Reconstructing

Pardon the interruption

Thank you for coming by Glitter and the Girly Girl! Notice I haven't posted in awhile? That's because Glitter and the Girly Girl is currently being worked on. There is reconstruction, rebranding, re-a lot of things going on. It may look like I have abandoned the blog. It might seem dusty, there might be tumbleweed rolling across your screen. Can you hear crickets? It's actually the opposite. I have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. The hiatus won't be too much longer now. So hold tight! 

Thank you for understanding the silence. Can't wait to write for you again soon!

My Top 5 Favorite Mary Kay Products!

My love for Mary Kay products keeps growing. Last year, I took the leap to try it out and now my makeup and skin care products are slowly becoming dominantly Mary Kay. I personally was skeptical for awhile thinking that the quality just might not be there. Maybe the brand was outdated. Maybe it was just for the older ladies. Not for my twenty something self.

I keep proving myself wrong. And I am continually pleasantly surprised.

Here is a list of my top 5 favorite Mary Kay products so far!

5. True Dimensions Lipstick - Price: $18

If you are a lipstick girl like me, I would consider giving the True Dimensions Lipsticks a try. I bought two dark purple-like tones for Fall last year and just got three different pink shades for Spring/Summer. The pink shades came in a different kind of tube than my Fall tones. The tubes are not like anything I have seen! They are a funky cool style. The pigment is great and it actually has a nourishing feeling like Chapstick. It does the opposite of drying out my lips which is a big deal to me.

Photo by: Rachel Marshall 

Pictured: Pink Cherie - Wild About Pink - Sassy Fuchsia

4. Translucent Loose Powder - Price: $16

This was one of the first products I purchased from Mary Kay and it was love at first use. This is the very last thing I use when I do my makeup (until this week when I tried the finishing spray for the first time!) This is a white powder that blends on your face giving you a nice and complete finish. It helps to flow the highlighting/conturing/blush work together. I have oily skin and I love how this gives me more of a matte finish and helps with that oily shine. This is a great powder to use to freshen up your look mid-day or right before a night out when you are strapped for time.

Photo Credit: beautyfibible.com

3. Lash Intensity Mascara - Price: $18

The Intensity is real, ladies. *Insert hand palm emoji* Mary Kay JUST came out with the new Lash Intensity mascara and I've already used it! Let me tell you, it's drool worthy. Below are before and after photos from the first time I used it!

PS. I have two of these bad boys on hand for anyone that wants to buy and get it NOW.

2. TimeWise Night Solution Price: $32 | TimeWise Age-Fighting Moisturizer Price: $24

I grouped these two together because I love them together. These were also part of my very first Mary Kay order and I have re-ordered ever since. I don't think I can fully express how much I love the feeling of taking a hot shower at the end of the day and then using my night solution and moisturizer. Even if I can't fit in the shower, I always feel so refreshed after a long day when I wash my face and finish with those products. It feels like my skin is the soil of a plant and I am watering my skin when I apply the night solution and moisturizer. I can feel my skin soaking them up like the soil does with the water. Moisturizing is important and the sooner we start, the better!

Photo credit: Mary Kay

1. TimeWise Liquid Foundation Price: $22

I have always struggled with trying to find a foundation that I loved and wanted to continue to use. I decided to give the liquid foundation a try and was amazed at how well it worked for me. I have tried CoverGirl products that just didn't seem to cut it. They either didn't cover as well as I liked, wasn't the right shade, etc. I did use Mac for the Miss Kansas USA pageant. I did enjoy it for the pageant and on those glam nights out, but it felt too heavy and too much for every day use and work. The TimeWise Liquid Foundation has been a great fit for me. I can wear it casual and simple or make it glamorous for date night. I like that they have it in a "matte" form that helps with my oily complexion. There are so many shades to choose from and if one doesn't work for you, you can return it and get something different!

Photo credit: Mary Kay

Personal Mary Kay website: marykay.com/rachelnmsparkle

Band of Butterflies

Band of Butterflies

New butterflies moved in

and became cozy tenants in my tummy

living with no fear of leaving

any time soon.

They are camping out,

even thinking about building a house.

One said, “Let’s build this together,

we might be here forever.”

Bashful Butterfly lay down on her wings

and sighed, “I’ve never felt this way”

when Excited Butterfly swooped through

exclaiming, “I’ll be the one to decorate!”

Hopeless Romantic Butterfly was snuggled in bed

flipping through my memories like a magazine.

She helps me daydream about him…

   Suddenly, she receives a message from my eyes.

They are reporting the boy is coming closer to me.

Another message trickles down from my lips.

They tell her they were kissed

and my cheeks confirm they are getting warm.

My heart beats loudly to signal the butterflies’ cue.

Hopeless Romantic tosses the magazine of memories

in the air and yells, “HE IS KISSING HER!!!”

as she spreads out her wings to collect more moments.

Excitement Butterfly gasps, “YES!”

while all the butterflies gather together

and in harmony they sing out, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

The band of butterflies goes to work; fluttering their wings

and kissing my tummy with their light little pecks.

Credit

On Being The Girl That Dated That One Guy

"Weren't you guys talking for awhile?" 

I've got my drink in my hand and now I am wondering how this person would even know if I had talked to a certain guy or not.

For years my dating life has on display. With some of it, I've been very public and other stuff I've tried to be really private. But growing up in a town where everyone seems to be connected and going to college in a smaller town, people tend to find things out. And sometimes even I don't know how.

And even now in the present when I am in a relationship, my past is still asked about.

I'm still the girl that dated that one guy. And also the girl that talked to that one guy for awhile. I can't wait for the day where it's not, "Rachel Marshall, the girl that dated him and talked to him" label. I am dreaming of the day where it's "Rachel Marshall, the girl that does cool stuff. The girl that gets stuff done. The girl that inspires."

I guess I've come to find out that it bothers me to be tied to guys as my identifier. I want to be known more for my work. My passions. I want people to inquire about my creativity, my projects. Heck, gossip about my blog posts. Not my ex-boyfriend. I don't want to be solely tied to boys and dating.

It seems that women deal with this societal issue of relationships and dating. Great examples would be so much press coverage over Taylor Swift's past relationships even if she has been with Calvin Harris for a year, who Selena Gomez is dating now, and if Kourtney Kardashian is hooking up with Justin Bieber or not.

Yes, I dated him. Yep, I talked to him. Now let's talk about my latest article or my new adventure in Mary Kay or the chapbook I am trying to put together for a contest. Anything other than ghosts of my past.

Learning Season

There has been silence on my blog. There has been a pause in my writing. Know that it's not me losing interest or giving up or forgetting about my blog. It's actually kind of the opposite.

I noticed that my blog posts the last couple months have been inconsistent and almost even non-existent. I've done the natural thing to worry about my online presence as it feels like it's getting dusty. I've worried that people think I have given up or called it quits on my blog. Nope. Still glittering.

If you read my new year post, New Year, Better Me, I write a lot about wanting to be better this year. This is my post to let you know that I haven't given up on that goal. I reflected on what this period is and I have been titling it, Learning Season.

I have been learning a lot. In all sorts of aspects. Just like I want to.

I started this blog while I was in college and healing from a heartbreak. I learned a lot in college and I continued to share that on Glitter & The Girly Girl.

I started to feel like I pretty much mastered the art of majoring in my extracurricular activities and minoring in classes (and did it well). I found my voice as a girl with a passion for women empowerment, body image, and other girly issues.

I even felt like I knew just about every in and out, nook and corner of the single life. I picked apart, put together, analyzed, categorized and romanticized almost every angle, view, and page of dating life for my age group. From breakups, hookups, drunken nights, flirty texts, friends with benefits, and every side to the word "cheat."

I was constantly observing and writing as a single woman for four years. That's a chunk of time. That's a whole high school career and college (if you are lucky). 

But now those chapters are done and written. I am back in class, starting new beginnings, and learning a lot of new things that take a lot of time and patience and strength. I don't know a lot of things, but I am trying to learn a lot of good and valuable stuff so I can then share it all here, with you.

I've typically been very open about my life on the Internet. But I have enjoyed experiencing, learning, and making progress in private. It makes me more excited to reveal and write in retrospect and after the fact of accomplishing goals I have for this year. So a lot of my future posts at first will be written in the past tense.

So know that I am not done with Glitter & The Girly Girl. I am just in a learning season. I've been excited, enthusiastic, and constantly trying to be proactive despite overwhelm, fear, and the general growing pains that come with learning something new. Especially when I am learning in multiple areas of my life.

Can't wait to write again. I know it's going to be great. I just need to be patient. :)

Inspired to do your own learning season? What new things are you learning?

Your New Beauty Consultant

I was a preschool girl when I wore makeup for the first time.

I had my very first dance recital and it's recommended when you are on stage to wear makeup so you aren't washed out by the lights. I think my mom just put a little mascara on my little girl lashes, some blush on my cheeks, and lipstick for my smile that I still hadn't quite mastered at the age of 5.

It would become an annual thing. Every summer when my dance recital rolled around, I would get to wear makeup.

In middle school, I experimented with eyeliner.

By high school, I was using Covergirl and Maybelline and the other big name makeup brands you find at grocery stores and drugstores. I used it for years. I've gone through countless numbers of tubes of the what seems like a hundred different "Lash Blast" Covergirl mascaras. I actually have a tube in my current collection of makeup.

It seemed that people assumed that I was a makeup master with my girly nature, style people have claimed to think I have, and how I would wear my makeup. But in the last couple years, I would admit, I actually wasn't that makeup saavy. What was highlighter and how do you even use it? I didn't know.

When I was preparing to compete in Miss Kansas USA, I thought I needed to step up my makeup game. My drugstore makeup probably wasn't going to cut it under the stage lights and around what I knew would be glamorous girls that were using brands such as Mac and Nars and such.

I spent hours at the MAC makeup counter at the mall getting schooled in makeup and what would be best for me. And then spent way too much money (but hey, I fundraised for it!). I do love the Mac products I bought and I am still finishing them out (over a year later, they still are going!), but I knew I couldn't be totally loyal to that brand because it wasn't exactly the best every day makeup for me and I still think it's a tad too pricey for my bank account.

When I first started practicing with my Mac products before competing in Miss Kansas USA

In April of 2015, I was contacted by Emily Flett, a Mary Kay consultant, and I decided to do a one-on-one facial with her. I went again for a color appointment and she taught me how to highlight and contour and I found makeup that fit well for me and what I wanted. I even got a couple skin care products, which was a big step for me!

Skin care is something I was told about and read about when I was in high school and battling those teenage pimples. But during college and after, I didn't have those teenage pimples and I was completely okay with just using my Clean & Clear cleanser and calling it day. But now I am starting to enter the age of being told that I should be taking good care of my skin now and it will be good for me in the long run.

So I started moisturizing for the first time in my life and I am not going back. Call it a life changer.

In my first meeting with Emily, she immediately told me I should do Mary Kay and that I would be good at it. She knew about my experience starting BUILD Beauty and my Miss Kansas USA journey and the like. I told her no.

And then she asked me I don't even know how many more times and I continued to say no and sometimes a "Ehhhh...I'll thhhiiinnnkk about it."

Then finally I gave in. I said yes. Signed the contract. And here I am.

The more I have reflected, pondered, and processed this decision, I feel more confident and happy I agreed to do this. I am finally at a point in my life that I am starting to settle into the Big Girl World and I found myself starting to ask, "So, this is it?"

As I have been getting things prepared for my Mary Kay adventure, I found my passion and energy for women empowerment in a dusty corner of my heart. I have been so focused on getting myself grounded in the Big Girl World, that I have put aside my passions.

I have already been wiping off the dust excitedly and anxiously and I am starting to feel those same eager, scared, and ecstatic feelings I had when starting BUILD Beauty. I think about the lives of women that I can touch and impact through this endeavor.

What I like about the idea of being a Mary Kay Consultant is that I am selling and teaching more than one concept. 

I will be able to help women learn and find the right makeup products for them so they can feel confident in that big job interview, glam during girls night, beautiful at work, and sexy on those date nights with a cute boy.

Makeup I did myself for a wedding I was recently in. Almost every product used was Mary Kay!

On the other side of Mary Kay, I will be able to teach women about skin care and taking good care of their face. That way they can feel beautiful and confident in their own skin when they want to go makeup free. Recently I went completely makeup free for a week straight. I feel like my Mary Kay skin products have improved my skin.

From the week I went totally makeup free!

I've gotten to that point of thinking I am quite beautiful without the makeup too. I want women to feel that.

So what happens?

Do you want me to be your beauty consultant?
Here are just some of the endless possibilities.

Book a one-on-one consultation with me | Have a party with your BFFs | Virtual party | For my long distance friends, we can have a Skype date! | Coffee date | Email me rachelnmsparkle@marykay.com | Ask me to join my closed Facebook Group: Rachel Marshall - Beauty Community | Text me | Browse & Buy from my website marykay.com/rachelnmsparkle

I am excited to talk about beauty and more with you! To me, me being a Mary Kay Consultant is not just me selling products. It's me being there for you to teach, show, answer questions, offer advice about skin care, makeup, style, and beyond. It doesn't just stop at the products. There is more to confidence than just products. And I want to help you with that!

Can't wait to hear from you and I would be thrilled to be your beauty consultant!

New Year, Better Me

Growing pains. And the year of short hair.

2015. Man, 2015 and I were close. We struggled a lot. And we also accomplished a lot. It's a year that will get that special distant smile from me whenever it's mentioned. 

At first, 2015 and I weren't getting along. Three months into it and I was about ready to chalk it up as the worst year yet. Let me try to paint the picture of what it was like with my words...

In January, I was completely unemployed. I had no source of income. I was now a full year into job searching. I was getting pissed. I had been a good kid that started to search even before graduating. Here I was, someone that graduated with honors and received a degree that is one of the most flexible ones you can get. Opportunities were supposed to be endless. I had worked harder outside of the classroom gaining real life experience while in college. Why the hell did I not have a job yet?

A couple weeks into the year, I experienced intense pain in my left breast where I had a cist. An abscess developed. I was put on antibiotics and was in bed in pain for a couple days trying to let it run its course. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. In the meantime, I also had to schedule a biopsy to be done on my other breast that had a lump in it that my doctor wanted me to check out ASAP. My lady parts didn't like 2015 either at first. 

February rolled around and I was still jobless. I got really sick and it eventually led me to the emergency room when the minute clinic was worried about my tonsils. I was told I had tonsillitis and was given my second subscription for antibiotics. A weekend in bed was spent. 

March showed up and it felt like my tonsillitis was trying to show up again. I went to a throat, nose, and ear doctor whom told me that my tonsillitis actually never fully left. I essentially had tonsillitis for about a month and was prescribed my third round of antibiotics for the year. 

By March, I had spent more time on antibiotics than not.

Oh, and I was still jobless. I had spent a few weeks back at the golf course part time and despised it. When I wasn't there, I was at Starbucks applying for jobs and writing as much as I could. It was when I was seeing my doctor about my abscess that I got the email that Elite Daily wanted me to be a contributing writer. During my time of unemployment and sickness, I also had my first article published on Thought Catalog. When I was bed ridden with tonsillitis that first weekend, I developed my website that would be dedicated to my writing for online publications and blog. 

I seem to never want to be stagnant. 

I had even tried to apply for unemployment and got denied. I had to defer my student loans another six months because I still didn't have a job and a way to start paying my loans every month. I started to feel my 23-year-old bright wide eyes that once was excited about opportunity and what I could do with my education and experience become dull. I started to question whether I had done enough in college. Did I not do well enough? Was I just not enough?

In March, I was asked to come and do an after school talk with the girls of the debate/forensics team at my old high school. They wanted me to talk about women empowerment, self-confidence, self-esteem, and the like. I was pretty much doing a BUILD Beauty gig. And here I was in one heck of a low time in my life. I was a recent college graduate and not much to show for it yet.

But I put together a presentation, I pulled out raw poetry I made for writing classes in college and I went in and I did it. I dove in and I opened myself and my life up to these girls to hopefully somehow empower and inspire their young hearts and minds. It was probably the best day of 2015 yet. I went in an insecure girl with an uncertain life and left that afternoon feeling a lot more reassured. It was as if those girls reminded me that maybe I kind of do have some of my stuff together.

Then eventually good things started to happen.

A weekend after that talk I gave, I, in the most random way, meet a guy from Iowa. At that time, I would have no idea how life changing that night would be. I didn't know how special he would come to be to me.

By the end of April, I got an email letting me know I landed a contract position at Black & Veatch as an Event Coordinator and I was going to help them with their 100 Year Anniversary Celebration. I cried in the bathroom of the golf course as I called my parents to tell them the news.

May 1, I stepped foot in Black & Veatch and got my first taste in the corporate world. I finally had my first big girl job almost a full year after graduating college. It was a mind blowing experience. I still am not over it.

Once that came, my life went 1,000mph. 

I moved out and got an apartment with Anna. With the move, I decided to buy new bedroom furniture on my own and design what would become my new space.

I bought a new car for the first time ever.

Anna and I adopted a kitty. #Liza

On a whim, I booked a trip to Colorado on my own to visit a friend and to spend time in the mountains.

And then I started a new relationship with that Iowa boy I mentioned earlier.

I even got a new job. I had no idea whether or not Black & Veatch would extend full employment to me when my contract was up at the end of the year, so I felt the pressure to find something and I wanted something more permanent. Now I had big girl bills to pay. I needed to find something solid. And I am so glad and thankful I did as an Event Coordinator at Jack Stack Barbecue.

I like to think I ended 2015 strong. As 2016 has greeted me, I have reflected on 2015 and what I want to accomplish and do in 2016. Jordan and I were talking about our goals for the year and he had thrown out the go-to phrase, "New Year, New You."

And I said, "Nah, I am thinking more 'New Year, Better Me.'"

When I think about last year, I feel like I exhausted the word, new. It was all about the new job, new apartment, new car, new cat, new job again, new boyfriend. It was all new, new, new. I am happy I was able to say it so much in 2015, but it's not going to be the theme so much in 2016. It's going to be better. Now that I have all these new things and have gotten to where I am today, I am at the point of, okay, now how the hell do I manage all this?!

My goals and desires for 2016 is to be and do better. I want to be better with money. Have a better diet. Learn how to be better at my job. Just be a better person. I've been working hard to establish myself and now I want to learn how to do all these big girl things better. And I already have some plans of action. ;)

As I wind down this post, I can't help but be overwhelmed with how crazy it is that my life has changed so much in a year. I am sitting at my desk in my room in my apartment I didn't have then and I have the lamp on. I had bought it for my cube when I worked at Black & Veatch in which I hadn't experienced yet a year ago. There is a picture of Jordan and I from my first Iowa State game. I still hadn't met him yet a year ago either. I have business cards from my current job next to that. All of this didn't exist a year ago. What a way to come in just a year.

Imagine what you can do. Don't give up. You might get pissed. You might not feel like enough. But you will eventually be happy. And you are enough. Even if sweet high school girls gently remind you one day. :) Just keep going. Please.

My 24-year-old eyes feel wide and sparkly again.

Hotline Bling: The Woman

Inspiration tapped me on the shoulder while I heard "Hotline Bling" by Drake on the way to work one morning. She asked, wouldn't it be cool if you did a female version that was from the woman's side? You should write that. Tweak and change some of the lyrics that will keep the song intact, but the perspective will be totally different from the woman's view. And so I obeyed. I did just that. This is what I produced.

Hotline Bling: The Woman

I used to call you on your

I used to, I used to…

I used to call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

Call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

And you know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

You know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

Ever since you left the city,

I got a reputation for myself now

And I’ve wanted you to find out

A matter of time, you'd know somehow

‘Cause ever since you left the city,

I started wearing less and goin’ out more

Tryin’ to numb the heart that you left torn

With glasses of champagne out on the dance floor

I used to call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

Call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

And you know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

You know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

Ever since you left the city, I, I, I

I’m just trying to go along

Like I’m fine and there’s nothing wrong

Going places, wanting to belong

Ever since you left the city,

I, I, I’ve been wanting something more

Running out of pages in my passport

Trying to find love I’ve never felt before

I used to call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

Call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

And you know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

You know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

These days, all you do is

Wonder if I’m runnin’ my hands down the back of someone else

Wonder if I’m rollin’ over to kiss the lips of someone else

Doing things you showed me, gettin’ sexy for someone else

I don’t need no one else

I don’t need nobody else, no

Why do I feel alone?

Why do I always have to go?

Used to always stay at home, be a good girl

I was in a zone, yeah,

I should just be by myself

Right now, I’m with someone else

I used to call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

Call you on your cell phone

Late night when I need your love

And you know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

You know when that hotline bling

That can only mean one thing

Ever since you left me

...

Original lyrics can be found here.

Big Girl Jobs, Cute Boyfriends & Adele's New Album

Phhhhhheeeeeeewwwwwssshhhhhh!

That was just me blowing off the dust on my blog. Holy cats, it's been over a month since I have written to you on here. This post will be more of a life update my list of excuses as to why I haven't blogged.  But for real, once you get done reading, you might understand the hiatus.

The last post was created the week I had off in between jobs. And right before quite a whirlwind weekend spent with someone I like (and also referenced in my last post). So in the month of blog silence, the following happened:

• I started a new job as an event coordinator at Jack Stack Barbecue
• A cute boy asked me to be his girlfriend
• I turned 24
• Justin Bieber, Adele, and Coldplay all dropped new albums 
• Bought a lot of Christmas decorations and decorated the apartment with Anna

First, the job. 

Do you guys miss the "Girly Girl Goes Corporate" rambles? So I went from working at Black & Veatch headquarters that had thousands of employees to the cozy Catering and Private Dining offices of Jack Stack Barbecue. (Funny though, Black & Veatch is one of our biggest clients.) We got brand new cubes and the couple rounds of new office supplies made me feel like it was Christmas. 

Now let me tell you. It has been information overload. I've crammed and learned so much in the last month there. (And have also eaten a lot of barbecue.) So I experienced some growing pains and had to use my patience to learn. Something I have learned is that business is booming and I will never be bored. I will always be busy.  I've come to find that Jack Stack is quite popular and a staple in Kansas City. It's been a great experience so far and a neat Kansas City company to work for. Oh, and I do not work in the restaurants, I have my own cozy cube in an office. :)

My favorite Jack Stack foods so far: Pulled pork, cheesy corn bake (PLEASE try it if you haven't had it before!), loaded baked potato, and I was not lied to when people raved about the burnt ends.

So, the boy.

His name is Jordan. He was born and raised in Iowa and lives in Des Moines. Some may have wondered why I have posted quite a bit about Des Moines. Now you know! Question I get the most: Wait, so, how did you guys meet? Short version: He was in Kansas City back in March for the Big 12 tournament when Iowa State beat KU in the championship. (Sorry, Jayhawks to bring up the sore topic ;) ) He was at P&L celebrating and I was at P&L not for anything related to the basketball tournament. We very randomly met and here I am in a relationship with the guy. Little did I know what that chance meeting would turn into.

So I really did some deep dust scraping on that girlfriend label. This whole relationship thing was new and different for him too, so you should have seen how funny, ridiculous, and awkward we were when trying to figure out how to make it "Facebook official." 

We've been having fun on date nights in our cities and meeting each other's family and friends!

My favorite things about Jordan: How cute he is, he is super smart, and a master of using GIFs in text message conversations. This guy can make me laugh until I cry. 

Now I feel like I need to list my favorite songs off Adele's new album.

My favorite songs off Adele's new album:

1. When We Were Young

2. Remedy

3. Water Under The Bridge

4. Love In The Dark

5. Can't Let Go (Deluxe Album Song)

6. Hello (Because of course.)

If someone said I could only listen to one song off that album forever and ever, I would pick "Can't Let Go."

It's been birthdays on birthdays on birthdays and it's definitely the holiday season. Been spending lots of time with family and friends. I am glad to finally have some time to myself though. Myself has not been on the top of my list lately so I am working to change that and focus a little more on me. :)

Starbucks: How It's More Than PSL Drinks And Red Cups To Me

Yes, the red cups are here. 

Just like the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) marks the start of Fall for many people across the world, the red cup let's us know that the holidays are not far from us. But this post isn't all about how excited I am to be drinking from my first red cup of the season at this very moment. Nope. To me, Starbucks has become more than "basic" jokes and cool Instagram posts of my drinks.

It wasn't until college that I started to get into Starbucks and actually be able to afford to indulge in it from time to time. My senior year, I started to have coffee dates.

I also was now working in the President's Office at Emporia State University. I worked a Monday shift with a student I hadn't met before until working in the office. He was a few years older than me, married, and had spent time working in the Navy before his time at ESU. One Monday, he was going to the Union to get a Starbucks drink and offered to get me one too. Little did I know, this would be a weekly tradition we would later dub, "Coffee Monday."

Every Monday, during our shift he would grab us coffee and we would work, job search, talk about class, and anything else in between. We would look over each other's resumes that we were constantly tweaking and he would offer advice about a boy I had been seeing. It was a nice little treat to look forward to every Monday. I even got to have coffee at our Emporia Starbucks with him and his wife one time and was able to enjoy each other's company.

Since graduating, I am now in Kansas City and him and his wife are living in Colorado. We have been able to keep in touch and he has continued to be a great friend and a cheerleader. Last month, on a Sunday, I asked for his email and through the Starbucks website, I was able to send him a Starbucks e-gift card and told him we would have a virtual coffee Monday the next day. That Monday, I went to Starbucks over my lunch break and sent him a picture of it over Snapchat and he did the same.

I've been thankful for Starbucks which helped build a friendship and also gives us the capabilities to keep a little tradition going despite the distance. 

Starbucks has also become a happy place for me. After graduating from college, I moved back home and was soon training to compete in Miss Kansas USA and also enduring that hard job search as a recent college grad. I was transitioning from living the college life for the last four years, going through the funk of a relationship gone wrong, and the break up that came.

A new Starbucks opened close to home so I started to go there and use it as an office because I couldn't be in my bed all the time. I would order my drink and park at a table for hours. During my time there, I was working on fundraising efforts for the pageant, job applications, networking, and writing.

Pageant work, job searching, writing. Repeat. 

While I was unemployed, I didn't want to be stagnant. The pageant helped me personally work on myself in many ways and I wanted to focus on my blog and get my writing seen. Blog posts and articles were born, written, and sent in when I was at Starbucks. Poems were revised and tweaked. It was my time to be in the zone alone and get things done.

After a while, a couple baristas knew me by name and knew my order all the way down to the "no whip cream" when I wanted it on ice. I appreciated their friendly nature every time I chose to come in and be there for hours.

Eventually I got my first big girl job and life has taken off even faster. My Starbucks afternoons became nonexistent. This week, I am in between ending my first job last week and starting my new one next week. I scheduled a whole afternoon today to come to the Starbucks down the road from my apartment and dedicate it to my blog work.

This time I am not competing in a pageant. I'll be starting a new job next week. All I need to do is write and work on my blog. (And be excited to spend the weekend with someone I like ;) ) While my life has changed a lot over the last year, I still get the excited feeling to be here.

Thank you, Starbucks for helping me get through stressful days, being a comfort, a happy place, somewhere I can work, and spend time with my passion. Your yummy drinks delight my taste buds and make my tummy happy.

A loyal customer & gold card member,

*This post was not sponsored. It is strictly my own opinion.