Happy hour chat

Hiiiii!! Thanks for joining me for another round of faux drink-clinking, where I fill you in on life’s adventures because it’s been a little too long since I last checked in. (Here’s my last happy hour chat, for reference!) As usual, I’ve got a lot of ground to cover in this happy hour chat.

Grab your tea, your Koolaid Jammer, a sour beer, mini Corona, bottle of bubbly, your bevvy of choice! We’ve got some work to do.

Here’s what life has looked like lately in my corner of the world.

Galentine’s Day

For the second year in a row, my friend Kelli hosted a lovely Galentine’s Day get together, and it was lovely! She’s an incredible hostess, and the vibe was matched by delicious burrata bites, homemade pizza, and favors of wellness shots and charcuterie gift boxes.

Check out the gift bags I made for the event.

RIP Shylo

My parent’s pup Shylo passed away, and it’s been a devastating loss. Please send a little extra love their way!

Year three

It’s official: Chad and I moved to Milwaukee three years ago. It’s been a wild ride and quite the adventure! We feel lucky to be here, and thankful for the memories we’ve made and those yet to come.

Wiffle ball

Once again, my wiffle ball team walked away as league champions! It felt great to win for the fifth time! Wiffle ball is so much fun—win or lose, I love Tuesday nights.

Wiffle ball tattoo

Speaking of which…I got a wiffle ball tattoo! Back at the beginning of the season, I told the group chat that if we won five championships, I’d get one. Well, two days after, I paid up! I went to Aligned Ink in Whitefish Bay, and got 5 tiny stars in honor of the team.

Modeling

In some exciting personal / professional news, I have decided to take the next step toward fulfilling a quiet dream I’ve had for years: modeling! I have created a portfolio and sent my information out to a local agency.

This was inspired by a bridal shoot and a styled shoot that I modeled in over the past few months, partnering with The Hitching Post, Nola Kahn Beauty, Nameless Creative Studios, Jamie Robarge Photography, and One AM Media. It was so empowering and fun, and we created some incredible work together!

Winter vacation

This winter has been brutal on the grey sky, seasonal depression scale, so Chad and I opted to escape for a little winter getaway! We went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a long weekend of rest and relaxation in the sun. Our time was mostly spent poolside, which is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Margaritaville

During our Florida vacation, we spent a day poolside at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort! It was incredible from start to finish, and we can attest that their frozen drinks live up to the hype.

Seeking sunshine challenge

As someone who suffers from pretty severe seasonal depression, Wisconsin winters are…tough. It’s not the cold or snow so much as the brutal grey skies—it’s pretty bleak for me, especially coming from Colorado’s 360 days of sunshine.

To combat this, I decided to manufacture my own joy and sunshine for my mental health. Every time there’s been a grey sky day, I’ve come up with a small challenge, then recorded myself and put it on Instagram. It’s been a mix of projects, some silly, others thoughtful, sometimes creative. Overall, it’s been fun for me!

Nashville

Y’all, I turned 30! And what better way to celebrate for this Copper Cowgirl than heading to Nashville?! A group of my nearest and dearest friends joined me at the end of March to celebrate, and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to usher in a new decade together.

It was SO much fun, and I just feel like the luckiest person alive.

Chemical peel

In the name of self-care, I’ve been working to prioritize my skin. In late January I got a chemical peel for my face at Magnolia Aesthetics in Milwaukee. The experience was great! After a quick treatment, my skin spent a week peeling and shedding layers to reveal a fresher face underneath. I highly recommend face peels for anyone looking to target acne scarring like me.

Published articles

As you might recall, I try to keep my freelance journalism skills sharp by contributing to travel magazines about once a year. Well, the magazines—and my articles—have published!

My work is now available to read in Glenwood Springs Magazine, Carbondale Magazine, and the Grand Valley Guide.

Mittenfest

Bay View’s Mittenfest is an outdoor neighborhood celebration of winter, and we had to check it out this year. The crowd was thick with locals bundling up and braving the elements, drinking beer to stay warm.

Hot take

As a longtime Gabby Windey fan who has seen her burst in popularity lately, I have a hot take!

View on Threads

Book swap birthdays

Over the past few months, I’ve been to not one, but two book swap birthdays! Both were incredible and very fun.

Leslie hosted a wonderful brunch and swap, and it was nice to sip mimosas, meet her friends, and pick out some new books to read (and suffer a few swipes, too).

Laura’s birthday was a progressive book store crawl that ended with a swap, and I really loved stopping by the Well Read Damsel, meeting her dog Bert, and purchasing an Empyrean dragon sticker along with a novel.

Dodgeball league

This winter, we started playing in a dodgeball league. We’re on a team with our friends Kelli and Sam, and it’s somehow both inclusive and a little violent. We’re the Dairyland Divas!

Valentine’s Day photo shoot

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Chad and I did a quick photoshoot at a record store. It was a cute little date day, and the photos were sweet.

New tattoo!!

Ya girl got another tattoo! This year for Christmas, I asked for just one thing: money to go toward a new tattoo from my favorite artist. I finally got to cash in, and got a flash design from Xolo Tattoo in Bay View; it’s a pair of cowboy boots with prickly pear cactus growing out. I love it! It’s another step closer to filling my half-sleeve.

Another one!

Actually, I got another tattoo! If you’re keeping track, that’s an extra three mentioned within this post, all done within a month. (I need to cool it, lol.)

For this one, I got a spontaneous piece in Nashville, on my birthday. Our group walked into Nashville Ink and all walked out with something! Mine is a sparkle on my finger, and I love it. It’s an incredibly fun and special memory that I’ll cherish forever.

St. Patrick’s Day

We did some celebrating! We wore green and had some fun with friends Brittany, Laura, Ryne, Kelli, and Sam with a pub crawl.

The Book of Mormon

This year for Christmas, my present to Chad was tickets to The Book of Mormon! The national tour came to Milwaukee, and Chad and I saw it in early March. We both went into it knowing very little, and were very impressed! It was hilarious and we enjoyed the musical very much.

My birthday

Alert the press! I turned 30. 🙂 I’ve never felt luckier to be alive and well and experience the privilege of growing another year older.

We did so many things unique to me: visiting a Dolly-themed bar, doing a photoshoot together, a presentation night, bowling, eating hot dogs, going to brunch, and even getting spontaneous tattoos. It was such a special weekend of celebrating!

Birthday book

On the subject of my birthday: I was so lucky to celebrate with my closest friends in Nashville. I wasn’t expecting any kind of gift from anyone, because it literally blows my mind that everyone traveled many miles just to be with me.

So! I was incredibly blown away by every gift (including the most beautiful cake given by Alexis and Jessica, the pickleball hat of my dreams from Emily, a gorgeous stained glass “The Kiss” bolo tie from Sam and Kelli, and a too-generous gift card / champagne combo from Brittany and Kelli).

But one, organized by Haley and co-authored by all of my loved ones, took the cake. I received a book full of letters, poems, photos, and notes to me and about me, centered on favorite memories. As soon as I opened it and read the first couple of words—a story from my dad—I was a goner. I bawled. The inscription says, “to our favorite writer,” and I’ve never felt more loved and seen.

Thinking of Brett

Last month, Chad’s cousin Brett passed away. There’s a lot of competing thoughts and emotions and grief, but we’ve been working to focus on remembering the good memories we’ve shared over the years. 🖤

Radio Rental

My friend Kelli introduced us to her favorite podcast, Radio Rental. It’s a series of true horror stories, told by the people who experienced them. Rainn Wilson hosts and plays a character as well, which is a quirky way to break up the creepy stories.

I am famously very very much unable to handle anything scary, lol. So when Kelli popped Radio Rental on the loudspeaker during out 8-hour drive home from Nashville, I really had no other option than to listen to her selection of the spookiest stories.

If this is up your alley, I have some episodes that I recommend!

• Night Scope
• Laura of the Woods
• Night Marcher

Wisconsin can’t be bought

If you’ve been following politics lately, you might’ve noticed a major election in Wisconsin on April 1. The Wisconsin Supreme Court race generated a lot of nationwide attention, because Elon Musk spent $20 million to back the Republican candidate; Musk went so far as handing out million dollar checks at rallies, walking a very thin (non-existent, in my opinion) legal line.

There was a lot on the line with this race, notably regarding abortion and a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body.

I—and the majority of Wisconsinites, for that matter—are relieved that Susan Crawford won the race. Wisconsin is one of the few things in the world that Elon can’t afford. I’m so proud to live here and vote here and to know that we cannot be bought.

A special shout out also goes to other WI superintendent winner Jill Underly, plus Senator Cory Booker for his incredible filibuster-esque protest. An incredible day of hope in politics!

Recent content

In case you’ve missed it! Here’s a list of things I’ve made lately! Blog posts, IG reels, you name it.

Recent reads

Here are a few books I’ve read recently!

• The Sweet Spot
• Onyx Storm
• Love, Theoretically
• The House in the Cerulean Sea
• The Lies that Bind
• The Midnight Feast
• The Thursday Murder Club

Food (and drink) adventures

Here’s a list of all the places we’ve eaten and drank lately, according to my memory. Have I mentioned: going out to eat is indeed my favorite activity in the world? 🙂

What we’ve been watching

*** Read my Traitors finale thoughts in my recent thread!

Cheers!

Thanks for tuning into this happy hour chat! Let’s catch up again soon, okay? The next round’s on me.

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