Wine & Dine Playlist

(Photos from 6dollarshirts.com)

My half marathon is TOMORROW! And since I'm running this one solo, I will be in need of some serious tuneage to keep me company while I run. Here's my Wine & Dine Playlist (Click here to listen!) - complete with what's hopefully an extra hour of music in the event of necessary walking. All together it's 3.3 hours long.

1. Can't Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West
2. Hello - Martin Solveig
3. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
4. I Just Had Sex featuring Akon (Explicit Version) - The Lonely Island
5. Shut Up And Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
6. All The Pretty Girls - fun
7. Breakin' Up - Rilo Kiley
8. Let's Kill Tonight - Panic! at the Disco
9. Save Me - Unwritten Law
10. Patron Tequila featuring Lil Jon, Eve - Paradiso Girls
11. Cough Syrup - Young the Giant
12. Wasted [feat. Plies] [Remix] (Explicit Version) - Gucci Mane
13. Pinch Me - Barenaked Ladies
14. Born In The U. S. A. - Bruce Springsteen
15. Great DJ - The Ting Tings
16. F**K Him He's A DJ - Ke$ha
17. Wild Nights - 311
18. I'm On A Boat featuring T-Pain - The Lonely Island
19. The Old Apartment - Barenaked Ladies
20. Steven's Last Night In Town - Ben Folds
21. Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf
22. Dammit (Dirty Edit) - blink-182
23. This Town (Live Version) - O.A.R.
24. Toxic - Britney Spears
25. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
26. Rabiosa (Featuring El Cata) - Shakira
27. Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding
28. Changing - The Airborne Toxic Event
29. A Decade Under The Influence - Taking Back Sunday
30. American Girl - Tom Petty
31. Santa Monica - Everclear
32. Dead On Arrival - Fall Out Boy
33. Spotlight [feat. Usher] (Amended Album Version) - Gucci Mane
34. Holiday From Real - Jack's Mannequin
35. Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen
36. Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
37. Pursuit Of Happiness (nightmare) featuring MGMT, Ratatat (Album Version (Explicit)) - Kid Cudi
38. Cuckoo - Lissie
39. Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen
40. All Revved Up With No Place To Go - Meat Loaf
41. Pachuca Sunrise - Minus the Bear
42. Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
43. Who’s My B**ch - Paradiso Girls
44. Loca (Featuring Dizzee Rascal) - Shakira
45. Liar [It Takes One To Know One] - Taking Back Sunday
46. Can You Feel It (feat. Wiz Khalifa) - Sublime With Rome
47. You're So Last Summer - Taking Back Sunday
48. Walking With A Ghost - Tegan and Sara
49. Since You're Gone - The Pretty Reckless
50. My Body - Young the Giant
51. A Little More Time - Zox
52. Certain - Set Your Goals
53. Crazy Beautiful Life - Ke$ha
54. Lay Me Down - Dirty Heads

I'm going to need lots of positive thoughts/prayers/luck tomorrow night especially since I'm not sure how my knee will behave, so keep me in your thoughts tomorrow night even if you're completely occupied by the Gators beating Alabama (IhopeIhopeIhope)!

Bossypants

Over the summer my family rented an adorable house in Crystal River where we spent many days staring at the water looking for manatees, drinking margaritas, paddling around in kayaks and reading awesome books in the sun. At the time I was reading Kathryn Stockett's The Help (my mom is one of those people who buys & reads ALL kinds of books and is always ahead of the books-made-into-movies curve, so she just had this one laying around). As a journalism grad right out of college, I related a lot to the awkwardly wonderful main character; but as I was being transported back to 1960's Mississippi, my sister was reading Bossypants by Tina Fey.

I kept seeing this book cover (I'm talking several days worth of looking at this book cover) and thinking Tina's looking a little off, but then casting it aside. Finally I realized those are not in fact her real arms. They are a man's. It was very confusing for me. Anyway, after I finished The Help, I needed something else to read while I lived the life of an unemployed post grad, so I grabbed this one (hairy arms and all) before heading outside to hang out by the pool.

It is awesome.

It only took me about a week to finish, and even though I love reading, I honestly don't read all that fast & especially not when it comes to non-fiction. But this one made me laugh out loud (for real, not just lol, LOL, or lulz... literally laughing out loud, and occasionally snorting as well). I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, and I knew Tina was awesome especially since my roommate and I spent hours upon hours watching "30 Rock" last semester on Netflix, but I didn't realize just how much I loved her until I read her book. Here are a few quotes I actually thought to fold the page down for while reading (I'm not one of those cool people that highlight & write in the margins of books while they read - too much effort).

• In response to critics saying women aren't funny: "It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove that it doesn't exist."
• "I feel about Photoshop the way some people feel about abortion. It is appalling and a tragic reflection on the moral decay of our society... unless I need it, in which case, everybody be cool."
• "There is no one of-woman-born who does not like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a socialist."
• The Mother's Prayer for its Daughter: "First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches."

This book made me realize that Tina Fey is a hilarious, intelligent feminist who's an incredibly hard-working mother and all around one of my role models. If you've got time, you should read it.. If you don't, then just watch "30 Rock" tonight.

Feeling Fallsy

It is officially fall now, so naturally everyone is obsessing over pumpkin and other autumn-like flavors that Starbucks chooses to feature this season. After seeing several Facebook statuses dedicated to friends' love of the Starbucks pumpkin latte, I started craving one too. But instead of spending $10 on a minuscule cup of calorie-filled liquid, I found a can of pumpkin in my cupboard and with the help of this recipe, made my very own fat-free pumpkin pie smoothie. It is so good, guys. I made it again today and will probably continue to do so until I run out of pumpkin. Here's what you need:

Add a few ice cubes, blend together and you get a pumpkin pie in a cup. Then, continuing with the fall theme, I made use of the leftover brie cheese that Austin and I bought the night before in a random (intense) cheese craving -- bring on the pepto.

After burning the onions in an attempt to caramelize them (with olive oil, balsamic vinegar & brown sugar) and consequently burning a blister onto my ring finger...

I eventually got to eat a fairly delicious apple, brie & caramelized onion sandwich.

Gator Bait

In preparation for this past weekend's University of Florida Gator football game, I transformed this long-sleeve-never-worn tee into a fringe-y-hot-weather-appropriate game day tank.

Unfortunately, however, I didn't get to wear it because while our boys were beating up Kentucky in Kentucky, I was watching from my living room in good ole Ocala, Florida. This Saturday we're playing Alabama at home, which will be intense, but I will be in Orlando running 13.1 miles through Epcot during it. Maybe I'll wear this bad boy to the race? Perhaps I'll even transform the sleeve into an epic warrior headband. I'll keep you posted.

So there's only ONE week until my race. Yesterday I managed to run 6 miles without a whole lot of pain and I'm about to head to physical therapy right now. Wish me luck, friends!

Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down

Happy Friday everyone! In celebration of the glorious weekend, I leave you two of my favorite party songs of late. Enjoy!

An Ode To Running

Today was my first day of physical therapy and consequently my first time trying to run again since my knee injury sent me to the doctor several weeks ago. I was sent home with lots of stretches to do several times a day, instructions to ice my knee as much as possible and ointment to rub onto it twice a day as well. Perhaps the most interesting healing maneuver, however, involves using a rolling pin to stretch out the IT band all down the side of my thigh. I plan to stick to these instructions 100% in hopes that I will be able to finish my half marathon (which I've been looking forward to all year, ever since it was too full for me to sign up for last year) in a somewhat decent time -- aka not walking all 13.1 miles.

My best friend Jessica was nice enough to go out on this test run with me and we managed to run 4.6 miles. My knee was definitely sore by the end of it, but I stretched like crazy afterward and it seems to be doing pretty well now. Later on we got to talking about running in general as she helped me pick out new running shoes (since these bad boys ended up being too loose after all, let me know if you're a size 7 and would like to buy some discount new-ish running shoes!).

Basically we decided it's the club mentality that rocks. Not only do people respect runners (probably because they think the act of running is much harder than it actually is) but it's also such a simple and fun way to bond with people. We runners get to talk about our new shoes with genuine interest, compare mile times, see the sights and have long talks as we run our way through ridiculous mileage. I’m pretty sure there’s no better way to get to know someone on a real level than to spend hours on end in your possibly most unattractive state – sweating, panting, smelling awful, you get the idea. This is how you learn who you’re compatible with. This is how I met some of my very best friends.

In middle school, running got me out of class early, in high school it allowed me to get my health back while meeting some of the funniest people I know, in college it allowed me to stay close with friends I might not have otherwise and I can only hope this next phase of my life (whatever it may be) will somehow allow me to move forward with running and relationships as well.

Sure, it's not for everyone, but for those of us who love running, we really love it. From the awesome patterns found on our running shorts to the crazy neon shoe laces on our running kicks to the amazing feeling of accomplishment when we finally reach the finish line. Honestly, it's enough to make an injured runner almost angry at those non-runners who have perfectly healthy knees but choose not to use them for running.

Enjoy your body, your health and your running buddies. They are wonderful.

A Smoothie A Day..

Since I have not had a single drop of soda in almost four whole weeks (yay!) I have been experimenting a lot with sweet drink alternatives. For breakfast lately (which is closer to lunch because I wake up around noon..) I've been making all sorts of smoothies. Don't let the similar colors above fool you, they're all pretty different. I went to Publix and stocked up on frozen fruit-- mangos, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and peaches. Since then I've been mixing them with oatmeal, bananas, flax seed oil, vanilla & strawberry flavored protein, milk and wheatgrass depending on the taste/benefit I'm going for. I hope to perfect this oatmeal thing soon by making a smoothie that actually tastes like the buttery, cinnamon-y, brown sugar-y concoction I used to make, minus all the butter, sugar and otherwise unhealthiness. I also recently tried the Kellogg protein water mix in strawberry kiwi flavor and it's pretty good! It has 5 grams of protein and fiber, so it's pretty filling in addition to tasting good.

In other news, I went to the Orthopaedic Center today and learned that I can safely run the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon without fear of permanently damaging my knee! I certainly won't be going for a PR this time due to this lapse in training, but hopefully with physical therapy I will be able to compete without pain. Bring on the ice packs!

Ulta Addict

I visited Ulta for the first time & I am in love. This place is an explosion of girly girl awesomeness. The only thing keeping this makeup/hair/skin care/beauty store from being my heaven is the expenses that go along with wanting to buy everything. They even have THE cutest hair curlers & straighteners! Luckily, a very good & old friend of mine (I'm talkin' friends since pre-kindergarten old) got me an Ulta gift card for my birthday, so I went a little crazy. Check out my beautiful new nail polish colors!From left to right they are called (get ready for this):

"You belong to me"

"Irreplaceable"

"Movie Star"

"Walk of Fame" - the one on my fingers. I dig this name.

"Mellow Yellow"

I also picked out some neutrogena foundation, sea salt texturizing spray & shine-ifying hair spray that allowed me to do this with my hair:

Thanks, Katie, for being an awesome friend & for introducing me to this wonderful store!

Pasta Salad

I tried my hand at a healthy pasta salad a few days ago. I found this recipe online, but due to limited resources I had to make several changes. I simply used every type of vegetable I could find in the kitchen & marveled at all the beautiful colors. Who knew I would grow to love veggies one day?

The marinade meant for the chicken worked pretty well on the salad as a whole. I replaced Dijon mustard with plain yellow mustard and added some onion powder just because I love onions. The sesame seeds just added a nice touch. Enjoy!

Jessica Turns 23!

Today is my best friend in the whole wide world--Jessica's birthday. We have been best friends for almost seven years now (even though we first met in middle school). Halloween is our "anniversary" because that was the night we went to a carnival together (and her dad had to drive because even though she was 16 my parents wouldn't let me ride with her until she'd been driving for 6 months.. that lasted about 2 months.) and had our first sleep over that night! I was always pretty jealous that she was almost a year older than me because that meant she got to drive, vote & drink alcohol for a year before I could. Now that I'm 22, however, I no longer think of it as a race. Time can just slow down to a crawl as far as I'm concerned.

Happy Birthday biff!! We will be best friends until we look this this:

(This photo was found here)

Happy Birthday Sis!

Happy Birthday to my big sis, Britni! Every year when the birthday of a family member rolls around, we put up a sign that lets everyone know just how old we are this year. This time I did the honors. Sometimes the signs are super cute like this one Brit made me for my 21st last year:

And other times we are forced to scribble the words "Family Member" is "age" in the two seconds available before said member gets home. Gotta love family traditions.
I have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating my big sister's birthday this year & look forward to many more!

*Cake courtesy of La Cuisine

Birthday Blitz

There are so many birthdays in these summer months. (Too many people getting into the Christmas spirit..?) In the past couple months I have celebrated mine, my dad's, nephew's, boyfriend's, sister's & many, many friends. Birthdays are so fun because you get to celebrate the people you love, eat a lot of good food and, of course, you get to dress up all fancy like. My sister had an awesome birthday celebration this past Friday, but it was also Austin's brother's 80s themed birthday party night (and we all know I can't say no to a costume party). So naturally I brought a change of clothes with me and prepared to party it up in two very different ensembles. For my sister's nice sushi dinner & night out on the town, I went with the glam look:

Then to celebrate 80's style, I made a Bayside Tigers sweatshirt (from Goodwill) in hopes of looking even half as hot as Saved By The Bell's Kelly Kapowski.

I also wore my Goodwill jorts, and I bought some sweet turquoise earrings (for 99 cents) but I forgot to wear them.. so I will be debuting them at a later date.

Newsprint Nails

I am currently procrastinating the incredibly daunting task of cleaning my room, so I thought the best thing to do was share my new nail obsession. My friend Emma told me about this technique where you transfer newspaper print on to your nails & I thought it sounded awesome. (She's also the one who told me about Dr. Dog. So yea, she's really cool.) I gave it a try after looking up the details from Rezalutions Art Mag, and this is what I came up with.

After your base dries, soak your fingers (one at a time) in vodka or some other 80 plus proof clear liquor & press the newspaper clippings on for about 30 seconds each. Be sure to press hard in the middle or it will come out too light.

Here's the finished effect. If you have a light grey color, it would probably look even cooler. I just didn't have one.. Maybe next time.

Sunglasses Hoarder

I have a pretty sweet collection of sunglasses growing! I always seem to forget my shades when I go places where I really need them (i.e. the beach), so I generally pick up a cheap pair on the way to my destination. The other day my dad commented that I have a different pair on every time he sees me & then I turned around to see my boyfriend posing like this:

So I went a little crazy & taught myself how to make a .gif in PhotoShop so I could showcase the whole (well at least the ones I could find) collection.

Corn Tortilla Quesadillas

Awesome looking meal numero dos from Women's Health Mag received a slight modification to remove the lactose & ended up looking a little something like this:


I fed my friend Jessica with this as well. We each had 2 quesadillas and were surprisingly full. Easy, healthy & filling? Win.
Also, since I started my 32-day health kick, I have not had a single soda - diet or otherwise. I may have missed a couple days at the gym, but I'm also having some knee issues. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that this knee thing will simply go away. Less than a month now until the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. This guy needs a miracle.

Goodwill Shopping

I scouted out Goodwill the other day in hopes of finding THE perfect Woodstock 2011 outfit to celebrate a good friend of mine's 21st birthday. After trying on many pairs of white washed, button-at-the-rib-cage jeans, I finally found an old school Express pair I liked (They buttoned right at my belly button & only gave me a slight mom butt) so I went ahead and coughed up the $5 to buy them. After cutting them into jorts, I didn't end up wearing them to midtown because I couldn't find a worthy top, but I do plan on wearing them everywhere else.

Pro-Craft-ination

The other night i was feeling artsy. I got my crafting supplies out & even brought a huge canvas out to the living room table. I didn't like the way it was staring at me. I was too overwhelmed, so I got out the nail polish instead. This was the result.




I'll get to the canvas eventually.

Mack's Commercial Awards (MCAs)

Ever since I moved back to my parents' casa I've been watching tv. I didn't realize how much I had missed cable over the past two years living in a cable-less apartment. I've been watching all kind of trash, movies &, of course, commercials. Most of them are extremely unpleasant, but one day I came across this gem & I fell in love. It's a PacSun commericial (which is a store I happen to love anyway) but it is filled with feel-good, adventurous awesomeness set to Sinatra. What more could you ask for?

Here are a couple of other cute ones.

"Cough Syrup"

I spent all day driving (a cumulative 10 or so hours), and subsequently scanning the radio for new and exciting music. This one by Young The Giant is not so new, but it's one of my favorites right now. Plus the video has glitter spray tans... so you know it's gotta be good. Enjoy!

Austin turns 23

Today is Austin's birthday! And since I've been on a cooking spree lately, I decided to take a stab at making him his favorite dessert: Banana Chocolate Pie.
Since he does not lack the enzyme necessary to digest dairy products like myself, I went all out (even though I knew I'd have to try it later). I'm talkin' cream cheese, whipped cream, pudding, the whole shebang.





Happy Birthday, Austi!