Day 8: a picture that makes me sad and/or angry

THIS. Look at that sweet, sweet face. I chose not to post many, many photos I found of dogs in much worse conditions than this sweet baby. I am a HUGE animal lover. I would have hundreds - well, not hundreds - but way more than two if I had more land and copious amounts of cash to spend on food, toys, shots, etc to provide a good life. Animals have no voice. NO VOICE. How someone can beat and mistreat an animal like this makes me ill. I'm getting angry just typing this! Go home and love on your furbaby today.

Day 7: A Photo That Makes Me Happy

This is so easy. And I used this photo yesterday, but I'm going to use it again today. It's the obvious answer because it's the first picture that pops in to my head when I think of the topic. This after we had been announced as husband and wife and we were walking back down the aisle. One of Kyle's friends yelled out "yes!" and we both started laughing. Truly an excellent moment caught on film.

I would follow it closely with this photo:

Day 6: 20 things I love

This one should be fun! I can definitely think of 20 things I L-O-V-E:

1. My husband:

2. Without my husband, I wouldn't have had our wedding:

3. My family - specifically my parents and my sister:

4. My two dogs - Phoebe and Piglet:

5. Starbucks. Specifically, a skinny vanilla latte.

6. The gym. As a personal trainer, I live for my own, personal time in the gym.

7. Our pool. This was the best decision my husband ever made!

8. OPI Nail Polish. I want to work there. I want to create the names! They get me every time. Lincoln Park After Dark continues to be my fav.

9. Fried chicken. Like a true Southern girl, this is my favorite meal. I can't have it often (due mainly to the word "fried" preceeding the word "chicken") but I love it. Specifically from the local restuarant, J. Harrod's.

10. The Kentucky Derby - best 2 minutes in sports? Best 2 weeks in this city.

11. Bourbon (you could have guessed that, right?) - on the rocks, with water, as a mint julep, in a cocktail...just DON'T mix it with coke or I lose all respect for you.

12. Shoes. Shopping. Shoes. Good shoes. Expensive shoes.

Christian Louboutin:

Brian Atwood:

13. This.

 

14. Lindquist Beach, St. Thomas, USVI

15. Club Monaco

16. Cupcakes and Cashmere blog. It's addicting. Emily's writing is so clever, her style so inspiring and her photography so lovely that I've made it a habit to visit this site daily. And you should, too.

17. Owls. You heard me. Maybe it's the Chi Omega in me, but I'm obsessed with all things owl. Have been for years, and I'd imagine I'll continue to be. Here are my latest thank you notes I designed for myself:

I have a ton of owl necklaces, but I'm a big fan of this guy:

18. George Rodrigue. Amazing. Follow his wife's blog here.

I own this silkscreen:

19. Chicago has always been one of my favorite cities, but it shot to the top of the list once I got engaged there.

20. Anything that smells of coconut.

Day Five: Favorite Quote

Hmmmm. Quotes are interesting. In my opinion, many people pick some obscure person who made mention of some topic that can be translated as deeply profound. Me? I prefer Andy Warhol. As an art history major in college, he was - and has always been - one of my favorite artists. Such a cool, quirky and odd human, I would have loved to have been around during the height of his popularity.

Here are a few favs:
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

"It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are."

"When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around to it. You can't make them change if they don't want to, just like when they do want to, you can't stop them."

"In the future, everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes."

"Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, "So what." That's one of my favorite things to say. "So what."


"I am a deeply superficial person."
 
"I can never get over when you're on the beach how beautiful the sand looks and the water washes it away and straightens it up and the trees and the grass all look great. I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own."
 
Smart man, no?

Day Four: Fav Book

Why, oh why, did I agree to this?! All of these "favorites" are killing me. I'm an avid reader. I love it. I love the smell of a new book, getting lost in a story and that satisfying (or sometimes not so satisfying) feeling when the story is complete and you shut the book. In this case, I truly do not have one favorite book. I love anything by Jen Lancaster. She is laugh out loud funny, snarky, sarcastic and someone I feel that, if we met in real life, we'd be fast friends. I'm also a huge fan of the Twilight series. Other books that I really, really love:

• Lucky, The Lovely Bones, and Almost Moon all by Alice Sebold
• The Mermaid Chair and The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
• Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult
• The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel, by Lauren Weisberger
• Something Blue, Something Borrowed and Baby Proof, by Emily Giffin
• The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
• Maybe a Miracle, by Brian Strause

Clearly I enjoy my books like I enjoy my movies - simple, funny, and entertaining. I think enough during the day at work so movies and books are my way of relaxing. I am not looking for a complex plot, just enough to keep me interested, and not want to put the book down.

Day 3: Favorite TV Program

Again, another hard one! I have so many shows that I love: Flash Forward, Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, anything Bachelor/Bachelorette related, The Office, Modern Family...but one show stands out as my TRUE absolute favorite: Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show is politically incorrect, awesomely funny comedy at it's finest.

With episode's titled "The Gang Gets Racist," "Charlie Wants an Abortion," and "Sweet Dee is Dating a Retarded Person" it's surprising that they can get away with what they do on tv and that viewers aren't up in arms because they've been offended. It's purely entertainment, and great, well-written entertainment on that. The new season starts Thursday, September 16 and you can catch it on FX. I highly recommend that you do!

Day 2 - Favorite Movie...and, go!

Simply put, this is too hard. I have so many favorite movies. Favorite comedies, favorite stupid movies, favorite dramas...how does one ever actually really REALLY have a favorite anything? There are a few that I will stop and watch, no matter what, if I find them on:
1. Fried Green Tomatoes. L-O-V-E.
2. Love, Actually
3. Old School
4. Wedding Crashers
5. Juno - one of the best!
6. Boondock Saints
7. The Princess Bride
8. Reality Bites
9. Steel Magnolias
10. Elf
11. Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (a few brain cells die each time I watch this)

Clearly, I only watch movies to be entertained. I do not want to have to think or figure anything out (hello, Vanilla Sky...). Movies are my entertainment, my break from everyday. My husband laughs because literally every preview we see on tv is quickly followed by the words, "ooh, I wanna see that" out of my mouth. I just saw The Switch last weekend and although it bombed, I absolutely loved it!