Category: Day In The Life

A Day In My Life As A Graduate Student: Fall 2020

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It’s been a long time since I shared a day-in-the-life post! The pandemic and hybrid in-person/online school has made it really hard to set a routine for myself, but every week I get closer to finding a schedule that works for me. I’m going to show you what a typical day looks like for me on a day where I have plans with friends, get some work done solo, and have a class to attend in the evening. I hope this helps you get an idea for what life is like as a graduate student!

Even though I knew I was heading to brunch soon, the first thing I had to do when I woke up in the morning was make myself some iced coffee. I live for my caramel iced coffee that I make with a Keurig. Some days I take my iced coffee and a book out to read in our courtyard, but today I had plans and needed to start getting ready sooner. I drank this cup while sitting at my desk while checking my agenda/email and making sure I was caught up and ready for the day.

Because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, I don’t get to see my friends as often anymore. The safest thing we know how to do is outdoor dining, and today the plan was brunch at a Norman favorite (Neighborhood JAM!) It was supposed to be a little chilly when we arrived but warm up as the morning went on, so I chose to layer a black turtleneck under a silk slip dress.

As always, brunch was *chef’s kiss*. I was the only one who treated myself to a mimosa (the others opted for coffee) and we all ordered “The Heap”, which is essentially just loaded hashbrowns. It kept me full through about 4:00 PM, which I was not mad about. Loved seeing my friends, it had been a while since I saw them since our schedules got a lot harder to plan around with school in full swing!

I checked the mail when I got home and realized that I had two surprises waiting for me! One was some CASETiFY phone cases I had ordered the week before, and the other was a postcard from my friend Erica who recently moved to go to graduate school in Indiana.

I had been wanting a new phone case for a while and immediately swapped out my old one for the black and pink one. It’s too cute, I’m obsessed!

After the high from opening my packages wore off, I decided I should try to get some work done. I was working to get ahead so I could relax when I went out of town in the coming days.

Once the weather warmed up even more, I took my studying outdoors and did some of my work from the comfort of my apartment complex’s rooftop deck. I love this area for relaxing, socializing, and studying, and I’m almost always alone up there! It really is a hidden gem of the complex and I can’t wait to watch football up here later in the season.

After a successful few hours of work, it was time for me to head to my evening class. I snapped this selfie right before heading out to campus. It’s weird having a class that only partially meets in person, but this was one of those days and I did feel a little relief of being able to get out of the house again.

When class ended, it was time to go home and start my evening routine. I had planned to get more work done after class, but I was feeling pretty drained and decided to call it an evening pretty early on. Overall, I had a good day and loved the combo of seeing friends, getting work done, and going to class!

What do your days typically look like? Everyone’s lives are turned upside down right now and we are all looking to add some normalcy to our daily and weekly routines. Let me know how you set a schedule for yourself!

-K

How I Celebrated Father’s Day 2019

Published on by Kayla2 Comments

My dad came to Austin yesterday to visit me. I was so excited, because that meant that I would actually get to (basically) spend Father’s Day with my dad. (The day before still counts, right?) I wasn’t going to visit home for two more weeks, so this was nice because I got to spend time with him earlier than anticipated!

My dad left Frisco super early in the morning, and ended up getting to Austin around 11. I hadn’t eaten yet, so brunch was super appealing. Per the recommendations of my coworkers and aunt, we decided on Kerbey Lane. My cinnamon-swirl pancakes were excellent (can you believe that they consider those half-sized?) and my dad let me share some of his breakfast potatoes. I left very full and very satisfied.

Once I had a substantial food baby from our great brunch, clearly only logical next step was to put a bathing suit and go paddle boarding. We took our stand-up paddle boards out on Lady Bird Lake for an hour, and that was more than enough time. We had a great time, but it was hot, we both got a little sunburnt, and were more than ready for the next stop on our list.

Up next: Barton Springs Pool! The water is a constant 68-70 degrees, so we were both ready to dive in after our toasty paddle board session. But be warned: while 68-70 degrees isn’t that bad in air temperature, it’s pretty dang chilly in water. I definitely got some swim team flashbacks after my jump into the frosty water.

After our (somewhat brief) swim, we laid out in the shade for a while! I liked people watching because Austin has so many interesting characters, especially at a landmark like Barton Springs. My dad, worn out from paddle boarding, took a short snooze.

When we were done at Barton Springs, we headed back home to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. We went to Hopdoddy, per the recommendation of my aunt, and it was really good! I’m going to post a full restaurant review soon (stay tuned!), so for now I’ll leave you with this picture of my truffle fries and shake.

Since we were back on SoCo, we decided to wander around and visit some more places I hadn’t seen when I was out with my friends last weekend. My favorite was the costume store Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds, while my dad liked the various cowboy hat and boots stores.

It was only a day trip for him, so he headed back home after we explored South Congress for a little while. I’m so glad I got to spend time with him, and hope he’ll come back again before the summer ends!

(I know he reads my blog, even though he never says anything, so if you’re reading this Dad, happy Father’s Day and I love you! )

-K

A Night Out on SoCo

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I had some friends come in town this weekend, so I decided that we should spend the evening exploring the South Congress district! I had heard a lot about SoCo but never actually been, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity.

We started out the night at Home Slice Pizza. The NY style pizza was just what I needed to get the evening started, it was quick, and really good, too!

After dinner, we decided to start wandering around and explore a little bit. SoCo is a super funky district with a lot of interesting stores, so I really liked seeing all of what the boutiques had to offer. My favorite part was probably this sign I found outside one of the stores we went into. (Sorry, Hannah B!)

As we continued exploring and window shopping, we found the flagship Kendra Scott store! I didn’t want to submit my two guy friends to the torture of watching me browse an expensive jewelry store, so I didn’t go inside. But now that I know where it is, I’ll definitely be coming back!

Despite being around 8 p.m., it was still sweltering hot. When I found a little food truck that sold ice cream pops, I bought one ASAP. I had to eat it real quick before it melted, but luckily the hot weather put me in the mood and I didn’t mind the brain freeze. (Side note: I think that was my first time trying strawberry ice cream, and it was really good!)

We finished up the night at Güero’s Taco Bar. Since I paid for parking, I got each of the boys to buy me a drink (I definitely profited, I think.) I’m a sucker for a frozen margarita (or really, frozen alcoholic beverages in general) so I really enjoyed these! There was fun live music for us to listen to as we sat out on the back patio.

Such a fun night! I’ll definitely be coming back to browse more stores and do a little more than just window shopping. Can’t wait to keep exploring more fun neighborhoods in Austin this summer!

-K

P.S. Like my #OOTD? You can find the details here!

A Surprise Visitor

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This weekend, my mom and sister came down to Austin to visit me for the long weekend! It had only been a week since I had seen them (and I’ll be seeing them next weekend, too,) but they wanted to come see me, and who am I to say no? I was expecting just my mom and Macy, but when I came down to the kitchen I was delighted to find out they brought my dog Chloe, too!

With a puppy in tow, we had to go to lunch somewhere that was dog-friendly. After some light research, we decided on Abel’s on the Lake, a restaurant on the banks of Lake Austin. The view and the food was great, and we had a great time (even Chloe, who is notoriously scared of new places and new people.)

We still had some free time in Austin before Macy and my mom had to head back to Frisco, so we decided to do some exploring and see some of the more iconic Austin photography sites! I’m hoping to do a compilation post of Austin’s most recognizable murals during my time here, so I’m really glad we were able to find this one while we were out.

It was scorching hot outside, so we didn’t stay out long. Macy, my mom, and Chloe all came up to my room with me to come see my new space. Chloe loved running around all the extra space and didn’t chew anything up (we were so proud!) To cool off, we played a few rounds of card games and BINGO before they had to hit the road.

I’m so glad they were able to come see me this weekend! I’ll be back in Frisco for a visit soon, but I appreciate the 8 hours of driving they did to come see me just for an afternoon. I anticipate more visitors over the course of the summer, and I’m looking forward to showing them more Austin sights as I make this city my own!

-K

Resting Beach Face

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This Easter weekend, my family decided to travel down to Corpus Christi and visit my sister! I flew in last night and spent the evening walking around down by the pier and going out to dinner. Last night’s sunset was spectacular, too!

Today is our only full day together in Corpus, so we decided to spend the majority of it at the beach. We spent a few hours in the late morning/early afternoon just laying out and enjoying the nice weather. I also flew some kites with my sister. They were very small and cute- perfect for novice kite-fliers like us.

We also have one of our dogs, Chloe, with us on this trip! She loves the beach because she just gets to lay around and chill out. I can’t say she likes going in the water very much, though.

We got sandwiches for lunch, and then headed out to our second activity of the day: we rented a golf cart and got to drive it around on the beach and through the residential neighborhoods. I had a great time, but I forgot to reapply sunblock, so my knees got a little burnt. Oops!

After our golf cart ride, my sister and I decided to go for a swim in the pool right outside our condo! I haven’t actually been swimming in a while (I don’t consider lounging in the hot tub during spring break “swimming”) so it was extra fun for me. I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years and have really missed being in the water.

My flight out tomorrow is at noon, and I’ll be so sad to leave! It’s almost finals week, so I would much rather stay here. I guess the pool at my apartment complex will have to suffice.

-K

Deep in the Heart of Texas

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I’ve been in Austin for a PRSSA trip since Wednesday, and I’m loving it! It is such a cool city with such a unique vibe. There hasn’t been as much burnt orange as I thought there would be, so I’m super grateful for that as well.

Yesterday was our first day touring PR agencies and I had a great day. I came with my friend Kendall and together we met two new friends, Jessica and Lexi. After our first agency visit we had free time to go to lunch and make our way to agency #2, so we found this fantastic pizza place: Taverna.

After lunch, we still had 3 hours to kill before our next agency visit, so we decided to forego an Uber ride and make the 35-minute walk. Downtown Austin had some great spots for photo ops, and we put Kendall’s new DSLR camera to good use!

The agencies we got to see were great, too! Yesterday, we went to Edelman, bread & Butter, and Giant Noise. After several hours of networking and learning more about the PR agency, we went home to relax before going out to eat and explore downtown more that evening.

Jessica and I outside of Giant Noise

The evening was… eventful. Kendall and I went out to eat at The Grove downtown and then decided to go get a cocktail at a bar. At the bar, we ended up meeting THE Baker Mayfield. The whole story of how that came to be deserves a post all to itself, so you can read more about that here.

Anyways, still in shock that I got to meet my idol, who was starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, 2017 Heisman trophy winner, #1 pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and is now the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. I’m just in shock a little. Only a little.

We’re going out to 6th Street again tonight before heading back to Norman tomorrow! Sad that this awesome trip is already coming to a close.

-K

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun

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Sadly, today was our last day in St. Augustine. We leave early tomorrow morning to make the exhausting 21-hour drive back, so we spent today relaxing and getting ready for what tomorrow has in store for us.

It’s been a little chilly and windy all week, but today it was warmer with less wind so we made today our full beach day! We played frisbee and volleyball, although we can’t really claim to be good at either. It was fun way to be active on the beach, though!

After our brief stint of attempting to be beach volleyball players, we took some time to lay out on the sand and relax. We’re hoping to come back from this trip with a tan (but don’t worry, we made sure to keep applying sunscreen!) I’m glad we didn’t spend every day of this trip out on the sand, but I’m very thankful for the time we got out there today.

When it was getting close to low tide, we took our bikes out again! This time, we drove 3 miles to Beachcomber Restaurant and 3 miles back. The crosswind made it pretty exhausting, but the fried ravioli and guac I got at Beachcomber made it doable.

I’m so sad that we leave tomorrow! This week has been so incredible and I’m so reluctant to go back to my real life. Thank you for following along with me and reading all about our spring break vacation. I’ll be getting back to more #OOTD posts soon!

-K

How We Roll

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Yesterday was so different and fun! We started out our morning by making a decadent brunch for all of us, complete with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and reheated french fries from Prohibition Kitchen. (We figured that fries were close enough to hashbrowns and could be eaten in the morning.) I’m a sucker for breakfast food, so it wasn’t hard to get me out of bed early when all my favorite things were being served!

After breakfast, we went to a local farmer’s market and craft fair, which was super cool. I loved seeing the things that other people grow, bake, and create. I personally didn’t buy anything, but a lot of my group bought baked goods or jewelry!

We needed a second round of caffeine while we were leaving the farmer’s market, so on the way back to the house we stopped at a coffee shop called The Kookaburra. It had been on my list of places I wanted to see and I’m so glad we went! I got “Aussie Iced,” which was cold brew with vanilla and cream, and it was super good. We couldn’t resist taking a picture with the turtle mural on the wall outside afterwards.

One of my favorite activities from yesterday was when we went biking on the beach! I haven’t ridden a bike in forever and was afraid I had forgotten how, but nope! It’s like I never took a day off. We rode down the beach 2.5 miles with the wind, and rode back up the street 2.5 miles back into the headwind. It was much less fun coming back home, but enjoyable anyways. I think we’ll take the bikes out again today for our full beach day!

After our biking workout, we came home and relaxed by the pool and in the hot tub. We were really tired so being able to lay out and read a book was the ideal afternoon. I am sure going to miss this place when we leave tomorrow!

Sorry this post was up a day late! Can’t wait to share our last day’s exploits later on. Stay tuned for those!

-K

The Oldest City in America

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It’s day three of our spring break trip, and we spent it in historic downtown St. Augustine! St. Augustine is the oldest city in America, and it has really cool old buildings and gorgeous Spanish architecture. This is what I was really looking forward to, since I love European-style architecture and wanted to be surrounded by that for a while.

St. Augustine has an old Spanish fort and since we didn’t want to pay $15 to get inside, we just walked around and took pictures outside. It was quite windy by the ocean but we managed to get a few shots with our hair under control!

For lunch, we went to a place called Prohibition Kitchen. I love soft pretzels (see: Tino’s Italian Eats & Sweets) and was extremely shocked when the largest pretzel I’ve ever seen came out hanging on a banana stand. I had ordered a side of fries as well, and wish I hadn’t because the pretzel was so much larger than expected. Everything was good, albeit more than I could handle!

My friends and I love taking pictures (as you can probably tell,) so after lunch we sought out some fun backgrounds and did another photoshoot! The biggest lesson I learned from today is that my iPhone 7 camera doesn’t really cut it anymore. I’m looking forward to the day I can upgrade to an iPhone with portrait mode, because it really changes the game.

After a long day of walking up and down St. George street browsing stores and people watching, we decided to stop for gourmet popsicles at The Hyppo! I got “Simply Strawberry” and it was the perfect end to our afternoon downtown.

We were worn out from being on our feet all day, so we came home and rested in the late afternoon. Now we’re making Italian food for dinner and are going to feast on spaghetti and garlic bread, and probably watch Queer Eye. I’m so sad this vacation is more than half over already!

-K

Low Tides, Good Vibes

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Today was our second full day in St. Augustine and we did so much! We went to the beach in the early afternoon and spent a while taking pictures and attempting to get a tan. It was kinda windy which made both of those objectives moderately difficult, since it made our hair unruly and the beach kinda cold. But we had a great time regardless!

After our afternoon on the sand, we came home and got ready to go out to eat. We went to a place called Salt Life Food Shack, and even though the service was slow, it was pretty good. I got “shack fries” which came with a special sauce. Despite not being able to figure out what was in it, I enjoyed them regardless. We love getting dressed up, so this was a great excuse!

After our dinner, we were craving a dessert so we headed downtown to get milkshakes at a place called Cousteau’s. I got a “Stevesie,” which they describe as a “vanilla milkshake with homemade cookie dough ganache. Cookie doughlicious.” I’m a slut for anything cookie dough, so this shake was the clear choice for me!

As we were leaving Cousteau’s, a group of boys who had been watching us said, “Jesus f****** Christ, those women were so beautiful.” Personally, we found that observation incredibly wholesome.

We want to see historic downtown more in the daylight, so that’s where we’re headed to tomorrow! It is so cool and I can’t wait to show you the cool places we discover.

-K