Kate Lately | July’18 – Miss All over the place

Howth Cliff in Dublin, Ireland

Whoops, I’ve done it again. I let life mosey between me and my pursuit of over-sharing. Life’s been happening too fast to archive, but nevertheless, I persist. July was stuffed with a lot of firsts for me, so here’s where life (mostly in the form of an airplane) took me-

PARIS TRIP

Crew scheduling finally came through! Fatefully I got the call to experience France for the first time. Our hotel is situated right next to the Eiffel Tower, which was PERFECTION. I don’t know if other people are like this, but almost always when I see something I’ve imagined for the first time I’m disappointed. However, even surrounded by construction and crowds, the Eiffel Tower still made my heart skip a beat.

My friend Megan and I wandered the city, sipping cocktails and dipping our toes in the fountain to escape the summer heat. To top it all off, WE SAW JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IN CONCERT that night! I still can’t believe it. One part luck, two parts Megan’s thinking ahead and looking at local concerts in her Bandsintown Concert app. VLOG COMING SOON of our adventure, so stay tuned!

Eiffel Tower

RUNNING OF THE BULLS WITH STOKE TRAVEL

This trip will go down in the history books as one of my greatest hits. Stoke Travel brought my best friend Lauren and I over to Spain to share our experience, AND WHAT AN EXPERIENCE IT WAS.

Stoke Travel offers camping at major world festivals all year, and was possibly the coolest way for us to enjoy Running of the Bulls for the first time. When we arrived our tent was already pitched, and from there the sangria kept flowing. The campsite made it easy to make friends, so we had a group to adventure around Pamplona with! Shout out to our boys for continuing the party with us down to Madrid even after the festival… we love our little familia! CHECK OUT THE VLOG to really gauge the goings on.

FLOATING THE COMAL RIVER

There wasn’t much time between before I was on a plane back to Texas floating the river FOR THE FIRST TIME. I know I know, it shouldn’t have taken me a full 26 years to finally do it… but hey I got here!

Topping the summer activities list in Texas is floating the Comal River. You grab a tube, your friends, drinks, snacks, and tie them all together for ride. Relaxing as it is for most, I characteristically kept getting distracted and had trouble staying in the tube… Cue bruises and scrapes galore (from a hidden rock or twelve). Still, it made for a perfect summer afternoon.

Tubing the Comal River

MEETING LIN MANUEL MIRANDA

YEP THAT’S RIGHT. How could I have gotten so lucky!? One minute I’m walking to my gate at the airport, the next I’m shaking Lin Manuel Miranda’s hand!! The man who’s work I’ve obsessed with since I was 17! Here’s how our interaction went-

Me:
*sees Lin (with some sort of halo light shining from behind him, unexplained)*
*pushes past bystanders to approach angel man*
“Hi, I’m sorry if this is a bother, but I just had to tell you how much your work has meant to me. Thank you for everything you’re doing and have done, it’s changed my life.”

Lin:
*taking my hand and looking straight into my eyes (soul)*
“Thank you so much for saying that. Bless you”

Me:
*becomes instant jello and melts into floor*

No I didn’t get a photo. No I didn’t make him sign anything. I got a chance to tell a hero face-to-face how important they were to my story. It doesn’t get better than that. Oh, and the insane amount of likes (including from Lin himself!) wasn’t too shabby either.

If you need more proof, here’s my love letter to Lin Manuel about Hamilton, published the day the original cast (including him) was no longer performing. To date it’s the only post I cried while writing…

REAL TALK

To be taken with a grain of salt, I think I’m going through a bit of an existential crisis. No nothing’s gone horribly wrong, but I’m feeling hollow where I used to be filled. Such as life though. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized pushing past obstacles and achieving things paves the way for a new sets of problems. Part of succeeding isn’t in leveling up, it’s in anticipating and taking on the challenges new success introduces.

While I can float around metaphorically all day, I’ll simmer and say this. I’m proud of who I am, but there are also a lot of parts of me I’m not so proud of. Over time I’ve taken risks and sought validation, which eventually made me emphasize other’s opinions WAY too much. The community I have is incredible, but I have allowed that support to enable me to procrastinate and be lazy. Not anymore. I’m determined from now on to be fueled by positive affirmation, not comforted into complacency. Onward and upward we go!

LATEST ON

The craziest trip through Germany (with a hop down to Prague) in just 5 DAYS… and only 2 nights spent in an actual bed!? CHECK IT OUT

Prague, Czech Republic

CURRENT OBSESSIONS

1. Lanegie Lip Sleeping Mask

I’m ADDICTED to this product for all day lip hydration. You’ll never find me without it!

2. GuayakÍ Yerba Mate Enlighten Mint

Say hello to my new favorite choice for a morning boost. Delicious, and DOUBLE the caffeine in coffee!

3. Scalp Massaging Shampoo Brush

There’s nothing more irritating to me than dry skin, and this massaging brush helps me nourish my scalp and keep in dandruff free. It feels great too!