20 by 30

I know I haven't even turned 29 yet, but in a little over 18 months I will be 30. And that is just weird. Freaking. Weird.

So, I decided to make a list. Stop reading now if you don't care - but this is something for myself, and I want to have it in "writing": the things I want to accomplish, see & do before I turn 30.

Some of them will be easily done, and some of them are far-fetched. But a year and a half will go by faster than you think, so it will be interesting to look back and see how far I got with this.

20 things i want to do before i turn 30

1. Play paintball.

2. Make a layer cake, that hopefully doesn't look like this. (Love you ACCB)

3. Go to a drive-in movie.

4. Get a physical. Easier said than done considering my total and utter fear of needles.
5. Go on a date with someone that isn't a friend first.

6. Travel to the Pacific Northwest. O.k., that's cheating since I'm going in July. But it's my list and I can cheat if I want to.

7. See Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry.

8. Pick blueberries (again) in the summer and apples in the fall.

9. Attend my 10 year high school reunion.

10. Take a cooking class.

11. Tour the Country Music Hall of Fame - haven't been since a 4th grade field trip when it was on Demonbreun and about 1/4th the size it is now.

12. Dedicate lots of time to helping out my friends that will become Mom's this year.

13. Spend a weekend in Chattanooga - the one city in Tennessee I've never really gotten to know.

14. Buy my own place - a condo or a townhouse. This is a stretch, but I'm going to try.

15. Maintain my blog. I really enjoy journaling my life, regardless if people are really reading or not!

16. Buy a laptop. Between my work computer and cell phone, I don't really need one right now, but one day I will. This might take a back seat to number 14 though.

17. Take more pictures. I'm terrible at never taking my camera anywhere.

18. Learn to curl my hair with a curling iron. For some reason, I still can not master this skill, and my hair always turns out looking bent in half. Sexy.

19. Finally get around to watching The Shawshank Redemption. I'm told it's a must-see.

20. Go here - I still have never been.

sin city

I had this friend in college - we'll call her Regina. Regina was sweet as pie. Regina was also loud. Really, really loud. She had no concept of personal space, and I'm pretty sure she never (ever) stopped talking for four years straight. But remember - sweet as pie.

If Regina was a color, she would be a bright, 80's-esque neon pink. If she was a city, she would be Las Vegas.

I had the opportunity to go to Vegas this past weekend (my first time at that rodeo), and I enjoyed it. I wasn't sad to go - Vegas has about a 48 hour shelf life, and then you're done. I am content being back in my cozy little Nashville world.

I'm not the world's best picture-taker, but I did snap some shots of a few things I found fascinating...aside from all the lights & casinos. So here they are, random, and in no particular order.

The ceiling in the lobby of our hotel was constructed by Dale Chihuly, of Chihuly fame from the Cheekwood display in Nashville.

There was a French bakery & chocolate shop in one wing of the hotel that I frequented. It was fantastic...pricey, but fantastic.

This dress is made of dark, milk & white chocolate.

A life-sized chocolate fountain.

Crepe in the making.

My bananas foster crepe that was worth every bit of the $9 I spent on it. Leave it to me to come back from Las Vegas with more pictures of food than anything else.

Mesmerizing fountains outside our hotel.

Inside The Venitian . I thought it was so cool how the lighting, ceiling painting and design resembled Venice so well.

Everyone has asked if I won any money - and the answer is no. I sure didn't. Had I won anything, I told myself I was going to buy a ticket to see Cher in one of her final shows at Caesar's - even if I had to go see her by myself. Side note: I LOVE Cher. But, I don't love her for $200. Watching Mermaids on repeat will have to do.

It will take me all week to bounce back from just three days in Vegas - sweet, loud, in-your-face Las Vegas - but it was fun, and isn't that what it's all about?

Lunch Bunch

As much as I love meeting friends for lunch, sometimes I just can't get away from the confines of my office. And on rainy or cold days, I'd much rather stay inside anyway.

Today I got overly excited about the Lean Cuisine I ate - so I decided to post a few of my favorite lunch go-to's that are tasty and filling, and make staying in for lunch not so bad.

1. Today I had the chicken almond Lean Cuisine - honestly, I had really low epxectations for it. I usually try to steer clear of any kind of frozen meals because they sorta weird me out, but for whatever reason this one tempted me at the grocery. I added steamed broccoli and a little bit of seasoning to add more flavor. It was so good!!! I cooked it in the oven; I have it in my head that it's not as bad when it is cooked like rather than in the microwave.



2. Kellogg's Cracker Chips - Sea Salt - addicting! Chips are probably my biggest weakness (hello garden salsa Sun Chips). These are so good and don't taste like they should be part of any sort of healthy eating promotion.



3. Quaker Rice Cakes - Sweet Chili - these are one of those things that are probably not bad for you when eaten in moderation. Never mind that I almost ate the whole bag in one sitting. Spicy, but not too spicy.

4. Thomas Bagel Thins - Everything flavored - I could probably eat a turkey sandwich everyday for the rest of my life; these were a great change up to my tried and true wheat bread.

angie on the cheap

I went to Old Navy yesterday to scope out their baby clothes for my dear friends that are expecting the 1st part of this year (so excited!!!)...instead, I found this dress.

Why does it warrant a post, you ask?

Because it cost me a total of $5.

Yes, FIVE DOLLARS! I paid more for breakfast with friends Sunday morning than I did this dress. It was $7.49 with an additional 40% off.

Add a navy cardigan and a belt, and I'm set to wear it during the cooler weeks of spring.

Score! I've never been so excited to find such a great deal.

first edition of friendly friday (on thursday)

I like lists...I love my friends...I live for Friday's.

Now I'm combining the above to bring you friendly Friday's!

Corny title? Yes. Can't argue there.

I thought this would be a fun way to spotlight my friends and bring something new and different to my blog.

So, without further a-do

The first friend I am going introduce you to is Carla.

Background: Like a handful of my friends, Carla and I go all the way back to our Kindergarten days at FRA. After 13 years there, she attended Auburn University, a short 2 hour drive from where I was at Samford. I spent several weekends down there enjoying SEC life and Mamma Goldberg's deli. After college, our friendship continued back in Nashville and I was so sad to see her go when she recently moved to Sacramento.

Celebrating her because: Carla moved exactly 10 days ago and has been getting adjusted to living in California, starting a new job, and finally living in the same city as her boyfriend Whit. Lots of big changes that I can't wait to see unfold for her!

Five things I love about Carla:
1. she is the world's best about returning texts, emails & phone calls
2. she once received a love email from a guy that told her she had "curves more fluid than desert waves". i am not kidding, at all. i probably laughed about this for 3 solid days.
3. has a unique ability to be brutally honest, without sounding all that brutal
4. she's so thoughtful - on my 28th birthday she showed up in my office unannounced to surprise me with my favorite strawberry cupcakes from a local bakery.
5. quite possibly the most indecisive person i know. we once spent 45 minutes at a boutique for her to pick out a headband. she helps my patience (or lack thereof!)

Five things that Carla loves:
1. macaroni and cheese
2. spending time with the nieces and nephews
3. shoe shopping
4. getting a good pedicure
5. finally being able to actually have "date nights"

wednesday randoms

Better late than never. . .

1. I think I might be the only person that loves this bitter cold and snowy weather. I love it, I love it, I love it! (anyone else love Molly Shannon's character that said that on SNL?)

Now, if this were April it might be a different story. But I love being cozy warm, wearing snow boots to work, cooking comfort foods and sitting by a fire. Winter is definitely my favorite season.

2. Speaking of the weather...I am a huge weather junkie. There is something so intriguing to me about how weather is one of the few things we have absolutely no control over, and how it changes everything so drastically in such a short amount of time. I could look at pictures snow, floods, whatever on weather.com for hours. I realize I sound like a complete nerd. Why do I even have friends?

3. ...and speaking of friends, tomorrow I am launching something new on my blog! Get excited. One Friday a month, I am going to feature a friend on here, with a picture, a few random facts from me and from them. Now I am not vain, but I will say I have the greatest friends in the whole wide world and I can't wait to find a special way to showcase them on here...not that you care, but I do.

4. I refuse to admit how many cooking blogs I follow. It is getting ridiculous.

5. I'm going to viva Las Vegas soon! The only card game I can play is Uno, so this should be fun.

job duties

Grace started her new big-girl job yesterday. Today, as part of her job duties as a Family Specialists for the Knox County Head Start program, she has to learn to parallel park one of these bad boys.


Good. Lord.