It's Me, KP

Have Passport, Will Travel Confessions

Blogging from a comfy hotel bed in Washington DC.  Chatting with Sarah on the phone.  Should be doing some work.  Listening to Greg Laswell.  Here for one night, back home tomorrow.  Then Virigina Beach on Thursday.

This year has been packed with travel.
I've loved it. 
It's not over yet.  More to come.  So many places I still want to go in 2010.
And some confessions I've learned on my adventures:

1. I end up sleeping sideways in king sized beds.

2. Never ever take the hotel room by the ice machine.

3. Never ever keep the hotel room by the bachelorette party.

4. My friends always feel they must take me somewhere delicious to eat. No complaints from me on this one.

5. I get the loneliest right before bedtime.  And end up calling Sarah.  And she always asks, where are you now?!

6. If I'm in Miami, it's a given that I will call Chloe after a couple of cocktails.

7. There will be a Picasso in any art museum I go to.  No matter what city.

8. Hotwire kicks Priceline's ass.

9. I can make friends anywhere.  Especially with bartenders.

10. FLL sells Pepsi except there's a Coke machine hidden down by baggage claim.  And it takes credit cards.

11. The worst part about traveling is the time away from my friends at home.  I miss them.

12. If the hotel has Aveda, I will stockpile it like a chipmunk.

13. I can pack + make it to T5 for a flight to Boston within two hours.  No sweat.

14. You can't run away from your problems.  They'll find you anywhere.

15. You can't start a relationship if you're only in the same city two days a week.

16. You can feel right at home on a friend's couch.

17. You can be refreshed just by driving, sitting, laying, eating, walking, and swimming all alone.

18.  Sometimes who you're with makes where you're at the best place in the world.

19. My parents never know where I am.  Because I frequently forget to tell them that I'm leaving.

20. Someday I want someone to come on all these adventures with me.  Especially if he will hold the camera out so we can take selfies everywhere we go.

So Far This Year Confessions

I'm not gonna lie... I'm looking forward to the clock striking 12:01 tonight as much as I was on New Years Eve.  The past six months were a challenge.  I really feel that July = a fresh start.  Excited for what's ahead in the second half of my year.  But I shouldn't complain...  I've had a lot of fun in the first half of 2010 ;)

And so, you get my So Far This Year Confessions...

1. I've taken 31 flights.  I wonder how much of my life is spent on an airplane.

2. The best books I've read were Let the Great World Spin and The History of Love.  Both are set in New York and are amazing.
I have a love/hate relationship with an author adapting different writing styles for different characters but these are done to perfection.

3. My suitcase never gets unpacked until at least four days after I return from a trip.

4. I got a new tattoo on the inside of my left wrist.  It says "joyful" in my handwriting.  And I still want some more ink.

5. The best thing I've eaten was at Diner in Brooklyn with Amanda back in January. This steak. OMG. This steak.
The second best thing would probably be the flourless chocolate cake we had there for dessert (and is on my fork in the photo!)

6. I have somehow reverted back to my college days... pulling all-nighters, playing flip cup while blasting the theme song to Footloose, curling up on the couch with five friends to watch bad movies, dating the wrong people when I know better, and hanging out with super cool Spartans.

7. On every first date, except for one, I've somehow wound up down in the Village.  And that one exception ended up taking me to the Village for sushi on our second date.

8. I've only seen my oldest little brother for about an hour and haven't seen my little little brother at all.  That will be remedied in July.

9. I fell in love.  With the Getty Center.  And with the Jackie Kennedy Reservoir in Central Park.
And with a boy for exactly eight days. 

10. I've taught awesome students in 40 classes plus two online classes.  And spoiler alert... Sketchbook 2 is in the works for August.

11. Have not figured out who/what Justin Bieber is.  Despite my hunger for pop culture, I'm happy to live in a world where I am blissfully ignorant to this.

12. I've discovered I love baseball games, late night ice cream cones, any rooftop party, using letterpress machines, emails that say "you're so New York," text messages that say "come over," Ian Axel, balconies in Long Island City, going on bike rides, dancing at concerts at the Bowery Ballroom, driving along the California coast, any artwork by Charley Harper, and the whole city of Portland.

Welcome, July.  So glad to see you.

Greetings from Buffalo!

I'm here in Buffalo for CKC this weekend.  And for some buffalo wings too, I'm sure.

This week I had the opportunity (thanks to my friends at CK!) to walk the floor at the National Stationery Show in NYC... it was an awesome experience.  Totally inspiring.  I took a lot of photos of my favorite things - lots of letterpress naturally - and wanted to share a quick one from one from a booth that I adored:

Meet Elum.

And enabler alert... you can shop their products on their website.
And you will want everything.
You're welcome, girlfriend.

I feel like I should write more since I actually remembered my password and took the time to sign into Typepad.  So I thought I'd share my List of Confessions I'm Thinking About Instead of Sleeping.  Ala Cathy and Steph.  Although maybe they were actually sleeping when they were supposed to be and not trying to blog... cause I know they're smart ladies.  Total smarties.

1) I dream about having skinny legs.

2) The most played song on my iTunes is Ingrid's The Hat.

3) I stay in the same hotel every time I go to Miami Beach.

4) Wine makes me so sleepy but I'd drink a glass of dessert wine after every meal if I could.

5) Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is one of my favorite things in the world.  I want to do it with everyone I care about.

6) Walking through the Village and just talking on a great New York night is also a favorite.

7) The other day I had to Google "how to cook asparagus" then gave up and called my mom to ask.

8) I miss Chicago and often think of moving back home.

9) I hate having discussions over email because I write too much and I hate having to talk about things over the phone because I babble too much.

10) Chloe once told me she could have an entire conversation with just my facial expressions.

11) I love love love the show Parenthood.

12) My Grandpa grows tomatoes on his farm and I eat them like apples.  With salt.

13) I have a tramp stamp.  And it kinda makes me feel badass.

14) 2010 has been a rough year.  I have high hopes for the second half.

15) The other day I had a dance party by myself in my bedroom instead of working.

16) If I never own a car again, it will be just fine with me.

17) I really hate dating.  Really.Hate.

18) I went out with a guy who got out of one of the towers on 911.  Then I cried on the subway home.

19) Last night I watched Garden State.  I forgot what a great movie + soundtrack that is.

20) I kind of don't eat cupcakes that much anymore.  Are you shocked?  Disappointed?!! 

Goodnight.