In a Funk

This week, I have been in a Funk.  Emphasis on the capital "F." 

I don't know why it has come over me or where it came from.  I had an unusually productive weekend.  I cleaned my entire apartment and got several things accomplished that I've been needing to get accomplished.  I thought I was super prepped for this week of getting back to school with grad school classes.  I only had a one-week break from classes since I took classes all summer, so it's not like this back-to-school thing is some radical shock to my system- it's not at all.  I've been doing this all summer and balancing it with my job since July.  Also, the first week of classes usually isn't back-breaking, if you know what I mean, so it's not like I'm overwhelmed by that.  And work is pretty low-stress this week.  My boss even told me at work the other day that I have a little "reprieve" because I am all caught up on my projects and just waiting for some decisions to be made so we can move forward.

I have all these things going for me, but I'm still in a funk!  Yesterday, I arrived at work a good forty-five minutes after the time I usually arrive.  Couldn't get much worse than that, right?  OH- but wait.  Today, I arrived almost an hour-and-a-half late!! My start time is flexible- I did not get "in trouble" for either one of these occurrances.  I arrive most days at 8:00 sharp.  So, if I happen to not make it in until 8:30 or whenever, I just stay a bit later than my usual 4:30 departure time.  No big deal.  It's not the end of the world, but it has me feeling so behind.  This morning I literally could not bring myself to roll out of bed.  The reason remains a mystery to me.  I didn't go to bed particularly late.  I even took a nap before class yesterday afternoon- so I had a reasonable amount of sleep! What's more, my dog didn't even wake me up in the middle of the night as she has grown accustomed to doing lately.  So, why did I sleep a FULL HOUR later than I normally do???

Need futher evidence of le Funk?

I've become very diligent about eating breakfast before work.  It helps get my day going and just generally keeps me on track with choosing foods that are good for me and making other good health choices throughout the day.  Well, today I skipped breakfast. Yep.  And so far this morning, I've attemtped to boost myself with two Diet Cokes (oh, yes- I am FULLY committed to the DC fan club right now), a package of strawberry Pop Tarts, and two mini York Peppermint Patties.  What the HECK, y'all??  I know I bought Pop Tarts for my hurricane prep, but I left those in the emergency stash. The ones I ate today came from the vending machine at work.  For the record, I'm pretty sure I haven't had a Pop Tart since high school.

I'm even in a blogging funk.  I have about three half-written posts sitting in my drafts right now.  Every time I sit down to write them I just cannot get motivated to finish them. 

The weather is even super incredibly nice in Washington right now.  It is absolutely beautiful outside and the perfect temperature!

My birthday is coming up next week and I need to make some decisions about how I want to celebrate my with my friends in D.C. but I can't think of what I want to do.  I'm even going out of town this weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family. I'm super excited about the trip and I have been looking forward to it for the longest time- but in the back of my mind I secretly wish I were going to lay on a beach by myself for four days with no phone calls, texts, emails, tweets, blogs, or other forms of communication in site.  That's right, it is my birthday time (one of my favorite things of the year!!) and all I want to do is go away by myself and not talk to or hear from anyone.  And it isn't anyone else's fault or doing.  It just is.

More proof: Yesterday, I googled deal flights to St. Thomas.  Right, Katelyn- Get a grip.  As if you are going to take off to St. Thomas by yourself???

This is really starting to affect my mood and my interactions with other people.  My best friend and I have been getting in stupid little tiffs over text message, which is obviously senseless.  She even asked me to tell her why I was in such a mood and I didn't even know where to begin. It's like all these emotions are floating around in my brain but they don't stay the same long enough for me to identify them.  Another one of my oldest friends the other day made some off-the-cuff remarks about me that I know she meant in an endearing way, but have rubbed me super wrong and frankly, pissed me off, nonetheless.

Further proof?? I just googled "in a funk" at work and accidentally replaced the N in "funk" with a C.  Awesome.  So glad that will be in my search history here at work.

I need to SNAP out of it but I'm not quite sure how... All I know is, this is not really the way I want to start of year twenty-three.  Heck, this is not really the way I want to spend a single day or hour of my life! Life is short and I don't want to spend it in a mood.

Has anyone else been feeling the same way lately?

What do you do when you get in a mood? Any advice to snap out of it?

Chiffon Dreams

I don't know why exactly, but lately I have been so drawn to chiffon fabrics and dresses.  Perhaps I am just looking for lighter fabrics as we move into fall.  Slightly counterintuitive, but true nonetheless. 

Polyvore set found here.

I recently bought the dress on the far left in that picture.  I really love wearing it and it is super comfortable!  It just made me feel so light and airy when I wore it to work last week.  I think the one in the middle may be my next purchase.

Here are some other great chiffon options out there.  How amazing is the top in the top left corner?

Polyvore set found here. 

I absolutely adore that black & white top.  If I were going to dress someone else to wear it- this is how I would dress them.

Polyvore set found here.

(I'm thinking this outfit would not look so hot on moi- not to mention I would break every bone in my body in those heels, but they are cute, yes? Yes!)

Happy fall shopping, everyone! 

My Weekend

I'm sharing some of my most recent favorite pins from pinterest in this post for a little eye candy!

Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Katelyn on Pinterest

This weekend has been surprisingly fabulous.  Saturday morning started early, as I woke up and rushed to get my laundry in the washing machines.  I wanted to make sure that if we lost power, I at least had some clean clothes to sit around in!  

Source: myfuturehome.tumblr.com via Katelyn on Pinterest

After I got the laundry done on Saturday, I cleaned my entire apartment- including vacuuming, dusting, mopping, and cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom. It feels so nice to be typing this in my nice and clean apartment!  

While I waited out the storm, I got to relax and hang out around the apartment.  Let me say that the storm was a great excuse to do nothing! I think we all needed that!

Source: blog.rachelerinphotography.com via Katelyn on Pinterest

Today, I went to brunch with a friend and then laid out by the pool for a bit.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  It was great to sit by the pool and soak up the sun!

Source: stylemepretty.com via Katelyn on Pinterest

The fall semester of school starts up again tomorrow and this is a great way to start it off. 

Bracing for the Storm

I'm definitely not the only one bracing for Hurricane Irene's impact on the Mid-Atlantic.

I've made all my necessary preparations for life without electricity.  Hopefully, all done in vain.

Even if I'm prepared for nothing, I was never a risk-taker to begin with.  

Way better safe than sorry.

Apparently you do this so you will have water to flush the toilet in case your water stops working?

Be safe wherever you are! 

The Perks of Being a Single Girl

Yesterday, Kelly at Kelly's Korner wrote a post about singleness and how difficult it can be as a girl to be single when you dream of having a family of your own.  I am not looking to get married anytime in the near future, but I do look forward to being married & having a family someday. (Like, maybe in 10 years?  Side note: I've been saying "in 10 years" for at least the last three years if not longer...)

Being in a relationship is not easy (from what I hear).  But being single isn't a cake walk either.  Especially if you are from the South and your friends start getting married and having families right after you graduate from college (or in some cases, even before that).  It's easy to feel like you are being left behind, even if you can't imagine yourself being married right now.  It's almost like when your friend gets a super cute hair cut and you get jealous and think that you want a hair cut like that for yourself.  You know it wouldn't fit you and you are happy with your hair as it is, but it still makes you feel a little left out.  Does that make sense? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyway, as I was saying, being single is not easy.  But there are some great things about being single.  Sometimes it is easier to focus on what you don't have in life than it is to focus on what you do have.  Despite my complaining about singledom, there are tons of things that are awesome about being single.  Here's a little list of the things I like best about being single.  Chime in in the comments with what you love about being single!

You get lots of alone time.

And truth be told, I love alone time.  I'm an introvert and just as extroverts feel energized by being around other people, I feel energized by getting some time to myself.  I absolutely need down time in order to function.

You can eat whatever you want for dinner.

Kelly mentioned in her post yesterday that this is a plus of singlehood and I wholeheartedly agree.  Nobody else depends on me for dinner.  Last night I had hummus and pita chips.  And it was delicious. A couple weeks ago I literally ate salsa for dinner (with chips- ya heard?). Again completely awesome.

You can pick up and move without drama.

It's true.  I'm so glad I didn't have to deal with possibly breaking up a relationship when I left Louisiana for DC.  I decided on what I wanted to do and I did it. 

(Caveat: I know long distance relationships can work and I think that is great- I'm not saying that I wouldn't move if I were in a serious relationship, I'm saying this is a perk of being single- you don't have to really consider someone else's emotions.)

You can indulge in your S.S.B.

Remember the Sex and the City episode where the girls talk about their S.S.B.?  It stands for "secret single behavior" and it's basically the things you would never feel comfortable doing in front of the opposite sex.  In the episode, Miranda says her S.S.B. is sitting with her hands in those heated hand softening gloves and watching infomercials.  Carrie says hers is making a stack of saltine crackers with jelly and eating them in the kitchen standing up and reading fashion magazines.  I think mine might have to do with wearing really bad (but soooo comfortable) pajamas and watching bad reality television while indulging in a brownie or something else I should not be eating. I'll have to observe myself a little more to figure out my true S.S.B. I guess.  Since I live alone it's kind of hard to spot!

 You can go out for dinner or drinks with your girlfriends on a moment's notice.

You can pretty much do this when you have a boyfriend, too, but its not as easy when you become a wife or especially when you become a mom. If I'm in the mood, I can just call or text a friend and go out for drinks without giving it a second thought.  That is awesome.

Your money is your money.

I'm not even going to pretend to know what it's like to have combined finances or financial responsibilities with someone else.  Just the thought makes me sweat.  All I know is that right now, I can do basically whatever I want with my money and I do not have to explain myself to anyone else. It rules.

You can go on vacation with your friends.

I just booked a ticket to go to Louisiana in October and see my friends and go to an LSU football game.  I didn't have to ask anyone or think about anyone else.  I'm free? I have the money for the ticket? I can go.  Simple as that and I love it.

You can spend hours- yes hours- on the phone or skype talking to your friends.

I'm kind of scared of the day when I won't really have time to stay caught up with my friends.  It is hard now with work & school, but I can only imagine how difficult it will be if I have a family competing for my attention someday.  Yikes!

So, what do you love (or miss) about being single?

So I Guess That's What an Earthquake Is Like

I'm sure you've heard about this already, but there was an earthquake that affected the East Coast of the country today.  We did feel it here in D.C.

I have to say, a ton of people on twitter and facebook were mocking the reaction to the earthquake- especially in D.C. and I am a little bit put-off by that.  Perhaps its because I did not grow up in an area that frequently experienced earthquakes, but they are just not something that I am used to or prepared for.  Today was my first earthquake.  And it was scary as hell.

Perhaps you think I'm being dramatic, but it was scary for me.

I also want to say that when you work in a government building in downtown D.C. and feel the building start to shake, your first thought is probably not "earthquake."  That may be sad or overly-dramatic or whatever, but it is true and multiple people mentioned today that they had the same reaction. The last thing I thought was happening was an earthquake.  When people in the room with me started yelling to yell for the stairs and evacuate, I still thought "WHY??? We don't know what's out there!"  Clearly my brain had not skipped to the "earthquake" conclusion.

This link has a video of the White House and the Capitol during the earthquake.  In the White House clip, you can see the Secret Service agents on the roof walking around.  But do you also notice the guys doing maintenance work in the lift thing?  I have a terrible fear of heights and I can't imagine being high up in that little crane box shaking like that!  Just the thought makes me feel queasy. 

Here is a link to FEMA's advice about what to do during an earthquake.  I was absolutely not prepared for what happened today and I plan to read up on earthquake preparedness so that I'm not so reliant on other people's actions if this happens again.

I'm so thankful that everything and everyone was okay today.  I know that the reaction here on the East Coast might have been overblown (honestly name one thing the media doesn't overreact to these days), but earthquakes are scary and this could have been way worse.  Thank God that it wasn't. 

On the Bandwagon

I am the first to admit that I totally jumped on an already happening bandwagon when I decided to start blogging.  My blog's first anniversary is approaching this September, so this blog is still very much a baby in the grand scheme of things.

There are plenty of other times that I jump on the bandwagon.  I try to be original, but I'm also a sucker for word-of-mouth product recommendations and good ideas.  So this post is chock-full of things that you might have already seen on other blogs.  The main reason i'm passing it along here is that I would like to think I have maybe at least two readers who haven't heard about these things elsewhere.  If nothing else, I can trust that my bff will be entertained by this post. (Hi, Court!!)

Okay so first up on this list of things is my Erin Condren planner.  You may have seen these all over twitter or other blogs so I'm not going to go on too much about it.  There's a link up over at The Tichenor Family Blog where a lot of other bloggers have talked about their favorite features of the planner.  I'm really liking mine too.  I have a few things I don't love about it but all in all, its a great product and the online deal I got made it a great product at an even greater price!

Please forgive the phone pictures!

 Here's mine.  The blue post-it is covering my last name.  All the planner covers are personalized which is a lovely detail.  My pattern of choice is the Trelis pattern in "multi" color.  I have to say the planner was much thicker in person than I was expecting, but I'm still enjoying using it.  I'm sure I will enjoy it even more as I learn it, if you know what I mean.

Here are some of the complimentary goodies that were included with my planner.  Little gift labels- some even with my name on it.  Fun, right?

Like the good little SEC fan that I am, the first thing in my planner was the 2011 LSU Football schedule.  Kick off is in twelve days!!

The second thing I have to discuss is a great deal on "call-me cards."  The deal is through minted and is being talked about on many blogs as a "mommy card."  I am not a mom but I still ordered some of these cards and took advantage of the deal!  The deal gets you 25 business cards (a $30 value) for free! I actually ordered 75 cards and my total came to about $23 including shipping. A great deal, in my opinion- especially for the nice design of these cards.

According to Nina and Erin at Blue Eyed Bride have both discussed this deal and you can find all the details on their sites.  I've been meaning to get some "call-me cards" for a while so I'm happy to finally cross that off my list!  It will be nice to have these to hand out to people whether we meet at networking events or through classes. Who knows, perhaps I will be able to hand one out to a potential suitor.  (I WISH!) 

There are some incredibly chic designs to choose from! I am very anxiously awaiting mine in the mail.

Last, but not least, I wanted to link to my pinterest account.  Please do follow me on pinterest- I would love to follow you back! I think you may have to sign in to pinterest before this link will route you to the correct place.

Thats all for now, folks.  Wishing everyone a bright and productive Monday! 

I'm So Thankful for My Friends

Ever since high school, I've always been one of those girls who's had lots of different groups of friends.  I have varied interests, so this has followed me through high school into college and now beyond.  I am so lucky to have my friends.  They have been there for me in some extremely difficult circumstances.  They listen to me and love me despite my craziness.  I thank God for my friends every single day. 

Source

I thought I would make a list of some of my friends here and some of the categories they fit into.  This is in no way an all-inclusive list and the thoughts here are quite random.  I think maybe I will blog about other friends as their "categories" come to my mind.

Knows all the same pop culture references.

This title belongs to my friend Neri.  One time in high school, a teacher made some off-the-cuff remark like "it's not like anyone remembers the name of the prostitute Hugh Grant got caught with."  No lie, sitting right next to each other in that class, at the exact same moment in time, Neri and I both said out-loud "Divine Brown!"  Everyone looked at us like we were crazy.  And we kind of are. But Neri is the friend who always gets my pop culture references without prompting and vice versa. We share a common love/hate relationship with all the Kardashians.   We also have a bit of a friendly rivalry when it comes to SEC football.  Bless her heart, Neri is a Florida fan.

Knows too much for us not to be friends.

This one goes to my best friend Courtney.  I say this casually- but Courtney really does know pretty much everything.  She is that friend who gets all my family references without background stories.  I'm pretty sure she loves some members of my family as much as I do.  She also just gets me and I can be myself around her.  She is also one friend who reminds me never to give up. She understands my current state of cynicism but reminds me to be optimistic and always has faith in me and reminds me to have faith in myself.

Makes me feel like I'm not the only cynical one in the world.

Thank God for my friend Lauren. Just when I think I'm the most cynical person I know, I can call Lauren and have her agree with my cynical points.  And it makes us both laugh.  We are in the same boat of many of life's categories right now and it is such a comfort to me to have a friend who understands our stage in life and can laugh about it. 

Knows how to keep my cynicism in check.

My friend Kathryn keeps my cynicism in check.  She's the one who calls me pessimistic when I call myself realistic.  She reminds me that it is okay to love things like Disney World and have obsessions over nail polish.  She reminds me that I shouldn't be so hard on myself and other people.

Has extreme social networking/ blogging/ writing skills.

My friend Jenn has been blogging for longer than I've known her I think and I really admire her social networking and blogging and writing skills.  She is constantly connecting people on Twitter and never posts a blog that she hasn't put a lot of thought into. She is the ultimate social butterfly and I really respect that.  She can also always be counted upon for a twitter conversation or a West Wing reference.

Will always respond to my emails and texts during the work day.

My friend Emily is my partner in crime during the work day.  We are also very similarly minded about most political issues.  We are also not afraid to disagree with each other on political or life issues and we don't beat around the bush when it comes to expressing our opinions.  She is also just about as obsessed with blogs as I am and speaks blog language, if you know what I mean.

The true romantic.

My friend Rachel is a true romantic and does not make apologies for believing in romance.  She always believes in the good in people and in the good in the future.  She loves history and has a slight fascination with most of our founding fathers. 

Unabashedly loves bacon.

My friend Colleen absolutely loves bacon.  I mean, who doesn't love bacon?! Nobody I know!  We also share a common love of the television show Weeds and Ina Garten. If you need a laugh, you can contact Colleen anytime and she will oblige. 

Oldest friend.

My friend Jenny is my oldest friend.  We've known each other since I was 8 or 9.  She was and still is a trouble-maker and I love her.  Sometimes I wonder how she didn't get us into more trouble when I was a kid/ teenager? She definitely challenged my goody-two-shoes ways of life.  We've always had a bond but similar experiences in our young adult lives have bonded us more than ever. I am so thankful to have a friend who can understand what I'm going through better than anyone else because she has been through it herself! 

Interns of the World: Listen Up!

I have spent my fair share of summers as an intern- an unpaid intern in most cases.  

I was a liberal arts major in undergrad. In case you haven't noticed, most of the internships in that arena are not compensated, in money at least.  Were it not for my father's support, trust and encouragement, I would not have been able to afford those opportunities. And I can tell you that the reason I've been able to land most of my internships is because I could market the skills gained in those previous internships.  They have paid off. Undoubtedly.

The District of Columbia is notorious for morphing into a city full of interns in the summer.  And "interns" do not have a great reputation.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, or the attention in this case.  In other words, the loud and obnoxious interns that flood the city in the summer make a bad name for all interns. In fact, there is even a blog where you can read tons of stories about all the incompetent, overly confident interns in this city and their many (overheard) adventures. When the truth is, many interns provide great help to their offices and get great experiences in return. 

Let me tell you- I have had some incredible opportunities as an intern.  Not only have I had the opportunity to learn new skills, but I've been able to attend some amazing events and meet some wonderful people- well-known and otherwise.  Many of the people from my office last summer have become my closest D.C. friends.  I see them regularly for dinner or coffee and I am so thankful they are friends to me. 

I say all that to say this:

A month ago, I started a new job. And I am an intern.  But this time, I'm a paid intern.  And the work is much different than other internships I've had so far.  Yes, I am an intern- but I have a bit more responsibility than I've had in other internships and this is a great opportunity for me to really gain some new skills that will hopefully serve me well now and wherever I may go next. I am so thankful for this internship.

But, this also isn't my first time at the rodeo, if you know what I mean.  I'm a little more seasoned than many interns.  I've been around the block a few times.  And here are some of my key take-aways from my internships and from observing others.

Be Humble.

Yes, you are an intern at XYZ Agency or Company.  And that is great! It is a big deal! Your parents are proud of you and they should be! You should be proud of yourself. I sincerely hope you are.

But you know what? You are still an intern- and any way you slice the pie, you are at the bottom of the totem pole.  It is not easy to hear, but it is true.  It is not your place to pass judgement openly on your workplace and its organization or lack thereof.  Especially when you've been around for approximately three weeks. You are there to learn.  And it is difficult to learn if you are constantly running your mouth.  I bet your second grade teacher tried to teach you that and it still applies. If you have negative thoughts and opinions of people you work with, I recommend that you save them for happy hour discussions with your buddies. Do not bring them up with your co-workers or fellow interns unless you know that they share your same negative feelings.  Bad-mouthing your employers or co-workers makes you look rude, snobbish and unprofessional. And it makes me think, if anyone ever asked me about you, that I would not recommend you as a good intern or team player.

Observe.

Observe the behavior of people in your office.  Try to model your behavior after them. (Obviously do not mock or copy, but model yourself after them.) Do not be the first to jump in the discussion in a staff meeting. Let others speak for a few moments before throwing your ideas out there.  Do not clam up and be a wallflower, but have respect for people who have been around the organization longer than you have. You will probably learn something from them. If you are in a situation and you are unsure of how to act, follow your boss's lead.  I was invited to a reception last summer with my boss and I had no clue what I was walking into, so I followed her lead.  Chances are, you can't do something too wrong or embarrassing if your boss is doing it too. 

Be nice.

You will probably be spending a lot of time in your new office.  When I moved to D.C. last summer, I easily imagined myself becoming friends with my fellow interns and I did. What I did not anticipate was becoming friends with people who were technically my supervisors beyond an office friendship.  But I did.  Some of my best friends in D.C. now were my bosses last summer. And you know what? It is a lot more comfortable to call your friend and ask for a letter of recommendation than it is to call a boss that you half-heartedly had a relationship with.  If you do good work for someone, they will help you out with future pursuits in most cases.  But if you did good work for someone and they like you on a personal level, they will be even more excited to help you. So be nice. You never know when the next stranger you meet in the office might become your closest friend. 

At minimum, follow the dress code.

I mean this is just self-explanatory. I doubt there are any guys reading this blog, but if there are (possible shout-out to my friend Kori if he still reads?), you should own at least one suit. When you get an invitation to an event that calls for professional dress, you should wear it.  I am no expert on menswear and I do not pretend to be- but I think things are a little more straight-forward for guys in this department.

For ladies, I highly recommend this blog post from Capitol Hill Style titled, "Intern Style: 15 Easy Pieces." When an event calls for professional dress, a cardigan will not cut it.  If you will be meeting the CEO of your company or some other high-up official or principal, please wear a jacket with a collar- otherwise known as a blazer.  Even The Gap is selling them these days. I promise people may not notice if your blazer is super expensive or chic, but they will notice that you are wearing something borderline business casual when everyone else is in a suit. 

For those who want to pump it up a notch in the dressing department, I highly recommend paying attention to what your supervisor wears and dressing in a similar style (or as similar as possible without breaking the bank).  If your supervisor typically wears a jacket, you should consider wearing them too.  If your supervisor is more casual, it is okay for you to go with business casual too. 

Be Punctual.

If you are not early, you are late. Especially being an intern, you will likely be unfamiliar with where you are going a lot of the time. This morning, I spent 30 minutes walking around a complex looking for a room that I didn't have access to without an escort. Did anyone tell me this? No. But I was on time even after walking around for a while in the wrong direction because I was early to begin with. Plan ahead and plan carefully with time.

Be Honest.

You are an intern.  At some point, your boss or someone high-up in the "food chain" will ask what your goals are.  Make sure you are prepared for this question and be honest about your goals.  These people are likely taking an interest in you because you have made a good impression on them.  They want to help you because you have been a help to them in some way. But they can only help you if you are honest about your future goals and next moves.  You are an intern- so it is okay to let them know that this job was not the best fit for you and that, through the learning process of your internship, you think you may want to try something different.  If you are at the point of looking for a paid job, it is okay to tell them that if you have a good relationship with each other! They may not be able to hire you, but they may be able to recommend you to someone else. 

One last thing...

Watch your mouth.  Cursing does not make the best first impression on most people and is not appropriate in most workplaces.  Once you have made friends with a coworker, it is okay to curse if you feel comfortable.  Otherwise, don't use even borderline "bad words" around complete strangers.  It is just not a great idea.

I hope this post is maybe helpful to someone out there.  I hope I do not sound all high and mighty.  I am not the greatest intern ever and I make plenty of mistakes- trust me!  But I have had experience as an intern and I feel like these are pretty common pitfalls. 

Top Ten Movies I'e Never Seen

Confession: I'm one of those people who constantly gets caught in conversations with others about movies I've never seen.  For some reason, there are all these "classic" (or at least modernly classic) movies that I somehow missed out on.  Here's a list of the top ten movies I'm constantly reminded that I've never seen.  These are in no particular order. 

Side note: I'm mostly writing this post so that I'll have a reference for movies I need to watch.

Braveheart

Source

Gladiator

Top Gun

I've seen this one in bits and pieces but not all at once in one sitting.

Source

The Patriot

The Goonies

It's a Wonderful Life

I know, I know. I feel like as a girl, I should have seen this at some point in my life. But I haven't. So there. 

Source

Pulp Fiction

The Matrix

Even though I've never seen this, I have to say that I also have absolutely no interest in ever seeing it. Yes, I am judging this book by its cover.

Fight Club

Jaws 

I did go on the "Jaws" ride at Universal Studios once. Does that count?

Source

Notice that there aren't really any romantic comedies on this list- it seems I have seen most of those. So typical.

What about you? Are there movies you've never seen that you get constantly ragged on about? 

What's on My Birthday List?

Next month is my birthday month! Growing up my family always made a big deal about birthdays and of course, I always loved it! I think that birthdays are a big deal and I love making other people feel special for their own birthdays. When celebrating birthdays, I usually send a card to friends (and of course to family).  I pride myself on being the friend with birthdays written down in my agenda each year and addresses saved in an excel sheet so that I can mail a proper card to people for their birthdays. I sit down each month and look ahead to the next month so that I know whose card I need to purchase for the next month. In this day and age, I find that people really appreciate a real birthday card!  And while the expense adds up over the year for all my friends, the expense per card is usually around $4.  Since I rarely have the budget for a gift for all my loved ones, cards work best for me!

That said, for my birthday I would love to receive a call, card, tweet, email greeting, or text for my birthday from my friends and family.  While I do really appreciate facebook greetings, there's just something special about hearing more directly from the people you love on your birthday!

But, of course I do have a few "things" in mind for my birthday as well.  My family members usually ask for a birthday list and I've learned that it is better to oblige and let them treat you to some things you normally wouldn't treat yourself to.  Am I right?

Here goes, my incredibly exciting birthday list.

First up is a new electric toothbrush.  My old sonicare has been around since my high school days and frankly, it is kaput. It only works about 25% of the time these days despite being fully charged.  

This is the model I'm opting for. The Oral-B Professional Care SmartSeries 4000.  It is pricey at $90, but the company is currently running a 50% rebate. So all in all, that's not a bad deal! I've also asked for some replacement brush heads.  By the way, the "wish list" function on amazon.com is quite handy!

Second on my list is a new trivet.

I do not have any trivets and I find myself using pot holders when I need one.  This is quite effective, but I also thought I'd like to have a trivet so I told my dad that I would like one for my birthday.  Imagine my surprise last week when not one, but TWO trivets showed up on my doorstep from Williams-Sonoma!  I was honestly expecting him to pick up a trivet at Target.  But check out what he sent instead:

This is the Le Creuset trivet in Dijon. I honestly could not believe it when I opened these! What a lovely surprise and definitely something I would never treat myself to or even ask for, but I will enjoy them so much!  And of course they match my one Le Creuset pot. Yay! 

I've also asked for a painting of my childhood home.  My brother has a beautiful pen and ink drawing of the home he grew up in (he's quite a bit older than me, so we grew up in different homes) that has become a family heirloom.  I've found a great artist on Etsy to create a drawing of my growing-up home for me.  I haven't ordered it yet. Unfortunately I do not have a digital picture of the home and the artist works from pictures. I also do not have a hard copy that I can scan. Ironically, I need to go to my childhood home to find one of those. But once I order and receive and frame and hang that picture, I will be sure to share it! I am very excited about having such a special piece in my apartment.

I'm also hoping that I might get a little birthday money this year.  With that, I plan to buy a new pair of boots for the fall!

I am still lusting over these boots from Duo.  I think I've posted about them before.  I think it may be time to pull the trigger, so to speak.

Not that I need anything else to add to this list, but I am also always lusting over things at anthropologie and new jewelry.  I'm loving these coasters from anthro right now.

The only problem is picking my favorite color.  I'm thinking perhaps it'd be best to trek it to the store in Georgetown so I can mix and match colors.

I also plan to buy a new water bottle. I know that may sound lame (I mean definitely not as lame as my toothbrush, though) but my current water bottle leaks like MAD and it is super annoying! Hopefully I will have better luck with the next one! 

You Might Be Becoming an Adult

You know you might be becoming an adult when...

You research the Consumer Reports article on the best electronic toothbrush.

And said toothbrush is on your birthday list.

You are most looking forward to Friday night so that you can go to sleep when you get home from work instead of going to class.

(This might also just be an indicator of a working grad student.)

You get excited about getting your email inbox cleaned out.

For me, this is not yet accomplished but in progress- and that's progress in itself at this point!

Your friends call to share the news that they are engaged or expecting.

This is still taking some getitng used to for me. Especially the "expeting" thing!! Even though I love babies (like, ADORE babies) the idea of my friends having one still kind of flips me out. But in a good way.

You get excited about your Southern Living subscription arriving every month. 

You are even more excited that it only cost you $22 for TWO years!

You realize that dry cleaning is dang expensive.

You probably never realized this before because the 3 things that you owned that were dry clean only would just get thrown in your parents' dry cleaning pile and reappear fresh and clean.  Then, you thought it cost practically nothing!  You also may wish someone had let you know about this BEFORE you bought all your brand new work dry-clean-only clothing.

You think about saving for retirement.

And investing. Whoa dang that stuff is confusing.

BUT...

You might still be a kid fresh-out-of-college-person because...

You rarely buy a bottle of wine that costs more than $7.

And you get excited when you discover that one of your favorite liquors (Malibu) now comes in a higher proof (Malibu Black) for the same price. Now you will practically save money! Oh yeah, you might also still be a kid because you drink Malibu.  Whatever- it's good.

You still need your parent's advice and help.

Even though you're thinking about saving and planning for the future and retirement, you are still relatively in the dark about what it means to "invest."

You posture with your girlfriends for hours about certain topics.

You know, like clothes and boys and hair styles and movies.

You can't resist topping your fro-yo with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Even though you know you should be "adult" enough to go with the more sensible strawberries. But darn is there anything tastier in this world than peanut butter cups?

Satchel Fever

I truly feel like satchels are everywhere right now! I keep seeing them online and I have to say I really like them all.  They just scream "fall" to me because the shape is so school-like. 

Here's a fun variety of satchels out there on the market right now.

Polyvore set found here. 

They come in so many fun color varieties and price points right now.

Here are a couple of ideas for carrying these puppies.

Polyvore set found here. 

Okay, okay. So this look may be slightly influence by the Duchess of Cambridge.  What can I say? 

Polyvore set found here. 

This outfit would be great for running to class! And most of these items I could substitute with something in my closet. Plus, it's comfy! And I'm all about the comfy.

What trends are you loving right now?