With a 5-day work trip on the books for Mexico this summer, I decided to tack on an additional 4 days of fun in Mexico City. Since CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico aka Mexico City), isn’t known for being the safest, I invited my friend Karen along to be my wing-woman.
First things first, our hostel was awesome. Okay, so the WiFi was terrible and the pillows were lumpy, but Karen and I had a blast staying at Hostel Mundo Joven Catedral. It was located directly next to the Zocalo (see more below), so sightseeing was a breeze. The rooftop bar had a spectacular view, cheap drinks, and fun activities each night.
In exactly two months from today, I will be hopping on a plane to Asia!! First stop: Hong Kong! For the past three years, I have been dreaming of the day I get to return to my favorite city in the world. The layover will be less than 24 hours, but I’m planning on packing in as much as possible: cupcakes at Sift, xiao long bao at Crystal Jade, a peek at my old apartment, a jaunt through Hong Kong Park, and hopefully a ride up to the Peak. I am beyond excited about the entire trip, but these mere 40 hours (20 on the way there, 20 on the way back) are what I’m the most geeked about. Hopefully, I’ll even get to catch up with friends (if that’s YOU and you’re reading this in Hong Kong, save Dec. 10 and 29 on your calendar!).
I’ll be traveling with my friend Lindsay from Chicago for 10 of the 21 days I’ll be gone. Our flights were awesomely cheap. Get this – to fly direct to Hong Kong is $1,040; to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia through Hong Kong is $840. It’s $200 cheaper to take two additional flights. I don’t get the logic, but I love it!
365 days ago, I cried on my birthday because I was afraid that I hadn’t accomplished enough in the last year. I was 31 and in the past year, I hadn’t gotten a raise, earned a promotion, found the love of my life, or had babies. I was in exactly the same place I’d been the year before. It’s not that I wasn’t accomplished, but it felt like my life had moved nowhere in 12 months.
This year, though, the only tears I had were ones of appreciation. I had thoughtful texts, phone calls, Facebook posts, and in-person time from best friends, family members, friends from the past, and cute boys. I’ve had goose bumps of happiness for the past few days, starting with the boozy brunch I had with 9 of my Chicago girlfriends on Saturday and continuing to the cookie cake my coworkers surprised me with today, the 105 (and counting) Facebook posts, dinner and shopping with my parents, and countless personal texts and phone calls from around the world.
My mom and I had a lovely time exploring the 3.8 square mile Mackinac Island, Michigan over a long weekend recently. While characteristically touristy for a long stretch, more than 80% of the island is a state park. Over 15,000 visitors a day come to Mackinac Island in the summer, so you know that there must be something appealing. Is it the endless supply of fudge? Or the beauty of the rolling hills? Maybe it’s the kitschy shops every 10 feet or the fact that you can bike eight miles without any cars getting in the way. Whatever it is that brings tourists here, there’s something pretty magical about this island.
It’s a 6-8 hour drive from Chicago, depending on how many stops you take along the way, so we left bright and early on a Friday morning. Since no cars are allowed on the island, the ferry is your only option for getting island-side. There are plenty of options – do you want a speed boat or slow boat? Do you want to pay $20 or $40? We attempted to do this weekend on the cheap, so we went with Arnold Line. Normal ticket prices are $18 roundtrip and it takes about 40 minutes one-way.
Since I’ve taken a break from free online dating sites, my brain constantly works on a mental super-profile (like a super computer, not just great, but can do it ALL!). In these past few months, I’ve read multiple articles on dating, listened to podcasts, and had bitch sessions with both single and married gal pals that gave me ideas on the “perfect” profile. And then, Meghan Trainor’s tune Dear Future Husband hit the airwaves and I knew that my super-profile would be great and honest and all about the quirkiness that is me. One problem: I’m not on online dating sites at the moment, so instead, I’m sharing this on my blog!
As a new feature, I’m reliving the stories of my top 5 worst/funniest/best-date-story stories. Here’s the absolute worst date I have ever been on and is simultaneously the best story to tell…drumroll please…#1: Jessie’s Girl!!
Setting: Jalapeno’s Restaurant, Peru, IL, 2008
As many of you can imagine and some of you can attest to, the dating scene in Ottawa is not exactly jumpin’ jumpin’. Unbeknownst to many of you previous to my #5 worst date, I dabbled in the online dating world while living in O-Town, a few weeks on OKCupid, a few on Match. Not much came of the then-modern technology except for a few awkward dates that I immediately wanted to leave right after arriving and a few really great first date stories; in fact, my first ever worst first date story brewed from this initial experiment in online dating. I’d like to divulge said story not only to incite laughter, but to relive the glory days of grand ol’ Ottawa.
New City Life Adventure 