#15. Clean out my closet, and donate the clothes I don't wear to Goodwill. Immediately go out and purchase a new, fantastic piece of clothing to fill the now-empty closet space.

This is what a trunk of crap looks like.

Moving sucks. I think that this is a pretty undeniable, irrefutable fact. It requires heavy lifting, paying money for cardboard (or, in my case, trolling Craig's List and Trader Joe's for free moving boxes), and for me, coming to terms with how much crap I have managed to accumulate in my adult life.



I'm almost 30 years old, and I haven't lived in place for more than 3 years since I was 18. So you'd think with all this moving that I'd have whittled down my possessions, sought out a more "minimalist" lifestyle. You would be wrong. I do a light clean-out every time I move, and periodically whenever my dresser drawers won't close, but that's about it. So knowing I'd be moving somewhere this year, this list item was both necessary and well-timed.

Minimalist.
This is not what my kitchen looks like.

Like some of these other items on my list, I suppose there's not much to say about cleaning out my closet. I discovered I had like, 15 more plain white t-shirts than I actually needed. I found a cardigan I'd had since freshman year of high school. I let go of several sorority-era t-shirts that I don't think I ever wore (and I'm not actually sure I even attended the event the t-shirt was for...). I relived my "swacket" days of the early 2000s. And I came out on the other end with 17 -- SEVENTEEN! -- shopping bags of shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, shoes, scarves, headbands and jackets that I donated to the Salvation Army yesterday. And man, did it feel good.

As for the second part of #15 -- purchasing a fantastic new piece of clothing to replace the empty closet space -- I'm going to put that on hold until I can officially survey the closets in my new apartment in Chicago, and until I (finally) have a paycheck again. And in the meantime, Michigan friends, if you see someone walking around the greater Ann Arbor area in a GW ADPi hayride or crush party t-shirt, you'll know a part of me is still here. 

#7. Take myself out to lunch -- by myself -- and resist the urge to feel self-conscious.

So I guess I could add an off-list item, but I'm not going to write a post about it yet. I'll just say...I GOT A JOB! And I'm moving to Chicago! Big things poppin'. 

Pretty nice little Tuesday.

So the unemployment that turned into funemployment has now turned into "holy crap I'm starting a new job, I have to enjoy this free time AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE". And let's be real, a lovely lunch (and a glass of wine) on a midday Tuesday is pretty darn fun.

At a friend's going away party the weekend before, I mentioned the items I'd yet to complete on my list to my friend Matt, and we cooked up a plan for me to come to the restaurant where he works, Real Seafood Company, for lunch the following week during one of his shifts.  I love seafood (especially when it's been as RIDICULOUSLY hot as it has been lately...reminds me of being at the beach) and I've wanted to try this place before I moved, so it all worked out beautifully.

Since it was waaaay too hot for al fresco dining, Matt had graciously saved me a great table inside the sweet, sweet air conditioned restaurant. He put the menu down and I immediately knew what I wanted to order: scallops. Something you should probably know about me is that, if scallops are on the menu, I'm ordering them. Unless it's breakfast, or I'm at a crepe restaurant in Paris. Otherwise, I'm gettin' the scallops. I also got a robust (read: 8 oz.) glass of white wine. Boom. Tuesday lunch.

The scallops were great, but were probably the least favorite part of my meal. I'm not going to lie, the starter salad (pictured above) was probably the best part. Red onions and gruyere cheese are my jam, and the shallot dressing on top was phenomenal. In addition to being a fantastic server, Matt was also a super generous friend, and treated me to a slice of house-made key lime pie with fresh whipped cream at the end. Key lime pie always makes me think of trips to Marco Island, FL, so this was like a little bit of vacation on a square white plate.

Sweet treat -- thanks Matt!

So, on to the most important part: the dining alone experience. I've eaten by myself before, but mostly while traveling; never for fun, in my own town. I included this item on my list for a couple reasons: first, I think being nice to yourself, treating yo'self every once in a while, is really important; and second, I admit to sometimes seeing people dining by themselves at a restaurant and occasionally feeling badly. This feeling, I realized, stems from a feeling of "oh that poor person, nobody to have (insert meal here) with"...which is totally ridiculous! At least I recognize that, right?


Anyway, even though this was a relatively minor list item to cross off, it was one I really, really enjoyed. And you know why? Because not once during the entire meal, did I even  feel the need to "resist the urge to feel self-conscious", because I was just happy. I spent the time catching up on emails on my phone, writing some thank you notes, and enjoying my meal and some time alone. It felt like such a decadent, self-indulgent experience, an escape even, and who doesn't want that? So I've learned two things from this: maybe those people I see eating alone just don't feel like dealing with anyone else while enjoying their meal. And sometimes home can feel like a vacation, especially if key lime pie is part of the equation.

#4. Indulge in crepes and champagne in Paris

Nutella crepe. Champagne and strawberries. Boom.

Ditto the first line of my last posting: I've been bad at blogging since graduation. I blame it on the fact that, between putting about 3,000 miles on my car and a handful of plane flights, I have barely been home. I'll be better, I promise, because I've actually accomplished quite a few of those things over there on the right, and I'm excited to write about them.


So...Paris. Lovely, charming, magical, romantic, exciting, devastatingly beautiful, mysterious, sensational Paris. Putting this on my list was a major, major move, because I honestly can't believe I spent over 29 and a half years never having experienced it. It was amazing.


Rather than get into the day-by-day, I thought I'd just write a little bit about my overall experience. If I find myself particularly inspired (or bored) one day, I might write about some of the specific stuff we did. But when I described what I wanted our trip to Paris to be, I think the most common thing I said was: "I just want to be in Paris." Meaning, rather than hustle ourselves around with an itinerary, I wanted to have the tourist-y stuff we did sort of fit into the bigger picture of walking around, exploring, just existing in Paris. And I think we managed to accomplish that quite well.

Yo, that thing looks familiar.

First off, I must give a special shout-out to my travel companion, Andrew. From introducing me to my first (but not last) Lauduree macaroon to simultaneously falling asleep on our Seine boat cruise to accidentally breaking a tacky plastic snow globe at a Champs Elysee gift shop, we laughed about everything. Our jet-lag induced napping habits may not have been in sync, but our level of desire for French carbohydrates sure was, and that's really all that mattered.


In thinking back to my impressions of Paris, I think of one word: beauty. Our apartment in the Marais, with its carved wooden ceilings and windowed doors with a view of the neighborhood below, was beautiful. The French men and women sitting outdoors at the cafe next door to our apartment were beautiful -- just looking at them made me feel tragically unfashionable and uncultured. The architecture was beautiful, and I'm not just talking about places like Sacre Coeur or the Eiffel Tower (which are, of course, beautiful). I'm talking about the normal apartment buildings all over the city, the bouquinistes lining the banks of the Seine, the narrow alleys in Ile St. Louis, the Metro station in Montmartre. The food was beautiful (and delicious -- more about that later). Hell, even the graffiti in Paris was beautiful. 

Sacre Coeur. Way pretty.

The other highlight of Paris was, obviously, the food. A tip I got from several friends before we left was not to waste money on crepes at restaurants, to just buy them from street vendors, because those were the best anyway. You guys were not kidding. Andrew and I made a point -- nay, had a mission -- to eat at least one crepe per day. I think the best one I had was from a jambon et fromage one from a cart across the street from Notre Dame, that I devoured shortly before climbing the 382 marble steps to the very top of the cathedral (definitely, definitely worth doing). As I mentioned before, the Lauduree macarons were SO GOOD, and a must-have (even though they've now ventured State-side). Berthillon ice cream was unreal -- we made the trip to the outpost on Ile St. Louis, even though it seems like a lot of other places sell it. The truffled cashews we got at the Bon Marche food market were probably the best single item of food I've ever eaten. And I'd without hesitation recommend Hotel du Nord for a meal. Andrew and I enjoyed our last meal in Paris here, at the recommendation of several of his friends, and it didn't disappoint. The food was great, but beyond that, the atmosphere was stellar. It was one of the warmest (in disposition, not temperature), most charming and lovely places I've ever been. Plus, the waitstaff was way hot.

Great reason to make the climb up Notre Dame:
this dude, up close and personal.

The picture of me with my crepe up above was taken on our 2nd to last night, when we made the long trek from the Marais over to the Arc de Triomphe. I told Andrew on the walk over that, when I came up with this list item many months ago on my couch with Renee, I had this picture in my head of enjoying my crepe and champagne at a cafe on the Champs Elysee, with a view of the Arc. He was happy to indulge me, and even though our particular cafe was tented and thus our view was limited, and even though the glass of straight champagne I'd imagined was replaced with some champagne/strawberry puree concoction that the waiter promised me was better, it was perfect. I spent the whole trip thinking about how lucky I was to be in this amazing city; but that particular evening at that cafe, I felt that sentimental, sometimes silly, but always warm-fuzzy feeling of pride for having an idea -- no matter how big or small -- and making it happen.

Lauduree: I want to go (back) to there.

The other thing I loved doing in Paris -- and something I must eternally thank Andrew for being so patient with me about -- was photographing stuff. And by stuff, I mean EVERYTHING. I think all told, I took about 680 pictures in a 4 day time span, about 70 of which I uploaded on my Flickr page. As the fashion industry has shown us, beautiful things photograph easily, and I found Paris to be no exception. I hear the "it's not the camera, it's the photographer" adage a lot, but in the case of photographing Paris I'd say, "it's not the photographer, it's the city". I wish I'd brought my tripod (nerd alert!) to have really captured the "lights" part of the City of Lights, but hey, a hankering for some night photography is as good a reason to go back as any, right?


Okay, I am beginning to realize I could probably write 15 more of these about my trip, but I'm going to stop myself for now. I'll conclude by saying this: to everyone who made suggestions, thank you so much. We took a lot of them. And to everyone who is as captivated by Paris as I now am, or who wants to be: I'm ready to go back.

(Also, one last shout out to our apartments' proprietor, Amandine, who not only helped us with this amazing apartment, but also had fresh croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes and wine waiting for us after a loooong overnight flight. She's got a pretty cool business going in Paris, so if you have occasion to go, definitely check her website out.)

#8: Get a graduate degree

Hooded n' tassled.
Maybe that should be the title of a rap song?

I GRADUATED!!!


First up, though: recognition on my part that it's been a long-ass time since I've posted a blog entry. In addition to graduating, there were also a LOT of pre-graduation celebrations and general cavorting. Like, two weeks of it. Then, almost immediately after graduation, I headed to Paris (blog entry to come) and then made quick stops in NYC, DC and Maryland before heading back to the Arb. So here we are!


So, this entry on my list was one of two "freebies" I gave myself (the other being wedding officiating) -- meaning it was something I knew was going to happen, but wanted to recognize and include anyway.


What an amazing weekend it was. My parents arrived the Thursday before, and that evening we did a lovely, tame dinner at Mercy's at the Bell Tower Hotel, after which they dropped Kate and I -- in their Toyota Sienna minivan -- at Rick's (also, can we talk about how "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers is the music on Rick's homepage?!) for a lovely, not-quite-as-tame evening of drinks and fun with friends. Friday night was a fantastic dinner at the Quarter Bistro with my parents and my second set of parents. And then Saturday was the big day -- rainy, but fantastic just the same. I think I basically blacked out when they called my name and I walked across the stage because I don't remember much, but there are photos and witnesses that can verify.

Graduation shoes!

Saturday night to celebrate, Josh, Ariel, Ilana -- also fellow graduates -- and I hosted a backyard BBQ at Ilana and Ari's place, which was by all accounts a fabulous success. We had all the trappings of a good time: ridiculous amounts of food (including 80+ Chicago-style hot dogs, straight from Chicago), Jello shots, flip cup, a fire pit with s'mores, bumpin' beatz, kitchen dance parties, and great friends and family. Hell, my MOM took a Jello shot -- her first! -- so you know it was a good time. 


It still hasn't sunk in that I've actually graduated, despite the fact that I've been in Ann Arbor this whole week and the closest I've come to campus was a lunchtime trip to Sadako on South U. I think I'm okay with living in this weird half-reality for now though, where alarms don't need to be set and laying out reading old US Weekly's is totally acceptable Monday afternoon behavior. 


With all this time, I should be better about updating my list, too! Next up, my post (or perhaps posts plural) about Paris before I depart on my southern road trip (#2). Stay tuned!

Help Needed: Paris Planning!

Paris is way ugly.

It's hard to believe that it's been over 5 months since Andrew and I booked our tickets to Paris last November. Now, here we are, 24 days away from saying à tout à l'heure (my French skillz are mad strong) to the U.S. and bonjour to baguettes and dudes named Henri (my French stereotypes are also mad strong).


As I wrote before, this will be my very first trip to Paris. I went to France once, in high school when I was living in Germany and my friend and her mom and I went to the south of France. That was quite a lovely trip, and enough to give me confidence that the whole "the French have amazing cheese and perfumes" racket is actually based in truth. However, in the years and years of French classes I took through middle and high school and college, nobody ever really talked much about any place other than Paris. Oh, and sometimes Morocco. Once I think we talked about the Ivory Coast too, but I could be making that up.

A French dude named Henri.
This one happened to have
discovered radioactivity.

Regardless, I learned a lot about Paris in my French classes. Like, beaucoup -- the history of Les Invalides, the structure of the arrondissements, the meaning behind the Arc de Triomphe. All these lessons were accompanied by textbook pictures, but it was hard to get a feel for the actual layout of the city, the design. I remember a couple of years ago, watching the final part of the Tour de France when they all ride into Paris and thinking "huh, so that's where all that stuff is".


So now that this trip is rapidly approaching, I've started to freak out a bit. There's so much to do, so much to see. Andrew has been to Paris many times before, so he's very easy-going about what we do. So now I turn to you, my many friends who have visited or lived in Paris...


What should we do?
What are your absolute, non-negotiable, must see places?

The Rodin Museum.
Can you say, le eye sore.

We have about 4 full days and 5 nights, and I think we both would like to do a mix of tourist-y standards along with some fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pantalons neighborhood wandering/café  sitting. There are seemingly a million museums in Paris, but I think we've settled on doing the Museé Rodin, the Museé D'Orsay, and of course, the Louvre. And we are staying at an apartment in the Marais, quite close to Les Halles.


If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Bonus points if you have access to or know a tour guide named Henri. 


Feel free to leave a comment, email, Facebook, text, whatever -- and a big, big thank you (I mean, merci) in advance!