N's Project 365: Week 4 + Puerto Vallarta

April 24, 2011: This was my bouquet for Ree's wedding. I'm amazed that faux peacock feathers survived hours of travel and being tossed about.

April 25, 2011: A girl is never too old to wear a Hello Kitty t-shirt to sleep.

April 26, 2011: Some people think I'm crazy for leaving my thermostat at 80º all summer. I think it's juuust right.

April 27, 2011: Now there's a man who really wears a lot of hats.

April 28, 2011: The main church in Puerto Vallarta, a sand sculpture of The Last Supper on the beach, and the sunset (a well-deserved view after a looong trek) from Vista Grill.

April 29, 2011: Ahhhh.

April 30, 2011: A nice imitation of Paradise Island, followed by mango and coconut margaritas at Victor's. Can you spot the colorful parrots in the second photo?

America's Department Store

Without realizing it, I took photos of a few different Macy's stores over the holidays. I thought I'd share since it amuses me for some reason.

Garden City, NY. 27 Dec 10. The sign of a true blizzard (or hell freezing over).

Herald Square, Manhattan, NY. 29 Dec 10. Magical.

Union Square, San Francisco, CA. 3 Jan 11. So that's how they get those big ornaments on and off the tree!

Reverb 10: Days 25-31 for N

Day 31 Prompt: Core Story. What central story is the core of you, and how do you share it with the world?

This, the final day, is the hardest. I Googled a bit to see what kind of answers other people gave, and there is one common statement: I have no core story. I agree. That doesn't mean I have no life, it just means that there is no way to sum myself up. Actually, R and I were kind of discussing this last weekend after I said I'm just a normal person and don't have that one single attribute that makes people want to get to know me. We decided that no one really does - it's the sum of all parts that matters. If you play a lot of roles such as daughter and sister and friend and engineer and single woman, each one contains a completely different core story of yourself and is shared with the world in its own way.


Day 30 Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What's the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

I received four especially memorable gifts this year, all for my birthday, and they are significant to different phases of my life.

• The Past: my photo book
• The Present: a new phone from Ree & C and the matching right hand ring that R & I got
  
• The Future: a gift card from my parents to fly wherever my next adventure takes me

Day 29 Prompt: Defining moment. Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

There was a period early in 2010 when I had a series of first dates. That's not a big deal in most people's lives, but it was a bit of a whirlwind for me. The rollercoaster of being excited and nervous and wary, having to decide what to wear and what to say and what to eat, figuring out how many chances to give them before I end things (because, let's face it, I almost always want to end it)...it was pretty taxing but oh so much fun.


Day 28 Prompt: Achieve. What's the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you'll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do or 10 new thoughts you can think in order to experience that feeling today.

As much as I hate to say this because it's cliche and not "me", I'd like to regain a good body image. I'm not setting any measurable goals, but I just want to manage all of the changes that randomly came about, with no warning, as I turned 30. Hopefully this slow process will allow me to feel more confident in my appearance.


Day 27 Prompt: Ordinary joy. Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

Whenever my family gets together, we spend a good chunk of each morning sitting around the kitchen drinking chai and doing nothing. It's my favorite part of our reunions, the cozy part of the day before people go off in their separate ways.


Day 26 Prompt: Soul food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth and touched your soul?

In Athens, we ate at Erato like 3 times. We made friends with owners of the restaurant and they treated us like family, bringing dish after dish of things we might like, letting us taste their own meals, and literally spoon-feeding us fresh veggies and fruits from their garden. The best thing about the food was that it was so simple and fresh...homemade bread, olive oil, hummus, tzaziki, feta, souvlaki, watermelon...heaven.


Day 25 Prompt: Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of yourself from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
Sorry, I have to refer to Greece again. This may not really capture who I am, but isn't it a cool photo? It was taken in Santorini by one of my traveling companions. I can easily come up with all sorts of symbolism about being in my natural state, looking up towards the mountains, and having the sun's rays beaming up, but I'll just let it speak for itself.

Reverb 10: Day 22 for N

Day 22 Prompt: Travel. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?

How did I travel? As in, plane vs car? Planned vs spontaneous? Alone vs not alone? I'm not sure what that question is asking. I didn't visit a ton of exotic places but it was still a great year, travel-wise. Some of my trips were planned based on specific occasions, a couple were for work, and some were just random for fun. All of them, except for Greece, were with the intent of visiting family or friends. This year I went to Savannah, the Bay Area, Memphis, Philly, DC, Santa Barbara, Greece, Albany, Valdosta, and Atlanta (6 times - wow). Between now and 2011, I'll also visit Long Island and hop back to the Bay Area.

I hope next year's travel is just as unexpected and random. I'm definitely planning on the normal trips to ATL, hopefully Sonoma with the girls, and hopefully somewhere exotic with R (Indonesia? Croatia? South Pacific?). Anywhere that offers some version of this:

Reverb 10: Day 3 for N

Day 3 Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

Oooh, tough one. I'll have to say Thursday, September 2. I was riding on an ATV through the hills of Santorini, Greece. I wasn't driving, so I wasn't alone, but I enjoyed the moment alone. The previous weeks were a bit hectic, and that was when it all released. The combination of the hot sun and the wind was comforting and freeing, and the smell of the Mediterranean Sea was cleansing. I didn't care what time it was or that my hair was getting messed up or that we were speeding along pseudo-roads with no traffic rules at a high altitude. I soaked in views of the reddish-brown calderas and the pristine white buildings with splashes of bright blue domed churches. Greek retsina wine and tzaziki were the tastes that lingered during the drive. There were no sounds besides the roar of the ATV, which I hardly noticed.

What did I think about? Nothing. That was the best part.

2010 Reunion-a-RoNi #4

What better excuse for a reunion and a trip to ATL than Ms. J's wedding?! It was a fabulous weekend.

Wednesday: Drove to the Dirrty Dirrty and gorged on Antico Pizza and King of Pops with Ree and C. All the food totally lived up to the hype.

Thursday: Got R from the airport and drank coffee on Ree's awesome rooftop (so jealous) while the sun rose. Checked in to the Hotel Palomar and sat outside to enjoy lunch and champagne cocktails at Pacci -whose executive chef, BTW, went to school with us! Ran errands, impulse bought some mark makeup (stay tuned for recos) picked up the bachelorette, and got dolled up. Met up with the other girls to get our nails did and watched Ms. J experience her first pedicure ever. :) Dined at ONE.midtown kitchen and freaked out about their homemade limoncello. And then...pole dancing! It was quite an experience and workout. Wore the fab t-shirts that R made and chose "sexy" names for the night. Guess which one of us was Ooh La La and which one was Spice. :P Each of us 6 girls had our own pole - and dude, did anyone know that you can change them so that they either stay stationary or spin on their own?! Made fun of ourselves and later made fun of the instructor, who apparently got into the business to "teach women how to keep their men at home." Interesting. Headed back to the hotel with Ms. L in tow for drinks on the rooftop at AltoRex and a slumber party.

Friday: Brunched at the GT WaHo and cried about how lucky the current students are to have easy access to grits and smothered, covered, diced, peppered hashbrowns. Hightailed to Norcross and then Perimeter Mall for one of the most productive RoNi mall experiences ever. Found R's signature scent (see previous post) and these adorb atomizers. Randomly managed to find our matching right-hand rings! Deets coming soon to a blog near you. Had a drink with G back at the hotel, got dolled up, and rehearsed Ms. J's wedding. Ate delish rehearsal dinner food at Ippolito's. Returned to the hotel bar. Of course.

Saturday: Met the bride and other bridesmaids to get our hair/makeup did over mimosas. Watched R feverishly look for Paris Hilton's mugshot so she could imitate her 'do. Rehearsed, took silly pics, and hung out at the church. Stood up with the beautiful couple as they took their vows with absolutely no disasters, major or minor. Headed to Flint Hill for a reception full of yummy veggie spring rolls, LOTS of dancing (we are still pros at the Electric Slide, thank you very much), and Ms. J's amazingly fun family. Vogued like there was no tomorrow and made the other guests jealous that they can't rap as well as we can. Returned to...you guessed it, the hotel bar. Drank shots of ouzo/sambuca/151 that are apparently called Yellow Jackets. Convinced Ms. L to slumber party with us again, leaving the 2 hubbies to fend for themselves.

Sunday: Brunched at The Flying Biscuit. Hung out with Ree and C and mom until time to hit the road, leaving R and G with the fam. Sad goodbyes all around.

Opa!

My trip to Athens and Santorini in photos: