Fan Friday || Notes from the 2016 NFL Draft

Last night (we live tweeted the NFL Draft with you guys) was one of the most fun nights I've had watching sports in a long time. Let it be known that I started this blog with the intention of teaching my girlfriends the rules of sports in hopes that I would have more buddies to go to the games with me. I am a firm believer that a female can teach another female about a sport far more effectively than a man can. 

Do you understand how quickly that approach to my blog changed though?? You guys already know your shit, especially in the world of football. 

When I find another sports loving female, I feel like I've hit the jackpot in female friendships. Last night while hosting the #girlsgonedraft with Ashten, I had tons of girlfriends to talk to about how awesome, ridiculous and amazing the NFL really is.

So yeah, last night was a damn good night. We've gotta do that more often. 

Speaking of the NFL draft, I want to note some of the important things from round one. Last night had to have been the most eventful draft I think I've ever personally witnessed. Let's discuss.

1. Ezekiel Elliot's Crop Top

The 5th overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys sported an interesting outfit. Thought crop tops were just for us ladies?? Think again. Love it or hate it? I love it, I think he was trying to tell Jerry that he was totes cool with the 100+ degree Dallas temps. Or maybe he had a white snake music video to film after the draft, who knows?

2. Roger Goodell Got Booed
A lot. He got booed a lot. Like, every time he walked on stage. As a point of reference, he walked on stage around 31+ times.

3. Johnny Manziel watched the draft at a bar before the Justin Beiber Concert 
Yikes. Two years ago he was a first round draft pick. Yikes.

4. Bad News Bears for Laremy Tunsil and Ole Miss
If you're an Ole Miss fan.... YOU. ARE. FUUUUUUUUUUdged. 

Let me break this down if you haven't heard all of the drama. 

1. Tunsil tweeted a video moments before the draft showing him smoking a bong while wearing a gas mask. He claimed he was hacked, but at this point, no one was buying that story. We all thought he was just a moron.

This Tunsil video blows my mind pic.twitter.com/oh6KnrJoKB

— Jac Collinsworth (@JacCollinsworth) April 29, 2016

2. Tunsil is shown on camera, waiting to be drafted, and looks like he is absolutely on the verge of tears.  

3. He finally gets drafted by the Miami Dolphins. He was projected to go as the sixth pick in the draft, but fell all the way down to pick number 13, costing him potentially millions. 

Someone made these memes... oh the joys of the internet. 

4. Someone, presumably the same person, hacks his instagram. At this point we all believe, ok this guy really is getting hacked. We also wonder if his password is "12345" or "password" or "laremytunsil". 

Here is what was posted to his instagram.... 

Datssssss not good, folks. Dats not good at all. 

5. To make it even worse, Tunsil is asked in an interview if there was an exchange of money between him and his coach. 

What you should say at this point: "NO COMMENT"

What he said: "Yeah"

Tunsil's Draft Presser via WBBM. "Was their an exchange between you and your coach for $$?" "I'd have to say, yeah." pic.twitter.com/TqYeOSjOfO

— Robby Donoho (@RobbyDonoho) April 29, 2016

My emotions for this kid were all over the place. 

When I first saw the bong picture all I could think was what an idiot. 

Then when I saw him almost crying I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be ok. 

Then when he got drafted I cheered.... out loud. 

Then when I saw the Instagrams I put my fist in my mouth and bit down. Yowza. 

Then I ended the night with a facepalm during the presser. 

------

Man oh man, what a night. I don't know what is in store for Ole Miss or Tunsil, but I'll for sure be following along. What was your favorite part of the draft last night?!? What are your thoughts on Tunsil?? 

TELL ME TELL ME! 

Tonight I'm switching from football to hockey, and transforming into a super mega die hard Dallas Stars fan since I have a ticket to the second round of the playoffs! Whoop!

FOLLOW THE FUN ON SNAP! 

NFL Draft Drinking Game 2016 + The Official #GirlsGoneDraft Twitter Party

Here is your official NFL Draft Drinking Game 2016! 

Whether we want to admit it or not, every blogger's dream is to have someone request a specific post idea. Perhaps it's a tutorial on how you do your perfect curls, or how you master that fabulous cat eyeliner. Perhaps you have fabulous skin and everyone will just not stop asking how you get that glow day in and day out. My favorite is when someone knows they look bomb (not hating, I love it when girls have self confidence) and they say openly, "Would anyone like to see a tutorial on how I did my makeup like this?" That makes me giggle every time I see it. 

For me, that always exciting request to provide a specific post came by way of a NFL Draft Drinking Game from my girl Stephanie. Seeing as I often open up a very blank very white screen with absolutely zero direction on where to go for a blog post, I love specific requests! 

If you haven't been around here for but so long, I used to make up sports related drinking games all the time. NFL Draft Day is one of my favorite days of the year because we are reminded that football does indeed still exist. It helps us to remember that THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DARK SUMMER TUNNEL AND THAT LIGHT IS FOOTBALL SEASON! 

The NFL Draft will always hold a soft spot in my heart ever since Ashten and I held a twitter party  using a hashtag (#girlsgonedraft) that ended up TRENDING! Cool, right? 

Last year, while it was far less official, #GirlsGoneDraft was revived for the 2015 draft and Ashten and I want to bring it back again this year. Just use hashtag #GirlsGoneDraft while watching the NFL draft at 8 ET on ESPN and follow your hosts:

@iamsarahwebb

@justgoleft_

 Here is your official invite: 

Now on to more important things... 

Like this NFL Draft 2016 Drinking Game

Gruden says, "This Kid Is Just a PLAYER" 

They show the Chicago Skyline

A player kisses his mamma 

When someone refers to a player as a "Difference Maker"

Jerry Jones is mentioned 

A trade happens

A Player Gets Drafted That Went to An SEC School

Someone Hugs Goodell

You Hear the Phrase: "Offensive Weapon" 

You'd do a player shown on screen

(don't forget, these kids are like 21 years old -- I'm assuming you're late 20s early 30s like me) 

Roger Goodell Gets Booed

A Player's "Ceiling" Is Mentioned

In a highlight reel, they show a player scoring a touchdown AGAINST your school

(i.e. they show Jared Goff from Cal throwing a touchdown against Texas, where you went to school)

A Player Cries After Being Selected

Player Drafted Is Wearing A Bowtie

  

A Player's Legal Trouble is Brought Up

Johnny Manziel is mentioned 

A Wide Receiver is Compared to Wes Welker

If someone in the room bitches about their team's pick, that person has to drink

Someone gets left hanging on a High Five

When Your Team First Goes On The Clock

Announcer accidentally calls them the St. Louis Rams 

Someone Proposes to their Girlfriend 

A player from your college goes round one 

(Whoo! You went to school with him! Let's Celebrate! ) 

Someone's Suit Splits Open 

A Punter and/or Kicker Gets Drafted

A Team's Fans BOO their Team's Pick

Ok... Grab some beer and/or wine on your way home from work and LET'S PARTY! 
See you tonight on Twitter for #GirlsGoneDraft!!!!! 

Stage Five Clinger

I look at Veenie now a little differently than I did a month ago. While yes, she is now a mutt valued at over $6,000, but that's not what I see when I look at her. I feel pure joy when I look at her smiling face. I feel downright giddy when I see her leaping through the grass in the back yard. I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest when she goes and plays with Gee. 

For two weeks while Veenie was required to be crated while she healed, I went home every day on my lunch break. I work 25 minutes from home so I'd get home, let her out of her cage, kiss her head for 10 minutes and head back to work. It was the best 10 minutes ever. 

My friend Larissa went through something similar with her dog, Bix. Larissa told me that Veenie would be a different dog after all this. She said that after Bix had his surgery (to remove an acorn) he was so much more affectionate and never left her side. She is convinced that Bix KNEW what she had done for him.

Veenie already clings to my side, but what changed wasn't with her, but with me. I cling to her side. I think my clinginess is a mix of both being panicked that she'll eat something she shouldn't and gratefulness that I even have that panic in the first place. When I got that call from the vet immediately after her surgery, I didn't know if I was going to get to bring her home. 

The thought of losing Veenie made me sick. I know this is crazy, but when I hung up the phone with the vet, I sat there and cried on CB's shoulder as if I'd already lost her. I know the Vet was just doing his job, but he was so negative that my mind darted to the worst case scenario. 

Every phone call I received from there on out was positive.

"She's alert and awake and seems to be in good spirits..."

"She had an excellent night with no problems..."

"She kept down each meal we've given her..."

"If she continues to do this well, we can talk about potentially sending her home..."

"Come get Veenie, she can go home..." 

According to the vet, this will be a problem for the rest of her life. She basically can't eat a single thing she shouldn't, because her GI tract was just so destroyed from that toothpick that only certain food is able get through. So basically, I'm now a stage 5 Veenie clinger. I don't ever want to let her go. I don't ever want to stop kissing her wet nose. I don't ever want to let her out of my sights. I love that dog so damn much it's crazy. 

Some people may not understand this, but Veenie is my family. She is my baby. She means everything to me. I of course understand that I will lose her one day, but that day has not come yet. Until then, I'm going to love on that little darling girl every spare second I have. 

I Believe In Puppies and I Believe in Love

People these days protest everything. Die hard activists do things like camp out and picket for things they don't/do believe in, or go on a food strike like that chick from Orange is the New Black. Many "activists" -- well, we'll call them half-ass activists -- these days have gotten lazy though, they just throw up a novel length social media status, wait for it to go viral, and call it a day. 

I am not an activist. If there is one thing in this world that terrifies me, it's confrontation. I've never sent anything back at a restaurant, and if Starbucks gives me the wrong drink I don't say a peep and drink it anyway. 

The worst people are the people who go looking to start a fight with someone who is completely unarmed. You want to pick a fight with a clerk at Target over a policy they had absolutely nothing to do with?! That person doesn't have enough shit in their life going on already, so you're going Target to Target, asking employees about their bathroom policies.... then yelling at them over a decision that they had absolutely zero say in. If you want to fight for what you believe in, then I say pick that fight on someone a little higher up. 

Veenie and I have a lot in common when it comes to confrontation. If someone were to yell at either of us, we would both put our tail between our legs and run and hide under the nearest table until that person leaves or forgets what they were so mad about. I don't think in the history of my 29 years on this planet, I've ever stood up for myself. I'd rather everyone just hug and kiss and smile and snuggle and love each other until the end of time.... Veenie agrees. 

I'm never mean to someone to their face, I just bottle it up deep down inside.... you know, the healthy way. I'm a people pleaser, always have been and probably always will be. If someone disagrees with me on a topic, I'm going to let it go. 

Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not proud of this. This is not a good trait of mine. It is how I am though, and probably how I'll always be. 

There is one quote/motto that has always hit home for me though. I think this is how I live my life. You may disagree and as I've already stated, ok no problem, I'm not going to fight you on it. 

I believe in puppies and I believe in love. I believe in eating two lunches on days when you're really hungry and I believe that calling mom and crying for an hour will help what ails you. 

I believe that my non-confrontational approach to life may not be the most effective at changing the world, but it works for me. 

Ok, that was a random post. 

BRB gotta go buy Presale Drake + Future tickets. 

8 Places To Ride Your Bike This Spring

Have you guys ever heard of the hashtag and Instagram account "I Have This Thing With Bikes"? Sadly I am not the creator of that account but I wish I were. I am obsessed with bikes. When I think about visiting my Mom in Virginia Beach over the summer, the mental picture that pops into my head is of us cruising down the boardwalk on a long early morning ride to breakfast. 

I get horribly car sick and despise being in a car. When you live in a city with terrible gridlock traffic like Dallas, if there is an alternative option to riding in a car, you take that alternate option. When I was living in Deep Ellum, I took my bike everywhere but haven't gotten the chance to ride much since moving to our house in Oak Cliff. Now that the Spring weather is here -- it was over 80 on Saturday! -- I want to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I'm so ready to start biking again. 

My excitement for riding bikes escalated quickly when I learned that the classic bike company Columbia is relaunching their iconic brand. Back in 1877, Columbia started selling some of the most beautiful bikes ever crafted, before any other company in the US. Columbia invented the tandem bicycle, the bike built for two, and the "Playbike" which became the most popular kid's bike of the 60s and 70s.

When looking at Columbia's newest bike designs, I had selection anxiety over picking just one. They were all so ridiculously beautiful. I knew I wanted a vintage inspired ride, but durable enough to handle the bumpy Dallas city sidewalks. I chose the gorgeous Columbia 700c Westfield Vintage City Design.

The Westfield can be purchased at Dick's Sporting Goods and has a ton of features. With unparalleled quality and styling, it is one of the smoothest rides ever built by Columbia. Included on the Westfield is a durable Hi Tensile steel frame, alloy chain guard, seat post, brake levers and brakes, pedals, kickstand, and fenders. It also has an Internal Shimano Nexus 3 speed, LED Headlight and attached fender taillight, an extremely comfortable Columbia Embossed seat, a rear steel rack and brushed steel fenders with full coverage. The 700c x 32MM Gumwall 700c tires are outfitted with 36 whole aluminum rims. Taking a ride on this bike is quiet and not to mention it photographs beautifully.

I still have my garage opener for my old apartment in Deep Ellum (shhhh.. please don't tell them that) so CB and I parked his truck, pulled out our bikes and spent an entire day exploring downtown Dallas by bike. I compiled a list of the places we went on our day of adventure, as well as a few other spots I plan to ride to during these beautiful Spring Months. 

Dallas Farmers Market

I love the Dallas Farmers Market year round, but all of the beautiful flowers they had for sale on this trip left me wanting to do a total yard transformation. I'm going to get a basket to add to my bike just so I can fill it with some new plants from the Farmers Market.  

To the Dog Park

There is a dog park just a mile away that I can get to by taking only quiet, neighborhood streets. As long as we can ride and safely keep the pups on a leash, the dog park would be a great bike destination. 

Romantic Picnic

There is this little spot that CB and I drive by every morning on the way to work that has a breathtaking view of downtown Dallas. We always say we want to ride our bikes and setup a picnic and watch a sunrise or sunset from this exact spot. 

Take A Dallas Wall Art Tour

I love Street Art and Dallas has no shortage of beautiful murals. Walking would take you forever, so cover more ground and see more street art by riding your bike instead!

To Our Neighborhood Dive Bar

Because if you aren't rewarding all of that pedaling with a cold beer, you're doing it wrong.

Coffee With Friends

But first, coffee. Sleep in, ride bike, drink coffee.

A Local Park

CB and I rode to my favorite park here in Dallas, Klyde Warren Park. Klyde Warren has wifi, lots of food truck options and even a little dog park.

To Dinner With Very Few Parking Options

I can't tell you how many times I've either given up and left somewhere because I couldn't find parking, or opted out of plans with friends because I didn't want to deal with finding a place to park my car. So many places in Dallas are valet only, save your money and just tie up your bike. 

If you're in the market for a new bike this spring, I highly recommend Columbia bikes. They are beautiful, timeless and a fun ride. Be sure to check Toys R Us, Target, Amazon, Walmart and Dick's retailers where Columbia Bicycles can be found!


This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Columbia Bicycles, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #RideColumbia http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

How Weekend Fun Can Help Grow Your Social Media

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

In the past couple of years since meeting CB, I've really had little to no motivation for working on my blog and social media channels on the weekend. I've always associated blogging with sitting down at the computer and hammering out text on a blank screen. In the past year though, I've certainly embraced the fact that Instagram and Snapchat are just as essential to a blogger as your daily blog post. I'm confident that there are many people who do not read my blog, but continuously follow me on my social channels, and vice versa! 

Working on developing your social media accounts doesn't have to be done in an office. You know I love the hand crafted Flat Lay as much as the next girl, but getting out, exploring and documenting as you go can be super beneficial for growing your social channels as well. I'm all about building my Instagram while still getting to spend my free time hanging with CB! 

Snapchatting, taking and editing photos and keeping up to date with your social feeds takes a lot of data. Walmart has made it possible to have your cake and eat it too with their Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan which features Unlimited Talk, Text and Data which includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE data PLUS a free movie on VUDU ($7 value) every month per line for $49.88. VUDU is an instant video streaming service, and CB and I can get a free movie every month on this plan! We love watching movies on the laptop while snuggling up together in bed, so I think our first movie choice is going to be the classic throwback, "10 Things I Hate About You!"  

To get started, you'll also need the Starter Kit which normally runs $25 but for the first time ever it is now on rollback for just $19.88! I picked the LG G Stylo -- $179, Rollback from $199 -- because the 13MP camera was out of this world good! It also has a huge, crystal clear screen to work on.

All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/3edbl or your local Walmart for current pricing.

CB and I took it with us to the Farmer's Market this weekend, and I tested out the camera and downloaded one of my favorite photo editing apps, Afterlight. 

 
NO I'm not watching endless Snapchat videos... ok I am. 

After downloading Afterlight, I used that software to edit the photos I took. I upped the brightness, contrast and saturation on the photo and this beautiful picture is what I ended up with....

Not bad, right? Getting this great shot that would do great on Instagram just took a couple of minutes! If you're interested in getting more data out of your smartphone, for less money, I definitely recommend checking out Walmart Family Mobile's wide variety of awesome smart phones. You can shop their plans online or in store! 

Before You Decide On Purchasing A Player's Jersey, Read This

Let me start by telling you a little story. It should come as no surprise that when I was deciding where to move, I had to have a city with every major sports team. I had narrowed my two choices down to Chicago or Dallas, and decided I'd go to whichever city I found a job first. I got incredibly lucky when my current company paid to fly me in for an interview, then hired me on the spot. It was amazing, and a few weeks later I was Dallas bound. 

I was already a huge Cowboys fan, but it took all of 2 seconds for me to jump right on the Mavs, Rangers and Stars super mega fan bus. Some life-long fans might judge me for that, but I personally see nothing wrong with it. I was a Dallas resident and that's what you do, you root root root for the home team. 

Just like any fan does, I began to develop a favorite player on each team. My choice for favorite player on the Mavs was a little different from most: Jae Crowder. Jae wasn't even a starter for the Mavs, but his attitude won me over immediately. When Jae was on the court, everyone played with more hustle and passion. His role was to amp everyone up, including the fans. 

So Jae has instantly recognizable dreads...

image via 

Well, last season, the Mavs released a new Jae Crowder shirt that had his dreads ON the back of the shirt. I thought it was SO cool and I had to have it. Plus, I was pretty sure that I would be the ONLY person to own that shirt. The problem? Well it was nearly $50 for a t-shirt (*Macklemore Voice). I thought about buying that shirt for weeks. I went to several Mavs and Stars games during that time (they share the same arena), and would go check on the shirt to make sure it was still there. 

On my birthday, after deliberating on it for literally weeks, I broke down and treated myself to the shirt. It was my birthday after all, I deserved it. The sheer amount of glee on my face at the register was priceless, I was so excited it was finally mine. 

I brightened this picture of me and Helene way up in hopes that you can see how cool this shirt is with his dreads printed on the back. 

The next day... and I do mean THE VERY NEXT DAY AFTER WEEKS OF DELIBERATING ABOUT BUYING THAT SHIRT ... Jae Crowder was traded to the Boston Celtics.

THE NEXT DAY, people. WTF. 

That story is still one of CB's favorites to tell, and while I now do find it comical, I was PISSED. Needless to say, I'm now very gun-shy on buying a jersey with a player's name on it. Today (so you don't get burned like I did) I thought I'd share some tips that you should read before committing to a specific player's jersey. 

1. Buy the superstar's jersey that everyone else has.

I realize this is not nearly as fun when that person, is not in fact, your favorite player, but at least you aren't potentially throwing $$$ in the trash.

Current Dallas Safe Superstar Picks: Tony Romo, Dirk Nowitzki

2. Buy a legend's jersey.

Pick the jersey of your favorite retired hall-of-famer. Clearly they aren't getting traded and you're making a solid investment that will never be out of style. Everyone loves a legend. 

Current Dallas Safe Legend Picks: Emitt Smith, Nolan Ryan

3. Leave it blank.

This is probably what I will do for my next jersey purchase. 

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT LIKE THE PERSONALIZED JERSEYS WITH YOUR NAME ON IT. You do not play for the team, no one knows who "Webb 22" is. 

4. Check contracts.

If your heart is set on a specific player's jersey, check his contract first. This won't keep you safe from a freak trade incident, but at least you'll know if his contract is up next season. If you check and your boy will be a free agent next season, I wouldn't take the risk. 

5. Tape it up.

Hey, screw it. If all else fails and your favorite player gets traded to the Celtics for a 48th round draft pick and a tub of vanilla ice cream... just find a creative way to tape over his name. You'll get some good laughs and probably a lot of people stopping you to take your picture. Be sure to get them to tag your brilliance on instagram.