I know watching TV, especially in excessive amounts, is generally looked down upon. But I’ve found that the more I watch, the more things I learn, so I’ll continue on my mission to prove that TV is actually good for the brain. And when it comes to relationships, and life in general, I’ve learned a […]
MoreI started reading romance novels many, many summers ago, during a trip to Florida with my friend Sheena. Stashed in the closet of our vacation rental, were stacks upon stacks of chick-lit. We sifted through our reading options, each settling on a few, and packed them into our beach bags before soaking ourselves in the […]
MoreThe following post contains affiliate links, which sends me a small percentage of any sales at no cost to you. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve got HUGE bags under my eyes. Hell, there are HUGE bags above them, too. I have dabbled in a few different eye creams (Mary Kay Time Wise Firming Eye […]
MoreTo be honest, I didn’t give a flying flip about Phillip Phillips before I saw him live as John Mayer’s opening act for the Born and Raised tour (which I saw three times). Before I saw him the first time in July, my mom was the one swooning,”Aw, I wish I was going to the […]
MoreWe are just 17 days away from the first day of spring. Spring means wedding season, and since this is my blog, I can go ahead and say that wedding season, for the most part, sucks. If you are single, perhaps wedding season will find you attending nuptial celebrations solo (because the married couple was […]
MoreMy love affair with Nicholas Sparks’ novels started many summers ago when I borrowed, “The Last Song” from my friend to read by the pool. Needless to say, I loved it. Yeah, I know, his works are not genius. And, they are all very similar. But I love them, and I can recall one of […]
MoreThe shitty thing about being single on Valentine’s Day, is that you’re supposed to have an opinion about Valentine’s Day. So here’s mine: Screw. You. I’m reminded every day that I’m single, you know, when I wakeup alone, when my phone never gets any text messages, and when I realize that I’m not annoyed 24/7—yep, […]
MoreReally, all you need to know about the one Ms. Bonnie Raitt is that she’s a BAMF. But I’ll explain. Officially, Bonnie (yeah, we’re cool like that) is a blues singer/songwriter. And I’d probably know very little about her if it weren’t for my mom loving her music and exposing me to it at a […]
MoreI started swooning over Mr. Hall the second I saw the first episode of Showtime’s Dexter—in which he plays…Dexter, a serial killer who kills bad guys. Let’s take a look: A few months ago, a very hot guy at my gym told me he thought I was into bad boys. “Am I?” I thought. I […]
MoreIf I’m going to be honest with you (and there’s a lot of honesty on this blog), then I have to tell you that it’s been a long, long time since I’ve been on a first date. So, maybe I shouldn’t be writing this. However, if there are two things I’m good at, it’s predicting […]
MoreIs it lame that I’m 28 years old and still watching shows on MTV? If so, let’s just get over that tiny little fact about me, and move on to MTV’s newest season of the Real World: Ex-Plosion, K? It starts off (last night was episode 3) just the same as every Real World season—7 […]
MoreAfter I finished reading Leandra Medine’s book, “Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls.” last week, I had no doubt in my mind she would be my next Woman You Should Know. I was first introduced to Leandra’s blog, “Man Repeller,” by one of my blogging students (did y’all know I’m a blogging teacher?), who told […]
MoreIt took me awhile to think about who I wanted to focus on for my first Woman You Should Know post of 2014. But I settled on one of my favorite writers, Candace Bushnell! You might recognize Candace’s name from her books, Sex & the City, Summer & the City, The Carrie Diaries, One Fifth […]
MoreDo I really need to explain WHY I have a massive crush on Zac Efron? Well…considering he went to rehab recently, I guess a little explaining is in order. First of all: Secondly, and this is what I hate, he always plays the sweetest guys in movies. I hate this because is he a really […]
MoreDon’t worry, this is just the first of MANY posts about my celeb crushes. I’m always trying to find ways to make this blog more dynamic, and with no (real) man in my life, I am left to drool over celeb dudes. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with that! So yeah, John Mayer. Anyone who […]
MoreI’ve been single for every Christmas/holiday season, except one. During that year, I was so in love with my boyfriend and I just could not wait to spend Christmas Day with his family–I made dozens of fancy cookies for the occasion and I spent hours hunting for the perfect gift for him. While I do […]
MoreThanksgiving is one of my FAVORITE holidays, and a true HAPPY THANKSGIVING is in order! Don’t worry, the #tb series will be back tomorrow—I just couldn’t let today pass by without saying a few words. Every year, I travel to my friend Angela’s home. Her and her husband have welcomed me into their home over […]
MoreTough Love is baaaaack! It’s no secret that I’ve had a MASSIVE crush on professional matchmaker (and VH1’s Tough Love host) Steve Ward ever since I set my eyes upon him through my television. Don’t even get me started on his adorable Philly accent! Feast your eyes… Anyway, in the previous 4 seasons of Tough […]
MoreLast weekend I saw (hottie) Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s movie, Don Jon. Watch the preview: The flick is about a guy named Jon, who loves his family, friends, church, working out…and watching porn. In fact, he likes watching porn so much, he says he likes it more than actual sex…with a human. Seems a little, wacky, right? […]
More204 Rosewood Lane is the second book in Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series that I am just loving reading! While all of the books are written in third person, there is a letter in the front of each book written to the reader by one of the characters. The first book’s letter was from Olivia, […]
MoreFor my birthday last month, one of my best friends bought me a book to read (Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner) and she told me she bought herself a copy, so we could both read it and discuss it. I loved this idea! The book was so good we got through it quick and […]
MoreA few weeks ago, The Frisky posted a story about 2 friends (a guy and a girl) who found themselves single at the same time and decided to date each other for 40 days…and blog about it. This was/is right up my ally. I kept seeing the link to the blog all over my Facebook […]
MoreLast week, I was flipping through the radio stations on my morning drive to work. I stopped on the local country station (101.5 WYNK) as the two male DJs were talking. One of them, Patrick (if I remember correctly) said he was guilty of doing something sappy. It was a Thursday morning and he’d gotten […]
MoreWhere are the Nicholas Sparks fans? I jumped on the Sparks bandwagon a few years ago when The Last Song hit movie theatres. I loved the movie and did the backward thing by reading the book afterward. Ever since, I got my best girlfriend hooked on his books and I love reading them and then […]
MoreWhen Thanksgiving actually came around, I didn’t see or talk to Austin despite us being in the same city. I spent time with a man I was casually dating. Months passed and I distanced myself from Austin—the more time went on, I realized just how wrong he was for me, but I hadn’t had my […]
MoreIn late October 2007, Austin and I got into a pretty heated fight (big shocker, I know). He was coming into town for Thanksgiving the following month and I told him it would be a good time for us to meet each other’s parents—my mom was coming in town to cook with me and he […]
MoreOctober 7, 2007 {9:34 p.m.}: I’ve been feeling better about the AJ situation since we talked about things. When we talked, we never really got anything solved, but at least I learned Austin didn’t mean most of what he said and he was just trying to get a reaction out of me. There is still […]
MoreSeptember 30, 2007: Been a long time since I’ve been here. Been writing some on my computer—but I’ve reached that point where I really need to just WRITE. Last night, I cried for the first time over a fight Austin and I had over two weeks ago. I left for work and was coming home […]
MoreAJ, Hey you! Just wanted to say thanks for another great weekend. I have fun with you whether we’re out or just at home…because you’re that cool. I’m looking forward to another visit soon. I know things might sucks now but I am certain time will help in a decision that will be the best […]
MoreI was on my way to Los Angeles for the first time ever, and I was alone. I’d flown alone many times before, but never to a place where I didn’t know anyone. I’d never been further west than Chicago. I boarded my plane, headed to LAX, and felt pretty relaxed on the large flight. […]
MoreAugust 14, 2007 {9:59 a.m}: It seems airport writing has become my thing—or maybe just airports in general. I’m here in Texas on my way to Los Angeles, finally! So much has happened since I wrote last. Seriously last week was such a roller coaster. Gabe and Nik and Evan ALL contacted me so my […]
MoreJuly 25, 2007 {10:40 p.m.}: Okay, so yesterday I had a bit of a meltdown. For starters, I really hadn’t talked to Austin much since I got home from Dallas. So of course I assumed he would never talk to me again. Everything he was doing I was applying it to my fear and I […]
MoreJuly 22, 2007 {9:22 p.m.}: New journal, I know. Here I am, in Houston waiting for my next flight into New Orleans. I just finished my weekend with Austin in Dallas. I had so much fun with him and I definitely was so sad to leave him. Of course, I was wrong about so many […]
MoreJuly 10, 2007 {12:59 p.m.}: OK, so I don’t have my fucking journal, I’m at Starbucks and pissed at Austin AGAIN! This is the third time in three days. We talked yesterday when we definitely should not have. He was being a dick because I didn’t call him when he wanted me to. So when […]
MoreJuly 7, 2007{8:30 p.m.}: Okay, once again it’s been awhile since I’ve been here. I’m 22 now! School and work have been really taking up my time and energy…I’ve been really stressed. My geology grade sucks, I can’t seem to get ahold of the concepts and time is running out. But since I’ve been so […]
MoreJune 14, 2007 {11:24 p.m.}: Well, it’s been exactly two weeks since you’ve heard from me: A LOT has happened! But…first thing is first. I cried on my drive home from work tonight. I’ve cried so much this summer. The saddest part is, I can hardly pinpoint why I cry, not because I don’t have […]
MoreJune 14, 2007 {10:52 p.m.}: Well, I’m home and in my own bed…it’s Austin’s last night in Baton Rouge. I guess he read my letter this afternoon because when I got home from work there were roses on my doorstep (3 red, 2 pink). There was also a thank you card with it and he […]
MoreI ended up rewriting the letter and giving it to Austin on our last night together, in Baton Rouge. June 13, 2007{11:42 p.m.}: Okay so I just got home and into bed from saying goodbye to Austin. Needless to say, I cried my eyes out—ugly girl style. The night was awkward and short. We didn’t […]
MoreA month later, Austin was celebrating his graduation from LSU. To celebrate, we went out to dinner at the same place we had our first date. I gave him a gift—a pair of silver Prada sunglasses, along with a card: Congrats, Austin! I know you’ve been waiting and ready to graduate for a long time […]
MoreAfter I cooled off from being royally reject by Eddie, I went back on my word and started talking to Austin again. To be honest, I don’t know or recall why or how it happened, but I have a ton of journal entries to prove it. March 21, 2007: I am still upset about the […]
MoreOctober 21, 2006 {12:03 a.m.} Well here I am in this trusty heartbreaking journal of mine. First, it was Adam, then Austin, and now it’s Eddie. So we went to Indiana over fall break…and before and during the trip I was under the impression we both really liked each other. Both of us always told […]
MoreThankfully, the spider was in plain sight when my dad came down the stairs. He killed it, I said thanks and tucked myself back into the air mattress. The next morning, I woke Eddie up, we ate breakfast with my dad and we were off to lunch with Angela and her mom. I remember lunch […]
MoreThe next morning, Eddie and I drove to Ohio to visit my dad and his girlfriend. We got to their house in time to head to the river for the annual balloon festival—a beautiful sight to see all of the colorful hot air balloons lined up along the water at sunset. There was food and […]
MoreEddie was ready to meet my parents. We’d been seeing each other for two months, but it felt like a year. Since we both had fall breaks coming up with school, Eddie suggested we drive back to the midwest and meet everyone. I was ecstatic! I called my family and told them Eddie and I […]
MoreIn September, I went to an LSU game with a few of my girlfriends. We thought it would be a great idea to wakeup early and throw back a few mimosas, since it was an afternoon game. But the alcohol and the heat made for a very unpleasant mix. So I went home early, and […]
MoreI stayed at Eddie’s that night, and when I left in the morning, I was pretty sure he would never call me again. I didn’t know the status of his girlfriend, and it definitely didn’t help that he was my manager. So I tucked it away in my mind as a great night, and left […]
MoreAfter work, we went to a restaurant just across the street from American Eagle. We ordered beers—I got mine on draft and he made a weird comment about how draft beer was cheaper and wondered if that’s why I got it. No. During our conversation, it came out that I had a male roommate. I […]
MoreSo, Eddie had a girlfriend. He never talked about her, but I had put the clues together at left it at that. One Sunday night, I joined a few of my sorority sisters and their boyfriends at this bar that overlooked a swamp. It was at the end of a short pier, and basically stood […]
MoreIn August, A&F was cutting my hours, so I looked elsewhere for work. Naturally, I decided to go to the dark side and put in an application at American Eagle. When I went to drop off my completed application, there was a hot guy working the counter. His name was Eddie. I dropped off my […]
MoreJuly 24, 2006 {1:00 pm} Okay, so here I am again back in the journal writing about what I know best: how someone else has broken my heart. It’s been nearly 8 months since I was here writing about my issues with Adam. Today, it’s Austin. Yesterday, he told me he doesn’t have an emotional […]
MoreMy 21st birthday was in July. Around work, I heard rumors that Austin was trying to set up a surprise party for me. So, when he invited me to dinner one night, I was fairly certain it was going to be a party. I got ready and drove to his place. Where there was no […]
MoreI managed to survive my time at work, even when Austin was around. He wasn’t dating anyone else, and neither was I. In June, he told me he wanted to take me to the Marc Broussard concert that I’d bought him tickets for when we were still together. I liked Marc Broussard, but I wasn’t […]
MoreAustin and I didn’t go on many dates before we decided to be exclusive. Our first two dates went very well, and I remember wondering if things were moving too fast. I didn’t know if I was really ready for another relationship—I was still feeling the baggage from Adam. But I felt like Austin and […]
MoreI agreed to go to dinner, despite Austin’s very lame attempt at asking me. We were in the stockroom, trying to reorganize clothes, when Austin came in complaining about a recent date he went on. The girl he went with worked at A&F with us, just like all of the girls Austin took on dates. […]
MoreOf course, after I got rid of my physical baggage from my relationship with Adam, it took months before he was out of my mind. At the time, sorting through my emotions was one of the most difficult things I had to go through. But looking back on it now, it was just one step […]
MoreA few weeks later, I spent my first Thanksgiving away from home. It was such a hassle to travel back to the midwest for such a short trip, that I was happy when a sorority sister invited me to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. However, I was worried that all of my high school friends would […]
MoreAfter the journal entries, and after Halloween, the anger portion of my grief set in. The lovely Facebook showed me pictures of Adam in a frat boy costume for Halloween. He was with a girl who was dressed as a pirate wench. She is now his wife. Although I had declared my single status on […]
MoreAs you can tell from a few of those previously posted columns, things were going pretty well with Adam and I, even though we were 15 hours away from each other. When I got back to school in August, for the fall semester, I booked a flight to visit Adam for my Fall Break—basically a […]
MoreAfter the night in Adam’s dorm over winter break, and returning to LSU for the spring semester, I was ready to go home and see my friends for the summer. That was when Sheena and I nearly got arrested. No more than a few weeks after that, Adam invited me over for dinner at his […]
MoreI wrote this column for the LSU newspaper. It’s about my relationship with Adam. It was published about two weeks before he dumped me. Relationships with Holly A. Phillips {published Tuesday, September 27, 2005} I miss my single-self. My single-self is laid-back, strong and independent. But I lost her somewhere in the midst of my […]
MoreDuring winter break of my sophomore year, I was making notes for a relationship column I was writing. I wanted to write about Adam. Here is the notebook page I kept: Holly A. Phillips 1.8.05 Column idea: Adam makes the move. One of my best friends, Adam is finally coming onto me. Several of my […]
MoreLooking back, it’s difficult for me to say exactly when my friendship with Adam melted into a relationship, with full-blown feelings. But since it’s my responsibility to figure it out, I would say it all started in Adam’s dorm room. ‘Twas the night before winter break at Indiana University. I drove into town, heading home […]
MoreThe summer before my junior year in college, I was 20 years old. I was home in Indiana for a few months, and Sheena and I were headed out for a typical summer night—out to a lake house. This was Evan’s family lake house—a notorious hotspot for partying in high school. Once we arrived, it […]
MoreI never saw much of Adam during school breaks. Over the summer, Adam and his family spent time at their lakeside cottage in Michigan. Over Christmas break, he was either closing the cottage or traveling to visit other family members. From the outside, his family looked perfect. Adam’s dad worked for one of the largest […]
MoreI keep a giant, expandable folder of notes, journal entries, cards, ticket stubs, and all things that might jog my memory as I attempt to write this book. Over the next few weeks, my assignment is to write and organize all of my “Adam” information—my first love. I can hear the singing from the angels […]
MoreMain topics: Adam Austin Eddie 1. Adam 2. Austin 3. Eddie 4. Austin Things for later (book II): Hank Matt B. Matthew Matt C.
MoreAfter looking at my timeline, and some notes I had from my relationship with Austin, I was able to go a little deeper with that first timeline I posted. Here goes: April 20, 2006: Austin sends me postcards from his class trip to the west coast. July 24, 2006: Austin regrets our physical relationship. March […]
MoreAside from writing a book, it has become a dream of mine to be published in The New York Times’ Modern Love column—I know, I really have some hefty dreams here. I’ve written and submitted two columns, both of which I am proud of, but I am still working toward my goal. I came across […]
MoreIt’s time to add a little juice to this machine! Over the year, one thing I HAVE been doing is creating a timeline of things that happened in my life — some of them pertain to “How to Make Lemonade,” others don’t. This is me accepting the fact that my memory sucks, so how am […]
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The Bitter Lemon 
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