How I Spent My Summer Vacation

So here we are, in the middle of summer. As you all know, I am currently on vacation from work (and Alex is still job hunting), so we have a lot of time on our hands. When I began this vacation, I was concerned that I would grow weary of the lack of structure and the free time. I couldn't have been more wrong; I loooove it. Now I feel bad for the chumps that have to work every month of the year! Suckers!

Anyway, in honor of my fantastically lazy summer, I thought I'd do a list of things that occupy my free time:

1. The Price is Right: This is a super nostalgic thing for me. When I was a kid, summer meant waking up late, watching Bob Barker while enjoying a huge bowl of Alpha-bits... Some things never change. Even though it's now Drew Carey and I have traded Alpha-bits for Cap'n Crunch, I still get my Price is Right on most mornings at 9 AM.

2. Food Network/Wii Fit: What a deadly combo. I've been trying to be healthier and to exercise daily. However, I also love to watch the Food Network, which makes me hungry and makes me want to cook. A lot. I also have stumbled on some great food websites: The Pioneer Woman Cooks, The Impulsive Buy (which is also hilarious), The Kitchn, and Serious Eats are some of my faves, and they usually have delicious-looking recipes. Sigh.

3. True Blood: Okay... Now I wouldn't ever recommend this show to anyone else, and it took me a while to like it, but now... I may be hooked. The acting sucks, the accents are some of the worst I've ever heard, and since it's on HBO, there's tons of gratuitous sex and violence, especially in the first episodes. I was ready to give it up after the first disk. However, the story is just interesting enough to keep me watching, and I think it is improving. They've toned down the gross stuff, and the actors might just be settling into their accents. Sidenote: This show has an awesome theme song:



4. Etsy and other websites: It's slightly embarrassing, but I spend waaay too much time online. Etsy is a particular killer. For those of you who are uninitiated, Etsy is sort of like Amazon for sellers of handmade goods. It has an abundance of awesome stuff to buy, and I can spend hours browsing and putting stuff into my "Favorite Listings." Right now, I have over 500 things in my favorites (and that doesn't even include my favorite sellers)! My favorite thing I've ever bought from Etsy was my sweet robot cake topper.

5. Y: The Last Man: I wish I could say that I've read a ton of books this summer... but I can't! I have started reading a comic by Brian K. Vaughan (one of the writers of Lost) called Y: The Last Man. I actually started to get interested in the series when I saw Hurley reading an issue in Spanish on Lost. The premise is simple: Every male creature on Earth dies... except Yorick, the main character, and his pet monkey Ampersand. So far, the series is good. Imperfect, but interesting enough that I'm going to keep reading.

6. Local Bakeries: I'm a sucker for baked goods, and Salt Lake has a ton of great restaurants and bakeries. My favorites are Mini's Cupcakes, where I like to indulge in the Chocoholic cupcake and a batch of freshly made marshmallows, and Tulie Bakery, where I have discovered some of the best croissants I've ever had. I've been trying to be good and avoid stuff that's so bad for me, but what can I say?

7. Local Vintage/Consignment Shops: Another favorite local thing of mine is the abundance of awesome vintage or consignment shops around. If you like funky/cool stuff, I'd recommend Emilie Jayne or Abode. If you want something a bit more stately/Mod, I like The Green Ant or the newly opened Now and Again. If you want a good deal, try Ninth Avenue Chic or (my personal favorite) Moriarty's.

8. Salt Lake-y type stuff: I have really enjoyed all the cool stuff going on downtown. The Living Traditions Festival was a glutton's dream, the Farmer's Market each Saturday is awesome, and if you get really bored, Library Square is fun to browse. I'm looking forward to the Twilight Concert Series, even though we'll be in California when one of my favorite bands, The Black Keys, is scheduled to perform. For free.

9. Crafty pursuits: It is probably strange to some of you, but I enjoy making stuff. So far this summer Alex and I have turned an old door into a pretty cool shelf:
I also have plans to repaint and recover this chair:

AND to make these plates:

We'll see if that happens...

10. Not studying, planning, or even thinking about school: Oops!