One to Nothin'

Friday’s Letters

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Dear Dogs currently residing at my house, If you don’t stop this incessant growling, barking, yelping and howling I will have to strangle you. The FedEX guy shows up to drop off a package and you would think he was trying to murder my entire family by your reactions. I don’t want to have to strangle you, because you’re all cute and whatever, but seriously. This has to stop. That sleeping angel up there is the only quiet one, but she instigates the fighting as much as the rest of them. I WILL cut you. Dear Plague that’s been haunting me for the past 30 days, It’s time to move on. I need to be healthy. I’ve got big plans and they don’t include staying in bed all day and waking up at 3am for barf sessions. I puke for one reason and one reason only: alcohol. And I’ve been sober since New Year’s, so this is unacceptable.

Dear Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, You are delicious, but damn are you filling! 😉 Dear California Bloggers, Please feel free to dish out any advice as far as where to live/jobs openings/etc. goes. I’d greatly appreciate it! Dear Florida, It feels like summer ’round these parts. I’m confused. Dear Runner Bloggers, Are any of you planning to train for a marathon this year? I most certainly am, but I don’t know which one yet. Let me know if any of you are down for a running blate marathon-style!

Dear Hair, I can’t believe I just now caught on to the whole sock bun thing. I appreciate your growth efforts, but this actually makes my bun looks substantial! Keep up the good work. Dear Friends, Follow me on InstaGram (@mackensieg)  for all sorts of unnecessary sneak peeks into my life. Happy Friday!

Linking up here.

In a Perfect World..

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10-day cleanses would last 10 days.
Not three.
DVD player remotes would be installed in tables, pillows and palms of hands so as to avoid renting a bunch of movies from BlockBuster and being unable to watch any of them due the loss of said remote.
And while we’re on the subject, there would be no need for BlockBuster because every movie/TV show I ever wanted to see would be on instant-watch via NetFlix.
Everything creamy, chocolatey and delicious would be dairy-free (and calorie-free for that matter).
Unlike this.
Coffee, soda and alcoholic beverages would hydrate and replenish your body far better than water ever could.
Meaning hangovers would not exist.
McDonald’s would serve all-organic-grass-fed-beef burgers for the current prices.
Runners highs would happen every time you run.
Colds and viruses would give you super powers, like every nose blow would grant a wish and every cough would provide meals to starving children.
Getting paid to travel and explore the world would be a job that I had.
My nails would look like this:
Instead of this:
Watching stupid sitcoms and reading blogs would make you smarter while simultaneously burning calories.
All men my friends and I date would meet all or most of the following criteria (it’s front and back + a page):
Everything at Target would be free.
Oh, and war would be unnecessary because we’d all be too busy loving each other.
There you have it. My perfect world.

What I Wore

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Shirt: Kohls/Shorts: AE/FlippyFloppies: Rainbow
I feel like I’m about to go face the apocalypse in my flippy floppies. I can’t really explain why there’s a barrier of chairs and tables, but I’m just going with it. Chances are I’m not going to last all that long in the event of the apocalypse anyway (all I can do is run.. slowly.. for long periods of time). This is the kind of outfit I wear regularly these days — whatever shirt I can find and shorts or pants depending on how cold Florida feels like getting. And even that’s only if I’m actually going somewhere.. otherwise you can find me in my PJs in front of my computer stalking your blogs applying for jobs until changing into my ever-so-flattering black attire fit for serving fried rice to disgruntled customers. Pretty exciting stuff, let me tell you. Just let me know if you want to see my PJs, which consist of giant plaid pants (with holes in the crotchal region.. not kidding) and tees I’ve had since middle school. Sexxxy.
Oookay, happy Wednesdays, friends. Go check out the Pleated Poppy for some actual fashion posts.

Great Adventures Await

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Sunday night my lovely friend Anna threw a surprise going away party for Emma (my California partner-in-crime) who leaves for SF tomorrow. I will not be joining her as quickly as I had hoped because unlike my super-awesome-talented friend, I have not yet secured a job out there. I figured without a guaranteed income, I should at least have more funds to make sure I don’t end up living on the streets (reasonable, right?). So until I’m out there with her, I’m going to miss my fellow cardinal a lot.

In honor of the great things to come, let’s take a look back at the great things that have past.
This could go on all day. I love these ladies a lot. 
We survived college, unemployment, jobs, breakups, blackouts, freak outs, hookups & frat parties together. And (hopefully not too) soon we’ll be surviving weddings, lamaze classes & varicose veins together too. Good luck, Emma. I know you’ll be great. I can’t wait to join you.
(note: our fourth cardinal is not pictured because she’s a baller who works really hard while we’re out getting drunk & what not, but you can read about her beautiful self here)

B’s Events

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So remember how I said my sister is crazy talented when it comes to planning events? No? Well then check out this post and then come back. I’ll wait. Got it? Okay. She threw my cousin Katie a bridal shower on Saturday (yes, all of our extended family is getting married/having babies while I’m writing posts about dating myself. Go figure.) She made all the decorations herself, including chalkboard paint platters, doily jars with decorative glass pebbles that doubled as bridal bingo pieces, a full glass set that guests decorated for the couple, big poofy tissue paper balls and a classic toilet paper dress contest. She’s just a Pinterest celebrity waiting to happen.

This is the glass I decorated for the sweet couple. Also, please take this moment to adore my new baby cousin. She has the most perfect little face. Can’t handle it. I’m super pumped for the wedding next month (my family knows how to party..) and for all the events Britni will make beautiful in the future. If you’re located in or near Florida and are looking for someone to help plan your event, please email me at mackensieg(at)gmail(dot)com. B’s Events will not disappoint.

My Love Life

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I’m in a relationship, you guys.
It’s pretty serious.
We get along perfectly.
We watch the sunset and listen to the rain.
We go on long runs and try out fad diets.
We both like to party too hard and get crazy hungover.
We never fight about which way the toilet paper goes, who’s texting who(m?), what movie we’re going to watch, where we’re going to go eat or what parties we’re going to make appearances at.
We even lol, tear up and OMG together while reading blogs.

Yea, it’s me. I’m dating myself.

Maybe Kensie isn’t so great about squashing spiders or calming me down when I hear things that go bump in the night. Maybe she forgets to shower some days and always makes me pay for meals, but she’s actually a lot of fun. She loves watching New Girl and reading trashy novels. She even knows how to capture gigantic toilet-thieving frogs when they’re threatening to take over my humble abode.

Maybe she doesn’t protect me when I want to go on night runs, maybe she hates doing laundry and cleaning anything, but she cares about the things that are important to me. She is going to make me a priority. She loves my family. She eats my cooking with no criticism. She never ignores me or makes me feel too needy. She’s always ready to explore her emotions and she has been severely neglected for years. I need to spend some good quality time with her. We need to be alone together and watch stupid TV shows and do things that are best for us. Me.

We’re doing it big. We’re moving across the country together and we’re staying away from dudes for a while. Time to be selfish. I’m doing what’s best for me.

I’ll definitely keep you all updated on this budding romance (we love adventures) and maybe I’ll even sneak in a few stories of boyfriends past (Sabrina Style).. maybe.

  Merry Happy by Kate Nash on Grooveshark

PS: Check out my feature stories in this month’s issue of Ocala Style Magazine here and here.

10-day Reboot

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After finishing the Whole30 back in September, I kind of fell off the healthy-eating wagon. And by kind of, I mean really. The other night I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead with my best friend and her hubby. For those who haven’t seen it, check it out on Netflix. It’s a documentary about this awesome Australian dude who lost a zillion pounds and got off of his meds by drinking vegetable and fruit juice only for 60 days. I felt pretty inspired afterwards and we all made plans to drink juice forever and be sexy beasts. I figured what better time to start a crazy cleanse like this than the new year? I decided on the 10-day Reboot plan that incorporates food + juice. My friend Jenn agreed to do it with me and we just got back from stocking our grocery carts with everything green. Here’s what day 1 is supposed to look like:

I know the next couple days are going to be very challenging, but if I look like this in 10 days it’ll be totally worth it. (Ha!)

Are you starting any cleanses for the new year?

Top Songs of 2012

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Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got plenty of resolutions. 2013 is going to be kind of a big deal for me. But, the thing is.. Music is my favorite. So today’s post is dedicated to the joy 2012’s music brought me. **Be warned: I am bound to forget some amazing songs from the past year (I can barely keep track of what concerts I’ve been to this year, so please contribute your favorites in the comments! Also, this list is based on the whole album being awesome. For the most part I’m arbitrarily picking a single song I enjoy from the album even though the whole thing is great.)

12. Taylor Swift
Begin Again by Taylor Swift on Grooveshark
11. The Killers
Runaways by The Killers on Grooveshark
10. Motion City Soundtrack
Floating Down the River by Motion City Soundtrack on Grooveshark
9. Mumford & Sons
I Will Wait by Mumford And Sons on Grooveshark
8. Jack White
Love Interruption by Jack White on Grooveshark
7. Ellie Goulding
Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding on Grooveshark
6. Imagine Dragons
Radioactive by Imagine Dragons on Grooveshark
5. Passion Pit
Take A Walk by Passion Pit on Grooveshark
4. No Doubt
Settle Down by No Doubt on Grooveshark
2. The Lumineers
Classy Girls by The Lumineers on Grooveshark
1. Fun. Some Nights
Seriously. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Some Nights is my favorite album of 2012, hands down.
Carry On (Acoustic) by fun. on Grooveshark

There are many, many other great songs that came out this year, but in order to avoid writing a novel, I decided to stick with my top 12: one for each month. I just know I’m forgetting a huge one or five, but for now I will continue to enjoy the fruit of these artists’ musical loins. Here’s to hoping these guys, as well as lots of great new artists, dazzle us just as much in 2013.

Be safe tonight, my friends. Cheers to the new year!

2012: An Egocentric Overview

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Here’s a very egocentric look at the happenings of 2012:

I fit in to these pants (I wouldn’t dare try that today).
I got a blog makeover from this awesome momma-to-be.
I experienced many, many epic hangovers.
I visited Savannah, GA, Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA.
I experienced some rapid hair growth (as well as some traumatizing salon experiences).
One of my cousins got married (and now she’s expecting!), another one had an adorable baby girl and another one got engaged.
My Grandma made an amazing comeback after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
My best friend tied the knot and I got to be a maid of honor for the first time!
I got to be in a music video.
I completed the Whole30 (with amazing results).
I ate countless amounts of sushi (and posted photos on InstaGram every time without fail).
I decided to completely change career paths by going to PT school.. then decided against it.
I started two new jobs: a server and an editorial assistant for a magazine.
I completed two half marathons and even got my personal record.
I got my heart broken and learned how to be by myself for a while.
I saw Flogging Molly, Fun., Of Monsters And Men, Grouplove, The Joy Formidable, Bush, Rise Against, Cursive, Minus The Bear, Eddie Money, Foster The People, Kimbra, Gym Class Heroes and Zac Brown Band in concert.
I wrote my Womanifesto (& I suggest you do the same).
I survived the end of the world.. for the second time.
I watched this little blog double in readership — thank you all so much for reading.
I decided to move across the country. 2013 = West Coast, here I come.

What all did you accomplish in 2012?

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