Just a Basic Girl Who Loves Fall

Recently I have seen a lot of blog posts and articles out there circling the web commenting on and poking fun at white girls who love fall. Let me tell you something, I don't know why other white girls like fall so much and I am not even sure why I like fall so much, but what I do know is that since I pulled my peacoats and scarves out of storage a week ago I can't stop smiling.

According to Buzz feed there are Things All Basic White Girls Do During the Fall so I picked out my favorites to see how I measure up to all other basic white girls based on my love of fall.

1. "Get on the Pumpkin Spice Latte grind"- Well I don't like coffee.... but if I did I would probably be spending my paycheck on some PSL goodness
2. "Filter the shit out of the trees as they change colors"- You know I don't actually have a single picture of the trees changing colors, however, I think I will have to take a couple this year because they are just so charming. 
3. "Buy some 'fall' candles and burn them until the entire house smells like an autumn walk"- Ok, yes... I actually stock up on 'fall' scented candles so that my house can smell like an autumn walk all year long. 
4. "Take a picture with a pumpkin they spent all day searching for"- No, but only from lack of opportunity. Growing up we always had the choice of the cream of the crop pumpkins from my father's garden... as an adult however I don't even know where the closest pumpkin patch is aside from the box of pumpkins in Trader Joe's. 

   

   Throwback about 7 years to the Heyday of Dad's pumpkin patch

5. "Buy anything that says Pumpkin Spice on it"- Not anything... but I may or may not have purchased a pack of pumpkin spice Pillsbury cookie dough last week.
6. "Coordinate Halloween costumes with other basic white girls" - I have done this since high school....

   

   Secret Agents! 

7. "Express their excitement for the season with photoshop" - I don't even know how to use photo shop
8. "Make cookies with their kitchen aid"- That would require me to have a kitchen aid, or at the very least not eat all the raw cookie dough of the Pumpkin Spice cookies I just bought
9. "Crunch dead leaves in Ugg boots" - Crunch leaves? Yes. Ugg Boots? Nope.
10. "Take engagement photos"- I am not engaged, if I am being honest, though, I could see getting married in the fall... 
11. "Abuse the hashtage #thankful"- I have never used it before, but by golly I am #thankful for fall
12. "Make sure that everyone who comes over to their house knows that it is indeed fall"- See #3 about fall candles
13. "Throw a pile of leaves in the air for instagram"- Isn't that the best part of fall! I used to spend hours raking the leaves and jumping in them with the neighbors as a kid! And now to find a tree. 
14. "Complain about how cold it is while wearing a Northface"- Look here Buzzfeed... you don't know me! 
15. "Stay out all night Black Friday shopping" - Something I have actually never done is Black Friday shop... Do I start this year? who knows... 
16. "Turn a Friday night into a Jack-o-Lantern carving party"- Ok, who hasn't done this? 

    

    We used to throw the greatest Jack-o-Lantern carving parties

17. "Throw a festive Friendsgiving"- Only the best Friendsgiving for the best friends! Remember this? 
    
18. "Wear an infinity scarf, take a selfie in it, then never take it off for the rest of the day"- Minus the selfie I am fairly certain this is me on everyday in fall. 

Ok Buzzfeed... I am a white girl and I do in fact love fall an awful lot. So what? I am not ashamed of it, I am not afraid to admit it! And if anyone has a problem with that they are not invited to my Pumpkin Spice, fall candle, Jack-o-Lantern, friendsgiving, Fall Party! 

The Things We Do For Kids

Many of you who clicked on this link might be expecting a beautifully written piece about how much we sacrifice for our children because we love them so much. However, I am not a mother and I am grossly under qualified to write any article that is touching especially about children seeing as I do not have any. The closest I can come to talking about that is to postulate at the endless amount of things that my parents did for me.

But Alas, this is purely a post detailing the most ridiculous things I have found myself doing as a full time nanny.
I am currently taking care of a 5 month old little girl who needs constant attention, not because she is upset, but in fact because she is happy. So if I take my focus off her for more that about 60 seconds she begins shrieking, a sound that would put the the Howler Monkeys at the zoo to shame. Because of her need to always have my completely undivided attention I have devised increasingly creative ways to keep attention while getting other things done (like eating, cleaning, or gosh forbid preparing her food).

So here is a list of some of the most ridiculous things I have found myself doing in any of the several nanny positions that I have held in the past 5 years:

• Improvising an entire lyrical dance to Hallelujah, specifically the Shrek version
• Wearing plastic spoons over my eyes and grass in my hair because I "look so amazing" and should "get married like this"
• Pretend to know way more about Star Wars than I actually do so as not to be outsmarted by a 5 year old. 
• Doing the Tango to Ke$ha music
• Really doing anything and everything to Ke$ha music
• Carrying on full conversations with myself as two different characters 
• Talking to an infant as if they are a fully educated adult with fully formed ideas and opinions
• Singing Disney songs in Character voices
• Using various parts of my body as percussion instruments
• Making up the most absurd nicknames just to keep kids on their toes. Like Sassy Pants, Sweet Potato Head, Mocha Choca Latte, Goober, Pookie, Etc...
• Making my face do things no other human being should ever see
• Making my voice do things that no other human being should ever hear 
• Reading out loud high brow news articles and books, because Goodnight Moon is so overrated

Case and Point: Somebody woke up early from their nap before I was done writing

Truly I enjoy my job so much and who else gets to try out characters, sing at the top of their lungs, and dancing like an idiot in a totally judgement free environment? The answer is not a lot of people, and for that I am eternally grateful that I get paid to be this ridiculous. 

What is Blogging Anyway?

When I started this blog my goal was to share my adventures in Chicago while pursuing my dreams. I figured my blog could serve as a way to keep my family and friends informed about my life, document the craziness that only comes from being 22, moving to a big city, and trying to be a comedian. possibly also to shed some light on the jungle that is life after college for friends who were looking to pursue their dreams as well. But as I have now been in Chicago for over a year and settled into the mundanity that is adulthood I feel as though I have lost sight of why I started blogging in the first place. In between paying bills, job hunting, learning to feed myself, and remembering to shower I forgot how truly awesome and unique my adventure is. (Ok... So maybe not totally unique compared to all the other comedians in Chicago, but still awesome and unique in its own right). 

You know what I did last night? Right before meeting with a super talented group of people, that I now consider some of my best friends, with plans to write a sketch show in the coming months, I signed up for a flippin' voice/singing class!! I have always wanted to learn how to sing but I was always told I couldn't! I would never have signed up for this class if I wasn't in Chicago pursuing dreams like these. My crippling fear of singing in front of anyone other than my shower head is going to get nipped in the bud in the coming months! How awesome is that!!

I live my life in a constantly shifting oxymoron of levels of maturity. I spend my days pretending to be an adult In someone else's home feeding, caring for, and almost raising another persons child. While I spend my nights pretending to be a child and shedding all inhibitions if adulthood so I can pretend to be a princess in a castle, a research historian whose expertise is European history, a doctor, an alien from outer space, or really whoever the hell I feel like pretending to be! What? How cool is that? Last week I played dress up with 11 other "adults"! (Can we even actually call ourselves adults?) 

So I guess what I am saying is I am not entirely sure the direction my blog is going to take and it might take me a little bit of time to write more consistently. But that doesn't detract from the fact that I love writing and I love blogging and I am really excited to see what direction my blog takes in the coming months. Plus, perks of being a nanny... On most days I have a solid 3 hours of quiet time to write! Not a lot of people with full time day jobs have that luxury. 

So stay tuned for the magical transformation that may or may not befall my blog in the impending future. 

Preview of potential paparazzi pictures... If I were to ever be successful enough for paparazzi to care. 

23 Things To Do While 23

Last week I turned 23! It's hard to get excited for your birthday when you have passed those landmark birthdays, not to mention I almost completely forgot. Between already saying I am 23 for about a month now and because while I was at home in Colorado I had a mini celebration with my family I almost completely forgot there was more celebrating to be done!

I had just the perfect birthday! I spent the afternoon eating brunch at Ann Sather's and then spending a couple of glorious hours on the beach with my good friend Lucy!

This seagull was pulling some West Side Story territory wars with us

Perfection!

Aww precious! 

And if you thought my birthday couldn't get any better than this, you would be wrong! My incredible girlfriend threw me a surprise party. I got to celebrate my birthday with so many people I love and admire. 

Isn't she the greatest!

Colorado crew...represent! 

In honor of turning 23 (and all those articles about stuff to do before 23, like this one or this one) I have come up with a list of 23 Things To Do While 23 Years Old. 

DISCLAIMER: Attempt at your own risk. 

1. Learn to play an instrument. Like the ukelele, because they're cute and quirky

2. Take a dance class. Beginners Ballet for adults... anyone? 

3. Learn how to stand on your head. 

4. Take voice lessons. As fun as the mortifying fear is, I am thinking about kicking it in the butt.

5. Sing at a Karaoke bar.  Out loud (see mortifying fear above). 

6. Cut your own hair.

7. Binge watch the entire series of Breaking Bad in one night. 

8. Play Bingo at a retirement home. Practice for later on in life. 

9. Get really good at painting the nails on your right hand. The true sign of dexterity.

10. Buy an original piece of artwork. Bonus: Art fairs are really fun. 

11. Make an original piece of artwork. 

12. Get super dolled up for dinner at McDonalds. 

13. Try out a brand new recipe. You can only eat so much pasta.

14. Learn how to budget out your month. But for real. 

15. Try face painting. On yourself or others. 

16. Read at least 15 new books. Reading is so much more relaxing without a due date. 

17. Throw a silent dance party. Interpret that as you will. 

18. Buy a bike. 

19. Learn how to make balloon animals. 

20. Learn how to knit. 

21. Learn all the lyrics to One Week by Barenaked Ladies. Show off at parties. 

22. Write and illustrate a children's book. 

23. Sit on your front porch dressed as an old person and yell obscenities at people as they walk by. 

Enjoy! 

Check back with me in a year and we will see how I did! 

Emily in Wonderland: An Adventure at The Lookingglass

Last night I had a dream about some of the incredibly talented people from The Lookingglass Theatre. I figure that if I am dreaming about them, I probably miss them a lot.

This past weekend I closed my first professional show, In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, and it was the greatest theatre experience of my life. Thanks to the wonderful people of the Lookingglass Theatre I  learned more about professional theatre, stage management, and the creative process than I ever could have sitting in a classroom. Whether it was because my job responsibilities put me in a great position to observe and learn from the  incredibly talented group of artists or said group of artists were particularly full of wisdom and knowledge to share.

Having been a part of the process from the very beginning of rehearsals I had the pleasure of watching the whole show evolve (pun intended). From the progression of the thought-provoking and emotional script, to the actors discovering and rediscovering their characters, to the immense amount of prop choreography I felt like I had front row seats to every stage managers dream!

I can't quite pinpoint why exactly made my job so great.

Maybe it was because I have worked in two landmark Chicago buildings: 

The John Hancock Building

The Historic Water Tower Water Works

Or the fact that some of my dinner breaks looked like this: 

Or this: 

It could be the gorgeous set, designed by Colette Pollard, that transported me out of the city and into a magical beautiful location: 

It might even be the Pride that the Lookingglass paraded (pun intended) on closing night:

It could be that the kids were so well behaved and so much fun to be around:

But really I think it is that I got to work with a hugely talented group of artists! 

From Sarah Gmitter who wrote an enticingly thought-provoking script that made me laugh, cry, and taught me more about Charles Darwin than I ever though I needed to know. 

To Jessica Thebus whose directing style allowed for the actors to ask questions, play, and discover the inner workings of these complex characters. 

The designers, whom I did not get to know very well personally, but who created such an aesthetically pleasing show that frankly I think the first time I saw the set under lights I might have cried just a little bit. 

And Tess Golden and Jeri Fredrickson who combined playfulness with a organizational prowess that made the tracking of props and script changes look as easy as baking a cake from a box. Not to mention Tess did it while very pregnant. 

And to the cast who when they wren't making me laugh and feel like part of their little family awed me with their talent and stamina to perform a show like this sometimes 9 times a week. 

And my new friends in the crew who despite my plethora of questions and the noisy, energetic kids I always had in tow still decided they liked me and helped me every step of the way. 

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me, teaching me, and inspiring me. This is one experience I wont soon forget and to be honest I hope to work with all of you again sometime. 

So I guess what I am saying is, we should take this show on tour or something, because I miss all of you and that would clearly be the easiest way for all of us to be together again. 

An Ode to My Apartment

As we draw nearer and nearer to saying a final goodbye to our first apartment in Chicago I can't help but reminisce about  how adorable and fun this apartment was. As many a romantic novelist has said "There's no love like the first" (Nicholas Sparks). And I would like to amend that and say "There is no apartment like the first" (Emily Forest). I mean you never ever really forget that first crappy, cheap little apartment that you found and financed all by yourself. And regardless of how truly terrible it is you still feel a sense of pride when you think about how you found it and how you worked hard at your minimum wage job to afford it. Saying goodbye to your first adult apartment is one of those bitter sweet moments in life, inevitable and for the better.

So here is an ode to my terrible, crappy, and charming first apartment in the city.

Wasn't it fun for the first two weeks we lived here when there was no hot water to shower or to do the dishes? Nothing says "congratulations your an adult" like not having hot water.

That charming way the smoke alarm in the kitchen goes off when it's just too hot, no smoke needed. Nope sorry you can't turn on the oven or boil water on the stove, if its over 80° outside you don't want to wake the irrational smoke alarm. 

Wasn't it cute how the neighbors dog killed all the grass so the front yard consisted of mud in varying stages of puddle form. 

And how in the winter your vast cavernous rooms were impossible to keep warm, so I spent the series of polar vortexes wrapped in blankets and sweatshirts never venturing farther than a few feet from a space heater. 

And while we are on the subject of cold weather. Remember how the back door froze shut so we had to carry the trash all the way through the house and then risk our lives walking across the alley of ice to the trash cans. 

Remember when you thought it would be funny and cute to short circuit the ceiling fan and cause half the apartment to be without electricity for 3 days. There is nothing quite like peeing by battery-operated-LED-lamp light. 

How I will miss the repetitive and mind melting music of the ice cream truck, providing us with the soundtrack for our summer

Oh the adventures you took us on! 

And to you Mr. Raccoon living in the roof, I commend you for finding a rent free home for the cold cold chicago winter. 

Will I be sad to see our little apartment go? A little bit. Will my new apartment have "charming," "eccentric" and "vintage" characteristics that might drive me up a wall? Probably. 

But for right now all my energy is focused on being excited about moving to a nicer and closer apartment. 

Stoop Kids never leave the stoop! 

A New Era

Alright, that's it, I'm done. It's been so long since I have written ANYTHING that I am literally going CRAZY!!

I mean come one! Is this the face of a sane person? 

Aside from emails and text messages I have written absolutely nothing. Not a single blog post or sketch! I never really realized how much  enjoyed the cathartic and creative release of writing until I stopped doing it. This last year I became so in love with writing that I had all these dreams and aspirations of maybe someday writing a book (or books.) Maybe novels or illustrated childrens books, who knows! But quite frankly I won't come anywhere near writing a book if I can't even motivate myself to write a blog post once a week. I am going to have to be exponentially more motivated to write and confident in my writing if I want to ever try to write anything significant.

So I will end my embargo on writing. I know the last time I set a goal to write a post once a week I ended up derailing and sending my goal train flying into the bottom of a deep deep canyon where traces of the smoke can still be seen. 

This time I won't go so far as to set such a lofty goal as to write once a week for this blog. But I would like to write at least once a week for something. Wether it's for this blog or a sketch or some other project I need to keep writing to restore my soul to its former place of creative output. 

And in case you've missed it I have been doing some awesome and crazy stuff recently:

-I am still working at The Lookingglass and I am having an absolute blast! 

Just a small window into my life... a phone full of pictures taken by 13 year olds. 

-I just signed a lease on a new apartment and will be slowly moving into it over the course of the next month. 

The switch plate for the lights in my new house! 

-And I finally and officially made my relationship with my incredible girlfriend public on Facebook! 

We received an overwhelming amount of love and support from friends and family. 

So here we go! Kicking off a new era in this blog, and what better time than exactly one year after starting it!