Posts in "About Me"
Questions (and Answers) v.2

This post from a few weeks ago ended up becoming a favorite, so I've decided to turn it into a little series. Share your answers with us below, in the comments!

Are you a dog or a cat person?

I love all animals a whole lot, but I'm definitely a dog person.

Do you have a signature fragrance? What is it and what does it remind you of?

When I was in high school, my friend Elena gave me a bottle of Vera Wang Princess and it smells like really expensive cotton candy. I wore it through graduation and into college. I still have the empty bottle because it's beautiful and I can still smell it if I take the top off and put it really close to my nose and take a deep breath. It reminds me of my friends, and summers at home and all the Ralph Lauren polo shirts I used to wear.

I went to Europe the summer after tenth grade and bought two bottles of perfume in Paris one afternoon. They were expensive and I remember using all of my "France" money on them (we went to England and Italy as well and I had a small budget for each country), but I loved them so much that I decided to use them sparingly and still have almost a full bottle to this day. I've had it for so long that the fragrance doesn't even remind me of that trip so much anymore, it just makes me happy because that was such a happy time. The fifteen-year-old me says that when I finally use all of it, I will buy another bottle and abandon all other perfumes.

I wore Light Blue by Dolce & Gabanna on my wedding day, and I've been wearing that since. Rob used to wear a certain cologne when we first met and it reminds me so much of those days and falling in love with him and because of that, we decided to each wear something new with hopes that one day, many years from now, we might pick it up again and remember those days when we were first married. He chose Dolce & Gabanna's The One, which I find fitting, and I had a bottle of Light Blue that was mostly unused and worked perfectly as my "something blue."

What is your favorite book?

I have a few. I love A Sick Day for Amos McGeeWhere the Wild Things AreSophie's WorldAtonement, and all things David Sedaris. My most recent favorite is B.J. Novak's One More Thing.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I would love to move back to Charlottesville, Virginia and stay there. I think I'd much rather settle down and travel for fun than move around so much. Charlotte is going to be a great step in the right direction, but if I could really have my way, I'd just move Minneapolis to Richmond, Virginia and call it a day.

Photo credit: V.A. Photography

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Self-Portrait in Third Person

She wakes up at seven every morning, sliding her finger across the screen of her phone to disable the alarm clock. Sometimes she jumps right out of bed, but more often, she lies there, blinking sleep away from her eyes, trying to decide if her husband's ability to sleep in no matter what is somehow rubbing off on her.

There's almost always cold-brewed coffee in the refrigerator, and over the past three weeks of temping, she's scrambled to get ready--to hard-boil eggs for breakfasts, to whip up a lunch out of leftovers from the night before, to pack two little bags and get made up and curl her hair and decide what to wear, wishing she had laid out a dress and heels the night before; all while missing the quiet mornings of the past months at home, answering emails and G-chatting with her friend Jenna.

When she looks in the mirror she sees in her reflection someone she wholeheartedly loves and enjoys being, but someone she didn't know she would be. Twenty-five years old, freckles still sprawled across her face, still only standing at 5'4"--but, to the relief of her 15-year-old self, in a B cup--and married to the sweetest man, living far from home in Minneapolis, mostly self-employed. Unable to pass up a temporary job because she's terrified of missing an opportunity. Still afraid of most things, but getting braver every day. Thoughtful, sometimes intense, and always trying to be kind. Proud companion to some of the best friends around, thankful for her family, and just really happy to be living this life of hers.

This post is in response to the following prompt: "In the same way a painter does a portrait of a person, do a portrait in words...Do a self-portrait in the third person." (From Old Friend from Far Away, page 214.) If you write a response of your own, please share a link below in the comments! For previous posts and next week's prompt, visit this post.

Photo by V.A. Photography.

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Questions (and Answers)

Every now and again, a question will come into my mind and I want to know everyone else's answer to it. Lately it's been a bit more simple, like "Does anyone watch in here watch Game of Thrones??"-- because right now I'm a temp in an office where nobody talks, and Monday mornings can be really hard on their own. But sometimes it's bigger, like "Do you believe in Heaven?" or "Who has been the most inspirational person in your life so far?"

Sharing your life online is crazy because you can just ask a question on Twitter or Instagram and people--strangers, even--will answer. I kind of love it. Sometimes I want to hug the world and know everything. (And sometimes I ask Twitter to ask me questions so that I can ask my blog, which is what happened yesterday.)

So, tell me. I'll go first.

What's your favorite thing about where you live?

I love the food in Minneapolis. There are so many fantastic restaurants where the service is phenomenal, the food is locally-sourced, and the options are endless--As a gluten-intolerant meat eater I can go out with a vegan friend and we can both enjoy full meals together almost anywhere. Coffee shops have almond milk and the espresso tastes like heaven and everything everywhere is homemade and I just love it all.

What was your major in undergrad?

I majored in English, with a minor in Creative Writing. Those were some of the best days!

Do you believe in The One?

As unromantic as it might sound coming from a newlywed who just married a man who is most certainly the love of her life, I have to say that I don't believe in "The One." I believe that there could probably be a number of people out there with whom you might be happy spending the rest of your life, but we sort of make "The One" for ourselves when we decide to. Does that make sense?

It's as though the choice and the commitment are the magical thing, not some perfect person you run into randomly, or the notion of love at first sight. Rob is definitely The One, even if I don't believe in "the one," because we chose each other. I don't find that thought to be contradictory. I actually think it's beautiful and real.

How do you keep the happy in your relationship--in a real, day-to-day life kind of way?

Rob and I are two of the silliest people you might ever meet. We talk in weird voices, watch cute videos of puppies and kittens, make up ridiculous song lyrics, and laugh all the time. The past five years together have just been so much fun, and I look forward to every new day with him. We genuinely have a great time together--and letting loose and being silly together has absolutely played a huge part in our very happy relationship.

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What about you? Tell me your answers in the comments!

Photo credit: V.A. Photography

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