Summer Bucket List 2013

Temperatures are headed beyond 100, QT Drinks are 59c, and I am in the mood to nap in my swimsuit- I think we know what that means: it’s summer time! I’m not in school anymore…but we decided today that summer is more of a mindset. It’s a season to be a little more carefree, a little less scheduled, and have a little more fun! I wrote out a list of all of the fun things I want to do this summer…some serious things…mostly fun things!

Also, in the spirit of full disclosure, I did originally write “get really tan” 3x…. I’ll be updating the blog when I check something off! What do you want to get done this summer?!

Ok with out further ado….here’s my list!

High Five for Friday! #H54F

1. Parents in town. So fun!
2. Girls Night! So fun hanging out at the fanciest house ever and pretending I was a princess.
3.A Beautiful Mess App Sigh….love the blog, love the app. Luckily I got an iTunes gift card for my birthday! I splurged on several of the in app purchases! Totally worth 99c. (Phonto is still my fav for adding text, though.)
4. Ollie! My roommate got the cutest cat in the world! (Besides my sisters cat rory, of course!)
5. The little traveler! Betsy is off in a far away land. Miss her- but so proud of her!

Mag is moving this weekend…I’m working but hopefully I can help her a little bit!! I’m so excited to see her new apt!! I am also dying to see The Great Gatsby…so we’ll see how the weekend unfolds! I hope you have a great one!

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth!

links on links.

This edition of Links on Links is part weird gifs and part beauty products. Sooooo here they are!

I took this quiz from Pew Research to find out how millennial I am… I only scored a 40! (Probably because I’m a weirdo who listens to the news and has un divorced parents. what’d you get?!

I can’t decide if home made pop tarts sound amazing or not worth the work. Also these sound a little more like toaster strudels… Which are delicious & superior to pop tarts.

This is both the freakiest & most fascinating .gifs I’ve ever seen.

This .gif is so hilarious I literally lol-Ed.

How stinking cute is this quote board & free printable?!!

For those of us that are cosmetically challenged, this is a great tip for an easy cat eye.

Love, love,love that Candi is putting gems like this
out into the blogging world. Keep em coming!

While I am still into coconut oil, I am not equally obsessed with this rose oil for my cuticles. The nail school recommended it to me and and my hang nails are gone! I put some on in the morning and night after I’m all done taking off/ putting on my make up. Plus, it smells amaze! (Oh and it’s cheaper at the school than on amazon AND they will refill it for $2!)

I’m also into elf’s zit zapper. It’s mostly just roll on tea tree oil & salicylic acid and it really reduces inflammation.

Have you found any thing interesting on the Internet recently?!

**This post is based on Sometimes Sweet‘s “Weekend Links.” You can read her latest links here.

lately.

my parents came into town in honor of my little sister Betsy graduating! We have a pretty consistant playlist of restaurants we go to when they come: Mission Palms Hotel brunch, My Big Fat Greek Restaurant on Mill, Chompies on University, Spinatos in Tempe, and my mom’s ultimate fav… In n Out. Haha All are delish and get my high recommendation.

it was nice to have a weird sort of staycation. we spent friday napping at the pool and ordering food to our cabana. haha who am i?

we sent little betsy off on an XA expedition on Saturday. She is miles away, advancing the Kingdom and I could not be more proud. If you’re the praying type, Mag & I are praying every day at 7pm (AZ time) for Bets & her team. Id love for you to join us! We got an email from her this morning while we were eating breakfast- she’s drinking lots of tea and enjoying the hospitality of the locals.

we put mom & dad on a plane this morning back to IL…theyll be back in just a few months for their annual summer vacay to AZ. it was nice to see them and it will be nice to see them again in the summer!

PS: OH! and if you’re wondering about the results of my latest YOLO POLL-O, i have decided to slowly go lighter! the results this time around weren’t super dramatic, but next time- ill post before and after pics!

PPS: Shout out to all you weirdos who stalked your way to my blog . Glad to have you along for the ride! I’m toying around with doing some interview posts- let me know if I can interview you!

one second every day: april

One week into May, and here’s my recap of April! April’s photos are pretty boring- mostly Selfies and nails. Hahah I’m kidding….kind of….hah. Sometimes boring is good. Sometimes it means healthy routines. Sometimes boring is exciting.

Without further ado- one second from every day from the month of April.

[You can check out Jan, Feb, and March's videos here! ]

xoxo
Katie

A Night with Grant & Michelle @ Sozo Coffee

Last night, Grant & Michelle played at Sozo coffee. (It’s at like Alma School & Warner?) It was my first time to Sozo- and it was so cute! They had a standard Cartel-ish espresso menu- but also a bonus “Fun Drinks” Menu. I got a vanilla Honey Latte and grabbed the seat Mag & Bets had so graciously saved for me!

High Five for Friday!

1. Rae! So fun to have her in town and spend our version of quality time; Diet Coke & HGTV!

2. Connection Brunch! My church did a brunch highlighting all of the ministries and it was so fun! I love my church! I love brunch!

3. The Wedding. Enough said.

4. Red Velvet Pancakes! YUM! I got this mix in my EasterBasket. They were even better than I expected!

5. This quote. I just like it. You do you.

This is going to be an exciting weekend! Michelle & Grant are playing at Sozo Coffee tonight and I’m so excited to go see them! (You’re totes invited! Sozo is awesome!). Tomorrow, I’m hosting m little small group. We’re having a movie night- I’m planning some fun things and giveaways! You’re invited to that too! Can’t wait to share some photos!

Hope you all have a fab weekend!

xoxox
Katie Cannon

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth!

YOLO POLO: How should I color my hair?!!

If you have never voted in a YOLO POLL-O before, you need to start now. This may be the most important Poll-o I ever post! (Just kidding…kind of…) I am having the hardest time deciding if I should color my hair darker with lighter pieces (like a suuuuuper subtle ombré or peekaboo pieces) OR go crazy and start transitioning to blonde. Obviously, either way I’m going to end up looking like Lauren Conrad ( ) so it’s really a win-win.

Again, here are the choices:

VOTE AWAY!!!!

PS: I have gotten so much good feed back about the brow filler post! Haha so glad to hear many of you started to fill in your brows!!!

Kurtis & Jordan Say I Do! #kurtisandjordansayido

This past Saturday I had the extreme privilege of attending Jordan & Kurtis’s wedding! I knew it was going to be a great wedding…I did not know i was going to burst into tears when I saw Kurtis! The wedding hadn’t even started yet! I don’t know if I’m just in a hyper emotional season of life or what, but it only got worse as the ceremony began. Jordan looked beautiful. Their pastor shared an amazing message about how Christ loved us while we were still sinners and we are called to that same sacrificial love. He talked about how one day Jesus will come back for His bride and how glorious that day will be. Tears, tears, and more tears!

I calmed down once the reception started. If you’ve never been to a Chi Alpha wedding- they are like part party/part serious conversations/part reunion/part sobfest. Ok only a sob fest for me. I sat at the best table (All the tables were named after significant/fun things for the couple. I was at the Party Playoff table- a legendary game.) I got to have a great conversation with Angela. I sang a little California Love, danced a bit, and got overwhelmed by all the people in the room. Morgan gave a great toast (tears again for me!), there were so many cute DIY details, and it was just plain fun. This wedding was a true testament of 2 great families raising 2 great kids and all coming together to celebrate the beginning of their new family.

Here are some photos of the night:

Click the link below to see even more!

My new fav nail place!

A while ago, I heard there was a nail school in Mesa that had killer deals on nails. After some googling, I found out Nail Logic- The Institute of Nail Technology was really close to me! Unfortunately, their Yelp reviews make them sound like it totally sucked.

I mean- I love a good Cosmo school service. I’ve had good & bad experiences but I’m always a risk taker if it means saving some cash! (My fav place in Sacramento is Federico Beauty Institute- I had great luck there!)

Ok back to Nail Logic. I called to make an appointment and. it took FOR.EV.ER to get ahold of them on the phone. Maybe because I called when they first opened? When I finally go through, it was easy to make an appointment for a $15 gel manicure for that afternoon.

When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually looked semi cute! I tried to take a picture of the front desk, but I wasn’t crafty enough. Haha I did get a sneaky pic of the polish/glitter wall…

They checked me in and handed me a ring of a million gel polish colors!Yay! I love choices! I had to wait about 15 minutes past my appointment time. This would have been fine (because I hate being rushed picking colors!) but I had to endure listening to the woman at the front desk describe-in depth- the cockroach infestation of her house to another employee. Sick! I think she’s one of the instructors…and it just seemed unprofessional to me.

Anywayz, I had it narrowed down to 2 colors. When my nail tech came to get me, she helped my pick “Shake It Till You Samba”.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s a hot pink- almost neon. Alyssa, who did my nails, took me all the way to the back of the building so I could wash my hands and scrub my nails. Hey- what do you expect for $15?! Hah she was very nice, but it was clear she wanted to focus on painting my nails and not chit chat. I was ok with that- she did an AMAZING job. Seriously- it was the best gel mani I have ever had! She did a great hand massage with a lotion & scrub of my choosing (ginger lime, please!). I have VERY small nails, and usually nail techs have a difficult time painting them. Well Miss Alyssa was no phased and made them look great! Also, unlike other beauty school services, it took the same amount of time as a service in a salon.

When she walked me to the front, I had to get my nails checked by her instructor. (Different lady. Cockroach lady left for lunch or something.) She grabbed my hands and started PICKING WITH HER NAIL THAT HAD BEEN GOD-KNOWS-WHERE AT THE SKIN AROUND MY RING FINGER! I mean I appreciate attention to detail and the polish was a little bit on my skin, but this felt a little bit like an invasion. She had Alyssa redo one of my nails, I paid my $15 (plus tip!) and went on my way!

Look how cute they turned out!!!

Overall- would I do it again? Definitely! The place was clean, the students are well monitored, and you just can’t beat the price! I just hope next time there will be less picking and cockroach talk.
Xox