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Christmas treats!
Yesterday, I shipped off a box of goodies to some friends in Kansas. It’s a tradition we’ve been following now for three years – shipping each other a box of festive treats. The funny part about this story is that I actually met them through blogging! We met through blog comments and blog posts, and […]
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Things are looking new around here!
Howdy! You might notice that “The Bitter Lemon” got a bit of a facelift. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now, but it took me a bit to find something that felt right. So, welcome! It’s still going to be the same content you’re used to, just a bit of a different […]
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Blanche’s Book Club: ‘Rush’.
Hey everyone – you made it through week #1 of the time change! I keep hearing people talk about it, and I feel like this is the first year it really seems off – I am a little more tired at earlier hours… and it’s still a little more difficult to get out of […]
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Year three at the Austin Film Festival!
I almost didn’t volunteer this year for the Austin Film Fest – I feel like things have been so hectic and I wasn’t even sure how much I could volunteer. But then I reminded myself how much fun I’ve had as a volunteer the last two years. Plus… the Film Fest has been the one […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Puddin”.
We made it to Friday, y’all – on top of a ROUGH week at work, some general life stuff, and considering today is Day 5 of having to boil Austin water – let’s praise the higher powers! I have three non-renewable books due back to the library Sunday, so I really tried to channel any […]
MoreListening: ‘Suncity’ by Khalid.
Mid-performance at Austin City Limits, Khalid announced he was dropping an EP called “Suncity” Friday, October 19. I bought it and downloaded it as soon as I woke up on Friday 🙂 It’s been such a long time since I found an artist where I buy and download every single thing they put out, as […]
MoreAustin City Limits: The highlights.
I went to Austin City Limits (ACL) – weekend two – over the weekend, and I still cannot stop thinking about how much fun I had! Last year, my best friend Sheena came to Austin and we ventured to one day of the festival, both seeing it for the first time. We were there from […]
MoreMy ‘ Catitude’ strikes again…
A few months ago, I wrote about a situation at my job where a coworker called me out for having a bad attitude (you can read all about it here). In a nutshell, I have often been called out for having a bad attitude, and as of January 2018, I decided it was really annoying […]
MoreWatching: ’13 Reasons Why’.
Please note, the following content may contain emotional triggers. Early last year, I read Jay Asher’s popular YA novel, “13 Reasons Why” – you can read my full review here – around the same time it debuted as a TV series on Netflix. I heard about how controversial it was, how difficult it was to […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: 2018 Halloween Reading Guide!
It’s October 1st, and what better way to celebrate the spookiest month of them all than with a list of books meant to scare the daylights out of you?! If you’ve been around these parts for awhile, you know that I don’t do too well with anything scary. What can I say? I’m a […]
More‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ Tour!
In May, I took a Bucket List trip to Denver, Colorado to see Khalid in concert at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. While I was waiting for the show to start, I saw the image above flash on a screen promoting a concert in September. “The Miseducation of Lauren Hill 20th Anniversary Tour”, the screen […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Ghosted’.
It’s officially FALL, Y’ALL! Cue the pumpkin patch pictures (say that 5 times fast), pumpkin spice lattes, flannel and plaid everything… I’ll admit I have always loved fall, but mostly because of the crisp air and, in a way, it’s the start of the holiday season. Speaking of holidays, today I’m spending the day working […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘The Bucket List’.
Hey there! It’s about 11 on Tuesday night, and while I normally would be tucked in bed by now, I’ll admit I’ve got some nerves keeping me awake. In the morning, I’m heading to a dermatologist to have my skin examined for signs of cancer. Right before I went on vacation, I was putting on […]
MoreWhat a stuffed llama taught me about self-care.
Labor Day weekend, I went to the outlet mall to catch some highly-anticipated sales. After almost shopping ’til I dropped, I stopped by a store I’ve recently come to love: Five Below. It’s a place you have to be in the mood to look, but everything is $5 or below. I’ve bought some pretty cool […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘All We Ever Wanted’.
I got back to Austin yesterday afternoon, took a quick nap, and headed to teach my first blog class of the semester! It was a busy day, but I always enjoy meeting new students. I have today and tomorrow off work, so I slept in this morning and am just getting things moving. It’s supposed […]
MorePensacola: My favorite places.
I got to Pensacola, Florida on Saturday afternoon for some serious fun and relaxation in one of my favorite vacation spots! While packing for this trip, I realized that I’ve managed to vacation in Pensacola dozens of times over the years – it’s small, there’s enough to do if you’re looking for it, but it’s […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Dopesick’.
Hey there! I’m heading to the beach tomorrow, and I have noticed a very strong pattern in myself over the last few years. Whenever I’m getting ready for a trip, the days (and usually the entire week) before I leave is completely INSANE. That’s the thing when you work freelance, have a digital job, and […]
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Beach vacation beauty
Yesterday, everyone said goodbye to summer, but… summer is a state of mind, right? I’m heading to the beach on Saturday, so I’m spending a good chunk of my spare time this week prepping and packing for a sandy getaway. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t go to the beach without my makeup bag. […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘An American Marriage’.
Happy Labor Day! It’s gloomy here in Austin, so I don’t feel a BIT guilty for planning a day indoors – I’ve got blogs to write and some freelance to do… and I need to make some jewelry for my Etsy store – so, cya summer. Just kidding, that won’t happen until… October? I skipped […]
MoreWhat I’ve learned from John McCain.
As we head into the holiday weekend, I wanted to write a bit on John McCain. I will admit, if you asked me even a year ago my thoughts on Senator McCain, I would have rolled my eyes. I probably don’t have to say it, but I’m a die-hard liberal. I don’t agree with McCain’s […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘The President is Missing’.
Hey there! Last week, my boss instructed me to pick a day to work from home this week because I’ve been “doing too much” – so, today is my day! I am always so jealous of anyone who has a job that lets them regularly work from home (even if it’s just one day a […]
MoreWhat am I hungry for?
I wish I could say this post was a giant metaphor – something about me searching for my purpose in life, but no. I’m actually talking about being hungry, and food. The past few days, I’ve been feeling a little weird. My hunger is the same, but literally NOTHING sounds good to eat. In fact, […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Leah on the Offbeat’.
Hey there! I am going to jump right into the subject matter today because I waited SO long to get this book in my grubby little paws. Today, I’m talking about “Leah on the Offbeat” by Becky Albertalli. As soon as I read “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda“, I put myself on the library […]
MoreEmbracing the ‘YOLO’ Attitude.
I’ve written a little bit (or maybe a lot) about living your dreams, reaching for your goals, and in general, living life to its fullest. I have always felt a sense of urgency in my life and, although I’m not entirely sure the reasoning for it, I have felt it even more since my dad’s […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Big Magic’.
Hey there! I had a fun little Saturday yesterday – I got my hair done (a slightly new cut and a bold red color), went on my weekly “Food Adventure”, where I try a new restaurant (I went to Modern Market for a Blueberry Pesto sandwich), and did some shopping at Trader Joe’s (picked up […]
MoreSearching for Sue.
I’ve been practicing yoga for a long time – several years, off and on. When I say “yoga” here, I am referring to the movements you’ve probably come to know whether you’ve taken a yoga class or not. Last month, I signed up with a yoga studio for 30 days to see how I liked […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘The Island’.
Hey there! I feel like I haven’t blogged in forever – I’ve been in a bit of a creative slump and I’ve been so busy with work that I have barely been reading. It’s just all-around lame! But, yesterday I finished reading a book, so let’s jump right in! Today, I’m talking about “The Island” […]
More2018 Goals: Checking in.
We’re already a week into August, and I have been thinking a lot about the goals I set for myself this year. It’s time to check-in and see what I’ve done and what I’ve got left to do, because I refuse to let another year pass without doing these things! Raise the standard (In progress) […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘How to Party With an Infant’.
Happy Sunday! I took off Friday and Monday from work because… I needed to get my life together. I have been so busy with work (work, work, work, work) that I was feeling really scatter-brained, exhausted, and even little, daily tasks were starting to pile up. So, I spent Friday running errands – getting my […]
MoreA Review: Laura Geller Beauty.
Hello there! I came across a few deals on Laura Geller beauty products that I thought would be worthy of sharing here, and then I realized, hey, I have enough of her products to do a complete face, everyday makeup tutorial! So, head over to my Instagram @OrangeJulius7 and take a look at my stories […]
MoreWatching ‘The O.C.’, season 4.
I finished watching season four of “The O.C.” last week, and since there are only four seasons, it’s overrrrrrrrrr!!! I was slowly savoring the episodes when I started on season three, but season four was just… weird. But, let me offer up the official description from Amazon before I go any further: High school is […]
MoreSummer Meltdown… to realness.
Last night was yet another showcase for my Dance Austin Studio family. This was the Summer Meltdown, Take 2, which was a music video series. It was, of course, different from other showcases Dance Austin has hosted in the past – it was a four-week series followed by a video shoot, instead of a live […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Amy, My Daughter’.
Happy Saturday! I am so, so happy it’s the weekend (I hate being that person) – this week was so crazy at work and, even though I have lots of things on my to-do list this weekend, I’m happy just to be out of the office. I actually read the latest pick from Blanche’s Book […]
MoreA Review: FitFabFun Editor’s Box Summer 2018
Hey there! I have been polling my followers on Instagram – I want to offer the content you guys want to see – and the results are in: more beauty content. I was getting ready for work one day and realized that although I’m a beauty junkie, I don’t really talk much about the products […]
MoreIt’s Taco Tuesday!
I’ve been trying to eat mostly vegan (if not, vegetarian) for a year and a half now, and I can easily say that vegan or vegetarian tacos are one of my favorite things to make. The awesome thing is, there are so many options out there – delicious ones – and I wanted to round […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Limelight’.
Another week is upon us, and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I realized that I go into every weekend hoping to relax and get things done around my apartment or for the blog, as most of my weekdays are filled with work and dance classes… but you know what? It’s really hard for me […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Eleanor & Park’.
Hey, hey! I am slowly, but surely making it through my stack of library books – work and my freelance clients have kept me busy lately, but I’m reading when I can. If you’re a fan of YA novels, I think you’ll love the latest read from Blanche’s Book Club, so let’s get into it! […]
MoreDo I have a ‘Catitude’ problem?
“All you do is complain.” My coworker was standing in my boss’ doorway, yelling at me, while I was staring at her, my eyes wide while sipping coffee. Rewind this about two minutes and you’d have found us on the other side of our office suite. She’d asked me a question that I didn’t have […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘The Female Persuasion’.
Happy Sunday! I had the best day yesterday – I had a gift certificate to a spa, so I got a 90-minute facial that included a massage, eye and lip treatments, and a detox peel – my skin feels amazing! It was in an area of town that I haven’t explored much, so I took […]
MoreWatching: ‘The OC’, season 3.
I started watching season 3 of “The OC” during my staycation last week, and I wasn’t surprised when I barreled right through it. I thought season 2 was good, but season 3 was just throwing drama left and right, and you know, I am HERE FOR IT. Before I go any further, here is the […]
MoreLiving single… at 33.
You might recall a popular TV series in the mid-90’s, “Living Single”, that followed six black singletons living in Brooklyn. They were in their twenties. Because that’s when most people are single, right? I haven’t written about my (lack of) dating life in a while – in fact, when I searched through the archives of […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘The High Season’.
I’m feeling the PRESSURE – I have several library books at home that need to be read and there’s more reserves waiting to be picked up! What’s a girl to do… lay around and read? Sounds like a plan. I stayed up until almost midnight last night to finish Blanche’s Book Club’s latest read: “The […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: That’s a wrap!
Okay… it’s almost 10pm on a Sunday night, and it’s about to be official: the end of my Staycation. I’m definitely savoring these last few moments before reality hits when my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow – I cooked a meal (I’ll be taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow), I spent three hours on […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: Day 4.
Howdy! Here we are, on the evening of Staycation Day 4 – I just got home from the Drafthouse where I saw “Tag”. But, more on that in a minute. Since I last wrote about Staycation, I’ve been a busy bee. I had an informal jazz rehearsal Tuesday night (our video shoot is Saturday morning, […]
MoreBlanche’s Book Club: ‘Sociable’.
Happy July 4th! It’s gloomy already in Austin, and the chances of outdoor activity are looking grim… and those were my BIG staycation plans! I bought a ticket for paddle boarding under the fireworks, buuuut I’ve already gotten the obligatory email saying if it rains and the fireworks get cancelled, then you’ll get refunded. Ugh. […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: Day 1.
If we’re not counting the weekend, today was officially my first day of Staycation! But, I did have a good weekend – I went to two places in town that I’ve never been – Counter Culture and Capital City Bakery (both vegan). I also laid out at the pool, finished reading a book (and am […]
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The Bitter Lemon 
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