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Current reads

January 22, 2015 Randi8 comments

I sometimes forget how much fun it is to DEAR.

(Please tell me you had DEAR as a kid. Drop Everything And Read? No? Just me? Well OK.)

Grad school consumed so much of my free time for the past two and a half years, summers included, that any time I had to read went toward poring over textbooks, scholarly journal articles and the news.

All things I enjoy, mind you, but is it really that bad to want to sit down sometimes and read Harry Potter for like, the 20th time?

So, I put together a short reading list of books I really want to read within the next few months. One of those books? Gone Girl. Yes, you guys, I’m finally reading it.

Yeah I’m posing but that was genuinely how far I was into the book when I took the photo.

End of winter clearance sale picks

January 20, 2015 Randi2 comments

I cleared three inches of snow off my car this morning, temperatures are still in the teens and we haven’t even hit February yet, but retailers are ready for spring!

Several of my favorite stores are clearance-ing product at insanely high speeds to make way for incoming spring merchandise.

Seeing as how I live in Michigan and still have (at least) three months until I can even think of walking outside without a down coat, I have no qualms with this.

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Loft picks:
No code needed

Slow cooker enchilada quinoa bake

January 19, 2015 Randi2 comments

Sundays are for slow cookers.

I started making Sundays my cook days when I was in grad school, and that was out of necessity rather than just convenience. If I didn’t cook myself enough food to get me through the whole week, I often just relied on fast food or didn’t eat all together.

Not healthy.

Now I have a lot more free time, so cooking throughout the week isn’t a hassle. But still, I kind of missed the slow cooker Sunday routine of getting out my Crock Pot and making myself enough hot food to last the whole week. It’s a really relaxing way to end the weekend, make great use of the groceries I just bought and give myself another way of feeling super prepared for the coming week.

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. I always get really thrilled when the delicious-looking recipes that pop up in my feed are vegetarian! I made a few tweaks, but this is a really good recipe!

Weekly sundown rundown

January 18, 2015 Randi2 comments

Weekly news and feature roundup time!

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… And speaking of time… Time published a story about the science behind making the perfect cup of coffee. I might look into buying a pourover apparatus to add to my coffee snobbery collection.

Ship your enemies glitter. A friend posted a link to this site on Facebook and I fell in love. Although, I’m not too sure I’d be upset about receiving a glitterbomb in the mail. Warning: profanity.

Wet Hot American Summer is doing a reunion series for Netflix! The cast was announced and it is insane. In a good way.

Lost never actually cared about you. The writer admitted that the show fully intended on leaving its audience mystified and stuck with unanswered questions at the end of the show’s run. Jerks. I’m still halfway through the series and now I’m not sure if I should even bother continuing with it.

Maroon 5 released its new video for Sugar. The band crashed a bunch of weddings. I think I’m the only person that would be upset if Maroon 5 crashed my wedding but I’m really detail-oriented and having something unexpected happen during my wedding would probably cause me some serious anxiety!

Fall Out Boy is performing during the NHL All-Star Weekend! If there’s one thing I love more than hockey or indie 2000’s emo bands, it’s hockey combined with indie 2000’s emo bands.

Wet Seal has filed for bankruptcy. This news comes after similar announcements, like the closures of Deb, Delia’s and C. Wonder. I bought my 2010 New Year’s Eve dress from Wet Seal, but didn’t frequent the store often. Brick-and-mortar closures indicate a higher affinity for online shopping, which, as someone who appreciates fabric cut and fit, is disappointing.

H&M and Coachella are offering a clothing line. I take back my statement about hockey and Fall Out Boy being my two favorite things. Is there a way to somehow combine hockey with Fall Out Boy, H&M and music festivals? Someone please get on this and get back to me.

Whoa, NASA put together a stunningly large photo of the Andromeda Galaxy and it was made into a YouTube video. Anyone else feeling incredibly small and insignificant right now? There’s no possible way there isn’t more life out there.

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And me this week? I…

Finally got around to reviewing my Dagne Dover.
Made it to the bottom of the coffee mug Elise got me for Christmas… and found a Grim!
Made this delicious enchilada quinoa bake in my slow cooker.

You can see all this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.

How was your week?

The BEST work tote: Dagne Dover!

January 14, 2015 Randi11 comments

Hey, fellow eight-to-fiver ladies – have you heard of Dagne Dover yet?

If not, you should definitely drop everything you’re doing and check it out.

I first heard of Dagne Dover back in February when I was desperately Googling every and anything that might result in a new work tote.

Best work purse.

Best work tote.

Best bag for work and school.

Etc.

I was so sick of carrying around a backpack for class, a briefcase for work, a bag for personal stuff, etc. Days I brought my lunchbox and gym bag to work with me were torture.

I can’t quite remember how, but I stumbled across Dagne Dover and immediately wanted one. Dagne Dover had just started the process to move its manufacturing overseas and, as a result, was out of stock. I was devastated. So… I put my annual tax return into a savings account and waited ~~not so~~ patiently for Dagne Dover to restock.

They did at the end of the summer and I immediately ordered a tote in Dagne Blue.

Monday motivation

January 12, 2015 Randi

Do you ever just have one of those days where you get incredibly frustrated at the way the world seems to be working around you?

Today is one of those days for me. I’m getting really disheartened at all the dead ends my job search seems to be taking, and I’ve been glancing at my MacBook’s background between resume uploads and cover letter revisions all day.

13-inch MacBook Pro perfection. Download away and use it as your desktop wallpaper!

Weekly sundown rundown

January 11, 2015 Randi

I’m starting a new weekly feature where you can read a little bit about what’s piqued my interest over the past week, and what you can look forward to this coming week! It’s called sundown rundown, so you can expect it after Sunday’s sunset. If you’re a late-night holy day websurfer, you can read it during the last remaining weekend hours. Otherwise, this feature will maybe give you another way to procrastinate actually starting your Monday morning work.

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A senior LRA commander has surrendered to US forces. This is huge. As an advocate of Invisible Children (#KONY2012), it’s great to see that efforts are still being done to seek and apprehend Joseph Kony, and rebuild the lives of the children affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Eight reasons why childless young professionals make ideal foster parents. This post is about a month old, but my Facebook friend Katie shared it earlier this week, and I thought it was interesting. I’m a bit too young to be a mother of any kind – foster or not – but watching the family dynamic move away from the traditional marriage-and-kids model into something more modern is intriguing.

#jesuischarlie. A dozen individuals were killed in a newsroom attack in Paris. As a journalist, this really hits home. While motives behind the attack are not entirely clear, many speculate it was due to the content that Charlie Hebdo, a satirical publication, ran. My First Amendment rights, guaranteed to me by the United States Constitution, make my job entirely possible, and freedom of speech means the world to me.

It was colder in Michigan this week than it was on Mars. It was cold and painful. Temperatures have risen now, but if you’re still looking for ways to stay warm and comfy inside, you can read my polar vortex essentials post.

Corporette posted an open thread on fashion resolutions for the new year. I have two. First, I need to do a very big closet clean-out. I’ve been wearing the same size since high school, meaning I have a decade’s worth of clothing piling up. I installed a mini-clothing rack in my bedroom since my apartment comes with one massive closet for my roommate and I, and I started noticing how often I really re-wear my same favorite pieces in new ways, leaving about 70 percent of my closet untouched. And second, I really want to start investing in quality over quantity. It’s hard to do when you’re on a journalist’s salary, but hopefully cleaning out my closet will motivate me to start building up a collection of investment pieces.

I’m a fan of recipes that try to make use of common kitchen ingredients and fridge leftovers and this recipe from The Kitchn does just that. It’s lentil-based and can be made vegetarian so it’s pretty adaptable. I haven’t tried it yet, but I might give it a try later this week. If you want another lentil-based soup, my root veggie and lentil stew recipe is still a fallback I make every so often when I need a healthy bulk recipe for busy weeks.

Target announced that it has planned a collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer and the Internet went crazy.

Levo League posted a great article about resolutions for your first year in the professional world. Even being a few years post-grad now, so many of these resolutions ring true. I can’t even count the number of times I said “I should have majored in engineering.”

Obama announced his desire to see community college offered free of charge. I personally love this idea, with tuition rates inflating out of control and the value of a four-year degree declining by the year. I am a huge proponent of easily accessible education, seeing as how education is the best way of advancing society.

This woman kissed a stranger on the kiss cam after her date refused. My best friend texted me the link after I watched it go viral across Facebook. Is this real? A set up? I couldn’t tell you, but it is good for a quick laugh.

Forbes released its 30 under 30 list for 2015. It includes categories such as entertainment, law, healthcare, media, science, finance, technology, entrepreneurship and education, among many others. Lots of successful people my age on this list with good advice to heed!

A massive 150+ car pileup closed a portion of a major Michigan highway. The crash was fatal and a huge percentage of those vehicles were semis. One of the trucks that caught fire contained fireworks, and the video is absolutely insane.

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What’s piqued your interest recently?

Polar vortex indoor essentials

January 8, 2015 Randi

Michigan is back to subzero temperatures! To say it’s freezing would be an understatement. The Michigan State Police actually issued a cold advisory to suggest that all mid-Michigan residents stay inside and avoid venturing outdoors unless absolutely necessary. So, it’s not only freezing, it’s dangerous.

Elise and I took heed of that advice. We had to go outside for 20 minutes last night, realized what a mistake it was (windchill was at negative 30, guys) and retreated back into our warm loft as soon as we finished picking her car up from the repair shop. Our living room is pretty great during the winter because it’s surrounded on all four sides, which keeps it pretty insulated. It doesn’t have windows, but eh, minor detail. It’s almost worth it for the Consumers savings in the winter.

We braved the cold with popcorn, chick flicks and a mini-spa night. Take that, Mother Nature.

Some major changes coming soon…

January 6, 2015 Randi

I’ve been MIA from my blog for quite some time – my apologies.

Turns out, working full time and obtaining my master’s degree full time, plus maintaining a somewhat long-distance relationship was a bit more time consuming than I anticipated.

But, I graduated and have a little bit more time to focus on the things I’m passionate about (like this blog) and all of the projects, trips, experiences and little things that go into making my blog what it is.

SO, stay tuned. Within the coming weeks, you’ll see some long-awaited new content and a complete facelift in addition to the new brand and URL I’ve got going, which you might have already noticed.

What I learned when I totaled my car

December 29, 2014 Randi

Oh deer.

In early November, I was driving south on a major rural highway in mid-Michigan when I noticed a deer come flying into my line of sight. The sonofabitch was running east and I had no chance of avoiding it. I hit the brakes about .30 seconds prior to hitting the deer at 70 miles per hour head on. Ouch.

The airbags deployed and my sirens immediately went bezerk. I pulled my car over immediately and shut it off. I waved the smoke out of my face (goodbye radiator!), called 911 to file an accident report, called a nearby family member for a ride and watched as a wrecker towed my beautiful 2010 Ford Focus to a collision repair center.

Now, two months later, I’m just about finished wrapping up loose ends from the total loss that my car collision resulted in. While I’ve had some minor car repairs and bodywork done before, this is the first time I’ve ever totaled a car, and I’ve learned quite a few things along the way.