polka dots and candy bars

....while watching the Oscar's drunk. I'm not going to pussy-foot around IT, you guys. I was pretty drunk for the Oscars. Not to mention the fact that I went to not one, but TWO, Oscar parties across town from each other. Somehow, I was still able to catch Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director. I cheered during Patricia Arquette's speech  (in a completely quiet room, might I add. Now that I know that Meryl and JLo had my back, I feel a lot less self-conscious.), was confused about how lame Kerry Washington's dress was during the red carpet, and loved that Alejandro (I'm not even going to attempt his last name) ignored Sean Penn's comment. But, after logging onto Facebook, I realized that there were some things I missed. Things I missed: 1. Joan Rivers not being included in the "In Memoriam" --I definitely watched that sequence, but I think I was stuffing my face with a brownie (something that Joan would disapprove of, I'm

Photo credit: ThinkSoul25  Normally, I stick to the hard and fast rule of "No workout buddies, unless it's for a race". This has served me well, since sometimes, you want to be able to take your time on the treadmill, lift weights, do ab exercises, etc., without actually socializing with another person. Sometimes, it's nice to just be. However, there are other times when it's nice to have the camaraderie of another person sweating next to you on the treadmill. That person appreciates the fact that you dragged yourself out of bed at 6AM to make it to the gym and, therefore, does not judge you when you text, "OMG! I JUST WANT BACON" at 10AM. True story. Recently, my friend Mike and I have been working out together, as one does when they live a solid 10 minute walk from one another, and, because our schedules don't necessarily align, we always workout at the crack of dawn. Literally, I'm up at 5:30AM-6:30AM (depending on the day/the level of

Love me, love me Ahhh, Valentine's Day. Or, Gal entine's day, depending on whether you are so persuaded. The day that makes otherwise confident woman feel mopey and puts most guys on edge. I've never really been one for Valentine's Day, outside of the tasty chocolates. Those  I love. However, when a co-worker pointed out to me that if I wait a day (not my strong suit, but I gave it a whirl) all of the Valentine's Day candy is AT LEAST 50% off. I officially became ALL ABOUT VALENTINE"S DAY. However, for those not entirely food motivated, Valentine's Day can be nerve-wracking, anxiety-inducing, and all around crummy. But, never fear, VERMONT TEDDY BEAR IS HERE!!! I'm not even joking guys, there were MULTIPLE commercials for this life size teddy bear a couple of days before Valentine's Day. Tag line being, "Why get her flowers or chocolate, when you can get her a large Vermont Teddy bear??" You have to almost feel sorry for the guy or

Hey gang! I'm trying to take this blogging thing a bit more seriously, so look forward to some changes to the look of the blog, and, hopefully, some more interaction from yours truly. Feel free to leave comments in the space below OR email me at questions@polkadotsandcandybars.com , for any suggestions you might have or topics that you'd like to see covered! Thanks for reading! Erika 

Basically me in high school, but taken from Gretna Green Not literally, of course. High school's only bright spot was the light at the end of the tunnel--college. I am talking about the uniform that I wore. While I was in  high school, it was loathed. However, since then, I've found myself finding more and more reasons to wear black watch plaid (I don't know why, don't look at me like that!). It all started with the very chic and, somewhat off-kilter, look of black watch plaid pants that I bought from Lord & Taylor (yes, they still very much exist and things are a lot cheaper than I remember). Then, I found myself on a mad hunt for a black watch plaid shirt--though, admittedly, I saw a girl on the Metro wearing them with distressed jeans that had a very edgy, relaxed vibe that I couldn't resist. You get the idea: buy the shirt, look like the girl. Basically the premise of every advertising campaign ever. Anyway, I digress. Now, I've found myself lust

I know that there are a lot of different opinions about what I'm about to say (or, type, if you want to be specific), but hold your comments until the end and hear me out. I'm a runner that enjoys listening to upbeat pop songs during her run. Ok, I've said it. Release the dogs! While I do love running, when it's 20 degrees (or less) outside, I need a little bit of extra motivation. The same goes for the opposite effect (who's paying for all this meat ?). Honestly, I need a playlist for the gym too. I have separate playlists for running, cycling, or the elliptical. You could say that I'm pretty serious about my playlists. My motivation can soar or plummet, depending on how good the playlist is. If I'm really in the mood to workout and my playlist is lackluster, I'll put it on shuffle. Mainly because, I have a need to listen to my most recently downloaded song 80 times before I'm sick of it. Anyway, because I love y'all, I'm sharing

Hellooo Blogger Nation!      I can't believe that the last time I posted something here was in September?!?! I've been thinking about what to write for so long that I imagine I thought that I'd already written something in this space and that not that much time has elapsed since my last post...Ooops! With a New Year comes resolutions to be better versions of ourselves and, inevitably, a new gym membership and picking up that project that we meant with all of our little hearts to finish. So...I guess you see where I'm going with this. Yes, I have both a new gym membership (which reminds me that I need to cancel the old  gym membership) and have decided (and am making myself accountable) for writing more here. If any of you were aware of how many times I think about this blog each day, you'd wonder why there weren't MULTIPLE posts a day, rather than the intermittent 5 posts for all of 2014. Double oops? One of my resolutions for 2014 (that I complete