four things friday (four tv shows i watch)

agora blouse {via thredup*}

old navy open front cardigan

old navy sweetheart boot cut jeans

toms desert wedges in gunmetal metallic

{ similar blouse / exact cardigan / exact jeans / exact wedges }

you guys, today is my last round of these "four things friday" questions - they have been such fun posts to write!  i think i'm going to hunt around for more survey questions to build blog posts around just because they're such an interesting way to share information about myself and you guys seem to like reading them!  thank you to brynn for letting me pinch this friday Q&A idea from her, and valerie for originally finding these questions and posting them to her blog!  today i'm talking about four tv shows i watch:

the amazing race:  i freaking love this show!  my twin sister and i definitely dream about going on it together and it's fun to consider who would do what roadblock or detour challenge and the skills we would need to learn (driving a stick shift, dancing) or stunts we'd need to try (bungee jumping, rappelling) before going on the show.  i'd also need to get contacts and a prescription for ativan with all of the flying, haha.  i actually perused the website after the last season to see if there was information on applying, but i didn't see any information about that at all. it's a fun dream though!

the mindy project:  i love this comedy so much.  i love mindy's character, her relationships, her outfits - and the dialogue and scenes flow so well from week to week.  sometimes her character is a bit ditzy (this is the reason why i could never get into the new girl despite my love for zooey deschanel), but she always has love in the forefront of her actions.

the voice:  i became a voice fan two seasons ago and am still holding strong.  i have been concurrently watching american idol this season and it is so strikingly obvious which singing competition rises to the top. the voice certainly has better judges and better contestants (as an aside, i'm kind of appalled at how mediocre the singers are on american idol this week aside from maybe two girls [joey & jax] and one guys [clark]).  i just wish the judges on the voice offered more constructive criticism - or critique at all, they rarely do that - but aside from that, i really enjoy the show.

dontown abbey:  yep, i'm gonna go there - i'm still a huge fan of this show (and the show that aired before it on pbs this season, the great british baking show - that show was fantastic!).  i'm a little concerned about the longevity of the show as all of the main characters keep dying or moving away but hopefully the writers are going to keep it going.  i mean, we have to find out if crabby mary is ever  going to find another husband or not, right?

honorable mentions:  about a boy, marry me, a to z.  i have seen a handful of episodes from these shows this season and enjoyed them all (especially a to z) but unfortunately i cannot comment much more as i become a narcoleptic after i eat dinner and lay down on the couch and fall asleep in about two minutes and can never stay awake until these shows air at 8 or 8:30pm.  true story.  i have them all saved on my tv so maybe during the drought of tv shows in the summer i can finally catch up or just call it a loss since i hear a couple of them have sadly been cancelled...

four things friday (four things i'm looking forward to)

converse white blouse {thrifted target stock}
merona cardigan {thrifted target stock}
gap 1969 straight jeans
toms desert wedges

get the look:  similar white blouse / similar cardigan / exact jeans / exact wedges / similar necklace

 

you guys, i am still having so fun to answering these questions and showing you what i wear to work on fridays.  i hope you have enjoyed reading my answers and learning more about me in the process.  i think i have one more week to go after today - but today's is kind of a fun one:  four things i am looking forward to this year:

* george ezra concert:  i have been looking forward to this concert since december!  i am out of this world excited to finally see this guy live at his sold out show here next week!  earlier this year he opened up for sam smith and he's currently opening up for hozier but i feel a bit lucky because his tour stop in minneapolis is his own headlining show.  i'm sure i'll gush all about it to you guys later next week!

* baseball!  i love baseball - i love our outdoor stadium, i love picking different seats every game, i love helmet nachos, i love choosing what games i go to based on the giveaways, i love the emotional raising of the american flag by older veterans, i love it all!  the picture above are the giveaways we're getting from the games we ordered tickets to so far.  i have been dreaming about that bomber hat on the far right ever since i missed out on it last season, haha, so i bought tickets to that game right away when i saw they brought it back.  my sister and three of our friends are taking the day off work and hitting up opening day in mid-april, too, which is bound to be a fun time.

* hanson trip in may: i've mentioned many times before that my favorite band, hanson, hosts a weekend of events in their hometown of tulsa, oklahoma for their fanclub members.  i'm really looking forward to attending again this may.  it's really the one "trip" i plan a year and i always have a pretty good time.  plus, i need to stock up on my mmmhops (hanson's beer) that is only distributed around that area of the midwest. :)
 

*day trips to duluth:  i mentioned in one of these other "four things friday" posts that i love going up to northern minnesota, specifically to duluth which is a city that lies on lake superior.  at just over two hours away, it's far enough from what we call "the cities" (shortened for the "twin cities" = minneapolis & st paul/the metro area) that it feels like a refreshing break and mini-vacation whenever i go up there.  i'd like to make it a point to take more day trips through the spring/summer, especially since i have a few friends who live up there and are always up for weekend adventures!

thanks, as always, for visting!  do you have anything extra fun coming up this year that you're looking forward to?

four things friday (favorite/least favorite foods)

j crew factory printed cutaway blouse

old navy sweetheart skinny jeans

dexter claire flats

for today's "four things friday" post i'm to talk about four foods i love & four foods i avoid.  now, i am by no means a picky eater so there really may only be about four food items that i prefer not to eat!

seafood:  i've never been able to stomach the thought of trying fish, scallops, shrimp, etc - it just has never appealed to me.  i will eat canned tuna fish and i tried a bit of smoked salmon once but i don't think i'll ever be one to consume seafood.  sorry, omega 3's!

mustard: i have never, ever cared for the condiment but put a bowl of potato salad in front of me and i'll demolish it.  and those honey mustard pretzels?  same thing.  it makes no sense, i know!

mushrooms:  now, mushrooms aren't my favorite but if they're in a dish where they are sautéed and cook down quite a bit or are masked amidst many other ingredients, like in a casserole, i can handle them.  likewise, i won't pick them out of something like just a small mushroom on a supreme pizza, but i do try to avoid them.

malt flavoring/malted milk balls: see, i told you i was kind of stretching myself here in coming up with foods i avoid, but i was reminded of how much i dislike malt flavoring of any kind when a jar of candy was passed around the table at a meeting this week and i passed them on to the next person upon learning they were whoppers.  no thanks!  i don't care for the texture and i don't think they provide that sweet flavor i look for in candy.

and i might as well just lump in there four of my favorite foods:

pizza (any kind of supreme pizza will do)
quesadillas (nix the sour cream, but add chicken and lots of guac)
chips (cheddar and sour cream ruffles are #1)
sandwiches (seriously.  any kind of sandwich with lots & lots of fixings and fancy bread.)

four things friday (places i'd rather be)

c9 tech fleece pullover

old navy sweetheart jeans

puma sneakers

so this is about as casual of a look you'll see me post on the blog but very much in line with what i wear on the weekends if i'm going out somewhere in public and what i wore to work today. if i'm bumming around at home i'm not changing out of sweatpants--seriously, what's the point?  :)  i usually dress a little differently on fridays at work but sometimes i just want to be dress down like everyone else who wears jeans, tennis shoes, and sweatshirts or hoodies.  turns out this was an apt apparel choice today as i found myself sitting in a three hour long dementia training i didn't have on my schedule, so at least i was comfortable!  my interpretation of the causal friday hoodie is this fun cowl-neck athletic shirt i found i clearance at target. it's fleece lined, which i find as cozy as a sweatshirt, and the color is so ME.

for today's four things friday questions i'm talking about four places i’d rather be right now.  one of my absolute favorite places in the state where i live is northern minnesota/duluth.  there is something about lake superior that is so beautiful and peaceful, from the part of the lake you can walk right up to in downtown duluth or farther up the north shore at one of the many state parks.  here are four pictures of my favorite spots in northern minnesota off lake superior where i would so rather be right now:

{on a beach off lake superior in northern minnesota}

{palisade head on the north shore of lake superior}

{throwing rocks in lake superior never gets old!}

{aerial lift bridge in the distance}

get the look:  exact pullover / exact jeans / similar sneakers

four things friday (places i've visited)

old navy tee & scarf & jeans

toms suede desert wedges

nothing too exciting about this outfit for a friday - just a combination that always seems to work - a tee and scarf.  and you can probably start to tell how often i kneel on the floor to be at eye-level with my residents in wheelchairs because the knees of my jeans are wearing out!  i'm probably going to be taking up a TCU bed pretty soon after i have a knee replacement, haha.  

moving on:  for today's four things friday question i will be telling you about four places i have been.  i'm afraid i'm not someone who takes many vacations; the time off i accrue throughout the year is pretty much always used up to go home to georgia for thanksgiving and christmas.  most of the traveling i've done in the past has been a result of following my favorite bands around on tour - but as i've become a working adult and tours have gotten more sparse, opportunities to do that don't come around as often.  but i thought it would be fun to twist this question around to highlight four places i have been during my concert traveling days:

{me at the bean in 2008}

* chicago:  chicago is less than 8 hours from where i currently live, but the only times i have made it there was to see a concert - which is unfortunate as i thoroughly dislike the main concert venue in chicago, the house of blues.  however, other parts of chicago make up for my crappy concert experiences; i love visiting the bean and walking around downtown by the lake.  i know there's so much more to the city than what's centered around that small portion of downtown, so hopefully one of these days i can take a proper trip there!

{the golden driller}

* tulsa, oklahoma:  tulsa is actually the city i have visited most in the united states, which may seem odd to many unless you know me as then you would know that's where my favorite band hanson hails from.  for many years they have organized a weekend of events for their fans in tulsa and i have made it a priority to go the past few years.  it's always a great time to engage in different activities with the band and get away for a few days with some of my hanson buddies.  plus, there are some pretty fun giant roadside attractions there like the golden driller above and the praying hands at oral roberts university.

{singing on stage with the rocket summer}

* dallas/fort worth, texas:  a few friends and i took an epic road trip from atlanta to texas one year, which is where another one of our favorite bands, the rocket summer, is from.  he planned a small show and invited us and some other fans on stage to sing, dance, and clap along with him.  then we just hung out in texas for a week over new years!  it was such an awesome trip - there were so many parts of texas that i absolutely loved and have so many fun memories of this trip (dry ice bombing for one!).
 

{heidi & hanson}

* in 2008, i followed my favorite band, hanson, around to four of their tour stops in a row in illinois and wisconsin.  there wasn't anything exceptional about the cities they gigged in, but the whole trip brings back so many awesome memories of road tripping with my girlfriends, manning a video camera as my friend interviewed them (and was lucky enough to get the picture you see above), and getting front row a couple times.  nothing beats front row!  plus, the opening bands on this tour (kate voegele & steven kellogg and the sixers) were so incredibly fun to watch and whenever i listen to their music i'm catapulted right back to that time!

thanks so much for reading & visiting :)

four things friday (places i've lived)

land's end canvas gingham {thrifted}

ruff hewn jacket {thrifted}

j crew paisley scarf {via thredup*}

old navy sweetheart boot-cut jeans

puma 76 runners

hi everybody!  happy friday!  aside from the fact that this gingham shirt clearly looks like it's missing a button at the bottom (it's not, i swear!  but there really should be another button there) - let's get on with another installment of four things friday.  i skipped last friday, which was about four books i have read and would recommend as you can check that out under my book reviews page.  but today's question is more interesting:  four places i have lived:

*atlanta, georgia:  my family moved to a suburb of atlanta, georgia when i was around four due to a job my dad had at the time that transferred our family down there from minnesota.  i lived there for over twenty years so it's really where i consider i grew up.  i lived in a very culturally-diverse area which i appreciated and impacted me in a positive way.  i also learned how to drive aggressively on six-lane atlanta highways but i never developed a southern accent (nope, the word "ya'll" has never escaped my lips)!

{bell tower on campus}

*greenville, south carolina:  i went to college in greenville for my freshman year.  most of what i remember about greenville relates to my college campus, which truly did feel like a little bubble dropped into the city of greenville.  i never really had a reason to leave campus or explore the city on my own, but i guess i don't feel too much regret over that.  what sticks out to me most about greenville is palmetto trees on everything!

*athens, georgia:  i finished up my last two years of college at the university of georgia in athens.  athens truly is a college town with football pride around every corner, but i had a great experience there and so miss football saturdays!  go dawgs!

{me in my favorite place in st paul}

*st paul, minnesota:  for the past seven years, i've lived in suburbs of st paul, minnesota, and i feel as though i've made the arc back to my home - now i just need to get my parents to move back up here!

get the look:  similar gingham / similar jacket / similar scarf / exact jeans / exact shoes

*join thredup through my referral link and we both get $10!

four things friday (movies)

j crew factory embroidered front top

old navy sweetheart boot-cut jeans

toms suede desert wedges

finally, friday!  fridays are notoriously my busiest days at work and today was no exception.  i feel like i could collapse in bed and be dead to the world for hours, but not until i answer my "four things friday" question:  four movies i’ve watched more than once:

well, this question is a little tricky as i feel like most movies i like or choose to watch i end up seeing more than once... so maybe i'll list four movies that i will always stop and watch if they come on tv?

* 27 dresses: this is one of my all-time favorite movies and i seriously can watch it over & over.  i love katherine heigl's character in this movie compared to many of the movies/tv shows she's been featured in since then, and i love the love story that develops between her and malcom! 

* 13 going on 30: i love when this movie comes on tv - much like 27 dresses, i love jennifer garner's character and i think it's one of the better freaky friday-ish/girl goes back in time and must figure out how to get back to her real self type of movies.

* you've got mail:  even though this movie is getting up there in years and it's funny to chuckle when you hear the dial-tone connecting to AOL, i just love not only the fact that meg ryan's character works in a bookstore but that she develops a friendship with someone online as that is how so many of my friendships have developed in my life.

* definitely, maybe:  this is another movie that you'll see on tv every so often that i always have to stop and watch.  i think ryan renyolds is a great romantic-comedy actor and i love how he tells the story about meeting his daughter's mom to her throughout the movie with the various flashbacks and the audience is right there with her, trying to figure out who the mom is!

is it obvious that my favorite movies are romantic comedies?!  have a great weekend and thanks for visiting!

four things friday (2)

old navy popover & scarf & jeans

merona madalena flats {thrifted target stock}

it may not seem like anything special but i felt really good about this outfit.  i've been doing the hanger turn around trick after i wear something for a whole now and that has changed what i reach for in my closest when i get dressed and is definitely helping me wear more of my closet, including this shirt.  i don't think i've ever worn this popover or these flats on the blog and of course the scarf brings it all together!

get the look: similar popover / similar scarf / exact jeans / similar flats

now... i'm virtually hanging out with brynn on fridays giving four answers to one question - today's is four jobs i have had:

* joann's - a brand new joann fabrics store was built in my city when i was in high school and my mom got a job helping to stock the store, so my sister and i helped to do that as well and then became cashiers that summer.  i LOVE organizing and straightening and putting stuff away, so it was so fun to put the price stickers on the shelves and unload big boxes of merchandise on the shelves of a brand new store!

* americorps - i consider americorps a job because i worked 40 hours a week and received a stipend.  i worked with the metro atlanta branch of the red cross in the disaster services unit.  my four team members and i provided education & training in our communities by teaching first aid & CPR classes, supplying AED machines and first aid kits to schools, and completing monthly service projects.  we also donated a lot of blood and responded to local and national disasters.  local disasters were most commonly house fires and the national disaster i was deployed to was a tornado in daytona beach, florida.  i was there for about a month and it was one of the most profound experiences of my life!  i am a huge supporter of americorps programs and feel so blessed to have been a part of such a life-changing program.  i also completed a second americorps program during grad school that used evidence-based literary interventions to help struggling elementary school readers.

* gap, inc - i worked at a gap after college and then at an old navy after i finished grad school while i was job searching.  i was terrible at getting people to sign up for the store credit cards but i loved working shipment days - unloading the trucks, breaking down the cardboard boxes, putting the merchandise away, dressing mannequins.  i loved it all!  i would seriously consider going back to work at a clothing store part-time if all i could do was stock & straighten.  i love those types of repetitive tasks that bring about a great sense of accomplishment when complete!  i have to say, i was pretty darn good at straightening the denim wall!  :)

* state fair parking attendant - the summer after my second year of grad school i got a job in one of the parking lots at minnesota's annual 12 day state fair.  my pay rate was nothing to offset my grad school tuition (whomp) but i got into the fair for free every day and once the morning rush of attendees arrived and the parking lot was full i got to wander around with my parking lot colleague, a quirky little high school boy, haha.  it was definitely a fun week and a half!

thanks for visiting & have a great weekend!

four things friday!

merona embellished sweater

old navy button-down & jeans

merona meaghan flats

my pal brynn (brian?) is doing a "four things friday" series based on survey questions she saw valerie post recently, and since i love answering questions i thought it would be fun to participate and help me get more posts up on fridays when i usually don't post.  this friday (er, saturday) seemed like a perfect day to start since i really liked my outfit today!  i picked up this sweater recently on target.com for a steal - i love the gemstones that are blue, copper, and topaz colored and the blue button-down really brought out the blue stones.

even though i had another crazy day at work (fridays always bring about so many issues to resolve - definitely never my easiest day of the week), i was glad to leave a few minutes early and watch the episode of conan i recorded the previous night (video here) to see my boy george ezra perform.  i love this guy so much!!

get the look:  exact sweater / similar button-down / exact jeans / similar flats

anyway, moving on to the four things fiday:

four three names that people call me, other than my real name:

i honestly don't have too many nicknames because i guess there isn't much you can do with the name heidi, but here are a couple other names that people call me:

* heid - this is probably my most common nickname since it's the easiest way to shorten heidi.

* heidi ho - if your name is heidi you are bound to be called this by someone.  there are a couple people at work who call me this in passing and although i've never really liked it all that much (i think i specifically remember my third grade teacher calling me this which must have been at an age where i wasn't too fond of standing out with what i thought was a silly nickname), i think it's always endearing when coworkers give you a nickname so it doesn't bother met too much anymore.

* bug - this is a nickname from when i was really little but something that my mom still calls me.  i think it came from "bug in a rug" because i was always a big sleeper and liked being tucked in tight like a bug in a rug :)  nicknames from your parents are always the best and never get old, right?

thank for visiting!