101 in 1001: #6 Reconnect with a Friend from High School

As you know, I'm trying to accomplish 101 things in 1001 days and I'm keeping track of it on my blog here. One of the items is to reconnect with a friend from high school. I guess it's not surprising that I am no longer "friends" with my high school buddies. Sure we keep track of each other on Facebook and we periodically check in and wish each other a happy birthday from year to year. But, I wanted to actually catch up with one of them and see how they've changed as a person (and also how they've stayed the same). My best friend from high school is J, and she and I still text to this day. In fact, we graduated high school and were roommates the first semester of college. After that she dropped out to move back home and I continued to graduation from the school. She was interested in going to law school but just recently completed a paralegal program. We've always had a lot in common and I would love to ask her to be in my wedding. However, we definitely lost touch a bit throughout the years so I don't know if that would be weird or not.

This past weekend our high school was doing a Quizzo Trivia Night as a fundraiser. So naturally, we took the opportunity to go and hang out in our old stomping grounds. Our Quizzo team consisted of me, Andrew, J, and a fellow classmate and friend of ours, K, and our team name was the Quizzards of Oz. We decorated our table to look like the yellow brick road and Emerald City. We may not have done so well with the actual trivia...but it was really nice to see J and to catch up with K. I have seen J over the years multiple times (as I said, we lost touch but still remained close) but I haven't seen K since graduation probably. She has really changed a lot!

And here's a "bathroom selfie" lol. We all look so different from high school days.

101 in 1001: Answering the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

One day I was randomly googling and I somehow came across The 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind on a website. I was intrigued but too busy to read/answer them all at the time so I added them to my 101 in 1001 list that I was making at the time. Well, it's now 2017 and what better time than now to complete the 50 questions? Here they are: (Note: this actually took way longer than anticipated to complete!)

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? Probably about 60-70? My hobbies include watching Jeopardy!, cross-stitching, and cooking/baking. I will be a really good grandma someday.
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying? Never trying.
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do? Hmm, pressure from others/society?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done? Absolutely. But I'm working on that. Hence the 101 in 1001 list and my bucket list!
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world? The way people interact with each other.
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? Traveling, photographing my travels, and sharing my life on this blog!
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing? Hmm, this is deep and I'm not sure. Obviously being a lawyer is not what I would choose to do if I could choose anything in the world to do...but it's good for now.
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? I wouldn't worry so much about setting up my future and probably would live a lot more in the moment.
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? About 40-60%?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? Doing things right...but who decides what "right' is?!
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do? I would probably point out a few good things about the person. I don't like when people talk badly of others and I wouldn't go along with it.
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? Do you man. Make yourself happy.
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one? Absolutely.
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity? I don't think so. Not in my actual life. I think Picasso showed some insanity but also creativity.
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people? I'm really good at seeing how things will happen and be able to anticipate things.
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy? Different strokes for different folks. We're not all the same!
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back? Traveling the world and experiencing a life other than the one I'm used to. I'm being held back because traveling isn't free!
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? Yes. Without a doubt.
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why? I would move to Colorado. As you know, my fiance lived there for 6 months and I got to visit a couple of times. The state itself was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and the people there seemed so much nicer and more friendly than the people on the East Coast. There was so much to do in Colorado and I would love to live there if I had the opportunity.
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster? I do not push the elevator button more than once. I also don't use the button that closes the door. I don't think either of those actually do anything.
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? Joyful simpleton.
22. Why are you, you? A combination of nature and nurture of course. I'm a beautiful mix of my life's experiences, the people who have come and gone, and a product of the society I live in.
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? I think so.
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you? Losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you. Because then there's really no good reason for the growing apart other than you're too lazy to keep the relationship going.
25. What are you most grateful for? My sweetheart to-be husband who makes me a better person and opened my eyes to a world outside my own.
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? I don't know. Both would be awful!
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first? Yes.
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true? No.
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now? I don't remember a time 5 years ago. I can remember a time 1-2 years ago and yes it still matters. In 3 years it probably won't.
30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special? All of my gymnastics memories. Those make me so happy because I was doing something I loved and really enjoyed and I was having success doing it.
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? Not sure.
32. If not now, then when? Gymnastics. Probably my one true passion.
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? I don't know.
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever? No, I don't think so.
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? Because the religion also supports only that one religion as being the correct religion?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil? I don't think so. I think you need to know context around the situation in order to decide what is good and evil.
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? Yes.
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing? More work that I actually enjoy doing.
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? Yes.
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in? All the time when I go into court.
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? Every single person I could. Starting and ending with my family.
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? I don't think so. I'd rather have the years.
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living? Truly living is doing more than just going through the motions. 
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right? All the time.
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? Because making a "mistake" means we did something wrong...and no one likes feeling like they did something wrong and should have acted differently.
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? Hmmm, I'm not sure.
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? Just now.
48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? My life (most of the time).
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that? No, they were both work days and I probably won't remember them past six months from now...
50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? I'm trying to make them.

If you answer these questions send me a link so I can read your responses!

Birthday on Broadway, Baby

Some excitement for the post today: I got to see some bright lights in the big city! Try reading that without singing BRIGHT LIGHTS AND THE BIG CITYYYY to yourself. Also, I fulfilled another of my 101 in 1001 list items!

This past Saturday my buddy and I visited NYC to see Aladdin and grab some dinner to celebrate her birthday. Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies and to get to see it on Broadway was really really neat.

 And these are the nails I painted (technically after the show):

It is from the producer of The Lion King and stars Adam Jacobs (as Aladdin), James Monroe Iglehart (as the Genie), and Courtney Reed (as Jasmine). The show and music is definitely "Genie-us" as described on the website and I would highly recommend it to EVERYONE.

After the show we headed to Wolfgang's for dinner and just chatted for a bit. It was a really good time and a nice escape from working, wedding planning, and house hunting.

Have you ever seen a Broadway show?? Which one?

101 in 1001: #82 - Wine Tasting in California Wine Country

It's been a while since we had a 101 in 1001 post here on the blog and potentially that's because I haven't been doing anything am an awful blogger. Finally though, I get to check something off my list: Wine Tasting. And better yet, it was in Sonoma County aka California Wine Country. Andrew and I are...interesting...when it comes to wine: #1 He prefers beer. #2 I only drink reeeeeally sweet dessert-type wine. So, clearly we should go wine tasting in an area that is responsible for some of the most amazing wines ever, right? We went to Chateau St. Jean Winery and Ledson Winery and Vineyard. Ledson seriously looked like a castle!

 

My favorite wine is definitely a moscato or riesling (I know, some people don't even think that's real wine). What's your favorite wine? Have you ever been wine tasting?

101 in 1001: #19

I'm excited to post a 101 in 1001 list update! I am hoping to be able to cross off #65 of my 101 in 1001 list soon BUT since I just started at my firm it's too soon to tell if I'll really like it or not. So, for now, my update is that I can cross #19 off my list! #19, if you have not checked out the list, is to "Inspire someone else to create a 101 in 1001 list." As of February 1, 2016, this has been completed! Ghila, the blogger behind over at The Beauty Travelista has created her very own 101 in 1001/Bucket List!! Yay! Shout to Ghila! Thank you for helping me cross off an item on my list and I am so excited to be able to check out your progress on your very own list. If anyone else wants to create a 101 in 1001 list of their own don't forget to share links with me so I can see what you want to accomplish.

In other non-nail, non-101 in 1001 news: I am happy to report that my firm does not seem to be too strict on nail polish!! Wahoo! I don't think that I can quite wear nails like my Color Paints water marble BUT everything else seems to be ok. Yay! Although...my first couple months will probably just be in the office (not going to depositions or court) which means much of my time will be spent at my desk, hunched over records and my computer keyboard, in my office, by myself with minimal facetime with partners. So really, who is going to have issues with the colors of my nails?! Maybe I WILL sneak in some rainbow water marble after all.

Now I'm off to dinner with my parents and Andrew to celebrate my new job!! Yay!

Coloring Nails (and other things) at Color Me Mine

A big part of why I created the 101 in 1001 list was so that every now and then Andrew and I would try our hands at something we haven't done before. So when Andrew had off during Christmas and New Years we decided to give pottery painting a try (AKA #84 on my 101 in 1001 list). Here's a recap of our pottery painting adventure. Oh but first, here is my nail design for today since we picked the pottery up yesterday:

I used OPI What's With the Cattitude, Art Deco Black, and Sally Hansen Camelflage.

So now that we have the nails out of the way, let's get back to painting other things. When you first walk in the store you notice shelves and shelves of possibilities to choose from. The place we went to had over 400 possible ceramic pieces for us to look at (according to their site)!

The pieces were a variety of sizes, uses, and prices. We looked at a couple mugs, salt and pepper shakers, vases, bowls, canisters, and plates but we decided to try our painting skills on two large dinner plates, an owl ornament, and a spoon holder. Then came the hard part, painting! If I can paint my nails does that mean I can paint other things?? Spoiler alert: No, it doesn't.

So focused!

The paint dried very chalk-like and you had to be careful to do multiple coats so it would be opaque post-kiln. I was in charge of the owl ornament and my dinner plate, while Andrew focused on his dinner plate and our spoon holder. Here is our pre-kiln ornament. I can't believe I forgot to take a true before photo of all our pieces!

And a pre-kiln photo of my plate. I forgot to photograph the actual front of the plate but this is the bottom of it. The top is just like the center (it's leopard on a "vanilla bean" background). The paint dries really chalky but she assured us that the post-kiln product would be nicely opaque and glossy.

After you paint them you have to leave them with the store so that the item can be properly dried, glazed, and fired in the kiln. Then you pick them up about a week later and you're good to go. I couldn't wait to see how they turned out! Here are our glazed and completed pieces:

The colors of Andrew's plate didn't come too well in my photo. The outer is more teal and the middle ring is more salmon-pink-orange than neon orange. Mine is of course the one on the right...you know how I feel about animal print. And our little owl Christmas ornament turned out so cute! I'm a bit obsessed with it and hung it in our apartment despite it no longer being Christmas and despite us no longer having a tree for ornaments.

Did you notice the difference between pre- and post-kiln?? The spoon holder will be added in a bit because apparently there was a little problem with the glazing and firing....we didn't get to pick it up yet. Of course we couldn't wait to eat dinner on the plates:

Speaking of dinner oh my god I made the biggest black bean burger yesterday with Mediterranean couscous (although I barely ate the couscous since the burger was TOO big). Props to Andrew for piling so little french fries on his plate! I wouldn't have had that restraint.

What do you think? Have you ever gone pottery painting? I so enjoyed it and can't wait to go back to do a pink and black zebra plate!

101 in 1001: #2 Complete My First Cross Stitch Stocking

Today's post is a completion of an item on my 101 in 1001 List: completing my very first cross stitch stocking! Here's a bit of background: everyone in my family has a beautiful handmade cross stitch stocking that says our name on it....well, everyone except my little brother. He has a store bought one that looks really lame compared the rest of ours hanging on the banister. During law school, I decided that I would try to make him one because he started hinting that it bothered him how he was the only one without a stocking like ours. He's not one to complain so I ordered this Dimensions Needlecrafts cross stitch kit off Amazon for $19.34 on January 1, 2014 in order to make him one. It may have taken almost 2 years for me to finish it but I successfully completed it as a Christmas gift this year. Here is the finished product!

Voila, I added a bow and called it a day. For more photos, keep reading!

When I first started I worked on the snowman and broom first:

It took almost exactly 2 years for me to finish the stitching. (Spoiler alert: I don't think those nails ever made it onto the blog here because I didn't like them.) Here is a photo before I started all the finishing edging and stuff (like the red detail on the snowman's scarf and the outlining on all the little creatures):

Then I went with my parents to pick out the fabric for the backing. My mom has made all of our childhood Halloween costumes and random holiday dresses so she was a pro on how to do the stocking. The kit already came with the fluffy lining so I only needed to get fabric. I cut to size, pinned it in place (ok my mom pinned it), and it was ready to be sewn into a stocking form. Shout out to my fantastic mom for staying up late to help me finish the stocking (and for doing the actual sewing because I have no clue what I'm doing).
Here is a before and after shot for the sewing:

And here is a comparison of my stocking (brought to you in 1990 or so) and my brother's new personalized stocking:

And one last time, the finished product ready to be hung with the rest of our family stockings!

So I can officially check this off my 101 in 1001 list (and my bucket list I think!). Now I have two more stockings on the way for Andrew and I. I didn't have a stocking for our apartment this year and I made him a quick crocheted one as a placeholder. I figure I'll have the others done in about 4 years, lol. I also have a Beauty and the Beast project requested by my sister. Oy vey, so much needlework! When will I ever have time to paint my nails?? Just kidding!