Louisiana
Blanche’s Book Club: ‘Five Days at Memorial’.
Hey, hey! It finally got chilly in Austin last week (yes, it even snowed!), and I’ve been SO paranoid that this would be year #3 of having the Christmas Mouse come for a visit. Blanche started meowing at my coat closet door on Wednesday, and ever since then I’ve been so paranoid (not to mention […]
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 […]
MoreRoad Trip: Baton Rouge edition.
I took a road trip to Baton Rouge this weekend. Yes, it’s a route I’ve traveled many times before – however, I haven’t done it in a whole year. Truthfully, because I kept having to make that trip before (because of CASA volunteer obligations), I’m sure I turned myself off of it. But when a […]
MoreCalling Baton Rouge (my heart).
The first time Baton Rouge felt like home was around 3 a.m. in January 2004, after making the 15-hour drive from Indianapolis to the Dalrymple exit near my dorm. The Louisiana State University football team had just won the National Championship, and there was a giant sign welcoming students back to campus after a long […]
More‘Dig’ gone glossy!
You may or may not know this, but usually my Wednesday blog posts are a replicate of the column that is published in a weekly magazine, “Dig”, which is distributed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’ve worked as a contributing writer for Dig since it was born, a little more than five years ago. The column, […]
MoreWomen You Should Know: The Patent Pump.
Instead of it being a “Woman You Should Know”, today it’s more about a Women’s Brand You Should Know, because I sat down with Ashley Stewart, just one of the founders behind The Patent Pump, an all-female powerhouse for branding (located in Baton Rouge, LA) that just reached its two-year anniversary. Very cool. So, here’s […]
MoreFresh Friday: Sud Magnolia.
This week, it occurred to me that I’m only a few weeks away from having lived in Austin for six months! Can you believe it? It has really flown by. But, I can say that I am finally starting to feel like things are falling into place. I’m learning my way around, finding my groove, […]
MoreThe grand finale.
Over the weekend, I drove back to Baton Rouge to get a ton of things done. It was one of my best friend’s birthday weekends, plus I needed to see my CASA boys, get my hair done (very important), and I needed to get any remaining things out of my apartment, clean the place, and […]
MorePic of the Week.
I spent last week in Austin, and made the trek back to Baton Rouge late Friday night. I wanted to visit my kitty, get some packing done, and I had one final shift to work at my retail job. My friend Derek had been telling me for weeks he was going to come over Saturday […]
MoreBoyfriend Recipe: Sausage pizza!
The last time I had a boyfriend, I introduced him to my mom over pizza. Homemade pizza. I actually made three different kinds that day, because… pizza. And Martha Stewart’s Sausage, Arugula and Parsley pizza was one of them and it was supremely delish! INGREDIENTS 6 ounces of sweet Italian sausage (or spicy, if you’re […]
MorePic of the Week.
As I was leaving for work Friday afternoon, a letter fell out of my door. I knew exactly what it was before I opened it: a letter from my leasing office that would define the new terms of my apartment lease, if I decided to renew. Having lived in my apartment for nearly four years […]
MoreCross-country dating.
The first guy I fell in love with lived in Indiana. I lived here, in Baton Rouge. It was a 14-hour car ride between us, or two connecting flights. We fell in love one summer, when I was home in Indiana. When the summer was drawing to a close, for me, there was no question […]
MoreStranger Love.
A 10-minute drive gets me to work for my part-time job at the mall. I take the same route, park in the same area of the lot, and I walk the same path to the shoe store where I work 4-5 times each week. On my way into work, I walk by one of those […]
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 […]
MoreA Review: ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette?’
This book was one of the first I read using my iPad. “Where’d You Go Bernadette?” was on my reading list for what seemed like forever, and I couldn’t wait to read it. “Comedy heaven…. This divinely funny, many-faceted novel…leaves convention behind. Instead, it plays to Ms. Semple’s strengths as someone who can practice ventriloquism […]
MorePic of the Week.
Sunday night, I posted on Instagram saying I’ve been living off a diet of John Mayer songs (yum!) lately. And while that’s been true for a majority of the last 14 years, my relationship with music ebbs and flows just like any other. At times, I’m so happy I want to sing and dance to […]
MoreFinding Your Fetish.
“You like that?” he whispered into my ear. It was something he — a guy I was seeing — liked saying as we fooled around. If there’s one thing I’m terrible at in bed, it’s talking dirty (ask me to write dirty, not talk). But later, over a tray of raw oysters, he asked me […]
MoreThe drink: Pom-cosmo.
The classic Cosmopolitan — a tart elixir focusing on cranberry — will never go out of style. But leave it to Kona Grill to give this cocktail more than just a lime twist. Kona Grill offers the Cosmopolitan in watermelon, grape, and pomegranate flavors. I opted for the pomegranate (don’t worry, watermelon, I’ll be back) […]
MorePic of the Week.
Saturday night, my friend Liz was celebrating 10 years living in Louisiana! She invited me to join in her celebration — and it felt special, because not only have I been in Louisiana for ten years, too, but I’ve known Liz for most of those years! I asked my friend and gym-influencer, Derek, to join […]
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The Bitter Lemon 