As winter is slowly rolling to a close, I have been thinking about how I have such a love/hate relationship with these cold and snowy months. I'm looking forward to the weather turning warmer, outfits getting brighter and the beach becoming my free time, however there are a few things I will definitely miss about the winter (and a few things I most definitely won't miss!) 

Wonder: Sweaters and scarves!

I am obsessed with sweaters, to say the least. I love how you can put a sweater and a pair of jeans on and BAM, you have a put together and cute outfit. In the winter months, it's hard to get out of bed and change out of those warm pajamas, but the thought of putting on a warm sweater makes it bearable. Along similar lines, adding a scarf to an outfit immediately gives it a chic quality, while more importantly keeping me warm. I'm a sucker for a knit infinity scarf! 

Woe: Negative temperatures. 

Comment below if you need an explanation of why negative temperatures are a winter woe. I will respond by telling you to take an ice bath and then you'll know how I have felt walking anywhere these past few weeks. 

Wonder: Winter sports!

When talking about winter sports, I mostly mean skiing. I used to go all the time when I was much younger, but when swim meets and hanging out with friends took up my weekends in high school, I stopped skiing. However this year I have picked my poles up again, and I forgot how much I loved it! There is just something so serene about gliding down a snow covered mountain and being able to trust your body to maneuver the skis! I love the time spent with my family on the lift and the laughs on the way home about who had a silly fall that day. I love the rush of being a little cold but walking into a warm lodge that holds yummy food and hot drinks. There is just *snow* much more to skiing than just the sport of it! 

Woe: Shoveling.

Without a doubt, I always overdress myself* so I end up sweating buckets while shoveling. Its just a miserable activity that I feel the effects of for days (my lower back). 

*See previous woe to explain why

Wonder: Holidays!

With my two favorite holidays being in the winter (Christmas and my birthday), I can't help but look forward to the cold months! There is something so magical about these two holidays. Christmas, being a time to celebrate with family, and my birthday, a time to reflect back on the past year of my life and plan ahead for the next one. I feel like these holidays just wouldn't have the same meaning for me if they were celebrated in the summer months! 

Wonder/Woe: Snow...

I couldn't decide whether I love or hate snow. I love it when its snowing and I don't have anywhere to go. I hate it when its covered in dirt and taking up 3/4 of a parking lot. I love it when I wake up on December 25th to see a white Christmas. I hate it when I walk outside in the morning to drive to school only to see its snowing and I had no idea it was supposed to. I love looking at pretty pictures of it. I hate getting it in my shoes and soaking my socks. Since I haven't figured out a way to make the snow go away (besides moving...I'm working on it), I guess I will just continue this love/hate relationship with it! 

What are some of your winter wonders and woes? 

A Very Special 5 on Friday

Today is a special day...Its Friday, I'm headed home, and it's mine and John's fifth anniversary of dating! I can't believe we have been together so long, because I remember our first date just like it was yesterday. We have been through so much together and everyday I am thankful that he is in my life. 

I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of us together over the past five years. Some are a few embarrassing, and I especially love the ones of us all dressed up. Hope you enjoy all the lengths of our hair and transformations from baby faces to adults! 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Spring Break @ Home To-Do List

Oh, the famed college spring break...many of my peers will be headed south to beaches filled with other college students, concerts, and sunshine. However, I am headed 12 hours north to Maine (home!) as a spring break trip south was just not in the cards for me this year. To be honest, I am bummed that I won't be laying on a beach a week from today, especially since it has been so cold here lately. I am grateful to be headed home though, don't get me wrong! I am thankful that I do have a great family to go home to and that I have a beautiful state to call home too. The only thing I am maybe not looking forward to is how cold it will be (okay I saw that eye roll, I know you are sick of me talking about the weather)!

The closer I get to break, the more excited I get that I will have so much free time to myself. Or at least that's how I am trying to convince myself how to feel...Many of my friends do not have the same break schedule as I do (John included--he's in South Carolina on break this week!) and my family will be busy with school/work. The more I think about it, the more I am motivated to make a list of must-do's for this break so I can maximize my productivity and make this a break free from moping around wishing I was basking in the warmth of the sun with a cool drink in my hand. That was the last weather reference I swear!

This was at the beach near me at home last spring break.

 Here are some of my home-for-spring-break-must-do's:

1. Learn to braid my hair like Amber Fillerup Clark of Barefoot Blonde. 

2. Take my dog for a walk on the beach.

3. Hit up the outlets...ya girl would like some new going-out tops!

4. Read 3 books. 

5. Wash my makeup brushes...(its been awhile). 

6. Publish 3 posts. 

7. Cook my family dinner. 

8. Go to at least 2 restaurants that are participating in Maine Restaurant Week (March 1st-14th).

9. Have a really fantastic margarita (or two). 

10. Go skiing. 

11. Find a new home for the clothes I have sitting at home.

12. Eat seafood...because I don't trust the seafood here that's three+ hours from the nearest ocean. 

13. Go to open lap swim at a local (indoor) pool. 

14. Work on my photography skills.

Well that's it. 14 things for the 7 days I will home. I know these items on the list aren't the most earth-shattering things to do, but they are all feasible and I will be proud of myself if I cross everything of the list! 

I hope you all had a happy Monday and I wish you an even better Tuesday! 

Do you ever feel...?

Unsure if your feelings about something are justified? You find yourself asking "Do I have a right to feel sad/mad/upset/hurt about this or am I just being crazy?" 

A flip in your stomach that moment when you hear the opening notes of your favorite song and you know that the next 2.5 minutes will be awesome no matter what?

So frustrated with the technical side of your blog (especially when there is a problem with it) and you don't even know where to begin to fix it so you just avoid your blog for a week?

That you should have been a cat so it would be acceptable for you to just eat/sleep/play all day and have people call you cute for it?

Mad at someone for a fight that you had with them in your own head just because you already know how they would react to you confronting them?

Overwhelmed with all the changes that can happen in your life in just one day? Or even one hour? 

That it is okay to eat a few extra pieces of chocolate in order to get rid of it and not have it sitting in your kitchen for the next few weeks?

Satisfied when your day doesn't go the way you planned, but actually goes better? 

Like writing a post inspired by Katy Perry?

As if 100 pounds are lifted off your chest the moment you get your feelings out of your head and onto paper (or in this case, a blog post?) 

 I apologize for this slightly emotional post, but I have been feeling overwhelmed with life lately (positive and negative things!) I have been having all the feels and I am thinking maybe this is what a senior in college is supposed to be feeling? Lately, when I open my planner, I have only been looking at what lies ahead for the next day because planning for the future (both near and far) has becoming daunting. So cheers to taking things one day at a time! 

I wish you all the best week and I am looking forward to catching up on all of your blog posts this week!

Am I Feeling 22?

So I turned 22 on Saturday! 

I am actually a little sad to be writing this post because I feel like the weekend went by so fast! In typical fashion, I forgot to take pictures of the weekend (don't worry, they would have been awkwardly posed and/or of me in my pajamas, so you aren't missing anything good).

I lied, I found one picture from the weekend on my phone...donuts buried under M&Ms, Oreos and frosting from Saturday brunch! 

Some years I have felt like my birthday fell behind in the excitement of Valentine's Day with my friends having dates or boyfriends that they want to see or restaurants being overcrowded with couples or people incessantly complaining about how much they hate Valentine's Day. This year, however, I truly felt satisfied with how my big day played out. I had a nice brunch and dinner with John (he came to visit!), and I got to do some much needed relaxing. Aside from fighting our way down icy roads trying to get home from dinner, the day was serene. Although it sounds simple, I cherished this lazy time because of how much rushing around I do during the week. I feel well rested and ready to tackle this crazy week ahead of me! 

I don't have much more to share about this weekend, except that I ate way too much candy and that I am touched by the outpouring of love I received from my friends and family. I received some really thoughtful gifts and cards that surprised me because of how my friends pick up on my little quirks. For example, I friend I study with noticed how I bring rice cakes and a jar of peanut butter for a study snack, so she got me a pack of peanut butter "to-go" cups so I don't have to carry around the whole jar. I laughed so hard and thought it was so funny that she thought to include that in a gift. I always forget the sense of overwhelming joy that I experience on my birthday and I am so thankful for my friends and family who provide me with that joy. With every text and call I received, my eyes got a little teary because of the sweet messages that people had. They were the best presents of all!

I am sending you all some of my cheer (and candy...I wish!) to get you through this week. For those of us on the east coast, I am seeing that we are supposed to get hit with some more snow this so lets cross our fingers that the weathermen are wrong. For those of you not on the east coast, please answer your doors when you hear a knock in the middle of the night because it's me running away from this arctic blast here in Virginia! 

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, and have an even better week! 

Angels on Bare Skin | Lush

I present to you, Angels On Bare Skin, my favorite, new skincare product! I recieved a Lush giftcard for Christmas and so stopped in to our local Lush, with the thought that I would be finding a new face cleanser. I felt like the cleanser I had been using for years wasn't cutting it because it's really meant to remove makeup and not do much else. I have written about my finicky skin before and over finals/beginning of winter break my breakouts were just out of control.  

I had actually never been to Lush before, but knew of its "all-fresh" skincare/makeup concept through reading about it online. When I walked in, I must have had an overwhelmed puppy dog look on my face because I was quickly scooped up by a sales associate who flooded me with questions about what I was looking for. After explaining that I was in the market for a new cleanser and explained what kind of skin I have, they sat me down and showed me AOBS. I instantly fell in love with it when they demonstrated on the back of my hand how it is used!

(With a few drops of warm water added)

I usually use it in the shower, when my pores are open from the hot water. I just take a small amount (they suggested a pea-size, and I didn't believe that at first...but its really all you need) and add a bit of water to it so it spreads across my face easier. I just massage it on for 1-2 minutes and then just rinse it off. If I could send scents through these blog, I totally would for this cleanser/scrub because its such an invigorating scent! You can definitely smell the lavender, with hints of a woody-ness I would say. It is definitely a stronger smell, but one that wakes me up while also relaxing me at the same time. 

 (Yikes, bare-faced on the internet!)

It is made from ground almonds and lavender (among other ingredients) so its a gentle scrub that takes off dead skin without causing dryness for me. This was interesting because I used to use facial scrubs with harsh beads that I thought were really taking off dead skin...who knew something more subtle would do the trick?! Every time I use it, my face feels as soft as velvet! 

I have been using it for about 6 weeks now, and I feel so much more confident about my skin. I only ever have breakouts now if I don't wash my face thoroughly with this and my skin just looks more healthy! I highly suggest this product to those of you with combination skin who just can't escape the sometimes oily/ sometimes peeling dry cycle! It has become a part of my everyday skincare routine.

Let me know if you use it already or if you try it!

I received no compensation or anything for this review...just obsessed with this product and wanted to shout about it from the mountains!

Some Pawsitively Purrfect Pins

My blogging plans for this week were rudely interrupted by a test, papers, clinical and simulations... Fortunately I did well on my test yesterday (cardiac critical care, woo woo!) and just have classes, a clinical day and one more simulation to tackle before my week is over. Good thing my scrubs are purple, because living in my favorite color isn't so bad! 

I have been missing my cats at home after hearing some funny stories about them from my mom  this week and I turned to Pinterest for some cat stalking. I thought I would share my favorites (and most relatable) cat pins! I hope they make you smile a bit...even you non-cat lovers out there. 

via

via

via

via

via

via

via

Cheers to getting halfway through the week! We are almost there!

Are you a cat person or a dog person?