Neurotic As Hell

Chicago South Side Irish Parade 2015 - St. Patrick's Day

March 17, 2015

I’m not Irish. But you can kiss me anyways.

I've never been big on St. Patrick's Day. It's just never been my thing. Even in college, when most of my peers were waking up at the crack of dawn to ditch class and drink green beer at "unofficial," I was diligently sober in class. I really don't know how I've avoided it for so long. I mean, Chicago celebrates St. Patrick's Day pretty hard. So much so that people I've met who are actually from Ireland have told me that they hope to celebrate here some day. But I've never passed out or puked on a Wrigleyville bar crawl. I've never...

March 12, 2015

in relationships

That time I went speed dating…

Speed dating is still a thing. Apparently. I mean, I know it was a big thing in 2003, maybe, before all this internet dating came about. But in an age of OK Cupid and Tinder, where you don’t even have to leave your couch to meet a man, where all you have to do to find someone interested in you is swipe one little index finger right, actually having forced conversations with a room full of strangers in a public place just seems like an anomaly....

March 4, 2015

in Apartment, Bathroom, Bedroom, Dining Room, Hallway, Kitchen, Living Room

Living in between.

For the past four months I've been neither here nor there. At the end of October, after over three years of living nomadically, I "finished" my travels, flew back to Chicago on a one-way ticket, and accepted a full-time job. But, in the four months since, I haven't really been "here." Not yet. I was living in a friend's spare bedroom. I was living off of a designated shelf in the cupboard, a designated shelf in the fridge, a borrowed bed, a borrowed pillow, a borrowed towel. All of my things were still in storage at my mom's. I couldn't join a...

March 2, 2015

in Apartment, Chicago Life, food, Valentine's Day

February: In Preparation

February was a tough month. I spent most of the 28 days working, even on weekends where I worked anywhere from an extra hour or two to an extra twelve. And one of my best friends moved way. And didn't say goodbye. And hasn't talked to me since. And I've had to, more and more, come to the realization that maybe he was never a friend at all. Sigh. I'm just exhausted from it all. Anyways, here are a few of the things I got up to in February when I wasn't working or crying into my pillow...

February 3, 2015

in Apartment, Living Room, shopping

In Search of the Perfect Teal Couch

Now that I've found an apartment it's time to start concentrating on what really matters: finding a couch. I know what you're going to say: "Just look on Craigslist." Or, alternately, "Just go to IKEA." And what you mean to say is, "Just get something cheap." Because, to you, maybe a couch isn't that important. But, here's the thing, I've been dreaming of buying my own couch since before I ever dreamed of traveling the world. And, while I was traveling, I'd often window shop online, lusting after what was out there, dreaming of someday decorating an apartment exactly how I've always...

Nails and Coffee - New Years Resolutions

February 1, 2015

in Chicago Life, goals, Resolutions

January: it’s about the small things.

It’s easy to make New Years resolutions and then promptly forget about them. Everyone is gung ho about going to the gym on January 1 but come January 31 it’s all Netflix and excuses. Or maybe that’s just me. Personally, despite every good intention I may have had, I lost about 1 pound in January. I tried cutting down on calories but instead I ate way too much chocolate. As usual. And I thought about buying a Groupon for some fitness classes but then a nasty cold had me doing nothing but taking DayQuil and passing out. And I thought...

Carrot Cake Doughnut from Stan's Doughnuts

January 28, 2015

in Chicago Life, food, restaurants

The best things I ate this month.

If you haven't noticed: I like to eat. I pretty much live for my next meal. And, yes, yes I am one of those girls who refuses to start eating (or let anyone touch communal food) until I have properly instagrammed it. I hope that doesn't turn you off from dining with me. Or from following me on instagram. Because I totally need more people to dine with. And to follow me on Instagram. So you should totally do both. I'm trying to make it a goal this year to finally go out and eat at all the places in Chicago...

My 34th Birthday Party at Three Dots and a Dash

January 26, 2015

in birthday, Chicago Life, my birthday

34 Things I Love About Me

I'm sometimes called out about how negative I can be. And I get it: my blog can be kind of a downer. But that doesn't mean I'm not happy. And it doesn't mean I don't have a totally amazing life full of good food, friends, and experiences. It's mostly just that I use writing as a way to make sense of things, and usually you don't have to make sense of happy things. Happy things are happy things. Negative things are more complicated. Negative things need to be worked through. Negative things need attention. And, for me, writing is the...

January 2, 2015

in goals, New Year's

Looking Back on the Year Ahead

After writing my last post, after writing out a list of resolutions for this coming year, I went back and looked at what I wrote last year at this time. And I realized that I wrote the exact same damn thing. Exactly the same. After a year of feeling at a standstill, I made a list of resolutions, hoping to move forward in 2014. Only to look at them now and realize that I went nowhere. And so here I am, again, listing pretty much the same things I did a year ago. In hope that, maybe, I can...

December 30, 2014

in New Year's

My Top Moments of 2014

Tomorrow is the last day of 2014 and I'm excited for the fresh start a new year brings. It's not that 2014 was a bad year. But I spent most of it feeling off track. Maybe because I knew the return home was inevitable. Maybe because I was traveling to places that weren't necessarily places I dreamed of going. Maybe because I took on things I should never have taken on. I was rarely in the moment. I was rarely emotionally in the place I was physically. I shut down. A lot. It was a sloppy year. I'm hoping 2015 brings...

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