Friendship Fives

I'm feeling a bit somber today as I write my Five for Friday. I realized this week that a friend wasn't exactly who I thought, and it really hurt. I don't want to be hurt, but it's the shock of it all. You know that punched in the gut feeling? I've got a bit of that and can't seem to shake it. No matter how many scoops of ice cream I try to tap down on top...

Lately I've been thinking a bit about friendship in general. My best friend lives in Australia. Most of my other friends live closer than that, but not exactly in the same city... or even state actually. And while I may not always have a friend nearby to go to the movies or Home Goods with, I am blessed with some truly amazing people in my life. My mom always told me that "you only need one" when it comes to friendship, and I'm grateful that I've learned quality over quantity.

So... in honor of all the great friendships I have had over the years... and in hopes of cheering myself up a bit... here are five qualities I value in a good friend, represented by some of those who have always been there for me.

They accept you for who you are. 

My friend Amanda and I have very little in common besides the fact that we've known each other forever.  Most everyone has those people in their lives, but I lived in 4 different states by the time I was 14, so keeping in touch was no easy feat. Even though we always have been and always will be entirely different people, we never try to change each other. It's that acceptance that keeps our friendship strong.

You can talk (and laugh) about anything. 

 

Well, I obviously think she's hilarious. This is my best friend, Jess, who sadly lives just about as far away from me as she possibly could. But we find odd hours to call each other, or she'll facebook chat me in the middle of her night when I'm just getting to work, and the conversation goes on and on and on until real life gets in the way again. We can (and pretty much do) tell each other everything - no judgment - and call each other on our bull crap. It takes a true friend to tell you you're being a prima donna, and I'm lucky I have her to bring my back down to earth.

No matter how much time has passed, you can slip right back into each other's lives.

This is my friend Jess (left) and our friend Brittany (right); we were all roommates the summer after freshman year. Brittany is completely great in her own right, but Jess and I just connect. Maybe it's the fact that though we'd known each other all of five minutes before I got the summer flu, she brought me a bucket to puke in and held back my hair. Clearly, she's a saint and that kind of experience just bonds people, you know? Months can go by where we don't talk, but then we catch each other on the phone and spill it all and it's like we never stopped. No matter what's going on with us or where we're at, we just get each other.

You don't try to impress each other.

Never have I had a friend that has taught me this more than Amy. We are who we are, warts and all, and we completely adore each other. We don't have to be doing a dang thing and we can be in complete bliss. She has seen me at absolute rock bottom and still wants to be my friend, so I pretty much think she's amazing. I'm telling you, friends like her come around once in a lifetime.

You uplift and support each other.

Can you tell she makes me really happy? She is always there to cheer me on and tell me that I'm a much better person than I actually am. Jess has taught me a lot about loving someone enough to work to keep them in your life, and she makes every effort worth it. She has gone through a lot, and she still has enough left to lend me a comforting ear and put me back on the right track. 

Wow - this post was really cathartic! Looking at all the amazing friends I have, those represented here and not, I realize why quantity over quality has always been my take on friendship. I wouldn't trade a single one of these girls for anything in the world.

Are you lucky enough to have friends in your life that truly love and uplift you? What makes a good friend to you?

Linking up with Karli and Amy!

Checking in on Resolutions

Well... it is a little past halfway through the year. But I also made my resolutions a little late, so that's ok.

My goal this year...

So, how am I doing? Pretty good I think! I am generally a pretty happy person, but I am feeling overall more active in my life and my decisions, and really enjoy the things I have begun putting more effort into.

As for the more specific goals...

1. Travel somewhere new.
 Check! Helsinki really takes the cake on this one. It was an amazing experience, and my first time traveling abroad by myself. Thank heavens the Fins speak English!

2. Bake more from scratch and begin building a recipe collection.
Ok - not so much with the baking... but when I have, it's mainly been from scratch. And I would say building a better recipe collection is well on its way. 

3. Study interior design.
This is one I think I'm doing well on. It is hard to "study" without taking classes, but I'm really immersing myself in different things, exploring sites, etc. In fact, I've decided to begin a new series here to share what I learn. I have really just begun to dip my toe, but I love spending my time expanding my knowledge. This definitely makes my soul happy.

4. Take a calligraphy class.
Well, can't win them all. Haven't even touched this one, but I do really need to - my handwriting is atrocious!

5. Begin learning Spanish.
We'll gloss over this one, as well. It is a lifelong goal, so I won't be too hard on myself for not moving a single inch closer to accomplishing it.

6. Read more.
Again - Check! I have loved reading more this past year. I was always a reader growing up, and somehow I really fell out of the habit during college. Picking it back up this year has brought me a lot of pleasure. 


Did you make any New Year's resolutions? How are they coming along? If you've blogged about them, include a link!

Wordless Wednesday {Staircases}

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Bangin' Banana Bread - MmmmMMmmm

So... we let some bananas get a little too ripe. We've all been there.

When this would happen growing up, my mom would always throw them in the freezer and make some banana bread in the next couple of weeks. I followed suit and decided this weekend that I should give it a go. I had actually never made banana bread before, but I looked around and combined these two recipes, both from Your Cup of Cake (Recipe A, Recipe B). 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup ripe bananas, mashed (I used 3)
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 340 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper. 
2. In a small bowl, use a fork to finely mash the bananas. 
3. Pour milk into a liquid measuring cup at just under 1/3 c and add lemon juice to the milk. Let sit at least 2 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, beat the eggs. Add oil to the eggs and beat again. Add the milk and vanilla and beat again. Add the mashed bananas and - you guessed it - beat one more time.
5. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together. Then, stir in the brown sugar. 
6. Slowly add the dry to the wet, mix until just combined. Fold in the pecans. Add the batter to the prepared loaf pan. 
7. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (or until it passes the clean toothpick test). 
8. Remove from oven, let sit 30 minutes, and serve!

For the Love of a Chili Dog

Confession: I am a chili dog addict.
 
The first time I came to D.C., Layne took me around to all his old haunts. Since he lived a little further out in Northern Virginia and he knows I have an intense love for chili dogs, we had to hit up the Vienna Inn. It's a total dive, but the chili dogs are only $2, and I devoured 3 or 4 dogs before I was satisfied. And then I craved them for the entire 9 months I was away.

When we moved out here, Vienna Inn was one of the first places we went to. But then I began to hear about this other magical chili dog purveyor - Ben's Chili Bowl. At the time it was only in D.C. in the U Street corridor, which was not exactly a neighborhood I frequented. But, hey - I'll go anywhere for a good chili dog, so within a month we found ourselves making the trek.

Picture from my first visit.

Wow. Spicy chili, crisp snap to the dog - I was sold. And after years of living a good 30-40 minutes from either the Vienne Inn or Ben's, or only being able to grab Ben's at a Nats game, this spring Ben's opened a location in Arlington. (Cue celebratory dance.)

It pretty much made my year.

Layne and I went opening weekend, and when my mom visited she made sure we went twice. Turns out, she loves chili dogs just as much as I do. My White Trash roots run deep.

As a complete bonus, Detroit is known for their coney dogs (which is just really just another name for chili dogs). So when I'm in The D, I get to feed my addiction at Lafayette! Because locals know there is no real competition between American and Lafayette.

If I have a chili dog in hand, I'm a pretty happy camper.

Last weekend at the Nats game.

 Check out my D.C. page for more recommendations on where to eat in the Capitol.

Twitter is kiiiiiinda Awesome

(Did you ever see that David Spade show "Rules of Engagement?" It is not very good, but it is available on Netflix, so I watched all 10 seasons because I'm awesome like that. In any case, the title is supposed to be read in David Spade's characters high-pitched, drawn out "kiiiiiinda.)"

But, alas, I digress...

Things are getting crazy busy at work this week, so we'll keep this week's Friday 5 pretty simple.

Top 5 Favorite Things on Twitter This Week
Guys, I may be addicted to Twitter. I recently started really getting into it thanks in large part to this article, and it has totally changed the way I use it. I already was of the opinion that it is borderline insane to not have a Twitter account in the modern world simply for news purposes, but WOW. So, without further ado, the 5 best things I saw on Twitter this week... 

 { Meghan + Twitter = True Love }

 

Princess Diana's 20 Best Style moments via @GoodHouseKeeping 

@aa_Stardust wrote a really nice blog about how to be better human. It's nice to be nice. 

@epicurious gave me 6 solid reasons to bust out my slow cooker this summer - yum.   

@Blogformatting is hosting a FREE workshop on 3 easy ways to get blog traffic from Facebook. Sign up and join us tomorrow!

@HouseBeautiful challenges you to tell the before from the after in this awesome quiz. I only missed one (which gave me unreasonable jubilation) - what can you get?

Follow me on Twitter for more goodies like this and I'll follow you back!

Linking up with September Farm today - holla at my farm girl!

Wordless Wednesday | Underwater

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