family
Blanche’s Book Club: ‘Ramona Blue’.
Happy Hump Day! We’re already halfway through the week, plus I’m so excited to share Blanche’s Book Club’s latest read – it’s a goodie! Today, we’re talking about “Ramona Blue” by Julie Murphy. Here is the description from Amazon.com: Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it’s […]
MoreThank you.
It’s Thanksgiving Eve, eve! Tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a flight to get my travel on for the holiday break, and just perhaps, I’ll get my dose of freezing cold weather for a few days. I don’t want to get too cheesy here, but the approaching Thanksgiving holiday definitely makes me think about what I’m […]
MoreHealthcare, tears, and TSA
Almost two weeks ago, I got a call from my uncle letting me know my dad had been admitted to the hospital. As I’ve mentioned here before, the relationship I have with my dad came to a halt about three and a half years ago. I haven’t heard from him since then, or really heard […]
MoreSelling my baggage on eBay.
One of my goals for 2017 was to clean out my apartment. Not clean up, no, actually go through every little nook and box and get rid of things, and also do a better job of the things that I brought into the apartment. My tiny place is 650 square feet, including my patio, and […]
MoreOn keeping it real (honest).
It’s 9:30 pm, and I’m writing this on my phone as I soak in the tub. I just had a mini-meltdown in my car and am grasping for all of my self care necessities at once: Blanche, bubble bath, John Mayer, and a clay mask. Since Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, I’ve been stressed. I’ve been […]
MoreIt’s true: You really can’t go home again.
Last week, I took a trip home to Indiana to visit some old friends and family. It had been 18 months since I’ve been back, and I was really looking forward to it. I had three big things on my to-do list during my six-day trip: 1. Honor my friend Cheryl by participating in a […]
MoreChristmas traditions, new & old.
A few months ago, my boss requested the entire office figure out their holiday schedule so we could make sure all of our clients had coverage (#AgencyLife). I was sitting at a table in our office lounge with a few of my coworkers, when one of them asked me if I was traveling home (to […]
MorePic of the Week.
My Pic of the Week is of me, and if you couldn’t guess from how similar we look, my beautiful mom! She flew to Austin from Indiana to visit me for the entire week of Christmas, and we really did a lot of fun things while she was here. I had to work on that […]
MoreSingle Girl Recipe: Holiday Cocktails!
Whether you’re spending the holidays with family, friends, or both, the chances are likely you’ll need a cocktail to get through one more round of dominos with the grandparents or flip through that dusty photo album with your mother-in-law, for the 11th time. Or, maybe you’re like me, and looking for any excuse to get […]
MorePic of the Week.
Is it just me, or is this holiday season just FLYING by? I feel like everything is coming up so fast and I’ve got so much to do before it’s over! Nonetheless, it all starts with putting up the Christmas tree, right? Yes. I think every year, that maybe THIS year, I won’t put up […]
MoreGiving back during the holidays.
We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving and I’m so, so excited! Thanksgiving means the official start of the holiday season, and of course lots of food and drink, but I’m also looking forward to donating my time Thanksgiving morning. On Thursday morning, my best friend Sheena is joining me to help Operation […]
MoreBudget beer tasting.
Fall is slowly starting to creep in, and no matter what the season, I’m always looking for fun ways to try new things, without hurting my wallet. While I love wine, I think it’d be really fun to host a beer tasting at your home this season (or during any season, really)! It’s super easy, […]
MoreFiction Friday: Oil & Ink, part III.
This is the final installment of Holly’s original short story, “Oil & Ink.” Read part one here and part two here, as you wish. * * * “I need to talk to someone about financing a building.” The clerk looked Charlie up and down; from his miniature blond mohawk to […]
MoreBirth order compatibility.
I’m always trying to figure out different things that make people compatible — horoscope signs, personality tests, age, family situation — but what about birth order? Turns out (after Googling), there’s actually a TON of information out there on this! An article in Women’s Day lays out the characteristics of each birth order “type”: Firstborns: […]
MoreWho Would Jesus Date?
A few weeks ago, I got a Facebook message from my uncle, my dad’s brother, saying he read my post about my nonexistent relationship with my father. He told me it was obvious that I was leading an unfulfilling life and the only way I would ever be satisfied, is if I consulted Jesus. This […]
MoreDads ‘n Daughters.
It’s been 10 months since I’ve talked to my father. I haven’t seen him in two years, and it’s been about 10 years since I’ve spent a holiday with him. I don’t have his address (it’s somewhere in Kentucky), and the last e-gift card I sent him for his birthday went unopened (and I kept […]
MoreSingletons do Baby Showers.
Last weekend, I drove the 800 miles to my home state of Indiana. I was invited to a baby shower for one of my best friends; a girl I’ve known since 6th grade. In December, I offered to host a shower for her, but she told me it would be easier for her other friends […]
MorePic of the Week.
I spent all of last week with my mom, as she was in town to visit. I hadn’t seen my mom in an entire year! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ask off work, so I still had to put in 40 hours while she was here, and a lot of our visiting time was early […]
MorePic of the Week.
I spent a decent amount of my weekend driving to and from Indiana. I got up Friday morning around 3am and drove the 12 hours to Bloomington, spent Saturday attending baby showers, treated myself to a day of Sunday drinking, and hit the road Monday morning at 4:30 to make it back to Baton Rouge. […]
MoreIntroducing the friends.
Alright, I’m going to admit that I’m really bad about this whole “Introducing the significant other to your friends” thing. In the past, I get really excited when I meet a new guy and we start hanging out (who doesn’t?), and I want him to meet my friends, whom I love so much. I don’t […]
MoreExes: Married With Children.
Sometime last week, I wandered over to my ex-boyfriend’s Facebook page. It’s something I do when I’m feeling rather low about myself, even though looking at his page usually makes me feel worse. Call me a masochist. Right away, I saw what I figured would be there: his profile picture was a tiny baby. His […]
MorePic of the Week.
Thursday night, I could not wait to finish with work, jump into my sweats and walk right on over to the movie theatre for the midnight premier of “The Longest Ride,” a film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks bestseller. I was really excited for several reasons: 1. the book was fantastic. I have very, very […]
MoreSurvival Guide: Road trip!
In just a few weeks, I’m heading on a road trip! It’s been years since I’ve hit the open road for a trip that lasted longer than 4 hours, but I can easily say that I’m looking forward to it. About a year ago, I took a 19-hour train ride (read about it here), which […]
MoreFresh Friday: Warm Cotton.
“Inspired by soap,” is what the package says, and that’s certainly what it smells like! Warm Cotton by CLEAN reminds of the way it smells outside, in the summer, when someone is doing their laundry. Very fresh, clean, and cozy, in a sense. As described by Sephora, “Cozy up to CLEAN Warm Cotton Eau de […]
MorePic of the Week.
I spent most of last week in bed. And not in the way you’d expect, or wish upon a person like myself (by that I mean a person who hasn’t gotten laid in awhile). I spent my week in bed sneezing, coughing, sniffling… basically anything that irritated my cat Blanche. Spring is here, and that […]
MoreThe truth on birth control.
I know birth control can be a little bit of a touchy subject for some, but as a relationship blogger & columnist, I feel it’s almost irresponsible if I don’t at least mention it. Let’s just get this out of the way: yes, I’m on birth control. I have been for about 8 years. I […]
MorePic of the Week.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, y’all! Today is probably the busiest day I’ve got planned this week, partly because I’m prepping for a fun little event here at The Bitter Lemon HQ: Drumroll… Starting at midnight tonight, I will be TWEETING the entire contents of my very first book, “How I Fell.” Remember that one? My […]
MoreFresh Friday: Pink Sugar.
Ta-da, it’s Friday! Pay no mind that it’s Friday the 13th… because it’s the freakin’ weekend, and even though I have to work all weekend, Friday still makes me pretty happy (mainly because every Friday, there’s a CSI marathon on FX). Anyway, I’ve probably had a sample of Aquolina’s Pink Sugar in my bin-0-perfumes, and […]
MoreSurvival Guide: Dieting.
We’re well into March, which means if you had a New Year’s Resolution of “sticking to a healthy diet,” then you’ve probably crashed and burned a few times by now. And no, it’s not that I don’t have faith in you! I just know that making changes, especially when it comes to food (delicious food) […]
MoreLuv vs. Love.
The day after Valentine’s, I got a text at 4:30 am. “Love you.” It was from a guy I went to high school with; we’ve kept in touch over the years, and have hooked up a few times. Given the timing of the text, I figured it was a drunk thing and I just didn’t […]
MorePic of the Week.
It seems like so long ago that I had an 8-5 office job — and really it was four months ago. While I am still working out details of my life nearly every week, in ways it seems like things are going along okay, and in other ways, it feels like I’ve got no direction […]
More6/50 Shades: Blushing Sequin.
I know I can’t be the only one dragging ass this morning after LOSING an entire hour yesterday — so sad. But the good news is, spring is on the way, and that means summer is just around the corner (especially true if you live in the South. Spring is, like, a day). Regardless, I […]
MoreBaring it all, in business?
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a guy I went to high school with — you may remember him as the guy who wrote this email about me. To make a long story short, it’s a guy I had a massive crush on for years, but for some reason he was terrible […]
MorePic of the Week.
Lately, I have been basically living off protein bars. Seriously. I take them to work and eat one when I don’t have time to break for an entire meal, or just pack them in my lunchbox so that when I do sit down to eat, I can get protein without the use of a fridge […]
MoreA Review: ‘Maine’.
I picked up a copy of Maine during a library trip — I had written down a list of authors I wanted to check out and J. Courtney Sullivan was definitely one of them. Maine is Sullivan’s second novel (the first one is Commencement), and it’s got all the good stuff rolled into one: the […]
MoreThings I’ve learned from watching: ‘Boy Meets World’
I’m not afraid to admit that I watch a lot of stupid shit on TV. I work hard, every single day, I do “serious” things all the time, so when it comes to TV, I don’t mind a little brainless action. “Boy Meets World” is one of the less-stupid things I watch. I’m the lucky […]
MoreSurvival Guide: Meeting the parents.
It’s been a really long time since I’ve met someone’s parents, but it’s always something I’ve considered myself good at. Why? Mainly because I’m an only-child (I’m not spoiled, swear) and growing up, I spent more time talking to adults than kids my own age. Plus, I love hearing stories — and parents are full […]
MoreFresh Friday: 8.
It’s Friday, and I don’t know about you, but I could use a little dose of HOT GUY. Thank you, Abercrombie old school ads. Actually, the other day, I spritzed on a little 8 by Abercrombie and Fitch just for old time’s sake, and I was surprised at how wonderful it was. As described by […]
MoreWomen You Should Know: Donna Tartt.
I’m halfway through The Goldfinch, and as I read it, I cannot help but wonder who the hell is this Donna Tartt chick? So I did some digging. As you may have guessed, she’s the author of The Goldfinch, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014. She is also the author of The […]
MoreCelebrating John Hughes.
Today, I wanted to celebrate my favorite screenwriter, John Hughes, as today would’ve been his 65th birthday! Hughes wrote two of my favorite movies — Home Alone and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — among many others, including The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Uncle Buck, and National Lampoon’s Vacation. He went to high school in Illinois […]
MorePic of the Week.
I’ve discussed a little about the trouble I’ve had with sleeping over the years. From what I remember, the trouble started during a bad breakup I had several years ago. He was cheating on me and I had these terrible nightmares of him having sex with other women. They were vivid and would wake me […]
MoreSingle Girl Recipe: Snack edition!
For the last month, I’ve been trying to get back into a somewhat healthy routine. When I worked Monday-Friday, 9-5, it was pretty easy for me to meal plan, pack my lunch, and hit the gym every day at 5:15. But my schedule is so different everyday now, and slowly, I’m finding ways to make […]
MoreEven singletons have love.
As a child, Valentine’s Day was marked with gifts. There was a party at school, my dad would buy something for my mom, and my parents would get me one of those heart-shaped boxes of truffles. Since then, my parents divorced, my dad decided that Valentine’s Day was “just for women,” and he quit talking […]
MorePopping the question.
Every year around the holidays, it seems like everyone I know — who’s not already married — is getting engaged. Of course, if it wasn’t for social media, I probably wouldn’t know about 85% of these said proposals, but it’s 2015 and I guess I’ve got reality to deal with. The thing is, I’m not […]
MorePic of the Week.
This weekend, I finally got around to doing something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: I made Valentines! As February crept around, I realized that I’ve spent way too many Februaries being pissed or upset that I didn’t have romantic love in my life to celebrate the holiday with. Some years it bothered […]
MoreThe heart at home.
One of the best parts about my job as a journalist is being able to meet all kinds of different people; hear their stories; their struggles and triumphs. In the mix, I often end up in spots I wouldn’t normally be. A few weeks ago, I was in a flower shop, talking to a man […]
MoreThe dating age.
I work part-time at a shoe store in the mall. It’s not my dream job, but it provides cash, plus I get to meet all kinds of different people. About ¼ of the customers I meet are hot guys. When a hottie comes into the store, I think, “Yes! A hot guy!” And then I […]
MoreThe Column: Sweaty is the New Sexy.
The shiny sweat, a shortness of breath, muscles tightening… it’s your workout routine, and it’s (apparently) sexy as hell. Pickup any magazine, ask any fitness professional, and they’re going to tell you that couples who sweat together, stay together. A lot of things that happen to the body — the aforementioned sweat, short breaths, muscle […]
MoreFresh Friday: Florabotanica.
How did I miss the fact that K-Stew was the Face of Balenciaga’s Florabotanica? Hmm. Regardless, I’ve been rocking this scent all week and I smell like spring. As described by Sephora: “Florabotanica evokes ambivalent bewitching beauty. Velvety and thorny, flirting with hemp and vetiver roots. The scent is flowery, developed on a rose note […]
MoreMinted love.
I’ve always been a little obsessed with my birthday — not celebrating it — more about, what I’ve got in common with others born in July, or things only associated with July birthdays, like the lucky number seven or rubies. I’ve got a few pieces of jewelry that feature rubies (or faux ones) and I’ve […]
MorePic of the Week.
I’ve been on The Hunt for comfortable flats to wear to work since I started in retail three months ago. At my previous job, I spent lots of time in a chair, so wearing incredibly high heels was pretty easy. I only had two pair of flats in my closet. Truth be told, I don’t […]
MoreA Review: ‘The Uncoupling’.
When I got my library card last year, I pretty much threw myself a party (a quiet one inside the stacks), and I made a giant list of books and authors I wanted to read — The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, was one of them. Well, one of the adventures that comes with a library […]
MoreThe Column: Dating in the ER.
I was about two months into dating this guy I met through some friends, when he started acting distant toward me. He stopped answering my calls, it took him longer to respond to text messages, and instead of multiple dates a week, we barely saw each other. I called him out on it, and he sent […]
MoreFresh Friday: Nirvana (black).
A few weeks ago, I told you all about Nirvana White by Elizabeth and James. Can’t have one without the other, right? In the perfume sampler pack I got for Christmas, there was also a bottle of Elizabeth and James’ Nirvana Black. As described by Sephora, “Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black is an addictive blend […]
MorePic of the Week.
I’ve got a TON on my mind this week, so grab a cup of coffee. For starters, this whole to-do list thing is really working out for me! For some reason (and this has always been the case for me), if it’s on a list, I will not rest until the list is completely checked […]
MoreThe Column: Love & Unemployment.
A few weeks after I’d met a guy named Justin, we’d already been on several dates, and I was really starting to like him. But one day at work, I was called into a meeting and told that my services were “no longer needed.” It was the job I’d had for almost seven years; the […]
MoreThings I’ve learned from watching ‘Laguna Beach’
Oh, Laguna, how I love (yes, still do) thee. In late 2004, MTV capitalized on the popularity of The OC, making a reality show based at Laguna Beach High School — claiming it was the story of the REAL OC. And hell, I don’t know how much of it was real, fake, scripted, or whatever, […]
MorePic of the Week.
Okay, so one thing I’m working on is maintaining SOME sort of schedule. My hours at my retail jobs are sometimes as early as 7am, or sometimes as late as 6pm (working until 10pm). I have other things going on — like freelance work, blogging, being social — so I’m trying really hard to still […]
MoreThe Column: Sleeping W/Someone New.
A few days after a great first date, I joined a guy named Justin for a second date. We met through mutual friends, and bonded over weird relationship stories. For our second date, he invited me to his house for a casual night in. While I’m a fan of a relaxing night at home, I […]
MorePic of the Week.
I really thought I was going to have something cool for my first Pic of the Week for 2015, but truthfully, this is as exciting as it gets right now. This is the first week that I actually have time to tend to other things aside from work — I’ve been averaging 50 hours a […]
MoreA Review: ‘Paper Towns’.
Shocker: another fantastic book by John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns is addicting. No, seriously, I read it in one day. Set in Orlando, Florida, Paper Towns is the story of Quentin Jacobsen — a less-than-popular high school senior, who has spent a majority of his life being obsessed with […]
MorePic of the Week
Wow, it’s the LAST pic of the week for 2014! It’s hard to believe I actually have 52 pictures that represent my year — one full of nothing and something all at once. I really thought I was going to have something representative for this last one, but when this magazine came to my mailbox, […]
MoreBubbly basics.
Ah bubbly, champs, champers, pop bottles, sparkling… whatever you call the stuff, it’s delicious. And while most people reserve the fizz for special occasions and New Year’s Eve, I’ve come to enjoy it all year ’round, just when I’m in the mood for something fantastic. So, I’m taking it upon myself to share what I […]
MoreThis Christmas: go glam.
Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you all are prepping for a fantastic day filled with love, kindness, and okay, a little bit of glamour. One of my favorite things about Christmastime is having the excuse to pull out my glitter eyeliner, shimmery shadows, and bold colors. I’ve always loved experimenting with makeup, and opening a […]
MorePic of the Week.
Late last week, I decided to bake some holiday cookies from a kit I bought a few months ago — an Ugly Sweater Cookie Kit. It was just too cute to pass up. The kit had nearly everything I needed: dry ingredients for the cookie dough, a sweater cookie cutter, food coloring for red and […]
MoreAll Blanche wants for Christmas…
When you are a cat lady, said cat (or cats) is a large part of the holidays (well, and every day). That is no different in my home, where one Miss Blanche E. Devereaux pretty much runs the plantation. This was made pretty obvious last year, for Blanche’s first Christmas, when her stocking was overflowing, […]
MoreThe Column: Single Bells.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… or is it? The holidays are often associated with cheer, get-togethers, and gifts, but for singletons, the holidays can be a lonely reminder of what we’re missing. Blame it on the chilly weather or the party invitations, but it often seems like the holidays are made for […]
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