Garage Saling Inventory

Last week at work, I decided I wanted to go garage saling. It seemed like it had been so long since I'd had a weekend at home and now that I did, I wanted to spend it searching for some good deals on new things for my apartment. So, on like Tuesday I searched the world wide web for garage sales in Columbia this weekend. I marked each optimistic sounding place on a Google Map with the address, days and times, any big, desirable items and an astrick for the houses that looked particularly nice on the Google Map earth view (assuming these would have nicer things). I then created an itinerary, allowing for travel time between each place...

However, we were a little late and finally started at 8:30 am on Saturday. Aaron was a great co-pilot since I tend to get distracted when assisting the driver with directions and also, suggest incorrect turns pretty frequently. Our first stop was a church fundraiser were I got these cool vintage plates, and luckily, COFFEE.

50 cents each, plus a $1 donation.

After that we just hopped around to our scheduled locations, making spontaneous stops as instructed by bright GARAGE SALE signs that were off our path.

$1 for the wooden kitchen utensils, $1.50 for the pan.

$1 for the white purse.

$3 for the large Pyrex, $2 for the small one.

$2 for the wooden tray, magic bullet cups were FREE.

$8 for the Coke crate.

Also, not pictured, is the Balderdash game for 50 cents. We left that at Aaron's, where most Game Nights happen. All in all, it was a successful day. There was a glorious wicker rocking chair for $2 at the church, but my little Corolla just wasn't having it! I guess it's for the best, because I don't know if our apartment is going to hold any more furniture.

The whole kit and caboodle! All for $20...

10 Dreams of Mine

Well. I wish I would've seen this before my post about my goals.

Anyway. Here are my dreams, however unrealistic they may be:

1. I'd like to be independently wealthy, so that I don't have to work unless I want to.
2. I want babies (with ginger hair) and I want to be the most loving, thoughtful, involved, encouraging, positive mother they could ever need.
3. The world. I'd like to see all of it.
4. I want the opportunity to create a house that is exactly as I want it: surrounded by field, a driveway lined with large trees, an antebellum-style front with a welcoming, comfortable porch, dark wooden floors with large, soft rugs, tall ceilings and doors, a stone fireplace and a seasonally decorated mantle, a huge bright kitchen open to a long dining room table, a craft room with storage for every embellishment...
5. I want to craft. Constantly.
6. I want to do freelance design, from my home.
7. I'd like my blog to be one that people follow religiously and roamers love instantly.
8. I want to be a gypsy.
9. I dream of a wardrobe so perfectly purchased, that I wear every piece and always look fabulous.
10. I want to try everything: sailing, skate boarding, rock climbing, croqueting (with yarn), croqueting (in the yard), waitressing, scuba diving, teaching, coaching...all of it. I just want to opportunities to try things I've never done.

Dear Freshman-to-Be Sister, Part 3

HOW TO LEARN FROM...

...the first time you accidentally sleep through a quiz.

a - Wake up and realize what has happened. This is a painful and harsh realization, but it happens to everyone. Remember, it's just a quiz and you can probably drop one grade score or recover with excellent scores from here on out. But either way...don't mess it up again.

b - SMACK YO'SELF. You deserve it, ya stupid. Now you know what to do next time...

c - Set one-million alarms on your phone. In order to wake up at 8:00am, I set a 7:30, a 7:35, a 7:40, a 7:45, a 7:50 and a 7:55 alarm. It's silly, but I like me some snooze.

d - Plan to get to class a little early next time. It doesn't hurt to get to class early and look over your notes or study guide one last time. This way, if you get hit by a bike or attacked by a squirrel or mugged on your way to class, you have some built in minutes to spar

e - Make a decision. There are two choices here: 1) Start going to bed earlier or 2) Learn to love coffee. And I'll tell you right now, you're going to discover the magic of coffee sooner or later, so you might as well learn now.

f - Start loving coffee. Get a little, 1-4 cup coffee maker. Like this one that I have:

Hamilton Beach BrewStation Coffee Maker

It's just a plastic piece of crap, but it has lasted me four years and it makes coffee quick. Not to mention there's no stinkin' coffee pot to clean out. In addition to a speedy coffee maker, get some sugar and cream. And then, you do the coffee like this:

A spoonful of sugar, two parts coffee, one part cream.

This is how our dear mother drinks it, and by biological preference, we must too. Also, it's kind of like a mini-dessert this way, so it will help you adjust to the harsh coffee flavor of coffee that I KNOW you don't like.

g - Make a pre-quiz Starbucks trip. Talk about two birds with one stone. Now you can leave early for your quiz AND get some java all in one move. Starbucks is like, pretty cool. It's nice to be in the J-School because there's once conveniently located downtown. But there's also one in Memorial Union...which actually isn't much closer to  Cornell. Lucky for you, I have a Guest Blogger-Barista to offer some advice on how to utilize the Starbucks menu...as a non-coffee drinker.

 

 Please welcome, Abbieeeee Loveall!

 

As a non-coffee drinker, you have a couple options...

 

a) Starbucks Refreshers. They are made from green coffee extract, which means coffee beans before they're roasted. Doesn't taste like coffee at all, and has even more caffeine! They taste like fruit juice, and come in a few flavors. You can have your barista make you a Cool Lime (tastes like Margarita mix without the tequila) or Berry Hibiscus (sort of blackberry tasting), or they come in cans as Strawberry Lemonade, Orange Melon, and Raspberry Pomegranate.

 

b) Frappuccinos. These drinks are a bit lighter on the caffeine (95 mg in a 16 oz Grande), but boy are they good on a hot day. And everyone likes them, coffee addicts and non-coffee drinkers alike. It basically tastes like a coffee milkshake, but you can get just about any flavor you want. Chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, vanilla, hazelnut, white chocolate, caramel you name it. The Cafe Vanilla is my favorite, but the best thing about these is that you can mix and match things and create one exactly the way you like it.

 

c) Signature Espresso drinks. Here is where you can make yourself like coffee. Start with something sweet and then slowly wean yourself off the sugary syrups until you like just plain ol' coffee. Maybe you start with a White Chocolate Mocha (one of the most popular drinks in this college town), then move to a Vanilla Latte (probably the second most popular), then you try just a plain latte (espresso and steamed milk), and then a cafe misto (half brewed coffee, half steamed milk). By the time you're drinking a misto, your half a cup away from drinking pure coffee! Pro tip: a misto and a latte have the same amount of caffeine, and a misto costs half as much.

 

On a side note:
I'm glad your Summer Welcome went well. I loved having you in town and meeting you and mom for lunch at the dining halls. There will be many more lunch dates in our future. And if you keep swiping me in for free meals, I'll probably put some of my grown-up salary towards taking you out to some cool restraunts every now and again. Stay tuned for my tips...and in the meantime, enjoy that pretty little MacBook of yours. Love you!

A Guide to Kaitlin's Tempo Shorts

I've been collecting Tempo shorts for a while now. Truthfully, my mother did introduce them to me in high school...she's always been kinda hip (even if she's old enough to be wearing mom jeans). Each purchase of these comfortable and great-fitting shorts was seen as completely justified, because I loved them.

However, the other day, when I was going through my shorts in search of a specific pair, it occured to me that I have FAR too many pairs of tempo shorts. So here. Judge me if you want, but I don't care. Most shorts I buy are on on clearance...or stolen from my mom. Clikc on the graphic for a closer view...

And there you have it.

#BnRnow1

Seriously. I love this state more everytime I visit. On our way home from spring break, a few of us stayed with Elizabeth Collin's grandmother in her adorable little home nestled in the town Balck Mountain. The view from her porch was incredible...



@kaitroweton: Is that heavan over there? #sb13chuckyeah

But my most recent adventure to North Carolina was with my mom and sister for our dear cousin, Rylee Lou (Kemp, now) Hayes's wedding. Of course, my mom's already blogged about it. So if you'd like to read the better written version of this story, see ya! We left from Columbia on Wednesday night to stay with Nana and Bob in St. Louis. Early Thursday morning we were on the road. I slept most the morning, waking up to a bustle about our current location: Metropolis, Illinois.

@kaitroweton: Well. This is every photo op in the town of Metropolic, IL "Home of #Superman" #NCBound

We took advantage of all the photo-ops and were back on the road. Our next stop on the road trip was the Grand Ole Opry. We ate and shopped a little, took another picture and were back on the road.

@kaitroweton: Road trips ROCK!! Quick stop to shop and then back on the road... #NCBound

The first part of the trip was pretty smooth, but later we hit traffic for like two hours and the trip kind of dragged from there. I guess I can't really complain, since I slept through the second part of it while mom and Becca drove. Guess I'm not a great driver or something...whatever.When I woke up, we were twisting and wining up mountain roads as we slowly approached Little Switzerland. We complained the whole way about how dark and scary it was and what an insane drive we had to make...but when we woke up the next morning, we were greeted with this...

@kaitroweton: Good morning view from teh balcony...every place I've ever been in NC is breathtaking. #BnRnow1

...and we stopped complaining. We took our time getting up and checking social media and finally got around to drive into town. We stopped at the coolest little retro diner and then walked around their downtown area where we encountered some bears! Lucky for us, Caleb (Becca's Boyfriend) had given us some great advice for dealing with bear wounds...and we had our first aid kits handy.

@kaitroweton: It was quite a drive to get lunch, but the blast to the past was well worth the trip.

On the way back up to our resort, we stopped for some photo-ops and some Vine videos...

@kaitroweton: I just like this sign. Figured it'd look cool with a filter. Mountains were nice too...

 That night was the rehersal dinner and we all got a good laugh reminicing over funny Rylee stories... #deadbunny #murderer. And then back to the room for some rest before the big day. Saturday morning we awoke with a mission. In need of a projector, the Roweton Gals headed to Ashville. We weren't there for long, but we did manage to check out some cool spots and eat Tupelo Honey, which was a deeee-light.

@kaitroweton: Waiting for lunch with some local craftery and jamz.

 **Let's just clear something up right now. "Jamz" should always be spelled with a "z" instead of an "s" ...it's just one of those words. Like "gurlz", you just gotta get gangster with it to really feel right.

@kaitroweton: Lunch. NOM NOM.

@kaitroweton: Haven't seen THIS enough on our vacation...

Apparently, the one bad thing about North Carolina is their lack of Coke. Tragedy. I could NEVER live there...

We arrived back up our mountain and delievered the projector before getting pretty for the wedding. Becca and I helped take guest photos while they were seated and then the wedding started. The ceremony was perfectly Rylee Lou-styled. Everything went beautifully and dinner was delicious.

@kaitroweton: Of course my Rylee Lou would have sunflowers at her wedding *sunflower*bride*heart* #BnRnow1

@kaitroweton: Perfect flower girl and ring bearer with a little help from dad #BnRnow1

@kaitroweton: Happy parents giving away their little girl... #BnRnow1

@kaitroweton: *heart* Forever #BnRnow1

My iPhone wasn't fancy enough to capture the final event of the night, when everyone let loose glowing balloons into the night. They slowly drifted off into the mountains...except a few, which were caught in a nearby tree. Piper Jones (flower girl, pictured above) put it best when she squealed, "Happy Holidays!"

Sudnay morning we got around and on the road. We made signifcantly fewer stops this time and I DID help with the driving...when I wasn't playing solitaire over and over and over again.

@kaitroweton: #roadtrip #homewardbound

@kaitroweton: Knoxville is kind of becoming my home away from home. Miss my fellow #rockytoproadtrippers @abbieloveall @lmlehman @eliza_gal @katecarter905

We arrived in St. Louis on Sunday night and finished the drive early Sunday morning. I was up and at'em and eager to get home. Once I was back, Aaron and I immediantly celebrated my return (and the holiday) with some G&D steaks and beer...NOM.

@kaitroweton: Soooo. Steaks and beer for lunch... #soulmates.

Summer GOALS...because I'm a grown up.

If you'll remember, last summer (officially referred to as The Last Summer) I made a bucket list of all the things I wanted to do between the sweet months of May and August. The list included things like: karaoke, break a world record, crash a wedding, play drunk Twister, etc. But this summer...I'm a grown up. The real world is upon me and I've got to get on board (or some combination of expressions). Bucket lists are obviously for college students, but the Type A tendencies in me will not let me go listless for the summer. Therefore, I've drawn up my Summer Goals. Aaaah, how mature and wise of me...I KNOW. Sorry for the ramblings, here are my goals:

1. Blog twice a week. I really do love to blog, it can just be a little intimidating sometimes. My mother is so good about regular, themed blogging, and my goal is to be more like that.

2. Complete one craft a week. Another thing I love, but often fail to do.

3. Eat healthy. Really though, I put it on every goal list I've ever made. I need to start eating healthy things and eating out less. 

4. Save at least $500 a month. Dad and I sat down to discuss the expenses I would be taking on in the real world and where to budget my money. This being said, $500 is a reasonable amount to set back each month for savings...and by that, I mean for the next time my car breaks down.

5. Read one book a month. I am a slow reader. It's true. So finishing a book takes me a while, which can be discouraging...but I do love a story. So I'd like to be a little more patient in finishing books regularly.

6. Volunteer. It's a nice thing to do.

7. Keep a scrapbook journal. I have started many scrapbooks...and I keep a pretty regular journal. So I thought maybe combining the two strategies would help me best document my summer (and life). My plan is to buy a smaller scrapbook book and an adorable paper packet from Hobby Lobby. Then in one swoop, craft the pages together, leaving space for pictures and text so I can fill them in as they happen. Ya dig?

8. Update my music library. There was this thing freshman year called MOJO, where you could give and take music from anyone logged into the same wireless and the MOJO network. It was glorious. But, if you didn't back up these songs, on your computer, there was a possibility that somewhere down the road they would all of the sudden stop playing on your iTunes. So, about two years I lost over half of the songs in my iTunes library and have been on Spotify ever since. But the goal is to download and organize all the songs from my Spotify and the list I made of the songs I lost so that I have them available offline.

9. Train for the Tough Mudder. Some trickster convinced me to sign up for this in September and apparently it’s a half marathon of running, jumping, leaping and getting electrocuted. So, I thought maybe I should prepare for that.

10. Freelance. This is a goal that includes many parts. I would like to complete my self-branding, launch my website, create some self-branded collateral and start marketing myself for design projects. I usually like to keep my goals narrowly tailored, but…I like even numbers even more. So. We’re sticking this all under #10.

All My Thoughts on All Things Denim

1. Jeans: invented in California for miners. I think?

2. If I could, I would wear a chambray top everyday and it would go with anything I own.

3. Can I pull off those high-wasted jean shorts?

4. Breakdown of Denim Shades:
           100%   Skinny jeans are dark jeans.
             70%   Probably flared jeans. Probably from the late 90s.
             50%   Mom or dad are wearing these jeans.
             10%   Oh, awkwardly light jeans. You must be sooooo fashionable.
               0%   White is technically catagorized as a "colored jean". Get outta here.
             ** Highlight the above line for a secret message.

5. Forty-seven. I think that’s the age when you have to start wearing boot-cut, high-wasted, no-fit jeans. Also known as, mom jeans.

6. How did the style go from flared to skinny jeans so quickly?

7. I miss flared jeans. 

8. Holy jeans...I have no comments. 

9. There is a girl sitting in front of me in class wearing a denim vest. That is all.

10. I NEED a denim dress.

11. Is it really worth buying a denim jacket?
 

12. Overalls are for children and farmers.

13. I loved colored jeans. These colors exactly:

Mustard  -  Wine  -  Coral  -  Mint  -  Black

  

14. And now for pictures...

JEAN CRAFTS:

Denim armrest pocket.

Denim coin purse.

Heart-printed jeans.

Lacey jean shorts.

Chambray shirt pillow.

Denim organizer.

Denim picnic pockets.

Denim wall organizer.

Denim placemat.