whoa whoa WHOA

that's the best way to sum up what my life has been like since i last posted. just all sorts of crazy things going on. florida, new friends, new experiences, new feelings, a wedding, a LOT of drinking, not a lot of sleep, and then back to normal life. the fun part is that un-normal life resumes again in just a week. i can't wait.

so here are some photos of what i've been up to in recent weeks. enjoy!

(and as promised, steak pictures to come in a future post.)

landed in florida! airports always have the most random gifts. 

this was the view on day one. i was at a work conference, but daaayyummm was it a nice resort. i posted this one on facebook with a caption about how much i loved my life in that moment. and that would be true for the remainder of the trip. i had good friends, great surroundings, and a lot of fun. it was, all in all, without joking, one of the best weeks of my life from start to finish. 

the view from our room? not quite as awesome. 

one of the pools. i *heart* palm trees. just so very much, i love them. 

how i spent one afternoon. after 9 pm every night, we had to draw the shades in our room so that we wouldn't mess with the hatching of baby turtles. i guess it was that time of year. i didn't see any baby turtles, but i thought i would help them out just in case. 

weird mermaid lamp in the hotel golf shop! $999! but FREE SHIPPING! i was tempted. 

and these were also in the hotel gift shop. not joking when i said i was tempted. they were $12, and i still had to think about it for like, 10 minutes, before i decided i didn't need them. aren't they awesome? SHOT GLASS, BUT IT'S A TURTLE! 

on my return home? my sister got married. nbd. this is a post wedding high five. obviously. 

and these are the cupcakes, with cute bride and groom ducks. 

it was a fun night. 

the fun continued the rest of the fourth of july weekend. 

sunglasses at night are a pre rec. 

and this my friends, is a fishbowl. that was an EPIC day slash night. 

so as you can see, it was a fun 10 days. first week back sucked, i'm not gonna lie. and this week has been busy,  but still fun. and every day for the next week, i have something fun lined up. and then, it's vacation. on a boat. with three of my favorite people ever. 

guys, life is good right now. life is good. 

successful food experiments!

so tonight didn't start well. i was down when i got home. i was tired from the concert, frustrated with people, and generally stressed out. i have a lot on my plate for the next week, and even though it will be fun (yay for being on vacation!!), there's a lot of pressure/details/shit going down. 

and i didn't want to eat the same freaking thing i've had for the last three weeks, which has been meat and vegetables. i just didn't want to. i wanted something ELSE. 

so i did some research on the atkins website, and poked around, and realized that i could incorporate heavy cream into my recipes. i didn't know that. and i liked it. inspired, i headed off to the grocery store. i got a steak, because i decided i wanted to pan cook it. i never do that (i always grill), and know it's good, so i was in. bought some cream, some mushrooms and some other random stuff. came home, and accidentally made THE BEST, MOST DELICIOUS mushroom/onion cream sauce i've ever had in my entire life. i didn't document the process, because i didn't know how FREAKING AMAZING it was going to be. that + pan cooked steak? happy casey. happy happy happy happy full casey. it was so amazing. 

i also had an atkins-inspired dessert. they have this thing for a root beer float... mix ice and cream and diet root beer, and yeah... exactly. i was skeptical too. since i was on a chocolate craving kick, i went with the a diet chocolate fudge soda that my mom is obsessed with. i thought i'd make a chocolate float. 

doesn't look promising, right? 

even still, with ice, ehhh... i was skeptical. but i pureed the ice and cream and soda as instructed, and then added more soda in the end, pulsing to integrate. or whatever. 

looks good right? better anyway? yeah... i thought so. the glass helps. somehow, the ice and cream made this mixture, that JUST LIKE a root beer float, leaves a weird foam on your glass. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

verdict? AWESOME. AGAIN! i can see how it would be a root beer float. this version is a little more chocolatey, which hit the spot. i mean, like, it's good. 

i'm pretty sure i went over my carb count today with a bunch of soda and this dessert and all the mushrooms and onions, but you know what? i don't care that much. i don't think the damage is irreversible, and FUCK IT, because HAPPY VACATION!!!!!! 

machinery

i am lucky to have some fantastic friends. i went to an amazing elementary/middle/high school that has produced some of the coolest people i've ever met. two of those people popped up yesterday to provide me with an incredible, only-in-new-york experience. 

my friend e works for good morning america. you might have heard of it. she works with one of the major anchors, she's big time. she has a sucky schedule, of course, but that doesn't seem to stop her from a) loving her life and 2) being amazing and generous. 

she lives with k, who works at an art gallery. yes, these two are everything women in new york are supposed to be - stylish, cool jobs, fun. they have their shit together, and it's so fun to spend time with them. 

so e got k two VIP passes to today's good morning america summer concert. k asked me. i said "duh," and schlepted my way out of bed at 5 am. we met up at 7, and proceeded to have a fantastic morning. 

GUYS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NOTICED, BUT THAT'S FLORENCE & THE MACHINE!!!!! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so exciting. so so so exciting. 

so, tea in hand and stumbling with k, we went to the tent, got our VIP bracelets. 

tres chic, no? (i like the mood it set for the day :)) 

anyway, we ended up standing around for about 20 minutes in the vip area, which was really just the pit in front of the stage. and then? the sound check. which happened to be the best part of the whole show. the band came out and did a mini sound check first. (what i observed: all three boys... men. whatever. the dudes on stage - bass, guitar, drummer - were attractive. i'm sort of in love with the drummer. every time he would drum hard, he would close his mouth in this clamped way that made it look like he was forgetting to breathe. i. could. not. stop. watching. him. call me drummer dude!) 

and that was cool. and then florence came out. and let me tell you, lady is REGAL. like, whoa.

what you can't see in that picture is her fab jean cutoff shorts, and her legs, which are 7 feet long and GORGEOUS. if i were here, i would just walk around without pants on all the time. 

soundcheck kicked ass. 

they left. the GMA comic did some schtick. we had to be quiet while they filmed stuff, and it was about 40 minutes of standing around. i was holding my heavy purse, so my back started to hurt. it was yucky. i was tired. k and i just sort of gazed around. and then finally, the band came out. they'd all changed, and looked so so spiffy. 

here's the full set, flowers and all. florence is obsessed with flowers, and it set a great mood. the fog cooperated too and made it look super earthy and ethereal. here's a close up of her dress: 

let me tell you gurrrrrrl, she WORKED that cape. i know, it looks crazy, but she did. it was windy, and she made it look so fucking cool, to the point where i was like, 'I need a dress with a cape!' (no i don't).  and despite the breaks in the show for commercials and interviews and the rain, it was a great show. florence has an amazing voice, and an amazing presence. and her band is good. i would love love love love LOVE to see them in full concert. (writing it on the internet makes it happen, right?) 

it was a great morning. i was tired and sore and i've been chugging diet DP today to stay awake, but it was a fantastic way to start the day. and as i walked through central park to the west side, i thought 'man, new york city just keeps being awesome.' 

and it does. 

i love this place. 

and the amazing people i know here. 

<3 

i feel like THIS

Except a more productive version of this. A version you wouldn't have to clean up, because you've been so amazingly productive. But that sense of joy? Yes. 

I'm proud of myself today guys :) 

PRODUCTIVITY!

i had one of those days that it was so productive it gives you an energy boost. i checked a whole bunch of stuff off my "to do before vacation" work list, and also a whole bunch of things off of the "things to get done before the wedding" list! so exciting! and i'm not stopping.

and i'm not writing anymore either, because i am going to leave and go run more errands while i still have energy, because a massive collapse is in short order, and i want to be home on the couch when it happens.

AND OFF I GO!

(happy hump day yo)

MHM

so today, i seriously needed my mental health moment (mhm). i know i probably should say that every time, but today had reached a point of anxiety that's rare for me. all with good cause, of course. 

in no particular order, i am dealing with:

- finding a new roommate/moving rooms/losing my roommate

- being the best lady at my sister's wedding in 12 days

- my sister getting married 

- my unhappily divorced parents being at my sister's wedding

- family drama unlike any i've ever had that's actually NOT related to the wedding, shockingly

- being pretty broke

- being about 20lbs heavier than i'd like to be for said wedding

- on a diet to deal with above that sucks, is really hard, and isn't working as well as i would like

- a diet, i should mention, that has taken away booze and sugar, two things i turn to when stressed, which means, uh, this sucks extra hard

- a lack of fulfillment in the professional realm

- the potential for that to be changing (it's hard/stressful for me to even think about even starting that process)

- my sister moving to california in the near future

- oh yeah, and i'm not getting laid. not like that's a thing, but it's sure not helping matters. 

so today, i cried in the bathroom at work for 30 seconds, then donned some shades and got out of there and into the sunshine. it helped. 

at first, i just saw what i was sitting next to. thought it would be a good picture.

it was. but then, i was struck by how much i didn't like any other picture around me. until i looked down. 

something about tree shadows on sidewalks makes me really happy. 

then i went to the grocery store to break my 20, and couldn't resist the wall of sunshine that was right outside. 

and then, one diet coke later, i got this:

that $10 bill has a star on it. stars are my thing. the timing seemed to fit. i need a good luck charm for the next two weeks, and this bill is going to be it. 

trying to breathe, and make lists, and not let things affect me. these moments helped. hope you find one that does too.

monkeys!

so a couple of years ago, i got invited to my second baby shower. i didn't know what to get her/them. in a craft store, i decided sewing a quilt would be a good idea. i managed to finish it under the gun, and the soon-to-be mom was enamored with my gift. like, she love love loved it. and i knew it was something that would be in her daughter's life for a long time.

and thus a tradition was born.

now, for my friends who have babies, i make quilts. this statement got edited down when the reality of doing that hit me. now it's just my VERY GOOD friends, my favorites, who get quilts when they have a new kid coming. (in large part because i make the entire thing by hand. no sewing machines. so, uh. whoa.) and this weekend, one of my favorite friends ever had her baby shower.

presenting: monkey quilt!

TA-DA!

That's the front. 

This is the back.

And THIS is a close-up of the special patch I made that will remind momma and baby Rosie just who made this amazing quilt :) 

The baby actually got a few blankets, and another homemade quilt, but I'm hoping mine is the front runner, the long term winner. It's not pink, and it doesn't have butterflies on it. Which means that whatever kind of kid Rosie ends up being, she'll like the quilt. My goal for her is that this blanket is the blanket she carries around for her childhood. That her parents will ask if she wants to bring the monkeys, and she will. My hope is that in 7-10 years, this quilt is unrecognizable, destroyed by too much love and washings and draggings on the ground. That is what I hope for.