Since I’m pretty much revamping my life, why not give my blog a facelift?

And to be honest, I was SO OVER the pink. I don’t even really like pink that much. I just knew that I wanted simple and kinda cutesy and so I chose my old theme. Which I liked-don’t get me wrong-but I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. And maybe I will want to blog more, now that I have a new shiny look. I even updated my “About” section which only happens once a century or so.

I’m still working on a few tweaks but all in all I’m pretty pleased. What do you guys think?

Today is my blog’s second birthday! I can’t believe two years have already came and went.

I know I haven’t been posting much lately. I’m not going to apologize for that. There have been a lot of things on my plate right now, and blogging seems to have taken a backseat. That being said, some days I really do miss it. If it weren’t for starting this blog, I would be missing out on making some really amazing friends. I wouldn’t be a member of 20SB. And I certainly wouldn’t have found your blogs to read. I’ve had many life changes since starting this blog and I don’t think I would have kept my sanity (mostly) without it.

So thank you. To everyone who reads this blog, and to everyone who I’ve found because of blogging. Cheers to two years and hopefully many more!

and the lucky winners of the Starbucks Giveaway are:

1. Dena
2.  Brittainy
3. Phampants
4. Hal
5. Jarrod

Congrats to the winners!!! I’ll be emailing you all shortly to get your full names/addresses so I can get those prize packs sent out to you quickly.

Thank you to everyone who entered, your support & readership mean a lot to me!

This post is a part of 20SB’s Blog Carnival: Can’t Live Without, and Alice.com is awarding prizes to lucky bloggers and readers!

Is it bad when I think of what I can’t live without I immediately think of my iPhone or a good latte?

No, my first thought isn’t my fiancé or my family or any human contact. That should be a huge red flag that I have a problem.

It’s no secret I have a caffeine addiction. If I don’t get my morning latte, there’s a good chance I’ll be rather snippy with you. I’m probably picturing in my head ways to destroy or torture whatever it is standing in my way between me and my habit. I feel pretty certain that most people share my dependence on coffee so I’m not too ashamed of that habit. Lack of caffeine can turn people (myself included) into monsters. On the other hand, the baristas at Starbucks know me by name and my drink by heart. A little scary, eh?

But what I didn’t realize was how heavy my iPhone dependence had become.

Like most normal slightly addicted smartphone users, my iPhone is no more than arms length away at all times. Nothing abnormal about that. It wasn’t until my doctor appointment on Monday that I realized I probably had a serious problem. I’ve been having insomnia and one of the questions my doctor asked me was “do you tend to check your emails before you go to bed?” I told him of course I did, but what I didn’t tell him was that I check it compulsively. If I am laying in bed and hear my email notification go off, you bet your ass I grab it off the dock and check it immediately. If I hear a text message go off, it’s the same thing. If I hear my fiancé’s email notification go off, I make him check it. Chris and I were on the front page of the Red Eye on Tuesday morning and the first thing my father commented on when he saw it was the fact he thought I was talking on my phone. I had to listen to him accuse me of not being able to put down my phone long enough to take a photo (for once, it’s not true). At this point, I think I’ve hit rock bottom when it comes to iPhone addiction.

Luckily the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

If Apple started offering iPhone Addicts Anonymous instead of One to Ones, they’d probably have lines out the door like they did for the launch. I’d happily attend those workshops. With a Starbucks latte in hand of course.

When I was chosen to be a Gap Brand Enthusiast I was more than excited. One of the perks of being selected was getting to host my very own party with my closest gal pals to try Gap’s latest line of jeans, Born to Fit.

Confession: I was a little stressed out about being a good hostess and having enough space for everyone. I had my new couch delivered in just enough time and about 10 or so of my gal pals showed up for the festivities. I prepared a caesar salad and stuffed shells for the occasion, and my guests were kind enough to bring desserts and wine for everyone to share.

The evening went off fabulously with great food, drink, conversation and a blast trying on the jeans. Everyone seemed to enjoy trying on the three different styles, modeling and asking opinions. Even my cat hung out with us, not wanting to miss out on the fun.

More photos here.

Everyone was really excited to take home a pair of jeans & those that wanted a size or style that were unavailable they were able to take a gift certificate home, complete with adorable canvas bag. Thanks to Brand About Town and Gap for letting me and my friends get to have an awesome time, and some free jeans to boot!

Now for my first ever Giveaway:

I have two gift certificates to giveaway so my readers are able to get a free pair of gap jeans, complete with a tote bag that my guests also received.

Here’s how to enter:

• Leave me a comment telling me about your favorite/worst pair of jeans you’ve ever owned & why.
• you can get an extra entry by tweeting about this giveaway using the hashtag #gapborntofit and then leaving a link to your profile in the comments.

These gift certificates are redeemable in stores only, but they are good for any pair of jeans (so guys, don’t be afraid to also enter!)

Giveaway closes on August 16th, so get your entries in before 11:59pm CST!! Winners will be announced shortly after.

Side note: I have a pair of size 2 in each style (Always Skinny, Sexy Boot, and Real Straight). If you’d like to take these off my hands email me at maggie {at} redletterhaze (dot) com.

Hello my little blogtarts!!!

Since my lovely friend Jess is on vacation working on her tan, she asked me if I would do her a favour and guest blog for her.

To which I replied, “um HELL YES!!”

Jess was one of the first bloggers I started reading aside from Jamie, so of course I feel like it’s an honor to even be asked. I mean, this girl was the featured member on 20Something Bloggers right around the time I joined, so she’s kind of a mini-celebrity.

But I digress.

I decided to share my stalker story with her readers while she’s gone, so drop by and check it out. (Right now, the internet seems to be the only stalker free zone  aside from my apartment of course. creepy!!)

I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow.

**Oh, and a quick update on my friend’s cousin from my post yesterday: she was shot in the back but her injuries were minor enough for her to be released from the hospital today. I’m wishing her a speedy recovery.

I’m at my first BlogHer conference right now, so if you’re here too I hope we bump into each other.

I’ve been attending the Geek Lab sessions so far and lunch provided by Ragu was yummy. I’m about to start Geek Lab Session 2 with Heidi to learn some HTML and CSS.

Today has been kind of crazy and a little bit overwhelming but I’m looking forward to all the fun this evening.

Thanks to Kyla for inspiring me to participate in this meme.

I always…

• Talk to my mom once a day (at least). And tell her I love her.
• Check my email first thing in the morning.
• Over sleep (usually at least 5-20 mins)
• find myself making up silly words for things
• tell myself that “this week will be the week I change my habits”, and then it never happens
• cry anytime I see an ASPCA commercial on tv

I sometimes…

• have the same dream over and over
• Feel like an outsider.
• Wonder what it would be like to be a mom, even though I am still pretty sure I don’t really want kids.
• Can’t believe I’ll be getting married in a little over a year.

I never…

• Thought I’d be living in Chicago. It was never on my list.
• Eat shellfish or anything that contains nuts.
• should have stopped taking violin lessons.
• like to admit for a brief period of my life I was totally addicted to Everquest.
• Should have written off so many of the people I knew in high school, although getting to know them as adults is much more rewarding and surprising.
• like to use the word “never”. it usually comes back to haunt me.