that's the way this wheel keeps working now

Since I have 10 days left of my New York City summer, it has come time to reminisce. While I was on the subway on my home from work today I was thinking about some things that have made me laugh time and again this summer. Which got me thinking about all things...

Things that have made me laugh: (too many to count, but here are highlights)

*"Welcome to Ikea! Look at all these beautiful faces" The woman who welcomed us off of the Ikea ferry (+ Ashley's exceptional imitation of her)

*Conversations with my roommates over dinner (+ Persas) at Vento

*"Your ass is on my arm" A lady I accidentally brushed my bottom against one second too long on the subway

*Inappropriate PDA on the subway, in an "I don't want to look but can't tear my eyes away" kind of way (Sarah and Abby can attest to this)

Things that I've questioned:

*Do I want to be a magazine writer?

*Or do I want to own an art gallery?

*Or do I want to get a masters degree in something useless but totally art-related?

*Where do I want to live post-graduation?

*How the heck do you go about getting a real-world job?

*Why can't I let go and not worry about it?

Things that I missed:

*Having a summer tan

*Swimming in a pool

*Family, friends and loved ones :)

*Singing along with my music

*Bible study

Things that I didn't cherish nearly enough:

*Living in the same city as my brother for possibly the last time

*Having so much art at my fingertips

Things I can't get enough of:

*the High Line

*Brooklyn

*New York brunch

*unexpectedly seeing celebrities (current list: Gayle, Barefoot Contessa, girl from Confessions of the American Teenager, Josh Hartnett, Diane Keaton, Tony Bennett, Molly Shannon)

*being able to get anywhere via public transportation

Things I could have done without:

*All. The. Rain.

Things I loved:

*Busy days at work

*The Brooklyn Art Museum

*The Renegade Arts and Crafts Fair

*Visiting Jonathan in Colorado

*Having visitors here! Abby, Sarah and Jonathan made the city feel more like home

*Reading magazines during my commute

*The cooler weather compared to the blistering heat most of the country was getting

*Trying out living in a city for a few months...I want to do it in a lot of other cities now: Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Denver

--I'll keep adding to this as the days dwindle down. But I want to make this point: I usually worry before I start something new that I won't get out of it everything that I wanted. And maybe I did or maybe I didn't, but I feel like my time here is coming to its rightful end and the thought of being home is lovely and perfect. I'm not feeling anxiety about not checking everything off of my list, I'm feeling blessed with all that 11 short weeks have held.

dear blog,

i will update you soon. i promise.

with love,

a lazy writer

telephones, they can't replace me with you, face to face

{There I go stealing lyrics again. Thank you, Matt Wertz, With You Tonight}

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend the 4th of July with Jonathan in beautiful Colorado. After a tiring & delayed day of travel on Friday evening, I made it to Denver. Saturday night we ate breakfast at Boulder's great farmer's market and walked along Pearl Street (think downtown Columbia...with mountains in the distance). We headed to Estes Park in the afternoon with hopes of finding a campsite in Rocky Mountain National Park. The tour guide information lady laughed when we asked what the chances were of finding a campsite (on the 4th of July)...but we got one of the last ones (so ha, lady!) After setting up camp (in the rain...) we drove to one of the nearby lakes and caught a beautiful rainbow and tranquil beauty surrounding this lake. It was so calming and just lovely. Then we headed back to Estes Park to catch the fireworks show along the lake. We saw some elk hanging out on the golf course along the way. No big. 

Woke up to beautiful sunny weather on Sunday and drove all through RMNP. We stopped at so many lookouts that the beauty of it all has kind of blurred in my mind. Hopefully the pictures that follow can do this weekend more justice than my words. Simply said, it was a wonderful break that was much needed. A break in all kinds of ways: a break from city life, a break from getting dressed up (and wearing makeup or doing my hair...ah camping:)) & a break from a long-distance relationship. 

rainbow: check. bench: check. mountains, lake, trees & perfection: check.

Jonathan's internship local

fireworks (Jonathan and his digital SLR took this one)
to me it kind of looks like the background is too perfect and we're photoshopped in (also jonathan's)
looky there, leave no trace!
"I could really go for an elk today" said Jonathan as we left the campsite. I think these will do the trick. I kind of wanted to take one home with me.

Big Colorado sky that Leigh Anne loves (and I clearly see why).

Shameless plug: For more pictures, check out Jonathan's new flickr account.

(One last thing that I do not have a picture for: Josh Hartnett was seated first class on my return flight to New York City. My 7th grade self was freaking out--I used to pull out pictures of him and put them on my door. Ahh celebrity crushes)