One to Nothin'

Kensie’s Closet

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My dad took the ladies of my family out to see Cirque Du Soleil’s Dralion in Gainesville last night. It was mind blowing. It seemed as though the universe forgot to apply the rules of gravity to a small portion of the O’Connell Center for a couple hours. These people are basically the closest I’m ever going to get to seeing Super Mario Galaxy in real life – and I really want to experience Super Mario Galaxy in real life: riding on top of huge boulders, randomly walking on walls sideways, jumping to ridiculous heights, swinging from Yoshi tongues (er, ribbons) & flying. Besides the sheer athletic & graceful ability of these performers, the vocals, orchestra, costumes and set were spectacular. Definitely go see it if you can.
Here’s what I wore:
Dress – Target
Boots – Steve Madden
Tights – Forever 21
Belt – Target

My (affordable) Wish List

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I have been running all around town the past couple of days searching for the perfect finishing touches for my {most awesome, wonderful, exciting ever} Halloween costume*. In doing so, I came across so many wonderful fall accessories, clothes & things from cheap & unexpected places, and although I am a poor, unemployed lady, I do hope to go back and buy them all when the bank account allows. In the meantime, I would like to document them.. so I don’t forget. Here goes.

First off, Payless: Well played. I don’t usually shop here, but I just walked in while returning a pair of jeans at the mall and the brands they carry called Brash & American Eagle are wonderful. These are the shoes I need:
(American Eagle $39.99)
(Brash on sale for $39.99)
Next I was stoked to see Walmart’s clothing selection has improved greatly. These super soft and stylish sweaters were in the ladies apparel section of Wally World.
(This is not exactly the same, the one I liked was fluffier, longer and only $12 as opposed to this $16 one)
Charlotte Russe got me all kinds of excited when I saw all their beautiful pairs of tights & double-finger rings.
(2 for $12)

(Charlotte Russe 2 for $10)
And finally, I’ve been looking for the perfect pair of rain boots that are affordable and stylin’ since it’s been monsooning in the sunshine state. I have yet to find them, but I’m hoping for a (much) cheaper version of these by Jimmy Choo / Hunter Wellington:
In other news, I had my follow up appointment today for my knee and it turns out I have Patellar Tendinitis instead of just IT Band tightness, so I am supposed to lay off running for three weeks (agh!) while concentrating on leg strengthening exercises and then we’ll reevaluate. I am so ready for this thing to heal & start training for my first full marathon.
*My costume is going to be a surprise, but I’m really, really stoked about it in case you couldn’t tell.

    Pumpkin Brownies

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    About a quarter can of pumpkin has been sitting in my fridge ever since my last Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. This fact combined with an overwhelming craving for brownies resulted in the only logical thing I could think of: Pumpkin Brownies. I looked up several recipes and read reviews knowing that there’s a fine line between brownies, bread and cake of the pumpkin persuasion. I settled on this one (it may have had something to do with the adorable pumpkin shapes in the pictures.. but mostly it sounded delicious). As you can see, I made a few changes to make it completely lactose free and since I was going for something I wouldn’t have to leave the house to make, I skipped out on the pecans since we didn’t have any stashed in the cupboard. 
    Since I had 15 to 20 minutes to kill before the brownies were done baking, I went ahead and tried to make some icing. I used this recipe for Buttercream Frosting, mostly because it was one of the first ones I found. Again, I modified it to nix the lactose.
    (I think it actually ended up being 20 min)
    As usual I was too impatient to let the brownies cool before icing them. The result was a very hot, melty, gooey mess. In retrospect I would have either chosen a different kind of icing or just not used any because it was very sweet. Almost fudge-like, which I’m not a fan of, but I guess if you’re into that sort of thing. I ended up scraping off the icing. The brownies themselves, though, were really good & not at all bread or cake-like!

    Green, Eggs & Brie!

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    Despite my sleeping-in-til-noon habits of late, my love (passion even) for breakfast has not diminished in the least. The other morning-ish I threw together two breakfast sandwiches, one with the last wedge of brie cheese and one with swiss cheese. Jessica ate the swiss one because she has quickly become my cooking creations guinea pig. I loosely based my recipe off of this one, but the only things I had in common with said recipe was an egg and a wedge of brie. I substituted collard greens for spinach (& added onions because I’m obsessed), biscuits for english muffins & skipped out on the bacon. I think they turned out pretty well! But don’t take my word for it, just ask Jess.

    (Messy goodness)

    On a fitter note, I tried running six miles yesterday. I say “tried” because I ended up doing a lot of walking. My knee felt terrible during, after & the day after. I think I was too eager to get going (so I could meet my new GGGlittles) & skipped out on essential IT band stretches — but on the positive side, it was breezy & beautiful outside. I think I’ll wait a couple days, stretch like crazy & attempt a shorter distance next time.

    Big/Little DZ Style

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    Last night I welcomed the two newest additions to my sorority family, Strawberry Margarita, by making these wooden paintings for my Great Great Grandlittles, Lindsey & Arianna. Big/Little reveal is one of the most exciting nights in the entire sorority experience. Up until that night the “Little” is showered with hand-crafted, well thought out gifts & misleading clues from her anonymous “Big.” When the night finally comes, the little ones chase their labyrinth of a ball of yarn all through the house until they finally find their disguise at the end of the string, where they proceed to put it on & run into the main room where their big sis is wearing a matching outfit & waiting to pounce on them. Our family started out my freshman year wearing red hat lady outfits and have stuck with the red & purple theme ever since (now I’m a senior + 1).

    Check me out as a wee baby freshman with my Big, Stacey:

    Just for the record, I have the best family in the whole world, and the newest additions are just as wonderful as I hoped they would be.

    Do you have any fun traditions to celebrate your sorority, fraternity or real family big and little sisters? Feel free to share in the comments section!

    Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Smoothie

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    This weekend brought colder weather and even more autumn-y enthusiasm on my part. I attempted to create a breakfast favorite in smoothie form – Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.

    Since the apples were starting to get old and bruised, I added maple syrup & brown sugar to bring more sweet goodness to it, but I kept them down to about one tablespoon each to keep the calories down.
    I definitely enjoyed the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie more, as far as fall themed smoothies go, but this one was pretty good. Jessica seemed to like it!
    The cinnamon stick was just for looks.
    In other news, my knee is feeling MUCH better today & the rest of my self seems to be recuperating nicely from my 13.1 miles on Saturday. I think tomorrow I’ll try a short run to see how my knee reacts. Also, I drank soda for the first time since August 29 in celebration of finishing my race. It tickled my throat like crazy and made my nose turn bright red! Who knew?

    Wine & Dine Overview

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    This race was absolutely amazing. Not only did my knee behave for the entire race, but I also ran into a sorority sister of mine & had a friend to talk to while we ran through Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios & Epcot! 
    Fun Facts: Participants in the Wine & Dine Half Marathon were 65% female, the youngest runners were 14 years old, the oldest runner was 76 years old (remind me to be that awesome when I’m 76..), & I have never seen so many people running with fairy wings on in my life (or Tron, Superman & Minnie Mouse costumes at that).
    As soon as my dad and I arrived at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, we explored the running expo where we got an IT band stretcher/roller (which is AWESOME & very helpful), a 13.1 sticker for my car (to go along with the other one I have), an adorable coffee thermos also adorned with the wonderful numbers 13.1 & tons of free goodies. Then we went to explore the Disney All Star Sports Resort where I proceeded to load up on carbs & pee every five minutes from the massive water/Powerade/Gatorade consumption. The only bad thing was by the time we were done with all that it was only 6 pm & the race didn’t start til 10. 
    Three & a half hours later I was in the Corral anxiously stretching & waiting for the third set of fireworks to go off signalling our start. I started my playlist on my phone via the Rhapsody app, and since I had registered to receive text notifications of my mile times I had to restart the music every so often (I only made it to track 31 – “Santa Monica” by Everclear). The first half of the race was not bad at all (and considering my limited training time due to injury, 6 1/2 miles was about as far as my “long runs” were anyway), but the second half was far more strenuous. Some how I managed to do all my miles under 10 minutes each, which I was not expecting. My final time was 2:08 — my best time ever is 2:02, so considering the state of my knee I was VERY pleased with this time.
    This is me sweaty, relieved & in major pain. By the time I was done my legs (and knee especially) were killing me and the thought of drinking wine slightly made me want to vom my guts out (which I saw one guy do by the way), so we skipped out on the wining & dining part for bed time. It was 2 am by the time we got back to the hotel room & raided the vending machines. 
    Hopefully next year I’ll be in better shape & my knee will be healthy again so that I can truly enjoy the Epcot food & wine festival, but I was perfectly happy with the way it turned out. (The Gator game, not so much..)

    Wine & Dine Playlist

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    (Photos from 6dollarshirts.com)

    My half marathon is TOMORROW! And since I’m running this one solo, I will be in need of some serious tuneage to keep me company while I run. Here’s my Wine & Dine Playlist (Click here to listen!) – complete with what’s hopefully an extra hour of music in the event of necessary walking. All together it’s 3.3 hours long.

    1. Can’t Tell Me Nothing – Kanye West
    2. Hello – Martin Solveig
    3. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
    4. I Just Had Sex featuring Akon (Explicit Version) – The Lonely Island
    5. Shut Up And Let Me Go – The Ting Tings
    6. All The Pretty Girls – fun
    7. Breakin’ Up – Rilo Kiley
    8. Let’s Kill Tonight – Panic! at the Disco
    9. Save Me – Unwritten Law
    10. Patron Tequila featuring Lil Jon, Eve – Paradiso Girls
    11. Cough Syrup – Young the Giant
    12. Wasted [feat. Plies] [Remix] (Explicit Version) – Gucci Mane
    13. Pinch Me – Barenaked Ladies
    14. Born In The U. S. A. – Bruce Springsteen
    15. Great DJ – The Ting Tings
    16. F**K Him He’s A DJ – Ke$ha
    17. Wild Nights – 311
    18. I’m On A Boat featuring T-Pain – The Lonely Island
    19. The Old Apartment – Barenaked Ladies
    20. Steven’s Last Night In Town – Ben Folds
    21. Bat Out Of Hell – Meat Loaf
    22. Dammit (Dirty Edit) – blink-182
    23. This Town (Live Version) – O.A.R.
    24. Toxic – Britney Spears
    25. Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
    26. Rabiosa (Featuring El Cata) – Shakira
    27. Starry Eyed – Ellie Goulding
    28. Changing – The Airborne Toxic Event
    29. A Decade Under The Influence – Taking Back Sunday
    30. American Girl – Tom Petty
    31. Santa Monica – Everclear
    32. Dead On Arrival – Fall Out Boy
    33. Spotlight [feat. Usher] (Amended Album Version) – Gucci Mane
    34. Holiday From Real – Jack’s Mannequin
    35. Barefoot Blue Jean Night – Jake Owen
    36. Blah Blah Blah – Ke$ha
    37. Pursuit Of Happiness (nightmare) featuring MGMT, Ratatat (Album Version (Explicit)) – Kid Cudi
    38. Cuckoo – Lissie
    39. Dancing In The Dark – Bruce Springsteen
    40. All Revved Up With No Place To Go – Meat Loaf
    41. Pachuca Sunrise – Minus the Bear
    42. Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons
    43. Who’s My B**ch – Paradiso Girls
    44. Loca (Featuring Dizzee Rascal) – Shakira
    45. Liar [It Takes One To Know One] – Taking Back Sunday
    46. Can You Feel It (feat. Wiz Khalifa) – Sublime With Rome
    47. You’re So Last Summer – Taking Back Sunday
    48. Walking With A Ghost – Tegan and Sara
    49. Since You’re Gone – The Pretty Reckless
    50. My Body – Young the Giant
    51. A Little More Time – Zox
    52. Certain – Set Your Goals
    53. Crazy Beautiful Life – Ke$ha
    54. Lay Me Down – Dirty Heads

    I’m going to need lots of positive thoughts/prayers/luck tomorrow night especially since I’m not sure how my knee will behave, so keep me in your thoughts tomorrow night even if you’re completely occupied by the Gators beating Alabama (IhopeIhopeIhope)!

    Bossypants

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    Over the summer my family rented an adorable house in Crystal River where we spent many days staring at the water looking for manatees, drinking margaritas, paddling around in kayaks and reading awesome books in the sun. At the time I was reading Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (my mom is one of those people who buys & reads ALL kinds of books and is always ahead of the books-made-into-movies curve, so she just had this one laying around). As a journalism grad right out of college, I related a lot to the awkwardly wonderful main character; but as I was being transported back to 1960’s Mississippi, my sister was reading Bossypants by Tina Fey.
    I kept seeing this book cover (I’m talking several days worth of looking at this book cover) and thinking Tina’s looking a little off, but then casting it aside. Finally I realized those are not in fact her real arms. They are a man’s. It was very confusing for me. Anyway, after I finished The Help, I needed something else to read while I lived the life of an unemployed post grad, so I grabbed this one (hairy arms and all) before heading outside to hang out by the pool.
    It is awesome.

    It only took me about a week to finish, and even though I love reading, I honestly don’t read all that fast & especially not when it comes to non-fiction. But this one made me laugh out loud (for real, not just lol, LOL, or lulz… literally laughing out loud, and occasionally snorting as well). I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, and I knew Tina was awesome especially since my roommate and I spent hours upon hours watching “30 Rock” last semester on Netflix, but I didn’t realize just how much I loved her until I read her book. Here are a few quotes I actually thought to fold the page down for while reading (I’m not one of those cool people that highlight & write in the margins of books while they read – too much effort).
    • In response to critics saying women aren’t funny: “It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. I don’t like Chinese food, but I don’t write articles trying to prove that it doesn’t exist.”
    • “I feel about Photoshop the way some people feel about abortion. It is appalling and a tragic reflection on the moral decay of our society… unless I need it, in which case, everybody be cool.”
    • “There is no one of-woman-born who does not like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a socialist.”
    • The Mother’s Prayer for its Daughter: “First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.”

    This book made me realize that Tina Fey is a hilarious, intelligent feminist who’s an incredibly hard-working mother and all around one of my role models. If you’ve got time, you should read it.. If you don’t, then just watch “30 Rock” tonight.

    Feeling Fallsy

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    It is officially fall now, so naturally everyone is obsessing over pumpkin and other autumn-like flavors that Starbucks chooses to feature this season. After seeing several Facebook statuses dedicated to friends’ love of the Starbucks pumpkin latte, I started craving one too. But instead of spending $10 on a minuscule cup of calorie-filled liquid, I found a can of pumpkin in my cupboard and with the help of this recipe, made my very own fat-free pumpkin pie smoothie. It is so good, guys. I made it again today and will probably continue to do so until I run out of pumpkin. Here’s what you need:
    Add a few ice cubes, blend together and you get a pumpkin pie in a cup. Then, continuing with the fall theme, I made use of the leftover brie cheese that Austin and I bought the night before in a random (intense) cheese craving — bring on the pepto.
    After burning the onions in an attempt to caramelize them (with olive oil, balsamic vinegar & brown sugar) and consequently burning a blister onto my ring finger…
    I eventually got to eat a fairly delicious apple, brie & caramelized onion sandwich.
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