Buffalo Again

The long trip has finally ended and I'm now enjoying a brief period of stationary living before running off to France. Last week Leigh and I had a really nice time seeing our parents, relaxing and eating too much. My parents even threw me a mini Christmas party complete with gifts and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (one of my favorites!). It was really nice and I felt very loved. After a whirlwind visit in Grundy and coaxing Juneau the Cat out from under a couch to get her in the car we were on our way back to Buffalo. We got back to Buffalo late on Thursday night.

On Friday we took a trip to Niagara Falls so I could replace my favorite jeans with a pair that aren't falling apart. I wore my favorite pair almost every day this summer and one month of that time was spent working at farmer's markets, so it's safe to say they are a little worse for wear. Today we got up early and walked down to Elmwood Village to check out the Buffalo version of farmer's markets. The weather was perfect for walking and we found some really great vegetables and other treats at the market. Our healthy morning did not last, however, as we then stopped off at a local bakery for some completely unnecessary dessert items. This evening I cooked pesto spaghetti for dinner. I made the sauce from scratch using the pesto Leigh's mom brought back from Italy and the tomato we bought at the market today plus some seasonings made on my grandparents' farm in Washington State. It was really tasty, even Leigh said so and she rarely likes my attempts at cooking!

It's nice being back in Buffalo with Leigh and Juneau the Cat. It's funny, I've never actually lived in this apartment with Leigh because she moved in while we were broken up, but it feels very homey and welcoming for me. I think it's seeing familiar furniture and being surrounded all the odds and ends we've collected together over the past 7 years that makes the difference.

The task of checking items off my To Do List is in full swing. My work visa came in the mail yesterday (yay!) so I can relax a little bit now. I need to sit down and work on my clerkship application materials soon and I have a long list of unpleasant phone calls scheduled for Monday (life insurance, property insurance, student loans etc......being a grownup really stinks sometimes!). In more fun news, we're putting finishing touches on our tentative Italy travel plans, though I anticipate learning a lot more about our plans upon arrival in Europe. Hopefully I'll find a way to shave a few bucks off our estimated budget. Even if the trip to Italy is massively expensive, it's going to be a ton of fun and we can always head home early if it becomes downright irresponsible. My only real concern is that we might have to adjust our Christmas travel plans if Italy gets the best of us.

In all it's been a really fun weekend. Hopefully tomorrow I will sit down and write my applications for judicial clerkships and take care of other odds and ends that can be handled outside of business hours. I'd also like to enjoy this beautiful early fall weather some more and maybe even do something fun!

PS: An Horse played two gigs in eastern Ontario this week. Unfortunately I wasn't on top of things and missed my chance to see them play live. What's more, they played The Drake in Toronto, which is this really cool small venue that I've been dying to go to. Oh well, I can't have everything. Maybe the Indie Music Gods will have mercy on me for missing out and make it possible for me to see Tegan and Sara in Berlin : )