This past weekend was a pretty relaxing one. I needed it after this past week at The Wag. Brian and I spent Saturday night in with Savage Pizza's tomato basil pizza (so good). We were both passed out by 10:30, which worked out well, cause by 9 the next morning, we were out the door for breakfast at Gato Bizco. Sorry, but that place beats The Flying Biscuit for breakfast anyday, even if it can only fit maybe 20 people at once. I love that the owner is always there. It is definitely on the top of my "Things I Will Miss about ATL" list.
After breakfast, we headed to the infamous Burt's Pumpkin Patch up in Dawsonville. We passed the Mountain Moonshine festival (or something to that extent) on the way up there...couldn't find any parking, or we probably would have stopped, ha. The pumpkin patch was packed but still a good time. We bought two big pumpkins to carve and two little ones for decoration. After Burt's, we went to Uncle Shuck's corn maze. Just for a visual, it looks like this:
I couldn't read the map, so BT led the way - probably a good thing, or we wouldn't have made any progress. We did the Democratic side (ha, go figure); it took almost an hour, and we were both pretty tired, so after that was done, we headed home. We still haven't carved the pumpkins; I'll definitely post pictures when we do.
I just saw a clip of True Life: I'm A Southern Belle, and two of the girls they were following are Ole Miss students. Can I just say if the majority of girls are like that there, I probably will be a hermit. One of these girls is on the prowl for a husband at 22, and the other is a pageant queen. However, one of the non-Ole Miss girls said she was a Southern belle because she was raised to love the land, not because of the clothes or material things. Good for you. On a side note, I am so. fucking. glad. my mother never made me do pageants.
How awesome is this website?! The house tours are all fascinating and illustrate voyeurism at its finest. I love looking into other people's homes. I can't wait till I have my own, whenever that may be.
I mailed my internship application in to the Atlanta History Center today. I'm crossing fingers. Not sure when I will hear back from them, but I hope by the end of the year. The GRE is in two weeks from tomorow (AAAH), and then it will be time to start working on my grad school application. I swear, this never stops. I want to take an amazing vacation when all is said and done come March. I'll deserve it, dammit.
Not to pull a Tyra here, but this is the most fierce (fierce-st?) video. I mean, damn. Work it.
Try as I might (and I honestly can say I have), I just can't wrap my head around women LIKING Sarah Palin, much less voting for her. I mean, sweet, you get to keep your guns, but how about the right to decide what happens to your body? Nope, guess that isn't very important. Hey, if the RNC wants to spend $150k for her to look good...that's cool. McCain can rail against Obama for spending $3 million on a TELESCOPE...god forbid government money be spent on SCIENCE...but spending what some people make in a year just to make her look good? Yea, she's a regular hockey mom alright. Makes me wish Nov.4th was here & gone.
That reminds me...six hour waits on Election Day?! Whaaat?! So glad I voted absentee...
In one day, I get not one, but two, bills (with late charges, natch) from my old apartment, AND my windshield wipers break. By break, I mean intertwine with one another while I am driving in the pouring rain and snap, leaving me windshield wiper-less in the pouring rain. Bitchin'.
Seriously, I love shows like Wife Swap and Trading Spouses, especially the evangelical Christian/atheist episodes. I think Drake and I will take advantage of our off day in this 50 degree rainy day and curl up on the couch together and watch some mindless TV.
The month & the weather seem to finally match, thank ya Jesus. I honestly was starting to wonder if we would go straight from summer to winter; luckily, it's finally in the sixties. Time for sweaters & hoodies! My tried & true black Old Navy peacoat had to be retired this season, so I ordered this beauty from Delia*s:
I'm so excited, it looks so warm, and I love peacoats...I only prove Stuff White People Like right.
Nothing that exciting has been going on lately. Last week, Brian & I went for a train ride up in North Georgia on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, and it was a good time - despite the 80 degree weather and lack of any colorful fall foliage. This past weekend I finally went to Blind Willie's, and it was every bit of awesome I had hoped it would be. Their tagline ("Blues, booze, and Cajun food") fits them perfectly; the sweet potato fries were so delicious. This upcoming weekend, Brian & I are going to Burt's Pumpkin Patch, and I'm so freakin' excited. I haven't ever carved my own pumpkin, so this will be interesting, needless to say.
The older I get, the more I realize I really am my mother's daughter. I say this because lately, well, the economy sucks, and I'm becoming really freakin' good at cutting costs in all ways possible. I get my hair cut & colored at the Aveda Institute for $50 total (and it looks damn good)...I bought two weeks worth of groceries at ALDI for $18...I ordered some warm-weather shoes, a scarf, and some underwear from American Eagle for probably 40% of what it normally cost (thanks, online coupon codes!)...I found two pairs of jeans that fit perfectly (one pair of Miss Sixty jeans that retail for over $100) for $30 at Plato's Closet. Oh, I make my mom proud alright. Now if only I could cook a meal without using my microwave...
I've never been a huge fan of Halloween or dressing up, but this year BT & I are going to Graveyard's Halloween costume party with Steph & Bode, and I actually am excited. Brian & I are going as sailors; my costume will be pin-up style, and his will be traditional. I looked at a bunch of costumes online, and they are all either a) super slutty or b) 8 million dollars, so I'm going to be totally awesome & thrifty and make mine. White button-up, navy pleated skirt, sailor hat, white stockings, red ballet flats, red sailor necktie, and I'll be all set! I'll be sure to do a price comparison on here once it's all compiled. I think I'm going to try to do some my makeup kind of vintage-y (maybe red lips & false eyelashes?), but I'm pretty makeup-illiterate so we will see how that goes...
On heavy rotation lately: Alkaline Trio, all records Kings of Leon, Only By the Night Girl Talk, Feed the Animals Death Cab for Cutie, Plans Nick Drake, Pink Moon (hands down, the best fall/winter record ever made)
I just registered for the GRE! It was my goal to take it by the end of this month, but that isn't happening. I procrastinated, as usual, and the only available October dates were sometime next week. So, I registered for a November 13th appointment at 1:00 at a GSU testing facility, leaving me exactly a month to study. I've been working through The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE workbook all morning. So far, my verbal skills are fine, which is really no surprise. I mean, I have a degree in English; I would be pretty upset if they weren't fine. Now, my math skills are a different story. They definitely need some fine tuning. The format of the analytical writing questions seems a little tricky, so I'll have to practice those a lot as well. At least I'll have a full month to study and work through all the practice tests. It's my goal to go to the Decatur library in the afternoon for a couple of hours three times a week until test time.
On a whim last week, just to say what was out there for future post-grad jobs, I googled "Atlanta History Center, employment" and discovered they were accepting applications for interns this upcoming spring and summer. I'm going to send my application in and hope the internship I want (manuscripts assistant) is available. The description states it would expose me to "processing collections of unique, one-of-a-kind documents relating to history, including...business records, photographs, architectural collections, maps, diaries, private papers, etc..."How awesome would that be?! That is definitely the kind of thing I want to do when I get out of grad school. It's a little late in the game for me to be doing an internship, and I would still be working full-time at The Wag; it would only be for 10 weeks though, and I think I could handle that. Also, in thinking of the absolute worst case scenario, if I weren't to get into grad school for the fall, it would be great to add the AHC to my resume. The head of their internship program already gave me the A-OK to apply even though I've already graduated, so hopefully I will be given the same consideration as undergrad/grad students. The deadline is November 1st, so hopefully I'll hear back from them sometime before Christmas.
I've got one of my letters of recommendation in line already; I'm going to use Dr.Wood aka the man who got me into Southern literature. The son of a friend of my grandparents went to Ole Miss and apparently has donated a lot of money there; for a school like that (ie: lotsa good old boys as rich alumni), I think using him as my second letter will be a great asset. After the GRE, my application & statement of purpose will be the only things to assemble and turn in before the February 15th deadline. It's my mission to have everything postmarked by February 1st. It seems far away, but I know the next three months are probably going to fly by; I just want everything to go as easy and stress-free as possible. I can't believe this is really happening. Registering for the GRE just made it feel so real.
I would really appreciate it if the temperature could drop about ten degrees...
This year has been a year of trying new things (shooting range, kayaking, camping, etc...), and I have to say, I've really enjoyed it all. Trying to get as much experience out of my early twenties as I can without going flat broke. So far it has worked out pretty well.
Hangliding was amazing. Definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done. On Sunday Danielle, Laura, and I made the relatively short (1 1/2 hours) trip up to Lookout Mountain to begin our unconventional 23rd birthday celebration for the two of them. We ended up getting there about an hour before our reserved time, so we headed to Cloudland Canyon to walk around for a while. Again, so amazing how nature molds itself. After that, we checked in for our 3:30 reservation and went down to the launch/landing site to watch a quick video and put our harnesses on. I was the first one to go. My instructor, Pete, was pretty cool. He eased my nerves (I had told him I was afraid of heights). They have a little plane that almost looks like an old crop duster plane that tows you up to altitude (2,000 feet) then lets you go. That part was by far the scariest...the plane tows you at like 30mph then lets you go with a snap. After that, it was smooth sailing for about 20 minutes. We caught a couple of lifts which brought us up to 2,5000 ft at one point and flew next to birds and over the mountains. When he asked if I wanted to do any "roller-coaster type" tricks, I declined, being so nervous; I wish I would have now though! I didn't even let go of the handles on his harness; I should have not been such a pussy and grabbed the bar. Either way, it was an awesome experience, and I'm so glad I didn't wuss out.
I either don't want to see any movies coming out, or I want to see all of them. There is never any middle ground. Religulous looks amazing, and I've heard good things about Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Although I hate admitting it, I kind of want to see Quarantine; it opens at the Starlight on Friday, so maybe BT & I will go. It looks like a good drive-in movie, especially now that Halloween is close.
Speaking of, I need to go get Drake a Halloween costume. Target has a super cute Batman costume and a Superman one as well...I'm leaning towards Batman for him, but we will see...
Last weekend in Asheville was a perfect two-day trip. Sometimes its so nice to just get away from Atlanta/work/everything for a couple of days.
We woke up early on Saturday and went to Gato Bizco for breakfast. So delicious, beats The Flying Biscuit any day and there is hardly ever a wait. We hit the road shortly thereafter, filling up in South Carolina since, hey, Atlanta was STILL having a gas crisis. Apparently western North Carolina was as well but more on that later. On the way into Asheville, we stopped at Looking Glass Falls. It was pretty gorgeous, pretty unbelievable how nature molds itself into such interesting creations. We checked into the hotel, changed, and headed right back out for horseback riding up in Mars Hill at the Wolf Laurel Stables. We were the last trail ride of that day so it was just me, BT, and our tour guide. My horse, Sky, was pretty stubborn - she liked to just stop in the middle of the trail, sometimes for no reason, sometimes to eat. Brian's horse, Bud, was good though; he didn't even have to use the little sapling our tour guide gave him, ha. We also had a little cattle dog that followed us on the trail. I was glad that is all we had booked was a one hour ride; I don't think my ass could have taken much more. I was pretty sore the next morning. It was relaxing though to ride through the woods with nothing but nature surrounding you.
We got back to the hotel & I took a quick nap while Brian watched some of the college football games that were on (go Ole Miss!). We were going to go to a nice dinner & dress up, but after that horseback ride plus the four hour drive up there, all I really wanted to do was chill in bed. We ended up going to Tupelo Honey Cafe, and it was super yummy. BT had the salmon & I had the nutty fried chicken; both came with gi-normous biscuits. My kind of meal. We walked around some more, hoping to find a good place for dessert. The Chocolate Fetish was closed, so we ended up picking up some chocolate-covered pretzel sticks at Kilwin's. We walked around and people-watched for a bit, then headed back into the hotel, where BT promptly passed out & I watched SNL. Tina Fey does Sarah Palin so well.
I slept so good that night. Seriously, I love sleeping in hotels because you can turn the air down as much as you want without worrying about a $500 power bill; on top of that, Hampton Inn beds are so freakin' comfortable. Anyways, after a great sleep, we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to downtown Asheville. What a great city. I could live there, I think; lots and lots of granola types, but great scenery, great weather, great shops...I could do it. BT got his morning coffee fix at World Coffee Cafe; I had a pumpkin spice latte - delicious. Afterwards, we just walked around the city, taking pictures, and checking out some of the cool little shops and galleries. I found two used Faulkner hardcovers and a used As I Lay Dying (I lost my copy) at Downtown Books & News and had to abstain from getting a copy of Creedence's "Chronicle" on vinyl. After exploring for a couple of hours, we had lunch at Early Girl Eatery. Their chicken salad sandwich, mac and cheese, and lemonade were so freaking good. Mmmm. After lunch, we walked over to Three Dog Bakery right by the Grove Arcade, to buy Drake some treats; he got two "snickerpoodles" and his own personalized bone. He seemed to enjoy the snickerpoodles and hasn't gotten his personalized bone yet. We ended our downtown exploration with walking through the Grove Arcade and the Grove Corner Market, where we picked up some snacks for the ride up to Grandfather Mountain. I tried some lavendar soda which was crazy tasting...not necessarily in a good way. After a short drive up to the Grove Park Inn which was unfortunately under some serious construction, we were on our way.
After we got in the car, we realized we spent longer than we expected to in downtown Asheville, so we had to seriously book it to get to Grandfather Mountain before their ticket office closed at five. We tried to get gas about twenty minutes outside of Asheville and every single station was empty. After a minor freak out, we finally found one that still had gas because it was cash only. Luckily, BT had cash so we got enough gas to get us to Grandfather Mountain and at least to South Carolina. Whew. Very close call. We got to Grandfather Mountain right at five o'clock, only to find out the ticket office actually closed at six which would have been nice to know while we were doing 70 down 35mph back roads trying to get there in time. Anyways, first we went to the nature habitats they had on site which was awesome - eagles, cougars, bears, and (my favorite) river otters! After spending a good amount of time staring at the bears and otters, we ventured up to top of the mountain (6,000 feet above sea level) where it probably was around 50 degrees with winds of about 20mph. Crazy! I thought we were going to be blown off. Nevertheless, we crossed the bridge to the super craggy peak of the mountain, climbed some more, and shot for a while on the top. We finally climbed back down and headed home...saw a group of deer right on the side of the road as we headed down the mountain...had another minor gas crisis in South Carolina but found some shortly thereafter...arrived back in Atlanta at 11:30 and crashed out, sad that the weekend was over but glad to be home and in bed.
Not much else has been going on. My phone charger finally arrived, and I finally got around to fixing my computer, even though I lost every single song, picture, essay, etc that I had saved. At least I don't feel quite so technologically lost anymore, ha.
Going hangliding with Danielle and Laura this weekend for their collective birthdays...next weekend BT and I are paying Kennesaw a visit and then taking a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway...trying to take the GRE soon...possibly going to see Dolly Parton at Chastain with my parents at the end of the month...seeing "Wicked" with Claire on the 30th. October is shaping up to be quite wonderful, although I wish it was a tad bit cooler.
Can't wait for Joe Biden to annihilate Sarah Palin in tonight's debate!
