Category Archives: friends

girlfriends

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I have been so very blessed in my life to have AMAZING girlfriends. I think if I am ever a mother of a girl that’s one of the things I would pray for her to have…amazing girlfriends. I can only imagine that my mother has had her hand in facilitating some of these friendships. From my college roommates, to my mission companions, to my Arizona girlfriends, to my “return to Utah” girlfriends, and now, my New York girlfriends, I just can’t imaging that my mother isn’t looking down on me and thinking how glad she is that I have been so very blessed.

As I’ve thought about how much I’m going to miss these girls when I move away, I have also begun to think about the possible friendships that await me on the other side of the world and I am excited. Just as I can’t imagine my life without any of the relationships I’ve had, I’m sure there are relationships I will have about which I will eventually think the same thing. 
And with that, a few pictures (because I’ve got some fun ones) of these women I love so much!

dear you…inspired by the events of the last month (a whole month sans blogging? wthh)

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Amanda, our waiter, Kelly, me, and Sarah J. at Graham Elliot
in Chicago for Kelly’s birthday!

Dear besties (all of you),
Thank you for being amazing friends. Thank you for being the types of friends I can see after a week, a month, a year, or a decade, and being able to pick right up like no time had passed. Thank you for not judging my choices. Thank you for always being supportive and having my back. Thank you for listening to get excited about a new boy (and then understanding when I need to talk about why it didn’t work out). Thank you for giving me so many fun memories throughout my life.
Love,
Chloe
P.S. the rest of this post is not so sappy.

Dear Girl Scout cookies (particularly Samoas and Tagalongs),
F-you.
With much regret for the number of you I’ve consumed in the past two days,
My arse
Dear Delta Airlines,
I understand why it takes so many trips/miles to get Medallion status, but that doesn’t mean you should board your planes in the MOST backward way possible. It’s faster for everyone if you just board the plane from back to front. Also, your terminal at JFK sucks. I mean, water catches and hoses to deal with a leaky roof? If I make Medallion status this year, it will be worth it, but only by a little. 
Chloe
P.S. I’m only doing this because I’m hoping to move far away in the very near future and think it will be worth it since my company uses your airline.
P.P.S. Do your flight attendants really let people paint their nails on the plane and then ask me if I’ve said anything to the woman when I complain about the smell? Isn’t that what they are paid to do?

Dear lady painting your nails on the plane,
Seriously? Il y a des limites, quand même.
A girl who takes personal maintenance seriously, but realizes there are limits

Dear college band on my flight Sunday,
Was it really necessary to travel in your matching outfits on a red-eye? A RED-EYE?! And your outfits…not super attractive. And why were you all so chatty? Thank goodness for noise canceling headphones and Tylenol PM.
With hopes that you don’t bug other people as much as you bugged me,
A normally pleasant traveler (okay, maybe not lately, but Delta and their stupid boarding and ghetto JFK terminal make me mad!)

Dear 55+ year olds currently hitting on me online,
You are all old enough to actually have sired me. Yes. That word is gross. And that’s why I’m using it. It’s gross that you are hitting on me. You have children old enough to be my siblings and none of you have enough money to make me consider marrying you for it. What I’m trying to understand is how it is you think that I would actually be interested? Especially since I’ve clearly stated on my profile what the upper end of my age limit is in terms of a potential future spouse, and you are well outside that range. You like to say that age doesn’t matter, but when was the last time you went out with a 76+ year old woman? And I think I’ve made my point.
Thanks but no thanks,
A woman who still feels anything over a six year age difference is inappropriate
P.S. For those of you paying attention, there was a boy…there no longer is a boy (by mutual decision)…so it’s back to the drawing board (or internet, as it were).

Dear Spotify,
I’m pretty sure I’ve written you a letter before, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to adequately express to you just how much I love you. I LOVE YOU!
Chloe

Dear Broadway,
Thank you for giving me a reason to love you once again. Seriously, it’s been a very dry year, but a few weeks ago, when the lovely Sarah J. (Sare, that’s your new nickname, btw) and Co. were in town, I got to see both Newsies and Once. I realize that Newsies is kind of a silly show, but oh how I loved it. So entertaining. And so fun to see some of the great Broadway dancers from SYTYCD. And then there was Once. I was worried I would not love it as much as the movie. I was worried that no one could be as good as Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. I had no reason to worry. Wow. Just wow. I can’t wait until I can see it again. 
With a song in my heart and a smile on my lips just thinking about you,
Chloe
there are a number of things I would change,
but not bad for two hours start to finish

Dear Art Studio NY,
For many, many years I have believed that I have very little artistic ability, so finally, I decided to conquer my fear and just take a painting class. And while I definitely don’t think I’ll be winning any art competitions any time soon (are those even a thing?) or selling a painting, I had a fabulous time learning a little bit about painting and feel pretty good about my two hour painting. Hopefully I can find the money to take some more classes in the near future.
Love,
The girl who is so happy she manages to find 20 seconds of courage to sign up for things that scare her

best pea soup ever

Dear Graham Elliot (and Kelly),
Thank you for what was probably the most amazing dining experience of my life. I knew I was in for something special for Kelly’s birthday dinner, but I had no idea just how amazing it would be. And with the best company in the world (Kelly, Sarah, and Amanda) how could it not be enjoyable. But the food. Oh, the food. Fourteen glorious courses and several adult beverages (mine were of the virgin variety, but still pretty special) and I am forever changed. 
With much love (and much higher expectations for future tasting menu experiences),
A wannabe foodie

urban girl squad

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There’s this pretty cool social networking group in NYC that one of my coworkers introduced me to called Urban Girl Squad. She sent out an invite for an event called Cupcakes and Champagne to a few of us at work. So, tonight, five of us headed headed over to this event and it was really fun. This little group does all kinds of other fun things, too…like rifle shooting lessons (yes, I will be signing up for that one next time it’s available)!

Just one more reason to love New York and love my job and my coworkers!

not-quite-bachelorette-weekend

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I think this might have been the last time the three of us were together before the NQBW. 

So, back when the lovely Sarah asked me to be her Maid of Honor, a plan was created. Kelly and I wanted to do something for her as a sort of bachelorette party, but with Sarah in Utah…and Utah being not the most exciting place for a bachelorette weekend…and Kelly and me in NYC, we had to figure out what to do. So we listed the help of Sarah’s soon-to-be husband. Mike was a total doll about the whole thing. He helped us figure it out.

The plan: surprise Sarah with a weekend in New York. We coordinated dates. We figured out what Mike would tell Sarah and how we were going to keep it a surprise. It was PERFECT!

And then Sarah and Mike eloped a week before the bachelorette weekend. And then the plan was complicated by Mike’s work and an unplanned trip to California. And the surprise was no longer a surprise. That said, the weekend was still amazing…and probably much more enjoyable for Sarah since she was able to pack for NYC weather (which did not cooperate) as opposed to CA weather.

Our darling shirts from Amy Tangerine !

So, even though the surprise was no longer a surprise, the weekend was so fun! We shopped. We ate. We lounged. We laughed. We went to a show (Follies…we do not recommend it). We ate some more. We slept. We watched Bridesmaids. We got pedicures. We brunched. We froze a little in the crazy weather. It had been way too long since the three of us had been together. Way. Too. Long. No boyfriends. No husbands. Just the girls. Not something any of us wants to have all the time, but it was fun for a weekend (especially for the single girl–me).

And pedicures!!!

I’m so happy for Sarah and Mike and am so glad she married someone who will help us plan surprise weekends, even if the plan didn’t work out exactly as planned! And I can’t wait to party it up on New Year’s for their not-quite-wedding-reception.

endorphins

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A couple of weeks ago, Jenna (you should visit her blog…she’s hilarious) and I started running together in the mornings. What this means is that I am up every morning at 5:15 so I can get out the door and meet Jenna for our morning run. And by “run” I mean I run the 1.5 miles to meet her…then we walk and talk (sometimes we jog) for about 30 minutes, and then I run home. 

Initially, the getting up in the morning thing was a little rough. And Jenna, bless her heart, does not have to get up nearly as early as I have to, and yet she does. But now, it’s like my morning coffee (or Diet Coke, in my case). It wakes me up. It starts my day off exactly as a day should start…with a body pumped full of endorphins. And I get to work out all of my little issues (anxiety, stress, whatever the issue of the day might be) before I do anything else.
Jenna’s in Utah this week. I’m super sad. But I’m determined to continue the exercising, because not only has it benefited me in all the ways I’ve listed, I have found that my weird mood swings have stabilized quite a bit. And I have fallen in love with exercise again. I mean, in LOVE. And it has become my go to medicine. 
Case in point. Yesterday, I got back from a lovely trip to Rhode Island (same as last year with some new and different people, oh and a hurricane) and I was seriously depressed for a multiplicity of reasons. Like, lying on my bed, crying into my pillow depressed. Let’s be honest, I was pretty tired, too. Anyway, I was going to just lie there crying, but then I had this lovely vision of a bike ride and off I went. And two loops around Central Park later, I was fine. 
Now, I just need to not forget this. Somehow, when life gets busy and stressful and I need exercise the most, it’s the first thing to go. I’m hoping between Jenna and playing on two soccer teams this fall that this will not happen. The question is, will she still be willing to meet me at the butt crack of dawn when the world is freezing and covered in snow/ice. (I’m thinking probably not, since she basically told me as much, but a girl can dream, right…?)