I don’t know about you, but 2016 is quickly becoming the busiest year I’ve ever had (but I’m enjoying the hell out of it). In the past month I’ve spent time with almost all of my favorite people, gotten back into a kick-ass work flow (when it comes to my real job at least), and I’ve been able to put some of my anxieties in perspective long enough to realize everything really is going to be okay. Every day has its challenges and victories, and it feels good to have my determination back. It feels even better, because I made progress on 10 goals this month, and crossed off 3 of them! Still no fitness progress yet, but I’m basking in plenty of adventures on a daily basis. Let’s recap some of them, shall we?
Completed will be bolded. In Progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.
Start date: May 15, 2015
End date: February 9, 2018
{11 COMPLETE, 90 TO GO}
End date: February 9, 2018
{11 COMPLETE, 90 TO GO}
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3. Volunteer for a good cause
6. Do at least 20 random acts of kindness. {6/20} 41. Put $10 in savings for every goal I cross off this list. {$110/$1,010} 46. Go to at least 10 concerts. {6/10} Wick-It the Instigator [1.16.16] 47. Try 15 new restaurants. {10/15} Five [1.1.16], Hop Alley [1.14.16], Fritti [1.30.16] 48. Visit 3 new breweries. {3/3} Burnt Hickory, Kennesaw GA [1.8.16] 66. Watch 10 classic movies that I haven’t seen before. {3/10} Armageddon 79. Publish 100 posts on my blog. {49/100} 46, 47, 48, 49 80. Get five guest authors to write on my blog. {1/5} 83. Comment on 50 different blogs. {3/50} 88. Take a night class with my friend Lindsey. 95. Add 20 records to my vinyl collection. {10/20} Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin (1970), Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin (1973), Love, Death, Immortality - The Glitch Mob (2014) 100. Buy a lottery ticket for a crazy jackpot. |
I’ve begun making progress on goal #3, and I’m hoping I’ll have the opportunity to actually cross this off soon. When I put this goal on my list, never in my life would I have thought that a political campaign would be a good cause worth volunteering for. And then Bernie Sanders came along. I’m skeptical about all politics, and I tend to both agree and disagree with both major parties. There isn’t one answer to any issue facing this country, and while I will delve into my political scope another time (when I get the nerve to actually do it), I feel that Senator Sanders understands this. With his completely publicly funded campaign, and his “Us, not them” slogan, I truly feel that Bernie believes in the people.
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He has already proven with his campaign that the population of America is capable of coming together to make real change. So, I signed myself up to help spread awareness about Bernie Sanders’ campaign and, even though I haven’t been officially called to duty, I’m starting right here. Go learn more about Bernie Sanders and his vision of a political revolution (and calm your skepticism). If nothing else, you can at least admit that Bernie totally wins when it comes to social media, cause the #FeelTheBern hashtag is just undeniably awesome.
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I returned to my new favorite venue, Terminal West, for a fantastic show from a Nashville DJ, Wick-it The Instigator. He’s perfected the style of mash-ups, which is welcomed by someone like me who loves genre fusion. I mean, no other concert could I imagine hearing a killer 90’s rock medley topped of with Red Hot Chili Peppers that transitioned right into a Bassnectar anthem. Wick-it stole my heart, no doubt about it. My feet were jumping all night as I heard one fantastic drop after another. It helps when you have your best dance partner back at your side, too. And, to top it off, I ran into my friend Ily who I hadn’t seen in forever and we had a blast dancing while trying to fill each other in on our lives. I’m glad to check another awesome concert off the list, and you won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve got my eyes on at least two more in February.
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I discovered three new restaurants this month, and I’m still deciding which was my favorite. On New Year’s Day I went out for lunch with my buddy Thomas and my cousins Sarah, Kyla and Will. Sarah, Thomas and I were all still hype from Bassnectar the night before, but we knew we couldn’t leave Birmingham without some real southern food.
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Will and Kyla were raving about this place called Five, named for the number of things they have on the menu to choose from. They rotate the options daily, so it makes for a different experience every time you go. There's one day that's all brunch dishes, it sounded awesome! I can’t even tell you what I ordered, but I do remember it was delicious and I loved being able to get some extra family time in on the trip.
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In the middle of the month, my friend Colleen and I realized we were way overdue for some beer and burgers. And, since we both work in Alpharetta, we figured it’d be perfect to find a good local place for dinner. She recommended Hop Alley, which is a cozy micropub that is bursting with atmosphere and delicious scents (like bacon.. so much bacon). Colleen has never steered me wrong when it comes to food, so that’s how we ended up splitting a bacon peanut butter jar for an appetizer. Picture a mason jar full of bacon and a thing of whipped fluffy peanut butter to dip it in. It was perfect. Add in the delicious cocktails, on-point girl talk, and a super good meatloaf sandwich, and I was one happy girl. I’ll have to go back sometime and try their beer (I’m slightly impressed with my ability to completely avoid hops at a place called Hop Alley).
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The latest of my restaurant endeavors took place at Fritti, this tasty pizza place in Edgewood in Atlanta. Another place I didn’t pick myself, but that’s because this was for a surprise birthday dinner. My crazy best friend Savanna turned 24 yesterday, and if you think that’s too old for a surprise party and wearing a feather boa, then she totally proved you wrong. I had such a fun time catching up with her and some other girls I hadn’t seen in a while, and I was so happy to finally meet her boyfriend Sameer (who totally has a good taste in music so he's got my approval). I tried this deliiiicious gorgonzola, arugula and pineapple pizza, and now I just want to go back and try all of them as soon as possible. Overall, January was a great month for food!
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It was also a good month for adventuring, as I mentioned earlier. I was so happy I got to celebrate my brother’s birthday while he was still in town, and you can read up on our family outing to Burnt Hickory Brewery to hear all about it. That makes three new breweries I’ve visited since May, and another goal crossed off the list. I have a feeling I’m going to spill over on this goal (no pun intended) as there are still a lot of beer havens I’ve yet to explore (Monday Night, Reformation and Creature Comforts to name a few!).
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And, speaking of my brother Joey, he was one of the first people I asked about writing a guest spot on my blog. He took me up on it, and we decided to take it a step further and turn it into a cocktail series called Great Minds Drink Alike, where he or I will invent a cocktail and talk about our variation of the recipe. I’m excited about how this will keep us in touch over the miles, and you should be extra excited because Joey makes the best damn cocktails in the world. Fact. Check out our first co-post, and learn how to make your ownGeorgia Peach Mule.
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Something I haven’t had a lot of time for lately is crafting. I know I sound like a forlorn sorority sister right now, but I’ve always been a crafter - all of the women in my family are, and they show it in different ways. I was browsing around Michael’s during the holiday season and I saw an ad for a jewelry making class and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the tools and tricks to jewelry making, because I really want to learn how to do wire wrapping. And then, I thought to myself that my friend Lindsey would totally be down for this, and would guarantee that we’d be laughing the whole time. So I booked a spot for the both of us, and we learned how to make a triple nested necklace. Each of ours were a little different, and we're both proud of how well we did for our first time. Lindsey has some crafty blood in her too, we both undoubtedly take after our moms. It was definitely a fun night, topped off with bread bowls from Panera, oh yes.
I’m still working on the finishing touches for a post that requires a lot of tender-hearted deep thinking called 'Making Up For Lost Time'. If you’re as intuitive as I think you are, you’ve already figured out that Vinnie is a part of my life again. You’ll have to sit tight for his proper reintroduction on Eclectic Avenue, but for topic’s sake, we had ourselves a date night earlier this month. We had as much fun as we always do, especially when we found a used vinyl shop on the way to dinner.
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After flipping through countless bins of records, I was torn between two Zeppelin albums so badly to the point where Vinnie decided to put me out of my misery and treat me to both of them (just call me Princess Zoso). So I’ve added both Led Zeppelin III (an old version, with the spinning album artwork!) and Houses of the Holy (which includes my fave Led Zep song) to my ever-growing vinyl collection. We also got the Best of the Doors and some CCR that night. After dinner we went home and chilled out while telling stories and talking about music and life. It was a special night, most importantly because of who I spent it with.
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Before I wrap this up, I have to add that yeah, I was one of the millions who thought that this would be the time I’d win the mega jackpot and become a billionaire. Didn’t win, but at least I crossed off another goal! My dreams of being an affluent traveler will have to be put on hold, yet again. While I wait, I think I’ll go tackle another month’s worth of goal progress. Don’t be afraid to join :).
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