It me. I'm Collin. Shockingly, I hate talking about myself but here are the CliffsNotes. 31, Texan turned cruise ship character turned Texan turned Chicagoan turned Texan. Event designer and planner. Interior designer and stylist. Corporate badass. Partner and double dog dad. Cursed with an aggressive gluten intolerance but also a passion for bread and no fucks to give. Why a newsletter? It gives me a creative outlet with a deadline and my therapist says these things are important. Plus, I love to read, shop, share, and most importantly spend time on the internet. I don't sleep.

It's crazy to think I've spent ten years doing anything other than praying for Britney Spears but I am an events professional. I am LEGIT. I've been responsible for the sale, design, internal production management, and on-site coordination for weddings, social events, corporate events, and everything in between for pretty much everyone. But seriously, if I wanted to name drop - here's where I would do it. Currently, I work in corporate event management but I always open to accepting new social (weddings and parties) clients. With my clients, I operate transparently (bluntly) and with integrity - trust me, that's hard to come by. Again, I don't sleep.

What is Olivia Ann Interiors? Glad you asked. Named for my mother and grandmothers (yes, I'm gay), OA is an entirely virtual interior design service. Traditional Interior Design is so snooty and so inaccessible for so many which is not how I roll. You send me a picture of the space(s) in question as well as their dimensions and some direction, we have a few phone calls, and then I send you a complete plan - a moodboard, a virtual rendering of the new space(s), as well as a shopping list that you purchase and install at your own pace. It's affordable and accessible. Yeah, still not sleeping.

Listen, I know I am late to the party on this one BUT I need to convert any other stragglers. It is truth bomb after truth bomb and, dare I say, changing my life. "Blessed are those brave enough to make things awkward, for they wake us up and move us forward." If you won't take my word for it, you should know that Adele is equally obsessed.

1) Follow their Instagram. 2) The new book is from a rising New York Times reporter and tells the compelling story of The Compton Cowboys, a group of African-American men and women who defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America’s most notorious cities.

If we are close friends, you have been forced to take a copy of this book from me and I regret nothing, In this weird isolated time, this is a perfect book to make you feel some feels - not too fluffy, not too heavy. Damn near perfect. It's gone viral and Amazon snatched up the movie rights!

Don't click that link - you're trying to save money and your closet is already full. Just because it's on sale doesn't mean we need it. Actually, click it - I found some GOOD stuff this week.

I mean, talk about an ICON.

Comedian and writer Joel Kim Booster talks reading Jane Austen on his first trip to Fire Island and what the classic author understood about 21st-century, gay social mores.

It’s pronounced MEEZ-ahn-plahs.

The pesky, perpetual worry that friends, family, and colleagues are seething about something I said or didn’t say.

When the things you used to deem fun now just make you tired.

From classics like "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle" to new films, like "Desperados" and "Someone Great," getting older is still seen as a bad thing. And that has to change. 

Inspired by a heady mix of international influences, designer Mark D. Sikes and architect Paul Brant Williger infused a 1924 historic home with new life. 

"Like so many of my summer recipes, this was created out of an urgent need to feed a large group of hungry friends on Fire Island." - Dan Pelosi, GrossyPelosi. (Apparently Fire Island is a recurring theme this issue?)

To be clear, this is a POOL HOUSE by Atlanta decorator Phoebe Howard. 

With homemade pimento cheese and a tangy comeback sauce for dipping, I am AROUSED.