Inventory: Summer 2015

As of around 6pm last night:

Making: new Spotify playlists.

Cooking: a giant egg-and-veggie scramble. Partly for dinner tonight, partly for breakfast tomorrow.

Drinking: a cold and well-deserved glass of Sancerre after a long and pretty emotional day.

Reading: American Band by Kristen Laine (for the second time).

Wanting: my endless bug bites from this weekend's up-north shenanigans to stop itching!

Looking: forward to this weekend…a Friday wedding, and nothing but free time on the books after that!

Playing: a lot of Sudoku on my phone these days, while waiting for elevators and arriving early to everything.

Wasting: too much time watching "Grey's Anatomy" marathons.

Wishing: for better sleep. 

Enjoying: a great tan...and all the fun outdoor memories that go with getting it :)

Waiting: to firm up fall 2015 travel plans for work and play. 

Liking: having a crush. Just a little one. But all the same. 

Wondering: what work will look like tomorrow in the face of the announcement of a new CEO.

Loving: my grandma Lo. 

Hoping: for everything to go as easily as possible in the coming days and weeks. 

Marveling: at the 59-day Snapchat streak Kels and I have racked up. Frivolous, but fantastically fun. 

Needing: to fold the big pile of clean laundry I just pulled out of the washer...and not wanting to do so. 

Smelling: like Library of Flowers's Arboretum, my summer go-to perfume.

Wearing: this dress, which has been my favorite work outfit since I got it about a month ago. Feels like wearing pajamas to the office, it’s so comfy. And it’s on sale!!

Following: a ton of new Instagram accounts featuring Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Minnesota. Love!

Noticing: how much earlier it’s getting darker, and…

Knowing: that it’s only going to get worse from here. Fun fact: From Aug 1 to Aug 31, Minnesotans lose 1 hour and 15 minutes of daylight.

Thinking: about mortality and loss and grief. Heavy stuff, right?

Bookmarking: black dresses. 

Opening: thank-you notes and wedding invitations all the time!

Giggling: over the ridiculousness of this season of "Bachelor in Paradise."

Feeling: nostalgic and sentimental. 

Inventory: Spring 2015

Making: updates to the epic spreadsheet my mom, Emily and I have been working on in advance of our trip to Paris! 

Cooking: an absolutely massive batch of quinoa to mix into everything I eat, basically. 

Drinking: Grey Goose and grapefruit, Kelsie's and my Mexican addiction! (Anyone interested? I'll share, come on over!)

Reading: TripAdvisor reviews of of Parisian restaurants, and Princess Diana's biography.

Wanting: Kaitlin to come visit, but...

Looking: forward to numerous trips to Boston starting this fall to see her!

Playing: Jimmy Buffett on Spotify and...

Wasting: away again in Margaritaville. (Duh, it's Jimmy Buffett.)

Wishing: my boss wasn't leaving me!

Enjoying: that spring has finally come to Minnesota. 

Waiting: for my tax return, awwww yeah. 

Liking: every Instagram of spring flowers I come across. 

Wondering: WHEN KATE MIDDLETON IS GOING TO HAVE HER BABY. Obviously. 

Loving: the cute updates I'm getting from my parents in California!

Hoping: I can find my Twins shirt before tomorrow. 

Marveling: at Emily's amazing hand-drawn lettering (which I shamelessly Snapchat screenshot). 

Needing: to get majorly caught up on this blog, yikes. 

Smelling: the Pistachio Macaron candle I can't stop burning through (I'm on my second already and they smell crack-delicious.)

Wearing: a sweaty post-gym pair of track shorts and a tank top, and already thinking about what to change into post-shower for this evening's shenanigans...

Following: up with little baby prospective band members in Notre Dame's Class of 2019 (holy crap, we're officially old), who I was lucky enough to meet at Tuesday's ND-MN Club Admitted Students Reception!

Noticing: cute boys coming out of the woodwork now that it's warm and beautiful out ;)

Knowing: how lucky I am. 

Thinking: about the logistics of procuring this year's The Shirt. 

Bookmarking: vintage wrought-iron headboards to finish off my bedroom-decorating spurt. 

Opening: myself up to a summer of possibility and fun and devil-may-caredom. 

Giggling: at Jimmy Buffett's "Why Don't We Get Drunk (and Screw)," which just came on Spotify. 

Feeling: 100% happy with where life is THIS April, compared to last :)

Inventory: Winter 2015

Making: time to take care of myself these days. 

Cooking: At some point, this cauliflower risotto that Kaitlin made a few weeks ago and raved about. 

Drinking: my tenth glass of water for the day. Trying to keep that dry winter skin hydrated from the inside out!

Reading: Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates, and enjoying it so far. 

Wanting: my one-month shopping hiatus to end so I can see if Express still has that perfect black skirt. 

Looking: forward to the orchestra this evening!

Playing: Trivia Crack ad nauseum against Mike (we're astonishingly intelligent and well-matched, although I tend to get the sports questions wrong...).

Wasting: time at work dreaming of my upcoming Mexican vacation this March with Kelsie!

Wishing: that that 40-degree January weather could have stuck around for the rest of the winter...

Enjoying: the good hair day I'm having today. 

Waiting: to decide on a locale for pre-orchestra cocktails!

Liking: Jake Ballard running around on my TV screen in his underwear during "Scandal" last night!

Wondering: why my neighbors' baby has decided to wail at 5:15 am for the last ten days straight. 

Loving: "Gilmore Girls." I'm so hooked. I want Rory to be my best friend. 

Hoping: that Mama, Emmy and Jonny Schwegs are having a blast in Ohio this weekend!

Marveling: at how fast my least-favorite month went this year. Thanks, January, for sucking way less than usual. 

Needing: to hit up the Clinique counter sometime soon. 

Smelling: the Apple Orchard cleaning spray I just used to wipe down my center island. It's so fresh!

Wearing: a KILLER pair of heels.

Following: up on fraudulent card charges, ugh...but thanks for awesome customer service, Wells Fargo!

Noticing: the blooms on my daffodil shoots. So insanely happy. 

Knowing: that I'll need to make up the gym tomorrow after skipping today. 

Thinking: about our itinerary for Paris this May after reading this book. 

Bookmarking: recipes for Superbowl snacks in preparation for Sunday. 

Opening: a bottle of wine before Claire gets here!

Giggling: while dancing around my apartment blasting songs from the 60s and 70s and cleaning things up and getting ready for an awesome evening. 

Feeling: incredibly happy, positive and excited about things coming up in my life. 

Inventory: Fall 2014

I've seen these going around the internet and decided to jump on the bandwagon. I think they'll be quarterly/seasonal little check-ins for me...and it's always fun to look back at these things. Here goes nothing!

Making: endless lists of things to do, places to go, and goals to accomplish. 

Cooking: nothing. Last night's (accidental) ten dozen pumpkin cookies with brown butter pumpkin spice frosting did me in!

Drinking: a "Happy Friday" glass of red wine. 

Not my coffee table. My wine, though. 

Reading: Monologues from Shakespeare's "Henry V," dramatically, and in perfect iambic pentameter.  

Wanting: darker curtains for my bedroom to sleep through the night a little better. 

Looking: out my window across the rooftops to the park. 

Playing: "1989" on repeat, just like every other basic white girl in the world this week (with dashes of "Frozen" to clinch my basic status). 

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. 

Wasting: a perfectly good cucumber that went bad because I am too lazy to cook/forgot all about it in my sad vegetable drawer. 

Wishing: to feel at peace with myself like this all the time. 

Enjoying: my three mum plants, which have survived my black thumbs for almost a month now!

Pretty, right?

Waiting: to put laundry in the dryer once this interminable spin cycle ends.

Liking: the thought of playing a Halloween drinking game. I.E. "Drink every time a trick or treater dressed as Elsa shows up." Who's in?

Wondering: if there really is something wrong with my heat/AC or if I just have leaky cold-seeping windows. 

Loving: that my parents finally get home from Europe in under 24 hours. So ready for a catchup session with my mom and my dad's goofy jokes. 

Off they went!

Hoping: (wishfully thinking) for just a little more Indian summer. 

Marveling: at how much my blog has grown this month. 

Needing: to get off this laptop and get my butt in gear before tonight!

Smelling: my fall scent of choice on the inside of my wrist: Garden of Eden's Fig and Vanilla custom-blended.

Wearing: my basic girl uniform of Gap skinny jeans and a striped J.Crew top. Someone break me out of my rut please.

I do believe this is what they call an "overdose."

Following: a diet that will stop including fun-size candy bars the second this damn holiday is over. 

Noticing: that my Jillian Michaels renaissance is paying off, just a little bit. 

Knowing: that everything happens for a reason. (So trite, so true.)

Thinking: about how happy I am here in my beautiful home. 

Last Friday's spectacular sunset, from the roof. 

Bookmarking: This Taylor Swift Buzzfeed quiz. I'm "Fearless," obviously, because it's before she discovered straighteners.

Opening: up with more people and being a tiny bit more honest with myself about why. 

Giggling: at "War Paint," a standup comedy album by Iliza Schlesinger that Laura introduced me to, on Spotify. SO funny. 

Feeling: optimistic...nice to be back on track.