You may have noticed if you've been reading the blog for awhile, but in case you haven't, I really enjoy lists. Like our cooking and baking bucket list and our newly created Summer 2013 Bucket List:

1. Visit BOW Winery
2. Visit a different winery
3. Go to a Nats Game
4. Go to Mount Vernon
5. Go kayaking with Fitz
6. Go to the zoo
7. Go to the beach
8. Go on a road trip with no destination in mind
9. Monday Movie Night @ Crystal City
10. Make a summer music playlist and play it often!
11. Make homemade popsicles
12. Make homemade waffle cones with homemade ice cream
13. Play at least 9 holes of golf
14. Baseball date night complete with baseball food
15. Build a fort in the living room
16. Shoot a gun for sport
17. See a movie at a drive-in theater
18. Rent bikes and tour DC
19. Complete 1 large apartment renovation/craft project
20. Go to Philly and eat a Philly cheesesteak with friends

This week, in preparation of our journey back to the Mitten, we created the our summer playlist. If you'd like to jam out with us, you can listen to it here.

I know. It's weird to have to specify something I "like" from something I "actually like." While I'm far from a people pleaser (I'm far too opinionated for that title) I find a lot of similarities to this post from Bri at Designlovefest. I'm finally at the point in my life where I stop doing and saying things just to avoid rocking the boat or standing out. What's funny is that I thought I've been doing this all along. Until now.

For example, I've agreed to go out to bars even though I really, really don't like bars. I'd rather drink at home for much cheaper with Fitz and a Tom Hanks movie. Is that cool? Popular belief tells me it's not, but I've found that recently when I've finally had the courage to decline an invitation out, and make plans to stay in, others want to join me. It's so refreshing to be honest.

Over time I've also stopped spending time with people I'm not close to.***  This doesn't mean I dislike the people I don't see anymore. It just means I acknowledge that we're not close -- be it because we have little in common (if we ever had anything in common) or because we're just going down different paths. It's easy when you just graduate college and move to a new city to cling to anyone you find who's not a blatant jerk and has even the smallest thing in common with you. I definitely did this and spent a lot of hours wasting my time and theirs by trying to make lasting friendships that just weren't meant to be.

This has been the hardest thing for me. If you ask my parents, I've always loved having lots of friends and being popular. I don't even know why. Because of attention? Maybe. It's not important to know why. I've identified that it's important to spend time with people you admire and enjoy and vice versa.

So, to get back to my original point (who doesn't love a good tangent?) I'd like to share a few things here and there I've found  that make me happy. I hope you like them, too, but no pressure if you don't. Life's boring if we all agree. This is why I spend so much time befriending Democrats.

Verily Magazine

This magazine is a breath of fresh, lavender-scented air with birds chirping in the background. I found it because I met one of the writers at a dinner party over three years ago in DC. Being the early 20 somethings we were, we friended each other on Facebook despite the slim likelihood of ever seeing each other again. Here's a section from Verily's website in their "About Us" section:

"In a world that seems to offer us limitless choices, somehow the modern narrative about women – what we should look like, how we should date, how to be successful, what should make us happy – can ring hollow. So Verily is starting a new conversation – one for those who want a fresh take on life; an honest message that relates to their experiences which is uplifting, affirming, and true."

Isn't that nice? I don't know about you, but I cannot stand most women's magazines today. They chalk full of ads, sex tips, ridiculously expensive make up recommendations, bad relationship advice, and bad career advice (if any.) As soon as I got my first quarterly subscription of Verily, I perused the table of contents looking for the material I'd have interest in. I wanted to read all of it and I did. Every piece written in the magazine is interesting and thoughtful. I wasn't bored. I re-read things. 

I hope you take a peek at their site and, if interested, subscribe to their quarterly printed magazine. Maybe we can chat over it sometime!

***Disclaimer:

Please don't be a teenage girl about this. If I haven't seen or spoken with you in awhile and you're wondering, "Hmm am I one of these people!?!?!" you're not one of these people. These people a) probs don't read my blog and b) probs don't give two hoots if I see/talk to them. 

Despite having a keen interest politics for over 10 years now (nerd!) I've never attended a party convention. There are so many ways to be involved in politics, that the majority people I know in my field have never, in fact, attended a party convention. 

That all changed mid-May when Andy and I attend the Virginia Republican Convention in Richmond, VA. It was actually my boss who mentioned that I might like to attend. I was very honest with him and told him I wasn't sure how one got to be a delegate on behalf of your city/county. He kindly told me all about it and Andy even more kindly agreed to spend his birthday weekend tagging along to things filled with hoards of people wearing red, white, and blue. Don't worry, though, he's paying me back by going to an Uber-nerd (read: engineer) conference in Raleigh in July.

We got Fitz a puppy-sitter for the evening and headed out in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. We left extra early so we could be sure to stop by the greatest place on earth - Waffle House! Don't knock it 'til you try it folks. Actually, just don't knock it. I love it. Dearly. However, my rendevous with WH was not meant to be. We got on the highway and 20 miles in we hit traffic. This is at 6 am, by the way. It appears the day before, there was a toxic waste spill in a town 40 minutes down the highway and they were still working on a full clean up on Saturday. 

Ultimately, it's great we left so early. We were still able to get there in time for registration and schmoozing. To be honest, Andy and I spent most of the time with a I-don't-know-what's-going-on-but-I'm-excited look on our faces. On our way to our seats, we spotted my boss, a few coworkers, and a few friends. It's always and reassuring to see familiar places at a new place :). 

First came the introductions, then the speeches. Andy and I had already decided who'd we support but it was fun to hear the other speakers, and those we supported, just the same. Then came voting. I thought, how long could this take? They're using an electronic counting system! I was so, so wrong. Tallying the first round of votes took four hours. Yes, four. There was nothing to do besides grab lunch. Even if downtown Richmond did have more, everyone wanted to stay close to hear the results and vote in the succeeding series (there would be at least two as there were seven candidates for Lieutenant Governor.) The Attorney General (AG) candidate was selected (governor had already been chosen), and we just had to keep narrowing down the LG candidates until someone won a majority. Ultimately, it would take 4 voting rounds total, ending up in an over 12 hour day for attendees. With each round of voting, more people left, which actually very much changed the results a person received. 

Truth be told, we did not stay for the entirety. The person we had chosen as our LG candidate would not win (although he did quite well!) and, welp, we had dinner reservations. Please don't even pretend to be surprised. It's ok. We're food nerds. I found Juleps about a year ago, browsing my food blogs. It's high-end Southern comfort fare. I could not think of anything better. The restaurant was perfect. It was in a cute neighborhood, and it was a small, cozy restaurant with exposed brick and dim lighting while jazz and standards played. Here's what we ordered, per usual we did not take pictures out of courtesy to fellow patrons and the staff:

Artisanal Cheese Plate with crackers and seasonal jam
Rack of wild boar
Lamb stew
Chocolate bourbon pecan tart
Bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand 

It was a perfect date night away from town. 

When we got back in the car, we checked our phones to see updates from the convention. They were on the fourth round of votes at this point, but we knew we could get back in time to vote again, so I just continually checked updates while Andy drove us home. 

It was a great day and I look forward to volunteering on the campaigns for AG, LG, and Governor for Virginia. 

Oh, and as an added bonus. Here's this great picture. Sure it's a nice picture of two really really ridiculously good looking folks, but what really makes this picture great is the grumpy Republican lady sitting behind us. She was NOT amused.