23 Things I Love at the Age of 23

So, granted, this post is coming about eight months later than I wrote it, and eight months later than I would have liked to have posted it (my birthday is on May 21st), but I love the idea of making annual lists of things I love and that are important to me, big and small. I'm planning on doing another list on my next birthday (24!), so for my 23-list, I thought hey, better late than never!  Also, I've been super busy at work and with school lately, and I've missed posting!  This is a quick way of getting back into my blog with something I wrote a few months ago.  Thanks for understanding :)

So here goes: 23 Things I Love at the Age of 23:

1. Plants & gardening: even though I live in a second floor apartment, I make the most of my little balcony and my window space in the spring and summer. My huge assortment of pots holds herbs and flowers and ivies and succulents. I can’t wait to get started on 2013’s garden in a few months!

2. Dogs. Mine. Other peoples’.  Snickers, Rio, Gunther and Peanut are a few of my favorites. 

3. Tattoos! I found a new artist in Columbus. Now, if I only had money to spend on more tattoos...

4. Books: old, new, fiction, non-fiction… I have so many that my bookshelves are double-stacked and threatening to break.  Oh, and there are stacks everywhere in my apartment. And on the same note, bookstores! And Half-Price Books, aka heaven on earth.

5. My friends! Wine nights with the girls. Card nights with the boys.

6. Simply Lemonade: I try not to buy it too often because I’ll kill a giant bottle in like two days.

7. Blogs! I’ve found so many great reads through the interwebs over the past year.  Check out the list of blogs I read on the right.

8. Avocados: one of my favorite produce items, and one that I rarely splurge on. But mmm, avocado and tomato slices on an English muffin… guacamole… avocado in quesadillas… yes please.

9. Pizza: Grandview has so many great little pizza places! Panzera’s, Grandads, Cowtown, Bono… I’ll never get sick of pizza, haha.

10. Art: seeing it. Making it. Buying it.

11. Northern Michigan: our family’s annual vacation to a teeny cottage on a little lake, and seeing my extended family for the 4^th of July. Swimming, laying on the dock, grilling burgers, sitting by bonfires, and drinking beer are a few of the many highlights :)

12. Silver jewelry: bracelets, rings, necklaces, anything

13. Coffee: my constant morning companion. I like French Roast with a sprinkle of Truvia and a splash of milk.

14. The Worthington Farmer’s Market: my job on Saturdays for almost two years now!  In the spring and summer, I sell herbs and flowers, and in the fall and winter, I sell apples.  It’s a blast and pays well and I love seeing all the regular customers and regular dogs and kiddos.

15. Getting up early: I sleep in on Sundays until about 10:00am, but I’m really a morning person and I get up early the other six days of the week. I don’t complain about getting up early, because a) I get coffee and breakfast! and b) it makes the day seem longer and more productive.

16. The Friday night wine bar my mom works at in the summer: the perfect Friday night!  Me and Ben and my friends Emily and Nate and all my neighbor friends who live in Worthington Hills meet up for bubbly and pizza and fun.

17. Decorative stuff that hangs: bunches of dried herbs and flowers, candleholders, dried peppers, glass feathers… I love that my apartment is filled with lots of hanging things; I love the look.

18. NOT having Facebook.

19. Retro swimsuits: I have yet to find one I love enough to spend the money on, but I’m on the hunt!

20. Thrift stores: clothing ones like Plato’s Closet and home ones like One More Time and other little consignment shops. Half the stuff I own I got from these stores!

21. Sports: I love watching football in the fall and basketball in the winter/spring.  Also, working out: I love running, playing basketball or volleyball or pickup football on rare occasions and doing yoga.

22. Nail polish- I finally stopped biting my nails!  They pretty.

23. A clear complexion; finally at the tail end of my 22nd year, my acne 99.9% disappeared. I don’t know if it was the new face washing regimen I started, or if I was just at the age that my face finally decided that acne was lame, but FINALLY I don’t have breakouts and while I enjoy wearing makeup, I don’t feel like I NEED to in order to hide my face anymore.