So much has gone down since I was last blogging regularly. Some of it involved living on a tiny houseboat that was submerged in cold lake water where I was very cold most of the time. And, honestly not very happy. As much as I was digging life in Seattle and loving my non-British guy, I was really needing some girlfriends, warmth (and closet space!). So, here is where it all gets a little magical. I think that if you're from NYC, like myself, you know what the dream is. You live in a loft or high-beamed ceiling place and go out a ton and wear fabulous clothes and have torrid romances with terrible, beautiful guys with terrible, beautiful tattoos. I did this. My clothes were never as fabulous as they'd be in the movie version though, because I was always broke. ALWAYS. Sheesh. So, semi-fabulous New York life, check. Then I sort of did it in LA. It was very "Entourage" in that I lived with my very successful screenwriter-friend and tried to catch pieces of her glitter which she so generously shared with me. So, more going out to great places with great music and terrible, beautiful men who made me feel like a cockroach. I really did live and die in LA (no joke). It all sounds so impressive now in a way, and I'm really glad I went through all of that. I was a wannabe actress too, which only ups the ante, enter gross directors and one night stand with a hot mess from a well-known tv show. Hardcore!
Well, we all know that this is part of the plan as a New Yorker. You get thrashed up and hurt and then you come together and emerge as a beautiful falcon. Some splendid beacon of light with lots of wisdom and glowing skin. Every New Yorker knows that the latter part of this plan involves finally ditching it all for the Pacific Northwest to live in a sweet bungalow with your dog and cute kid and nerdy-hot hubby and grow tons of salad. Well, part of that dream is now coming true as well. I have this adorable house that even has it's own name; The Lilac. It's friggin lilac! How cute is that? Also, it has a gas fireplace which is too amazing for me to have even dreamed it up.
I have also made some amazing friends here. Tiffany and Tina are some of my favorites and every time I hang out with them I end up doing karaoke and its heavenly because no one here cares that I can't sing for shit. Here is a picture of Tiffany and I where I look like I have really short hair but it's actually just in a bun:
Here's another thing I love about Seattle; it's low-maintenance if you want it to be. There is a difference. What I mean is, many people here do not care about hair, make-up and clothes, so if you wanna go to dinner in your long johns that is perfectly okay. However, if you want to dress up and wear red lipstick and high heels, that is perfectly fine too. I have found this kind of pressure-free environment sort of lets me be my true self. And, it turns out my true self loves make-up and clothes. I don't need to do it for anyone else but me.
Also, success here is not that big a deal. I mean, people have jobs and I think for the most part it's a pretty affluent city, but career is not the main topic of conversation. Work is just ONE part of life here. Imagine that?? I have a totally bizarre job as a preschool teacher (bizarre considering what I was pursuing).
But, there is more to be had in pursuit of a full and happy life. Thank god for that or life would be so boring. Some of it involves the parts where my non-British boyfriend attempts to get me to "act right" and I try to get him to loosen his ascot (he's only wearing one metaphorically). All this leads to hilarity, obviously, sprinkled with some pain.
I am currently envisioning a beautiful rustic wedding in the woods, through a clearing with a clear view of the PN snowcapped mountains. Of course, I've yet to become engaged (ahem). Well, I will keep you all posted on that front.
Also, I became a pie-baker because that is so PN, right? And, I really love it. The harder the recipe the better. For Thanksgiving I made a key lime pie and a cheesecake with raspberry sauce. The cheesecake didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but I was still so proud of myself. Of course, when I tried to show off to my PN friends, they were like, "I made 24 pies, so..."
I also tried to get into knitting but I'm really bad at it. Almost as bad as I am at singing.
