September Coffee Date!

Happy football season y'all! I'm going to Athens this weekend for the UGA/Notre Dame game, so please send your thoughts and prayers because I'm not as young as I'm going to act this weekend.. All I've felt like writing lately has been "Can I Bring Albus?" posts, but I'm trying to space those out. So let's chat! 

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IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I'd tell you that it looks so weird in the editor when I type that in bold and all caps, but I really like how it looks on the theme I have going on so I keep doing it, hopefully it's not something I have to go back over if I ever decide to move to wordpress or switch the layout here. ALSO SPEAKING OF. I've been having problems with sharing posts to twitter & facebook -- they're just showing as a link and no image or preview, I have no idea what I've done. Elle tried to help me, we discovered that for some reason my domain isn't showing as "secure" so I paid the domain company I use for an SSL license, that I have no idea how to add. It's fine, I'm fine, everything is fine.

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I would ask for suggestions on relatively affordable jewelry that won't turn my skin green or make my ears feel like they're on fire. I'm apparently allergic to copper or nickel or whatever makes yellow gold yellow? So I can't wear the fun $3 earrings without my ears getting all gross and itchy. I ALSO can't wear the cute little necklaces from target or etsy because somehow they turn my neck green. I am trying to talk myself into "investing" in a few nice pieces that I can wear every day, but having a hard time telling myself it's worth $100 for a new necklace. I have a pair of 1/4 carat diamond studs that I got for my 25th birthday (get it? .25 carat?) that I have literally taken out maybe twice since then, lately those are the only earrings that I don't end up taking out and shoving in my purse halfway through the day. Am I the only one with this problem? Plz help.

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I would tell you I PASSED my GA Real Estate Licensing exam! I'm meeting with a brokerage this week and will hopefully have my official license all handled by the end of the week. *fingers crossed* So now it's just time for someone to need me to sell their house.. It feels a little surreal now, to have to think "okay, the class is done, now I have to find clients." I'm excited though, I've already met some really cool people that I look forward to working with.

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I would tell you about this bracelet for my keys. I was influenced by Becca & Christine because I am literally a walking infomercial for a product like this. I always try to make JUST ONE trip from the car to the house, and I will put my keys in the same hand that I use to carry all of my crap from the car (ps, can we combine coffee mugs and water bottles into one thing that has my coffee hot and my water cold at the same time? thanks in advance) and then I get to the door to realize that my keys are in the wrong hand, I have to set everything down, and unlock the door. Just found myself shouting "there has to be a better way!" Enter this rubber bracelet that my keys clip on to. Derek makes fun of it, saying I have a child's teething ring on my keys, but whatever, it works.

I'm up to my teeth in library books, which is not bad at all. It's too damn hot outside to do anything else. We're melting down here guys. Anyways, what's new with you?

August Coffee Date

I'll have you know that the whole Yeti coffee rambler trend is like, my life saver. Since it keeps my coffee hot forever I can just enjoy it throughout the day. On any given work day, I'm usually still drinking my coffee at like. 3pm. Same cup though. Just little bits at a time. So I thought we'd sit down and have a leisurely coffee date today. Also, I'm really disappointed in myself for not taking a picture of my coffee on the beach in Mexico...

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IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I would tell you that I have my interview for Global Entry on Wednesday. Global entry is like TSA Precheck, but it also lets you skip the customs line when re-entering the US from abroad. After our quick trip to Mexico, I have the travel bug extra bad. I've been saving for another trip to Europe. I use this app, Qapital? to automate my savings (it rounds up to the nearest $2 and keeps that money in a separate account.) I've been going back and forth about switching to something interest bearing, but I don't know if that's reasonable for a short term goal. Any money-smart people have advice for me? 

Anyways, so I want to take a trip to Italy sometime in 2020. I've been working on a pinterest board that usually starts with me searching "Italy Pizza Travel" because priorities. We want to hit Naples (obviously), Sorrento, and maybe one of the wine regions. I assume we'll either fly into Florence or Rome, and spend a day on one of those as well. Like, we're in it for the pizza and wine and lemon cello, we can hit the Coliseum next time. Have any of y'all been to Italy? What should we add to the list? When is a good time to go? 

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I'd tell you I'm so close to getting my Real Estate license. I just have to sit for the licensing exam. Which I'm a little terrified of. It's an important step in my debt free journey, but man am I rusty when it comes to final exams. Like, December marks 9 years since I graduated college (woooooof) and also 9 years since I took a real, closed notes, final exam. I took the final exam for the online class I took (I used RealEstate Express, if you're thinking about doing the online certification that link gives you 35% off the price. They're supposed to pay for my licensing test if I fail it, which somehow doesn't make me feel better..) 

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I'd tell you that when all of the online sales were going on, Chewy had Albus's dog food cheaper for two bags than just one. Like, it was $40 off the second bag, but with the autoship discount, we only pay $37 a bag. So I jumped on that. Well, I forgot to edit the autoship back to adjust for having ordered two month's worth of food, so on Monday I woke up to the notification that my order had shipped. Two more bags, but at full price this time. So Albus has food until November. 

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I'd tell you that my currently reading stack is pretty dark. I'm at the mercy of my library holds, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz AND Columbine both came off holds within 24 hours of each other. So I'll be needing some lighter reading suggestions for the rest of August. All of my holds told me like "36 weeks!" when I placed then and they're all coming up in like the next month. Say a prayer that I can get through them before I have to return them so someone else with a hold gets their turn.

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE I would want to know what is new with you? Do you think we'll see a day under 100 degrees any time soon? I don't want summer to end, but maybe just like, low 90s or something please. 

June Coffee Date

Let's pretend we're drinking coffee right now, even though I had a coke instead because we had too much fun at date night last night. I've been dealing with a bit of writers block lately? I have a lot of things I want to talk about I just struggle finishing them. I wrote a whole long draft about that #WhereIsGabe engagement thing, but didn't post it because I got some more information and the whole thing I was upset about was not the thing worth being upset about.. 

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If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I just booked my flight to Cancun for next month, and I definitely should have gone with my gut and booked way back in March. You live, you learn, you pay $350 more for the flight than you should have. It's cooooool. I would ask what your packing tips are, I usually fly southwest so I can check bags fo'free, but we're flying Delta, because it's international. So I don't know if I want to pay to check my bag, we're going for 5 days and I'm prettyyy sure I can get all of that luggage in a carry on. I'm thinking about getting some packing cubes, I've never used them before but everyone raaaaves. I'm also, maybe, in the market for one more swimsuit...

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I've had a slow reading month compared to last month. I'm on my third book for June, so maybe I'll finish that one. I'm currently reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but I'm only on page 12 or something silly. I don't know what I'll read next though, any suggestions, in case I finish this one?

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I'm working on some more adventures for Can I Bring Albus? maybe mixing it up with not just breweries but using it as an excuse to go back to Fetch.. I realize that's a dog BARk and obviously pet friendly, but I mean it's a good excuse to go back anyways, right?

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I've been feeling very overwhelmed for who knows what reason. It's a super cool feature of my anxiety. It's a vicious little cycle, I'm overwhelmed and anxious, but don't know the reason, then I get more overwhelmed and anxious because I don't know the source. I've been working on "training" for the Peachtree next week, so that's been a helpful way to get out of my own head, and Chelsea has been saying all the things I need to hear in her pep talks lately. 

Speaking of the Peachtree, if we were having coffee, I would need your help! I've been struggling to pick out a tank top for this year's race. It's been tough to live up to the "raise your hand if you've ever been personally victimized by King George III" I found year before last. Since the race is on Thursday, maybe I can just re-wear that one for #TBT? I've also giggled at this Elle Woods quote, this hide & seek world champion, or maybe one from Luke's Diner?  I don't know. In the past, I've seen one and been like, YUP that's the one! This year, I'm running out of time, and I don't have anything. Help pleaaaaase. 

What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

May Coffee Date

So, the last week, I had the most "lame grown up" dream ever. In my dream. Cobb county had announced a sweeping road resurfacing project and actively ignored the giant potholes by our house. I woke up mad as hell, then realized it was a dream and was mad for several other reasons. If that isn't the most lame, grown up thing to have nightmares about, I honestly don't know what is. I'm having a little writer's block, so I thought we'd have a little coffee date. My coffee is still a little too hot because I have this Mammoth tumbler and it almost works too well.

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If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that downloading the library's ebook app has really enabled me to read more than I could have imagined, and that I'm already up to 14 books this year (14.5 if you count the one I'm reading now...) I set myself a goodreads challenge of 30 books, but I'm thinking I might surpass that, should I change my goal or just see how far over it I can go? Right now I'm working my way through another Hercule Poirot novel. I think I just might read all of them... 

If we were having coffee, I would ask for advice on a new ceiling fan. The one in our master bedroom has two speeds: fast enough to where you think the room might take flight and off. There's no in between. We need the fan because we got a Nest thermostat for Christmas and I take it as a challenge to get as many leaf days in a row as possible. I'm a monster. Oh and also so that we're saving money and energy or whatever.. Anyways, what we're looking for is something sleek and relatively small, because we have a small bedroom. But I'm also not trying to spend more than $100. Coincidentally, every ceiling fan I like seems to be $169. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you've tried the Naturday yet. I don't care that it's a Natty, it is DELICIOUS. It tastes like straight strawberry lemonade, but it's a beer! It's perfect for sitting by the pool or on the back porch. SUPER refreshing. So good guys. Plus, I bought a 30 pack at Kroger for $18, I mean, you can't beat that. 

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how much I love our new storm door. It's amazing how much brighter the living room is with what essentially amounts to another window. It took us longer to install it than we thought, and the promise of  "oops free installation" was false (we may have put the hinge on backwards the first time & didn't realize it until we had mounted it to the door frame and couldn't open it.......) but it's awesome. And we can slide the little glass pane up to let the breeze in. I love it! 

If we were having coffee, I would also ask for sheet suggestions. We have white sheets right now and I just don't see that going well for us. Albus likes to run outside and then immediately jump into the bed, so I don't know how much longer we'll be able to wash the mud out of them without the stain sticking around. Also are there such thing as cooling sheets? I sleep REAL hot, I bought these magic cooling gel pillows, which was a good start. 

What would you tell me if we were having coffee? 

What I Loved In March

Every month, Chelsea does a "What March Taught Me" but obviously, changing the month names. She talks about growing  and learning and all of the things we do in a month. I wanted to combine that idea with what I read, did, and loved in March. So here are all of the things I loved in March! 

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MANAGING MIGRAINES. I have a love hate relationship with spring. I love love love everything about it. I hate that the things I love also tend to trigger my migraines. I LOVE thunderstorms, but the shift in the atmospheric pressure can literally knock me out of commission for the day. I used to feel like this was a crazy thing, but then started to meet other people who had the same problem. I swear by this headache hat. You keep it in the freezer and then strap it to your head. It looks ridiculous, but I love it. I can put this on and lay down and I don't have to worry about everything getting wet, or I can wear it and keep doing whatever it is I need to be doing that day. Staring at the computer screen all day also gets me. Thanks to Becca, I installed f.lux to lower the blue light on my computer monitors, and I picked up this pair of blue blocking glasses from Amazon. The combination has helped substantially with my eyeballs straining. 

SAVANNAH. We went down to Savannah to celebrate one of my dearest friends turning 30, (lots of big 3-0 birthdays this year) and to hang out at the second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the US. We walked a million steps, drank lots of beer (oddly enough, I didn't have a single green beer that entire weekend), and laughed a lot. It was juuuuust warm enough to wear a fun sun dress - which I'm very ready for the weather to come back in. Old Navy recently had a sale where I stocked up on my swing dresses and the jeggings. I now LIVE in the Old Navy jeggings. I don't ever want to wear my real jeans again (and not just because I ran them all in the dryer and now it's a fight to button them. that is my own fault.) 

BOOKS. I didn't get as much fun reading done as I wanted to in March, because I'm working on getting my real estate license. So I read three whole books if you count the book I have to read for my real estate classes. Not counting the textbook, I read Murder on the Orient Express and What the Wind Knows. 

Murder on the Orient Express: I snagged this one off the "Amazon Daily Kindle Deals" e-mail, which I cannot recommend enough if you're reading Kindle books. I originally wanted to read all of the Hercule Poirot books in order, but I also wanted to read this before I saw the new version of the movie, so I had to skip ahead. The Hercule Poirot mysteries aren't really the kind you have to read in order, I just wanted to. ANYWAYS. I give this all the stars, especially if you haven't seen the movie yet. SO GOOD.

What the Wind Knows: So Amazon does a thing where they have like, four or five books to choose one for free a month on Kindle. This e-mail seems to miss my inbox and get lost in the "promotions" tab of my gmail, which is SUPER overwhelming, so I usually ignore it unless I need a coupon. The synopsis of this seemed to fit with my normal books: time travel, history, love story, drama, & war. I figured, it's free to me this month, why not? YALL. I absolutely devoured this book. I read it in less than two days and it broke. my. heart. I laughed, I ugly cried, it is SO so SO SO good. It's on Kindle Unlimited right now, so it's free if you have the subscription and I WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend it.

So many things happened in March that last Sunday that we had lunch and raked some leaves and that was IT. I love going out and doing things and I have a really hard time saying "no" because I can't always get on my friend's schedules so I almost always say yes. Taking last Sunday to read my book and barely get out of pajamas was some much needed self-care time. How was your March? 

March Coffee Date

HAPPY FRIDAY GUYS. I'm glad we all survived The Great Instagram/Facebook blackout of 2019. I'm sitting here at work, doing literally anything but working, because I'm leaving for Savannah for St. Patrick's Day in an amount of time I have worked down into minutes. Lots of minutes, but still minutes. So obviously time has come to a complete stop. It's fiiiiiiiiiine. 

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If we were having coffee, I would probably SHOUT about my crazy neighbor. She's this tiny, hundred year old lady, who is completely off her rocker. I'm sure she's harmless, but she's been my neighbor for 3 years now and has been accusing me of "sweeping" my leaves into her yard for all three. What she does, presumably because she feels like she's getting me back, is RAKE HER LEAVES AND CARRY THE PILES INTO MY DRIVEWAY. Y'all. I'm not making this up. Forget that I'm the only person on the street who doesn't blow my leaves into the street or the "woods" on our street. This woman is the one ACTUALLY putting leaves in someone else's yard. If she wasn't tiny and old, I don't know if I could keep my cool. Instead, we're going to get at trail camera and mount it on the tree in the front yard to catch her in the act. I seriously doubt this will do anything to deter her, but I will have video proof that I am in the right. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if as soon as I'm back from Savannah is too soon to start packing for my trip to Cancun. We're going for FIVE whole days at the end of July to celebrate a 30th birthday. I'm ready to pack my suitcase with these super fun packing cubes but I am NOT ready to start trying on swimsuits. I do have my eye on this swimsuit cover up though...  Have you been to Mexico? We're super SUPER pumped.

If we were having coffee, I would admit that Instagram has been getting me down lately. I feel like my pictures have to be *perfect* and that I have to come up with the wittiest caption, and then either everyone hates them, or no one sees them. I realize it's a silly thing to be worried about, but here we are. How do y'all fight the instagram blues?

If we were having coffee, I'd ask if you saw Lindsay's post earlier this week about doing something you enjoy. If not, I'd wait for you to read it because it's a challenge we should all get on board with.

That's it for me! What would you tell me if we were having coffee today? Are you doing anything exciting this weekend? Tell me tell me tell meeeee

Friday Coffee Date

HAPPY FRIDAY! I haven't really talked about why I stopped blogging, but part of it was that I had some posts that did REALLY well, so I was worried that if it wasn't the next thing that it wasn't worth hitting publish on. I literally started struggling with that again the second I published about what I read in February. So to help with my self created writer's block, I'm doing a coffee date post!

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If we were having coffee..

I would be a little whine-y about the fact that almost all of the purple has washed out of my hair, I feel like the color washes out so fast. Why can't it stay purple longer? Has anyone tried any of those do it at home shampoos that make your hair fun colors? Tell me about it pretty please!

I would tell you ALL ABOUT the whole "new bed" debacle, from the crazy reviews on Amazon to the mattress in a box currently just hanging out in the living room (because it would be too easy for them both to arrive together.) Somehow, every aspect of our new bed arrives on different days. 

I would get entirely too excited over this fabric de-fuzzer that Chelsea wrote about the other day and how I have been defuzzing all of my Old Navy clothes to last so much longer. Also, I'd ask you if that makes me more of a grown up, since I'm excited about removing the fuzz from all of my cardigans. Just go ahead and check me into the retirement home.

I would ask if you've read anything great recently, I'm just about done with Rich People Problems and in the market for a new read. I did snag Katherine for Kindle when it came through on the "Kindle Daily Deals" email for $2.99 (ps, if you don't already subscribe to that one, I would definitely recommend it. It's not always stuff I want, but I've snagged a few of my "TBR" list off there for under $5 and that's always a win)

I would ask you for some Instagram inspiration. I haven't felt like I've done anything insta worthy since my birthday party. How do you keep your feed going? Do you have a folder of posts "to be grammed" when you don't have anything cool for that day? Have you bought in to any light room presets you swear are worth the money?  tell me more, tell me more, tell me more

What would you tell me if we were having coffee?