KMERRITTBLOG

Beautiful Dresses by Tara LaTour Lindemeier

If you know me, you know that I’m not exactly the most fashionable person. My style is very Midwestern-meets-wannabe-urban. One day I’ll be wearing flip flops, jeans and a Red Wings hoodie, and the next I’ll be in a sleeveless blouse, slacks and ballet flats. I think the most expensive pair of shoes I own are a $99 pair of flats from Banana Republic— which I didn’t even have to pay for. On the other hand, my most trendy/fashionable shoes are a pair of $30, 5″ strappy heels by Alice + Olivia from Payless. My most expensive pair of jeans come from Express, and the only labels I have on my shirt are JCrew and Express. But that’s only 10% of my wardrobe. The rest consists of cheap finds from JCPenney, Charlotte Russe, H&M, etc. Bottom line: my wardrobe is a wreck.

So I’m not really one to critique fashion by any means, but I love looking at pretty clothes just as much as the next [average] girl. I’m just very picky and don’t find the majority of the fashion world even remotely appealing.

That being said, I just stumbled across some thesis projects for students in the fashion program at Parsons. Out of the five or six that I saw, only one caught my eye in a good way. The rest kind of looked like someone gave a hipster a glue gun and some leftover fabric and let them run wild.

Her name is Tara LaTour Lindemeier, and from the looks of it, she specializes in wedding apparel. As a recent grad, I really hope she breaks into the industry full force very soon. I mean, she even has a very fashion-designer-ish name! But I could be completely wrong, what do I know about fashion? See her designs for yourself at TaraLaTour.com. Weddingchicks.com also did a lovely writeup showcasing her work, and you can check out her blog that documents her senior thesis project throughout the year.

60 days til I’m 25

24th birthday cake, August 2009

My birthday is now officially less than two months away! Thanks to my obsessively compulsive need to plan every aspect of my life as far in advance as possible, I’ve already started thinking about how to celebrate! I’ve got a pretty good idea that should make for an amazing 25th birthday— I just hope that all of those amazing people I know show up. I’m also accepting suggestions as to what kind of 3D cake I should make this year, but it has to top last year’s Goomba cake (above). Please leave any suggestion(s) in the comments!

P.S. If you want to get your shopping out of the way super early, I’ll be accepting Apple gift cards to set aside for a new laptop computer I’ll also enjoy expedia.com gift cards (if they even offer those)!

Unlike Kotex, iPad Doesn’t Protect Against Leaks

Apparently the iPad isn’t super absorbent when it comes to leaks. AT&T leaks info of 114,000 customers. Important people too, like military and government officials. Check it out on Gawker.

Please Stand Up.

Looks like I’m doing another stand up show my babies. Details to come.

Tornadoes in my Hometown

Point A: Lake Township, which was hit by the tornado, Point B: Where my parents live.

Lake High School

Over the weekend, my hometown of Oregon, Ohio had some seriously damaging storms. On Saturday night my mom texted me around 1115pm saying “we’re under a tornado warning.” I didn’t make much of it because tornado watches and warnings are very common during Ohio summers. I woke up the next day to read another text from my mom describing the aftermath. Apparently her and my brother had been up all night watching the news, but thankfully their house was not hit.

There were 3 tornadoes that touched down in their area— the largest one being just 6 miles from their house— in Millbury. That tornado was about 100 yards wide, with winds over 165mph, and went on for 8-10 miles, completely destroying over 50 homes, killing 5 people (last I heard), leveling a police station, and wiping out Lake High School. Lake High students were set to graduate yesterday, just hours after that tornado leveled their ceremony plans. Apparently one of the victims was the valedictorian’s father as well. That’s one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve heard in my entire life. Another woman and her 4 year old son were also killed while her husband and daughter remain in the ICU. Another couple was driving down 795 when the tornado hit and they took cover in the police station that was completely wiped out. The woman didn’t make it, leaving behind her boyfriend and their child. I’m not sure about the other death(s), but those stories are depressing enough as it is.

It’s crazy to see these areas on the news, completely destroyed, and to hear about the path of damage traveling along the roads I used to drive myself. I’m very grateful that the storm didn’t hit anyone in my family’s home, especially my mom & dad’s house since they don’t have a basement, and my 16 year old dog probably wouldn’t have made it. I’m extremely sad for the victim’s families of this storm, and I hope that they can begin to rebuild their lives soon, and the Lake High School students can have the proper graduation that they deserve.

If you want to check out some pictures of the damage, check out 11 WTOL and 13 ABC.

Here It Is! Video of my First Stand up Show!

…Drum roll please!

Here it is! My sub-par virgin attempt at stand up comedy! I promise, I will improve for your viewing pleasure. Watch it here, or head over to my YouTube page for maximum awesomeness.

And no, I did not choose that preview for the static image. I would’ve chosen something that doesn’t look like I have extreme flatulence.

Bally Total Failness

Somebody accidentally sent out the Bally Fitness Newsletter without the “Dance Dance Revolution” copy. Figures, that’s the only section I was actually interested in reading!

5 Hilarious Answers I Wish I’d Thought Of

These kids are destined for either A) a career in comedy or B) detention. I hope you enjoy this selection of test answers from the Huffington Post as much as I did. I wish I had half the guts and wit to write something like this on one of those ridiculous tests when I was younger.

Signs That You’re Getting Old

After 37 hours, I’m still feeling the effects of Tuesday night. I’m exhausted and still dehyrdated. I try to make healthy food choices on a daily basis, make it a point to work out almost every day, and aim for around 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night. Whenever I mess with that system, I pay dearly. I woke up at 645 today to try and squeeze in some cardio, but I passed out on my yoga mat while warming up. I woke up 10 minutes later just to crawl back into bed for a half hour.

I’m going to avoid alcohol over the long weekend and run a few extra miles on top of my P90X routine. I finally started seeing results, I don’t want to screw that up by being a lush.

I’m enjoying a few minutes in Bryant Park right now for lunch. I seriously feel like I’m going to pass out. I hope I don’t fall asleep while seeing Sex and the City 2 tonight!

The Morning After My First Performance

Last night’s show went great! I was so hyped up I think I skipped over a few jokes, but I really can’t remember. Everything I said on that stage is a complete blur to me- it went by so fast! I wasn’t even paying attention to the blinking red light that was supposed to signify when our 6 minutes was up, so I have no idea how long (or short) I went. Luckily I’ll be getting a DVD of the show in just a few days so I can go back and see how foolish I looked. There were only four of us from the class that performed during the 930 show, and I was the only girl. I met some pretty funny people though and collected a few business cards. Three people came up to me afterward and told me that I did really well- which is a great feeling coming from a stranger. I think I only forgot what I was going to say one time, but the audience was still laughing from the last joke so I joined them, giving myself a second to think. That part will probably look retarded. I got a good response from the audience too. I could see the first few tables of people and they were actually paying attention (and laughing) which was a good thing. I couldn’t see any of my friends either, which was probably also a good thing. I know I could’ve done better, but that’s just the perfectionist in me talking. It was my first show though, so overall I’m happy. I was so giddy and happy after performing, and I seriously cannot wait to do it again.

A big thank you to everyone who showed up, and a double thank you to those who bought me drinks. Unfortunately, I drank way too much on a completely empty stomach, and now the thought of whiskey makes me throw up in my mouth. I went into work still drunk, and immediately devoured a bagel and cream cheese and about 4 glasses of OJ. That didn’t sit so well, so I took the cab from hell back to the Upper East Side to work from home. That was probably the best idea I’ve ever had, since I puked the second I walked into my apartment. Lovely, I know.