A Week of Firsts

I've had so many "firsts" this past week!

♥ I actually used the Crock Pot we've been hauling around with us back and forth across the country and across the ocean! I made a really super yummy soup. It was totally awesome to have dinner finished by 9:30 a.m. and I will use the Crock Pot more now for sure. Next I want to see if I can can the soup (in canning jars, you know, old-fashioned goodness)--it would be great to have my own ready-made yummy soup for quick lunches. Jess, do you have any advice for me on this?

♥ I. Went. To. Bloomingdales! Now, if you know me then you know that I'm not really a shopper. I could wear jeans and a black sweater/turtleneck/long-sleeved tee/short-sleeved tee/tank top every day of my life, depending on the weather. I generally buy new clothes only when I no longer fit into the stuff in my closet, or when I wear out my favorite black top. So why is Bloomingdales such a big deal? I started college in 1994; the same year that Friends debuted. I watched every episode throughout college; then when Jason and I moved to Las Vegas and were twenty-somethings trying to figure out adult life, we spent every Thursday night with those other twenty-somethings trying to figure out adult life: Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler, Phoebe, and Monica. We own all ten seasons on DVD and re-watched every episode (in order, naturally) when we were in Italy. I saw soooo many of those "big brown bags" throughout the years. So when I saw in the paper that Clinique was having a gift-with-purchase at Bloomingdales, and I was going to be in the area anyway, I had to stop in. I didn't even shop around. I just went to the Clinique counter, placed my order, and got my goodies in my very own brown bag! (And it's a sweet gift, too, by the way--they ran out of the original gift so we got a different gift worth twice as much!)


♥ I met my new friend Michelle for the first time! We'll both be going to Inspired this year and so we got together to meet and I helped her out a bit with a charm swap we're both doing. She's super sweet and her son Jonah is an absolute doll!

♥ I saw my friend Todd for the first time since our high school graduation! It was so fun! It was great to catch up with him and to meet his friends Julie and Rasheed. We went out to eat and then hung out at the hotel bar until late. By the time Jason and I caught the Metro to our car and drove home and settled down and got to bed it was almost 3 a.m. I haven't been out that late in a looooong time! Totally worth it, though, we had a great time! Here is Jason and I, Todd, and Julie (Rasheed took the photo!). Of course we only remembered to get a photo after we'd all put our coats on, but at least we remembered! :)


♥ I ate Burmese food for the first time! It was really good. The reviews online said that it was kind of a cross between Chinese and Thai with a dash of Indian. My favorite dish was the green tea leaf salad, so crunchy and tangy and unusual! (There we are in the restaurant, above.)

♥ John brought us our first batch of eggs from his family's chickens! I love how all the eggs are different sizes. I also love how orange the yolks in farm-fresh eggs are (but I don't have a photo of that yet).


♥ For the first time ever I have a camera strap I LOVE! Jen sent it to me and it's the best thing since sliced bread. To be honest I had to watch the video about how it's suppose to work (because it's sooo different than any other camera strap--innovation, baby!) but it's my new favorite thing for sure! I hate being bogged down with a purse and a camera bag, and then the camera's never ready when I want it... but problem solved with this awesome strap! The day I got it I was so excited that I ran to show it to Jason as soon as he got home from work, and his comment was, "Jeez, wish you coulda had that when we were traveling around Europe, huh?" It's SWEET. I think I will think up places to go take photos just so I can use this amazing strap. I'm not even kidding. [PLUS the company is based in Seattle which makes it even stinkin' cooler!]

♥ I finally started playing with my new lens for the first time since I received it at Christmas. And all I can say is Oh. My. Gah! Why didn't I buy this lens a long time ago? I am addicted. LOVE it! I'm also so happy that I asked for the 1.4 rather than the 1.8. Love the super-shallow depth of field! This is sort of a silly shot of a dictionary page, but see how only a tiny bit is in focus and the rest blurs more and more the further out it is? That's because of the aperture, which in this shot is 1.4. It opens up photographic worlds for me. Ohhhh yes, this will be awesome to play with!


See you on Friday! :)