Sunday, January 27, 2013

"Keep Moving Forward"

Read this quote this past Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I haven't been able to get it out of my head all week. Dr. King was such an important leader in the civil rights movement and lived an inspiring life full of purpose. Thank you, Dr. King and may we always "keep moving forward."

Love,
Logan


Ugh, Winter

The 30 Rock series finale is this week. Gotta love Liz Lemon.
Is anyone else having trouble fighting off the winter blues? I have to admit I am struggling quite a bit. Many of my friends, and as a result readers, live in the south. To you I say, go outside and go for a run because it's probably around 70 degrees wherever you are and I absolutely wish I could join you. I am extremely jealous, but I will be instagramming pictures of snow-covered trees to make you feel like you are missing out on something fabulous.

The truth is, it is freezing cold almost all the time and completely dark by 6pm. I have every intention of being productive when I get home from work. Instead, I find myself burrito-d in my favorite blanket watching Netflix immediately following dinner (usually 30 Rock-it's so funny). I think about hibernation a lot. Black bears sleep off an entire season- they can go 100 days without eating, drinking, exercising, peeing, etc. Clearly, I have googled this topic extensively and need to give up because modern society will never allow humans to hibernate.

I have lived in Ohio my entire life. I lived in Houston, TX for a couple of months one summer, but Ohio has always been my permanent residence. Ohio is a great place to live just like anywhere is a great place to live if you are a positive person and seek out the fun in life. Rose colored glasses can be worn anywhere. The winter is tough, but I try to tell myself it makes us all stronger. It was 20 degrees this morning and I went on a 3 mile run. That's some tough shit right there. While winter is definitely my least favorite season, I can recognize that it does come along with some good things so allow me to very originally list them in picture/caption form and then I will bid you adieu:
Playing in the snow. I hope to have children someday to make this seasonal desire more socially acceptable in my adulthood.
Hot Chocolate. Duh. Check out this delicious homemade recipe.


A nice warm fire.

Winter sports. Looking forward to skiing at Holiday Valley this weekend.

Winter fashion. Loving this Betsey Johnson coat. And of course, puffer vests :)
I know winter can be long, cold, and dark, but I think if we keep in mind the good things about this season, the summer sunshine will be out before we know it. Do you like winter? Or does it get you down? How are you faring this winter season?

Love,
Logan

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

An Ode to the Puffer Vest

As this is my first post regarding clothing, I want to put a few things out there. I am in no way an expert on fashion. I opt for comfort over style more often than I probably should. The amount of cardigans in my closet could rival that of a 63-year-old librarian. I am constantly trying not to match (I have this weird issue with things being too matchy matchy).

To my credit: Friends, family, and even strangers compliment my outfits often enough to make me feel like I'm doing something right. So...if you want to be comfortable & still get asked 'where did you get that?' from time to time, read on!
The collection of puffer vests I have acquired this winter.
I cannot say enough about my new found love for the puffer vest. I have always been curious about these fellas. Tried them on in the past, but they were either too thin to serve a purpose or thick enough to make people wonder if I had single-handedly put Hostess out of business. I'm happy to say that I have found a thickness that is juusst right. I live in Ohio, it's very cold here. These vests are cute, comfortable, and they serve a wonderful purpose: keeping me warm. Whether I'm running to the gym quick & don't feel like shoving my giant winter coat in a locker, or going to a casual lunch on a winter day, these vests are my current go-to item. If you like what you see, I'm sorry to say I could not find links for any of these particular vests. I got all of them as gifts from different people over the holidays. The red one was bought at Macy's, patterned one is Tommy Hilfiger from Macy's too, and the tanish/grey one is from a black Friday sale at the Gap. I found a similar one from the gap:
Pair this purple vest with this thick long sleeve shirt, this scarf, these skinny jeans, and these boots. Of course, if it's a really cold day, don't forget your mittens and hat! Sometimes on those really cold days, I wear my winter coat over the vest if I know I'll be outside for more than a minute or two.

Me in my red vest along the High Line in NYC this past weekend.
Stay wonderful & warm!

Love,
Logan

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Why I love Milo


When I was 10, I wanted a dog. My little brother was growing less cooperative and I needed something smaller than me to boss around and play with. After months of begging, my mom told me that cats were much easier to take care of and that she would get me a cat. Hearing this, I ditched the puppy idea and jumped on the kitten train. We ended up getting two adorable grey, tortoise shell rescue kittens. Both cats have since passed, but my love for kitties has never died.

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs. They're awesome and tons of fun. I just think cats get a bad rep and people don't realize all the advantages there are to owning a kitty. Here are a few great things about cats:
1. You don't have to let them out twice a day. They use the litter box (and they're easy to train). It's simple and actually not that awful to clean up since it's contained. So when you're at a party and have to go home to let your dog out, I will be at that party all night without interruption. Meow!
2. You can go away for the weekend. Cat's are smart when it comes to food. They ration it as needed. If you're going away for a long weekend, just leave out extra food & water. Easy.
3. Cats are clean. Cat's clean themselves. They hardly ever smell and you don't need to bathe them or pay to have them groomed. Especially short-haired cats, long-hair requires a bit more maintenance.

My ten-year old self learned a lot about the advantages of kitties and I loved my pets very much. Flash forward to December 2011. In some rough heartbreaking months, I was searching for a cute, fluffy, low maintenance friend that didn't talk back. On a bad day of those generally bad months, I called three pet shelters and drove to a shelter in Youngstown, Ohio. The place was one not-even-close-to-big-enough room for about 30 cats. I like cats, but ewwww. I needed to save a kitty from that place. While filling out a form, an adorable grey striped kitten wouldn't leave my pen alone. He knocked it out of my hand and chased it under a table. The woman had to get me a new pen, but the kitten wouldn't leave that second pen alone either! I ended up taking that adventurous and playful little kitten home and naming him Milo. And I love him. And this is why:

1. He is an adorable miniature tiger

2. He appreciates my favorite Fossil purse as much as I do 

3. He loves technology - especially twitter


4. He's just your average cat

5. He's also your average dog

6. He's a proud and responsible US citizen

7. He lays like this sometimes

8. He thinks he's a bird - no, he really does
 

9. He does this?

10. He loves a good sale

Morals of the story: 1. Cats are cool so quit hatin! 2. I take way to many pictures of Milo. 3. Milo is very photogenic. 4. I need a new hobby. 5. #catladystatus

Love,
Logan



Friday, January 4, 2013

The Perks of Being Not Sorry

How to begin? Probably my favorite Christmas gift is my new Kindle Fire HD. I was borrowing my mom's for a while so I guess she wanted me to have my own. It's a great tablet, especially great for reading books which is something I love to do and don't do often enough. I love it.

The first book I read on my Kindle was Stephen Shbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" - an emotional coming-of-age story centered on a character you come to love so much. The novel felt similar to Holden Caulfield's story in the "Catcher and the Rye." I now know that this is a common comparison, but one big difference I see is the likability of the protagonist. In "Perks" I want to be friends with Charlie and help him through his troubles. On the other hand I'm worried about Holden, but I definitely don't want to hang out with him. Another difference I found is that Charlie's emotions and thoughts were easier to relate to. I realize Charlie has deep-seated emotional and psychological issues that I could never understand. His introversion, anxious episodes, and one-sided friendships are all very extreme versions of how I feel at times. But upon finishing the novel I couldn't help but wonder, am I a wallflower? I don't think I am, but there are certain characteristics in me that I am hoping to make less prominent in this brand new year:

1. Pleasing people. I have an incessant need to make other people happy. This is a great characteristic because it makes me a likable person and don't we all just want to be liked? This is a terrible characteristic because I don't speak up when I want something. This is not to the extreme of kissing my gay friend against my own will just to make them feel better as Charlie did in "Perks," but I do go to lengths to please others even if that means I'm unhappy.
2. Over-thinking decisions. I am an extremely reflective person as Charlie is in the novel. It takes me a lot of thought and research to make decisions. I know it's good to put a lot of thought into decisions, but many times I get carried away. One fear that constantly surfaces after an important decision is made is "What if that was the wrong decision?!" dum dum dum... One of my favorite Aunt's always says "Once you've made a decision, it's the right one." I try to repeat this to myself while I'm tossing and turning at night wondering if pursuing my masters so early was a good decision or if I made a mistake in letting a past relationship go. I believe my aunt is right in most instances. However, I think snorting crack or doing meth are probably always bad decisions.
3. Apologizing. I am constantly apologizing if I feel I haven't pleased someone or I've made a wrong decision. For example, I am not very good at keeping track of my cell phone. I'm a reliable person, I just don't always answer it or call back right away. I'm glad I'm like this. I like living in the moment and observing the world around me. My cell phone is not an extension of my body and most people that call me don't need me to call them back right away. The same goes when I'm contacting other people. Unless something is urgent, I am not offended if someone forgets to call back or reply to a text. However, I'm constantly apologizing to people for being this way. Why? I like being this way and I'm not sorry, but I'm afraid this isn't pleasing to other people.

If you're still with me after all this, thank you very much for being here. I'm hoping that through this blog and my everyday life I will learn how to to say and do what I want (within reason) without feeling guilty about it. I want to be a bit bolder and less apologetic. Although I loved "Perks" and the main character, I want to relate less to Charlie and more to my aunt. But don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything drastic like snorting crack.

my new years resolution


Love,
Logan