Bailey is a literary giant.

And the name is--

Bailey!

It's actually the name he came with, and it just seemed to suit him. I appreciate all the name suggestions though. :) They were good ones.

Also my parents came through town this week and were here the last couple of days. About 78 percent of their visit was spent doing some home improvement stuff in my apartment. The rest of the time we spent cruising the town of Honesdale.

One stop was at the Cliff--where you can see the town from above.

And my house!

Here Kitty, Kitty . . .

Dear Reader,

I always told myself that as soon as I was in a position to, I was going to get a pet. This promise to myself got me through pretty much all of college. And now that I am living on my own, I decided to go for it!

So, I'd like you to meet....my kitten!

After spending the afternoon in my bathroom (getting adjusted to the new home, etc.) he decided he wanted to come out and explore the apartment.

He seems to have decided he really enjoys sleeping on the TV stand.

After exploring for awhile he fell asleep by me on the carpet.

He doesn't have a name yet, but hopefully he will soon!

Rainbow Rainbow!

Dear Reader,

I hadn't baked anything since moving to Honesdale, so I made my first baking venture exciting:

Rainbow cupcakes!

Basically you just take white cake batter, separate it into different bowls, and dye the batter (gel dye works best for brighter colors).

Then dump a spoonful of each color into the cupcake liner.

And, voila! A super simple (albeit time-consuming) way to make a groovy cupcake!

New York, New York!

Dear Reader,

Last weekend I went to New York City for the first time! I went with Natalie and her sister Amber and it and was the most magical experience ever.

I left from Honesdale on a bus early in the morning and met up with Natalie and Amber at Times Square. Like, actual Times Square!

We walked around for a bit, until winding up at the most fantastic place in all of New York City.

30 Rock.

Oh my goodness. I mean, can you even imagine the joy I felt when I saw that beautiful sign blazing in the misty rain? It was one of the greatest moments of my life. All I wanted to do was walk into that building, go on a tour, and feel like I was a part of that amazing, wonderful world.

Unfortunately, the tour was sold out. That was a huge bummer. But we spent sufficient time in the gift shop and hanging out around 30 Rock eating cupcakes, though, so it was OK.

It was a misty, rainy day. Which meant we couldn't go to the top of the Rock and see the city, either. Ah well.

Not gonna lie, for pretty much that entire day I was quoting 30 Rock like every 5 minutes. Natalie and Amber can attest to that.

We walked roughly 6 miles each day we were in the city. Our feet hurt reals bad. Part of the reason we walked so much was because we got lost when we went to Central Park. We were looking for the bridge and the sidewalk that are in every romantic comedy movie. But don't worry, we found them eventually:

The sidewalk.

And the bridge.

While we were in the park we met a street entertainer who makes huge bubbles. He told us that he was on the season finale of Glee--and I rewatched that episode last night and it's true! He was in it! He was awesome--he let Amber make bubbles (and she has quite the gift for bubble making). He even made a bubble around her. A random little bit of fun in the Park.

We also did a lot of shopping in New York. Pretty much it was all little kid shopping--the American Girl store, FAO Schwartz, Dylan's Candy Shop, the children's section of The Strand . . . we are basically just kids at heart, I guess. (Natalie has the pictures of most of those visits on her camera . . .)

And as for the food. Oh the food. So, so good. A slice of New York pizza, burger at Junior's, frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's, Dylan's Candy Shop, ice cream cones from a street vendor . . . and possibly the worst soft pretzel I have ever eaten in my life. But we'll let that one slide.

Oh, and we also hit up Tiffany's. I wonder what it would be like to walk into that store and actually be able to buy something from it? . . .

We never actually rode on the subway (hence the 12 miles of walking). Every time we walked past it looked terrifying. Like somewhere you go to be murdered. Walking was way cheaper anyway. And good for us since we, you know, did all of that eating . . .

So, in conclusion, New York is very, very dirty. But it was cool to be there and I really want to go back. And soon.

Mormons in the Media

But guess what? It's good news!

Newsweek did an article on Mormonism this last week. It was surprisingly accurate. Probably because I know for a fact that they have a BYU grad working on their staff (friend of Natalie's).

Check out the article here: Mormons Rock. (Yes, that's actually what they called the article. And yes, that statement is 100% true.)

I had seen the cover of this particular issue when I was in New York City yesterday (I promise to recount that adventure soon. As I write this I am eating candy that I bought at Dylan's Candy Shop. It's so good, but I'm pretty sure I'm making myself sick.) but it was of the Book of Mormon musical and I was all, "Meh, not worth buying to read about, although I am intrigued."

Then after work today, one of my coworkers (who is Jewish) asked me if I had read it. She said it was so informative and she was surprised at some of the things she had learned (surprised in a good way). It seemed she had a lot more respect for Mormonism--and a lot more understanding for what the religion is about.

So I came home and read the article and I am pleased with what I found. Thank you, Newsweek, for giving Mormons the credit they deserve. And for, among other things, clearing up the fact that we no longer practice polygamy.

I mean, seriously people. 1890. We haven't practiced polygamy since 1890. (How many times, exactly, do people need to hear that before they will stop asking me how many wives my dad has?)

Welcome to Honesdale!

Dear Reader,

I thought it was about time I shared a little bit of this town with you. It is beautiful and cute and wonderful all at the same time.

We'll first start with my home.

OK, well, just the outside of it. The inside is still getting livable. I live in the upstairs. It's super cute, I promise.

This is my roommate. He's a wasp who lives outside my kitchen door. Unfortunately I want him to die. And he probably will soon--as soon as I find someone else to kill him for me.

This is a cute bridge near where I work.

View from said bridge. Oh, and if there was any doubt of whether I could be happy here, please just note the trees.

Enough said.

And now a little bit of where I work!

This is one of the parking lots for Highlights. (P.S. that's my (new to me) car in the background! His name is Jacques.)

I created this little message when I was testing a craft for Highlights. Hm. Why yes, this is the best job ever.

Our beautiful building, built in the 1860s.

One of my favorite buildings off of Church Street.

Alcove of my favorite church on Church Street.

The library! It's insanely cute on the inside, too.

I love how so many cute houses paint their doors bright colors like this.

Luckily for me, this town has a bakery (well, it has a few, but Sweet Eden is my favorite I've been to so far). And they have delicious, cute cupcakes! As seen above.

More updates on Honesdale coming soon!

DC Pictures

Dear Reader,

I found some pictures of DC to share!

Enjoy.

At Eastern Market Natalie and I found lots of delicious produce.

And flowers.

And produce mixed with flowers.

It's hard to avoid seeing beautiful, historical buildings when you walk around DC.

I can't wait to go back to there!

Weekend in DC

Dear Reader,

As I mentioned, last weekend I went to DC. Now that I finally have internet at my apartment (huzzah!), I can blog about my trip.

But...Natalie actually took most of our pictures (I took some) on her camera. She also just blogged about my visit to see her. Soo...well, it's probably just best if you read her blog. She describes our adventures so well.

This is a little bit of what you can expect if you go to her blog.