Weekly Ten: May 17, 2013

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Today I leave for my home state to watch my sister graduate with her undergraduate degree! Can you believe this little bugger is off to physical therapy school next fall?!

baby k

Happy weekend, folks! Here’s hoping to some decent Montana weather for both my little sis’ grad and my friends’ wedding next weekend–it’s notoriously finicky here in May!

1. Prince Harry came to Colorado! Alas, we did not meet, but this happened. So cute. Have that baby already, Kate, so we can see more princely adorableness.

2. Another adorable man: John Krasinski (my long-term celebrity crush) lip-syncs to Katy Perry.

3. Normally I am not a huge fan of Old Navy’s fit, but I am loving their vintage tees. Some colors are on sale right now, too!

4. Photographer shoots her daughter as famous women. Awesome!

5. What do you think of Angelina Jolie’s choice for her health? Here is one opinion.

6. You must watch this Drivelapse USA video. It reminds me that I still have so much left to see of my own country! (tip: the states they’re in are named in the corner–I heard you could tell where the car was based on the landscape, but I had no idea most of the time!)

7. The military’s horrifying statistics regarding sexual assault.

8. And now, to lighten up the mood, a blog dedicated to the opinions of Suri Cruise (fictionally) that almost always makes me laugh.

9. Here’s a website of fun, unusual tours around the world! We plan on doing this one during our 20-hour layover in Iceland.

10. I keep having dreams that the bachelorette party I’m throwing this week is a huge flop. In one dream, I even had a child that I had to deal with while I ran to get prizes. Luckily, the internet is my BFF, and is full of ideas like this, so hopefully it won’t actually be a terrible night…

Weekly Ten: May 10, 2013

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1. If my diet ever ends (who ever thought I would be “shedding for the wedding” as a bridesmaid?) I am eating most of these.

2. I recently purchased this beautiful, useful camera bag. A wonderful travel accessory! I’m in love.

3. A hilarious Mother’s Day mug, and some other gift ideas for the mamas in your life.

4. Prince Harry is coming to Denver! It’s okay, you can be jealous.

5. I just found out my Chinese visa is good for one year. Maybe I should go back and visit the Venice of the East?

China

6. Speaking of Venice, the Boyfriend and I are visiting the Venice of the North on our mini-European adventure. Maybe someday I’ll see the real Venice…you know, the one in Italy. For now, this will do.

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7. I kind of adore Elizabeth Smart. Don’t you? Here is her opinion of abstinence education–it’s worth a read.

8. This blew my mind! Disney villains turned beautiful.

9. Top baby names of 2012 released by Social Security’s annual list. For some reason I always love reading this list and not finding my name on it. Also, I’m pretty sure Emma and Isabella have been in the top ten for decades! But, probably not as long as Elizabeth has been on that list…

10. Speaking of dieting, these are some of the best tips I’ve ever read for living healthier.

Weekly Ten: May 3, 2013

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Happy May! Did you have a lovely, spring-y May Day?

We didn’t. Colorado, in it’s usual fashion, snowed on the first day of May. Although I logically know that Colorado gets the majority of it’s snow in March and April (which is a lot, it is Colorado), this year I am struggling with the lack of spring. I want it to be green around here, already! Can you believe there are still no leaves on the trees?!

Even though it’s not spring, I’m still pretending it is, by zip-lining this weekend with the Boyfriend and going to a Rockies game. I hope you have a great weekend, too, whatever the weather where you are!

1. I recently bought this dress at Anthropologie (where I buy many of my gifts, such as this mug, for pretty much everyone I know) for a decent price. Don’t you love the pockets? It’s sort of like this dress that I’ve been lusting after for quite some time.

2. The San Francisco Zoo has a new baby. I follow them on Instagram just to see as many photos of this cutie as possible. It never fails to brighten my day!

try not to squeal. I dare ya.

try not to squeal. I dare ya.

3. I’ve finally finalized my trip for this summer! I’ll write more later, but when I finish my internship in August, the Boyfriend and I are meeting in Belgium. Yes, we chose Belgium as it’s supposedly a gastronomic paradise. Don’t judge us. We are only spending a few days there, so eating all the chocolate, fries, waffles and drinking all the beer we can won’t be so harmful. :)

belgian chocolate

4. In the spirit of my upcoming voyages, here are some helpful sites for my fellow travelers: visit Le Travel Store for travel gadgets and visit Insure My Trip to purchase the best travel insurance for you.

5. Cinco de Mayo this weekend! Let’s eat this. And these.

6. May the fourth be with you!

keep calm

7. This site always has fun gift ideas–here are some for graduation (I have many of these coming up! Including my baby sister who is graduating from college, and my brother who is completing his master’s!)

8. These may be the cutest Tom’s on the market. (Although these are pretty fun, too).

9. As part of one of my internships (I have three…I overburden myself) I attended a legislative hearing on this bill in Colorado (it’s currently moving through the House). It was fascinating to see the process! It made me reconsider policy as part of my career path…stay tuned. (More immigration related news in Denver here).

10. Since I’ve recently cut sugar out of my life (except from my morning coffee) I really haven’t been craving it, except in the last few nights I’ve been having dreams about candy. Yes. Candy. And which candy do you suppose I am dreaming about? Nothing fancy, and not anything I’ve had in years, but these. I’m apparently a girl of simple pleasures. (If you’ve given up sugar, do you have any tips for me?)

Orcas Island, Washington

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As you may remember, this past summer the Boyfriend and I vacationed in the San Juan Islands (and other areas of Washington). Although we had both visited the main San Juan Island with Friday Harbor before, him as a Washington native, me with my parents during high school, neither of us had ever been to Orcas Island.

Although we planned more time in Friday Harbor, we ended up loving Orcas Island WAAAAY more, although San Juan Island has it’s own charm (and a camel. Seriously. Look it up!).

It has all the charm of the island life found in Friday Harbor, but it’s smaller, prettier and just cuter (not to mention a wee bit less expensive). If you ever make your way to Washington, go out of your way to see Orcas…and here are some pictures to help convince you. :)

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IF YOU VISIT…

Stay at the Rosario Inn and Spa, which has lovely grounds and an amazing pool (see the photo above), not to mention the view. It’s not in the main town of Orcas Island (Eastsound) but you will likely have a car on the ferry, so it’s not hard to get to. (You want a car to best take in this beautiful island!)

the view from our room at Rosario

the view from our room at Rosario

Eat at this amazing pie shop. We split a mini chicken pot pie and a piece of lemon pie and both were mouthwatering. This is saying a lot, as I am not a pie girl. I especially am not a crust fan, but I made a delicious exception at Passionate for Pies. For breakfast, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but if you see a shrimp/cream cheese/avocado scramble on the menu, you’ve found the right place.

Hike at Moran State Park. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Vancouver, Canada. August is a great time to visit the typically rainy island…just look at this view!

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Whale watch from one of the many tour boats available on the island. (We took the tour available at the Rosario, but there are many more).  Whale watching has always been a dream of mine, and after several unsuccessful days on San Juan Island attempting to see them, and a day-long kayak tour, we were FINALLY successful off of Orcas. (We saw an elephant seal and sea lions, as well!)

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sooo happy on the boat

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can you spot the whales?