Zac Efron is my obsession, we're the same person. We're not actually here, it's like Janet and Michael Jackson. He just puts on his wig and a dress, and it's me, and you don't know that. It's one of the greatest mysteries of all time. ~Megan Fox

I have no idea what Megan Fox is blathering on about, but what I do know is that my obsession is Coconut Oil.  It helps with weight loss, hair care, skin care, digestion and immunity...just to name a few uses.  You can read more about it here. 

Do you use it?

2011 Obsessions

I have an addictive personality. Over the course of 2011, I became obsessed with the following items.

Please note: this is by no means an exhaustive list.

TV Obsession: Chopped

Book Obsession:  Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series

Music Obsession:  Any Drake and Nicki Minaj collaboration

Beauty Obsession:  Macademia Nut Oil Hair Therapy

Hobby Obsession:  Tablescaping

Style Obession:  Stella and Dot

And then it got awkward.

I love a skinny tie.  I love purple.
But I really love this voice.

I am, of course, talking about my totally inappropriate crush on Darren Criss.

I don't really think that he's that cute, (If you ask me, Mark Salling is the only Glee guy worth writing home about.) and he's not particularly smooth or a great dancer.  But his voice is absolutely what keeps me watching Glee.  In my opinion, the introduction of the Warblers is the only thing that got Glee through this season at all.  For me, I was pre-destined to be a Warblers fan because I've been a huge fan of the Tufts Beelzebubs since my first year of college.  (If you don't know, the Bubs are an all-male acapella group at Tufts University.  They appeared on the first season of NBC's The Sing Off and are the real voices -- besides Blaine and Kurt -- of the Warblers.  They also arrange most of the songs.) I knew I'd like the Warblers and then I heard Teenage Dream.  I was hooked.  They took that song to a whole new level, and I loved it. Loved it, loved it.  I thought that my love peaked with When I Get You Alone.  (Which I listened to on repeat for approximately three weeks.)  But I was so very wrong.

I bought the Warblers Glee album last week (well, I completed the album for $3 since I already owned most of the songs) and I've pretty much been listening to it non-stop since then.  Which is a little bit strange, since it's only about an hour long, and I have a desk job.  But it's absolutely phenomenal.  I tried for a long time to come up with a metaphor for the Darren's voice.  But I couldn't.  So this is the best I can do: Darren's voice is like ice cream; sweet and smooth and full.  I don't know if that makes sense, but I mean it as a compliment.  He has single-handedly made me like three songs that I previously hated:  Hey Soul Sister, Raise Your Glass and Teenage Dream.  This is particularly impressive because Katy Perry and Pink are in my artists-I-hate pantheon.  (I'm actually a closet Train fan, I just think that song was horrible.  But For Me, It's You and Get to Me are two of my favorites.)

At any rate, last week it got awkward because I heard Darren's Glee cover of Keane's Somewhere Only We Know and my obsession went to a whole new level.  Suddenly, I was following him on Facebook and trying to log into "live chats" with him in the middle of the work day. (And I'm going to be honest with you, I don't even actually know what a live chat is.  And I never found out because of "unexpectedly high traffic."  Apparently I'm not the only one with a Darren Criss problem.)  I watched him on Ellen.  I awkwardly googled him to find out his age (24), whether he's really gay (no) and if he has a solo album (EP only, available on iTunes).  I watched him on MTV. I listened to his top five indie bands on Spin.com.  I watched him on The Today Show.

And it was all because of this:



So there you have it, wildcats.  I'm officially a Gleek.  And, apparently, a stalker.

xo kate

The scars of your love they leave me breathless...

I love Britney.  I love Adele.  And I lovelovelove this mash up of Rolling in the Deep and Till the World Ends.  Seriously.  According to YouTube, it has 113,707 views.  It's possible that 112,000 of those have been me.  That's a little bit awkward, but I'm not even embarrassed about it.  Once you listen you'll know why.



I am, however, just the tiniest bit embarrassed about my obsession with Lauren Conrad.  I mean, I'm not a stalker or anything -- this isn't a hint that you should call the authorities -- but it is a little bit weird how much I like her.  You guys have probably noticed but you've been too polite to say anything about it to my face, right?  I admire your propriety -- I sure raised you right, wildcats. 

Incidently, this is exactly what I look
like when I'm getting ready in the morning.

Despite my sheepishness, I'm still super-excited about LC's new blog, The Beauty Department, which is exactly what you would expect from a beauty blog run by Ms. Laguna Beach and her make-up and hair team.  That statement is intended to be both a warning and a promise. My favorite part is the hair tutorials, since I pretty much wear the same make-up every single day no matter where I'm going.  But I'm really excited to wear an LC-signature ballerina bun with my Lauren Conrad dress and my black-winged eye liner.

Seriously, please don't call the cops.

xo kate