WHERE'S LIZ?!
Today is Monday, October 1st, 2018. And I sitting on my couch in Houston, Texas.
[It somehow took me a full week to finish writing this nonsense.]
Just like that…(and just in time for the playoffs) my six months of absolutely insane travel has come to a close (for now). I left work today at 5, went on a walk with a friend, went to dinner, and was back at my apartment by 8:30. I don’t understand this feeling. Is this what being a normal human adult is like? What do I do now? Does this mean I have to go to the grocery store?
That wasn’t an attempt at humor. I really don’t know what to do. And I don’t know what to write about.
I could write a novel on how to master air travel (spoiler alert: it can be pretty much entirely summed up with “GET TSA PRECHECK”). I could write a pretty comprehensive guide to Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Waco, Texas. I could make a list of the most Instagrammable bars in Houston. I could write allllll about the Astros and the postseason outlook. I could even do something “deep” and “introspective” about my life, like the challenges that come with being a former college athlete, or how attempting to gain a following on Instagram and make your life look awesome all the time is actually pretty stressful and dumb, or how traveling constantly for six months is not great for your physical or mental health. Every single one of those topics are actual half-finished blog posts currently saved in my drafts (that would be much more interesting and / or informative than this one), and someday I do intend to finish them.
But today is not that day. Here is some nonsense and life updates with no theme whatsoever! And pics!
So I’ve been very into weird covers of well-known songs lately - the more unnecessary, the better. I’ve been working my way through the “Spotify Singles: Covers” playlist over the past few weeks. I’m really not sure what on earth compelled the band Def Leppard to cover Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” but it’s absolutely absurd and I’ve listened to it approximately 73 times. Other favorites from that playlist include Greta Van Fleet’s version of “Rolling in the Deep” and Superorganism singing “Havana.”
The office we worked at in New Hampshire was about two miles from the beach. We visited this beach exactly one time. We were actually trying to get to that lighthouse, but apparently it was closed that day, and it would have been a sort of trespassing situation…the warning signs were pretty aggressive. So this is as close as we could get.
Also, I got some new coffee table books that I’m pretty excited about.
I spend a lot of time trying to convince my friends and colleagues that I am not “pretentious.” Most days, I feel pretty confident that I am not, but then sometimes I’ll sign up for a “club” that sends me coffee from Maine and an obscure vinyl record every month. Let me explain. When I was visiting Portland back in July (#SoloTravelFTW), I went to a coffee shop called Tandem Coffee Roasters and was instantly obsessed. I saw a little card by the register advertising said club, and knew they would soon be taking my money. It’s just so perfectly on brand. Anyway, my first shipment came in a few weeks ago and it’s probably the greatest thing I’ve ever received in the mail.
If y’all haven’t checked out the new Saint Arnold Beer Garden yet (I know I’m late here but it’s really hard to run a blog about Houston when you spent six months only living there three days a week), it’s SO GREAT. The addition of the giant screen will make it a prime Astros-watching spot, and this newfound nice weather will make it, ya know, more bearable to be there.
Saint Arnold is a great choice for celebrating your birthday with your best friends and good local beer and skyline views. I don’t know what’s going on here.
You could order any of the excellent food options at Saint Arnold…or you could just get one of these glorious meat & cheese boards.
I would like to formally announce that after years and years of having to explain to people that I had never really seen it, often as they looked at me with utter confusion / disbelief / concern…I have finally started watching the television show “Friends.” I am on episode eight. Seems promising so far.
Checked out Blkdog Coffee in Chinatown a few weeks ago. Good coffee, beautiful space. Just casually reading a book entitled The Rapture while I pretend to drink tea out of that cute little teacup. I actually posted this exact photo on Instagram, thinking it was hilarious that the book was called “The Rapture,” but no one commented on it. I guess y’all just don’t appreciate my sophisticated brand of humor.
And finally, I wanted to sincerely thank all of my friends who have supported (or at least tolerated) this ridiculous blogging / Instagram project by taking pictures of me posing idiotically with various foods and beverages. Seriously. Y’all are the best. And on that note, please enjoy some recent pictures I found in my camera roll that have nothing to do with this post. But to be fair, this post has nothing to do with anything anyway.
True friendship is finding someone who will do a photo shoot with you and some cake. This may or may not have been taken in a bathroom. We will never know for sure.
This was candid, obviously.
According to a bartender we met at Dichotomy, this trendy new donut place got their recipe from a shop in Brooklyn, that apparently didn’t mind sharing their secret once they found out this place was in Waco, Texas. Also, these donuts were incredible. Good work Waco.
Coffee. I love coffee so much.
Also, the button literally says “Beer To Go.” I don’t know. This was a weird day, y’all.
More cheese board appreciation. I’ve just been feeling super fancy recently, ordering wine and cheese boards everywhere (this was from Max’s Wine Dive).
In unrelated news, I am semi-broke.
#CRUSHCITY
Finally got this pic.
I really wanted one of me in front of the sign, casually sipping on one of the (really good) fancy cocktails they serve at Chapman & Kirby, but I was there for a work event. It turns out I do draw the line somewhere.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading that nonsense. I would promise y’all that the rest of my posts will have more actual useful content, but let’s be honest, that feels unlikely at this point. I’ll be back with something at least slightly more Houston-related soon!
It’s good to be back.
<3 liz
