Weekly Obsession [2/22/17]

This week's obsession: Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. 

I had been eyeing these little guys for awhile, but wasn't sure if I really wanted one. I thought it'd be really fun to have and something a little different. During an event I was working, I saw the host of the party using it to take pictures of guests. Then those guests could take them home and have a memory from the night, or the family could keep them as memories from the party. I thought about all of the awesome things I have coming up in the next year and how fun it would be to collect little memories right as they happened. I think I had finally decided I wanted one. 

Connor bought me one for Valentine's Day, and it's been a fun little gadget to have! I took it to Denver and to the Tampa Bay Lightning game this past weekend to try it out. I have to admit I still haven't 100% gotten the hang of using it yet. Some pictures come out too dark and others too light. I have a few pictures that came out nice though, and I'll show those to you via Instagram. 

I can't wait to take this lil camera all over and have these mini photos to keep with me in my purse or at my desk. Honestly, I constantly have the urge to take it everywhere with me but usually resist. 

If anyone has one of these let me know because I have so many questions! Should I buy a case? How do I get the best picture? What do I do when the picture comes out of the camera to make sure it develops correctly? Any and all advice is welcomed! 

Anyway, these things are fun (I used that word 3 times to describe it). I can't wait to share little (literally) snapshots of my adventures with this thing!

Until next time,

K. Shep 

Weekly Obsession [2/16/17]

This week's obsession: my Fitbit Alta.

Last Christmas, Connor got me a Fitbit Charge. I was so excited because I had really been wanting one. It was awesome; I loved it. Sometime around the following August, the band started to separate from the actual tracker. I was pretty sad. I decided to reach out to Fitbit about it, and the customer service was awesome! It hadn't been a full year so they told me they could replace it. Awesome. Turns out that they had stopped making the original Charge though, because they had just come out with the Charge 2 and a few newer trackers. Bummer. So, they told me they'd like to send me an Alta free of charge-back to awesome!

I told them that was great and I'd love it. I figured the Alta could only be an upgrade because it had text and call notifications and you can change the band on it. A few weeks later it came in the mail and so far I honestly love it! It has quite a few upgrades such as automatically tracking workouts and reminding me to get up and move every hour. I already have a black and a teal colored band and I can't wait to get more (aka the navy blue one). The only downside is that the Alta doesn't track floors, or how many flights of stairs you've climbed. I missed it at first, but honestly I never thought it was very accurate on my Fitbit Charge anyway because some days I'd have an outrageous number of flights of stairs when I knew I hadn't climbed that many.

Overall, I'd give the product a 9/10. I've only had one problem with it so far and it wasn't anything a simple reset couldn't fix. Who out there has a fitness tracker? A Garmin? Apple watch? What do you love about it, and what do you wish yours had? I'm pretty in love with my Fitbit, but I'm always curious about what else is out there. Do you also have a Fitbit? Add me and lets face-off in a step challenge-I love 'em!

Until next time,
K. Shep

Valentine's Day

I realized I've never shared any Valentine's Day stories on here! You guys are missing out because Connor and I have the strangest track record with this holiday. To elaborate, I'll tell you the stories of our past three Valentine's Day adventures with you.

2014: This was our first Valentine's Day together. I didn't know what Connor had planned because it had been a surprise. I had no clue what we were doing or when to be ready by or what to wear. I was hanging out in my apartment waiting for some idea of when and where we were going when one of my Kappa Delta sisters texted me. She asked if I wanted to go to Palace Pizza (aka the best pizza joint in Lakeland, FL) and even though I wasn't hungry I said sure. Since I had just been hanging out I was in like running shorts and a big t-shirt. When she got there I thought it was strange she asked me if I was going to change. I didn't change because we were just going to Palace, right? Anyway we go to Palace and order pizza...to go? Then she starts driving to Lake Mirror and tells me she wants to show me a playground she used to go to growing up. I didn't even think this was weird. Well she wasn't showing me any playground, she was taking me to my Valentine's Day surprise. Connor is the sweetest human being and planned a picnic by Lake Mirror for us. There were even Publix subs. I was definitely surprised and it was certainly cute but I was a little mad that I didn't end up changing. We still enjoyed our picnic and my sorority sister left to eat her pizza. The rest of the day we spent hanging out and then eventually spending time with our friends. It was memorable and went off without a hitch, but to this day I wish I would've at least been wearing make up.

2015: This one was an actual nightmare. I was interning for the Tigers at the time and I had an airport run that morning to pick up a coach or drop off a car. After that, I was going home to change and figure out what Connor's surprise was (see a pattern here?). When I was leaving Tiger Town (aka the stadium) my tire pressure light came on. I went home and told Connor about it, but he said it was fine and we could drive my car. I know nothing about cars, so I trusted him and we were on our way. I had no clue where we were going and my tire pressure light never went off. Turns out we were headed to Sarasota where Connor had planned for sushi dinner at a restaurant he loves. Absolutely none of this happened though because once we reached Sarasota, my tire went flat. My car doesn't have a spare tire, only something similar to fix a flat. I have AAA so I called them hoping they could come fix my tire and the night would go on, but this is where all the problems start. AAA doesn't show up, so I keep calling them. They continue to not show up. I eventually decide to just get my car towed to a tire shop and see what they can do the next day. Only AAA actually never showed up and I'll never forgive them for this. Connor decides we should call his mom and see if her spare tire will fit my car. She drives all the way to Sarasota and we end up leaving my car there overnight. At like 2 or 3 in the morning we get to Connor's grandma's house in Sebring and stay the night there. The next morning we go back to Sarasota to figure out how to get my car back to Lakeland. Somehow we get it to a Firestone and I get a new tire. This is the extremely condensed version, but after an exhausting 48 hours we get back to Lakeland and I got a new tire for Valentine's Day.
I still get annoyed over all of this, but we still loved each other after it was all over.

2016: I kept trying to remember what we did last year for Valentine's Day and then I realized we didn't do anything. We were so close to the wedding and Connor was here in Colorado.

2017: Since we got married so close to Valentine's Day, we really just combine the two. It works out nice and saves us some stress. We plan to do little things on Valentine's Day like flowers and chocolates. Celebrating our anniversary will be the bigger deal though.

Hopefully there's not a pattern here with Valentine's Day mishaps. If there is at least we'll always have stories to tell!

Happy Valentine's Day!
K. Shep

Weekly Obsessions [2/8/17]

I'm bringing back Weekly Obsessions and I'm switching some things up. My goal is for it to be up on Wednesday every week because I like the alliteration there with Weekly Obsessions on Wednesday (should I just call it WOW? lol). The change is that instead of picking things in categories, I think I'll just keep the focus one thing. Maybe it's music, maybe it's food, maybe it's something that happened that week-I'm going to try and mix it up. So here's this week's obsession: THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW!!!

Last Super Bowl, Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem and I was obsessed with it. In fact, it was a part of my obsession post that week. Unless you live under a rock, you know that she did the halftime show this year. You probably saw it, but maybe you didn't. For you that didn't see it, please find a way to at least watch her performance. She sang and danced her way through the whole thing, and did it solo. Her outfits were awesome and she killed all of her choreography. She incorporated Texas into some songs and made her set personal. Of course I loved all of the American pride that kicked it off.  I can't finish this post without mentioning the drones that added to her performance and her being suspended in the air to open up her act. Overall, it was awesome and definitely what I'm obsessing over this week.

Here's some footage of it for your viewing pleasure:

California Dreamin'

The Sheps got to kick off the New Year by spending a weekend in San Diego. Since the minute we touched down back in Colorado, I haven't been able to get that trip off of my mind. We made the trip to celebrate a beautiful wedding of two people who deserve the whole world and then some. Even though the groom is Connor's friend, I've always admired both he and his lovely bride. So it was awesome to be a part of their big day. The wedding was Saturday night, so we still had pretty much all of Friday and Saturday morning to explore Mission Beach aka the part of San Diego we were in. Here are some of the highlights (read: things I'm still dreaming about) of the trip.

*cue California Dreamin' by Mamas & The Papas* (seriously, do it. it really sets the mood.)

I think the best way to do this is tell you all about the trip and inserting my favorite things along the way.

Since neither Connor or I had ever been to San Diego, I picked a flight pretty early in the morning so that we could explore on Friday. I think it's important to note that this was the first time Connor and I have ever flown together. Crazy, right? Anyway, we landed in San Diego at like 9 or 9:30 am and got our bags pretty quickly. From there, we had to decide what to do. There were 5 other people in our group for the weekend (God bless Air BnB) and we were the first ones there. Thankfully, the San Diego airport has a stellar USO. We decided to post up there for an hour and wait for another guy to arrive; and then another hour for another to arrive. After recharging both our phones and our souls at the USO, the four of us headed to Mission Beach. We figured we could find somewhere to hang out for an hour or so before the guy that booked the Air BnB arrived and then we could check in. Which leads me to our first stop: 

The Coaster Bar & Grill 

We needed a place to grab a beer, some food, and catch up. This place did not disappoint. I loved the breezy beachy feel of the bar, and our waitress was literally so friendly. If you make it here, you cannot leave without trying Latitude 33 Carolina Honey Hips Strong Blonde Ale. I wish I could get my hands on this in Colorado because I loved it. It's a California beer brewed in Vista. As far as food goes, I had some fish tacos. If you go to California and don't get fish tacos why did you even go??? Anyway, if you're looking for a laid back beach bar with great food and brews, this is your place. 

After that another (very gracious) member of our group got into town and drove us all to the Air BnB. That allowed us all to settle in and figure out what to do the rest of the day/night. I was so tired Friday evening/night that I honestly don't have too many exciting things to talk about. We did walk  down to the beach for sunset though, and it was then I decided I was never leaving Cali. Here are the perfect pictures:

#nofilter

We did go to PB Shore Club towards the end of the night, and it really was a fun place. You can get a vodka Red Bull slushie. I got one, but there was no way I could finish it. 

After a good nights sleep, I was ready for some brunch. Please know that I'm not lying when I say I'm still dreaming about this brunch. We went to the Duck Dive and if you're ever in Pacific Beach you have to go for brunch. Everything everyone ordered in our group looked phenomenal. There are $3 Bloody Mary's and the bottomless mimosas include a mimosa bar full of different juices and fruit to mix with your champagne. Some of the food ordered around our table included the dagwood, fruity pebble french toast (yes, there were really fruit pebbles on it), and biscuit & gravy sliders. I ordered the biscuit & gravy sliders and bottomless mimosas. Solid 10/10.

Seriously, I can't put in to words how amazing this place is. It was the perfect place to fill up before the wedding preparation began. We walked home from brunch and started getting ready to celebrate. Cigars were bought, beers were shotgunned, and I even curled my hair. 

The ceremony happened on the beach (gorgeous), and the reception was a short walk from there at Coaster Terrace. I'll share the like three pictures I took, but trust me when I say it was a great time.

Both of us at a wedding at the same time?? Weird. 

The next morning it was time to come back to Colorado. We flew into Denver, so here are some pictures of the Rockies and then the very strange Denver Airport. 

Like I said in the beginning, I haven't stopped thinking about our trip to San Diego. I loved every (warm) minute of it. Totally forgot to mention this, but the Thursday before we left and early Friday morning on the way to the airport, the weather was terrible. It was snowing heavily and the roads were super icy. So that made being in California that much more enjoyable. If you ever get the chance to go, do it. Stay longer than a weekend and soak in the good vibes. Definitely don't forget to go to the Duck Dive...and send me some of their awesome brunch.

So, that's how we kicked off the new year. We don't have any huge trips again for awhile, but I'm sure there will be some kind of adventure in between.

Until next time,

K. Shep

February Bucket List

A few things:
Wow, this post last year was all about getting married and moving! We've come so far in one year.
It's also been five months since I posted one of these. Whoops. Sorry!
Regardless, here's how those goals went. I definitely didn't put off packing! I think this was the most prepared I was for a move. It helped that it was just up the street. The new house rocks and I love living on Fort Carson. You could say I figured out the post season. In October, I was offered and accepted a full time position with the minor league team I've been working for out here. Since November, I've been doing that. It's a huge change, but I'm enjoying it. I FINALLY FIXED MY TURN SIGNAL AND IT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL!!! I even got snow tires. As for the other things, I have been working out and drinking more water. I don't know if I've gone new places in the Springs, but we've definitely traveled a lot in the past two months.

Moving on, it is now February and I have a whole new list of goals. This month is one of the last where I can have some weekends off before we start gearing up for minor league season. I'm going to try my best to enjoy as much of it as I can. Here's the bucket list for February 2017 (lol, wut):

I can only hope this month is full of fun adventures. The only one I'm not confident of is #5, to be honest. Well, the only way to cross these off is to get out there and do them!

Until next time,
K. Shep