ESPN College Gameday

The long-awaited OFFICIAL announcement was made a few days ago by ESPN and College GameDay! They are en route to Columbia, SC!

If you live under a rock (or just aren't of the football persuasion) you wouldn't know that the USC-UGA game will be among the biggest, most important football games that us current Gamecocks will ever attend in our Gamecock careers.

This ESPN College GameDay marks the 5th time that they will be in GAMECOCK COUNTRY!

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I say this every year because every year there's a BIG game that somehow gets topped the next year, and I swore it wouldn't happen this season, but NO, the Gamecocks are at it again:

Freshman year: USC vs. Ole Miss (biggest upset we'd had until...)

Sophomore year: USC vs. Alabama (officially crushed #1)

Junior year: USC vs. Clemson (I've never been a part of a more energized student section)

Senior year: USC vs. UGA

I love that this series of different games has also been a different opponent each year. Traditionally, we've played UGA much earlier in the season, but I am so excited!

There will be so much going on during the day and weekend and I think I can speak for most Gamecocks in saying that we are SO ready for it to already be SATURDAY! Too much waiting and anticipating (considering we've been waiting for this since oh, last season ended...) to even believe!

If you will be in town here's a schedule of game-related events:

1. Southern Proper & Gridiron Belles/SoLeague Magazine Shows at Pink Sorbet on Devine Street Friday

2. Vineyard Vines Tailgate (location, TBD but check facebook!)

3. Jason Aldean/Billy Currington Concert @ 5:00 day of game at Gamecock Walk

More events to be added as I hear!

xxKatie

Headed to Hootie!

We're headed East this weekend to Charleston, SC!

Two friends and I are going to a Hootie and the Blowfish concert out on Daniel Island and I cannot WAIT! Hootie and the Blowfish has been on my concert bucket list since I've created it! I love Darius Rucker and am SO looking forward to this Hootie and the Blowfish concert!

"I Will Wait" is one of my favorite Hootie songs and I am keeping my fingers crossed that they perform it!

Last night they performed at the same venue and I saw on Twitter that they opened up with "Time" which everyone will be familiar with!

Last but certainly not least, I'm SURE they'll play "Only Wanna Be With You" which I think every single person who even listened to a radio in the 90's has heard:

The video for this one really cracks me up!

Reasons I also love Hootie and the Blowfish: they're CAROLINA GAMECOCKS!

SO EXCITED FOR SOME HOOTIE IN MY LIFE TONIGHT!

xxKatie

The Transfer

Step One of getting ready for school: Getting organized

How do you get organized? Well, transfer all important dates from first semester from one Lilly agenda to the next, of course!

I had the old blue agenda and then just purchased my new pink "Life of the Party" agenda two weeks ago! Since we're well into August, I figured I'd better do it soon since I've been carrying both around for a little while!

Fun events on the horizon:

Hootie & the Blowfish in Charleston with the bitties (WOOOOO!!!)

Start of school

Start of fall internship

First days of volunteering at the Visitor Center (giving tours)

Perhaps Dierks Bentley concert!

First Bingo night of the school year

Helping my friends move into their new places

Famously Hot Music Festival country concert

And that's still ONLY just August! Man oh man senior year is shaping up to be a good one!

As for today, I'm off to deal with the insurance ramifications from the bad-luck-dress-induced fender bender, figure out the extras associated with my big girl credit card (I've never had one y'all!), and more organizational to-do-list items on my list!

How do you stay organized? Have you made the switch to your new planner for the year?

xxKatie

Concert Sunday!

IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!

I am so so so so so unbelievably excited for today's concert!

My sister and I are headed to a concert venue in Maryland to see Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean this evening!

Clearly I love me some Luke Bryan, and al of these pictures are from the last time I saw him in concert at school!

We were about 7 "rows" (of standing people) from the stage and it made all of our waiting worth it when his songs were blaring!

We can't wait to finally be there and relax on the lawn!

Cheers to a VERY fun day ahead of us!

A Woman Like You

I first heard Lee Brice when I saw Luke Bryan in concert a few months ago! He was one of the opening acts and funny enough, is actually from a few towns over from Columbia! He's from Sumter, SC and even has a song called "Sumter County Friday Night"! So cool! Anyway, "A Woman Like You" is one of my new favorite songs! I couldn't believe it the other day when I saw a tweet from CMT talking about a video for this song. It's a cute video but I just LOVE the song--you must Google the lyrics, they are adorable! Anyway, give this song a quick listen and add it to your regular playlist for sure!

xxKatie

Tailgates and Tanlines: Luke Bryan Concert!

Last night was the UNREAL Luke Bryan concert! Never in my life have I been to such a good concert! He was GREAT live. You know how sometimes the artist doesn't sound as good live? Well, there was almost no difference except the different live changeups they made in the songs (read: all the mashups he did including but not limited to Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Vanilla Ice.)

We had SUCH a great time at this concert!

Colleen and I went together and got there VERY early. The people watching was a lot of fun and we got great spots. There was no sitting (the "venue" was a parking lot) so we wanted to make sure that we got good spots! I wore my Finn Shift in Navy that I got during the online Lilly sale with my Frye cowboy boots. Cowboy boots (or as I called them for all the men wearing them, Cowmen boots) were certainly the shoe of choice for everyone! I wore my navy Fornash clover earrings with the dress too!

One of my favorite moments was the Clemson/USC dance battle that Luke Bryan hosted on stage! He really did his homework for our college town cracking jokes about Stephen Garcia, the USC/Clemson rivalry, and congratulating us on our win yesterday. HUGE props to him for being invested in our little college town! We were instantly won over with all the Gamecock stuff he added into his songs like "Carolina girl shake it for me!" and adding in "Carolina" almost every time one of his songs says "Georgia" instead. 

OH BOY, Luke Bryan was a DRRRRREAMBOAT. We were swooning with that million-dollar smile and dance moves all night long! We joked that he must have been a dancer in a former life, he was so smooth!!! We had a GREAT time and I will happily attend another Luke Bryan concert in the future!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

1. I am so thankful my parents were willing to send my little sis down South for a few days and we could indulge in a sisterly weekend in South Carolina!

2. I am thankful that the weather is starting to cool off! It's dare I say it, chilly in the morning! That's the thing with South Carolina weather; even though it starts oh-so cold in the morning, it'll end up being a PICTURE PERFECT day just like yesterday!

3. I am thankful that it is FINALLY OCTOBER! Welcome to the month of birthdays!!!!! So many of my favorite people have birthdays in October. Speaking of birthdays...I just ordered two gifts last night! Buying birthday presents for other people is one of my favorite things! I LOVE the feeling of knowing when you got the perfect gift for someone!

4. I am thankful that one of my best friends told me to read, "He's Just Not That Into You". It really is eye opening. I've been tweeting and writing down some of the better quotes in it as I'm sure y'all have seen. It's an eye-opening book and I'd recommend it to get a very interesting perspective on dating and relationships and boys and girls.

5. I am thankful for my cowboy boots. Those little suckers are pretty much the perfect shoes for this in-between weather and look SO fabulous with skirts and dresses and pants.

6. I am thankful for Luke Bryan! I get to his is Tailgates and Tanlines concert October 15th and it is getting me through all this crazy schoolwork and tough projects. (Read: I'm in the middle of the world's longest research proposal...)

7. I am thankful for Sharpie Mark It markers. They are making my life colorful one saying at a time. They are also helping me color code my month. Here's to trying my best to keep my life organized.

8. I am thankful for Etsy. It is so much fun to look for all my friends' gifts that way! Plus I know the vendors are excited to get the orders and I look forward to shopping for friends and family that way!

9. I am thankful for the advice of my peers and mentors. I ask for advice a lot from my friends, co-workers and long-distance ladies (you know who you are) and I ask often. I appreciate all the help that y'all are able to give me.

10. I am thankful for the days I feel healthy. I tend to take those for granted, and I feel like I'm on the cusp of getting sick unfortunately. I'm trying my best to drink water and tea and stay on the healthy side of things!

xxKatie

Year of Birthdays

You're probably asking yourself, "Well, isn't every year the year of the birthdays?" Well yes, but this year I'm a junior which means the birthday that everyone gets the most excited about in college: turning 21! I often get questions about what to get for your friends for their 21st birthdays! Here are some of my suggestions:

Customized shot glasses: I got these for three guy friends last year and they all loved them! They all got 2 glasses: 1 personalized with their monograms and 1 personalized with something funny between us!

A season of their favorite show or a DVD of their favorite movie! This is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser!

Monogrammed Wine Glasses from The Cooler Girl (a fabulous friend of mine!)

Food gift cards! I know gift cards have a bit of an impersonal stigma associated with them, but give them a book of coupons and say you're taking them to the specific place. Need a reason to take this certain someone on a date? ...Sounds like a perfect plan to me!

The Bubbly! This gives you a fun reason to toast (or roast!) your friends at their birthday bash!

Local concert tickets! A bunch of my friends have birthdays the week before THIS GUY comes to town. Too bad I don't give away ANY birthday surprises! I do expect to see y'all all there though!

I saw this concoction on Pinterest a few days ago and it sparked my idea for this post! Too funny! Seems like something a Grandma might do!

What did you give your friends for their 21st birthday? Anything fun? 

xxKatie

10 Songs I'm Currently Jammin' Out To...

In no official order except as I see them in my iTunes:

1. Seven by Dave Matthews Band (Rock)
2. I Love You by The Benjy Davis Project (Rock)
3. In a Big Way by Darius Rucker (Country)
4. Whiskey and You by Darius Rucker (Country)
5. What's Wrong With Them by Lil Wayne & Nicki Minaj (Rap)
6. My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean (Country)
7. The Pretty Girl from Annapolis by the Avett Brothers (Rock)
8. Just by Being You by Steel Magnolia (Country)
9. Farmer's Daughter by Rodney Atkins (Country)
10. You're the Love I Wanna Be In by Jason Aldean (Country)

A few of these are rollovers from summer, but this is pretty much my hitlist. If I was ever to be on MTV, these would be the songs I'd show! I feel like there's a decent number of country, so maybe I'd be on CMT, but I'm a country convert since 7th grade. It's only been reinforced when I got to college, but I'm definitely a rap fan (as in I might be getting tickets to Usher/Trey Songz...jealous?) as well. This are the songs that are always playing when I'm crusin' to class and back for the most part. I'll do my 10 Most Listened to of all time in a post soon! Anyone else jammin' out to any of these too??

xxKatie