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

My Real (fake) Resume

Hey, friends! Long time, no talk. We'll get to that in another post, though.

There are a ton of skills I have that I'm proud of, but can't go on my resume. I always think of what it would look like if I was 100% honest. So, I decided to make a completely fake resume of my most important skills.


DISCLAIMER: While some of what you'll see is truthful ,this is NOT my real resume. This is 100% satire and is not to be taken seriously. If you would like a peep at my real resume please contact me directly.

Hello
I’m Kaitlyn Shepard

FORT CARSON

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

(123) 456-7890

KCBRANDT92@GMAIL.COM

Skills

I possess many impressive skills including eating a crunchwrap supreme while driving, choreographing car dance routines, and tracking down manly useless information on the Internet.

Experience

FEBRUARY 2016 - PRESENT

The Shepard Household, Fort Carson, CO - Wife/House Manager

• Clean the kitchen at least four times a day
• Plan and execute cleaning schedule
• Provide care to #ivythepup

JANUARY 2015 - SEPTEMBER 2015

Detroit Tigers, Lakeland, FL - Group Sales Intern

• Fell in love with working in baseball
• Pulled tarp at least 80 times

AUGUST 2013 - DECEMBER 2014

Florida Southern College, Lakeland, FL - Lifeguard at Campus Recreation

• Admired the swim team
• Lived life in a bathing suit
• Swam my life away

Education

AUGUST  2013 - DECEMBER 2014

Florida Southern College, Lakeland, FL - Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

I really enjoyed my time at FSC. I really perfected my social skills and grew as a person. Activities included: Kappa Delta Sorority, Buck Stop Model, and the Queen of Kau Kau Koner.

Awards

Fitbit Top Badges: High Tops(20,00 steps in a day), New Zealand (990 lifetime miles), Skyscraper (100 floors in a day), and 747 (4,000 lifetime floors).

Please remember that this is all in good fun. My real resume is something I've spent quite some time on. You wouldn't find about 90% of this on there. Anyway, hope this provides you with a laugh (or two).

Until next time,
K.Shep

FaceTime: My Makeup Lineup

Let's face it-I love makeup and can appreciate a good pallet or mascara. It's not really my thing to go out and buy the fancy makeup, though. I like the line up of products I use a lot, and they're super budget friendly. My collection usually includes one high-end product and then the rest are typically from drug stores.

Face/foundation

• Maybelline Fit Me! liquid foundation. I have been using this stuff pretty consistently since high school. I love it that much. It's in the $5-7 range and can be found anywhere. I like to apply it with a good ole makeup sponge. 
• e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter. This bad boy is a game changer for dark circles and bags. For $3 you can't go wrong. 
• e.l.f. Golden Bronzer. This is a must. It's a true staple for me. One of my two essentials, honestly. It'll cost you $4. 
• e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder. This isn't an everyday thing, only when I'm really trying. It's worth the $4 you'll spend on it, though.

Eyes

• e.l.f. Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer. I just started using this and I can definitely see the difference when I use it. It keeps my eyeshadow looking fresh all day. Spend the $2 on this. 
• Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. *heart eyed emoji x3* This is my high-end product. I got it for Christmas and used it on my wedding day. 10/10, highly recommend. It'll cost you about $54. Favorite shades for every day: crease-nooner, lid-limit, brow bone/highlight-strange. Favorite combo for going out: crease-liar, lid-burnout, highlight-strange. 
• Maybelline Volum' Express Pumped Up! Colossal Waterproof Mascara. I change up my mascara a lot, but I've been using this one probably the last year or so.  Mascara is my other essential. I like it for the about $7 I spend. 

Lips

For everyday wear, I just use Cherry Chapstick. If I'm spicing things up...

• Maybelline Baby Lips in Strike a Rose. It's getting harder to find, but it's a nice casual color. I will search for this $5 staple any day. 
• Covergirl Katy Kat Matte in Magenta Minx. I love Katy Perry and I love this lipstick! There are some other shades I'm dying to try too. I love this for going out or dressing up. This isn't the longest lasting lipstick. The colors are so fun, though! I found it cheapest at Walmart, but it'll cost you anywhere from $5-7. 

So, there it is. This is my everyday makeup lineup. I switch up my makeup a lot, but these are the products I'm loving lately. Any suggestions? What products do you love? Tell me all about them! 

Until next time, 

K. Shep 

Reliving My Wedding

HAPPY SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO ME AND CONNOR!!!

On this special day, I thought I'd revisit my gorgeous wedding pictures! I'm truly obsessed with them. All of them are on my personal Facebook page, but I've decided to post some of my favorites here! Picking only a few to highlight wasn't easy, but here are ones I'll cherish forever.

All of the credit for these photos goes out to LissaSelena Photography. She captured all of the best moments from our big day! I seriously cannot get enough of these pictures, but I'll leave it at these.

Until next time,
K. Shep