29 Things About Me

It’s hard to believe that I’ve started my final year in my 20’s.

I was originally going to post this on my birthday but yesterday was full of so many birthday surprises that I didn’t have the time to hit publish. So here we are.

I want to start off by saying how thankful I am for my family and friends. This was a weird birthday being in quarantine but they found a way to still celebrate with me and make it special.

If you have a loved one with a birthday coming up, I can’t recommend enough coordinating a (surprise!) Zoom call, sending treats or food via Grub Hub or sending a birthday card in the mail. These were a handful of the things that made my day so special!

So with that being said, in celebration, and reflection, of my 29th birthday, I thought that I would create a list of 29 things you all might not know about me.

Hope you enjoy!

1. Growing up I wanted to be either an interior designer or fashion designer.

2. My mom taught me how to sew when I was younger and am so thankful for that life skill. My favorite items that we made together are my t-shirt quilts from high school and a separate t-shirt quilt from college.

3. I was encouraged to get a job by my parents as soon as it was legal for me to work. My first job was as a soccer referee at age 14 and I was terrible. To this day I don’t understand the concept of off-sides.

4. My favorite high school job was working as a life guard over the summer at a local country club with diving friends.

5. The “kids car” when I was in college was a light green Izuzu Rodeo that we called the “green machine”. To make matters worse, it was manual.

6. I was in the top 5% of my graduating class in High School.

7. I used to be double jointed in both my shoulders until I had surgery in college to fix my right shoulder after a diving accident. For a visual, I could play jump rope with my arms and was known fondly as “circus girl” in gym class after showing my hidden talent.

8. I started diving when I was 10 years old and continued my diving career through college at Illinois State University.

9. On top of classes and diving practices I was also a tutor in college. I worked primarily with the other student athletes and tutored economics, statistics, accounting and finance.

10. I lived in Wright Hall my freshman and sophomore year of college which is now my last name.

11. When I first meet my now husband, Patrick, he had a mullet. Don’t worry, it was long gone before we started dating a year later.

12. In college I had many nicknames. My favorites were Mo (which some of my friends still call me today) and Bambi. I got the Bambi nickname from our team’s weight coach because I looked so uncoordinated and awkward with my long limbs in the weight room.

13. My junior and senior year of college I lived off campus in what was known as the old gymnasts house, even though I wasn’t a gymnast. It has been in the gymnast family for over 10 years when we moved in and it took us a whole weekend to clean house. The things we found in that basement were shocking!

14. When I first moved out of my parents house after college I moved to Evanston by myself. To this day one of my favorite apartments because of all the vintage charm and walk-in closet!

15. I refuse to pay full price on most things. When I walk into a clothing store I walk straight to the sales rack. No shame.

16. When I do decided to splurge its usually on bags or shoes, especially if it comes in pink. My favorite brand is Tory Burch.

17. During my time in Chicago, I’ve lived in Lakeview, Gold Coast and River North. The best views go to Lakeview when I was on the 53rd floor over looking Montrose Harbor.

18. My favorite food is pizza. I could eat it everyday as long as it’s not frozen pizza, give me the good stuff!

19. My go to drink is a Moscow Mule. When I first starting drinking them, I was given grief by friends that is was a “summer drink”. I whole heartedly disagree. Moscow Mules are perfect for anytime of year.

20. I work with my dad and have been for the past seven years. If you told me in high school that I’d work with him in the future and that we’d have a great working relationship, I would call you crazy.

21. I work out of two office, Chicago and Lincolnshire, and spend close to 2+ hours everyday in the car commuting. To stay awake/engaged in the car I’m either listening to podcasts or rocking out to music. I am 100% that girl throwing a dance party in her car. No shame.

22. My favorite part of Chicago is all the architectural beauty. I have gone on the architectural river tour over five times and it never get’s old. If you haven’t been, I can’t recommend it enough!

23. On that same note, my favorite book is Devil in The White City by Erik Larsen. I love the how the story of the Worlds Fair is told from two perspective with my favorite being the perspective of Daniel Burnham who had such an impact on Chicago’s footprint today!

24. My second favorite thing about living in Chicago is being in close proximity to concert venues. My husband and I love going to concerts and took the plunge this past summer and went to all four days of Lollapalooza. Probably the first and last time!

25. My most embarrassing moment was when I face planted during a co-ed softball game running from first to home base. My friend was drooling he was laughing so hard.

26. My husband and I got married on the same day we started dating. I am a numbers person (if you haven’t noticed) and thought it was really meaningful to have our dating anniversary and wedding anniversary be the same day. We will have been together 8 years this summer and married for two.

27. We adopted a puppy, Mac Miller Wright, this past September and recently found out that he is part Labrador and part Great Pyrenees. He is almost 9 months and is around 80 lbs! (Don’t tell our building the weight limit is 40 lbs.).

28. My happy place is Northern Michigan, specifically the Traverse City area. Growing up my family went to a Lutheran family camp every summer right on Lake Michigan which is one of the many reasons it has a special place in my heart.

29. We just bought a house! I’m moving back to my hometown and can’t wait to share more updates with you all on the home buying process and the house in general!

Thank you to all of you who reached out this week to make my quarantine birthday so special! It’s a birthday I won’t forget!