Category Archives: Friends

Travel Thursdays

I know I keep talking about Thanksgiving weekend, but it was literally one of the best trips I’ve had. It was a much-needed vacation. My very large (and amazing) group of friends decided to get together for a little reunion. We took part in many rounds of drinks (zipparitas are lethal but delicious), baskets of golden wings, and intense games of pool at Zipp’s Sports Bar & Grill. We plan to do this every holiday season which I’m hoping will be twice a year because that’s what the holidays are about right? Spending time with the people you care about most. A wise person once said, “If you don’t have friends, you don’t have anything.”

And that wise person was me ;)

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Travel Thursdays

As much as I love to travel, I find myself starting to plan trips overseas, completely forgetting that I’ve just moved to a beautiful new city in North Houston. Do I still want to travel to Greece, Spain, China, and Morocco? Of course I do. But it might be refreshing to discover the nooks and crannies of my city before jetting off around the world to a different time zone. With visits from my loved ones quickly approaching, I decided that spending a lot of time outdoors was the best way to enjoy the weather and festive decorations. It is Fall after all, and my little suburban town is just itching for that cooler weather to ride in.

It may look small, but there are plenty of discoveries just waiting to be made:

{Photo via TheWoodlands}

Here are a few things I can’t wait to check out while my boyfriend and sister are here:

1. Market Street
I’ve been here a few times, but haven’t poked my head in all the shops and restaurants yet. I really want to enjoy it outdoors at night when the palm trees are twinkling with lights and the water fountains are shooting colorful streams of liquid into the air. It reminds me of Kierland back home. {Photo}

2. Uni Sushi
This sushi place is located in the heart of Market Street and has gotten great reviews.
I’m excited to try it out with my boyfriend when he comes to visit next weekend. {Photo}

3. Cru Wine Bar
Also located in Market Street, this modern bar has a little something for everyone.
Every time I drive by it, I just want to hop out and enjoy a quick glass of pinot noir. {Photo}

4. The Woodlands Mall
It’s the perfect place to walk around, enjoy the sights, and venture into new stores.
And of course, spend that hard earned cash. {Photo}

5. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
There are always great concerts going on here. I need to check the dates! {Photo}

6. Waterway Trolley
What better way to explore than by taking a trolley around town? {Photo}

7. Waterway Cruiser
Or even better, discover the town by boat! {Photo}

15 Ways 20-Somethings Ruin Their Twenties

Thought Catalog has too many wonderful articles lately. I have a hard time choosing which ones to share! This one made me laugh.

1. Letting themselves get out of shape. If you’ve ever watched The Biggest Loser and questioned the contestants desire, based on their struggles — you’ve never been out of shape. You’ll find that the rumors are true, and your metabolism moves slower than a snail at the DMV as you get older. If you continue washing down brownies with Mountain Dew and discounting the value of working out, you will pay. I assure you that once you’ve officially gotten out of shape, it’s so much harder to get fit. The mere sight of a treadmill will make you want to run anywhere but on it.

2. Spending substantial amounts of money on farfetched concepts. Buying several lottery tickets, playing the slot machines and joining pyramid schemes are all poor decisions, with slim chances of making profit. (Heads Up: 99% of well-dressed individuals who approach you with a business proposal/job opportunity just want you to help them build an unprofitable pyramid.)

3. Staying involved in destructive relationships. In middle school and high school, everyone dated everyone — but your 20s should see stricter standards and principles enforced. There’s no sense in being with someone whom you can’t picture yourself happily with in the foreseeable future. Don’t get me wrong, fixing damaged relationships is great; but trying to glue back a thousand broken pieces while getting cut in the process is unhealthy.

4. Cohabitating with a lover whom you’re not married to. Often couples convince themselves that moving in together is a splendid idea, when that’s not always the case. Sure, some live happily together, but it’s not for everyone. Be certain that you’re not rushing into things. It’s not as simple as sharing a shower, owning his and hers robes, and having sex frequently. Many characteristics are revealed, and obnoxious habits are exposed. Living with a significant other too early can be detrimental to the entire relationship.

5. Accepting and embracing drama. When you graduate high school, the cattiness and immaturity proceed to follow some. We have to refuse to be a part of any high school level shenanigans. Hearsay, gossip, he-said-she-said — all those bastards got a diploma and followed some miserable souls well into their 20s. It’s a matter of rejecting the slightest hint of drama, and wisely refusing to speak, act, or feel anything based off of it.

6. Settling for a subpar job that makes you miserable. Hard work and dedication, no matter who the employer, are admirable traits. If you find yourself performing unhappily at a place, be certain that you’re just doing so as a means to get by until you can pursue your personal goals. Every opportunity to take a shot at your dream career should be greeted passionately by you. Too often people forget that the 20s are an ideal decade for trial and error. Test things out, then fail or succeed.

7. Putting excessive amounts of value in attention received on social networks. Gauging your popularity and significance by the amount of likes your Facebook statuses got. Feeling physically unappealing because your Instagram photo — which you spent an absurd amount of time selecting an effect for — didn’t get a satisfying amount of compliments and responses.

8. Being a pushover. Little things like accepting the wrong drink at Starbucks, or pretending not to notice someone cutting you in line aren’t crucial. The issue is the snowball effect that follows. People see that you’ll give an inch, so they’ll greedily take a mile. In today’s world, it’s hard to be nice without somebody trying to take advantage of your kindness. Establish firm limitations that people know better than to cross. It might take temporary sternness, but in the long run it’ll pay off.

9. Taking pride in being widely considered a b-tch or a d-ck. Why being loathed (for good reason) has become a fad is beyond me, but it’s definitely a thing. It’s fantastic to be who you are, but to consciously treat people sh-tty and then brag about having “haters” is just dumb. Nobody is invincible — so continuously pouring gasoline, lighting matches and burning bridges will come back to haunt anyone eventually.

10. Being self-destructive. Continuing personally damaging conduct, with no intentions of stopping can have a lasting effect on your 20s. Getting arrested, pissing off friends, being irresponsible with finances — these are just a few of the seemingly infinite ways to ruin one’s self.

11. Passing on spontaneous adventures and the opportunity to experience new things. If friends are taking an impromptu trip to a nearby city, pack a small bag and roll with. These little things are what make the decade. Beyond the inside jokes and perspective on classic stories that you’ll miss out on, you’ll lack good times. If serious responsibility isn’t withholding your presence, then nothing else should be. Attend gatherings, give unfamiliarity a chance and build a résumé of awesome memories.

12. Remaining bitter. If you’re still angry with the ex from over five years ago, or badmouthing the company that didn’t hire you — do yourself and those around you a favor by stopping. The anger is unhealthy to hold on to, plus it makes you a misery to be around. Bitter passes are typically handed out to the freshly dumped, or recently rejected — but in time you must forgive or forget. Whichever you choose; be firm on it.

13. Making yourself difficult to love. By being shutdown and over-complicated, you create a seemingly impenetrable shirt, doused in cupid repellant. We all struggle in our own unique, disastrous ways — the key is to fix them. Making yourself available, approachable and open/honest will work wonders for your love life.

14. Being a pessimistic, opinionated hater. Yeah, that’s something we all want to be around in our spare time. Every movie out isn’t terrible, every song isn’t garbage. This personality type is in for a reality check when eventually nobody wants anything to do with ‘em.

15. Spending large chunks of time dreaming about a utopic, perfect world in which everything is just peachy. Having high hopes and aspirations for the future is a great thing, it’s just important to draw the line of frequency somewhere. Picturing a fantasy land in which you own nice things, are surrounded by beautiful people and have Uncle Scrooge sized piles of money isn’t going to bring those things to fruition. The dreaming is the easy part, it’s the living that requires some heavy lifting and effort.

via restartmyheart

Did you miss me?

Whoa. It feels like forever since I’ve posted. I apologize for the delay, but between flying to Houston to look for new apartments and packing all of my stuff to actually begin my new journey, it has been hard to keep up with posts. I would have posted the minute I moved here, but of course, my appointment for internet and cable installation was scheduled over a week after I got here. So, I’ll give a little update.

Amidst the horrendous amount of packing and process of setting up my electricity, I managed to spend a lot of time with the people who meant the most to me. My best friends set up a surprise going-away party for me. They obviously knew how much I was stressing over trying to see everyone before I left, so they did the nicest thing any friend could do. I love them to death for this amazing surprise and I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay them.

The next morning, my best friends came over to see me off. It was so great having them there; I truly felt like I had the strongest support system in the world. I love you guys so much and miss you more and more everyday…

After driving away from my house with my sister, I realized how much I was going to miss everyone, as well as all the little things that had made my life in Arizona so great. The trip to Houston took a total of 16 hours. We left Sunday and arrived on Tuesday. After many grueling hours of shopping at IKEA, having furniture delivered, and building the majority of the furniture, it was time for my sister to leave. I dropped her off at the airport and held back tears the whole way home. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone.

Luckily, while my sister was here, we went to the Humane Society. I found the perfect kitten and adopted her immediately. She had to be spayed, so I wasn’t able to pick her up until the weekend. When that day came, I was so incredibly happy. I felt like things were finally falling into place.

Eventually, Monday rolled around. I woke up at 5:45am, showered, and got ready for work. I had already picked out my outfit the night before (I was that excited!). My first day was amazing, and the rest of the week went by smoothly. My coworkers are amazing and I love everything about my job so far. I can only hope that everyone’s post-grad experience goes as wonderfully as mine did. Good luck!

My forever friends.

Sometimes in life, you find a special friend.


Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.


Someone who makes you laugh until you can’t stop.


Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.

Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.

This is forever friendship.


When you’re down, and the world seems dark and empty, your forever friend lifts you up in spirit and makes that dark and empty world suddenly seem bright and full.


If you turn and walk away, your forever friend follows.


If you lose your way, your forever friend guides you.


And if you find such a friend, you feel complete and need not worry.


You have a forever friend…and forever has no end.

We all need a break sometimes.

Work.  What a horrible word.  The look of it is dreadful and the sound of it is even worse.  I’m sure you can sense that my mood today is a little less optimistic than previous posts.  There isn’t any particular reason for this, except for the fact that I worked really hard this morning and made little money in return.  This is why salaries are the way to go, people.

Although the job search is on for many of us and will continue to be for awhile, there comes a point where everyone needs to take a mini-break.  A colleague and friend of mine sent this over my way and I found it quite intriguing.  Not to mention it supports a great cause.  Read on!

“Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktail Program”

BACARDI, USA has committed to donate $75,000 to the USO at the onset of summer, with consumers (21+) able to increase the total donation amount to a maximum of $100,000 through their participation in the program via the “60 Second Cocktails” Facebook fan page. Each time a new fan of the program joins the “60 Second Cocktails BACARDI, USA will increase its donation to the USO by $1. The fan page will host an online copy of the program recipe book, additional recipe information, and interactive mixology videos, all of which you are free to use on your site.

It only takes 60 seconds to make a cocktail, 10 minutes to pair it with a gourmet meal and only 1 second to gain access to it all! Become a fan of the “Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktail” page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/60SecondCocktails.

Here are just a few of the Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktails Recipes:

 

BACARDI® Hand-Shaken Daiquiri

3 parts BACARDI Superior Rum

1 part lime juice

1 part simple syrup

(or 2 Tbsp. Sugar)

Directions: In a shaker with ice, combine ingredients.  Shake and pour into rocks glass with ice.

 

GREY GOOSE® Fresh Berry Lemonade

1 ½ parts GREY GOOSE Vodka

Fresh-squeezed lemonade

5 raspberries

1 tsp. sugar

Directions: In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle raspberries with sugar.  Pour into a tall glass over ice. Top with GREY GOOSE vodka and lemonade.  Present with raspberries and a lemon.

CAZADORES® Margarita

3 parts Tequila CAZADORES Reposado

2 parts premium triple sec

1 part fresh lime juice

Serve blended with or over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

 

BACARDI® LIMÓN™ & Iced Tea

1 part BACARDI LIMÓN Flavored Rum

3 parts iced tea

Pour over ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/#!/60SecondCocktails, make some treats for yourself and your friends, and help support a great cause!

The “Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktails” program launches on Memorial Day, and will run through Labor Day 2010.

Photo Credit: http://s1.hubimg.com/u/335216_f520.jpg

 

Happy Fourth!

As I take off to go participate in some well-deserved activities, I’d just like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!  Be safe, drink  safe, and act responsibly… but still have fun!  God Bless America!

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