Getting to Know You

So many of y'all had some great questions in response to my "Gettin' Personal" post. Here are my answers to your lovely inquiries:

Ams asked two questions: What is the one thing you do to pamper yourself? and Do you believe in romantic, true love? That it really exists?

Surprisingly, both of these questions really stumped me. I do things to take care of myself - working out, eating healthily, showering regularly... you know, the basics. I do things that I enjoy - sewing, volunteering at church, spending time with friends, blogging, etc. But I don't think I really, truly do much to pamper myself. I rarely get my nails done (like maybe once a year... maybe twice); I highlight my own hair; I don't splurge often. I take Sunday afternoon naps pretty much every Sunday, but that ends up being more out of necessity than out of pampering. Hmmm, maybe that's something I need to do more often!

Onto the love question, this one was a stumper too. I'm learning to believe in that kind of romantic love, but I've had to really re-train my think from compatible, companionship kind of love to encompass the romantic side of it as well. Does that make sense? For the first time I'm with someone who loves to spoil me with surprises, flowers, treats and acts of service - cleaning my house when my schedule is crazy, taking care of Sadie when I'm working late. I'm learning that it's okay not to be the sole giver in a relationship and enjoy being taken care of me. That's a new - but wonderful - thing for me.

QueenBeeSwain asked me to share a funny story from when I was little. I'm trying to get an old video loaded on here to share. Trust me... it's coming :-)

Officially Mrs. had a series of questions too! Share with us your favorite beauty products. What's the story behind your blog title? What's the first thing you think of when you wake up? What is your favorite indulgence? What do you like most about blogging?

Although I am by no means a beauty connosseur, I have recently fallen in love with Bare Minerals products. I love Maybelline "Pink & Green" mascara in Blackest Black, Physicians Formula eyeliners in brown and black, OPI or Maybelline nail polish, and I am a lip gloss junkie. I have no fewer than 6 tubes in my purse right now ranging from Victoria's Secret to LipSmacker to Kiehl's to SoftLips to Vaseline. I always have to have SOMETHING on my lips. Really, Vaseline is a huge key to my beauty routine.

The story behind my blog title is fairly boring. I sat for a few hours on the couch with Little Sis and Southern Sunshine (by way of AIM) agonizing over what to call my blog. I know I wanted it to include two things, and I wanted alliteration, I toyed with "Sparkles & Spaniels" (I know, ew, right?) and other things. I wanted something that was memorable and a bit quirky, like me. I am super, super girly, and although they aren't an omnipresent part of my life, I felt like polka dots encompassed that feel, and those who know me well know that I have an unwavering devotion to protein bars. I have at least one a day, and I have a very, very, very hard time eating anything else for breakfast. When I threw it out there for a reaction, Ave and AB both gave their approval, and Polka Dots & Protein Bars was born!

The first thing I think of when I wake up tends to be, "Awww, Sadiekins is soooo cute!" She loves snuggling in bed, but as soon as she hears the first notes of my alarm, she is OFFFFFF the bed and ready for breakfast and bathroom time. Because she's so eager and alert upon alarm impact, I'm never even tempted to hit snooze.

My favorite indulgence is ice cream. No joke. I am hands down in love with ice cream. Pretty much any flavor. The more loaded up it is, the more I'll like it. I also love putting peanut butter on my ice cream. I really have a borderline unhealthy obsession with peanut butter too, so combine the two, and wham bam thank you, ma'am, I'm over the moon. S'more have a similar affect on me.

My favorite part about blogging is having a creative outlet to document my thoughts and life. I love being able to go back and read what I've written and put myself back in that frame of mind or emotion and clearly remember what I was going through... be it what I was sharing, or what I was not sharing with my readers at the time. But truly, the best part is getting feedback from readers. My blog is for me, but the fact that you all read it and respond just makes me so incredibly happy.

The New Mrs. asks: We are in a similar field (advertising), so my question is, do you love what you do? And if you could go back to your first year of college, would you change your major/what you wanted to do?

Great question! And I think my answer will seem contradictory. I hate what I do, but I love my field. The job/role I'm in now is degrading, menial and discouraging, BUT, I wouldn't change anything about my major or my decision to go into advertising. I love everything about the creative process, marketing, public relations, promotional work, social media, design. All of it. And although I feel very cornered in my actual day-t0-day job at my agency now, I know it's only a matter of time before I'm able to be more hands on with that process. Advertising and creative are so what I'm meant to do based on my natural tendecies, my personality, my thought process, the way I analyze, my creativity and my skill set. I know people tend to think of advertising and communications as "cupcake majors" or even "cupcake jobs." And I see the point. What I do is not life-and-death. I get to decide which color palette of a logo I prefer, which jingle sounds better, play foosball in the office kitchen. BUT, I think anyone in this industry would agree that it is punishing, grueling, financially unrewarding, and more than most fields, the "pay your dues" period is long, long and long.

USCEmily asks, do you have any big regrets in your life? If so, can you share one and what you would have done differently if given a "do-over."

I think my biggest regret comes in how I handled my relationship with B. My parents disapproved from the get-go, but I fully believed that I could have my cake and eat it too by keeping my relationship with him and my relationship with them separate. That flawed logic led to a lot of dishonesty, a lot of emotional separation from my family, and a lot of missed opportunities with both B and my parents. I don't regret that relationship AT ALL. I am so thankful for the time we spent together, the way I grew, the way we both changed each other for the better, and I miss so many things about it and him. Having said that, though, I handled those nearly 4 years immaturely, and by what I considered "avoiding conflict" and "keeping everyone happy," I caused so much pain to people I love so much, on both sides of the equations. My choices definitely cheapened the experience and led to so much burden on the relationship with B, that I wish I could go back and remove.

The lovely Ms. Mindless says, I'd love to know what you'd be doing and wearing on your idea of a "perfect" day. Of course, to the soundtrack of "Perfect Day" by Hoku from the intro of Legally Blonde.

Why, of course no perfect day could begin without that song and opening montage! My perfect day would probably have to extend way beyond 24 hours. It would start with an amazing workout, and preferably a jaunt to the mountains for a hike. I LOOOVE to hike and be outside, and the temperature would, of course, be perfect on my perfect day. After that I would return home and throw on the perfect daytime sundress with my perfectly groomed coif and wedges or flats. I'd then hop a flight to NYC to spend time with my dearly missed Supermodel friend and a search through Mood and lots of boutiques (all the while scoring incredible finds, since on my perfect day, my budget doesn't matter). Then back to Charlotte to sip some wine... heck, a margarita... with the beau while we make s'mores and baking my little heart out. Then cap it off with a rousing game night (featuring Guesstures, Balderdash, Wii and Apples to Apples) with Lobster and He-Lobs and the fam. Yep, I think that just about does it.