Fall 2011 Bucket List

via Pinterest

I'm adding attend a football tailgate and win a tennis match to this list.

What's on your fall bucket list?

Change Schmange

I am probably the most change averse person I know.

When my parents sold my house back in 2008, I literally refused to come home and pack up my room and my stuff, to the point that my mom eventually threw it all into boxes and one day I came home and my room was empty. I guess it will be fun to unpack those boxes in a few months.

The summer before my freshman year of college, I said I wished I could live in June 2004 forever. One of the best gifts I have ever gotten was from a high school friend related to that comment. She created a little box out of cardboard, and on the inside she glued pictures of our group of friends from that summer and an amazing quote. She said, "Here you go, Katie. Summer 2004 forever." I'm pretty sure that teeny, tiny cardboard box is packed away somewhere but I'm not sure where. See above.

And now, my life is changing again, in small ways. Two people who have become very close friends are "moving away." My parents are spending more and more time back in Atlanta, preparing for their our lakehouse to be ready. We have a new youth minister at church who has basically managed to flip the entire program upside-down and inside-out in a matter of 2 weeks. And for some reason, I can't help but thinking that perhaps my romantic life is about to change as well. I have zero reason to believe that, so maybe it's just hopeful thinking.

For the first time in my whole life, I'm not quite as opposed to these changes. My friends leaving means bigger and better things are in store for them, and I'm excited and proud. My parents moving back means I'll get to spend more time with them AND that the lakehouse will finally be complete. A new youth minister could mean new volunteers, potential new friends, and a fresh start in leading teens closer to God. And my romantic life? Well, to that I say it's about damn time. 

I am embracing these changes as best I can, but don't mind me if I try to bury my head in the sand for a little bit while all these things happen around me. It's what I do best.

How do you deal with changes? Are you of the "Heck yeah, bring it on" mentality, or more like me, the "but why can't things just stay exactly like they are at this very minute?"

Tuesday. Again. Don't be fooled.

Winning.

Don't be fooled - I haven't actually opened it.

I actually ate that whole bowl of chips.

Don't be fooled, that's not my real hair.

My new favorite food, fried pickles.

No fooling, only pure elation over lavendar cocktail dresses and pearls.

Ritz Carlton.

WeightWatchers who? 

This is not a joke.

Neither are Tuesdays.

Another book review

I made it my goal for 2011 to read 50 books. To say I am falling short is a vast understatement, but I think I'll be able to do it. Can't give up hope yet! I've read 27 books thus far....so I have a little bit of slack to pick up!

The last book I read was Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. I think I bought it on sale on Amazon so that I could get free shipping on my GRE Study Guide, but I am so glad I did.

I think I loved this book so much because of the way it wove a tale about the complicated relationships of sisters, of being the "perfect" older sister, of the struggles that younger sisters deal with, and how parents are so oblivious to how their involvement and encouragement can feel like too much. It may sound like I can relate to the story, and in a less serious way I can. More than anything I think I could have seen my life playing out similarly, although make no mistake about it, I'm not running away to the big city with a man any time soon. I think this book offered me perspective and understanding that I had been looking for. So, maybe it really was a great book, or maybe it was the book I needed at the time, but either way I truly loved this book and couldn't put it down!

So now I need to pick my next book. What are you reading?

Photo on Canvas

Ya'll know how obsessed I am with pictures. My friends definitely know. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but regardless, my friends always know who to go to for a photo opp. 9 times out of 10 I have my DLSR on me, too. Those suckers are heavy!

I have so many pictures that I don't know what to do with. I could print them, I could scrapbook them...the options are endless but I just never committed to anything except a few scrapbooks from my college years. Last fall I printed more pictures with the intention of making a 2010 scrapbook but it's now 3/4 of the way to 2012 and no 2010 scrapbook is in sight.

So when a rep from Easy Canvas Prints contacted me about having one of my photos on a canvas, I literally jumped at the opportunity.

I chose a picture of my 4 best girl friends from college. It's an oldie but a goodie, and the last picture of all of us when we all resided in Atlanta. I miss those days. I miss my friends.

I decided to put it right on my fireplace. To be honest, I probably should have gone with a size larger than 8"x10" but it is what it is, and I'm working with it. But if you decide to get your own print, I'd definitely encourage a bigger size.

Love them! Love having a picture of them as the centerpiece in my living room.

One of my friends just ordered a larger size of a picture he took on a trip to Africa and I'm so excited to see how he feels about it. The picture is really awesome, so I'm sure the print is going to look just as good.

Thanks, Easy Canvas Prints! I love my canvas photo and so does everyone who sees it :)



Photos on Canvas

Smell Good

My dependence on perfume started in high school when I discovered Cool Water.

I doused myself in it every morning. I'm 25 and I still own a bottle, and probably always will. It's the perfect summer scent, and takes me back to the year 2000!

Then I discovered Lucky - the jeans, the store, and clearly the perfume. Literally last week I threw away my last travel size bottle. I'm not really sure if I should buy another. Might be time to retire this one, but man... it smells so good! Reminds me of volleyball and my high school boyfriend. All the more reason why I probably shouldn't buy another bottle. Do women in their mid-20's still wear this perfume?

One of my more recent discoveries was Coach Poppy. Love at first sniff. I bought this over a year ago and still have more than half the bottle left. Whenever I wear Poppy, someone always smells it on me and compliments it. It's never the same person, but I do always get compliments. So, I'm not sure what the staying power of Poppy is, but I know I love it when I first put it on. So fresh and so inviting! And so not overwhelming, which is exactly what I look for in a perfume.

Just after finding Poppy, I was introduced to Daisy. I really think it will forever be in my perfume collection. It's delicious, light, flowery, and inviting. If I smelled it on someone else, I'd think based on smell alone they were a great person with a wam, inviting personality. I mean, not trying to toot my own horn, but....I think I fit the bill! 

I have a few other scents in the mix. Some Ralph Lauren ones and I've randomly gotten some samples that I never really loved the way I loved these. 

I'm such a sucker for the Ulta deals - they are always giving away free gifts with the purchase of a perfume. I was lured in over the weekend by that exact signage. 2 bottles of nailpolish and $100 later, I walked out with a new-to-me scent. Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani. Listen, I may not buy designer clothes or own very many designer handbags, but I'll be darned if I'm not ahead of the curve on perfumes. Does that count for anything? 

I haven't spent enough time wearing the Acqua di Gio to really be able to describe it to you, but I know when I told the sales associate about my other favories, it was one of her recommendations, and she hit the nail on the head! So, Acqua di Gio, I hope this is the beginning of a long and lasting relationship. Literally! 

By the way... I never thought I'd be the girl to write more than 2 words regarding my perfume. Oh well. At least you know I smell good!  

August Top 10

Is it seriously September? 2011, slow your roll please.

1. Goodbye/Birthday Celebration Weekend
 

 

2. Painting my bedroom

 

3. Spending part of a weekend with my mom.
 

4. Dinner & drinks with coworkers in town from another office
 

5. Thursday night shenanigans with some of my favorite work friends

6. Regularly scheduled massage appointments.
 

7. Winning 4 tennis matches in a row
 

8. Decorating my living room and dining room shelves.

9. Moving into my new room.

10. Living by myself for a few weeks!