The Beginning of the End: Mad Men's Final Episodes Begin April 5th!

I am a big Mad Men fan. I can hardly believe it's been on for 7 seasons - more than seven years! I can hardly remember myself seven years ago but I remember falling in absolute love for this show when it first aired.

Does that surprise you, though?

It's the decade I only WISH I lived in. Oh the dresses and bold women making their mark in the office world! It was heaven every Sunday night.

Little American Girl in Dubai: Shopping at the Souk (2 of 3)

On my first day in Dubai, I didn't have much to do as the CABSAT tradeshow didn't open for another day. After a late and long breakfast at the hotel, we all headed over to the exhibit hall to check on the progress of the booth build and sign off on some last minute paper work for AV and furniture and all that good stuff.

We were only needed there for a couple hours - the rest of the day was ours to roam! Kristana, our manager on site, is a huge travel bug and it was awesome having her there. She was great at suggesting things to see and places to go.

On Monday, once we were free from the construction site that would soon be a lively tradeshow floor, we decided to hop into a cab and head to the Souk.

There Are Kitties Loose in the Library!

I first spotted this "Fun For the Books" skirt on ModCloth when it was still a "coming soon" item. Well, you know I immediately clicked that adorable red heart beside it and requested to be notified when it was in stock.

At first, I debated getting it. I mean, I already had a skirt covered in cats and I had a skirt covered in books. Wouldn't getting this skirt covered in library loving kitties be a bit redundant?

Triple Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

I was put in charge of making my dad's birthday cake. While cookies are usually my comfort zone, I accepted the challenge. Why not? My dad isn't picky so that meant I could make whatever I wanted. Sometimes that can be intimidating but in this case, it was pure fun. I dug around in some cookbooks, looked at some fellow bloggers' recipe indexes, did some googling, and just tried to think of something that would have the following criteria:

• Easy
• Not over the top
• Decadent
• Pretty
• Transportable

Kind of a lot to ask of a cake, no? Well, there were reasons, OK? I knew I'd be making it on the day of his party or the night before so I wanted something easy and not so over the top so it wouldn't take hours to complete. He's also a pretty simple guy - no frills here.

Little American Girl in Dubai! (1 of 3)

Last week I ventured out to Dubai - just a short 13 hour flight from Boston. From the moment I landed, I definitely felt like Dorothy after the tornado passed, leaving her in a strange land.

Toto, I was definitely not in Kansas anymore...

I was in Dubai to work at a trade show called CABSAT. My teammate Jenny and I had planned and executed a booth for EMC at this show. It was my first show in my new role - it was nerve wracking, exciting, and scary all at once.

I know, my first show and its in Dubai. Could I have gotten a show farther away? Not so sure.

Pass Me a Spoon: Another Munster Madness Skirt!

A few weeks back - correction - back in February (um is it weird to anyone else that early February is over a month ago??), I shared my awesome custom book themed skirt from MunsterMadness. Well, I loved it so much I immediately contacted the gal behind the scenes, Anna, about a second skirt.

Yes, please! More skirts!

You can't have too many skirts.

I knew immediately which skirt I wanted next. I spotted her ice cream sundae fabric and couldn't believe my eyes. It is extremely similar - if not the exact same - fabric as my dream Bernie Dexter dress. I have admired this Bernie for ages but I can't really afford a Bernie unless it's off eBay or on super sale. Now was my chance to have my own version - in skirt form!

My YA Novel, Abatement, is Available on Swoon Reads!

Fun fact: I am a writer. Yes, I write this blog, but I also write fiction. In fact, starting from when I was in the 7th grade and continuing through college, I couldn't stop writing. I wrote novel after novel, loving the way my imagination just grew and grew. Words just filled the pages so easily for me.

I used to go to school, come home, do my homework, grab a snack, and retreat to my room to write. I'd emerge only for dinner and then go back to my room to write. I'd come out around 8pm to watch any shows on TV (mostly Smallville or Buffy) and then go to bed by 10 - with a book and my iPod.

I didn't have many friends. But I did have nearly 40 young adult novels by the time I graduated college.

All that aside, I still love to write but the adult world has made it difficult for me to get inspiration for another novel. I just don't have the time to commit to a new novel. Or I have had ideas but none of them have stuck like they used to. It's sad but I promised myself that instead of being angry about not writing new stuff, I'd work on the finished products and maybe, someday, even get published.

What's Sara Reading? March Edition

There are only 3 books on this month's reading list but I wanted to get this month's "What's Sara Reading?" on the blog before I take off for Dubai. Whaaaat? By the time you read this, I will be out of the country! For the first time, too!

As most know from previous posts, this year I started a new role at EMC as a marketing coordinator for trade shows and conferences for my division. My first event of 2015 is called CABSAT and it is in Dubai. Talk about a first show! I am excited, anxious, nervous, and calm about it - hopefully it is going well since as this is posted I am working in the booth!  ;)

All that jazz aside, I am sure I will finish at least one or two more reads just on the plane ride to and from Dubai so that will should make April's edition that much juicer. Keep an eye out for that!

So, all that being said, here are the three books that consumed me in February - 1 amusing, 1 frustrating, and 1 DEVASTATINGLY GOOD.

You've Got Mail!

Break out the swimsuits - it's 40 degrees today! I stepped outside to take this photos and first was annoyed by the 2 inches of slushy snow that we had on the ground from the night before. But then I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't frigidly cold outside! The breeze was, dare I say, a little warm! 40 degrees may not sound high (and it's so not) but after dealing with temperatures so low that with a wind chill, they were hitting the negatives for the past few weeks, this feels like a heatwave.

Snow has nothing to do with this Emily and Fin dress, though. I have worn it only once before after snagging it on sale from ModCloth (where else??) so I new it was time to break it out again. I love it. It's so comfy, for one thing, but I just adore the fabric covered in falling letters.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Everyone has what they dub the "best" banana bread.  Of course, I believe mine is the best, too, and I was tempted to say so with this post, but I don't want to be a B-bread snob. All banana breads are beautiful. There's no banana bread I'd say no to.

Let's be more accepting, people. We don't want other banana breads feeling left out.

I love this banana bread because it's been the only banana bread I know. It's my mom's recipe (and I believe it was her mom's recipe) and we grew up with it. My entire family loves it and whenever we made it, it never lasted long. Oh man did we all go nuts when Mom made banana bread!

I swear sometimes we'd buy a plethora of bananas solely to make banana bread...

"Oops! My bananas are too ripe. Oh darn. Guess I'll just have to make a banana bread. That's too bad..." SAID NO ONE EVER!