I'd Do Anything

This past week was my & J's first week back to USF. While we are excited to get this semester underway, we are both a little nervous because we've both taken on a lot more this spring. I'll be writing for CollegeFashionista again, interning with the Dean's Office and taking an accelerated class schedule so that I can graduate in May and J just accepted an internship with Clear Channel, is still doing NO WAVES RADIO every Wednesday night & scored position as an entertainment writer for our school paper, The Oracle.  

In case you missed it, let me just repeat that this is my LAST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE. I know, I'm breaking into a cold sweat just typing this...

Anyways, we thought that having a good, old-fashioned adventure weekend was just what we needed to prepare us for the impending doom of this semester. On Friday night, J took me to the Fun-Lan drive-in to see Anchorman 2. The drive-in is one of our favorite places to go because we bring a huge blanket, snacks & can talk as loudly as we want during the film. We even brought our pal, Bentley, along.

Saturday was one of the best days I've had in a while. J came over around noon to take me to AMC Veterans so that we could watch the  new Spike Jonze film, Her. I love seeing artsy movies like that with J because we get all weird & nerdy and start pulling out all the lingo we learned in the film classes we took together. 

And I mean, how #punk do we look dressed up in all black accidentally? Sometimes, it's tough to hide just how funky the two of us are. So simpatico.

Then we drove over to Seminole Heights so that we could eat at a pizza place that we've been absolutely dying to try called Cappy's. We popped into Microgroove Records beforehand to check out some vinyl. J walked away empty handed as usual but I found a few gems that I was pretty excited about. 

One of the things that bring J & I together is our mutual adoration of the band, Simple Plan. They were my favorite band as a pre-teen(...and teen and also as an adult, if you could even classify me as one of those yet). I literally had a Simple Plan birthday cake when I turned 12. That's true dedication. So you can imagine my excitement when I walked into the store & saw their first album "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls" sitting right on top of the CDs. It was only .99¢. That is a steal, people. I also snagged two 7"s: Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant & Take On Me by a-ha. I know, I'm weird.

Cappy's was brilliant. Their kitschy, 80s-esque decor was right up my & J's alley. They had little dated trivia cards that we played with until our food came, which could have been exciting if either of us had actually been alive in the 70s. We split a Diet Coke and ordered cheese bread with marinara sauce & a pepperoni and sausage pizza which suddenly seems ridiculously redundant to me because isn't cheese bread with marinara sauce basically just pizza...? Yup. It was all so delicious though & they played classic 80s hits the entire time. I was living in a dream world of carbs & dated pop music.

Afterwards, J took me to St. Pete so that we could check out this zine fest that he heard about. If you don't know what a zine is, they are just little paper books that people put together full of cool stuff. They can be filled with anything from poetry to art to photography. We got there & immediately felt like we were the weird ones because of how normal we were compared to everyone else. It was cool to check out a scene that we aren't really familiar with but the over-powering smell of patchouli oil made it absolutely necessary for us to leave after about 20 minutes. 

To make the best out of our trip, J & I looked up a little dessert shop called Everything Dolce. We split the most delicious tiramisu and a cafe con leche & read some of the little zines that we picked up. On the drive home, we blasted the Simple Plan CD. We both know every single word of it. It's moments like these, when I'm screaming lyrics full of teen-angst in unison with J, that I feel so lucky to have someone who just gets me. He accepts me for all of my weirdness. He lets me listen to Electric Avenue while I'm getting ready, no questions asked. He picks out lame 7"s from the 80s that he knows that I'll like to show me if he's looking through bins that I missed. He takes me to the drive-in. He makes these little detailed mental notes about what makes me happy & then does those things every day. He gives me room to grow but gives me unending support. That is love & I am just so lucky to experience it in this way, with this wonderful person.

I am simply mad about you, J.

Love,

A 

Lack-of-Labor Day Weekend

J & I were joking all weekend about how Labor Day weekend should really be called Lack-of-Labor Day weekend because we tried to do as little as we possibly could. Last week was our first week back at USF and we were pretty excited to veg out summer-style for a few more days. I know it sounds easy but sitting in class listening to your professor read every single word of the syllabus can really eat away at your soul...

On Friday we did what J & I do best and had a dinner // movie date. We went to Boston's, where I introduced J to the amazing world of crunchy green beans & he tried their new #PIZZABURGER. Then we went next door to Veterans & watched You're Next. It was gory & had a good plot twist, so naturally J & I walked away happy.

Saturday was a day full of last minute adventures. At first the natural planner in me hated the idea of impromptu plans, but J quickly warmed me up to them with his skills of persuasion. We started the day with a yummy little lunch at Panera Bread & wandered over to Microgroove Records where I found New Order's Blue Monday on vinyl for $2.99. On our way home, we spotted the quirkiest little comic book // music store on Hillsborough called Green Shift. As Jake & I wandered around the store that looked like it might be on next week's episode of Hoarders, he told me all about his days of comic book collecting. Watching him stare in awe at all the old vintage microphones and amps made me remember why I fell in love with Jake in the first place. He's passionate about so many things & can find beauty in even the rustiest old equipment.

Later on J persuaded me to go to the first USF football game of the season. While football isn't really my cup of tea, I had fun people watching & yelling at the players with Jake. Even later that evening, we decided to go to the Tampa Pitcher Show to check out the live action performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show that they do every Saturday night at midnight. As RHPS 'virgins', Jake & I were pretty much clueless the entire time. Let's just say my favorite part about going to the Pitcher Show was the Shrimp Fra Diablo that J & I ate. It was "exxxtra diablo".

Sunday has become our favorite day of the week lately because of one thing: BREAKING BAD. We got some homework done during the day & came back to Jake's dorm to have a little Breaking Bad watch party with some friends. We ordered some pizza & ate some wings while we anxiously waited for Walter White's next move.

Even though we spent the majority of the morning tackling more homework, Monday was great because J & I were just happy to not be at school. We lounged around during the early afternoon & grabbed a late lunch at PDQ. In the late afternoon, we took a little trip up to Orlando to meet up with my family. On the way up, J put together a little playlist full of our favorite songs (get Spotify Premium, it's the seriously the coolest). I swear that the best times I have with Jake are when we're listening to music together and talking about anything. I haven't been able to keep my mouth shut around him since the first time I opened it. He's just the greatest when it comes to conversation & it's just another thing that I absolutely adore about the boy.

Although we are sad to see this weekend go, we're surprisingly excited to get back into the swing of things at school. We both love our classes so far & this semester seems to be full of new adventures. September is going to be the best month yet & I am so ready to see what the future holds.

Love,

A

The Weekenders

This weekend, A & I road tripped down to Weston, FL for a doctor's appointment of mine & to visit my parents. When we first met, Aisha & I agreed nearly immediately that we both loved adventure; we craved new experiences, exploring strange places & making weird memories. While we had some loose plans in mind for when we reached South Florida, nothing could have prepared us for the endless adventures that ensued.

We woke at a startling 6:30 am to hop in the car and hit the road. I crushed an iced coffee, but A kept it light with a small bag of veggie chips. I wish I had her self-control. We arrived in Weston for my appointment with plenty of time to spare, allowing my life motto to ring true: "if you're early, you're on time; if you're on time, you're late." (Thanks P-Rod).

Post-appointment, A, my mom & I found ourselves in Hollywood with some time to spare before my endlessly-hungry dad closed up shop at Total Nutrition, my parent's vitamin & sports nutrition store. I lightly suggested we head to Ft. Lauderdale to check out Radio-Active Records. 

My mom is so in love with her new garden, which she so stylishly has included vintage pieces & housewares in. We stumbled upon a cute & quaint vintage shop in the plaza Radio-Active used to be in, & A bought two silk, monogrammed flags with "A" & "J" printed onto them to hang on her magnet board above her head in her bedroom. Swoon. We found Radio-Active at their new & super-improved location down the street, & I managed to make it out of there in less than 30-minutes (sorry girls!), but armed with a copy of No Age's "Nouns" LP & a Radio-Active Records t-shirt. #roadtripsouvenier

We all met my dad for dinner at Bokamper's, & we all reminisced on some of our silliest stories, especially the time my dad tried to eat the restaurant's "The Beast" burger challenge, but was stunted by the "meat sweats." 

We spontaneously decided to head to East Miami to check out Ceremony's show at Churchill's Pub, something that was just slightly out of A's element. Hanging tough, she braved the pit like a champ while I caught some photos for my other blog, No Waves Radio. We teased the opening band & pretended to be code inspectors re-inspecting the building. In typical J & A fashion, we were classically uncool on a night where anyone else would be trying to be.

The next morning, I took Aisha down to South Beach for a quick shopping trip. We chowed down at Shake Shack, my true burger love hut. I inhaled a double cheeseburger & a Diet Coke, my royal specialty, while A demoed a chicken & apple dog (her first was at BurgerFi in Weston, both have been received positively). After learning that J. Crew on Lincoln Road doesn't have a Men's section & American Apparel was less-than satisfying, we headed to the Wynwood Art District in Miami for a little sightseeing excursion. We dropped a pin where the car was parked & got lost on the city grid for a little while, roaming around while taking in the incredible works on the Wynwood Walls & the surrounding areas. On our way out, we grabbed some iced coffee & tea at Panther Coffee. While A was waiting for our order, I guffawed at the massive coffee roaster and grinders they had on display in-house. We managed to beat the rain, but not the Miami rush hour traffic.

My parents surprised A & I and took us to Dave & Buster's for what ended up being the cutest little double date. My mom turned out to be quite the shark at four-player PacMan, Aisha discovered her one true passion in Deal or No Deal, & my dad showed me up in pop-a-shot while I threw up some serious bricks. Also worth mentioning: my mom is really, really good at Wheel of Fortune. And while we tried our hand at it, she wandered over to some other game & won the jackpot. She's a ticket-winning machine.

The next day would unfortunately be our last in South Florida, but we decided it would be a great idea to visit an IKEA on a weekend with my mom during a thunderstorm. In between nearly running over families cutting in front of our cart & shielding our eyes from women dropping glass bottles, we managed to get a pretty sweet deal on some pottery for my mom's garden. We had lunch at a new spot my mom's been dying to try: How Do You Roll?, where customers can design their own sushi rolls. I had the Beefinator (typical), while my mom created her own spicy tuna roll and A dined on a teriyaki beef bowl. Please, please open one of these in Tampa!!

We said our goodbyes to my lovely parents & headed back to Tampa through some less-than-pleasant weather. Rather than gunning it all the way through, though, A & I made it a point to leisurely make our way back, making whatever stops we wanted along the way. While not as glamorous as the rest of this post, we made a stop at our special McDonald's in Punta Gorda, where we always grab a coffee, go to the bathroom, or stretch our legs on a drive to Weston. We took a photo of mile marker 111, A & my lucky number. After an exciting stop at a park in Sarasota, we were finally home.

I know this post is long, but recounting one of the most adventurous weekends of our lives was a lot of fun, especially because we were able to spend it with my family. I highly recommend you pile into the car with your little love & visit one (or both) of your families. You'd be surprised at how much you can squeeze into a few days, and it's bound to be full of amazing memories.

Love,

J