unfinishe...

Well, it seems that I left things a bit unfinished here. Did you miss me?

Truth be told, signing on for 30 things in 30 days was a bit ambitious of me. But I did accomplish one more big, scary thing back in September that I didn't ever document here.

I quit my job and started a new one. Okay, so that's not as scary as quitting my job and starting up some new business or quitting my job and moving to Paris.

But it was still terrifying.

I left behind three years of friendships, accomplishments, systems I had helped create and maintain, projects I had started but not yet finished. And as much as I knew the time was right for me to leave and the new job was a great opportunity, I struggled with guilt, confusion, and a good dose of fear. The job I left was, in fact, my first "real" job. And after three years I was comfortable there. Leaving meant stepping out of my comfort zone. Leaping out, actually.

The new job was a new position with the organization, one I would be (am, will be) responsible for shaping. Terrifying stuff.

So, needless to say, that took precedent over some of the other things I had planned.

I started the new job on October 1, my first full day as a thirty-something.

Oh, a quick note about my birthday party. I wasn't up for planning anything huge, so I invited some friends over for Cake & Champagne, a birthday tradition I plan to keep up for many, many years. About halfway through slicing and serving the cake (this one) my cake stand wobbled and the cake slid to the floor. After a moment of panic, my friends helped me pick the remains up (they stayed remarkably in tact) and continue slicing and serving. I guess being 30 makes it easier to laugh off near-disasters. And no one seemed to mind eating "floor cake" because I have the best friends ever.

There's still some things on my 30 til 30 list that I'd like to accomplish, so look for more updates here. Oh, and I've come up with a list of scary recipes to tackle, so I'll be documenting those as well (sourdough starter and bagel dough are on my kitchen counter as I type!

xoxo

become a food blogger (part 1)

[Sorry I missed a day, there have been some exciting developments in my life which may even turn into a future #30til30 post. I'll make it up to you with not one but TWO posts tonight!]

I have lived alone for 18 months now, and I've learned a lot about myself in that time. For example, my belief that having more space would allow me to keep my space neat and clean. False. It's like I start shedding when I walk in the door, leaving a path of clothes, shoes, bags, and keys in my wake.

Something else I've learned about myself is that I love to show and tell the food I make. I am that obnoxious instagrammer posting a steady stream of market produce, baked goods, and cocktails. I call my mom and tell her about what I made for dinner (sometimes as I'm eating it). So why haven't I ever started a blog to share the love publicly? Laziness, mostly. Fear that no one will read it, or I'll be unoriginal and boring, or I'll run out of things to write about. But I waste a lot of time re-watching tv shows and reading the Internet. So after this while #30til30 thing is over I'm going to keep the blogging thing going, but focus on food.

and away we go

This is me in my safe, happy place.

Here's the deal. Today is September 1. September 30th is my 30th birthday. This seems like sort of a big deal, and the kind of thing that could potentially bum a girl out. Especially a girl who's single and still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. So, in an effort to make the most of this final month of my twenties AND keep a positive spin on things, I made a to-do list (what? making to-do lists is how I tackle all of life's problems).

It's sort of a bucket list for my twenties of things that are new, scary, and a little silly. There are 30 items on this list, so I'll be tackling one new, scary, silly thing per day from now until my birthday, and chronicling my adventures right here. The list has been made (although I will be keeping you, dear reader, in suspense by only revealing items as I check them off the list) but is subject to change. The idea is to keep things scary but safe, (mostly) legal, and not go broke as I enter my 30s. You can expect adventures around DC, culinary challenges, feats of physical fitness, and major wandering outside my comfort zone. It will be fun!