Year in Review; The Future of Christine's World

Now that Curtis & Kenny are on their way back to Alabama today, I can work some on my blogs! 

It's now 2014 - wow. 

For many reasons, I often compare 2013 to 2012.  Fall 2012 was, quite frankly, chaotic and sad.  The loss of Grandpa and Aunt Julie has stayed with me through 2013 and although it's less acute, it's still there, and it will take a little more time than I initially anticipated to have complete peace with all of that. 

2013 was probably one of my busiest years to date, and probably one of my funnest in my adult life. We started January 1st with a fantastic tailgate and Stanford victory at the Rose Bowl, and then dragged our weary selves back to Alabama and back to work.  Curtis started business school with UNC in March, which has turned our world upside down, but he's doing so well and I'm thrilled for him and proud. My parents came to visit in April and we went to the Final Four in Atlanta.  Curtis and I went to Hamburg in June.  I left my job at the end of July, sadly said goodbye to our Alabama friends, and flew with Kenny to California for two weeks of great weather and family.  Coming back from California, we packed up the car in Alabama and made the long drive to Philly, where I started my long-awaited judicial clerkship in August.  Curtis worked out of the Virginia office for three months, and we learned how to drive back and forth. Now, at the beginning of 2014, with Curtis and Kenny starting the year in Mobile, life should settle down a bit.  As always, I am so grateful for what I have, for the friends that we've made, in California, in Alabama and now in Philly. And of course we have a wonderful family, that is exceptionally tolerant of our crazy life choices and always supportive. 

So here's to the New Year and the exciting developments ahead! 

One thing that has become apparent this past year with the blog is that managing two blogs has become inefficient.  I've always liked having my own blog with my own content where I express random thoughts which don't necessarily "fit in" with my "Christine & Curtis" blog.  But due to my current job, I'm not as free to publish my own opinions as otherwise would be, and frankly I have less energy for it.  I think it's time to press "pause" on this blog for now, with the hope that I will resurrect it at some point :-). FYI However, I have added a few things to both blogs that I marked under the date when the event occurred, so look back in my archives for those new "old" posts!

100th Rose Bowl 2014

I did one of those things that I'm getting too old to do... 

I seriously considered skipping it this year, but I've gone to every bowl game since 2010, the Sun Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and the Rose Bowl last year.  It's the one time every year that I know I'll see my good Stanford friends, and we always have a great time!

I did it a little crazier this time, by flying to LAX the morning of the game, and flying back to Philly that night.  Miraculously, everything went smoothly and we made it to the stadium with a little time to tailgate and catch up.  My parents were kind enough to get my back and forth from the airport, which was great. Sadly we lost, but it was a fun day :-).  And I wore shorts and sandals to the game, it was so warm!

Ugly Sweater Run

I did the "Ugly Sweater Run" in Philly with my co-clerk Tina and Kenny.  First we went to an "Ugly Sweater Store" to get what we needed to wear:

Yes, those are working bells. 

The Hat was provided by the race - stylish, I know. 

There's Tina, my co-clerk and fellow Californian, who loves dogs. 

It was a cold morning, but very fun and festive, it was great seeing all the sweaters that people wore, and I definitely recommend it!  Especially if have a dog; this is one of the few races that actually allows dogs, and it was so fun to have him (and his christmas sweater) along for the adventure.


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We walked some of the Philly Marathon course

And now we're tired

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Winter Wardrobe

Our first day of snow in Virginia

It's 11:21 am here, and 36 degrees out.  It "feels like" 27 degrees.

This is an education for me, which is why I'm complaining about it all over Facebook, and why I'm writing about it now.  It's also new because I can't just jump from my car to the building; I spend at least an hour outside walking every day, morning, noon and night, so weather is an issue.

So, what did I have, what did I buy?

What I had: 

- Coat(s):
I have two pea coats from before, which I think will get my through all but the coldest days of the year.  Someone in my office also gave me 3 coats, one of which is (I think) warm enough for the coldest days.

- Scarves
I have so many scarves that I've cut myself off.  Some are warmer than others, but I am confident that I will get through the year.

- Hats/Gloves
I have a few hats, and picked out one as a gift over the weekend.  I may have to get a warmer beanie, but I actually kept my hat off this morning for most of my walk, so I should be fine for all but the coldest days.  I purchased a pair of warm gloves last year that I think will do the job this year.

- Sweaters/Warm Shirts/Pants
I added a few pieces to my wardrobe for style purposes but aside from that, I'm in good shape.

What I bought: 

- BOOTS:  Due to my freakishly wide calves, I can't walk into a store and buy leather knee-high boots.  But I decided it was time, and am now the proud owner of brown and black riding boots that are both comfortable to walk around in and warm.  I also own a pair of comfy snow boots, and a pair of Wellies that don't fit great but should work okay for wet walks with Kenny.

- SOCKS:  I realized that I own few socks other than to wear with running shoes.  So I had to create a dress sock collection for my boots and other closed toe shoes for winter.  Thankfully, those are easy to find for cheap and on sale.  I would like to buy a few more pairs of long boot socks but it's a low priority.

- TOMS CLOSED TOE WEDGES:  I wanted something that was comfortable and with some height, so I bought the Toms wedges that I talked about in my last post.  They are great!  They are great to have on dry days, especially when I'm wearing pants.

- STOCKINGS/TIGHTS/LEGGINGS/ETC.  I've always been a pretty big fan of tights and stockings, but there's a difference between liking them and being a staple of my wardrobe.  I was able to catch a good sale on Gap's extra warm leggings/tights, and like them so far, as well as other things I've picked up.

- SKINNY JEANS: I don't generally like the idea of skinny jeans, but I found that Gap has skinny curvy jeans that I was able to order online, and they are really easy to wear with my boots, as opposed to trying to stuff my boot cut jeans into my shoes.  It's practical and it works.

- ANOTHER COAT: I couldn't resist and Express sale to buy a black long puffy coat, which I think looks nice :-)

- ELECTRIC BLANKET: hands down, best purchase for the winter.  I originally bought it for my office, but my house stole it for Christmas and it's not leaving my bed or futon for the duration.

A Very Philly Weekend

Despite the fact that I caught a cold/flu/whoknows on Thursday, Curtis came down Friday night for the weekend, and is now on his way back to Virginia with our doggy.  This marks the first time I'm in Philly without him, only for two weeks, but will certainly be different. 

We ended up having a really nice weekend.  Stay tuned for part of it (hint: it involves pictures), but for now I will focus on the food, since we checked two restaurants off the list of those I wanted to try.

First, Percy Street BBQ: 

Curtis described it as "hipster BBQ" which is probably about right.  Nevertheless, the food was priced well and tasty, we were able to watch the first quarter of the UCLA-Oregon game on a TV there, and we got a few dishes for free for our "wait," which wasn't long. 

Here's the rundown of what we got: 

Deviled eggs (on the house) 

Skillet Cornbread (on the house)

Macaroni and Cheese - delish

BBQ Fries with Chopped Brisket - also delish

Pulled Pork (me, delish) 

Burger (Curtis - "pretty good")

Chocolate-Banana Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Ice Cream (Curtis - "ok")

Root Beer Float (me - delish) 

Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to eating leftovers tonight.  Not quite Alabama BBQ, but tasty. 

Next? Brunch at Jones: 

Styled as an old-school diner with a modern twist, Jones is one of many "Starr Restaurants," by a local restaurateur, who has several restaurants, all with different themes (I think I've been to four of them so far, The Dandelion, Talula's Garden, and Frankford Hall, and they are all fun)

Again, good meal.  We started with their famous Monkey Bread, which was yummy and warm: 

Then I had the egg sandwich with tater tots (which was just okay), and Curtis had the French Toast, which looked cool and tasted good.

Overall, a yummy weekend :-) 

5 Things I love about City Life (so far)

In no particular order:

1.  The WALKING.  Okay, so I might come to regret this once we get freezing temperatures, but I average 2 miles per day of walking every workday.  I still wake up in the morning with significant stiffness and pain, and the first couple of weeks were really tough (also because it was 90 degrees), but getting that much exercise in before even stepping foot in a gym is great.  And now that the temperature has finally gone down, it's actually tolerable. Once Kenny leaves, I'll join a gym, but I don't feel too bad about waiting so long because I'm in pretty decent shape (now if I could just stop eating ...).

2.  The FRUIT STANDS.  Fresh food is tougher to come by on the East Coast and spoils more quickly, but almost every day now I pick up a huge bowl of fresh fruit and a banana from a stand for $3.50, comparable to what it would cost at a grocery store (I probably come out a little ahead actually).  It's fantastic, I wish I had a fruit stand follow me everywhere.  Unfortunately, the fruit stands will disappear during the winter, but I have a few alternatives that are close to my house and the courthouse.

3. It's easier for KENNY.  In many ways, it's tough on Kenny and on me dealing with his barking and trying to keep him out of the street, but when it comes to his need to "mark his territory," it's fantastic, and he gets so much stimulation when he goes on walks that he's easier to deal with when we're in the house.

4. The RESTAURANTS and HAPPY HOURS.  Oh. my. goodness.  It is so much fun to be in your late 20s here, there's plenty to do and plenty of people to hang out with. I've found that I'm much busier here meeting up with friends and going out with my co-clerks during the week and I will definitely miss this when it's over.

5. The CONVENIENCE.  Want to go to the grocery store?  Several stores are a 10 minute walk away, or less.  Want to go shopping?  You're a 20-minute walk away from Banana Republic, etc.  The density makes everything easy to access, and the public transit is nice when you're crunched for time.  It's easy to catch Amtrak to New York or DC, and taxis are in abundance.  After living in Alabama and the only Gap in the region being 40 minutes away (to say nothing of the lack of a Macys or Nordstrom), the fact that there are several Gap stores that are about a 20 minute walk away, even if I hardly ever go, is nice.  Not having to buy gas or leave a carbon footprint ever is also not a bad thing.