BIRTHDAY WISHES // FOR JACQUELINE

Happy 21st Birthday to my best friend, Jacqueline!  Best wishes to the BFF that has an abundance of optimism, to the one that (thank god!) forces me to lighten up, to the girl with too much charisma for her own good, to the classmate I can geek out with about PR news, and to the friend that is every so slowly convincing me to give (some) country music a chance. It kills me that I can't celebrate right along with her today, but don't fret! I have complete confidence that she can get the party started without me :)

GRADUATION // SHE DID IT

Let me tell you a bit about my dear sister, Megan. The little lady graduated from high school on Sunday, and this big sis couldn't be more proud.

My sister has an outlook on life that is truly enviable. She has an abundance of enthusiasm and a deficiency of patience, just the way it should be. She was the baby that ran before she walked, the toddler who greeted each day with a cheerful, "I'm awake!" and the kid who would sneak away from dinner in order to resume riding her bike and escape eating her "chicken" (pork) chops. Gone are the days when a happy dance will get her to eat a hot dog, but her verve for life hasn't changed.

I love you and am so proud of you, Meg!

DONE // A HUGE SIGH

I'm free from school and work and generally stress for the next two weeks.  Hooray!  I've migrated to my parents house in Michigan for a couple weeks before I move back to Indianapolis for my summer internship.

This amazing photo, from here. 

I have big plans for my break, and I'll be sure to fill you in on all the fun as it happens.  Sneak peak - there will be DIY projects, hopefully some exciting home goods finds, checking a whole lot off my goals list, and celebrating a hometown festival.  For now though, I'm hibernating and recovering.

BIRTHDAY // ON BEING KIND OF LEGAL

As I mentioned in this post, I'm officially 21 and have no fun birthdays left to look forward to.   Since celebrating in style was one of my goals, and another one of my goals was to share my accomplishments,  you lovely folks get to relive my birthday with me!

It actually was, for the most part, quite fun.  My birthday fell on Good Friday, the weekend of Easter.  Since so many friends were heading home for the weekend, it was decided that a Thursday night shindig must happen.

found thanks to the matchbook gals

So it did.  A group of about 8 of us - mostly girls from my sorority, but also my best friend and a few of my good guy friends - headed out to celebrate at a piano bar called Howl at exactly midnight on my birthday.  Actually, I got into the bar at around 11:57 so I was still a bit illegal (that's where the title of this post comes from).

After a short couple hours and a few drinks, it was time to head home.  I was still a good intern and went to work at 8 a.m. the next day.  My free starbucks drink was definitely motivation to roll out of bed!

My coworkers/the company treated me to a nice lunch.  Then, a couple of my non-21 friends took me out to dinner at one of my favorites - a local mexican place.  I ordered a margarita, of course. 

I think what I'm most excited about being of legal drinking age is funnily enough, not drinking.  I'm excited to get into the bars to see concerts!  Of course, I won't say no too a few cool drinks this summer.  My senior year house has the perfect summer backyard!

So that's the story of when I turned 21.  Feel free to mock me about piano dancing any ol' time.

SEASONS // HAPPY SPRING

It's officially the first day of my favorite season.  There is just something about the smell of spring rain and the feeling you get when the world starts to wake up.  Indianapolis has decided to give us a beautifully steamy first day of spring, and it couldn't be putting me in a better mood.  It has me thinking of flowers and gardens and picnics and lots of other lovely things. 

p.s. I'll be sharing my memories from the amazing vacation that I took last week, plus a boatload of book posts.  Naturally, I spent my days with my toes in the sand while reading.

FESTIVITIES // HAVE A SUPER DAY

The Super Bowl is Indianapolis.  I am there, too.  And it has been madness.

via 

For over a week now, this usually-modest, feels-like-a-little-city big city has been crazytown. Tourists, celebrities, football fans, huge corporations and media moguls have made my city their city.  Jimmy Fallon spent some time at my freshmen year dorm (which incidentally is right across the street from my place now).  A co-worker hugged Vanilla Ice.  A few friends went on a hunt for Ryan Gosling on Monday night.  

I've taken to walking the streets on my lunch breaks.  I ate my PB&J on the monument circle steps on Friday, and just watched the excitement unfold around the the massive XLVI statues. The people watching is prime right now.  I nabbed some free samples of hummus and chips, too. :) 

I've also taken to riding the shuttle bus down to a few of the concerts in Super Bowl Village.  I'm not really a concert person (although that is slowly changing) but I love to soak in the energy of the crowd.  The energy 20 feet away from Darius Rucker is pretty great, in case you're wondering.  

Today it comes to a close.  The longest temporary zipline in the world will be taken down and the streets will be thoroughly cleaned (I hope!) and everyone who was visiting Indy will stop visiting. 

Our city will stop feeling like a mix of Chicago and Hollywood, with a bit of midwestern friendliness added in.  It will stop being crazytown and go back to being our town, with a lot of midwestern friendliness added in.  

This week has been super fun.  Ha! Probably too much super-fun.  My to-do lists are calling.  

NEW YEAR // HELLO 2012

originally from here

I'm a fairly reflective person to begin with.  Throw in my love for list-making and you have a whole bunch of fun to be had, in my humble opinion.

2011 was good to me.  I'll admit, I felt like I was going through the motions and chugging along relatively uneventfully this year.  I must have a great choreographer though; The motions were pretty great in 2011.

The year brought my first "career-oriented" job, an unpaid internship with a great mentor as an added bonus.  It brought opportunities for more career-related positions as well (you're welcome, 2012).

2011 brought independence.  I spent the summer away from the paradise of Holland, MI for the first time in my life.  I cooked and cleaned in my oh-so-humble apartment-style living, and did it with style.

2011 rewarded me for my hard work.  I earned my first 4.0 in college (!) and spent late nights, even the weekend ones, studying to prove it.  The year also gave me some published works that I'm pretty crazy about.

2011 was the year of the blog reading for me!  Through that, I have a cherished sense of self.  I know what I like much more than I used to.  I have a deeper sense of "me" and I have more confidence in my personal style.  Blog-reading in 2011 also brought a heightened hope of traveling the world.

To sum it up, 2011 was the year of personal development.  Sometimes development is boring and unmemorable while you're in the thick of it.  I think it usually pays off in the future though, at least I hope it does.

I have big plans for 2012.  I wish that 2012 is the year of balance.  I'm taking on so much; It's only necessary for me to gain a whole lot of balancing skills.  I hope 2012 allows me to balance work and school, the present and the future, relaxing me-time and a fun social life, fitness and my love of sleeping in, healthy eating and my favorite indulgences.

Most of all, I hope to face each day with a spirit like this.

originally from here

TRADITIONS // CHRISTMAS

On Saturday night, we participated in another lovely Dobberteen tradition...bell-ringing for Salvation Army!

We ring bells and spread some holiday cheer.  My sister and I prefer to try our hand at an actual tune, while my parents prefer to just let the bell do its thing.  My dad usually whips out a few of his cheesiest dance moves.  My mom wears her fluffiest hat. It's a grand ol' time.

Our "spot" is the corner of James Street and Butternut Road under the eave of the Walgreens.  Doesn't that sound cozy?

In reality, being on the corner of something is usually not so good for standing out in the cold for an hour or so. It gets nippy out their with the wind and the snow!

This year, we were pretty lucky and temperatures were mild.  It was only the second snow of the season and it was pretty timid.

Being on the corner does have its perks.  For one, our bucket is filled pretty quickly!  I even had to use a spare paint stirrer to stuff donations further down into the bucket.  And that's really the whole point.

If you want to spread some Christmas cheer, but can't make it to a Salvation Army bucket near you, consider donating online!

TRADITIONS // CHRISTMAS

Last night was filled with the holiday spirit around these parts.  We went to see the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA.  (I'm using all caps because they do a lot of yelling..in a good way!)

We've gone to their Christmas concert in Grand Rapids, MI at least 6 times that I can specifically remember.  We've enjoyed their tunes whilst (love that word) searching for the perfect Christmas tree and decorating the house.  It's been a part of our trips through the woods to grandmother's house.

My sister and I are known to air-violin, air-guitar, and air-keyboard along, almost as crazily as these guys.

In case you aren't the TSO groupies that we are, let me brighten your world.  The recipe for TSO is as follows:

     One part traditional string orchestra
     One part rock band
     A handful of lasers and lights
     A dash of pyrotechnics
     And holiday cheer to taste

I didn't take any photos or videos myself, but youtube them.  It will blow your festive socks right off.

I'll be back soon to share another one of our Christmas traditions.  We're doing it tonight, and it will be legendary.

THANKSGIVING // THANKS

Even though this post is slightly post-thanksgiving, it is too perfect of a time to begin my little blogging adventure on such a positive note.  Thanksgiving is such a beautiful, yet underrated, time.  It's smushed in between the candy-and-costume-crazy that is halloween and the adored holiday season.

It's beautiful in it's own right.  It's beauty comes not from what we do, but what we dwell on.  We dwell on all of the good in life.  That reminder is something that I need more than once a year!  It's so so easy to get caught up in the stress of school and all of its obligations and deadlines.  I am so grateful for a break from that whirlwind.

Of course, I am thankful for so many large things (health, a roof over my head, food, warmth, sweet friends, comforting family, a job that I enjoy, an education that I adore).  But I'm also grateful for the little things.  Things like:

      - Shows, like Pan Am and The Amazing Race, that satisfy my wandering soul (for now).
     - The First Amendment (I have a new appreciation for our country's traditions of free thinkers because of my law class... TEAM USA!)
     - Pinterest, it helps a girl dream a bit easier.
     - A brief, albeit quite unbearable, stint until finals at school.
     - Landing my dream internship.  Watch out world!
     - Fuzzy socks and cozy sweaters.
     - That it is officially acceptable to listen to Christmas music (I'm loving this one, that one, and this one too!)

My actual thanksgiving holiday was less than glamorous, yet steeped in tradition.  Just the way I like it. I did miss the parade (but I'll take the extra sleep instead!)   We had a full house of visiting family.  two turkeys. six pies. pounds and pounds of potatoes. a culture of competition via card games. lots of laughing.  and so much more to be grateful for.

What are you thankful for?  Any fun traditions?  Anyone else with an uncommon love of the first amendment?  I'd love to hear from you!