Get To Know the Reader.

As a book blogger, my readers tend to only know one thing about me: which books I love, and maybe which city I live in. Of course, books aren't my only interest, though sometimes even I forget that there are other parts to my life besides New Releases, TBR piles, and book reviews. Here's a fun meme I found on Kaelah's blog that I thought would be fun to give a whirl! 

1. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Depends on the day! If I'm working, I wake up at the obscenely early hour of 4:30am. In which case the first thing I do is groan and turn off my alarm. I usually take a quick minute to check my e-mails and the weather for the day before hitting the shower! If it's one of my days off, I lay in bed for a long while, and then make myself look presentableish before walking to the coffee shop near me for a coffee, and a bagel with cream cheese, cucumbers, and tomato! 

2. What is the 3rd picture on your phone? Share it! 

This is from so long ago! I used to work at a really neat, kitschy little event venue that hosted corporate brainstorming meetings during the week, and special parties and events on the weekends. I guess one night I thought it looked particularly cool, hence the photo!

3. What TV show are you most excited about returning this Fall?

It's already started, but I was so excited about the return of Parenthood. I am also looking forward to Top Chef coming back on tonight, and my skin is already tingling with anxiety for American Horror Story next week!

4. What is something really popular that you secretly (or not so secretly) loathe?

I'm having a surprisingly hard time coming up with something...Fifty Shades of Grey? The cronut? (I actually don't hate the cronut, I just hate hearing about them all the time and don't think they are worth hours of waiting!) Dubstep? 

5. Do you have any pets? Tell us about them! Bonus points for pictures.

I have one cat! She is a little furball weirdo named Nico. She has great moments where she can't get enough cuddles, but she gets frightened really easily which means we get lots of cat scratches :( She is cute though so we let her stay, and we do everything we can to keep her relaxed! Here's a picture from our most recent cuddle session:

6. If you could put together one outfit that represents you perfectly, what would it be?

Something really simple. One of my main gripes with myself is that I have little to no sense of 'style.' A perfect outfit for me would be slim fitting dark jeans, ballet flats, a simple t-shirt, and my beloved coral color cardigan with white polka dots! 

7. What is your favorite adult beverage?

This also depends! If I'm just chilling out, I drink like an old man. I love Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Whiskey Sours, and extra-dirty martinis with extra olives. If I'm wanting to 'party,' I embarrassingly love cosmopolitans. 

8. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

90's music, reality TV (i love the Kardashians), and reading books that I know are terrible just for the laughs, ie: Fifty Shades of Grey. 

9. What are 3 positive words to describe you?

Creative, understanding, sassy. 

10. What is your favorite Friday afternoon/evening activity?

Sometimes, if I'm living it up, my guy and I will go to a bar in our neighborhood for a small dinner and drinks. But technically, my 'Friday' is Monday! In which case I love to take a nap, and then stay up late reading, watching TV, and getting amped for 48 hours off!

11. A day in the life: What does you typical day look like?

Typical day, I am WORKING! So, I wake up at 4:30am and do the whole phone checking and showering thing. I ride my bike to the bus stop, take that to work, and set up the store! I work in a gourmet doughnut shop as an assistant manager which is super fun. I spend the next eight hours doing doughnut saleslady things: count the drawer, drink an obscene amount of coffee, assist my manager, and have fun with the customers. At the end of the day, I skip the bus and bike five miles home. When I come home, I crash for a 2-3 hour nap and wake up when my boyfriend gets home from work. We then trot to the grocery store and debate for 3 hours on what we want for dinner. Then we make dinner, watch whatever show is on that night. I then tap out around 10 o'clock for a couple of minutes of reading before bed!

12. If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

I like the idea of Paris, though I've never been there. I also like the idea of San Francisco, though I've never been there either. 

13. You've got a whole day to yourself...what will you do?

I typically spend Tuesdays by myself! It's my day off, and Chris has a full 8 hours of work and then class. So I usually don't do much. My 48 hours off are full of laziness. I sleep in a little bit (7:30am), check my social media platforms, and watch any shows that I have on DVR that the boy doesn't like. Then I walk to the coffee shop, get my provisions, and then walk back to eat and drink. Then I read. Then I go to the library, which weirdly doesn't open until noon, and I return books I'm finished with and check out a whole new stack. Then I go home for more reading, make a lunch, look for 'big girl jobs' and keep doing like...online things. I then pick something that I want for dinner, and then I go to get things for that and have dinner made by 9 o'clock, when the boy gets home!

14. Dream job?

Full-time novelist! That takes awhile though, so for now I would love to work in advertising as a copywriter. 

15. Least favorite chore?

I hate washing dishes and sweeping. Basically almost all chores.

16. When do you most feel like a rock star?

When I get a really great compliment on my work, whether it be writing or at my job. Also, I've had two bylines in a local paper lately so seeing those is FABULOUS. Even though they're really tiny reviews, I always want to walk up to someone, grab them, and scream, "THIS IS ME!"

17. What is something you are currently trying to improve within yourself?

MOTIVATION!!! I struggle a lot with keeping myself motivated, whether it be looking for my post-college job, actually working out and eating healthier, and writing. I am dying to write a novel, and I have an idea, but I'm just not motivated enough. I am also working on getting to meditate more and be more present. In my job, it's really easy for me now to switch on the autopilot since I've been there for so long, and my days turn into a blur. I'd like for that to not happen anymore. 

Phew, do you feel like you know me any better, now? :) Tell me some things about yourself!