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! 

This post contains affiliate links.

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?

What I Loved in July

There's a meme on the internet going around that has the year with January, February, and March stretched really far out and then just August. I don't know how it's back to school time already. Not that I go back to school, just that I have to fight with the school traffic.. Literally day one of back-to-school and I ended up stuck behind a school bus, while worrying about whether or not I'd make it to the gas station before running out of gas. Don't worry, I made it. With a little less than half a gallon of gas to spare. (just typing that sentence gave me anxiety.) Anywhoodles, here's what I loved in July!

This post contains affiliate links, that means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

These packing cubes -- guys this was a game. changer. I've been carrying the same gigantic Vera Bradley duffel bag everywhere since I got it as a high school graduation present. I recently became a member of the four wheel spinny suitcase family, and that's also a game changer you guys. But these packing cubes were so great for Mexico. Not only was I able to fit everything in the suitcase, but I also didn't have clothes strewn everywhere over the hotel room. I took out whatever I wanted to wear, put my dirty clothes in the laundry bags, and so packing at the END of the trip was a breeze too!

KINDLE WATER PROOF PAPER WHITE -- you guys. I loaded this thing up with books from the library (using the Libby App, you guys should really check to see if your library uses it. I can literally check out kindle and audio books from an app on my phone, sync to my kindle, and I'm in business.) Anyways. I loaded this thing up with books for the plane and the beach before heading out on our trip. The LAST DAY of the trip, we were drinking & reading by the pool. The ground was SO hot. It was SO hot outside. So we're about to get back in the pool (WHICH WAS ALSO SO. HOT.) and I'm like "oh, my kindle is water proof so I can sit it next to the pool and it'll be fine." I forgot how hot the ground was, so my feet are burning, I'm trying to get to the edge of the pool to set my towel & kindle down AND I THREW IT INTO THE POOL ON ACCIDENT. It went all the way to the bottom of the ledge you sit on. I swear everyone around the pool stopped what they were doing and watched in slow motion. I laughed it off saying "I guess we're about to find out if it's really water proof!" While actually panicking because what if it's not? I didn't even lose my page. Here we are almost a week later and it's still juuuuuuust fine. So, wholeheartedly recommend the water proof version.

My new Teva sandals -- I wanted to be a Chaco person very badly. So badly that I've tried THREE different pairs of their shoes (thought maybe mixing up styles I would find some that didn't hurt oh so bad.) The final straw was a couple weekends ago when I tore my feet APART with the ones I wore to the dog beach. I honestly think I'll have scars from the blisters. They just don't fit my feet. So I went back to my OGs, the Tevas. Back when everyone was having a sale to compete with Amazon & Nordstrom, I searched HIGH AND LOW because I found one pattern I just loved but it was only in my size ONE place and they were full price. I could have gotten like 20% cash back on ebates (they wanted a piece of the madness too) I finally settled for a different pattern, because Academy had them for 65% off. I couldn't say no to that. I even got cashback from that purchase. I've worn them almost every day for the past three weeks you guys. Even when they're not quite the shoe for my outfit. I freaking LOVE them. I'm fully on the Teva bandwagon now.

What about y'all? What did you love in July? Do you think the four wheel spinny suitcase or the packing cubes are the best travel improvement since the wheel? Or is there something else I'm missing out on in my travels?

Out Of Office

I found myself struggling to schedule content for this week, since Wednesday I'll be hopping on a plane for a long weekend in Cancun. I came really close to saying "I'm so sorry, I don't have anything for this week!" Which then made me think about this post from Britt. It also made me think abut the whole reason I stopped blogging for so long. I recently got instantly rejected from some other affiliate programs, so I was already feeling like I haaaaaad to post something so that I could show I was consistent or whatever. (which, I guess this little paragraph still counts towards that impulsion. You win some, you lose some) All of this is to say, I'm off to Mexico and I'll be back next week. Hasta luego amigos! 

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.. 

This post contains affiliate links

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 Highlights

You'll have to wait a little while longer to hear about all the books I read in May (it was a ton. Having the library app on my phone has turned me into a book monster...) I thought instead I'd talk about all the things I loved in May. I love the way Becca does her monthly recaps, so she's my inspiration for this post! (I mean this quite literally, I read hers and thought "oh I loved a lot of things in May also!) 

ADVENTURES

We caught THREE Braves games, sat in three completely different parts of the ballpark. We even got in line early enough for the giveaways at two games: new hats & bobbleheads, CHECK!  

We drank plenty of beer, with and without Albus. Jeff Francouer did a specialty brew at the Terrapin BrewLab and so we obviously had to try that. Also, RedHare released a summer 50/50 that you need to try. Don't forget the Naturday!

 

The pool is OFFICIALLY OPEN. You will be able to find me here all summer long. I'll be keeping the sunscreen industry in business and tearing through my library books while camped out under the umbrella. I am also going to up my collection of fun pool toys this year, I see a pizza slice float in my very near future. I got this float & swimsuit from amazon! affiliate links 

We took a quick little girl's day trip up to Ott Family Vineyards -- sampled some wine, had some snacks, enjoyed the views. It wasn't a bad drive from Marietta at all, maybe 90 minutes if I had gone straight through (I stopped in Woodstock to pick up my mom & grandmother) They're currently adding some space to make it an even prettier backdrop for weddings, the place was huge & my first (hopefully of many) visits to a Georgia vineyard. We volunteered to help them harvest the grapes in September.....

THINGS

We installed a new storm door on the house! We've been tackling tiny little home improvement projects, one weekend at a time. This door came with an "oops free installation guarantee!"and we only managed to install it backwards once... Albus looooves it because he can sit and keep an eye on all of the neighborhood cats hanging around to torment him. 

I took the doors off the Jeep for the first time, discovered they're much heavier than they should be, and putting them back on nearly put me over the edge. I used all of my favorite four letter words to help get them back on. I will have to reassess before I take them off again... I put them back on because I kept having dreams about a cat having kittens in the car. It's one of the many days I do wish we had a garage..

All in all, we had a very eventful May and June is shaping up to be even more eventful, if that's possible. We have game four of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight (let's go Blues!) and I have become a fully dedicated Blues fan in the last year or so. Plus we have a wedding, ALBUS TURNS THREE YEARS OLD, and we might even try to catch Bark in the Park. I am looooving summer, how about you? 

Recent Amazon Favorites

It's the LAST DAY OF MAY. I'm not sure about y'all, but this has been the loooongest week for me. I always struggle with the shorter ones. It doesn't help that I did things on TWO school nights this week, with the whole Memorial Day/Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday, then we went to a Braves game AND had Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday. I am going to sleep all weekend.

This post contains affiliate links, that means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. 

Here are some of my recent Amazon purchases that I've been loving!

THESE SHEETS - Lindsay recommended them after my coffee date post and holy. cow. we've only slept on them a few times, but they're so soft and they sleep so much cooler than our other ones. I'm absolutely going to be buying a new set to be our actual second set of sheets. 

THIS SWIMSUIT - The top is a little too big, but that's what happens when you have to order the top & bottom in the same size. It's also not so big to think the smaller size would have fit. HOWEVER. it's super cute and very much in my budget. 

THESE HAIRBRUSHES - I have zero explanation for why I've avoided the Wet Brush until now, but holy cow these are a game changer. My hair gets super tangled because I'm always riding with the windows down and top off and apparently a very fitful sleeper. These brushes don't yank at the tangles in my hair, they just gently work them out. It's amazing.

Also, back in December I swapped out my old Kindle for the Waterproof Paper White, which I've been carrying everywhere with me now that I don't have to worry about a spilled beer or someone doing a cannonball into the pool and destroying it. I haven't been brave enough to actually take it on a float with me yet, but I'm sure we'll get there this summer.

Also, I've been using these sweatproof, SkullCandy bluetooth headphones and my water proof speaker from JBL everywhere I go. Are we noticing a trend? I'm always on the water and worried about dropping things in it.

Have y'all come across any cool finds lately? I'm in the market for a new purse, and I think I want to go the backpack route. I'm worried about it looking like a diaper bag (even though I have almost bought a diaper bag several times because THEY HAVE THE BEST POCKETS) So send me any recommendations you have there! I literally carried the same cross body, fringe bag I bought at the Goodwill for 6 years, until it finally fell apart. So I'm apparently very bag loyal... 

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.

This post contains affiliate links, that means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. If you would like the non-affiliate link, I will be more than happy to provide that to you.

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! 

This post contains affiliate links, that means I may receive a small commission if you click on one of them. If you would like the non-affiliate version, I will be glad to provide that. 

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? 

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING

WE MADE IT! Happy happy first day of spring my friends. I know that pollen is coming, I saw it just waiting to drop off of all the trees on the way back from Savannah and I even noticed a slight yellow tint to the top of my car, but honestly, I am READY FOR IT. Bring it on. I've stocked up on allergy meds and I will defeat the pollen season (check back in with me when the entire state of Georgia turns yellow.)

Florals, for spring? Groundbreaking

This post contains affiliate links, that means if you click on the links I may receive a small commission. I will be more than happy to provide you with non-affiliate links.

I am so excited for all of the spring things. 8 days until MLB season opens, 12 days until the Braves home opener. I already know exactly what I'm going to wear, planning for all different weather variations that April offers in Georgia. (PS where did March go? January & February lasted six years and March lasted exactly 12 straight rainy days.) 

It's also the time of year I sweaaaaaaaaaar I'll run the Peachtree. It's not happening this year. I want to get in shape, but I've accepted that I like the social aspect of the Peachtree more than any of the other parts. NOW on to more important Peachtree issues -- which tank top do I want to wear? In the past I've had some really good ones. Last year it was America the Brewtiful and the year before that it was Raise You Hand If You've Ever Been Personally Victimized by King George III. So this year has some pretty big shoes to fill. Send me ALL of your punny reccomendations. The Peachtree is on the 4th of July so I usually go with a USA theme, but one year I had one specially made that was Darth Vadar & said "who's your daddy?" (I love this tank top, I giggle every time I put it on. I'm really cool guys.)

I am also excited for patio cocktail season. I don't know about y'all, but cocktails outside just taste better. Don't even get me started about cocktails by the pool. Those are my absolute favorite. Really, cocktails in any body of water, I'm not picky as long as the sun is shining and I'm out there IN it. Obviously wearing all of the sunscreen. I'm really excited to try this Central Side Cocktail Elle shared a couple of weeks ago while sitting in the glider I literally put blood, sweat, and tears into putting together. Or walk the littlest monster to a nice outdoor patio and have someone else prepare the cocktails for me......

What spring things are you looking forward to? Do you have any spring cocktails I need to try? Or a favorite, punny tanktop for me to get for the Peachtree? Give it aaalllll to me. 

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. 

This post contains affiliate links, that means if you click on one of the links, I may receive a small commission. If you would like a non-affiliate link, I'll be glad to provide one.  

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!

This post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. If you would like me to provide you the non-affiliate link, I will be happy to do that.

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? 

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

That's a super very terribly dumb title, but I feel like I have to use it. I started to write this post on Tuesday, my actual 30th birthday, but like everything else that day, it didn't go my way. That sounds like a terribly bratty thing to say, I enjoyed the day very much (until a late night emotional breakdown, but I've been assured that everyone goes through that.) I became very overwhelmed at the prospect of turning 30. I really don't remember feeling this way about any other birthday, I couldn't tell you why 30 feels so daunting. 

So a little more than a year-long, unintentional hiatus, I've decided to come back to blogging. I've been constantly encouraged to come back by Elle, and more recently inspired by Becca. I don't imagine this will be a space for a ton of sponsored content, but I'm hoping for it to be a creative outlet. If said creative outlet can drive some extra income, who among us doesn't need help in that department? I'm excited to get back into what I used to love about blogging, before it became all tailored instagram posts and selling lightroom presets.

I've been reading a ton lately, I'm assuming it's a reaction to the cold temperatures and my natural instinct to hibernate. I'm working on a Goodreads goal of 30 books this year, which may be a bit low considering I've already finished four here in January. I am always looking for book recommendations and I'll be talking about the books I've read from time to time (read: I haven't decided if I want to commit myself to an editorial calendar or just go with the flow, so to speak).

I've also been in a bit of a musical rut lately, does anyone have any good Spotify playlists to share? I just keep listening to the same 30 or so songs, which combined with a 30 minute commute each way has gotten quite stale.

So, in summary, I'm back, I'm having the stereotypical "30" anxiety issues, and I need all of your book and music suggestions!

I Take It Personally When You Don't Give Me The Jeep Wave

A lot of things have happened lately, the most monumental of which being that my poor little Liberty had it's last run. That means that with all of my planning, I ended up buying a new car a year before I meant to. You know what they say about life and making plans. It's all been very stressful and I still have panic moments about it. But Kasey! You bought a house! That's a bigger investment! That is true, but when I bought my house I was making a rent payment anyways. A mortgage was going to be cheaper than rent! I was closer to work! My dad said when they put the paperwork in front of me, he thought I was going to puke on the poor kid selling me the car. 

ALL THE STRESS AND DRAMA ASIDE, I am finally a Jeep Wrangler owner. I forsee all of my disposable income going into this car. GUYS. I haven't even named her yet (I'm thinking this one is a lady.) All of my cars have been named after Beatles songs, my first car was Lucy, second Sadie, and most recently, Jude the Jeep Liberty. I think I really might have wasted Jude on the Liberty, but I looooved that car and drove it until the AC went out. So, baby Jeep to be named later. 

Now, I've wanted a Wrangler since my first Barbie Jeep. So I've done every bit of research you could possibly do. One of the things I was really excited about was the "Jeep Wave" Now, I am the new kid. I'm 6 days in and I haven't even been able to get it muddy yet, but I take it very personally when I don't get a wave back. 

Now, I know maybe people aren't paying attention or don't see me or are really into the Serial podcast they're listening to on their way to work, but come on guys. I can always tell the real Jeep people from the ones who bought it because it's a cool car. The ones who would NEVER get it muddy and will probably never take the top off. 

I love my new baby, so I'm sure we will have many crazy Jeep lady posts to come. What do you think I should name her? 

Sorry, I Can't, I'm Reading an Awesome Book.

We can just count this as a lately post, right? I would tell you oh sorry I've been away I've just be oh so very busy. That would be a lie. The reality of the situation is that I've been reading the Outlander series. Can't put 'em down. Now, the real issue with this addiction is that all of these books are a minimum of 1200 pages. My mom is reading them with me, she got ahead of me and jokes when she gets her book club books "oh this one I'll read in a day, it's only 300 pages!" So that's where I've been. I've only got two left. I don't know what I'm going to read next, any suggestions? 

We renewed our lease through November, but with my fancy new job, I've decided I want to buy a house. I want a backyard and I really want a puppy. I also really really want a back yard and a place I can sit outside and enjoy my coffee and a good book. Or have people over for a party. (you guys are all invited to my housewarming. here's hoping I can save up enough by November and luck into a place in both my budget + the neighborhood I want....) To help with my savings, I downloaded this app. Qapital? I saw an ad on instagram + downloaded it, what I have set up right now is that every time I swipe my credit card, it rounds up to the nearest even number + saves that money. Since I downloaded it last Friday I've saved $20! That's like, .50% of my $5,000 goal... that's right, half of a percent. Baby steps. 

Baseball is back, so obviously I'm all wrapped up in that fo'sho. I hit my first game for the last season at the Ted soon Friday, but there's not much to say about this team right now... Not to mention the Can of Corn linkup I've been neglecting... guys I am the worst blogger lately. Thursday though! Thursday come back + link up with your best baseball memory. I am looking to read all kinds of stories that make me laugh and cry obvi.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm almost finished with An Echo in the Bone, so I must be off. What's new with everyone? Any first home buyer's (in probably a year..) advice? Any book suggestions?