current events

Back from vacation! That's what I'm calling me falling off the face of the blogEarth. Sounds better, right?

Pinterest has been the best and worst thing to happen to us. It gives us something to do while we are at work but depresses us when we realize we don't make enough money to buy everything we have pinned on our "Wish List" board. Probably because we spend most of our time pinning instead of working. Whatever. That's not the point.

The point is, Caroline and I (and probably everyone else on Pinterest) want to re-do everything in our rooms and bathrooms. "Unfortunately" I purchased a Michael Kors bedspread about 2 years ago (still pretty new) and I feel locked into the black and white motif for now. Until it makes sense for me to splurge on some new bedding, I have to work with what I've got. I love my gallery wall and my furniture so I've got some good bases to start from. It will just take a little styling.

Caroline has her "I Want" list on the fridge as a reminder to save a little bit of money each month for the things she'd like to get for her room. It's a great idea to have it right there in front of you. I've been doing some "research" this morning trying to get some inspiration for things I might want to save up for. Books are number one on my list right now. #old

In other "news" (besides realizing I use quotation marks too much), I am going over to my parents' house today to clean out my closet in the room that used to be mine. Ouch. It's for real y'all. I'm no longer wanted in the White House. That closet is a disaster area. We moved into the house my parents live in now when I was a Sophomore in college so I never really lived there. Except when I moved home from college for a year. Yikes. Never thought that would happen. #recession

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is there are boxes in there from the move that I have never touched. Things from my high school life that are waiting to be rediscovered and laughed at and then blogged about. My mom is even excited about going through some of the stuff because she knows it will be a mini freak show starring high school me.

Here we come, Narnia.

getting it together

I never thought everything going so well in my life would actually be detrimental to my sanity. Because all the big things are so good (job, living situation, friends), I have started to focus on the minutia of my "dating life". If you can call it that.

Like I said in the last post, I'm bored because I have nothing negative to focus on which is awesome but allows for nitpicking over minor details. And that shit will make you go insane. Caroline has had to give me reality check upon reality check and I know she's tired because I am exhausted. The worst part of all of this is that I'm doing to myself.

It is time to refocus my energy.

On Monday, I re-joined LA Fitness. We had a love hate relationship two years ago but I'm ready to settle down and work on my fitness again. On a whim last week I bought a Groupon for 5 Salsa lessons. I haven't taken an actual dance class since high school so that will definitely be interesting. I've also started to actually make the recipes I've been pinning and drooling over for months. Last night was slow cooker chicken tacos and they were awesome.

Here's a picture of me looking extra spesh making the tacos on my lunch break yesterday:

Photo cred to Carol.

Working out, dancing and cooking are things that I enjoy that are much better uses of my time than wallowing in the bathtub trying to translate the hieroglyphics that are texts from boys. Boy. Whatever. Lay off me.

Said boy joined me for tacos last night. I was SO worn out from spin class that I didn't even have the energy to overanalyze a thing he said. That's what spin will give you: a DGAF attitude and ass for days.

Win-Win.

shit or get off the pot

I could go on and on until we're all exhausted about dating and being single in the Post College world (how long can I get away with saying I'm a Post Grad with out it being sad?) but why reinvent the wheel when something that I can't read two sentences with out wanting to shout, "YES! EXACTLY" is already out there?

College vs Post Grad

Some of these things I have said verbatim. Other things I've tried to explain to no avail, Thought Catalog has pulled together and tied up neatly with a bow. It's scary but reassuring. I am not (completely) crazy and I can probably shut up about it because I'm not the only one. This is nothing special. I am not suffering. I am bored. Let it ride.

But here's hoping for that big ol' dump.

she's crafty

What's a girl to do on a summer night when the Braves are off and she has single digits in her bank account?

Decorate.

I finally got around to hanging my gallery wall and I am pretty pleased with the results. Now there's something visually interesting going on in the room. Besides me of course...

Pinterest gave me the idea to trace the frames on paper, cut them out and then tape them on the wall. It allows you to play with the arrangement and spacing and minimizes the number of nail holes you put in the wall during the process. Well done, Pinterest.

My room is starting to come together! I mean, we've only lived there 2 and a half months... The next project will be hanging the curtains and figuring out what to hang over my TV. Thrilling, I know.

If anyone has any tips on hanging curtains, don't be afraid to share! I need all the help I can get.

how to battle the Sunday Blues

There's something about a Sunday after a particularly enjoyable weekend that can make you feel a little down in the dumps. It's probably a mixture of the impending doom of having to go to work on Monday and no longer having the distraction of the company of friends and alcohol from your actual feelings. Here are a few things you can do to fight the sads:

1. Write in your journal that needs to be sequestered by your best friend and promptly burned, after she reads it of course, within minutes of your unexpected death. Let it all out. Ignore spelling mistakes and write in circles. Talk yourself down.

2. Pour a large glass of wine. This step can be left out or swapped with step number one. Whatever you prefer.

3. Light your favorite candles. For best results, two or more candles are suggested.

4. Turn on Nora Jones Radio on Pandora. This is an extremely important step. No substitutions. Feel better when "Man of the Hour" comes on and think about how much you love your dog.

5. Prepare a bubble bath. Line the tub with your candles and your glass of wine. Sink down. Think about how you need a bath pillow and put it on your mental TJ Maxx shopping list.

6. Sweat everything out. Wallow. Harmonize with John Mayer. Shave your legs and put on the pore refining mask you never have time for during the week.

7. Get out of the bath, moisturize and put on the nightie/robe set you bought the last time you felt like this and had access to Victoria's Secret.

8. Watch HBO's "Girls". Realize you're not alone in these awkward and uncomfortable feelings/situations (read life).

9. Climb into bed and cuddle up with your man of the hour. Ride your buzz into sleep.

10. Repeat in 7 days.

revival

It's been so long since I've updated this little puppy that they've gone and changed the whole design of Blogger! And upon review of my own blog, I realized that most of my favorite blogs to follow are dead in the water which is unfortunate but I am very confident any of my followers could say the same thing about me. If you're just now stumbling upon this, welcome and please be patient. Start at the beginning, avoid the post-breakup middle if you can and stay tuned for updates! I'm not totally up on Instagram but I'm great with a metaphor and #realtalk.

It's time to get serious about this thing. I mean, let's be honest. There are hours in my workday that I spend willing #whatshouldwecallme to update that I could be spending updating. Time to pick up where I left off... almost a year ago.

I love my job. I feel like I am a completely different person than I was last year around this time. Gone are the days of gut wrenching anxiety and adult acne, the product of ever-present stress. The people are amazing and I actually enjoy going to work every day. We've recently moved the office from Norcross  and are flying high on the 11th floor in a building in the heart of Buckhead (Cue "Moving on Up"). Not everyone is as excited as I am about the move but it has provided hours of talking points for our Friday lunches.

Speaking of moving, I recently moved into a new place with Caroline, my Delta sistah and bestie fo' life. It's amazing what hardwood floors and a two minute ride to Phipps can do for your morale. It's a tad further away from our friends at the Gramercy but I have been able to lure people over because we have a better pool. We've dubbed our new digs "Kidden Korner" which is located smack dab in the middle of Hoveround Hollow, a name I made up because we are positioned in between two assisted living communities. Obviously.

To give you the Reader's Digest / Nutshell version for the sake of time and space, in the past year I went skydiving, went on a dating spree, swore off guys (those two things go hand in hand), put myself back out there, attended a Bassnectar / Pretty Lights Concert, did some drugs (those two also go hand in hand), cheered on Alabama Football to our 14th National Championship title, ran my first 5k, rekindled my love for Usher and have established a solid group of friends, most of whom went to Alabama. Really branching out, I know. Sorry we share the common interest of being awesome!

Despite still living paycheck to paycheck, not owning a vacuum or ironing board and occasionally eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting, I feel completely stable. Freeze Frame Jump! My parents would probably disagree since I still whine about being poor every chance I get but I guess I mostly mean emotionally stable. Thanks in part to officially peacing out on that undead relationship I clung to for 3 years. I just learned that the zombie ex just moved in with his girlfriend, yeah the one he cheated on (with me, duh). I felt hurt, relieved, old and very single in a good and bad way all at once. I promptly went into the kitchen and finished off a carton of Double Fudge ice cream because that is the mature way to handle feelings you don't really understand. I wallowed in the mix of emotions for about 5 minutes, remembered how good I looked in my new lace shorts and returned my attention to the Braves game. I've come a long way from justifying crying in a ball on my floor while listening to Amos Lee by calling it "Quiet Time". That is not Quiet Time. That is borderline psychotic and a waste of time that could be spent on Pinterest.

After all of that exhausting detail, you're pretty much up to speed! I promise to try and keep up the momentum.

quarter life

Ok. I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm turning 25 next month. 25 isn't that bad but here's my theory: 25 is almost 30 and I am so NOT ready to be 30.

When I was little, I used to think about what 25 would be like. What it's actually like is nowhere near what I thought it would be. It's basically college with money and no homework which is awesome but I feel like I'm not "being 25" correctly.

I can't tell you exactly what I think a 25 year old should be doing though. I was under the impression that being 20-something would be more like Friends. When do we meet at the coffee shop? When do we dance in the fountain? When do we become adults? What the hell even is an adult? The kids I babysit ask me if I am a "real grown up" and I always tell them no. I feel like a "grown up" old should be able to do basic "adult" things like keep a plant alive and so far I have yet to master this illusive talent.

The more I think about it the more I realize I've never actually felt old enough (read mature) to be doing whatever I was doing. It felt more like playing the part of someone in that period of time in my life. This terrifies me because I basically run a company. I can't even keep a plant alive and they are letting me run a company.

Are we doing it wrong? Or is it really that this is just the way it is? Maybe 25 year olds have had us fooled for so long parading around like adults, whatever that means. The world may never know. I may never feel like an adult and I think that is just fine by me.