Vacation Rules

Trying new things is like a rule in my family. Literally, its part of our vacation rules. Actually, there are a couple of vacation rules (not to mention airplane rules, restaurant rules, etc. but that’s what you get when your mom is a teacher!):

1) Never eat a chain restaurant (unless its McDonalds' to get mom that all important diet coke)

2) Try at least one new thing to eat a day

3) Do one educational thing per trip (again my mother is teacher,  so I can point out educational things to do ANYWHERE, even Disney).

So yesterday, I went out to lunch with my Dad. Nothing too surprising there but as I went to get us drinks, I spied this soda.

I had to try it. It didn’t matter that we weren’t on vacation. IT WAS CELERY SODA. I like celery, so I decided to give it a try. Turns out I don’t like celery in soda. Oh well. But at least I tried something new! What was the last new thing you tried?

Weekly Wonders: March 27th, 2013

I feel like this week has been about preparing for that next step. Whether it be little things like trying new makeup routines or purchasing some new business casual type clothing, I feel like I am inching my way along to August.

Why yes, I do have a countdown on my bathroom mirror.

I spent the other Friday night dog sitting. It was great. The dog was an angel and I got to put on all sorts of facial masks. I had my dirty pleasure TV shows on (think Bravo shows) and a diet coke, what more did I need? Nothing other than countless YouTube videos trying to figure out how to master eye shadow tricks!

I have these two eye shadow kits and am finally getting better at eye shadow. I can do one color but after that it gets a bit tricky! Luckily, these beautiful colors make it so easy. I even managed to pull off some pretty layering the other day! Thanks to watching tons of Youtube video while dog sitting, I was able to pull off something pretty and not drag queen style.

Finn got a haircut and played with another puppy down the street! They were adorable with each other. They romped around the yard for an hour. It was swoon worthy. Puppies are the best!

I am in love with our Easter headbands. I am not tooooo old to wear one, right?

That pretty much sums up my week! Not counting the winter like temperatures, we have been subjugated to in this late March.  What happened to spring????

The Kitchen Aid Mixer Debate

In my mind certain items are for grownups, like wedding china or stand mixers. I am 23 years old and thus in that strange limbo between adulthood and childhood. I love kitchenaid mixers, actually love might be an understatement. I have been coveting one for years. My grandmother has had the same one since like 1980 and it still works just fine. She uses it for everything from cookies to mashed potatoes. My mother on the other hand has this beautiful cream one but she keeps it in the pantry. I normally have to beg to take it out, pleading that I will clean up my mess unlike the last time.

In college, my kitchen was TINY and there was no counter space. Besides, I wasn’t a grownup and thus I couldn’t purchase one in my mind. KitchenAid Mixer = Grownup. Every holiday would come around and my mom would ask if I wanted one. I would say yes but not now. I am not a grownup yet. It just didn’t seem right. I wasn’t ready for one just yet.

Well, I finally made the plunge and bought one! It was my treat for getting into graduate school. Graduate school is almost like being a grownup, right? After much research, I decided to get the large Artisan mixer that has a tilt head because I like the tilt head and its smaller than the bowl lift. I am pretty sure my apartment next year will be tiny! I bought the ice blue color. It is just enough color without being overwhelming (or so I hope). I am currently counting down the days until it gets here! Eek!

A Clothes horse’s Closet

I have been totally obsessed with my recent admitted student status. I even started this pinterest board to chronicle everything cool I find. Turns out there are a lot of neat tricks out there and so many beautiful clothes…

It has kind of spurred on a cleaning binge and those never happen! I feel sure enough to purge things and I am great need of some purging so I can go buy some new clothes. I am not a hoarder per say but I do like things, a lot of things. Clothes are no exceptions, and I have been known to find a good bargain or two or three. I know there is no before picture but it was badddddddd. Partially because I did not want to organize things because that meant I was staying. Now that I have plans and a definite time limit until I leave, I feel better about organizing things. Weird? It makes sense in my head.

I am really into organizing my clothes. I love orderly clothes. I can see my options and better decide what to wear. There are three parts to my organization:

1) Put like things next to like. Skirts, Dresses, Fancy Dresses, Short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts. Everything must have its place!

2) Like hangers. I prefer these slim velvet ones because I can fit more clothes in one area. My roommate in college was amazed by how much clothing I fit into my tiny closet! Whatever you do NO WIRE HANGERS.

3) Color code. Start with black, then gray, ROYGBIV then brown then white. Seriously color coding makes everything better.  

Have any more tips for closet organization? I am always in search of more tricks!

My Gap Year

This year, blogging hasn’t been as much fun. Not because I don’t enjoy the subject matter but because I felt like a charlatan. My blog is called “The First Apartment Living” and yet for the past year, I have been living at home. I graduated college last year, and took a gap year (when this happens, you tend to need some time).

At first, I was totally fine with my gap year. The summer flew by, I traveled here, there, everywhere. Then came fall, which mainly consisted of me putting off studying for the GRE. I started to freak out about life and trying to make sure I was opening up to all the opportunities around me without closing doors. It was a lot of doors to keep open. I started a small business, which was fun till Christmas came and went. Winter had hit. Winter was tough, I saw so many friends from high school and college, who seemed to have all transitioned seamlessly from college. I felt stuck. I didn’t really want to apply for jobs since I was fairly certain I would be going to grad school in the fall. Who would want to hire someone that was leaving in a few months? I was just hurrying up and waiting. I felt like I was lying to you, my readers. I wasn’t living The First Apartment Life. I wasn’t living on a budget with my own place. Charlatan.

Perhaps others of you have felt the same (maybe?) but as spring rolled around, I was feeling pretty bleak. Everyone kept asking me where I had applied to grad school. Where did I want to go? When would I find out? What were my chances? More and more questions from every person I knew. I hated it. I was constantly worried as I checked my email. It would be this little game I played with my phone. Download all the emails, and then read the subject line before I opened them.

Then it happened. I got an email from my dream school. I was freaking out before I even opened it, I waited anxiously for the first three lines to download on my phone because I didn’t want to open it before I knew. I had to prepared myself.  Dear Katherine…. Oh god, here it goes I thought. Congratulations! My heart stopped. Suddenly, all was right in the world. My first thought was OMG I actually got into a grad school! It took a good 48 hours for it to finally dawn on me that I got into my dream school. Then of course, I spent the next 48 hours freaking out whether it a was a good school (even though its ranked #1) because clearly, why would they let me in if it was good?

Now that it has been a few days, I have a much brighter outlook on life (well until August when I get overloaded with work).  I feel like a large burden has been lifted off my shoulder. I have been happily over preparing for school in the fall and already searching for apartments these past few days! I no longer feel like a charlatan and am excited to share all the exciting times as I prepare for this new step! Hopefully, this will spur a bunch of new creative ideas (especially since my budget will be tighter than ever!).