24 Things I Love at the Age of 24

Last Tuesday, May 21st, was my 24th (!!) birthday.  And, since I was on vacation in the Outer Banks with my family, the day consisted of donuts for breakfast, lounging by the pool and reading all day, a champagne toast with strawberries, and authentic Carolina BBQ (mmmmmm) for dinner followed by massive cupcakes.  It was a great day :)

Duck Donuts: made to order!

My 21st birthday was my last big "milestone" birthday, but I've always been one to celebrate my age and embrace the next year to come.  I love getting older, and seriously, the years just keep getting better!  24 promises to be a great age-- my first full year without school, my third year in my apartment, and hopefully my first year at a full time job!

But those are big, grown-up things.  This post is about the little things I'm currently loving in my life :)  So here goes: 24 Things I Love at the Age of 24:


1. Coffee!  I prefer it dark (Gevalia French Roast til I dieee!) with some Truvia and a bit of milk.  And if I'm feeling fancy at a coffee shop, I order a skim hazelnut latte with extra foam.

2. French fries- all kinds. tiny and crispy, curly, seasoned, steak fries, restaurant or homemade. I love me some taters.

3. The food scene in Columbus

4. Books- new ones and re-reading all my favorites. I'm a huge geek and I love adventure fantasy and science fiction novels.

5. Birds- again with the geekiness, I love bird watching. In the Outer Banks we had ospreys nesting 20 yards from our pool and I watched them all week. In Ohio, I love seeing cardinals, goldfinches and especially bluebirds!

6. Running, and working out in general

7. Walking around barefoot in the spring and summer

8. Hiking- close to home at Highbanks or out in Hocking Hills or Mohican.

9. Talking with my best girlfriend about her upcoming wedding (!) next year, among other things :)

10. Kerrygold Irish white cheddar cheese and rosemary crackers

11. Acrylic paints, and the mystery of an empty canvas

12. Grabbing the Glass of the Month at the Winking Lizard- my once-a-month beer and wings tradition

13. This website

14. Making up recipes- my current favorite is throwing various veggies into different shaped pastas with lots of olive oil, lemon, parmesan cheese and black pepper.

15. Reading restaurant menus

16. Sitcom re-runs

17. Black and white clothes- I pretty much never shop, but recently I took a trip to H&M and found tons of summery tops and dresses in various black and white patterns and solids. We've already established that I love neutrals, and black and white is going to be my summer go-to.

18. My curling iron- I've never been one to spend much time on my hair, but since I got it cut short, my new curling iron makes quick waves that I love!

19. Ice cream- I quite literally crave it all year round. Coldstone, Graeters, Orange Leaf (froyo), Dairy Queen... yum.

Last summer, up north- Moose Tracks! Vanilla, fudge, and peanut butter

20. Board games- Scrabble with my mom, Munchkin with my friends

21. Upbeat country music- yes, it's my guilty pleasure, especially when it's hot outside and I can crank it up on the radio in my car.

22. Nighttime things- candles, fires, bats, stars, the moon, darkness

23. Bricks- I love brick streets and buildings, bricks as decorations, brick walls indoors a la the Mohawk:

This was one of the little things I loved about Ohio University so much- most of the streets and buildings are brick, and there's a lot of cool old bricks from decades ago (again with the being-a-dork thing, I know). I currently have an Athens, OH brick and a Nelsonville Star brick decorating my mantle:

Here, to the left, you can kind of see them! (I was taking a picture of the little spots of light all over my living room, lol.)

24. Grilling out, and any food that can be put over a charcoal grill, from the classics (burgers and brats) to the funky (salmon, fajitas, pizza, polenta)


So there you have it!  Granted, nearly half of these are about food or drink, but hey, a girl's gotta eat.

Happy birthday to me!

--Sammie