Yesterday, I got to spend the afternoon with my sister!  Originally, the plan was for us to go apartment shopping, but since we didn’t have any appointments at any apartment complexes and non of the apartment places that we called could fit us in right then, we ended up going shoe shopping instead.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find the kind of shoes that Brenna needed, but we did have a great time spending the afternoon together.  As we shopped through the mall, we passed by the Godiva chocolate shop, and I couldn’t walk by without utilizing my “free piece of chocolate” reward that I receive once a month as a Godiva Rewards member.  Brenna and I split a piece of dark chocolate almond bark.  It was sooo delicious because the almonds were perfectly toasted and crunchy and were the perfect contrast to the slightly bitter and smooth dark chocolate.

We then headed to Panera for lunch time salads.  During college, I would love going to Panera on the weekends, but the last time I was at a Panera was 5 months ago before I left for the cruise!  I decided to try one of their newer salads, The Mediterranean Salmon Salad.  The salad had romaine, mixed greens, feta cheese, almonds, red onion, kalamata olives, and a honey tangerine vinaigrette.  Usually, I am not a fan of citrus in salads, but the citrus made this completely springy and light.  It was delicious.

I then came home, changed clothes and got ready for a meeting that I had at a gym not too far from the apartment.  By the time I got home, it was time to change and get ready to head to Happy Hour at the Symphony.  At this event, I knew there would be appetizers, but I wasn’t sure what they would be and didn’t want to end up starving because of a lack of options and relying on my dinner to be appetizers, so I made myself a quick strawberry, spinach, protein smoothie.

Brian and I then headed out for our hump day event!

As an arts administration major, I did many case studies on events similar to Happy Hour at the Symphony, and planned many events as class assignment with a similar idea to Happy Hour, yet I had never attended the event.

One of the problems that many arts organizations face is getting young people to attend their events and become invested in the organization in order to replace the older generation as they phase out.  This event was perfect for introducing a younger crowd to the Symphony and classical music while putting a contemporary twist on things.

It was everything that I had imagined and hoped that it would be.  There were many young people, and some older mingling and chatting after a long day of work.

There were samples of appetizers from various local restaurants and samples of wine, beer, and  Hoosier Momma margaritas and bloody marys.

Brian and I were able to see many friends from Butler, some of which are performing arts enthusiasts and some of which were just looking for a fun event to attend on a Wednesday night after work/school.

After an hour and a half of mingling and sampling local food and drinks, it was time to head into the main auditorium and enjoy the beautiful music.  The symphony played a “mash-up” of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Bon Iver.  The three singers were amazing and had strong,  unique, expressive voices that completely made the performance.  Overall, I was impressed with the evening and left the theater with that “high” that I get after hearing a beautiful musical performance.

All of that on a Wednesday night, and we were still home by 8pm!  Plenty of time to wind down and prepare for the next day of work or school.  We will definitely be attending again 🙂

Breakfast

This morning, I woke up hungry.  Luckily, I prepared myself another bowl of overnight oats last night.  I simply added a cup of raspberries today, mixed it up and was ready to eat!

The agenda for today includes heading out for a run, organizing a couple of things around the house, applying for some jobs, meeting with my college academic advisor, and attending a group fitness class (Cardio/Cycle/Strength!…should be fun).

Have an amazing Thursday!