I love college

I'm officially a Spartan! I put my deposit down a few days ago and made my MSU email address, and I must say it feels great to actually know where I will be next year. I'm so excited for football games in the fall and to immerse myself in the college curriculum. Aside from that, here's what I'm currently excited for with the approaching college experience:

1. Buying some Hunter boots, in green obviously, to wear while slushing through the streets of East Lansing
2. Blasting some music in my new dorm room, especially Asher Roth's "I Love College"
3. Victoria's Secret PINK college wear, including this, to support my Spartans
4. A case for my soon to be purchased laptop, which I am quite excited about, and covering it with fun stickers that I have picked up from random events
5. All the delectable treats to be found in East Lansing, although I will have to make myself walk off all that food in the massive campus
5. Some sensible shoes, in green, to toss on for doing that walking
6. Coming a little sooner than the start of college, but the end of AP English means a final project, and the prompts, found here, literally made me cry. Why am I such a sap? I feel like I've grown so much through the class this year, and with the conclusion I know it just means a start of a new chapter in my life, but I'm still sad to see it end.
7. New friends, new places, new experiences

I think I wanna marry you

The royal wedding of Kate and William is tomorrow morning and if I do say so myself I am quite excited. I am quite jealous of the fact that Kate gets to marry a prince because doesn't every girl want to become a princess? I'm having some friends over to watch the festivities in the morning before school, and all this wedding talk got me to looking at my favorite wedding blog site, Style Me Pretty. I found plenty of photos of aspects of weddings that I absolutely adore, as seen below:

Happy wedding day!

In the daylight anywhere feels like home

In these last days of spring I'm currently obsessed with earrings, in all shapes, colors and materials. My current earring collection is a little over the top, but sometimes I just can't help myself when I see a pair that I just have to have. I just love how they can brighten even the drabbest of outfits, while also drawing attention to your face.  Here are some of my current favorites that I would love to add to my jewelry box:

1. Springtime Flower Earrings, Forever 21
2. RJ Graziano Chain Hoop Earrings, Nordstrom
3. Tarnish Long Glass Stone Earrings, Nordstrom
4. ER Blue Crystal Flower Drop, Betsey Johnson
5. Dewdrop Lace Earrings, Madewell
6. Opaque Beaded Circle Earrings, Forever 21
7. Beaded Medallion Earrings, Metropark

Yo quiero estar contigo

Happy Easter! I got home from the Dominican Republic yesterday after one great week. My friends and I spent our days soaking up the sun, and our nights dancing our little hearts out. It was an amazing trip, with perfect weather and hilarious memories. Here's my week in photos:

 Major sun soaking

 A short walk on the beach brought us to these little shops where you had to majorly barter your way into the sales. You didn't even need shoes to walk inside because the ground of the stores was sand, aka the best way to shop.

 

 Our favorite place to nap was this outdoor bed, which we loved to call "the love bed"

  My best friends and I

 The wonderful beach

 Dressed up for our last dinner

 Paradise to say the least

My friends and I at the Punta Cana airport.

Life is good today

I LEAVE FOR DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOMORROW! (I'm not excited or anything). I can't wait to spend the week relaxing in the glorious sand with my best friends. I'm all packed with a wardrobe planned of beachy chic mixed with some night time wearables. I made a few purchases last week for the trip, and here are some of my favorites:

1. Earrings, in blue, which I plan on pairing with a neutral outfit to add a little bit of Caribbean spice.
2. A romper, in black, to wear as a cover up
3. A beach bag in tan, to hold of of my necessities for the week of laying by the beach
4. Bathing suit top, in purple, and bottoms, in the purple floral
5. Sandals, in cream, which will be paired with basically all of my outfits because they are just that cute

Adios Michigan, Hola Punta Cana!

I won't spend the rest of my life running from everything that's right

Last night I went to one of my favorite concerts of my life. It's no secret that I love all of Ron Pope's music, so when I saw that he was coming to Ann Arbor I obviously jumped at the chance to see him live. The concert was at the Blind Pig, which is quite the small venue, which only made the concert that much more intimate. I went with my two best friends, and we were right up in the front row, literally able to touch the stage, and musicians. The other performers besides Ron were all amazing, and my friends and I all pretty much fell in love. We each bought one of their CDs and I honestly haven't stopped listening to them since last night. Oh, how I love finding new artists that are such gems!

 Ari Herstand has a unique style and he uses the looping technique in his songs which makes for a really cool performance. My favorite song that he performed would definitely be "Last Day". He was so charismatic and funny, you couldn't help but love him!

 Cam Nacson, an adorable Australian, opened up the show and I was literally swooning over his lyrics. My favorite song of his is "She" because it is so heart melting I can't even begin to explain.

 Zach Berkman was playing the keyboard for most of Ron's performance, but he also played a few of his original songs, which I loved. My favorite of his is "Valley". He signed my CD after the show, and included a picture of an ice cream cone with his message. Fate? Yes.

And of course, we can't forget the wonderful Ron Pope. Even though I've expressed my love for his music multiple times, I love him even more after seeing him live. Did I mention that I was an arm's length away from him when he was sitting at the keyboard? Yes

If you've never looked up the songs I've suggested, right now you really need to look these artists up. I'm obsessed and I know you will be too!

I've got no regret right now

This is NOT new

In less than one week I will be laying on the beach with my best friends in Dominican Republic; I can't even wait! I made my playlist for the trip today, which is a nice mixture of Latin, hip-hop, country, and slow jams, perfect for our usual dance parties and jam seshes that accompany a vacation. My favorites from the list are as follows:

Runaway, Kanye West

Me Vale, Mana
Nightengal, Norah Jones

Honey Bee, Blake Shelton

Yes, LMFAO

One and Only, Adele

Sweet Disposition, The Temper Trap

Loca, Shakira

My Body, Young the Giant

Corona and Lime, Shwayze

Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison

Feeling This, Blink 182

Bon, Bon, Pitbull

Remember to Breathe, Dashboard Confessional

Alejandro, Lady Gaga
Elias, Dispatch

Beautiful Homes, Chris Isaak

Big Poppa, The Notorious B.I.G.

Road to Ride On, Joshua Radin

You be my sunny day, I'll be your shaded tree

Even though spring break is a mere ten days away, I still felt the need to indulge in a cookie stuffed with a s'more tonight. They turned out tasting like a little hint of summer time, a definite bright side of the current dreary weather we are having in Michigan. They were pretty easy to make, and even easier to stuff in your mouth, not that I did that or anything... I started by making my usual chocolate chip cookie dough (you can use any recipe you want, but if you don't have one you can normally find one on the back of a bag of chocolate chips).

 For the inside, use 1/4 of a graham cracker, a few mini marshmallows, and a chocolate chip to make the mini s'more

 Cover the s'more with the cookie dough

 Bake until golden brown as directed from your recipe, about ten minutes

 The marshmallow will poke out from the cookie center

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

I must be dreaming

As I've said before, I'm in love with All the King's Men. I'm more that halfway done with it, and each time I open it I find multiple sections of truly beautiful writing. Last night in my reading of it I discovered a passage that I am absolutely in love with:

"For after the dream there is no reason why you should not go back and face the fact which you have fled from... for any place to which you may flee will now be like the place from which you have fled, and you might as well go back, after all, to the place where you belong, for nothing was your fault or anybody's fault, for things are always as they are. And you can go back in good spirits, for you will have learned two very great truths. First, that you cannot lose what you never had. Second, that you are never guilty of a crime which you did not commit... If you believe the dream you dream when you go there"
- All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren

Happy Monday!

You're the reason I come home

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately, I just have been quite the busy bee. It's been a wonderful weekend filled with work, shopping and a touch of relaxation. Below are my favorite moments from the weekend:

1. Custard Time opened this week and I spent my evenings on Friday and Saturday working. Although it feels like the arctic circle outside, people are still flocking to get their ice cream fix. It feels like I never left the place; my co-workers and I all fell right back into the swing of working and catching up on our lives over the winter. I'm so happy to be back!

2. I'm reading All the King's Men for AP English, which I am in love with. This weekend I'm reading a major section of the novel, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. Every so often there will be a very deep and philosophical paragraph that will cause a moment of reflection about it, and each of them are truly moving.

3. I've narrowed my college choices down between Michigan State and USD, but I still can't decide between the two... and I'm still hoping and praying that University of Michigan will accept me sometime soon.

4. On Friday I went shopping to my favorite store Rococo, and once again I just had to make a purchase. This time I bought a pink silk top along with black and white high waisted shorts, both of which I plan on bringing to Dominican Republic (in two weeks!).

5. Sunday mornings are my favorite time of the week, and of course this Sunday was no exception. I woke up a little before church giving me time to sit and chat with my parents, while indulging in our Sunday morning coffee and listening to our favorite radio special "Over Easy" on 94.7. Sunday mornings like this are so relaxing and simply comforting, and they will definitely be missed next year when I'm away at school.