Saturday, January 31

Fajitas...a cooking experience made fashionable thanks to Jenna.

Friday, January 30

Friday nights are all about unwinding on the couch.

Thursday, January 29

My cluttered corner of the kitchen, where I put up a few select magnets. I thought I would not hang these in an effort to be "decluttered" this year, but I love the inspiration.  My newest addition: a picture of Cozumel, to consider before I open the fridge.

Wednesday, January 28

On my nightstand: Sony alarm clock, Ikea lamp, TV remote (which does not reach the TV, so I must get out of bed for it to work properly), a fan and a book.  All essentials in my book.

Tuesday, January 27

It was back to the basics this week: making dinners and working out. Podcasts of Oprah and loads of magazines made the treadmill more tolerable.  

Monday, January 26

My new desk at work is slowly taking shape. While I do not have a monitor and dock setup yet (so I work with 13 small inches), Sylvia gave me a beautiful, hand-crafted art piece, which makes my desk personal and wonderful.

Sunday, January 25

I visit a museum about once a year.  Luckily, I picked a good one for 2009: Atlanta's High Museum of Art, where the Chinese Terracotta Soliders are on exhibit right now.  The story is an amazing one: over 2000 years ago, the emperor of the Qin dynasty created a world of terracotta figures, from soliders to horses to musicians, to lead in the afterlife.  In 1974, his burial complex was discovered by a Chinese farmer.  Today, January 2009, I stood face-to-face with eight of these 2000-year-old, 6'' tall soldiers.  Pretty cool.

Saturday, January 24

Jenna snapped a quick photograph of me with a special gift I recently received: a quilt made by my grandma, my aunt Barb and my aunt Connie.  

Friday, January 23

Jenna and I stopped at one of my favorite Atlanta stores on Friday night: The Dekalb Farmer's Market.  This indoor market sells fresh food from all over the world in a warehouse-type environment.  Jenna picked up some chocolate-covered almonds, while I snagged ingredients for an upcoming pasta dinner.

Thursday, January 22

Jenna and I head to the Westin after work on Thursday, to enjoy drinks, nachos and the best view of Atlanta.

Wednesday, January 21

All of my co-workers help break-in my apartment during a Wii bowling party on Wednesday

Tuesday, January 20

Jenna bakes delicious cupcakes in preparation for my first party.

Monday, January 19

Jenna and I head to the Georgia Aquarium on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The highlight of the trip is when we are permitted to enter the ballroom and see one of the beluga whales up close.

Sunday, January 18

A new masterpiece is in the hallway, thanks to Jenna.

Saturday, January 17

Jenna and I get to work within the apartment on some of the finishing touches, such as pictures and the rail system for my scrapbooking closet.

Friday, January 16

Jenna flies back to Atlanta with me, to stay for just over a week. We hit up a few Atlanta destinations, including the restaurant The Counter in the nearby neighborhood of Roswell - a definite must-return.

Thursday, January 15

A look inside my purse, crowded with travel

Wednesday, January 14

It is the coldest day in years - close to 30 below - in St. Paul. Suddenly, going back to Atlanta isn't looking so bad.

Tuesday, January 13

Monday, January 12

After just two weeks in Atlanta, I am back in Minnesota for my first work trip. I catch up while watching TV with Mom and Jenna.

Sunday, January 11

My label maker is out and ready to go. I should have gotten one of these years ago; it is fabulous!

Saturday, January 10

Just as John heads home, all of the unpacking is completed. Now, it is on to the part I love best: organizing.

Friday, January 9

Finally - a vacuum cleaner to call my own! This is one of the first thing out of its box and hooked up for use.

Thursday, January 8

Finally, the movers arrive! After a little bit of hassle (the original moving truck did not fit into the apartment parking lot), we finally got the boxes inside and started unpacking. We only have a few days before John goes back to Minnesota, so we have to take advantage of 2 people unpacking.

Wednesday, January 7

We head back to Ikea to purchase a black shelving unit for the office. Another project! We are getting very anxious for everything to arrive in Atlanta.

Tuesday, January 6

I work a little bit while John gets the painting underway. Painting the office and bedroom are our two primary projects while we continue to wait for our things to arrive.

Sunday, January 4

We hit the stores as we wait for the moving truck to arrive - Target, Ikea and Home Depot are at the top of our list.

Saturday, January 3

We arrive! After a night in Louisville and another at the Hyatt in Atlanta, we make our way to our Atlanta home in the morning. It is wet and chilly and void of anything at this point, but it is still as good as we remember when we picked it out in November.

Friday, January 2

Although Indiana is an absolute bore (we dub it "the armpit of America," unfortunately), we hit a beautiful sunset as we make our way closer to Atlanta.

Thursday, January 1

After departing Stillwater in the morning on our road trip to Atlanta, we celebrate New Year's Eve with friends Steve and Alisha just outside of Chicago.