He's here!

Harbor moved to Tallahassee yesterday and it's already so exciting to have him in the same city with me. We got to go to church together this morning, spend the afternoon with my sister just hanging out and watching some of our favorite TV shows, and now we're planning a date night for the coming week. Yay! How cute and romantic, right?

Over Thanksgiving break I only brought along my film camera, so I hope to finish the roll soon and share some cute photos from my trip. I hope you all had very restful, wonderful time with your family and loved ones. And if you celebrate the Advent season, please let me know which books or websites you like to read through as you anticipate and prepare for the Christmas season. I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp since Thanksgiving, and it's really, really good for my soul. 

Enjoy your last few days of November, everyone. 

K

New haircut (and color).

I haven't colored my hair in ages. Five months, to be exact. Usually I'm pretty good about getting my hair color done every two or three months, but it was nice to let nature take its course and turn my super red hair into a strawberry blonde that was more natural-looking as it faded. Plus, this poor grad student couldn't keep up with hair coloring. I've been super broke lately.

However, ever since fall hit, I had been itching to color it dark again and today I took the plunge. This color is definitely darker than I had anticipated, but I'm used to hair surprises. It's a whole new adventure in my book!

I pulled up my hair board on Pinterest when I was in the salon chair, and decided that the girl in the navy peacoat would be my color inspiration and the lovely Kirsten Dunst would be the style inspiration. I'm going to wear my hair wavy nearly every day this winter. Now I'm looking forward to being dark-haired and using pretty blushes and lipsticks when I'm all bundled up. (Yeah, it gets cold in Florida too!)

When I first came home, I wasn't sure if I would know how to handle it being so dark. But now that's I'm adjusted to seeing a ton of dark around my face when I walk by a mirror, I'm starting to feel more like myself again. Isn't it funny how a dramatic new haircut can disorient you a little bit? The best part about my new hair color is matching Matilda.

Tonight I get to go to dinner with some of my favorite people in the world. Then it's off to a busy, busy weekend. I'm going to try and tackle a few DIY Christmas gift ideas I've had rolling around in my head for awhile, and I have two or three parties to attend. Don't mind if I do!

What are you up to this weekend?

K

Destin.

The day I got back from Chicago, I had to wake up early and work on some research at school, and then I ran home, showered, and packed for a weekend-long trip to Destin to celebrate Harbor's dad's 50th birthday! What a fun way to spend 11/11/11. 

I really love his family, and I've been really privileged to have gotten to spend so many fun weekends with them while Harbor and I have been dating. From spending Thanksgiving with them a year ago (arriving the same day I got back from Haiti... what a whirlwind!) to the bike race in Charlotte this fall, I've really started to feel like part of the family.  

Eric's birthday party was a surprise, complete with a room full of friends and delicious food. We laughed together, and a few people had prepared a "roast" ahead of time. Harbor started it off, and people were absolutely cracking up. I had tears rolling down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. 

Harbor's a pretty quiet guy until you get to know him, so I think a lot of people were shocked that he was so comfortable making jokes in a room full of people. He's hilarious, and that's one of the things I love most about him. He and I laugh together every single day. 

I spent a good portion of the weekend relaxing. There were eight house guests there for the weekend, so there was never any shortage of people to chat or share stories with. I got to hang out with Harbor's aunts who were in town, which was really nice. We also spent some time with Harbor's brother John and his girlfriend. They live in Jacksonville so it was nice to spend time with them. The four of us rode go karts and played mini golf together on Saturday. 

Harbor smoked us all, and I can be a sore loser if I'm not careful, so I told him if he won he needed to buy me a frozen custard. And, if I won he needed to buy me a frozen custard. (See what I did there?) 

Thanks, Harbor! haha

Destin is so picturesque. It never gets old walking along the ocean and finding treasures. Or taking really dumb photos and pretending to be a part of an awkward family photo shoot. (And yes, we did both.) 

The morning I left we went to eat at a little diner I've been dying visit. It's so cute! The Donut Hole makes all their donuts in-house, and also serves up tasty breakfast and lunch diner options. I ate a scrambled egg and a pumpkin cake donut, and Harbor got the daily special – homemade biscuits with tomato gravy! He also got a red velvet donut. We also both got mugs of hot coffee. It was divine. 

In only seven more days I'll be back in Destin for Thanksgiving with Harbor's family and friends! Yay! I can't wait. What are you planning on doing next week for Thanksgiving? 

K

Chicago.

I'm in the city for just about 24 hours, so I'm going to make the most of it! Why such a short trip, you ask? Well, I'm going to be doing an interview with some schmancy TV people tomorrow, but that's probably all I can say about that right now. (That, and I'm sort of nervous when I talk about it.) 

I've been cozying up in my hotel room since I got here. Just flipped on the TV (because when you don't have cable sometimes you freak out a bit when you get to watch it), snuggled under the covers and reviewed my plans. I'm about to walk down to my favorite tea spot to grab a hot drink and then go hang out at my dad's office for a bit before I go to dinner with my parents and my brother. Yay! We're gonna grab some Greek food, and I'm already drooling thinking of warm pita bread and hummus. 

I'm so happy that I've been given the opportunity to make three trips to my most favorite city before the end of the year. This first one just happens to be super short. 

And, as always, I can't wait to be home with the Matilda girl. Good thing I have such a great little sister to hang out with her when I'm away.

Well, I'm off! I just hope I can stay warm. These ol' Florida bones aren't very good in the cold anymore. 

K

Harbor's moving to Tallahassee.

Well, for those of you who haven't heard yet, Harbor got a job with the State Capitol! Woo hoo!

There is so, so much to be thankful for as I enter this new season. Here are some things I'm looking forward to in the new year, with Harbor by my side: 

1. Spontaneous dinner dates. Spontaneous road trips. Spontaneous everything for the sake of spontaneity. 

2. Leaving him secret notes and gifts in places when he least expects it. 

3. Going on bike rides. (And being brave enough to bike around in the city. Ahhh!)

4. Having him over for breakfasts. 

5. Movie date nights, with homemade popcorn.

6. Going to the same church again and serving in the community together. 

7. Spending quality time with good friends. Taking the time to drive to Destin and spend time with our friends over there, too. 

8. Showing him all of my favorite places in the city, and learning some of his, too. 

9. Being able to visit him at work. 

10. Cracking jokes, making up new songs, and being really goofy and funny together. He's hilarious.  

Oh yeah. And not having to send photos of ourselves when we want to say hello. haha. (Although, let's be honest, I'm sure it'll still happen sometimes.) 

Congratulations on your new job, Harbor. I can't wait to have you in Tallahassee.

K

Halloween fun times!

Harbor had a job interview in Tallahassee this morning, so we had a really yummy breakfast to send him out, ready for greatness. It sounds like he did a really great job, so I appreciate all prayers spoken on his behalf. His moving here would mean a lot for us. 

We took the afternoon to just enjoy being together. Ate sushi, shared a pumpkin latte from my favorite local coffee shop and cleaned my apartment in preparation for our Halloween hang-out. Harbor's really quite the crafter, I'm pleased to share. He helped me make some sweet bat decor, among other little things. He also spent time making a killer Halloween playlist. 

That night we all dressed up as "farmers and farm animals" to go get $2 Chipotle burritos. Yum, yum, yum. We stuffed ourselves then rushed home to get ready for the party. We had a lot to do before my friends Linds and Jared arrived. 

Cutting that wig was so disgusting. We had to take a female witch wig and turn it into a Russell Brand hairdo. If I had to change one thing, I would have curled it in spong rollers overnight. Oh well, live and learn, I guess. 

And, how cute are my friends Lindsey and Jared?! Ahhhhhh!

The Fantastic Mr. and Mrs. Fox. Soooo cute.

And yes. At long last, my costume was revealed. Harbor and I went as Russell Brand and Katy Perry. (Or Katy Hudson Perry Brand, as my sister and I like to refer to her.) Note to self: break in those gold glitter heels next time. Dang, my feet are going to pay for that decision tomorrow. 

And, my awesome little sister. She let me help her make her outfit this year, and in my opinion, she was the winner of the night. So hilarious. 

"Musical guest Katy Perry and Lil Blaster film an infomercial"

If you don't watch SNL regularly like we do, you may not get the reference. But, that's ok. It's a super obscure social commentary, but we think it's hysterical on a variety of levels.

Jac's friend came as Blair from Gossip Girl. Isn't she adorable? 

What a night. I've never been around so much wig hair in my life. (Gross.) I'm exhausted from laughing and walking around neighborhoods and cleaning up. Time for bed! 

Happy Halloween, everyone!
<3