high five for Friday!

I've been coming out of my funk that I was in for the past couple weeks, and with that I'm actually blogging and present on the internets again, so you know, let's all celebrate for that. You know what else we should celebrate? The fact that it's Friday. Because, really, that's the best ever, ever, ever.

Also, because I keep randomly skipping weeks, this week's high five for Friday (inspired by Lauren of My Grey Desk) is actually for about two weeks. Sorry, not sorry! 

1. During a trip to J Crew (40% off sale last weekend - hell yeah!) I picked this up and devoured it. I loooove J Crew.

2. Last night, I had dinner at Graffiato, Mike Isabella's Italian style restaurant here in DC. My experience can be summed up with this tweet: "If I had to pick between sex and eating Mike Isabella's food, I'd pick the food. No hesitation." I might hesitate only if it was Rupert Grint. And I'd still try to find a way to have both. (Pictured: Pepperoni flatbread, White House pizza, and a Hit the Road, Jack.)

3. Yes, this is a photo of a condom. I went to the zoo with a friend from college. When I got a headache, I tried to buy Advil from the machine in the bathroom and this is what it gave me. NOT THE SOLUTION I WAS LOOKING FOR.

4. About a week ago I also had dinner at Ripple with my friend Liane. Ripple is home of the now kind of famous Grilled Cheese Bar, which is basically the best thing to ever happen to my life. (Pictured: Winnimere and comté cheese on ciabatta bread with garlic aioli and bacon. Also, their wine is insanely good.)

5. For my birthday, my parents gave me a new pair of Nike Frees. This is from my first run in them. Since, you know, apparently the only other thing I do is EAT CHEESE so I need the running. NOT SORRY.



Also, the weekly round up is about two weeks long. There's a lot of good stuff in here you're going to want to check out though, so I don't think you'll mind. Right? RIGHT?!

Things You Missed Here on Simply, Valorie

• the plans that used to matter, the ones that do now, and the thing about having 365 opportunities to change. basically, happy birthday to me. 21 year old me would laugh in 22 year old me's face right now.
• 288 ounces of juice that changed my definition of normal. asshole juice. If you're considering doing a juice cleanse, I recommend this post highly. (Hint: I LOVED IT.)
• happy monday and some internet lovin' my sponsors are better than yours! yeeeuuuhhh.
• childhood vacation blog swap, featuring Becks of Crunchy Can Feel Good. Inspired by 20something Bloggers. Also, her family is hilarious and awesome.

Things I Did Everywhere Else on the Internet

• Guest Post: Childhood Summer Vacations -- Becks wrote for me, and I wrote for her. The best! Also, Becks is just pretty cool in general, so you should stick around her site for a while and love her posts. 
• {Guest Post} I've Left My Heart in Many Places -- Amy is moving, so I wrote a little bit for her about moving to DC and leaving your heart everywhere you travel. Amy is also cool, so you should probably stick around her site and leave her some love too. 
• Thursday Thoughts -- On the 100 most creative people in business. 

Things I Didn't Come Up With, But LOVE

• Fifty Shades of Grey, Snark Edition. This is hilarious. I wish I'd thought to do this, except there is no way I could have done it as well as they do. Whether you loved the series or hated it (and don't tell me which camp you fall into), go read it.
• Iron Goddess of Mercy, by Books of Adam. He takes six things every one of us twentysomethings deal with and summarizes them with hilarious drawings and a little hard-earned wisdom. 
• 23 athletes and two coaches are representing Aggieland in London! GIG 'EM. 
• 5 Conversations I Don't Want to Have Anymore. "There are worse things than being quiet. Like being boring."