Currently

HBO.com

Watching: Six Feet Under, my hands-down all-time favorite show.  I've been slowly re-watching the entire series (five seasons) over the past year, and it is still just as moving and overwhelming as the first go around.  Seriously... THE best show ever.  If you haven't watched it, I strongly suggest you do so as soon as humanly possible.  As naive and teenager-y as Claire is for most of the show, I can't get over how many remarkable ideas she comes up with.  I could quote her for ages.  To sum it up, the show is a beautifully written depiction of family dysfunction, birth, death, love, the ups and downs of relationships, the search for beauty and truth, self-actualization and growth, survival and impending finality.

Anticipating: the release of Catching Fire this coming weekend.  I probably won't be able to see it until sometime next week because I have to work Friday and Saturday.  I remember really liking the book, but I think Mockingjay is still my favorite, and I am really excited to see how it translates to film.  Also anticipating Thanksgiving and Christmas, of course.  Casseroles, pies and rolls, oh my!  I would like to get all of my Christmas shopping out of the way early this year.  I did pretty good last year, but I always leave a few things for the last minute, like those impossible-to-buy-for family members.

Eating: lots of rice.  I've never been a huge rice-eater, but lately I've been making a couple of different rice recipes as a starch for meals.  This Mexican rice recipe and this orzo-white rice blend are both really delicious components in any weeknight feast.  Last night I baked some chicken, spinach & feta sausages and served them with carrots, broccoli and the orzo-rice mix.  It was pretty delicious and very filling.  Tonight, I'm probably going to make chicken and dumplings in my Crock Pot!  It's a little chilly outside today, so why not whip up something that is sure to warm our bellies?

Wondering: if it's lame to give homemade Christmas gifts when you're an adult?  I've had the crafting bug as of late, and I have a few ideas that would make good gifts, but I'm not sure if that's something that people still do in their twenties?  I don't want anyone to think I'm being cheap and thoughtless!

Listening to: the new Arcade Fire album, Beck, Michale Graves, Warpaint, Interpol (always), Daughter, the Arctic Monkeys new album, Cults and Chris Isaak.  I'll post a playlist sometime this week with my favorite songs from these artists so you can check them out for yourself.

As always, many thanks to Danielle for providing the inspiration for these Currently posts.

xoxo

A Brief Currently

Loving: the beginnings of the Fall season in Austin.  The humidity and sweltering heat is finally fading, and those light breezes are starting to blow through.  It's my favorite time of year; a time I look forward to all year round!  Pumpkins are a plenty, orange and red leaves are making themselves known and the ghosts n' goblins are preparing for all hallows' eve.  ;)

Watching: As far as shows go, we're keeping up with Homeland, Parenthood, New Girl and Boardwalk Empire.  I (alone) am watching the new season of my ultimate guilty pleasure, The Vampire Diaries.  The first episode of this season's SNL was hilarious!  Did you see it?  Tina Fey hosted, and Arcade Fire was the musical guest.  They introduced six new cast members, and, so far, they are awesome, and my fave character, Drunk Uncle, even made an appearance.  It doesn't get much better than that my friends.

Anticipating: My twenty-fifth birthday on the thirtieth of this month, Halloween and moving into a new place.

Eating: Some yummy treats I picked up at the new Trader Joe's yesterday - veggie samosas, mango ginger chutney, cranberry apple butter, a couple of bottles of wine, butternut squash soup and greek yogurt! It's so nice having a variety of grocery stores that all offer a variety of products.  Central Market is probably still my favorite, but Trader Joe's is definitely a runner-up.

Currently

Anticipating: My dad's 46th birthday tomorrow!  He and my step-mom, Rebecca, are driving up from Houston to spend some time in the lovely hill country (and one of my dad's favorite cities) to celebrate the occasion.  Tomorrow night we're having dinner at Mai Thai per my dad's request for Thai food.  I've actually never tried it before, but it has great reviews, and seeing as it's had a downtown  location for a while now, I'm guessing it's not hurting for business.  Saturday I will be joining them, along with some of their friends, at the Oasis on Lake Travis, a popular tourist destination restaurant with some of the absolute best sunset views.

Enjoying: My day off from work today.  The past few days at work have been very trying.  I can't exactly pinpoint what is making it so stressful; I suspect it's just a lot of things changing and happening all at once.  It's sort of felt like a whirlwind of issues spinning around me one after the other.  Just when I've got something under control, another thing pops up and smacks me in the face.  Here's hoping things settle down soon!

Watching: As far as television goes, I've been keeping up with Mad Men, The Killing and True Blood, which all air on Sunday.  Thank goodness for AT&T U-Verse!  On top of all that, the final season of Dexter premieres this coming Sunday.  And in the way of movies, we saw Man of Steel in IMAX 3D about a week and a half ago.  I really enjoyed it for the most part, although it did feel a little TOO action-packed at times.  I like my superhero movies to have a good mix of love-story, action and background.  Man of Steel included all of these elements, but the love-story and background parts felt pretty buried under all of the swooshing, crashing, bashing, smashing and mass-destruction going on.

Missing: my dear friend, Emily.  She was in town visiting this past weekend, and we had so much fun together!  It almost felt just like the good old college days minus all the crazy Keystone and Coors Light-filled adventures.  We had some more mature adventures this time around, venturing out to Krause Springs in Spicewood, doing some modest drinking on Rainey Street, stuffing our faces at Gourdough's and shopping around the eclectic South Congress district before she drove her little rental Fiat back to Space City.  I would have devoted an entire post to her visit, but she wrote one herself that I won't even try to out-do!

Devouring: This scrumptious Curry Chicken Salad that Jason made.  He's made it a few times before, and lemme tell ya, it's to die for!  It's got grapes, apples, celery and pecans in it too, which makes for a delicious, slightly-healthy-if-it-weren't-for-all-the-mayonnaise little lunch.  I'll post the recipe sometime in the near future so you guys can try it for yourselves!

xoxo

Currently

Watching: Dawson's Creek.  I know I am a SERIOUS late bloomer on this show, but the whole series is streaming on Netflix so I thought I would give it a try.  I'm such a sucker for TV shows, especially the extra dramatic ones with a side of teen angst.  I'm not sure why I never watched the show while it was on.  I guess I was just into other things at the time, plus I've never been a huge fan of Katie Holmes, but I am a true lover of Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.  I'm somewhat impartial to James Van Der Beek because I'm pretty positive this is the only thing I've ever seen him in.  I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with the show like I was with Gossip Girl.  I only watch a few episodes each week, and I never really have the urge to rush in to the next episode.  I do, however, enjoy the '90s soundtrack and attire!

Listening to: the Eve 6 Pandora station.  I'm not sure how it happened, but a few days ago I got the sudden urge to listen to my old high school favorite, Eve 6, which in turn made me want to listen to some other late '90s - early '00s favorites.  Instead of searching through Spotify for hours tracking down a bunch of old songs, I decided to open up the rarely-utilized Pandora app on my iPhone, and boy am I so happy I did!  Let me tell you.  I was JAMMIN' on my way to work that afternoon - singing every single word of the songs that came on from Blink 182, Sum 41, Lit, Everclear and so on.  Needless to say, that has been my go-to playlist every time I've gotten in the car since then.

Working on: an extensive guide to some of the best restaurants in Austin to give out to guests at the hotel.  We're constantly getting asked for bar and restaurant recommendations, and I feel like I'm always suggesting the same places over and over, and then later on I'll remember other really good places I should have recommended.  So to make it a little easier on everyone I decided to take it upon myself to type up a little (or quite long) list of places complete with hours they're open and helpful tips and suggestions for each one.  It has turned out to be quite a task, but I'm still happy with my decision to take on the project.  I know it will come in handy, and hopefully everyone (staff and guests) will find it beneficial.

Eating: lots of berries, bananas, avocados and chips and salsa!  I just can't seem to get enough chips and salsa.  I ordered some for lunch at Torchy's Tacos the other day, and since then I've made my own delicious homemade salsa and I've been snacking on it constantly!  

Loving: my new confetti mixing bowls by Zak! Designs that my mom sent me!  When I was younger and still living at home, she had a set of the mixing bowls from Crate and Barrel, and I've always been so in love with them!  I know, I know. I'm in love with mixing bowls!  NERD ALERT, but when you love to cook they are your best friends.  Anyway, I've been pining for my own set for years, but never got around to buying some.  I was so elated when I came home from work last night to a package from my mom and even more excited when I opened it and saw my brand new, beautiful set of confetti mixing bowls!

Once again, thanks to Danielle for providing the inspiration for these Currently posts.

Currently

Enjoying: this gorgeous Thursday off from work with Jason!  He flies out early tomorrow morning to Breckenridge, Colorado for our friend Corey's bachelor party/weekend getaway/snowboarding trip.  He'll be gone for three days; it's going to be so weird for me because I've never been alone overnight at home since we've lived together.  So crazy!  Today he has to grab a few last minute items for the trip, and I will happily accompany him so we can get out of the apartment together and enjoy this bright, windy day.  Later on this afternoon, I'm going to assist in the bottling process of his second batch of Green Belt Pale Ale and whip up some crockpot pulled pork tacos for dinner!

Working on: saving money!  I would really like to purchase a new MacBook soon.  My current one is slowly dying on me.  It won't even let me view videos because the software I am running is too outdated to update Adobe Flash Player.  I could go out and buy the newer software, but my disc drive has been out of service for a couple of years now and I'm planning on getting a new computer soon anyway.  I'm also trying to sell my iPhone 4 along with four phone cases on eBay so I can upgrade to the iPhone 5.

Listening to: my new favorite band, alt-J.  Thanks to KUTX, I've been hearing a lot of this up-and-coming English quartet, who happen to being playing SXSW this year!  I'm hoping to catch a day party  or two, so maybe I'll stumble upon one of their sets.

Watching: my current guilty pleasure, The Vampire Diaries.  I just cannot get enough of Stefan, Damon, Elena and their crazy dramatic love triangle.  I'm a little over halfway through season three, and I just know I will be super depressed when I've finished it.  The series started off kind of slow, cheesy and uneventful, but now it's actually got a pretty wonderful story-line with highly-developed characters that I've come to love.  I still have my fingers crossed that Ian Somerhalder (Damon) will be cast as Christian Grey ;)  Oh, and last night I watched the 1985 movie Mask and bawled my eyes out until my face was all kinds of red and puffy.  I had seen it before a loonnngg time ago with my dad, and I had remembered it being pretty heavy, but dear lord, I was a mess!  And oddly enough, I rediscovered my love for Eric Stoltz and researched him online for a while after the movie was over.  I didn't realize that he has dated some of the '80s all-time hottest actresses including Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda.  Wowie wow wow!  Smokin' HOT couples alert.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy my day!  And you should go have a great one yourself :)

Currently

New glasses & old birthing sweater

Making: Delicious food.  A few nights ago I made one of our go-to cheap meals, soft tacos, except this time I whipped up some refried black beans Trudy's-style with a little bit of sugar and lots of cayenne pepper.  Last night I made a dish I've made once before - Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps from Taste of Home.  Those will definitely go into the dinner rotation.  So, so scrumptious and only 275 calories for two lettuce wraps!

Watching: Too many wonderful shows!  As of right now I'm keeping up with Shameless, GIRLS, Parenthood (season four finale is on tonight!) and Vampire Diaries.  I'm in the process of trying to catch up on New Girl, and we just caught up completely on Homeland, which is ridiculously amazing.

Listening to: FIDLAR's debut self-titled album, SXSW 2013 band Popstrangers, London-based shoegaze/psychedelic band TOY, and the always-lovely Bat For Lashes.

Anticipating: Our mini-vacation next week!  One of my Christmas gifts to Jason was a romantic one-night stay at the Riverwalk Vista in San Antonio, so we're doing that Sunday night, and then on Tuesday we're making the drive north to Dallas to see Jason's extended family and our friends Chris and Evelyn's new addition, baby Nathan.  We will also, hopefully, get a chance to see some of my friends that live in the DFW area, so it should be a really nice time.

Working on: drinking more water on a daily basis.  This has always been an issue for me.  I'm a HUGE drink person.  Growing up, my mom always kept Coke, Dr.Pepper and lots of juices in the house, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I always opted for those drinks over flavorless water.  I am also currently working on not getting sick.  It's cold and flu season, and I typically get some kind of head cold/stuffiness twice during the winter months.  I've already been sick once toward the end of November and that was no fun.  Yesterday evening my throat started itching and this morning when I woke up it was a little sore.  I've been drinking Emergen-C, loading up on actual vitamin C tablets and keeping my throat coated via cough drops.  I seriously do not want to get sick right before this getaway!

As always, thanks for reading my "Currently" posts, and thanks to Danielle for the inspiration.

xoxo

Currently

Home Slice Pizza on South Congress - Austin, Texas

Looking forward to: The Nutcracker Ballet on Saturday!  I saw a local commercial for the ballet a couple of weeks ago and immediately felt warm and giddy inside thinking back to when I was younger and would go to ballets and plays with Meme and Papa, particularly around Christmastime.  Sometimes I get so starved for comfort and familiarity up here without being surrounded by family like I'm used to, and seeing the commercial and experiencing the feelings it evoked within me, I knew I needed to do this.  I decided to approach Jason with the idea, and he said he was up for it.  We decided to invite our friends Corey and Helen along, so it'll be a lovely little double-date affair.  I'm definitely anxious for Saturday evening.  We're going to dinner at El Alma beforehand and then to The Long Center for the performance.

Eating: better.  I'm trying to get serious about my eating habits once again.  I know, the holidays aren't the best time for diet modifications. This is always such a struggle for me.  I don't necessarily over-eat; I just love food so much.  I was raised in a family that enjoys food - every aspect of it - the buying, the preparing, the cooking, the eating, the leftovers, etc.  Don't get me wrong - it's a wonderful, potentially beneficial habit to appreciate and love food.  I've just been trying to make sure I incorporate lots of veggies and more fruit into my diet, and I'm attempting to be more aware of when certain produce are in season.  I bought some winter squash, red pears and pomegranates a few days ago, and I'm limiting my sugar intake.  Little by little I'll get there.

Listening to: a variety of different music.  With it being Christmastime, I'm of course indulging myself in A Very She & Him Christmas, Christmas With Coniff, Vince Guaraldi, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Carpenters and many more.  I'll probably upload of playlist post of all my Christmas music in the next few days.  We watched an episode of Parenthood a couple of nights ago and had a beautiful cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" by James Blake.  I've been listening to that on repeat this evening.  That tends to happen to me; I'll hear a song that absolutely stops me in my tracks and irrevocably haunts me for weeks on end.  It's a fabulous curse if you ask me.

Watching: some amazing movies that have relentlessly resonated with me since I watched them.  In my opinion, a film is perfect when it forces you to use your mind and it grabs ahold of your heart and wrings it out like a soaking wet dishcloth.  I absolutely love to feel any and every emotion while I'm watching a movie.  I want to feel it swim through my bloodstream, dig through my bones and crawl across my skin.  I've seen two movies recently that managed to do this to me.

The first was Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, directed by Sarah Polley.  It's about a young married woman who is seemingly happy and content with her husband of about five-six years, but their relationship has plateaued and lacks the passion she desires.  Enter tall, dark, handsome artist who just so happens to move in across the street.  She falls for him, but struggles with her feelings for him because she doesn't want to hurt her husband.  I really enjoyed the story because it's painfully realistic, and the ending sort of catches you off guard and leaves you unsettled, yet satisfied all at once.

The second was We Need To Talk About Kevin starring Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller and John C. Reilly.  This one involves a super heavy story that switches back and forth in time, revolving around a mother analyzing her past display of abilities and decisions as a parent to her now teenage son, Kevin, who has been disturbed, if you will, since birth.  The dark, deeply thrilling film is visually appealing and artistically shot with red and white color motif from beginning to end.  Needless to say, I was captivated the entire two hours.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far, and, once again, many thanks to Danielle for inspiring these "Currently" posts.

Currently

Oh hello friends.  It's Friday night.  Kinda.  I have to work tomorrow so I'm not feeling much like party crashing a wild ruckus tonight, but here is what I am up to this evening...

Drinking: A Fox Barrel Blackberry Pear Cider.  Mmm mmm delish.  I got hooked on these a few months back when I stumbled upon them in the beer/wine section of Central Market.  A cider lover's delight, lemme tell ya.

Listening to: Good ol' Grizzly Bear.  I'm really digging their new album right now so it's made me reinvent my love for the group by going back and listening to their beginnings.  I'm head over heels for the remixed version of the 'Horn of Plenty' album.  Especially this song:

Realizing: There are a lot of shortcuts I am unaware of on my MacBook.  I just accidentally pushed command + G and a weird little search bar popped down under my bookmarks bar.  Also, it's fun to listen to a song on YouTube at the same as a song is playing on Spotify.  Trippy.

Pondering: How narcissistic, rude and self-entitled some people act.  This has been an axe-murdering of a week at work due to a myriad of factors.  I stayed late today to type up a statement for my manager regarding an incident in which a self-entitled jack-booty went a little too far.  I'm just so ready for tomorrow to be over and done with.  Thank god I'm off on Sunday and Monday.

Anticipating: My birthday!  I always look forward to it for some reason.  Hey, maybe I'm one of those narcissistic freaks who craves attention.  Anyway, I already know what Jason is getting me, and I'm super excited to receive it, and I'm moving into my "mid-twenties" which can only be a good thing, right?  Right.

Enjoying: These little baby pumpkins I bought at the store today on the way home.  They just complete my Halloween decor.  Hunter likes them too :)

Currently

Watching:  Gossip Girl, still.  I'm about halfway through season five, finally!  Hopefully I'll be all caught up by the time season six airs live on the CW next month.  And tonight is the much-anticipated season premiere of Boardwalk Empire.  I'm itching to see what Mister Nucky Thompson is up to now.

Eating:  Tonight I'm making spiced cod cakes and scalloped corn for dinner.  I made the corn dish for Christmas dinner at Jason's parents' last year, but this will be a trial-run on the cod cakes.  Here's hoping they turn out edible!

Anticipating:  Some possible upcoming changes.  Lately I've been feeling sort of stuck in one place, paralyzed, immobile and frustrated with the inability to make things better for myself.  As cliche as it sounds, life really is way too short to waste time not doing what makes you happy.  I've got to make some changes before I end up in that awful place I was in a few years ago.  On a more chipper note, I'm also eagerly awaiting my favorite time of year, Fall, as well as my favorite holiday, Halloween.  I've been exploring costume options.  As of now, I'm thinking either a sailor girl, a fortune teller (complete with crystal ball) or Olive Oil.  We shall see what I decide on.

Reading:  I finished The Hunger Games trilogy and was planning on diving into the Fifty Shades of Grey obsession, but I temporarily changed my mind and started Sourland by one of my favorite writers, Joyce Carol Oates.  It's a beautiful collection of short stories about death and darkness, just what I need for a little perk-up, huh? 

I think I'm in love with today.  It hasn't stopped raining.  I can't remember the last time it rained this much.  There's no better feeling of comfort than being indoors with the one you love while it's rainy and chilly outside.  Hope you all are enjoying your day as well.  Love and more love.

Currently.

Anticipating:  This amazing dinner Jason is making; the apartment is filled with the savory smells of creole spices, shrimp and citrus!  My mouth is watering like crazy, and my belly is growling up a storm.  He's trying out one of the recipes in the Emeril's cookbook his dad gave me this past Christmas.  I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious; Emeril's legit, guys.

Drinking:  A new favorite...Fox Barrel Blackberry Pear Hard Cider.  Cider has always been at the top of my beverage preferences, but it seems like I'm consistently opting for cider over beer these days.  This one is particularly quite tasty.  The blackberry flavor is a perfect counterpart to the pear, making this the perfect, fruity summer treat.

Reading:  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.  I know I'm so behind on The Hunger Games frenzy, but I was holding out for a copy of the second book to become available at our local library.  Three weeks into the hold I had placed on the book, it became clear I was going to have to grow, bottle and drink some miracle patience elixir before I would get my hands on it.  So, I gave in and purchased it at Target.  I am about halfway through and loving every second of it!  So far I like this one better than the first.  It's also neat getting to read the book and be introduced to the characters as they're selecting the cast for the CATCHING FIRE film due out next year.  One of my favorite actresses, Jena Malone has been chosen to play Johanna Mason, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Watching:  THE SHINING.  Oh, you know, I was just lounging on the couch after a day of work, as usual, flipping through the TV channels moaning and groaning because nothing interesting was on.  I was mildly intrigued by the "Caught On Tape: Teens Gone Wild" special on MSNBC, but that lasted all of about 35 minutes.  Sure enough, I came across one of the first movies to ever truly terrify me and give me psychotic nightmares.. on Spike of all channels.  Redrum.  REDRUM.  REDRUM.

Counting Down To:  My long-awaited trip to Portland, OR with my best friend, Jessica.  In approximately four days and eleven and a half hours, I will be boarding the plane.  This will be my first flight all by myself.  Not going to lie - I'm a little nervous.  I told Jason I normally don't pay much attention in airports when we travel together, I just follow his lead; my thoughts are much too preoccupied with the excitement of our destination.  We'll see how I do on my own.  I have faith in myself.  I think I can, I think I can.  Haha.

Listening To:  Dark, resonant tunes like this one by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club --

Sunday Currently

Obsessing over: my crazy mood swings.  I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I've been experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions as of late, and it's getting really frustrating for me.  If I'm annoying myself, I know I'm annoying others, especially poor Jason wondering what the hay is going on.  Whatever the case may be, I plan on getting to the bottom of it and putting a stop to this psychotic behavior.

Working on: making friends.  Ok, I haven't really made huge leaps and bounds in this department, but, in my defense, it's difficult to meet people after college, especially when you despise pretty much everyone until they give you a reason to like them.  

Thinking about: Boardwalk Empire!  Such a great show.  Jason and I started season two last night, and we are both hooked.  The cast is awesome, the music and fashion are superb and the plot is super absorbing.  Lovin' it.

Anticipating: a trip to Houston this week.  I haven't been home for a visit in over two months which has been pretty hard on me, so I'm heading out tomorrow after work and will return to Austin on Thursday.  I plan to spend time with my Mom and sister, catch my brother's baseball game Tuesday night, visit Nana and have lunch with an old friend.  It should be a fun week.  

Listening to: these five Canadians:

Eating: breakfast for dinner tonight!  We're making some of our specialties: banana-cinnamon waffles, creole eggs with hollandaise sauce, bacon and biscuits.  So excited to chow down!

Wishing: I would have listened to adults when I was in high school.  Life really does just get tougher as you age.  I wish it weren't so, but sadly, I was not lied to.  Bills, responsibility, tough decisions, etc.  It's an endless cycle of madness.

Sorry to end on such a downer.  Hope you all have a great week!

xoxo

Sunday Currently

me with my new hair & smokin' hot wolf shirt

Currently...

Obsessing over:  Tattoos still.  I have GOT to quit talking about it and just do it already!  I know I'm annoying you because I'm definitely annoying myself.  I got my first tattoo at True Blue in downtown Austin, and although I love it and Jose did great work, I decided to research other shops in Austin and peruse a variety of online galleries.  Alas, nothing beats True Blue.  Just check out their website and see for yourself.  I read lots of reviews on Yelp about Rachel and her precision and perfection with shading, so I'm thinking I want her to do my next, which will prrrooobably be the victorian cameo on my forearm.

Working on:  Getting better at being fake-nice.  It's simply something you have to master when you work in the hospitality industry.  Especially during busy peaks like the one we're experiencing now.  It amazes me the things people think I care about.  I REALIZE you have to be downtown in ten minutes, but how is this MY fault and WHY are you yelling at me like I should hire a horse-drawn carriage to come pick your ass up?!  Oh, SXSW, you kill me.

Thinking about:  The lasagna I just put in the oven.  It smells overwhelmingly inviting.

Anticipating:  The end of SXSW and the demise of everyone attending it.

Listening to:  Widowspeak!  New favorite band for sure.  I just stumbled across them on Spotify one day and have been enchanted ever since.

Eating:  Well...about to eat Lasagna and caesar salad.  Yum yum.

Wishing:  It were the 19th, and we were on our way to New Orleans already!  

Peace & blessin's.

xoxo

Currently...

Obsessing over:  The amazing weather we've been experiencing!  Spring is here indeed.  Although Fall is by far my favorite season, I can deal with Spring.  The temperatures range from 65 to 85 degrees with sunshine and cool breezes.  Plus, I love that there's little to no humidity in Austin.  Just one more reason to adore my city :)

Working on:  My health/fitness.  I'm serious this time, guys!  With all of the super cool fitness apps for iPhone (check out the Nike Training app!), a nice apartment fitness center literally footsteps from my front door and a beautiful park with lots of hiking trails right next to my complex, I have absolutely NO excuse.    I'm staying away from sugary drinks and trying to eat less red meat and enriched grains, so we'll see what happens.

Thinking about:  An Evening with Michael Ian Black - an event Jason and I are attending tonight at the Alamo Drafthouse!  For those who don't know of him, he's a hilariously dry comedian who has appeared in shows such as The State, Stella and Michael and Michael Have Issues.  He was also in the 2001 comedy Wet Hot American Summer about a Jewish summer camp.  If you have a Twitter account, you should definitely follow him - @michaelianblack.  I promise you'll be slapping your knee in no time.  So anyway, he's going to be at the drafthouse tonight and they're showing some of his best clips from the stuff he's been in AND everyone's getting a copy of his new book!  I cannot wait.

Anticipating:  Our trip to New Orleans in a couple weeks!  This will be our third visit to the Crescent City, and we're both so excited.  We've already made reservations at our favorite restaurant in the French Quarter, Cafe Giovanni.  We always eat there the first night of the trip as a way to kick off the fun!  

Listening to:  Blitzen Trapper.  If you haven't listened to this band - you must.  They are magnificent song writers and storytellers.  I know they'll be playing a few different shows at SXSW next week, so I'm really hoping I get a chance to see them at some point.  

Eating:  Cookies!  The other night I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies which were gone almost as quickly as the time they took to bake.  And I always keep a package of Oreos in the pantry...bad, i know.  I just can't help it!  I'm a sucker for cookies, especially with a glass of milk.  Irresistible.

Wishing:  People were nicer sometimes.  Today at work I witnessed a man talk down to one of my coworkers, and it just made me sick to my stomach.  There is nothing i hate more than when a person treats another like the trash they walk on.  It's so disrespectful and uncalled for.  People make mistakes, but nothing's beyond repair.  Now, lighten up and move on.

Now, time to get ready for an evening with MIB!  Thanks for taking the time to read my Currently post.

xoxo

Currently...

So I've decided that I would really like to try promoting my blog and getting it out there as much as possible so I can share my crazy, wild thoughts with the entire world!  [insert evil, conniving laugh here]

In order to do this, I have got to stop playing around and come up with a real plan for this blog.  I've thought about just completely starting over, but I believe I have a few great posts on here so I'll just stick with what I have so far.  Therefore, within the next couple of months, I'll be experimenting with different varieties of posts.

Since I sort of wanted to make this a music blog originally, I'll definitely keep up the Music Mondays, and possibly post an entire playlist at the start of each month.  Because I'm such a movie/TV snob as well, I'd like to throw in a weekly post about whatever film or show I'm currently obsessing over.  Food is another area of interest for me so maybe I'll post a recipe once a week, chat about whatever craving I might be enduring or talk about little changes I'm making to try to eat healthier. I'll also be a copycat and make a Friday post for "weekend links."

I've decided every Sunday I will try to complete a "Currently" post, so here's the one for today:

My mom and I on Thanksgiving Day, 2011

Currently obsessing over:  Tattoos!  I just can't seem to get enough of them lately.  Ever since I started reading Danielle's blog, my passion for big, bright, beautiful ink has grown tremendously.  She's such an inspiration to me, being a successful high school English teacher turned stay-at-home-mom with a Master's degree.  She is proof that it's possible to have a love for tattoos (and be covered with them) and still be a respectable woman with class and prestige.  I love her reply to disapproving people that try the whole "just think how you'll look when you're old and wrinkly" argument.  She says that most everyone will be old and have wrinkles someday- at least hers will be pretty and colorful!  That's exactly how I feel.  Who cares?  You're old and probably way over your self-consciousness anyway.

Working on:  Sprucing up my blog and getting it out there so the world can see what a sweet soul I am!  (See more on this in the paragraphs above the picture.)

Thinking about:  My future.  It's so cliche, but it's so hard not to think about what's to come.  I'm 23 with a Bachelor's degree in an extremely competitive field that I'm not even super interested in anymore.  I have a pretty secure job in the hotel industry, and I'm starting to think it's not so bad after all.  I had a nice chat with my mom about it today, and she's encouraging me to stay in this field  because people will always need hotels so it's financially safe.  Although I do get stressed and overwhelmed easily at work, it can be glamorous and interesting at times.  I've seen mild celebs, gotten free tickets to events, met some really classy people and learned a lot about myself and how I react in certain situations.

Anticipating: The return of Mad Men on AMC.  It's been nearly two whole years since a new episode of Mad Men has aired on live television.  That's just ridiculous!  Something about people involved in the show unhappy about the amount of money they were making.  Even more ridiculous (in my opinion).  Jason and I started re-watching season four last night because we can barely remember what all happened leading up to this upcoming season.  If you haven't seen an episode of this super-glam show, I highly suggest you get on that ASAP.

Listening to: The Kills.  I used to listen to this duo back in high school, but I was never THAT into them.  I liked a few songs here and there, but I couldn't listen to a full album all the way through without skipping songs.  However, their 2011 LP, Baby Says, is pretty great if you ask me.  I've been listening to it tons lately.  I can't get enough of that dark, yet upbeat sound.




Eating: I've been on a cereal kick these days.  Most mornings I have to be out the door by 6:30 a.m. for work, and I used to never eat breakfast.  I know, I know, shame on me...breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day.  So as of late I've been packing a small bowl of Oatmeal Squares or Mini Wheats with blackberries.  It's so tasty, especially with almond milk (my new thing).

Wishing: I made just a little more money so I could finish decorating the apartment and get a new TV.


And that concludes my "currently" posting for the day.  I've been yacking and yacking and I didn't even mention the colossal amount of fun I had last night at Carli's bachelorette party!  I'll leave those stories for a later post.

Happy Sunday :)

xoxo