Changes?

I never thought that I was the type of person that struggled with change, or was much of a worrier to that end. However, I'm discovering more and more that I really do have a difficult time with change and analyzing whether or not I'm making the best choices for myself and the life I hope to lead. The inverse of this problem is that I also find myself to be extrememly impulsive and once I get an idea in my head that's what I'm doing and there really is little that anyone can do to stop me. 


Take for example my recent move from Chicago. I left the city that I love and a job I always dreamed of for a city I barely know. I still don't fully comprehend or accept my move at times, but I did do it which in many ways I am proud of. The problem is, since I apparenty have a more dificult time with change than I thought, I often end up thinking of my leaving Chicago as a breakup of sorts. I get nostalgic about my time spent there and tend to only remember the positives. I also overwhelm myself with the thought that since I left I will never be able to go back. It's this thinking that leads me to believe that Chicago wouldn't have me back after the way I've treated it. But I'm slowly coming to the realization that Chicago and I are not "broken up" and I don't need to feel sad every time I drive in for a visit. We are merely taking a break and like any truly great relationship that we will be together again soon. 


In the meantime, I need to stop comparing every other city to Chicago because, let's face it, that never allows you to move on when you try to do it after a relationship ends (plus the fact that Chicago is the best city in the world). We learn to appreciate the good and unique things that another person has to offer us because it's simply unfair to compare him/her to those that came before. 


So for all those reading, I apologize if you feel as though you've wasted the last 5 minutes reading the rants of a crazy person go on about the parallels between a move and a breakup. I guess it's hard for me not to give a shout out to the city I love. Besides, according to the types of followers I have on Twitter, it seems as though my biggest interests are Chicago and cupcakes- not untrue at times I suppose. :) 


So in closing, I love you Chicago and I know we will be together again soon, but for now I guess I need to see what else is out there. Until then, I'll be missing you.

Yes, there's life beyond Starbucks.

I believe that I have found a coffee chain that could kick Starbucks to the curb. It's called Barriques and the best thing about it is that it not only specializes in coffee, but it offers an excellent and non-intimidating wine selection as well. I've found several Barriques around thus far and hope that more start to pop up soon because even though it is a chain, it still manages to offer a cozy boutique feel which I love.

I love that they used old window panes as their menu boards.

 Wine and gift nook :)

Barriques offers wines from all over the world and provides great descriptions on what to expect favor-wise from each wine so hopefully you aren't surprised at first taste.Their wine is very reasonably priced too - there are bottles priced as low as $6.00.

They even serve wine by the glass in house and also have special wine tasting events each month.

Great cupcake coffee mug I found in Barriques gift section of the store.

Little Gifts

Sometimes the things that can make you feel better after a rough day are never what you expect. For instance, today wasn't what I would call one of the best days I've had but I just logged onto my computer knowing that I needed to do another blog post (I'm trying to become more consistent with my posting) but was not feeling very inspired by anything due to my crummy day. To my surprise and enjoyment I had an email from one of my best friends from college that I unfortunately don't get to see very often due not geographically inconvenience. (Side note: I hate the fact that know one told me when I graduated that I wouldn't get to live in a city with all of my friends and/or that I wouldn't have unlimited funds to see the friends that I miss on a daily basis).

But anyway, the message said nothing more than "please watching this" followed by a video link. I wasn't at all surprised why she thought to send it to me once I clicked through and began watching the video. It captured one of our longest-standing inside jokes perfectly. (I won't explain the joke...it would only sound dumb). The point is that the thought behind sending me this cute video is what got to me. Knowing that even though I'm very far from many of my greatest friends they still "get" me and they still care. I hope that everyone reading this has friends that they can feel this way about because honestly sometimes those people are the only ones that can make you smile after a tough day.

For anyone who's interested here is the link to the video I've been referring to. It's very cute and has officially made me want to go out and purchase pink sneakers :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TL3oaHKCko

Back to Basics

I’m learning it’s an impossible waste of time to be making “big plans” for being a “grown-up” because so much of life is out of my control. So, I decided to channel all the time I spend worrying about the future into a more productive outlet. Not that making plans isn’t important (believe me, I just sat through a riveting 401k retirement plan presentation at work which hammered in the importance of planning for the future…ugh) but why spend your entire present planning for your future?

So, what’s step one? Maybe actually following through on that whole “trying one new thing a week idea” I posted on here about over a month ago? Sure, that sounds good. I know I’ve been slacking on that but in my defense, it has been a really busy period…

Because I've been feeling a little overwhelmed with all the “new” around me I decided to start out safe and visit a really neat coffee shop while out and about in the great state of Wisconsin. Yes, for anyone that didn’t know I ended up in Wisconsin (please insert over-used joke about liking beer and cheese here).

Anyway, the shop is called Electric Earth and is located in Madison, WI. Although I think the title is a little odd, I found the establishment itself to be inviting and very original.

As you can see from the menu Electric Earth offers a lot more than coffee to their customers.

Homemade trail mix...YUM!

Mural on the inside wall of the shop.

These were taped up on the walls inside...I thought they were pretty cute.

Homemade tiramisu is a MUST in my book.

Iced coffees that were not exactly served in standard coffee cups.

New Beginnings

It’s clearly been awhile since my past post, but in my defense I have had a lot going on recently. For starters, I got a new job which is always a period of adjustment. For this new job I also moved to a city that I’ve never lived in before. It’s been fun/scary trying to navigate my way through working in a new industry and trying not to look like a tourist in my new "home." It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but I am excited for the prospect of new opportunities. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I’m only 23 and have my whole life ahead of me. I’m slowly learning not to worry whether every move I make will result in imminent missteps at life.  

In order to make the most of this new life experience, I am planning to do something new each week in order to learn to appreciate as much as I can about my new surroundings. I’ll be documenting all of my to-do’s here for you to follow at your leisure. :)

Also, it’s possible that you will start seeing guest bloggers on Broke by Noon sharing their experiences of living in new cities and learning to “make it” in the grown-up world. If you would like to contribute, please feel free to email me at lindsayfend@gmail.com.

Stay tuned…