Friday Fixations

Hi there! 

So... I think I'm going to get back to writing again in my space here. I'm finding that my new job is much less time-consuming than my previous job, and that I'm finding more time for myself again to do creative things ~ and since I like to share my stuff with people, I thought I'd come back here and give the sharing a try again. 

So, with that in mind, I thought my first day back would be a quick list of things that I've been doing or thinking or find interesting to share with any of you who might accidentally come here and read my nonsense. :) Here are my current "fixations"... what are yours? Feel free to share in the comment section. I'd love to hear from people!

Praline Crack

1. I made this on Tuesday night from a recipe I found on the Cookies and Cups blog. Oh. My. Sweet. Goodness. I'm not fond of nuts in general, but I don't mind them when they're well-placed and barely detectable and pecans have their own sweetness that makes it okay for them to be nuts, in my opinion (especially when they're combined with bacon...). Not only is this praline recipe addictive (like eat-the-whole-pan-and-then-make-another-and-hide-it-from-the-rest-of-your-family kind of addictive), it only took me about 35 minutes, from start to finish, to make them, with a handful of ingredients. 
You MUST try.

2. I made it past the three-month mark at my new job on May 10th. I now know many important things - like, which side of the elevator the buttons are on, depending on which one you get into (which makes me look like less of an idiot when stepping into an elevator full of strangers), where (most of) the restrooms are, where the ATM is, and how close the nearest cupcake shop is (unfortunately, not so close). I've learned lots of other, job-related, things, too, but they're just not as important.

3. So far this week, in my head, I've planned at least three vacations and the beginnings of one other project that may actually come to fruition with a little help from friends, old and new (which I'll be super-excited about, if it does, and will write more about later). When things are overwhelming, I go into daydream/vacation/project planning mode, so I've planned at least 4 different Disney/Universal vacation scenarios just this week alone. It's how I cope when I can't find cupcakes (or my newly-discovered praline crack is gone).

4. I cannot wait for the new Harry Potter Park to open at Universal in Orlando. I also cannot believe I have to wait until August 2015 to go (which is our next Florida trip). It's killing me inside a little bit.

5. Since I've been commuting to work again, I have read about 20 books in the past three months. I think that's more than I've read in the past 8 years. My latest obsession has been ghost stories/thrillers. Definitely wakes me up on the ride in and keeps me awake on the ride home. I also signed up for Next Issue, a monthly magazine subscription site. For $14.99/month, I now get, digitally, nearly all of the magazines I was once subscribed to and some that I wasn't. I get Country Living, People, Entertainment, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Food Network Magazine, Oprah, Rolling Stone and a ton more! I still love getting magazines in the mail, but the amount of paper is greatly reduced by having this monthly subscription at a fraction of the cost it would be if I were to get each of those magazines every month. 

So, that is all I want to share today. If you have any cool stuff to share (apps, links, recipes, etc...), just share them in the comments! 

xo
~t