Working girl.

Sick of me yet? ;) I'm taking advantage of all my free time now because in just over a week, I'll have a little bit less time because... I got a job! Like, a go-into-the-office, not-just-a-temporary-contract job. After working from home for 5-1/2 years, and not having consistent work for over 2 years, it'll be interesting, to say the least, but I think it'll be good for me. And when I'm not stressing about leaving the pooches or failing miserably, I'm mostly excited to get back into the real world. I'll be doing "marketing" (I hate saying that because I have no true marketing experience - why can't he just make me happy and call it "communications"?) for a small, family-owned manufacturing company in Benton Harbor. Will keep you posted on any exciting adventures.

To celebrate, today I treated myself to a $13 manicure (thanks for the tip, Hillary!), also my reward for not biting my nails for three whole weeks (a habit I rekindled last spring when we started trying to sell the house). I feel so fancy with my party girl pink nails.

And, of course, no celebration is worthy of being called a celebration without some delicious food. Tonight I convinced Brad to take me to the Bistro. We've been here several times and it's the nicest place in St. Joe. But after having found places we love in Benton Harbor and other neighboring towns, we've concluded the entrees are just not worth the $$. That being said, we LOVE the appetizers. Seriously, best fries ever. So tonight we ordered some drinks (my new favorite, Smithwick's, which is BEER!), apps, and salads. To start, tuna tartare with an amazing wasabi sauce. This was so good - I could have eaten two, all on my own. The tuna's got a bite to it, then with the wasabi... nice and spicy. Then pan fried crab cakes, which were fluffy and light. And, of course, our true love, the pomme frittes. A Caesar salad for Brad and a mixed greens salad (with blue cheese, please!) for me. The perfect meal.

It's freezing outside, but it's sunny and the lake looks beautiful, so I convinced Brad to go for a little drive after dinner (we ate at 6:30 so there was plenty of light left when we were done [early bird special!]). We drove by my new office, around the boonies a bit, through St. Joe's swankiest neighborhood, making a final pit stop at the Liquor Cabinet, which is right at the end of our road. I thought the Wine Castle in Ann Arbor was impressive. This place, there are almost no words. There are rows and rows of Michigan wine, including a ton of wineries I've never even seen. Rows and rows and rows of Michigan beer, including Ann Arbor Brewing Company (aww, home!) beer. And Sex! And Fizz! And Wet! I didn't even make my way through the booze! I just kept grabbing. And I'm not even thirsty! But I got a few bottles to have on hand, and I can't wait to go back again soon and explore some more. And, of course, I got a bottle of Fizz, just cause I could.

The celebration continues this weekend, as Brad and I head to the outlet mall to buy... gulp... work clothes!