Tales from your local coffee shop

Today's coffee shop tales come from Indigo Coffee Shop & Bookstore. I sit here writing to you from this super cool room with sweet gold foil ceiling tiles and intricate wood designs. I got a mocha, the usual, and I spent about two hours going through Facebook and Twitter catching up on everything there is to know in the world of social media. This table that I'm sitting at is super cool because it's next to a window and it looks out over a main downtown street in the Haymarket District. It gives you pretty sweet vibes.

They even have one of those cool "take a book, leave a book" areas (too bad I don't have a book I could leave because otherwise I would totally participate). I think those things are the coolest. I really love book stores, but not just Barnes & Noble and the big chains, but those little ones that are tucked away with cozy reading corners and cool stories along the shelves. It makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop. (Hopefully all of my English teachers throughout the years will appreciate this). I also love coffee, so this whole coffee shop bookstore thing is really working out for me. The only thing that would make this place better is if there was a little bit of mood lighting, I'm a big fan of lamps (#lamplife5ever #ILoveLamp).

*Sidenote - I really love how I can just write about whatever I want on here, and in my own style. Like, yes I talk in hashtags sometimes, and yes I think I'm really funny in case you were wondering. I guess you could just say #MillennialProbs. I think I spend 50% of the time trying to convince people that I'm funny. Which I guess could mean that I'm not actually funny, or just half funny. (I'm giving this too much thought). If you know me, you know that I can be really sarcastic, and I like to impersonate people when I tell stories with their "voices" (I use quotations because their voices usually sound nothing like the way I sound when I'm talking like them (usually this applies to my mom, sorry mom). Anyways, back to what I was talking about earlier...

I love looking down the street and seeing all the lights lit up. It reminds me of New York, only on a way smaller scale. I used to close my curtains and pretend the lights showing through in my dorm room were the lights in NYC (they were actually the glistening lights of Plaza 900, our subpar dining hall, but a girl can dream). Missing those sorts of things about NYC makes me wonder if I will ever want to move there some day. Sometimes I think I want to, and other days I remember it's signature smell of pee and cigarettes and I reevaluate my choices... Other things I don't know if I could live without include green grass (I know there's Central Park, but there's just something about green grass that puts you in a happy mood). Also, I love driving and I definitely wouldn't be able to do that in New York. I love going for a drive to clear my head (it's not as relaxing as it used to be though ever since my radio antenna blew away as I was driving down the highway, now I only get 4/10 radio stations but it's better than nothing. Also, no I don't have an aux cord, I drive an '05 Mazda 6 - too old to have an aux and too new to have a tape recorder).

Well, I suppose I've rambled on long enough for now. Until tomorrow or next time...

XO

Madison

Song of the Day: 10,000 Weight in Gold//The Head and the Heart (love them so much)

p.s. I'm pretty sure I saw a drug deal go on this morning as I was driving to work, it was a weird start to a not-so-interesting day. Also, here are some cool pics of the coffee shop I'm at!

Places I'd rather be

If you follow other bloggers, you might notice that they get to go to some seriously cool places. Well as you all know I would love to travel to just about anywhere and everywhere, so if you know anyone who wants to pay for me to go on a vacation and have me write about it, hmu (just kidding, not really, I really want to travel somewhere cool and I love writing, so best of both worlds).

Anyways, here are a couple of places I'd rather be today...

Just me...

Hello. I feel like every time I start writing a blog post I say the same thing, "wow, it's been forever since I last wrote on here...blah blah...I'm going to start writing more regularly...and then I say something about why I haven't written in a while, and it's usually because I'm always really busy." Well today I'm not going to say all of that. (: I'm just going to dive in, and give you an update on what I've been up to lately.

The last time I wrote I was fresh off a plane from the big apple. Today, it's mid-June and I'm fresh off the work day from my summer internship. Now it's time to let you know what all happened in between...

I finished my freshman year of college at Mizzou. I will be transferring to the University of Nebraska in the fall. Most people don't understand why I would leave Mizzou since it's such a great Journalism school, but to be completely honest I just don't think Mizzou is the place for me. There's a little bit more to it, but that's the short version. Some people will say I'm just going to Nebraska because that's where my boyfriend goes, and yeah that's a definite plus, but it's not why I decided to go there. However, sometimes people would rather create their own version of your story than really listen to what you have to say. Oh well.

My freshman year of college went by really quickly, it was a great year filled with lots of ups and downs and lots of changes. Changes for the better. Sometimes I like to think of it as growing pains. We all know what it feels like when you're little and it hurts sometimes because you're body and your mind is growing and changing and maturing. Well, just because I stopped getting taller doesn't necessarily mean those growing pains go away. I don't think they ever will, but each time I grow I look back and realize I'm a little bit stronger, and a little bit wiser, and maybe it doesn't hurt so bad after all. I suppose that's how I like to look at college and getting older.

I mentioned my boyfriend, Quinn, earlier. Well, everything with Quinn and I is going just swell. Seriously, really great. He's pretty great if you ask me.

In the last couple of months my family experienced two deaths. My great grandfather, and my great aunt passed away within a couple of weeks of each other. It was really sad, but mostly because it just didn't seem real. I wasn't super close to either of them, and sometimes I look back and it makes me sad because I wish I could ask them questions or listen to some of their stories, but I no longer can. It's a pretty sobering realization when the thought of someone crosses your mind, and then you remember they won't be at that next holiday. You won't be calling them up on Father's day because they won't be there to pick up the phone. It's pretty sad. But at the same time it's nice to get together with your family and remember the good times and the nice memories you shared with the ones you love. So in a time of sorrow, there's also joy.

On a more positive note, I started a summer internship at a digital marketing agency. It's pretty cool and I'm excited to have the opportunity to gain so much experience at this point in my academic career. I'll keep you updated on how it all goes.

In between all of that were dinners, and movie dates, and time spent with friends and family. Here are a few pictures to catch you up.

Quinn's birthday breakfast!

Watching Friends on the Quad instead of studying for finals.

Admiring how pretty Jesse Hall is.

Quinn and Anna being silly.

Quinn being goofy at Olive Garden when my dad wasn't looking.

My bestest pal Frankye and I at her sisters grad party!

Quinn and I walking around at the Plaza.

Frankye and I at the Florence & the Machine concert(!!)

Quinn and I celebrating date night with some Jack Stack BBQ.

Friends!

Q and I (again) (:

Me with my friend Lauren, the bride-to-be!

Hope that got you all caught up, for now at least(:

Song of the day: Go With Me // Quinn Mosier (!)

Until next time,

Madison

Spring Saturday.

On Saturday Quinn and I decided to go on a day date/adventure. We started the day out by going to Ginger Sue's for breakfast, and we totally pigged out. After Ginger Sue's we drove into Kansas City and went downtown to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. We walked around the museum for a really long time and got some awesome pictures. I felt so cultured as I stood next to Claude Monet's, Mill at Limetz. Quinn's favorite part of the museum was the ancient Egyptian section. My favorites are the oil paintings on canvas from the Renaissance era. Needless to say, we were very hip with our camera and pic taking. Also, I totally rocked my cape since my spring afternoon was a little colder than expected. 

I urge you to try your best not to laugh at my "angry faces" where I was attempting to perfect the soft smile. It's harder than it looks. After the Nelson, Quinn and I went to Station Coffee, and then stopped by Half Price Books in Old Westport. If you've never been, you must go. I could spend countless hours in that bookstore. I just peruse the aisles and look through the most random of books. Quinn stayed buried in the Historical section along with all of the books on presidential history. After the bookstore we went home and enjoyed some nice dinner and a movie. Overall, it was a pretty great Saturday. (:

Song of the Day: Don't Know Why // Norah Jones

Until next time,

Madison

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Lincoln in pictures

Here, Quinn and I are on top of the Capitol in Lincoln. They have a 14th floor observatory and it was super cool to be able to look out over the city!

These two pictures are inside of the Capitol. Apparently they give free tours so we decided we should check them out, and us being the history nerds that we are, totally loved it. If you don't know about the history of the Lincoln, NE Capitol you should definitely check it out because it is a very interesting story.

Here we are walking around the history Haymarket in downtown Lincoln. Of course I made Quinn take lots of pictures so I could share them all with you on my blog(:

"Quinn take my picture!"

"Again?"

"Yeah, this is a really cool background!"

"Ugh"

(Examples of conversations that were happening in between these pictures being taken, ha!)

This is one of Lincoln's best ice cream shops! The shop is called Ivanna's and it's in the Haymarket District in the old Creamery building. You should totally check them out if you're ever in Lincoln. Quinn got a scoop of mint chip and a scoop of dutch chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, and I got a Fanta ice cream float! They both tasted amazing. (*Just remember if you ever go, they only accept cash!)

That's all for today! Can't wait to share more adventures with you.

Madison

p.s. I have a very exciting story coming out on teenvogue.com on Thursday so be on the look out for it(:

Song of the Day: Wildfire//John Mayer

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