Catching Up

Eeeh, it's been a few days. What do I have to share?

* My PMG order came. Toooooo cute. Everything. I love it. Go to www.preppymonogramgifts.com and buy stuff, you won't regret it, lol!

* My Gators, Hubby's Noles and our Magic all lost last night. Booo!

* I am SO ready for our cruise. When is September again???

* I'm hoping this Sunday will be Garden Day.

* Oooh! (This one's good, lol) I had a major epiphany just now. I have always wanted to learn how to knit and crochet. My mom was awesome at crocheting. But I'm a leftie, and I just couldn't learn from watching her. It made my brain short out to try to follow what she was doing and then do the opposite. It's tough to be a Southpaw. There are roughly 2 jillion manuals/videos for righties to learn, but manuals for lefties are severely lacking. As I was studying the cryptic drawings on yet another "teach yourself to knit" site, I realized what I really needed was video instruction. But how? Then, it hit me: YOU-TUBE. So I quickly surfed over there, typed in "teach yourself to knit left handed" and eureka! Videos. We are going to have so many potholders now, lol!

Whine and Cheese

I want my Preppy Monogram Gifts order!! Like I said last week, I know it's not "late" and they're within the shipping timeframe listed on their site. I just want my new toys. I'm kind of torn on whether I should put my monogram sticker on the back window. It might be overkill with the monogram front vanity plate. Yeah. Plus, I could save it for my eventual new car. (By "eventual", I mean just that....a year or 2 or 3). My current car is an 11 year old Honda, and she looks it. But I love her!

I guess I'm used to the quickness of the big companies. I ordered a raspberry trench jacket (and enough clearance jammies to meet the free shipping minimum) yesterday and it's shipped already.

Edit: Wow. It's like they heard my cries, I just got a shipping notice. Yay!

Garden Girl

Let me tell you, one of the biggest things I've looked forward to as a new homeowner has been the prospect of gardening. I'm not sure if I have a green or black thumb; my previous ventures were less than fantastic, but I certainly wasn't going about things right. This time I either have done or am continuing to do my research.

We're getting to the point where I don't think we'll be worrying about frosts/freezes much longer. I'd considered starting my plants from seed, but I don't think it's wise for me to get too adventurous. Since I'm going fairly basic, I think I'll be able to find everything I need at a good nursery around here. That Burpee website sure does make things look tempting!

Like I said, I'm trying not to get super adventurous. I want a fairly basic herb garden and a few veggies. For herbs, I want basil and parsley, since I cook with them a lot. Maybe some chives as well. I also want cilantro and mint. As far as veggies go, I definitely want to try bell peppers (those suckers are expensive in stores!) and cherry tomatoes. As kids, we also grew watermelons, which would be fun to try too. Mom was good with plants, but wouldn't have grown anything too high maintenance. So I feel safe going with her picks--plus I know they'll do ok down here in Florida. (I want okra too, and hear it grows well in our hot summers, but I'm the only one who'd eat it. Hubby won't go near it---same as with most delish veggies. Boooo)

The only thing I'm still confused about is soil prep. I'm sure the staff at the nursery can give me good advise. I know our soil quality in Florida is naturally poor---it's sand. I'm considering container gardening out on the pool patio. That may, realistically, be the easiest way for me to jump into things.

We're busy this Saturday (dentist appointment in the AM, then MIL's retirement party that night) but hopefully on Sunday I'll be able to get out in the yard.

The thought of fresh mint in time for our Derby party makes me happy. Real Southern iced tea and mint juleps for all!

Zoya

(I always read "Polish" as in "Eastern European Country" when it's supposed to be "nail laquer", and vice versa...just felt the need to point that out.)

Anyhow, I don't know how up on nail polish brands y'all are, but let me tell you a bit about Zoya. Before I became addicted to NP, I'd never heard of soooo many amazing brands. All I knew were OPI and the drugstore brands. I may have vaguely known of China Glaze (ChG). Anyhow, Zoya is a brand that's actually been around for a while, but really isn't readily available in stores. www.artofbeauty.com or www.zoya.com (same site), along with a few eBay sellers, are the only way for me to get my little Floridian hands on these puppies. Are they worth the shipping and the wait? You betcha!

They're a "Big 3 Free" formula, meaning they don't have the nasty potentially cancer-causing chemicals as ingredients (which, sadly, are the ingredients that make NP smooth and easy to apply). Most of the big companies these days are "B3F", but in my opinion Zoya has nailed the formula like none other. Their polishes are smooth and "creamy" and apply so effortlessly. I love their bottles too.

SO! They've got this awesome deal going on. Just go to www.zoya.com/exchange and it'll explain things better than I can. But basically, you send them in your old unwanted funky bottles, and for $3 apiece they'll send you Zoyas of your choice! They retail for $6 +shipping, so you're getting these beauties for less than half price. This deal only lasts til the 28th of February. (EDIT: they've extended the offer thru April, yay!)
The lovelies I've picked to come live with me:

Rihanna, Annie, Layla, Moxie, Lillith, Evangeline, Dakota, Jacy, Irene, and Casey.

Mostly pinks, a few assorted reds and plums/purples, 1 orangey shade, and a green that I am strangely drawn to. I'm generally not a green NP girlie, but this one calls to me.

I just remembered a small stash of old NP bottles under my bathroom sink that came home with me when we were cleaning out mom's stuff. I'm now contemplating opening up my carefully wrapped package and stuffing a few more bottles in there! I'm sick, I tell ya, sick! Buuuut *rationalization* Zoya is proll'y my fave brand. And to get it after the sale, I'd have to pay a lot more. And shipping a couple extra bottles can't be that much more, can it? LOL...save me from myself.

Be Mine

Happy almost-Valentine's Day! I suppose I should be focused on the fact that today is a big, bad, scary "Friday the 13th"....but considering I live with a black cat, I figure I should already be dead if superstitions were true.

We're not doing anything big for the holiday. I'm not anti-V-day, but I don't hype it up either. It's just a day to remind us the importance of love (romantic, family, whatever).

You know what I can't stand though? Those girls that are just SO against Valentine's Day. You know the ones---wearing black today, scowling at all happy couples. To me, there is absolutely NO wonder why they're single. Who wants a person with that kind ot attitude in their lives? Not me. Even when I was single on V-Day, I'd bake cookies for my family, friends and co-workers. It's showing love for everyone you care about, not just a husband or girlfriend.

So there's my thought on that.

Today my nails are Essie "Long Stemmed Roses". It's a bright glossy color that's as red as a pink can be and still be "pink".

I'm wearing ruby heart-shaped jewelry, which was given to me years ago by my high school/college sweetheart. So, um, don't tell Hubby. It's nothing to me, but I doubt he'd see it as neutrally as I do. "B" and I dated for almost 5 years, and we parted on good terms. We just grew to be different people. I still think well of him, I still talk to him mom occasionally. I'm happily married, and he's engaged to be married this June. He just happened to give me some awesome jewelry, so if I feel no negative ju-ju attatched to it, I see nothing wrong with wearing it. I just won't tell Hubby where it came from. "Oh, this old thing? Gosh, I think mom gave it to me....I can't remember...."

I love my shirt's shade of purple (I didn't want to go too OTT with a V-Day theme, even though tons of pink on any given day is not unusual for me). I have on black work slacks and black ballet flats now, but I'll change to dark bootcut jeans and my brown boots (which are SO not as comfy as they used to be, what's up with that?) before I head up for Hubby's basketball game at districts.

DH's team is the best in the district, but they're having a rough spell right now so winning it all is no longer a guaranty. The "star" flunked science so he's not playing, and the rest of the starting line up is sick. Plus they are playing our rival from the next town over, so their motivation is high. So we'll see how this goes!

Saturday will likely take us to Jacksonville to scout the team we'd play next on the bracket. There's a Ted's Montana Grill right by the high school we'd be visiting, and an opportunity to eat at our fave restaurant can't be missed. Especially for V-day. They don't have a restaurant in Central Florida, but Hubby took me there on a trip to Tallahassee. The food is so good. And the half dills they give as appetizers? Oh, so, so good.

Hubby's best friend is in town to attend the 500 on Sunday. Now, NASCAR is actually something I really enjoy watching. Seriously. Just not at the track. Daytona is so big, you get a better view on TV in my opinion. So we might go over Sunday morning and walk around a bit, and take in the "culture". Trainer has tickets, but we'll probably just drop him off and head out. Daytona on raceday is like a college football town for homecoming, times 2 (and much more heavy on the redneck).

Oh, and can I just release some energy about how I cannot wait to get my order from Preppy Mongram Gifts???! I'm not saying they're taking too long, they're within the processing and shipping timeline on their website....but I am impatient, lol! I ordered so much cute stuff. And I wannnit now! I want my monogram travel mug so I can finally start bringing my tea with me to work in the morning and not slop it all over me and the car.

Nailed!

Good morning, my lovelies (I like to pretend people are actually reading this, that way I feel a bit less like I'm standing in a room alone talking to my cats).

If you hang out with me for more than 5 minutes, you will come away knowing that I am a gal with a slight nail polish obsession. I was a horrible nail biter until about 2 years ago. It was a habit my sister and I both picked up from my mom. So gross, so unladylike. I'd hide my hands whenever possible! Then one day my vanity kicked in full blast and I was able to quit. You know what it was? Meeting my future husband! I just knew that he was The One and in time I'd have a ring to show off, so I needed presentable hands. LOL!

So now I buy nail polish like my life depends on it. I am not the typical gal when it comes to choosing colors. Traditional Frenches, pales and sheers generally do nothing for me. I like to joke that in a previous life, my nails belonged to a flamboyant black woman. I have every color in the world. My favorites are pinks (of course), reds, and purples. 90% of the time, that's what I wear. I also own quite a few blues, greens and...well, you name it, I own it. I love color! I keep my nails pretty short, so I don't feel I'm too garish when wearing, say, today's bright juicy fuschia.

Today's Monday Mani, kicking off Valentines Day Week, is Zoya Audrina. Zoya's "Gossip" collection is from Summer 2008 and all polishes are named after characters from "The Hills" (or so I've heard, I have never watched the show because reality tv---especially reality tv about people who's lives in no way reflect reality---annoys the living daylights out me). In any event, I love my nails today.

This lovely photos is not my own, it is taken by Michelle at A Stroke of Color ( http://astrokeofcolor.blogspot.com/). It is one of many wonderful blogs devoted to nail polish, and I highly suggest you check it out for some inspiration and admiration! One of these days I'll start taking my own photos. Like I need another thing on my "to do" list, right? Haha

Brrr!

Holy heck, it's flippin' COLD!

Our weather has been possessed by the devil, who, despite his generally perceived love for heat, has turned Florida into a chillchest way too many times this winter. Some years we do not freeze. We may dip into the 30s for a few nights, but no actual freeze. Not this year, oh no! The low at my house was 27, and 30 last night. As my mother would have said, it is "colder than a witch's tit."

If by chance any Far North ladies are reading this, I know they're laughing their heinies off right now. Heck, even Georgia ladies are rolling their eyes. I know, I know, I know. I'm a wuss! But hear me out: I am 28 years old, and have never seen snow. I don't do cold.

Though I have family in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Missouri, I've never visited during wintertime. Once the frost starts settling on the pumpkins, I keep myself well south of the Mason-Dixon line. For a while I was very anxious to experience snow, but now I'm not so sure. Now it has become a game of seeing just how long I go before she sees the white stuff.

And so, as someone who knows nothing of cold weather, these brief dips into the 20s leave me in quite a state. For example, I have no earthly idea what I'm really supposed to do to get the ice off my windshield. This morning, I decided to dump a cup of tap water on my windshield, figuring the lukewarm water would melt the ice. Well, it did....but re-froze by the time I came back out from the garage, making things twice as bad. (I guess I should mention my defroster does not work). And let's not even talk about my clothes! Ugh! If I lived where cold weather was a given, I'd be prepared with cute coats and scarves. As it is, I just throw on various mismatched layers in order to keep warm. The result? A vaguely homeless look.

For now, I think I will go make a mug of hot jasmine tea and continue my thawing out process. This weather is for the birds! (Speaking of which, I did see dozens of robins this morning, that made my day!)

Here we go!

A blog. Well, if everyone else has one, then why not me?

So, hello everyone. Let's see if I can hit the basics: I'm Kate. I'm in my (sob) late 20's and a newlywed to a very awesome basketball-coaching hubby. No kids (yet). I've lived in Central Florida all my life, and absolutely adore where I call home. Sweet Southern Sunshine, all year round! We are new homeowners, and it's a lot of fun--and work. Our pets (2 cats, 1 dog, 1 mouse) mean the world to us. Some of my very favorite things to do are home decorating, crafting, jewelry making, baking (I love my pink Kitchen Aid stand mixer), road tripping, and watching my hubby coach. I have a sick obsession with polka dots and nail polish. I love my pearls, pink converse sneakers, Vera Bradley bags, Cherry Coke, citrus, and cookbooks. I want to start a (organic as possible) garden. I'm a stickler for good manners and doing what is "proper", but at the same time have zero tolerance for stuffiness. I guess that's the country girl in me. I truly love sports (I'd better!) and am also quite passionate about animals and our environment.

Despite my propensity for prissiness, I describe myself as no-nonsense--I don't have time for drama, pretentious behavior or anyone who isn't "real". I want to live my life as my own original production, rather than wasting my precious time on earth putting on a show for others. I'm non-fiction all the way. (Sometimes I wonder if some of these blogs are for real: people can't be that perfect all the time, can they?)

I'm still not certain what direction I'd like this blog to go in, or what my focus will be. As far as I can see, I won't be too much different that a lot of what is already out there. I'm just going to write about what makes up my life--the good, the bad, and the boring--and my thoughts on what I think is important. I have no hopes or goals for this thing to take off and be read by thousands of followers. All I want is for this to be my little internet journal. If anyone wants to read it, I'm actually kind of humbled.

So, that's me in as few words as this mouthy wench can muster. Having such a strange mix of interests, I don't expect to appeal to a wide audience. So if you've found me and actually enjoy what you read, please leave me a comment and say hi. I'd love to hear from you!