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I know it's traditionally March madness, but it feels like April is already kicking my butt.

It's been a long week.

Just a really long week.

My guess is that working in retail has just tired me out. Easter Sunday was this past weekend and people were scurrying to prepare for the holiday.

I have two websites that are currently being formatted.

I'm working on crafts for my first craft fair.

I've been thrift shopping and have some neat projects on the way.

We're apartment hunting (oh joy).

Spring cleaning.

Honestly I just feel swamped.

Any of my free time has been dedicated to binge watching Grey's Anatomy (which by the way I didn't think I would like but I ended up loving).

But this is me telling all of you out there that I'm still here and working on making my blog better!

I hope you had a Happy Easter everyone and hopefully you all got to spend it with family rather than working like Chris and myself.

Keep reading and let me know if I'm not the only one getting my tail handed to me by April so far.

My entire life my going to my Grandparents' house has always been a destination vacation.  A lot of my friends had just gone down the street to see their family members, but not me. I had to travel North to Minnesota. Going to my Grandparents' house was always a treat and all these years later it still is.

Driving up the little driveway to home that has been in the same spot for 50 years every little detail on the outside is just as I remembered it to be. As soon as the car pulled up in the garage and the cold winter air was shut behind us I stepped out of the car and into the garage. Walking into the house I'm greeted with a view of the church pew that has sat in the entry my whole life.  And the house was just the same. Decorations change with the seasons, but everything else remains the same. 

The Sun Room

"Are you taking one of those selfies?"

The Living Room

Artwork from the Grandkids

I was obviously destined for artistic greatness at a young age. 

Grandma's Quilts 

Down in the Root Cellar. On the floor four out of five sisters left a handprint and a signature. My mom was the weirdo who left a footprint. 

Where I would sleep whenever I would visit. Also where I would watch Bugs Bunny!

What a good looking family!

I remember trying to stay up all night to see Santa come down the chimney. He must of snuck in when I dozed off a little. 

When it's not so cold the garden is filled with beautiful flowers. 

I love you Grandma and Grandpa!

Thanks for letting me visit for a while and share your cute little home in the country that you built all those years ago!

This home has always been so special to me and I can't wait for my next visit!

It's now March, can you believe it? We've gone from the silvers and golds of ringing in the new year to the pinks and reds of celebrating love and now to the green of March. 

For many people the green represents the celebration of St. Patrick's Day. I was never really one of those people. (I dread getting pinched every year, but that's just the way things are.)
I've decided to make the green in March represent Growth. 

I went into the new year making some pretty big promises about my blog and it's time that I fulfilled those promises.

Maybe you're just like me. Here in the sun filled state of Florida we went through several weather changes recently. Mother Nature couldn't decide what the temperature should be kept at, resulting in a nasty head cold. After hyping up all the things you plan to do this year you feel a little burnt out. Maybe making resolutions so quickly can just leave you with your head spinning. 

Whatever it may be, it's time to get back on track. Daylight savings time started this past weekend. There's more daylight and I intend on using all of it.  

I've had several different projects piling up and it's time to tackle them and share them with you. In the next month I should have a recipe, a DIY tutorial and stories of my travels to the cold bitter North (also known as Minnesota) in the middle of winter. Who knows what else might show up on the way. 

Spring is on the way! Instead of just looking forward to it let's start celebrating like it's already here! Let's get the bright colors out and begin spring cleaning!

What are some of the things you do to get rid of the winter blues? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

We've all heard it. “New year, new me.” For the first time in a few years I feel like I can actually promise myself a new me. In 2014 alone I went out a limb and packed up all my things in a week to move to Florida. I made it happen. I also started a YouTube channel and this blog. For the first time in a really long time I'm not fighting constant depression and I don't ask myself “what if?” I feel like I can go for what I want. 



Not only that, but thanks to someone, I received some of the proper tools to keep to the goals I hope to achieve in the next year. That means more blog posts and videos from yours truly. 



Now I know in my last post I promised a post the next day. It has been a week into the new year and I don't feel like I've dropped the bar just yet. I've been mapping out goals and keeping myself positive. 





As far as fitness goals go,  I've already cut out a lot of my daily sugars from diet soda and replaced them with good old water. I have picked out some YouTubers to follow for fitness inspiration. 




I have gone ahead and applied for the jobs I want to make the money that I deserve.

I have started to learn the guitar. 







I may or may not have landed an executive music producer role on an album that may not be a deal for you, but is a huge deal to me.

I will be visiting Minnesota in a few weeks to spend time with family for a weekend of creativity. I cannot wait to share with all of you how creative the ladies in my family are. 




I'm in the process of planning a trip to Puerto Rico with my boyfriend. I am beyond ecstatic for the food and the beaches and the iguanas and the free mangoes.









I already know this next year is going to be fantastic and I can confidently move into the next year knowing that I'm going to be alright. 
I am going to pay off my car this year! (Finally.)




My only resolution for the new year is that I keep blogging for my readers and subscribers. What are some of your resolutions? Do you have problems keeping your goals? Let me know in the comments below and keep reading with me in 2015!

Happy New Year to all of you!








Spend time with loved ones!






 

Keep your creativity flowing!

Let me paint you a picture. It’s almost the new year, I dropped Chris off at work an hour and a half ago.  When I dropped him off I gave him a kiss and said "Well, it’s been fun..." and after an unnecessary pause I followed with "this past year." He looks at me and says "Don’t phrase it like that! It sounds like you’re breaking up with me!" This just goes to show you how I have a way with words.  I called my family to wish them a happy New Year and then I scrolled through Pinterest for a little while. With a dose of creativity in my system mingled with a large cup of coffee I decided to drive home and mentally prepare myself for the 2015. Fireworks flashed in the sky and the radio stations played mixes to help you party your way through the night. I settled on one that played a lot of Prince songs because I party like it’s 1999. Fast forward and I am sitting in front of my computer with the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy playing in the background. (Except in this version of the soundtrack you also get to hear the various explosions and crackles of fireworks from all the neighbors.)

It may not be the glamorous NYE party with all my friends and family with a champagne flute in my hand. But this is my own party. I’m bringing in my new year alone, but ready for what I can do in the next 365 days. Starting with another post tomorrow afternoon.

2014 started out as a rocky year, but I changed my situation and I ended the year happier than I started off.

So Happy New Year to all of you out there! I wish you all prosperity, happiness and tons of creativity in the upcoming year! I’ll see you next year!

About a month ago now, my parents and my little brother were in Florida for a day and came to visit me. Of course we had to decide what to do and I suggested we travel to Tarpon Springs. It is  about an hour drive out from where I live. My mom asked me what they have there, and I responded with "I keep hearing about the sponges and the Greek food in Tarpon Springs." 

She responds back with "What do you mean Sponges?"

 I follow up with "I don't know... sponges." 

Next thing you know we're on our way to Greek sponge town settled off the Gulf of Mexico. 

Once we had arrived in the town the Greek influences where definitely noticeable in the names on the storefronts. Just trying to pronounce some of the names was fun. 

Then we spotted a sign that pointed us in the direction of the sponge docks. Several people tried to lure us into their parking lots. We finally settled on one and the lady running the lot tried to sell us on a dolphin sight seeing cruise. (Several people up and down the  strip would also try to get us on their dolphin sight seeing cruise as the day progressed.) We opted out, but one day I plan on going back to try one of the cruises. We walked for a little bit trying to decide which of the many Greek restaurants to eat at. Finally, my parents stopped a police officer and asked for his opinion of the best one. 

We took his advice and tried Mykonos Authentic Greek Cookery. The food was fantastic and the platters were quite full. Because of our waitresses thick accent ordering our food was an intense process. But she was very nice and I wouldn't mind stopping back here one day.

Continuing down the docks we found all of the little tourist shops that sold cute little knick knacks made with sea shells, soaps, tee shirts and of course sponges. I bet you never realized there are so many different types of sponges. Some are better for cleaning dishes and some are better for cleaning your body. And some just look nice with a little succulent plant inside of them. I left the city with little sponges that are great for washing my face and applying makeup. 

Of course where there is Greek food involved I have to get myself some baklava. Thanks to my Mom I left with a nice big tray and a smile on my face.

 My Dad couldn't help himself and had to go into the Spiceman's Kitchen and try all the hot sauce. The ghost pepper extract almost defeated him, but he managed to power through. 

The day was nice and breezy and even though we didn't go to the beach and lounge around all day we managed to have a great time being tourists in the "Sponge Capitol of the World."

What nearby places have you day tripped to? What were your favorite parts of the trip?

Do any of you know of places in the Tampa Bay Area that little mini tourist traps? 

Let me know in the comments below!

My Dad celebrated a birthday this past Thursday and in celebration of him I'm going to share my top nerdy movies that I watched with him growing up. Now my Dad is a movie person. A speak fluently in movie quotes person. I do believe that has worn off on me. Growing up, he let my sister and I watch so many different genres of movies, even if Mom didn't approve. The best example of that I can think of was when I was somewhere between the age of 10 and 12 I had discovered my Dad's collection of Stephen King books. Being the little weirdo that I was, I fell in love with them. From then on all I wanted to do was watch Carrie. My Mom said “No.” My Dad said “Yes.” Of course he lost. So then of course my sister and I had a secret screening of the movie in the basement when it was on TV one day. (Sorry Mom!) Now I didn't watch Carrie my Dad, but there are plenty of movies that I did watch with him. Here is a list of my favorites!

Star Wars ( The original trilogy) As some of you may know, I am still waiting on an Ewok from my Dad. Watching these movies with him opened my eyes to how cool the universe is. I remember that when I was younger the stars and the planets where the most fascinating thing to me. These movies and my Dad combined helped fuel my want for knowledge for what else could reside in this universe. Aliens totally exist and we would try to witness a UFO through our telescope. Thank you for the wonder Dad!

The Fifth Element Keeping with the space theme, we have this amazing SciFi movie starring Bruce Willis. This movie was action packed and filled with laughs. We watched these movies so many times that I could probably quote this entire movie for you. The world may be ending, flying cars, Chris Tucker (who may or may not be in drag), and a blue alien opera singer. What isn't there to love?

The Lion King Not only is my Dad a movie person but he will sit and watch a cartoon with you anytime. He would always quote “Life's not fair, is it?” and ask which movie had that as the first spoken line. Always sneaking in life lessons. “Be Prepared” is his favorite Disney song (and one of my favorites as well). I'm sure he is sneaking another life lesson in there as well.

Blazing Saddles I was never really into westerns and I probably never will be. However, with that being said, I do love Mel Brooks movies and this is probably one of the best in my opinion. My dad will always say Tombstone is the greatest western followed by Blazing Saddles. I didn't see this movie until I was in high school, but the shock value and the comedy that follows makes it one of the funniest, quotable movies I've ever seen.

Pulp Fiction My love for Tarantino movies comes from my Dad. We've already covered the best western movie ever, but according to him Pulp Fiction is the best movie ever. I can't even argue with that logic. Anyone who has ever seen this movie knows that it is also a quotable movie with a story line that is pieced together in a way that will keep you on your toes.

Airplane! I could not finish this list without adding this movie. I'm pretty sure everyone in my family can quote some, if not all, of this movie. I wish comedies were still made like this one. And unfortunately, as this movie and I age, it becomes harder and harder to find someone who knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say things like “I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.” But I know my Dad will always be there to follow up with another quote!

This is my list, and of course there are other movies out there that I grew up watching with my Dad. And there are movies to come that we will share. But I just wanted to say Thank You Dad! I don't know about my siblings but I will always cherish the times we have spent watching movies late into the night together. Thank You for making me into the weirdo that I am today! I love you Dad! Happy Birthday!

We went thrift shopping this morning. We had $20 in our pockets.
Macklemore - Kaitlyn

This morning we stopped and got our ice coffee and drove out to the local drive in. On the weekend they hold a flea market where people sell things out of the backs of their vehicles. We only bought from one of the vendors. He was selling DVDs for $1 each. We picked out four of them. The only one I really wanted was "Earth Girls are Easy." I had actually been planning to look up that movie on Amazon and adding it to wish list. I saved myself about $14. Not bad if you ask me. My only suggestion for buying DVDs or any discs when thrift shopping is to check the back of the disc, or if the vendor keeps the discs until they are sold ask to inspect it. This will help you save your money if the movie isn't playable. 

Our next stop was a large thrift store that sold a lot of collectibles.  I really lucked out here. Now here is a nostalgia moment for all you girls that grew up in the 90s. Two words... Lisa Frank. I remember having all my notebooks and folders and stickers having technicolor baby animals all over them. I have been searching for the perfect way to organize all my projects that I work on and this thrift store came through with a Lisa Frank trapper keeper for $1.50. Now I don't know if you've noticed but you can't buy Lisa Frank trapper keepers at the anymore. So the next option would be to go online and search for it. I found new Lisa Frank trapper keepers going for almost $300. More big savings for me today! 

After the first thrift store we came across a church yard sale. We found a Old School Olympus camera (i forget the name) for $0.50 Not Bad! expecially since they go for $50-$70 on eBay!   

 

Chris Also Decided he wanted this wheel of Fortune Game but he wasn't sure why.

For only $0.25 he walked away with it and a free cartridge in the game it self 

together both items where worth $100

"Nostalgia at its finest"-Chris

The next thrift shop we hit up had even more surprises for us. Chris found a PlayStation that he was able to talk down from $20 to $10. That will look nice in our gaming console collection. The best find all day however was a camera lens. We found it on top of a speaker and the lady that worked there sold it to us for a dollar.  After doing some research on it we got an idea of what this lens sells for. This is an item we would

have to have appraise, so hopefully we found something valuable there. 

At the last thrift store Chris found a portable bar for $3 that he just loves. I'm not really sure why anyone would need one, but hey, if he's happy so am I. 

I was hoping to find some clothes to refashion but it would seem only petite people have donated recently, which doesn't help me out at all. Maybe next time.

We love thrift shopping and we are pretty good at combing through the junk to find the treasures. It just takes a lot of patience and don't forget the hand sanitizer! 


Do you frequent the thrift shops in your area? Do you love to brag that you found the coolest thing at the Goodwill like I do? 

Whats the coolest thing you've found?
Let me know in the comments below!

Every month I hope to go through my current obsessions with you.

This July I have found myself addicted to several channels on Youtube where women give fashion advice, show how to care for curly hair and demonstrate how to put on makeup. I have no idea how to do most of these things, but I will research it until I have it figured out. I find myself watching these videos and thinking "dang, these ladies really have their lives together. why can't that be me?" There's always the possibility that they don't know what they're doing, but from what everyone else watching them can see they can do no wrong. I have a Youtube channel, but I haven't posted many videos yet. This month I feel that through watching these vloggers online I'm finding the kind of voice I want to have. The kinds of things that I want to talk about. The kinds of experiences I want to share with you guys. My audience. Not just through videos, but right here in my blog! I don't just want to show tutorials, but show you my personal experience with trying something new. I find myself at a point in my life where I have so many new opportunities to experience new things and I am going to take them. I have a few projects that I am working on and I hope that my readers out there will follow on my journey to really own these projects. You are already familiar with my blog, but also head over here and check out my Youtube channel. Also keep an eye out for my online store which is a project in an early stage right now! Hey, maybe I can be one of those ladies in the videos with my life together. We'll just have to see.

On a more fun note, one of my recent obsessions this month has been playing board games with my boyfriend. We mostly play Monopoly, but there is also Sorry!, Trouble!, and even Candy Land. Playing them has brought back a nostalgic like feeling. In my opinion it also has promoted a healthy sense of competition between us. I am really bad at Monopoly but it's my favorite to play. The score of wins and losses is something like Kaitlyn: 1 to Chris:15. But hey, at least we're not watching TV or playing video games. What I love most is just spending time playing and trying to bring my wins score up!

Last current obsession? Orange is the New Black. If you haven't heard about this show that's probably because you don't have Netflix. This show is a Netflix original series and I am in love with it. I had heard whispers of this show when it first came out, but the concept just fell flat for me. Women's prison? Why would I want to watch a show about that? Then one day I finally sat down and watched the first season and I was hooked. In my opinion the show held up to all the hype. The second season was released at the beginning of the month and of course I could not wait. The only downfall is I use the internet at the library. It is just a faster and more reliable option than at home currently. If you have ever seen the show you know they don't shy away from nudity. So I often times have to hide my screen in the middle of the library so no wandering eyes look over and get offended. But other than that, the show is fantastic and well written. I now wonder how I would handle going to prison. Probably not well.

I hope you enjoyed learning about my current obsessions! Let me know what some of your favorite things are right now in the comment section below!