Lately

It's almost officially winter, but I've been in winter/Christmas mode since the day after Thanksgiving...well maybe the night before Thanksgiving when my dad and I made a trip to the mall to pick up no less than seven bottles of Bath and Body Works Twisted Peppermint hand soap (there was a really good sale). We left the mall with all those plus three bottles of shower gel, two hand sanitizers, and a tube of body lotion (we had multiple coupons). All in the same scent. Then after dinner (actually lunch) the next day, Mom went and bought two or three candles also in Twisted Peppermint plus candy cane hand soap and a plethora of other wintry-scented BBW products. So yeah, that happened.
In addition to wintry scents, we've also had some slightly wintry weather allowing me to take some of my favorite clothes out of storage. Cable knit sweaters, and wool skirts, and tights: oh my! I love dressing for cooler weather because you get to make so many combinations out of the same clothes by layering. This makes packing for extended trips home a little easier because you can pack for one week, but end up with two or three weeks of different outfits by switching things around and packing a couple extra pairs of tights.
Unfortunately after Turkey Day I had to return to school for a week of classes then a week of finals, #actualbaneofmyexistence. But studying for exams mean study breaks which I spent in the following ways:

1. Watching videos and vlogs. Some of my favorites have been: vlogbrothers (of course), Zoella, danisnotonfire, and dailygrace. Please, please, please give then a try if you haven't already. They each have something different to offer.
2. Reading Emma and The Hobbit
3. Christmas shopping! Another post on that soon to come.
4. Not cleaning my room or the house at all. It was a fustercluck by the first day of actual exams.
5. Babysitting my cousin's precious angel of a son, my personal favorite type of study break.

I was also a bit under the weather the whole time, which is why I let the house become such a mess, but it's all nice and clean now...mostly. I'm finding that if my clothes aren't hanging in my closet right in front of me, I kinda forget about them and don't wear them, so a lot of my trousers and my bucket o' sweaters get neglected. So I'm trying to find a solution to this. Any ideas/suggestions? 

After finals I think I slept 24 out of the next 48 hours. Whew, glad I have only one semester of coursework left.

What have you been doing to get into the Christmas spirit? Did you take any final exams? How do you cope with the stress? Also, have you come across any particularly good youtube channels lately? 

KB

P. S.: I made a spotify playlist for my study sessions. Check it out.

P. P. S.: This precious angel exists: 

#HairforHazel

So you know I love John Green and his book The Fault in Our Stars, so when production began and he started posting pictures and whatnot from set, I was all over that. The first post I saw was Shailene Woodley's  haircut. Obviously I was inspired to do the same. It took a little courage-plucking-up, but I finally did it:

I mentioned it in a post before, but I wanted to take more time to talk about it.

At first I considered doing it, but then thought "well what good is that going to do? I can give a kid a wig, but I can't cure her cancer." But I got to thinking about it some more in the context of watching lots of vlogbrothers videos, and thought about their ongoing mission to decrease world-suck, then I came to the conclusion that I can't cure that little girl's cancer, but I can make her feel a little bit more normal when she looks in the mirror, and that's more important than my having super long hair. That's my small contribution to decreasing world-suck. For now. We'll see where this goes.

Have you done something for others lately? Have you ever donated your hair?

KB

Changing seasons

Here in Louisiana we don't have "Indian summers" (I'm not a huge fan of that term for many reasons), but what we have is a false autumn. In the middle of October we'll get a cool front for a few days, then temperatures are back in the 70s and 80s (with really high humidity, so it feels hotter) until about Thanksgiving...when it gets chilly and still humid so it feels even colder. Funny how that works. Not. No matter what you call our climate, the recent descent of mercury has allowed me to delve into my cooler weather gear, and I. Love. It. Look out for more outfit posts soon (especially on instagram.

This was over a month ago when it first started to cool off and I had some errands to run. How cool are those boots?! They're the most supple leather and real wood soles. My roommate got them in Germany this summer while she was interning/doing research for DAAD. I might steal them before she graduates, sshh.

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? How are you coping with these changes?

KB

I lied.

So much for a new post every week. I apologize. I'll try to do better in the future, which will require better time management. Although, I have been writing lots of drafts and brainstorming posts in random notebooks during classes.

So what have I been up to that's been distracting me from this blog? Well, take a look:

This guy has been ruining my life by raising my standards. He's. An. Angel.

This book and everything else John Green related. Seriously, check him out.

Oh, and this:

I (well actually my cousin J) cut off a 13 inch ponytail, and I haven't looked back since. I'm donating it to Children with Hair Loss. 

I've also been spending (not enough) time with this sweetheart, cousin J's sweet baby boy. I'm loving babysitting him. Even dirty diapers don't seen so bad.

Of course I've also been trying to keep up with school work, and maintaining what I call a social life, which is difficult for an introvert, although I've been doing better with talking to new people. I haven't been home in several weeks, but I get to go home in a week and a half, and I'm looking forward to it. 

What have you been up to lately? Any cute babies to adore?

KB

Psst…look for some new posts coming over the next couple weeks; my workload will be lighter.

Will you be my friend? Check yes or no.

I think somewhere between middle school and college I forgot how to make/be a friend. Not that I haven't made new friends in that time, it just always seems to be an accident, like he or she is an unlikely friend, but a great one nonetheless. What I mean is I didn't seek these people out, it just sort of happened, which is totally awesome. 

My problem seems to be making friends with people who are more like myself on a deeper level rather than someone who just happens to be in my class and we got put together for a group project. Actually, even group projects are tricky for me. Usually we drift apart once the project is done. And even more recently I've been reluctant to form bonds with new people, because I plan on making a big move in about a year (we'll see how that goes) and I don't want to get attached, then be devastated when we part ways. I realize this is absolutely ridiculous, because friendships are for a lifetime and are invaluable, but for me they require so much energy, and I've been hurt a lot recently, namely by people I count among my friends. So forging a new friendship is a huge investment of my emotional energy, and I guess I have trouble trusting that the return will be profitable for everyone involved (of course not in a material way, but a spiritual/personal growth way).

I'm not saying there is any type of person I wouldn't want to be close to; you can't judge a book by its cover and you shouldn't judge people at all. I think you have to give everyone a chance, but sometimes you don't give them a chance, or they don't give you a chance, and both of you may be missing out on an awesome bond. I think I've been failing to give a lot of people chances, including myself. My thought process is: "oh I'm too busy" or "well we're graduating in less than a year, so why bother," and I need to get out of that funk. I also need to get better at following through and maintaining contact.

This has been extremely rambling, but I hope it has caused you to think about how you approach new friendships and existing ones. 

Any tips?

KB

PS: It probably doesn't help to walk around with your headphones always in your ears and your nose in a book. #guilty

Vlog brothers

John Green
John Green
John Green

And also Hank.

They're excellent in so many ways. I read a John Green novel (The Fault in Our Stars), then my brother showed me Crash Course videos, and now I'm working my way through Brotherhood 2.0, 2.0.0.9, etc videos. They're super inspirational in an everyday way: like things you can do to decrease world suck in your own life and the lives of others without emptying the bank or your emotional stores. Also they're entertaining and funny.

Also Hank writes and sings songs. They're fantastic!

The Brotherhood videos are less than four minutes each, so they make great study breaks if you can stop yourself from watching the whole playlist in one sitting.

Here's their youtube channel. They have other channels and websites, which I suggest you check out. 

Fall semester is in full swing

In my night class on the second Tuesday of the semester, I had a mild freak-out. I was a little bored in class (seriously, who can pay attention for 3 hours?), so I decided to clean out my inboxes. I should have been keeping up with that because it's a new semester, I've got a new job, new classes, and new projects. My school email account had become a dumping ground of welcome to class/wanna share a textbook?/Honors College Advocates/work memos. Deadlines were fast approaching, so I found myself running all over campus trying to get the correct forms filled in and signed by the end of the week.

That game of catch-up messed up the next week, but I'm finally (pretty much) caught up. My grades have not yet suffered because of it, but I have my first test tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Other than that, the new semester feel is long gone, and I'm ready to grab life by the horns. I'm staying on top of my readings, homework assignments, and quizzes, AND I've even made time for leisure reading. Despite (or perhaps because of) the larger than usual amounts of work and reading I have to do outside of class this semester, I've learned how to better manage my time, which has motivated me to be more productive. I'm finally studying something I'm interested in, and my project for work is something I've been invested in for almost a year now.

Additionally, I've been thinking a lot about the future, specifically grad school. Yep, I'm seriously considering furthering my education even more. 

This has kind of been my inspiration of late.

Yeah, so that's a general update of my life. I'll try to post something at least once a week. I've been on lots of adventures lately, so I'd like you tell you all about them.

How's the new semester treating you? Or are you working or interning? What's that like?

KB

Just to update you on my dream journal

I had a dream Mr Big from Sex and the City was an achondroplastic dwarf. Quite possibly the weirdest dream yet.

Cameron Frye is my spirit animal

Maybe the introvert/extrovert, Myers-Briggs classification of personalities is some new-agey millennial crap, but I sure do relate to almost every characteristic attributed to introverts in most articles I read. For example:

accurate
mostly accurate
crude but accurate
#guilty
number 18 though
extremely informative

Yeah, so that sums me up.

So Sister came to visit me this weekend. And she brought friends, no big deal because I knew ahead of time. I like having guests stay over (#pearlsinprogress), but I do find it extremely draining. I was prepared though because my house means I'm in charge right? Wrong. They wanted me to "go with the flow" which really isn't my style, especially since they didn't let me drive, even though I was the only one who knew her way around town. Exhausting. I did have fun this weekend, but I'm also guilty of sneaking away from the group to call my dad on the phone more than once. In the same day.

The thing is, I, in true introvert form, get my energy from being alone. I do enjoy the company of others, but because it's so taxing energetically, I need to gain something from the interaction, like a laugh or the feeling that my contribution and presence is appreciated, and this usually (but not always) comes from being in a small group of people I know or can relate to. However, that wasn't the case for a lot of this weekend; it was like I was giving them all my energy and receiving very little in return, being ignored even, which eventually lead to a panic attack so I had to retreat for a while. So I sat out a free trip to New Orleans, but I don't regret it one bit. I've had time to recharge, clean the house, write a couple blog posts for the queue, and watch Doctor Who (seriously great show for introverts...and extroverts, in short: everyone should watch).

We like our "shells." They're there for a reason. We don't need to be rescued. 

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? How do you accommodate your friends of the opposite personality? Do you even accept the dichotomy?

KB

PS: I totally have the "resting bitch face" mentioned in the above articles. Love buzzfeed.

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out

But really they are.

Last Thursday night (August 1) I had my last final exam of summer school, after which I had to race home to Sulphur because...last Friday morning (August 2) I had my wisdom teeth removed. Before the procedure they make you watch a video of everything that can go wrong. Comforting, right? Of course I nearly fainted while signing the consent forms, yeah I'm that girl. Fast forward about half an hour and I'm walking out the back door (#sketchy) sans wisdom teeth. I remember using sign language to tell my mom what flavor shake I wanted at Sonic. I really must learn more than just the alphabet, even for hearing people it's extremely useful for situation in which you can't or don't want to speak aloud. 

For the short time I was on intense pain meds, I had the weirdest dreams, I'm talking playing saxophone in front of an audience in the midst of an episode of Supernatural weird. I was extremely fortunate to be up and moving around on my own the next day with very little swelling. Jayce brought Miley the pup over to visit, then I went to their house to watch dumb movies which I actually enjoyed, and eat a skillet cookie which was divine. A couple days later I was puppy sitting like I hadn't been sedated three days before. It was nice to just hang out at my parents' house for a week without worrying about school or anything else. And now I get to hang out at my Baton Rouge house without a worry in the world (yeah right).

Oh yeah, did I mention I got a haircut whist out of commission? Bangs. For the first time in five years. I love it. More on that in a later post.

Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? Any funny stories from while you were waking up?

KB

One lecture and two exams...

...are all that stand between me and...uh, wisdom teeth removal, not much to look forward to there. Then ten days later I'll be going to New Orleans with Sister, and another week or so until MY 21ST BIRTHDAY IN NEW YORK CITYY! I've been planning it with my brother since finals in May, so I'm seriously looking forward to it.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I've been super busy (read: listening to music and following other blogs). So Vampire Weekend. Yeah, tell me why I ever stopped listening to them. Never mind, I'm listening again now, so not to worry. A couple months ago they did a thing: the thing. I first saw it on F. E. Castleberry's blog Unabashedly Prep so I thought it appropriate to post the link to his post. Even though his blog is geared toward men's fashion, there's stuff for everyone; it's one of my very favorite blogs. Inspired by my rediscovery of my love for Vampire Weekend, I've started my August 2013 playlist on Spotify, be sure to look out for the finished product. 

I've also been listening to some Top 40 music (gasp), and I'm loving Ariana Grande, Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," and Selena Gomez (I promise I'm not a teeny bopper). I'm totally open to recommendations of any type of music. 

In the past week I've had tons of fun and humiliation. Live and learn, right? I also almost got a puppy, but it really wasn't a good time for me to take on such a responsibility, so Cee and J adopted her:

My sweet "godpuppy" Chloe Miley.

I can't wait to get a dog and a house with a yard for it to play in. Meanwhile I've got mosquitos to feed (not laughing).

Do you have any NYC recommendations? What about music?

KB

I'm still pretending summer school isn't happening...

...despite its being almost over. What I mean by that is I spent this weekend shopping and partying with my family when I've got finals coming up soon (#sorrynotsorry). 

Mom and I scored big at the outlet mall near Baton Rouge, so I'm looking forward to some excellent new OOTD posts. Sidenote: I found a couple things I liked in Crewcuts, and I was über surprised when they actually fit!

Today I started the day with a few episodes of Supernatural, typic, then read Carly's latest post. Then I went to my baby cousin's Baptism, which was great. After Fab Cousin J and Rock Star K had a bbq at their house to celebrate. So. Fun. Got to break in a new outfit and play with the baby! He has a dimple on his right cheek that only shows when he smiles really big, and I swear that dimple could end a war. Unfortunately I was having too much fun to remember to take pictures, so we won't be bringing about peace today.

I was supposed to do homework when I got home from J's, but that just wasn't happening. Instead I decided to try the crown braid from TCP, which actually comes from Cute Girls Hairstyles, the youtube channel of a mother of SIX(!) who just wants to teach others how to do little girls' hair (or big girl's hair in my case).

I encourage you to watch more of her videos, she makes it look so easy.

So I didn't time my attempt at this braid, but it probably took me 20 minutes or more just because it was the first time I'd done anything like it on my own head. More importantly is how sore my arms were afterward, but it was totally worth it, because it's pretty (in theory) and my hair is off my neck and shoulders. 

The braid wrapped around my head almost two whole times. 

A little messy, but I think with patience and practice I'll smooth it out. 

I'd like for the back to look a little sleeker. 

Not perfect yet, but I like the overall effect.

Whattaya think? Any tips on braiding, specifically crown braiding?

KB

Evernote

Maybe I'm a little late on the uptake, but have you heard of Evernote? It's an app for your computer, phone, tablet, what have you that allows you to take notes and sync them across devices. Not only can you write notes, but you can add pictures, record sound, and possibly even scribble on them, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

So you've got separate notebooks you can sort notes into, and you can even stack related notebooks. 

This is what the mobile app looks like.

So far most of my notes revolve around cooking, nail polish, and reading (#typical), but I'm going to work some school stuff and blog ideas into it. Oh yeah, and you can share notes with other people who use Evernote. Here's their blog, check it out if you're interested in finding a new way to organize your life. And the best part: it's free. Of course there's a premium version you can purchase, but I don't have a need for it yet. Maybe after college when I join the workforce.

So that's my beautiful weekend discovery. 

Do you use any apps to stay organized? Any other interesting apps you want to share?

KB

PS: Apple is celebrating 5 years of the app store by giving away 5 apps and 5 games, so get on over there and download your freebies!

Test taking

Until about 11th grade, I never really had to study for tests; not to sound my own horn, but I was smart. Receiving the information in class, then doing a worksheet or homework on the material was usually enough. Then pre-cal, AP English, AP Bio, and AP Calc happened. They were challenging, but my teachers were also forgiving, and eventually senioritis set in and I wasn't bovvered. 

Fast forward to college and I still don't know how to study properly: I'll make notecards, rewrite the lectures in my own words, sometimes even read the actual textbook (not very often though), but I find it hard to focus and/or apply the material in an understandable way. These summer classes are quite common sense based or based on things I've known since high school, so I've found it difficult to take them seriously so far. I'm still a decent test taker, so my grades aren't bad, but they aren't great either. I've got plenty time to study, I just can't find the will because I don't know how to study effectively. 

Anyone out there have any tips on studying? Leave them in the comments if you please.

KB

What a Weekend!

I spent my weekend in the small town of Hackberry, La, actually it isn't even a town, it's a "census-designated place" with a population of less than 2,000. It was definitely not in my plans when I woke up Friday morning. Alas, my Sister whisked me down La Highway 27 and thus began the most exciting weekend of my life. I'll try to give you a brief run-down using words (and phrases) of two syllables (mostly gerunds):

Gary

Royal

Boating

Blue skies

Boarding

Naptime

Awkward

Eating

Fishing

Thunder

Late nights

New friends

Sister

Lola

Suntan

Titans

Party

Bon temps

The only one of those I will explain is the first one. When Sister introduced me, someone thought she said my name was Gary Beth, not Kerry Beth (I have no idea why...), so Gary just kind of stuck and that's what my new friends called me all weekend.

Here are a couple pictures for your entertainment:

 Two boys and their dog snoozing away the morning.

 Lola in the foreground, another boy in the background.

I just loved being on the water.

How was your Fourth of July weekend? Any new adventures and new friends?

KB

Social media

You can add/follow/subscribe to me on lots of other social media sites. 

YouTube

Twitter

Instagram

tumblr (I also have a fandom-type tumblr, but I don't really post anything original, just reblog things I like. Bonus points to anyone who can identify it.)

Spotify (possibly my favorite social media ever)

I'm on Vine as well, but I'm not sure how to give you a link to that. Just search by my whole name.

For several reasons, I probably won't add anyone on Facebook. Some of those reasons are:

1. I don't get on facebook very often.
2. I don't like Facebook, and thus don't post, well, anything.
3. I gotta have some privacy, even if it's just a little.

Feel free to tweet me, message me, or e-mail me. I love e-mails, and I want to hear from you. Tell me if you like my blog, if you hate my blog, what you want to see on my blog, anything at all, I'd love some constructive feedback.

Front porch.

Saturday night, for no apparent reason, I had an epic meltdown. I'll spare you the gory details, but I will tell you who rescued me and that's Jayce, Cee, and their puppy Archer. They've been there for me through everything. Really. I love them like family. You know on How I Met Your Mother how Ted talks about his "front porch" friends, his true friends he wants to grow old with and while away the days sitting and visiting on a front porch (preferably with swings)? Well I see myself on that front porch with Cee, Jayce, Cam and lots of dogs (we all love dogs).

 Aren't they adorable? They're getting married in a year!!

Little Archer fell asleep in Daddy's chair.

Do you have front porch friends? What makes someone a front porch friend to you?

Thanks for reading,

KB

But like, David Tennant though

Today has been the most random laziness ever. And lots of pinterest.

I woke up around 9, but didn't turn the lights on until after noon (sorry not sorry), then I just kind of accumulated a list of things to do today, but of course the only one I accomplished was going to Target (I never miss a chance to go to Target). When I got home from Target, I randomly wanted to play Animal Crossing on gamecube, so after some searching and plugging, I was well on my way to Nagasaki (my brother named our town seven years ago). It felt like eighth grade all over again, and I loved every minute of it. 

Now I'm watching Doctor Who with David Tennant as the Doctor. He's my favorite incarnation of the Doctor, not that I have anything against any of the other actors, they just aren't David. If you know anything about the show or Tennant, you'll probably understand why. He grew up watching the show, and has even cited it as his reason for becoming an actor, then he got to live his dream and play the character he loved so much. Not only that, but he married the daughter of one of the other men to play the Doctor, who also played his daughter in the show. It sounds weird and crazy, but that's why I love it. I guess what we can learn from him is that we can achieve our dreams even when they sound absolutely insane. If you're confused by any of this, go over to wikipedia and do your research.

There you have it ladies and gents, the Doctor and Rose Tyler.

Do you watch Doctor Who? Who's your favorite Doctor and/or Companion?

Thanks for reading,

KB

PS: Check me out on Pinterest

A few of my favorite distractions.

I started this blog for a few reasons, one of which is a real tough time I've been going through lately about which I'm not going into detail here. When I'm not writing, I use the "fake it 'til you make it" way of coping. This involves distracting myself and finding things that make me laugh. Right now my favorite distractions are:

 thecollegeprepster.com: my favorite blog, kind of my inspiration for this blog

Cabin Pressure: an hilarious Radio programme from BBC Radio 4

These things have seriously gotten me through some rough stuff-not in a deep emotional way necessarily, but by getting my mind off, well everything. College Prep kind of gives me something to relate to. Carly (the author) has great style and work ethic, and I really do look up to her in a way (seriously, the girl lives in New York and has a pink couch, is that not every girl's dream?). Cabin Pressure is absolutely wonderful; it's filled with witty, not completely dry, British humor, but not lost on Americans, and I love it.

What are your favorite distractions? Any blog recommendations? 

Thanks for reading,

KB

What Summer is for.

My friends Cee and Jayce are getting married in 363 days. Cee's 21st birthday was yesterday. This weekend we celebrated both. Some of the bridesmaids and some of the friends trekked to Kemah, Texas on Friday to enjoy the boardwalk and each others' company. For Bun Bun and me that meant driving 5 hours instead of the usual 2.5, but it was totally and completely 100% worth it. Bun and I missed out on the boardwalk, but that's okay because we've been there before, so the first activity for the whole group was Painting with a Twist where we painted pretty purple dresses (the color our bridesmaids' dresses will be). 

Here's Bun behind her easel. Every time we completed a step of the painting, the instructor told us to have a drink, so we did ;) 

Here's my painting progress montage. Follow me on Vine and Instagram for more evidence of a great weekend.

Lots of alcohol and a Xanax (for a girl who legit needed it) later, we did the night life thing. Perfect 21st celebration for Cee: shot at midnight, DJ shout out, vomiting in the girls' room, taking a glass from a sketchy restaurant/bar. Back to the hotel where Cee, Bun, and I had some girl time just like when we were in high school. We woke up to birthday cake and already-been-paid-for room service for breakfast before driving back home. We all had a great time and made new friends out of the weekend, and I can't wait for the real bachelorette party next summer.

In my opinion, weekends like these are exactly what summer is about: having fun, hanging out with old friends, and making new friends.

How do you like to spend summer weekends? What did you do this weekend?

KB

PS: find me on instagram and twitter: kbannemarie
PPS: I'll be updating you with summer school outfits soon, but for a sneak peak, check out my instagram.

Delayed Daddy's Day post (in other words: fan-girling over my own father)

So ever since I started thinking about blogging I've wanted to write a post about my daddy. He's absolutely fantastic. Seriously. After getting his first degree (agriculture, because he's a little bit country) he finally realized that what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life was teach. So he went back to school, got a teaching certificate, started teaching elementary school, and somewhere in there he also got a Master's degree and did a little bit more schoolin'. He loves his job, ask anyone. He gets to school at about 6 each morning (which involved dragging my brother and me out of bed and up to school that early until we were old enough to drive/in boarding school) (also, other teachers don't usually get there until 7 or maybe later), and stays until 3:30 or 4, that's when he isn't tutoring, holding quiz bowl practice, or coaching the robotics team. Also, since he went from teaching fifth grade to sixth grade science (about eight years ago), he started helping coach the athletic teams, which is great for him because he's always enjoyed sports (even though he was a scrawny little thing as a kid), and he loves being an educator. He's a great teacher, some students have even told him he's kind of like an uncle to them (which I find a little creepy, but I know they mean well).

Enough about his second job, his first job is Daddy. I'm twenty years old and yes, I still call him Daddy. He and my mom met in college at the Catholic Student Center (seriously, how cute?) and got married in a fever. They wanted five kids; they had five kids, but only two were fortunate enough to see their wonderful faces. Fast forward to my childhood and I've got the sweetest daddy in the world and all my friends knew it because he was their teacher in fifth grade. He would (and still does) take me to the fair, buy us little treats like a coloring book or M&M's at the ballpark, but he didn't spoil us with material things, he spoiled us with his love. He loves doing special projects with us like making bean boxes (another post for another day), taking us on errands with him, pointing out his favorite plants and animals (he majored in ag, of course he has favorites), and most recently he helped me paint my room pink after telling me he wasn't going to help me (#princessperks). Most importantly my dad has been there for me during some of the hardest times in my life. The past six or so months I've been dealing with an all new type of problem, and on no less than two occasions he's driven across the state just to make sure I'm okay and lift my spirits. 

I could go on and on about everything my father has done for me and my brother, how good of a husband he is to my mom, and a great son to my grandparents, but I doubt you would want to read that.

People often say girls marry men like their father, well I can only hope to be so lucky. He's sweet and loving and caring and everything a girl deserves. 

What do you love about your dad or father figure?

Love,

KB

PS here's some pictures of my hero

 Yes we have a tv in the kitchen, yes he sits like this often.

 How cute!

 His high school FFA jacket.

 Working on my car, extremely cramped.

Obviously this is before I was born, but check out that 90's family!

Currently...

In General:
Reading: Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Watching: Supernatural, season 5

Listening: Take a Vacation! by The Young Veins and Cabin Pressure, a BBC Radio show with Benedict Cumberbatch

Right this actual minute:
Wearing: Ralph Lauren pajamas 

Not doing: reading textbooks

My view:

I don't know if you're actually interested in this much detail of my life, but I love when my favorite bloggers write detailed posts like this. Kind of a way to bond anonymously (that sounds a bit creepy actually, but I assure you that was not my intention).

What are you up to? Any book, tv, movie, or music recommendations?

Thanks for reading,

KB

Lederhosen

There was really only one run-in with lederhosen today (while watching Supernatural and pretending I didn't have to go to school), but my teachers' names are Johannsen and van Gemmert, so perhaps one of them has experience with lederhosen. I just really couldn't think of anything else to title this post.

Anyway, my classes seem to be on the manageable side this summer, so I'm challenging myself to not repeat an outfit for the next seven and a half weeks (the duration of summer semester) since I have both lectures every day. This also means no norts/frocket days either (well, we'll see). I'll take a picture every day for my own reference, and I'll be sure to post highlights. Wish me luck.

Have you ever tried to see how long you can go without repeating an outfit? How successful were you? Any tips?

KB

PS: during the day there are about a million things I want to write about, then when I finally sit down to write I can't remember a single one of them. So frustrating.

Back in the Red Stick

I've returned to Baton Rouge today because summer term starts tomorrow. I've been looking forward to it, because I've been so bored and under stimulated, but today I remembered that I have to walk around campus with two textbooks and a laptop in my backpack in nearly 100 degree/80% humidity and/or thunderstorms everyday. I'm still excited to be doing something with my time though. I'm also excited about my classes: exercise physiology and motor learning, but for some reason I can't bring myself to take school seriously when I could be laying by the pool all day. I guess I'll see how it goes.

On a more positive note, I got to babysit the cutest little ones today, which is always fun. I also got to catch up with Baby Car since I haven't seen her in two weeks (she was in Georgia for a week, then I was back home for a week). We did some unsuccessful shopping, but still had a good time. 

I start a new adventure tomorrow (summer school), and that means I need a new manicure, so nighty night.

KB

I know I'm spoiled, and I'm okay with that.

I've been begging Daddy Dearest to let me paint my room for the longest time, and I finally picked a color recently, so he relented to buying the paint for me on the condition that I do all the work, which I totally planned on doing and thus agreed to immediately. So yesterday we went out in two different thunderstorms to find the most reasonably priced paint with no problems other than my getting soaking wet. We started prepping the walls and I started painting my closet doors, then we decided to call it a night. This morning I was woken up by the sound of sandpaper on the walls, and next thing I knew, Dad was painting the whole room for me. No complaints here. As I was putting the second coat on the doors and Dad was putting a second coat on the walls, I turned some music on. Without saying anything to my dad, I picked Elton John because we both love his music (Daddy even took me to an Elton John concert a couple months ago #sospoiled). A couple songs into the greatest hits album this exchange happened:

Dad: Is this guy trying to sound like Elton John?
Me: Daddy, this is Elton John. It's his greatest hits. It's your cd.
Dad: Oh, he sounds too young.
Me: ...

So needless to say, we had a great time painting and singing. Now everything is painted, and I'm just waiting for it to dry so I can move all my furniture back in.

KB

PS: Here's a sneak peak at the colors:

Thunder

I absolutely love summer storms; I think it has to do with my three years as a lifeguard and getting to temporarily close the pools and goof off while waiting for the storm to pass. I love how the sky can go from blue with only a few white clouds to solid graphite grey in half an hour, the temperature drops noticeably, and the thunder rattles the windows. I've got a great view of the storm outside the window by my childhood desk at my parents' house which is quite funny because in my childhood I was never actually able to sit at my desk because it was always covered with junk (I had a problem cleaning my room). I still have a problem cleaning my room, but it leans in the other direction: I'm obsessed with having a clean room. I even tried to force my mom to let me clean her hobby room, and it resulted in a heated argument. Anyway, this post is supposed to be about yesterday's events, so I'll start with a picture.

Yesterday I got to take a nice break from everything and just relax by the pool with my friend Cee, and it was exactly what I've been needing. It got a little cloudy, so we decided to get dressed and go to Target, which may have been our best idea ever: we both found great deals on clothes we'll definitely get a lot of use out of. I got some chino shorts (because you can never have too many), a neat little shirt for four bucks, and this gem (it was only $11!):

It's still full price online, but it's still quite reasonably priced.

Then we went back to the pool, but this time with Cee's fiancé, our friend Cam, and pink moscato (you can't go wrong with pink wine). Lots of fun, lots of catching up, and a much needed friend-therapy session (details later). These three people really are some of the very best friends I've had ever, and they've helped me through some extremely difficult times. I love them dearly, and even though I don't get to see them often, whenever I do see them, it's like we were never apart.