Etsy Love!!

My name is Katie and I am an Etsyholic...yes, I am obsessed with ETSY!! this relationship came about around the time I got engaged and was searching for ideas for invitations, garters, ring pillows etc, all of which i was able to find inspiration and recreate myself...minus the garter I did order that from etsy, along with many other things:

this beautiful bracelet for myself from here: TZTudio

there you can see the bracelet on my arm, it is absolutely gorgeous and I am still looking for opportunities to wear it again

and this handkerchief from here:Artful Beginnings, it was imprinted with my and Mark's names and our wedding date

this is our hands and you can see the hanky, and the bracelet from above

And this Garter which this seller was amazing and I had actually forgot to order a garter until like a week and a half before the wedding and she had me this in less than a weeks time!! Peterene Design

Then, after the wedding was over my love affair continued and I fell head over heels in LOVE with 

Dear Lillie, The owner is amazing, her items are all handmade and shipped in such a fast and timely manner, and your package arrives in the cutest wrapping with a huge bow, its so cute and you feel special opening it like its a gift or something, even though you bought it yourself.  I happened to stumble across her shop while looking for something to wear to a friends rehearsal dinner and I bought this top:

then this top which I LOVE, I wore it last weekend

and here is me in the top: 

I also buy lots of jewelry such as these necklaces which I love and always seem to get a few compliments when I wear them:

they are from LoveErica, I have ordered lots of jewelry from this seller, and she packages her jewelry in the cutest manner, and it is all very good quality.

So yes, I love me some ETSY but clearly, how can you not?!?

Labor Day Weekend

Im back from my trip....and yes I am still alive

I had an awesome trip, I left friday super early in the morning and after a layover in Atlanta (where my mom was also, so we visited for a few minutes) I arrived in Va Beach late afternoon, shortly after, mom arrived and we headed to the hotel to unpack and get some food.  We ate at Ruby Tuesday which I had never eaten there before but it was pretty good.  After dinner my mom and I decided to walk to the Target that was across the street and only a half mile from the hotel.  Well...due to all the landscaping it took us forever to walk to the Target and forever to walk home.  We probably walked a good three miles or more, which was not too bad since I had been on an airplane all day and needed to stretch my legs but man o man I was tired! I pretty much went back to the hotel and was asleep by 830pm which on my bodies clock was 730pm!!! However, I was up bright and early at 6 AM... We went to breakfast at Panera Bread which was delicious and tried to pick out all the other people in the restaurant who were in town for the race...it was a fun game hehe.

We then headed over the Va Beach Convention Center to pick up our race packets 

me an momma

my whole family who was racing, My Gram, Mom, Me, and my Uncle

We walked around the Expo and looked at all the neato things and I bought a few fun little things as well, then we were off to get some lunch and freshen up before dinner

Then came Sunday...Race day...The Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon to be exact

it was a GREAT race, the weather was perfect in the 60's and 70's and there were no injuries to be had.  I did really well considering the circumstances, I didn't train, I was not well hydrated which I know because I peed before the race but not again until I was already done for a few hours which is bad usually I pee at least once, and by mile 10 I hit a wall and it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other and not walk, by the time I finished I had no reserve left, but thats what I wanted I hate having too much energy left at the end.

I finished in 2:03:57 which is just shy of a PR (my best time is 2:03:15), my Gram placed first in her age division, and my mom had an injured foot prior to the race and still set a PR!! My uncle well he did awesome too :)

Later that day my bestie from high school drove 4 hours with her family to visit!!! It was so sweet of them and so good to see them, her children are amazing, so cute and well behaved so we had lunch then went to a little local beach for a little bit, where we also saw some old friends from when we lived in Ohio!!! Its so nice to see old friends, growing up military the people who mean most to me in life are all scattered around the country so I always try to stay connected so at times like this when I travel, I get to see them

It was such A good trip and a nice break from the business of work and the heat and rain in Texas!!

7 Quick Takes

Oh hi, I haven't dissolved into thin air, I've been around just haven't felt like there were many interesting things that y'all would care to hear about, but alas, I am here today with seven random tidbits

1. I have been trying to get acquainted with this big guy....I love him!!! Our old laptop failed us one too many times and we had to fire him and bring in the replacements.  This thing is freakin awesome, why didn't I get an apple years ago? We have been wanting one for quite some time but had decided to be financially responsible (eeew yuck) and pay some credit cards off first and finally last week my laptop gave me the blue screen of death so I thought it was finally time before the lil laptop crashed completely and I lost everything. I brought my laptop in to the apple store and they transferred all our important info which was perfect because then all we had to do was bring home the new computer plug it in and everything was ready to go! We love him!!

2. In 9 days I will be running my 3rd half marathon...with my family...in Va Beach, Va...Im pretty excited.  My amazing grandma, mom, and uncle are all running it also and I think its going to be a fun weekend, not to mention I cant wait to get some beach time, and relax a bit.

3. Speaking of needing to relax, My work schedule has been horrible this past month.  I cant complain too much because I make my own schedule, but in order to work over-time and have certain weekends off I have had to do lots of consecutive days like this week working four nights in a row, having one night off then coming back for three more.  Yeah I have done that craziness the last four weeks.  If you work a regular 9-5 job you might not get the suckiness of that but just take my word for it...it sucks...but like I said its totally necessary and I just take one day at a time :)

4. It amazes me how two people can dirty an apt so quick!!! I will clean this place spotless and then two days later it looks like a tornado went through.  I am sure its because this place is not very big and me and the hubby both work lots of weird crazy hours and would rather spend our time off with each other or relaxing than cleaning, so I just put my blinders on and ignore it till I have more than a day off to get it cleaned again...and then the cycle continues.  One day I will be getting a maid, true story.

5. Me and the hubby are going to Chicago for our vacation in a month, I am SOOOO freakin excited...any suggestions of must see things, places to eat, etc?

6. I dont know if were just at that age or cupid hired a bunch of new staff but we have had like seriously 10 friends get engaged in the last few months, its craziness!! That means the end of this year into next is going to be super busy with wedding events, which no complaints I seriously love weddings!!

7. I am so glad August is almost over, I hated August before it started and Thank You baby Jesus it is just about over!! September is going to be a fun month there is lots to look foreword to in September and I am so glad it is finally just around the corner.

So there ya go 7 bits of rambling you probably could have done with out!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Where did you go to college?

I started at the University of Texas in San Antonio, then after that I went to the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio for Nursing school

2. What did you study?

Nursing, I have my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree

3. Was college really all that it was cracked up to be?

Oh yes, and more!! I loved college, I joined my sorority, Phi Mu, where I met many of my best friends I have today, it was an amazing experience.  I grew up military so when I moved to San Antonio, I knew no one and joining a sorority was something I always wanted to do but I knew it would help me meet people and get involved, and also, I wouldn't have met my husband if it weren't for Phi Mu

4. How far were you from home?

Growing up military, I consider myself a nomad so I consider home where my bed is so I guess no I wasn't far from home I was home. 

5. Did you have the same roommate all four years?

Oh goodness no, I moved every year to get the best apartment deal and so every year I had new roommates, so I think I had like 5 roommates total in college

6. Where did you order food from at 2am?

usually Whataburger, Taco Cabana, or ChaChos (amazing heart attack in a bowl) they were the only places open at 2 am in San Antonio

7. Did you date in college or were you tied down?

I met my husband my first semester of college when I was 18 and then we started dating exclusively my second semester of college.  We dated ever since and never played the date/breakup game so yeah I guess I was tied down, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.  We respected each others space and trusted each other so I would go out with my girls and he would go out with the guys and not get all jealous like...I don't know it worked because were still together and now were married!!

8. Funniest drunk college moment?

LOL I think there are too many to count! Probably the time me and my roommates went streaking through the apartment complex at 2 am and then danced around the apartment all night, for some reason that night was just so fun and carefree, I remember laughing so hard it hurt and just letting loose and it strikes me as one of my best college memories.

9. Did you make it to class on time?

Always, usually early...prior to nursing school I didn't go to every class, some classes were pointless and had nothing to do with nursing such as Texas History...um who cares...not me... so I just wouldn't go, but I was still able to maintain an awesome GPA

10. What was your favorite class in college?

Probably my Critical Care class in nursing school I had the best instructors in that class and it really just intrigued me and was so interesting... and now I work in a critical care setting so I guess that's just my thing, I am an adrenaline junkie like my grandma :)

Fave song of the moment

 Seriously am LOVING this song right now, the last two weeks at church they have played it and at times I have to stop singing because it makes me want to start to cry (I am a cryer thanks mom).  I look foreward to going to church, one of the reasons being I hope to hear this song, its just so awesome, and true I love it!!!! I can just listen to it on repeat all day!!

My Faves: Running Edition

I always am interested in what kinds of things people use for certain things and which things are peoples favorites, so I am going to tell you about mine. This time will be running related

There are so many options out there when it comes to work out gear and running related items its like getting lost in a jungle sometimes.


My favorite shoes are New Balance, last year when I trained for and ran my first half marathon I was using just a cheapo pair of new balance shoes I wore mainly because I though the colors were cute...not the best way to choose running shoes but none the less they were cute and to be honest I never had any injuries or odd sorenesses that some people have from using poor running shoes. 

Earlier this year a few months before I did my second 1/2 marathon I thought maybe I should invest in some "proper" running shoes, so I went to a fancy running store and they analyzed my stride and I basically have a normal one.  They showed me several different brands of shoes to try on and low and behold I ended up back with new balance, all the other brands were just not right, So I walked out with more New Balance running shoes and now I can say I am a major fan of New Balance, all 5 pairs of sneakers I own are New Balance!

These are my current shoes:

They are New Balance 760 Susan G. Komen edition

(I also have these in orange and white)

I recently discovered my all time favorite running shorts, if they werent so expensive I would buy way more of them but they are a little pricey so I only buy a pair every now and again, I currently have them in black and a pair with light pink and grey, they are sooooo comfortable its almost like running with no pants on, but really they have no seams so you dont have any crazy elastic or ties digging into your sides or whatever and the fabric is so soft, I couldl really wear them on a daily basis!

They are amazing!

these are the black ones

Aside from that I have no other preferences, I dont need any special sports bra so I buy whats cute and thats really all you NEED to run, oh yeah and a good itunes playlist always helps!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Do you have an innie or an outie?

innie

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
chocolate for sure!! However I very rarely ever order milkshakes it makes them that much more delicious when I do.


3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
Umm well pretty frequently.  I am a nurse so I wear scrubs to work and while I have enough that I really could go a month without doing laundry and repeating, I have some that I love and that fit me better than others and will wear them more often.


4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
Love them, especially receiving them


5. Do you like spicy food?
Not too spicy


6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
haha this makes me laugh becase my mom told me this story that when I was little she walked past the bathroom door and saw me counting the TP squares and asked what I was doing and I told her that when I was at gramma and grampas house we were only aloud 4 squares (I lived with my grandparents for a little over a month when I was in 4th grade)


7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
nope
8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative? Havent bought one in a very long time!! I always used to like wide ruled though cuz I have big handwritng


9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
Im the snack queen, I like fruit especially apples, blackberrys and blueberries, I also like carrots and i just got these almonds that are wasabi & soy sauce flavor and they are sooo good


10. What is your favorite month? Why?
Im not month biased each month has something special :)