After working through the morning (lots of research for a freelance piece!), I was more than ready for a break.
My break came at 1 p.m., as I headed out the door to College Park Orthodontics to check in with my orthodontist to make sure everything was looking okay with my teeth following my treatment with Invisalign.
I wanted to have new retainers made before we move to Ocala, so I booked an appointment and was really looking forward to seeing my orthodontist again. I love her!
My orthodontist got married about a year before me, so I loved visiting her and chatting about everything wedding related during my Invisalign treatment. Then, a couple of months ago, she had a beautiful baby boy. She emailed me pictures and showed me more today and he is the cutest little guy!
My appointment went really well and I will have brand spankin’ new retainers in less than two weeks… in “passion pink.” Yes, I got to pick the color. And yes, I’m 26-years-old and picking the colors of my retainers and the flavors of the gooey stuff they put in your mouth to take the impressions for retainers still excites me.
If you happen to live in Orlando and are in need of a fantastic orthodontist, I highly recommend Dr. Williams. She has degrees from Boston College, Harvard and the University of Florida and is all-around awesome. She’s also offering a promo right now: If you sign up for Invisalign treatment with her before August 1, you get a $50 gift card to Whole Foods or Sports Authority. Sweet deal, huh?
She also offered to do a little giveaway on the blog!
Two readers will receive their choice of one $50 gift card to Whole Foods or Sports Authority, courtesy of College Park Orthodontics.
To enter this giveaway, simply comment on this post in one of two ways:
- Tell me about your experience with braces. How amazing it felt when you got your braces off, how you looked like a total toolbag in junior high because you picked neon rubber bands… Share!
or
- Tell me which celebrity you think has the best teeth. My vote is for Carrie Underwood.
I will randomly select two winners tomorrow afternoon.
Lunch
Lunch today was enjoyed en route to the orthodontist. I ate a quesadilla with apple slices and Canadian bacon in the car, so no photo was snapped.
I did snap a photo of dessert though!
After my orthodontist appointment, I stopped by a fro yo place and enjoyed a cup of white chocolate mousse, espresso, triple chocolate and Butterbeer frozen yogurt (can’t WAIT for Harry Potter tomorrow!!!) topped with peanut M&Ms, Golden Grahams, Butterfinger crumbles, yogurt pretzels, cookie dough, cheesecake and brownie bits.
The whole thing was resting in my belly within two minutes of me digging in.
And now I’m blogging away in Starbucks where I plan to spend the remainder of my afternoon.
A realtor has been showing our apartment to prospective tenants this whole week and I had to get out of there. The realtor doesn’t have a key, so I’ve had to be there for every showing and today I finally told her I’d hide her a key because I feel like I’m lying by omission as potential tenants come in and I don’t say anything about the mice. She understands how bad the situation is and I can’t believe they’re trying to rent it out when the problem is so immense.
You better believe I am asking EVERY homeowner about a history of mice before we move in somewhere in Ocala!
And I’m off!
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! 
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I remember when I got my braces off. I had them quite a while ago, and they were the shiny metallic ones, wires and everything. Once they were off, my teeth felt so smooth that I went nuts running my tongue back and forth over them!!!
I had a bad apartment experience. I rented my first apartment in Chicago during the winter. It was beautiful, all art deco and hardwood. I was living by myself and specifically asked the guy who was showing me the place if it was safe for a single female. He assured me repeatedly it was.
Suffice to say, as it started to get warmer, it got more than a bit sketchy. Gangs, drugs, me getting hassled while walking to the train at 7AM dressed in business clothes!! Final straw for me was a big coke bust in the ‘hood.
The guy who rented to me wanted me to sub-lease the apartment on my own. I told him “No way! I won’t misrepresent this apartment or neighborhood to anyone the way you did to me.” I figured he’d keep my security deposit, and at that point, I didn’t really even care any more.
To my surprise, he did the right thing, found another tenant, and mailed me my deposit. I was shocked. Pleased, but shocked. Did my own research before renting the next place. Lesson learned on trusting a realtor ………..
I had braces in middle school and always had the colorful rubber bands. My teeth looked so great once they were off!
Halle Berry has amazing teeth!
When I was younger, I was able to stick my pinky finger in between my front two teeth!! I finally got braces in 8th grade and now they look fabulous.
January Jones has got a gorgeous smile! Her pearly whites are pretty nice.
Luckily, I was able to make it through childhood with just a retainer! I guess I got lucky with some decently straight teeth … no braces for me.
[peanut butter] fingers crossed that I win!!! 😉
-Caroline
I think Ashley Judd has the most beautiful smile 😀
And as for a braces story…I can still remember how tense and achy my mouth felt after getting my braces tightened. And I’ll never forget how smooth and slimy my teeth felt the day I finally got my braces removed.
I had braces in middle school and I always made sure to pick the most outrageous and (looking back) the most embarrassing colors of rubber bands. I had to have colors that matched holidays (red and green for Christmas, ect) and of course one can’t forget the wide array of neon color choices for summer time! What can I say, I was cool….
I had braces from 6th grade till 9th grade. They were absolutely horrendous. I would get the multi-colored bands too bc I thought they were so cool. FAIL. After finally getting them off in 9th grade I couldn’t have been happier. I have to say though, all the pain was totally worth it!
I loved my experience with braces. I love my smile now and still wear a retainer on the bottom row of my teeth and a removable one at night.
My sister had braces and I remember her wearing them with black rubberbands (no idea why she chose that color) and it looked like her teeth were rotten. I feel so bad for typing this!
For some reason when you ask about celeb teeth, the only person who comes to mind is Gary Busey — his teeth are massive!
Oh yeah I had braces and was so pumped each time I went to switch out the colors!!! Now I look at pictures and what I dork I looked like….oh well, didn’t think so at the time 🙂
I was definitely the kid in high school that got band colors to match the upcoming holidays. Luckily, I only had them on for about 2 years, and boy was it nice to get them off!
This is pretty gross… but I never had braces and always wondered what it was like. When my best friend got her braces off in 7th grade, for some reason her Dr. gave her them to keep. After brushing them, I put the wire brace up to my teeth to see what it looked/felt like. Thinking back, I can’t believe I did that. SO gross! And also; is it normal to keep your braces!?
Ryan Seacrest has a pretty bangin’ smile. It must be an American Idol thing!
So easy. Billy Zane. That man has the teeth of the gods. Of the GODS I tell you.
I had to have braces TWICE! For 4 years total! It sucked, but now my teeth are pretty straight… I always forget to wear my retainer though so one of my bottom teeth is migrating inward!
I always got colored braces! I had to have two colors and I usually did blue and yellow, my high school colors! So my braces always matched my softball and volleyball uniforms! So cheesy, i know!!
I love Anna Paquin’s teeth! I like that she never had the gap in her front teeth fixed, she just owned it.
I had braces for 2 1/2 years and I hated them. I finally got them off a week before my junior year pictures were taken and I was so happy. Even though they are one of the worst things to deal with during high school, it was worth it.
I had braces all throughout middle school. After the braces though, I kinda stopped wearing my retainers before the prescribed time (sorry mom!). I like the results though: my bite is good and my teeth are straight, but still have some character, as they shifted a bit after I gave up the retainers.
Oh, and I totally rocked the neon bands. The silver braces were already so painfully obvious, why not make them obnoxiously obvious? And my retainers- glow in the dark orange. With glitter 🙂
I had some major work done because I had two teeth growing in the roof of my mouth. I remember the day when I finally got my braces off, I was so excited. My orthodonist had a picture of me running out the door on his board with the caption “i’m outta here!” …awesome 🙂
I wanted braces so bad growing up (I know its weird) but then I got them, hah 😉 It was worth it though because I love to smile and feel confident doing so! I also have permanent retainers and I like to show them to my kids at work because they think they’re cool 😉
I must be one of your…ahem…older readers because I had the full metal braces, I don’t think the coloured bands were invented yet 🙂 I did have those little elastics to pull some teeth forward, they came in handy as hair elastics for little braids.
I also agree with the Jennifer Aniston comments, she does have perfect teeth.
I got braces in 6th grade after i came home SOBBING to my mom. I was standing in the lunch line when my girlfriend told this boy i liked that he should be my boyfriend (so mature) and he looked at me and said she’s cute but what’s up with her teeth and made this hand motion (i’ll never forget). I told my mom i couldnt go back to school unless I had braces. She felt my pain so i went to the orthodontist the next week! Now i get complemented on my teeth alllll the time!
I had braces forever – and I’m kicking myself for not wearing my retainer after all that expensive work because now my teeth are all messed up again!
My braces came at the most awkward phase of my life, so that was just perfect. The best part was my expandable retainer with watermelon print on it that my mom had to crank wider every night with a special key. How adorable.
Never got braces… my gap I had when I was little closed in on its own.. but I like Juia Roberts’ teeth/smile!
My experience with braces was pretty typical for junior high–I thought i was the coolest kid ever, getting to pick the colors of the rubber bands and everything. Then when I got the bands that connect the top and bottom, I decided to see what would happen if I opened my mouth realllly wide. Not cool. Lot’s of ice cream to soothe the pain though 😉
And I DEFINITELY think Julia Roberts has the best smile! Her teeth are beautiful and her smile is so warm…she seems so confident because of it! I admire her as a woman because her happiness is contagious!
I love Hilary Duff’s teeth–even though there veneers!
I had braces in middle school and had neon color rubber bands – pink, green, blue! I mixed and matched and went all out for the holidays. I had red and green alternating ones at christmas. I was so cool.
And, I totally got a blue sparkly retainer when I got my braces off in high school. My teeth were as smooth as piano keys. I’ll never forget that feeling.
i had to have braces twice! once on just the front four teeth, and then a full set. miserable!
I had braces twice! Once in elementary school and again in high school. Of course I had to choose colors to complement the season (black and orange for fall, red and green for winter etc..) I was such an awkward child but I thought I was really cool. I just wish someone told me how silly I looked back then !
I had braces in 7th and 8th grade. It was AWFUL! I looked like a complete doofus in every single picture. I got them out last year and it’s amazing. My teeth are lovely.
My retainer is pink, too! I love your sparkly case, mine is yellow.
Eva Mendes has the best smile.
Have you seen the new “Summer of Sausage” adds at Whole Foods? So awkwardly hilarious!
hahahaha no, but i love that!
My braces came off my freshman year of high school…and all I wanted to do was lick my teeth! It felt amazing but weird at the same time– but I was sure happy to be able to legally chew gum, and eat caramel again (not to mention candy apples)!
I’m thinking of going back to the orthodontist too…I’d love to get a permanent bar put on the back of my bottom teeth so i don’t have to worry about putting in an actual retainer every so often.
I got braces in high school, right as all of my friends had just gotten their’s off, so I wasn’t too excited. However, I love my dentist (who has both a dentist and orthodontist degree) and he did an amazing job and I only had them on for a year. My teeth were straight before, but now they’re pretty much perfect, so it was completely worth the 12 months on metal.
I got my braces on in junior high and of course I was super excited. However, after two years of braces I wanted them off! It was two days before my first formal at school and I was determined to be brace free. I politely asked my doctor to take them off, adding in a few good reasons why. Amazingly I went to my first formal braces free 🙂
My experience with braces wasn’t too bad! Although I was the first one of my friends to get them, I only had to keep them on for about a year. I think I always went with the neutral colored bands though.
I love Lea Michele’s teeth–white, healthy-looking and the perfect size for her face!
Nicest orthodontist ever! I used to eat foods that popped my brackets off (like Nerds) and blame it on other foods. Didn’t make my mom too happy!
Ummmm, I had headgear. No joke. Full on metal sticking out of my mouth, strap around my neck headgear. Even at 8 I knew it wasn’t cool!!
I had braces in middle school and would match my bands to my basketball team’s jersey – one year it was black and teal. Think about those colors in your mouth! HA!
Ohh I definitely remember my braces experience! I had a mouth full of braces for four years! It seemed like forever… and thinking back on it, it was quite a while ot have braces. Howeverrr, it was totally worth it, I am always, always, complimented on my smile 😀 Three cheers for braces!
Mmm – that dessert looks awesome. I wish invisalign was a real option back when I was a kid. Instead I had a big ol’ set of metal braces in my mouth from about 6th – 7th grade! AWESOME!
BUT I did used to get color bands to match the holidays (orange and black for Halloween and red and green for Christmas). So cool, I know.
I loved having braces and I loved my orthodontist (I know, it’s really weird)! However, once I got into college I stopped wearing my retainer and now I am regretting it because my teeth could still be perfectly straight if I hadn’t neglected it.
I totally rocked the colored rubber bands..I still remember getting my braces on and choosing the red and blue colors for the 4th of July so my teeth were blinged out in red, white and blue 🙂 I was sooo excited to get braces and then sooo excited to have them off! It was worth it though..I get compliments on my teeth all the time!
Braces sucked! I still have an imprint on the inside of my lip, from where the brackets left indentations! Ickk.
But I’m glad you’re getting your retainer! 🙂
i hated having braces! i wish i would have taken wearing my retainers after they were removed more seriously!
I was JUST looking at pics of Kristin Cavallari and she has SUCH great teeth! So do Blake Lively and Jessica Biel!
I had braces (and head gear..haha – I only had to wear it at night!) from 7th to 10th grade. I used to coordinate the colors of braces with holidays. Green and red at Christmas, black and orange at Halloween. Wow, that sounds like a dumb idea looking back…