Working from a coffee shop recently one Saturday morning (don’t feel bad..I never could sleep in late, and besides, I love getting a jump on the next week’s to do’s a little early), I sat next to a duo engaged in what can only be described as the most cringe-worthy first date I’ve ever witnessed.
First of all, who has a first date on a Saturday morning?? Get drinks during the week, or at least save the coffee date til later in the day. An afternoon stroll with hot beverage in hand is lovely and charming; a seated face-off at 9am is a mutual interrogation.
As they awkwardly plucked factoids from their memories in the hopes of finding a commonality to discuss, I started pulling all the little pieces of me I offer up for personal consumption, you know, in case they asked me to join in.
And because it’s how my brain works, I wrote that list down. For you.
So here you go, 25 things you don’t know about me:
1. Growing up, I always wanted to live in New York City, so when I was 18, I moved here after graduating high school. I lived here for a year, managing the front desk of a schmancy hair salon, before heading off to college in Pennsylvania.
2. I’m the youngest of three. My older brother works in politics in Wisconsin. My sister, the oldest, also lives in Wisconsin and runs the gifted program at a middle school. She will most likely be superintendent one day, while my brother will be the governor.
3. I would eat french fries with ketchup and mayo for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if nutrition didn’t count and/or matter.
4. The color most likely found in my wardrobe? Grey. But I’m working on that.
5. I’ve run three half marathons and would love to train for another…preferably somewhere warm and flat (this one would be fun).
6. With nearly 100% certainty, I know I’ll never run a marathon. It’s just not on my bucket list.
7. I got married in September! The groom wore Todd Snyder.
8. Most favorite feature? My eyes.
9. In high school, my friend taught me to drive a stick shift very late on a Saturday night. I remember being pretty good at it, but I’ve never tried it again since. I’d love to though. Driving is so much fun, and I never get to do it.
10. When I was little, I told people I wanted to be a model when I grew up so I could travel the world and have someone do my hair all the time.
I still blame my parents for not properly managing my expectations about the height requirements and my genetic predisposition to topping out at 5’6″.
11. Until about age 11, I was a total tomboy with a bowl cut (“So it doesn’t get in my face when I play” I told my mom when we went to chop it all off at the hair salon). At that age, a flip switched inside me, and I decided I had to grow it out to the middle of my back.
I’ve never worn my hair short since, and I’m afraid if I cut it, all my power would be drained like a Samson with estrogen. My secret desire is a pixie cut that would magically grow out overnight in the event I didn’t like it, or it turns out I have a funny shaped head.
12. My mother was recently overheard telling my niece I was “the naughty one” growing up, so now we know my mother is both a traitor and a liar. I was a perfect angel, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
13. When I first joined up with the real world, I worked in advertising, but left the industry in favor of freelance writing once I realized I didn’t have a passion for the work, so was never going to be very good at it. Style Girlfriend started as a weekly column on a friend’s MTM suiting business website and grew from there.
14. I don’t think I could work for anyone ever again.
15. The first things I do when I wake up in the morning: meditate for ten minutes, do the New York Times Wordle and Connections, check Style Girlfriend’s Google Analytics (not necessarily in that order).
16. In college, a boy I dated my freshman year for about a millisecond (who’s since become one of my best friends, happily) introduced me to country music and I never looked back.
I’ve never liked when people say, “I like all types of music…except country.” Why bother making any genre of music a “guilty pleasure?” You like what you like, and I’ll be damned if a song like Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road,” or Tim McGraw “Seventeen” doesn’t make you feel all of the feelings.
If not, you’re dead inside.
17. My best friend in the entire world is also named Megan. We met at the end of my freshman year in college, and because she’s about 6 inches taller than me, I immediately dubbed her Tall Megan. The nickname stuck and years later, my entire family still calls her that.
It’s even her Instagram handle.
18. To me, “making it” in life is defined by not heading for the back of J.Crew to check the sales racks first when you walk in the store.
Still not quite there yet.
19. My family never had any pets growing up, so I’m embarrassingly afraid of animals. It’s not that I don’t like them – I just think they don’t like me. And will bite me to confirm that.
20. I whisper, You’re perfect to my dog Ralph three to five times an hour. Minimum.
21. Whenever I tell a guy I write about men’s style for a living, they either 1) become immediately uncomfortable and try to apologize for what they’re wearing, or 2) proudly detail every item they’re wearing for my review.
22. My favorite part of the year is..well, it’s a tie between fall and spring. They’re both just so great – it’s finally cooling down! it’s finally warming up!! – how can you choose?!
23. My middle name is Kathleen. I never really liked it – I think it sounds like the name of a spinster librarian, but I suppose my parents would beg to differ.
24. I will put sriracha sauce on anything.
25. I love New York but Wisconsin will always be home.