Oh, You Want To Send Me A Valentine's Day Gift? How Nice of You!

So moments after I posted about my love for tea, 

I came across this cute Valentine's gift idea:

Design Sponge is one of my favorite design blogs and definitely one of the most creative out there.    There are tons of contributors who dedicate their days sharing awesome things like this heart-shaped tea bag craft.

Here are more pictures and step-by-step instructions.  

I'm going to try and find a ride out to the store and attempt to make some myself.  If I do, I'll be sure to share pictures!  Let me know if you end up trying it out!  

--If you would like to be my Valentine and send these to me, I would totally be okay with that : )

Meet Me In St. Louis

I can't believe I forgot to post all about my time in St. Louis!

I had an amazing time visiting the chapter at University of Missouri, St. Louis aka UMSL.

The campus was huge, but Greek Life was fairly small on their campus because it's mostly made up of commuters (the average age of a student is 25).  They had a cute little ZTA house, where four chapter members lived.

The girls were so great, they took me to all the famous restaurants, sites, and landmarks throughout St. Louis.

You can barely see me, but there I am with the Gateway Arch!

Blueberry Hill Restaurant-delicious and tons of vegetarian/vegan options 

Site of the World's Fair (hence the Meet Me In St. Louis title)

Fitz's Restaurant, Famous for their root beer

Vintage Vinyl--record store in The Loop

Anheuser-Busch Factory

I really enjoyed my time in St. Louis and would definitely go back!

You Can Never Get a Cup of Tea Large Enough, Or A Book Long Enough to Suit Me

-C.S. Lewis.

It is no question that I love reading.  But what is the one thing that can make this girl even happier that curling up with a good book?  Curling up with a good book and a big cup of tea.  Green tea with a bit of honey to be exact.  A few years ago I tried to pretend that I was a coffee drinker, but that definitely didn't last.  Every now and then I like to get a vanilla latte just to spice things up, but when it comes to my every morning, and often every night drink, nothing soothes me like a cup of tea.

Not only does tea warm you up on a cold day or soothe your throat when you have a cold, but green tea is packed with tons of nutritional value.  I was going to write it all out for you, but then I found this great chart.  Check it out:

Teavana is tea store that has been opening so many new locations over the US.  If you look on their website under the store locator tab, you're sure to find a Teavana near you.  The store offers the biggest variety of tea I have ever seen.  The employees are so knowledgeable about the types of tea, the benefits of drinking tea, and can tell you about all the fun products and accessories they have.   One tea accessory I've seen, and every time I do I say I'm going to buy it, is this Beatles Yellow Submarine Tea Infuser.  

Is that perfect or me or what?

Why, Thank You.

In my line of work thank you's are far and few between.  

One of the first things I was told, was that this is a "thankless" job.

At first I thought that cannot be.  When TLC's visited my chapter, we overwhelmed her with appreciation and thanks.

Well, turns out they tell you that for a reason... to prepare you for the times when you work your you know what off and get zero gratitude in return.  Don't get me wrong, there are chapters and sisters who are so incredibly appreciative they write you cards, give you gifts, and send you emails even weeks after you leave the chapter.  And I promise, the good outweighs the bad, but I still wonder...

You know the saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," well that's pretty much my life day to day.  Yes I stay up until 3am during recruitment, plan chapter retreats hours ahead of time, spend countless hours training officers and giving them fresh ideas--all things that deserve those two simple words, however they are spoken maybe 50% of the time.  During my first visits, this did kill me and definitely did not make me stronger.  

Now I take every experience as a learning experience.  As a whole, it definitely taught me how amazing it feels to get told "thank you, I don't know what we would have done without you here."  It also taught me that it doesn't take more than a phone call, or my favorite, a handwritten note to express your thanks.  Because of that, I have become obsessed with finding cute stationary.  I send cards to chapters throughout the semester just to say 'Hi!,' thank you cards to Greek Advisors for taking time out of their busy schedule to meet with me, Province Presidents for all their help and guidance, and just random 'Thinking of you cards' to the people who really touched my life in a special way.

I look for new stationary everywhere I go.  Papyrus, Lilly Pulitzer, and The Stationary Studio.com have some great choices.  Here are some of my favorites:

How do you like to say thanks?

STEELER SUNDAY!

The day has finally arrived.

The biggest day of the year,

STEELER SUNDAY

aka

Superbowl Sunday!

If I had my own basement, it would look something like this.

I would give just about anything right now to be back home in Pittsburgh to watch the game with my friends and family.  My step-dad had a huge projector screen set up in our basement and tons of people are going over to watch the big game.

Unfortunately, I am in Norfolk, VA.  There are a few Steeler fans in the chapter, but they have plans to go over friends houses and most like take part in Superbowl activities that I am not allowed to take part in.  So, it looks like I'll be spending the night by myself watching the big game.  How exciting.  Who woulda thought this Pittsburgh girl would be spending Steeler Sunday in Norfolk by herself.

Get ready, because in 6 short hours, we will be up the stairway to 7, Superbowl rings that is.

My Kind of Guy

... relaxing on the beach, book on the table, beer in hand, and a cute kitty cat on his lap.

Now, where can I find one?

There's Something So Intriguing About the Smell, Feel, Look of...

you guessed it, 

old and used books.

I have blogged about my love of books many times, and constantly update my "What I'm Reading" widget, but I never really got into why, on any day, I would pick going into a used book store over a huge chain bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Borders.

Knowing that you're walking into a store with so much history and endless possibilities can really be very soothing.  There are days when I'm home and I'm feeling over-anxious, mad, or upset and my mom will simply say "Kate, why don't you go to the book store."  Nerdy, I know.  But it's the truth.  It comforts me.  Nothing can calm my anxiety more than going into a used book store.  

Not only are the prices usually half the price it would be if you bought it at a regular store, but each book has it's own story outside of the story within the pages.  I once bought a book at Half Price Books and when I got half way through I found bookmarks from a store in California, handwritten notes from the previous reader, and the pages smelled of incense.  It shows that this book once had another life halfway across the country.  I know many people who can be disturbed by this, but I think it's what makes the book beautiful.  

Used book stores often have books that are out of date and hard to find.  They are usually separated in categories, but still jumbled up enough that you can't walk in and find the book right away.  You have to browse the aisles, open books that you might not have otherwise, and be optimistic.  

Every city has used book stores.  Half Price Books is a common chain used book store.  They have many locations and each store is filled with old movies, CDs, vinyl (expect a post coming soon), magazines, and tons of books.  Other great used book stores in the Pittsburgh area include:

Eljay's Used Books on E. Carson St.

The Open Mind Bookstore on Beaver Ave. in Swickley

The Caliban Book Shop on Craig St. in Oakland

So next time you're feeling down, stressed, or just bored, wander in to your local used book store and spend a few hours with the books, learning their history and eventually choose one (or in my case it's usually more than one) to take home with you.  Now all you need is a cozy blanket and a cup of hot tea--sounds like the perfect night to me!