Friday 2/27

Happiness hits you. . .

I've blogged many a time about the topic of happiness.

Throughout my life my mom has always asked me "are you happy?"

I personally think if you can answer 'yes' to that question all the time you're either a- lying or b- on some really good drugs. I don't think you're suppose to be happy all the time. You would have no valleys and peaks in life. You would have no struggle to overcome. You would have nothing to celebrate. I think you find happiness in moments.

Last night, I was happy.

We are losing one of our media girls at work. She's moving on to bigger and better things and I could not be more excited for her. But she was also who I shared a desk with for a year, who trained me, who worked weekends with me, who was at my birthday brunch, who got locked out of the office in the rain walking back from watching the World Cup with me. 

Sunday was Kylie's birthday, another one of our media girls, so yesterday we snuck off to have a bowling party at Pinewood Social to celebrate. As I was sitting there watching us all attempt to not throw ourselves down the lane with the ball it hit me that this is our last week together. It will never be the same again.

But instead of being sad and dwelling on what's to come, we'll focus on the week we have left together and all the fun we've had together. We will celebrate Sarah and Jim finding love and getting married. We'll eat six rolls of sushi and a bottle of wine and toast to Kylie turning the big 2-9. And we'll cheer on Maggie following her dreams. 

So, yeah last night I was happy.

Weekend Recap: 2/21-2/22

I have no pictures from this weekend [that means I was having too much fun to Instagram, right?] 

But I did learn a couple things:

1.

If you think you're looking really good you will be the person that finds the spilled drink on the floor of the bar and hit the deck. And bruise your shin up real nice. But laugh about it on Sunday because legs heal and no skinny jeans were harmed.

2.

Fun truly is an arms length outside your comfort zone.

Do not be afraid to meet new people. 

Just because your friends can't go doesn't mean you shouldn't.

You might just end up having one of the coolest afternoons.

3.

There are still good guys out there. 

And when you happen to run into one of the crappy ones just smile and continue ordering your drink. 

Don't worry there will be an overload of pictures next Monday, tonight it's birthday dinner for Kylie and wedding week for Sarah! 

Oscar Stunners

The best part of the Oscars were definitely the red carpet [and Lady GaGa killing it while looking like an angel.] I have to admit I was not loving a lot of the complete looks last night. Cate Blanchett's necklace was amazing but the frayed sleeves killed me. Julianne Moore's dress made me crave a coconut cake. And Naomi Watts' dress looked like when my sports bra shows under a frat tank in Target on a Saturday afternoon. But, the ladies below slayed it and I stayed up way too late. More coffee please..

 

Five on [frozen] Friday

1.
A fellow Pope John Paul II High School alum wrote an awesome and witty article that was published on Elite Daily this week. Allison is the epitome of a girl boss and continues to slay it in everything she does! 

I had my first article published! 😊😁 20 Reasons To Date A Perpetually Single Girl http://t.co/9TwsBhX9Lp @EliteDaily pic.twitter.com/JpYStjNOl9
— Allison Isaacson (@MsAllisonLynn) February 19, 2015

2.
The season of Lent is officially upon us.
This year I will be giving up swearing, especially the F word that I drop at an alarmingly casual rate these days, and taking on going to Mass every week along with getting back into the daily routine of Jesus Calling.

3.
NYFW is upon us and Brittany Fuson has been releasing a new print every day inspired by her favorite show of the day. I am absolutely in love with her JCrew print and even more in love with the new JCrew collection.



4.
This weekend is precious Reme Lynn's 2nd birthday party! I can't wait to go on a safari adventure with the birthday girl, but I have a feeling we will be singing Let it Go by the end of the day.

5.
While in my own ice castle this week I hit up Tumbr hard core. This definitely had to be one of my favorite finds. And if you read my post yesterday you know there are some boys out there in desperate need of a dating wake-up call.

Friday 2/20

"Are you dumb, Tom?"

I am lucky enough to have a really great guy friend. 

The first guy friend, probably in my entire life, who I know is and will always be just a friend.

He has an incredible girlfriend [who I am also friends with] who I have no doubt will be his wife one day. He has been my sounding board for post grad dating for almost two years now.

If you haven't already noticed I am a very blunt and opinionated person. Therefore I need just as blunt and honest friends. If a guy can tell another guy isn't interested in a girl just by simply seeing a screen shot of a few text messages, I need him to tell me that. And Justin always does.

After my latest dating, or should I say texting, debacle the first thing I did was text Justin.

His reply was perfect, "you need to write a specific blog post about douche guys and not texting back." So here we go...

WHAT IS THIS PHENOMENON?

Guys think girls are "fake." You just text me for three days straight, said you wanted to hang out, and then apparently died? I'm 24, I think I can handle some honesty. 

And it doesn't seem to stop there either. If they do continue to talk to you, and god forbid even hang out with you face to face, then the other shoe drops and you find out they've now started dating someone. Because I was chopped liver? OR they come up with some ridiculous excuse to get out of going to a function with you, only to run into them at the bar after your event. 

This is why I say dating is exhausting. 

The last boy I broke up with I tried my absolute hardest to be completely honest with him. I had a great time with him but I couldn't see myself dating him and I wasn't going to lead him on. He deserved better than that.

Yet, it seems like boys try their absolute hardest to be as sketchy as humanly possible. And then call us crazy when we call them out on it. And no, telling a girl you're only interested in using her for sex is not the kind of honesty I'm talking about.

Ladies, there is nothing we can do to change boys and how they play their games.

But, you know what we can do? Stop appeasing them.

If he doesn't text you, do not come up with some random reason to text him.

Do not let him slide, call him out and don't be afraid to tell him to step off [a cliff.]

Don't be afraid to be independent, or as some call it 'alone', because you don't deserve this crap.

I used to change a guy's name to 'NO' in my phone. Now I just delete it. 

I'm not saying to go all feminist/death to men but give yourself the respect you deserve. Wouldn't you rather be happy and finding ways to enjoy your Saturday night with friends than killing yourself trying to date?

Me too.

Snowday WorkFromHomeday

It all started Monday morning...

We were suppose to have a client shoot. No company email had gone out closing the office. So, me and the bug aka snowball made the trek to work. The four of us who made it to the office were gone by 11am to hunker down at home and remote in. I give you #Snowville2015

#TimbsintheSnow

Weekend Recap: Valentine's Day 2015

Another holiday of 2015 come and gone but Valentine's Day 2015 was a smashing success. 

Friday night I babysat for my favorite two year old, Miss Reme Lynn Miller.

We exchanged valentines of our own and then made valentines for our mommas.

Someone got a Sophia the First puzzle and she couldn't get it out of the bag fast enough.

Saturday, February 14th, I woke up with a game plan.

First stop, Krispy Kreme. Second stop, couch. 

Watch some Entourage, take a nap. 

Sunday was solid life planning day full of updating the planner, planning out outfits [two client shoots in one week], and running to get milk and a few staples before the rumored snow storm of 2015 hits. A nice surprise of the day was swinging by Green Hills to see a sweet friend after she got off work. Of course I had to see the new Lilly Pulitzer storefront. She's really coming!

And now we move into Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season.

Look for my usual Lent post coming Wednesday morning! 

Friday 2/13

Five on Friday

1.

LILLY PULITZER IS COMING TO NASHVILLE.

The brand, the shift dress, the legend is coming to Green Hills Mall.

Start saving ladies. I will see you at the grand opening.

2.

Hold on, it's fifty shades of cray because Fifty Shades of Grey is here.

The soundtrack was released this week as well and it is amazing.

I am loving the new Ellie Goulding and The Weekend tracks included on it.

3.

Watch out for:

ladders

black cats

white lighters

umbrellas open inside

and ex-boyfriends

because it's Friday the 13th.

4.

My girl Jessie James Decker released the video for her new song Clint Eastwood this week and I absolutely love it and her. #hotmomma

5.

It's Valentine's Day weekend!

I have made my fair share of smart comments about the holiday but whether you have a romantic valentine or not make sure to show the special people in your life how much you love them.

And if all else fails, Chipotle and Netflix is bae. 

Valentines for Gals

Most controversial commercial holiday, go.

Yep, Valentine's Day.

You've got the couples all in love. 

79 female heads that jerk up every time a flower delivery comes through the door.

You've got the singles that 'hate' the holiday. 

And if you're single and you don't, you're supposed to. 

I personally haven't celebrated with a valentine of my own in years.

So instead I take the holiday to show the special people in my life that I love them.

And what's the staple of any good valentine's day celebration? A great valentine!

Last year I ordered from Ashley Brooke Designs and I absolutely loved them!

This year I stumbled upon a precious set of valentine postcards from..dun dun dun..the Southern Weddings Shop. 

Yes, the single girl ordered her valentines from Southern Weddings. 

And in the process I discovered the hidden gem that is the Southern Weddings Shop. There are 10 postcards in a pack and each pack is only $10. I cannot wait for these cuties to be delivered to my loves' mailboxes this week. Cupid has nothing on Caroline!

Well dressed desktop

As I have previously ranted, I am a picture freak. I have frames all over my house. Pictures taped up in my office. But when you really think about it, the picture us post grads look at the most is our computer desktop background. I am constantly scrolling Tumblr searching for clever and colorful backgrounds that can keep my eyes peeled 8a-6p. 

This past week I stumbled upon Design Love Fest via another blogger's instagram. I think I literally saved every last one of her free downloads. So, I of course had to share with all of you.

There are new download-ables every week and Bri also does Blogger workshops to teach us amateurs how to use Photoshop in blogging. 

Good luck picking just one! 

Weekend Recap: 2/7-2/8

This weekend was disgustingly lazy and wonderful.

Friday night I babysat and rolled in around 12:30am which gave me permission to sleep until 11am Saturday. I then proceeded to marathon two seasons of Entourage and rounded out the night with some Chipotle and #HTGAWM DVR.

Sunday I decided to act like a functioning adult, showering and get my butt to Publix.

After getting trash out, running laundry, and doing dishes I flopped on the couch with some Peanut M&Ms to watch [and shamelessly live tweet] the Grammy's red carpet.

As I've previously mentioned I have just felt off and negative the past week. Mom and dad usually don't watch awards shows, I just give them the smutty recap the next morning, but they got sucked into the Grammy's last night thanks to that AC/DC opening number. Live texting with mom for the next three house was exactly what my heart needed. As she said this morning, "you were the Giuliana to my Joan." Her hits of the night have to include:

"He's like a sad Elton John." [referencing Sam Smith]
"TSwift is like Grammy Barbie. Ariana is Grammy Bratz."
"This performance is boring and too much eyeliner."
"Why did he keep saying it was awkward? What did I miss?"
"Eww...Cane-y"

So I am starting this week off on a high note, thanks to: Julie, clean laundry, and a Chobani flip.
Happy Valentine's week! 

Grammy Gals

The Grammy awards aren't even over yet but after my man Ed Sheeran performed I lost all interest. 

Where are the TSwift dance shots y'all? 

So I figured I'd go ahead and get a jump start on all the other red carpet posts that will be popping up, here are some of my favorites from the night:

I weirdly love this look. I wonder what it would look like without the white heels though. 

Gwen Stefani isn't human. The woman is a knock out.

This dress is amazing on Miranda but that tiny hint of pink makes the look.

I am loving this "boss bitch" look on Anna Kendrick. Can I wear this for our next client meeting?

Mom refereed to TSwift as Grammy Barbie and she is flawless in this dress. Can I steal those shoes [and her legs?]

This is just stunning in every way possible, absolutely nailed it Rita Ora.

Five on Friday

So, I had a Five on Friday all ready to go. And much like most things this week I just wasn't loving it. I've been irritated literally since I wake up in the morning to when I turn off my computer at night. 

In short, I have been an absolute brat. 

I haven't been able to find the positive in anything lately. Something great will happen and I will only focus on something that went wrong and let it completely overshadow everything.

So instead here are five positive things in life:

1.

I babysit for some awesome families and am lucky enough to have that extra income.

2.

I have an amazing dad who would walk through fire, or buy me a new computer, to help.

Now I can leave the office at a normal hour and work on things from home in my pjs.

3.

I have wonderful friends who are experiencing such happiness in their lives. 

Sara is into her second trimester, Sarah is 22 days away from her wedding, and Kylie's birthday dinner is planned!

4.

I got my bundled up butt out there this week and ran.

5.

For the first time since I can remember, my face is clear. 

I could [and have] cry I am so happy. 

Friday 2/6

Too many words

I am a lyric junkie.

I used to type up and print off lyrics and hang them around my dorm room/apartment in college. There are piles and piles of sticky notes of lyrics in my memory box. At one point junior year you could barely see yourself in my bedroom hanging mirror because I had so many taped up. Yes yes, lots of #whitegirlproblems going on here.

These are a couple songs that grabbed [and some overwhelmed] me with their lyrics. Hope some speak to you too.

It's the little things
That convince me to stay
It's your fingertips



And I know that the phantoms on the edge of my dreams
Are shapes I created but they still just disrupt my sleep



But the future is forgiven, so smile.



See, honey, I am not some broken thing
I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee
No my heart is gold. My feet are light
And I am racing out on the desert plains all night

The Blogmopolitan Quiz: Volume III

oh baby baby it's a wild world

There is a glass candy jar that sits on the edge of our desk at work. Anyone and everyone who goes up the stairs usually grabs from it at least once a day. One of the guys in the office made the comment yesterday that I needed to switch out the candy canes currently in it to Valentine's Day candy, "you're a girl you love this holiday."

I do?

I quickly replied, "No, I'm a single girl" and he kept moving up the stairs [with seventeen mini candy canes in his pocket, you're welcome.]

I got to thinking later during my freezing ass run about what has turned into a common theme that keeps popping up at me.

What I'm 'supposed' to be vs, what I am

What I thought would be vs what is

What I feel like I should be vs. where I am

You try and control life to steer it into the direction it's suppose to be going. You keep giving that one guy and that one relationship [that is in fact not a relationship] a second, 20th, and 497th chance because it's suppose to work [damn it.]  

When I was 20 years old [and head over heels in love with love] I had the life timeline of married by 24 and baby by 26 laid out for myself.

I think it's safe to say, being four months out from 25, unless I pull a Kaley Cuocco Sweeting that ship has sailed.

Moving on, I set the life timeline of boyfriend/relationship by 25 and marriage and a baby before 30. 

Have you ever tried to date in your mid-twenties? I will be lucky to get a second date by 30. 

I went on a date where the guy made fun of my top, bracelets, accent, and sorority. 

So as I sit here in Starbucks [trying to avoid eye contact with the cute boy in front of me because he is most likely 19] I know that I may not have 100% accepted where I am in my life timeline and that's fine. Because you know what?  Life is really messy and fucking weird; and there is NO life timeline.

I will simply order my Valentines to send to friends [and my dog], try not to die running after work, and worry about the only thing on my 'timeline' right now, my buy launching Monday.