Sunday Sitdown

I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays. Sunday evenings, especially, are this strange paradox of relaxation and stress. Sundays always feel slow and lackadaisical, yet there is a sense of panic as Monday as so close. Regardless, I like to take the time to sit down and reflect each Sunday night. What better way to do that than blog?!

Goals for the week:

• Drink more tea 
• Drink less coffee
• Appreciate every day beauty 
• Practice capturing every day beauty
• Take more deep breaths and count to 10 
• Stretch every day 
• Get more sleep 

Another goal is to continue to write in this 5 year question a day style journal every day. I love this because it doesn't take much time, but it allows you to record your year in a unique way. Some questions are simple while others are quite thought provoking. Tonight's question was "Waking up was ________." I said delightful because I woke up next to my lovely boyfriend, but also painful because I had a terrible sore throat. 

With that, I am going to finish up some items and to go to sleep so that I can wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day! 

Yes, Please

I'm a harsh critic, but I'm knowing for liking things that I say aren't good. That is exactly what happened here with Amy Poehler's recently released memoirs, Yes Please. This book disappointed me a little bit, but I still enjoyed it. I love Amy Poehler, so I think that may have clouded my judgement. I love her so much, that I completed this in 2 days (on top of class, work, student orgs, sorority, etc). The highlights of this book are when she inserts her honest wisdom, sprinkled with her down to earth humor. Below, are my 2 favorite quotes from the book: 

• "It's called yes please because it is the constant struggle and often the right answer. Can we figure out what we want, ask for it, and stop talking? Yes please. Is being vulnerable a power position? Yes please. Am I allowed to take up space? Yes please. Do you want to be left alone? Yes please." 
• "I love saying yes and I love saying please. Saying yes doesn't mean I don't know how to say no, and saying please doesn't mean I am waiting for permission. Yes please sounds powerful and concise. It's a response and a request. It is not about being a good girl; it is about being a real woman." 

Lipstick stain on my coffee kinda gal

 Happy Monday! This Monday morning called for a little caffeine kick from Starbucks. Having a Starbucks in my office building is both a blessing and a curse. 

As strange as it sounds, I've come to love the inevitable lipstick stains on my coffee cup. This morning I realized that I'm just a lipstick stain on my coffee cup kinda gal. All I need to tackle this Monday is a cup of coffee and a tube of lipstick.

Coffee in Columbus - Stauf's Coffee Roasters

I. Love. Coffee. Shops. The environment, the music, the people, the food, and oh yeah... the coffee. I find that I am most productive in coffee shops for everything from doing homework, to writing, to reading, to just figuring my life out. What's more, is that Columbus has been called an underrated city for coffee, having high quality brews all over town. 

I will admit, I'm not too picky of a coffee connoisseur. I'll often choose a flavored latte or add tons of cream and sugar to my coffee. Regardless, because of the frequency with which I visit coffee shops - I think that I have a pretty good say as to what makes a shop itself great. Because of this, I want to start reviewing coffee shops that I visit in a series called "Coffee in Columbus." 

First up is Stauf's Coffee Roasters! I chose this as my spot to catch up on emails and do some writing today because it perfectly encompasses that cozy coffee shop vibe on a rainy day. Settled in the heart of charming Grandview, Stauf's is the perfect spot to post up and get down to work. The crowd here is always friendly, which I find is an underrated characteristic in coffee shops. I love meeting interesting people or scanning the room to look up and find a kind smile! As someone who comes to coffee shops to get work done, I like that they have tons of outlets for people like me that forget to charge their laptops before they come. 

Now if I tell you what I ordered, you have to promise not to cringe... I got an iced pumpkin spice latte (iced because it was kind of warm inside and I had on a big, cozy sweater). It was definitely the best pumpkin spice latte I have ever had! I don't typically order anything pumpkin spice at Starbucks or Crimson Cup because it is so overwhelmingly sweet. This was the perfect combination of a deep espresso flavor and just a hint of syrup that actually tasted pretty natural. I love watching each barista make their drinks, because it is obvious that they care about the quality of each individual beverage. The only complaint I have is that you do have to park on the street, but the spots are really big so for those of us who are terrible at parallel parking like me, it isn't too bad! Seriously, give Stauf's a try! 

Here is a shot of their menu. I didn't get any of my beverage because it wasn't too pretty in it's plain plastic cup. So charming! 

Midterm Elections Matter!

This year, only 40% of registered voters in Columbus turned out to the polls to vote in yesterday's midterm election. I know, I know - midterm elections don't seem as exciting as the presidential ones that happen every four years. However, I'm here to tell you that midterm elections matter! Below are a few reasons why:

1. You get a sticker. It is the perfect compliment to any election day outfit. 
2. Statewide ballot issues are the ones that affect your every day life. Federal issues are sure glamorous, but state issues are often some of the most visible. During these midterms, states determined what you can smoke and how much you can earn. Important stuff, guys!
3. These elections determine who represents you on both the state and national level. These people are your voice! By not voting, you are letting other people talk for you. 
4. Because less people vote, your voice matters even more. Some of these elections are won by only a few votes. 

If you voted - congrats! If not, now is your time to declare yesterday's election the last time that you don't vote. Young people are consistently the smallest group of voters, yet the decisions that are being made will affect us the most.

Next election cycle, I urge you to make a day of it. Reward yourself to a new election day outfit (red, white, and blue to match your sticker), make some patriotic election day goodies the night before, or even meet your friends out for an election day drink as you watch the results roll in!

The long anticpated 1989 album

I declare today, October 27, a national holiday. Today, Taylor Swift finally released her long awaited album following Red, which was released 2 (seemingly long) years ago. I have made a tradition of counting down the days until Taylor's albums are released, starting from Fearless when I was a sophomore in high school. Each album release, I tear open the CDcase (er, now I feverishly refresh iTunes, but same difference) and immediately devour each now song. Her niche has become writing from personal experience, the lyrics being eloquent words from an unfiltered diary, causing girls like me to feel as though she is singing straight to them. Now, a review of my favorite songs on the eagerly-anticipated 1984:

Also, the album art for 1889 + the Insta teasers were perfect! 

1. Wildest Dreams - by far my favorite song on the album. Some have said this is too inspired by Lana Del Ray, but the message and tone of this song just take my away in a way that none of the other do. "Say you'll remember me, standing in a nice dress, starting at the sunset babe. Red lips and rosy cheeks, say you'll remember me even if it's just in your wildest dreams."

2. Blank Space - a favorite of many, this song makes me want to dance and makes me love Taylor even more as she is tongue and cheek about her reputation of dating men and then writing songs about them. I can't pick a favorite lyric from this one, because it is a love song and a break up song and a personal song all in one.

3.Style - I know that this is going to be my go to car singing jam. "Cause you got that James Dean day dream look in your eye and I got that red lip classic thing that you like. And when we go crashing down, we come back every time. Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style."

Of course, I love pretty much every song on this album, but I'll save the full break down to a late night phone call with my best friend. It is Taylor Swift's world and we are all just living in it. Now, I just have to decide which 1989 tour date I'm going to attend. ;)