The end of the monogram saga

I've been obsessing over monograms for a while. I took to the Twitters to complain, too. Sorry about that...

A few weeks ago I found a Groupon for one, and it finally came in the mail. I love it! I ordered the rose gold 18" extra-small monogram from monogramonline.com and it's wonderful! A little larger than I was dreaming and hoping for, but after 3 days it's grown on me.

I even bought one to give as a gift! Guess you'll have to wait until the holidays to find out who it's for.

Have you purchased anything lately that you are just obsessed over?

My Thoughts on Seeing a Therapist

Taboo topics, for the win.

 

Yep, I see a therapist. I have for about 8 months now. The last time I was there she kinda-sorta tried to break up with me and I straight up told her no. I get it, she's having a baby soon and needs to figure that out and I'm not exactly high priority on her list of patients when it comes to real medical need, but she's pretty dang high on my priority list when it comes to doing real life so she isn't going to get rid of me that easily.

 

I started seeing her last December when my uncle got really sick and my family got overwhelming and my anxiety went through the roof. And we got into a sweet routine. I go in ~every 10 days, we talk for 45 minutes, she gives me some excellent perspective and I carry on with my life (and presumably she with hers.) I've told her about that pesky friendship that keeps popping back up - she's totally not a fan but she gets it, and she claims I've come a long way. She was one of the first people who knew about graduate school. I felt safe telling her because she hardly knew me then. She asked constantly about the Lenten Adventure and for the first time in 8 months, I sat in her office and sobbed a few weeks ago.

 

You may wonder how I found her... I googled. And then I called around. I knew I wanted to see a female, and I knew I was looking for someone who specialized in anxiety, relationships, and general life stuff. I also didn't really care what type of degree she had, so long as she was certified to see me as a patient. I wasn't sure the difference between a licensed counselor, LPC, LMFT, etc, and I figured it probably didn't matter so long as I found someone I clicked with. I 'interviewed' one woman to see if we'd be a good fit, but turns out she didn't take my insurance so I had to move on. My current doctor isn't particularly convenient (her hours are only 9am-5pm, so I have to take 1hr off work each week to see her) but for some reason I just felt like it worked when we first met. So we kept meeting, and a few weeks in she asked me how I felt things were going and I was honest; I felt really comfortable with her, felt like we had really established a good cadence for our appointments, and I really appreciated her perspective and oppenness with me. So we keep on keepin' on.

 

I think this happens, where people get attached to their therapists. I'm officially attached to mine. I don't particularly need her. My anxiety is under wraps mostly. My family is sane. I have a good routine that is only going to get more structured, not less. I feel appreciated and valued. But she is now part of my people. I just enjoy talking to her. I enjoy her perspective, her support, her calling me out on my antics. I like trying to predict how she will react when I tell her something. I genuinely enjoy therapy sessions because it's like talking to an unbiased friend. I think that's what it is designed for, but I also think therapy (seeing a therapist/psychologist/pyschiatrist) will be a different experience for everyone. Just like no 2 people are the same, no 2 experiences will be either.

 

So that's that - it's why I see a therapist, and why I'm not the least bit ashamed of it. No one should be. We all need somebody to talk to, who is on our side, always ready to help us stand up and be the best we can be. I'd encourage anyone who is considering it to take the leap. I was nervous at first, but it's been nothing but positive. I'll be right here cheering you on and hoping you find something and someone as wonderful and helpful as I have.

 

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BB Cream

I think I'm a little late to the party. In fact, I know I am. Proof, times three. Seriously. It's not often you find makeup advice, suggestions, or thoughts around here. I try to leave that to the professionals, which I am most certainly not.
 
My friend Whitney posted about the best BB creams the other day, and I kept thinking about it. I realized I got a BB cream in my BirchBox a few months ago, and no time like the present to try it.



The one I got in my BirchBox was Marcelle BB cream. I had no idea what to expect (I pretty much ignored all those blog posts I referenced above... what can I say, I'm a creature of habit!) so imagine my surprise when I realized this stuff was tinted! Then I got all nervous that it would be the wrong color. The only reason I put it on is because I've been looking for something lighter than foundation to incorporate into my summer makeup routine, and I think I've found it!



Now I just need to go to CVS or Target and buy 7 different kinds and figure out which is my favorite. I really liked the Marcelle brand but I am excited to try other kinds. I'm also not excited about the $27.00 price tag, so let's see how they compare!

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My favorite kitchen appliance

I’ve lived with EV for 18 months now, and when she moved in, she brought a lot of kitchen stuff that we already had. She had also basically fully furnished a kitchen in her last apartment, so between the 2 of us we now have what one might call an excess of dishes and kitchen appliances.

BUT.

She came with one thing that has easily been her greatest contribution to the condo to-date (aside from her fantastic roommate skills and friendship!)  A Cuisinart Griddler.

Seriously, if you don’t have one of these, run thee to Costco immediately and purchase. Or wait until you get another 20% off Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon and then purchase. Either way, purchasing is the key outcome.

I cook 3-4 nights a week, and we probably use this at least 2/3 of the time. Steaks, sandwiches, fish, chicken, quesadillas, bacon, sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, basically you name it and I’ve probably prepared some portion of a meal on the Griddler. It sits on our countertop, that’s how much we use it.
My favorite part is that the plates are reversible, so you have flat plates or grill plates. Plus, they go in the dishwasher. This is really less of a plus for EV since unloading the dishwasher ends up being her chore more times than not but still, it’s convenient.

When my parents were visiting, my mom fell in love with it, so guess what she got for Christmas last year? Yup – now she has one in Florida AND at the lake because she loved it so much. I was talking about it at work the other day, too (standard professional conversation, you know) and 3 (THREE!) other people heard me raving about it and chimed in that they too love their Griddler.

Seriously, this thing has a reputation that can’t be beat. Totally worth the $100 – you’ll love it. It’s also now my standard wedding gift. Registry shmegistry, in typical Katie fashion, I clearly know better than you what you want, friends.

Happy faux-grilling!

PS – this might seem like a paid advertisement, and believe you me I wish it was, but it ain’t. Just a really rockin’ kitchen appliance.

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!  

Bar Versus Club

Earlier this week, a friend of mine from work invited me and a girlfriend out for dinner & drinks with 2 stipulations: dinner had to be "nice" and we were going to a "club" after dinner. Nice dinners I can do, clubbing is so not up my alley. I'm way more of a bar girl. A dive bar girl. Where I can wear jeans and a tshirt and it's fine. I actually remember more than one occasion in college where I wore a Polo sweater out to the bar and my friends poked serious fun at me. Whatever, it was my style!

So back to last night - we made late dinner reservations at Aria. I had never been, and I was a little worried the crowd would be on the older side of old. Wrong! The restaurant was swanky (I hate that word but it is the best one) with an AWESOME menu. But that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to tell ya'll that I do not belong in a club. It's just so not my scene. Short dresses, high heels, teased hair, etc. No thanks. Plus, I saw more girls being carried out of the club than I EVER see getting carried out of any of the bars I go to. I think clubs bring out the worst in people. And if there is one thing that is SO NOT CUTE, it's puking in the bathroom and being escorted out.

There were girls walking around in "Easter Bunny" outfits, which was really just a (not very) creative way of wearing short, tight white dresses and bunny ears. And said Easter Bunnies spent 99% of their evening at a 90 degree angle looking like $.02 you know what's grinding against what were likely strangers they met 15 seconds prior. There were girls wearing really tight, short dresses who just shouldn't wear tight, short dresses. I shouldn't either, don't get me wrong, but I didn't try to. There were guys who didn't make any secret out of sizing up the ladies around them, and who had no intention of taking "No thanks, I don't dance." for an answer. And I've seen my fair share of bar makeout sessions, but nothing like the clothes-on-grinding that really is only meant to happen in the privacy of your own bedroom, and probably not on a sofa in the middle of a room where everyone can see.

My question is, why are these places appealing? It cost $10 for girls and $20 for guys to get in, the drinks were expensive and served in plastic-ware, and the crowd was less than impressive. I really don't think these scenarios are specific to the one place I went last night, either. To be fair, we opted not to spend any time in the Latin music room or the techno room, so maybe I was really missing out? Something leads me to believe that I didn't miss much though...

Do you go clubbing when you go out? Or do you much prefer a bar, some good tunes and an ice cold beer? Why? Is it the dancing, the drinks, the exclusivity that makes clubs so appealing? What is it? Inquiring minds want to know.

PS - Next time I go, I'll definitely incorporate a Playboy bunny theme into my outfit. Uncle Sam Bunny? Has a nice ring to it.

Making the Most of Your Google Reader

So, I've had quite a few people ask me how in the world I followed all these blogs and connect with people. How do I remember where I went, and how do I keep up with them?

Let me introduce you to my best friend, the Google Reader. Just like with Gmail tricks, I'll take you on a little Reader tutorial complete with pictures so you can fall in love, too.

1. In Gmail, click at the top right of the screen on the link that says Reader. I circled it in red. I also left my ESPN Bowl Mania page open because I'd like it to be noted that I am currently in 4th place. I'm beating most of my friends and I love it.

2. This is what my  Google Reader looks like. If you haven't set yours up, then under the big Home page on the right, there won't be anything except suggestions from Google. On this homepage, you'll be able to see most recent posts, how many new posts there are, and find posts that you have starred or shared. You can also see on the left-hand column names of people you follow and things they have shared.

3. To start adding blogs and RSS feeds to your Reader, click on the top-left "Add A Subscription" button, and copy/paste the link to the blog or RSS feed into the field. Click Add, and voila. If you scroll down a little further in the column on the left, you'll see the name of the feed. You may want to change it, or you can leave it the same. Up to you.

4. As you follow more and more blogs, you'll find, or at least I found, that it was easiest to sort them into folders. My folders are Atlanta, Design, Entertainment, Foodies, Friends, Mommy Blogs, Money, Crafts, and Wedding.

5. To add a subscription to a folder, you'll see downward pointing arrow to the right of the blog title. Click that, and at the bottom of that list you should notice an option for "New Folder."

6. Type in the preferred name for the new folder. After adding so many blogs recently, my folders could use a bit of a makeover. Then, voila. After you've made all the new folders you want, you'll be able to just drag and drop the blog names into the correct folder. That way, if you only want to look at wedding blogs at a certain time, you can just let the entries pile up unread and browse all at once.

The world is your oyster with Google Reader! It's a great way to keep track of the blogs you follow, star important tips or tricks you want to remember, and share blogs you read with friends. So hop to it, young grasshoppers! I hope your blog-reading days are immensely simplified!

What Time Is It?

I'm going to blog this week about stuff I like. I may keep blogging about that beyond this week, but for now...

 http://www.fossil.com/

I need this in my life. I'm obsessed with the Michael Kors version, but really - it's out of my price range. I wear a watch every single day, and it is inevitably going to get scratched up and sticky and really, there's no reason for me to drop a couple hundo for that.

But Fossil? Fossil has stuck with me through thick & thin, so when I stumbled across this bad boy I knew I had to have it. I got my first Fossil watch for my Confirmation when I was 16. Random present, I know, but I loved it and have bought the same watch again!

The best part? I have post-Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket!

Hot Tip of the Day

I just spent way too long thinking about this, but I thought I'd share my fabulous theory with all of you - it's the kind of person I am. Far be it for me to theorize about something without sharing.

So, everyone always complains about the excessive spam mail they get from various companies. Amazon, Zazzle, Old Nav, New York & Company, Groupon... those are just a few of the ones that flood my inbox on a daily basis. Obnoxious, right? And you are constantly tempted to unsubscribe, aren't you?

Here's an idea: instead of unsubscribing, create a rule in Gmail for those emails! Picture instructions below:

Step 1: Open the email. Under More Actions, select Filter Messages Like These.

Step 2: Choose how you want to identify the emails - I usually opt for the From field. Go on to the Next Step.

Step 3: Select Skip the Inbox, Mark as Read, and Apply the Label:. Select your label - mine was called Daily Deals, but I have now changed it to Deals/Ads.

Then Create Filter!

Why is this awesome? Because every now & then websites send you handy coupons or information about deals. For example, today I wanted to place an order from Zazzle.com, and I searched through old emails and found out that they had a 50% off deal with an exclusive code. But, I never even saw the email, I was never tempted by their little schemes, and I still benefitted from being a subscriber! Win-win if you ask me!

So next time you're planning some online shopping, do a quick search of your inbox and see what emails you've gotten (and not even known about!) that might save you some money!

Happy Online Shopping and even Happier Clean Inboxes!

No other love, no other way, no day but today.

I'm on a MAJOR musical kick, in case you haven't noticed. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about my lucky streak, and going to see Rent last week was a part of that.

The entrance to the theater!

Yes, I saw Hairspray one night and Rent the next. And I may or may not have mad a "Musicals" playlist comprised of Rent & Hairspray songs. And I might have listened to that playlist on my way to the airport this morning, home from the airport this morning, and then on my way to the airport again this evening. Thanks, AirTran, for both of the round-trip tickets! I'll put them to good use! 

All the actors/actresses pictures on display!

Anyway - on to Rent. IT WAS AWESOME. I know Hairspray was awesome. But so was Rent. After seeing it, I realized that Rent is probably a really difficult musical to put on without the funding from a major production theater. However, Fabrefaction's performances were top notch. The music was really great, the acting was well done, and the theater was small and personalized enough that I felt like I was getting an intimate performance, just me and the actors. I loved it! And, I really have listened to the soundtrack for the last 24 hours straight.

Part of the stage, with the LIVE BAND underneath the set!

The people at Fabrefaction were SO NICE (my friend Jackie is on crutches and they were super accomodating!) and even sought us out afterwards to talk about upcoming shows and whether or not we liked it. Plus, the location rocks. For you Atlanta folks, it's behind Chow Baby off Howell Mill, over in the Westside District. My new favorite place! If you aren't an Atlanta native, based on my 2 experiences last week, I highly recommend checking out local theaters for their production schedule. You can usually get tickets for less than $25 and if you aren't socially awkward like me, you could probably stick around and meet the actors.

Hats off to you, Rent performers, because that was awesome! I'll be listening to the soundtrack approximately 525,600 times.

PS - I wrote about Hairspray & Rent because I went and becuase I was really impressed, not because anybody told me I had to. Over & out.

Airing My Dirty Laundry



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I'm not sure what is more pathetic - the fact that I am about to dedicate an entire blog post to my laundry, or the fact that I haven't done laundry in a month and my closet still looked like I hadn't made a dent in it. Probably a little bit of both. I've been avoiding my laundry. It piles up in the corner of my closet, and just keeps piling. Don't misunderstand me - I love doing laundry. It's one of those things that once you do it, it's done. I've been known to do my laundry in my bathrobe so that there are no dirty clothes left. I just haven't wanted to do this laundry... mainly because I just let the pile get out of control. 

So last weekend, I knew I had people coming over on Thanksgiving and I knew I needed to get a head start on my cleaning. Then tailgating and way too much tequila happened and my laundry didn't. Neither did my headstart on basically anything, considering I spent the better part of Sunday jamming out in my bed to the sweet sounds of Moulin Rouge. Then, on Monday, my parents were here and laundry didn't happen. And then last night, well, my parents were still here, and laundry really almost didn't happen. And then I realized that it was in fact Tuesday, and Thursday was in fact the day I was having company, and well, if I didn't start my laundry on Tuesday night then there would be no laundry starting, because it takes me no less than 36 hours to finish doing laundry. And usually it takes a solid week before the remnants of my laundry doing are actually put away.



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So last night I get home from my 2nd trip to Target (first one was alone and I spent $20, second time was with my mom and we spent $75... and they say kids are expensive!), and I decided it was now or never on the laundry. And since I'm working, surely a lot of it will be things that can be dry-cleaned, right? Psh. Wrong. 4 GIANT piles of laundry later, and I was in business.

Now we're getting to why I'm writing this in the first place. For the first 18 years of my life, my mom did my laundry. I'm not spoiled, she just didn't like anybody messing with her laundry room. I may actually be spoiled, but that's not why she did my laundry. And she always separated lights & darks. But that's as far as she goes in the separation process. Then, when they come out of the washing machine, most of the clothes automatically got put out on our clothes line to air dry. Just like in 1922. My family preferred to live like pilgrims. Just kidding. Kind of.

So, back to my laundry last night - I decided I was going to out-smart my mom's laundry capabilities, and I was going to separate into 4 piles: dark, goes in dryer. dark, doesn't go in dryer. light, goes in dryer. and lastly, light, doesn't go in dryer. No more of this searching through wet clothes to figure out if they go in the dryer or not! No more shrunken shirts! I'm so pleased with myself.
Now if only there was as foolproof a plan for tackling the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room, & dining room. Good thing mom's coming over, I'm sure she has one, and if she doesn't... well, she's as good a duster as any. And I'm thankful for that.

Tweet to Win

I've been a winning machine recently, and I'm not really sure how this happened. I have the worst luck in the world. Up until a few months ago, I could honestly say I had zero luck when it came to winning things. I remember at the Girl Scouts Father Daughter Dance when I was in 2nd grade my dad asked if I wanted a raffle ticket and I basically told him "What's the point?" That's basically been my mantra with raffles & drawings since then. So, imagine my surprise a few months ago when I won a writing contest. So what if it was 100 words or less? I still won! And then, shortly thereafter, I won tickets on Twitter for the Battle of the Burgers!

Just last week, I found out I had won a prize package from the Fox Theatre. Wanna know what I won? 2 tickets to see Messiah Rocks! at the Fox, 2 tickets to the Fernbank & iMAX, $75 in restaurant giftcards, and a night's stay at the Hyatt Place. All for following them on Twitter and letting my followers know that I follow them. My mom and her friend thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I'm really excited to use the giftcards, hotel stay, and Fernbank tickets. I LOVE the Fernbank, seriously!

And now, I've won tickets to go see RENT at FabreFaction. I'll be 100% honest and say I had never heard of Fabrefaction before White Provisions tweeted about it, but now I have the chance to check out a new place, see a show I love, and it's such a personal victory for me when I win something.

I can't WAIT to tell you guys all about RENT, either. I'm taking a girlfriend and maybe we'll even use one of thsoe giftcards beforehand...!

So, in case you are like 3 years tardy to the party, hop on over to Twitter, get yourself an account, and start your following. You'll never know what you could win until you do it! And PS - if you need some good people to follow, check out my list of people I'm following to get some ideas!

Tweet Tweet!

GAME NIGHT

You know how you have 2 groups of friends, and you are totally hesitant to have those friends meet and interact because you're not really sure that they'll get along? Right, that's not what I was worried about for game night. I knew these 2 groups of friends I was merging would not only hit it off, but would immediately request to hang out with each other in the future. I love it when I'm right! We had more fun than I really had imagined even though I knew that Quelf would not disappoint us. We ate the ridiculous amount of food I made, we laughed until we peed ourselves, and then we laughed some more. My words cannot do justice do the fun we had, but the pictures kind of do.

prosciutto & nectarine pizza with fresh mozzarella cheese and homemade sauce

chicken alfredo pizza with spinach

homemade guac

baked brie

spinach artichoke dip that i may have also eaten for breakfast this morning...

trader joe's black bean dip

vino, lots of vino 

quelf!

did you know that your thumb is the same length as your nose?

move backwards 1 space if you put your thumb to your nose to test that theory.

he's smiling so this is clearly not when he had to pretend

he was riding an ostrich while looking at a beached whale

you must snort like a pig when you laugh.  

 

 

beyonce. he's got all her dances memorized.

 

 

the captain speaking

 

channeling what little inner ballerina i have

human pretzel. each foot on another person, hand on another person's knee,

grab someone else's foot, and rest your head on someone's shoulder.

dude, i gotta use your knee. i swear though, i'm straight.

accesorizing. 

We also played a rousing game of Apples to Apples (I'm still baffled at some of the choices) which was equally as exciting, but at that point I'd had my fair share of wine and opted to put the camera away. I love when I make responsible decisions, although mr. bowtie probably would have continued posing all night. Thanks friends, for such a fun night! Can't wait to do it again!