one hundred. ninety.

I have been jamming to The Avett Brothers every morning on the way to work lately.
They are extremely fantastic.
For a long time I was never in the mood for anything Avett Brothers except the song "I and Love and You" but then I slowly started branching out with "The Ballad of Love and Hate" and "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise." Now I'm just listening to them as a whole. Good stuff.

Today, Soy Latte Jason was telling me that I am the most random person he knows.
[I feel like this is a slow decline, because I used to be the most interesting person he knew.]
We were talking about how I went line dancing last week
& then how last night I couldn't decide between crocheting or making granola.
Apparently this is random to him, although for me it seems pretty natural. Also kind of a lame set of choices: nap, crochet or make granola. I love it.
I threw nap in there because honestly it's always an option.
I ended up making buckets of granola. Just buckets. I could feed a small army off of this fantastic granola. I mixed recipes from a book my mom had lying around and a recipe from this site: http://www.todaysletters.com/ [such a darling couple. to find the granola look under the recipes section.]

Hannah stopped in to visit me today. :]
So lovely to have visitors, brightened up my day.

Have I mentioned the most exciting news recently? Probably not, I always leave out the good stuff. Several weeks ago two of my favorite people got engaged.

I can't believe I'm only mentioning it now.
So looking forward to their wedding/having Steph around always.

one hundred. eighty nine.

hello, responsibility.
Being the co-manager of a little independent coffee shop seems like it might be a chill atmosphere with that subtle coffee shop glamour, but this first week has just been absolutely mad.
It started with waking up at 3 for grease trap cleaning on monday and working an 11 hour day.
Nothing glamorous about 3 in the morning.
For the record, 3a.m. still counts as nighttime in my book.
Getting to work at 5:30 the other mornings: wonderful. Just before the sun rises.
So far this week we've been working on damage control from the previous manager as well as trying to get ahead of the game for fall/the holidays.
One day we'll get settled into the swing of things. We long for those days and we talk about how fun it's going to be when we can do little things like spend a night decorating for Christmas.
That time is not now. Now it's just crazy and I miss being stressed because I didn't get sandwiches prepped before the end of my shift.

Some good things: I just bought a ticket to Laura Marling & Alessi's Ark coming to Chicago. Yes, please. I want to see S. Carey in December too. Yes?
Went line dancing with some fine folks last night, which was a ball. I may not be the best at line dancing, but it's jolly good times anyhow.
I'm ready to start crocheting. I get so excited for fall every year, it makes me want to do all of my favorite things like read, write, sing, crochet, hibernate, lark about & bear hug.

one hundred. eighty eight.

The documentary "Running Across the Sahara"
combined with the 50% off Patagonia sale has made me strongly desire to be an outdoor adventure kind of person.
If, someday, you find me hiking hundreds of miles, climbing mountains, kayaking or biking, this will have been the beginning.
Officially.
But really, how thrilling does that sound?

one hundred. eighty seven.

hello my whirlwind life.
just when things look as if they are heading one way
wa-bam
they head the other direction entirely.

so much to tell.
it would be better if we had hours and some coffee/tea with nutella on toast.
to sum up a small portion:

i went from long hair to this [i've wanted to for ages]:

sort of a crazy transition. the really strange part was when the hairstylist handed me my ponytail, hair and all. also the fact that my hairstylist was the wife of a boy i grew up with. small, small world.


also, i am now the co-manager of the coffee shop that i work at. initially, i was leaving that job and moving to another coffee shop as of last Friday, but everything took a sort of mad turn and ended up with me staying on as morning manager and the assistant manager moving to evening manager.
such things. such long stories.
in the middle of everything i took a glorious vacation to michigan with some of my favorite people ever, especially bonding with several lovely ladies that i think i will just adore for the rest of my life. rarely am i so moved, so challenged, sing so loud, dance so much, laugh so hard, feel so free as i do with these girls in that place.
now autumn is just around the corner & i'm welcoming it with open arms and so much hope.
hoping you are too.

one hundred. eighty six.

Let's just have a brief conversation about how much fun the rodeo was.
[So fun.]
I've never been to anything quite like it, but it made me want to move out to some southern state with these people for neighbors.
Just a little bit.
Also, seeing all the little boy spectators running around with their trick ropes just reinforces my desire to have a pack of boys. Just heaps of them. Funny little boys, yes please.
I ended up not going to the city. Shall hit it up next time.

I'm actually typing this at my desk [splendid!] with a glass of cheap red wine, feeling quite sophisticated.
Our room is something like clean, so it makes it so much more enjoyable.
I am also listening to Bon Iver [what else is new?]. Enjoyable.
There is a certain sort of lovely about times like these.
"Times likes these" seems to be times where I feel like Winnie the Pooh.
That is literally the first thing I thought of.
I just want to to bear hug someone
and hum
and say things like:
"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon."
Or:
"If you live to be 100, I hope to live to 100 minus 1 day, so that I never have to live without you."
Yes, I did just google Winnie the Pooh quotes to ensure that Winnie the Pooh was indeed what I was feeling like. After reading 6 pages of quotes, I can confirm it.
[& a bit hopeful. i feel like that old bear is a hopeful fellow.]

Just days until Michigan
& Michigan cherries
& Michigan dunes
Today a customer came in with a little container for us full of blueberries he picked just yesterday in Michigan.
quite delicious. I just love our customers.
This guy always comes in with another guy, and they sit and talk about football and how their wives are the exact same.
There is always some funny frustration in one or both of those topics.
Keeps us entertained.

I've been listening to a little bit of fitz & the tantrums, getting my groove on while I'm driving. I love free daytrotter sessions.

one hundred. eighty five.

The internet has pooped out at our house, so I'm mooching off the internet at the coffee shop and listening to Frank Sinatra sing "My Kind of Town."
It's always rough to sit at work and try and get things done when I've clocked out because inevitably I start talking to customers who walk in. Or they start talking to me. Either way - it's not an effective plan if I want to get work done.

Speaking of coffee shops, my Dad & I went on a coffee shop tour in Wilmette/Evanston/Chicago a few days ago. That was super fantastic, plus I got to drink a ton of coffee and espresso. If you need coffee shop recommendations in those areas, I've got it covered. And take me with you.

The other day, at work, medium iced mocha Mike came in wearing a shirt and tie. He's usually a jeans and t-shirt guy, he drops his daughter off at daycare right before he comes, so I commented on how he looked dapper and asked him what he was up to.
In the most solemn fashion and with a straight face he said:
"I'm going to bury someone."
Pause. We're staring at each other.
Then I remembered that Mike works at a funeral home, so I laughed a single laugh and said: "Oh."
Then Mike laughed pretty hard.
"But seriously, I'm going to bury someone."
"I know you are. I believe you."
Mike has a sense of humor about his job. He says you've got to.

It's raining just a bit now.
I was supposed to go home and weed, but now I just want to go home, curl up and finish reading Stephen King's "On Writing." I already finished "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which left me fascinated with mushrooms. "On Writing" has been interesting. I've never read a Stephen King novel, but I'm enjoying his tips for writers and his quirky, honest look at how he became a writer.

Or maybe I'll bake some bread.
Last Sunday I baked a loaf from this book.
Orange Raisin Bagel Bread, something like that.
Yesterday I made some of the loaf into French Toast.
Yum!




Tomorrow I get to see the lovely Amanda who is coming into town!
This will be joyous. She is a dear heart who lives one million miles away.

Saturday I'll be heading to the city to look for antiques at the Randolph Street Market, and then back home for a rodeo. Yes. My first rodeo, and in my hometown to boot.
It will be quite a day with city-folk and then rodeo-folk. I just love people.
Apparently at the Randolph Street Market there will be an LP swap, antiques, indie designer market, and it's considered "the mecca of cool."
Sign me up.
Not sure if the rodeo is considered "the mecca of cool" but I wouldn't be surprised.

one hundred. eighty four.

Few things top an evening like this, sweltering as it is.

For some reason I thought it would be a genius idea to crank up the oven & make these:

Behold, the beauty of chocolate zucchini cupcakes. Taylor and I are definitely going to have an excess of zucchini this year from the garden so we're trying to find creative ways to use it up besides handing it out to random strangers. 

We've made mountains of zucchini bread in the past that just goes to waste, or we throw it into every pasta we eat, so this cupcake recipe was attempt number one to switch it up. 

They are in the oven as I type. 

Cross your fingers.

Also, someone (I think a random customer I was talking to about gardening...typical) told me a joke about zucchini: You know someone has no friends when they have no zucchini. 

So. If you need a friend. Or some zucchini. I'm your girl. 

On a side note, can't believe I just wrote a zucchini joke on here. 

It's getting sad, folks. 

On Saturday, Mumsie, Bethany & I went to this fabulous antique flea market where I spent some of my birthday moolah on old stuff. I love collecting bits of someone else's history & hanging it on my wall. 

I think it's just the neatest thing.

So do lots of other people, older people, because we were outnumbered by people 50+. Some other young ragamuffins were hanging around too, so we didn't feel too conspicuous. But most of them were definitely older.

On that note, I feel like it would be appropriate to compile a list. 

Things I do that older folks do:

Garden. Go to antique flea markets. Knit. Crochet. Go to bed early. Get up early. Complain. Listen to Frank Sinatra. Love me some nap time. 

So far one of the only differences I see is that I keep my teeth in when I go to bed. 

My AC is out in my car, so currently the only thing that is keeping me sane is listening to the sweet sounds of Josh Garrels and the mix cd that Nora made for me which features some Ben Rector. Never heard of him, but you can't stop this girl from dancing when she hears "The Beat" or "Dance with me Baby." 

Also, Lucy Rose's "Night Bus." Magic. 

And more. 

Cupcakes are out. I'm going to label them a success.