K8 and I were extra lucky to have old friends come visit us here in SC last weekend. A, K8's friend, came from North Carolina and KK, my childhood best friend, came from NYC.

We tailgated for the SC game on Saturday, and then, danced the night away at a friend's house. We were sad to see them go. We also traveled to Jacksonville this weekend for the FL/GA game. I will post pics from this weekend on my next post.

Have a great week!

Some people have a shoe collection, and some people have a rock collection. Most of the kids I babysat for as a teenager had a Beanie Baby collection. Although it is less fashionable and not worth a lick of money (although, I am pretty sure Beanie Babies fit into this category as well), I opted for a QUOTE collection.

It may sound lame, but there is really nothing like being in a particular mood and finding some famous, or better yet, famous AND intelligent person already chewed on your thoughts and spat them out like a Chinese proverb.

So, in honor of my love of words, I invite you to enjoy one of my favorite quotes, once a week. I really do love how everyone has some alliteration in a weekly post (like Wonderful Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Forgetful Friday). However, I am a commitment phobe for weekly, themed posts, so I say any day can be An Attempt to Inspire. Author’s choice. I will most likely attempt inspiration mid-week because I have a hard time seeing the luminous end of the tunnel at the Hump. Feel free to join in on the action, and please let me know if you do.

This week, I leave you with one of my favorites of all time:

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. ~Garrison Keillor

The word placement may make your head spin a bit, but I cannot tell you how true I have found this to be. How many times have you wished for something, felt disappointed that the trusty ol’ genie failed you, and then later found yourself saying, “Thank goodness it worked out the way it did.”

This quote reminds me of one of Garth Brooks’ songs where he says “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Whether you believe in God or not, you have to agree that sometimes it is best that things turn out the way they did.

I hope everyone is having a great week. And don’t worry, silly (not introspective) Chat Tea Kathy will be back next post!

Let’s face it: I will most likely never achieve my childhood goal of winning an Academy Award for Best Actress. This is true for several reasons, the most obvious being, well, I am not an actress.

So, in the meantime, suffice it to say that I am extremely grateful that I received a blog award from two fabulous gals. The Dishy Decorator and mWm. THANKS!! These girlies are well-known in the blog-o-sphere and are two of my favorite tweet pals. Make sure you pay them a well-deserved visit.

Here are the rules:

1.) Thank the person who gave this to you.
2.) Copy the logo and place it in your blog.
3.) Link the person who nominated you.
4.) Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.
5.) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6.) Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7.) Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

1. (Similar to Dishy Decorator’s story): When I was 5, I had a pet chicken. If you know where I am from this is a very funny story. In pre-K, we hatched 4 eggs in an incubator. What lucky gal (with an unlucky mother) won the raffle? I’ll give you three guesses. What was the chicken’s name, you ask. Well, she was Melissa. I named her after my best friend. I am sure my best friend was honored and rightfully so. Poor Sweet Melissa had an unfortunate run in with a neighborhood cat. I have sworn off bird-pets ever since.

2. I am absolutely terrified of the year 2012. I know this is ridiculous. I am actually a sane person.

3. One of my lifetime goals is to write two books. The first, a novel- something girlie and fun. Then, something serious which requires a lot of research.

4. Speaking of 4, I want 4 children. I am sorry, Kyle.

5. If I could have any job (besides having my own reality tv show), I would like to be a sidelines reporter for ESPN. Think Erin Andrews minus all the scandal.

6. Despite my previous ridiculous job comment, I actually use to think I wanted to pursue Army Jag. I decided that I am just not badass enough.

7. I cannot sleep more than 4 hours a night, and night time hours are my best working hours. I think I was a bat in my past life. Or maybe Bat Woman. Yeah, that’s better.

I tag the following chicas:

Law With Grace: Anytime I need a good laugh, I look to this girl. She is the Chelsea Handler to my Google Reader. My absolute favorites of her postings are the ones introducing (and, well, remembering) her pet fish.

My Blonde Reality: She is fantabulous. And she introduced me to the Clarisonic. (That is pretty much the resume essentials for Blog Award.)

Ellen&Ollie: This gal is so talented. And also, a dweller of the Palmetto State like moi!

The Pink Owl: Another SC lady. I recently stumbled upon her blog. She may be on a blogcation, but I await her return with anticipation.

Mint Juleps & Magnolias: We have two major loves in common- The KY Derby and Mint Juleps. Actually, I guess that may be the same love.

Putting on the G.R.I.T.S.: A fellow Gator girl in a Gator world. Her sassy/funny tweets keep me truckin' through my day.

The Southern Social: She has not been blogging lately, but I have to give her a shout out b/c she was the first blog I ever read regularly. I still happily follow her in twitterville. She is one hilarious lady.

Congrats all!

Sweet Christina at The End of Beans just gave me my first blog award! Woot. Woot. She is great. I love reading her blog. You should really check her out!

The rules: use only one word, pass along to six favorite bloggers, and tell 'em you did so.

Take it away-

1. Where is your cell phone? Charger
2. Your hair? Red
3. Your mother? Sassy
4. Your father? Smart (This doesn't mean that my Mama isn't as well!)
5. Your favorite food? Soup
6. Your dream last night? Recurring
7. Your favorite drink? Wine(!!!)
8. Your dream/goal? Self-employed (I cheated with the hyphen)
9. What room are you in? Bedroom
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? HEIGHTS!
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Vacation
13. Where were you last night? (Law)School
14. Something that you aren't? Shy
15. Muffins? Chocolate
16. Wish list item? iPhone
17. Where did you grow up? Boca Raton (FL)
18. Last thing you did? Phone
19. What are you wearing? Suit (not the bathing kind)
20. Your TV? Tivo
21. Your pets? TBD
22. Friends? Witty
23. Your life? Nonstop
24. Your mood? Silly
25. Missing someone? Kyle
26. Vehicle? Mazda
27. Something you're not wearing? Socks
28. Your favorite store? Forever 21
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? Now
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday (from laughing)
32. Your best friend? Multiple
33. One place that I could go over and over? Italy
34. One person who emails you regularly? K8
35. Favorite place to eat? Za's

I would like to tag the following ladies (in no particular order):

Miss Emily Anne at Martinis and Madness (One of my new favorite reads. Love her.)

Natalie at The Brocks Rock (The extra fabulous birthday gal!)

Kelsey at The Seattle Smiths (She is seriously the cutest ever.)

MwM at her self-titled blog (Fellow lover of the Gators and Chelsea Handler...'nuff said.)

Danielle at Just Dandy (And that is exactly what she is- that and my blog designer & another fellow Gator.)

RKS at Dooley and Me (A dear friend of mine and my first IRL friend to start a blog.)

I have been home sick all day. That means I have slept alotta hours. That also means I may be up all night. What a perfect opportunity to announce that my new blog design is officially complete. Thanks to Danielle at Girls Night Out Custom Blog Designs for the makeover. I REALLY love her. You all should check her out here.

In weekend news, PJ, KJ, Kyle and I took a much needed relax-a-fest in Asheville, NC. We rented a cabin from here. I highly recommend Carolina Mornings. We booked the cabin from them one day before, and it worked out magically. We had a 3 story, 3 bed, 3 bath cabin on the side of a mountain complete with a gazebo, charcoal grill, 2 large flat screen HD TVs, surround sound, ipod sound system, etc.





Basically, there was nothing missing from this place. The best part? Well, the fall leaf colors were in full effect. On Friday, we hung out in downtown Asheville, and then, we grilled out. PJ and I enjoyed several Firefly Lemon Vodka and water beverages. The gang made some yummy smores.


I also carved my pumpkin. I tried to make purple aviators, but my artistic capabilites were certainly waning.



On Saturday, Kyle and I went to the Biltmore.



IT WAS AWESOME. My favorite part (not so surprisingly) was the vineyard. We all grilled out again that night. This time- in the name of some Gator FB. After a nail-biting(ish) victory, we played some college-esque card games. Ridiculous. I know. We also popped open a fantastic bottle of champagne! :) Sunday morning, we dropped Kyle off at the Greenville, SC airport to catch a buddy pass home. I am sad that the weekend had to end.


Sigh.

I know I am going through blog backgrounds like Lady Gaga goes through costumes at an awards show, but I am getting a blog lift, courtesy of the fabulous Danielle at Girls Night Out Custom Blog Designs! Check in the next few days to see the new me.

This is the state of my living room. I am ashamed to admit that I have a subscription to more than 10 magazines. I am currently awaiting the arrival of a few more, but today my coffee table displays the following ornaments:

1. Vanity Fair

2. Wine Spectator

3. Sports Illustrated

4. Entertainment Weekly

5. Forbes

6. Food

7. Allure

8. Southern Living


I am definitely one to buy a ton of magazines at the grocery store, namely Us Weekly, but there is a difference between the occasional reach for the newsstand and a full-fledged one year commitment to a specific group of journalists. I blame Delta Airlines which informs me monthly that I have another 1,000 miles to redeem- an amount just shy of a free ticket to wherever. The worst part? Well, I have yet to read half of these babies. Is anyone else out a Magazineaholic? If so, I would appreciate the comfort of group justification.