Taking Stock

Friday nights are made for unwinding and reevaluating. This Friday in particular falls after a very challenging week (and comes before a very stressful weekend), so it seems appropriate to rest for a moment and take stock of where I am at this point in the semester. 

A few bloggers I follow filled out this survey recently, and for all the reasons previously mentioned (as well as the total nostalgia of internet surveys), I though I would give it a go. 

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Making: course outlines and new friends, not necessarily in that order. 
Cooking: tacos tacos tacos! My dinner every night this week and I'm not even mad about it. 
Drinking: diet coke by the gallon. 
Reading: everything. EVERYTHING. 
Wanting: some new clothes.
Looking: for my stinkin' iPhone and it's nowhere to be found. I hope it's someplace cool and that it's having a good time. I've made piece with the fact that I'll never see it again. 
Playing: candy crush... until my phone left me. Now I just stare at walls and wonder what's happening on Instagram.
Wasting: all the kale I bought that now has gone bad. But seriously, who can eat that much kale??
Sewing: some pretty billowy trim onto the t-strap of my wedding wedges... ya know... when I get around to it. 
Wishing: we had a fall break. GAH if only.
Enjoying: some snuggle time with some particularly friendly dogs this weekend. 
Waiting: for my parents to come home. It's so strange being in their house alone now. It's even stranger how quickly it became "their house" and not "our house". 
Liking: Kings of Leon, The Decemberists, and Florence + the Machine on repeat. 
Wondering: when I'll see my best friends again. Facebook messages from TriVR last night just about broke my heart. 
Loving: ethic food Friday nights with new friends. It's the highlight of my week every week. (We've had Indian, Thai, and Ethiopian so far :) )
Hoping: that I can work exercise into my schedule soon... and that I start to actually like doing it. I really want (to want to want) to like working out. 
Marveling: at how quickly time is moving.
Needing: a hair cut. 
Smelling: some really unfortunate things in the hallway outside my apartment. Off-campus housing is sometimes a lot like on-campus housing, but not in any of the ways you want it to be. 
Wearing: cute, cheap flats from Old Navy that put blisters on my heels and joy in my heart.  
Following: more blogs and tv shows than my schedule can handle. 
Noticing: how attached I am to social media. Using this old flip phone until my new iPhone comes on Monday is opening my eyes to how much I rely on that silly little device. 
Knowing: that I'm doing the right thing, even though it's so hard. 
Thinking: about what I'm going to wear in our engagement photos (Oct 11). 
Bookmarking: tons of travel sites! Honeymoon planning is my new favorite distraction. 
Opening: my mind to new ways of thinking. 
Giggling: incessantly every time I'm around a table with my law school friends. It's so fun getting to know new people :)
Feeling: exhausted, happy, and like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. 

Let me know if you do this survey too! I'd love to read yours :)

In which I photo dump a bunch of apartment pics...

Hello friends. 

I'm sorry it's taken so long to introduce you to my little studio. I moved in about a month ago and it's still not completely finished. There are still a couple little things I'd like to add or change (like the completely bare walls around my bed). It's taking some work, but still, this little apartment and I are beginning to grow quite fond of each other. 

Turn left when you walk into the front door and you'll be in my living room. It's pretty cozy with my old-lady love seat, squishy leather "coffoman" (coffee table/ottoman)1, and t-shirt quilt that covers one entire wall. 

If, instead of left, you turned right out of the front door, you'd be in my little studio kitchen. What it lacks in counter space, it makes up for in shelving and storage space. Oh, and that Ninja blender, it's wonderful. If you're in the market for a blender, I highly recommend it. 

Just past the love seat in the living room is my desk area. Love that window while I'm buried in law school work. It reminds me there's an outside world with things like sunshine and changing leaves and people who aren't law students.

Across from my desk is my "bedroom" (read: sleeping area).

This is the view from my bed. See? It really is a studio, despite the separate living spaces. There's not a door to be found in this place.

Past my work space and sleeping area is the closet and bathroom. I'm super blessed in the closet department - this thing is huge. It is a little strange having everything on display, though. I feel like I need to be neat and tidy all the time! Oh, and there is a door to the bathroom - my one and only! It's an ideal place to place some hooks for bags I want to keep handy.

This space has turned out to be very functional, and having a space all my own to personalize has been so much fun. It is a difficult and sometimes lonely transition into living alone, though, so don't be a stranger! My air mattress is primed and ready to welcome visitors.

Just ask this girl ;)

Love you, Sarah Anne! So glad to see you!

1 The term "coffoman" comes from my brilliant and imaginative father, Scott Anderson. IHRTLUHC.

In which I attempt to catch you up on the craziest month of my life...

Hello friends.

So sorry for the radio silence. It's been one hell of a month.

On August 8th, I moved into my very first, very small, very own apartment. It's a great little space and, once I get the last few odd ends in place, I can't wait to show it to you.

Some mementos of life, love, and Lawrence on my windowsill.

A few days later, we moved Ebiji into his one bedroom down the block. I have more stuff, but he has some bigger stuff (like the queen sized bed to be used by us after July 19), so that was a busy and heavy week. I will not be sharing pictures of it (1) because they don't exist, and (2) because it was not a pretty time. Not pretty at all.

Me and the Feyoncé after a successful first week of school!

After an exhausting moving week, an even more exhausting orientation week began. They say the purpose of orientation is to get you acclimated to the academic environment, give you the opportunity to make a few friends, and provide you with the information you need in order to be successful. Those things happened - I guess - but the most pervasive goal (apparently) was to scare the living daylights out of us. My most vivid memory from orientation is the student panel in which one particularly honest second year student told us that we need to find a study group... so that we would have some people to cry with. Super comforting. We loved orientation week.

Orientation week homework at my parent's house. Also Hans. Always Hans.

But then orientation ended, and classes began! Much to my surprise, law school is not as terrifying and overwhelming as that student panel made it out to be. (Please don't hold me to that during finals.) It's a lot of work - a lot of work. The days are long. I'm usually at school between 7:40 and 9:00am and catch the bus back to my apartment between 5:00 and 7:00pm. I spend many hours a day with my nose in a book, but it's interesting and I'm enjoying it. The professors are entertaining and approachable, my classmates are friendly, and it seems like we're all getting off to a great start. I hope to have some fun stories to share with you soon :)

Early mornings call for evening accessorizing. Law students dress all fancy!

School is good, but the thing I miss most about summer is the freedom in my schedule to call/text/skype my long distance friends with some regularity. These days, I'm lucky if I get to make a call for 30 minutes during lunch or while I'm riding home on the bus. Thank you for keeping after me and forgiving me when I can't get back to you very quickly! Honestly, your calls, texts, and weirdo Snapchats are the highlights of my weeks.

I'm still having some fun. Sleepover with these crazies last Friday.

Happy September, friends. I love you all.