Birthday Special: 24 Things
In honor of turning 24 years old today, I thought it would be fun to share a few things that you might not know about me! Before we get to that, let me just start by saying that 23 was a true blessing; it was a year in my life that I will never forget. So many incredible events happened this year in our lives: we redesigned and relaunched the blog, Sam and I traveled to Montreal for the first time, I was lucky enough to meet a sweet group of supportive, Baltimore bloggers, Oliver turned 5 years old, I advanced in my professional career, I had the chance to partner with some incredible brands, and Sam graduated college. I could go on and on with the list of things that I am grateful for in this past year. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to 24; this year has big shoes to fill, for sure.
Since Sam has been away for a big job with work the past two weeks, we will be officially celebrating my birthday this weekend! We're heading to one of my favorite cities (one we've yet to visit together). I am excited to bike around, fill up on cheesesteaks *hint hint*, and spend time soaking up the beautiful Spring weather.
- Before I got braces, I had a gap between my two front teeth that was SO big, I literally could fit a pencil in between - and I did. #partytrick
- The only job I have ever been fired from was my very first job at a hair salon (30 feet from my house) when I was 13 years old. I was told to wash a client's perm out and she lifted her head and the chemical got in her eye. It was horrifying.
- When I was in high school, I used to wear fake glasses because I thought they were SO cute. Jokes on me because now I'm actually near-sighted and have to wear real glasses. My favorite pair is Woodland Tortoise Durand by Warby Parker. I got them a few months ago!
- I've dyed my hair more times that I can remember - in the last 10 years, my hair has been red, black, platinum blonde, and brunette. I also almost always have instant regret when I color my hair unless it's a routine visit.
- I worked at TGI Fridays when I was in high school for a few months. I applied because I thought that I would get to wear fun "flair" and rollerblades. Not true, BTW. All you get is a lot of greasy food for like, 40% off.
- The only sport that I ever stuck with for more than a few months was cheerleading. I used to be on a travel team and I loved it! I thought that I would do it throughout college and make it into a career afterwards but, I gave it up when I was in my sophomore year of high school. Other things I've tried: tennis, gymnastics, dance, violin, flute, singing, and piano.
- Sam and I first met in a Mexican restaurant and 4 years later had our first date in a Mexican restaurant as well. I'm a big fan of the chimichanga and he loves his extra crispy fajitas.
- I never, ever thought that I would live in Baltimore city as an adult. When I was younger, I definitely pictured myself in the countryside, taking care of horses, driving a red pickup truck, and wearing cowboy boots. Can ya'll picture that? It's drastically different than my life now.
- My dream job/long-term goal is to be a stay at home Mom, work on my blog full-time, and volunteer at a non-profit in the city.
- I used to say that I would never work in the mortgage industry. I'm coming up on my 5 year anniversary this September. I am currently* a Mortgage Closer and Executive Assistant. I've sat in more desks and had more titles at my current place of employment than most people have in their entire careers. I have always been happy to jump in and train on something new as needed.
- Speaking of my corporate job, most days you can find me barefoot at my standing desk, usually in a flowy dress, with earbuds in listening to a podcast, a candle burning, and my window WIDE open. Surprisingly, I do my best work this way and thankfully, the company that I work for supports this.
- One of my favorite foods in the world is truffle fries and garlic aioli from In Like Flynn. I could eat the entire order (literally just a pile of fries) by myself - and I have.
- A huge goal of mine in 2017 is to start vlogging when we travel in place of a lengthy, written guide. I am terrified that my videos are going to be awful, and I really hate hearing my own voice/watching myself talk but, I am going to give it a try nonetheless.
- I'm bipolar when it comes to my many "dream" wedding scenarios - in one I see Sam and I exchanging vows, barefoot on the edge of a cliff with flowers in my hair. In another, I see us on a glamorous, old fashioned train with each connecting cart serving as a different theme and purpose. My Mom once went to wedding reception on a train and it's one of her favorite memories.
- My go-to workout right now is hot yoga at Merritt Fitness. It's the only workout that really makes me sweat the way that I like to.
- I recently got Invisalign to fix 2, tiny problems in my teeth (literally, millimeters off) after losing my retainers. I thought I was going to look like the biggest freak for 10 weeks with trays in and these clear bumps on my teeth but, surprisingly no one has really noticed!
- One of the biggest tips that I give people, total strangers even, is to listen to a podcast episode every day. Since I started listening to them in January of this year, I feel like my entire perspective has changed. It has been the most gratifying and positive experience this year for me so far. If you're looking for somewhere to begin, I did a full blog post on my top 5 favorite channels!
- When I was 5 years old, I was playing tag with my step dad in our house and I ran full-force with my eyes closed into the corner of a wall dividing two rooms and had to get 4 stitches in my forehead. I always tell people I "cracked my head open" which is a weird visual. You can still see the scar to this day.
- Sam and I first had the idea to get a Chinese sharpei, aka Oliver, from the show, 'Angry Boys' when we were watching it with friends one night. I remember getting chills over my whole body during that first discussion. We had never seen anything so sweet in our lives, we were SO excited and could not stop smiling.
- I graduated in 2015 with my Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. I went to 3 different colleges from start to finish: AACC, Salisbury, and Towson. I only lived on campus/in a dorm room for 1 semester; glad that I experienced it but, it didn't fit me well.
- I have a large, distinct mole on the left part of my forehead. Although I got teased for it excessively in elementary and middle school and people used to sing "moley moley moley" when I walked by (LOL), I never got it removed because I've always felt that it made me unique. I call it my "beauty mark".
- The first pet I ever had was a cat my Mom got me when I was 3 years old. I named her "Kitten" and she kept that name until she passed away 15 years later. She was all black with one, tiny spot of white on her belly.
- Sam and I eat take-out Indian from this 'hole in the wall' restaurant down the street at least once a week. Same order. Every time. Always amazing. The woman running the place has seen me in tears, in pajamas, and intoxicated. She doesn't speak much English so usually our conversations consist of a string of "mhmm", pointing at shit, and giggles. It's a lifelong bond.
- The first concert I ever went to was Britney Spears. She had one of those floating stages and right before she went over my head, I was convinced she was singing and making eye contact with only me. I had posters of her all over my room and my sister and I used to put on "concerts" in our front yard singing her songs. There's still a few, epic home movies that survived.
That's it, babes! I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
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*This full style post will be on the blog next week!
xo Anna Elizabeth