Monthly Archives: May 2015
Style Upgrade: DIY Decorations
Now that life has slowed down a bit since graduation weekend, I’m finally feeling “at home.” I guess I underestimated the mental exhaustion that comes with moving, starting a new full-time job, and getting back into full on workouts (which means 5:00am gym sessions!) I also squeezed in a Mother’s Day celebration, a baseball game with my dad, and a much-needed trip to the salon. By Thursday, my brain was in a fog and I felt totally off. About twelve hours of sleep the next night seemed to hit the “reset” button and by Saturday I felt rested again :)
Just 9 months ago, I was blogging about my bright and newly-decorated apartment in Flagstaff. I will miss that room….paying a little bit extra for the master bedroom, private bath and walk-in closet was one of the best decisions of senior year. Hah! I’ve moved out and moved on, and decided that my “style” should mature with my personality. Out with the clothespin collage and $8 Target mirror! Ellie, my 22-year old stuffed elephant, is here to stay though.
So far, post-grad life is pretty sweet :) I started my full-time job on Tuesday, and I am so lucky and grateful to be working for a company that has been flexible with my schedule. If you are a long-time reader, you know I have been traveling to New York several times each year for treatments on my venous malformation. I am able to take time off of work for my New York trips as well as a couple other summer vacations I have planned, but I’m also able to work remotely from my company laptop if I choose.
Since the stress of finals week is over, that means I’ve also pumped the exercise back up. Man it feels good to run! I love running for the fun of it and especially when the weather is as gloomy as it has been. I’m savoring the overcast days since I know I’ll be craving them in the next couple of months! In addition to regular running/gym sessions, my mom and I downloaded the Alexa Jean Fitness Sore to the Core guide. It’s a 30-day guide with ab exercises in a HIIT format. This morning’s workout killed (burpees, planks, jackknives, flutters, whew!) and we’re only on Day 8….excited to see some improvement!
All of this was a long round-about way to share my new room decor with you. As promised, this blog has expanded to include more “domesticated” content. My mom surprised me with some beautiful decorations for my room, which are pretty dang Pinterest-worthy if you ask me! I absolutely love the pieces she added, from the handmade Scrabble letter coasters to the glitter-dipped vases.
That watering can! For the gold glitter-dipped vases, she wrapped painters tape around middle of the glass. Next, use a paint brush to brush on Modge Podge. Roll or dip the vase in fine glitter, then paint Modge Podge over the glitter again. Remove the painters tape, fill with sand, and stick in your flowers.
The coasters require sacrificing a Scrabble game. We happened to have three so no real loss there.
Buy pre-formed square cork pads and plan out 4 four-letter words for each coaster. First, glue the sides of the letters together with super glue. Then glue the backs of the letters on to the cork padding. Lastly, cover the letters with Modge Podge
Inside an antique-looking birdcage, she staged three candles with little platforms so the heights vary. It looks very “country” and feminine which fits my style. The matching picture frame is filled with an Etsy design of a quote I love: “She turned her can’ts into cans and her dreams into plans.”
As you can tell, I’m addicted to candles. My two roommates in the Flagstaff apartment loved to fry up sausage, bacon and eggs every day. Needless to say, my window was permanently open and candles were constantly burning. My favorite flavors are the subtle nature ones like pine, lemon, and jasmine. My next project is to spruce up my book cases. I just boxed up about 75 books to donate to clear up space for more…..but the picture below is after I “cleared space” so it looks like I better work a little more on that ;)
And now time for another favorite summer treat….reading new novels!
XOXO Kenz
Flipping the Tassle
On Friday afternoon, in between freak hail storms, I graduated from Northern Arizona University.
The ceremony was perfect, as was the celebration with my family afterwards. It still hasn’t hit me yet that I’m not a “student” and I won’t be going back to school. So much chaos in the last four days has kept me quite distracted :)
Within 48 hours, I took my last final exam, welcomed my parents to Flagstaff, walked in the graduation ceremony, celebrated with my family, packed and cleaned my apartment and moved out of state.
My graduation cap reads “Smarter, Stronger, Older, Blonder” (than I was 4 years ago.) Most of the girls in my graduating class had decorated their caps and I was so impressed with the creativity! Unlike high school ceremonies, we get to sit next to our friends during the ceremony so I met up with my marketing buddies before we walked. Thanks to social media, we were encouraged to add #NAUgrad to any pictures we posted which would be displayed on the jumbotron. My selfie with the parents made its 5 seconds of fame! ;)
I am indescribably grateful to my parents for their support. Not only have they blessed me with being able to graduate debt-free, but they have been my constant cheerleaders, best friends and source of encouragement. My mom and dad pushed me to train for a marathon and apply for opportunities I considered out of my league. They welcomed me home when I needed a weekend of love. They traveled to my track races in Flagstaff, Phoenix, and California. They listened to me vent, and they were the first people I called with any exciting news.
There is no way to fully express my appreciation for the sacrifices they have made for my college education. But I know how fortunate I am to have been raised by such generous, compassionate, supportive people. I love you so much, Mom & Daddy! (They are my biggest blog fans, too ;) )
Immediately after exiting the dome, Flagstaff decided to welcome the Class of 2015 with a dramatic hail storm. What can you do but laugh?! It can rain on my parade but it couldn’t stop me from smiling! 
Post-graduation activities included brewing a fresh pot of coffee, putting on slippers, and beginning to fill cardboard boxes until our stomachs were growling. My mom, dad and I had a long delicious dinner, starting with a Pomegranate Mojito. We shared a smoked salmon appetizer and I picked a shrimp and scallop pasta dish (something far from my norm!) We were definitely too full for dessert, a very rare situation for us ;)
Honestly I was just trying to absorb the feeling of pride from completing my four years of college. I just wanted to soak the moment in before getting too carried away with “what comes next.” 24 hours after the ceremony, I was 200 miles down the road.
Congratulations to the Class of 2015!
XOXO Kenz
Mandatory Moment of Nostalgia from a Graduating Senior: Part III
Have you ever watched the series finale of an epic show like Friends or Sex & the City? When we sit down to watch that final episode, we all know it’s the end. We want clarity and appreciate the writers’ care in tying up loose ends. Especially when they allude to the fact that all of our characters are living happily ever after. Charlotte gets her baby. Carrie gets Mr. Big. Joey gets his own spinoff….
Well last night felt like a series finale. Little moments came in at just the right time and loose ends are beginning to tie off. Kerri has been in all of my big college moments because we have been best friends for four years. I mean, the biggest biggest fight we’ve ever had was over the fact that I didn’t like her Birkenstock shoes. (The Birks are a serious matter in Flagstaff.) Last night, we were sitting at our favorite frozen yogurt shop up in the loft during sunset and talking. Even though we didn’t say it during the time, we knew it was the very last time we would ever hang out together here in Flagstaff. Once we graduate, we are both moving to different cities (and states) and our hangouts would involve planning and travel.
Just like a movie moment, during the stress of finals week and graduation and packing up my apartment and moving out…..an amazing opportunity presented itself. A company and brand that I am very loyal to offered me the opportunity to write for their blog, with content aimed at college students. I don’t want to put any details because it’s still being worked out, but the opportunity gave me such excitement and even more validation. Graduating seniors need that little message that “someone will want you” and this was that for me. I shared my news with Kerri and she was equally excited.
Then she began talking about her travel plans. She has a fabulous trip abroad this summer all by herself. She was talking about the future with her boyfriend and eventually applying for medical school. It just seemed like everything was wrapping up so neatly when a few weeks ago they seemed to be barely hanging by a thread. Obviously once left the restaurant, we had to acknowledge the fact that we don’t know when we’ll see each other so there was a tearful goodbye hug. Cue the credits, aaaaand scene.
But I’ve digressed and now I’ll get back to the final installment of my favorite college memories. Junior year honestly doesn’t feel like that long ago, so it seems silly to “look back” on these memories as if they are in the distant past. Junior year, like any year, had ups and downs, highs and lows, but it began and ended with pure happiness.
2013: Junior Year
On the first day of economics class, I picked the second row window seat. I sat there every day for the rest of the semester and the same guy sat in the seat next to me for the entire semester. We did our economics homework together, started dating not long after, visited each others’ families for winter break. Then he was arrested, I broke up with him, and I’m not even kidding. (All of this managed to escape the blog at the time but it sure is funny to think about now!) I’d like to say my standards are a litttttle higher now. ;)
In September I competed in my first cross country race during monsoon season in Flagstaff with my parents and my roommates cheering me on. The runner’s high is real.
During move-in weekend, The Maine performed an outdoor concert on campus (my third time seeing them live!) and my new roommates and I excitedly went shopping to decorate our new apartment together. This was the first time in college that I had my own room, something I will never take for granted again :)
This year was a whirlwind for sure, but one of the most significant decisions was to not compete in track and begin training for my first marathon. It was exciting to follow my own training plan after being coached for seven years. Racing my first marathon was the most rewarding experience, and I even surprised myself. I have incredible friends and family who all came to Phoenix to support me, and I finished with a Boston-qualifying time of 3 hours and 27 minutes. At that moment I knew that I made the right decision, mostly because accomplishing this huge goal of mine brought more joy than track ever did.
One of the most memorable classes will be Rap, Hip Hop & Criminal Justice. My roommate told me about the course and suggested we take it together, but then she dropped it and I was stuck by myself! The first thing the “professor” said when she walked in the class…. “I know what you all are thinking: Who is this white lady and what the hell is she going to teach us about hip hop?” The homework for the class involved watching music videos and reading lyrics. In class we watched Ice T’s documentary and blasted F#%& The Police…in the Criminology department. For educational purposes, of course. And yes, we wrote our own rap. Mine was called Afraid to be Average. Watch out, Nicki.
Speaking of gangsta….my roommates and I also threw our own ugly sweater party this year! It didn’t include a sweater contest but I’ll just go ahead and give myself the win on that one…. #homemade ;)
An academic highlight of this year was the opportunity to travel to Omaha, NE, representing my university’s business college to meet Mr. Warren Buffett and tour three of his companies. One of the strict guidelines was absolutely no alcohol on the trip. Our provost came to talk to us before we departed and said, “If you can’t go three days without a drink, you have a problem.”All twenty students laughed and nodded.
The first thing the group I was with said as we departed the charter bus unchaperoned: “Margarita Bar!” Cheers to Warren Buffett. ;)
After my marathon, I struggled a little bit about what to do next with my fitness goals…I tried the LiveFit trainer but the lack of running didn’t work for me. Mostly I found friends to go on many many hiking adventures with me. I hiked Devil’s bridge for the first time (and second, and third). I had TWO very memorable trips to the Grand Canyon and several Sedona adventures, alone and with friends.
This year I drastically cut my hair, finally brought my car up to Flagstaff, and turned 21. My friends and I went to Dustin Lynch, Kip Moore, and Ellie Goulding concerts on-campus (plus Eli Young Band in the summer if that counts!). I raced a charity 5k hosted by our school’s ROTC, and after I finished behind the top 10 ROTC boys the sergeant asked if I had ever considered joining the ROTC program. HA! Do your fatigues come in pink? Flattered but also laughing on the inside ;) I respect everyone who is in the program, it’s just probably not for me.
Junior year was the first time that I started to feel really independent. I absolutely loved my business courses (though a few less group projects would’ve been cool too). I met incredible people and even though some of my friends grew apart after I left the track team, others grew stronger and closer. I ended the year feeling really happy. I loved the people in my life and I was looking forward to a few more summer trips to New York to continue the medical procedures. And ready to be a SENIOR! :)
New Kids on the Dock (sorry I had too! :D )
Today I graduate with honors from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a certificate in Promotions and Marketing Communications. In my time here, I was a D1 cross country and track athlete, sports marketing intern, and Student Health Advisory Committee member. I’m so proud to be a Lumberjack, forever grateful for my parents and thrilled to close this chapter on a wonderful four years in Flagstaff.
XOXO Kenz
