easily disassemble it when I move and bring it with me. I was proud of myself for assembling it all by myself. It was really easy though.

My new, organized, closet space:
The green thing is a hanging collapsible shelf thing, clothes in the middle, and then a hanging shoe shelf at the end. So far all I have in the green shelves are pajamas (they were over-flowing in my dresser) and some books/notebooks for school!

I'm very happy!

January 23rd, 2011 (Day 23)

I had an unusual thing happen to me today. I inherited an engagement ring that was one of my great great aunt's. She died when I was around 5 years old and left me this ring in her will. She had one son and he never married. There were no female heirs in her family to inherit this engagement ring. Her husband's name was Andy, and I guess she always thought that I was named after him? I'm not really sure. I asked both of my parents and neither one of them had ever even put the connection together that I could be named after him!So, here is my engagement ring. My grandma told me to keep it for the diamonds and have them set into something I actually like one day. I'd feel bad ruining her beloved engagement ring. It's probably from the 1930s! Crazy.

January 22nd, 2011 (Day 22)

My is 40 years old and bought her first laptop today. She is like a little kid, she is so excited about it. It looks huge in this picture, I think it's only 15 inches though!

Her joy and happiness with her new purchase are bringing me lots of joy and happiness!

January 21st, 2011 (Day 21)

This picture represents my job pretty well. This little sneak peak of my job, accompanied with a large dosage of "huh?", "I don't get it", "what do you mean?", "what does this mean?", "what does this say?", "what is this word?", etc. basically sums up my job as a tutor.

I really can't complain though! It is fairly decent as far as jobs go!

January 20th, 2011 (Day 20)

This might sound silly, but this building really brings comfort to me. I just admire it so much. It is huge, old, and gorgeous. It is probably my favorite building in Midtown Detroit. I am just lucky enough to live only a couple blocks away from it and have class in it every Tuesday night.

I had a rough day today. And was majorly bummed out about some stuff. As I was sitting at a stop light, I just noticed this building right in front of my face. It looked so pretty illuminated by the street lights and the moon and with the snow falling down on it. I hate snow, but it really does make things look pretty.

So, my picture for today is Old Main, which is a Wayne State University building. I can't even describe how much I love it.

(Sorry my pictures this week have been poor quality. I've been using my phone to take them because I left my camera cord to upload pictures at my dad's house.)

January 19th, 2011 (Day 19)

Today I passed two houses at the end of my street that I've passed a million times. I noticed today that they are twin houses! The windows, doors, brick designs, etc. were identical. The only difference was the color of bricks used. I thought it was funny. All the houses and buildings around here are so unique, but these two are almost exactly the same and it took me this long to notice.

Sometimes I think I can be oblivious to life. I need to open my eyes wider and look at the world more in depth!



I also noticed that apparently all of my neighbors have cars/trucks from the early 1990s ;)

January 18th, 2011 (Day 18)

Is it sad that the most exciting part of my long ass day has been discovering these delicious little ranch flavored rice cakes? Nom!

I wish I could eat the entire bag. 10 mini cakes=70 calories. :(

Better news that this picture of rice cakes could represent...I've lost 16.2 pounds! Yay.

January 17th, 2011 (Day 17)

What could be better than couches + friends + vice of your choice + movie :)

January 16th, 2011 (Day 16)

I just dedicated 4 hours of my life to the Golden Globes (1 hour of red carpet, 3 hours of the actual awards show) and I have to say, I am pretty disappointed at the outcome. The Social Network (which I'll admit, I have yet to see) won so many awards. I might not be a fair judge, since I haven't seen it, but honestly I did not even consider it to be on the same level as some of the other films that it beat out!

I am bummed that my girlfriend Mila Kunis didn't win supporting actress and really bummed that Black Swan didn't win for best film! I am glad that Natalie Portman won best actress, though I thought Michelle Williams did almost equally as amazing of a job in her role in Blue Valentine.

I was rooting for you girlfriend!

January 15th, 2011 (Day 15)

I had a really nice relaxing Saturday. Went shopping with mom, spent time with mom, went to the movies to see Blue Valentine with mom. Overall it was a very good day!

I really enjoyed the movie a lot. I thought it was very raw emotionally and the acting (especially Michelle Williams) was pretty amazing. Two thumbs up from me!

I love AMC 30. They mostly always play the cool indie movies that other theatres don't. Too bad their tickets are ridiculously expensive.

January 14th, 2011 (Day 14)

While I was driving today, I became irritated by the woman driving in front of me. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but for some reason the bumper stickers rubbed me the wrong way. Some of them included; "NRA", "Jesus is Awesome", and "Pray for our Troops."

It made me think about how much your bumper stickers can say about you and your personality. Here is the bumper of my car:
I feel as though my "Social Work is Social Justice" and "Adopt a Pet" stickers are pretty unoffensive but who knows how other people could feel about them. I think they represent me pretty well anyway!

January 13th, 2011 (Day 13)

I had another full 8 hour day at my internship today. I am still loving it and am so glad I got placed there. :)


As I'm pretty sure it would be illegal to take pictures of the kids at my internship and post it anywhere, this picture will have to do to represent my day.

I came home to my silly roommate and her silly boyfriend. They crack me up! I love spending time with them.

January 12th, 2011 (Day 12)

Snow day today! Tutoring was cancelled tonight because of the snow and horrible roads. I got up and showered and was getting ready for work when I got the text from my boss.

It was quite easy to switch gears and embrace a snow day.

Laying in bed, creeping on Facebook, and watching Grey's Anatomy sounds like an awesome way to spend a snow day to me!

January 11th, 2011 (Day 11)

I loved today! It was a long 12 plus hours of go-go-go but it was worth it! I started my internship and love it. I also had my first class of the semester tonight and I have a good feeling about it. The professor was so laid back and kind of hippie-ish. I loved her and feel like her teaching style is going to be really beneficial for me!


What wasn't so fun was driving in the snow. This is my street as I was walking to class this evening.

It is pretty...I guess. But really annoying!

January 10th, 2011 (Day 10)

Seeing all of these pictures on my wall of the places I've traveled to makes me realize how much of the world I have yet to explore! There are so many places I would love to visit.

January 9th, 2011 (Day 9)

Today was kind of a strange day and I don't have a whole lot to say about it.

This is the back of my little clutch wallet I bought the last time I was in Dallas. It makes me happy!

January 8th, 2011 (Day 8)

Today was a decent day. I slept in and then hung out with Rachel and Lauren and Robb. Lauren recreated the corn and crab bisque we had in New Orleans and we just hung out.

I had to babysit the 3 little neighbor girls this evening. They are adorable and getting so big! Natalie is 5, Nicole will be 2 at the end of the month, and Claire is 7 months old.

When I got home from babysitting, Annie was over. We enjoyed our masks from New Orleans. ;)

Bella wasn't sure about them.

January 7th, 2011 (Day 7)

I am sitting at the airport in New Orleans right now, my flight leaves in about an hour. I am so sad.

Usually at the end of the trip it is bittersweet. I'm sad to leave, but ready to go home. This is one of the few trips that is not bittersweet, it is just sad :( I don't want to come home! I could stay in New Orleans forever. It is just one of those cities that makes you feel right at home.

Hopefully our plans to return in the spring with some friends will work out! May, you better hurry up and get here!

Last meal in New Orleans! I got a muffaletta sandwich (only half is pictured, they have such huge portions here!) and Zapp's Spicy Creole Tomato kettle chips with a splash of tobasco sauce. I will miss you NOLA!

January 6th, 2011 (Day 6)

Today was another awesome day in New Orleans.

We took a steamboat river cruise down the Mississippi and got a lot of information on New Orleans and got to see parts of the city from the coast. It was really cool. We ate a delicious lunch of fried chicken (best I've ever had), jambalaya, New Orleans frittata, French bread and butter, salad, and bread pudding for dessert. After the boat ride, we walked around a little bit more and went back to the French market, passed the Beauregard Keyes House, and did a little shopping. Eventually we went to Acme Oyster House for dinner. We each got a cup of gumbo soup (I got chicken and sausage, Lauren got seafood) and split a platter of crab cakes, hush puppies, and fries.

We are super bummed to go home tomorrow. New Orleans was a blast and I definitely want to visit again!

An abandoned building we saw from the Mississippi River during our lunch cruise. I just loved it.

January 5th, 2011 (Day 5)

Today was an amazing day in New Orleans!

We went to a two hour cooking class which was basically like watching a live New Orleans Paula Dean cook right in front of us! She demonstrated how to make crab and corn bisque, shrimp creole, and pralines and we got to eat everything. It was really cool and interesting. She gave us a history of the different cultures that influence New Orleans' cuisine and talked about the differences between Cajuns and Creoles. We learned how the French, Italians, Irish, Africans, Caribbeans, and even Germans influenced the popular food dishes! Everything she made was delicious.

After the class we walked around and explored some more. We went to the Mississippi River and walked along the coast. We went to Saint Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square. It was beautiful.
We realized we were really close to the original Cafe du Monde so we stopped there to have some coffee (cafe au lait) and donuts (beignets). Everything I've tasted has been amazing! We went back to our hotel to try to figure out dinner. All the places we wanted to go were 21 and up. Finally we ended up at Ali Baba's which was like middle eastern/Greek. I got a delicious cheese steak pita wrap and Lauren got a chicken shawarma which she seemed to like as well. We walked around Bourbon Street a bit after dinner and just absorbed the craziness and went into a few shops.

Saint Louis Cathedral
Goodies from Cafe du Monde

The cooking school

January 4th, 2011 (Day 4)

It has been a long day! Lauren and I were up by 5:20am. We had our first flight from Detroit to Chicago at 7:50am. Then, we had a layover in Chicago before finally arriving in New Orleans. We checked into our hotel, freshened up, and set out to explore. We walked all around town to the French Market (about a mile from our hotel) and just took in all the beautiful sights. The architecture and colors are so unique here. I love it! The Market was very cool. We bought lots of goodies! We went to the Historic District to have dinner and we both had our first experience eating Po Boy sandwiches. They were so yummy! I love New Orleans and haven't even been here for an entire day yet!

Hello delicious Po Boy. Mine was fried crab, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and mayo on a yummy French baguette.

January 3rd, 2011 (Day 3)

Today was one big headache. I don't feel like getting into full details, but I had to wake up early (boo), was disappointed (boo), had to run around all of southeastern Michigan (boo), and now I actually have a headache (boo).

Enough pessimism. I will be leaving for the airport in about 12 hours from now and will be on my way to New Orleans! I am so excited.

My suitcase is all packed and ready to go. The next few days will be updated with pictures from New Orleans! Yay!

January 2nd, 2011 (Day 2)

Today was a lazy day. I slept in, got a manicure and pedicure with my sister (for only $30 total!), went shopping, and then went out to dinner with Lauren and Laura.

I was on a mission while shopping to get some nice outfits for my internship. I have my orientation for Safehaus tomorrow at 10am. I bought some nice black pants from NY&Co. They were having a really big 70% off sale on a lot of things in their store. Of course I couldn't find any black pants on sale and ended up spending $45 on a pair. Oh well, not too bad!

I also got a couple cardigans (originally $30 each, on sale for $10 each!) at Old Navy. I also got a tank top for $3 there. Sometimes they have the best stuff in their clearance section!

The black pants and the tank top I am planning to wear tomorrow with a plain black cardigan over it. The tank top isn't orange, it's more of a salmon/pink color. These cardigans are more navy blue and coral pink rather than the brighter blue and orange tones they look in the picture.

The lighting in these pictures suck. I need to start taking the pictures on my actual camera and not my phone. Sorry!