By the Numbers: 2014

Sunset at Railay Beach, Krabi, Thailand

This past year was certainly not as travel-heavy as 2013, but Jonathan and I were still able to visit a few states and travel abroad once for our honeymoon. We also traveled quite a bit within the state of California throughout the year, including weekend trips to San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, and multiple trips to the Central Valley for wedding-planning shenanigans.

Best of November: A Month in Review

Woo November! Last month marked my first trip to Asia ... for my honeymoon! Expect lots of travel recaps over the next few weeks (or months, knowing me haha). We spent a little more than a week in Thailand and Cambodia to celebrate; let me know if you have any specific questions about traveling in Southeast Asia that you would like me to address in my travel posts!

Most Popular on Instagram & Notable Events

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It looks like my Instagram followers also preferred Cambodia to Thailand; the two pictures on the right are from our time exploring temples and relaxing at our hotel (which is how we spent almost all our time in Siem Reap). November also marked another important travel "first" for me: I finally rode a cable car in San Francisco (pictured at lower left)! I know, I know; I've lived within driving distance of the city for nearly 12 years and had never done this before. It's a shame how much we take for granted the things we have nearby (which reminds me—I really need to write a Bay Area bucket list! This strategy helped me get a lot of cool stuff done when I was living in Santa Fe.) And, of course, as I mentioned last month, I think any wedding pictures are automatically going to skyrocket to the top of my "like" spectrum from now on. ;) Personally, though, I think this Instagram photo should have been the most popular last month. Seriously; how gorgeous is that?! (#unhumblebrag)

Best of October: A Month in Review

I was going to wait until next month and wrap October and November up together, but with me getting married and all in October, I thought it deserved its own post. ;)

Most Popular on Instagram & Notable Events

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I have a new foolproof way to get more than 100 likes on an Instagram picture! It used to be simply "include Jonathan in the photo," but now I think "include wedding dress" would work as well. ;) I've calmed down on posting wedding photos a bit recently, but that's just because I'm waiting for our professional photos to come back. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at @mcstroup if you want to see those babies when they're available! (I'm also known to post photos of books, coffee cups, and vacation destinations near and far.)

5 Best (Complete) Television Series on Netflix

I used to watch a lot of Netflix. (And let's face it—the only reason I don't watch as much now is because I actually have cable and can DVR current shows.) Today, I bring you the top five complete television series available on Netflix for your viewing pleasure!

(Note: This does not include shows that are still on air, such as Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Parenthood, or several other fabulous shows you can find on Netflix. Heck, I guess I'll have to do a separate post about those next week!)

Currently: feeling very disappointed in Scandal

The fiance and me at a friend's wedding in St. Louis last weekend (image via Instagram)

reading | Cress, the third book in the Lunar Chronicles. As I've mentioned before, these books aren't really my style, but I think this one is shaping up to be the best of the series.

writing | addresses on about 200 save the date postcards....

listening | to the latest Criminal Minds marathon Jonathan and I have been indulging in these past few weeks.

thinking | that Scandal really sucks this season. Seriously. I think Episode 3 was the last time Olivia took a client who wasn't directly related to the presidential campaign, and I couldn't care less about her on-again, off-again relationship with Fitz. (That was also the best episode of the season thus far, in my opinion. I cried!) Looks like Scandal is turning into another Revenge for me. Sigh....

smelling | nothing. Hmm.... I hope I'm not getting sick! *worried face*

wishing | Olivia would stop worrying so much about the President and start helping more scandalous high-powered Washingtonians. Seriously. This is bumming me out.

hoping | I win the lottery soon so I can quit my job and hop on a plane around the world. That could happen, right?

wearing | flannel pajama pants and an oversized UC Berkeley T-shirt. Mmm hmm!

loving | how I spent yesterday morning: reading at a local coffeeshop with a chocolate croissant and my fiance. If only every morning could be spent that way!

wanting | something good to happen soon so I can share some big news I received recently with all of you. ;)

needing | to pick out my bridesmaids' dresses for my wedding! We're getting closer to the six-month mark every day. Eek!

feeling | disappointed in the third season of Scandal. Have I mentioned that yet?

clicking | around Instagram looking at pictures of puppies. I know—not a good idea when you live in an apartment with a strict no-pet policy! But our lease is up soon, and I really want to move to a house and get a furry friend.

How was your weekend? Any exciting plans for the upcoming week?

The Five Coolest Winter Olympic Sports

Of course I had to get an Olympics post on here before the Games end! I will admit, I'm more of a Summer Olympics fan (mostly because I love gymnastics but also because of the greater variety of events), but any Olympics are awesome in my book! So, without further ado, I bring you the five coolest winter sports (in my humble opinion). Pun intended! ;)

5 Awesome Things Your Local Library Offers

When my fiance and I got DVR in our apartment last summer, I started recording all the Criminal Minds episodes that aired and kept an Excel spreadsheet on my computer to track which episodes which were recorded and which episodes were upcoming, so Jonathan and I could start watching the show in order from season one, episode one (#nerdalert). After three seasons of this meticulous record-keeping and sifting through the 50+ episodes on our DVR, I had an awesome idea: the library.

Of course I always knew the library had DVDs and CDs, but for some reason it had never occurred to me that I could rent entire television seasons! It's way better than DVR because I don't have to fast-forward through commercials, and the library has shows Netflix doesn't offer (Exhibit A: Criminal Minds). That got me thinking about all the other awesome resources my local library has, and yours probably does, too! Here are five such fantastic things:

Photo via @mcstroup; design by Megan.

Saying goodbye to guilty (dis)pleasures.

We all have guilty pleasures. Here are some of mine: America's Next Top Model reruns. Statement necklaces. McDonald's sweet tea.

But do you have any guilty displeasures? Whereas guilty pleasures make you feel pleasure despite your guilt, guilty displeasures don't even give you pleasure! They just make you feel plain bad about yourself, but they're so bad you can't look away no matter how hard you try. I have quite a few of these:


Fifty Shades of Grey: Ugh. Don't even get me started on this embarrassment of a series. I swore I wouldn't pick up the second book when I was about halfway through the first, but then I found myself placing a hold at the library for Fifty Shades Darker. I will proudly say that I refused to spend any money on these books, and it took me a good five months to finish the third one. So it was obviously riveting. I wish I could abandon books (and/or series).

Too good to multitask.

While traveling this year, I've developed the habit of watching television on my iPad while blogging/working on my laptop, or vice versa. I can rarely ever watch my favorite shows on television, but luckily most channels have free apps that allow me to watch shows the morning after they air. Sometimes, I stream a mindless show on my Netflix account while working (think How I Met Your Mother or Glee), but there are three shows I can't multitask while watching because they are just too darn good.

1. Scandal

I was expecting a trashy scandal, but instead I got intelligence and wit! Score!

By the Numbers: 2012

A year ago today, I posted a numerical summation of 2011. I decided to do the same thing for 2012, with a few different categories, and I also added a "most popular" section at the bottom. Enjoy!

Miles traveled by plane (everything else is too hard to count!): 56,615*
> 6,155 miles before I became a Leadership Consultant
> 36,542 miles as a Leadership Consultant
> 13,918 miles over Christmas vacation
Countries visited (not counting layovers, of course): 4
Austria | Hungary | Switzerland | France
States visited: 11
New Mexico | Missouri | California | Georgia | South Dakota
Arizona | Washington | Idaho | Illinois | Virginia | North Carolina
*Thanks, TripIt, for making it so easy for me to count my miles!

Happy birthday to me!

Source: weheartit.com via Soraya on Pinterest

In honor of my 22nd birthday, I was going to share with you 22 fabulous things that have happened to me in the past year (inspired by the lovely Jessica at Lovely Undergrad). Then I realized I already shared most of them (and more!) with you last October when I posted about my favorite college memories. So instead, I'm going to share 22 random things about me that you might not already know:

Mad Men-Inspired Ads

Technically, I guess these are the type of ads that inspired Mad Men, not the other way around, right? But to get to the point, my grandma often sends out pretty funny chain letters through e-mail. I got one containing a bunch of old-fashioned advertisements a few weeks ago and kept it in my inbox until I found the time to sort through my favorites. Since she sent this, I've started watching Season 1 of Mad Men on Netflix Instant by the recommendation of my sister. These ads kept reminding me of the stereotypical homemaker women in the show. Can you believe they used to attract customers?

On My Own: Play

Welcome to the second-to-last installment of my "On My Own" series! I've already shown you my living necessities, my eating areas and my comfy bed. Now, it's time to share how I entertain myself:

1. I'm not sure what that strange circle of light is in the photograph, but here is my futon! I like to sit here to eat on my TV tray or read a book after work. It's also where I do most of my blogging and/or television watching. Which brings me to ...
2. My television! I haven't had a television with cable since the 7th grade, so this is pretty exciting. The only things I really watch on cable are college basketball and the new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Wednesday evenings, but my Netflix account is also hooked up to the set, which is wonderful. Underneath the TV, you can see all my books (mostly writing books, but also a few novels I haven't gotten to yet) and my scrapbooks and photo boxes. I bought the lion bookends at T.J. Maxx my first weekend in Santa Fe for less than $20 (together). I think they're pretty nifty!
3. My apartment also came with this wicker chair (kind of random?), but I don't usually host company so I never use it. Instead, it has ended up being my storage chair for the few pieces of exercise equipment I bought at Target (and have since used approximately three times).

Stay tuned for the final installment in the series: Work!

Things that make me go "hmm."

Source: outsideonline.com via Outside on Pinterest

This photo doesn't have anything to do with the links below, but I just think it's gorgeous. Do you agree?

Did anyone else notice the middle finger during the Super Bowl halftime show? I thought something controversial might have happened when my screen freaked out for a minute, but I wouldn't have even noticed if the network hadn't tried to censor it (too late).

Have you been craving some iguana meat? Then you're in luck!

How did I not know about this?

Be careful when streaming Netflix away from home, or you could get an $10,600 bill like this family.

This is probably old news, but I've never seen Toddlers in Tiaras, so I don't know. I do know I'll definitely never watch it now!

Did you know Americans eat almost half of the world’s yearly supply of chocolate?

This Victoria's Secret model retired to save her body for her husband.

An interesting controversy over whether home-schooled students should be allowed to participate on public school athletic teams.

And you thought you had a big salt- and pepper-shaker collection.

A New York Times "Modern Love" essay on how a woman became her own in-law. Yup, you heard that right.

And just because I am a complete nerd: The evolution of a turtle's shell.

Happy weekend! I'm skiing up in Angel Fire today. What are you doing? Anyone seeing/saw The Vow?

By the Numbers: 2011

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, normally. I figure if I want to do something, I'll set a goal and do it; I don't need it to be January 1st to feel motivated. However, reading all my lovely fellow bloggers New Year's Resolutions posts has gotten me in the mood to set a few goals for myself. Before I do that, though, I think it's important to see what I've accomplished in the past year. So here's a rundown of 2011, by the numbers.

Things for my apartment.

I feel like I've been blogging about my friend Kiki a lot lately, but what can I say? She's a big part of my life. So, she inspired this post in two ways:

1. She came to my room to cuddle briefly tonight.
2. She bought candles at Marshalls when we went shopping last weekend.

Now let me explain what these two things have in common.

1. I live in a twin bed. Which also happens to be a top bunk. Which makes cuddling with two grown women a little difficult.
2. I live in a sorority house. Which means candles are prohibited.

So, that leads me to the topic of this post: Things I can't wait to have when I live in an apartment! Here's the short list for now:

Source: None via Megan on Pinterest

A double bed (at least!). I have always lived in a twin. My sister and brother (who is three years younger, mind you) both had double or queen-sized beds in high school, but I - the middle child - slept in a broken old-top-half-of-our-bunk-bed-from-1997 twin until my mom sold the house last month to move to Switzerland.

(Don't even get me started on my mild-to-severe middle child syndrome. It's quite traumatic.)

Source: mycottageofbliss.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Pretty candles! These are especially gorgeous for autumn.

Source: whitekitchens.blogspot.com via Rhonda on Pinterest

Somewhere to cook. I currently have access to a microwave, but no oven. This isn't to say I actually can cook, but I'd like to have the option. Or at least be able to broil my leftover French fries in the oven instead of microwaving them to a soggy temperature. Yuck.

Source: None via Nicole on Pinterest

Great art! I'm limited right now to hanging decorations from the wooden strip around my room, and I'm also limited to hanging things that are light enough to be held up with 3M adhesive. I just can't wait to put some nails in the wall! The Creed of Alpha Delta Pi will be the first thing to be framed and hung.

I'm sure I will think of many more material things to look forward to as graduation approaches, but that's all for now!

Love the way you lie.

Yes, this post title is also a Rihanna/Eminem song, but no, that's not what I'm referring to. Instead, I'm referring to the way Dr. Cal Lightman lies in his fabulous television show, Lie to Me. My old roommate turned me on to the series last year, and I just started watching it this semester on Netflix Instant Watch. (What would I do without this marvelous little piece of entertainment technology?)

Photo via Pinterest.

Lie to Me is focused around "deception expert" Cal Lightman, a.k.a. a human lie detector, and his team as they solve cases around Washington D.C. and the world. Sometimes they work with the FBI or local police departments, but sometimes they just butt in where they're not really wanted (until they use their genius skills to crack the case, that is).

I was planning on writing a recap post after I finished Season 2 with some of my favorite episodes. Instead, I got on Netflix some time last week and noticed there was an entire new season available to watch instantly! I can't wait until I finish three seasons to let you in on this little secret, so I'll just share my favorite episodes up until now (Season 2, Episode 16). Enjoy!

Season 1, Episode 12: Blinded

I totally called who the copycat rapist was in this episode, but I think the SVU-like qualities easily make it one of my favorite episodes.

Season 2, Episode 1: The Core of It

Erika Christensen, split personalities, the murder of a prostitute.... Again, more similarities to SVU and more fun for me!

Season 2, Episode 11: Beat the Devil

This episode involves a psychopathic college student who is dangerously handsome and (almost) cleverer than Lightman.

And now I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the series, before you run off to start watching on your own:

"Good chess players think five moves ahead."

"Great chess players think one move ahead, but it's always the right move."

These are their stories.

Anybody recognize the title of this post? Would you recognize it with the all-too-familiar "dun dun" immediately following?


That's right, it's the end of the introduction to "Law & Order" and its numerous spinoffs, including my personal favorite, the Special Victims Unit. Season 13 started last week, but I just got the chance to watch the newest episode today. Here are my thoughts. (Warning: Might contain spoilers, but I'll try not to ruin the episode for y'all.)

As a devoted fan (I have seen every single episode since 1999), I was nervous to watch the new season without Christopher Meloni (a.k.a. Elliot Stabler, a.k.a. a hot-but-loses-his-temper-too-easily sex crimes detective). I like how they embedded his story and reason for not returning throughout the episode, however, instead of just announcing he was gone at some point during the show. Of course, the average watcher might not even know Stabler wasn't returning to this season, and in that case, they definitely need the storyline to explain why. I do wish they could have at least included him a final goodbye scene or something. I'll miss him.

The new detective, Amanda Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish), doesn't seem too bad. I loved her go-get-'em attitude when she handed off her box to a passerby so she could get in the elevator with Cragen. But from my preliminary research on Season 13, I've learned Olivia Benson/Mariska Hargitay will be moving to a smaller role to allow the producers to wean her character out of the series. Wahh. So I was a little too judgemental of Rollins during the episode. She tried too hard, had a forced accent and could have seriously screwed over the case. But I'll keep an open mind. After Benson leaves, I'll need someone new to cheer for.

Things I loved about this episode: It was classic SVU. Money, power, credibility issues, twists in stories and a surprise witness at the end. And they brought back A.D.A. Alex Cabot to fight the bad guys; I absolutely love her character. So let's just say that though I miss Stabler's tantrums and volatile personality, I'll definitely be tuning in next week for episode 2. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to watch it on television for once instead of streaming on my computer!

Source: tv.com via Coldilox on Pinterest

Goodbye, Elliot. It was a good 12 years!