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IT'S APRIL TOMORROW YOU GUYS. APRIL. Can we just have a moment of silence for winter? Just kidding. I'm really glad winter is over. I mean at least I think it is. We had a rough weekend though. ALLEGEDLY it's going to be 80 this week. EIGHTY DEGREES. girls hit your hallelujah! 

C U R R E N T L Y  I AM:

reading Lincoln in the World, Cross Bones, and Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Yes. Three books at a time because I'm apparently incapable of focusing on one story. I keep Bones in my purse, Harry Potter for the bath (is that an overshare? sorry...) and Lincoln for anywhere I get a chance to read it.t

drinking COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE. but I'm looking forward to warmer days, some spark samples from Jen, and brainstorming what fun cocktail I'll make for Thursty Thursday....

soul searching: about a potential career move + whether or not it's the right choice. there will be yellow legal pads + pro/con lists. Ted Mosby would be proud.

planning: a trip to Charleston AND that trip to Naples at the end of the month. April is a really busy month for me! #jetsetter

loving: all of these things from Friday ;; these Belgium sunset pictures from Life+1 ;; my beautiful sponsor ladies who are the real MVPs because they're the first! Lindsay ;; Meagan (who did a currently post today too #greatminds) ;; Kati Rose ;; Kerri ;; Melissa ;; Trish

jamming: Biscuits, obvi. also Missing You by Betty Who (ps spotify updated + I cannot seem to find the embed button. waaaaaah)

learning: new tricks in Excel, how to use my fun new tripod + remote with Ringo the Rebel, and how much of a pain house hunting in Atlanta is. Don't you just want to rent me a cute little bungalow in the highlands for like. less than $800 per person? YOU DO? THANKS!

What are you up to? Can you tell that I had major writer's block this morning? (oh, I guess you can now. way to show your hand there genius...)

Some Monday Confessions....

Do you ever feel like you have a really good grasp on something + then someone asks you a really specific question that makes you feel like the biggest idiot on the planet? Well, that just happened to me + now I feel like everything I've ever thought about my Excel abilities was a lie. So, if that isn't a Monday morning pick-me-up, I just don't know what is. So for some laughs, I have some confessions. 

Yesterday I had all of these plans to do things + clean + laundry + blog stuff + you know what I did? I watched eight straight episodes of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Zero. Sorrys. Here. I'll just have to try to do laundry tonight before I run out of clean things...... 
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Speaking of not doing grown up things. I haven't been to the grocery store since Monday so I had cookie dough for two meals this weekend. 
coooooooooooookie
I'm sure I've said it before, but I haaaaate shopping. Hate it. It's not my thing. So obviously I waited until the last minute to get a gift for the wedding shower I went to on Saturday. If you're not following me on twitter you missed me live tweeting my misadventure at the mall (which I learned doesn't open until 10 am) and at Target unsupervised (spoiler alert, I didn't get lost in the parking deck this time...
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Wow so that's less confessions + more a weekend recap. While we're at it, I should mention we lost both of our softball games yesterday. So, margaritas were had. What trouble did you get into this weekend?

Friday Favorites!

Can we go back + just make yesterday Friday? The weather was soooooooooooooo pretty + it was warm + sure felt like Friday. Today it's all cold + gloomy. How did it even get so cold? Like. what's up Mother Nature? I thought we were good. 

OKAY BUT HAVE YOU HEARD KACEY MUSGRAVES NEW JAM? She's basically my spirit animal. Mad props to Jen for making me listen to it that first time. 

I've been playing along with Melyssa for #TNCLovesSpring on the Instagram + I'm really digging the excuses to post like, nothing but flower pictures. I'm particularly proud of this one: 
A photo posted by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on
SPEAKING OF INSTAGRAM. I'm pretty sure St. Patrick's Day didn't even happen because Sarah didn't instagram it, (oh hey, and neither did I...) Caroline pointed out that we've fooled them , and Helene hit it on the head about why she follows you on Instagram. Now I will shamelessly embed another insta because I can. Sorry 'bout it.
The Around The Horn linkup is over (big sad face here. this is not a favorite) BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS everyone loved it + I had SO MUCH FUN -- so I'm brainstorming a new linkup with Allison! Any ideas? Anything you want to write about? Anyone wanna go to a Braves game this summer?! HEY BASEBALL SEASON IS LIKE NEXT WEEK GUYS.
Last but noooot least, five of my favorite posts from this week: 
  1. Jen will convince you that you, too, can run a marathon + subsequently the world
  2. Michelle tries out pins + tells you whether or not they really work (yeah this is from last week, so what? what are you going to do about it?)
  3. Kati Rose shares probably the best "welcome spring" playlist ever. Spoiler alert, it has Hanson on there. 
  4. Kerri has all sorts of fun new lipstick shades you should totally be excited about. 
  5. Kristin made what promises to be a fun + super easy spring grapefruit cocktail. I mean, if it has fruit in the word it's good for you right? 
That's it! That's all I have today! It's five things so I'm totally going to play over at Karli's place.  What are your favorite things this week??

Around The Horn: Favorite Team + A World Series Prediction!


CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS IS THE VERY LAST WEEK OF AROUND THE HORN? CAN YOU? CAN YOU THOUGH? I'm a little sad to see it go. Maybe we can find a way to bring it back. MAYBE I'LL DO AN ALL STAR BREAK CHECK IN! Would y'all want to do that? We'll see.

Now, the rules are easy. We had topics for each Thursday in March here, follow along with me + Jessa, grab the button below, link up, and make new friends woooooo!
Kasey At The Bat
If you can't guess my favorite team, I don't think you've ever been here before. So I'll reintroduce myself. Hi! My name is Kasey + I am probably one of the biggest Braves fans you will ever meet. I will defend them to my last breath. You know, that kind of fan. I'm unapologetic about it. I will defend Tommy Hanson's pitching motion until I'm blue in the face. I will think "this is the year. 2015 is our year. We're going to win the Series this year" until we are mathematically eliminated. every year.

okay well maybe not this year. BUT ONLY BECAUSE if the Cubs don't win this year, Biff never makes his zillions, we don't get hover boards, + the Dolorean just doesn't quite get to 88 mph. (guys. I really just got quite nerdy for a minute. you're welcome.)
Anyways. I was born + raised a Braves fan. Don't worry. I have proof. Here I am as a toe-headed heathen at Atlanta Fulton County. From what I've been told, this is actually a picture of me at a World Series game. SO THERE.  Let's be real. You couldn't pull that outfit off like I am.
I've even been to see them in places that aren't Turner Field. ONE TIME I saw them at AT&T on Easter where they swept the Giants. Even if some Giants fans did corner me in the bathroom (that was super scary y'all. I thought I might be done for.
So there you have it! Braves fan till I die y'all. I will like you no matter who you root for though (well unless your a Nationals fan. Then we'll probably have some issues..........) So let's hear it for the boys! Who's your favorite team? Why? Also, barring the Cubbies beating the Fish + hover boards becoming a thing -- I predict the Braves winning in seven. (gotta keep it interesting.) Who do you think it's gonna be? I have a plan for a fun prize if someone actually correctly predicts the outcome. 

My fAvorite PLL Reactions + Theories from Tumblr

This post was totally going to be all WODW. BUT THEN WE WATCHED THE PRETTY LITTLE LIARS FINALE + I have some questions. This is your official spoiler alert. If you read past the next paragraph -- you can't get angry at me okay? You're taking matters into your own hands. 
thanks huffpost!
I'm telling you! This is your last warning. Don't yell at me. 
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First of all. FIVE YEARS? FIVE YEARS + no one mentions a long lost DiLaurentes kid?!? HELLOOOOO. Everyone is all upset about a twin, but I don't know. those kids didn't quite look like they were twins.. maybe really close in age? Second of all. Where's his money coming from? This whole thing seems expensive. THIRD OF ALL. WHAT is the significance of the last prom that Melissa took Ian to?! WHY did Mona get a gas mask from A? WHO THE FRONT DOOR IS CHARLES? ALSO REAL TALK: why are the police + PARENTS so bad at their jobs in this show? I mean, I'm glad the Hasting parents finally got on the right page BUT WHAT? ALSO no one stays dead in Rosweood. It's weird. Who is the medical examiner over there? Isn't anyone concerned there is a serial killer? WHY haven't they called the BAU?

 So, obviously my next move was to head to tumblr to find out the answers. 

There's also an article on BuzzFeed that backs this up...



In conclusion. Everyone is soooo pissed at I. Marlene King (hey ps, do you ever feel like you're calling yourself Marlene King when you say/see/read her name? just me? okay...) They have us right where they want us. We can't quit this show. Literally, we didn't delete that episode after watching it, I maybe plan on going back to watch the episodes they've hinted at telling us more about this new A. PLUS THEY TOLD US WHO A IS + WE STILL DON'T KNOW. What are your "A" theories? I'm a little obsessed + not even a little sorry about it.....
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Reflections On 30 Days At The Barre

Oh hellloooooooooo there blogland. GUESS what I found out last night? I officially won the Peachtree Road Race lottery. hollaaaa! So on July 4th this girl will be struggling through that July Georgia heat + hopefully not being handed a shot of vodka thinking it's water like last year (I almost died y'all. but at least I looked cute) So I figured now was as good a time as any to reflect on my whole "30 Days At The Barre" adventure.
WHY YES THOSE ARE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.
Since I already told you what I learned in the first 15 days I'm sure I might repeat some things. You know what 30 days in a row at the gym taught me? I'm stronger than I think, all gym clothes can go in the same load of laundry, off days hurt more than you think they will, you might forget how to get home without going to the gym first, and it's a lot easier to power through those last 10 seconds of crunches by imagining how great you're going to look in a bikini. 

Guys. I'm 400% addicted to this. I literally go to the gym 5 days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. THAT SATURDAY CLASS IS AT 8 AM  + it just might be my favorite one. I was out of town last weekend + I still woke up in time to go to that class. Have we ever covered how I am the polar opposite of a morning person? I need coffee to make coffee. (funny story. today I went to this place called Cool Beans in Marietta + definitely struggled with the self serve for a good five minutes before admitting defeat only to find out I had just used the very last of the coffee. I wanted to bless my own heart. BUT IF YOU'RE IN MAY-RETTA you gotta go to Cool Beans + maybe bring me some coffee while you're at it

Anyways. I'm hooked. I didn't take a before picture because I'm a really bad blogger + fitness fanatic + stuff. I took one midway through but I haven't taken an "after" yet. So we'll see if that ever happens or if I just realize I can post bikini pictures on instagram because I earned it. OH ALSO SPEAKING OF INSTAGRAM. If you hashtag "gun show" people think you're serious + you will be followed by a bunch of weight lifting enthusiasts on insta AND tweeter. I definitely got a good laugh out of that one. Anyone want to come to the gym with me? 

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

HOLY MOLY MONDAY. I spent this weekend doing some reuniting + bridesmaid dress shopping + let me tell you what -- I am pooped today. First of all, head over to Nina's place -- I'm hanging out there with all of her other pretty pretty sponsors! Back? Okay. Well I noticed some new faces around here (also I'm recovering from the weekend) so I thought I would do some things you wouldn't know about me unless you met me in real life...

  1. I seriously lack in the coordination department. When we do side planks in barre class, I fall on my face every. time. it's actually petty hilarious if you ask me. 
  2. I have serious hair cut anxiety. I have long, thick hair, + one time (when I was like 8.) I went to one of those cheap haircut places + they put the long layers on top, short layers on bottom + we had to cut it all off to like my chin so that it would lay down. 
  3. I carry a book in my purse. Everywhere I go. 
  4. I write in cursive or all capital letters. I haven't always, I don't know when it happened, + as far as I know I'm not a serial killer... 
  5. I have the most varied music taste. General rule: I probably like it. No guilty pleasures here, just depends on my mood. 
  6. I regularly put my shoes on the wrong feet. I'm not actually a grownup, I just pretend to be. 
  7. My favorite color is green (which you'd think I would incorporate more here..)
  8. I hate wearing shoes. Bare feet please.
  9. I cannot go into Target, World Market, the grocery store. or the liquor store unsupervised. I come home with all the ridiculous things + nothing I actually needed.
  10. When I take a picture (for myself or anyone who hands me their phone + says "can you take our picture?") I take easily 50. Every time. I like to take the most ridiculous, obviously candid one + that's the one that I choose to instagram. every. time. it makes me happy. (everyone else, not always so much...)
Now that you know more about me than you probably needed to, what's something the internet doesn't know about youuuuu? 

Around The Horn: Favorite Player

CAN YOU GUYS BELIEVE WE'RE ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH THIS? I'm getting ScoreCenter updates on my phone so it's real guys. Baseball season is almost here!!!!!! So, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns). If you don't have much of an appetite today, you should check out all of the ballpark food we drooled over last week -- you're guaranteed to be hungry afterwards.

Now, the rules are easy. We have topics for each Thursday in March here, follow along with me + Jessa, grab the button below, link up, and make new friends woooooo!
Kasey At The Bat

Now. Favorite player is such a tough one for me. I mentioned how Javy Lopez was the first man I ever loved. For the longest time Tommy Hanson was a mild obsession (actually, that was pretty funny. I convinced people that he was actually my boyfriend so when he got a concussion at spring training one year people called me to make sure he was okay. only a little crazy right? no, no that's a lot crazy.)
I always felt like I could justify it because plenty of girls looooooved Chipper (honestly, I never got the appeal sorry if he's your favorite..) I just remember one day, when I was working in Rome, after a game Tommy Hanson stayed to sign autographs for every little kid. Even though he didn't have to. The most adorable trait of a ballplayer in my eyes. I also became a fan of Brandon Belt when I was in the Cali league + he was rehabbing with the other team. Even though it meant I couldn't go home until he decided to go home. 
There was also a time when we had a fan club for a few of our friends on the baseball team. Fun fact: shortly after this picture was taken, I almost go kicked out of the FSU baseball stadium. You really shouldn't tell me I can sit "anywhere I can find a space for my behind that doesn't belong to a ticketed fan" if you don't mean anywhere
OKAY. So aside from Javy (well, and Brandon Belt...) I have always had a special place in my heart for pitchers. Couldn't tell you why, I played first base growing up...
So with all the Braves trades + deals, I don't have a current favorite player. I'm in the market for a new favorite player, so why don't you convince me? Who's yours? Link up link up link up!! We'll have so much fun!


An Alarmingly Large Number Of Things I Learned About Myself Without A Cellphone for 24 Hours

Hi my name is Kasey + that's a really ridiculous title, I don't regret it at all. So, a fun thing happened yesterday morning. I got up, read twitter, refreshed instagram, played a few rounds of trivia crack, then got dressed to go to work. When I got to my car to plug my phone in to play the same, like 17 songs I've listened to on my way to + from work every day for the past week, I couldn't get it to unlock. It was making that weird screen like TVs used to when the programming for the night ended. (hey am I making myself sound old by referencing a time before 24 solid hours of TV programming?) Anyways. I learned a lot about the world being low tech for over 24 hours. #superlowtechtuesday #superhighanxietytuesday
  1. That package I forgot to send on Friday was a lot harder to send today when I couldn't pull the email with the address in it up at the post office (ps, sorry Katie for being too scatterbrained to get it in the mail on Friday...)
  2. You're not going to ever receive more text messages than when you can't look at them even if you wanted to. Maybe I'm playing hard to get (spoiler, I'm not. it's driving me crazy.)
  3. It's going to be really hard to find the people you're meeting up with at the pub crawl that night. (hey maybe you shouldn't have gone on a Tuesday night pub crawl. OH ST. PATRICK'S DAY. that makes it more acceptable.)
  4. Hope you know your checking account balance before you give the pizza guy your credit card number, you know it's not payday until Friday. 
  5. You're not going to be able to get an Uber home without it. 
  6. HOW WILL ANYONE KNOW YOU DRANK GREEN BEER IF YOU DO NOT INSTAGRAM SAID BEERS?
  7. I've never been more scared I was going to be in a car accident than I was without a phone. OR WORSE A FLAT TIRE. because at least if there's an accident, there's probably someone else who has a phone. you can use it to call any of the phone numbers you have memorized (which is a surprisingly large number) 
  8. Oh hey, did you know your watch battery is dead + that you're losing time? Now you do! 
  9. You don't own an alarm clock. 
  10. You have to listen to the radio. The radio is not as good as those 17 songs I'm currently obsessed with + totally ready to have in my spotify play queue. 
  11. HAHA! no traffic avoidance help from Waze. good luck getting anywhere fast today. 
  12. You won't be able to tell the person you're meeting that you're at the pub crawl, because you can't call her. 
  13. HEY FUN FACT -- you can't use Siri when you reboot your phone + still can't hit the seven to unlock it -- you also can't see who is texting/calling you because apparently you don't have access to your address book after a reboot either. 
  14. You can't tweet your appreciation to the volunteers at the pub crawl who said "you look too cute to be so sad!" and then texted your friend for you letting her know where you were. 
  15. You won't be able to jot down all the things you want to blog about said pub crawl + you'll have to remember them all. 
  16. You'll witness a fight outside the bar + won't be able to be the one getting it on tape or live tweeting the ridiculous "insults" ( 'you redneck peasant!' was easily my favorite. the only thing that would have been better would have been 'your mother was a hamster + your father smelt of elderberries!' )
  17. You won't be able to pick your jams driving home either. 
  18. Oh, you can't drop a pin on that odd side street you parked on to remember where your car is after dinner (because it was less a pub crawl, more a terrible dining experience.)
  19. When you're ready for bed, you won't be able to stream Netflix on your Chromecast to fall asleep to HIMYM reruns for the umpteenth time. 
  20. You won't be able to make a fake screenshot to be the picture for your blog post about things you learned about yourself. 
  21. You won't be able to document the bangin' hair day you were having. 
  22. You'll worry that your friends will think you didn't make it home safe when you can't text them "hey made it home safe!" or whatever. 
  23. Did I mention you don't have an alarm clock yet? because you don't. it's worth mentioning again. 
  24. You learn that the car radio goes out in the parking deck
  25. You can't call the apartment courtesy officer to file a noise complaint
  26. You have enough time to list twenty six things you learned because you couldn't play trivia crack.
So............... What's new with you guys? 
#Hashtaghumpday @ Life with Lolo

Three Months In: 15 in 2015

I apologize for today, I am having a phone related meltdown. Because it just decided to stop working today, which is super because it's not like I need to call anyone (oh wait, I do) or anything. So, we're going to do a quick check-in of my 15 for 2015 list! 
    1. Monetize the blog. heyoooo wanna sponsor Kasey at the Bat? BECAUSE YOU TOTALLY CAN!!! Click riiiiiight here. do it. do it do it you know you wanna! 
    2. Leave the country again. merp merp merp. I haven't yet. it's still on the to-do though. I entered to win a trip to Turks + Caicos from Skimm this morning.,.
    3. Pay off my credit cards. my credit card debt isn't too bad [it's peanuts compared to my student loans.] wah wah wah wah. I mean I have almost paid of my fancy smancy camera, so that totally counts. I actually am doing pretty good at this, it just doesn't feel that way.. 
    4. Declutter. not. even. close. 
    5. One race per month. or at least 12 total. Okay. since I did the whole Class Pass + 30 Days at the Barre thing, I haven't had any races. but I'm in the Peachtree lottery + I'll do some leading up to that so my legs don't fall off. I'm pretty confident I can get 12 in. 
    6. Read 100 books. Come on summer. I'm on like, 10. I am currently in the middle of like four books, which makes no sense. 
    7. Try a new restaurant every month. SO FAR SO GOOD! We tried a new BBQ place just yesterday! 
    8. Visit at least 5 of the breweries within driving distance. So far I've been to one! We went to Second Self a couple of weeks ago, which I was pretty underwhelmed by, but I'd be willing to try again. 
    9. Take at least one picture per day. YESTERDAY I got a new tripod, strap, AND REMOTE for my fancy camera. 
    10. Send thank you notes. So I found these adorable gold foiled notes at World Market, I've been sending all kinds of handwritten notes! 
    11. Improve my handwriting, learn calligraphy. 
    12. Cook Sunday night dinners every week. welp. this hasn't worked. softball on Sunday has thrown a curve ball. 
    13. Accomplish a DIY project each month. THIS I have done! I've just been a bad blogger + not posted about it. Maybe I'll get around to showing bar pictures.....
    14. Make it to the beach more than once. AT THE END OF APRIL I'M GOING TO NAPLES + WE'RE GOING TO PADDLE BOARD + SEE ALLIGATORS IN THE EVERGLADES + TAKE PICTURES + WEAR BIKINIS FOR FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS. #teamnopants
    15. Find + commit to a workout plan. I'm officially a member at Exhale + now that 30 days is done, I get to class about 4-5 days a week. WHAAAAAT
    How are you doing on your goals this year? 

                                Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award

                                Maaaaaan guys Shelly nominated me for this award + I've never wanted to use the word "groovy" so many times at once. Flower child forever, right? I'm pretty pumped. 
                                1. What famous person was your childhood crush? Oooh girl, Javy Lopez was my first true love. Followed closely by Zach Hanson. At the time, we had the same haircut. (remember when people called them the Hanson sisters? ugh, why did they all have to get married to not me? man. )

                                2. What field of work would be your worst nightmare? honestly? probably being an elementary school teacher. I don't know how y'all do it. I mean, I don't mind kids at camp or baseball games, but man, to have to put up with them, helicopter parents, and also be held responsible for like their entire lives. Like. that's a lot. No thank you.

                                3. What is your ultimate blogging goal? Honestly. To be this girl. I want to be paid to travel around the world + blog about it. I want to go on never-ending adventures. I'm still waiting on that e-mail inviting me to do so......

                                4. What type of learner are you?
                                Welp. I guess I'm just a learner? haha. I have always been a visual learner though, everything I do is color coded. I also will do anything to be outside. 

                                5. A world without music or a world without books --which would you choose? Oh man. I don't know if I could survive in either. I'd have to say without music. I don't think I could live without books. But honestly both of those worlds sound icky.

                                6. Name one thing you stand for // okay I was going to do something funny here but I've been like leaving it blank + it's the reason I didn't have this live at 8 am because I can't decide if I make a joke or pick something serious. I'm going with both. I stand for flowers y'all. flowers are important. fresh good smelly ones. You need them in your life. just trust me.

                                7. Tell about your first or most memorable concert // my very first concert was Reba at the Faaaaaabulous Fox Theatre. I don't really remember that much more about it, but I thought it was SO COOL okay? SO COOL. I was hooked on live music from there on out. Next I saw the Dixie Chicks at Lakewood + also fell in love with outdoor concerts....

                                8. Do you have a famous doppelgänger? Who? Janis Joplin. I have a bunch of people who refer to me as "Janis" oddly enough, I kinda love it. Don't worry, I don't have plans to overdose on heroin next year.

                                9. Who, besides your doppelgänger, would you want to play you in your biopic? ooooooooh. that's a good question. I would want Anna Kendrick for sure. I like to pretend I'm as funny as she is + based on her twitter, I think we'd be friends. For sure.

                                10. What is your sign? Do you feel that it fits you? If you could be another sign, which would you choose? I'm an Aquarius. I read somewhere once that Aquarius-es are aliens + that seemed pretty accurate. Let's find a definition. Here we go. According to this website I'm a rebel, in need of freedom, unique, obnoxiously honest, rarely jealous, + fiercely loyal. So that sounds about right, don't you think?

                                OKAY SO NOW I NOMINATE PEOPLE Wahoooooo!

                                Kati @ Constantly Seeking Wonder
                                Melissa @ The Rambling Llama
                                Jen @ Quarter Life QB
                                Julia @ Grace Makes New
                                Laura @ Life With Lolo
                                Kay @ Champagne Laced
                                Allison @ The Ponytail Diaries
                                Cass @ Jeans + A Tank Top.

                                Here are your 10 questions laaaaaaaadies:
                                1. What is the weirdest question you've ever been asked in an interview (job or otherwise, it can't be this question)?
                                2. If you could only read one book for the rest of ever, what book would you pick?
                                3. What is your favorite ever summer memory? 
                                4. Describe yourself using only song titles. (I know that's not a question, just, okay? just be cool. just once.)
                                5. If you had $1,000,000 but had to spend it all in one week, what would you do with it?
                                6. What is your favorite holiday (religious, birthday, or otherwise) + why? 
                                7. What is one interesting thing that people who read your blog probably don't know about you? 
                                8. Who is your biggest role model + why?
                                9. Who's attending that imaginary dinner party people always ask about? 
                                10. What is your favorite cocktail?

                                A photo posted by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on
                                HEY SO OKAY. making up questions is hard. I'm glad I'm not a hiring manager because I don't know what I would ask people in job interviews "why should I hire you?" would probably be it. Like. convince me. Also, I think everyone should answer those questions. Ready? GO! Happy Monday everyone! 

                                5 Reasons You Should Go On An EF College Break Tour

                                **update** First of all, thanks so much everyone for reading and appreciating my honest words. We did so well that EF not only cancelled my referral code, but took away all of the credits I had earned from actual people I knew and this post. They even updated their terms of service. I see that while I was trying to figure out a solution, someone else was sending their referral code, which apparently hasn't been cancelled, so I can't earn credit for my opinion, but someone can use my opinions to make money off of, real cool EF. real cool. I'm going to leave this up, because I genuinely enjoyed the trip, and you know, apparently still want them to make money off of my honest opinion. More so because I do want there to be an unbiased, very much so not paid for review of the trip. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, but I can no longer provide my referral code. For what it's worth, they never contacted me regarding this post, asking to take it down or anything, because it's clearly driving people to take the trips, they didn't tell me they were cancelling my code, and they took away what I had already generated. **

                                Okay, up front. I was zero percent compensated by EF College Break for this. I am more than willing to share my referral code with anyone who wants to book a trip (I'm not going to include it in this post because I have a feeling it's against the rules I agreed to when I booked my first trip. side note, does anyone ever actually read the "terms + conditions" or do we all just agree? Do you ever wonder if we're like, unknowingly signing over our first born because we didn't want to read them?)

                                ANYWAYS. When I first stumbled upon EF College Break, through a Facebook ad of all places, I googled the crap out of it. I couldn't find a single trip review that wasn't on their blog. Not that I don't buy those opinions, just that it seemed weird that nothing was on the regular Internet, you know? Positive or negative. Then I vowed that I would blog the living daylights out of my trip so the Internet would know. It's my duty, right? So this is what I got out of my trip + why I will absolutely be going again. 
                                I 100% stole this picture from facebook. please don't sue me.....
                                Traveling Solo for maybe just the flight over // I didn't have anyone to travel Europe with me. When I booked the trip I was in a bad place + just needed anything to look forward to. I read all of the posts on their blog about "50% of our travelers sign up alone, 0% travel alone." I thought that was the corniest thing I had ever heard, until I got off the plane in Amsterdam. I literally made friends when I found the people waiting for the bus. That's it. Granted, I can talk to a wall, but I didn't feel like I was forcing anything + I was so pumped to make new friends. We even still chit chat on Facebook today (hey guys, glad you're reading this!) about how we're going to try to go on more trips. I think it helps that we all obviously had that wanderlust gene
                                BOAT TOURS IN AMSTERDAM
                                Fantastic day-to-day events // To be honest, I wouldn't have known where to begin if I was planning the entire trip by myself. I made a list of things that I absolutely had to see, then followed the planned excursions + optional add on adventures. I could not have possibly found the tour guides that we had on my own. From what I understand, EF is really serious about the people that they hire, and they're great about it. I've talked about our tour guide in London (remember? "what the front door?!"). We had equally fantastic tour guides in every city. Super knowledgable, fun, + not afraid to go off the beaten path. They were great. Honestly. I couldn't say enough nice things about all of our guides. I never once felt like I was drudging through a history class with a monotone professor who lived with the dinosaurs. 

                                Monthly payments for the win // Oh, you have three grand to drop on a trip today? Well, good for you, want to take me too? I know I didn't have a cool couple grand laying around when I decided to go. I did make a bigger down payment (because last year I didn't owe the IRS money...) then I had totally manageable monthly payments. So I paid off my trip month by month rather than magically being good at money management. It's super empowering to be able to pay something like that off, by the way. It's a steal too. My entire trip was less than I would have paid for a flight to Amsterdam and back. 
                                this has nothing to do with our tour director because I didn't plan this post while I was there so my photos don't reflect it.
                                The Tour Directors are the bomb.com // Along the trip we crossed paths with a couple other tour directors, obviously none of them were as kickass as ours (his name was Adam. he's fantastic! I would take a tour 100% just because he's the director.) They are amazing. Just like with the tour guides, they are super selective + only hire the best of the best. I'm sure that if we had a lame tour director who wasn't all about, well I don't know anything but us having a kick ass trip, we wouldn't have had a good trip. Adam wanted to make sure we loved it + had a blast + I don't think we could have had a better director if we tried. 

                                BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TRAVEL + YOU NEED TO TRAVEL // I have the bug. I have the wanderlust bug bad y'all. I want to go again yesterday. Obviously since I've blogged about wanderlust at least once a week since I've been back. I bet you're tired of hearing it. I wouldn't have been able to realize that dream without the folks at EF + so I cannot say enough good things about the trip. They recently bumped the max age to 27 -- so GO! OH BETTER -- LET'S PICK A TRIP + GO TOGETHER! 

                                Have I convinced you yet? Do you want to talk about it more? You should totally shoot me an email or stalk me on any other social media outlet (you can see some of my favorite pictures on the instagram machine...) Have you picked out a trip yet? I'm daydreaming of Greek Isles or Thailand or you know, a casual month in Australia + New Zealand. Again. 100%. EF didn't ask me to write this (guys they didn't even pick my pictures on insta to regram, that kinda made my inner blogger sad. I thought I instagrammed awesome pictures. #kaseygoestoeurope.) I just honestly think it was the best decision I have ever made. Hands down. Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?

                                ALSO. Did you miss my Europe posts? Catch up here:
                                London
                                Paris one || two || three
                                Amsterdam

                                Around The Horn: Favorite Ballpark Food

                                FIRST OF ALL. As of 11:42 am yesterday (or, today when I'm writing this...) we had FOURTEEN PEOPLE link up for last week! I am dead guys. I figured it would be like, four people who I begged to participate or something. Counting myself. I'm constantly overwhelmed that people have as much fun with this as I do. SO go check out the posts from the first week -- read about all of the favorite baseball memories -- then come back for ballpark food! 

                                Now, the rules are easy. We have topics for each Thursday in March here, follow along with me + Jessa, grab the button below, link up, and make new friends woooooo!
                                Kasey At The Bat

                                OKAY. I am 400% convinced that a few things taste better at the ballpark than anywhere else you can get them. First of all, that $7 beer is totally worth it. Trust me. They're bigger than the ones you get at the bar anyways. I'm pretty sure there's nothing better than an ice cold beer at a baseball game.
                                turner field budweiser miller lite
                                Also. Hot dogs. I don't know what it is. Hot dogs taste better at the ballpark. Which is weird, because they're probably sitting out long enough to where they should be better in your backyard BBQ (okay, well those are really good too.. also do you ever cut hot dogs up + put them in macaroni + cheese? no? oh, because you don't have the pallet of a four year old? well, you should probably try it.) It has come to my attention, while writing this post, that I don't take pictures of my ballpark food.... 

                                OH MAN. You know what else I love? NACHOS. I don't want to talk about that nacho cheese, I can't think about it too long without getting a little grossed out. BUT IT IS SO TASTY. You know what else it's good on? A SOFT PRETZEL. YUM. Oh my goodness. OR FRENCH FRIES. a good basket of french fries covered in everything you would put on nachos? 

                                Okay. Now I'm hungry and I want a beer. I can't wait to see what everyone else's favorite ballpark foods are. Obviously I'll have to try them all. Do you think if I made Kasey At The Bat an LLC, I could travel to all the ballparks to try all of the food + then write all of the expenses off on my taxes for business expenses? Like, is that how taxes work?  ANYWAYS. Link up right here! I can't wait to be more hungry.. hahaha

                                Play It Again Play It Again Play It Again


                                SORRY I am so late to the party today. Logic told me that after we finished 30 Days At the Barre last night [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] I should instead catch up on Scandal, Nashville, and take a shower and get in bed before 10 pm. So that leaves me wildly unprepared for Write or Die today AND Around the Horn tomorrow!! (PS, don't forget to check out the rest of the Around The Horn Prompts here!!!)
                                Kasey At The Bat

                                Okay. Now that we're done with that. I love this week's prompt. I love jams. I think I won't have any pictures in this post. Just music. #sorrynotsorry.
                                First of all. This song is my life right now. All the feelings I have right now set to a beat you can totally sing along to.  Like. I don't talk about dating here (because let's be honest, there's nothing to talk about.) Also. How cute is this chick? I dig it. 

                                Speaking of loooove. This is one of my very favorite love songs, like ever. Do you ever feel like taking a long, hot bath, pouring a big glass of red wine, and listening to nothing but Ella Fitzgerald + Louis Armstrong. No? Just me? Okay...

                                If I had to describe college in just one song this would be it. Who would have thought that you could mix Miley Cyrus + Biggie Smalls + have the perfect outcome? #shitshowexpress

                                You know what else? I remember my first ever heartbreak like it was yesterday (it wasn't. but sometimes it feels that way, you know?) This song always made me feel better. It also makes me feel old to realize that I've been listening to Brand New for over ten years and I still love to turn the radio all the way up + scream these lyrics at the top of my lungs. It's really cathartic.

                                BUT MOST OF ALL SUMMER. There's something about country music that makes me want to grab a cooler, blow up that innertube, and hop on down to shoot the hooch. So here's the summer country music playlist I've been building for the past two days as if I didn't have actual work or blog things to take care of............. Is it missing anything? Because I need it to be at least like 5 hours long so that I can listen to it all the days. It definitely needs some older stuff. It will probably be different if you, for some reason, visit this post more than one time. #shortattentionspan #timeforcoldbeersnowplease 

                                THAT'S IT. that's all I got today. What are your favorite jams? Feel free to delve through that tag, I love to blog about jams.... Do you have anything I should add to this playlist or any of my other ones on Spotify?
                                Write or Die Wednesdays#Hashtaghumpday @ Life with Lolo

                                An Open Letter To The Mean Lady At The Gym Spa

                                Hey! Remember me? Oh, that's rhetorical. I know you do, because when we ran into you a second time, I didn't recognize you -- I was trying to be polite because I thought you were just any other person in the gym. You obviously recognized me because you were rude upon the realization that we were heading the same place. 

                                Here's the thing. Our first encounter should have gone completely differently. There was no need for the tone you immediately started with, nor was that lecture necessary. You see, being a loud person, I notice when people are making passive aggressive motions about my volume. I try to let everyone around me know when I notice them. So the first time you over exaggerated your sigh, I knew exactly what you meant. I even stopped talking because I saw it. 

                                What really steamed me (heh heh heh a little sauna humor, if you will. gosh I'm clever.) was what you did next. A simple "could you please take the volume down a little bit" or even a "could you please be quiet?" would have sufficed. You choose a different road. You slammed your book down and started in about how we must not know that place is for relaxation. Then proceeded to lecture us like we were kindergartners who dumped all of the finger paints out. 

                                That lecture on "relaxation" is really what has me irritated, now over two weeks later. Here's the thing. We had gone to barre class and wanted to unwind and detox a little bit before heading back into the hustle and bustle of real life. Personally, I can't sit in a completely quiet environment with just my thoughts because my brain works so fast that one second I'm taking a quick break, the next I'm replaying every stupid decision I've made that week. Completely undoing what release I got from my workout. 

                                You see, ma'am, that's the thing about relaxation. It's not a black and white, one size fits all thing. For you, it appears to be lounging around and reading romance novels, for that handsome guy who was in there before you, it's reading the finance section with his headphones in (hey! handy tip there! you know how you can decide when to hear other people existing? bring headphones!) For us it's chatting about the ridiculous things that happened that day. You see, that's why we go to the gym, because that way we get a chance to catch up. 

                                Now, here we are again two weeks later. You're huffing and being passive aggressive, even though we're texting each other instead of speaking out loud, so that you don't yell at us again. Congratulations, because just being in the spa with you makes us so uncomfortable we can't even enjoy the down time after our workout. Just to think, all of this could have been avoided if you had just considered how you would want to be spoken to, had the roles been reversed.

                                Thanks! Enjoy your romance novel.

                                What do you do about rude people at the gym? I mean, honestly sometimes I'm that person that people complain about "ugh, she's not even using the weights, just waiting for her friend to finish" I'm sure people complain about me too... 

                                Forthwith

                                Okay. So I know we lost an hour Saturday night or Sunday morning or whatever, and I know it's what we wanted after how much we hate it getting dark early, but man does spring forward throw my entire life for a loop. So, how about a currently post? I think I'll just work through the thesaurus for "currently" synonyms. Isn't "forthwith" a fun word to say? I think I'll start using that instead of currently. 
                                the one where joey uses a thesaurus
                                Anywhoodles, yesterday I took Cassie's AdProval class + I'm so excited to try it out! What's up goal chasing 2K15. I've noticed some new faces around here and I'm so excited to have y'all here too! Maybe I should use the thesaurus on the word "excited" 
                                accurate depiction of my life right now. haha
                                30 Days At The Barre Confession: GUYS. Tomorrow is officially day 30. DAY THIRTY. I don't want to lie to you. I did get sick a week before last + I had to miss a day. But I figure, it's close enough. I'm going to go one extra day on the end, but I didn't want to cheat. I didn't want to tell y'all I did thirty straight days when I really had to take a day off. I was a very pathetic little princess that day. Literally in bed at about 4:45 pm. BUT we're keeping up + now that the 30 days are over, we're still going to go at 4 - 5 days a week. Apparently I'm a gym rat now....

                                Netflix Binging: Currently hooked on Gilmore Girls, HIMYM (BUT NOT THE LAST SEASON. I REFUSE. #notoverit) and seeeeeeriously considering House of Cards + The Mindy Project. As far as real life TV, I'm obviously about two weeks behind on everything. I don't know how How To Get Away With Murder ended, nor what has happened since Olivia Pope was found, nor whether or not Deacon has talked to Rayna about his liver. Priorities or something.
                                OY
                                First Sunburn of the Season: guys. I was outside for like. an hour and a half. I had on sunscreen (not only do I wear it as regular lotion, but I specifically put on another layer of sport.) I don't see any red, but man does it feel like a sunburn. BUT IT WAS SO PRETTY AND SUNSHINEY OVER THE WEEKEND. I wanted to sleep outside. I think I would have if you had let me. HEY does anyone want to go camping this summer? PLEASE. 

                                READING: I'm really blowing the whole 100 books thing. I'm hoping summer brings time for more reading. I have to get on that. I really want to read Girl Boss + Mindy Kailing's book + Yes Please! Do you have any suggestions? 

                                That's what's happening on my end, what's happening in your neck of the woods?