10 Day You Challenge, Friday Favorite

Five Foods

(1) One of my favorites: Pasta. My family is part Italian and my Grandma used to cook so many pasta dishes. My favorite is probably lasagna or pesto penne. Pretty much if it's full of carbs, I probably love it.

(2) My addiction: Watermelon. I love all fruits, especially melons, but watermelons are my absolute favorite. I could eat a whole one in one sitting, no doubt. Yummmmmmm :) Craving some now, just thinking about it.

(3) One of the most interesting foods I've had recently was: oysters (and also alligator). The oysters were very strange, kind of slimy, but I don't completely regret trying it. The alligator was pretty good. A little bit chewy which I don't really love, but I liked it! I had it once a long time ago, but forgot what it was like.

(4) The food I'm eating right now is: Brownies! My mom made brownies to send to my brothers in Norfolk. It turns out they decided to come home today and surprise her -- so I get to taste test one :)

(5) The food I wish I loved is: Mushrooms. I just do not like them, and I'm not sure why. It might be something that I need to try again in a couple years and maybe I'll have acquired a taste? They just seem to be on everything! I'll see something and it will look so good, then I see it has mushrooms...buh bye.

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is the start of Hokie football :) I'm pretty excited! I'll share pictures later.

Here is my favorite thing this Friday:

-I Would Do Anything For You- Foster The People

I'm a little bit obsessed with FTP. Their CD was my summer jam (alternating with country) and I've been re-listening to it this week. LOVE them.

That's all :)

xoxo,

Fall Must Haves & 10 day You Challenge

I fell off the challenge train (that sounds bad) when I got to my anniversary post/WILW. I need to finish it though! I'll go crazy if not.

I'm at Six Places. I think I'm going to do six places that hold significance to myself/my life!

(1) McLean, VA

This is where my Momma and her siblings grew up and where my grandparents lived for many, many years! As in decades. I spent all major holidays in McLean for many years and even lived there for a bit and attended a pre-school. I can't tell you how many times I've had to stick my head out the window and help Momma merge onto the beltway.  Or how many times I've browsed through Tysons. As crazy as NOVA is, I always looked forward to going to McLean and, since my grandparents have passed away, I have missed being there. Now, my Uncle and Aunt live there, as well as my cousin. Also many friends from the area!

(2) Charleston, SC

This is where my big brother was first stationed when he got out of boot camp. He did his schooling here. We had the privilege to visit him a couple of times and lemme tell ya, if you haven't been there, you need to go!! It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The architecture is gorgeous, the food is delicious, there is plenty to do, lots of shopping, tons of culture...I could go on. It's unlike the other coastal cities I've been to (VA Beach, Wilmington, Hilton Head, etc.) It's not so beach centered. Love it. Wouldn't mind sticking out a couple years there :)

(3) Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA

This is where I was born and where my family lived until I was about 8 years old (and then we moved to Blacksburg). Like McLean, I have many fond memories of this area including our two houses we lived in, birthday parties, our church, our school (Tallwood), our family friends, pets, adventures and more! Currently my brothers live in Norfolk, so I fortunately still get to visit the area :)

(4) Angels of Assisi Animal Shelter, Roanoke, VA

This is where we adopted Sadie from :) We spent months looking at dogs online and saying "okay, one day we'll go look at one..." I think Momma still wasn't fully convinced we needed a dog, but the moment I saw "Jolene" (her shelter name) on the AoA website we were IN LOVE.

Her website picture

We went to the shelter on a Saturday and she was in the isolation room because she had kennel cough. The lady said for us to look at other dogs, just in case. We looked at the other ones (including Sadie's mom - wahh) and saw some potentials. Then, we asked to see her. The lady gave her to Momma to hold so she could keep the other dog (her sister) back in the cage and you could see it in her face...she was the one :) We took her home right then and there!

(5) Allentown, PA

This is where SB's family is from and where I have had the opportunity to visit several times. His family is so warm welcoming and always treats me as if I were family too. Whenever I hear of kids at Tech coming from Allentown I smile :) When I used to think of PA, I would think of Philly but since I've seen the "amish country" I suppose it's called, I have a whole new outlook! While I don't think I could handle their snow (ehhh) the part of town his family lives in is beautiful! Makes me feel like I'm out in the country/VA :)

(6) Blacksburg High School (the one on Patrick Henry)

For those of you bloggers who don't know (which is 99% of you I'm sure), during my freshman year of college, our high school gym collapsed. I want to say it was on Valentine's Day, actually. Right around there. It was on a Saturday morning when no one was inside, but just happened to occur the morning after a basketball game when the gym was COMPLETELY full of families, fans, etc. What could have been a tragedy turned out to be a huge inconvenience for all. Anyway, to make a long story short, our middle school (brand new when I entered 6th grade) turned into the high school and our middle school students now go to school in an old building in the neighboring Christiansburg. TO MY POINT: I will be quite sad to see my high school torn down. The building has been deemed unsafe, unusable, etc. They will tear it down in the near future. I'm one of those people, though, that loved high school. I loved all the different classes and teachers and having 45 minute classes and seeing all my friends all day. I spent many afternoons watching baseball games and running around the track. I started a wonderful relationship that I am so blessed to be in. I found new friendships that have lasted throughout college. Eventually all I will have are my memories, and that's okay. But I'll have to go snap a picture or two just in case I get old one day ;)


Whew! There ya go!
I feel exhausted. Still, on my mind, is that it is the first day of September. Which means it will be FALL soon! Yikes? I don't know, I absolutely love summer but I keep seeing cute fall clothes and I want some crisp weather to wear it in.

Here are my Top 5 Fall Must Haves :)

1. Scarves

I love scarves not only because they look cute, but they can take a "plain" outfit of jeans and a white tee and bring it together and make it cute! I have several different scarves, most of them are patterned but I have a few solid colors. I can't wait to wear them!

2. Vera Bradley Stadium Blanket

I ran out and picked this baby up before the store even had them out! I had to ask where they were and she brought me one from the back. These are fleece-lined and super cute - bursting with color. I got the blanket in Mocha Rouge (shown) because it has some brown in it - Lehigh's color :) Since I assume I'll be using it at those freeeeezing cold PA spring games!

3. The North Face Denali Jacket

You can't go wrong with a North Face fleece. The Denali jacket is warm, comfortable and looks cute with almost any outfit! It has zippered pockets which is perfect to keep your phone/wallet from falling out, or to keep your hands warm too :) 

4. Cardigans

I think it's safe to say you can't ever have too many cardigans. Am I right? I absolutely love them and plan to 'revamp' my cardigan collection this Fall. I have a couple that I don't like the material, so I plan to take them to Plato's Closet and then get some new ones! I love that they can be dressed down or up. You can wear them with shorts, jeans, a skirt, a dress...anything!! Kind of obsessed.

5. O.P.I. Malaga Wine

I am partial to pinks and corals for my nails, but when it turns to Fall, I sometimes like to switch it up. A dark red, brown or neutral color are always my first thoughts! Malaga Wine isn't too bright, but it still makes me feel girly. I don't own this one (saw it on the O.P.I. site - which is so fun to play around on!) but I might need to go find it!

That's all! For real!

Happy September :)

xoxo,

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

This is literally the best thing about Wednesdays :)

Linking up with Jaime at This Kind of Love for yet another edition of WILW!

I'm loving my new nail polish color. It's "Y'all Come Back Now Ya Hear?" from O.P.I.'s Texas line. I LOVE that line. I have two colors so far but would love to get the others!

I'm loving peanut M&Ms. Sometimes, you just need to have a bag of M&Ms and lay down and watch ABC Family...which may or may not be what I'm doing right now.

I'm loving that our first home football game is this Saturday! VT vs. App State. 12:30. So pumped :)

Turn yo volume up. Such an intense, emotional entrance...Love my school.

I'm loving Skype. Since SB is gone, it stinks that I don't get to see him as often as I do during the summer. Tonight we had (or rather are having, as I type) our first "skype date". I have to take advantage of the early days when he doesn't have too much homework and before his practices start! Sometimes the video gets all jumpy and sometimes it freezes. That is frustrating. Maybe next time we'll try Facetime? Does anyone know if one is better than another? He has an iPhone and I have an iPod so we could do it that way. I'm not in the iPhone world yet.

I'm loving some of my recent Pinterest finds:

Something to remember :)

Can't wait for fall fashions!

CD case scrapbook!

Love the one shoulder. I need to get a dress like this!

I'm loving my pup pup Sadie. She had an ear infection and has to take pills and get medicine put straight into her ear. The poor thing...but she is so well behaved and patient through it all :) Plus she loves the "pill pocket" treats that Momma bought. So we both win!

I'm loving my job. Several reasons. I love the "munchkins" as we call K-2 and how they still ask for help for the simplest things. I miss learning where the tenths place was :( Also, today, a little girl had on a shirt with a ladybug trim around the bottom and then purple flip flops. Did it match? No. Did I wish I had on that exact outfit? Of course. I also love the look they give you when you tell them a joke, but they aren't sure whether you're serious or not. It's a half smile, half eyebrow raise...priceless. Lastly, I love the tone of voice they get when they want to tell you something that they learned. They get all serious with you and explain it in "easy terms" so I'll understand ;)

That's all for now :) Today was an early release so I was at work from 1-6 and it was only the director and myself! Crazy, crazy day! Who know making magnetic bookmarks would require so much help...whew, I am a tired girl.
Going to try and catch up on some sleep :)

xoxo,

S'more what?

Sidenote: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. My family has probably watched it a hundred times!

Anyways, I. Love. S'mores. There is nothing better than sitting around a campfire all snuggled up in a big blanket and eating way too many s'mores. However, when you're either a) without a campfire or b) at your apartment and you are dying for some chocolatey-marshmallow taste, I have a new solution for you!!

I used to just make the s'mores (graham, chocolate, marshmallow, graham) on a cookie sheet and pop it into a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. That way works well, and it even sometimes gets the toasted film feeling on the marshmallow. But what if you don't have time to preheat the oven and wait 5 minutes?

Here you go:

+

Either spread the fluff between 2 squares to make a sandwich or spread over just one.

Voila! I have to give complete credit to SB for this. I bought those granola thins at Sam's (so I have about a trillion) and then he mentioned getting the fluff to add. He's a genius!

Just thought I would share that fun fact with y'all :)


This morning I got out of class 30 minutes early because my professor thought it ended at 10:15...and no one (out of almost 100 people) said anything. So we all left. I definitely wasn't going to be "that kid" who ruined it. Haha, but I'm not complaining!
xoxo,

I'M BACK.

Sorry for the lack of blogging, but I went to PA this weekend to help SB move into his new place. I didn't have internet access so...no blogging :( But I'm back now!

Today was a really busy day and I still have an 8:00 meeting to go, but I'm taking a break at Momma's house before then.

Here are some things on my mind today:

• I will never, ever get used to interviews. They always make my stomach flip - no matter what I'm interviewing for.
• Beyonce's baby bump on the VMAs made my day today. So cute! I especially loved Jay-Z's face. I wonder if he knew? It was hard to tell.
• My puppy has an ear infection...the poor thing is all drugged up but she is behaving so well as a result! Ha.
• I can't wait until it's boots weather. Or at least until it's cooler and wearing sneakers all day isn't totally unbearable. My feet were hurtin' walking all over campus today in my flippy floppys.
• I am terrible at putting together furniture. So what do I do when my bf & brothers are all out of town? Bought a desk...and hutch...I am not a smart cookie.

Thankfully Blacksburg stayed safe, but in PA we felt some of the effects of Hurricane Irene. It rained a lot and on Sunday it was extremely windy. There was minor flooding and damage to trees. I'm a little bummed to hear about everyone complaining that there was "too much hype" regarding the hurricane. Over 20 people lost their lives...can you imagine how many more would have been lost if there wasn't so much precautionary action taking place? If evacuations weren't mandatory, I think the results would have been more severe. It's just annoying that since it wasn't as bad as people thought, that people are saying it was over kill. I think it's better to be safe than sorry!

My brothers, who live in Norfolk, and my Dad who is in Richmond are all safe. Thank goodness.

Here's what's been keeping me laughing all weekend, via Pinterest...

Hahahahahahaha
that's all folks :)
I'm back to regular blogging now! (hopefully...school work is a'comin!)

xoxo,