Prohibition Taproom

Here’s a fun fact about my family. When deciding where to eat on a trip, the decision usually gets made based on what restaurants have good beers on tap (and great prices as well). That led us to the Prohibition Taproom on Sunday.
I absolutely adored the place. Even before ordering food or drinks, I fell in love with the atmosphere. It’s so simple and cozy.

I enjoyed just one beer, Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty. And it was delicious!

As for food, they have the usual bar fare, but it’s all very tasty! Their grilled cheese sandwich changes everyday, and Sunday’s was jack, bacon, arugula and pepper served with a little salad and some extremely tasty fries. Brad had a delicious kielbasa and pierogi plate that was on special. It’s such a wonderful little place with different deals and drinks on a daily basis. I really hope to make it there again soon.

Sweet Little Weekend

Wow, this one went by too fast. That’s usually what happens when I work a Saturday shift though. Without Friday night partying or date night and Saturday morning to sleep in, I sort of feel like everything is in Fast Forward without much time to chill. It didn’t help that this weekend was packed to the gills with activities. A farewell-for-now dinner with friends, work, movie theater date (We saw The Artist and it was adorable…everyone clapped at the end and it was such a great moment!), quick casino trip, Philadelphia for the car show and beer and food. I’m surprised I fit it all in under 48 hours!

Some photos I took with the iPhone/Hipstamatic:

Though I’m not ready for Monday already, hopefully it’ll be a good week. And, bonus, I have a three day weekend coming up! Very exciting.
Here’s to a great week, everyone!

Dinner Last Night: “Brinner”

I don’t know about all y’alls, but this week has been painfully slow. And, yes, it’s Friday, but I have work tomorrow. So. Boo. To top it off, another one of my friends is moving out of state for a job. I’m super excited and happy for him, but it’s a bummer nonetheless.

Anyway, I have been craving a good breakfast and, since my sister and I both said we’d contribute to dinners more often, I decided to make “brinner” for everyone. I think breakfast is always delicious, but there’s something about eating it after 12 PM that makes it that much more enjoyable. And it’s always simple. Eggs, bacon, sausage, and some pancakes. Ya can’t go wrong.

It’s been a while since I did a Dinner Last Night post, but I hope to bring it back regularly!

And as for the weekend, enjoy!
I’ll be doing a farewell dinner with friends, seeing The Artist with Brad, and heading to the Philly Car Show with my family.
Sounds like a good one to me.

One Track Mind

All photos from my iPhone. You can see where my priorities lie (and where most of my paycheck goes).

Operation Organization–Part Two

Once again, I embarrass myself on this website. (Whatever, it’s real life, and I’m making improvements!)

Hello, and welcome to one of the messiest, if not the messiest, part of my room! I’ll credit the mess to my excessive shopping and extreme lack of storage. I actually had a bigger closet in my on-campus apartment in college, believe it or not. But let’s not forget the main reason I’ve let everything get so bad in the first place…laziness.

For a while, I’ve wanted a garment rack. Before this little Tupperware pile began, most of the clothes there were on what I called a “makeshift closet.” It was a wire hanger that was stretched to hang over the top of the closet door and had several other hangers hanging from it. Needless to say, it eventually stretched out, everything fell off, and I just couldn’t do it again. Off to Bed, Bath, and Beyond I went.
In addition to the garment rack, I decided to get a nice shoe rack as well. I was still utilizing one of those compartmentalized shoe holders that you hang from the closet with Velcro straps. It was okay, but it left a lot of my shoes without a home.

The end result:

I’m so glad to finally have a garment rack. It’s just a simple one that was easy to put together. But now I can display my favorite items without having them get all squished and wrinkly in the closet. Bonus: There’s more room in the closet! I also took the opportunity to get a bag of clothes and shoes ready to donate. There’s still a lot more to go through, my dresser and armoire, but at least those things are put away.
I needed to clean up the huge mess infiltrating the floor.

Ultimately, there’s a lot more work and organizational skills I could utilize to make the best out of my tiny closet space.
But I’m proud of the work I’ve done now.

I’m not sure when Part Three will commence. The next thing I’m on the hunt for is a bookshelf or some of those organizational cubes.
I need a place to display my collection of books (duh) and DVDs. Don’t worry…you’ll see that mess soon enough.

A Love Letter…to the Keurig

I will be the first person to admit that I am far from adulthood. I have a 9-5 full-time job, health insurance, my own car, and loans and bills to pay. However, I own a heck of a lot of Hello Kitty paraphernalia, sleep with a stuffed Elephant when I’m not with Brad, read and re-read the Twilight Saga (and watch the movies), and, if I had to live on my own (because I don’t, I live at home with my parents), I’d survive solely on grilled cheese sandwiches and sugary cereals. I usually have to remind myself that I’m in my 20s. I’m still in a pubescent, awkward, teenage state of mine (though I am convinced that you don’t really grow out of it for quite some time…).

It may seem strange, but I always associated coffee with adults. The thing is, this caffeinated beverage fueled  “olda folk”  as they headed to their day-to-day life and the usual grind. I sat and watched my family drink coffee and thought it smelled bitter. I often wished I had
over-milked and over-sugared tea. But as you grow, so does your taste palate.

Over the few adult years I’ve had, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about taste and appetite. You’re willing to try more as you grow older (or at least I am). I’ve eaten a chicken heart. I’ve tasted frog legs. (I wouldn’t do either again, but that’s not the point, guys.)  The deal is, I’ve become more adventurous. There’s more to beer than Key Light. There’s more to wine than Franzia.
You think this is silly, I’m sure. THIS IS ABOUT THE KEURIG MACHINE.
Some of you have been drinking coffee since you were a teenager (or earlier?).
Guess what? I didn’t. Anyways, let’s get to the point of the story.

Dear Keurig,

For years, I had heard about this wondrous and exotic machine that made a perfect cup of coffee with the simple press of a button. I didn’t care, though. I didn’t drink coffee. I didn’t really drink caffeine. I was raised on decaf, so I stayed away from coffee. A girl ridden with heart palpitations and thyroid complications, it was what was best. And the anxiety. Did you know caffeine heightens that? It does.
But suddenly, Keurigs were at my disposal. First, they showed up at work. Then Brad’s family bought one. And suddenly, for Christmas, my family had one! And what else was there to do but pop in a K-Cup, press down the handle, pick my cup size, and watch (and smell) a delicious cup of coffee pour in a matter of seconds. I learned that there was more to coffee than the usual stuff you’d get at the gas station or diner (though that can be good, too). There are so many flavors available to use , and in these one-time-use portions that make it so easy to pick and choose and be non-committal. Because of you, I know I like flavored coffees or a nice medium roast doughnut-shop style cup. I like to experiment with flavored creamers (Shout out to International Delights Cinnabon limited edition…) and less and less sugar (I don’t see myself goin’ straight black anytime soon). Because of you, I can treat myself to a hot cocoa or cider anytime I please. Because of you, I can set a cup with a green tea bag below your spout and having boiling water in about a minute, instead of waiting for a teapot to boil.
(Oh, and you also have tea K-cups, you lovely machine you!)
The invention of the Keurig has introduced the wonders of coffee into my life.
Okay, so I often can’t have more than one cup without getting insanely jittery or anxious (I think a lot of people feel this way?), and I do drink decaf if I’m feeling a little Colombian and Cinnabon cream at night. But what’s wrong with that? I know I like coffee now, one of the primo adult beverages around, and that makes me feel just a bit more “grown up.” So…I love you, Keurig. You rock.
Don’t stop what you’re doing. And certainly don’t quit adding flavors to your ever growing list of K-Cups!

Sweet, Snowy Weekend

I had the perfect little weekend. I helped celebrate my friend Dana’s 25th birthday with Mexican food and drinks. It snowed Saturday morning, and while I’m not the biggest fan of the white stuff, I had nothing to do but cuddle and enjoy the view. Spent the rest of the weekend enjoying some tasty meals and good company. And I slept in. A lot. Mondays are getting hard again. After a nice stint of long holiday weekends, I have to get used to the usual grind. Though I do have two long weekends coming up in February. Gotta keep looking ahead!

Here’s to a great week!

Here we go…

Despite the fact that it was only a 4 day week for me, I’ve been dying for the weekend. Maybe it’s because I had a taste of extra freedom and I want more. I dunno. This weekend is pretty open for the most part, and the plans I do have involve people I love. So I’m pretty ecstatic.

Not much else to say here, except that I wish you all a very happy/fun/relaxing/exciting weekend!

Outfit: Creature of Comfort

For me, winter is one of the hardest times to stay fashionable. I have such a low tolerance for cold weather, and that keeps me from being too adventurous. It’s funny…I went to parochial school growing up and spent day after day in a skirt and knee highs and barely complained. Now I layer up in thermals and sweaters and it’s all very boring (and often never enough). Which is why I asked for this comfortable yet chic sweater for Christmas. I’ve found myself drawn to golds and mustards lately. The colors themselves are so warm, it’s hard not to feel extra cozy. The fun, slouchy, mullet-esque  shape keeps it fresh and steers it away from being too dowdy. This isn’t one of the most fashionable or original outfits you’ve ever seen, but it did the job for a simple Wednesday night. Chinese food for dinner, shopping for organizational tools for my room, and ending the evening by visiting Brad’s roomie on his bartending gig and having a couple of beers. Not too shabby.

The shoes were also a Christmas present from this past year, thanks to Brad! They are fun and super comfortable. Little leopard booties.
The necklace was another gift from my man, from the previous year. I simply adore it.

Sweater – Sosie/Denim Leggings – PacSun/Booties – Forever 21/Necklace – Betsey Johnson

Operation Organization–Part One

Warning: The following photo is very embarrassing for me and probably disturbing for you.

Since I had Monday off, I decided to start attacking one of my little resolution/life changes – Organizing. I actually did this around the same time last year and, while I made a bit of a dent, everything fell right back into  (the wrong) place. I could blame a lot of things.
Not enough storage space. The closet’s not big enough. I don’t have time. I spend 75% of the week at Brad’s place. But the truth is…well, it’s sheer laziness that holds me back. While I may spend time at Brad’s, my bedroom is still my place. And it’s become more of a burden than a sanctuary. A place I just sleep in. There is nothing inspiring about it, cozy or comforting about it. As you can see above, I let clutter infest my life. And, while it is embarrassing to display this on the interweb for anyone to see, it needs to be seen. Because I’m a normal human. Well, scratch that. An extremely lazy human. Who needs to clean up her act, in so many ways.

After a couple of cups of coffee, I played happy tunes and set a timer for 20 minutes to see how much I could get done with this tiny but significant space of my room. I kept resetting the timer, as I was still very much in the mood to get everything done (and because 20 minutes wasn’t enough and all the stuff you see above was on my bed, a counter-productive tactic that needed to be fixed). And here’s what I did:

There’s still a lot going on here, but everything has it’s place now.
No empty medicine bottles or papers that are months old and are no longer necessary to have.

I had a lot of cute little prints and pictures that were hidden by all the junk.
Usually I would just balance them against things on my dresser, but it was time some of these things were put on display.

Same thing with my instax film. I have SO MANY PICTURES and they are just in a little pile. I need a cute place to store them.
I decided to pick out my favorite ones and display them, to give my room a more personal feel.

And now that my dresser is organized, I can show you the cute lazy susan-style nail polish holder that Brad made for me for Christmas. It is the cutest thing in the world, and the perfect way to display my favorite colors. And now I can actually spin the thing.

I’m also keeping extra nail polish and nail thingees in this cute tin I bought for $2.50 at Target. Also utilizing my Hello Kitty jewelry box (another Christmas present, from my coworker) to stash earrings and necklaces that were in the boxes they came in, all piled up.

And, last but not least, my cameras are finally back on display. They were covered with crap. The camily is back!
For now, I’ll be displaying my soon-to-be-read books at the corner of the dresser until I get a bookshelf. There were so many books, paperbacks and hardcovers, crowding the middle of the dresser. I can’t wait to pick up some things that will truly help organize my room and show off the little collections I have at the same time.

‘Til then, this is all that’s been done. But I’m proud of the little bit of progress I made, and I can’t wait to show you more!