A very Married Christmas!

I mean yes that title is ridiculous and four months (how the heck is it four months already?!?!) later I'm still in awe that we're married and our first married Christmas together was just that, lots of marriedness and family and compromise and drinking and eating and present sharing and just loverly. And if you can believe it I went the whole holiday without taking a single freaking picture (what is wrong with me!?) so I'll keep this briefish since we all know a pictureless post is not nearly as fun to read.

Friday: Christmas Eve! Relaxed a bit in the morning and attempted to make some pancakes (sort of a fail) and Matt and I had our own little Christmas. And I gotta say, Matt did me good this year, he got me a sweater and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and a gorgeous necklace and the B I wanted!

it's a laurel leaf and it is just fabulous.

YAY! Mr. & Mrs. B.

In the afternoon I went to see the Nutcracker with my future sister-in-law. If you recall, I love the Nutcracker. I love it more than I love Wicked and that is saying something. Basically I've been going almost every year since I was about 10 and seeing it just makes me all sorts of happy and Christmassy inside. After the Nutcracker I stopped by my parent's house for a bit to say hi and goodbye and before I knew it it was time to head to Matt's mom's house for presents. It was so fun opening presents with Matt and his brothers and his mom and just yay. After presents we went to dinner at this schnazzy Scottish pub and restaraunt that had carolers and Christmasness all around and it was just loverly. After dinner I came home to a glass of wine and It's A Wonderful Life. My favorite way to end the night.

Saturday: Christmas Day!!! Such a nutty and hectic and fabulous day. It went something like this. Breakfast and presents with my parents. Brunch and presents with Matt's dad and aunt and brothers. Home to relax/nap (me) and play Epic Mickey (Matt). Dessert and Secret Santa gift exchange with my cousins at my aunt and uncle's house. Dinner and Christmasness at the future sister-in-law's family's house. Drinks with some family at our dive bar. Hang out Matt and Bryan. Sleep.

Sunday: Slept in. Relaxed. Had a mini movie marathon (thank you Netflix on demand) which included The Bounty Hunter (eh) and The Duchess (very fascinating). Eventually Matt came home and we went to dinner and then came back and watched The A-Team, then Matt went to bed and I watched Babies (seriously I am a movie fiend).

Monday: I'm working from home this week so my day consisted of watching New York, I Love You, doing some work, meeting Megan for lunch and spending my Barnes and Noble money wisely (weeee books) and continuing my movie marathon, lurve it.

the bottom two were presents and

the top three were my purchases, I can't

wait to read some classics!
*also an update, I've already read Water for Elephants
I asked for it so I can read it again and again, I LOVE it!

Anyhoo how was your holiday weekend? Getting anything fun? Relaxing a lot I hope? Let me know!

happy tuesday!

Things that are awesome.

Because it's Friday (and that in itself is awesome) I thought I'd share some awesome things going on right now:

• Friday is going on. Okay I know that's repetitive but oh how I cherish Fridays. Even better is a date night Friday. What are we doing for date night? No clue. But spontaneous date nights are fun too.
  
  
• I saw Eclipse for a second time with my sister last night and I must say seeing a movie at 8 as opposed to midnight is quite different, but ummyes of course I still loved it, bad wigs and all.
  
  
• Matt and I finally booked one of the hotels for our honeymoon (I know, I know we're slackers and holy crap we still have to book four more hotels, hold me, hire a travel agent, ah! bring wine) and I am in love. Someone described it as being similar to the house in Under the Tuscan Sun and I might have squealed.
  
  
  
  swoonfest right? right!
  I mean it screams rustic Italy and
  I cannot wait to be there.
  
  
  
• I'm on book #25 for the year and my goal was 40. I'm pretty sure I can do it at this pace and that's just awesome, woo!
  
  
• And lastly for today's awesomeness, my friendito and my co-maid of honor BFF Jen has started blogging! And it's pretty funny and cute and she's shared yummy recipes and um she takes pictures like this with me:
  
  
  
  
  
  So you know her blog has to be entertaining right? Right. Do it. Read it. Win.
  
  

So any more things that are awesome? Share away. I like awesome things.




happy weekend!

Some things...*

• It really doesn't feel like my birthday is in four days. Usually it's all I can talk about, now I feel like it's slowly sneaking up on me and I'm not nearly as excited as I usually am. Someone change this for me please....please?
  
  
• I officially don't like Idol even more since it cause Glee to cut off on my DVR! We watched the Laker game so I didn't see that Glee was going long and I didn't get to see/hear "Like a Prayer"! For Shame! Time to Hulu it I suppose, but still, blergh.
  
  
• I'm currently reading Up in the Air and I've decided the movie is much more entertaining. Also, if George Clooney pictures were in it maybe I'd be more interested.
  
  
• Also, if you google George, this picture shows up, haha:
  
  
  
  
  
• And was that too many commas? It looks like it? The English minor in me should know. Sadly, I do not.
  
  
• I've been really bad at Project: Loser lately. I have to keep trying to motivate myself but man do I love sleeping and eating unhealthy things, haha. But I promise, I'll find my motivation again soon. I mean I do have to a wear a pretty white dress in four months, woo.
  
  
• Nonetheless, I could really go for some mac and cheese and a red velvet cupcake right about now.

*I'm pretty sure I've used this title more than once but it was fitting for today.

happy wednesday!

The reading machine continues.

In 2008 I read 23 books and this past year I decided to go a little higher. My initial goal was 25 because I thought I'd stay on pace, but oh man did I outdo myself. I read a a lot of books this past year and of course I want to share them and perhaps a snippet or two about them, so here goes...

Lucky by Alice Sebold. After reading both of her fictional works I gave her memoir a shot and I'm glad I did. Although dark in subject, this book is still a fascinating look into Alice's life and the inspiration of her two fictional works.

My Friend Leonard by James Frey. If you liked A Million Little Pieces you might like this book a little bit more. Leaving off where AMLP ending James continues to talk about his life and obviously Leonard's as well and I just thoroughly enjoyed it.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. So many people had told me to read this book and I'm so glad I did. I was so entranced by Sayuri's story I could barely put this book down. It covers such a differnt time and place that it was quite fascinating to read about.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger. Three women in their twenties dealing with love and life and I probably could have done without it. I just never really attached to any of the women that much so I wasn't a huge fan.

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I finally caught up with the female world and read this book and I gotta say, I'm a fan. Although I wanted to smack Becky every time she bought something I still laughed and loved Luke Brandon.

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. Much better Lauren. The story revolves around a smarty pants Bette who ends up working at a PR firm at the expense of practically all of her relationships (a la Devil Wears Prada) and of course in the end she gets it right and gets the guy and that's how it should be, haha.

Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice. Never heard of this book? Yeah I hadn't either. But I enjoyed it so much that it got its own post on the blog.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. From the recommendation of many I read this book. I didn't love it and I didn't hate, it was just eh to me. Maybe I have to be at a different stage in my life to appreciate it but it just didn't click with me so much. Or maybe a movie version will change it all for me? Who knows.

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich. The sixth in the Stephanie Plum series and I couldn't even tell you what it was about, just that I probably loved it as I have loved all of the books in the series so far, you should definitely pick one up and give yourself a good laugh.

Frangipani by Celestine Hitura Vaite. A cute coming of age story of a professional cleaner and her daughter in Tahiti. Simple as that, cute and fun and an easy read.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. After failing a mountain climb Greg decides to build schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan making his story quite an incredible one. Although it sort of lagged a bit in the middle the story overall is pretty remarkable and worth checking out.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Love. This. Book. Who knew I would love historical fiction so much, because I certainly couldn't have predicted it. I was so curious about the actualities that I looked everything up and read about the Tudors and learned more than I ever did in school and the story overall is just so good! Even if the book was a bit longer than most books it was so worth it and so captivating.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. Oh Nicholas, you write the sappiest and cutest stories. This one was no different in any way. John meets a girl. John gets delpoyed. They write letters. Life goes on without them. Basically sums it up, it was a sweet story but sort of predictable and pretty sad. However I may be convinced to see the movie this year since Channing Tatum is John and he's just dreamy, haha.

Seven Up by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum for the win.

The Namesake by Jhimpa Lahiri. The story follows a Bengali family, the Gangulis, more specifically their son Gogol and the life they try to lead in America. If I recall correctly I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. It was heart warming and fascinating to read a story from that perspective but I feel like the book ended several times before it really did. Nonetheless I was still a fan.

Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum rides again!

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult. Jodi's newest novel and I definitely had mixed feelings. However it was the first book I fully reviewed on the review blog, so check it out.

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster. Loved this book. And get the full scoop here.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I'll always love the movie more but still a good story, read about what I thought here.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. One of my favorite books of the year, if not ever. So yes it got a full review.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella. Aw Becky and Luke move to Manhattan. And of course craziness ensues and I laughed and it was cute and I yelled at Becky but I still liked it.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Yes Jodi, you know how to tear at a girl's heart strings. This book definitely deserved a full post.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Absolutely loved this book, loved everything about it, loved it so much it has its own review as well.

To The Nines by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum to the rescue!

Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum yet again.

Growing up in the Holocaust by Ben Edelbaum. My mom gave me this book because it was written by her cousin-in-law's father and wow. Just wow. I don't think I'd ever read first person accounts from the Holocaust and this was definitely an eye opener. So incredibly sad yet amazing and just wow. If you can find this book, definitely read it, it's short but you'll take away so much from it.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. As a blogger I felt it was my duty to read this book. And I'm glad I did. It was cute and it was fun, but I didn't love it. I definitely enjoyed the movie a whole lot more and I'm pretty sure it was because I got to see the food instead of envisioning it and there was more of Julia Child's life which was just as interesting I thought.

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster. Jen's second book about life in the city with her dogs and her husband and all sorts of hilarity. Seriously the footnotes are some of my favorite parts of her books, hilarious.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Another book I was told I had to read. And I feel like I need to read it again. I know there is some major message in that book and I got most of it but after reading it I felt like I was missing something.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Yet another one that had been recommended to me countless times that I feel like I might have to reread again some day. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book and the story but I just didn't get what I was supposed to take out of it. Maybe it's just me but the story just wasn't as exciting to me as it could have been and yeah, I'm still on the fence.

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas. Oh such a guilty, guilty pleasure. My best friend recommended it to me and I was hooked. A small town girl gets stuck with her sister's baby and ends up befriending one of the wealthiest bachelors in Texas and everything evolves from there and it's addicting, haha.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. I had briefly heard of William's story in the news and I'm so glad I was given this book to review, check it out.

Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. I think the title says it all. Becky and Luke get married! But of course it doesn't happen without any issues, Becky's antics in this one are just as cute and funny and had me yelling at her just like the other two and I loved it.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Such a good story. Jeanette recounts her childhood living like a nomad with her free spirited parents. Her parents, although sincere in their beliefs, drove me crazy and I'm pretty sure she felt the same way but the stories she tells are just fasinacting and almost surreal, definitely a book to pick up.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. I saw this in the library and had to get it. Although a sort of prequel to TOBG I was just as curious about this story as I was the other. I loved that it switched between 3rd and 1st person and I loved reading Catherine's story even though I knew what her ultimate fate would be. Nice work Phillipa and yes I definitely have The Boleyn Inheritance waiting for me on my night stand, I'm officially sucked in to the Tudors.


Whew, made it. Did you? Haha. So yes those are the books I read last year. So now, what to read this year? I have a couple books already waiting for me but I'm still open to suggestions. Oh and are we friends on GoodReads? Because we probably should be, just saying. Woo reading!

happy thursday!

It's good to have goals.

So last year, for the first time ever, I made resolutions er goals eh both. And looking back on them I actually accomplished something and I did almost every single one of them. I made myself look back at my resolutions in June and surprisingly I was right on track to be where I am now.

I have definitely loosened up in my worrying (yes I still worry every now and then but I'm trying to keep my 'whatever is meant to be is meant to be' sort of attitude); I met more bloggers last year than I could have ever imagined and I can't wait to meet even more this year and re-meet ones I already know; I surpassed my goal of 25 books (which is a whole post for itself, wahoo); Now I'm not a baking master just yet but I attempted more recipes last year than I ever had in my life and I'll be trying just as many if not more this year; As for two vacations with Matt, I'd say we did more than that and they were all loverly.

With such a successful 2009 under my belt, I figure why not try it again and see what I can do in 2010. So here we go...

1. Don't let wedding planning take over my life. Obviously yes it will take up a lot of my time but I don't want it to be my be all end all and take over every aspect of my life and my relationship with Matt and friends and family. Basically I don't want to ever ever hate my wedding.
1.a. listen to ideas and opinions but know I don't have to accept or acknowledge them all. I have a feeling this will also help my sanity.
1.b. don't forget Matt. As in kiss him a lot and listen to his ideas and opinions, it's his wedding too!

2. Blog because I want to and not because I have to. Sometimes I feel like I post the most random stuff that no one would care about (not even me) yet I still hit publish. But after my mini break I realized it's okay if I don't post every day, I'll live, the internet will still be there and I'll have plenty of other blogs to read for inspiration.

3. Become a baking master. I just want to be awesome in the kitchen and the only way I'll get there is to keep on trying.

4. Send snail mail. I used to love getting mail (hell I still do) and I know other people do too! So my goal is to send at least one thing snail mail to someone I know once a month at least.

5. Get fit. Hello half marathon and wedding dress and honeymoon. This means no more frosting on a spoon, popcorn every night, utilizing my awesome Wii Fit and smaller portions dag nabbit.

6. Read 40 books. It's a little ambitious with everything else going on this year but I think I can do it.

7. Bloggers. Hang out with them. Um I think that says it all. Some bloggers are now some of my favorite people to drink wine with so yeah let's keep doing that and if I haven't met you yet, let's change that.
7.a. Non-blogging friends. Hang out with them too. Because I love all my friends, even if they make fun of me for wearing my "Born to Blog" t-shirt, haha.

8. Have fun. I know this year is going to be all sorts of awesome and I just want to have as much fun as I can. So bring it fun, I'm so ready for you.

And that my friends are my resolutions for 2010, not too shabby I'd say. Did you make any?





happy wednesday!

Resolution redux.

After reading Playful Professional's recap and renovated goals yesterday I realized that I should probably take a look back at my New Year's resolutions too and see where I stand. So here we go:

1. Try not to worry as much. I think I've done okay with this one so far. Although life is a bit tricky right not I'm doing my best not to worry and stick to saying that it will all work out for the best. And I feel like I'll definitely have to remind myself of this resolution once wedding planning picks up, haha.

2. Meet more bloggers. Oh heck yes. I have rocked this resolution. At the end of January I went to a party courtesy of Tara and got to meet Esther. February was bloggerstastic as I got to meet the fabulous Ev'Yan, Kerri and Sarah for dinner on the west side then I headed to a BOCA event where I met Nicole and Andrea, and a couple days later I was off to Houston where I ran into Allison and met lots of mom bloggers at the Summit. After I got back I had my Nintendo party in March, where more bloggers were in attendance. And most recently I went to Vegas with 25 other bloggers, haha. Even more so, I'm meeting Lacey on Thursday and going to a potluck with more bloggers in July. I'd say I've fully met this goal and can't wait to keep on meeting and hanging out with more bloggers :)

3. Read 25 books. I'm currently on book 18 and it's only June. So I think I'll up this to 30 books by the end of the year. And I'm always taking new suggestions.

4. Become a baking master. Ummmyaaaaaaboutthat. I've baked a few times but I am definitely no master. I guess I should work on this one.

5. Take at least two vacations with Matt that aren't attached to weddings. Well I believe Vegas counts as one. As for two, we're tentatively headed to San Diego at the end of July. Other than that, funds have become a bit tight but I think we'll manage some sort of fun getaway soonish.

I just wanted a reason to post this pic by the fabulous Doni

Well looking over my resolutions I'd say I'm doing pretty well. I think that might be a first for me, haha. Hopefully I can keep it up til the end of the year, fingers crossed people, fingers crossed.

And how are you holding up with your resolutions/goals?




happy wednesday!

Things to be said.

Today I felt that there were a few things that I needed to say. And it's my blog and I'll say what I want to, duh.

• If you've given me a blog award, thank you. And if I haven't passed it on, I'm sorry. But not to sound like a hot shot or anything, but I've gotten so many random blog awards in the past and even recently that I just haven't posted or passed on. Why? I don't really know. But I do still appreciate the acknowledgment, please just don't get mad if I don't post about it or pass it on . Still friends?
  
  
• I realized that I have something to do almost every weekend between now and September. Oh boy.
  
  
• Although they're Hollywood A-listers, Denzel and John Travolta's new movie The Taking of Pelham 123 does not look good. Sorry if you want to see it, but I won't be in the theater with you. I'll take a pass on this one.
  
  
• I finished Handle with Care and posted my review of it at my schnazzy review blog. You should probably check it out.
  
  
• As an AT&T customer for seven years I am kind of annoyed of the new iphone prices. Seriously what the hell? I think I should basically just get the new phone for free. Right? Right?
  
  
• Popcorn and wine are almost as good as cheese and wine, almost.
  
  
• Big alcoholic drinks are both delicious and dangerous. And I would love another one this weekend? Who wants to get it for me? :)
  
  
  
  Vegas pic courtesy of amanda
  
  

Anything you feel like you should say today?



happy weekend!

Dear Life, with love.

It's been a while since I've written any letters, so what am I doing today?

Writing letters. Duh.

---

Dear Las Vegas,

Please be hot (but not too hot) this weekend. Please don't take all of my money. Actually how about you make me a super mega millionaire off of the penny slots. That would be fantastic. And please let me stay up incredibly late and not get hungover. That would be magical. Oh oh and before I forget, please let all my bloggy friends arrive safely and let us all have a most fantabulous time eva!!

Sincerely,
A girl that can only handle Vegas once a year

---

Dear Josh Kelley and Ryan Cabrera,

Shame on you! (yes it's one of Ryan's song titles) But really, shame! You get me all excited that you two were touring together and you even release a new catchy tune that I've played approximately 298490869 times BUT you don't come to LA! What the eff?! You both are from here! You both live here! Ah! Blasphemy!

So just know, even if I am listening to your song non-stop, it doesn't mean I'm not mad at you. So get your act together and come perform in the LA area!

Thanks,

One of the ten people that actually likes/has heard of both of you :)

---

Dear Rob,

May I call you Rob? Well of course I can, we're friends right? Right? Anyways I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for being awkward and dorky and brooding and adorable and mmmmm all at once. No really, thank you for that.

Sincerely,

Katelin Pattinson ... too much? Okay Katelin Cullen? Eh... Katelin Pattullen. Yes that works, haha.

---

Dear Fiance,

One. I hope your MRI goes well. And then seriously, stop being injured! :)
Two. Thank you for indulging me in the crazy that will be this weekend in Vegas. I promise my blogger friends are real and not creepy stalkers or anything and you'll probably love all of them after the weekend is done.
Three. We're getting married!

Love,

your fiancee

---

Dear Lakers,

Please win the NBA championship. And please don't give Matt too much of a heart attack in the process. He stresses out and it stresses me out and then I laugh and then Matt gets more stressed. So really, do all of LA a favor and kick some Orlando ass.

Thanks,

One of the bagillions of people that will be rooting for Kobe and company.

---

Dear future wedding,

I'm so excited to plan you! Seriously, out of nowhere I've just gotten a wave of excitement and cute DIY ideas and color schemes and cards and videos and possible reception locations and ah! Now if only my budget was limitless, that would be even more amazing. But really wedding, you're going to rock, I just know it.

Love,

the future bride :)

---

Dear cookies that are in my pantry,

Stop taunting me! You are not helping "Project Get Katelin Fit" at all! So really. Disappear or I'll be forced to eat you. And it won't be pretty.

Sincerely,

A girl trying to rekindle her relationship with the Wii Fit

---

Dear Jodi Picoult,

I'm reading your newest book and I'm only about 50 pages in and I really like it already. You pick the most interesting topics to write about and I love that you switch narrators every chapter and yeah. Sort of love all of your stories, even if they are incredibly emotional and wow. I can handle it...most of the time, haha.

Thanks,

a readaholic



And those are my letters for today. Any letters you'd write today?


happy wednesday!

I'm being followed by Weddings.

Weddings are stalking me. I'm not even kidding. Ever since I got engaged there have been weddings everywhere I turn! Don't believe me? Well...

• Greek. Last week (or was it two weeks ago?) there was a wedding at Cyprus, everyone went, the bride was crazy and her hair was big.
  
  
• Grey's Anatomy. As I mentioned yesterday Izzy and Alex got married, it was so sweet and precious and adorable and Meredith and Derek still have to tie the knot.
  
  
• The Today Show. They've been advertising their yearly "Today Throws a Wedding" recently and I've half-not-really-sort-but-definitely-not considered it.
  
  
• Brothers and Sisters. Justin and Rebecca are getting married and his pre-proposal made me get a little teary on Sunday, so sweet.
  
  
• Desperate Housewives. Catherine is wedding obsessed and getting hitched the hotness that is Mike and Susan was going to marry Jackson before immigration got him, so who knows what's going on there.
  
  
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Okay I knew what I was getting myself into when I went to see this with my mom but it was the only one we both wanted to see and it was very wedding-centric and pretty cute.
  
  
• 7 Up. I'm currently reading book 7 of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich and there are so much talk of her maybe marriage to Joe Morelli it's cracking me up.
  
  
• PopSugar. One of my favorite celeb photo sites has a Wedding Season section that's been staring me down lately and staring at celeb weddingness.
  
  
• Friends' weddings. I have four weddings coming up. I just received Virginia's Save the Date (which is adorable by the way), an engagement party evite and I'm currently booking a hotel and flight for another wedding in New Mexico.
  
  
• MOH. The last of those four weddings is my cousin's wedding in which I am the maid of honor and my duties are calling lately, gotta get some sort of shower and bachelorette party going on soon.
  
  

See what I mean? Weddings are everywhere! They're in my mail, on TV, online, in books I read, eveywhere!....And I'm okay with that.

I like getting ideas and adding stuff to the "wedding folder" in my inbox and remembering things I in no way want to do (sorry Grey's no purple pastels for this wedding) or things I may want to say at toasts or stuff like that.

actually I'm thinking these pastels may work instead, haha

So anything following you around lately? Or are weddings stalking everyone these days, haha?






happy wednesday!

I confess.

• I have sneezed about 21948093157846754968 times in the past week. It hasn't been pretty.

• I haven't slept through the night in two weeks. I wake up at least four times a night. I don't get tired at night until like 1. Seriously, this is just getting old.

• Something happened over the weekend to one of my close friends and it's shaken me up. I've pretty much shed tears randomly since Saturday at random points in the day and I don't know when or if it will stop.

• Monday night I went out to dinner with three of my good friends from high school (two from middle school even) and had an amazing time. We talked about everything from our dating lives, our lives in general, Prop 8, travel, babies, movies and pretty much everything else. And although we don't agree on everything we were still able to debate like civil adults and accept our different viewpoints. I love us and our adultlike yet unadultlike ways.
  

• I'm reading Three Cups of Tea and am probably going to finish it today which makes me really happy because as much as I love the story and the message behind it all, I'm ready to read something else. The end is just dragging along for me and I feel horrible since it's all interesting and a true story on top of it.

• Yesterday I got How I Met Your Mother Season 3 and it pretty much made my day. Checked that off the birthday list.

• Speaking of my birthday, it's 17 days away! Woo. And I sent out the official evite for the 25th birthday bash. And wine is involved. And friends. And I need a new dress! And I'm just so excited! Ah!
  
  
• Did I mention I'm turning 25? Remember way back when when I couldn't wait to be 25? Yeah I still feel like that. I'm not afraid of getting older, I'm welcoming it with open arms :)
  

Clearly I am all over the place lately and that's okay right? I can be sad and sleep deprived and overly excited and giddy all at the same time? Wait is that possible? Eh I don't know. But whatever, I don't care, I'm doing it anyways.



happy wednesday!

I need something to obsess over.

I miss Twilight. Is that sad? Wait. Don't answer that.

But really, I do. As you can tell from reading my blog and among various posts, I obsess about things. I get addicted. I can't help it. But it's all good stuff like Twilight and Wicked and reading and Joshua Jackson and Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" and head bands and OPI nail polish for starters.

But really I miss how excited I was to read Twilight. I don't remember the last time I looked forward to a story and anticipated what was going to happen next and how attached I was to the characters and how much I sort of wished vampires were real. Yeah, I miss that.

It was the weirdest obsession I've had in a long time and man I miss it. It's like I have a void. And reading Midnight Sun is only sort of helping. I may just have to reread Twilight or watch the movie every day for the next two weeks, haha.

Really I guess I just need a new obsession. Any suggestions for what I should obsess about next?

happy thursday!

Katelin cooks again.

Oh yes you read that one right. I don't know what it is, but the cooking bug has struck and I just can't stop (well I can, but where's the fun in that?). And last night's recipe was yet another one I saved from Real Simple.

Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Brie sounded good and theory and wasn't horrible when I was done, but it wasn't my favorite. Of course the pictures on recipes always look better than what your food actually turns out to be seeing as to how this is what Real Simple said the meal should look like:

And this is what it turned out to be:

Yeaaaaaaaah. It wasn't awful, but definitely not a recipe I'd make again. The brie didn't melt too well and it was sort of dryish and ummm yeah.

In other non-cooking news, I started a new book yesterday, Frangipani, and I'm pretty sure I'm not a huge fan of books written in the third person. I'm totally all about first person and getting to know characters better that way. The book is definitely interesting so far and is about a woman in Tahiti with two kids and a wary husband. That's about all I know so far and I hope it gets good.

Anyhoo that's all I got today. Any cooking fails for you lately?




happy thursday!

Pobby and Dingan.

Pobby and Dingan.

I don't know why but this short story/book/tale/novella/narrative is still sitting with me. Yeah I did just finish reading it two days ago so of course it's sitting with me, but I just can't put my finger on what it is exactly I feel about it.

Oh so wait you have no idea what I'm talking about? Let me back up.

My aunt lent me two books, Pobby and Dingan and Eat, Pray, Love a couple weeks ago and I just got to them on Monday. Pobby and Dingan is only a hundred pages(ish) so I decided to read it first and finished it in two lunch breaks.

The story is narrated by Ashmol, a boy from Australia who talks about his younger sister Kellyanne and her imaginary/invisible friends Pobby and Dingan. One day their dad takes Kellyanne's friends to work with him at the opal mines and forgets to bring them home. The rest of the story revolves around Kellyanne's breakdown as her only friends are gone and the way two imaginary people, Pobby and Dingan, bring together an entire town.

I don't think I ever had imaginary friends growing up, besides every now and then envisioning I had a twin, but Kellyanne's innoncence was refreshing. And the way everyone comes together to not only help her but because they want something to believe in is endearing as well. But at the same time, the story is incredibly sad. I won't give away everything that happens but at the end I was sort of left with my mouth open saying "ummmmm that was not supposed to happen." But then again, I didn't write it and maybe it was supposed to end that way. Maybe life isn't supposed to have imaginary friends...but then again, maybe it is.

In any case I don't really know what I meant to get across by posting this rambling mess, just check the book out for yourself. It's short and sweet and definitely leaves you thinking when you're done.



Any books you can't stop thinking about lately?





happy thursday!

Check list.

Things I have managed to do in the last week aka lazy post day :)

Buy new coral ballet flats on a whim? Check.

Fall in love with said shoes? Check.

Beat the easiest level of labyrinth on the Wii Fit? Check.

Did a happy dance after winning? Check.

Started using TweetDeck for another Twitter account? Check.

Still don't totally know how to use it? Check.

Laughed at the fact that my 13 year old brother keeps posting comments as Tastay? Check.

Have had two links get on the front page of kirtsy.com? Check.

Have become slightly obsessed with kirtsy now that I get it? Check.

Watched Finding Neverland and realized how much I love Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet together, almost more than her and Leo, but not quite? Check.

Read Pobby and Dingan and finally decided it's cute, sad, but cute? Check.

Already started making plans for the weekend? Check and check.


Anything you're checkin off your list today?




happy wednesday!

I am a reading machine!

No really, I am. I read 23 books last year which I'm pretty sure is 22 more books than I readin 2007, so hot damn I'm proud of myself. And what are the books that occupied my time you ask? Why of course I want to share and tell you which ones I think you should read and why:

Wicked by Gregory Maguire. As I mentioned last week, Wicked, the musical, was one of my big obsessions in '08, so it came as no surprise that I would want to read the book. However I am still torn about it. It's so drastically different from the musical and dark that I may have to give it another shot in a year or so, but ultimately I liked it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni. LOVE IT. Kite Runner is one of my favorite books so I had to check this one out and I was in no way dissapointed. It was amazing. At times hard to read simply because of how intense the story is, but overall amazing, amazing I say.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Another tough subject read but ohmygoodness amazing. My best friend lent me her copy and insisted I read this book and I'm glad she did. I love how Jodi writes from every characters perspective and has lots of flashbacks to outline such a great story.

Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich. A quick, funny read as part of the Stephanie Plum novels. A good upper in between such serious books.

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Another tough subject written amazingly. I think I actually liked this one better that My Sister's Keeper. A school shooting is never an easy subject to write about but Jodi captures it all brilliantly. Definitely another serious read, but so worth it to get through.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. The first in the Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, chick lit novels that my mom recommended to me and definitely a quick, funny and easy read in between books.

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I really felt like I was the last female alive to read this book, haha. But I loved it. I had already seen the movie so I sort of knew what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at how funny it was.

The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger. Now I had also already seen this movie before reading it so I sort of had an idea about it but I liked it a lot as well. I don't really know much about the fashion world nay from what I see on shows like Top Model and Stylista so it was definitely an eye opener for me, haha.

Two for the Dough and Three to get Deadly by Janet Evanovich. Two more highly entertaining and good quick reads to pass the time.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Another book I had been meaning to read forever, especially since I love the movie so much. But I must say, I wasn't too impressed. I guess the movie version had been ingrained in me too much because I didn't like the flow of the book that much. However, with that said, it is still a great love story and picturing Ryan Gosling as I read was definitely a plus.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. Who knew there was a follow up book to the Notebook? I sure didn't. But to be honest, I liked it a little bit more. It follows Noah and Ally's daughter and her family and Noah is very present in the story as well. I think this story flowed better and was a little bit more realistic. I say if you've read the Notebook, check it out.

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Despite Oprah's outrage and distaste for the man I really liked the book. I thought it was an incredible story that definitely makes you look at yourself and what addiction really means. Definitely a good one.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Amazing. Another tough subject read but I couldn't put the book down it was so good.

The Secret Life Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Another good one. I read the book shortly before I saw the movie and was a fan of both. And I thought the story definitely displayed innocence as well as the harshness of American society.

Four to Score and High Five by Janet Evanovich. Two more incredibly funny stories of Stephanie Plumm and her Jersey girl bounty hunting stories where ultimately a car gets blown up and a hot man is involved, haha.

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. Haha. I laugh because I'm afraid every comment will be "We know how much you loved the Twilight series Katelin, get over it already!". But um yeah, clearly my fave four books of the bunch for the year and with my sweet hard back copies I may just have to reread them in '09.

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I went from stories of love and vampires to a story about a woman who kills her mother and the events that follow. Yeah definitely a bizarre switch and I still don't know how I feel about this one.

Q&A by Vikas Swarup. AMAZING. I think this book would be right after Twilight for my favorite of the year. By recommendation of Lauren I picked up this book and could barely put it down. Basically it's the base story for Slumdog Millionaire and it's amazing. So good, so so good. Go out and read it now!


And that my friends is what I read in '08. So what's next for '09 since I have set my goal for 25 books ? Well right now I am reading Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky and next up is James Frey's My Friend Leonard, and then Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. So anything else you think I should add to the ever growing book list?

And what are you reading these days?



happy wednesday!

Why hello there 2009.

First of all...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Man I can't believe it's already 2009, seriously where is the time going? I really do not know. Anyhoo I figured with the new year ahead I'd do something I don't usually do...sing!

Haha, I kid, I kid. I won't torment you with my voice, however I will tell you my New Year's resolutions. I don't ever do them because I rarely stick to them, however I figure why not this year? It can' hurt anyone.

So here we go.
1. Try not to worry as much. I know you can't really tell from my blog, but in real life I'm sort of a worrier. About everything. So my goal is to chill out, relax and it'll all work out.

2. Meet more bloggers! I mean really, there are so many LA bloggers I have yet to meet and it's about time. And heck I'd like to re-meet/hang out some more with other local bloggers. Hell even the non local bloggers (hello BlogHer '09?).

3. Read 25 books. I figure if I can read 23 between March and December of this year I can definitely pull off 25 for all of next year.

4. Become a baking master. Okay that may be a stretch but I really want to up my baking skills and wow the crowds. Only practice will help me.

5. Take at least tw0 vacations with Matt that aren't attatched to a wedding. With four weddings and lots of group activites lined up for next year already I want to have some fun just for us.

And that my friends are my resolutions. Are you writing any this year?


Anyhoo I hope you all have an amazing New Years!!!




happy thursday!

Obsessed with '08.

While I know not many people are checking blogs today and what not but I figured I'd throw in my two cents to end the year with. While I could reflect on something that happened each month this past year or give my top movie reviews of '08 or TV shows I think you should all be watching. But alas I have decided simply to share my top obsessions of '08.

Yes I said it, top obsessions. Probably not too hard to figure out but hey I might as well give credit to the obsessions that made my year a little bit more exciting, haha.

First up, we have Wicked. Yes I was obsessed with it last year, but this year I took my obsession to new lengths and flew across the country in the middle of the week to see it a second time with my best friend. I even saw it a third time this year when Matt surprised me with tickets. Now if that isn't dedication I don't know what is, haha.

My next big obsession of the year was meeting celebrities! Seriously I had two of the greatest and most amazing run ins of my life this year: Jordan Knight and Ryan Gosling. Le swoon oh le swoon. I can only hope that I'll have even more amazing and wonderful run ins in '09.

Next up, we have reading. I want to give myself a pat on the back for reading 23 books since March. My initial goal was 10, and I made it to 23, hark! I don't remember the last time I read that many books and enjoyed so many of them in the process. Seriously, reading is awesome.

While on the subject of reading the next obsession of '08 is Twilight. I mean I know this one's obvious since Twilight pretty much took over the blog for the last three months but really, can you blame me? The book just made me feel like a tween again and the movie just made me swoon over Rob Pattinson.

Speaking of Rob Pattinson, ummmmyeah he's officially numero uno on the '08 obsessions list. The guy came out of nowhere and he sings and acts and has that brooding look down and my goodness his hair! Ahhhhmazing. I hope to see more of him for sure next year and hey maybe I'll even get to meet him....one can only hope :)

And that my friends is what I was obsessing over most in '08. Can't wait to see what new things '09 will present me with :)


And hope you all have a most fabulous and wonderously amazing New Year's Eve!



happy wednesday!

Wednesday factoids.

Today I am putting on my teacher hat and sharing with you all things I think you should know today. So sit upright, get out your pen and paper, and listen carefully... you will be graded afterward (haha, I kid, I kid):

• The LA Blogger Meetup is THIS FRIDAY! FRIDAY you hear? I posted about it last Friday and I'm posting about it again. Let me know if you can make it so I can sort of get an idea of who all to look for. I don't really have a plan and I've never been to St. Nick's but I know it's going to be awesome, so come!
  
  
  
• Last week, the fabulous Distractible Jane bestowed upon me this lovely award:
  
  
  
  
  
  Thank you, thank you! And this award says that I have to pass it on to four more bloggers and tell you why I picked them, so here goes -
  Oh How Lovely Shops - I love Jamie and all of her blogs (she just started a new one!) but her shopping blog gave me several Christmas gift ideas this weekend and it's just awesome.
  More Fun Than a Barrel - Every time she posts about food I find myself salivating at my computer and my wallet thinning as she shows me new places to visit in LA.
  The JQ Lounge - Julie Q was one of the first bloggers I started reading and if I was in Boston I'm convinced we would watch Top Model together :)
  The Every Day Adventures of Me in the City - I love her weekend learnings and hanging out with her at BlogHer this past summer was awesome.
  
  So there you have it, four more blogs that should already be in your readers, woo.
  
  
  
• The great scarf swap has officially started! Sarah Marie P and Talia put together a fun scarf swap among all sorts of bloggers and the partners were officially announced today.
  
  
  
  
  
  And my swap partner is the fabulous wishcake, woo! I'm so excited to get a scarf for her and see what she picks out for me, I love a good scarf.
  
  
• Oh did I mention the LA Blogger Meetup is this Friday? Yeah you should be there.
  
  
• As weird as it is, Fringe is surprisingly entertaining. Now I know I am slightly biased with my love of Joshua Jackson and all but I recommend checking it out.
  
  
• The human head weighs eight pounds.
  
  
• Matt and I are having a Christmas party in a week in a half and I'm sort of really excited for it, I love Christmas and parties and awesomeness.
  
  
• Listening to the Nutcracker Suite makes me beyond happy and definitely got me through the workday today.
  
  
• There's a blogger meetup on Friday, are you going? :)
  
  
• I'm reading a book by Alice Sebold, The Almost Moon, and it is so effed up. I can't decide if I like it or not yet or if I'd recommend it but it's interesting for sure. And it's definitely not Twilight, man I miss how much I loved those books.
  
  
• I love pizza.
  

Okay class, your test question today is: What is the capital of Burkina Faso?

Haha, seriously I don't know what I'm on or what this post was about but you learned something right?




happy wednesday!

All sorts of Hollywood cuteness.

Why hello there Hollywood Tuesday? Welcome back. Try the scotch, I hear it's awesome. (yeah I have no idea what that means). Anyhoo, here goes the best of the best of Hollyweiiird:

• The cutest of the cute, my favoritest of the favorites of Hollywood bebes, little Violet Affleck turned three yesterday! Happy Birthday Violet! Seriously she is so cute and I know she'll make a great big sister.
  
  such a smiley kid :)
  
  
  
  
  such a cute family!
  
  
  
• In other cute bebe news, little Harlow Madden is becoming such an adorable little kid. I mean how precious is this pic of her chewing on her giraffe with mom:
  
  
  
  
  adorable!
  
  
  
• In sort of bebe news but not bebe news, more just cute and funny news. David Beckham took his boys to the Laker game over the weekend and little Cruz decided to show off his infamous breakdancing moves again and really this kid has skills:
  
  
  
  
  love it.
  
  
• Moving on from all the cute bebes and to music news....Britney. Need I say more? The girl is back! And even if she did lip sync her most recent performances she still looked great. She also has a new interview in Glamour and I have her MTV Documentary thingy on my DVR ready to watch eventually. So needless to say I'm ready for some Britney. And on top of it all today's her birthday and her new CD, Circus, is out in stores! Holla.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• In movie news, apparently the set of the new Guy Ritchie movie, Sherlock Holmes, is "cursed." First Robert Downey Jr. got knocked out in a fight scene, then a tanker blew up on a set, man I don't think I would wait around to see what would happen next. I guess this is what happens when you piss of Madonna, haha. I kid, I kid.
  
  
• Now I know I said I finished Breaking Dawn, meaning I finished reading the Twilight series, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop talking about it just quite yet. Last week I talked about Rob Pattinson on Tyra's show and how he bit her, well the episode aired Friday and oh my. Well one, Tyra is a ridiculous interviewer and my English accent is better than hers. And two, Taylor is such a cutie pie, but I still have a crush on Rob. You can watch the interview with them here and here.
  
  Oh and how could I post without putting up a picture of Rob, who's on the newest cover on Entertainment Weekly:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• And onto TV news....
  Scrubs. Did you know Scrubs is coming back next January on ABC? I'm sort of excited to see what they do in the final season. Oh, oh and on top of that Courteney Cox Arquette is stepping in as the new chief, I'm curious to see her step in at a comedy again. Woo.
  
  Desperate Housewives. Creepy Dave, you stop it and you stop it now! He is freaking me out. And ah! I knew that Porter would get the blame for the fire. Oh and how cute are Gabi and Carlos these days? Seriously I think I let out a couple "awwwww" during their cute moments together.
  
  Law and Order: SVU. Oh man last week's episode was intense. Brenda Blethyn was so convincing you seriously felt bad for her character the whole episode. And Olivia did such a good job in the episode too, seriously I love this show.
  
  The Hills. Why do I watch this show? I ask myself this every week, yet I continue to watch, haha. Speidi and their horrendousness make me want to vom. That is all.
  
  
  
• And today's WTF news come from Wal-mart. In case you missed it a poor worker died at Wal-Mart on Black Friday after the crowds trampled him down. Seriously I thought the crowds at the Twilight signings were ridiculous, but man this is insane. People dying on Black Friday!?! Ah! WTF for real people!
  

and that my friends is today's Hollywood news, woo. Anything I left out?




happy tuesday!

Turkey + wine + laziness = Amazing.

Oh man, can every weekend be a long weekend? I mean really, it was amazing. Want to hear about it...okay, here goes...oh but be warned it's probably going to be a bit long, but there's always pictures, woo:

Wednesday: After getting off of work at 1 I came home and relaxed and watched bad TV, it was awesome. However the most unawesome part of my weekend happened Wednesday night. While grating Parmesan cheese for dinner I somehow missed the cheese and grated my thumb knuckle. It was awful. And disgusting. And ridiculously painful. Eck. After the grating incident my sister and HS friend came over to hang out for the night where we all had tons of wine and lots of good times, woo.

Thursday: After Matt headed over to his mom's house I stayed in, relaxed and finished Breaking Dawn. I was (and still am) seriously so sad to be done reading the Twilight books and chances are I'll be compelled to reread them eventually but for now I'll just be happy talking about it with anyone who wants to, haha.

Anyhoo, the main part of the day came later in the afternoon when my family went over to Matt's mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was actually a really good time, took the sibling Christmas photo:

Both of our families had tons of wine, lots of great food and an all around entertaining evening. I sort of wouldn't mind if we did Thankgiving like this again in the future, crazy I know, haha. But it was fun. After dinner and dessert Matt and I ended up staying at his mom's house (several bottles of wine can do that to a person, haha) hanging out with some friends and watching TV, twas loverly.

Friday: Sadly Matt had to work on Friday, whereas I enjoyed the perks of sleeping in and relaxing to the max. I even indulged in some Black Friday sales online for the first time ever, which was fun and also hit up the Hallmark for some deals, woo. Other than that I got into the holiday spirit and watched The Holiday and Love Actually. Seriously how can you not love those movies? Anyhoo Friday night was much more exciting, went over to my friend's parents house where a bunch of high school people got together and drank and hung out and caught up, it was great. On top of it all one of my friends got engaged on Thanksgiving which is awesome since I love his fiance, granted Matt freaked out a bit since it's one of is best friends, haha.

me and Jo, oh I miss this girl

apparently my hair is tasty, haha

Matt and Kyle hangin out

apparently something was really funny

the guys did not want their picture taken, oh well, haha

I guess I didn't get the memo for the funny face

All in all it was a great night hanging out with the high school kids.

Saturday: Got to sleep in again which was awesome and went out to lunch with more friends in town for the holiday. It was another great time reminiscing, hanging out and having delicious food. After lunch I headed out to dinner for my sister's birthday dinner with the fam at Olive Garden, twas another tasty time.

being a good sister and buying my little 21 year old sis a drink before dinner, woo

After dinner my parents, my sis, and my aunt all went to the shadiest, sketchiest and most awesome dive bar ever that just happens to be like a two minute walk from my apartment. Seriously the drinks were good, the juke box had amazing music and the company was great since more friends showed up.

Matt treating Kourt to a birthday shot

oh those crazy kids hanging out


Miles, my dad and Matt by the bar


Me and Jess "dancing" away, haha


they were so obsessed with the touch screen games

Seriously it was such a fun night and my parents were cracking me up the whole time. I can't wait until we have another ridiculous reason to go to the sketchy that is the bar, haha.

Sunday: Yet another day of awesome laziness, seriously I could get used to it. The only productive thing I did was go to dinner at my parent's house for another Thanksgiving with my grandma and great aunt, it was so tasty. The rest of the night was spent watching TV, hanging out with Matt and decorating the apartment for Christmas. I lurved it.


And how was your weekend?


oh and pps. in case you missed it, LA Blogger Meetup this Friday, woo.


happy monday!