Iceland Photos, Part 1 of 2

Drumroll, please.....

The Iceland pictures are now here! I already gave you a post about my travel tips for Iceland, and now I will give you pictures to convince you to go! (You could probably look up professional photos for even more convincing. Doooo it.)

These are all my photos of my time in Reykjavik.

Ah, that pretty city! It's coastal, it's got pops of color, the people are friendly (including abundant bearded men, holla!), it has a lovely flea market, there's a whole pile of pretty boats, and there's street art on the walls around every corner! MY MECCA.

And can we talk about the park? There's this big park. I forgot to take a picture. But it's beautiful and lovely and the children were running free. I love that everything in Reykjavik was open til 11pm (why not when it's light all night?) and people wandered the streets at those hours casually like it was the middle of the day.

I really felt at home in this city after just a day or two to adjust. After going out to the countryside (those pics are coming in Part 2), I felt like I was coming home when I came back into Reykjavik before we left. It's small, it's easy to navigate the city center on foot, and it's just a fantastic place to explore.

And there's nothing that warms my heart quite like exploring!

Don't mind that the photos are all from my iPhone. Like I said, professional photos are out there for the viewing/taking/enjoying.....but here's my take on this lovely place.

(I put a dot sticker on that map right over the Bay Area! Woot!)

See also:
Iceland Photos, Part 2 of 2
12 Tips for Traveling to Iceland

Bridesmaid Round 14: My Best Friend's Wedding

My best friend got married last week and no I didn't have to bring a gay friend along to pose as my fiance nor did I cause a ruckus and run across a lawn in a gray long-sleeve crop top.

But I do like Julia Roberts, and I do like baseball, so, I'm not totally without similarities.

Sorry if you're lost. Let's get back to the point. My best friend got married! Kels (otherwise known as Beef, don't ask) and I met at the beginning of our freshman year of college when she lived exactly one floor up from me in student housing. Nine years later............we still talk every day. That "............" area includes almost too much for me to try and sum up. It's like, a couple years of being roommates, one school transfer (as in we both transferred to the same different college), one sewing class in which a woman once yelled about not wearing a bra and it felt like a pivotal moment in our lives, a few dozen midnights spent driving through freezing streets with the windows down and the heater on and blasting Celine Dion for all the world to hear, countless sleepovers, countless g-chats, countless phone calls when the world just wasn't going right, a ridiculous amount of inside jokes that mostly results in us speaking something like our own language, accidentally owning the same shoes(x3ish)/wallet/etc because we live a couple states apart but still manage to share a shopping soul.......etc etc etc. 

I feel like that paragraph could never get big enough to do this thing justice.

The basic idea is that this girl is my other half, my sanity, my 12-year-old-boy-sense-of-humor-Sandlot-loving-best-friend soulmate. I'm equal parts crazy about her and constantly worried about what might come out of her mouth in public (when truthfully it's just something I'm probably thinking too). You know those friends who you never have to worry about being in a fight with because you 100% know how they will react to everything so you're completely confident acting and speaking around them or making decisions for them or whatever? That's what we've got.

I couldn't have been happier to spend three days solid with her the week of her wedding. Now if she'd just hurry back from her honeymoon so I'm not lonely on g-chat every day, that would be real nice.

And here's all the random photos I took on my iPhone on her wedding day.

If it looks handmade, it is. (Including the postcard party favors, which are now hanging by my desk at work.) Because she's a professional artist. So of course. (Hey, I hung up the streamers. I have some skillz.) (And yeah, she shaved their wedding date into the bottom of her hair in roman numerals because that's how she does.)

p.s. I still owe you guys Iceland pictures. I just....I....wedding travel....work....and.......uh...coming soon.

My Fresh & Easy Adventure // Someday I'll Learn to Feed Myself

Y'all know how much I dislike grocery stores.

It's crowded, there's an overload of options, I have to spend money, I'm compelled to buy (and therefore eat) vegetables that I don't truly care for because I'm always trying to do my body good, there's the chance I might run into someone I know and have to make awkward small talk, it takes up my free time, etc. #yaynotyay

So naturally I'm jazzed about the name of this particular grocery store: Fresh & Easy

Heard of it? Do you have one nearby? (Find out.) To me, Fresh & Easy is like the small town of grocery stores. It's quaint, it's straightforward, stuff is arranged in neat little rows, and the aisles aren't crammed with crazies (OK small towns actually might be crammed with crazies sometimes). Anyway, this feels like a win. My eat-at-work, busy-social-life, always-trying-to-cram-in-some-exercise-during-daylight-hours life situation requires me to need a weird combo of easy/quick/healthy meals I can eat right away, plus things that won't go bad for awhile in case I don't get to them in the first few days.

Fresh & Easy has this thing about making fresh, easy meal solutions for people who "can’t cook, won’t cook, too busy to cook, but really want people to think you can cook." Truer words have never been spoken about me and the kitchen, especially after my macaroni fiasco the other day (shhh don't speak of it).

Fresh & Easy is located in CA, AZ and NV, which I know applies to many of my readers, so....find the location nearest you and ch-ch-check it out if this is all ringing your bell. Then call me and we can talk about our shared love of food, because, food convos yeah!!

Also, there's a photo below of the things I bought. Some fruit, some eggs, some bacon-wrapped chicken, some veggies and...some lucky charms and pizza, because my heart wants what it wants and moderation in all things ya know? Just keeping it real. Plus here's some photos I took in the grocery store because I know you want that in your life.

(Look, I ate chicken and veggies and white nectarines w/ cinnamon and honey on top and I made it all myself and it didn't take long at all. I'm a champ.)

Disclaimer: I have been compensated for this post, but the words and thoughts and opinions are my own because y'all know I wouldn't do you wrong or ever bother blogging about something I don't actually like. #duh