American Visionary Art Museum

This past weekend was full of visitors! Mandi came to visit because she had to attend an art museum for her art class. When she initially asked, I begrudgingly obliged: art museums really aren't my thing, but of course I'd go with her. And then, by chance, I drove past the American Visionary Art Museum down between Locust Point and Federal Hill. After checking out the website, we both decided that place looked perfect!

We got lunch at Sticky Rice beforehand, yum! That place has great food, but I wish they had better service. There was basically one girl, who appeared to be in training, waiting on six or seven tables, while two other employees just sat on their asses...

Veggie Tempura Plate.
The customers on either side of us were all about
the veggie tempura, watching me and asking me multiple questions
while eating. So weird. 

Tofu Lettuce Wraps.
Good, but mine are better. ;]

Anyway. You can't take pictures inside the museum. I debated breaking the rules, but I think a security person there could read minds, because he followed me through several rooms. The exhibit was All Things Round and the art work was so neat! A lot of the art on display was created by people with either disabilities or mental illnesses. Two of my favorites were the Bra Ball (some 18,000 bras put together to form a massive ball of bras) and this really colorful, intricate piece made out of only paper plates. It was amazing. We took a few outside of the museum.

Actually, we took two inside.
So shoot us.
We're just so beautiful.

I love mosaics!
Can you spot us?

When we got back to the house, my brother was there! With his two kittens.

Squirt.

Ozzy snacking on my fingers!

Mandi and I ended up "cat-sitting" that night.

Squirt, again. 

And wow, was it crazy. They were all over the place, biting things (and people!) and jumping on everything they weren't supposed to. They also really enjoy chewing on my glasses, laptop, and hair. So cute, but so, so bad! I actually thought about giving them some Benadryl... I draw the line at fighting on my back at 3AM while I'm trying to sleep!

You can't be mad when they're being all
sorts of adorable, though.

And, if you're thinking to yourself, "She's posting in the middle of the day. Is she home?" The answer is yes. As of last night, I decided I needed at least another day to recuperate. My wonderful and amazing friend Jen stopped by to drop off some goodies for me, and I ventured down to the living room for her visit. I know, I'm doing big things. Really, I just didn't want to expose her to the disaster I call my bedroom. Before bed last night, I took off my ace bandage because I wasn't sure how much it was helping.

Big mistake. I'm really paying for it now, and I'm grateful I had already decided to stay home today. So it is now wrapped, elevated, and on ice. Praying it is well enough for work tomorrow. 

My sweet little babies from school made this.
I can almost envision them,"Sometimes we don't cooperate with you,
sometimes we make  you crazy,
and sometimes we even hit or spit on you,
but we miss you."

Jen got a card (with dogs on the front! The very cause of this
predicament!) and made some of my favorite chickpea salad,
This is amazing because I can't even stand
long enough to make toast.
Thank you SO much, Jen!

Birthday Shenanigans

I love birthdays. It doesn't matter whose birthday it is - I love them all! This past Friday was my 24th birthday, which was slightly weird for me. You know how when you're young, 24 seems so old and adulty? It's kind of funny to compare our mental pictures of what certain ages should look and feel like, and then how they really are. It was a wonderful birthday, though, and I spent it with some of my favorite people.

I started my day with lunch and pedicures with my mom and two of my best girlfriends, Mandi and Jen. We went to Sticky Rice to eat, and I ordered my usual. It was my birthday and the mock chicken szechuan is my favorite - I didn't want to be adventurous. The food was great, but the service was kind of slow. Not cool, guys.

After that, we headed over to Juste B in Locust Point, Baltimore's first and only organic nail salon. Juste B is an amazing alternative to conventional nail places. The environment was clean, fresh, and free of the harsh chemical smell that screams "HI YOU'VE JUST ENTERED A NAIL SALON." The staff was great, too! They were friendly, fun (and funny), and engaging. They even surprised me with a cupcake!

When Mom, Mandi, and I returned home, I was greeted with an amazing chocolate cake my mom baked for me. She made a double recipe for chocolate cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. She used just a bit of almond extract (I normally do just vanilla extract) and oh my the almond extract was such a yummy addition. I definitely recommend it!

That evening, I went dancing! It was the first time I've seen a lot of my work friends since summer started. I had so much fun despite the fact that it was 100 degrees.

The peanut butter to my jelly. The Birdman to my Lil Wayne.

My best friends from work, Jen and Sabrina!

Admittedly, I needed a bit of recovery on Saturday morning. Mandi and I spent too much of our day catching up on True Blood. We eventually dragged ourselves out to dinner at Papermoon Diner.

I ordered Life on the Pita, my favorite! The hummus is always a little different, but always yummy. And the pita bread! I don't know what they do to it, maybe lace it with crack, but the pita bread is the best I have ever had anywhere. It's always so soft and warm and delicious and I can't ever not eat all of it.

Later that night, Jen's band played a gig not far from my house. I may or may not have indulged in too much gin, but I had a wicked good time. 

My aunt brought these goofy glasses.

I'm with the band.

This summarizes the rest of my evening.

Despite (another) rough morning, Dakota and I made it over to Jen's on Sunday afternoon for a low-key cookout. Jen's puppy Dexter was recently fixed, so we had to put play dates on a temporary hold. I thought Dakota and Dexter were going to explode with excitement when they saw each other. And we made a new friend, Bailey the insanely adorable boxer.

Thanks to my wonderful mommy, my amazing friends, and some gosh darn cute puppies for the best birthday!