Move in Day

Welp, here it is!.. Move in day :)

This weekend I am moving into my new apartment next to the Fraze pavilion in Kettering and I'm so excited! I can't wait to decorate and get settled. My roommate's name is Jess also and I will be sure to update you on our apartment progress.

Am I looking forward to moving for the 5th time since college graduation? No. But I am so excited to have my name on a lease, a semi-permanent address, and a bedroom and bathroom that's all mine! Woot.

P.s. if anyone in Dayton is bored out of their mind (entirely plausible), and has nothing better to do than to help me move to kill time, I will be forever in debt to you. Not really, but I will give you pizza and beer and let you jump in my pool. Sounds like an amazing red-neck kind of day to me.

(My mouse is broken, so deal with it!)

Wish me luck!

Cubicle Blues

I move into my apartment August 20th and my creative wheels are cranking. I'm excited to have an apartment to decorate and I look forward to sharing my new ideas with you all. My first project is to make over a tiny breakfast table set my mom found at a garage sale for $15. This little table will make the cutest patio table on my new porch :) Look for updates soon.

With my new apartment also comes my new job.. and for those of you like me who are still in an office cubicle.. you know that it helps to add a few warming touches here and there to brighten up your work day.

I have been eyeing these perfectly tiny terrariums for quite some time now and I finally purchased them to accent my cubicle. They only require a drop of water and minimal sunlight so they will survive in even the dreariest of offices. I may purchase another set for my apartment because they would look so cute lining a window sill.

You can find these cute terrariums and other furry goodies at Tortoise Loves Donkey's Etsy page.

On another exciting note.. I am only about 120 pageviews away from 10,000 views! Thank you so much for reading everyone! XoxoX

I Have A Confession To Make...

I like Cleveland.

Yep, I said it. I didn't want to admit it at first but I really do. 

People who are from Cleveland even have a love/hate relationship with it. It is the butt of many jokes, in the winter time they report a miserably large amount of snow, and they love to hate this man.

Last weekend I went to Cleveland to visit Adam's family and had one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. His family welcomed me with open arms, even though I'm sure his mother would have preferred a Jewish girl ;) JK, they are truly wonderful people.

We started off the day on Saturday with breakfast at the yacht club and an afternoon sail on his parent's sail boat. Without a view of land in the horizon, Lake Erie felt more like an ocean than a lake. It was gorgeous. Sailing takes a lot more work than I ever thought.. it's all manual.. it would take a lot of work and tricks to be able to go sailing by yourself. It was incredible though to see Adam and his dad working together and I would love to say that I grew up on the water.

The Family :)

My Favorite Picture!

Hahaha

After a day of fun on the water (and a nauseously hungover sail) we headed off to Great Lakes Brewery. We tried to get a table for dinner but the wait was too long so we headed down to the bar/cellar for some yummy tastings. We each got a pint of their specialty beers on tap for the week, Traffic Light and Market Street Wheat. I loved the Traffic Light and he loved the Market Street so it worked out perfectly. I definitely need to go back next time I'm in town.

Next, we met up with Adam's old college roommates and our friends from OU for the Indians game. We scalped tickets for $8 a piece and went in around the 5th inning, so we would be able to sneak down with our friends right behind home plate. The seats were amazing. I took this picture with my cell phone from our seats:

Even though we had an incredibly annoying stuck up family in front of us... heaven forbid we say the H-E-double hockey sticks word.. it was an amazing night... and the Indians pulled out a WIN! I am a Reds fan but I love all Ohio teams (except the Bengals). It was really odd because after the game, no one left their seat. It was weird.. usually people are rushing out at the 6th inning to beat traffic.. then we saw signs that said Rock and Blast tonight after the game. We assumed fireworks so we stuck around. Good thing we did.

Rock and Blast was an extravagant fireworks show synchronized to 30 seconds clips of all the rock classics... Adam was in heaven and I thought I was going to have a seizure I was in awe.

So yes, I loved Cleveland and I'm looking forward to our next trip, whenever that may be. The best part is, I was telling my best friend Ally about Cleveland and her boyfriend is from Cleveland too.. she leaned forward and whispered "isn't Cleveland fun?!" like it was a secret :)

I had to:

Slacklining

My brother-in-law Patrick recently turned me on to one of the most exhaustingly amazing workouts ever.

<< the Slack Line >>

What is slacklining?
Slacklining is the act of balancing along a narrow, flexible piece of webbing usually low to the ground. Originating in the climbing world, it has become popular for balance and movement training, core strength, and FUN.

*The slack line we used was a 2 inch Classic Slack Line purchased from Gibbon.

They sure do make this look easy...

After his first experience with a 1" slack line, he purchased a 2" to master first. We set up camp at Newcom Park in the Oregon District, finding a perfect set of trees and a nice patch of forgiving grass (assuming we would be falling often). Patrick made it all the way across for his first time and then many times after. Adam made it half way and I was only able to master 6 steps! (but I am very proud of those 6 steps).

Setting up

He made it!

Working up a sweat!

Almost there!

 
Feeling inspired? I know I am. Hopefully we can get a group of people together Sunday nights in the park to master the slack line. SEE YOU THERE! I'm determined to get across! And after that, maybe I'll try out some tricks like these:

YEAH RIGHT!

Vinyl Love

It's no secret that I love music and as my birthday gift from Adam, I became a proud owner of a shiny new record player :)

I can't wait to start collecting vinyl!

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

While you read this post about my departure from DC and all the things I will miss, please listen to this somberly/awesome song (yes, somberly is a word. I Googled it to make sure). It helps set the mood.. and I promise that I am listening to it right now on repeat as I write this, so it's only fair... Plus! I haven't made my July playlist yet. Oops. Do you guys even listen to those things anyways?!

THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT WASHINGTON DC! 

*In no particular order* 

but I guess it's only natural to think of your most favorite things first

1. Meridian Hill Park

Meridian was one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen and I stumbled across it one day while exploring the city. The best part was that it was only one block from our apartment. It went a few weeks unnoticed because of the high walls surrounding it, but just beyond lurks amazing landscape surrounding this enchanting fountain:

I wish I took this photo

Meridian is comprised of a labyrinth of staircases that create a Secret Garden atmosphere and also served as my fitness center because I refused to pay $125 a month for a gym membership. At the top of the fountain, overlooking the ledge, you can see the Capital Building, the Washington Monument, the Air Force Memorial, and the skyscrapers of Arlington, VA. Not to mention the amazing drum circles that would gather every Sunday afternoon.

2. The People

I will miss my roommates Mo, Justin, Mugsly and Bowser. My DC relationship with Mo and Justin began way back when with this blog post. I would have been lost in DC without them. I love you guys.

Mugsly

Bowser

I also met a surprisingly large amount of OU alumni. And I will never forget my old roommates, and my many  kickball buds.

3. Diversity

DC is full of culture and I enjoyed being surrounded by so much culture. It was a great learning experience.

Click here to see DC up close and see how your city matches up: 2010 Census

4. The Food

-Ethiopian
-Lebanese
-Indian
-Southern Soul
-Thai
-you name it, DC has it

My favorite DC meals are...

Eatonville - Mac & Cheeese

located at 14th & V (NW)

Tacklebox - Fish Tacos

located on M Street in Georgetown

*unfortunately Tacklebox suffered some damage in a kitchen fire so they are closed indefinitely

Sticky Rice - Sticky Balls

located on H Street NE

5. Sculpture Garden

I will miss dipping my toes in the water at the Sculpture Garden. 

6. Public Transportation

Of course it would have been nice to have a car for those days when you want to go on a big grocery run, or when you want to "accidentally" spend too much at Target, or even for those lonely days when I just wanted to hop in my car and drive back to Ohio to see my boyfriend, friends, and family. Don't get me wrong, a car would have been nice, but I'm proud to say that I haven't had a car in 5 years now. I walked/bused/metro/biked every where and I loved it.

I am car shopping this week though so call me a hypocrite. Hey, it was fun while it lasted.

7. The View

I'm just going to let these aerial pictures speak for me (even though I have yet to see a single picture that does it any justice):

I will end this post with a simple love letter:

Dear DC,

You rock.

Xoxox, Jes

Nobody Likes You When You're 23

I have been neglecting my blog for the past few weeks. I haven't had a knack for writing lately. I never really have had one, but I'm trying. There are so many days when I wish I could use this blog as my personal venting/counseling sessions but I'm trying not to make every detail of my life public information.. which we all know is hard these days with Twitter, Facebook, etc;

As many of you know, this week is my last week in Washington DC. I have accepted a job in Dayton, OHIO and I am very excited for this new opportunity and the start of a new chapter in my life. I was waiting until now to write a post about my new job and move back to the Buckeye State because there were some complications with my job offer. A very distant relative works at my new company (which I was unaware of) and the company was investigating a possible conflict of interest. At one point, my job offer was actually rescinded... this catapulted me into a 24 hour period of panic:

Thankfully, my new company worked hard to fix the situation and finally offered me the job. I am thankful that they were willing to work with me to come to a solution.

Tomorrow is my 24th birthday and my last night in Washington DC. And exactly one year ago, my 23rd birthday was my first day in Washington DC. It's crazy how everything came full circle. What an amazing ride 23 was.

I thought that my college years were the time for learning about yourself and what you want out of life, but boy was I wrong. 23 was the year for me. I had my highest highs and my lowest lows, but I don't regret a single second. My head has never been so clear. I know exactly what I want, and I am surrounded by the most amazing people to help get me there.

Blink 182 said it best, "Nobody likes you when you're 23." 

Music According to Jes: June

 

My favorite song this month would have to be Love Lost by Temper Trap. Shout out to Skelton for the recommendation. Check out the amazing music video too. So cute.

Also, Blogger/Google just added a new button below               

  I would love some feedback so comment or recommend your favorite posts!

Right Where We Left Off

My childhood best friend and I hadn't seen each other in going on four years!! Marg and I met when I moved to Michigan in the 2nd grade and by the time I left at the end of my 5th grade year, we were just too close to say "goodbye." Our college years made it tough to meet up, but when Marg called me back in December about the New Kids On The Block Backstreet Boys Concert #NKOTBSB in Washington DC, how could I say no!?

I was a grossly huge Backstreet Boys fan back in the day. Don't even get my sister started on the red and black BSB bucket hat I insisted on wearing around town.. my AIM screen name was even jba4ngc (JesBA4NicholasGeneCarter).. only because BSBgirl was taken. My top bunk bed became a shrine with posters lining the walls and ceiling.

My older sister was a huge New Kids fan so I also grew up listening to them, and playing with the Donnie and Joey Barbie Dolls. She even owned the NKOTB bed sheet set (I'm sure you did too).

So, the concert was ridiculous (as to be expected) and the classiest scariest most interesting crowd of women gathered outside of the Verizon Center to cheer on their main men. The concert was full of pelvis thrusting, surprisingly still ripped bods, screaming/panting women, love ballads, and cheesy dance moves (oh and Kevin the boring one didn't show up.. even better!). It was a night to remember.

"Backstreets Back ALRIGHT!"

"Please don't go girllllllllllll"

"We would like to thank Kevin for not being a part of this reunion tour.. because he is weird and boring."

Here's to promising not to wait four more years!

Love you :)

Marg and I :)

Angel

My family recently discovered that my family dog Angel needs surgery on her leg because she tore a ligament. She is 8 years old, and an injury like this can really be detrimental if it isn't fixed soon. My sister posted a plea on Facebook asking if anyone knew of a pro bono veterinarian that would be willing to help us out.

The problem is that my mom is unemployed because she is persuing a career in nursing (we are really proud daughters!!) and we don't have the money to pay for the surgery. 

Some friends of ours saw our plea on Facebook and thanks to our friend's company (VoloTechnologies), they made us a donation website!

Words cannot express how touched my family is by the generous donations and your kindess will not be forgotten :) Thank you again!

For more information on Angel's condition and how to donate, please visit helpforangel.org.