End of December recap

my new and perfect army jacket from my stepmom for christmas. she works at an antique auction and knows my taste toooo well. 

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it's been pretty quiet around here for the past few weeks, which makes zero sense for this time of year. i've been under the weather more than usual, i just started a new job and without boyfriends or kids to worry about for this season, christmas time flew by pretty quickly. ESPECIALLY when you take into account this weather we've been having. it's new years eve right now and we just got our first few snow flakes. finally! it's kind of nuts. it started raining on christmas eve and didn't stop forrrr about 4 days. i mean, i didn't mind. i like the rain and i got to sleep with my windows open and air out this house a bit. but still, it just didn't fit for the season. my snow boots are pissed they haven't made it outside yet and my instagram is totally off by not having any little squares filled with snow just yet. but all in good time, january. at least it's made for easier dog walks. if i can keep running outside in shorts and a hoodies to let bronson do his business, i'm happy. until i have to meet my cute new neighbor while looking a hot mess. and i may be guilty of mentioning several too many times that the big, tall guy that also lives in this apartment is in fact just my roommate.

so let me give a quick recap:

a few weekends back, we celebrated one of my best friend's weddings. the OTHER Jamie Roberts. that's no joke. we actually graduated high school together and other than our opposite hair colors and our vastly different taste in extra curricular activities, the only thing that made us easy to tell apart (on paper, anyway) was the "dawn" that was attached to my name. isn't that wild? needless to say, i'm happy to not be sharing my name anymore ;)

i brought jon with me to the wedding since i had a +1 and wasn't gonna waste it. he's my friend that i don't feel desperate asking and i hope you have one of them, too. they're hard to come by. plus, he knows all my high school friends so it's easy to throw him to the sharks and not worry about entertaining an actual date. ohhhh, the single life, am i right?! thank god for an open bar and lowered inhibitions. i hated my hair, my makeup wasn't working and my dress wasn't my favorite either but we drank and ate and drank and took bathroom selfies and whipped and nae naed and everyone had a ball. i walked thru the parking lot barefoot which is my #1 determining factor for whether or not i had a good time somewhere. did my shoes come off? oh, ok. then yes. i had fun.

 doesn't she look perfect? ugh. my perfect babe.

so then let's see, christmas eve was spent at my aunt's house. very far north and very not wifi friendly. none of my cousins were able to make it so i was kind of on my own, repping for the under 40 crowd. not that i don't stick out like a sore thumb already. it's always fun to have a conversation with family members you haven't seen in 6+ years and the first questions they have always go something like this: "now, why would you put that ring thru your nose like that? you were such a pretty girl before that" "what degree did you end up getting for school? what are you doing now?" and "it should be about time for you to be having babies,  soon yes?"

like…. WHAT? if anyone needs me, i'll be in the car.

one of these days i will write a full post strictly on etiquette when talking to single, girls in their late 20's that don't hold a degree.  surely, i'm not the only one. i told my mom on the way there that for each  person that asked where my significant other was, i would have a new story ready to go. "he's on house arrest", "he's a doctor and has to work today" and a few others were at the top of my stories to get a little shock value out of my family, but i chickened out. while at my aunt's house, my dad text me and asked if i could meet up with him and my step mom for drinks when i got back into town later that night, and i was stoked. i don't see them as much as i should and my mom has pretty much booked my attendance at her house every year for the rest of my life for christmas eve and christmas morning. so my stepmom suggested we do dinner and a movie on christmas eve so i'll be looking forward to that for next year. i got back to my mom's house and ended up passing out on the couch and didn't wake up until morning, just in time to see santa's goodies!

christmas mornings at our house consist of lotsssss of mimosas, my stepdad directing all gift opening in a very specific and strategic order, A Christmas Story blaring in the background all damn morning and my mom breaking open the Cards Against Humanity box, ready to play. for the past 3 years, we play this ridiculous game and laugh our asses off at just how terrible we can make the answers. we're awful. we know. after my mimosa buzz wore off, i headed off to my grandma's house. my dad's mom. it's always a little bit more fun for me over there, i have baby cousins in their early 20's, one of which has a 3 year old (and one on the way!) and it's just a fun mix.

does everyone's grandma have a bowl of this stuff in their house? or just mine? 

the following saturday, i had a friend in town that i was very happy to catch up with over a drink. well, not so much a friend as much as he was an x from nearly 8 years ago. my first boyfriend out of high school. it was one of those perfect examples of a night that you agree to and then you have a few hours of "holy shit, was this a good idea? this could be the most uncomfortable few hours of my life" then you actually see the person in real life sitting next to you and all of your anxiety goes through the roof and you hang out for hours laughing and catching up. it was like meeting someone you had known in a past life and you got to start fresh with. how great is that? great until i reached the point of no return, threw up while being barefoot in the parking lot (barefoot, remember?) and was punished by the world's worst hangover on sunday. but still, worth it. he used to live up here and has since moved down to miami florida and i'm looking up flights as we speak. a birthday trip, perhaps? stay tuned. 

that's about it around here lately. lots of home decor changes happening soon. (i'm currently looking into tearing up my bedroom's carpet. this should be FUN) i've been spending a lot more time at home lately. i don't know if it's wanting to save money, being too lazy to put on makeup and get cute or just a mixture of everything. the bathtub has become my new home within a home and i'm not complaining. the roomie bought me a new shower head for christmas that is sooo nice and exactly what i wanted. what i didn't  want was for him to start showering in my bathroom due to said new shower head but whatever. at least he installed the thing. and at any given time, there is a plethora of provisions including but not limited to candles, a bottle of wine, 2 or 3 different scrubs, a mason jar full of bath salt and a pack of cigarettes. and maybe even a dish or plate, too. don't judge me! so maybe a bathroom makeover is due here soon, too. it's crazy to think that after how long i've lived in this apartment, the bathroom has never been touched as far as decorating goes. so there ya have it; 2016 is the year for makeovers! home and otherwise… more on that later :) 

anyway, it's now 10:30 on december 31st and i'm ready to put this year to bed, ya hear? 

good night!