If I Were 22

"It's miserable and magical, oh yea" 

-Taylor Swift, "22"

Only a few years removed from this lovely, scary, enlightening age, I have found this catchy tune to ring eerily true. It's a wonderful age in so many ways: you get to decide for probably the first time ever, what you actually want your life to look like. But as any double edged sword goes, that means it's you who have to decide where and what your life will look like... which is completely terrifying.

I recently found this series and fell in love. I'm a sucker for advice and am always curious to learn more and what if? This series does just that. It takes nearly a hundred "influencers" in various fields and asks them, "If I Were 22..."

It's incredibly insightful, and I find myself diving down the rabbit hole of knowledge. A few of my favorites include Naomi Simson's, Julia Boorstin's, and Arianna Huffington's. 

From Naomi:

"I worked hard, I was focused, determined and disciplined. But I did not necessarily allow myself the space and time for creativity and self-expression.

I did what was expected of me, not really knowing what I wanted for myself. I had no conscious, mindful inquiry into why I did what I did. But getting me to listen to these ideas would have been a challenge. (I was not famous for my listening in those days.)"

Julia Boorstin at 22, via LinkedIn

From Julia: 

"You never really know what you’ll enjoy doing, or what you’re good at, until you actually do it. In other words, try opportunities that come along, no matter how distant they seem from your plan.

I was dabbling in magazines and within the magazine world I was dabbling in the area of business journalism. And then one day my boss asked me to talk on CNN about an article I'd written, so I began dabbling in television. A few years later, that fun little side gig yielded a job offer from CNBC to be an on-air correspondent."

Arianna Huffington at 22, via LinkedIn

 From Arianna:

"Surely getting by on less sleep and constant-multi-tasking are an express elevator to the top, right?

This couldn’t be less true. And for far too long, we have been operating under a collective delusion – that burning out is the necessary price for achieving success.

I wish I had known this when I was 22. I’m convinced I would have achieved all I have achieved with less stress, worry and anxiety. In college, just before I embarked on a career as a writer, I wish I had known that there would be no trade-off between living a well-rounded life and my ability to do good work. I wish I could go back and tell myself, “Arianna, your performance will actually improve if you can commit to not only working hard, but also unplugging, recharging and renewing yourself.” That would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress, burnout and exhaustion."

Like my girl Giuliana says:

"Everything will be okay in the end, if it's not okay, it's not the end yet."

Jump Then Fall

Labor Day is has officially come and gone (and with it, the first of the TNB's turned 24, I went on my very first camping trip, and it's officially football time once again), and you know what that means? Bring on the best season ever -- fall.

I've never been shy about my affinity for the season (as told here, here and here), and this year is no different. In hopes of ushering in the cooler temps, colorful foliage, and pumpkin muffins (for recipe click here) with haste, I wore my (Minnetonka) moccasins (a steal from Marshalls at $30) and wine-stained lip gloss (from the oh-so-lovely YSL) today. 

*yes, the title of this post is a TSwift song

Happy Hump Day, Folks

Here's a little happy to help you 

"cruise" through the rest of the work week 

(I know it's kept me entertained for days):

For more where this came from click here.

Enjoy!

Ba-da, ba, ba, ba I'm lovin' it

"We're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time. 

It's miserable and magical, oh yea."

Taylor Swift

You guessed it, my latest love affair is with fonts and blogs, my parents go out almost as often as I do, and lately my nights are spent on my couch (at my parent's house) dreaming of scenarios in which I vacation in Fiji or Paris (that, and the Christmas cookies I'm dreaming of making); yet somehow, I've never been happier.

I don't have it all together, but I'm absolutely loving figuring it out. I'm freakishly, deliriously happy, having a blast, loving life, and I just don't care. Judge me if you dare.

Found this gem of a letter though the rabbit hole (that is the Inslee blog, Lauren M. Hughes blog, and this) and it hit way too close to home, but I secretly loved it.

For all my single (and paired off ladies, you'll think it's funny too) ladies:

An Open Letter To People Who Have It All Together:

"To People Who Have It All Together -

Hi, how’s it going? My name is Lauren. I’m twenty-something years old and single. I live in Atlanta in a little apartment that I can’t actually afford with my dog, Lucy. When I moved in, I filled the apartment with moderately priced furniture and print reproductions of artwork I wish I could afford to commission for myself but can’t because I decided I wanted to be a writer. I don’t own a dining room table because my apartment is too small, so most nights I eat dinner on the couch in front of the television. I own plates, but usually just eat out of whatever container my food originally came in. Sometimes I cook from scratch and, on those occasions, I typically eat out of whatever pot I cooked it in with whatever utensil I used to cook it with. Speaking of cutlery, I also own a really nice set of silverware that I got in a prepackaged plastic crate at Target for $29.99, but for some reason I just really enjoy eating cereal straight out of the box with my hands. Because there’s really no need for formality when it’s just me, myself, and I, I don’t ever bother to buy proper napkins, either. In place of napkins I usually just use my pant leg or, if I’m not wearing pants (I’m often not wearing any pants), my bare leg. A few weeks ago I was eating a double chocolate cupcake while watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians on Netflix. Halfway in, I realized I had icing all over my face, but was (understandably) reluctant to get up from the wonderment that is the Kardashian Kar Krash to go into the kitchen to properly wipe it off. So, I did what any normal person would do – I simply bent over and wiped my face on my pantsless leg. I then took it a step further and bent down again to lick the excess icing off my stubbly knee because, in this economy, one just can’t afford to be wasteful."

{...for the rest of the hysterically 

true portrait of single life click here}

Doppelgänger Day

The dictionary defines doppelgänger as "German for an apparition or double of a living person." There was a big craze where you could put a picture of yourself into an application and it generated your celeb doppelgänger. I was never really into it, probably because I was mildly terrified of who they would say I resembled. I'm one of those people (aka all girls) who chooses to believe I look better in person than in photographs. 

Nevertheless, I seem to have gotten the "hey you kinda look like __________" more recently. Maybe it's because I'm around people who didn't see me every day for four years or maybe I give off the "hey, come talk to me vibe" (yea, okay, we all know that's not it considering I was once told to smile more by a middle school teacher... but that's a story for another time). So, for those of you curious, here is who people say I look like.

1) Taylor Swift (let's be real... it's for the hair, but I do love her)

 2) Erika Christensen (most know her as the psycho from Swimfan)

 3) Jennifer Lawrence (from Hunger Games)

 4) Hayden Panettiere

I personally don't see it (any of it), and if I do at all... I mainly (manely ..haha couldn't help myself) think it's the hair. People are weirdly fascinated by my hair in a creepy want to touch it kind of way (much like a pregnant person... to which I'm sure everyone will agree... STOP. It's weird. Ask first.).

What do you think? 

And who are your doppelgängers?

Contemporary Church

I happen to be one of those individuals that gets almost as much out of a song as a church service. Don't misunderstand, I'm a church-going, Bible holding, daughter of the King, but sometimes I feel like I can relate better to music. I truly believe that I was a rock star in my past life (not that I believe in past lives etc), and I vaguely remember asking Mere where my next venue was last Friday as I sweetly serenaded (more like forced them to listen to me screaming) the lyrics of TSwift.

Today I slipped back into my coma of country crooners and blared Eric Church's Chief on my morning commute (which was made unusually long by a stalled car on the North loop). There's just something about his voice (and the voices of Luke Bryan, Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, and Justin Moore) that make my Southern side swoon. I can't help myself. In the words of Gretchen Wilson, "I'm just a product of my raisin'."

But c'mon, how can you not just wana drive down a back road or break out the cowboy boots after a few of these (here, here or here)?

Red Hot

I'm guilty as charged when it comes to shamelessly rocking out to all of T-Swift's emotional ballads and revenge anthems over the years, but she has outdone herself on her new album Red (including singles like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, I Knew You Were Trouble, and Begin Again). 

If I'm being honest again, I have to say that I do think it's mildly irritating that she releases nearly every song as a single before her album is available forcing fans (like, hi.hello. who's going to wait for a month to buy the entire album??) to purchase songs individually, but hey, it's not her fault she's market savvy and knows how to make a living from her real-life love songs.

Current snip-its that I'm particularly fond of 

from her latest singles include:

I Knew You Were Trouble:
"I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that, And when I fell hard, you took a step back."

"I realize the blame is on me. So shame on me now. Flew me to places I'd never been. Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground."
Begin Again:
"He didn't like it when I wore high heels, But I do"
"And for the first time; What's past is past"
Red:
"Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
Faster than the wind
Passionate as sin, ended so suddenly
Loving him is like trying to change your mind
Once you’re already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn; So bright just before they lose it all."
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together:
"I'm really gonna miss you picking fights
And me, falling for a screaming that I'm right"
I used to think, that we, were forever ever ever
And I used to say never say never"

Now, just because I feel like it are some words of wisdom from the oh-so-successful songbird: 

 {I feel that, my friend}

 {very true, as someone who often says what I mean only to regret it}

 {personal fav}