A black and white Sunday Currently

C  U  R  R  E  N  T  L  Y  .  .  .  

R E A D I N G 

This morning, Y woke up at 5:30 to go to work, and after I sleepily told him that, yes, he looked great, (even though I could only bring myself to open one contact-less eye) I couldn't fall back asleep. So I burrowed under the covers and read 100 pages of my current book, Beautiful Ruins. 

W R I T I N G 

I'm typing on my brand new Macbook air, purchased with a little help from an old friend. (thank you J!!) This new laptop has special features, like running Word AND Photoshop at the same time without slowing to a crawl. And when I type? All of the words show up AS I type them, rather than having to wait a full 5 seconds for the words to appear.

My first world problems, they are intense.

L I S T E N I N G 

The only thing I can afford at Anthropologie are the 70% off candles and the free playlists they curate on spotify. Right now I'm listening to Sounds of the Season: Autumn.

T H I N K I N G 

In a total lack of foresight, I sold my Snoopy stuffed animal in the garage sale we held just before we moved. I could really use that Snoopy doll right now because I'm suffering from Halloween costume block. (It's like writer's block, except I just invented it.) And the only reason I owned that Snoopy doll is because every year, I put on a yellow dress and carried it around for an easy Charlie Brown costume. I'm tired of thinking about Halloween costumes. I could really use a stuffed Snoopy right now.

S M E L L I N G 

Last weekend at the airport, I resisted buying a $9 yogurt and granola parfait (instead, I bought a $9 veggie and hummus box and a $16 bellini). I'm glad, because just now I ate a significantly cheaper concoction that is 50 times better than whatever they're selling at the MSP Starbucks. Listen carefully: Noosa strawberry-rhubarb yogurt, raspberries, and fresh from the oven granola (which, consequently, is the scent taking over my house right now). It just made my day.

W I S H I N G & H O P I N G 

There's a lot going on at work lately, and it won't be slowing down this week. Last week I stress-ate packet after packet of fruit snacks to get through it (I KNOW RIGHT? MY LIFE IS TORTURE) so I'm wishing and hoping I can handle myself better this week (and find something more fun to stress eat). 

W E A R I N G 

This past winter, I took the plunge: I bought a pair of lululemon yoga pants. It was scary and I needed therapy after, but I have worn those damn  pants nearly every day since then. I'm not even kidding. I wear them to yoga. I wear them to run. I wear them to ride my bike. I wear them on airplanes. I wear them under a tunic or a dress at work and then quickly transition into workout gear for some after-work exercise. I wore them this morning, when Ike and I took a hike up and down the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi, and I'm wearing them now as I tell all of you in creepy detail what I'm doing right now. 

L O V I  N G 

Carol Convention went off without a hitch! (I mean, except that we all gained 800 pounds from eating cheese nonstop, but we'll let that one slide). I'm loving the continuing group texts and the memories and the photos. But we'll discuss more later.

W A N T I N G 

Y and I have been in kind of fight recently. About a week ago, a piece of furniture appeared near the back curb of a house a few doors down from us. I consider myself something of a design aficionado (I read like, 3 design blogs y'all) and as soon as I saw said piece of furniture I told Y, we have to take this! It's mid century modern! 

Well, Y was convinced that, because of its position a few feet back from the curb, that it wasn't actually trash. So I waited a week. It was still there, in the same spot. "Now will you help me carry it to our house?" 

"It's not trash," Y said confidently. "The trash people haven't taken it, so it's not trash."

Weeks passed. More stuff started piling up on top of it. An old license plate. A tire. 

Finally I took the tire off and dragged it into my garage, only slightly worried I was going to be arrested for stealing someone's alley nightstand. But now I want your help. Is this as cool as I think it is? Or am I mistaken and it's a piece of crap?

N E E D I N G 

In the spirit of being productive, I've decided to make chicken stock from the remains of a rotisserie chicken (which I used to make this chili, one of our absolute favorites). Did you know in Judaism we have 613 commandments? You probably know 10 of them, but the remaining 603 are all THOU SHALT NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES POSSESS CHICKEN STOCK WITHOUT MATZAH BALLS so it looks like I need to grab some ingredients from the grocery store.

F E E L I N G 

So Y got this pretty big honor at work that I'm not really supposed to tell you about, even though most of you won't care/get it anyway, and I'm feeling pretty proud of him. Because I hate vague-blogging, I'm going to give you a few multiple choice options to help you narrow down what it is. A) he successfully separated Siamese-octuplets; B) he performed the world's first head transplant, C) none of the above and this paragraph is as vague as it was at the beginning.

C L I C K I N G 

I wrote a guest post for Anne. You should click both on my post and then stay awhile checking out her blog -- she's one of my favorites! Also, this David Sedaris essay. (Because my silly guest post and that amazing article are clearly in the same category.) & as always, your friendly Sunday Currently hostess Lauren at Siddathornton -- she overhauled her whole blog this month just for you!

In which the Carols leave for their convention

Here's something you may not have known about life: secrets are fun.

I know, right? That's what I'm here for. Relaying the secrets of life. 

I was a little sad last week when I finally had to reveal to my friends where they would be flying to today for the Fourth Annual Carol Convention. I liked having a secret. I felt POWERFUL.

But then I remembered... you still don't know. 

So let's pretend you're as invested in this trip as my friends are. Let's pretend I told you to pack a bathing suit and your warmest coat and you're leaving for the airport in 15 minutes and you're SO EXCITED AND SO SCARED AND SO... CONFUSED.  But unlike Jessie Spano, you don't need a caffeine pill. You need a clue.

Let me be your Zack Morris. Let me give you a clue.

Follow along on instagram (werejustdandy) for more clues in filtered photo form!

And did anyone watch Elizabeth Berkley on dancing with the stars? I obviously did. And I kind of wish she would have reprised her interpretive dance from the Bayside Talent show. 

thoughts on being old

Last Friday night, I went to the University of Minnesota's homecoming concert to see Passion Pit. Here, a few of the thoughts that went through my head as I was driving through campus:

That girl is wearing a crop top. How embarrassing for her. 

This concert doesn't start until NINE THIRTY? That's so late.

I can hear the opening act from inside my car. THAT IS TOO LOUD. 

And a few more thoughts while walking from my car to the stadium:

Why are all the guys wearing tank tops?

Another crop top? Weird.

Ugh, the music is even louder now. 

Holy shit, they're ALL wearing crop tops!

Once we entered the stadium...

OMG I just realized... when I was in Forever 21 the other day and thought to myself, who would wear this shit? It's THESE girls!

How are so many of these girls crop top ready? Isn't every meal in college free pizza? Is there no Taco Bell on this campus?

OMG the opening act just said the word "pussy". Doesn't he know these kids were born in the NINETIES?! Cover your ears, little ones!

I feel like maybe I should cut off half of my shirt?

Just before the band started, as 90s music was playing over the speakers...

Fantasy by Mariah Carey is on and you're all ignoring it! You people wouldn't know good pop music if it hit you over the head. Was anyone in this stadium even alive when this song came out?! HELLO OUT THERE?!

And as Passion Pit played... 

Should I leave early to avoid traffic? 

These drunk people are way too close to me. If I get vomit on me I might die.

The girls behind me making fun of my friends' and my dancing are making me feel really good about life. At least they aren't wearing crop tops.

Ugh, SOMEONE needs to stop blowing weed in my face.

Oooh... even if there is traffic, I have a great audiobook in the car. Maybe I should just leave early and listen to my audiobook.

___

Can someone please explain to me how I can possibly feel so old? Last night I dreamed that Aziz Ansari had a crush on me; I knew this because I saw his notebook, which said Daci is hot. MY BRAIN IS TWELVE. 

Iketoberfest

Happy October! Here's what you can expect from me this month:

>>>My magical first apple picking experience.

There were bees. There were senior citizens. But most importantly, there were apple cider donuts.

>>>My secret dream job.

While making our way across Ireland, I discovered my dream job. Is it sheep herder? Leprechaun? Stay tuned to find out. 

>>>6 more audiobook reviews.

Because traffic never stops. 

>>>A day in the life at my job.

Bathroom selfies, red pens, and Whole Foods cheese samples -- the true behind the scenes of working at a non-profit. 

>>>That time I went to a college homecoming concert and felt approximately 87 years old.

We'll talk about this tomorrow. Truly one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. 

>>>A video of my summer

In the style of this, this and this video.

>>>My fall reading list

Organized in no particular order other than what's available at the library.

>>>The big Carol Convention reveal!

The Carol-mobile has been rented. The playlists have been made. Where will the Carols be thumping some serious minivan bass? Only time will tell. 

>>>A huge increase in posts about Ike.

Because in our house in my head, October is known as Iketoberfest. Ike's birthday is believed to be circa October 2008, and let's face it: I'm pretty happy he was born. 

(clockwise from top left:

1. that time we woke up and Ike was wearing a shirt

2. that time Ike curled up with Y to read a medical journal (they prefer NEJM over JAMA, in case you were curious).

3. that time Ike got really ridiculously muddy

4. that time Ike was really ridiculously good looking

5. that time Ike wore Y's socks (okay fine, I might have put them on him. But I swear on a pumpkin spice latte that he was actually wearing that aforementioned t-shirt one morning.)

6. that time Ike was extra snuggly and I thought maybe I was going to die that night and his doggy premonition could sense it, so he was savoring his last few hours with me. (morbid much?)