Where I slumber

Last night I slept for 14 hours in this comfy, comfy bed. No joke. Went to bed at 6 p.m. and woke up at 8 a.m.

Two nights ago I spent 10 hours at this desk writing a paper on Jane Eyre.

In the past week I've had about 12 cups of coffee. Must. Stop.

Laaaa di daaaa here are things to check out. Have a relaxing weekend!!!

I've been shamelessly listening to this song on repeat. I love when Faith and Tim sing together.

On a dreary day like today, I really wish I owned my roommate Lauren's cute rain boots.

This might be the prettiest wedding dress I've ever seen.

If it's gonna be all cold out, well then I wish at least I had this beautiful scenery around me. Tessaboo always has lovely pictures and lovely clothes!

Notting Hill and the Badgers

Currently watching Notting Hill (for the first time) with my pa at my parent's hotel. Feeling really good about it. I love being with my parents in Madison. It feels like a mini vacation.

We just watched the scene where they climb the wall to get into the garden and Hugh Grant says, "Whoops-a-daisy."

I specifically remember one day I said that phrase and my high school boyfriend paused and said, "Please. Please. Never say that again."

You know how some phrases really bug people? Well, I guess that was his. Are there any phrases you dislike? I'm not too fond of when people say, "That's genius." In my head I think, "Really? Was it really genius? That's a bit extreme." Maybe it's just because I don't really like the word.

This bench is in the movie. It says, "For June who loved this garden. From Joseph who always sat beside her."

Is this not the cutest?

Someday. Someday.

{via}

In unrelated new:

Today is a very sad day. I just went to my last home Badger football game as a student at UW-Madison. I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost start crying when they played Varsity.

Here is a picture of my friend Ann and me at our first game freshman year. Feels like yesterday.

Tell me what you know about dreamin'

Lissie is so rad.

I don't think her voice could get any better. Shared this Kid Cudi cover recently with my brother and I was glad to hear that he liked it too. I hope you enjoy it as well. Cover your ears after she says, "hands on the wheel." (she swears. and when she swears you can tell she means it).

Crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, take a hit
Feelin’ lit feelin’ light, 2 am summer night.
I don't care, hand on the wheel, drivin drunk, I'm doin’ my thang
Rollin the Midwest side and out livin’ my life getting’ out dreams
People told me slow my roll I'm screaming out f*ck that
Imma do just what I want lookin’ ahead no turnin’ back
if I fall if I die know I lived it till the fullest
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.

Tell me what you know about dreamin’ dreamin’
you don't really know about nothin’ nothin’
tell me what you know about them night terrors every night
5 am, cold sweats wakin’ up to the skies
tell me what you know about dreams, dreams
tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin’
you don't really care about the trials of tomorrow
rather lay awake in a bed full of sorrow

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good

I'm on the pursuit of happiness. I know everything that shines ain't always gold

"Unmistakably him"

I really must watch this movie. Perhaps this weekend I'll get the chance to rent it. It seems touching and funny. And the actors are some of my favorites - Colin Firth, Carey Mulligan, Jim Broadbent.

Super talented + super cute = Matthew Beard.

"I'm trying to recall the last time I saw my father, the last time that he was unmistakably him." - Blake Morrison

Groucho Marx

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

Well put.

Autumn Leaves

Isn't my roommate Mallory cute?

She's 22 and yet she looks like a preschooler at recess.

Last semester she studied abroad in Buenos Aires. This was taken in March, which is part of Argentina's fall season.

If I could only get rid of this cold, I'd go outside and play in the leaves. Instead I'll drink this pumpkin spice Dunkin Donuts coffee next to me and finish reading Lakota Woman which I have to give a 50 minute presentation on for Thursday.

(With two other girls. So, like, not too bad.)

Ess and Gee

I just really love Simon and Garfunkel. Hands down, they're the number one group I wish to see live. (Well and The Beatles. But that's, like, duh.)

Q

October 30th marked the one year anniversary of my grandma Q's passing. While of course I miss her dearly, I have a calm reassurance that she's spent the last year catching up with her friends and family, laughing the entire time. She's likely been playing golf with my grandpa on acres of freshly mowed grass that stretch for miles and miles, the view so pretty and the company so pleasant they don't even care if they lose a ball in the pond.

{via}

1) A pillow Q stitched that I keep on my bed. In the bottom left corner you can see her initials.

2) Jar of buttons that I inherited from Q. Growing up I use to always sneak into her closet to look at them. There are brass buttons from my grandpa's uniform from WWII along with pearl buttons from a blouse she wore as a little girl. It's such a nice keepsake that I'll always cherish.

3) A quiet forest that looks like a good spot for contemplation.

The Cowboy

Lenny, definitely not by choice, is a cowboy every Halloween. It usually lasts for a good half hour, but then we just feel too bad and take it off him. With his old(er) age, and simply because he is the best dog in the whole word, he doesn't even put up a fight when we put the costume on him. Unfortunately though, he kept slipping in the costume so it had to be taken off. Lenny looks petrified in this picture. I'm glad that my mom threw in the pumpkin as a nice touch. I think it adds a lil something something to the picture (and it hides Lenny's ba-dunk-a-dunk).

DANCE DANCE DANCE

Those moves are sooooo fine.

Brothers

Having two older brothers is a healthy reminder that you're always closer to the bottom than you are to the top.

- Andy Roddick

Dear Andy, I couldn't agree more.

I must say

I have been very pleased with my Zazzle purchases.

This one I got for my roommate Mallory for her birthday. Because, well, plain and simple, we both think Billy Madison might possibly be cinema at its finest.

This one I got for my brother Kevin's birthday. Because, well, we both think Karl Pinkerton, Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais are the bomb diggity.

What? People don't say bomb diggity anymore?

In unrelated news: I am at the union doing homework (kind of) and writing my column for the week (kind of). There is a man asleep in a chair about ten feet away from me. He has three empty Coke bottles next to him. And he just farted really loudly. Was it immature that I laughed? Would you have too?

Football + Family weekend in Madison

This weekend I had to get stitches on my chin.

In short,

slippery bar floors + sandals with no traction whatsoever

=

Kathleen plummeting like a rock and smacking her face against the hardwood floor.

Having these stitches on my face has made me realize how

A) often I rest my chin on my hand

B) difficult it is to put on a shirt without touching your chin

C) laughing is a good thing EXCEPT when you have a laceration (what the doctor kept calling it) on your face.... every time I move my jaw my entire chin has this swelling and pulsing feeling that makes me want to cry.

But the chin incident (hence chincident) came after a laughter and smile filled weekend with my family. 23 of my relatives drove up from Chicago (or flew in from Florida) to experience a weekend as a Wisconsin Badger. We went to the game, ate popcorn and drank beer at the terrace that overlooks Lake Mendota, played bags and flag football, ate pumpkin bread and probably had too many cheese curds.

It was such an overwhelming joy to share this city with my family.

I want a repeat of the weekend !

(minus the whole falling in public and having a huge gash on my face. That, I could do without.)

The Giving Tree

I've decided that if you don't like this book, then you don't have a soul.

That simple.

Viva Las Vegas

{Me and the roommates at the tailgate}

Catch up time. I went to Vegas two weeks ago for the Wisconsin vs. UNLV football game. Well we didn't actually go to the game (we didn't have tickets), but we did tailgate at the stadium and eat brats and drink beer. It was a fun (to say the least) but exhausting trip.

I'm convinced that in Vegas people don't have faces. Just bodies. Everyone is moving so quickly it's difficult to make out who anyone is. And most people have cameras pressed up to their face so it is actually quite literally difficult to see them.

Highlights of the trip:

1) Piano bar where our requested song "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding was played and we sang and danced along. Another good song we jammed to at the piano bar included Sweet Caroline.

{PS I have told many a person that if I were to ever try out for American Idol (which I wouldn't because I can't sting) I'd sing "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay". Sara Bareilles version is "whoa good" too}

2) Saw a Beatles Tribute band play at Planet Hollywood! Costumes and all! My favorite was when they played "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Twist and Shout".

3) Laying out at the pool with my gals and lazily reading.

4) The water show at The Bellagio.

5) Watching my roommates make money. I quickly learned I am not cut out for gambling. I ost $30 within 1 minute. YIKES! But then I regained $6 of it by playing the slots. Oh yeaaaaaa.

{Mal saw some Wisconsin fans doing the Cupid Shuffle and, naturally, she wanted in}

{Scenery at the tailgate}

{Mallory, me, Lauren at The Flamingo}

{Mal, me, Shauna, Alli, Lauren, Ann and the Beatles}