Pinteresting Precedes the Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, my lovelies!

Now, while Turkey Day isn't my MOST FAVORITE holiday, it definitely ranks in the top 3 at the very least. How can you not love a holiday in which you
a) indulge in ridiculous amounts of carboriffic foods,
b) kick off the Christmas season as soon as the leftovers are packed away, and
c) take a bit of time to slow down and truly reflect on what you've been blessed with and are thankful for in your life

(A question mark would be proper in ending the sentence above, but I cannot figure out where to put it and think it looks odd wherever. Go ahead and write me up, grammar police.)

Thank goodness today is my early day at work, because I have about a million and one things to do to get ready for tomorrow, including investing in a pastry cutter and rolling pin, dying cream cheese to decorate turkey feathers, picking up copious bottles of wine, baking cornbread and putting my dressing together (without the broth people!! Never let it sit overnight with the broth!!), attempting to make a pecan pie plus the crust completely from scratch, hitting the elliptical for an hour (I figure if I start burning calories early, maybe the burn will just keep on going through tomorrow... right?), watching Home Alone whilst in the throes of my kitchen preparations... and then collapsing on the couch with a glass/bottle of wine.

I have a schedule for all of this (OH, yes ma'am, I do) but if I know me as well as I think I do, tears will have been shed in frustration and angst at some point this evening as I got off schedule and everything just went into the gutter. And then Brian will remind me that we're having frozen pizza for dinner and that it's not the end of the world if I don't finish everything to the minute, and he will follow behind my pathetic little trail of tears with a broom to sweep up my messes and hand me a lovely, refreshing glass of wine while I silently remind myself how thankful I am to have him around (y'all, I'm already knowing that this will happen- I bought him a Thanksgiving card and a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups yesterday as a "You're likely going to need to give him this as an apology for Wednesday night pre-Thanksgiving hysteria").

After all, it wouldn't be the holidays without a whole lotta drama leading up to that lovely presentation of goodies that you knew would inevitably turn out just how you'd expected-- delicious and flavored with a lot of love, effort, and a touch of crazy.

And now-- THE PINS BEFORE THE TURKEY!! I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple in my fav little Oh, How PINTERESTING Wednesday.

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Completely obsessed with this monogrammed bedding.




This is the most perfect idea ever for a nightstand!




LOV-ING this outfit, particularly the sweater/wrap.



gotta love my boys!




Louboutin Holiday Pumps-- I die.




1. He is dreamy. 2. He is PERFECTION just for ever uttering these words.


Source: imdb.com via Katie on Pinterest



“‘Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her. I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain… I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.” — J.K. Rowling

love. her. want to be her/her best friend.




so, so true...




lovely little holiday friend gift, with a monogram added to the ball?


I'm off to finish up/start my day at work... right after I find breakfast. And a coffee-- a BIIIG coffee. If you don't check back in before tomorrow, have a wonderfully happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!


Thoughtful Thursday Turned Out... Not So Thoughtful.

*With this being Little Man's first Christmas, Brian and I have been on the hunt for the most perfect gifts (sidenote: toys have come A. LONG. WAY. since I was a wee little one). We DO, after all, have to represent as a spectacular uncle and (someday) aunt, so our gifts must be perfection. While Brian wants to buy him a tool bench like he had when he was little, he thinks all of the ones I've shown him are "too babyish" (keep in mind that Colin is 9 months old and will be almost 11 months when he "opens" his gifts):

source

He's thinking something more along the lines of this:


I informed him he can be the cool uncle who buys this NEXT Christmas-- am I wrong, or is that a little too toddler-ish for a nine month old?

Also, Amazon has "Frustration-Free Packaging":
Amazon Has Certified That This Packaging Is Frustration-Free
This item is delivered in an easy-to-open recyclable box and is free of plastic "clamshells" and wire ties. Learn more.

Seriously? I remember WAY too many Christmas mornings anxiously yammering at my dad to "Hurry up! I want my Barbie!" This is amazing! Mindblowing! It must make Christmas morning go by so much more easily. If you already knew about this, kudos to you. If you didn't and will now be shopping solely thru Amazon this holiday season... you're welcome.

*Every holiday I over-volunteer myself to bring dishes. It's inevitable and often ends up with me in tears, taking my frustrations out on Brian-- not fair, I know. Since I like to keep with tradition, this year is like any other!: Green Bean Casserole (Trader Joe's recipe), Stuffed Mushrooms (Pioneer Woman), a Turkey Cheese Ball (in the shape of a turkey... not with turkey... disgusting), potentially rolls, and a dessert. I'll start praying for myself now.

*We have a retreat for work tomorrow. My start time is 7:15am. My "see ya" time is 5:30pm. It's going to be a looong day.

*I still haven't made my turkey wreath. It's so close to Thanksgiving I might just use the burlap for a Christmas project. It's sad and I am the worst blogger/Pinterest-doer ever.

*I believe I might brave the crowds next Friday to get some shopping done. Yes, I like to live on the wild side.

If you stuck in this long, love ya! Hope your Thursday is more exciting than mine :)

Bloggers, Meet Katie... And My Weekend of Aloneness.

You would think that I would begin to blog consistently, considering I have about a bazillion (okay, or like twelve) new followers-- hey to my new people! But no... no. When I'm tired at nighttime, I go home and take a nap then go to the gym then cook dinner then eat dinner then pass out on the couch. It's an exciting life I lead, I promise you.

In honor of my newbies, I'll quickly bring you up to speed on myself. If you're already familiar with the workings around here, feel free to either skip down or refresh yourself on my loveliness.

I'm a 100% Texan living in Boston with my sarcastic, funny, sports-obsessed, wonderful boyfriend of four years:


My job, while not the most fulfilling in the world, has been a great stepping stone into the real world, and I've met some pretty fab people along the way (kindly swing by and visit Ms. Caitlin at The Caitie Experiment-- let her know that THIS Katie sent you!). While I don't believe it's my forever job, it's just right for the time being.

When I'm not workin' or with the boy... I'm a runner. A RUNNER. Y'all I NEVER thought that that would be a title I'd give to myself, but I am. There are definitely days when I hate it and days when I flat out don't do it, but most evenings (or 5am mornings) you can find me on the treadmill, adding up the miles:

Pinterest has recently become an enormous obsession/time-sucker/procrastination tool, and I love to hate it. Actually, I love to love it. The site may make me enormously unproductive, but it has sparked my creativity like nobody's business!

Having a degree in English automatically makes me a semi-nerd and reinforces my love for reading and writing (that novel that I swear I'll someday finish and sell and then you'll see me on... oh my word, I was going to type "on Oprah" and realized that my dream of chatting with Oprah about my mega-successful book will never happen.... unless she has me on her new "Oprah's Life Class" to educate her followers about my awesomeness. Hm... yes, we'll go with that.). The blog? It is also an outlet for the days that I need to get words out but really don't have too much to say.

Since I'm not yet married (I swear someday he'd better put a ring on it) and have no babies, my other interests include cooking and baking up a storm, stressing about decorating our new apartment, drinking the wine, training to run my first half marathon (this February! Oh my word!), quoting movies and schooling Brian (the boyfriend) on classics such as A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and The Wizard of Oz (pre-me, he had never seen them. ANY of them. It's like he lived in a cave as a child.), and making as many trips as humanly (and financially) possible back to Texas to visit my family (this inevitably includes consuming obscene amounts of Chick-fil-A and Mexican food).

At the end of the day, I am to be as good of a daughter, sister, girlfriend and friend as possible, while playing modern day Suzy Homemaker. This basically means I try to cram in as much domesticity as I can while balancing the daily chaos. While this sometimes works out perfectly, it often times ends with me mumbling into a wine glass while throwing clothes in the washer at 10pm and trying to get dinner served in the meantime. Whatevs-- I keep it real!



I want to buy this and hang it on my wall tonight. That's how badly I desire to have this in my possession.

"But Katie! What about Brian? What on earth will he think?!"
Oh, my lovelies. First of all, I have managed to find a man who could not give a flying flip how I decorate our place. We have an unspoken understanding that I'd never spray paint anything neon, bring in any furniture that looked or felt uncomfortable, or hang anything on the wall pertaining to furry animals. Honestly? I can EASILY handle that.

Second (ly? of all?), boyfran is away for the weekend! I'm rallying the excitement because I'm really not ALL that excited, but I'm pretending like I am! He's heading to Chicago with a cousin and a best friend to visit the cousin's brother and go to the U of I football game tomorrow and drag into the city on Sunday once they've conquered their hangovers. He'll find his way home some time Monday evening when I'll pick him up at the airport and introduce him to Our Home previously known as Our Boring, Undecorated Apartment. I plan to busy myself like crazy the next couple of days, between shopping for decor and tackling two Pinterest projects:

this BEAUTIMOUS wreath
(I know I said it last week but really truly this week it will be mine)



and THIS
(which reminds me to print a picture of Tejas before I leave today...)



I'm a little stressed because I don't remember how to cook for one person. And I don't like the whole being alone at night thing. However, I plan to consume wine and eat snacks and clean and shop and decorate our barren, plain, stark white walls, and make treats for Brian to come home to and enjoy.

Because, like I said, I live in a constant state of domesticated chaos.

Happy Friday, my lovelies! Be prepared for potential drunken Pinterest-fueled update at some point this weekend. I'll need to show my progress (or failures... but hopefully progress) to someone!

Oh Friday, why do you battle me so?


My friends, today did not start off all that brightly.

Since Brian's working from home, I had the chance to drive his car to the train super early so I can leave work early-- this means waking up at 4:50, leaving the apartment by 5:50, being on the train by 6ish, and getting to my desk by 7. We decided last night around 7 that I would be doing this today... which makes no sense as to why I opted to stay up until TWELVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING watching the movie Bad Teacher with the boy.

sidenote: It was quite raunchy but I literally laughed out loud at several parts.

Seriously. It was like I couldn't make myself go to bed because he was staying up late, though his (perfectly logical) reasoning was that he didn't have to be awake until 8:45 this morning, and even then his only requirement of the day was to shower, move to the couch, and be logged in to his work website or whatever by 9.

Anywho, I was a warrior and woke up, got showered/dressed/made up, and even managed to curl my hair. I bagged a Diet Coke for the commute and was on my way.

Dark Cloud #1. The normally nonexistent Friday morning traffic was very existent this morning, turning a 10 minute drive into nearly 20 minutes.

Dark Cloud #2. While I was waiting in line to take my ticket at the parking garage, a lady in an enormous Escalade in front of me threw her car into reverse and floored her monstrosity backwards. Considering we were only about two feet apart and there were cars bumper to bumper behind me (leaving me with nowhere to go), my heart jumped just about into my throat. I just KNEW she was going to hit me and blared my horn at her (which I never do... this aged me). She leaned out of her window and waved and said "Oops! Didn't see you!" and just drove on in to the garage. Frazzled nerves at 6am do not a good morning make.

Dark Cloud #3. Once I'd made it to the train and found a seat, I cracked open my lovely, frosty Diet Coke and sipped as I read my book. The train took a good unexpected lurch at the same moment I had lifted the can to my mouth and BAM! Diet Coke all. down. my. cheek. Thankfully there weren't many passengers yet so I could discreetly dry things off, but still-- seriously? A sticky DC bath was not what I'd ordered.

On the bright side, it's Friday-- lovely, glorious, rejuvenating Friday. I'm heading out for Starbucks and my day inevitably goes by quickly when I'm only working until 3:30 (and the morning passes by oh-so-quickly when my brain isn't 100% awake for the first two hours I'm at my desk). I'm planning to make a Target and Trader Joe's stop after work because we're doing it up big tonight with homemade pizza and Dateline. It may make us sound like we're oldies, but nights like this are what we look forward to ALL. WEEK. LONG.

As for the weekend, we have little going on. Tomorrow we're going to a wine festival in Boston for a few hours, then I'm cooking for our first little romantic date night since we moved to our new apartment (though I've been informed the Bama/LSU game will be our background music. Nothing's more romantic than the SEC, so why not?)

On the menu?

Pioneer Woman's Short Ribs in Wine and Cream. Have mercy.

Then Sunday I'm planning to tackle my first Thanksgiving-based Pinterest project:



... and watch football. And make something in the crockpot that I don't have to mess with all day and potentially a good, heart dip. Because it's just what my hips need.

Happy weekend, y'all!

Oh, how Pinteresting!

My Pinterest obsession continues. Out of either boredom or a tiny bit of spare time this past week, I've been Pinning like crazy.

On the bright side, my cup runneth over with creative ideas to try and recreate in the next few months.

On the down side, I'll likely just roll this pressure to be creative up into one big ball with the other stresses of the season and wind up curled in the fetal position on the floor one night with burlap hot glued to my hands and a half-eaten jalapeno popper grilled cheese on a plate next to me (Pinterest? I blame you for knowledge of such creations!).

I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for Pinteresting Wednesday, so without further ado... MY PINS!!

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I would not lie about such a thing. DI-VINE.




Love pink. Love black. Such a fun outfit!




I take public transportation twice daily. This is my entertainment.




This coat? It melts my fashion heart.





amen.


Source: google.com via Katie on Pinterest



just lovely. not sure what it would say about ME... but lovely all the same.




New Year's Eve? Yes, please!




story of my life.


Source: etsy.com via Katie on Pinterest



I die over the cuteness!




Brian's out of town next weekend. This is my project. Cue the self-induced burlap hysteria I predict to ensue.

Happy Hump Day, y'all!!


Today is the day I stop saying "tomorrow"

Holy goodness, how on earth is it November 1st? It's typically around this time of year that I start to get way overwhelmed with the impending holiday season. Gifts to buy, holiday travel arrangements to make... the list shall continue to grow, I'm positive of this.

This is also the exact time of year/season LAST year when I stopped losing weight. As many weight-strugglers might be able to relate to, I remember the precise moment when I "fell off of the wagon," so to speak.

Brian's mom has strict rules regarding Thanksgiving dishes. Since there's already a dish that contains cream of mushroom soup (a weird vegetable medley with Swiss cheese on top-- I don't question it), no others are allowed (I know, y'all-- she is obviously NOT from the South). My most favorite holiday dish (other than my mama's cornbread dressing) is green bean casserole, complete with that can of condensed deliciousness and French's fried onions on top.

via

After having spent my previous two Boston Thanksgivings without my most favorite, I decided last year that I would make a mini-Thanksgiving dinner THE WEEKEND BEFORE the actual holiday for Brian and myself. I roasted a chicken, made Stovetop (I know, sacrilege), and threw together the good ole GBC. I indulged and enjoyed every bite... and just never got back on track. Throughout the holidays I definitely maintained at my biggest weight loss number and actually held on through mid-summer. The scale has gradually creeped up though, and I've added back between 8 and 10 pounds. Considering I worked hard last year to lose yet know I could have worked harder, seeing the scale go back up was a big wakeup call for me.

My mama had a big talk with me last Friday night. Brian and I had plans to go to his cousin's Halloween party and I'd volunteered to make snacks. I left work early with the intention of going to the gym before hitting the grocery store plus getting all showered and dressed and costumed up myself and getting us out the door on time. Per usual, my afternoon got away from me and everything took longer than I'd planned, so I had to ditch the gym. I'd been feeling just gross with the way I was feeling/looking and knew that night wouldn't exactly be calorie-friendly. Mama gave me the pick-up pep talk that I needed and reminded me that sometimes you just can't help the moment and the best you can do is pick up right where you need to be the next day. Honestly, I was a little bit worse for the wear Saturday morning/afternoon and we went out for Brian's birthday Saturday night for supper then headed home to hunker down for Snowtober 2011.

However, Sunday morning, I hit the gym. I ran 3.5 miles and did a heck of a lot of squats, lunges and free weights. Yesterday morning I was at the gym at 5am and ran another 3.5 miles. It was nice to get back into that routine, and even though it's only been three days, I'm looking forward to getting my gym-time in-- this is good.

Since today is the first day of November (and 41 days until I turn 26), I've set a few little goals for myself, pertaining to both fitness and my daily life.

I COMMIT...

... to blogging each day, even if it's an iPhone pic and a quick caption.

...to working out 6 days per week, even if all I can fit in is a quick half hour on the elliptical.

...to keeping up with my mantra of "You do not NEED ____. This is not the last time you'll have the chance to eat _____." This is big for me.

...to making lists and plans early on for the holidays and sticking to them, mainly for my sanity. This includes Christmas card organization, gift planning, buying plane tickets, and consistently updating our social calendar.

... to running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning and at least a 5k early in my December. I'd love to PR the 5k and come in under 28 minutes.

... to participating in volunteer opportunities this holiday season. Whether it's donating a Thanksgiving dinner for a needy family, choosing a name to buy Christmas for a child, etc... I let myself too often forget the true "reason for the season" and need to get back in touch with that.

... maintain my budget throughout the holidays. With just having moved, expenses are crazy high right now, and I tend to try and justify spending more at the holidays because it makes me feel good to make others happy. There are budget-friendly things that I can do to still make people smile, and I know that the recipients will love anything I gift them with... this is why I love them.

Well, my lovelies, I think my goals are pretty reasonable. I'd love to drop a handful of pounds this month, but instead of setting a number goal and feeling let down if I don't reach it, I'm just going to aim for making good meal choices, keeping up the workouts, guzzling my water, and waiting for my clothes to start fitting better again. I was also going to make a goal pertaining to completing things on Pinterest I've liked, but that would just overwhelm me to the extreme.

I've got to head to bed, but I was determined to get my first of November blog post in today!