Giveaway: Invitation Consultants

Christmas Cards are always high on my Mom's holiday to-do list. Both my parents have a list of their people that they want to send cards to and stick to a "schedule" to make sure they all get done and get sent out!

We usually have a photo of some sort and add our little greeting. I'm not exactly sure which picture it is, but I'm excited to see Christmas 2012's choice! Last year's was preppy pink and green and will always have a special place in my heart--it was TOO cute!

On that note (stationery pun...wink wink) this giveaway comes at a great time! We are giving away $30 to Invitation Consultants that you can use for stationery of your choice, Christmas or holiday cards, and anything that fits your bill on their site!

Using the Rafflecopter widget, feel free to enter! Woo hoo! Happy Giveaway Monday!

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xxKatie

Happy Thanksgiving!

via

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy spending this time of thanks with your friends and family!

xxKatie

Columbia Style Week 2012: Finale

Saturday night was the finale for CSW!

This MayaQoba dress was my favorite piece in the entire show! I was breathless when I saw it and squealed to Mikelle who was sitting next to me! I REALLY need it!

Both of these Lauren Devaughn designs were also among my favorites. I liked everything in this material really. They were great pieces that I loved!

This Luis Machicao set has my name all over it. That coral liner was such a fun pop of color and I was just thinking how much I want a white work-appropriate shift dress. Adorable!

This was another LM dress that I really liked! the ruffle was cute and that hidden color was fabulous!

There aren't many photos of me at the Finale event, but you can see me and the crew I was lucky enough to hang out with right there!

I loved Mikelle's Instagram caption of "Carolina Fabulous"!

I had a wonderful time being a part of Columbia Style Week 2012 and I look forward to working again with them in 2013 if I'm still in the area! A huge thanks to all volunteers, organizers, models, designers, VIPs, and everyone who attended CSW2012 and made it such a fun week for people like me!

xxKatie

Con-grads Grads!

Today I'm working the College of Arts & Sciences graduation ceremony. This post is for all of the fabulous seniors that I'm going to miss. You all have changed my college career and touched my heart. This one's for: Sarah, Georgia, Amanda, Derek, Alayna, Aldric, Laura, Kaleb, Aaron, Greg, Kathryn, Patrick, Hakeem, and everyone else who is celebrating their special weekend! Congrats on an awesome 4 years!

Forever to thee!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude: 500

1. Thanks to my sister for making her prof pic a photo of us and saying get back soon to me. It means a lot gRe. I miss you a ton. You prolly have no idea.

2. Thanks to the boy who helped me with my shag final. I appreciate you putting up with me.

3. Thanks to Colleen for celebrating with me. It was extravagant, but we 150% fully deserved that celebration. I'm so thankful you took this class with me.

4. Thanks to Derek for always keeping an eye out for me in and out of shag class. Since I've known you from my freshman year first semester in college you've always been like an older brother making sure I was always ok. I appreciate everything you've done for me this semester in AND out of class again. You're going to do great things and I look forward to hearing about you in the future and telling all my friends I knew you in college.

5. Thanks to my old roommate for wanting to reconnect. I'm sorry that we fell out of contact and look forward to our very very long dinner/gab session that you can tell me ALL ABOUT your study abroad in ROME! Lucky biscuit!

6. Thanks to Easter for coming late. You reinforced fashion rules. Also thank you to everyone who followed the rules and didn't wear white pants or shoes yet. I wore BOTH on Monday. #winning

7. Thanks to Capstone for having the best cheese grits on campus. You make them stringy and delicious. I miss Miss Andrena like nobody's business.

8. Thanks to everyone who sent me notes saying that they liked my post about writing thank you's. It's a been thankful circle. And I like it.

9. Thanks to my mom for signing me up for college classes over the summer. She rules and I'm lucky to have such a baller mom. Y'all should be jealous.

10. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN AN LBP FAN FROM THE BEGINNING. TODAY IS MY 500TH POST. RAZ, Christine K., Kristen C., Harriet H., Grace R., Mom and Dad, Evalyse L., Katherine R., Caitlin S., Audrey M., Mary-Claire M., and a lot of my friends in high school. I think of y'all all the time when I have writers block thinking what RAZ's Journalism class would have told me to do. I couldn't have done this without any of your support almost 5 years ago! Woo!

xxKatie

Handwritten Notes

I received the nicest of nice notes from BFF Annapolis sCe about two weeks ago. She knows exactly what to say to make me happy and is my venting friend. The two of us tweet/text/chat pretty standardly 24/7 and know what's going on all the time. She's so in tune with me and I hope she feels the same way about me. BUT back to her note. She used her adorable stationery and handwrote me a note. As I told her it came at the most unbelievable of times, I had been having a yucky week and then up popped this note. I could have cried (read: I cried) and she just has the best advice of anyone I know. Skyler--if and when you read this sorry it's getting mushy. She included a few quotes from:

He's Just Not That Into You

I just always forget about the impact of handwritten notes and letters. We decided yesterday at around 7pm that we're going to start a handwritten note correspondence. It's great practice and a great reminder to write notes more often. In her words, "The whole point of snail mail is to help unlearn instant gratification." We'll obviously still get to talk our normal ways, but the letters will hold little nuggets of gold in them. Mine had advice and a little metaphor (sCe you have NO idea what's coming...) and should get to her on Sunday. The original letter I sent was returned to sender (I'm lame...) because I wrote her wrong address. I am really looking forward to using some of my favorite stationery:

Two Christmases ago my Momma bought me all kinds of personalized stationery to take off with me to college. The first two are from Boatman Geller and the pink crab set is from Whitney English. I LOVE them so I only ever use them for the most important thank you's and notes. I have otherwise stocked up on the $1 section of Michael's when they came out with the Preppy Line. I have 6 unopened sets of foldover notes that I use for the typical thank you's or notes to my friends.

I know I try my best to write thank you notes to friends who give me gifts. I am proud of the fact that I gave thank you notes to every one of my friends who gave me a birthday present this year. I always add about 5 points to ANYONE's score who gives me a thank you. It is a HUGE HUGE HUGE addition to their score (does anyone else just do that for people?) of life. I very highly appreciate thank you notes even if it was for something small.

Do you write thank you notes consistently? Might you have a penpal already? Where do you get good stationery? I'm going to need ideas since we're starting to write lots of notes!!

xxKatie