What I'm Lovin' Today!

So as I mentioned in my last post, I'm in Indianapolis for the week of the Indy 500 race!  My team and I are staying at the Staybridge Suites on the north side, in Carmel and it's a great place =)  My room has a fridge/freezer, microwave, dishwasher, dishes and stovetop PLUS the Staybridge has a free laundry room, pool & hot tub, mini theater, all-hours convenience "store", business room and more.  This morning, I squeezed in a workout at the 24 hour fitness center before grabbing some free breakfast in the lobby.  Seriously, this place is such a sweet deal-- as it turns out, my team tries to stay here every time they're in Indy!

The fitness center- this morning I did the treadmill & elliptical

The outside of the Staybridge

My room (mid-blog)

Anyway, my birthday is this Saturday (yay!) but I'll be in Indy working so I'm adapting things a bit.  Since I have to be at IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, aka the racetrack) around 4 am on Sunday, the plan is to skip the bars and instead just have a big group Hibachi dinner with all my fellow Workers for Saturday evening.  One of my teammates and I ate at a nearby Japanese restaurant-- my first!-- for dinner last night and it was so good =)  It was called Izakaya, and we actually found it by accident when we Google mapped a Chinese restaurant that ended up being a seafood restaurant.... Weird... Sooo it turns out I'm a huge Hibachi fan and didn't know it!

My leftover Hibachi from Izakaya - tastes WAY better than it looks, I promise =)

And now on to gifts I'm hoping for!  In addition to all the VV, Lilly and Tory Burch post-it notes I left everywhere hints I dropped to my parents, I'm crazy about the adorable custom Lilly products from this Etsy site, My Pink and Green Garden.  You get to choose the Lilly print and they'll deliver your monogrammed pillow, image pillow, word pillow, memo board or lamp & shade.

I'm crazy about this memo board in the White Zin print!

These throw pillows are too cute!

I'm also begging hoping for a Kindle 3G since I'm a HUGE reader.  I always said I'd never switch to the e-book from the paper book but trying to keep pages from flipping while on the elliptical or keep corners from bending in my purse is a losing battle.  No way will I totally surrender my paperbacks but in some circumstances, I just need to get me a Kindle!  And a cute sleeve to protect it-- besides Lilly or Vera Bradley, do you have any suggestions?

Have a great Tuesday =)

-Jules

Moving On

So Friday (aka 2 days ago) was the last day of my internship.  I had been there nine months and knew it would be my last day, but I was waiting to hear back on a position with a marketing tour at our company.  I found out last week that I didn't get the job (boo!) so it's back to the job hunting drawing board.  My degree is in Public Relations & Advertising and my internship was at an experiential marketing agency so I know I have a pretty broad spectrum of job opportunities available to me, especially in Chicago!

We like to sit by the red sculptures.  Our building is in the background!

Thursday night, then, was the eve of my last day, so I went out with a few of the other interns.  We went to our agency's intermural softball game in Lincoln Park, then went to a couple bars before calling it a night.  The next day was absolutely gorgeous so we got a Groupon Now deal to Qdoba--it was $1, no joke--and ate across the street in Millennium Park.  So overall my last week was a great one =)

At Bull & Bear with two of my fellow interns

I'm currently in Lafayette, IN vising Boyfie for the weekend!  Tomorrow I drive the additional hour down to Indianapolis to meet up with the rest of my team.  For the next 7 days I'll be working for one of our clients at the Indy 500!  I've never been before but I'm super excited, even though I'll be working and not just spectating.  Anyway, enough for now, time for a movie with Boyfie!

Have a great week =)
-Jules

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!  I'm glad you're here  =) A little bit more about me.... I graduated from Purdue (Boiler Up!) in December 2009 with my BA in Public Relations & Advertising and minors in French and History.  Yes, that meant I read a lot of books, wrote TONS of papers and can speak the world's prettiest language!  It was great though, I joined a sorority my freshman year and was super involved on campus all 4 years (my last semester consisted of nothing but class, my part-time job and applying/interviewing for life in the 'real world'), doing stuff like the Student Union Board, Dance Marathon, Panhellic, honors societies and more.  But I absolutely LOVE Purdue-- I could sing Hail Purdue (the fight song) around the same time I learned my ABCs-- and had a fantastic college career there!

This is the Liberal Arts fountain, and the three buildings behind it are where I spent most of my class time at Purdue

That's also where I met my fantastic boyfriend of over two years.  Boyfie and I worked together near campus and have been doing the long distance thing since I graduated a year and a half ago.  Let me tell you, for anyone who thinks distance relationships sound easy-- THEY'RE NOT!!!  Thank God for Skype, that's definitely the next best thing to being with Boyfie in person =)

Boyfie and me at Christmas

I moved home after graduating (home = Chicago suburbs) and still haven't saved up/been making enough to move out.  This of course hasn't stopped me from bookmarking every piece of furniture, organization tool, paint color and bedspread that I plan to buy to furnish my future apartment!  A few months after I moved back home, my brother decided university life wasn't for him and came home too.  Little Bro is 3 1/2 years younger than me but over half a foot taller (since I'm not even 5'5") and we usually get along pretty well.  Usually.

Anyway, since moving home I've decided to get my college butt back into shape!  I started running last summer and finished my first race, the Chicago Half Marathon 5K, in September.  I've lost 15 lbs since I started running, and now work out 5-6 days a week.  I'm still not bored though!  I've found a combo of weights, cardio and yoga that is manageable for my schedule-- and a gym that has locations 1 block from my office and 2 miles from my house.

I can't wait to share my journey through my 20s with you!  Thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great week =)

-Jules