My mini wine trip!

I have been a little absent as of late, but I have a reason! I took a small three day trip with some friends/clients to a bunch of wineries around Iowa and Wisconsin. I am home and all wined out!

The trip was a ton of fun and it was nice to have a little girls time together. We stayed at The Steamboat House Bed and Breakfast in Galena, IL which is the cutest little place EVER! This is the second time I have stayed there and I completely adore the owners and their dogs. Plus, they make the best breakfast I have ever had!

We did lots of shopping, ate copious amounts of cheese at all the cheese markets in Wisconsin, drank wine by the fireplace, and stayed up late playing truth or dare out on the porch. PS it was so nice out! High 70's all three days-how nuts!

I hope you are all having a fantastic March! It is going by so quickly and it is so hard to believe that St. Patrick's Day is this weekend. Are any of you getting decked out in green and celebrating?

Happy Thursday!
xoxo Katie

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was such a busy one! I felt like I had no time to even lay down and sleep. I'm definitely glad that today is my day off so I can catch up on everything.

I had to work Friday and Saturday and then Sunday & Monday we had class all day from 8:30 to 5.
Saturday after work I got together with a group of my close girl friends and we had a gift exchange/ girls night. There was so much laughing and fun had playing Cranium, which is my new favorite game, and we ate tons of pizza while we lounged around in our jammies. So thankful for these wonderful ladies in my life!

My friend Teresa's sweet little bulldog.

Friday Outfit

Saturday Outfit

I love my Minnetonka boots!

The class I attended was a huge how-to on French haircutting and balyage coloring. It was such an amazing experience! The teacher of the class was Candy Shaw from Atlanta, Georgia, and she has done all kind's of celebrity hair (Carrie Underwood's wedding! How awesome!) and been on television shows including What Not to Wear, and Say Yes to the Dress. The salon is called Jamison Shaw and it is recognized as one of the top salons in the world. She was brilliant. This class definitely changed my whole perspective on how to cut hair and also just life in general. Very inspiring and uplifting. My brain feels a little full right now because we learned sooo much. I can't wait to start changing the way my client's view their hair and start changing lives! Okay a little dramatic, but oh well!

The weather here is still super warm and amazing. Yesterday was in the 60's and today is just as warm. I am going to try and get a run in, and then go eat dinner with my cute little Granny! I hope everyone had a splendid weekend! Anything new and exciting in your life?

Happy Tuesday!

xo!
katie

New Year's Eve!

Happy 2012 to everyone! I am so happy that it is a new year, I need a fresh start!
Saturday night we went to a friend's wedding reception and it was a blast! I have never been to an event on New Year's Eve before because Tom and I usually hang out with friends/ family. I loved it though! There was tons of dancing, cupcake eating, and acting like big dorks. And at midnight, with champagne in our hands, we toasted to the new year. Perfect!

 

I have so many things that I would love to accomplish this year. I think I am going to do a post on those soon! It will be nice to get it all out there.
Did you all have a good New Year's?

xo!
katie

Best of 2011 (image heavy)

Hey everyone!
Today I am going to share some pictures from the past year. I didn't really start blogging until August, so here are some of my favorite moments you might have missed! Enjoy!

January

In January, I attended my work Christmas party! The theme was 20's, and we all had so much fun dressing up and dancing to the jazz band that came and played.

February 

In February, I went to Iowa city to celebrate a friend's birthday. We all took a party bus up there, and it was definitely interesting. haha. I had just blown my eardrum out the day before, but was talked into going by my friends. Not a good choice. Iowa City is about an hour away from Moline, and that trek was a long one to take on a party bus, with loud music blaring. I survived though!

March

In March, I got new glasses. And I also got my first Iphone! I also started taking more self shots, apparently..haha. This was when I started growing my bangs out. They ended up reaching my chin before I gave in and chopped them.

April

 

In April, I got another pair of new glasses. Shown above.
Juuust kidding. I still wore the glasses shown below.

May

 In May, the Titanic exhibit came to town! I am a huge fan of all things Titanic. I grew up watching the movie and swooning over Leo. That dang movie still makes me cry to this day, and I have seen it probably 100 times. Dangit. We also took a road trip to Ikea, Tom's first time there! He didn't find it as enchanting as I do, but fun was still had!

June

In June, we threw a farewell party for a co-worker who moved to Alaska. So sad! I can't wait to see her in January when she visits! I also colored my hair a more dramatic shade of Ombre, and continued to grow those bangs out! I took a week off and went to North Carolina, too! I went with a close friend, and we visited all the places where Dawson's Creek was filmed. Yep, I'm that girl. It really was the best trip ever! Wilmington will always be one of my favorite places on Earth!

July

 In July it was my birthday! I celebrated with my family (my sweet little Granny is pictured above), and I was surprised at work with a Harry Potter cake. They know me too well! I also colored my blonde hair a darker shade, which was a huge, HUGE step for me. I have had my blonde hair for years and years and yearssss! But, it was a good change and I still don't regret it! Then I went with a couple of my best friends to see the final Harry Potter film at midnight, where I cried my eyes out for the last hour. Such a sad ending!

August

In August, I went red for the first time, and added some bangs! I also started blogging, and taking outfit pictures. We traveled to Chicago to see Incubus, too! This was my second time seeing them, the last time being when I was a sophomore in high school. Brandon Boyd has such an amazing voice! Then, Tom and I went to the World Series of Drag Racing, in Cordova. We camped out all weekend, and had too much fun. That trip is always my favorite time of the summer. This year marked my 7th summer going with his family. Aw.

September

September was spent going to a million birthday parties, and weddings. We also spent a whole weekend painting and completely redoing our living room. I also went to the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, which was the cutest little place ever!

October

October brought with it some gorgeous weather and leaves. We went to the pumpkin patch, and dressed up for our annual Halloween party. Best month of the year!

November

In November, I bought my favorite tights! I also attended a New Found Glory show in Iowa City, which was super awesome. My hair colored changed yet again, to a brighter shade of red. And I ended the month spending time with my family for Thanksgiving.

December

In December, I ordered some pretty dresses from Red Velvet! One of which is shown here!
I also took a hilarious Christmas picture of my little family! Oscar looks so cute! It snowed for the first time this month, which is pretty odd, and I bundled up in my favorite Modcloth scarf. The She & Him Christmas album was pretty much the only album I listened to this month. I also wore my hair in an adorable hair bow, and went and sang karaoke with some of my best girl friends! And I colored my hair AGAIN, this time I went for a bright, bright copper. Yikes my hair went through a lot this year!

Did you make it through? Are you so sick of my life yet?
Next, I am going to post a recap of my favorite outfits of the year! Stay tuned!!

xo
katie