Keeping Calm

My sis is in town which means I finally get to see the final Harry Potter movie.
Some of my more fanatical friends have probably already seen it 54,786 times by now but whatever. 
I'm not an overboard fan.
I read the books, saw some of movies.

But otherwise for one of my friends who trusts me with a sharpie and her iPhone cover, I made her day...

Keep Calm Harry and Ron. Classic.
xoxo,
 

Once you go Mac, you don't go back

I'm now the proud owner of this baby. 
(Thank you, sweet Erica, for getting me one heck of a deal!)

Yeah, I might be late in the game but, good Lord, I finally have one!
Goodbye janky two piece laptop proptop!
Hello more vlogs and postings!

xoxo,
 

My (other, non biological) little sister's wedding

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be in another of my sorority sister's weddings. Most people I know who are in too many weddings get all 27 dresses, but for me, I loved standing next to my stunning friend and watch as she married her best friend.

Long story short, Kelsey and I lived together in the sorority house when she met Weston, he swooped her off her feet, and she transferred to go frolic with him in Kentucky. 
Kelsey, a cyclist, fell in love with a pro BMX rider.
Match made in heaven.
I could probably write a few posts on how amazing this couple is, but I'll save you from your jealousies.

Now on to the wedding.

The whole thing was simple gorgeous.
The unique chapel where they actually met and got engaged.
Wow.
I wish I had more professional pictures to share.

xoxo,
 

Stop. Take a Breath.

Sometimes I feel as though I go through my whole day in a complete rush.
Wake up, put on makeup, scramble together an outfit, go to work, get off, sometimes workout, feed my tv addiciton, go to bed, repeat.
The flash of a day can make me feel beat up.
That's why I have small gestures to remind myself of my blessed life, as simple as they may be.


Make a genuine act of kindness. Engage someone in conversation. Open a door. Give a smile. Make time for someone else.Say please and thank you. Nothing makes my day brighter than seeing people go by the Golden Rule.

Go to bed early. Sounds silly being that I'm only 24 going on 85 but if I can slip into an early night's rest, I will have my batteries fully charged like I was a 4 year old again.

Tell someone you love them. I tell my boyfriend and my family I love them at the end of every phone call, but those words can get lost in the routine of conversation. Instead I try to tell them something random that makes me love them when the moments right.

Eat desert. I like to eat mine first.


Take a day for yourself. We all deserve one.


and last but not least


Show Appreciation. In the big things. In the small things. In all things. Share it with others.


xoxo,
 

New Challenge

Currently I am trying to tackle this hair style...also known as the waterfall braid

via

It doesn't look too difficult minus the whole cannot see what you are doing part and the numbness from your arms always holding up your hair while you are doing it.Plus, I need my hair straight to do this. I tried to do it with my current wavy hair, but something about curly pieces reminds me of an 80's wedding...
I'll keep you posted ;)
xoxo,
 

Headed In a New Direction

Welp, folks, I did something today that I thought would be the most difficult thing I've had to do in a year and a half.
I turned in my two weeks notice to a job I love with a group of the most amazing people.
If you reflect back on this post, I had already told y'all that I wanted to go back to school. And back to school I shall go (once I get that whole GRE thing out of the way...).
So come July 18th, I will be starting over back to square one.
But you know what? That's ok.
I have big plans.

xoxo,

 

The Reds, The Whites, and The Blues

Happy 4th of July, people!


Recently, I've been loving a solid white pedicure with some cheap nail polish I picked up at target, but thought I could do something patriotic on my nails that would both outlast the holiday and not look to trendy. (Trust me, I've had enough glitter, shatter, graphics on my nails to call myself a trendster too...)
But it ended up looking like a patriotic mess so instead this is what I came up with.

Simple, clean navy nails with Essie's Mesmorize.

Also being that my nieces are in town, I wanted to make a little fun something for them...and came up with striped cupcakes! Actually, I cannot take credit for this. My friend, Brooke, tweeted about making some of her own, and I loved it so much I had to copy.

To make the cupcakes is really quite easy. Using a basic cupcake recipe, divide in thirds and use food coloring for two of the layers. Just make sure you use the back of a spoon to smooth out each layer before laying the next down. Top with cream cheese icing (my fav) and some sprinkles.

They were a yummy hit.

Now I'm off to go shoot some more fireworks tonight.

Now if only I can get my other niece to take a photo with me...

Have a happy and safe holiday!

xoxo,