Now that 2013 is over, can I take a nap?

When I was a kid, I spent every New Year's Eve reading through old diary entries. Now that I'm a grown up, I have a blog to scroll through when I'm feeling nostalgic. Without even having to look through a year of entries, I can tell you that 2013 has been one of the busiest, most exciting years of my life. Stressful at times, but for the most part, quite rewarding. Here's a brief look back at the past year.

In Spring 2013, I testified for the Oregon State House of Representatives and Senate in support of a bill to ban minors under age 18 from using indoor tanning beds.

Testifying for the Oregon State House Health Care Committee.

Ultimately, the bill passed, and I was invited to the signing ceremony with Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. The new law goes into effect in January 2014, so I'll be following closely to see how tanning salons handle compliance with the new restrictions.

Oregon teen tanning ban bill signing ceremony.

Meanwhile, I was also pretty busy planning the 2nd Annual Portland Melanoma Walk, which took place in May 2013. The event raised nearly $40,000, which was more than double our original goal!

Portland Melanoma Walk 2013.

More Portland Melanoma Walk.

Throughout the year, I got to travel to some pretty exciting places, including New Orleans, the Dominican Republic, Washington DC, Boston, and Sonoma Valley.

New Orleans in Spring 2013.

My best friend's bachelorette party in Sonoma.

Jessica's wedding week in Punta Cana.

Chelsea's bachelorette at the Oregon Coast.

Wine tasting with Tim and his family in Napa.

Several very important people in my life got married in 2013, including my friends Jessica, Chelsea, and Liz, my cousin Jameson, and my brother Andrew.

The bride and her MOH.

 

My brother's wedding in August 2013.

Me and Tim at Chelsea's wedding.

And let's not forget: I survived a three-mile run while being pelted with paint.

Me and Debbie at the Color Run in Fall 2013.

Earlier this month, as 2013 began to wind down, I started wondering whether it would be possible to "outdo" myself in 2014. How could I possibly schedule more than 10 trips or beat my fundraising goal again? While there are never any guarantees, I have a feeling that 2014 has some pretty exciting things in store for me. My philosophy on life these days can be summed up by a short quote from Louis Pasteur: "Chance favors the prepared mind." After years of preparation, I'm definitely ready to make my mark on the world.

With that, I wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe New Year. 

Cheers,
Katie

My best friend's wedding

Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel.

My BFF since high school got married over the weekend! I survived with only minor injuries: a champagne bottle prematurely exploded on my thumb while we were getting our hair and makeup done and then I stepped on a shard of glass at the reception (dropping your wine glass on the dance floor is such a party foul, people!)

Even though much of my spring and summer have been full of weddings and wedding-related activities (exhibits A, B, C, and D), I'm still such a newbie at the whole wedding thing. When Liz asked me to be her maid of honor, I had never been in a wedding party before. Clueless but determined to be the best MOH I could be, I ordered books from Amazon.com with titles like The Knot Bridesmaid Handbook: Help the Bride Shine Without Losing Your Mind. Despite months of preparation, I still don't think I was prepared for how emotional I would be on Saturday. Aside from being pee-my-pants nervous for giving my toast, there's something to be said about seeing your close friends so incredibly happy and in love. Basically, it was a blast, and I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends.

I will stop being such a cheeseball now. Just needed to get it out of my system. I didn't take any photos at the wedding because my phone was shoved in the back of a locker, but here are a few I snagged from the photo booth. P.S. Loved my eggplant-colored bridesmaid dress-- I'm actually looking forward to wearing it again. Oh, and Tim: Thank you for being the best wedding date ever.

I rented the runway

Me and Tim at my friend's wedding.

Saturday night was our first wedding of the summer. Instead of buying a new dress (or recycling an old one), I caved and finally ordered from Rent the Runway. If you're not already familiar with RTR, it's a web-based company that let's you rent designer dresses and gowns for special occasions. The rental costs are a little steep (about $70 to $200 to rent most cocktail dresses for the weekend), but it's such a fun concept. I've always wanted to try one of Herve Leger's iconic bandage dresses, but buying one would cost more than a month's rent.

Renting one for the weekend set me back about $125 (including round-trip shipping and insurance), and I feel like it was totally worth it to get to play dress up for the night. My favorite part of the website is that it features photos and reviews of each dress by real women so that you can get a better idea of what size to order and if the style would be flattering for your body type. I wish more online shopping sites offered customer photos in addition to reviews.

Anyhow, I highly recommend the service, and I can't wait to rent again!

Hello, summer

Wine tasting in Sonoma for Liz's bachelorette.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I've been caught up in vacation mode for the past two weeks. The last weekend in June I spent in Sonoma Valley for my best friend's much-anticipated bachelorette party. We stayed in a gorgeous "chateau," tasted countless varieties of wine, and had a Real Housewives themed in-house catered dinner. Everything was over the top and fabulous.

After the mini-vacay, I had a super short work week. I spent the 4th with my boyfriend and some of our friends and had so much fun. I won't lie: I absolutely love summer. I know I can't bathe in the sun all day like I used to, but what's better than spending a hot day by the pool, sipping sangria with a handful of close friends? Nada.

To my credit, I plowed through my bottle of Neutrogena Beach Defense. Even Tim used it. Also a crowd pleaser: Neutrogena Wet Skin Spray SPF 50. I don't always trust spray on sunscreens (I've been burned too many times!), but I like how you can apply this one on damp skin.

I didn't take any photos on the 4th (whoops!), but I have plenty from the bachelorette weekend to make up for it. Here are a few of my favorites.

Liz and me.

Walking around the vineyards.

Champagne toast.

The house we rented.

Gearing up for wedding season

At the Oregon Coast, wind and rain are the norm, so I was thrilled to have such calm weather when I went to Canon Beach last weekend for my friend Chelsea's bridal shower/bachelorette party. A group of us stayed in a house, not unlike what I'm planning for Liz's bachelorette in CA later this month. Ack! Still need to figure out a few last minute details for that.

I've decided this summer is "the summer of the wedding." At one point between July and August, I have weddings four weekends in a row! I've been stalking Rent the Runway and trying to decide if I should recycle old dresses or splurge on a one-time designer rental. Decisions, decisions. Here are a few of my faves. One of my favorite parts of RTR is that they have customer photos for all the different dresses. You can see how they look on other women with your skin tone, body type, etc. which is sometimes hard to do when shopping online.

ERIN by erin fetherston Riding the Wave Sheath

Nanette Lepore Wild One Dress

Diane von Furstenberg Mint in Manhattan Shift

Herve Leger Peruvian Night Dress

"Drink bottled water and don't burn"

The Hard Rock, Punta Cana.

Hola! I made it back from the Dominican Republic in one piece. The whole trip was surreal. We'd be planning it for almost a year, so when we finally got there, I think we were all a little like, "Is this really happening?"

Boat and swimming excursion - so fun!

Punta Cana is truly unlike any place I've ever been. Granted, I'd never been to the Caribbean, nor had I visited a Spanish-speaking country before, but STILL. The Hard Rock resort was insane, and the beach was truly the perfect backdrop to my friend Jessica's wedding ceremony.

Gorgeous location for a wedding!

I am also very proud to share that I made it through the whole week without frying myself! On our shuttle from the Punta Cana airport to the resort, our driver warned us: "Drink bottled water and don't burn." I'd already heard that the Dominican sun can be incredibly intense, so as I mentioned in my last post before I left for vacation, I was a little worried about getting a sunburn. Some helpful hints that kept me from burning:

1. Don't skimp on the sunscreen. It takes about a shot glass or 1 oz. of sunscreen to adequately protect your whole body. When I packed for the trip, I calculated how much sunscreen to bring by assuming I'd need 1 oz. for every two hours I spent in the sun.
2. Reapply, reapply, reapply. Since we spent a lot of our time in the pool, I often reapplied my sunscreen more frequently than every two hours. For example, one afternoon we swam from about noon to 4 p.m. During those four hours, I reapplied SPF 30 to my face, neck, ears, and shoulders about five or six times. Some of my friends who didn't reapply as frequently ended up with severe sunburns and blisters.
3. Seek the shade. When possible, I hung out under the shade of a beach umbrella.
4. Create your own shade. I'm notorious for burning my scalp, so I made sure to bring a hat on the trip. It ended up being a huge lifesaver! The hat not only saved me from burning, but it also kept my crazy beach hair in check.

Proof that it's possible to go on vacation without burning.

Now it's back to the real world. I'm usually such a slave to my iPhone that I didn't think I was going to be able to unplug for the whole week. But I did! Aside from a few quick Facebook posts to check in with friends and family from home, work and email were the furthest things from my mind. A much needed mental vacation. Congratulations Dustin & Jessica! Thank you for planning such an amazing destination wedding.

Have you gone on any fun trips this spring? Or do you have any vacations planned for this summer? Anyone else been to the Dominican Republic?

P.S. One more day to enter my Fitbit giveaway! Please enter and share with your friends.

Jessica's getting married!

Jessica and me circa 2008 (note the tan).

Last weekend, I packed into a beach house with 12 other ladies to celebrate my friend Jessica's bachelorette. Jessica is an amazing friend, and after months and months of talking about it, I can't believe her wedding in Punta Cana is almost finally here.

Not long ago, Jessica mentioned that she had been reading my blog, and that she was super excited when I referred to her here and here.

"You didn't mention my name, but I knew it was me!"

Out to dinner with the girls. The bride-to-be is in pink.

So, as you get ready to celebrate your big day, Jessica, here is a post completely and totally dedicated to you!

Pole dancing class. Don't be fooled - it's harder than it looks.

Before Jessica met and subsequently fell in love with her fiance, Dustin, we picked each other up at a bar. Seriously.

I had just graduated from college and had moved home to live with my parents until I could find a job. Having been away from Portland for four years, I barely knew anyone in the area, and I missed my friends who were all living on the East coast. One night, I went out for drinks with a friend from high school, who introduced me to a group of girls who went to Portland State. Jessica and I bonded immediately. Our conversation sounded something like this:

"Hey, so I don't know a lot of people here."

"Yeah, me neither! We should hang out sometime."

"Totally. What's your number?"

Shortly after, we went on our first "date" and we've been friends ever since.

Prom pose! From left: Stephanie, Liz, Jessica, and me.

Thank you for being there for me through all the ups and downs life has thrown at us over the past five years. Dustin is one lucky dude. Can't wait 'til April!

PDX girls do Seattle

Had an amazing girls weekend in Seattle! I think I forgot how much fun you can have when you're stuck in a car with two of your best friends for hours. Here are some highlights from the trip.

Liz and I brought almost identical polka dot shirts.

With three of us getting ready to go out in one bathroom, it kind of felt like we were on The Bachelor. In a good way.

You better believe I instagrammed the space needle.

We calculated the PPN (price per nugget) of a 4 piece vs. a 40 piece order of McDonald's Chicken Nuggets. I'll let you guess which one won. Disclaimer: I really only ever eat fast food when I road trip, but when I do it, I do it right.

How many chicken nuggets could you eat?

All in all, the trip was a "success." We found a brand of bridesmaid dresses that we like for Liz's wedding. I picked this darling one-shoulder dress below. We're each ordering a variation of this dress in the plum color. I was expecting to get a strapless dress, but I fell in love with the unique silhouette of this one. Now I just need to find a good pair of shoes...