When I heard the song, “Rehab” for the first time, I thought Amy Winehouse was a smart-mouthed, bad ass bitch, just making fun of pop culture and it’s celebulites, of the Lindsay Lohan-sort. So, I bought “Back to Black,” unaware that it would be an album that changed my world — not unlike Lauryn Hill’s […]
MoreThe winner from Tuesday’s giveaway is posted below, if you’re interested… Last weekend, I finished reading, “Girls in White Dresses” by Jennifer Close, a book that’s been on my reading list for awhile (I think it’s been years). Here is what Amazon says about the book: Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone […]
MoreI’m about halfway through the summer semester of my blogging class, Blogging for Beginners (through LSU Leisure Courses), and I received a shipment of my “textbooks.” This book, “Blogging For Beginners: 51 Blogging Tips,” is a compilation of the tips I offer on my class blog, Blogging for Beginners. I know, I get really creative […]
MoreLast weekend, I was flipping channels, searching for something I could get lost in for awhile (one of my favorite hobbies), when I came across the movie, “Definitely, Maybe,” starring the one and only Hottie With A Body, Ryan Reynolds. Good Lord, that man is fwwiiiinnne. Aside from boy band crushes, Mr. Reynolds might just […]
MoreBoy do I love curling up on my couch for a self-made marathon of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” built using my collections of seasons on DVD. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ran for seven seasons, beginning in 1970 — a time when America was going through political change, and women were beginning to experience […]
MoreYes! I saw The Fault in Our Stars this weekend! After reading the book, and then seeing the previews, I was seriously counting down the days until the movie hit theatres. Although it’s out of character for me, I didn’t go to the midnight premiere, but I did see it on Sunday, and the theatre […]
MoreWow, do I love a good brunch. I’m lucky enough to live in a city that’s got dozens of great brunch spots, but I’ve always had a little dream of hosting one myself. The thing is, it seems like such a huge ordeal — what to serve for food? What about drinks? How fancy should […]
MoreAbout a year ago, I fell into a relaxing (okay, more like lazy) routine of laying in bed all Sunday and watching Hallmark movies (on the Hallmark Channel). They are simple and fun, and I enjoy them in the same way I enjoy curling up with a Nicholas Sparks book. But the ultimate perk of […]
MoreNo, seriously. Cancel the damn thing. There’s many-a-wedding I’ve heard about that should’ve been cancelled, and there’s a few coming up this spring that really just should NOT be happening. The thing is, most people think canceling a wedding would be too much of a hassle — even more than a divorce. Or, sometimes, let’s […]
MoreAs you read this, chances are solid that me, along with three of my girlfriends, have packed the Tahoe to its gills as only girls can—with too many bikinis, sunscreen, and unnecessary makeup, as we travel a few hours to Gulf shores for the best music celebration on the beach: Hangout Fest. Aside from the […]
MoreUnless you went to my high school, chances are, you don’t know who Kim Green is. She was my high school journalism advisor/fearless Triangle newspaper leader. If it weren’t for her, I honestly have no idea how my life would have shaped up. I definitely wouldn’t have my current job. I may not have gone […]
MoreI’m glad I live in a world where I am allowed to have my own blog, and on that blog, I can confess my love for men that are barely of-age to be called that. Because my latest celeb crush is Ryan Sheckler. I use the term “latest” loosely, as I’ve had a crush on […]
MoreOn Good Friday, I took advantage of the fact that I had the day off from work, and my CASA boys were off of school, picked them up after lunch, and hosted an Easter egg hunt for them. I spent the week leading up to the egg hunt looking for and purchasing baskets (they were […]
More‘Twas the night before my 26th birthday, making it July 1, 2011, in case you’re wondering. I was at the Houston airport on a layover during my trip to Chicago. Things were not so great. I was in a weird place with my then-boyfriend. I don’t even think he was my official boyfriend at the […]
MoreCall them RomComs, Chick Flicks, whatever, but the truth is, I’ve never been able to really label how I feel about this film genre. Sometimes, these movies cheer me up when I’m down, and other times, they make me cynical (more than I already am) and I feel like I’m never going to find a […]
MoreI have a guilty pleasure of admiring the glamorous lives of others from afar, via Instagram. No, I don’t even HAVE an Instagram account, but I’ve managed to find plenty of profiles, and be jealous of their beautiful lives. God, I’m creepy. Anyway, one of the bloggers I follow (and stalk on Instagram) posts all […]
MoreAs a relationship columnist and blogger, sometimes it’s a little embarrassing to admit all of my stories when it comes to dating the wrong guys. While I have dozens (okay, maybe hundreds) of stories, what it really boils down to is ignoring red flags, especially before things get serious. It’s something that I’ve really been […]
MoreWhen I got my first apartment (by myself) after college, my mom gave me an extra crock-pot she had, as all I had was a bed, a dresser, and a slew of clothes. It took me years to get enough furniture to make for a decent home, and lots gifts to fill my kitchen with […]
MoreI 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 […]
MoreSunday night, I put the final touches on my first major DIY project—a dresser I keep in my bedroom. I got the dresser before my senior year in college—it was purchased from Target and I put it together, and it survived three moves with me, somehow. It’s original color was white, and I always liked […]
MoreLook for my column, The Bitter Lemon, in Baton Rouge’s alt-weekly, Dig magazine. A fresh issue hits the stands every Wednesday. This week’s column covers two of my favorite things: cooking and dating. The man I thought I was going to marry was a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy. If love were rice dressing, […]
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 […]
MoreLast week, I was so lucky to have my best friends—Angela and Sheena—in town from Indiana. The two of them were deep in winter depression (I’m really believing that’s a thing) and drove the 12 hours South to get to Baton Rouge. While the two of them have visited me several times before, they’d never […]
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 […]
MoreLast week, my podcast co-host, Ethan, was so kind as to send me a gift: a Snowball Microphone! Currently, Ethan and I are hosting our podcast, Learning From Strangers, for free, but we are investing our time (mostly Ethan’s) and money (again, mostly Ethan’s) into this, hoping it boosts our numbers when it comes to […]
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 […]
MoreWhen you ask me “Why are you single?” What I want to say is, “Why are you so fucking nosy?” But instead I put on a jacket of societal norms And I just Shrug my shoulders And tell you “I just haven’t found the one yet” But if you want my honest opinion… I don’t […]
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 […]
MoreWhen I was younger, weather talk was boring—a sign that you had nothing else to talk about. But, when Al Roker told me the oh-so-frightening Polar Vortex was actually going to break off and come flying toward Baton Rouge at lightening speed, it became the topic of conversation at my office coffee pot. That damn […]
MoreAnd so here we are again, tomorrow is the last day of 2013, and if you’re anything like me, you’re wondering, “Where has the time gone?” Each year seems to fly by faster than the one before it, no matter how hard we try to slow things down, savor the moments, pack our days, sleep […]
MoreI’m sure you are familiar with Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol.” One of my favorite parts is when Ebenezer is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Past, which lets him see his childhood, which was lonely, however he also sees a joyful Christmas party that quickly turned somber when his fiancée leaves him after […]
MoreI know tomorrow is Christmas Eve, making today Christmas Eve-Eve, so this list of my “Holiday Favorites” is a liiiiiitle late. But hey, Christmas came early this year, right? Anyway, here’s a few things I love about the holiday season: 1. Holiday scents. Of course I love buying holiday candles that make my home smell […]
MoreAs the new year approaches, my brain has been brewing up all sorts of new places that I want to take this blog. For three years, the main focus of this blog has been relationships (which it will always be), but I have other passions, too! One of them is baking, and often, I swap […]
MoreI’ve got a new project. Am I crazy? Does it always seem like I’ve got a new project? I will admit, it is a fault of mine that I’m always kind of all over the place. Welcome to the life of a creative—my mind is always buzzing, and in the words of Miley Cyrus, “We […]
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 […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 29: WAKE UP CALL Thursday, May 20, 2010 Today’s task got me out of bed […]
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 […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 27: FEEL SOMETHING Tuesday, May 18, 2010 I’ve been looking forward to today’s assignment since […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 23: LOOK AHEAD Friday, May 14, 2010 I just had a breakdown. My day was […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 22: GET FAMOUS Thursday, May 13, 2010 I had a baggage issue today. I was […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 20: FILM FEST Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Last night, I had a dream my ex’s […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 14: WISH YOU WERE 6 AGAIN Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Today, The Frisky asked me […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 13: WRITE THAT LETTER DOWN Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Throughout this process, two things have […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 11: STASH THE CASH Sunday, May 2, 2010 Day 11 didn’t get off to a […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 2: YOU CAN TELL EVERYBODY Friday, April 23, 2010 Today is the day The Frisky […]
MoreI’m not a big fan of Taylor Swift. But every now and then, she’ll come out with a song that gets stuck in my head or, in this case, strikes a chord with me. Enter, “Everything Has Changed” featuring Ed Sheeran. The song, as interpreted by me, is about two people who go from friends […]
MoreSaturday at sunset, my coworker and friend, Ashley, got married! October 19, 2013 marked the 10-year anniversary of her boyfriend turned fiance, and now husband, Barry. And their wedding was beautiful. And yes, I know, that’s what everyone says about every wedding. But this one was different, I swear. Ashley & Barry are dedicated travelers. […]
MoreBefore I go back to normal blog business, I wanted a chance to really thank you all for reading my entire 19-part series, How I Fell. During the month of August, when I was posting the series, 5,987 of you visited this blog. That blew July’s numbers out of the water—218. But that’s not why […]
More“Oh?” I asked, not surprised that my suspicions were confirmed. She nodded. “She was checking up on him, figured out you were his ex, and then found your blog,” she said. “Interesting,” I said. “Well, what’s interesting is the timing,” she continued. “They started hanging out around Easter, which…from reading your blog, that’s when you […]
MoreThe next day, I took a long lunch to clean my house because I had scheduled a “home visit” with a local animal shelter that had a kitty I wanted to adopt. D and I went to our favorite spot—California Pizza Kitchen—had lunch, and headed home to clean. I passed the inspection and the kitty, […]
MoreIt was a Thursday afternoon when D told me it wouldn’t be much longer for his grandfather. I asked him what he wanted me to do. He wanted me to meet him for lunch, and drinks. So I did. Needless to say, D was pretty upset. His family was close, his parents and grandparents all […]
MoreThe Monday following Matt’s wedding, D sent me a text saying he wanted me to meet his daughter. That night. Considering I just met his parents a week before that, 2 things were happening in my mind. 1. Yeah, things were certainly faster than I was used to. And 2., my nerves were shot. I […]
MoreDuring the quick drive from the church to their home, D called his parents asking if they needed anything. “We are going to stop at Walmart because Holly needs a case of beer…” he told them (Baptists are anti-alcohol). I gave him the evil stare. He laughed, hanging up the phone, telling me to lighten […]
MoreA few weeks later, D arrived at my apartment one night and made an interesting comment. “You know, staying at your place every night is really KILLING my hygiene.” Oh? The standard routine had been that he came over after work (which was usually late at night) and slept until it was time to get […]
MoreI just finished reading “A Place of Yes” by Bethenny Frankel. I was taking my time with this one, because it has so many great takeaway lessons and I often took lots of notes while reading it. If you are a Bethenny fan already, I don’t need to explain to you how amazing she is […]
MoreBefore I left work yesterday, I was rummaging around in my desk and came across an old stack of CDs. Near the top was one very dear to my heart: The Spirit Room by Michelle Branch. This album came out in 2001, when I was a junior in high school. This was the same year […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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