Moving to the City

While this may seem silly to some, we're creating a bucket list of sorts for the things we want to do while living in downtown Phoenix. For those who don't think it's silly, we welcome your suggestions to anything we've left off, and we hope you can join us in crossing items off the list.

Restaurants:

1. Lolo's Chicken + Waffles and Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

2. Blue Hound Kitchen + Cocktails

3. Carolina's

4. Los Dos Molinos (the original location)

5. Barrio Cafe

6. Pizzeria Bianco 

7. Different Pointe of View (technically not Central Phoenix, but we're making an exception)

8. CIBO

9. Cheuvront

10. Matt's Big Breakfast

11. Nobuo at Teeter House (we've been before, but it deserves to be on this list)

12. Centurion

13. Hana Japanese

14. Cartel (for the famous burritos and pastries)

15. Province
16. La Tolteca
17. Tuck Shop
18. Late night tacos at Tacos de Juarez

Experiences:

19. Roosevelt Row bar bike crawl (on our own schedule)

20. First Fridays (we've done it before, but haven't been able to walk to it)

21. Arizona Science Center First Friday Lectures

22. Picnic at the Civic Space Park

23. Downtown Phoenix Public Market

24. Yoga at the Hotel Palomar Pool (you will find Billy at the pool bar) 

25. RoRo Chile Pepper Festival

26. Diamondback's game

27. Sun's game

28. Comedy show at Stand-up Live

29. Bowling at Lucky Strike Lanes
30. Food Truck Friday's
31. Sausage from Stanley's Home Made & Sausage Company
32. Willo Historic Home Tour
33. See an Arizona Opera performance at Symphony Hall
34. Listen to live jazz music at The Nash

35. Spend an afternoon at Ro Ho En Japanese Friendship Garden

Closing the College Chapter

After years of classes, I have graduated from ASU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management!

Please excuse the absence of my blog posts the past few weeks. It's been filled with finishing my internship, getting ready for graduation, and trying to find a job.

It was an amazing experience to hear my name called and to walk across the stage to receive my diploma. Up until that point, I was having a hard time realizing that this day had finally come. Its been quite a journey from when I first went to college at UA in 2004 as a dance major, then having to reevaluate my future path, to deciding that I wanted to pursue a career in fundraising for nonprofit organizations. I would not have been able to accomplish this without the unyielding support of my parents, Billy, family, and friends.

The graduation was made even more special by my dad's sister and brother, Aunt Sharon and Uncle David, being here. They flew for this occasion and to see my dad receive an award from an public opinion research association he has been a part of for over 20 years. Since our family is spread out across the county, these moments spent together are like gold.

Now that I have accomplished this, my focus is finding a job where I can utilize the skills I have learned over the past few years. I know what I want to do, its just a matter of being offered the opportunity to work with an organization. It's not a surprise that the job market is difficult, but I seem to be falling into the catch 22 of not having enough of a proven track record to get a job, so I want to ask them, "where do I get a chance to build a proven track record?" Hopefully with some persistence, that chance will come.

Below are a few pictures from the graduation ceremonies and celebrations. You might notice that my hair is straight in these photos... Cindy (Billy's sister) did this for me so that my hair would look better with the cap on. The cap just doesn't quite work for us curly short haired gals!

Commencement at Sun Devil Stadium

My parents, Aunt Sharon, and Uncle David

Much love,
Kelsey

Prescott/Arcade Fire

I am looking forward to this coming week of (unpaid) vacation. Billy and I are heading up to Prescott where we are staying in a little house owned by my mom's friend. We are planning on disconnecting from technology, reading books, and taking some long hikes in the beautiful forest. We'll also take a visit to Prescott Brewing Company in the town square.

Once I return to my internship it will be my last week at the Tempe Community Council. After April 29th, I'm not sure what will come next. I've been applying for jobs left and right, but so far nothing has been secured. I'm hoping I will be able to find the right opportunity sooner than later.

Last Wednesday, we went to see Arcade Fire at Comerica Theatre. It was by far, the best concert both auditory and visually I have been to yet. If you haven't heard music by Arcade Fire, my favorite songs to  listen to are Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Wake Up, and The Suburbs.

Here's a video from the concert:

This concert reminded me that there is nothing comparable to listening to extraordinary artists live and being surrounded by people who have a shared love for their music. As Cindy, Billy's sister said, that's one band off of the bucket list!

Rainy Day Romance

Hello family and friends,

Its a lovely overcast rainy Saturday, my favorite! We Arizonans don't get rainy days that often that when we do, I cherish them. Someday Billy and I hope to live in Seattle where this will be the norm.

View from our patio with my lavender plant in the corner 

It's April 9th and in 20 days I will have finished my internship and in 32 days I will be graduating! It's hard to believe how quickly the past few months have gone by. I have been busy applying for jobs left and right, which isn't too many considering the difficult budgets many nonprofits are facing. One glimmer of hope is that I have gone through the interview process for an organization and hope to hear next week whether I got the job!

A few days ago my parents went out of town and I got to spend some time with these little guys that I miss dearly...

Sweetie and Keanu

An urban herb garden update: A few have passed away lately, but a few shining stars are my Thai Basil which bloomed (see the picture below), the long lasting oregano, and a few new basil plants. I recently potted some California garlic and I hope it survives in the container.

As the past few months have been a bit stressful with finding a new job and graduating, I want to thank my parents and Billy for being supportive and encouraging. 

Much love to all!

Hello Springtime!

The past few months have gone by with the blink of an eye. I am almost done with my internship at the Tempe Community Council with only a month and a half left, in less than two months I will graduate from ASU, and in three months I will turn 25! It’s also hard to believe that in a few weeks, Billy and I will have been living in our little place for six months! With such exiting things happening, its good to stop and smell the roses once in awhile.

A few highlights of late… I went to a fundraising breakfast for my alma mater, Arizona School for the Arts and got to say hi to my French teacher and principal. A few alumni are planning a reunion in May and I’m excited to see old friends! 

Then Billy and I went to the Arizona Science Center for the Bodyworlds Exhibit with a special feature on the brain. It was amazing to see the intricacies that make us who we are. 

Two weeks ago, I met my dad on campus, just a minute away from my office, to pick up all the necessities of graduation. We ordered announcements (coming to your mailbox soon), became a member of the Alumni Association, and got my cap and gown. Afterwards, we went to Thai Basil for lunch. It seems surreal sometimes that this chapter in my life is coming to a close.

Billy brewed his second beer solo. It’s a Belgian IPA (India Pale Ale), titled Wilhelm. Here is a picture of what it looked like after the fermentation process, I promise the end result is quite delicious and a golden amber color.

We added a lovely addition to our kitchen, a stand mixer and I am in heaven. It makes Billy’s "world famous" chocolate chip cookies in minutes and here is a picture of the Irish Soda Bread we made for St. Patrick’s Day. We brought it over to Billy’s sister and brother-in-law, Cindy and Eric’s house where we were surrounded by good food and even better company. 

My goal right now is to find a job with an arts organization in development. I have applied for a few positions and am just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

An update on my urban herb garden: sadly, a few herbs have not survived the increase in temperature here in Arizona. My mom tells me its normal that sometimes for no reason, a plant will die. It’s hard to tell whether it’s too much or too little sun or too much or too little water. Two shining stars are the oregano and the fern leaf lavender. 

And to close, Billy and I went to Ari's wedding last night and she was beautiful and happy.

Goodbye Prometheus, Hello Raijin!

Yesterday we said goodbye to our beta fish of five months, Prometheus. He was the first fish I've had and such a cute little guy. This morning we went to the pet store and got a new crowntail beta. Billy picked the name, Raijin, the Japanese God of Thunder. He's an active one with a beautiful red body and hints of blue in his fins.

An update to my urban herb garden, my mom and I went to a few local nurseries last week and picked up many herbs. The herbs I added are: Cilantro, French Thyme, Tuscan Leaf Rosemary, Fern Leaf Lavender, Provence Lavender, Sweet Basil, and French Lavender. They have been doing well on our balcony and I used some of the basil leaves when I made pizza a few nights ago. My mom found a Catnip herb plant and when she put it on the patio, the cats went crazy!

Creating an Urban Herb Garden

Its days like these that I can imagine myself living in Seattle. Just woke up from a cozy nap with the windows open and Zero 7 playing softly in the background. In Arizona, days like these are rare, so I like to savor them when they stop by.
Over the past two weeks, Billy has been in Roanoke, Virginia on a business trip training employees. I was definitely lonely without him here and the adage is true, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Luckily, he doesn’t expect to have to go on that trip again, also good for him considering Roanoke isn’t the most exciting city on the East coast.
One thing I have been developing lately is an urban herb garden. On our patio, I have four little pots of parsley, Thai basil, oregano, and rosemary. All three except the rosemary were purchased already grown and it’s my job to keep them alive. The rosemary started with four seeds, but only one has seemed to take root. I was particularly excited when I found the Thai basil because I love making curries and haven’t been able to find that particular type of basil at the market. I hope to complete the collection with sweet basil, cilantro, and lavender (my favorite essential oil). Luckily, I have my mom as an expert in gardening to help me along the way.