Holy Burrito

I couldn't leave California without one awesomely-authentic Mexican meal, so this morning, after another long walk down on the beach, I headed to Lily's Cafe.

This place is amazing. It's a little hole in the wall, but cheap and so satisfying.  It's frequented by locals and somewhat of a hidden gem.  I had the breakfast burrito.  O.m.g.

Featuring: a fresh tortilla, scrambled eggs, cheese, refried beans and bacon.  And I also added some hot sauce and salsa to spice things up.  Two million calories later, I'm in a total food coma. But it was worth it!

It's just about time for me to shower and start packing (boo).  We are having dinner with one of my mom's friends, then I'm off to LAX to catch the red-eye back to DC tonight.   While the East Coast will always be my home, spending time in California reminds me not to take life (or myself) too seriously, and to just stop and enjoy the scenery once and awhile.

And what awesome scenery it is.

See you on the flip!

TGIF, Like Whoa.

This pretty much sums up my day so far:

Yes, tape dispensers really do have sand in the bottom. And yes, sometimes they do just suddenly spring a leak all over your desk.  Sigh.

In happier news, I'd like to wish Ms. JB a very happy birthday. And also Mr. Foot. Love you both!

Have a great weekend.

Stressed & Blessed

Women's Health recently published an article titled "How To Do One Thing at a Time."  I rolled my eyes at the idea, but decided to read on since I'm a multitasker to fault. 

The article makes some good points, but what really hits home the most is the fact that when you try to balance too much at one time, you end up not doing things as well you normally would, which can lead to greater inefficiencies.  Ring the alarm!  I totally deal with self-imposed guilt when I know I've taken too much on and stuff that's important to me starts falling through the cracks.

This is how I'd like to think of myself... gracefully managing everything that's going while still looking fab:

But in reality, I've turned into one of those people that is constantly in a tizzy.  At least once a week I have an "OMG" moment where I feel pulled in a thousand directions and get paralyzed because there's just too much going on.  I think everyone feels that way at some point (let's face it, we're all busy), but I think it hits me especially hard because I'm so good, yet so bad, at multitasking. 

The result?  I can (and do) manage it all, but it's not pretty.  I always have a hundred things on my mind, I'm constantly late or having to cancel plans because there's just one more thing I need to get done, and even when I should be focusing on one task, my mind is running a thousand miles an hour and thinking about other stuff I have going on.  To top it off, I tend to put important things like eating at sleeping at the bottom of the priority list, which leaves me feeling like crap on a daily basis.  No bueno!  It's a problem, and I know I need to keep working on slowing down and enjoying the present.

On a more positive note, just lately I've started embracing the power of "no" and recognizing when I can't take on another project, or agree to do something when I just don't have time.  It helps to be honest, and after the initial guilt, I get over it and feel much better.  And of course, writing this blog, as sporadic as it is, has helped me take a step back and think about what's going on (or not going on) in my life.  So thank you, bloggerverse, and to everyone that reads and leaves me love!

I saw a sign the other day that made me cringe.  It read "Too Blessed To Be Stressed."  It made me feel, well....unblessed.  But once I got to thinking about it, I'm actually stressed because I'm blessed.  I have great opportunities and wonderful people in my life, and even if everything does get overwhelming at times, I'm.so.lucky. 

To each their own.

Simplicity

Ever since I was little, I've dreamed of being an adult and living a fabulous life. See, when you're a kid, growing up seems so simple, so pure, and so easy. Turns out that while it's often fun, growing up and being independent isn't always easy. The older we get, the more responsibilities we take on, and four years out of college, I'm already feeling the burn! Between budgeting, paying bills, keeping on top of my job and working my way through grad school, I'm just feeling…overwhelmed.

To top it off, I'm constantly fighting the want vs. need battle (and often losing).  Life is one big instance of dangling a carrot in front of a donkey, only I'm the ass and a pair of new Louboutins is the carrot. I waaaant those pretty things and I deserve them, dammit!

I wish the ten year-old version of myself understood that even though I grow up to be a nice, hardworking girl, I still struggle, and still find myself wanting to storm into my room and slam the door in protest. But now instead of being mad that my parents are making me eat the rest of my gross string beans before leaving the dinner table, I'm dealing with much scarier things like 401k plans and credit card ARP. Bleh.

I know everyone goes through this at one time or another, so it's nothing abnormal. It's kinda like a quarter-life crisis, plus a couple years :) Thankfully, I'm blessed to have a wonderful support network of friends and family around me, who always help keep me in check. I've decided that over the next few months, I'm going to work on simplifying my lifestyle so that I don't feel overwhelmed by everything. I'm not exactly sure how to do that, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has ideas!

My first step is setting up a budget (I'm awful with money, although the intention is always there). After doing some research, I decided to use Mint.com which, if you aren't familiar with it, is freaking amazing. I'm terrified of the word budget, but this program is great, and FREE! Plus, they have a blog, and use Twitter, which makes keeping on top of it so much easier. What I love the most is that the program allows you to link your checking account, credit cards, student loans, rent/mortgage, etc. to your budget account, which automatically tracks your spending. Seriously. It also reminds you when payments are due, and can track any savings to keep you up to date on net worth. This is something I really needed to see laid out, to understand where I was with spending vs. savings. And it made me realize that I just have too many bills right now to keep on top of, so hence why I'm in a new mindset of being more practical. We'll see if it works :)

Here's a sample screenshot of the Mint.com program (not mine, obviously) in action:

Pretty cool, huh?  I'm going to give it a shot for a few weeks and see how I do.  Please still let me know if you have any good suggestions for how to streamline stuff and make life easier... I need all the help I can get these days :)
 
xoxo,
Olivia

Life's Little Things

It's another gorgeous, sunny day in DC.  We're even supposed to hit 60 degrees today. Go crazy!  Smells like spring...

When I got home from work last night, I had a surprise waiting for me in the mail.  It was a package from Jill (boss from a previous job), who now lives in North Carolina.  Jill has two boys, Max and Ben.  They are the cutest kids ever, and I've pretty much been able to watch them grow up over the past few years.  I visit them a few times a year, and we always have a blast playing sports, games, watching movies, etc.  I'm a total tomboy and have no problem fitting right in with this crowd :)

Since Jill, Max and Ben know how much I love penguins, I'm always getting fun treats from them.  Yesterday I got the best gifts ever... Max and Ben each sent me a penguin arts-and-craft project, and Jill sent me penguin appetizer forks.  Oh, and I also got pictures of each kid.  Sooo adorable.

Here's Max's penguin.  Love!

And Ben's.  Could he be any cuter?!

Totally made my day.  It really is the little things in life that matter most!  I can't wait to visit NC next month!

xoxo,
Olivia