Four Distinctly Suburban Loves

Friday, October 15, 2010

Instead of focusing on how much I miss D.C. - namely, the people in it - I'm trying my darndest to focus on the things I like about Ohio. Luckily, there are a lot of them, though I've found that, for now, I'm finding the most happiness in things that are distinctly different from the District, little things I lived without for three years & am pleased to have returned to. Here's a smattering:

Foliage
This is a gimme. Sure, there were trees in D.C. - more than in most cities (ahemBigAppleahem) - but nothing beats a Midwestern autumn. I've never been much of a nature aficionado, but in the fall in Ohio, all I want is to be outdoors. Except that I'm really, really afraid of spiders. So nevermind. But... where was I? Oh, yes! The foliage! It's pretty!

Leaving things in the car
In the city, life went like this: Want to go to the gym after work? Carry your duffel bag around with you all day. Want to work from a coffeeshop? You'll also have to haul your laptop to the bar afterward. Here in the OH, I plan for the day & load up my car accordingly, stashing all kinds of things in my trunk, including my gym bag, my new laptop bag, & about four garbage bags full of stuff to take to Goodwill. Why my trunk? Well, because I'm always afraid my car will be broken into if it's within plain view. But the point is that no longer have to shlep everything around all day like some urban Sherpa. For this reason alone, my shoulders are thrilled to be back in the Midwest.

This may also be the right time to tell you that last month, the owner of Simply-Bags.com sent me a monogrammed laptop bag. When I moved back home, it was waiting for me - brown & turquoise with my initials emblazoned across the front, all pretty & convenient. It's been attached to my hip - er, shoulder - every day since then, as I haul my many technologies from coffee shop to library to home & back again.

Cheap stuff, especially clothing
Yesterday, I bought a pair of shoes for $2. And yes, I'm unemployed & should thus be clinging desperately to my hard-earned duckets, but could you pass up a $2 pair of shoes? And OK, fine, they might be sort of ugly, I haven't decided yet. But they were $2, didn't you hear me? In the 'burbs, inexpensive shopping abounds - there're the old standbys a la Target & TJ Maxx, but there are also a bevy of thrift stores (the one in my town is not for the faint of heart), WalMarts (if your conscience can handle it), Gabriel Brothers (thanks for the shoes!), etc., etc. If they're cheap, they're here. And I, in turn, am there. And based on the last bullet point, I have plenty of trunk space to temporarily store any shoes & other cheap things I may acquire.

Starbucks drive-thrus
The Starbucks in my hometown has a drive-thru, open until 10pm; this is a beautiful new addition to my life, allowing me to pick up chai lattes & pumpkin scones on my way through town. The truth is that, for now, I'm spending a lot of time inside the Starbucks, applying for jobs & catching up on blogs, so I'm not making much use of this feature - but the drive-thru is, in theory, a total suburban gem. 

*FTC Compliance: I was given a free laptop bag from Simply-Bags.com. I was not, however, required to say nice things about the bag - or to review it at all. As such, all opinions expressed in this blog are my own. As always!

11 comments:

  1. The Fall in the Midwest is SO PRETTY. I'm jealous!

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  2. This makes me miss home! Maybe some day I'll get my car back, but for now it's on loan to my sister (the lucky chick lives in Memphis and gets to stash things in her car too). So jealous you're getting to take advantage of cheap shopping too!

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  3. I wish the Starbucks by my house had a drive through! Of course, I would probably be broke if it did. HA!

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  4. I miss those things too! However, I've gone city and I don't think I could go back to "country" which is the part of OH where I'm from. I am making a cameo visit to Columbus today though for the marathon tomorrow. I can't wait to run through the OSU campus to see all the foliage :)

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  5. Aw. I miss those things too. I am so going to miss having a car in about a month when it gets freezing and I'm still walking everywhere. I also miss living at home, which you're doing neh? I bet there are some perks to that. Like someone cooking for you. Oh what I wouldn't do for a wee trip back home to be treated like the baby I am at heart....

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  6. This reaffirmed my love of living in Ohio! Thanks for this :) You are a great writer! P.S. I wish I could should our front yard. We have 10934 trees, and the orange leaves are so pretty!

    Stephanie

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  7. I've only been to Ohio once, but I still recall how friendly and genuine everyone was. I love city living, but city dwellers aren't necessarily known for being friendly without a reason or agenda.

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  8. These are all excellent things! (Especially that Starbucks drive-through...*swoon*) You know what you can also love that wasn't in D.C.? Tim Horton's! I never knew of them 'till my brother moved to Ohio and (in the words of Rachel Zoe), I die for their hot apple cider and breakfast bagel sandwiches. (Where exactly in Ohio are you?)

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  9. I love my car. love. love. love. No more tripping over my grocery cart on the way home and carrying things on my head and my arms. It is truly amazing.

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  10. Ah, the glories of the midwest! It definitely makes running errands much more convenient. Glad you're seeing the upside of the 'burbs. Btw, I'm also in Ohio, so we could even be enjoying the same foliage.

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  11. I have not been to a Gabriel Brothers in forver. That place is like cheap-stuff mecca. Wonder if there's one around where I live...

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