Basically CG and I laid on Bondi Beach for two days soaking up the wonderful rays. You can read about my initial thoughts in my first post from down under. We have declared that the hottest bartender in Bondi area works at Mad Pizza, on top of being incredibly attractive he was a doll! Another noteable happening is that we got hit on by three confident high school students, we kindly informed them that we were older than we appeared hha. We chatted for a while and were very flattered. As a rule I try to be as sensitive as possible in those 'I'm super not interested situations' because it takes a lot of 'balls' (for lack of a better word) to approach and commence conversation! So, good for them, good for us!

We left this.

And we found ourselves here.

We arrived at Tullamarine on Wednesday afternoon around two and took a bus to Kings Cross tram station where Chloe and I were met by Mr. MF himself! The reunion was epic, running, hugging the whole sha-bang which was promptly followed up by MF handing us literal 'Friend Cards.' A green plastic card that had big block letters across the front reading FRIEND. So we immediately knew where we stood haha, just kidding they were cards that would allow us to ride the tram system. And we were off.

After a great night of catching up with a few old friends and making some new ones, CG and I rented a car and sort of attached ourselves to another group of three adventurers. This three-some was kind enough to invite us on their Great Ocean Road Camping Trip Extravaganza, the only way it could have worked out better is if MF didn't have to work. But CG and I bid him farewell and said YES to this experience.

We saw kangaroos in the wild, and koalas! We stayed in some beautiful free camp sites, we drove on the left side of the road from Torquay all the way to the last of the piglets! 

Around 11am we headed down to the beach front, found a free community grill top and made a delicious brunch of scrambled eggs and steak. We ate off the grill like animals, sharing forks and drinking mimosas! It was a beautiful moment! 

Promptly after returning from the beach we made a massive spaghetti feast and played a hilarious game of guys vs. girls charades. Then we made our way across town on the tram to The Thornbury Theater for one hell of an amazing concert. Firstly the venue was beautiful, very classy feeling, with serve yourself water and plenty of room for groovin'! 

Nahko and his band rocked it out, hard. The coolest part was that his guitarist is from Minnesota and even knows one of our good buddies. Little Buffalo, or better known as Dustin Thomas has one of the most admirable stage presence I have seen in a long time! His smile was highly contagious and his dancing was sexy to say the least. 

We met an amazing new friend we met on the train, Mohed, who we invited to play plane charades with us and then he even came to the concert with us on a whim, his openness to the situation and 7 random strangers was a thing of beauty! 

Unfortunately CG had to depart back to the states, her agency would fall apart without her so I guess I'll have to try to keep it together. Miss her already but luckily I am surrounded by a few other amazing pals!

On this lazy Monday we watched a few movies because it was rainy and MF and I started planning how we would celebrate my birthday week!!!

We rounded out the evening with some Boozy Bingo at Base Backpackers Hostel. It was really fun although I was pretty offended by the extensive abuse of a beautiful young lady entitled 'the bingo bitch!'

I am having the time of my life and I am so lucky to have met the best people! Can't wait to tell you more, remember to keep living in your present and reaching for the stars! 

xoxox, kp

CG and I made it to Australia, about 24 hours ago we flew into this beautiful destination and began the trip of a life time. 

We spent the first day getting our bearings, checked into our lovely hotel in Darlinghurst, did a lot of laying on Bondi Beach, championed the bus system and drank wine out of a water bottle. We haven't even stopped to take any pictures yet.. but don't worry that will not continue. As much as we aren't going to experience this trip through a screen or lens we will be properly documenting, don't you worry.

Having constant access to the internet is definitely something I take for granted at home, so naturally I miss being able to tweet at any moment (my budget is being spent on way better things than an international phone plan). BUT I got in as much as possible during the jaunt over here...

I will do my best to check-in a few times but mostly I am so excited to maximize every moment of this trip, life is for living and while I am out here doing my thing my hope for my readers is that you are all doing the same! Cheers to life & livin' it to the fullest!

xoxo, kp

In part one of this story I wrote about a pair of heeled boots that I love dearly and I am excited to tell this even deeper love story. 

These boots are Harley, I found them at a thrift store in Washington DC when I was living there in 2010. THEY WERE $14!!! It was a magical moment in my shopping history and to this day these are my FAVORITE SHOES. 

I wear these beauties with the zippers and fabulous floppy tongues ALL OF THE TIME. I wear them so much that they have broken, TWICE & I love them so much that I have gotten them fixed TWICE. 

The first fix was shoddy, they broke again in the same exact spot - I won't be going back to that shop again. It is extra lame because I paid way more to get them fixed the first time and the second time seems to be sticking A LOT better. I have worn the boots several times since getting them back from OLD WORLD COBBLER and LEATHER REPAIR. 

Alex (the third generation of OLD WORLD COBBLERS) told me that if they broke again he would take care of it, no cost but he also seemed pretty confident he would never see those adorable boots in his storefront again.

I'm so glad that I can wear these boots everyday if I want, honestly they are fab. They only give me an extra two er so inches, and aren't super glamorous but they look fabulous zipped up or down and are mega-comfy - not to mention how TOTALLY BAD ASS they are. It feels like I get compliments almost every single time I wear them.

This is brought to you by KatiaPriceless & Old World Cobblers - Complete Shoe and Leather Repair. 

xox, kp

I met up with my pals JE and DB, two guys I haven't seen in far too long. We just chilled at JE's place, had a few brewskis and WATCHED HOCKEY. The Minnesota Wild and the University of Minnesota Gophers were both victorious on Thursday and it was a very uplifting thing to watch. DB wasn't the best at remembering to go back and forth to the different channels, since the games overlapped for a while, but we did manage to see most of the excitement. DB and I did our own sports commentary in amazing Iron Range accents, JE was rolling at our comedic chemistry :) haha. 

My tweets from the night are pretty entertaining as well.

I spent the day at the Foundry Home Goods and as soon as I closed up I headed to the Target Center to watch the basketball game.

The picture below thoroughly expresses how amazing this night was (even though the Rockets lost, yes I was cheering for Houston over Minnesota). 

After the Wolves pulled off an impressive win over a team actually in the play-offs this crew dispersed and most of us (everyone over 21) ended up on a rooftop and partied the night away! <3

Hockey + My Girls = <3 the only thing that would have been the night better was if the Gophers would have won, but I love them any ways.

We watched the game from a couch, drank a few beers, and got some delicious Gingerhop delivery. Sometimes staying in is much more satisfying than going out on the town, especially with such brilliant ladies next to me. I may have been the only person truly immersed in the game the whole time and the ladies were a bit distracting (especially LG) but not spending the evening with them was not an option, not with my upcoming trip so close. Spending as much quality time with my loved ones has and will be priority until I leave.

I slept in and then at the very last minute a day trip to Target Field was planned and I got to spend the day watching an entertaining game with three of my favorite boys; my bother KP Jr and two of my cousins, AH + TH! 

I love sports (and sometimes that is all I do all weekend long) but mostly I love watching sports with friends & family. Sports bring people together, give people a reason to cheer or chirp, either way there is a lovable passion. Win or lose a sporing event is about the experience, it's about who you are watching with, who is cheering next to you and how classy you are when your team doesn't come out on top. Good sportsmanship is a skill that crosses over into so many other areas of life.

I hope you & your teams had a great weekend and that the fans or fraaaans that you spend time with make you a better player, life may not be a game but you can still play with passion, skill and creativity.  

xoxo, kp

Most of my days are spent day dreaming about my upcoming trip and all of the things that are going to happen with in the trip. Arriving in Sydney, Meeting up with MF, seeing Lorde in concert in Melbourne's Festival Hall, and most importantly MY BIRTHDAY! I'm not sure how I can be expected to house this much excitement in my human body.

However I am still trying to be social, have fun and BE PRESENT! Spending every second in anticipation of a trip that could very well never happen is not the way I choose to live. Staying in the moment is so important to maintaining my balance. I can't waste precious moments of life just because I have so amazing up coming plans, there are still moments to create and to cherish all around me.

Friday Night was extra special because I was asleep by 10 and got a wonderful amount of slumber. It lead to a productive Saturday!

I spent a few hours in the morning helping a friend who is refinishing their kitchen, stripping cabinets and re-staining the wood. I was sweating, coughing up saw dust, using power tools and the whole nine yards. 

After getting cleaned up I drove my mom to Minnetonka, had one beer and headed right back to Minneapolis. I planted myself in 'Nordest' for the night, a great group of girls and I made our way to Gastofs for dancing and debauchery. I had a great time but I am not sure when I'll be able to go back, I ran into way too many (2) boys I dated before I could drive. YIKES!

I found myself rooted in the same place, NE with the same glorious group of friends. We spent ten hours in the front lawn, enjoying the sun, playing with puppies, chatting up neighborhood pedestrians, laughing each time a new law chair sunk so far it tipped over. The day could not have been spent any better way.

We wore funny clothes, broke a few chairs, got a bit muddy, ordered pizzas, smoked a lot of hookah, met some of the neighbors and had a really great time!

We even migrated a whole city block and ended the evening with some delicioso Mexican food and karaoke at Adelitas!


For good measure I am going to add a fourth day to this weekend in review...

I attended the Minnesota Twins Home Opener at Target Field with my mom and one of her friends. The weather was wonderful, our seats were not shaded so I got to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin (a sensation this MN winter almost convinced me I'd never feel again!). The Twinkies may not have brought home a win but the day overall was a W in my book.

If your climate resembles mine and summer is arriving, if your spring has sprung, no more parkas, no more bitching and moaning - there is only maximizing the time that can be spent outside!


xoxo, kp

I believe when I first picked these boots up at b. resale, my friend Allison (the owner / b. boss lady) said something along the lines of, 'I can't believe I didn't think of you when I saw those... those boots are SO you...' Blah blah blah something sounding sales pitchy but in actuality the boots are perfect for me, classic me style. Allison was just being a good friend, looking out, helping me to justify a purchase that I was likely to make regardless.

I bought the boots and loved them more than if I had been their first possessor. The fact that they were already broken in with some soft creases for easy walking was lovely.

Unfortunately one night I was out with a few girlfriends and we were dancing our way through downtown Minneapolis, proper NE, the Northloop, slutty corner (the name I've given to 1st & 6th area). All of a sudden, I believe we were at 'the Well' when the rubber sole fell off of my left boot's heel. Lucky for me I was sober enough, and being observant. I collected the rubber piece, remarkably keeping track of it for the remainder of the evening.

I had to walk around a bit differently, sort of a waddle-strut to try and keep the damage to the wooden part of the heal to a minimum. Like Allison and I both said in a few different phrasings, these boots were made for me, essential to maximize my wardrobes potential, yada yada, so the next week I promptly found a shoe repair place and put them to the test.

Once before I had paid to get a pair of boots repaired, only to have them break in the same exact spot weeks later. I won't name names, this isn't that kind of blog. I will say that this new place I found, a small inconspicuous hole on Lyndale appears less promising than a more prominent, expensive looking store front in a similar part of town. Apply that thing they say about judging a book's cover...

I am in love with Old World Cobblers - Complete Shoe and Leather Repair. You would barely notice this store front if you weren't in the market for a cobbler but I was and I did. I don't remember what else I was in Uptown for but luckily I decided to stop in.

The owner, Alex was wonderful. He took my boots and the piece of rubber sole that I brought in and explained to me that he would have to build the heel back up. When I had walked on the shoe after dancing it to death the heel started to wear off so before he could put the sole back on he had to make it even with the other heel's height. (There is a detail shot above where you can sort of see what I have explained.) It all made perfect sense, he seemed trustworthy, so I left these puppies (and even a few more pairs!). When I returned Alex promised me that I could dance as hard as I wanted and those boots should be able to handle any kind of move that I could bust.

The boots had been cleaned to perfection and I could not wait to get them on my feet. I wore them for about 6 days straight on a trip to Chicago. I even got a huge compliment from a seriously fashionable man on the L while I was taking the redline one night. 

"Those are great boots, love the chunky heel girl." Fashion Guy on the Train
Me : #giddy with thank yous

Not only did I refuse to let a pair of perfectly beautiful shoes be added to a landfill but I put a man to work, stimulated the economy and invested in my wardrobe. With their new reinforced strength these boots could quite possibly out live me.

xox, kp

This installment and all future 'For the Love of Shoes' features are brought to you by KatiaPriceless & Old World Cobblers - Complete Shoe and Leather Repair

MINNEAPOLIS IF YOU NEED SHOES OR LEATHER GOODIES REPAIRED THIS IS THE PLACE, fo reals!