Top 10 of 2009!

It may be a little early for this post, but I don't know how much time I'll have within the next few days since I'm working a bunch! Here mine go:

Katie's Top 10 of 2009

In no particular order:

1.         Biggest Overall Moment of 2009: Going to college: In this year, I’ve managed to graduate high school, apply and choose a college, attend said college, and go through the up’s and down’s always associated with first semester. Plus, I can sit here and say that although the beginning may have been rough, I’m sticking around to be a proud Carolina Gamecock!

           Internet Moment of 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0. On many blog lists of the “Top ___ of 2009” people seem to always include a youtube video. This one takes the cake in my opinion. You know you’re doing something right when The Office copies your wedding.

3.          TV Moment of 2009: Debut of Glee: This show crushes my TV quota for the year. I don’t download TV shoes from iTunes ever, and yet, I found myself downloading “Sectionals” (the episode) in order that it might hold me over until next season. Sorry Degrassi, Glee is just too good—I’m sure my dad would never think I’d like a show more than Degrassi since it’s on literally 24/7 in my house if I’m home!

4.          School Moment of 2009: Becoming an Ambassador: At school I’m now one of the tour guides who work at the Visitor Center. It is a pretty big deal at USC and so I’m super proud. This organization has played a major role in my decision to stay at school.

5.          Most Type-A Moment of 2009: H4H trip: I singlehandedly organized and carried out a Habitat for Humanity trip to Cary, NC. I was so proud of the 20 other classmates that joined me on the trip. It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I would love to do one again. I can say on behalf of every member of the group that we had a great time and would go back in a heartbeat!

6.          Sports Moment of 2009: USC over Ole’ Miss: What a game it was! Ole’ Miss was ranked 4^th when USC played and beat them. It was the highest ranked team that USC ever beat. (Meeting Eric Norwood in person takes a close second place as far as best sports moments go in 2009)

7.          Personal Moment of 2009: Au Natural: I’ve taken my hair from bleach blonde “highlighted” to basically my natural color. And as my aunt Jeanne said, “Welcome back to the club”. It feels good, I must say!

8.          Occupational Moment of 2009: Working at the Naval Academy: This summer I worked at the Naval Academy during the first few days of Plebe Summer and I couldn’t be more thankful. Aside from working for Lilly, this has been the best job I ever had. Those new plebes were some of the most anxious, nervous, apprehensive, excited people I’ve ever met, and I cannot wait to go back next summer to be a friendly, smiling face to try to make them a little happier and their day a little brighter!

9.           Family Moment of 2009: Getting to know my sister: During the two years my sister and I overlapped in high school, we really got to know one another. I am so thankful that we did because I realize that it’s getting tougher and tougher now that I’m in college. The first night that I came home for Thanksgiving break she sat in my room for 2 hours and we talked about everything. I’m so proud of her and I’m so happy that she’s my sister. (My mom’s probably awww-ing right now, but I needed a family moment of 2009!)

10      Funniest Moment of 2009: The infamous Skype video: My roommate Kathleen was skypeing with a mutual friend of ours silently while I just happened to be dancing—just like nobody’s watching—to “Sexy B---h” thinking she would expect it. Well the joke was on me when I turned around to see the friend and his roommate watching. And laughing. A lot. Needless to say I turned PURPLE, and the friend and I never addressed it. (Kathleen, I hope you enjoy being included in this.)

         What were your top 2009 moments?! My 2009 was great, and I can't wait to see what the new year has to bring along with its arrival!

          xxKatie

Summer 2009: What I Want

So I worked both days this weekend unloading about 7 boxes of summer shipments. The stuff is WONDERFUL! As Summer LP goes, you will NOT be disappointed. I tried a few things on and this dress is definitely my favorite: It is the Monterey Shift Classic White Buenavista. If you can't see, there are 2 thick lines of lace/rick-rack/piping running down the sides. Plus there are pockets (albeit shallow) but who doesn't love a dress with pockets. I have a feeling that post prom/graduation/etc. this will be my first major summer purchase. It runs about $258. Part of LP Summer '09 is that they tried to lower the prices. I think some of the fiasco Jubilee dresses were WAY too much, and LP corporate learned a little lesson. Some stuff is still pricey though.

This is another dress that I came upon in online shopping. Now I haven't seen it in person, but I adore it online. It has a great patchwork print that I am SO happy Lilly is bringing back. It has a line of the lace/rick-rack down the front, just like a dress from late summer/fall 2008 of last year!This is the Charity Shift Patch in Multi Hollywood Squares Patch. This print combines all/some of the celebrity designs, which is too fun! I just love the brightness that this dress has, I can't wait to see it in person! This runs at $328 (yikes!) probably since its the more "famous" of the designs.

One of the items that I unpacked a bunch of were some great printed halters. They are going to be fabu for summer and the really hot days while still looking super cute. They come in the Mommy-and-Me set as well. I unpacked the Minnies stuff also, and LP brought back the size 14. Some of you very small women are going to be so unbelievably lucky! With a great pair of white pants or white skirt, you're set! They have an adjustable neck and the prints really make the white pop. I have a feeling they're going to be very flattering on most people and really look good for a lot of scenarios! This halter is the Hillview Halter Lace in Daiquiri Pink Beverly Hills Bubbly (what a name that is...)!!

The last thing that I think I want to get, at least before I go to school, is a really nice pair of Lilly aviators. I've tried on a few pairs in the store (or every pair of sunglasses in the store) and I really like the fit, and where they sit on my face. I've also been trying to track down the Kate Spade pair that Reese Witherspoon was photographed wearing but I never seemed to find them. They had a pink bar across the top, where the sunglass frames like connect, but not like the bar over the bridge of the nose. There is a very cute pair from Lilly that's kinda like the KS ones, but have a very cute side part where they go over your ear: I am totally obsessed! I think they would be generally functional with most of the clothing in my wardrobe considering the pink matches everything I own. These are the Paley Sunglasses in Tortoise/Gold. I love them!

Happy Summer Browsing! I told you Summer 2009 was great!!

xxKatie

My First Polyvore!

Hi all! I decided to "polyvore" my outfit for work today. This might be my new favorite thing. Its fabulous. Anyway, since it's getting warm, like 75 and sunny, I decided to wear my Jacqueline Knit Critter dress that my parents got me for Christmas! Check out my outfit today:

Pink Crab 4/18 by featuring Jack Rogers sandals

Minus the kind-of-/-very-tacky butterfly Coach bracelet, this is what I wore. I couldn't find the red Coach bangle by itself anywhere. Crazy. Hopefully this works! I think it is too much fun (as long as you can find the clothes you need!!!)

Today at work, we got a TON done! Unpacked 4 boxes of Lilly Summer 2009 stuff. Let me tell you, it is adorable. There were 2 shifts in there that I want to buy and another pink dress that is awesome. Everything is super summer-y with heavy duty "lace" but really its just like heavy duty wide rick-rack. Continuing, its going to be an awesome summer line for Lilly, a great way to pick up the kind of wear Spring/Resort showing that there was in the stores. Plus, check out your own Lilly stores, Resort should be going on sale soon, if its not already. Ours is already 40% off, which is awesome because we still have a pretty major stock. Drop by and see if yours is on sale!

Definitely keep an eye out for the upcoming Summer '09 line. You will NOT be disappointed!

xxKatie

Stars for Lilly: A Colorful Cause

Recently, as I'm sure you've all seen in recent LP emails, ads, and other forms of communication, I'm sure you've noticed the Lilly Summer 2009 Jubilee lines made by the stars! I think this is such a fun idea for branching out! Two of my favorites were the Brooke Shields for Lilly and Elizabeth Filarski Hasselbeck (I'll always remember her as Filarksi from Survivor and The Look for Less). The Brook Shields design is too cute:Not to mention, the picture is too cute!! A very cute mommy-and-me combination for the summer. Actually, I do believe that all the lines are some sort of matching combo for older girls and younger girls, there's even a Gwyneth Paltrow swimwear set for a son too! That's the main advertisement for the actress' lines for Lilly.

Another one of my favorites was the Elizabeth Hasselbeck. She is a very preppy celebrity, seen here with the fabulous in pink Sarah Palin: What a cute preppy duo! Love both of them in their pink and green! Elizabeth's line is another darling addition to the Lilly Summer 2009 Jubilee line! I will always be partial to a pink LP anything, though! This trio is the same group/"family" that models the Gwyneth Paltrow line on the same jetty.

As People Magazine reports, Lilly is sponsoring "A Colorful Cause: Celebrity Designer Program, which honors the label’s 50th anniversary by supporting The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation". Kudos to LP for this wonderful cause and teaming up with some fab celebrities to make these designs!

xxKatie

Prom Ideas

I'm sitting here in my bed at 10:14 pm, very sick. All of my friends are out tonight at this party, but I have zero voice and am coughing my lungs up, so it leads me to thinking about the rest of the year. All that my mind seems to zero in on is PROM. All the craziness, drama, and whatnot that comes with it too. Thinking about prom on a Saturday night, niiiiiiice. Anyway, I am looking up all kinds of dresses that I might be interested in. I haven't seemed to find the perfect one yet. Last year, I wore the Lilly long one (I've talked about it like 80 times on here) that I adore. I will wear that dress to as many functions as I can, for however long it lasts me. I knew that I had wanted to get that dress in August of my Junior year (yes, like before the school year had even begun). This year, however, I am not as prepared. I have no ideas as to what I want, and I don't really know where to begin. I found a few dresses that have caught my eye, but somehow, they all seem to have one "tragic flaw" as my wise AP English teacher would say.

I really have no idea what I want, and all of these happen to fall within the "pink" category, but it's not a requirement. I know that I can't be spending like thanks-a-million, and I know that I don't want to wear Lilly again. I just didn't fall in love with any of the Jubilee dresses, and I don't want to spend a ton. I know I do want a long dress, and I'm not like really comfortable with strapless, but I'd be willing to try. So far, these are my four ideas. They all strike me as wearable, but I'm not DYING to have any specific one.

This is Nicole Miller. I like her a lot. Purple is NOT my thing at all. This is labeled as "fuchsia", but I still question the integrity of the colors online. I love lurex though. I am a HUGE fan of this type of fabric. It is so luxurious and fabulous that I cannot pass up anything with some sparkle. This is a rather conservative dress in it's shape, but I hesitate before spending $465 on a strapless dress that I'm sure I'd be semi-uncomfortable in.
This I love. It is bright, long, and very cute! My problem with this is that I have a small chest, so a dress like this with rather open cleavage makes me weary. I must wear um, helpful undergarments if you catch my drift, and the plunge-y-ness of this neckline, would make said undergarments very difficult to wear. I have, however, seen this dress in person, and it is SO nice. I have seen it in a coral-y color and a robin's egg blue shade and both were stunning. Right above the shoulders is some gold detailing and the website advises to wear this with gold jewelry.
This dress is very NOT typical me at all. Let me stress that first of all. It is very striking, and I wonder how self-conscious I'd be in it. I mean seriously, that's one of the prettiest models ever, and I don't know if I could really "pull this one off". I even wonder if this dress could almost qualify as "trashy". Please tell me if you think it does. I hardly see myself in this dress, but part of me likes it. I do love the detailing on the back beading too. This dress, though, too, would be tough to wear undergarments under, because look at a) how tight it is and b) how could you ever get a brassiere strap with a dress-back like that?!
I find this dress amazing. Bright pink, fabulous, and again, full of lurex. It is strapless, though, but a few girls wore similar dresses to our prom last year, and they were beautiful. One dress was blue with silver lurex in it, and another was white with gold lurex in it. I envied those girls so much, and now I have finally found who made their dresses!

So, as you consider my pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-preliminary ideas, tell me which one you like the best. My mom is going to be reading this thinking that I'm nuts for writing about prom so early and that I'm blogging at now 10:35, while I'm sick. Regardless, it's all I can occupy myself with while all of my friends are out! I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

By the way, the download for the day: "Lucky" by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Calliat. SO CUTE! I LOVE THIS!

xxKatie

Coldest Day of Winter

So, today is the coldest day of the winter! I can't believe it, only 7 degrees today when I got out of my bed for school. Being a Lilly Lover, I am NOT a fan of cold weather or snow for that matter. I like sundresses, and sandals, and cardigans, while the vests, and sweaters, and pants hide in the back of my closet! My mom is working on a weekend for a school group that I'm a part of. We are 14 Senior class members, the Prefects, just like the ones in Harry Potter. I'm pretty excited because we're heading to Bethany. It is going to be COLD down by the water, and my neighborhood in Bethany is on the bayside. All the Prefects except one are coming so it will be a long weekend that I'm sure everyone will enjoy!


We are all heading up tomorrow morning for a part planning weekend, part bonding sesh! My mom and dad are the "chaperones" along with our Prefect adviser. My mom has gotten up a few activities like a scavenger hunt and a quiz game that has to do with all kinds of stuff about the Prefects themselves, our school, and our school activities. I am super excited to have everyone out at the house. We can all fit, PLUS my mom, dad, and sister.

All I can think about today is the end of the quarter AND the beach weekend! I am currently in free period at school, wearing a pink cable knit sweater under my uniform fleece. Preps everywhere would really like my uniform: khakis, dirty bucks (suede Bass shoes with the pink bottoms), white polos, and black school fleeces. Since today was SO cold, I thought I'd add an extra layer of preppy warmth! Let me say, boy, am I cozy, sitting here in our Learning Resource Center!

For the boys, the Fridays are always "Pink Tie Friday". It's an unofficial rule for the boys that on Fridays you just wear pink ties. I LOVE THIS TRADITION. I think boys should wear more pink because whether it's a tie, sweater, oxford, they are all fabulous in pink!!!!!

I hope everyone enjoys a VERY winter-y day and the sub-freezing temperatures! Have a fun and relaxing long weekend everyone! I'll be thinking about you while I'm at the chilly beach!

xxKatie

Cupcakes!

So today, for Z-Club, a community service club that I'm part of at school, we had a bake sale!! My friend Audrey's boyfriend is "polar bear plunging". The Polar Bear Plunge is an event held every year organized by the MD state police. People "plunge" into the Chesapeake Bay in the middle of winter to raise money for the MD Special Olympics. He made a big-ish presentation at school at our biweekly morning meeting. He made a bet to plunge in a yellow banana suit if he got $200 in donations. If he got $500 in donations, he would plunge in one of Audrey's bikinis. Now, Audrey is French, so they're small bikinis and Bob, um, isn't her size.

Anyway, we had this bake sale and all the profits would go to Bob's PBP fund. I think we made over $40, so we were all very pleased! The theme of the bake sale was PBP, so a lot of the decorations were themed to go along with Bob. I made cupcakes (I'll tell you about this new kind later) that were white frosting with little pink and green bikinis on them. I am so disappointed that I didn't take a picture of them, because I LOVED them! My friend Mary-Claire made blue frosted cupcakes with banana runts on top. Other members made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter-nutella cupcakes, blueberry muffins, and some of the BEST brownies I've ever had. It was so much fun and it reminds me as to why I love Z-Club!

The cupcakes I used were a new item from Duncan Hines (I think, maybe it was Betty Crocker). I am all for boxed goodies. Its about being simple. Anyway, it was a little red box, with enough batter ingredients to make 12 cupcakes instead of the industrial 24. I mean talk about perfect! They are just like Funfetti ones, except you don't use whole eggs, only egg whites. They are light and fluffy and my mom described them as like more angel-food-cake-y than the regular ones. Now, I am still partial to Funfetti, and I always will be, but these make a nice, smaller, backup. Definitely look for them next time you're in the grocery store!

P.S. I am loving Verizon. I get service in a lot more places, and anyone thinking about switching, it's totally the right call, no pun intended!

xxKatie

My Birthday!!

January 8, 2009: Happy Birthday Katie and Elvis! So, the big day. It was so much fun! I love birthdays! My comes especially close to Christmas so I always find myself looking for things to ask for and usually I come up empty-handed. This year was one of those years. My mom literally ran down the list:
"Clothes?"
"No."
"Jewelry?"
"Not that I can think of."
"Purses?"
"Not really."
"Accessories?"
"No, Christmas is such a problem with January birthdays..."
And it continued like that throughout our dinner conversation.

So my birthday morning came and went, it was a Thursday. Nothing particularly exciting that morning. When I got to school, Emmy, one of my friends gave me a little note and told me that she was going to take me out to lunch someday when our schedules didn't conflict. Meredith, another friend of mine, came up to me and handed me a pan full of brownies, not a bad gift at all! The day continued similarly, and a fellow January 8th-er and I had an unofficial competition that whenever we saw one another we had to yell "Happy Birthday" first. (We tied.) Last period of the day, my anatomy and physiology class enjoyed some very preppy cupcakes (decorated with a "princess" kit from Williams and Sonoma.

When I got home, I walked into the house to see our living room table covered in wrapped gifts, gift bags, and colorful cards. I opened everything and was very happy with what I got.My dad typed up this big long letter that was so sweet all about me growing up and whatnot. I can't wait to reread it on my own time. My parents gave me a beautiful necklace, like nothing I own, from Tiffany's. The "Elsa Peretti Open Wave Lariat" was what they picked out. Now, I'm sure if my mom is reading this, she'll be unhappy that I now know the price, but mom, I tried not to look!!! I promise!! Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I also got Lilly PJ's that I've worn every night since I got them and they're in the "Animal Crackers" print that is one of my favorites of the PJ line. We also switched to verizon wireless, which my sister and I were DYING to switch to. All of our friends have it and we formerly had T-Mobile, and no one would ever text us! So I got a "LG Dare" when we went to verizon. I got a Coach bracelet from my aunt and it's red and has pink C's all over it, which I love because my real name is Catherine! I hope that everyone has fabulous birthdays from here on in, in the New Year!

PS: inthepinkonline.com is having a sale on Lilly sunglasses. I mean slashed prices, even on the polarized ones! Jump on that while they're still there! My advice is going for the Dylan's and Manda's and Calista's and Randi's!

xxKatie

BlackJack!

Well, I ordered some Jacks from piperlime.com a little while ago, maybe a week. piperlime.com is the shoe website associated with Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. It has a great selection of all kinds of shoes ranging from affordable to eeeeeexxxxpensive. Anywho, I recently got $50 in giftcards to both Gap and Old Navy for Christmas and didn't exactly find anything. I remembered from prom that I had used a Gap gift card on my clutch from piperlime and it worked out beautifully.

I picked out a pair of black Jacks to get thinking that they would be very practical, wearable, and comfortable after a few wears. Well, for $1.67 out of pocket, I'd buy just about anything. The price plus tax and shipping came out to be $101.67, as I remember. So technically, I got a brand spankin' new pair of Jack Rogers for $1.67, that's less than what I would have gotten with my store discount!!

Moving on, they arrived today, and I was very happy! I open up the green and brown box to see my shoe box. I open up that box to see my new sandals, only to be made even happier. Not only were these the sandals that I had ordered, BUT they ended up being black leather with patent black "lacing"! I was super excited because these were the ones I was looking for, but had previously thought that I had come up empty-handed. So, I got my black matte-black patent Jack Rogers for $1.67. What more can a preppy girl ask for?

Plus, today I finally got my hair highlighted. It had been long overdue, and with my birthday looming, when else?! Anyway, it's now more blond and my mom approves so I was happy!

Plus Plus, day 6 of my New Year's resolution is going well. I am planning away and have all of my homework, tests, quizzes, school events, and games all consolidated into one place. Finally, I think I might be getting good at this! Hope everyone is enjoying the new year!

xxKatie

Resolution 2009: Planners

So at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, I told myself that I would get legitimately organized. I tried, and did pretty well actually. I modeled my planning skills after my friend Shannon, who is the ULTIMATE planner. Not only is she super organized, but she knows everyone's birthday, every possible due date you can imagine, ever important sporting event, and every other commitment that she has for the entire year. One can only dream to be as organized as Shannon. On top of all her organizational skills, it's all color coded with highlighters and colorful pens. Knowing I couldn't be as ambitious, I started out with a planner. It was pink and from B&N. Embossed on the front was "2008". I put all my work dates, cross country meets and everything else I could think of in the 2 x 1 box per day. I was impressed with my handiwork.

Then, the rest of the year rolled around. I have another school planner where I put my homework, and putting all that stuff in both planners drove me insane. Eventually, I just used my school-mandated one because I couldn't channel my inner Shannon enough.

For my resolution, I am going to try to get back into super-planning. I think I can do it. I'm crossing my fingers that my teachers don't assign as much work (although I know that it is only wishful thinking...). I already have my second semester mindset in check, and it's not even second semester yet! Not a good sign, not a good sign. Either way, I'm going to try to be more organized with this planner. I have my lacrosse schedule with tryouts, games, early outs, and spring break plans all in there already, so that's my start. (I manage my school's boy's varsity lacrosse, so it's pretty important that I know what's going on.) I am going to focus myself on putting as much stuff as I can into this planner and knowing what's happening when and where. I think I can do it, don't you? I mean I maintain a blog post just about everyday, so why can't I do this?

There are some great planners on bn.com if anyone is looking to put a little Shannon into their life too. I like this one, the "2009 Weekly Desk Mod Squares Magnetic Engagement Calendar". It will only run you about 10 bucks for an entire year! Happy Planning!

xxKatie