game day chic

You know when you say you will never do something again? And you are adamant about it - like an all caps I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. Well, I've found that when you say that...you eventually DO end up doing it again. See, I told myself, and anyone else who would list, that I was DONE blogging. KAPUT. I met friends (some of the best I'll ever have) and that was enough for me. But...seasons change and life is funny. So, I'm "back." (Though really, I never went anywhere! That's a weird thing for bloggers to say.) And I hope you want to read about books and TV shows and monograms...because that's what I want to talk about. 

To "celebrate" being "back," I've teamed up with some Houston bloggers to do an earring giveaway! How fun are these Lisi Lerch Button Earrings? With the most important game of the season for my Alma Mater coming up...LSU vs. Bama for you crazies who don't follow college football...it's perfect timing. We folks in the SEC take gameday seriously, there is no just throwing on a tshirt and calling it a day. (I'm looking at YOU a&m, you have a lot of work to do before you are truly SEC.) 

These earrings will be perfect with a simple gold tunic, leggings and some riding boots. Voila! The perfect fall gameday outfit, topped off with some pearls, of course. I think they will be just the good luck charm LSU needs to take down number 5. (I seriously love the fact that Oregon is ranked above Bama right now. LOVE. But number 1 and number 2 need to do a switcheroo.)

Enter below to win a pair in your team's colors!

Alice at The Lone Star Looking Glass

Whitney at The Observant Turtle
Meg at Everyday Meg  Miranda at Shop&Twirl   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

book review | gone girl

Oh darn, another book review. Sorry, non-nerds. There's actually going to be some major changes coming soon to the blog, but even with all of that, I've decided that book reviews are going to remain a weekly thing. Mainly because I LOVE to read and I'm blogging for me. And it's a great way to keep track of what I read!

GONE GIRL.

What it's about: Gone Girl is the story of Nick & Amy. On the afternoon of their 5th wedding anniversary, Nick comes home to find Amy gone. (Get the title now?) A police investigation begins and we see Nick's side of the story as well as Amy's diary entries. Then all goes to hell and it gets intense. I don't really know how to wrap this up without giving away anything...maybe it's a good thing I never became an editor!

What I thought about it: Let's begin with: I DID NOT want to read this book. I heard the ending was terrible so I stayed away. While at dinner with Meg last week I mentioned this and she QUICKLY talked me out of that idea. Clearly the woman is a genius because this is now one of my favorite books. EVER. And, as you can tell, I read a lot. About that ending? Yes, the ending sucks. LIKE ALL CAPS IT SUCKS. So how did I like this book so much even with that? Gillian Flynn. IS AMAZING. The characterization in this book is the best I've ever seen. I felt (feel!) like I know Amy & Nick. Meg and I had (have!) conversations just about them. I saw that Nick is being played by Ben Afleck and I got teary eyed...it's that good of a story. The story is actually why Meg knew I would like it. She mentioned that she likes TV shows better than movies because they are actual stories that draw you in and you can keep revisiting...and the same goes for books. It has to hook you from the first page and suck you in through the whole thing...and not many authors can do this. It's hard. But Flynn does it magically. Yes, the ending made me want to throw the book at the wall (which I couldn't because I read it on my phone), but everything leading up to the ending was just so good that I had to give the book five stars. And I have to recommend that Gillian Flynn go join Suzanne Collins on an island for people who got tired of writing such good books and gave up. I hope you both find peace there! Rest up! 

book review | 11/22/63

Sorry to those of you who don't like to read, but I'm thinking these book reviews will become a regular on here. I read A LOT, so this gives me a way to keep track of the better (or worse) ones. By a lot, I mean that. So far this year I've already read 16 books. And I was NOT the nerd in high school, I just really love to read and I read really fast, so reading one book in a night is not hard for me. Moving on...

Two weeks ago I reviewed Once Upon A Secret, a book written by an old white house intern who had an affair with JFK. Many of you, it turns out, share in my fascination with the Kennedy clan, so I'm sticking to that theme this week. I'll move past the Kennedy family next week, I promise! 

When I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to read up more on the Kennedy's, she ran upstairs to get this book. I was a tad weary because I don't typically enjoy Stephen King novels, but I trust my mom's judgement on books, so I brought it home with me. And then I proceeded to read it every chance I got. As in...one day I drove to Kroger during lunch and read it in my car in the parking lot. It's one of those that will suck you in and you can't stop until it's over. 

What it's about:

This is a fictional take on the assassination, and it follows a teacher living in the 2000s back in time to 1958. A local diner owner, Al, is dying and convinces the main character, Jake, to go back in time for him and save JFK from being killed. It starts in September of 1958. Jakes learns from the start that you can visit the past as long as you want to-years or days-but when you come back it will always be exactly 2 minutes later than when you went. Every visit after is a reset - you can change the past (thereby affecting the present), but the past stays the past, it simply resets. The books follows Jake's pursuit of Lee Harvey Oswald and everything he encounters along the way - love, crazy bookies, friendships, terrible living conditions, etc. 

My thoughts:

I REALLY liked the book. It was extremely true in the historical facts aspect. I just didn't LOVE the ending. It is absolutely worth the read, though, and will leave you wanting to know more about Lee and if it was a conspiracy or not. King does a wonderful job on the character of Lee, that was one of the best parts of the book. 

Overall, I give it...

I had too much fun making that graphic. I finally got to try my hand at drawing in Photoshop with my Wacom! LOVED it! 
SIDENOTE: The book is 11/22/63...not 11/23/63. Pay no attention to my trouble with numbers...and thank you to the sweet reader who brought this to my attention!!

Tune in next week as I review another book - hopefully you find something that interests you! After all, happiness is a room full of books :)

five new recipes | recipe one

One of my February goals was to make five NEW recipes. I cook every night, and if you cook every night as well, you know how hard it is to come up with around 20 recipes per month. Well, it's easy if you repeat I guess...which is the rut I had gotten in to. I am hoping this goal leads to some yummy finds! (It helps that this month, I meal planned in advance for the entire month as opposed to week by week!)

I am always looking for good and healthy sides for when I cook chicken. A believes that every meal needs a protein, so I let him gobble down on some chicken while I stick to the sides, so that means the sides have to be good. (No, not a vegetarian, but I'm not the biggest fan of chicken.) This is a side that I will now gladly incorporate into my meal planning, and you should too! Don't let the fact that it's quinoa scare you away. Embrace the quinoa! 

Quinoa is probably one of the more difficult foods to photograph, so I apologize for that looking like a pile of mush. My first venture into quinoa was with quinoa pizza bites, which are delicious, but I knew I had to figure out a way to make it and have it replace some of the rice we eat. And let me tell you, this is a great way! 

I based my recipe off one from Beauty & The Beard, but of course had to change it up a bit. Here's how I did it, and how you should, too! (And if you click over, don't think this will replace Mac and cheese. It's good, but nothing will ever replace Mac and cheese. Nothing.)

1 cup quinoa

2.5 cups water

Salt + pepper 

1 T olive oil

2-3 cloves minced garlic (I tend to over garlic) 

1 T dried basil (I use the kind you have to refrigerate. If you use true dried basil, use a little less) 

1/3 cup parm cheese (I used asiago and it was delish!) + parm to top with

Dump the quinoa and water in a small pot and add in some salt- not too much because the cheese is salty! Turn the heat on high until it reaches a boil. Lower the temp to a simmer, then cover and simmer for 18 minutes. When the timer goes off, if water is absorbed it is done, if not just add a few minutes on and cook until absorbed. 

While that is cooking, sauté garlic in olive oil for 30 seconds, just until fragerent. 

When quinoa is done, turn off heat and stir in cheese, garlic, basil and pepper to taste. Serve and top with parm cheese. 

I promise you will like this! It's super creamy, which surprised me because terse nothing but cheese in it, and salty and delicious.

One down, 4 to go! Except I planned 10 just in case something happened! 

book review | once upon a secret

A and I went to Dallas in January for the hockey game that I got him tickets for as his Christmas gift. We didn't have any plans other than that, so we left Houston early in Saturday morning with the intention of finding something to do when we got there. After wandering around Deep Ellum (reminded me of a mix between Jefferson street in Lafayette and sixth in Austin) A started to look online for things to do. He mentioned the art museum and the science museum only to hear groans from me, but when he mentioned the sixth floor museum, I was all in. 

You see, I have a huge obsession with all things Kennedy. And history. This museum had my name ALL over it. But an hour or two wasn't enough for me. I needed more. And then an extra hour of reading everything online was still not enough. 

Enter every Kennedy book I could find. My mom gave me one which I'll be reviewing next week, but I immediately checked this one out online (side note: checking out books from the library that get delivered directly to your kindle is the greatest thing ever.) and got to reading. And now we have my first, of many, book review! 

Brief synopsis: Mimi interned at the White House when she was 19 and was swept into a year and a half long affair with JFK. She kept the secret from everyone but her husband for her entire life until she was outed in her sixties. The book details the affair and her life after it. Juicy stuff. 

My thoughts: The book was overall a great read. (And makes me question why I love the man so much. I hate cheaters!) Also I caught myself comparing this affair to that of Fitz and Olivia. Maybe I over thought it, but I guarantee you Shonda Rhimes was thinking it, too! It was a fast and easy read and I enjoyed the peek into a side of JFK that most books don't go into. 

I give it 4 out 5 bows...mainly because I'm sad that I now have to view JFK as kind of a perv. Sad day. 

If you've read this book, let me know your thoughts! And if you haven't, I think you should. Reading is good for the soul! 

Tune in next week for my review of 11/22/63! And then I promise I will move on from historical books. And I'll also have pretty graphics for the bows given out at the end. 

making water a priority

Rewind to a year ago and you'd find A telling me at least twice a day that I needed to drink more water. Maybe more is not the right word for that...I needed to drink water period. He's always been a great water drinker, as in like 8 big tervis cups a day. He did have a point, I would routinely feel myself getting to the pass out point. Whoops! 

Rewind to about three months ago. Alexa and I were discussing the viral article about the UK woman who drank three liters a day and saw significant and good changes. We decided we would like to make that a goal. 

I've done great so far, but only during the week. I'm sort of OCD and I need to write down my water intake in order to see where I'm at for the day and how much I have left to drink. This isn't an issue during the week, I have my fancy planner to write in down in...but I leave that at the office. That causes a problem of keeping track over the weekend. 

A problem that I solved today! Admittedly, I was not even looking for an app to do this...I was searching for that water color app that everyone and their mom has been posting on Instagram (#trendfollower). I found that and was too cheap to buy it, but right under it was a free app that caught my attention. This is in no way a sponsored post AT ALL, but I know most people make goals at the start of the year to drink more water so I PSA was needed.

Enter your new best friend, water logged. 

You set your goal for the day and then enter in how much you drink throughput the day. You can even set alerts to remind you! It's completely customizable. My favorite part, however, is the app bade. 

If you are OCD like me, you hate app badges. (Thankfully I know how to take them off, I am looking at you Facebook!) the great thing about this one is that you can set it to be the number of ounces you have left to drink. This is the best motivation for me, because once I drink it all, the annoying badge is gone! Nope, not a freak or anything...

Bottom line, if you are trying to be better about drinking water, you need this app. Now excuse me, I have to go take a bathroom break again. 

February Goals | a monthly link-up

Hi, Friends! I hope you are reading because you are linking up with us today. If not, don't worry, I still love you (long time). And good news! If you can't link up today, you can at any time this month. We don't like rules or anything crazy. Just good old fashioned accountability. That is the part I am most excited about!!

If you are just now tuning in, here's a catch up - each month you will link up your monthly goals and update your previous month's goals. And by linking up with us, Ashley & I, and everyone else, will be able to see your posts and keep you accountable throughout the month. If someone is encouraging me throughout the month, I am more likely to keep my goal, and if that is the same for you, you have come to the right place!

So, here's my update to January and my February goals. (Obviously I need some encouragement and accountability!!)

January:

1. Practice my calligraphy every day. I left my pot open and it ran out. Like ALL DRIED OUT. So, fail.

2. List 10 things in my Etsy shop...and open it back up! Mmmm yea, no. 

3. Work out (even if it's just crunches) every day. I did SO goos until my birthday weekend. 

4. No buying lunch all month - and wake up early enough to pack my lunch everyday. I DID THIS ONE!!!

5. Post one book review a week. Reading is one of my biggest passions...as in I read at last one book a week. Time to share my thoughts! Watch out, tomorrow!!

6. Stop bringing negative into my life. There's enough out there, why purposefully bring it to me? I think I WON THIS ONE!

7. Send 5 snail mail letters. Intentional! There's always next month. 

8. Celebrate an FSU WIN. BEST NIGHT OF EVER. F-L-O-R-I-D-A...S-T-A-T-E!!

February:

1. Finish T-Shirt quilt + nephew's blanket. 

2. Work out every day.

3. Finish Ashley's re-design and show it to her IN PERSON.

4. Spend 5 nights with no phone usage. 

5. Paint half-bath. 

6. Send 5 snail mail letters. 

7. No dessert. At ALL. NEVER. 

8. Cook 5 new never cooked before dinners. 

So, are you ready?! I hope you are. Make sure and follow me on Instagram and Twitter...that's where I will be sending out encouragements. And through email, too...so if you get an email from me, don't be alarmed. I am a firm believer that there is strength in numbers, and that works perfectly here. 

Link up below if you want some encouragement!!

goals + accountability + a link up

Unless you live under a rock, you know that at the beginning of every month, Ashley posts her goals for the month along with an update on the previous month's goals.

Clearly I LOVED the idea, because I totally copied her in January. I thought that putting my goals on the good ole' internets would make me be accountable to them. As usual, I was wrong. I need more than just putting them on here, I need friends to keep me accountable and to join with me in having some goals each month. And yes, it reallllllly does help. I can't tell you how many times Ashley and I text each other about our goals! Mainly the no shopping one...that is HARD to go at alone.

So, Ashley had an amazing idea to turn this into a link up. (She's full of amazing ideas, that one!) I've been having mixed feelings towards link ups lately, to be honest, but this one is not just a link up to link up one, it's ALL about linking up to find others that want a little extra push and encouragement to knock out their goals. I plan on using twitter to help me encourage friends who link up...or maybe a little snapchat action, too. Those are fun :)

On Monday, please grab the code/button and join us in encouraging each other!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.andourstorycontinues.com" title="Link Up"><img src="http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a490/arhagg/921b6d7d-d19a-4471-8106-378b4b2e233c_zps241c20f6.jpg" alt="Link Up" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

2014 goals | finishing

Welcome back to this week's segment of Kaitlyn's Goals! Ha - just kidding - I'm trying to wrap these up as fast as I can! I just have to post them so I have some way of being held accountable. 

Last week I touched on being an intentional friend and also posted my January Goals, and today I will touch on my second goal:

I could have set a goal to run a half-marathn…or master calligraphy so I can list it in my Etsy shop…or so on and so on. And I DO want to do those things! Actually, I want to do those things and many more, but listing out all of those things would leave me feeling stressed and overwhelmed, so instead I am simply making this a goal. 

I have been blessed (I do NOT mean this in a braggy way!) with a lot of talent in the creativity department. It's just a bummer that God didn't bless me with my follow through…so in 2014, I want to FULLY FINISH everything I start. I'm starting off with finishing the T-shirt blanket I started back in….January. OF LAST YEAR. 

There's probably a lot of things about me that drive A up the wall, but my lack of finishing things has GOT to be at the top of the list. And I don't blame him! It drives me crazy as well. I just get so excited to try something new that I completely stop what I was working on before. Trying new things is good! And exciting! And I don't want to stop that - but I need to FINISH the previous project before taking on something new. Added bonus - this should take away some stress! When I have too many projects going on, that is just asking for a plate full of stress. And that is no fun at all. 

I like that this goal is sort of an all encompassing one - that way pretty much anything fits into it. Example - when you start cleaning a room…you should probably just finish it right then and there. IT IS MUCH EASIER THAT WAY. (Shouting to myself helps me learn lessons…)

I'm hoping this means that 2014 is a year of getting things done and tackling new projects. Just one at a time :)

hey SEC,

suck it.

You may all go back to cheering for your own team now. 

2014 goals | January Goals

Look at me, goal setting all over the place!

In addition to the three (one posted Friday with two more to come this week) goals for 2014, I am setting smaller goals each month - goals that I can (hopefully) accomplish in 30 or less days. And as we all know, the best way to get something done is to post it for the world to see. AKA - blog about it! My sweet Ashley is always so successful with her monthly goals, so I hope that I can be, too. At least we have each other as encouragement! 

January 2014 Goals

1. Practice my calligraphy every day. 

2. List 10 things in my Etsy shop...and open it back up!

3. Work out (even if it's just crunches) every day. 

4. No buying lunch all month - and wake up early enough to pack my lunch everyday.

5. Post one book review a week. Reading is one of my biggest passions...as in I read at last one book a week. Time to share my thoughts!

6. Stop bringing negative into my life. There's enough out there, why purposefully bring it to me?

7. Send 5 snail mail letters. Intentional!

8. Celebrate an FSU WIN. 

Ok that last goal is a silly one - but I had to end on an even number and HELLOOOOO - my noles are playing for the National Championship TONIGHT! I'm a little a lot bitter as my sister and her husband are AT the game...but I consider it good luck. Both of them were at the 1999 championship game and we won, so clearly we HAVE to tonight. But duh we will, Auburn is the luckiest team ever, seriously...there are there because of the two luckiest plays I have ever seen. Ever. So in honor of my beloved Seminoles, here's some pictures from games in the past few years. GO NOLES!

graham gano - old FSU kicker and current Panthers kicker. I thought he was really good looking until after this photo when I realized he could be my brother's twin.

And in honor of our return to glory - a photo from the 1998 national championship game. (Yes, Alexa...we lost to Tennessee...don't want to talk about it.) And some pretty sweet wallpaper from the Lindsey household of the 90s. 

2014 goals | intentional

I have a few goals for this brand new year, but instead of listing them out and moving on, I am going to spend a post talking about each one. I hope that this will allow you to fully know why this is a goal of mine and able you to encourage me throughout the year...and also I hope that by talking about each one a lot I will actually DO THEM. I plan on revisiting each once a quarter to check up on my progress. 

I am choosing to post this one first because I hope it's the one that I truly knock out of the park. It's something that has been weighing on me for a while now, so I really have no excuse. 

I have been blessed with some of the most amazing friends out there. So maybe I am biased. In high school and college it was SO easy to constantly be together, be there for each other, run to a shoulder to cry on, etc. But now? Now it's much easier to be a lazy friend. 

I originally told this goal to my friend Haylie and her boyfriend Drew and he responded with "as opposed to an accidental one?" HA. So to clarify, intentional as opposed to a lazy friend. 

I, sad to say, have become a lazy friend. 2014 will be the end of that. 

I realized this would be my goal at my best friend's rehearsal dinner. It's not an exaggeration when I tell you that every single speech mentioned something about Lyndsay being an amazing friend - a friend they could count on to ALWAYS keep in touch. Lyndsay and I have our weekly phone calls (she lives in Atlanta with her husband now), but that is always because SHE makes the point to call me. Yes, I want to catch up and talk, but I know that she will at some point so I just let her. HELLO - LAZY. 

It doesn't take a genius to know that being a lazy friend can make you very easily become a bad friend. I can't tell you how many times after her wedding I thought to myself that I was being a bad friend. How hard is it to pick up the phone or send an encouraging letter/email/text to a friend? It's not hard AT ALL...but yet I was not doing any of those things. 

I should also mention that somehow over the years, I have become someone who hates to talk on the phone. So much so that I've been told by some (ok, I've been told by my little sister) that I seem uninterested at times. I truly think this boils down to being PRESENT. Yes, I may be talking on the phone or even hanging out in person, but am I truly 100% present? Most times I highly doubt it...I have 798359 things on my mind and I tend to think about them while talking to friends. That is not fair and I need to work on being present. 

Lightbulb! It is so much easier to pick up the phone and have a 30 minute conversation than to spend the entire night texting. Not to mention that my husband gets preeettttyyyy mad when I spend the entire night on my phone. Rightfully so!

Like I said earlier, I have GREAT friends. So in 2014 I want to make sure they know that...and then hopefully they will refer to me as a great friend as well. No more taking friendships for granted, no more being lazy and waiting for them to call/text. I even kicked it off today by asking Alexa if we could have a phone date soon as opposed to our many texts/gchats. Watch out, world!!

Also Ashley may get tired of me after this year. Sorry in advance, sweet friend! Kick me out of Bay City any time I become too much.