Tomorrow at this time I will be eating authentic gelato...in Italy. Fingers crossed that flying standby works out for me (meaning not only do I make it to Rome but that there is an empty seat in first class with my name on it- the benefits of flying on a buddy pass.) I will be spending a total of 10 days in Europa- a few solo days in Italy and a few days in Paris and Nice with my aunt. As my mom so accurately described my trip to the lady ringing us up at a used book store today, I am doing the Eat part of Eat.Pray.Love. Her inaccuracy is in what she failed to report-that I am also doing the Drink Wine part as well. I will be sure to upload some photos. Until then,

Ciao mi amici!

Well, actually, a bunch of changes. Besides what I have already blogged about-moving into a new house and being just weeks away from starting my career-a ton of other things are changing in my personal life. With all the big things happening in CTKland, I decided I needed a fresh start. I wanted a fun project in line with the change theme, so I am doing a little redecorating in my bedroom. Right now, my room is what you would probably classify as "shabby chic." Antique furniture, lots of paisley, and a mixture of pastel blues, greens, and yellows.

I have spent a few days looking for inspiration. Most of the rooms I am loving have bold colors and mixed prints. Lots of bright blue, green, yellow, and orange. Mixtures of floral prints, bird prints, and other fun patterns.














I also found some great duvets at Urban Outfitters.



And of course I perused trusty ol' Etsy for some bedroom decor. I love these pillows.




I also bought a ton of different pillows and shams at Homegoods that I am still deciding whether I am keeping them or returning them.


Clearly, right now I am all over the place with my color palette and style, but I will let you know what I decide. Have a great week!

A legitimate form of punctuation or a grammatical faux pas?

I have mixed feelings about the familiar dot and hovering straight line. I can compartmentalize my exclamation mark emotions into the professional and social settings.

In a social setting: I have a gender bias. When a guy uses an exclamation mark, I raise an eyebrow. When a girl doesn't use one, I think "wow, she is having a bad day." I try to use them sparingly, but with twitter, I find myself using a "!" at least once per 140 characters. Am I that excited? Am I really exclaiming something? Likely not, but sometimes a sentence just falls flat without a good ol' "!". Plus, everyone uses them so I don't want to be the girl that sounds angry, right? Apparently, I cave to exclamation mark pressure.

In a professional setting: This should go without say- No way Jose. As a newbie professional about to enter the workforce, I am fully aware that "!"s are a no-go. The only thing worse is a smiley face. I take that back. Use a winky face, and you might as well pack up your belongings and expect service of a sexual harassment complaint.

So just what is it about the "!"? (how is that for punctuation?) Are we texters/bloggers/tweeters/email & letter drafters just that much more excited than our predecessors or are we abusing the *shift + 1* key on our keyboards? Are you a victim of exclamation mark pressure?

I am attempting to stain a piece furniture. This is my first time, so I am trying it out on a bookshelf that a friend of mine made and sold to me for $10. It is just made of 2X4s, nothing glam, but I figure if I can stain it, and then cover the back with a fun fabric (so that you cannot see right through it), it will work great for a year until I splurge on some real furniture of my own.


I'll let you know how it turns out. Have you ever stained a piece of furniture?

I am happy to report that the Bar is finally history. Well, I say that knowing that I could very possibly have to re-do the whole thing in Feb. Yes- It seemed THAT bad.

However, for the moment, I do not have to wake up to study. THAT is something worth celebrating. (ching ching on the champagne glasses)

I moved into my new house. This is the first time I have ever lived without roommates. I feel like a real-life grown up now. What is a real-life grown up (?) you ask. Well it is one very different from a fake one that graduated college and took a year "off" (I call that year my hiatus year because I did nothing but lay at the beach and work part time. Tough life, huh?)

It feels kinda weird. It feels kinda good. I have a month off, and I think I may attempt a 2 week version of "Eat.Pray.Love." Translation: I am going to try to standby to Europe, quite possibly by myself, for a vacay with myself- this is all contingent on whether my friend PJ can come as well (and I really hope she can). I will keep the blogosphere posted.

I know this post is a bit of rambling (wo)man kinda post but my mind is going a million miles an hour right now. Unfortunately, my body is going about 1 mile an hour. After taking the Bar (it is 3 days in SC) and moving out of one house, then into another, and then on to attend a 3 day seminar type thing for the Bar, I am a bit of a zombie. I will collect myself soon. I promise.


In the interim, I hope all is well, dear friends.

One of my absolute favorite songs is Pat Green's Three Days. Well, friends, that's what I've got. I am past the freaking out stage (that I think I entered for a day or two) and now in the I-don't-care-anymore-so-can-we-just-do-the-dance-and-greet-the-crowd stage. I am not ready, but I am soooo READY. In order to make sure this doesn't happen again in Feb (no warranties here), I am saying Ciao per tre giorni!
Catch you on the other side.

I have been on study M.I.A. status (Well, for Blogger, but it seems my tweeting has significantly increased in a last ditch effort for procrastination. Let's call them study breaks for sanity purposes.) I just wanted to check in with the Blogosphere again. See, still alive, even despite the fact that after studying all day for a certain subject, I couldn't tell you 80% of what I studied. I feel as though none of this is really getting into my head. Everyone says, "It does, I promise." But here we are, July 18, and I still can not yet say it is sticking. (Le sigh.) Well, in positive news, all of this will be done in 10 days. Yay, for that tidbit! An IRL friend tweeted this link today, and it hit the nail on the head and pinned the tail on the donkey. Both. At one time.

We know that the loved ones (and tweeps) in our lives are so sick about the negative Bar study chatter, but this explains how we feel right now. (click here to read)

I would like to incorporate this post by reference. Thanks to Thanks But No Thanks who posted this.

Catch you all later alligators.

Little man Herbie is 13 pounds now. This pic is from his first day at the lake. Having a puppy around during Bar study is very good for maintaining sanity. I highly recommend it.

I am still alive. I have not yet had a major breakdown. I am still going to my personal trainer in the morning. I am still taking breaks from studying to act like a normal human being. I have my days when I stress out for an hour. I have my days when I am fine. I wish I was more productive in June. I am ready for August. I would like to pass this stupid test. I know that I have to study hard to do so. I know there are way worse things happening to people in the world than studying for the Bar. I am grateful that this is my toughest challenge right now. But with all that said, I am ready for this to be over.

Still keep those fingers crossed, pretty please.