Crafts, Cures and California

So this has been February. I know it's not actually the end of the month yet, but I haven't blogged in close to forever. The whole 17 credits thing is definitely an adequate challenge. These first pictures are from a night out in West Philly - which involved my first ever cab ride. Exciting new events in the life of a city girl, I know. 

Here's the hand full of crafty things I've been up to as of late. Starting from the left; I knit a tie for my boy. It was my first time working with that type of string and it went pretty okay - at least he likes it. Then I sewed a pocket onto my friend's sweatshirt while everyone was watching the Superbowl  Lastly, I have gotten into hand embroidery some and needed a feminist fist on my denim jacket pretty bad. I'm working on a lacey vest for my mom, but it's pretty tedious and hasn't gotten the attention it deserves.

Last weekend, I was in bed with the flu for a few days which was no fun - but I recovered on Sunday when we had some unseasonably warm weather. I drank plenty of green tea and then walked to Love Park to read and watch the skate boarders before checking out a female art exhibit and panel at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with an activist pal.

I was still half sick all of last week which was incredibly unpleasant. Runny noses are never fun. But the week was extremely busy and stimulating because I saw three speakers throughout the week. I got an adorable package from my mom for Valentines day and wore heart print tights, but otherwise kind of ignored the holiday. Sam and I are not very into holidays which leads to us barely acknowledging them as couple days. 

After a week full of anticipation and four weeks of not seeing each other, I made my first ever journey out to California, Pennsylvania to see Sam this past weekend. I took the Greyhound express bus and got to Pittsburgh about six hours later just to take three hours more of buses to get to little ol' California. 

It was exciting to meet Sam's new friends he's made over the last semester - but the bone chilling cold and constant snow could have been a little less intense. Nice to have a break from the city all the same.

It felt very normal to be back together - listening to records,watching my boy play guitar, drinking too much coffee and sewing patches on all the holes that Sam magically acquires. We went out and met people in the evenings but otherwise spent the afternoons relaxing.

 We went to the library on Sunday afternoon and pretended that we wouldn't be parting for a whole month in just a few hours. It was peaceful out there in coal country, but not quite somewhere I could see my myself. I'm glad Sam has learned to enjoy it out there and meeting these new people in his life was beautiful.

Our goodbyes were pretty sad this time around, as they seem to get more and more so that way. We are so good at being apart when we're apart, but the actual leaving is so rough. Here's a shout out to all the lovers out there that find ways to get through obstacles, like long distances. It makes us stronger as individuals - which makes for stronger loves.

Have a good week, friends.

Smiles, Morgen.

Thanksgiving Bake

As soon as classes finished up on Monday, I practically sprinted off campus to get to the train station. My beautiful best friend's face was there to welcome me back home & we caught up all afternoon - plus we baked Pinterest-style oreo brownies. I ended my first day home with a trip to a diner with an old friend who seemed better than ever as far as mental states go, which made me so happy.

I got up early and went to my high school for the all of the next morning. The vibe was different, but mostly the same. There were so many faces I wanted to see, but only so much time to see them. This ended up being my motto of sorts for all of breaks - I wanted to reconnect with lots of people but there are only so many days in a week. That good old Catholic guilt washed over me about not being able to see everyone. Spending time with my very close friends and my family were high priorities for the break, but I also wanted to work and bake and relax. Maybe winter break will give me enough time to get everything done and see everyone.

I made these two-ingredient pumpkin cookies, to which I added a from-scratch Nutella frosting with chopped hazelnuts. I brought them to Sam's house for the first of our two Thanksgiving dinners and I think they were a decent success. We started off the day of eating by participating in the Turkey Trot, a 5K race that runs through downtown York. 

Probably a good call on our part.

We also ventured out to the outlets at midnight, mostly to observe the crazy people rather than search for deals ourselves. We went with Erin and Ian - our favorite couple and the only people willing to do this sort of thing with us. Being the boring people we are, Erin and I were tired by about 1:30 and everyone went home, though the boys insisted on stopping for fast food.The next day was beautiful, and unseasonably warm, so we went for an afternoon walk and playground date in the park across the street which holds mixed memories for him and I.

I caught up with my work family at work on Friday and at our holiday party, which was fun because the whole dynamic feels a little different now that I've been at school. Not in a bad way, but not completely in a good way, just a new way. Sam and I also went with Sam's parents, his brother and brother's girlfriend, to get a Christmas tree. As soon as they started pulling out the decorations, I started to re-fall in love with the Christmas season. This much happiness is going to make it hard to be at school for three more weeks. Smiles, Morgen.

(look how cute our new favorite ornament is!)

See you later, York.

My apologies to anyone that cares that its been a couple of days since I posted but I’ve been all busy with my packing and moving efforts. I don’t anticipate having a very interesting weekend, will most likely just be continuing to settle in. Once I’m feeling at home in my space, Ill do a post about it.

Yesterday was my final day in York and it never felt like I was actually the last day. I went to lunch with my mom and friend of five years, Erin, at the restaurant I grew up in and worked in since I was six. We had a lovely time, joking about our boyfriends college futures and discussing our siblings school careers. But this familiarity and casual conversation is the type of thing I will miss about home. We had very yummy cupcakes after lunch at Just Cupcakes, on Philadelphia Street, which I recommend if you’re in the York area. Mine was cannoli flavored and had a chocolate chip ricotta filling. The goodbye I said to her didn’t hurt too bad because time apart is an integral part of our friendship, and we always come back together as if no time passes. I hope her time in Indiana, Pennsylvania is as lovely as she deserves.

 

That afternoon I picked up Sam and we did very normal things, as if our last day together wasn’t that day. We baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and watched Batman Begins. Easy, laid back days are the one’s I will miss because he makes things like that special. After dinner with my family, we went to Maple Donuts for one last hoorah and were honored to be treated like a couple of regulars. I wish we had started making a habit of going there earlier in the summer because it’s wonderful. Coffee and donuts were consumed and then we sat on the bleachers of my township park and talked about what was to come. We weren’t sad, we were both very stoked for each other. No tear drops feel until it was truly time to go. It felt impossible to say the words goodbye, because I know he’ll be visiting in a month, but that’s a long time to go without hugs and kisses. I am confident that everything will be lovely as always and that this time apart will only give us more strength as individuals, making us an even more kick ass couple.

Coming Soon: More details about the move in and new room.

Smiles, Morgen.

Dwindling Weekend; Part Five THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

        This is the last one. The final countdowns- cue Gob from Arrested Development. My dwindling weekends are finished. In just three days, I’m moving out of the house I’ve grown up in and into my new life in Philadelphia. My room and life are messes with all these preparations for take-off. There are plastic bins and boxes occupying all corners of my room, and goodbyes are happening every day.

        Thursday was the true beginning of it. One half of our best couple friends, Ian, had to leave a whole week before the rest of us because he is playing soccer at school. We are excited for him but quite sad to see him go. The summer has been all the more meaningful with these friends along for the ride, and we will all be there to support each other as we go through the same thing. After some pool side sitting and pizza eating, we gave hugs and good lucks and watched him go. I’m attempting to master the last look as I go through the “see you laters” to friends. Even to acquaintances or fellow employees, that look seems important. I’m collecting them at this point, like Drew from Elizabethtown. We attended one last party that was hosted before everyone started leaving. Even the people I never cared for in high school will stick in my mind.

        Friday is the day one of our larger local farmers markets is open, so Sam and I bought some produce, fish and a pie and made ourselves some stew for lunch, before I had to work on Friday and then Saturday night. I know Ill be back to work on breaks and whatnot, but the fact that I grew up in the restaurant I work in makes each good luck handshake a little bit more honest and a little more sentimental.

           Finally Sunday came around and I did my first round of packing for clothing. I went ahead and picked out the sweaters and pants I’d need once fall got closer. And then it came to my normal outfits; I packed ten skirts and at least twelve dresses. The first chest is practically full and I haven’t packed tops, workout/lounge clothes, tights…basically I’m not even started. Sam and I got together in the evening. We found the most adorable diner in Columbia, called the Columbia Diner. It’s totally old school, with sassy waitress and great coffee to boot. The yummy blueberry pancakes were enough to fill me up for our last outdoor concert at Long’s Park – Joshua James. This summer is being kind to us and allowing us a sneak peak of cooler weather, so much so that we got to wear jeans and long sleeves to the show. 

          I did a bunch of clothing refurbishing and DIY projects this past week as well! I'll be doing some posts that will go up while i finish packing this week. Smiles, Morgen.

Dwindling Weekends (More like weeks) Part Four

So I haven't been doing very good at doing my posts during the week because I'm busy having fun doing so much other stuff before I leave, so this will cover Wednesday through Sunday. (If you haven't noticed, I've fallen head over heels for #picstitch. Definitely my current favorite app.)

Sam has become quite the tie dye artist as of late, as in he's tie dyed at least ten shirts in the past two weeks. He's expanded into pillow cases and apparently women's blouses. If you want one, he'd be happy to make you one. He's so proud of his work and it brought me great joy to watch him do his art on Wednesday evening after thrifting that afternoon.

Thursday and Friday were both spent in our lovely downtown of York. Most of the people our age scoff at the idea of going downtown, but we had a great time. Central Market and Cherry Lane were our destination of choice on Thursday morning. After getting a cranberry walnut cookie from a new bakery, we hung out on the Codorus Creek and took some cutesy montage pictures. On Friday, I finally took Sam to a swing dancing class at the York Swing Club. Since I was busy dancing, I couldn't take pictures but I snagged some of us after in our outfits. It was so much fun and for only five bucks, you get a lesson and hours of dancing! But what you don't expect is how sore it makes your calves. We are going to try to go back next Friday if I get off work!

Saturday night was spent at a graduation party, which wasn't too interesting aside from some goodbyes to friends. It's just getting progressively more weird to think of saying goodbye to people I take for granted. Sam and I returned to one of our favorite hiking spots at Apollo County park on Sunday afternoon. York is having this wonderful break from the heat with regular breezes that force you to think about the anticipation of fall! To take full advantage of the weather, we went to another free concert at Long's Park featuring Booker T. Jones. I got a chance to rock my new tie dye blouse and jeans, but even more exciting was Sam's super seventies collar on his thrifted shirt from Wednesday. He looked like a total dad with his cooler and backpack chair, very cute though.  

Summer (from concentrate)

Have you ever tasted the orange juice from concentrate that comes in the frozen cans? It tastes insanely sweet because its so much flavor without anything to dilute it. That's how my week has been, except it's summer fun instead of orange flavor. So much so that I haven't been home for more than a few hours, besides for sleeping purposes, all week. Enjoy the long post to recap my week.

Monday was date night after a day of moping around and being kind of scared of my professional future, or lack thereof one. My babe took me out for sushi at my favorite place and then we went to Maple Donuts for coffee and the best donuts. (Side note: I will miss these donuts a lot while in Philly. They are a York treasure.)

Tuesday started with a hike in Wrightsville, on a portion of the Mason Dixon Trail that I strongly recommend, and some nice views of the river. I rushed home and got dressed just in time to drive a little ways, about a half hour really, to go to Maple Farms in New Park for some peach picking. The experience was incredibly fun, though the weather was a bit warm, and the peaches were a total steal at only six bucks for half a basket, which is about fifteen peaches. Fast forward to the evening, and me and the boyfriend joined his brother for some free bowling courtesy of local coupons. This was probably my favorite day of the week, and the most tiring.

Wednesday began early in the morning with loading the kayaks on Sam's truck and heading to Shank's Mare for some "yaking" on the river. Beautiful morning on the water, but didn't get any pictures. Our evening found us in Hanover, a small town west of York. We were planning on seeing the Grateful Dead movie that was showing at select theaters in memory of Jerry Garcia's birthday. Before the movie, we went to a little drive-in called the Tropical Treat upon recommendation of his mother. I cannot get over how adorable this place was - straight out of the 1950's, order at your car, cheeseburgers and french fries with a vanilla malt. Not only was it great ambiance, but delicious food!

Thursday came and it already feels like the weekend. We took Riley to Gifford Pinchot State Park to hike and to learn to swim. Yet another time I wish I had taken pictures because he looked so cute in the water, but I was having enough trouble keeping up with him as is without a phone in hand. I'm happy to be home to work on re-purposing a skirt and read some of Anna Karenina before bed! Sweet dreams & sunny mornings to all!

Dwindling Weekends: Part Two

Only three more weekends until I'm in the city. I've become more worried by the fact I have no idea what I want to do in college (or if I even want to stay in school) and less excited about going to Philadelphia. As Riley accurately depicts, it was a pretty lazy weekend round here. I was scheduled to work on Friday but ended up being called off, which wasn't so fortunate since I could use some money.So we joined our friends for a little gathering to watch the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics and I got to wear my favorite patriotic/nautical skirt, which doubles as a strapless top. After being at a total loss for what to do and groaning about our boredom for a half hour, I grabbed my croquet set and we headed to the township park to play a round. Mostly, it ended up as competition to see who could smack the ball the furthest. Sunday came about in the same ho-hum fashion and we all spoke sentimentally and morosely about our departure while eating colorful treats from The Snow Barn. I really hope the next week is a time where we take more advantage of the time we have left instead of being so unmotivated.