Katarina July Roman

I'm not sure what it is but cats always seem to find their way to me. Growing up, there was quite a few cats who would follow me home. In college, I took care of an abandoned cat (Audrey Hepburn) who ended up birthing a litter of six kittens while I was home for the summer. I came back to discover the babies living in a wooded area across from my apartment complex. I was fortunate to find them all a home together on a farm in West Virginia.

Last night, I was outside watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona on my computer, gazing at the stars and lightning bugs and listening to the crickets... when I heard a familiar sound. I thought it might be a kitten, so I followed the meows in the distance. Sure enough, there was a little baby across the street from my house (we live across from a funeral home). She was lost, scared and hungry. Instead of chasing her, I sat down on the steps and let her come to me. This quickly established some trust. After a few minutes of introductions, I headed back to my house and she followed. My family has a cat, Sasha, that we found a couple years ago (an interesting story there as well, but that's another post), so my Dad and I gave the new kitten some of her milk and cat food. In no time at all, "Katarina July" as I started to call her, was relaxed and snuggled on my lap, purring the night away.

When it came time to go back inside, I was so torn. I have a dog and cat that can be territorial, so I didn't want to risk any trouble. I decided to keep Kat on our porch with some blankets and hope for the best. She cried all night long to come inside but in the morning, she was still there. I'd love to keep her but I think I'm going to try and find her a home at my sister's or maybe my neighbor's.

Since so many cats have walked into my life, I've read a lot about their mysticism. While many people aren't into cats, I think they are usually quite astonishing and so cute.



Now Playing: "Do You Realize" by The Flaming Lips

WINNING!

I've read the celebrity gossip/humor site dlisted.com for years. It's not your typical content. The guy who creates the blog, Michael K. is one of the funniest writers I have ever come across. He has such a fascinating and hilarious perspective on the world. This week, I decided to submit some writing entries into the CAPTION THIS contest on dlisted. I thought it would be a nice way to practice my writing and maybe get some new readers to my blog. After a few days of my captions going unnoticed, I am thrilled to announce that yours truly wrote the winning caption for Thursday's contest! There were over 200 submissions, so I am pretty proud of myself. This was actually the second writing contest that I found out I won this week (the other being one for Writer's Digest)! It gave me the motivation that I needed to really work hard on my manuscript. I'm not great at a lot of things but writing has always been something that I loved. It comes naturally to me. Nothing makes me happier than when I know other people are laughing or enjoying what I put together :)

Here is the photo we were asked to create a caption for:

And here is my winning caption along with the runners-up (my handle is SteelCityGirl):

Now Playing: "Hang Me Up to Dry" by Cold War Kids

Reason #52567 Why It's Better to Have Guy Friends

I saw this tweet and wanted to share. I was recently in one of my best friend's weddings, so I got a laugh out of it. I'm glad that I only have a few close girlfriends. It's such an honor (and usually pretty fun) to be in a wedding but the costs can get ridiculous. My theory is, if you want someone to be in your wedding, the bride & groom should atleast help offset the costs of their wedding party. If said bride or groom can't contribute in some way, they probably shouldn't be getting married in the first place. It's my hope that when I tie the knot, I will be able to pay for everything (reason #2947 why I want to wait until I'm in my 30s). But as much as I dream of having the perfect, fairy tale wedding, sometimes I wonder if it would be more more enjoyable and romantic to just run away. The stress would be nonexistent and it would probably be more sacred (unless ofcourse you ran in the direction of the Las Vegas strip). But I don't even know why I'm getting into the details. I've been single for the better part of the last decade. I have no desire to call it quits. There's so much that I'd like to experience before settling down.



Now Playing: "Next Girl" by The Black Keys

Work of Art

Recently I have been lusting after a Stephen Sprouse Louis Vuitton scarf. While imagining the cashmere and silk fabric chicly wrapped around my neck, I studied the work of the infamous artist who passed away in 2004. It has been too long since I've been to the museum. Pittsburgh has a lot of really amazing ones, so I can't say that I have a good excuse for my absence. But atleast I can virtually admire these images. While I don't typically love modern art, I certainly can see the beauty in Sprouse's work.
All photos courtesy Google Images.






Now Playing: "You" by TV on the Radio
(One of my favorite songs of the year!)

Flashback Friday

White Town. "Your Woman."



This song reminds me of the MTV show Daria (one of my all time favorites). I've always fancied myself as a cross between Quinn and Daria. I've got the red hair and love for fashion like Quinn but I like to think that I do have some intellectual/sarcastic/cynical tendencies like Daria. It's called balance and yes, I walk the line. But back to the matter at hand. This song was played in an episode of Daria in the late 90s. It got stuck in my head then and I kid you not, it never left. Every once in awhile, out of the blue, I will randomly start humming the tune of "Your Woman" in my mind. For a moment I'll pause and wonder where the hell it came from but then I remember. I question whether the individuals who choose songs for TV shows realize the power that they possess over other people's memories.