A Baby and a Bunny.

Because I know you're eager to know what happened dress up wise, here you go:

I present Frances "Baby" Houseman:

Its a stretch. I know. I look more like a monochromatic parakeet with big hair. 

Not a frizzy-haired dirty dancer. 

I had to explain my outfit to everyone. 

Whateves. It ruled. 

For work (and children-of-coworkers coming to trick or treat), I give you: 

A bunny.

No, I'm not concealing a pregnancy like Jessica Simpson... its just an unfortunate angle. 

Love,

KK

On Dress Up!

Its Halloween on Monday so, in anticipation, I am attending a party on Saturday night.

I'll be going as "Baby" from Dirty Dancing... the 80's cult classic. Neveryoumind that I was strictly forbidden from actually watching it as a child but I've made up for lost time in my adulthood. (sorry, Cam and Carol.) I just get lost in the music and dancing. The motivator is the fact that the theme of the party is "infamous."

I mean, what is more infamous than Jennifer Gray's epic nose job post-production?

A Kardashian? Yes. A Kardashian is but there is not enough sunless tanner or regret to make me a Kardashian by Saturday, okay?

So, I am going to sport a prosthetic nose, a pink dress (or tank/skirt combo... depending on what TJ Maxx has for me at lunch) and some gold heels. I will also be curling/frizzing my hair like whoa. If only Baby had red hair. Eh- you win some, you lose some.

Here's hoping there's a Johnny Castle in the crowd. (May P Swayze rest.)

Here's what I don't have the body for but would have been fun:

Here's what I REALLY don't have the body for but would have been recognizable... maybe:

Here's what I'm gonna go for:

* Please don't miss the film's tagline, people. "First Dance. First Love. The time of your life." *

I will also dream of this happening because I am prone to big dreams:

Also, if I can't find pink outfit elements, I will go with the sundress, cardigan and watermelon look seen here: (quoting "I carried a watermelon...??" all night.)

I "do it all for you",

XO,
KK

OK.

I am out of the habit, y'all.

Whenever I come back to blogging after a season away, I feel compelled to bring you up to speed. I mean, it hasn't been a month, but still.

 I want to tell you that in the last month, I have:

- Taken to eating food that occurs in nature (as evidenced in the previous post).

- Taken to being kind to myself when I eat processed food (like that day at the cook out at work when I ate a hamburger *and* hot dog.)

- Gotten a promotion at work. I am no longer a Design Consultant for Emma... I am now the Emma Host who welcomes new clients. It is pretty thrilling to do something every day that I feel perfectly suited for.

- Booked an appointment to get my fillings replaced next week. ONLY in my adulthood would I be thrilled to get dental work while others get vacations. (who am I kidding? I still go on vacation.) Nevertheless, I'm pumped about getting mercury fillings removed and being metal free, y'all.

- Realized that from now to mid-January, I will attend 5 weddings! That does not even include the two I really wish I could attend but can't because of distance. I love love. I just do.

- Enjoyed really busy days, mostly busy nights and still manage to get some good sleep sometimes. This felt worth noting.

- Got the box set of Friday Night Lights from two dear friends I organized for. SO THRILLING. The only thing more thrilling is that they got SO into the organization of their basement and it is, honestly, a vision. Its incredibly gratifying. Seriously though, if you haven't watched FNL, you are missing out. Just ask Kristin who watched the series, in its entirety, in 2 weeks. Right, Kris?

- Had one of my oldest and dearest friends visit from Charleston with her sweet mama. It was a total blast and we explored Leiper's Fork while they were here. We also hung out with some firemen but that is an entirely different story.

- I got to NC to spend some AMAZING quality time with my college besties. It was just... amazing. I love them and they love me so well. Is there anything so sweet as that?

That feels like a good stopping point. I have so many things to be grateful for. Last night I had a great conversation with my friend Annie and we marveled at how, when you're talking with someone you love, its hard not to come back to a place of gratitude. Life can be kinda crappy at the time but there will still be an overwhelm of joy when you have someone loving remind you of the truth.

I am just grateful and happy.

xo

On (Un)Processing.

For starters, I am so out of the practice of daily blogging that you'll be getting periodic updates this month. Baby steps.

So, I am only ONE more sleep away from my annual getaway weekend with my college besties. Katherine, Heidi, Julie and I get together every year and we laugh, eat and love our way through the weekend. We ask each other hard questions, pass tissues when we cry and laugh hard at and with each other. I am excited to get to the mountains and not leave elastic pants the whole weekend. Woop!

Speaking of processing, I am avoiding processed foods like the plague, y'all.

I've only eaten food that grows out of the ground or clucks around the ground... you see what I mean. Lots of ground-centric eating. OH, and LaCroix. A girl has gotta have her vices.. even if it is just bubbly water.

Yesterday I had an amazing meal of deliciousness. Just look! I had chicken, brussel sprouts, zucchini, squash, black bean & corn salad and cabbage. I wish I could eat it again and again.

I'm really loving the new habit of checking the ingredients for something other than knowing the calories. I love that I'm checking for the number of ingredients and what they are. It is just plain nice to know precisely what I'm putting in my body. Its not like this Unprocessed-ness is all that dissimilar to how I've been eating for the last few months but it sure is a focused attention to the origin of my food and I rather love it.

I'm thankful for pretty food but I'm also really grateful for the gorgeous weather. It was a little warm this morning when we went to the "ground breaking" for the new Emma digs. The sun reminded us we're having a bit of an Indian Summer. Which I love. I already miss Summer and its barely out the door. :)

I'm also grateful for legs and feet that work, super red hair, a fun weekend ahead, good music and loving friends.

Good night.

Love,
Kelley

On Accomplishing... miles and meals.

Oh... was there ever riding.

Between October 1st and 2nd, I, Kelley Kirker (being of sound mind and body) rode my bicycle 114 miles. Yes, you read that correctly. I did that.

and IT RULED!

I am so proud to tell you that I did it! My legs are hating me today but I sure did it. :)

I shared some highlights with my supporters and here is what I wrote:

- I had my "brothers" with me!  My brother in law, Chad, and his brother, Blake, stayed with me the entire time. (For those of you who know Chad, you know that was a gift! He could easily have zoomed through the whole course as he is an exceptional cyclist. He chose to stay with me instead and I'll never forget it.) They were both such encouragers and totally dominated that ride! We covered 114 miles together and I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

- My legs took me 114 miles and I had NO vision trouble and NO numbness whatsoever!! It was just as much a mental challenge as it was a physical one. I'm so grateful! 

- My team (Team Emma) were able to raise over $8,000 for MS research! I'm so proud of our tiny team of 12 for accomplishing such a feat.

- We camped and did not become popsicles... even though I thought it *may* happen. It as a cold night in Lynchburg, TN,  y'all.

- The weather was pristine! We could not have asked for better weather as both days were gorgeous sunny days that never got above the mid 60s. Both days started quite chilly but we planned accordingly. (Another shout-out to Chad for the heads up!)

- Training (and the ride) made me realize how much I enjoy riding so I'll be doing a lot more of it this year! Which brings me to...

- We all signed up to do it again next year! (what have we done?!) Ha! It was such a great experience... hard but so good. I will need a few days to recover before I say I'm looking forward to it- but I am glad we "re-cycled", as they say. 

Here is a shot of my team in front of an enormous inflatable whiskey bottle... of course.

So, It was an amazing challenge and I am sort of welling up with pride over having accomplished it. Now, did you think I would let time pass before immediately taking on another challenge? Pshhhh. Don't be crazy. I have joined in with a few co-worker friends who have accepted the "No Processed October" challenge. That means not eating anything that doesn't occur in nature, basically. Our rule is that if you can't make it in your kitchen- don't eat it. (There goes gummy worms.) So, the truth is, I feel best when I'm eating well and I think avoiding things that are processed will be a great accompaniment to my eating overhauls of this year. (With the exception of Jack and Back, of course. I mean, every single piece of "food" was processed. Except for the cookout on Saturday night- that was good.)

Tonight, I did my weekly food shopping and snagged only foods that occur in nature or at least have ingredients I recognize. I'm super pumped because I gravitated to foods I buy regularly and realized that most things fall into the "no processed"category. Don't worry- there was also junk on every aisle that actually looked good but I resisted!

Today's meals included a smattering of eggs, greek salad with veggies and shrimp, sushi and honey crisp apples. Madeline (at Publix) was in to the challenge. She was impressed and even agreed to let me take a picture of her. I like documenting things.

Thanks for following my adventures, you guys. This month will be full of ways I am grateful. Today's is obvious. We shall see what tomorrow shall hold. Stay tuned. :)