I LEFT MY HEART IN MISSISSIPPI

For my winter break I got to fly down to Mississippi to visit my boyfriend for 11 days. It was so much fun. He lives right on the edge of Mississippi and Louisiana, and Memphis is only 20 minutes away.
He lives in a really nice apartment complex, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. He lives with his sister, Andrea, and their 2 doggies- Abby and Winston. Jake recently adopted Winston, and we have no idea what breed he is. He is so adorable.

Of course, right when we got home we just had to exchange Christmas presents! I couldn't wait to give him his gifts. I got him a stocking, with lots of stocking stuffers. I also got him a remote control helicopter (which he LOVED) and made him a frame-which I blogged about below. He got me a frame, a shirt, and cowboy boots! I seriously love them so much.

Since Jake had to work a lot :(, we spent a lot of time at the apartment. Which was nice, and very laid-back. Jake's parents went out for New Years Eve, so the kids stayed home and had a little celebration. It was just Jake, Andrea, Dylan (their step-brother), and me. We played monopoly and made yummy snacks and watched the ball drop. It was a great start to the New Year.

The night before I left, Jake took me to downtown Memphis. There is an awesome street called Beale Street, where there are tons of little bars and shops. We went to Gus's Fried Chicken, which is a famous little hole-in-the-wall place with delicious chicken! 

I also got to try fried green tomatoes for the first time, which were so yummy! And Jake made a lover of sweet tea out of me! Sweet tea is on all of the menus in the south, and it is amazing. 

After we ate, we walked around Beale Street. 

There were so many cool shops and little bars and restaurants. On the weekends the police block the road off, so you can just walk wherever. There were awesome carriages that lined the roads, they looked like something out of Cinderella. My favorite part was all of the jazz places, since Memphis is like the jazz capital of the world there were so many places that honored that. And in almost every shop you go in there are a ton of Elvis products! I plan to visit Graceland (where Elvis lived and died) next time I visit! 

I had so much fun. I absolutely love the south and I can't wait to go back! After about a 3 hour flight home, I will be going back to school this week (boo) and my mini vacation will be over. But I am so glad I got to visit with my love and his wonderful family. I'm already planning my next trip to the south :) 

DIY GIFT

I made this framed wall-hanging for my boyfriend, who lives in Mississippi, for Christmas. I get to go visit him at the end of December, and I'm really excited to give him his presents :). [Click Here] to visit our blog, Oh, How Crafty! to see how it was made!

BOOK LIST

I love to read. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. I also love to recommend books to my friends and family- because one of the best parts of reading is being able to talk about it with someone afterwards! Whenever I don't have a new book to read, I go back to my personal collection and pick one that I haven't read in a while and reread it. My family always makes fun of me because they think its pointless to read something you've already read, but I enjoy it. It honestly gives you a chance to pick up on stuff you may not have caught during your first read. I recently reread a book by Jodi Picoult (one of my favorite authors) and that is what inspired me to create this book list! It is simply a list of books I have really enjoyed and would recommend to other readers out there!

"Water for Elephants"

I read this book before it became a movie, and although I really did enjoy the film I highly recommend that you read the book too! No movie could ever portray the detail put into this book. For those of you who haven't seen the film, the book is about a circus in the 30's, and a young man's journey while working there. It is also a love story, for you girls. But it is a great read for guys too, my dad really loved it! For those of you who liked this book, Sara Gruen wrote another book called "Ape House" which was also an awesome read! 

"Something Borrowed"

This book also became a movie! But the movie was extremely different from the book. I did enjoy the movie, but the book was a little more serious- whereas the movie was pretty much a romantic comedy. The book is about a lawyer who has just turned 30 and has always been stuck in the shadow of her best friend. It is a very relatable story with a very intriguing twist- the main character is in love and having a relationship with her best friend's fiancé. It is a great story, and an easy read. There is also a sequel, by Emily Griffin, to the book called "Something Blue" which I also read and loved! 

"Picture Perfect"

I am a HUGE Jodi Picoult fan. I have read several of her books, and I would recommend every single one of them to any audience. But I am going to save myself some room here and only include two of her books in this list- an older one and a new one. "Picture Perfect" is an older one, written in the 90's. It is a very complex storyline, but a very easy and quick read. I can't relay too much of the storyline for fear of giving too much away, but it is about the complexities of a marriage (between a scholar and a movie star) and it has a very dramatic twist! 

"Sing You Home"

This is my pick for one of Picoult's newer books, and one of my absolute favorites of hers. It is a very unique storyline and nothing like anything I've ever read. It is a huge advocate for gay rights. It is about a relationship between two women and their fight to have children. The book also has a CD that includes a song for each chapter that you read.

"The Hunger Games"

I read this book in one day, and I could not stop talking about it. It has an awesome storyline, and something that you would never expect. It takes place in the future, and is in the perspective of a younger girl who is picked for The Hunger Games. That is all I am going to reveal about the storyline, and alls I have to say is that if you haven't read it, you need to read it now. It also has sequels by Suzanna Collins, that are must reads, called "Catching Fire" and "Mocking Jay". These books are also rumored to become movies, which I am really excited about! 

"Simply From Scratch"

I had never read anything from this author (Alicia Bessette) before, and my grandmother actually recommended it to me. I was kind of skeptical at first, because the first couple of pages somewhat bored me. But, I decided to give it a chance and kept reading and I loved it! It is about a young widow coping with the sudden death of her husband and the unexpected relationships she makes along the way. It is a story filled with love and hope, and is definitely an uplifting read! 

"Confessions of a Shopaholic"

I love Sophie Kinsella. She is a British author, and so funny. She tells a story of a woman who has a little bit of a shopping addiction. For those of you who love shopping, you will really appreciate her funny, heartwarming story of one woman's shopping problems and love life. There are also a few sequels to this story (which I have read, and are so worth the read) : "Shopaholic Ties the Knot", "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan", "Shopaholic and Sister", and "Mini Shopaholic". 

"The Help"

Such an amazing story by Kathryn Stockett. It takes place during the 60's, when African American rights really come into play. It is a story of a white woman and her unexpected relationships with black women, and ends up helping them in a tremendous way. It is a page turner, and I became emotionally attached to the book (haha). It also became a movie, which I have not seen yet, but I did hear great things about it. But movie or no movie, I really recommend this read.

"Chelsea Chelsea, Bang Bang"

For those of you that like comedy. I love Chelsea Handler. I love her show. I just love her, in general. I think she is hilarious, and I read all of her books- which I recommend ALL of them. But "Chelsea Chelsea, Bang Bang" was probably my favorite. All of her books are a collection of short stories, written by Chelsea herself. They instantly put you in a good mood. They are a little vulgar, and she does swear, but it is SO funny.

That is it for my book list for now. I could go on and on for pages, but I'm not going to do that! I hope you do read at least one of these books. And if you do, feel free to let me know what you thought about them!

Enjoy ;)

DIETING 101

One day, a couple weeks ago, I decided that I would go on a diet. Nothing too extreme- because (I will admit it) I do enjoy sweets and other yummy (albeit, fattening) treats. Now, I decided this at night and made a promise to myself that the following morning I would get my butt up and exercise. At my parents house, we have a little home "gym". It is in my basement and includes: a VERY old treadmill, some weight machines, a bench, some random hand weights, and an ancient stereo. Although it isn't as shiny and new as a local gym, is suffices.
Well, that morning I DID get up and exercise. I got up around 9, and I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes (let me add that I was doing this while listening to Christmas music). That went pretty well, so I continued on to doing some pretty intense ab exercises and a couple things with weights. After this, I drank a lot of water and made myself a tasty, healthy lunch. My lunch consisted of cut up cucumbers, and a whole grain english muffin with apple butter.

During this time I was developing a severe cough (and I am still trying to get over it). It was a constant, deep cough and every single time I had a coughing fit my stomach muscles would tense up. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but since I had the bright idea to do an ab work out, I suffered greatly for the next couple of days. It was torture haha and I will NEVER EVER work out like that again while being sick. ...but anyways, that next day my mom and I decided to go to the grocery store and get some healthy stuff to eat. My goal was to get stuff that I could grab and take to school with me. We decided on...

some lean cold-cut turkey, yogurt and granola, whole grain fig newtons, fiber one bars, almonds, and some fruits and veggies.

Very yummy stuff. Now, since then I have exercised a few times (things have been hectic trying to get my fall semester over with) and I've been pretty conscious of what I have been eating but I also have done some no-no's. But, everything in moderation! It is okay to eat some things that aren't so good, as long as it isn't an everyday habit! So I'm not discouraged- yet!
I also got some ingredients for a yummy salad! I made one the next day. It had romaine lettuce, cut up cucumber, turkey, sunflower seeds, dried cherries, and poppyseed dressing!

Tips and input are always appreciated, so if anyone has some helpful ideas they would like to share let me know!
Happy dieting ;)

p.s. If you were wondering....yes I am aware that it is the holidays, and yes I am aware of how hard it is to diet during this season!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

There is officially one week until Christmas! As always, I am very exited. We already started off the season right with all of our traditions!
Our entire family (on mom's side) always goes to some sort of Christmas show. In the past we have gone to the Rockettes at the Fox Theatre, White Christmas at the Fox Theatre, The Christmas Carol at Meadowbrook Theatre, and Plaid Tidings at the Gem Theatre in Detroit. We had such a blast last year, that we decided to visit the Gem Theatre again this year to see All Night Strut- a Christmas musical.
We always start off the day by meeting at grandpas to visit with the family, then we head to the theatre. The Gem is a smaller theatre, but very nice!

When we get there, there is a little bar and seating area. The family always gets a few refreshments and visits and takes pictures! Then we head into the theatre (we have had the first row two years in a row!). This year's show, All Night Strut, which was a musical and they were very talented!

After the show we head back to grandpa's again, where we eat dinner and visit some more!

Another holiday tradition we always do is baking cookies! It's only mom, my sister, and me, but it is very fun. We make sugar cookies and decorate them- which always proves to be a laugh because our decorating skills aren't always the greatest.

We will be doing our decorating this week, just in time for Christmas!

Yesterday, we went shopping. Mom and I met Niki at the mall, which wasn't so bad at first...but around noon it got crazy! Lots of last minute shoppers! We did get almost all of our shopping done. I'm pretty excited about my Christmas list this year :-). I'm most excited about the Fossil purse, Fossil watch, and Kindle Fire.

I can't wait!

This week I have to finish up with two classes- Intro to Logic and World Civilizations. On Monday I have to take two exams, which I am not too excited about but I AM relieved to finish up the fall semester!
In fact right now I am supposed to be studying, but as always I am distracting myself. Right now, my friend, Carrissa, and I are currently in a war, where we are both trying to come up with as many famous names that you can insert "Quinn" into (Quinn is her 6 month old daughter :-) ).

It is day two, and it's starting to get ridiculous.

Tomorrow, after my exams, we will be having another craft day! I'm sure we will be updating our craft blog (Oh, How Crafty!) so make sure you check it out!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!

OH HOW CRAFTY

My best friend, Carrissa, and I are always on Pinterest looking for fun, new projects and crafts to do! Because we came up with so many ideas, we decided to create a joint blog to post about and share all of it! The crafts we do are very easy to do! So feel free to steal our ideas and inspiration to have your own crafty fun! Visit our new blog- Oh, How Crafty! to read about our adventures, and the many more to come! :-)

GROWING UP

When you are in elementary school, you start to build a framework for your life. You start to establish what kind of friends you are going to have, what kind of hobbies you may come to enjoy, your talents, your favorite things, the things you can not stand, all sorts of things. Then comes middle school. Those years are pretty hard. Kids are cruel. And during those years, every preteen feels lost at some point or another. Basically, you try to get through those years as fast as you can. Then high school comes, and those four years are filled with happy and confusing and sad and crazy memories. In high school, you pretty much have established the group of friends you fit in best with. Although I had several friends, a lot of my friends were different from each other- they weren't friends with one another. Which at times made life difficult, but it also made life interesting. I got to meet a lot of different people, and that was fun. When you graduate high school, you make packs with all of those friends, promising that you will always stay in touch no matter what. The first year, freshman year, was okay. You keep in touch (thank goodness for Facebook, right?) and you still consider them your best girlfriends. But as time goes on, you start to realize that those old friends you had, the ones you always thought you would be calling when you were still forty years old...actually turn out to be the friends you don't really turn to anymore. Parents were right when they always said that during college you find out who your real friends are. On that note, it is especially hard to remain friends with people who don't understand and don't always support your decisions. This may sound whiney, but it is hard. My dilemma, is that I'm with someone. And I love him. I'm excited, and happy. And I would like to be able to share it with all of my girlfriends, but they don't understand. I have a few friends, my best friends, who are there no matter what and for that I am truly thankful. But I am scared to tell my other friends, and thats not right. I should not be scared. I am also thankful for that special guy in my life, who helps keep me sane through school and all that other crazy stuff. Maybe growing up isn't just about the obvious stuff, maybe its about accepting that you are who you are and that you should surround yourself with people who support you. No matter what.

GOALS OF FALL, 2011

this is so cliche...but i really want to make a "bucket list", if you will, for this fall. just a list to remind me of all the things i would like to accomplish:

-first of all, i am planning on going to a really sweet apple orchard/cider mill with all the works, like the hay maze and hay ride and all that good stuff.

-carve a freaking awesome pumpkin, like the one above

-go to a haunted house, and try not to cry

-get a freaking job. fingers crossed that the tanning salon job will work out!!

-apply for a disney internship

-lose a little weight...basically just eat better and exercise and try to be more health conscious about what is going into my body

-work on my study habits! i am planning on doing awesome this semester

-have a more positive attitude about things, everyone can use a little more optimism in their lives

-go visit a friend up at school, like a little weekend getaway

-be a better friend, period

-be more organized with life in general! try to cut some clutter out of my life

-go through my closet (yet again) and get rid of all the crap i never wear/use!

-continue being happy