Running

Now don't go thinking I'm a super athlete or anything, but I do dabble in running and biking. I am a swimmer by training but I attempt to run and bike so that I can participate in local, shortened of course, triathlons. But lately I have not been running so much lately because of the weather. But I am getting back to it so that I can get that Spring Break 2K12 body. But since I'm back at it, I would like to express my love for my Nike Free Run 2+ tennis shoes. They are so lightweight and comfy! You might be thinking that it's just a fad, but these shoes are actually really great! When I first tried them on I didn't think I would really want them, but my feet fell in love the moment I put them on! I usually love a lot of arch support and I assumed that these shoes wouldn't have very much arch support since they were so lightweight, but I was wrong. These have a great arch support and aren't really just for running. They can cross over to many athletic activities. I have some bright magenta and lime green ones that are pretty bright, but that's what makes them so much fun to wear! I hate to wear tennis shoes if I'm not working out but these are just so great it's hard not to want to wear them everyday! I recomend these shoes to anyone wanting a new fun athletic shoe.
xoxo

Currently Obsessed?

Hey y'all. It's gonna be a quick post this week. But do any of y'all have a currently obsessed account or know anything about it? I have heard about it and looked at it a little bit, but is it just like Pinterest? From what I've seen, it seems to just be like Pinterest. Any of y'all know anything about it? Let me know!
xoxo

Moccasins

Moccasins are one of my favorite fall shoes. Yes. It is no longer fall but they just go great with so many colors! I love all the neutrals and a pair of moccasins. Minnetonka moccasins are great because they come in different  styles and colors. I love how they are pretty casual but they're better than just sneakers. I can get away with wearing them to church but I have to wear a nicer dress. They are just such an easy shoes and really comfortable. You can ease them into every season if you choose the right outfit and color scheme. They are an easy neutral. I just love love my moccasins! They're just great. 
xoxo 

Chapstick or Lip Balm?

I love chapstick. Literally. It might just be my obsession. Well, one of many. But, this weekend I went on a trip and I had 6 tubes of chapstick on me. Just on the bus. That is not including the tubes in my toiletries (about 4 more). The bus trip was only about 5 hours, so why did I think that I needed 6 tubes of chapstick? I do not know. I guess certain brands and scents are meant for certain times. 

I used to use Vaseline regularly but I don't like the greasy feeling of it on my lips anymore. I have also enjoyed using the regular Chapstick brand and I like it too but I've just kind of stopped using it. Now I swear by Burt's Bee's . I love all the scents/flavors/types. I have tried every kind. Some people I know love the Outdoor Res-Q protection kind but I don't like the fact that it has a gritty texture rather than the typical Burt's Bees smooth glide. I also love the Acai Berry but I sometimes get funny looks because of the scent. The honey smells nice but otherwise it seems to be just like the classic. The classic mint scented one is great especially if you love mint like me! It's a different scent but the product is good. My all time favorite has to be the Mango butter. The scent is amazing and it glides on so smoothly!
I use the tinted Burt's Bee's too but it sadly doesn't have the same nice scents the others come in, it only comes in unscented (?). But the tint is good but not too much that it's as dark as lipstick. I have also used the new Maybelline Baby Lip's but it just seems a little cheap and more about the packaging than the product. Those who swear by Lip Smacker's... I do not know why. If you love the taste of Strawberry sugar maybe... But I like Baby Lip's enough but nothing can compete with the Burt's Bee's mango butter. 
Have any of y'all tried the EOS sphere lip balm? I have heard some good things about it, but I haven't tried it yet. What do y'all think about it?
 
I'm not sure how my love for chapstick started, but I love it. Even if I'm wearing lipstick or gloss, I always have a good chapstick to put on as a bottom coat and a top coat.
Any suggestions for a good lip scrub? I need a good one.
xoxo

Pintrest

Have you all heard of the website Pintrest? Well if not, it is considered an online pinboard where people put things they find on blogs and share with others. Many teenage girls, college girls, and moms use pintrest to find beauty tips, recipes, and organization tips. You can follow friends and look at their ideas that they find which is even better. The website makes you sign in through either Facebook or Twitter, which is not exactly always the best, but it is easier to find friends that way. I do not think an account is that necessary because you can still see many of the posts without your own account. I am not as big of a fan as some people but the idea is great. There are so many fun ideas and crafts on Pintrest and I encourage you to go check it out if you haven't already. 

Disney Pixar

Disney Pixar movies have to be the best movies ever. I love all of them. Period. They are great. I went through a period where I would go through learning everything I could about every Disney Pixar movie. I think, although I love the ones I grew up with, Up is my favorite. I love the plot line of the young Ellie and Carl and watching them grow together. I want to go to Paradise Falls badly now and I want an entire Up inspired bedroom. And the colors and balloons are so inviting and fun! (I love that word. Fun.) It is so sweet at the end when Carl gives Russell his grape soda pins. That sweet moment really shows how Carl has changed and accepted love back into his heart.

But all the other Disney Pixar's are great too. I grew up along with Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I had my own Jessie doll, named a dog after Jessie, and dressed up as her on multiple Halloween's. My cousin and I played Toy Story all the time. 

I was never the biggest fan of Bug's Life because the grasshopper, Hopper. He was too mean.
Monster's Inc. was okay. I loved Boo and how precious and innocent she was, but the movie overall seemed to be lacking compared to other Disney Pixars.
Finding Nemo was another one of my favorites. I loved the idea of a fish getting lost in the ocean. (Who comes up with these ideas?) In the end, the connection Nemo makes with the other fish in the tank is so sweet. But when Nemo is reunited with his dad, Marlin? Tears in my eyes. It was great. The "fish are friends, not food" was such an ironic theme and Dory was just a hilarious character with her short term memory loss. The love between Nemo and his dad was so easy to relate to a rebellious teenager that I couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

The Incredible's was a great one as well and such a fun twist on the superhero theme. Mr. Incredible seemed like the typical father who couldn't help but reminisce the glory days of college. And Elastigirl? Typical mom trying to run the household and proving that even with superpowers, she can't run a perfect home. The relationship between Dash and Violet reminded me of my little brother and me, so fun. Frozone was a fun guy to watch ("Honey, where is my supa suit?! Where. Is. My. Supa. Suit?!?)  And when Jack Jack finds his powers at the end it's just so happy, because now there is one united super family. 

Wall E is one that I am not a huge fan of but it still has its own message. Don't get fat. Or leave Earth. but I'm just kidding. It's cool that we now have a robotic protagonist contrary to the idea that computers will take over the world. Eve and Wall E seem Romeo and Juliet- esque with the idea that they are from 2 different worlds. A cute couple but they cannot beat Sally and Lightning.  


Cars. Again, who comes up with these ideas? Talking cars? Ok. When Lightning finds himself in Radiator Springs, he's in for a surprise. He learns to cope with others and look into himself and his past. Doc teaches him a new way of seeing the world and Sally proves him wrong about his life. Once again, we have that hilarious Dory/Frozone character, Mater. The redneck stereotype of a tow truck. And the pun in his name, Tow Mater. Funny guy.


Ratatouille is also a sad one in some ways. Again, a rat who cooks? Pixar sure knows how to think out of the box. The setting of France is a wonderful idea with all the culture they can add in. There is a little bit of romance in there, and family history and following your own dreams even if they are hard to reach. Remy doesn't fit into the stereotype so he makes his own path. A great inspirational movie with the added bonus of cooking. Yum!


But Disney Pixar? My favorites. I could go on and on. I will leave you here to go finish those Pixar's you never finished. Two thumbs up for Pixar!
xoxo

Instagram

Disney World. Once Upon a Time

Chai tea and Jane Eyre from this summer

Nail Polishes

Delicious Sweet Leaf Green Tea

Christmas Present from Philosophy

For those of you who have iPhones, one of my favorite apps is the Instagram app. It's a really fun app that allows you to take a picture and then add some edits to it and post it under your account. You can follow people and like their pictures and comment on them. It's a really dandy app. I love the fact that there are some photographers, some amateurs, and some people who just use it to connect with their friends. There are pictures of stills, landscapes, textures, people, and some simple household items. But the filters can make almost anything look cool! Some Instagrammers are celebrities so you can follow their story, or show, or movie, or tour. However, it does only come on the iPhone so there are a limited number of people who use this site/app/toy. But overall, it's a great app and I recommend it to anyone who has an iPhone. Comment with your username so I can see your photos!

(P.S. Temple Run anybody? Fun game. Look it up.)

xoxo

Baking Dilema

Macaroons seem to be popping up everywhere, as well as cake pops. I have seen recipes and pictures of the 2 in multiple places, but I have yet to attempt them myself. I have eaten cake pops before and I love them! But I have never tried macaroons. They seem to be very complicated to make pretty, them and cake pops as well. From the attempts I've seen at cake pops, they are very hard to make look nice. They are tasty but difficult to perfect. The same with macaroons. They are everywhere and even considered style. Wedding blogs are posting about them all the time but I have yet to attempt them myself. They just seem so difficult and I feel like I should leave them to the professionals. What do y'all think? Should I attempt to create these tasty treats or wait and make some easier treats in the meantime?

(P.S. Y'all, aren't the baseball ones just so perfect for the spring? I'm so excited for this season! I love me some baseball pants! )

Thanks y'all!

xoxo

A Sad Sad Day

One of the saddest things ever happened to me the other day. I was getting out of my car but little did I know, my iPhone was sitting in my lap. I stood up and then, plop. There goes my iPhone, crash on the gravel, where the screen shatters. And now I am very sad. My poor iPhone is all shattered, like really bad. So I think I will have to go to the Apple store and see how much a new screen will cost. I am not excited. I do not want to lose my phone for them to fix it. Not excited. But I will have to give it up to let it get fixed. :(

Ke$ha

My friends have always been music gurus and we seem to get into music debates often. I learned to have a sense of my own musical identity defending my position in these debates but sometimes I feel like trashy and terrible music is just fun. For example, Ke$ha. 

Ke$ha is great even though her music is pretty trashy and talentless. Ke$ha just brings out the dance in us all. The glitter and the crazy makeup and the messy wavy hair. Something about Ke$ha just makes her so interesting and fun. Did anyone read the recent Seventeen magazine article about her? I did and it was interesting because she sounded like such a down to earth person, unfazed by the media. I recently purchased all her songs on iTunes and while they are all fun to dance to, my top 10 favorites are:

1. Crazy Beautiful Life

2. Sleazy

3. We R Who We R

4. Blind

5. The Harold Song

6. Your Love is My Drug

7. Grow a Pear

8. Blow

9. Dinosaur

10. Party at a Rich Dude's House

Something about Ke$ha is fun, and while I do not think that Ke$ha is quality music, I can't help but love her. I mean glitter? Come on. 

xoxo 

Caffeine

The world seems to run on caffeine these days. Starbucks are everywhere and coffee cups are sold everywhere. Diet coke seems to be the drink of choice among women everywhere (zero calories? sign me up please!) Tea is a staple in the South as well as England. Everyone has their own choice in beverage with caffeine. 

I love black coffee but I never seem to make that my drink of choice. I prefer to make a homemade mocha, half coffee and half hot chocolate. It seems so much more interesting than just black coffee but it is still simple enough.

Chai tea lattes are one of my favorites. Skim chai latte from Starbucks just means road trip for me. It's warm and sweet like hot chocolate, but also spicy and floral like tea. Just a great drink in any form. There are also bunches of recipes online to make it at home.

Diet Coke is always a must. Easy and affordable. No guilt like most of the fancy gourmet sugar coffees.

I can't deny myself of a Starbucks frappachino every once in a while during the summer. But a warm drink just makes a dreary winter morning all the better.

xoxo

Froyo

Or frozen yogurt for those of us who have difficulties with abrrevs. (abbreviations, obvs.) But if you haven't noticed, it seems that these froyo stores are cropping up everywhere. A new franchise that has just started to boom. For those of you who have never been to one, the basic idea is that you pick out a bowl and can fill it with as many toppings and as much yogurt and then you pay by the ounce. Many stores have multiple flavors, some of which change out every day. Today was a friend's birthday so a group went to a yogurt place down the road and we celebrated with yogurt. Froyo seems like a much better option than ice cream as long as you limit yourself. Especially if you can measure out how much you want for yourself. Don't go crazy with the toppings and then end up with a $10 bowl of yogurt that you don't want. Yogurt is delicious but don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach. I'm loving testing out all the new yogurt places here so check your hometown and let me know if you can find any good treasures.

xoxo