An Update

Well hello again.  Sorry for the hiatus. 2012 was one heck of a year and blogging took a backseat for awhile.  2012 definitely brought me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  I fell madly in love while the two people most dear to me fell out of love, and without Edward I don't know how I would have made it through that.  So I want to say thank you and I love you to the love of my life.  You have brought so much joy to my life and I can't imagine my life without you.

This year I also finished my first semester of grad school, coached the Cherry Creek girls tennis team (helping them win their 16th consecutive state title), interviewed for my dream job (and didn't get it), and took a leap of faith by enrolling in cosmetology school.

Since I was a little girl I've always dreamed of being a hair stylist, but for whatever reason I never went after that dream.  This year I did a lot of soul searching and realized that the business world would probably never make me truly happy.  But now, each morning I wake up so excited to go to school.  We've already learned all the basics of color, styling, cutting, and facials and it's so fun and interesting.  I've also met a great group of people who can always put a smile on my face.

Overall, I would say 2012 was a pretty good year and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for me!

5 Things

With the political season in full swing, I thought this quote was perfect.  So many people think that because they fall into a certain category that it makes them a good person.  I'm a Christian, so I'm a good person.  Sorry, but I know plenty on Christians that treat others terribly.  And I've come across plenty of spiritual people that don't categorize themselves as one thing that are the kindest people I know.  Like the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

Fringe booties.  So cute for spring.

Celine bags are all the rage, but the neon pink is beyond!  Great way to incorporate a pop of color!

Too cute!  You know you've been there!

His and her mugs.  Someday...

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the hiatus, but I have been so incredibly busy lately with work and school.  Being a full-time grad student is no joke!  But I wanted to take a break from studying to bring you another edition of A&A Thursday!

Awkward:

• Woke up to 8 or so inches of snow this morning.  My dad, aka Snow Removal Master is out of town.  Have I ever used a snow blower today?  Nope.  Was it harder than I thought?  Yep.  Was I successful?  Absolutely not.  At least the sidewalk looks good so no one can sue us if they fall.

• I was out in Boulder the other night and came across some black ice.  I basically slid into an epic fall.  If you're gonna go down, at least make it graceful right?

• There is this really cute guy that's always on the light rail with me.  Unfortunately, his cuteness went down about 2 points when I saw him wearing white socks with black dress pants and black shoes.  You're not Michael Jackson.

• The other day my friend and I decided to sprint 2 blocks to catch the light rail so we wouldn't have to wait 15 minutes for another one.  I know, God forbid we wait a few minutes.  Anyway, I thought I was in pretty decent shape.  Nope.  My lungs were on FIRE!  Time to hit the gym...

• After work a friend and I went to get a drink.  I look across from me and see this guy that I had gone out with a couple times sitting with his new girlfriend.  He then proceeded to chug the remaining half of his beer and sprinted out of the place.  Who knew I had that much power?

• Running right into a chair in front of a decent amount of people.  I always thought I was pretty coordinated, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'm just kidding myself.  

Awesome:

• Next week I start coaching high school tennis and couldn't be more excited.  Even though I never really *loved* playing tennis, I have always loved coaching and getting to know the girls.  

• Chocolate covered Oreos.  Nothing comes close!

• It's guilty pleasure season in the television department.  Khloe and Lamar, Bethenny Ever After, and Basketball Wives.  Now if only I had time to watch them.

• I get to watch the Oscars this weekend!  I thought I was going to be busy, but my schedule opened up.  I'm a dork and love the Academy Awards and seeing all the fashion.

• Something in my life recently played out in a way that tells me the universe just knew it was time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.  Weird how things truly happen for a reason even if it maybe what you had planned.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

• This week I turned 24 and along the way, suffered a "quarter-life crisis" made much worse by the fact that I've pulled muscles this week I didn't even know existed.  If that's what it means to get older, I surrender!
• Over the weekend we had a big snow storm.  I had to go into work and thought my Camry could get me there.  Nope, got it stuck in the culdasac for all the neighbors to see.  My dad took me to work, before having to come get me 20 minutes later because they decided to close.  When we pulled into the culdasac, he proceeded to get his AWD car stuck as well.  Look at those crazy Killenbergs going out in a snowstorm!  We ended up with about 2 feet of snow.
• Falling down the stairs.  Doesn't get much more awkward than that.  Luckily it was at my house, but didn't go unnoticed.  This was definitely the cherry on top of my quarter life crisis.
• The fact that I am most productive in my pajams.  As soon as I shower and look presentable, all productivity goes out the door.  For whatever reason I feel like I owe it to the world to venture outside.  So until further notice, I'll be living in PJs.
• Shaun White Stride gum.  It's awkward be cause a) Shaun White's face is on a pack of gum and b) it took me 2 hours to figure out the connection between the flavor "White Mint."  Master's student right here!

Awesome:

• Over the weekend my parents took me to dinner to celebrate my birthday.  We went to one of my favorite places, The 9th Door.  I love it because it's a Spanish restaurant so I get to eat all the things I miss from Spain like patatas bravas, jamon serrano, Manchego cheese, tortilla espanola, and tinto de verrano.  
• Yoga.  There is seriously nothing more relaxing!
• The Fray's new cd Scars and Stories is fantastic.  Did I expect anything less?  Never!
• I picked up this great clutch from the Jason Wu for Target collection.  I've heard stories about his collection selling out in 7 minutes, but my Target still had lots of items.  
• The Voice is back!  I have never been a fan of singing shows until this one.  
• All of my friends that came out on Tuesday to help me celebrate my birthday.  It meant so much to me! 

Me and Kerri.  Truly a life long friend!

High school friends!

 Work friends

Congratulations are in order

Congrats to the WOLRD CHAMPION New York Giants.  I didn't really care too much about this year's Super Bowl, other than I did NOT want the Patriots to win.  Maybe because the knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs, or I'm just over Tom Brady.

 After the Super Bowl, everyone wants to know "What was your favorite commercial?"  

My favorite commercial:

And a runner-up favorite (for the obvious reasons):

As for the halftime performance, visually I thought it was very entertaining.  Madonna on the other hand?  Personally, I think she is irrelevant these days, and there could have been better options.  Here's her performance if you missed it.  What do you think??

And one of the most talked about moments today.  Gisele's little rant defending her hubby.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

I spent my Saturday drinking tea and studying.

Luckily the snow kept me from wanting to venture outside.  All in all, a very productive day.  Tonight I am going out with my mom and dad to celebrate my 24th birthday!

Fashion Friday - Long Sleeve Minis

There is something so great about long sleeve mini dresses.  They can be classy, yet sexy.  They can be cute and flirty when paired with tights.

Fun and flirty.  And the clutch is great.

Sexy with a little bit of rocker glam.  One of my favorite Kim K looks ever.

Love this with the black tights and black pumps.  

Micro mini done right

Fun, flirty.  Great from spring.

I love the embellished sleeves.  Great for a night out.

How NOT to do long sleeve mini dresses. 

The turtle neck, tights, and over the knee boots are overkill.  Way too covered up.

Thigh high boots make this look trashy.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward

• I'm waiting in a very long line at the post office and this girl about my age goes up to the counter and hands the guy her package and says Thanks, have a good one.  The guy behind the counter is all sorts of confused.  Girlfriend didn't know you have to pay for the post office to send your package.  Sorry, but how do you get to be 24 years old and not know this.  It ends with her having to run out to her car to get her purse, making us wait in line even longer.  Side note, pretty sure she was an old friend of mine in elementary school, but wasn't sure and didn't want to fraternize with her after her mail debacle. 
• When you say Thank you, Have a great day to someone as they're leaving and they totally ignore you and walk out.  Great, yup, talking to myself.  
• Spending a Saturday night reading "Rafa" in my VAMOS RAFA t-shirt, waiting for his match to begin at 1:30 a.m.  Clearly I'm an old lady sometimes.  I didn't even stay awake til the match.
• Once in awhile I go crazy and wear bright red lipstick.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I went to Target, bought a couple things, the usual.  Got into my car, looked in the rearview mirror and realized I had lipstick on my teeth.  See, told ya I'm an old lady sometimes!
• I love when I see people running to catch the Light Rail, even though the train is just chilling because it's not going to leave for another 4 minutes.  But then I get paranoid myself and think, oh my gosh, what if it leaves me?  So then I start power walking to catch the train, which chills for another 3 minutes.

Awesome

• Watching Riley's paws twitch when he's sleeping.  I have this idea in my head that he's romping around a field.  Do dogs dream?
• Feeling like a real "city girl" walking through the Theater District on my way to school.  Some of those buildings are beautiful and for a moment, I feel like I'm in New York City.  But clearly a much quieter and cleaner NYC.
• Finally enjoying tennis again!  After my college tennis days I quit for a couple years because I didn't enjoy it anymore.  Picked up my racket (and some sweet, new, black and pink Babolat shoes) and I'm loving it again.  Now I just need to get back in shape.  

Fashion Friday: Chevron

I love, love, love a good Chevron print.  It's intriguing, yet simple.  It's modern, yet classic.  It works great as an accent piece for an outfit or room, or as the main focal point.

The chevron print adds a modern feel to an otherwise traditional room.

Simple accent.

 Can't talk about chevron without talking about Missoni.

Two trends in one.  Chevron and ombre. 

 Great accent wall.

I love everything about this look.

Since a chevron print is so simple, you can pair it with other prints.

A simple dress.  This would look great with a black leather jacket, black tights and boots for day.  Take off the jacket and add black pumps for day to night.

Another example of two and one incorporating chevron and sequins.  And gold and black chevron?  I die for this dress!

5 Things

Sorry to disappoint, but no Awkward and Awesome today.  Nothing awkward to report.  However, I do have an awesome story about the love of my life, Riley.  As most of you know, Riley is my dog (who's birthday happens to be today..Happy Birthday!).  Anyway, the other night, I was sitting in a recliner when he put his paws on me to say hi.  He then proceeded to climb up and curl up with me on the chair.  This was probably the most adorable thing he has ever done because he's never done anything like that.  He is usually quite dominant and wants his own space, but not this particular night.  He melted me heart. 

I think this is such a great look.  Comfy, yet fashionable and dressed up.  

And proud of it!

This room is great on so many levels.

Plantain chips.  If you've never had them, I insist you try them.  They taste like potato chips, but they are better for you! 

Stop the Hate

Since when did it become okay to be so hateful to one another based on political beliefs?  Or religious beliefs?  Or personal beliefs in regards to relationships?  The best part about living in the USA is freedem to believe what we want and practice what we want.  Attacking someone because of their political beliefs is no different than attacking someone because of who they date.  Why can't we be more open minded and accept the fact that people have different belief systems when it comes to all aspects of life.  Not only is this type of hatred uncalled for, but it's pointless as well.  The sooner people understand that they aren't going to change anyone's way of thinking, the better.  You might strongly believe in certain issues, and that's great, that is your prerogative.  It's also my prerogative to believe what I believe, so let it be.  Everyone needs to stop belittling one another just because they have a different belief system.  You're not going to change my mind, I'm not going to change your mind.  Leave it at that and move on.

5 Things

For whatever reason, I give off a false impression of myself sometimes.  I've been called standoff-ish and other choice words.  I have other friends that have been told they give off a similar impression.  I'm here to clear up that misconception.  We're not standoff-ish, we're by no means "bitchy", and we're not abrasive.    We're also not bubbly, happy-go-lucky girls that will start up conversations with a wall. People like to label others as falling into one of these two categories.  Don't get it twisted.  Just because I'm at times quiet and observant, doesn't make me a bad person.  Everyone has to remember that we're all different, and have different backgrounds that have shaped our personalities.  We're all guilty of pre-judging one another, but I think we need to try not to, and I'll try my best to give off a vibe truer to myself.

I'm going to need to make these someday.  

Fashion inspiration for a jacket I just bought.  

Alexander McQueen skull scarf.  I need to learn how to tie my scarf like this.

I love this catch-all type bag.  Would be perfect for school.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

I'm back!  And lucky for you, I started class this week for the Master's degree.  I say lucky for you, because I will be taking the light rail to and from class twice a week, which is bound to give me some great stories!

The past 2 weeks I was very sick with a sinus infection so I wasn't able to get out much.  This awkward and awesome post is a couple of weeks combined into one.


Awkward:

• It's always awkward when someone from high school comes into the restaurant I work at, but it's even worse when I have to wait on them.  Yup, just waiting tables.  Really living the dream after college graduation.  
• Kanyo West.  Instead of Kanye, it came out Kanyo.  We officially invented a new rapper: Kanyo East.
• I recently got in touch with a blast from the past.  Since then, we've been talking about getting together.  He has these ideas of getting together at like 9:00 p.m.  He clearly doesn't know that I'm a grandma and like to be in bed by 11:00.  
• I finally saw "Bridesmaids."  This is awkward because it took me this long to finally see the damn movie.  It was good, but I gotta say, "Hangover" is better.
• I was witness to a grown man (I'd say he was about 29 years old) getting lectured by his mother about soda and how bad it is for you.  Soda is the very worst thing for you.  All that high fructose corn syrup...
• Pulling out Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the light rail.  Yes I'm 23 years old and reading HP, for the 2nd time.    I won't lie to you, I hid the fact that it was Harry Potter.
• This kid straight up rapping along with this headphones on the light rail last night.  I feared he was moments away from this.  Please excuse the swear words.

Awesome:

• I saw my first Cirque de Soleil show a couple weeks ago.  I was so excited to see "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour" but have to admit that it left me wanting more.  
• Steak and Shake.  I finally ate at the Colorado location.  It was delicious.  Per usual.
• Exactly one month until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  Ready for baseball!!
• This week my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary!  We celebrated in style at Red Lobster...cause we had a coupon.  
• The Australian Open is underway, which can only mean one thing.  I'll be living in this t-shirt for the next 2 weeks.  

• Spur of the moment shopping at Forever 21.  For whatever reason, I decided to run by the mall yesterday and picked up some really cute items like a zebra print "shrug" and a "leather" moto jacket.  

5 Things

For some reason, snow always makes me daydream.  Probably because I'm bored and have nothing to do since I don't feel like going out.  Today's 5 things are things I'm dreaming about.

Marc Jacobs aviators

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.  Now if I only had a boyfriend. 

Yes please. 

One day you will be mine.

Resolutions

I've never been one for "New Year's Resolutions."  That said, I think it's always good to assess your life and find things to improve upon and appreciate more.  I've chosen these 10 resolutions because they should be reachable, and I hope blogging about them will make me more accountable. 

1. Love myself more.  I'm way too hard on myself sometimes.

2. Drink more water.  The goal is 2 Nalgenes per day.  The thing that always trips me up with drinking more water is always having to go to the bathroom!  

3. Spend more time "unplugged."  Less time on the phone, computer, ipad, tv, etc.

4. Read 40 books.  Which I'll be able to do since I'll spend less time with technology.  Right?  Hope so.

5. Smile more.  I'm a happy person that loves life, but don't always show it.  Tired of the misconceptions people have about me. 

6. Start running again.  I loved running.  I'd like to run a 5K this year, and maybe next year I'll finally run the half marathon I've always said I would.

7. Appreciate the opportunity to get my Master's degree.  More education is always a good thing!

8. Show more patience towards the ones I love.  

9. Spend more time with friends.  This is challenging because my schedule doesn't usually match up with my friends' schedules, but I have to make more of an effort to go out even if I'm not in the mood.

10. Wear more of the clothes in my closet.  I always wear the same things over and over (who doesn't) because I'm comfortable in them.  Time to step outta my comfort zone and wear other things!