I love the first day of the month. There's just something about starting a new month that makes you feel like you can get tons and tons of stuff done. And whether that's true or not, the idea behind it makes me hopeful. Is it just me who feels that way?
The one thing I do every time this day comes around is check off my list of monthly things that need to get done. I really think that everyone should have one of these lists. How else are you supposed to stay on top of things? And if you're unsure of what types of things should be on this list, feel free to take a glance at mine.
My Monthly Checklist
Clear out any old food from the fridge and clean the shelves.
Choose my next book to read.
Set a goal of how many times I expect myself to go to the gym (this varies depending on the season - I go less in the summertime since I'm outdoors more compared with the winter when I need to up my gym dosage since I spend so much time indoors, not moving as much).
Set a spending budget (which takes into consideration birthday gifts, holidays, etc.)
Clean out my car (this was, obviously, for the times when I had a car).
Check Barnes & Noble for any author events that I might want to go to.
Buy greeting cards if there are any family or friends' birthdays this month.
Wash the bed sheets (should I be doing this more than once a month? Hope not. That's a lot of work).
Clean and polish any shoes that are looking rough.
Go through emails and respond to anything that's ridiculously late.
I gotta say, this really bummed me out and I didn't expect it to. I've loved this man's movies since I was just a kid, so it's upsetting to think that there'll never be another Wes Craven movie. I remember sneaking into my brother's room after school to watch Scream for the first time and feeling it absolutely terrify me (c'mon, I was 11) and writing down every detail of it to tell my friends at school the next day. I'll never forget that feeling. It was around that time that I really started to get into horror movies and ultimately, more into Halloween as a result. So in an indirect way, I kind of owe thanks to that man. Ugh. It really sucks that he's gone.
Over the weekend marked my sixth anniversary with Nathan! Here's us.
He had some shows in Farmington, PA so we took the dog and went for the weekend. (And P.S. if you're ever near the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort - it is luxurious as hell and you should definitely stay there.)
In any case, I think I say it an appropriate amount - but just incase I don't, I'm crazy lucky to have this man by my side. Happy six years, b.
Why must we suck all of the beauty out of this world? Why must every action of our daily lives be affected by technology? Will this better us? It is really necessary?
Look, I'm not complaining about every technological advance that's been made in the last twenty years. I'm really not. It's just that sometimes there are little things that really get under my skin. And believe me, I could get into a whole big thing with you here, but I'll narrow this rant down to one of the things I hate the most. THESE.
Why? Why did it have to come to this? What was so wrong with using a key? An old-fashioned, working key? Do you understand how beautiful a key can be? The intricacies of it? The specificity? The uniqueness? Sometimes a key is the most beautiful thing that you'll touch all day, and no ones seems to notice. The mere weight of a key brings me pleasure. Is that sick? If you held this key (below) in your hand, you're telling me it wouldn't make you feel warm inside? Am I the maniac here?
And if I am the maniac here, I'm not sorry. I'm sure I'll be screaming about this (primarily at children, I'd imagine?) for years to come, so get ready.
Clearly, I have many positive things to say about Trader Joe's. The newest addition to Products I Love At Trader Joe's are these goat cheese medallions (seen above).
Why They're Great
They're perfectly packaged, so you only need to open one for a whole salad.
Since you open each package as you need it, you never have to deal with stale, yellowy goat cheese (ie. IT'S ALWAYS FRESH).
The real problem with buying cheese and storing it at home is that you need to eat it rather quickly, since it goes bad so quickly. BUT NO LONGER! You can now eat your cheese at a leisurely pace and bask in a life well lived.
Are all of those points kind of the same? Possibly. But it still get my point across. These medallions are magic.
(And calling them "medallions" instead of "logs" or "cheese chunks" or something was a stroke of genius. Who doesn't want medallions in his/her fridge?)
Once in awhile (or extremely often, depending on your preference), you need to get out of the city. So when I was recently asked by my friend Jenn to accompany her and some friends on a day trip to venture across Long Island, I was eager to come along. What did we do? What DIDN'T we do is the more apt question.
We found a farm where we could pick raspberries & blueberries in Mattituck, which happened to have the largest and loveliest sunflowers I've seen in years.
And, I mean, look at these tomatoes. Are you kidding me with that ripe-ass red? So gorgeous.
We then headed onward to Macari Vineyards to sample some wines, which happened to be accompanied by the finest of truffle cheeses.
To finish the day, we stopped off for food in Oyster Bay. I've only ever heard of Oyster Bay because of that Cole Porter song, but I figured that hearing a place mentioned in a lyric is almost too great a reason to solely visit a town. And the oysters at Canterbury's were fantastic.
The above photo is of the Oyster Bay LIRR station - and it may not look like much, but I can't accurately describe how much I love seeing these older types of train stations. I love the fact that it never got torn down and completely redone. Doesn't it make so much more sense to restore buildings like these? Ugh. Love this old station so much.
Anyway, it was a great day. There are so many different paths you can take once you get off the highway heading to Long Island. I hope to make it to Montauk someday.
