weekend overshare: the break up edition.

One of the most humiliating moments of my life came two weeks ago when I found myself sobbing into a burrito at the mall food court. Alone. I actually laughed at the pathetic nature of it all while it was occurring. (You can laugh, too...it's okay.) And then continued sobbing into said burrito.

Prompting the Great Burrito Incident of 2009 was the ending of my three year relationship to a wonderful dude. Someone who's become the fifth member of my family, a trusty sidekick and one of my closest friends. When it came down to the wire, the next few years of our lives are each tied up in cities that happen to be several thousand miles apart. At this point, we weren't ready to hitch our life trains together and chug down the track to marital bliss.

I spent a few days puffy-eyed, listening to the moody stylings of Marie Digby and avoiding any conversation beyond, "Sure is hot outside!" for fear that I might just come unglued on the spot. There's an obvious sadness about boxing up and putting away a relationship with a truly, truly wonderful guy. Sadness about Gabe's move back to California. Dealing with the vulnerability of being "single" again.

It's odd, though...you're more resilient than you might imagine (minus that crushing burrito incident). Overall, I'm surprisingly okay. Life has gone on, and I'm cheerfully optomistic about the future. Well, outside of my compulsive shopping, normal life has gone on. I've never been an irresponsible shopper, but I will say that I've spent a considerable amount of time shopping in the last two weeks.

And last week, a giant piece of news came. I got accepted into the Interior Design program I've been hoping to pursue. This news has sealed my fate of the next few years: I will transform from gainfully employed girl in a serious relationship, to single, penny-pinching, impoverished, Ramen-eating college student. And I'm determined to enjoy it. :)

call me pathetic...

(photo from my parent's anniversary party...more to come!)

...because I've always wanted to get married on July 4th. For the last decade (yes, since 1999) I've been aware of the fact that in 2009, the fourth would land on a Saturday and I would be of "marrying age" (??).

So, so disgustingly pathetic. Did you just throw up a little? It's okay, I did, too.

Don't worry-I wouldn't have asked you to wear a stuffy silk taffeta gown or suit and tie. Nor would I have requested that guests wear red, white and blue...or $5 Old Navy t-shirts featuring the US Flag, an eagle and the phrase "Freedom is Never Free". You could have worn jeans. And flip flops. Or whatever it is you like to wear on the fourth. I would have worn this.

No, my colors wouldn't have been red, white and blue. Truthfully, I just don't like the colors that much. But, maybe rose, white and aqua. (The entire affair would probably look very similar to the photo above from the anniversary party thrown for my parents a few weeks ago. Or like this fab wedding, which I just spotted.) This would clearly have lead to a complete lack of Americana theme...I'm sorry. I love America, but not quite enough to infuse my entire wedding with it's color, music and history. I'm just in this for the enthusiasm, sparklers and free fireworks show.

But, yes. I would have avoided banquet halls like the plague, and we would have spent the day outside, by a lake, basking the luxurious Wisconsin humidity. You would have been fed BBQ. And we would have watched the fireworks.

Perhaps it's all a little tacky, but maybe I'll catch this train when it hits Saturday again in 2015.

Happy fourth :)

o canada.

Happiest of Canada Days to my northern neighbors! When I was a little girl, my family spent several weeks in Canada, where I fell in love with the entire place and came to two conclusions:

1. Canadians are the sweetest people on the planet. Seriously. They all want ask you where you're from, let you know about their favorite places to eat and give you directions to the best camping grounds.

2. Jovial locals really DO say things like, "Nice night for a stroll, eh?", and "Have yourself a great day, eh?". These "eh's" induced unstoppable giggles in my sis and me.

Today I had a meeting which happened to align with Canada Day, and my co-workers and I decided several weeks ago that it clearly needed to be a Canadian-themed meeting. Um...what does one bring to a Canadian-themed meeting?

No clue. So, I spent last night whipping up these cheery white cupcakes and a dozen red handstamped "eh?" picks; my little solute to the sweet and silly Canada I've experienced. Super fun and simple. Definitely my new favorite "dress up a baked good" trick. But, as you can see, my frosting technique needs a little help...