Jell-gOne

all excited to enjoy my 100 calorie chocolate-snacky cup after lunch.
open mini fridge in common area.
3 of 6 left.
3 of 6!
half-full or half-empty.
either way, thieving coworkers make me cranky!

Hello vs. Georgetown Cupcake

Since the yuppie cupcake movement began (around 2007)
I've been on a quest.
Find the perfect sugary morsel and declare that one the winner. My ambition has taken me from the charming use-to-be-my-salon cupcakery in Holladay, UT (where apple spice had me hooked) to the sun drenched beaches of L.A., where I believe the movement started. Recently, I've ventured on a tour-de-sugar in the D.C./NOVA area.

Truth be told, I don't love cupcakes.

I do however appreciate the hunt. Ridiculous prices ($3+ ea.) and outrageous calories (500 ea.) keep me at bay. Well, almost.

So far the two finalists are: this vs. this. Option one has a nice spot for people watching and the shop is oh-so-metro accessible. The peanut butter on chocolate cake (trust me on this one) is divinely decadent. Option two, less accessible and no spot to indulge. But Hel-lo lemon berry! Shocking pink adorns the moist lemoney cake, while its chewy accessory simply melts away those midweek blues.

So, These Are My Options...

Last Thursday night, a date that shall live in infamy.

A brief background: in my mildly obsessive advance-planner nature (to ensure against the bleak reality that it might come to this) I use to implore dear friends, namely college roommates, to do me a favor—that is, if, a big if, it came to this—"Just take me out in the back yard and shoot me. Pull that trigger and don't look back."

Yet despite my trepidation, despite the tattling tales (read NCMO) and flailing red flags I signed up. Yup. Got myself a snazzy screen name and signed up for an online. dating. service. {Gasp}. Turns out, my little "2009 is Mine!" mantra made me do it. Under its influence I rationalized six months at $65 is such a small investment to my impending eternal future. I told myself that I was opening my heart, in addition to my wallet, to the possibility of love. Keeping my options open while demonstrating to the universe my undaunted determination. And so began the longest six months of my life...

To date (no pun intended) I have 2.5 months left of my membership. If you are considering such an option I highly recommend signing up in February (love month) and ending it in a dramatic Shakespearean flair right after the big 3.0. or 30+ mark!

After signing up I quickly realized:

1. Location, location, location: 85% of of the men lived "out west." (yeah, yeah I'm from the west, but I currently live in the east. A city I love, btw.)
2. Awkward: Online dating might increase the odds of meeting with basement-dwellers or do-I-really-want-to-go-there online addiction folks.
3. D-day: Inevitable, as the age ratio to d-factor is directly proportional. It just is.
4. Picture perfect: Good thing five years of orthodontics paid off, cuz that's what I'll be judged by.

A couple months of virtual flirts and IMs later lead to Date #1. Forgetable enough to warrant no post. Suffice it to say the restaurant he took me to involved a balloon-making clown. True story.

Date #2, last Thursday, was even better. My favorite part of the night was when D #2 asked me one of three questions for our entire 3.5 hours together.

Him: So, what do you like to do for fun?
Me: Inhale (prepping to respond)
Him: Ohhh, yeah, I totally went to this club a couple months back. It was amazing! You should check it out...
Me:

I made a list of the things my two dates had in common.

1. Both incessant talkers
2. Both picked me up in a rental car. Weird.
3. Both balding. (D #2 tried to cover with a visor). WHO wears a visor?
4. Both non-college graduates
5. Both divorced
6. Both into this
7. Both shorter than listed on their profile (not cool)
8. See #1

Hmm, maybe they'll hook up.

Ps- My cover—if I do end up with an extended off-line romance from this experience—is a mutual friend set us up.

Morning Commute

saw a stranger wearing this on the metro, and my heart skipped a beat...

Why Bookbloom?

For years I have wanted to write as a creative outlet, but never put that desire into action. Then, like many things I do, in the spring of 2009, I plunged in, without the first clue about blogging. I've learned a lot over the years and I'm still learning as I go. But why the name?

By combining two of my favorite things, books and flowers, with my affinity for alliteration and internal rhyme, mixed with the encouragement of dear supportive friends who kept insisting I write, and knowing that writing breathes life into me, My Bookbloom was born. This space reflect bits and pieces of my story — opening and flourishing like a blossom. It is a collection of writings about books, music, food, travel, wisdom, and favorite things.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you'll return often.