Friday Favorites.

March 17, 2017 ~ katdryden ~ Leave a comment

It’s St. Patrick’s day, mate. Hope yer day is full of gold an’ beers an’ stuff. (Please imagine me saying that in an Irish accent.)

Processed with VSCOcam with g3 preset — St. Patty’s day 2016 in my token green shirt (of which, I cannot find today. Of course, the one day I need a green shirt, this one is MIA.)

In honor of today’s mean, green holiday, check out this list of 15 Funny Irish Sayings.
My friend Kristin and I journeyed to NYC this week for a little fun and adventure.
Thank goodness I still have my giant coat (that could also very well double as a sleeping bag). It was a life saver this week.

Ok, not exactly a classic NY photo op, but the earrings at the Anthropologie in Chelsea Market were to die for.

We love Johnny Flores. He was the best tour guide.

This is a public library. Can you even believe it?

…And this is the inside of said public library. I could have set up shop in there and stayed forever.

Kristin and I went suppppppppper classy one night and ate this thing for dinner at a local pub.

Woke up to Winter Storm Stella making her presence known on Tuesday morning.

This was one of the very few places that was open the day of the blizzard. Lucky for us, it was awesome. Coffee and avocado toast for the win.

My eyes are straight-up shut in this picture. You can’t tell, but it was super windy and snow was blowing hard in the face.

The last night we were there, Kristin and I decided to have a fancy dinner (aka: not a giant pretzel) in SoHo. Well, the subway system got the best of us and we ended up somewhere in Brooklyn. You win some, you lose some.
Last night I went with a few friends to see the new live action adaption of Beauty and the Beast. I’ve loved the story of Beauty and the Beast for as long as I can remember. Belle’s character has always clicked with me—she is a girl who likes to read, is a little spunky but mostly kind, and has brown hair/eyes (so obviously I thought she was Kat Williamson in animated form). Anyhow, I found this new rendition to be beautiful and special. Go see it, folks. Oh, and read this article, too.
Full transparency from a single 27-year-old girl: dating is hard. I had an especially rough go this past year and decided I was giving up on that roller coaster ride in 2017. Because honestly, I have a great life, and it’s tempting to believe that adding someone (and, quite possibly, their drama) to my already happy and full world is not worth it. But then I read articles like this one and remember that relationships can be so good and beautiful. So here’s to keeping one’s heart open…to love, and yes, maybe even hurt and drama. Because as Amy proved in this article, it might just be worth it.

KAT
Currently listening to “Indian Summer” by Jai Wolf

Friday Favorites.

March 10, 2017March 10, 2017 ~ katdryden ~ Leave a comment

It’s Friday, and it may just be the best one we’ve had all year. Why, you ask? Let me count the ways:

Spring break starts today for local schools. The Lower Greenville St Patrick’s Day parade is tomorrow. Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday (which means summer is officially on its way!). It’s supposed to be in the mid-70s this weekend.

See? Life in Dallas is not too shabby these days.

Here are some favorites from my week…

Last week, my dear friends Jeremy + Michelle got married. I love this couple for a lot of reasons, but two particularly notable ones are that a) Jeremy was college friends with tons of my Nashville people so there’s always been a cool familiarity with him; b) Michelle and I met on her first “date” with Jeremy—which was just about a year ago, and look where they are now! Like the old saying goes, “when you know, you know.” (Also, if you’re wondering why/how I was on their first date, that’s a story for another time.)
My college girlfriends and I try to get together for an annual girls trip (a luxury that we will probably enjoy until children come into the picture in a few years).
So naturally, I was a big fan of this article from Refinery 29 on the best trips to take with your friends. I love the idea of trying Iceland one year—a few of my guy friends just made this trip and I’m ridiculously envious of their pictures and stories (they saw the Northern Lights—if that’s not a bucket list item, then I don’t know what is). I’ve been to a few of the cities listed and agree that they would be perfect girls’ trip destinations. Oh, and the venue/hotel they featured in Albuquerque is just as awesome as it sounds—I was there for a wedding a few years back and it was the absolute coolest. Seriously, if a destination wedding is ever in my future, I’d totally get married at Los Poblanos.
For those who don’t know, San Antonio is the city that I most closely identify with home. I spent my childhood years there and have such a soft spot in my heart for that place. I still miss it to this day. Anyhow, I ran into Central Market the other day to grab a protein bar (breakfast of champions?), and saw these HEB crackers that I used to eat growing up. No joke, I started to get teary-eyed. Something about seeing them reminded me of my 6-year-old self…the spunky, toothless wonder who ran around barefoot in my backyard with a popsicle in one hand and my Madeline doll in the other. And you know what? I really needed to remember how safe and fun life had been—and could be—in that moment. (Surprisingly, the packaging on those Alamo cookies hasn’t changed at all in the last 20 years—weird, yet oddly comforting. Isn’t it sweet when you realize that some things never change?)
I was walking to my car after youth group this past Wednesday and there was an event going on inside the sanctuary (rare for a Wednesday night). I was struck by the beauty of the stain glass. It’s easy to miss when it’s light outside, but when it’s dark—Oh my, it’s breathtaking! That moment was a small but beautiful gift.
My friend Kristin and I are heading to NYC on Sunday and we are so excited! We’re planning on eating a lot, sleeping a lot, walking a lot, and, of course, seeing this friend…

Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

KAT
Currently listening to “Something Just Like This” by Coldplay + The Chainsmokers

Friday Favorites.

February 17, 2017February 17, 2017 ~ katdryden ~ Leave a comment

We made it to Friday, and man, I’m tired.

These days, my life could best be described as packed-full.

I recently took a nannying job on my day off from the church, started another Bible study for a group of middle school girls, created a newsletter for an organization that I volunteer with, and am editing/writing a huge piece of curriculum. I have zero free time…but I’m also having a ball! That’s the best kind of tired, is it not?

I’m trying to find rest where I can in this busy season…but it’s often in unconventional ways, like a 30 minute run or a quick blog post or maybe even a power nap (all hail the power nap). Long gone are the days of a whole day off. #RIPsleep/rest/netflixmarathons

But enough of that, let’s move onto some favorites!

1. A few weeks ago, my dear friend Kristin celebrated her 28th birthday. We toasted to her new year with drinks at Reunion Tower and then ended the night with pizza from Cane Rosso. The night was festive and a little fancy—always a good combination!

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2. Those wonderful Williamson sisters gifted me an art class, and it was so much fun. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was honestly pretty nervous due to my lack of skillz, but it turned out to be a delightful two hours. And Oil and Cotton, the art store where the class was held, was simply the coolest.
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3. Every Monday night, I babysit one of my favorite 5th graders. We have a tradition of grabbing dinner at Pei Wei and eating allllllll the fortune cookies until we get a prediction we like. I think I was like 4 cookies in when I got this fortune and decided to call it a day.

That’s all I’ve got. Enjoy your weekend!

KAT
Currently listening to “Spirits” by The Strumbellas

Friday Favorites.

January 20, 2017 ~ katdryden ~ Leave a comment

Well wouldn’t you know, it’s Friday again.

And what a beautiful Friday it is! Sunny and 75? I’ll take it.

Here are some favorites from this week…

This past weekend, we loaded up three vans worth of students and headed to Pine Cove to serve with their work crew. For those who don’t know, I worked at Pine Cove for a few summers in college and absolutely loved it (see evidence below).
19 year old Kat + child using my face as her personal canvas

I am a camp person through-and-through and it was such a joy to be back in a place that is so near to my heart.

27-year-old Kat. No face paint in sight.

Also, while there I got to see one of my very favorite camp friends, Delaine! We met as camp counselors back in the ol’ college days, and now her husband Justin works full-time for Pine Cove as a conference coordinator. Delaine dropped by for a few hours to hang out and it was such a treat to see her!
This is such a silly favorite, but yesterday morning I realized I was out of coffee so I walked over to Trader Joe’s (fun fact: one of the reasons I decided to rent my apartment was because it was in walking distance of TJ’s) and grabbed my favorite coffee, which is usually $7.99. But, when the cashier rang it up it was $0.01. Obviously, a mistake, right? Wrong. The manager said it was a seasonal blend so they were just trying to get rid of it. Needless to say, I went back and stocked up for the year. And what did it cost me? A mere 20 cents.
And finally, a tweet that made me laugh this week: “The newest female one-upping is how many days you’ve gone since washing your hair.” Ain’t that the truth.

Peace out, girl scouts!

KAT
Currently listening to “XO” by John Mayer

Friday Favorites.

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017 ~ katdryden ~ 2 Comments

It’s Friday and it’s freezing (she types while sitting as close to her heater vent as humanly possible).

What are you up to this weekend? My first weekend of 2017 looks blissfully boring. I’ve got a babysitting job, a brunch, and that’s about it. One of my main goals of 2017 was to do less. Weird, right? Most people’s resolutions are to do more, but I left 2016 feeling so overwhelmed. Simply put, I said yes to way too many things and I was feeling the burn out. I’m not a college kid anymore and rest is becoming more and more of a necessity. For that reason, I’m adopting this mantra for 2017:

“I’m not too good for that, but I am too old for it.”

(Many thanks to the hilarious Gillian Ard for that little nugget of wisdom.)

Anyhow, let’s talk favorites, shall we?

STRANGER THINGS. Oh my. How did it take me so long to get into this show? I finished the first season yesterday and have so many thoughts. One being that I love the character Dustin with all my heart. If I could have a pocket-sized Dustin to carry around with me all day, I would be a happy lady. Also, I found this article about Dustin’s (aka: Gaten Matarazzo’s) disability interesting.
I’m also joining the “Barb deserves justice” camp. I had a “Barb” situation happen to me in college (friend forces me to go to a party; friend ditches me for boy; friend doesn’t care that I’m suddenly alone and stranded at said party). I distinctly remember how miserable it felt to be used by that friend, but SHOOT at least I wasn’t eaten by a monster afterwards! Poor Barb experienced the ever-annoying saying of when it rains, it pours to the most terrible degree. Here’s to hoping they somehow bring the gal back to life in season two.

Apparently a mega-fan made “Justice for Barb” pins. Not sure I care that much, but A+ for effort.
Have you heard about the new years trend of writing down one thing you’re grateful for every week in 2017 and then re-reading your notes at the end of the year? I love this idea and am going to try to remember to do this every week.
Last weekend a bunch of friends and I went to Sweetwater, Texas to celebrate New Years ranch-style. I shot a gun, rode a mule (not of the animal variety, thank goodness), and fed a cow…it was all very “Texas” and awesome.
The ranchers (minus a few)

I was such a terrible shot. I mean, TERRIBLE. Not my calling at all.

Check out that sunset!

Texas FOREVA.

Alrighty, you kids have fun this weekend! Don’t freeze out there!

KAT
Currently listening to “Love on the Weekend” by John Mayer