You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too...

I always thought that I had the world's most common birthday.  Everywhere I've ever been -- schools, jobs, social gatherings of all kinds -- someone has shared my birthday with me.  Turns out, according to this chart that I'm weirdly fascinated with, March 12 is a relatively unpopular birthday.  My mind is blown.  Also, apparently people be gettin' busy over the holidays -- look at all those September birthdays!

What about yours?

xo kate

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

xo kate

Dear Kate, I'm glad you came.

Oh hey Kate! Happy Birthday!

We may have had a love/hate relationship with Wellesley College, but one thing is for sure: welovetheychuters.  And I'm so glad you came to Wellesley and into my life.  

Thank you for being in my life. Thank you making it better. Thank you for the hummus dates. The Pirate Club.  The Sox games. The Pats passion. The Ups.  And the Downs.  Texts during Gossip Girl.

Listening. Talking. Joking. Laughing. The bump-it.  My weird steering wheel. The Harp. The bench story. Oz.  90210 day.  Camp Cody for Boys. Hating both Peyton Manning and Peyton Sawyer. Lactose intolerance. Planking in Boston. All black Sox caps. The dance move with the foot kick. 

My universe wouldn't be the same.  I'm glad you came.

Happy happy happy Birthday!

Dear Danielle

Today you turn thirty.

It's not clear what happens when this all burn out.

You are here...

I miss this view.

...and I am here.

But this one is nice too.

I am currently 443 miles away, but I really would walk the 5 days and 15 hours google tells me it would take to get to you if I could.

And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.

I'd buy you some of these...

Bianca is my favorite.
It's the only thing Serena and I have in common.

...make you one of these...

And you know it would be epic.  Once upon a time
I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart.

...bake you some of these.

Sugar free, of course.

We'd listen to this...

...or this...

...while eating this...

I'd let you get all the flavors cuz it's your birthday. 

...or this...

Probably not homemade on account of the fire.

...or these.

Turns out everyone likes them.

I'd take you here...

To hang with Clooney and the gang.

...or here.

To see Pauly D and Clinton Sparks. 

So we could do this...

I'd make this face the whole time.  I wouldn't get many dates, but you would laugh.

...or this...

Our thighs would totes be that skinny.

...and a little of this...

Bottle service, bitches.

...or even, just this.

My favorite thing to do with you.

I miss you all the time and wish that you would please just move to DC already.  I can't tell you how sad I am that I don't get to celebrate with you today.  This planet has been better off for the last thirty years that you've been on it.  I hope that in my absence you take the time to celebrate fabulous, inspiring, phenomenal you.

And then, do a little of this...

You deserve it.  And you look damn good doing it.

Happy 30th, Ms. Festino.  I love you more than Disney musicals and fancy shoes.

xo kate

The last days of my twenties

I'm turning thirty next week.

Yep. I'm horrified too. And thus, I'm stocking up on retinol, vitamin d, and fish oil.  I'm also hoping to buy that neat meatloaf magic thing, but that is neither here nor there...

A friend told me that now is the time to take pause and reflect on the journey that was my twenties;  I should think about how I've grown, changed, and found my true self.

Hrmph. That sounded dull and cliche, so instead I just putzed around on Facebook and stumbled upon this gem on Melissa's page...

They say that a picture worth a thousand words, and I think this shot, taken around the time of my 21st birthday, sums it alllll up.  Wouldn't you agree?

So let's just crack on, shall we?  Ready or not, thirty--here I come. 

until next year...

One last time, Happy Birthday, Doctor.

Happy Birthday, LC

As you all know, I lovelovelove Lauren Conrad.  And it's her 26th birthday today!  Happy Birthday, Ms. Laguna.  We're all happy to say we knew you whenish.

Celebrate Lauren's Bday with the opening theme song from The Hills.  The actual opening credits aren't on YouTube, but I did find this slightly stalkerish Lauren-only version.  Awkward.


Also, I'd be remiss not to mention the tragic loss of Mr. Don Cornelius today.  Baby E and I will be watching the three-disc Soul Train DVD special that was my Christmas gift (thank you?) to celebrate the life of this music legend.

xo kate

PS. I do recall that I used to blog about things that weren't celebrities.  I promise I'll be back to that when I have time to think about anything substantial other than second grade.  

PS

Happy Birthday Princess Kate!  (nope, not me.)

xo kate

I shall never love anyone as I love my sisters.

It's my sister's 30th birthday and this weekend we are shopping for her wedding dress.  The reality of both those things is simultaneously terribly exciting and absolutely terrifying.  We're growing up, and I guess I have to deal with that.  But no matter who we marry or where we live or what kind of trouble we get ourselves into, one thing will not change -- until I'm old and gray, I'll know that my sister is the very best part of me.  Happy Birthday, Win.  I love you more than words.

xo kate

Happy Birthday Lauren!

I'm a space bound rocket ship and your heart's the moon, and I'm aiming right at you.

After missing so many important birthdays (Alan Thicke - for shame!) there's one birthday I can remember.  That's right, today is my boy Eminem's 39th birthday.  Yep, 39.  Something people forget about Eminem is that all of his success began after he was twenty-five, something that is so rare in the Bieber-era.  Luckily Jay-Z has made rapping after the age of 40 awesome, so I don't have to worry about Marshall's final year of the thirties being his final year of rapping.  I hope that day never comes.

I've written a lot about Eminem in this space, so I won't bored you again with what an amazing artist he is (you can click the Eminem tag at right to remember that), but just say that in a world where most of us are just trying to find a way to matter, Eminem's music has mattered to me.  It has been a constant in my life for over 10 years, and helped me to make friends (LB, that's you) and enemies (at least briefly).  If you've still not tried it, I hope you do.

I'll leave you with his latest.  Enjoy.



xo katie

Happy Birthday, JTT!

Okay, guys, so I totally don't have time to be doing this, since who knows that I'm trying to teach tomorrow, but it's a really important day.  Today is the day that Jonathan Taylor Thomas, JTT, turns 30.

Yep, you read that right -- JTT is 30.

 Eat your hearts out, ladies.

xo kate

And these are the days that never end.

Twenty some-odd years ago, on this very day, at this very minute (high noon) one of my very bests was born. Happy Birthday, Kate!

Eight years ago, in a small common room on the Wellesley campus, I met Kate for the first time. We were preparing to serve on the same res life staff, and we were being forced to participate in a terrible ice-breaker. To be honest, I can't remember the rules or objective of this particular ice-breaker, but they are all terrible, aren't they? Anyway, I don't remember the game. I don't remember what I said. I don't remember what anyone else said. I only remember that Kate told a story about a bench. A very famous bench in her hometown of Hanover. It was random. And it was funny. It made me laugh. And then we were friends.

That October, the Sox almost went to the World Series. During that ALCS series, I learned to hate Joe Buck and mock Jeter's love of wine coolers. I learned to love Baseball. Kate taught me to love it. Night after night, we watched them cowboy up, and then we watched with the band of idiots as it all went downhill with Grady Little's controversial decision. We were so mad. (Boston hasn't forgotten, Mr. Little.)

In 2004, I graduated Wellesley. My parents threw me a party and there was a dj. Kate and I belted out the lyrics to Meatloaf and we forced people to dance with us when Kevin Little's song took over the speaker. He was a one-hit wonder so I'm pretty sure you know the song I'm talking about. That song was so effing fantastic. It still is. (The dance floor thanks you, Mr. Little.)



In 2006, Kate graduated Wellesley. And moved to Boston. Praise Jesus.

Last year, Kate and I joked about starting a blog. Cause we had shit to say.

In 2011...yesterday in fact, Kate and I realized that we were both going to marry DJs. She's going to wed Mr. Clinton Sparks, while I plan to be Mrs. Pauly D...so long as he passes std tests...twice. And if we can't marry them, at the very least they should spin at our weddings to other men.

And so in honor of our years of friendship, and many many more years to come, and Kate's birthday, it seems only fitting that I welcome a very special musician to the wolfpack, Meatloaf.

I don't think Meatloaf's membership requires much explanation. Instead of telling you about this bat out of hell, I'll let one of his most ahhhmazing songs speak on his behalf instead.

Like so many others, you might think the song is about anal sex. But it is not. Meatloaf says so. And he's in the pack now, so I take him at his word. If you still have doubts, this diagram might help.



Yep, I'm sure that cleared things up for ya.

The video might be weird and creepy, but the piano and motorcycle and chandelier are just plain awesome and beautiful and badass. Just like Kate.

Enjoy. And Happy Birthday to Kate! I love you times 1 billion.




xoxo, wildcat.

It's someone's special day!

My very favorite wildcat is celebrating her birthday today!  To honor this momentous occasion, I'm going to share with you some of the things that I love about my co-author extraordinaire.

The birthday girl with her birthday dessert.
You can't tell from the picture, but the birthday dress was entirely gold sequins.
And she looked phenomenal.  

Besides being a fantastic wildcat -- as evidence by her wit, charm and sophistication on this blog -- the birthday girl is also one of my best friends.  Danielle is also one of those unique, fun-loving souls that can make everything feel like an adventure.  Even the most mundane and boring chores (like dorm meetings or studying) are fun when you're with her.  And she can make seemingly ordinary outings -- like stopping for hummus on a Tuesday night in January -- feel like an event.  For reals, I'd even go to the DMV or the dentist with this chick.  She's that much fun.  And she can dance like nobody's business.  Which probably wouldn't be very useful at the DMV or the dentist but I felt like it was worth mentioning.

But, this convivial spirit is not all just fun and fireworks.  She is also a loyal, trustworthy friend and the kind of person that you want on your side.  Danielle is the first person to reach out when a friend is in need, and she comes running in, armed with whatever you may need: a listening ear, sage advice, a snarky comment, hard liquor, a big hug or all of the above.

When I first met Danielle, I couldn't understand why she was still surrounded by so many people from her past -- she is remarkably close to her family and childhood cohorts, as well as dorm mates and friends from all avenues of her life -- but as I got to know her, I realized that she's the kind of person that once she's in your life, you can't imagine ever being without.  You know, like the way you feel about your iPod, or indoor plumbing.

Danielle and I first met in college, where pretty much every person on campus wanted to be in her wolfpack.  I'm so happy that I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to be.  Happy Birthday, wildcat.  Here's to many more.

xo kate

On my house, on my job, on my loot, my shoes, my shirt, my crew, my mind, my father's last name

Yet another early-ninties TV star's birthday has come and gone without proper acknowledgement from me.  Apparently you cannot count on me for timely recognition of these monumental events.  Hopefully what I lack in punctuality I make up for in enthusiasm.

Canadian masterpiece, Mr. Alan Thicke -- better known as Dr. Jason Seaver, patiarch of the Growing Pains clan -- turned 64 yesterday.  I wish that I could sing you my version of the Growing Pains theme song, because it's pretty moving, but it's really an opus to be experienced live. Plus, my duet partner isn't here and without him, I can't really do it justice.  For now, relive the magic with this:

This legend is not only a sitcom star, singer/song-writer and game show host and star of the greatest TV theme song of all time, he is also the father of four of my favorite people.

First, of course, Alan's son, Robin Thicke, is obviously a hugely talented R&B singer whose songs are so sexy they should be illegal. Robin collaborated with Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf) and had his song covered by crazy-talented Darren Criss on Glee this season, so he's pretty much a TV star as well.

The many sons of Alan Thicke.

Mike Seaver -- also known as Kirk Cameron -- was Dr. Seaver's TV son and also one of my very first crushes.  (He fell somewhere in between Billy Joel and Jason Priestley.)  Kirk's on-screen antics and apartment-over-the-garage living was the stuff of pre-teen dreams.  Personally, I really wanted Mike to end up with Julie, the nanny, but Kirk's real-life romance with Chelsea Noble, who played Kate, made him end up with her.  Learning this news at age six may have been the first time I experienced celebrity gossip.  Unfortunately, Mr. Cameron only stars in Christian-themed movies now, which don't get a whole lot of play at the Chambers.

Mr. Thicke's next son has definitely had the biggest impact on show business, and my personal life.  In season seven of Growing Pains, Jason and his wife, Maggie, took in foster son, Luke Brower, played to perfection by the one, the only, Leonardo DiCaprio.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  I don't think anymore explanation is needed on this one.

You might that this is all -- I mean, seriously, how much talent could one man's DNA hold? -- but no!  I recently discovered (thank you, Wikipedia) that Mr. Thicke is also the god-father of Comedy Central darling Daniel Tosh, host of Tosh.0 and possibly the funniest person on TV/the internet right now.  For reals, you can look it up.  DDT (Daniel Dwight Tosh) is absolutely hysterical and if you aren't watching him you should start. 

So, thank you Alan, for all you've given us.  Happy Birthday and welcome to the wolfpack.  And remember, we're nowhere near the end, the best is ready to begin...

xo kate

Buon Compleanno!

Happy Birthday to my lovely roommate, JG.

(image via mary ruffle)

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