Here Fishy Fishytail

Truth be told, I wasn't entirely sure about the whole aztec print trend sweeping through stores. But this last Thursday, I finally succumbed to purchasing an oversized aztec cardi (partially for charity, and partially because I wanted to be trendy). So Friday morning, I hope up out the bed, turn my swag on, and toss on black leggings, tan boots, and my new cardi...it's Casual Friday, y'all. Only one problem, my hair. Now is the time to cross something off my list, number 83 - part 1. Must. Learn. How. To. Fishtail Braid.

Enter the wonderful, gorgeous, talented Lauren Conrad. This 3 minute video was literally life changing. Granted, I had to watch it twice before giving it a go, but it worked....voila, my first fishtail braid (and said aztec cardigan).

Another thing I'm knocking off the ol' list came to me out of the blue. It's number 75, something to honor my grandparents. Well, it's something to honor my grandmother, who turned 90 a week ago. Talk about impressive. My mom, aunts, and uncles were throwing her a bash to remember and I wanted to be in charge of the "guest book". Little did anyone know that the "guest book" would be interactive and something that my grandma could hang up and look at daily.

If the photo was a little larger, you'd be able to read the paper above the frame. The gist was that people were to "leave their mark" on the frame and sign by it, as a little reminder of all the people my grandma has "touched" with her wonderfulness, even if they can't "put their finger on" what their favorite memory is. This would also be a wonderful idea for weddings (with a larger frame) or family reunions. This picture was taken when only immediate family was there, so it's a little bare. I'd highly recommend a much larger frame if you have more than 50 people attend! I believe it was a 16x20. One thing I will say, spring for the fancy scrapbooking/calligraphy pens that will stand the test of time, and not smudge, or fade, or do anything but look perfect now and forever. With that being said, Happy Birthday Grandma! I hope you love your frame :)

One final thought before I go, don't despair by the fact that Christmas movies are on, or that SBux has now switched to red cups (I already inquired and YES you can still get Pumpkin Spice Latte's), or that some people are decorating for Christmas already *cough cough I'm guilty of it too*. Please, for the love of football, sweater weather, and leaves changing colors: Keep Calm it's [STILL] Fall Y'all. P.S. How cute is my DIY Chalkboard? Gotta love Chalkboard Paint!

Until Next Time,
L

Things They Don't Tell You

I had a very eye-opening experience last week. In fact other than work, it took up the majority of my week. Being the fabulously over-committed sorority advisor that I am, I offered to help with a huge chunk of the interviewing and slating for next years officer positions. Truth be told, I wish the current board would stay forever because I honestly love them dearly. Alas, they need to flutter into the world of med school and dental school and grad school and whatever higher higher education they are going for. You'd think graduating from Emory with a 4.0 would be enough to land a stellar job, but no....you have to go a little further these days.

So as I'm sitting here listening to the future leaders of the sorority, campus, and beyond tell me why they'd make the perfect candidate, I can't help but revert back to my 19 year old self. Here are some things I wish someone would have told me back in the day-

1. Being president of this, sitting on the exec board of that, and volunteering in your free time won't land you your dream job. Sure, it will teach you valuable skills like: delegation, respect, listening skills, organization, time management, prioritization, empathy, budgeting, etc....but do you really think you can put it on your resume and land a job? Most likely, not. It will damn sure help you get into grad school, but after that...highly unlikely any corporate real-world job will scoff at the fact you were Homecoming King & Queen Director or Morale Director for Dance Marathon. You can't have a resume filled to the brim with your extra-curricular activities, sorry.

2. Recruitment is not the most important thing to do over the summer...STUDY ABROAD! One of my biggest regrets in college was not studying abroad. I honestly thought sorority life would cease to exist if I was not there to run recruitment. I wish someone would have pulled my head out of my ass long enough to put me on a plane to Paris for the summer. C'est la vie.

3. Grad school will work for you under 2 circumstances - it's totally paid for by someone else or it's what you really, wholeheartedly want to do with the rest of your life. The very first day they said, "One of you will finish this program and do nothing related to psychology or counseling as a career". I had a funny feeling it might be me. Within the first two weeks of grad school, I knew that would be me. I stuck it out because my Dad reminded me it was only two years of my life and the economy sucked. Both were true. Now as I make student loan payments, which I'm sure I'll be making for the next 20 years, I cringe. Did I mention, when you put that you have a M.A. on your resume, most places (that scream they want someone highly educated) won't even look at your resume because they think they'll have to pay you more? Nice Catch-22.

4. Internships will get your hired. Being in a leadership position you're treating as a makeshift internship will not. Being the PR Chair for your volunteer organization is not the same as working for a marketing firm handling their social media or special events. It's just not.

Speaking of internships....if you're in a field where you aren't getting paid for your time as an intern, that's a red flag. Chances are, you will not make money when you have finished your internship and are ready to be hired. Case in point: I worked 20-30 hours/week for 3 semesters during grad school as a legit mental health counselor. Upon graduation, they wanted to hire me full time, making $26,000/year with no benefits working roughly 50 hours/week. I declined, respectfully of course. In total, they have asked 3 times. Yes, I'd be helping people but I'd also be forced to apply for welfare. Money doesn't mean everything to me, but when your student loans outweigh your prospective income, you just have to say no.

5. Psychology is a waste of a major unless you're really super  into self-exploration. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful for finding out who you are, or why you are the way you are, or whatever. I learned a lot about myself, a lot about culture, and a lot about listening and empathy. However, psychology as a career....no. I chose it because I got A's in every psych class I took. And my uncle is a Psychologist and I thought it would be really cool. Then I went straight into a Clinical Psych Master's program, which unbeknownst to me was a Pre-PhD program. Half the people got accepted into programs, to which they are still in school racking up mounds of debt. Upon graduation, they'll need to be professors, clinical researchers, and publish just to stay afloat. Don't even get me started on mental health counselors. If you are considering this as a profession, I will fly to wherever you are and take you out to coffee to discuss alternative careers. I'm dead serious.

6. When they tell you a career is in "high demand" now, look elsewhere. In four years your "in high demand" field will be inundated with inexperienced recent college grads looking for their dream job, just like you. If I had to guess, I'd say 10% of you get hired. The other 90% will work outside their field or go to grad school. Or both.

7. Get a degree in something you're passionate about. And if your college doesn't offer a B.A. in Ancient Egyptian history and culture, get a business degree. That is without fail one of the best majors you can have. It allows you to do anything, if you can pass financial accounting. Not to sound cliche, but if you find something you love to do, the money will follow. You'll become an expert in your field and then all of a sudden people will pay you ridiculous amounts to do what you love. I'm still looking for someone to pay me insane amounts of money to be a blogging/crafting/pole-dancing queen....one can dream :)

8. Go to as many football games as possible. Or try to at the very least. When you've graduated and moved away, you'll crave the glory days when you'd wake up hungover from a killer Friday night out, throw on a cute sundress, oversized shades (the bigger the better), and your Vera Bradley/Longchamp backpack filled with Bud Light and head to your favorite frat house to pregame 8 hours before kickoff. So what if you need to head home and take a power nap between half time and the end of the game? At least you have the experience, and some memories thanks to your besties constant muploads on various social media sites. You'll want it once it's gone.

9. Dress up as much as you possibly can in college. Post college, it loses a lot of it's fun and acceptability. Unless you're having a themed birthday with 50 of your closest friends or bachelorette party, you can't rock 90's gear in public on a Tuesday evening. You'll just look odd.

10. For the love of all that is holy, if you break up once...stay broken up. Nobody likes the yo-yo couple and rarely do you work out. If you break up, there's a good reason for it. Don't waste 4 years of your life on someone who makes you miserable, jealous, insecure, vulnerable, crazy, etc...


I like to live life without regrets. So please don't think I'm looking back at my college career and cringing. These are just things I'd love to tell someone who is just starting out in college. Some final food for thought...Enjoy the moments you have being a young adult, when your biggest problem in life is figuring out what you're wearing to the "Used to Be Cool" social next week. You will find some of your best friends in college so make sure to enjoy the time you have together, before you move away and start your life - airfare ain't cheap. And start saving for weddings...you'll have a lot to go to, so prepare well in advance! That's about all the life lessons I can dole out for now.

Until next time,
L

The Queen of Halloween

Oh hello there. Welcome back! Today's post is in dedication of the greatest holiday around, Halloween. I'm not only saying that because you can take a break from reality, personify someone or something completely out there, and wear the most ridiculously large fake eyelashes ever....but you also get to watch scary movies, stuff your face with candy, and have a justifiable excuse to be creepy.

In my last post I ranted and raved about the glorious time of year, where ghosts, cats, witches, skeletons, and pumpkins are in full effect. Think of this as a continuation. Let's get to it, shall we?

In case you haven't met him yet, this is Freddie. Word on the street, he's the hottest dog around.

Speaking of hot...it was the opposite of hot this last weekend when I volunteered with some other Junior Leaguers at Atlanta Zoo's annual event, Boo at the Zoo. We arrived around 9am, where the temperature outside was hovering right around 40. We were assigned to the "really really good" Candy Station in the back of the zoo near the reptiles *icky creepy crawlies* . Just my luck, there was no sun and it was super windy, but we did have the best candy. So that was a plus. By the time the 2nd shift of volunteers arrived, none of us wanted to leave. My fav costume was the little girl who dressed up as Si from Duck Dynasty....so creative! If you've been living under a rock, please Google and/ or watch an episode. You're welcome in advance. And honestly, it took all I had when little lions came up not to get them to do diamonds with me.

So after that was my Spinarella Halloween showcase. Our routine was awesome, and incredibly creepy. We dressed up as demented dead children throwing temper tantrums. Utterly terrifying for most people in the room. If you want to be creeped out, please click here . I'm jumping rope and on the right side.

Immediately following the Showcase, the good doctor and I headed out to a local bar crawl. Note to self: you're not 22 anymore and cannot do sugary room temperature shots unless you want to be severely hungover in the morning. After about the 3rd bar (where some very drunk youngin' ran into me and broke my Paper Doll costume....RUDE) we decided to do the responsible thing and drop out of the bar crawl. And buy a beer tower of Bud Light instead. Like I said, responsible.

Fast forward a couple days and we arrive to Halloween Eve. Nails painted all scary-like and spooktacular, Kitty costume laid out with my work clothes, cupcakes were made, and bags of candy purchased for our Trick-o-Treaters. My vanilla candy corn cupcakes didn't turn out quite as planned considering the bf ate almost all the candy corn before I got a chance to drop it in the batter. I mean, they still turned out pretty good. Someone even went so far as to say "the best cupcakes ever" but I don't think they've experienced the wonder that is Cami Cakes. I highly recommend.

So now here I sit, writing about my favorite holiday. Still wearing my cat ears. Watching all the gloriousness of ABCFamily and their 13 Days of Halloween programming. Only slightly disappointed because; 1) Hocus Pocus isn't on 2) we didn't get a single knock on our door and 3) there's leftover cupcakes which I will undoubtedly devour at some point this weekend 4) I have to wait 365 days for this holiday to be on a weekend - where I can actually enjoy myself.

One final thing. It's my 10,000th day on Earth. Yay me! Okay, I'm slowly slipping into diabetic shock since I decided to eat all the candy meant for the kiddies. Sorry not sorry.

Until next time,
The Queen of Halloween

A Slight Obsession with Halloween

I personally blame Walt Disney Pictures for bewitching me into making my favorite holiday Halloween. Hocus Pocus is one of the best things about Halloween, and if you try to argue that point, then you can just click here and the good people at Buzzfeed will walk you through why I'm right. After doing the math in my head, Hocus Pocus came out when I was 7, and I loved Halloween far before that.

I can remember dressing up in costume from a very early age, since I could dress myself. A princess. A parrot. A pirate. A bride. I just loved to put costumes on. My first dance recital costume reminded me of Minnie Mouse, so I wore it all the time. My first cat was a black cat named Spooky. Poor little Spooky was catnapped 2 weeks before Halloween when I was 6 years old. My mom and I had 6 little wooden pumpkins that we'd decorate with sharpies every year. Of course we'd have to paint over them each year, but that didn't matter. Decorating was an art. Cobwebs, black lights, etc...Even in college, I decorated the door and windows of my tiny little 10x10 room in the sorority house.

Now I have a place of my very own (with my roommate/boyfriend/life partner and pooch). Luckily, they don't mind the decorations, or my need to watch Sally and Jack in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Did I also mention that my 10,000th day on this Earth will be on Halloween? What are the odds? How cool is that? Cooler than a polar bears toenails if you're as obsessed with Halloween as I am.

So let me show you what I've been up to in terms of Halloween crafting. I've added a few things to my Pinterest DIY list, and actually completed Number 29 - Pinterest Projects!

1. Glass apothecary jars. These little babes were made from a combination of glass vases, glass and wood candlestick holders, terra cotta trays, ribbon, paint, and a buttload of hot glue. Yes, "buttload" is the correct form of measurement.

2. Candy Corn Wine Bottles.
Step 1 - Drink lots of wine.
Step 2 - Scrape off labels.
Step 3 - Spraypaint white. Then yellow. Then orange.
Step 4 - Touch up as needed.
Step 5 - Enjoy your creation.

3. Painted Pumpkins. I think I need to get a better close up so you can see how stinking cute these little guys are. I bough 3 pumpkins from the farmer's market...each was $1. What a bargain. The biggest one has black chevron. The middle child pumpkin has a white stem, white polka dots and tiny black x's. The tiniest of all the tiny pumpkins has black and white stripes.

And look who it is.....Little Freddie Monster wondering: a) why momma is outside
b) why I'm not outside with momma
c) is it time to put on my Hot Dog Halloween costume yet?
d) is it time for food yet?
e) all of the above

 My guess is E.









Last but not least, project numero quattro (number four for all you non-Spanish speakers)....Wooden Spooky Plaques. Granted, they look more happy than they do spooky. There's 4 in total, but Mr. Spider/Bat is not finished yet. A spider doesn't really scream Halloween, but that's what Pinterest told me to do. I'm thinking about giving him RedBull - so he can get wiiiiiiiings and be a bat instead. Then he will join the likes of Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Frankenstein, and Mr. Casper on the shelf above my TV. Right in front of the cinnamon broom....ahhhhh the smells of fall.

Beware: I'm sure I'll do another Halloween post, complete with costumes, recipes, and other spoooooooooky shenanigans.

Until next time,
L

The Only Constant is Change

I'm about to drop some knowledge on y'all. Get ready. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus was the genius behind the quote "The only constant is change". I know, I thought it sounded a little like Dr. Seuss too. Instead of sharing with you my Top 10 Dr. Seuss quotes (is it weird he's one of my favorite authors?) I'm going to talk about change. More specifically, changes to my list.

When this list was created, the first 80 or so flowed out of me like wine at an Italian wedding (or a Junior League meeting - whichever you prefer). Breaking it down by weekly, monthly, and yearly goals was a stretch. Instead of being authentic, a lot of things seemed forced. Either that, or I just gave up completely. So I'm doing a little editing of my list. Meet the new members of the gang -

12. Feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident in my own skin
89. No booze for one month

90. Vegas, baby

91. Go home for my 10 year reunion and not HATE it.

92. Learn how to drive a manual car

95. Find and stick with a good skincare regime

The six new and improved additions are meant to improve my life. Wearing my retainer twice a week, although beneficial to me and anyone gazing at my pearly whites, is not as important as going balls to the wall in Vegas. Or learning how to properly take care of my face. Or learning how to drive my bf's manual Audi.

And now I leave you with not one, but two of my favorite quotes from the good Doctor....

Until next time, 

L

Saying No to Love

It's not what you think. Me and the bf did not break up - even though after the few weeks we've had, I'm shocked he's still around. I'm about one crisis away from a full on mental breakdown, AB style.....yowza!

Moldy old apartment - sick for 3 weeks, but allowed to break lease (yay). 2nd degree burn on upper thigh due to rogue hair wand being placed on bed (no, it wasn't me...I know not to put something 400 degrees on a polyblend comforter where someone could potentially plop down on). Move into new apartment - which floods 20 hours into our lease thanks to a loose hose on washing machine. Then normal stressors like work, being a puppy parent, and really just life in general. Ugh.

This entry relates to "Saying No to Something I'd Normally Say Yes to" - or the second half of number 78.

Many many moons ago...back in my sorority days...lived a smiling, giggly, beautiful, bubbly, charismatic brunette (nope again not me. I was bleach blonde back then) who all the girls wanted to be around, and obvi the guys too. She was one of my sisters, and to be more specific my Secret Little Sister (SLS to be sneaky)- my bad, secret's out now D. 

As the story goes....boy meets girl, girl flirts with boy and gives him "Sweet Kisses" on the cheek (PS those are the best thing in the world...I digress), boy and girl become and item, eventually they get engaged, married, and live happily ever after. By the way...the pic to the right is their first official picture as a couple, remember D?

This is where my story comes in. Thanks to the stressors in my life - see paragraph one - I can no longer attend the Big Day. Something about flights shooting up to $550, my inability to sit on my burn for an 8 hour drive, etc...So I am mournfully having to say No to my SLS on her wedding day. I've set up some FaceTime dates with the bridesmaids and demanded that a small gift be given to my sweet SLS on her big day. So this little post and picture montage is dedicated to her, her future hubs, and me - obvi. I had to cut down the picture selection from roughly 1000 to 6. 

Sorry I can't be there D, but I'll be there in spirit...throwing popcorn and twerking like it's my job. Again, in spirit. Because if I did that at your wedding, it would be embarrassing. I'm just glad I got to jump on board the Hot Mess Express aka her Bachelorette Party and show you some moves. Wishing you and K all the love and happiness possible. Love you both.

Until next time, 

L

So sweet you might get a toothache

 I don't know how many times I can say it without sounding too pathetic, but my boyfriend is awesome.

Why? Let me just give you a little example...

He asked to take me to lunch today, since he has Fridays off (pshhh cushy government job). So typically he picks me up and we go somewhere. Today was different. Today he decided I needed to be adventurous. Today he surprised me. Which I should mention, never happens.

He sent me a couple texts, as I waited outside in the sweltering heat -


...Clearly I was super happy about it. Meh. So I walked to the park. He then instructed me to enter the gates and turn right. Off in the distance, I could see his big, shit-eating grin because he knew he successfully surprised me. And on top of all that, I get to check number 44 off my list (have a picnic in Piedmont Park).

Jimmy Johns, Wheat Thins, Diet Coke, SmartWater plus him on a blanket under the shade. Couldn't have asked for a better lunch date!

Until next time,

L

MIT - The Life for Me.

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but it did....I became domestic.

Meal planning, crockpotting, baking, cooking, sewing, painting, crafting - you name it, I do it.

I honestly blame Pinterest. Access to so much information at my fingertips. Craft projects. Home improvement projects. Food projects. Projects on projects on projects. It's like I have a legitimate excuses to be a MIT....a "Martha-in-Training. "

So my list has 2 sections dedicated to the art of Pinterest. Number 29 allows me to make 10 Pinterest-Inspired projects, while number 28 calls for me to get my Pinterest on in the kitchen.

So here are some of the projects that I've produced the past couple weeks.

Projects:

FSU Fabric Corkboard - It makes me cringe having to touch the colors garnet and gold, however I'm afraid it's something I'm just going to have to accept since my sister and life partner are Noles. These little babies I made for my sister. Her 18th birthday and first week of classes took place this week. She hasn't received them yet, but I'm fairly certain she has better things to do than read her big sister's boring ol' blog!

Painted Wooden Sign - I've seen this done a couple times on Pinterest and I fell in love. Believe there is good in the world - Be the good. Truer words have never been spoken. This is hanging in the master bedroom and the first thing I see when I wake up (other than my sweet little puppy, barking uncontrollably to be let in the bed). It was pretty simple to make - attach wood together (I used my staple gun and hot glue gun); stain wood; paint wood; nail hangers on wood; hang up and enjoy!

Cork Framed pictures - If you recall, the bf and I did a booze+painting class a couple months ago. Well I was staring at this giant bag of corks he brought me (his Dad owns an Italian restaurant....woohooo free corks) and the thought came to me. Slice a cork in half and hot glue to the canvas. So that's what I did. I personally LOVE the way it turned out.

Chevron Bathroom Sign - Wash. Brush. Flush. I was looking at decorations for our bathroom and couldn't find anything I realllllllllllly liked, so I decided to make my own sign. There was a really helpful link on Pinterest that basically dumbed down how to create your own Chevron. All in all the project took 2 or so hours and another 24 hours for the polyurethane spray to dry. Gotta use that spray if it's going in a moist space!

My Pinterest inspired cooking has been going SUPER awesome. Everything has turned out super yummy. Here are a few of my favorites!

Pizza Casserole - Before you get all judgey, I'll have you know the base of this is entirely cauliflower! It was SO delicious. The leftovers were even better than the meal itself!

Cheeseburger Quesadilla, Bacon and Garlic Sauteed Green Beans, and Sweet Potato + Flaxseed Chips. This was kinda all over the place but it was AMAZING. I'm salivating just thinking about this one.

Spaghetti Squash Skinny Alfredo (with chicken and steak - couldn't decide which protein we wanted, so we had both). The squash was easy enough to bake, however, I cooked it too long and it was quite mushy. The homemade alfredo sauce was on point though. I'm giving this one another chance!

Southwest Calzone  with Sweet Potato + Flaxseed fries- This calzone thing. Ermaghed. So delicious. It's super easy to make and is sure to please! The secret ingredient is using fresh pizza dough to wrap the food up. It provides an amazing texture. Okay, I want one right now. As you noticed, I'm on a flaxseed kick. Hey, it doesn't taste bad and its pretty good for you. I say that's a win-win.

So anyways, this is what I've been up to. Channeling my inner-Martha. I have a couple more projects up my sleeve. Can't wait to share them with y'all! Happy cooking & happy crafting, friends!

Until next time,
L

Welcome to the Wild Wild West...coast

Because I can't help myself (attaching YouTube vids to many of my posts), please enjoy some Will Smith while I share with you my first trip to the Wild Wild West....Coast. This allowed me to check quite a few things off my little list. For starters: numbers 6 (travel to the West Coast) and 20 (visit a new state).

Here we are...over a month after our trip. It has left a lot of time for reflecting on the awesomeness of the WWWC (wild wild west coast), and lots of time to create this masterpiece: our trip in 2 minutes and 44 seconds. It's pretty badass, and I'm not just saying that because I live with the guy. And he also takes some pretty great pictures too. It's pretty impressive that a brainiac (like him) can be all artsy fartsy (like me). Before I bore all of you to death with mushy love crap, let's get back to the high and low points of the trip.

High Points:

Seattle. All of it. Never a dull moment. Oh wait, I can think of one...it was just when a bum chased me and my future sister-in-law down for all our spare change - he was quite aggressive. Other than that, Seattle was perfection. The food was great (specifically the freshly made Italian pasta at Spinasse). I also loved going out on Lake Union for a couple hours by boat. If  you're looking to spend some time with the wind in your hair and on the water, I highly recommend The Electric Boat Company since they not only give you a Captain's hat upon departure, but they kindly upgraded us to a premier boat for freeeeeeee. I got to see the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat which was basically the best part of my day - which may have beat out a trip to Pike Place Market watching people catch fish (flashback immediately to The Real World: Seattle), the first SBux, and a mani/pedi at Julep...please open a store in Atlanta. Kthanksbuhbye.


There are certain things a Southern Belle East Coaster like me could never imagine. for example, flying into an airport and seeing snow covered mountains. Hiking for hours at a time and not even reaching your final destination. Let's go back to the mountain thing again. I was practically glued to the airplane window, as excited as a little kid (who didn't grow up in Central Florida) first trip to Disney. "Oh my gosh. Is that a mountain? Whoaaaaa it's so big! What mountain is that? Oh dang...another mountain in the distance. Ahhhhh there are soooo many mountains!!!!"

The food. And the beer. Everywhere. I easily gained 5lbs on my trip. Easily. How could you not when you have amazing places like VooDoo Donuts, Grilled Cheese Grill, Tutta Bella, the world famous Garlic Fries at Safeco Fieldand on your mealplan, not to mention a plethora of local brews to wet your whistle. My only saving grace to gaining more than 5lbs was the amount of walking we did.

The Seattle Sounders Game. Okay, I know what you're thinking....MLS......gross. But the thing about it, this game may have been the craziest and most fun sporting events I've ever been to. We sat one section away from the diehard fans, who had a designated person leading cheers, chants, and songs the entire game. We were also in the 3rd row behind the goal, so that helped. The best part about the experience was after the game. There was a player who had been traded to the opposing team, but had so much love an respect for the fans that he removed his jersey and took a bow with the rest of the Sounders, who all welcomed him over with open arms. I mean, it was incredible. I don't care if you think the only reason to watch soccer is for David Beckham, I highly encourage you to go to a Sounder's game (at home) if given the chance.



Low Points:

Going to Vancouver the same week as Canada Day. Everything was closed by 8pm. Not to mention the tourists who couldn't ride a bike to save their life. I nearly got in 3 bike accidents over the course of the 1.5 hour bike ride around Stanley Park. Maybe I should give Vancouver a try again. On another week. When it's not Canada Day, aye. I mean, the scenery was lovely after all...

The homeless people in Portland. I mean, sometimes you had to do a double take to realize they are in fact just grungy looking, and not in fact homeless. However, we went for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront the Sunday morning we were in PDX and witnessed Park Services people walking around waking them up. Did I mention, the waterfront smelled like pee?

The lowest of all low points:

Denver Airport. *Cringe* Which is where we slept the first night of our vacation after our flight was delayed....then delayed some more....then delayed again...then as we have begun boarding, our pilot has "timed out" and is not able to fly. And there's no hotel airport, so one who have to go into the city. By the time we would arrive to the hotel, pay $100 extra bucks, we'd get 3-4 hours of shuteye and have to make our way back to the airport for the 6am rescheduled flight. Dear Denver Airport and Southwest Airlines, you are on my shitlist.

Here's the silver lining though....the AMAZING staff at the Westin Portland made our stay super special - allowing us an 8am early check-in (when we finally made it) and then slipping this in our room while we were away (complimentary, of course...for our travel troubles). The sneakiest sneak of all...my boyfriend. June was over, which marked the end of my birthday month and the bottle of bubbly was the last thing I could officially claim during my month-long reign as "Birthday Princess".

So to sum of our trip to the WWWC, it was wonderfully amazing. I can't wait to move go back to Seattle. And yes, Portlandia on IFCis the real deal. If you haven't, please watch. You can thank me later.

Until next time,
L

Pay it Forward

Pay it Forward. Not only a semi-decent 2000 drama/feel good movie starring Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt, and Kevin Spacey, but also a quite interesting concept, and the theme of this post.

In summation, this concept can best be described as, "You can't pay anyone back for what has happened to you, so you try to find someone you can pay forward." - Anonymous. There is even a dedicated day to do this (April 24th), yet I was unable to help with this specific thing on that specific day.

I feel very blessed in my life right now. Great family, friends, boyfriend, puppy, job, social life so it is only fair to pass my blessings on to someone else. Oh, and I also get to check #85 off my list, because I'm helping to fulfill someone else's goal or dream. Let's get started, shall we. Meet my friend Dayton.

Her and I went to the same college, were very active in our (rival) sororities, and have an affinity for shopping, competitive anything, accessories, Junior League, and wearing wedges, despite our height. We weren't besties (or friends for that matter) in college, and even go off to an interesting start....

I was the captain of my kickball team and our dear friend recruited her to play. All he said was, "She's really athletic, really competitive, and kind of a bitch so I think you guys will hit it off."
I knew who she was. She was in charge of her sorority's recruitment the year I was in charge of all of sorority recruitment. Even though it had been 3 years, I wondered if she'd remember me and how I fined the crap out of them for having too many balloons and a ridiculous ice sculpture during one of their parties. So I was a bit nervous. Then came the moment I dreaded, our kickball meet-n-greet party. She walked up to me and in her best mean girls voice said, "Didn't you used to be blonde?" We were best friends by the end of happy hour.

When I still lived in Tampa, we would walk Bayshore discussing how cool it would be to open our own boutique some day. Be our own boss. Get to try on awesome clothes. Make wearing bows both acceptable and fashionable for older women, as we aged gracefully in the sun and fun of South Tampa. Then I moved. And she took up sketching. Who knew she could draw? It turns out, she could do more than just draw.

By this point, you're probably wondering what this has to do with my list, and if I'm being paid to ramble on and on about this Dayton girl....so let me break it down for ya.

She turned her sketches into something real. Something tangible. Something beautiful. It took a lot of hard work, time, energy, and money but the finished product is quite extraordinary.

Me, Day, and Loren on a Derby Pub Crawl <3

I was lucky enough to be  a passenger on the Dayton K journey. She shared some of her first sketches, logo ideas, fabric samples. And of course, I ate that shit up. Especially the part when she told me she was naming a dress with a giant bow on it after me (in conjunction with my other bestie, Loren...it's only fitting we're paired up together). Her vision is amazing, and so incredibly marketable - you want young, yet classy, but fun and vibrant...oh, I have just the dress for you!

Dayton has drained her savings account to do something she loves and has always wanted to do. She has busted her ass to save, save, save.  Not many people have as much courage, willpower, faith, or determination to do something as amazing as chase a dream. Oh, but Day does.

I want to help Dayton realize her dream of owning a successful dress line. I mean sure, I want all of the dresses, but I also want YOU to want all of the dresses and for YOU to share them with your friends. And I want your friends to want all the dresses and share them with their friends...and so on and so forth. So here I am, making a little blog post. Next, I'll be pinning these dresses like a crazy person. Then tweeting. Perhaps even Instagram if I'm feeling frisky. After that, maybe a tattoo. Talk about branding, huh?

Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce you to Dayton K. Look around. Add to cart. Checkout. Enjoy. Share  Pay it Forward.

And, because I'm feeling extra generous/excited/proud of my girl, if you buy the Lizzy-Loren dress any time before the clock strikes 2014, send me a picture (via any means of social media - I have them all) and your address, and you will receive a special surprise in the mail from little old me. Yay!

Now get out there and get some Dayton K!

Until next time,

L

And his name shall be....

For the last (roughly) 6 months, I've had puppy fever. It intensified when we had to put my childhood pup and best Yorkie ever down on Mother's Day. But I knew it was impossible to bring a puppy into this world when I had so much happening in June & early July....moving into a new place, birthday celebrations, and the West Coast trip.

Be patient.

Eventually you can get one.

July 7th...the day after you get back from Seattle.

Hurry up. Need to cross #76 off my list.

Is it July yet? How about now? Now? Now? Now?

So I waited. I had the end in sight. PuppySearchandRescue2013 commenced while on our trip. Any free time was equally distributed between scouring Petfinder.com and playing Candy Crush. We had every intention of waking up early Sunday morning and heading first to Fulton County Animal Shelter, with 2 other stops if need be, in order to find the perfect little rescue pup.

As it turns out, we didn't need to go on an excruciating journey to find our perfect puppy. 

Our flight just touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson, the bf flipped on his cell phone, and without my knowledge searched for puppies on Craigslist. It was the first link he clicked on. After ooing and ahhing over this listing for a solid 15 minutes while we rolled up to our gate, I sent an email. We got our bags, headed to Marta, and made our way back to the city. His phone bleeped...got a text from a random Atlanta number. He handed me his phone (dangerous move when puppies are on the brain) and he went to pick up the car. Upon his return 5 minutes later, I informed him we'd be making a pitstop immediately in Peachtree City to pick up our dog....in an hour. All that stood between me and that fluffy pup was a trip to the ATM and an hour drive to Middle of Nowhere, Georgia. 

I instantly fell in love with this little 3lb ball of fluff. He's so sweet, so cuddly, so loving, and sooooooooooo freaking cute. Granted, he's 10 weeks old and needs to work on teething and potty training, but still...he's perfect.

Naming the little guy was tough. I had a strong desire to name him Preston the Pom Pom, or some sort of Italian food...but the bf kept insisting on Freddie. After Braves baseball player Freddie Freeman, his man-crush.

The unofficial naming ceremony happened this morning. I walked into the kitchen where my boys were eating, and said "I think we should call him Freddie". Obviously he agreed. Preston was too pretentious. Alfredo would make me hungry. And since I made the impulsive decision to get this dog, I figured it was only fair to let the bf win this one. 

World, meet Freddie Helmer-Loreti. Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? I've totally turned into one of those annoying people who constantly take pictures of their child pet. Feel free to follow me and Freddie on Instagram...lizzyh345.

Until next time,

L & F