My new 'do

I lightened up my hairdo yesterday, by that I mean there's a lot less of it. The color is actually darker.

Here's the before:

On my day off Monday, I died my hair. It was multicolored before that. I had an ombre look going on -- partially because I liked it but also because I'm lazy (dying half my hair = time saving measure).

Since I was cutting it off, I decided freshening the color was a good idea.

Here's a low-quality bathroom selfie of the new color:

Hard to tell, I know, but trust when I say it's different. Darker, less red, all one color. This also gives you a really good feel for how long it was.

Finally yesterday I went in for my semi-annual "trim." Except this time I went for an actual cut.

I wanted my hair to feel healthier and I didn't want to use half a bottle of conditioner every week. (I kid. Kind of.)

Luckily my stylist was totally on board with my vague, "cut it about this much with layers and frame my face" description.

She made this happen:

So far, I'm really happy with it. Granted, I haven't washed it and styled it myself. Yet.

But I love the volume, lightness and the fact that I don't have the hair of many colors.

When was the last time you made a major style change?

Awkward and awesome: Weekend edition

Hey all! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was part productive, part fun, and part work.

I actually have tomorrow off because I worked today. A friend is coming over in the morning, but otherwise the day is wide open.

I hope to get a few things done (dye my hair, meal plan, and a few other miscellaneous things). But I'm also excited to not have much going on. Low key days are the best.

I thought I'd stop by with my most recent awkward and awesome moments. Hopefully in my free time tomorrow I'll get another post or two ready for the week so it won't be silent around here.

Awkward:
- Really, really big bummer --> My DSLR needs $250+tax in work. It stopped reading SD cards. Since it's 4.5 years old and was entry level anyways, I've decided to not fix it. And wait until I have a good chunk of spare cash to buy a new one. *Tears*
- I'm really not into holiday decorating. I see people put together great displays. I tried to use some decorative gourds. They ended up on my coffee table in a bowl. So cute.
- One of my fantasy football leagues. (I'm in two.) I was pretty successful in this one last year -- made it to the playoffs. This year...I'm struggling a big and my competitive nature can't handle it.
- How much my eyes are still burning more than hour after I cooked onions and garlic. I swear the garlic (which I love) is way worse than the onion too.

Awesome:
- Snapchat. My sister and I use it all the time. In fact, we are in the midst of an hour-long conversation. (We also text using only emoticons. We're pretty special.) Anyone else addicted to Snapchat? I like that I can send ridiculous photos (completely clothed) and it doesn't take up all my phone's storage space.
- Another Seahawks win. Yes it was ugly, but a win is a win. 5-1 baby. (And I got to be on the sidelines again.)
- Restaurant week (it's actually two weeks). Fancy restaurants around Seattle offer three course meals for a flat rate. I'm trying out a few new spots and can't wait to share the goods with you. First two are this week.
- Four more days of work before vacation!!!

What's been awkward or awesome for you recently?

Full speed ahead in October

All those dots? Non-work-related events.

I just updated my calendar with everything going on the rest of October and I think I need a vacation.

The good news: I'm taking one! Later this month, I'm taking a week off from work. No super big trip planned, though I am crossing the mountains to see some family.

It'll actually be my longest vacation since I went full time in January. My previous longest break? Four days for Labor Day weekend. So you could say I'm more than a little excited.

There's tons to do this month with different events, friends to spend time with and even a speaking engagement. I might just forgo grocery shopping for how little I'm going to be home. That's why I froze all that food, right?

I'm also slowly putting the condo to rights. I got the big things done pretty quickly, and the rest of it...I can barely check off one thing a week. For example, I've had a pile of stuff to take down to my storage unit in the basement sitting in my living for over a week.

Impressive, right?

Just to give a taste for this month, I am home tonight, tomorrow I'm going to a friend's house for dinner and an in-home concert, Wednesday I going to the Sounders game, Thursday I have a happy hour date with a friend I haven't seen for a month, and Sunday I'll be working at the Seahawks game.

You might notice Friday and Saturday are free. I'm kind of hoping to keep it that way, but who knows what will happen. At the very least, I probably need to get some cleaning done over the weekend.

P.S. Please don't take this as complaining about the busyness...I'm really excited. Bring on the fun!

How is your schedule looking? Anything exciting coming up?

A partially completed to-do list and other weekend shenanigans

I'm sitting at work not working.

I actually got off 45 minutes ago. Then a coworker and I walked for coffee (trying out Starbucks new Chocolate Chai -- so far, thumbs up!).

Next I have somewhere to be in just over an hour so it didn't seem worth it to head home for just a little bit.

Perfect time to blog, right?

This weekend was pretty wonderful. First of all, I had two days off in a row (it had been a while). Secondly, I didn't have anything planned on Saturday. This never happens.

So I made myself a few lists of things to do, errands to run, groceries to buy, and got to work.

I wasn't nearly as productive as I had hoped, but by the end of the day I had crossed off more than half my list. I also successfully saved a decent amount on my groceries (Safeways' Just For U for the win) even if I did spend more than I had planned.

Spoiler alert: that's pretty much every grocery shopping trip I make.

Sunday was for a football (an awesome Seahawks comback on the road) and a college roommate's wedding. Even though I hadn't seen her for a few years, it was great to celebrate with her.

Monday morning was an early one at work (hello, 5:30 a.m.) so I feel like I've been recovering from that all week.

Tonight I have fun plans with my coworkers (drinks! dinner!) and then it'll be Thursday -- my favorite day of the week.

On a completely unrelated note, I appreciate all the cooking for one suggestions. I've started stocking my freezer with leftovers for later. Currently, there's pasta, soup, and enchiladas.

Some week soon I'm not going to cook at all. But I may need to buy some more Tupperware.

Obviously life has been pretty epic, hence the desperate need to blog. What's been going on for you?

Awkward and Awesome returns

First of all, I just want to put an early TGIF out there. This week hasn't been anything too crazy, but I'm ready for my first real two-day weekend in a while.

I don't have anything major planned, except a college roommate's wedding, and a lot of little things I'd like to get done around my place. Mostly just making it look like someone other than a disorganized slob on her way to being a hoarder lives here.

It just hasn't been a real priority this week. For now, I'm sitting on my couch, catching up on some season premieres for fall TV, and sharing some of my recent awkward and awesome moments. Enjoy!

Awkward:
- Staring at this blinking cursor for 10 minutes. The lights are on but nobody's home. Apparently.
- Still staring...
- Typos.
- My sudden desire to use hashtags unnecessarily. I blame the subliminal messaging from JT and Fallon.
- Stuff piled up around my condo. Out of control.

Awesome:
- This post/story. Seriously, could Russell Wilson be any more amazing?
- Fall TV season being underway. New shows make me happy.
- I put a temporary tattoo on my arm for the Color Run last weekend (more on that soon), and I've kind of become enamored with it.
- Finally having a blow dryer again. I purchased one last weekend. I've been without one for over a year.
- Beer and pizza.
- Coworkers that I have a blast with (and who do great work).

There's more I'm sure, but I can't think of it at the moment. What's been awkward or awesome for you this week?

Still getting in the swing of it

First of all, I just want to say thanks for all the comments on my last post. Thank you for sticking around even when I didn't post the entire month of September. I'm working on it. Now back to your regular programming.

The transition to owning my place and living by myself has been a little weird.

First of all, there's the fact that I haven't actually been home for a whole weekend off more than twice since I moved over two months ago. So it's a little hard to feel settled.

Case in point: I've hung three things on the wall. (Who knew a nail hole would feel like such a commitment?!)

Also, I'm still getting used to organizing my life. I mean, I haven't had to deal with bills, groceries, etc. for quite a while. It's not that I'm doing any of it wrong, I just haven't found my groove yet.

Meal planning. What's that? For the longest time, the majority of my fridge was beer. Which isn't saying much because I had about eight bottles in there.

Finally, there's that whole living alone thing. Most of the time, it's pretty awesome. No need to be fully dressed and if the dishes aren't done right away, I'm only bugging myself. Add to that my fairly busy calendar, and I'm love it 99% of the time.

It's just that every once in a while I realize since it's been hours since I've had a conversation (except with myself, which obviously doesn't count). And it's kind of weird.

So any recommendations for meal planning for one? What are the best/worst parts of living alone for you?

Life lately: Back from the blogging abyss

I've started an abandoned quite a few blog posts recently. Not because I don't have things to write about -- I definitely do -- but because I don't even know where to start.

So I've turned into a blogging ninja. I'm still reading all of your posts, I'm still logging into to try and write regularly, but there's no sign of me anywhere.

I thought instead of getting overwhelmed by all the posts I'd like to do, I'd do a quick recap of things that have been going on recently.

Sound good?

Great. Glad you agree.

Labor Day weekend in Tennessee was a blast. I slept in, ate delicious food, partied it up, saw a UT football game, and danced the night away at my friend's wedding reception. It really was a great weekend, but left me needing a vacation to recover.

The Seahawks season started (and football in general is back)! I'm lucky enough to be working on the sidelines taking pictures for a handful of games this year and got to be there for the win over the 49ers. Rumor has it the crowd was really loud, but I kept ear plugs in the whole night.

(Confession: I also ate a hot dog. Anyone who knows me well will realize how huge this is. I don't eat hot dogs.)

I bought a plane ticket to see my sister for Thanksgiving. My sis moved to the Bay Area in August for a new adventure and the whole family is spending Thanksgiving with her. I haven't been to SF in over a decade and I can't wait to see my sister again. It's going to be a blast.

I took small steps towards making my condo feel a little more like home. I've hung all of two things on the walls. My mom made me some pillows. I actually went grocery shopping. Oh, and I made my first mortgage payment. My parents brought some more stuff down this week, so at the moment the condo is  looking a little chaotic.  But it really feels like mine now.

I bought a new phone. I was actually eligible for an upgrade in June but held out for Apple's newest versions. I was able to snag a phone from Best Buy today. I went with Galaxy Gray or whatever it's called (a.k.a. the dark gray one). I was leaning towards that color and then that's all the store had. Now I just need to sell my old phone on eBay to make up some of the cost.