Day Trip to Rockport

Ever since the Fourth of July, Jeff and I have been taking advantage of New England’s North Shore and heading to the beach on the weekend. Last weekend we went to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, and by recommendation of a coworker, we ventured out to Rockport, MA this weekend. The little town of Rockport was very quaint. After our hour-long drive, we pulled down the main street that was filled with small shops and already a ton of people. We made sure to get there early so we could get a good spot on the beach. While there are parts of the town with metered parking, we were able to find a free spot just up the hill from the Front Beach. We unloaded the car and set up away from the main cluster of people. (After seeing the tide come in around 1, it’s obvious why nobody staked a claim in the area we were at…it was under water by lunch time!) We sunned ourselves for a while and enjoyed the beautiful buildings that were just along the coast. My favorite building of the day is the one pictured below all the way to the right. We could see them setting up a canopy in that huge window and later found it that it was for a wedding. How beautiful!

The view from just behind our chairs at the beach.

While the water was relatively warm, the temperature outside was still a little cool with the sea breeze. The sun was hot though, so we knew it would be a beautiful day. Also, after wearing glasses since high school and just starting to wear contacts more often, I was very happy to wear my first pair of sunglasses. Sure, they were from Marshalls…but it was so nice not to have to squint all day!

By 11:30, we had left the beach to go explore what the town of Rockport had in store for us. Just up the street from the beach is a long row of unique shops. Each building as different as the next. At the end of the street lies the ocean and you can watch all of the boats and kayaks out on the water. We promised ourselves that next time we’ll rent a kayak to go out there on our own.

 We had lunch at a hot dog place called Top Dog. Jeff got the Bad Dog (bacon, cheese, grilled onions) and I got the Purebred (plain with condiments to add). The hot dogs were GREAT! I would definitely go back and get another. Other clever names included the Golden Retriever with mac n cheese or the Boston Terrier with Boston baked beans on it. It might not have been the fanciest place on the block, but it sure was tasty!

Sitting on the edge of the marina overlooking the beach.

After walking around for most of the afternoon, we decided to head back to the beach and cool off. The tide had come up so far that only a small, crowded portion of the beach was left. That didn't really bother us as we dropped our stuff off and headed straight into the “warm” water. It took a couple minutes to get used to, but once we went under, it was heaven. It was so refreshing on such a beautiful day. We really loved Rockport and will be back soon for the kayaks!!

My Golden Birthday

So most, if not all, of my readers on this blog are probably coming from Facebook…so it should be no surprise that today is my birthday. My golden year. Turning 22 on the 22^nd.  However, going to work on my birthday and going about my routines as usual has made me realize one thing: I am officially an adult. Honestly, I’m not sure why Taylor Swift was so excited about feeling 22, because for me, it’s sadly just the year after 21.

Your 21^st birthday is a sacred birthday that most of us have probably looked forward to from the day we realized what alcohol even was. Sure, 18 was fun, but knowing you can legally buy lottery tickets and cigarettes only gets you so far. You quickly realize that you’re only an adult on paper anyway.  Turning 21 is simply a rite of passage. A year ago today I was waking up in a hotel room after being out at Mohegan until the early hours of the morning. The only bad thing that happened that night was that they stopped serving alcohol at 2 am! Otherwise, it was the perfect evening filled with great food, amazing people, and winning! That’s right! I won right out the bat on my first machine: Wheel of Fortune. It might have only been $100, but it was my glorious birthday slot machine miracle.  We gambled and drank most of the night and woke up with no regrets. But as I sit here at my desk on my 22^nd birthday, I can’t help but think of where all the birthday magic went.

Something about this year just doesn’t seem as exciting as all of my other birthdays. Maybe it’s the fact that laundry still needed to be done yesterday, lunch had to be made today, and I have to work 9 to 5. Responsibilities don’t really start just because you entered the world 22 years ago today. However, the upside to this non-excitement is the little expectation I have of the day. That means that everything that happens is that much better because I really wasn’t anticipating any hubbub. So when my mom had Mrs. Fields cookies delivered, I was all too pumped to rip open the plastic and fill my face. And my mom is a clever little one, as she suggested leaving them out on my desk so I have an excuse to let anyone who stops by know that it’s my birthday.

What a dangerous little box to have on my desk all day!

Also, the Royal Baby and I now share the same birthday...so I've got that going for me today!

It's a boy!!

Fitbit: Keeping Me Accountable

The first half of my college career I had no idea what the gym at my school even looked like. It’s easy to forget about your health when you’re busy meeting new people and figuring out your major. Once junior year rolled around, however, I knew it was time to reevaluate my lifestyle. It is way too easy to make excuses when it comes to your health; but at some point, you just have to step up to the plate and make some changes. Like most women, I was up and down with my weight and had an on-again-off-again relationship with fitness. It wasn’t until my senior year that I rewarded my commitment to be fit with a nifty little piece of technology: The Fitbit.

In a nutshell, the Fitbit is a pedometer on steroids. Not only does it accurately track your steps throughout the day, but it can track distance you’ve traveled, floors you’ve climbed, and even calories you’ve burned. I have the Fitbit Ultra (an older model now) and it is very discreet—about the size of a tube of chapstick. It clips conveniently to my bra…or you can put it in your pocket or anywhere else you want.

A particularly active day...the Fitbit tracks steps, miles, calories, and floors.

To make this little product even better, you can sync it with their online dashboard. It aggregates all of your data so you can see your activity in past weeks going as far back as you need. Also, by wearing the special wrist slip, you can use it while you’re sleeping and it will track how long it took you to fall asleep and how many times you woke up during the night.

The updated dashboard makes it easy to see everything at a glance!

After using my Fitbit for almost a year, I feel absolutely lost without my Fitbit. Steps don’t really count unless the Fitbit is tracking them. One time, Jeff and I were heading to the grocery store (which is a great place to get some steps in) when I realized that I had left it sitting on my nightstand. I made him turn around just so I could grab it! It is so awesome to be conscious of your activity throughout the day. When I was on a college campus, it wasn’t too hard to get up to the recommended 10,000 steps each day because I had to walk everywhere. However, now that I’m working in an office and spending most of my time in front of a computer, it’s an awesome reminder that I need to get off my butt and stretch my legs every now and then.

The online dashboard also allows you to track your food and calories throughout the day and is a great alternative to online sites like Weight Watchers or My Fitness Pal. Once you have the Fitbit, there are no monthly fees. The dashboard is yours to use for free for as long as you own the Fitbit. I highly recommend the Fitbit to anyone and if you have one, find me on the site so we can encourage each other to be more active!

For more information...check out www.fitbit.com for yourself!

Finding Friends

One of the things that I’ve found particularly distressing since moving is my lack of friends. Of course I will always have my college friends…but finding the time to Skype or keep up on Facebook can be difficult and not as rewarding. Even harder is trying to plan time to see each other in person when we live two hours away from each other now—rather than the two buildings away we once were. It’s a good and a bad thing that my boyfriend grew up in the area that we’re living. On the one hand, I already know a few of his friends and family but on the other hand, those are his guy friends and don’t really do much for me in terms of mall partners or nail buddies.

I’m slowly starting to get to know some of the women that I work with. It’s unfortunate that I live a little more than 30 minutes away from the office because that will potentionally make it difficult to meet up with some of them on a moment’s notice. Thankfully, I work in pharmaceuticals so there are quite a few younger women here. Still, it’s tough to break into different cliques and departments who are already so close.

Some advice to those of you working in an office setting (or anywhere with a lunch room): leave your desk for your lunch break and go eat with your coworkers. For some reason, my office avoids the café at all costs. Most days I eat alone (which isn’t as bad as I thought it would be); but sometimes I will have another coworker join me (yahoo!). It’s healthy to get away from your computer, and it’s even nicer to talk to some of your coworkers about things other than work.

But besides work, I’m not really sure how adults make friends. My boyfriend teases me, reminding me that I said the same thing about college and how I worried so much that I wouldn’t make any friends at school. Obviously, I was a little dramatic and proved myself wrong. But, I’m serious this time. I don’t doubt that eventually I will make a friend or two in my neighborhood—but I am very curious how women do it. I feel like most people keep to themselves while shopping or at the grocery store…and don’t even get me started about the gym.  Any readers out there have any suggestions? 

Bye Bye Bubble

I’ve been toying around with the idea of making the commitment to myself (and hopefully future readers) to start and run a blog. I’m a 20 something girl born and raised in California who’s recently moved to the East Coast. I just graduated college and while it’s only been a couple months, I’m already missing the many opportunities I would have to write and to be creative at school. And while I've been known to not finish things I’ve started, I’m hoping that is something I can really get into.

I’ve noticed there are so many blogs (especially on Pinterest) dedicated to the family life. And while kids are wonderful, I’ve got quite a few years to go until I have to start learning how to puree my own baby food. I’m just a girl trying to figure out where I stand in the real world after leaving the beautiful bubble that is college. College was the best time of my life...so far! However, those of you that have been to college--especially those that lived on campus--can surely agree it's like living in an awesome bubble filled with friends, late nights, and some studying. Often, you forget there's a real world out there waiting for you to graduate. So here I am, adjusting to life outside of the bubble and figuring out how things work as I go along. I have a feeling there are many other women in my position floating around out there and I hope that we can find each other and compare notes.

After I graduated college, I moved in with my longtime boyfriend in Massachusetts. We both love road trips and travelling in general and we absolutely love to cook—and more importantly: eat. I pretty much hit the ground running out of college and was fortunate enough to have an apartment to move into, a boy to share it with, and a full-time job to keep me busy. I plan on sharing things on my blog that I’ve found useful, interesting, fun, or delicious. So with that, welcome to my blog!