My random thought (x2)

1. Today is a good day because it's payday! Woo!

2. I got my plane ticket for Thanksgiving last night. (I should say 'we' because I'm headed to South Carolina with Dave-o. So WE got our tickets last night.)

In any event, what I come to say is this: I love my reaction to buying tickets for within the continental U.S. I'm always excited because I feel like I got the best deal. (They are so. much. cheaper. than tickets to Hawaii.) So regardless of how normal or even more expensive than normal the ticket is, I still feel like I'm getting the best deal ever. Ha. How the mind works, eh?

More reasons the west is awesome...

Tamara and her husband Mike

Tamara and I grew up together and now she's married (almost one year!) and living in Colorado. She put up some gorgeous fall photos of the mountains and I just had to share two here because it is so, so gorgeous. I think the photo of the two of them should be a Christmas card, don't you?

Subtle hints from Google

I think Gmail might be dropping me a Really. Big. Hint.

Either that or they've caught wind of my desire to head west. What, it was obvious?

I might have to go look at property... just to be sure. I mean, I could build a ranch here:

Wait, "ranch" means "bed and breakfast" right?

Scenes from the week.

Paige is a really great multitasker. I found her curling her hair and watching tv SIMULTANEOUSLY.

I helped Dave put up his bookshelves in his new GREY room. I got to use a power drill and everything. SO FUN. Brought me back to my hardware store days. Especially that one time I built the rakes!

Grandpa and Grandma came to Illinois so Dave and I had dinner with them. Of course, in true Hepburn fashion we spent several hours after dinner playing cards!

Mondays are...

Mondays are Mondays. Fortunately, I have a few things that bring me cheer when I begin the inevitable Sunday night mourning of the end of the weekend... 


New podcasts! I adore "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" (the NPR news quiz show) and "This American Life" (an hour of interesting stories). They play in real time on the radio Saturday, so when I show up to work on Monday I've got new episodes waiting for me. They're the best to listen to when I have administrative tasks for an hour or so.

My new Monday perk is the return of Hawaii Five O! The classic is back on TV as a new show. I watched the pilot and was totally won over. Good character chemistry + amazing shots of my homeland = a good thing. It airs Monday nights, so that's something to look forward to. :)

"Unputdownable"

I love this image from a Penguin Malaysia ad campaign titled Unputdownable. I know the feeling. At lunch today I came within twenty pages of finishing The Last Stand and was sad to see it was time to get back to work. Thankfully I'll have the trip home to finish up. I love when the end of a book coincides with returning home. It means I'll have time to pick out a new one for tomorrow! I think the worst is reading the last page while I'm on my way to work. Then I have nothing to do for lunch and the way home!


 (The cool image I started out with and then got distracted from by my own tangents is via the book cover archive.)

Ashley Lake + Montana

I love books because they can introduce you to new and exciting places. Places like Montana. I'm reading The Last Stand (by my favorite - Nathaniel Philbrick!) and it's all set in Montana and Wyoming and South Dakota - where I've never been! But now I'm planning my big road trip to see the sights and guess what I found in Northwestern Montana? ASHLEY LAKE. And guess what's gorgeous? Yep, Ashley Lake. So now I'm off to Kalispell, which is right by Glacier National Park, which will definitely be a stop on my trip. (And when I say "I'm off to Kalispell" this is wishful thinking. In case you were about to drive out and meet me there...)

Glee(ks)

Tuesday night we had a mini Glee premiere party. Paige, Ashley, Kate and I all dressed up as characters from the show. (Because we're awesome like that.) Unfortunately, Kate isn't in this photo, but do know that she made a very convincing Quinn Fabray. (We made her use a pillow as a baby bump! :) Can you guess who we are? (If you guess Emma, Mercedes, and Rachel then you are right!)

Totally Dog

My dog loving brother sent me the link to this amazing dog day camp in Florida, Totally Dog. Here's what they have to say about themselves, "During the day, our canine campers swim in our bone shaped pool, run on the agility obstacles, sun bathe on our sun bathing decks, adventure through the forest, play with toys and with each other or take short naps in our shaded nap houses." Plus, they have a converted school bus that can pick the dogs up and drop them off at the end of the day. Shaded nap houses? Pool? Sunbathing deck? Um, can I go here?

Friday!

Due to copious amounts of traffic (yes, it took me double the amount of time to get downtown) I missed out on my latte this morning. I'm about to head out to the WEEKEND and I'm going to grab myself a decaf. Because even though I'm young and fun, I'm actually old and might probably be in bed by 11. Shhh.

And just so you don't think I've gone completely crazy...

I searched for weimaraners, too. (I'm pretty sure this photo is a Wegman.)

Today I may or may not have googled "pug puppies"

...and then emailed them to my pug-loving boyfriend. May or may not.

P.S. An addition to my list below: 8. Root beer float tonight. Mmmm.

Things I'm excited about...

1. Pumpkin Spice Latte coming my way tomorrow morning.
2. Leaving early to purchase said latte thereby avoiding being smashed on the bus with eighty other people. (No, seriously.)
3. Rain this weekend. How good does getting cozy with some blankets and a book on the couch sound?
4. Tomorrow is Fri-i-day.
5. I'm designing two book covers right now.
6. I'm currently reading this month's The Atlantic and The Last Stand by my favity fave Nathaniel Philbrick. (Which makes me feel intelligent which in turn makes me feel good about myself. Ha.)
7. Hawaii Five-O and Glee premiere next week. Cheehee!

The Zorse

I spotted (striped?) this Zorse (half horse, half zebra) in the NYT today. Whaat?! Are you sure it's not just photoshop?

Sighh...

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that my dear co-worker and friend Amy got a fantastic new job. The bad news is that she's leaving me! Today is her last day and since she is a faithful reader of my blog I decided to give her a shout-out here.

Dear Amy,

Today is your last day here and I am reflecting on what my life will be like post-coworker-amy. After today I am going to have to make my own Jimmy John's account and build my own "favorite order" for gourmet sandwiches. Not to mention brave the strange JJ delivery guy who makes me so uncomfortable I lose my ability to tip correctly. I am going to have to find my own interesting articles, pictures, and stories to distract myself with during the day. I am going to have no idea what's going on in baseball. My lunch hours will be just me and my books. Who will I stop by and visit and catch up on the latest news with?? And who will explain to me how this place works and who all these people are?

Amy, I will miss you terribly! But I'm so excited for your new job. And I'm glad you'll still be in Chicago so we can be real friends. So goodbye (but not really) and GOOD LUCK (definitely)!

Love,
Ashley xoxo

I love this notebook

I love this notebook. Granted, I love pretty much any notebook. (As evidenced by numerous less than half filled journals from my twenty three years of life.) This baby is particularly well designed though. Bikes! Yellow and grey! Letterpressed! Christmas present anyone?!

Scenes from a three day weekend

Oh the joys of three blissful days off. Here's how I commemorated this weekend...

Susie Homemaker. Okay, maybe not quite to the Susie level yet, but I baked delicious cookies (it's not just me! other people said they were delicious, too!), baked an egg in a tomato thingie, and made smoothies for the roomies after a long bike ride.



I ate sushi with Paige and Kate while sitting in these gorgeous chairs. I am in love with the whole decor of this place from the white chairs to the gray and teal walls to the wooden finish. Gorge. Ous.


We had some beautiful weather in Chi-town the last few days. The air was crisp and the sky was clear and the lake was blue. Delightful. (I got a little distracted by how pretty the lake was during my aforementioned bike ride. Everyone survived though. Don't worry.)


Remember Dinkel's Bakery? I was hanging out with my friend Kimmy at her new apartment and she suggested we stop by to grab some of their cookies for our church potluck. Omigosh. I can't wait to go back.


Ashley ran TEN MILES today in preparation for her half marathon and so we celebrated by eating at Ann Sather. Their cinnamon rolls are to die for. We enjoyed them immensely.


I painted my nails teal last night. They make me happy.


And so, those are some of my scenes. This photo tour did not include the movies watched, walls of Dave's bedroom prepped for painting, nor church parties attended. You'll just have to trust me that those were great fun, too.

Las Vegas Weekend!

Last weekend we had a family vacation to Las Vegas to watch my dad play some softball! His team flies out once a year to play in a tournament with teams from all over the country. This year, the whole family joined in as a birthday gift. So Mom and Dad flew out from Hawaii, David and Holly drove over from San Diego, and Dave and I flew in from Chicago. It was pretty epic.


Also very hot. Very, very hot. 100-110 degree hot. I suppose it is the desert. I'd also like to say that I was pretty surprised at the beauty of the scenery. My expectations were... low. It was gorgeous. So nice to see some mountains.



Dad's team got second place! I got a tan. We only lost $8 to the great state of Nevada. Our condo was AWE. SOME. (Read here: waterfall shower, jacuzzi tub, and flat screen TVs in every room awesome.) Dave had his first In-N-Out and BJs dining experiences. Played cards, took naps, watched baseball, walked the strip, ate snacks, played in the pool, had handstand contests, etc. etc.



To sum it all up: had fun. FUN!



I'm already planning the next vacation for California in 5 weeks. Yahoo!