A Day In My Life As A Graduate Student: Fall 2020

It’s been a long time since I shared a day-in-the-life post! The pandemic and hybrid in-person/online school has made it really hard to set a routine for myself, but every week I get closer to finding a schedule that works for me. I’m going to show you what a typical day looks like for me on a day where I have plans with friends, get some work done solo, and have a class to attend in the evening. I hope this helps you get an idea for what life is like as a graduate student!


Even though I knew I was heading to brunch soon, the first thing I had to do when I woke up in the morning was make myself some iced coffee. I live for my caramel iced coffee that I make with a Keurig. Some days I take my iced coffee and a book out to read in our courtyard, but today I had plans and needed to start getting ready sooner. I drank this cup while sitting at my desk while checking my agenda/email and making sure I was caught up and ready for the day.

Because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, I don’t get to see my friends as often anymore. The safest thing we know how to do is outdoor dining, and today the plan was brunch at a Norman favorite (Neighborhood JAM!) It was supposed to be a little chilly when we arrived but warm up as the morning went on, so I chose to layer a black turtleneck under a silk slip dress.

As always, brunch was *chef’s kiss*. I was the only one who treated myself to a mimosa (the others opted for coffee) and we all ordered “The Heap”, which is essentially just loaded hashbrowns. It kept me full through about 4:00 PM, which I was not mad about. Loved seeing my friends, it had been a while since I saw them since our schedules got a lot harder to plan around with school in full swing!

I checked the mail when I got home and realized that I had two surprises waiting for me! One was some CASETiFY phone cases I had ordered the week before, and the other was a postcard from my friend Erica who recently moved to go to graduate school in Indiana.

I had been wanting a new phone case for a while and immediately swapped out my old one for the black and pink one. It’s too cute, I’m obsessed!

After the high from opening my packages wore off, I decided I should try to get some work done. I was working to get ahead so I could relax when I went out of town in the coming days.

Once the weather warmed up even more, I took my studying outdoors and did some of my work from the comfort of my apartment complex’s rooftop deck. I love this area for relaxing, socializing, and studying, and I’m almost always alone up there! It really is a hidden gem of the complex and I can’t wait to watch football up here later in the season.

After a successful few hours of work, it was time for me to head to my evening class. I snapped this selfie right before heading out to campus. It’s weird having a class that only partially meets in person, but this was one of those days and I did feel a little relief of being able to get out of the house again.

When class ended, it was time to go home and start my evening routine. I had planned to get more work done after class, but I was feeling pretty drained and decided to call it an evening pretty early on. Overall, I had a good day and loved the combo of seeing friends, getting work done, and going to class!

What do your days typically look like? Everyone’s lives are turned upside down right now and we are all looking to add some normalcy to our daily and weekly routines. Let me know how you set a schedule for yourself!

-K

How I Celebrated Father’s Day 2019

My dad came to Austin yesterday to visit me. I was so excited, because that meant that I would actually get to (basically) spend Father’s Day with my dad. (The day before still counts, right?) I wasn’t going to visit home for two more weeks, so this was nice because I got to spend time with him earlier than anticipated!

My dad left Frisco super early in the morning, and ended up getting to Austin around 11. I hadn’t eaten yet, so brunch was super appealing. Per the recommendations of my coworkers and aunt, we decided on Kerbey Lane. My cinnamon-swirl pancakes were excellent (can you believe that they consider those half-sized?) and my dad let me share some of his breakfast potatoes. I left very full and very satisfied.

Once I had a substantial food baby from our great brunch, clearly only logical next step was to put a bathing suit and go paddle boarding. We took our stand-up paddle boards out on Lady Bird Lake for an hour, and that was more than enough time. We had a great time, but it was hot, we both got a little sunburnt, and were more than ready for the next stop on our list.

Up next: Barton Springs Pool! The water is a constant 68-70 degrees, so we were both ready to dive in after our toasty paddle board session. But be warned: while 68-70 degrees isn’t that bad in air temperature, it’s pretty dang chilly in water. I definitely got some swim team flashbacks after my jump into the frosty water.

After our (somewhat brief) swim, we laid out in the shade for a while! I liked people watching because Austin has so many interesting characters, especially at a landmark like Barton Springs. My dad, worn out from paddle boarding, took a short snooze.

When we were done at Barton Springs, we headed back home to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. We went to Hopdoddy, per the recommendation of my aunt, and it was really good! I’m going to post a full restaurant review soon (stay tuned!), so for now I’ll leave you with this picture of my truffle fries and shake.

Since we were back on SoCo, we decided to wander around and visit some more places I hadn’t seen when I was out with my friends last weekend. My favorite was the costume store Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds, while my dad liked the various cowboy hat and boots stores.

It was only a day trip for him, so he headed back home after we explored South Congress for a little while. I’m so glad I got to spend time with him, and hope he’ll come back again before the summer ends!

(I know he reads my blog, even though he never says anything, so if you’re reading this Dad, happy Father’s Day and I love you! )

-K

Black Walnut Café

I’m back in Frisco for a few days before I make the move to Austin for the summer, and I knew something I needed to do while I was home was pay a visit to the Black Walnut Café! When I’m in Frisco and craving brunch food, this is where I go. While not exclusively a brunch restaurant, they do have an impressive breakfast menu that I like to take advantage of while I’m there. Breakfast food is probably my favorite food group, and the meal I most look forward to eating every day!

I’m a creature of habit, so today (like most days) I gravitated towards the “Breakfast Migas.” It comes with four scrambled eggs, fried tortilla strips, bacon, feta, salsa, and cilantro on top. My second favorite food genre is definitely Mexican, so this dish combines the flavors I love in both breakfast and Mexican food. Yum!

Another reason I like to visit Black Walnut is it’s atmosphere. It’s very rustic yet modern, and the combination makes it super welcoming and a great place to come to chill with friends. This morning, I went with my sister to get some sibling bonding time in before I leave for the summer.

Luckily, Black Walnut has locations all across Texas (including 2 in Austin!) so I won’t have to go without my Breakfast Migas fix for the entire summer. It’s comforting to know that I’ll be able to get a taste of home, even if I’m 4 hours away.

My move is coming up soon. I leave Frisco and make the trek down to Austin on Friday, and I’m so excited! Stay tuned to see more of this summer’s adventures.

-K

Neighborhood JAM

Today, I’m reviewing Neighborhood JAM, a breakfast and lunch restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma! My freshman year roommate Lexi was in town this weekend, so we decided to go to brunch and catch up. Unfortunately, it was also Mom’s Weekend at OU, which means we had to fight through crowds of mother/daughter duos to get a table. Luckily, Neighborhood JAM has a feature where you can get on their waiting list through the Yelp app. I got us in their virtual waiting list at 9 a.m. and went on my way, getting ready for our brunch date.

Despite getting in line early (and planning to arrive at 11 a.m.), it was 11:40 before we got seated. Since Lexi recently turned 21 (!!!!) I bought us mimosas to celebrate, and they were so good.

Despite being incredibly crowded, the service was pretty fast. I ordered “The Good Ol’ Boy,” which comes with eggs, a biscuit, hashbrowns, and your choice of meat. It was so good (especially since it was past noon when it arrived and I hadn’t eaten anything this morning.)

I loved getting to spend the afternoon with my old roomie and catch up, and this was such a great atmosphere for it! But if you’re craving their breakfast food, I highly recommend getting in line on the Yelp app first. Despite the delay, we would’ve been waiting for an additional three hours if we hadn’t gotten on the wait list at 9 a.m.

Keep checking back to see what restaurant I review next!

-K

How We Roll

Yesterday was so different and fun! We started out our morning by making a decadent brunch for all of us, complete with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and reheated french fries from Prohibition Kitchen. (We figured that fries were close enough to hashbrowns and could be eaten in the morning.) I’m a sucker for breakfast food, so it wasn’t hard to get me out of bed early when all my favorite things were being served!

After breakfast, we went to a local farmer’s market and craft fair, which was super cool. I loved seeing the things that other people grow, bake, and create. I personally didn’t buy anything, but a lot of my group bought baked goods or jewelry!

We needed a second round of caffeine while we were leaving the farmer’s market, so on the way back to the house we stopped at a coffee shop called The Kookaburra. It had been on my list of places I wanted to see and I’m so glad we went! I got “Aussie Iced,” which was cold brew with vanilla and cream, and it was super good. We couldn’t resist taking a picture with the turtle mural on the wall outside afterwards.

One of my favorite activities from yesterday was when we went biking on the beach! I haven’t ridden a bike in forever and was afraid I had forgotten how, but nope! It’s like I never took a day off. We rode down the beach 2.5 miles with the wind, and rode back up the street 2.5 miles back into the headwind. It was much less fun coming back home, but enjoyable anyways. I think we’ll take the bikes out again today for our full beach day!

After our biking workout, we came home and relaxed by the pool and in the hot tub. We were really tired so being able to lay out and read a book was the ideal afternoon. I am sure going to miss this place when we leave tomorrow!

Sorry this post was up a day late! Can’t wait to share our last day’s exploits later on. Stay tuned for those!

-K