recap and resolutions

I haven't been the best about keeping at it, but here are the highlights of one very tumultuous year.

• I accompanied my mother to Ohio following my grandmother's passing, where I helped her make the decision to move there. I also got stuck in the snowstorms flying standby and spent a few days bouncing back and forth between Chicago, Cincinnati, Newark and Dallas. For a little bit, I honestly thought I wasn't going home.
• I ended my year as Miss Katie, and the preschool I was working at closed in May.
• I officially came out to my close family (and Marcus's) about my decision not to have children.
• I was a finalist in a Pinup Girl Clothing contest, which was a huge deal to me. 
• I made the decision with Marcus to move to Washington, where I now reside for the time being.
• We drove together from Phoenix, through California and Oregon, and ended in Kent, WA.
• We also went to Disneyland!
• I dropped everything in September and took a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam. I fell in love, and now it's all I think about.
• Also, London. It wasn't what I thought it would be, but I'm happy I went.
• I spent the night in the airport in Germany. I would not do this again.
• I learned to crochet! 
• I got my first semi-"adult" job.
• I spent my first holiday season away from my family.

Like I said, it was a mixed bag. It was a lot of change, which is good in its own way. I finally got out of Arizona, which was immense. I used to get so distraught about living there, I think people worried. However, Washington has come with its own issues, and I've come to understand that my wanderlust is only ever going to intensify. Going to the Netherlands did not in any way make this better. I know that's not the easiest thing to hear out loud, particularly for certain family members, but it's also time. I'm working on becoming the person I want to be; I can't say that happened entirely this year, but I came a long way. Also, there were fun parts that balanced out some of the severity. I had good company.

Now, as I'm looking at 2015 here in a few hours, I've been doing some thinking about what I want most out of it.

I was never the biggest fan of New Year's resolutions; mostly, I think I'm too impulsive to save all of my goals for the end of the year. I'm very prone to deciding on a whim that I'm going to learn a new skill or pursue some change in my life. Still, I see the appeal of the "fresh start", so here's what's on my laundry list.

• Retake my Foreign Service Officer Test. I made the appointment this afternoon for February 5th; the only one I could get for now is right after work, and I will thus be burnt out by the end. If I think about it too long, I'll rattle myself. Still, I'm grateful that the testing center is literally ten minutes from my job, because the other options were in downtown Seattle and Yakima. Small victories. 
• Study endlessly for said test. I've taken it once before, so I know it's virtually impossible to know what exactly you'll be asked...therefore, the next month is going to involve a ton of trivia games and staring at maps of Africa.
• Get back into pilates and yoga--I really enjoyed Blogilates last year, and I still do her videos on and off, but I got stuck in one set workout routine (a lot of times after work, I only have an hour before making dinner, so I stick with what I know). I'd like to repurpose some of that time to get into more fun, dynamic exercises. 
• Hone my crocheting skills. This time next year, I want to be making hats!
• Perfect my baking. I've been enamored with it all year, and I can't wait to try making ciabatta, sourdough and wheat bread (to name a few!) in the coming weeks. 
• Continue my slow-but-steady fight against depression. Losing the battle is not losing the war. If you're reading this and you relate, keep at it. Your depression does not define you. 
• Branch out creatively and shoot for more frequent blog entries. Ever since my grandmother passed, I've been making excuses not to use her camera. It's probably time to take it off the shelf! 
• Write. A favorite author of mine who I relate to in many ways referred to her words as being "trapped behind an iron curtain" when she was depressed, and I've never heard it articulated so well. I will try very, very hard to move my iron curtain this year. 

To me, that seems doable. I look forward to sharing the outcome with all of you who are nice enough to visit. 

I wish everyone a happy 2015! 

in which i attempt bread by hand (!)

The statement most likely to come out of my mouth is by far "I wonder if I could make that myself."

That mindset has been responsible for landing me in the kitchen for hours at a time, curiosity vastly outweighing the fear that this thing I'm trying to replicate could actually turn out terrible. As of late, I've been experimenting with fall desserts (read: pumpkin everything). Today, though, I decided to try making bread.

Before I moved, I had a bread machine, but the results were underwhelming. For a long time, I've wanted to attempt bread by hand. This typically takes longer and requires more effort (thus being considered less convenient if a machine is available to you), but I've found that I tend to do it better the long way. I literally have no idea why this is--rice that I make in the cooker turns out so-so at best.

Anyway. Marcus wanted a day in, and I needed to occupy myself with something, so bread it was. I found a promising recipe for hoagie rolls and away I went!

Having never made rolls before, I admit that I wasn't entirely sure what they were supposed to look like. The dough rose wonderfully, becoming elastic and airy. I looked up a few tutorials to see what more experienced bakers favored as a technique for rolling baguettes. From what I understand, you're supposed to roll a segment into a ball, flatten it into an oval, then fold it like an envelope. The directions then said to fold it in half once more and crease it shut, then roll it out a little bit to give it a uniform shape and width. This process took some practice, but it was a lot of fun!

In retrospect, I could've stood to roll them a lot thinner (this is what first tries are for!) At the time I took that picture, they looked to be about the correct size and shape. Little did I know that they'd end up becoming...tall.

This illustrates it a little bit better--see how they puffed up and became almost bun-like in shape? That said, they'd probably make excellent hamburger buns...

So, my main rookie mistake of the day (on top of accidentally forgetting to let it rise an extra 20 minutes after shaping--chalk it up to being eager for results? Seriously, Katie, get it together!) was leaving the raw dough the size and shape I wanted it and not accounting for just how much it would change while baking. As you can see, the smallest ones were only about as big as my palm, but they were pretty thick. I'm hopeful that next time if they're rolled out thinner, they'll be more suited to sandwiches--which, incidentally, was the intended purpose for these. They'll make good side bread for dunking in tonight's Alfredo sauce instead, though, so it works!

Conversely, I was very pleased with how nicely the crust formed on these, and the end product was indeed bread. There are a lot worse ways this could have gone--for example, to my knowledge, nothing exploded. It wasn't a bad first attempt by any means, I think I mostly need to make some adjustments. That, and maybe learn some patience for a second round of rising. Something tells me that will help ensure that they come out lighter and fluffier next time!

Note that quite a few rolls went missing in between pictures. A certain partner of mine who shall go unnamed decided that he needed to sample my wares to verify that they were suitable. I fixed him a warm roll with some pesto to try, and minutes later he ran back out to the kitchen and left with three more!

My first try making bread by hand was definitely a great way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. The entire house smells delicious, and at least I know Marcus will enjoy the rest of the tray if they're not to anyone's liking. I can't wait to try them again! I have such a long list of bread I want to make soon, including but not limited to cinnamon raisin, pumpkin, banana, wheat and potentially kaiser rolls. It's funny, once you get past the initial attempt, you wonder what took you so long and just want to keep going! I'd better pace myself, or I'm going to run out of yeast by the end of the weekend!

currently

It's been a fair bit, and I've seen these "currently" posts floating around on a few blogs I really enjoy. I thought it might be a nice way to get back into things, and the prompts are neat. I actually have a lot of fun reading these when other people write them.

All right, I'm currently:

watching:
Marcus and I have been really into the Legend of Korra lately--and don't say it, we're late to that party. I know. Sometimes I prefer that because it means we get to watch all of the episodes at once instead of having to wait. It starts off that way, anyway, but we always end up caught up and anticipating more like the rest of the world. We thought we were so clever starting Orange is the New Black and House of Cards a season late...

reading:I just finished The Paris Wife, which was actually quite the emotional roller coaster. For those of you who haven't read it, it's a historical fiction detailing life from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. It takes place during a time period that interests me, and I really enjoyed the small details--particularly about what everyone was wearing and eating. The slang terms were sort of wild, too. Part of me feels like I can't be very artistic, because there were a few moments throughout the book where characters were sort of waxing poetic and deep and their meanings were a bit lost on me. Luckily, I related to Hadley in that way, because she occasionally mentioned not really following Ernest when he describes what's going on in his mind. Anyway, if you know a little bit about Hemingway, you're aware that he was married several times and that this story ultimately does not end well! Still, it's a very good read and I'd recommend it for anyone who's interested in him.
I'd also really like to get my hands on Tulip Fever and Bitter Greens soon!

listening:I'm really behind the times on popular media, apparently. I just heard "All About That Bass" all the way through for the first time today and it's surprisingly catchy. I understand it's probably overplayed on the radio, but for now I just think it's cute. Marcus requested it as he was trying to take a nap earlier--rather, he asked for relaxing music and specified "you know, that one where she's all about the bass but not the treble and everyone likes a little more booty". Well, there you have it.

making:
Scarves. Like, an assload of scarves. Dee was nice enough to teach me long-distance crocheting and I got the hang of it sometime last week. I've since finished three scarves, one of which was themed in the colors of the Khador army Marcus plays. He keeps it over his chair at all times now and apparently can't wait for winter, which makes me feel nice. I want to learn to stripe soon and work my way up to more complicated patterns, blankets, hats and stuffed animals.
Also, I've been baking quite a bit. Marcus's family is big on sweets, but nobody really likes to make them. Over the last few weeks, they've all requested an array of autumn desserts. So far, the lineup has included regular brownies, turtle brownies, pumpkin bread pudding, pumpkin cheesecake bars, pumpkin pear spice cake, chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and snickerdoodles. My god.

feeling:
Generally hopeful. I think things have the potential to be looking up. If I'm being honest, I've hit a definite low point lately in terms of health and depression. It's all right, though. Sometimes your vices win the battle, but they don't necessarily have to win the war. I sincerely hope I have more concrete advances on my front to share with you soon!

planning:
See above--I don't want to overstep and share too much too soon, but if my tentative plans work out, I look forward to some positive changes soon. Also, Marcus and I are still trying to plan Halloween costumes. So far, it's looking like Tina and Jimmy Jr. from Bob's Burgers may be the top contenders, but I also tend to gravitate towards the more "traditional" ideas--I was a witch three years in a row once, and I'd be one again!

loving:
The interest in my hobbies slowly returning to me is immensely wonderful. This is my first blog post in forever, and I really want to keep working on it. I've been taking pictures of my outfits for fun lately (with my phone and always in the same spot in my bedroom--I'm sure eventually I'll work back up to getting more creative with that!) and I'm planning on participating in the novel-writing month of November. Crocheting has been so exciting to learn, and I find myself wanting to learn more and practice whenever I can. I hope soon that a renewed interest in languages and history follows, and I really want my writing back for more than just a little bit. Right now, I can see it all on the horizon, and that's more than I've been able to say for a long time. I'm feeling good about it!

to amsterdam or bust

It's been awhile.
It was quiet, then all of a sudden things were happening. Now, I'm going on a trip!

A friend of mine lives in Amsterdam and was nice enough to ask me over for a visit. At first, I dismissed the idea, but Marcus prompted me to consider it seriously. After some deliberation, I realized that I wasn't committed to a job, I had money saved up for nothing in particular--so, what was my excuse, really?

I didn't have one except for the fact that I'd been in my comfort zone too long and was terrified to make it happen. I wasn't going to, honestly. I don't remember what exactly changed my mind. All I know is that later in the week, I was sitting in front of the airline's webpage staring at the tickets I'd looked up...and then I bought them.

In that moment, I suppose it became officially decided, because tickets are generally not refundable. I really hate to admit that I've become the kind of person who's afraid to do things like this, because it conflicts with my innate desire to move around and see the world. As a child, we moved so much with the military that I was very much of the "we have to be in what country by next month? No problem, I've got a bag packed already" mentality. As an adult, I've gotten into the cycle of staying in one place a little bit too long. These things happen. I know this kind of adventure will remind me who I actually want to be--even if that involves losing control of every single detail all the time!

Once I got over the initial shock that I'd just bought a one-way ticket, I snapped out of it pretty quickly and got to work planning my other plane and train rides, hostels and places to visit. I now have a pretty solid outline of where I'm supposed to be and when. Other than that, I'm trying not to worry too much about it--which goes directly against my nature, because I'm a horrendously anxious person.

It's difficult. That need for total control and understanding of a situation is like an anchor that's held me back from taking a lot of risks. I've known for awhile that I'm going to have to choose between the life I want and some of the deeply-rooted, less desirable personality traits I have. Nothing happens overnight, but I've made my decision.

And since then, I've had a blast getting my trip ready. I'm almost all set to go, though I really should find some books to bring on the plane. Last time I traveled between Arizona and Ohio without any reading material (I blew through Sky Mall in all of three minutes) and nearly lost my mind--and that was only a five or six hour flight! A trip to the bookstore might be in my future while Marcus goes to his gaming tournament today...

Anyway, I'm spending the weekend running last-minute errands, and from there, it's out of my hands. For anyone who happened upon this page, I can't wait to share the upcoming details with you! I feel like I have so much time and also none at all between now and Monday.

afternoons in the city and a new skirt

A few weeks ago, I went to Capitol Hill with Marcus's mom to check out a few cute shops I'd heard about. One of them, Pretty Parlor, had been on my to-do list for quite some time because it had come to my attention that they hung petticoats off the ceiling. While we were there, I had a blast trying on all kinds of beautiful things that I'd never thought I'd find in person anywhere--one such item was a gorgeous skirt in a colorful print. There was only one size left, and even though I sort of knew it wasn't mine, I had to try it on anyway and hope it ran small. (It didn't.) Still, I couldn't get over the pattern and made a note of the brand so I could search for it later. When I started hunting for it online, I came up short. Before I gave up completely, I decided to check out the designer, Jamie von Stratton, on her  webpage to see if she had any other stores that she sold to listed--or even her own shop to buy from! While I didn't find anything like that, I did come across her contact page, so I figured "why not?" and shot her a quick email describing the skirt and asking if that print was sold anywhere else.

She responded the next morning and said that, yes, she recognized the skirt I was referring to but no, it wasn't sold anywhere else. However, she did inform me that she had just enough left to make maybe one more and asked my measurements. I sent them back to her, and a week later, she contacted me to say my special, just-for-me skirt was ready!

Today, Marcus agreed to take me down to the city after lunch to go get it. Before I say anything else, even though he doesn't read this, doing this for me was a serious gesture him and greatly appreciated. Cities, especially narrower ones like Seattle, have a claustrophobic effect on him and he tends to avoid them. As someone who has my share of phobias, both rational and not, I generally try to respect his aversion to that area. He insisted that it was fine, though, so I helped him navigate and off we went!

The residential area we were in was beautiful, and we got there early so we walked around for a little bit (he actually loved that staircase up there and asked if he could try taking a picture of me on it!) before going to pick up my skirt.

The building was amazing--I'm pretty sure it was an old hotel at one point. Marcus wasn't a fan of the dark staircases and hallways, which, admittedly, did sort of lend a horror-movie vibe to the place. When we got to the door, though, it was like a whole different world. The apartment was set up to be sort of a sewing studio, so the entire living room was covered in gorgeous fabrics, racks full of clothes and a ton of giant hats. The open window had this perfect view of the entire bay, which brightened the entire room immensely. I'll be honest--I'd live there! Jamie was incredibly nice. She let me try on my skirt in the bathroom and checked to make sure it was the right fit. She'd asked me how tall I was beforehand, so she'd even gone to the trouble of making it proportionate to my height...no tailoring for me on this one! I was elated and thanked her profusely. She was sweet and chatted with us for a few minutes about things to do in the area, gave us a few shopping suggestions and sent us on our way.

Marcus was nice enough to offer to go shopping for a little bit while we were in the area even though I know it's pretty boring for him--we visited a new Goodwill that Jamie had pointed us to, I bought us both some coffee, then we hit up Pretty Parlor one more time. It was a great day, and I think Marcus really hit it off with Vincent, Pretty Parlor's resident cat.

(This picture was priceless--he was posing with his drink and putting his pinkie in the air, but I waited until he looked away to get this one. When I showed it to him, he started laughing and said he liked that I included the massive dresses in the background. Ahh, he's a good sport.) 

I can't wait to wear this skirt everywhere. Seriously, I think it matches with just about every color. Also, I would highly recommend checking out Jamie von Stratton's website--she does a lot of pretty cool stuff! I couldn't have been happier with this whole experience.

The takeaway from this one: if you like something, don't be afraid to speak up and ask about it--the worst that happens is you get a no or don't hear back--and in my case, I happened to become the owner of the prettiest skirt I've ever seen!

sara

I've been feeling this heaviness in my heart lately. It generally comes when I'm missing something I know I'll never really have in the same way again. It's almost impossible to articulate, but this is important. I'm going to do my best.

At a first glance, I could see how that might look like some bedroom--small, lacking in a definitive color scheme, obviously shared. I had no idea at the time that I would come to miss this little room so, so much.

When I first moved into my freshman dorm, I shared it with someone who was sort of mismatched to me. She ended up moving out midyear, leaving me with an unheard-of half a semester with a room entirely to myself. The RA explained that they'd pick a new roommate for me, which didn't appeal at all given that the first one hadn't worked out very well. When this was taking place, I was in the middle of a fight with my friend, Sara. As I recall, it was over a boy, but all I really know for sure is that we were on the kind of terms where you pretend not to notice each other at social gatherings. Remember, we were in the middle of not speaking to each other, because it's important.

I found out that I essentially had until December to choose my own roommate. Promptly, I texted Sara and asked her to meet up with me. This was years ago, so I haven't got direct quotes handy, but the conversation essentially went something like this:

Me: I know we're fighting, but I need you to come and live with me so I don't end up with someone I spend all my time fighting with.
Sara: Sound logic. Let's do it.

We signed her over to my room and I helped her cart all her things from the second floor up to the fourth. The decor significantly improved and my life changed forever.

I like to describe all of my best and most worthwhile relationships as the kind where we're on opposite extremes and gradually meet in the middle. When I met Sara, I was overwhelmed by her louder demeanor and take-charge attitude. She was equally underwhelmed with my comfortable status in life as a people-pleasing doormat. During our time together, she taught me how to assert myself more, which came into play immensely when I found myself in a compromising position with abuse. I don't know what I taught her, but I can only guess it was a few obscure new vocabulary words and maybe some appreciation for Spanish music. Jesus, writing this is making me miss her so badly, because she was easily one of the best influences in my life. I think of our time together as these brief flashes of wonderful feelings. I'll let you on in something that might sound strange--I suffer from anxiety. It's gotten better over time, but when I really can't shake it, I think about some of these things to calm myself down. For example...

We used to rearrange our rooms together for fun, and one of our "just-for-us" hobbies was browsing the bargain aisles of home decor stores to find crazy new additions for our walls and desks. None of our bedding ever matched--actually, our sophomore year, that was sort of the point. We both bought the loudest, most colorful things we could, including plastic pink flamingos and cardboard models of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower and just had a blast with it. To this day, I remember some of those wild posters she used to hang up. I have no idea where she got half of those.

Oh, and quiet afternoons. We'd pop the window open to enjoy the light and breeze. Half the time, we weren't even directly interacting--the TV would be on a Disney movie or something, and I'd be laying on my bed enjoying her company while she asked me questions about whatever was on her mind.

She used to talk to me at night, too. It's like she had some sixth sense for when I was right about to fall asleep. My eyes would close and then--"hey, Katie, did you ever think about what it'd be like if you had to live underwater? Do you think it'd really be that different from living on land?" The most arbitrary questions would come out of her mouth, but I truly never minded. Having someone to talk to was the greatest.

She hated that haircut on me, by the way. She told me in a Dillard's once that it looked like a pumpkin and the saleslady got kind of offended for me. Sara maintained that her feelings remained unchanged. (It was a really bad time in my life for hair, to be fair.) I could always count on her honesty, which, while it wasn't always what I immediately wanted to hear, usually ended up being good in the long run.

Don't get me wrong, we went through some painfully rough times. They just never lasted, and I guess in some way I knew they wouldn't, so they never worried me too badly. It's never fun to fight with people, but there was never this feeling like we'd ever end up wandering too far from each other. There was one other point in time where we went a bit without speaking. She showed up at my friend's New Year's party with my favorite Starbucks drink and we spent the rest of the night upstairs by ourselves talking like nothing had happened. She was always more important than the few problems we had, I guess, which I haven't been able to say about that many people. That same night, she followed me to my car to make sure the boy who was trying to talk to me knew she didn't like him one single bit.

That's the best, too--she saw me through some seriously fucking story-worthy relationships and she kept me from getting completely demolished by them. I do believe she would have been a formidable force had any of these people attempted to do any real lasting damage. She had my back, for lack of better word. If she didn't like someone, I heard about it. If I was making the wrong decision (spoiler alert: young Katie did this all the time), I heard about it whether or not it made me happy. Her honesty is something I valued, because I didn't have a lot of it in my life at the time. We've both outlived all of each others' college relationships but two--our current ones. I maintain that I wouldn't even be in this one if not for her teaching me to value myself and communicate better.

 What else? Oh, my style changed because of her. She used to make faces at my clothes and ask why I always bought them a size big. It's because I was self-conscious, which I tried to explain, but she wasn't really having it. She was sort of ahead of our time in terms of body confidence, and I think she did her best to snap me into it. By sophomore year's end, she had me wearing clothing in the correct size and trying out skirts for the first time in my life. Anyone who knows me now knows that I don't leave the house in pants unless I'm absolutely out of other options. I can thank Sara for that, because now I think I own exactly two pairs.

We took my first out-of-state drive to Disneyland together and had the time of our lives on spring break. Our shared enthusiasm for the entire enterprise made it an experience I'll never forget. (We met so many characters, you guys.)

Almost everything I enjoy now is sort of tinged with shades of people I hold close to me. Everything from Starbucks drinks to leopard prints to the phrase "to be fair" makes me think of Sara at least a little bit, which is hard when we're states apart. To my knowledge, she's pretty happy and doing well, and we talk as often as we can. It's not the same, though--it won't ever be like living together in Flagstaff again. Most days, I can accept it. Other days, it sits deep inside my soul and refuses to move. I miss my friend. I credit her for a lot of positive changes in my life, and sometimes I wish I could have those moments back for just a little bit.

Sara: for all of the mishaps with hair dye, brutal honesty, matching yellow dresses, garish pink flamingos, Disney movies, milkshakes, magazines, arguments, shared anthropology courses and days in the printing room, thank you. These periods of time where I'm missing a piece of myself are good, because it means you were so important to me that I notice when you're gone. I wouldn't feel this sad if I hadn't been truly happy.

That, I think, is how I make peace with it. Tonight, I miss that little room. I probably always will. It won't ever be my home again, but thankfully, I kept the most important thing in it. As long as I can call Sara my best friend, I think I can live with the missing.

adventures in food

Everyone has their own special criteria for what makes an ideal partner. In my case, you really do have to be adventurous with food. When I first started dating Marcus, he was the exact opposite of that, which made for an interesting conversation considering I'm usually pretty reserved. As I recall, it went along the lines of:

Marcus: I'm pretty picky about what I eat. Just...you know, so you don't get your feelings hurt when you cook dinner. It's not anything personal.
Me: I...what?
Marcus: There are only a few things I like to eat. I'm probably not really--well, what is it you're making again?
Me: I have a special pork chop recipe with white wine and Dijon mustard. It's fun!
Marcus: Yeah, I'm gonna probably just want you to leave a couple of pork chops plain for me. That doesn't sound very good.
Me: ...but how can you say that if you've never tried it?
Marcus: Look, I know I'm just not going to like it. It sounds weird.
Me: Oh my god, this is never going to work between us.

When I brought the dish out, he very grudgingly tried a tiny bite with the mustard sauce--and then promptly ate the rest of the entire pan. Following that, he requested the same meal at least three more times that month (and still does to this day!).

Over the course of our relationship, I've tried to encourage Marcus to try eating new things. My deal is, I don't believe in forcing food on anyone who doesn't like it (including kids!). I do generally request that you try at least a bite of the aforementioned food before declaring you don't like it, though. When I first dragged him to my favorite curry restaurant in Flagstaff, he made me promise that we could go get something else for dinner later if he didn't end up enjoying it. Not only did he find it delicious, he is now so obsessed with Indian food that within our first week of moving here he insisted we go exploring to find our new "place". He doesn't typically to go too long without a reliable supply of his tikka masala, you see.

Lately, he's been the one who's been more vocal about craving food-related adventures--which is great! Today he requested that we try a new Vietnamese place we've seen around one of the outdoor malls, so we took a little drive over together and had some lunch. He tried a sweet curry, I got a lemongrass chicken banh mi, and we both shared my yam fries. We've decided that the place is definitely worth going back to--next time, we're trying the pho soup and a different sandwich flavor. We had a blast! The entire time, we kept watching people's food come by and trying to guess what they'd ordered.

It was just sort of on my mind today that I really appreciate having a partner that I can have these kinds of experiences with. Not everyone considers food (especially of the spicy international variety) to be as high of a priority as I do, which is understandable. Personally, I'm always going to be glad that I was able to sway Marcus just a little bit. The other day, he was talking about how cool he thought it was that he eats so many things he'd never even have touched a few years ago. He hates seafood, but now when we go to the market, he still tries a tiny bite of everyone's food to see what he thinks. Turns out, he enjoys crab! Who knew?

Now, I'll just have to see if I can turn him on to eggs at some point...

seafood and tiki skirts

Top ~ Deadly Dames Vamp Top in Black
Skirt ~ Jenny Skirt in Tiki
Petticoat ~ Malco Modes (582!)
Shoes ~ BAIT Ida's in Coral

Today was my first time trying out my banging new petticoat. Marcus's dad wanted to go to this seafood brunch at a restaurant near the beach, and he asked everyone to dress up! It's a lot bigger than I'm used to wearing (which is saying something, I guess, because full skirts are pretty standard for me) and I did indeed brush a few people with it on my way to and from our table today at brunch. Also, in the car, it took up my seat + the middle one.

I'll probably try the next-fluffiest down for more everyday outfits, but this was a special occasion so I didn't mind feeling like a cupcake for a few hours. I will say that this petticoat was, being made of chiffon, incredibly comfortable and swishy. It's fun to wear even by itself! 

Now that we're settled, I'm looking forward to getting some more posts written. I've been sort of lax about playing with my camera because I had it packed up for awhile, but I'm thinking it's time to start using it some more. We visit so many exciting places on weekends, and even though I'm very happy to have my phone on me to take the occasional picture, I really should try to get more practice in with my Canon. 

Side note: I can't decide if I want to hem this cute tiki skirt. From some angles, it looks like it's about ankle-length on me (it's not--it comes to maybe mid-calf). In other pictures I've seen, it's supposed to be closer to the knee, so it might be worth trying to make it a little bit more proportionate! Conversely, maybe it's the style and I'll just need to get used to it. Either way, I was very excited to finally get to wear it someplace special! 

irish beach

Non-tropical beaches are vastly underrated.

Granted, when you hear "California beach" and pack all sorts of summery things to wear, it might be a bit of an surprise when you arrive at your destination and discover that your one pair of jeggings (and that jacket you tossed in at the last minute!) is going to pretty much be a necessity all week.

The view makes all of that irrelevant.

Irish Beach is sort of out there in the middle of Northern California. It was a two-day drive from Washington, but the ride there was incredibly pleasant. We had good company! I'll happily talk about that a bit more later, but for now I was just excited to share some of the pictures from the place that reminds me of Briny Beach (any Lemony Snicket fans happen to be passing by?)

I never saw so many weather patterns represented in one spot in so short a time. We took walks around this place on the daily and every single time there was something new to marvel at. It was truly very beautiful.

{insert brief statement about modcloth coupon}

I'm not positive how many people pass through my blog on any given day, but I thought I'd throw this out there anyway! I buy a lot of clothes at Modcloth, and they have a pretty good referral program where if you use someone's link you can get $20 off your first order! Usually, it's only $15, but occasionally they bump it up to encourage new customers. If you've ever been on the fence about shopping there, I'd urge you to at least give it a try--they have some cute stuff! Plus, they're currently having a big 30% off sale, and the $20 stacks on top of it!

Personally, if I had all the Modcloth credit in the world, I'd probably be using it on novelty dresses and infinite shoes...I'll probably need to hold off on that for awhile, though! This space is a little too tiny for such voluminous skirts! ;)

Anyway--have at it, and let me know if you decided to use my link! :) I get $20 off too, so everyone wins!

{ sunflower award }

I was so pleasantly surprised to see that Kayleigh of Petite Femme Noir had nominated me for the Sunflower Award today! From what I gather, I get to answer a series of questions and then pose a few of my own to some bloggers I enjoy. Personally, I think that's exciting, because I love seeing what kind of questions people can come up with. All right, let's see what I get to talk about. 

Do you collect anything, if so, what?
It could indeed be argued that I collect novelty-printed dresses.

Who is the most influential person in your life and why?
Oh, it's hard to say whether it was my grandmother or my mom. They both raised me without judgment and left me completely free to become who I wanted to be. Also, my grandma instilled the idea in me that a true lady knows when the appropriate time to curse like a sailor on shore leave is. I feel like it's hard to go wrong with women like that as guiding forces.

If they were to make a movie about you life, who do you think would play you?
Oh, lord. I have no idea. I've been told I don't look like anyone. Can I just get Benedict Cumberbatch and call it good?

What makes you feel most confident?
Agh, it's going to sound so silly and overdone, but Marcus really makes me feel about as confident as I ever have. He has this remarkable ability to keep a balance between telling me every day what I'm worth and why he loves me and also not blindly coddling me when I get too down on myself. He's really matter-of-fact and knows how to keep me grounded without making me feel uneasy or judged. There's a ton of stuff I never thought I'd be able to do that I can now because of the way he's helped me learn to look at myself.

What three words best describe you?
Deadpan, introverted and wanderlusty. It's a word, I've decided it.

Where is your favorite place to be?
I love to be outside. Ever since moving to Washington, I spend as much time outdoors as I can and I can't get enough of it. The forests and mountains here are insanely beautiful. Don't even start me on the farmer's markets. Have you ever eaten a fresh banh mi sandwich while enjoying a nice breeze and the smell of fresh cookies from the next stall over? Agh. That's living, people.

What is your favorite flower? 
I love hydrangeas. I want them to be in my wedding bouquet someday. 

All right, that was fun! I think for my round of questions, I'd like to pick:

Emma at Race & Emma
Samantha at Nettle & Honey
Sammi at Soubrette Brunette
Alexandra at Into the Woods
Jes at Potentially Lovely
Hannah at Stupid Happens.

1. Who makes you the most happy?

2. If you could drop everything and move someplace else, where would you go?

3. What makes you feel most at peace?

4. What's something that's completely impractical and unnecessary that you'd love to buy for yourself?

5. What's one style you really wish you could pull off?

6. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to and why?

7. Can you write me a short haiku describing yourself?

Thanks again for having me answer your questions, Kayleigh! :)

happy birthday, mom!

Today was my mom's birthday, and even though we're on opposite sides of the country now, I couldn't just let it go unnoticed. 

She's the most incredible mother in the world.

We've been best friends since I was born. She always said she used to carry me around the house and dance with me to that 1990's bluegrass country music I pretend not to really enjoy too much anymore. She said I was her company. The three of us were, and when my brothers were born we did everything together. Even into my 20's, she'd spend the day just walking around the mall with me or getting coffee. I still ask her what I should do about everything even if I know the answer--whether I'm buying clothes or sorting out more pressing life issues, I at least have to ask her. She always seemed to have the right answer.

She's so easygoing and mellow, but damn, did she teach us how to work hard and be good people. You never messed around with our mom, and I'd argue that you still don't. She always seemed to keep such a great balance between friendship and parenthood. I never felt the need to keep anything from her, because no matter what you tell her, she listens. I love seeing her around her family members, because they really seem to bring out her sillier side. From what I hear, she's doing great in Ohio and really coming into herself more. 

I love my mom. She's played a lot of roles in all of our lives, and she's always put us first. Now that we're older, we try to do the same for her. We've had our issues--for example, she's no longer allowed to plan trips, because her favorite thing to do is wait until the last minute to do anything--but honestly, what is that? It's mostly just funny in retrospect. We went through a terrible year together, but I know she's on her way to happiness now. She really deserves it more than anyone I know. 

Happy birthday, Mom!

(Isn't she cute? Everyone's shocked when she says she has kids in their late teens and early twenties.)

legendary donuts!

Food is a pretty significant part of my relationship to Marcus. When we met, he was so particular about what he would eat, there were practically no options that he wanted. Now, after a few years of prompting him to leave his comfort zone a little bit, he's all over the place! We're constantly trying out new places that look like fun--which is how we discovered Naked Pizza and this Thai place by the movies. 

Fun story: when we first came to visit Washington a little over a year ago, Marcus's parents lived a few cities over in a place called Auburn. One day, we got bored and decided to try finding a new coffee place or something. We ended up at Legendary Donuts, which happened to be by the grocery store closest to the old apartment. To this day, we remembered how outstanding those donuts were--so, we decided to take a trip back!

It's only about twenty minutes away from where we live now, but damn, Washington traffic will double your commute if you catch it at the wrong time of the day. When we got there, about half the donuts were already cleared out. Thankfully, as you can see, we were able to score the last giant glazed donut, a blueberry cake one, and a few little mini holes that seemed interesting. As usual, Marcus also needed his carton of milk. 

 

He really enjoys his oversized desserts.

Also, he felt really bad because he told me "no" on the coffee I wanted to get. (To be fair, he's trying to help--I have this really bizarre caffeine sensitivity and it seems to be most prevalent when I drink strong coffee. Once, at a Denny's, I asked for decaf and accidentally got regular, and I spent the whole night violently sick. Ever since then, he's very wary of any coffee that I can't order decaffeinated.)

I just went next door to McDonald's later and got one of their decaf coffees. :P For $1, it's pretty remarkable.

He's not a big picture guy, but he puts up with it once in awhile. :) I really love that we can go exploring for food together--his parents were telling us about this time they tried to "eat their way through Manhattan", and I think that's possibly going to be the case with us and Seattle. We're already scouting the grounds for good sushi and Indian.

Agh, damn. Now I really want to go for some Naked Pizza. It's so hard to pace yourself here! ;)

on adjusting

It's been a few weeks since we moved to Washington, where everyone warned us that we'd hate the weather and have a terrible time adjusting.

You guys, I have to be honest. It wasn't going to get any worse than it was, which is why I had no problem coming here so suddenly. I was depressed in the desert.

That term gets tossed around a lot as a hyperbolization of  less-than-desirable circumstances, but I need it to be very clear that I wasn't just underwhelmed or discontent in Arizona. There was legitimately only so happy I could ever be while I lived there, and for the longest time I thought a general melancholy was just part of my demeanor. It wasn't until I was able to leave for a visit someplace else that Marcus pointed out how drastic--and instantaneous--of a change there was. He said I was like a whole different person, and I'm sure I was. I always tried to take care about voicing it, because to many people I know, it is very much home.

Since moving to Washington, I feel the difference immensely. My ratio of good to bad days has shifted almost all the way around. There's an adjustment, if we're being honest, but it's minimal. I spend all my time outside. Some of my interests are coming back to me! My mind used to race and this thing would happen where my jaw was always set really tensely--now, I catch myself sort of spacing but not really thinking about anything in particular. I think it's because I really get a kick out of staring at all the green around me--I think I'm happy here. That part really does take getting used to. I didn't think I was ever going to leave the desert. It's not the easiest thing in the world to pick up your life and go, especially if there isn't anything waiting for you wherever you're going. We were very fortunate to have Marcus's parents here, and even more so that they were happy to come have us be with them for awhile.

They're tons of fun, by the way. We try so much delicious food here and they love to go to the movies. Thus far, we've been to a farmer's market at least once every week, which excites me because I love the fresh fruit and all the bakeries have a ton of samples.

I don't know if I'll stay here forever, but I no longer feel this urgency like I need to run away or change my situation. As my interests resurface and I approach them with enthusiasm and happiness, I could see things going a few different ways! I know I want to travel again--and soon enough, I'll make it happen. For now, I'm happy to be here.

issaquah

Today, Marcus left for his Lock and Load convention, so I got to spend the day in Issaquah with his mom. We drove over and started walking around this place called Gilman Village...I'm not sure if that was a good idea or a bad one, because all of the shops were stocked with cute kitchen accessories, cookbooks and decorations that we both couldn't get enough of. His mom is really big on the idea of having her own garden one day, so she loves looking at vintage-y signs and flowerpots. I had to be steered away from the shelves of baking pans--they had this fantastic shortbread cookie sheet with flowers imprinted onto the molds--and prompted to choose someplace to eat.

This place also happened to be full of interesting cuisine, which made deciding extremely difficult. We walked past an Afghani restaurant, a Greek place, an Indian one with a lunch buffet...and that was just in the couple of minutes we took to peruse before we got too hungry! I ended up picking Tantalus, the Greek restaurant, and even though the Indian place was a close second (only because buffets mean you get to sample a little bit of all the most popular dishes, which is helpful when scoping a place out) I was thrilled that we chose it! We both got gyros; mine was chicken, Jo's was lamb. They were delicious. We both really love international food, but it's hard to find Greek food around here that isn't intensely heavy and greasy to the point of distracting from the rest of the dish. All of the vegetables and meats on our plates seemed fresh and light. The flavor was phenomenal! I really can't speak highly enough of good pita bread, and this place had it. I wanted to dunk it into some hummus or something...maybe another time!

We spent most of the day checking out apartments since we'll be moving there sometime in the next month or two. I love house-hunting, so it was a really nice time. We found one or two "maybe's" and one place that we really loved that might be a "yes" depending on timing. Issaquah seems like a great town! The apartment we liked the best was literally walking distance from most of the downtown stores and restaurants, which the leasing agent told us would be great for saving money on gas and parking for big events. I wish we could have seen a little bit more, but we got a better idea of the options in that town.

After that, we decided to try getting our nails done together downtown! I was excited, because I normally just do my own and call it good. It was fun--I got a little watermelon design (minus the dots, I guess--I think I'll just add my own!) and Jo got some cute flowers. There was a little family with three girls that came in right as we were finishing up, and they were all psyched because they got to get their nails done for the oldest one's birthday. It was so fun to watch them! The littlest one was sad because only two at a time could go sit in the chairs, so she had to be last. She ended up accidentally dropping her bottle of nail polish and breaking it on the floor, but her mom was extremely sweet about not making her feel bad about it and wiped it up in less than a minute. They seemed really nice--actually, a lot of the people we ran into in Issaquah today did. I'm optimistic!

I had a great time with Marcus's mom today. (Side note: they really do need to come up with a word for "significant other you aren't married to's parents", because "in-laws" sounds really ambitious and formal, but calling them "Marcus's mom/dad" sounds like I don't know them. I'm trying to get used to it, but I feel kind of strange just calling them by their names (we were raised from a really young age to always refer to anyone older as Mr./Mrs./Miss, and even in my 20's I'm trying to shake it).) We love to talk about a lot of the same things, and neither of us can resist checking out cute shops. I'm excited to do this more often!

I think tomorrow I'm supposed to be up really early to go with Marcus's dad to the gym, too. Hmm. We're productive in Washington!

:)

final day : kent!

We both woke up excited because we knew by the end of the day, we'd be with Marcus's family in Kent. The day was supposed to be about ten hours long, so it was daunting, but the excitement outweighed the anxiety.

It ended up being that we skipped the hotel's advertised free breakfast--I think the main office gave Marcus the creeps, plus there wasn't actually any food on the table. We ate in the car; luckily, I make pretty good peanut butter sandwiches while balancing a cooler on my lap, so we were fine. That thing was a lifesaver this entire trip, by the way. We had plenty of fruit to eat and the bread and peanut butter stayed good. Seriously, when we got to Kent and calculated the cost from all our receipts, we came in way under budget because of how many meals we just made ourselves from the cooler.

Anyway, California is huge and takes forever to actually leave. We kept looking out the window trying to see if the last little bits of desert landscape had completely faded away yet. Eventually, we crossed into Oregon and it was evident that there were no more spiny plants to be found. It was sort of a culture shock, because immediately upon entering Oregon, we stopped for gas and learned that you're not supposed to pump it yourself there. The young man who was our attendant was extremely cheerful and friendly--and, of course, Marcus just had to ask why attendants got your gas for you there. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but the guy explained that at some point in the 1920's, some person was pumping gas, decided to light a cigar, and the entire place exploded.

Also, the inside of the gas station was like part restaurant and part hotel. There was a washing machine next to the bathroom. I've never seen anything like it.

We stopped for Subway and switched spots because Marcus needed a nap. Unfortunately, although I'm a fairly competent driver, I was off that day or something. I'm thinking that it was partially due to not being familiar with the area and general anxiety around traffic and large trucks. Anyway, I was able to go for a while, but Marcus did the majority of the driving this trip by far. (I felt bad, but I also think it also kind of worked for him. When he's in the passenger seat, he likes to stomp on an imaginary break or move to correct the steering wheel. I imagine it's hard to let another person drive your car--I get that way when someone's in my kitchen, let alone my vehicle...)

The scenery was vastly different from Arizona's, and we both couldn't get enough of it. The northwest is so green. We drove past Portland and immediately wanted to stop and see what it was all about, but we were getting close enough to being done driving that we kept going. From the car, it looked like one of the most interesting cities I've ever seen. Everything looked really clean and crisp, if that makes sense. Anyway, we spent several hours talking and pointing out how not like the desert our new surroundings were. We've been here about a week and I still don't think either of us has gotten tired of that.

Around six or seven, we got to Kent! His parents were eagerly waiting for us at their apartment with dinner, and we couldn't have been happier. Now, here we are.

Altogether, I was immensely happy we took this trip. Before I left, lot of people said things to the effect of "you two are going to hate each other by the end", and I found that to be some strange (and untrue) advice. The only remotely negative thing that happened at all was that Marcus wasn't intensely enjoying Disneyland for the first hour, and even then, nobody was really that upset. All it took was a round on Space Mountain and he was fine. Besides that, we enjoyed all the stops we got to make and the food we tried out together. For something that was supposed to be wildly stressful and the ultimate test of our relationship, it mostly just felt like a fun vacation and some good bonding time. We even learned to change windshield wipers together in the parking lot of a Walmart, so...I'd recommend cross-country road trips to anyone! Granted, we were both extremely tired by the end, and I think being crunched in a car full of our worldly possessions for extended periods of time can do a number on your back, but I still say it was worth it! :)

If you read this far, thanks for tuning in to my little recount of our move from Arizona to Washington. I can't wait to see what happens next here!

day three : red bluff

We knew the next day of our trip was going to be a long one--when we planned it out earlier in the year, we decided to drive as far up from Anaheim as we could get in one day, then save the last stretch of the drive for the next morning. Marcus and I came up with a rough estimate that, after eight to nine hours of driving, we'd end up in an area called Redding. I browsed some discount travel sites for a bit and booked us a night at a hotel in Red Bluff for $40, and we figured our day would end whenever we got there.

It was sort of sad to leave our "fun" part of the trip (and Disneyland!) behind, but we were both excited to get moving at the same time. After one more free breakfast, we headed out!

The driving part was indeed very long and involved a whole lot of nothing as far as scenery goes. I have to give Marcus his due credit--we had originally mapped out sort of a schedule for taking turns at the wheel, but he kept saying he wanted to go a little longer. Eventually, it turned out that he made the entire trip himself. Serious stamina. I felt bad, because I kept offering to take over, but he declined and requested that I just feed him snacks while he focused on the road. His current favorite thing to eat is those bags of Brookside dark chocolates with pomegranates and acai berries--stolen from me, of course!

When we finally got to Red Bluff around 6 PM, we were sort of surprised by how small of a town it was. I personally thought it was pretty cute--it reminded me a lot of Flagstaff, especially because it seemed to have one main road connecting to the highway surrounded by small businesses and chain restaurants. We found our hotel, and we were literally the only people staying there. The parking lot was empty except for our car, which was slightly creepy, but we figured we wouldn't jump to conclusions. Based on some of the reviews we'd seen for this particular hotel, we were admittedly a little concerned (one specifically said to "run far away") but upon entering the room, we realized there was nothing to worry about. Granted, the place was quite old, and the bathroom floor was a tiny bit questionable, but for what it was--a place to hang out for the night--I was fine with it. I've definitely stayed in worse! The beds were comfortable, the TV worked, and the swamp cooler was incredibly efficient.

After checking in and putting our things in the room, we remembered it was dinner time and that we were actually pretty hungry. We scoped out a Denny's nearby and enjoyed one of the best cheap dinners I've ever had. Did you know you can order their "value Grand Slam" thing with wheat pancakes, turkey bacon and egg whites? I found out that evening that you could, and it was delicious (I have a thing for fluffy wheat pancakes)! I think the two of us got to eat for a little over ten bucks, which I personally considered a victory.

Later, Marcus revealed that he'd been craving a trip to the movies. He'd spent the entire day driving, so it seemed fair to let him pick what we did with our evening. We found the one movie theater in town and made it to the 7:00 showing of X-Men. The theater was so little you could hear the other movies playing through the wall! I thought it was cute; Marcus, who grew up in a tiny town in Alaska, assured me that the novelty of a tiny theater wears off quickly. We agreed that the popcorn was delicious, and I enjoyed the show despite not having seen any of the other X-Men movies. Altogether, even though I suppose technically there wasn't a whole lot to it, it was one of the best nights I've had in awhile! Even now, about a week after the trip, I remember this part in particular pretty fondly.

Last up: our home stretch!

day two : disneyland and dole whips!

We scored a pretty banging deal on a Disneyland package, so Marcus and I were psyched to spend a day at Disneyland together. The hotel we got had a really nice free breakfast, so we enjoyed a little bit and then headed off to the Magic Kingdom!

The first hour or so, Marcus wasn't in the best mood. For the most part, he isn't actually a huge Disneyland fan because he feels like there's a lot of pressure to enjoy everything to the point of sensory overload due to the expensive prices. I totally get that concern--I've felt it myself--but I tried to reassure him that we didn't have to do anything if it wasn't fun for him, because what the hell is the point in that? He was sort of sullen for a few minutes, but once we got on Space Mountain, it was like night and day. He loves to laugh on roller coasters!

We both thought this picture was hilarious. He was pretty insistent that I should take off my glasses (since apparently on Space Mountain they're prone to flying off and being lost forever), so the entire thing looked especially crazy. I'm pretty blind, and without my glasses I can only see vague shapes and colors. If you've ever ridden Space Mountain, you see how this could be horrifying. (Well...mostly fun, but still fairly trippy.)

After that, we figured out the best system for him: avoid the heaviest crowds, take semi-frequent breaks to sit away from the masses of people, and occasionally find a snack. It was nice, because we got to do a lot of people-watching and enjoy our favorite rides anyway.

Trips with Marcus mean trying the food--it's one of our favorite things to do together! We ended up sampling both kinds of Dole Whip (plain and float version), some Disney Starbucks thanks to my gift cards, a Mickey Mouse pretzel, and some really delicious sourdough bread at the Pacific Wharf area of California Adventure. We didn't actually eat those candy apples, because they were $10. We wanted to, though! And I thought they were the cutest decorative apples I'd ever seen. We spent a good while browsing the candy shops--I'm always fascinated with what people can do with food!

(Marcus says his favorite was the bread bowl, but he wishes he'd tried tomato bisque soup instead of the Asian salad. I argue that had he tried the soup, he'd have wanted the salad instead.)

As I said before, we went to Disneyland over a holiday weekend, so the crowds were immense. While it's possible to navigate them okay, after a while it can get sort of tiring because everyone wants to go enjoy the same things you're trying to do. One of the things we did to sort of step away was ride my favorite attraction--the Mark Twain riverboat!

By the way, if you ask really nicely, they'll take you up to a private room and let you steer the boat.

I was essentially on cloud nine. Marcus really enjoyed watching the view from all the way up there, and I decided to share and let him ring the bell and blow the horn once or twice. ;)

We ended the day with our delicious sourdough dinner at the wharf and browsed around California Adventure for a little while. Marcus was nice enough to go on the new Little Mermaid ride with me, because last time I came it was only in the design stages and I was curious about it. We agreed that it was cute, but we both felt like some of the characters were a little too lifelike. At one point we got stuck in front of a dancing Ariel that sort of started to border on creepy. We contemplated staying for World of Color, but it seemed like the park was already getting very crowded even a few hours before the show and we opted not to this time.

Even though he said it still wasn't his top choice for a vacation, Marcus ended up having a way better time than he thought--he even said he'd go again if certain conditions were met. Mainly, we would go off-season, budget more to be able to try some of the more exciting (but pricier) park foods, and we'd stay at a closer hotel so we didn't have to drive through the city to get there. Those all sounded great to me, so I considered this a huge success.

I love Disneyland, but I feel like as an adult it's different to me than when I was younger. I still very much enjoy the colorful decor and the characters--and the food is actually a big deal to me--but I can definitely see how it's stressful for some people who feel overwhelmed by all the crowds and noise. We were talking over dinner about how, even though it's neat that they incorporate elements from all over the world into their parks, we'd still rather go to the actual places. However, the cute novelties have their own charm, and we were glad to get to experience them together! I didn't end up buying my ear hat this time, because I couldn't justify the price, but I did have a blast wearing my special pink pirate dress! :)

Next to last: our third day through more California and our stay in the tiny town of Red Bluff! :)

our trip: day one!

We made it to Seattle! It was a great time together, and I tried to take pictures whenever I could. However, there were a lot of times when it made more sense to just enjoy ourselves and not worry about documenting everything--still, I want to remember our fun trip, so here we are!

The night before we left, I stayed with my mom and brothers at a family friend's house in Phoenix. Marcus picked me up around 8 in the morning, and with that, we were off!

I was looking forward to the road trip because I enjoy watching the scenery, but unfortunately for the first day we didn't have much in the way of a view. If you've ever made the drive from Phoenix to California, it's a whole lot of nothing for several hours--and neither Marcus nor myself are huge fans of the desert landscape. We kept trying to spot areas where the spiny plants were gradually becoming more sparse. Also, he really enjoyed the environmentally-conscious windmills we passed every once in awhile.

When we got to our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised--our room was quite big, and it had a jacuzzi in it! (We didn't actually use it, but still. I've never seen that before!) We both fell asleep for a couple of hours, then woke up to go check out Downtown Disney and (of course) Disneyland!

I should have it on record that I wore the special fruit top my good friend Sasha gifted me with for my first night out on the town!

We're both big food people, and neither of us can resist a good sandwich (we both worked at Port of Subs and got sort of spoiled! We like to try other ones whenever we can to compare). We tried out the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney, which was delicious! If you're ever in that area and you need a moderately inexpensive dinner, the subs are only $6.99. I had a pretty good turkey club, and Marcus decided to try their Italian combo. Both of us were impressed! We were trying to find the best deals--even though a lot of the food was more expensive than we'd usually like to pay, we figured if we were going to spend the money anyway we might at least make it worth it!

After that, we headed for Disneyland, which was nice since it was getting dark. There were still quite a few people (and of course, we didn't realize until getting there that we'd totally timed our trip to coincide with a holiday weekend) but it wasn't as overwhelming as it would've been in the daytime. We had a blast people-watching and getting on some of our favorite rides--the first stop was the Haunted Mansion, followed by Splash Mountain (which I'd never been on!). You overhear all kinds of funny things in line, plus you can see a lot of cute families. By the time we got there, most of the little kids still in the park were passed out in strollers or on their parents' laps. We were there a good couple of hours, but the entire day of driving coupled with a busy evening out sort of drained us earlier than usual. Still, it was a wonderful night and we had a lot of fun!

Next up: day two, our full day at Disneyland!