catching up.

Hello hello!  I am upset I have not been able to blog this week, I have been SO busy! But in great news, I finished my 10 minute presentation tonight and surprisingly lived to tell about it!  Now I am taking a little break, catching up on blogs and watching License to Wed. Such an upbeat and cute flick, right?!

I know it is Wednesday, but this past weekend was so fun it deserves a post even if this week is halfway over.  I visited my best friends in Auburn. Friday night we went to an event on their campus called Tiger Nights.  It was so neat, we made magnets, played laser tag, and last but definitely not least we got our picture stamped on a trucker hat.  Because personalized trucker hats are the next big thing..

Saturday we started our day with a boys vs. girls basketball game.  I haven't played sports in forever, and it was fun to play again and our team was almost good.  After we almost dominated the boys in basketball we grabbed lunch and headed to the park.  Suffering from a recent chicken salad obsession, I had requested to try a restaurant dedicated to serving chicken salad and oh mah goodness, that stuff was incredible.  After scarfing down lunch we walked around the park, coveted all the cute dogs, and played on outdoor exercise equipment.

Saturday night we went out to eat at a Seafood restaurant called Creole Shack to celebrate Jamie M's birthday. Again, another delicious meal.

Birthday girl and Rachel!

Jamie G and Me!!

 

My up-do for the evening, thanks to stylists Jamie and Julie!

I hope you are all having a lovely week, three days down only two to go!

a little "happy"

Oh my, this week has taken it's toll on me.  This week has been and next week will be killler.  But I'll save the ranting over that for later.  Now I want to share something that put a smile on my face today.  I got a late Valentine's "happy" today.  Don't get too excited it wasn't from a cute boy, but rather from my Aunt Sherry.  In my Valentine's box I found candy, lip gloss (poppin' lip gloss that is), and the Pioneer Woman's book.

And inside the cover of the book I found this note:

Put bluntly, Valentine's day for the single girl sucks.  I am not going to be dramatic about it but I mean let's face it, not having anyone to buy you pretty flowers, dinky candy, and tacky teddy bears is kind of a downer.  You feel like every girl around you is parading around town with her prince charming while you are stuck at home hanging on every word of Monday night's episode of The Bachelor (true story).  This feeling is similar to the one you felt in elementary school when you got picked last at recess, except recess in this scenario is life, people.  Pity party complete..single on Valentine's= no bueno.

However, this little note from my Aunt gave me hope.  It put my bitter Valentines' days into the bigger picture, and made me realize that while I may have spent the holiday alone, finding the man to share my "forever kind of love story" with will be worth the wait.  I also can't wait to read the book...this summer.

Happy almost FRIDAY!!

hump day/ month.

Happy Hump Day!  Today is special because we have not only tackled the first part of the week, but also the first half of the month of February.  Can you believe it?  I could not be more excited about being on the downhill side of both.  At the end of this week comes my visit to Auburn to celebrate Jamie M's turning 21! For her rite of passage to legal age she is having a sleepover, woo hoo!! I'm already brainstorming a list of people we can prank call at 3 am..kidding. 


A picture from when I visited The Plains last year!



AND, if we are halfway through the month of February that means March is just around the corner.  March is great because of Spring break, warm weather, and Friday afternoons spent in the lazy river at the rec center pool.  Speaking of weather, the weather has been ideal here this week.  I'm talking puts a smile on your face when you get out of bed kind of weather.  All I have seen on campus are shorts, t-shirts, chacos, and flip flops! I am a fan of this and have been able to wear my new sandals I bought a few weeks ago (I always rush the Spring season) sooner than I expected!

Random thoughts for today:

-I am convinced my Special K bars I eat every morning for breakfast are getting smaller.

-My mother texted me today telling me the dates of our family vacation.  Already counting down till that week in my calendar that reads Hilton Head Island in big bold letters!!

-I am making a playlist for my drive to Auburn this weekend, any tune suggestions?

Hope you are having a great day!

definitely a first, probably a last.

This is the first time I have ever posted about fashion.  This is mainly because I don't know really know what my style is or what the style trends are.  I always feel bipolar when I go into shoe departments because I am attracted to both the Merrels and the ridiculously high heels.  I love earthy, yet I love preppy.  And I love to look at all the fashion blogs out there, but by no means do I claim to be a fashionista.  I have a very fond appreciation of J. Crew, Ann Taylor Loft, and Anthropologie but I live in my super fashionable Jones New York black elastic pants.  At least no one can say I am trying to hard, right?

But lately I have become fed up with my winter wardrobe.  I hate the way sweaters look on me, I'm convinced like cameras, they add an extra 10 pounds.  So this weekend my goal has been to rummage through my closet and see what I can pair together to add some new flair to old outfits.

Friday night I paired a light blue ruffled blouse with a tan stripped cardigan and belted it.  I am learning belts are like the mascara of outfits, they are the perfect finishing touch to pull the look together.

And this is what Saturday night looked like:

I paired my silky button up blouse with my favorite Navajo Indian sweater (that's what it most closely resembles to me) and wore some high waisted cords with a belt.  I have had the blouse since Freshman year of college and the sweater since high school, but it was the first time I had worn either in a while.  It felt good to "dress up" and feel like I was wearing a new outfit without a new outfit price tag.

Saturday night I tried a new delicious Mexican restaurant, and then went to the Miss UA pageant.  I am not a real "pageanty" person, but I applaud those ladies for getting up on stage and performing with poise (even though one talent was fake playing the violin).  I sure as heck couldn't do it, and for the love of everyone would not do it in a bathing suit.

Happy Monday/ Valentine's Day!
Spead tha love.

it's weekend time!

I am happy to announce that my first two tests of spring semester are in the books.  This week has been full of stress and an ungodly amount of caffeine.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to a couple of days of quality R&R.  Do you have big weekend plans?

I don't have any huge plans except for the gymnastics meet tonight, possibly the basketball game tomorrow afternoon, and the Miss UA pageant tomorrow night.  Other than that you can find me on the couch catching up on this weeks DVR'd television.

Yesterday was a first for me.  It was my first time to walk to class in the snow.  Any other time we have been blessed with a blanket of snow classes have been cancelled.  I don't know why classes were only delayed until 10 am this time.  Weak move by the University if you ask me.  Here are some pictures I snapped on my phone as I walked to class:

Doster, home of two of my classes this semester.

View from Gorgas library- floor 4M.

Ramp up to Bryant Denny.

A personal favorite, the sitting snowman.

And here are a few shots from the 2010 snow day, in which classes were cancelled and more fun was had! 

Me and rooms in front of a snowy Denny Chimes!



Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Stay warm!

happy, happy, happy!

Happy Hump day readers!
I am in the best mood this afternoon because my night class was just cancelled due to the possibility of snow.  Yes, you read that right the POSSIBILITY of snow has caused our University to shut down.  Ridiculous? Perhaps, but you won't hear any complaining out of me!!

On the subject of happy things I am going share with you a designer whose work always makes me happy because it is cute, creative, and relatable.

Meet Leigh:

Leigh's business started in seventh grade when she doodled her way through Math class (I told you- relatable).  Leigh's designs are not only happy, colorful, and creative but she also incorporates humorous or inspiring quotes.  And as a fan of all things funny, inspirational, and dream-oriented you can see why I love her work.

Here is a mug designed by Leigh that I got for Christmas two years ago from my parents.  The quote reads "The world is full of people who will go their whole lives and not actually live one day.  She did not intend on being one of them."  Nothing like a cute coffee mug telling you to live life to the fullest each day!

  
Other designs I would love to own include:

For more of her work check out the website here! Suuppaa cute stuff if you ask me!

Hope you are having a fantastic day!

short and sweet.

Happy Tuesday!  I am going to keep this post short and sweet because I have a lot on my plate this week and feel guilty when I am not working on all the MANY productive things I could to be doing for school.

The rooms and I are about to be living in the dark.  Light bulb after light bulb has burned out in our apartment and since I am running low on time, this will not become a prioriy until Friday after 1pm.  Homework by the flame of the Sugar and Spice candle shall continue tonight..

Don't you love how music can change your mood? After listening to Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" (I'm Yours) 3 times on repeat my mood improved by leaps and bounds this afternoon.

Thanks be to God and Mother Nature for the beautiful rays of sunshine today.  I walked around campus with squinty eyes because I COULD!  Then I put on my sunglasses, because they have been feeling neglected lately.

In my observation at lab today a little girl came up to me and explained how this Dora bicycle helmet was hers because she wanted it.  Oh if only, little girl..  I started daydreaming about all the things that would be mine if life worked like that.  That daydream was interrupted one minute later to help a different classmate get a "stuck" helmet off their foot.  I avoided asking how it got there in the first place.  I didn't want to know.

Adios amigos!

monday's musings.

How was every one's weekend?  Mine was very relaxing and consisted of hanging out with my parents, eating lunch with Rach Saturday (yay, it had been forever since we had seen each other), studying for my 3 tests this week, and running errands/ shopping with my mother yesterday afternoon!

Annndd we are back to another Monday of Spring Semester.  I wish I could tell you I had a positive attitude getting out of bed this morning, but that was just not the case.  After hitting the snooze button 4 times, I peeped through by blinds, saw the sky full of clouds and wanted to pull the sheets over my head and stay in bed ALL DAY.  This dreary weather is really getting to me.

I'm not the only one the weather is bringing down though.  In fact I was telling the foreign cashier at Ann Taylor Loft yesterday my strategy of buying Spring clothes in hopes to raise the temperatures outside.  Thinking logically, if I buy clothes appropriate for a sunny 72 degree day that's what mother nature will deliver.  Right? Wrong.  The cashier was understanding and said "It (the weather) just bring you down you know?  You look outside, see clouds and say no no no."  She said it best. NO. NO. NO.  She, at least is fortunate enough to have a beautifully dark complexion that gives the appearance of weeks spent in the sunshine at the beach.

Alright, complaining stops now.  Because I do not want to be a complete Negative Nancy, I am going to tell you 2 things I am currently appreciative for:

1. My late Christmas present.  My Aunt Deb ordered me bracelets off of Etsy for Christmas but they didn't make it in time to go under the tree.  Fine by me!  Nothing like a little unexpected happy to boost your mood!

2.  My Human Development labs.  I am required to observe preschool rooms twice a week for my Human Dev. classes.  Observing in the lab is supposed to help us apply the knowledge we are learning in the classroom to "real life".  I LOVE IT.  The children are precious, and say the most hilarious things.  Watching how they interact with each other, how lively they are, how brightly colored their environment is, how everything is new to them really makes you long for the days when you looked at everything with excitement.  Perhaps I am learning more than just the concept of "scaffolding"..

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday's Favorites.

It is FRIDAY and since Friday is by far the best day of the week, Friday's post is devoted to my "favorites" of the week.

To start the day off right, my 9 o'clock class was cancelled.  Can I get a HECK YES!  Because this class was cancelled, I was able to be productive.  And by being productive I mean I caught up on all my DVR'd television. I mainly watched Regis and Kelly's intervew with J Biebs.  I can't help it, I am fascinated by the kid.  Give me those purple 3D glasses and get me in the theater to see Never Say Never pronto!

Favorite items of survival: Fur lined mocassins, Glittens (term coined by Abi), and the ever trusty rainboots.

Can you believe I wore these on campus before I had Uggs?  Yeah....me either.

In true bank robber fashion, I have been wearing these every day this week.

I don't really love these rainboots anymore, but they do their job and with the constant rain Tuscaloosa has seen this week, I can easily get over the loud giraffe pattern.

Favorite idiot:  The moron who treated my Wednesday night seminar as Happy Hour.  Ummm, save your jager for pre-gamming your visit to the bar but leave it out of the classroom.  We nerds actually want to learn!

Favorite quote of the week:  While walking the streets of Nashville last weekend a guy trips and falls forward on the sidewalk.  Lynnlee nudged me and said "Look, he could be your soulmate falling for you."  I'd say there's a good chance..

Now that I made it home, I am getting some good cuddle time with my favortie chiuaua-pug mix!

Ahh, the perks of being home.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

pizza and a movie.

Today is the one month marker of my New Year's resolutions (I started 3 days late)!  And since these were the two resolutions I came up with for 2011:

I am going to tell you about this (healthy) pizza I made Tuesday night.

Ingredients are simple:

Whole wheat pita!

Fresh tomatoes!

Ingredients not pictured: A little olive oil, and mozzarella cheese.  Brush a light coat of olive oil on the pita, and put it in the oven for 5 minutes, take it out and put thinly sliced fresh 'maters on there. Sprinkle cheese on (or in my case dump 2 servings on). Slide that sucker into the oven again until cheese is melted and drum roll please......

Mine was a tad runny due to an excessive coating of olive oil on the pita (oops) and not draining the tomatoes (oops, again) but regardless it was still something different than my usual english muffin and turkey.

After I devoured (and I mean DEVOURED) this personal pita pizza, I went over to my friends apartment for our usual Tuesday night fun.  Yes, we have a designated night of the week for fun.  This week we watched The Social Network. This is not my typical type of movie aka this movie did not have a plot about romance, and a happily-ever-after ending. But, I LOVED it.  And can you blame me?

Mark's sarcasm and one liners were hilarious and I was fascinated with how the most popular social networking website came to be.  If you haven't seen it, you should definitely rent!

I welcome, welcome, WELCOME any simple, healthy recipes you've been making in your kitchen (my creativity is running thin), and any movie rental suggestions.  With weather being this brutally cold, I am tempted to retreat into the lifestyle of a recluse.  All I want to do is wrap up in fleece blankets, hold down my couch and watch movies.  

Stay warm out there bloggers.



ABC.

Surprisingly this post is going to have nothing to do with Micheal Jackson, although ABC is my favorite Jackson 5 song.  This post relates to a store we visited while in the big apple, ABC Carpet & Home.  We stumbled upon this gem while we were in route to the Kate Spade store (for KS lovin' read previous post) and with window displays like this how could we not stop in? 



Phone quality and reflection really reduces the "coolness" that was this window display!



I snapped this against my mother's will inside the store, I couldn't help it.  I loved all the chandeliers.

As mentioned earlier, we just happened upon this store but after doing some research it has been a NYC icon since 1897.  So looky there, we did in fact take in some history on that trip!  This store was filled with unique artwork, dishes, furniture, clothing, jewelry, trinkets, and the neatest lighting.

Warning:  Prices will leave you in shock. There is no doubt that this is decorating for the Upper East Side.  These prices put Pottery Barn to shame. The majority of our conversations in the store went "Omg, look how cute/ neat/ awesome this is!" flip item over then "Omg. Who could pay that kind of money for this?" Still, it is fun to look at for inspiration!  I wish I had taken more photos while I was in the store because the displays were amazing.  Maybe next time, ha!



Happy Hump Day, y'all!

craving sunshine and spring time.

TGIT. (Thank God its Tuesday).  I don't know about you but I'm glad yesterday is in the books.  Longest. Day. Ever.  But, I'm not going to waste the keystrokes complaining about it because what did we all learn from the Lion King? "It doesn't matter, it's in the past".

Now that it is Tuesday I have a little more time to focus on the good things goin on round here.  First off, take a look at the header! FINALLY the blog is back in order, with a title and all.  I thank my good friends at Delicious Design studio for hooking me up with the new header.  Had I had to work on this template a second longer I would have gone all Cam Newton crazy and thrown this machine right out the bloody window.

In other good news, it is February!  I think January is one of the most depressing months of the year so I welcome February with open, open arms.  February means one step closer to Spring which means Spring break whoop whoop.  I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but the looming gloom surrounding the Tuscaloosa area is making me crave Spring even more.  It's time for sunshine and bright colors.  And no one captures bright colors through fabulous designs quite like Kate does.

Kate's ability to incorporate vibrant colors into still very elegant designs is why she has always been my favorite designer. 

Come on sunshine, and come on Kate Spade spring wardrobe..(sadly, neither of these seem to be on the horizon anytime soon)

Enjoy your Tuesday, bloggers!!

weekend play by play.

If sitting on the forth floor of the campus library during class breaks on a Monday morning doesn't snap you back into reality then I just don't know what will..

This weekend the rooms and I had a lovely getaway from school and headed to Nashville and stayed with her family.  Their loft in downtown Nashville looks like this:

I was completely in LOVE with the giant windows, the hardwood floors, and the open layout of the unit.  But the neatest feature of all was the exposed brick.  I felt like I was living an HGTV dream. 

So, now that I have adequately expressed my likings on the place where we stayed here's how the trip went down:

Friday night we had dinner  dinner(S), both of which were delicious.  It seems I am currently suffering from chronic hunger.  I'm seriously baffeled at how I can manage to be hungry ALL. THE. TIME.  After the second meal (in my defense, both meals were fish- not very filling, right?! right.) we went to The Stage, a seemingly popular bar in downtown Nashvegas. 

The Stage was crowded, country, and the people were a hot mess.  Not really bringing any bar-going attire, I wore a very conservative Landsend turtle neck, a button up jacket, and a scarf.  Cute, but not necessarily the come hither look that much of my competition was sporting.  You live you learn right?  Regardless of the endless rejection (except for one 50 year old man-grody), we still had fun discovering our new favorite venue of people watching.  Note to all my single ladies out thur- leave the turtlenecks at home.  They get you no where, trust me.

Saturday we went shopping in Green Hills and in Franklin.  I turned down buying a scarf I loved for $250, and a pair of to-die-for boots that were $1,280 (not even justifiable when you break that down to price per foot).  Franklin, Tennessee is precious as you can see here:

 

Filled with cute boutiques, friendly people, and in our case gorgeous weather-Franklin was a perfect way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.  That night we went to see Shrek the musical.  I was so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open but the production was phemonenal.  I am still amazed at the talent of the cast.

Before heading back to Tuscaloosa sunday afternoon we got brunch at the best little cafe, Margot cafe.  If you are ever in Nashville this is THE place to go for Sunday brunch.

The place had a great atmosphere and I can still taste my mozarella and broccoli omlette with crispy potatoes, mmm it so so good!

Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Cheers to a new week!