Beautiful Simplicities

Hello World! I have been absent, yet again. This week was such a stressful one since it was my first week back after Spring Break. The main source of my stress was a lab report I had due on Wednesday. I had, of course, put it off until pretty much the day before. Extremely stressful, but I was happy to have it done on time - only to find out that it isn't due until THIS Wednesday. Awesome, right? No, I was pretty upset; but at least it won't be my source of stress for this week, right?

So enough of the negative - I'm doing another Beautiful Simplicities post! With this stressful week, and honestly this not-so-amazing month (or two), I figured this is exactly what I need to lift my spirits and to remember all the amazing things that happen in my life on a daily basis.

1. Reading a Couple Good Books

I recently finished Looking For Alaska by John Green. This is the second Green book I have read, and it did not disappoint! It is such a beautiful book, and it brought me to tears a few times.

Then I went home this last weekend and my sister let me borrow Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. 

OH.MY.GOSH.

This book has easily made it to my top favorite books. Not only is the book about a dystopian future, which is one of my favorite genre's, but the author has completely blown me away with her writing. She writes with such amazing detail, but not too much detail to where it is almost boring, and you just want them to get to the point. I practically finished it in one night, putting off any homework I had because it was just THAT GOOD! If you are looking for a good book to read, then READ THIS!

Can you tell how much I love this book?!

2. Inspiring DOVE Chocolate Quote

I don't normally eat DOVE chocolate, because I don't usually like to eat plain chocolate. Also, I hardly ever crave sweets - give me something salty! But it's that time of month, and I have some leftover chocolates from Christmas (yes...it takes me that long to get through my sweets!) I do love that they have those cute quotes though. Sometimes they're cute, like "Stop and smell the chocolate aroma," and sometimes they are super inspiring, like this one:

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."

Okay...how perfect is that?? It totally goes along with my favorite quote, which is also the "theme" of this blog. And it is exactly what I needed, as I have been struggling to remember this. 

--Inhabit Your Moments--Celebrate Life--Find Beauty in Simplicity--

I don't know why I am still so amazed that God can put the exact words I need in front of me at the exact right time.

3. Only 5 More Days to Go!

It has been a long two months. I cannot wait until I can get a much needed hug from this man.

I am driving up with his mom and brother to Las Vegas on Friday! He is playing three baseball games this coming weekend, and I am so excited to see him play! I haven't seen him pitch since high school, so this will be extremely nostalgic and exciting. I am also just excited to get away for a weekend and be with the man I love. Also, because of this I will be taking a day off of work and skipping my classes on Friday. YAY for a four day week!

4. A Scary but Fun Weekend

Scary - On Friday I stayed on campus to hang out with my friend Becca at work and to watch Dillon's game on the computer. We were walking to our cars when we heard a ton of sirens. We figured it was just a bad accident, but then I received a text message from my school's alert system saying that there was a man with a rifle in the administration building on campus, and to stay away from the area. Thankfully we were not near that building, and we drove off campus immediately. After many hours of waiting for news, they sent out the all-clear, and no one was injured. Whether it was just a false alarm, or there really was a gunman, I am so thankful that no one was hurt.

Fun - I find it hard to write this after the scary part, but I don't want to leave it off on a bad note! Friday I went to my friend Becca's house and we went to the gym, got a sandwich from Whole Foods, watched New Girl, and we had our first sleepover! It sounds so silly and childish, but it was a lot of fun!

Saturday I came home and got to work - I had a quiz due by midnight that I wanted to finish so that I could have a fun night. A few hours of doing readings and taking the quiz, and I got 100%! Then Becca and her roommates picked me up and we went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. I was not a fan of the sauce on my wings, but the celery and french fries were good! Then we went to the mall and walked around Charming Charlie's and Forever 21. I consider it a successful shopping trip because I didn't spend any money! Yay me!

I think I am going to try to do a "beautiful simplicities" post more often. It makes me feel really happy! Feel free to copy my graphic and make your own beautiful simplicities post! It is such a good way to let go of all the negative and to focus on all the wonderful things happening in life.

Family Weekend

This post will be super short with just a few pictures of my weekend. It was my last weekend of Spring Break, although I'm still in denial that it is actually over! I spent the weekend with my family, and it was so incredibly nice.

Friday

Played HORSE with my dad, mom, and brother.

Drove with my siblings so my brother could ask his girlfriend to prom. 

And this is how he asked her...isn't he adorable? Although some of the credit goes to my boyfriend for giving my brother this idea. (:

(Name blacked out for privacy)

Watched True Grit with my parents, and attempted to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's (I fell asleep, whoops!)

Saturday

Watched Dillon's baseball game on CBS Game Tracker. He has been injured for the last couple years so he is finally able to pitch a little bit during games and I am so proud of him! So far he has not given up a run! 

Sort of helped my dad wash the cars but mainly took pictures of these adorable animals.

Meekah

Sammy

We had a family game night in which we played Dirt (it's a card game that some call Up and Down the River) and Sequence.

Sunday

Went to church with the lovely family.

Went for a walk with my mom and sister.

Put off leaving as long as I could! I honestly wanted to cry when I was leaving. It was such an amazing weekend, and way too short. 

I absolutely love my family. I have never laughed until I cried so much in one weekend. We are so fun and loving, and I don't know what I would do without them!

Follow Me on Bloglovin'

Hello lovelies! I hope you are having a magnificent day. The big news today is that Google Reader will no longer be in service as of July 1st, 2013. As I understand it, this means that you can still manage your blog via blogger, but will no longer be able to follow and keep up with other blogs via GFC.

However, the great news is that Bloglovin' is already up and ready to go! You can follow my blog here, or by clicking on the button on the right side of my page! It is a very simple sign up process, and it will help you stay connected to both me and all the other blogs you love. They have made it really simple by offering an import process so you can easily import the blogs you already follow onto your following list at bloglovin'. 

I hope you'll continue following my "adventures"!

Pinteresting, Wouldn't You Say?

Okay, my titles are becoming totally cheesy but I have to mix it up! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. I am not happy it's already Wednesday because that means spring break is half way over! But for you who are still in school/work, YAY Wednesday!!

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Have a wonderful rest of your week, and stay inspired!

Go No Poo!

First off, you may be wondering what the heck no poo even means. I promise it's not gross (well, you may think so)! No Poo is when you no longer use shampoo to wash your hair. I stumbled upon this post quite a while ago and found it astonishing. As you can read, she has been shampoo free for over a year!

The thing about shampoo is that it's not good for your hair. From what I have read, it eliminates your hair's natural oils, and then your scalp tries to overcompensate, which is why your hair gets so greasy so fast. I used to wash my hair every single day because if I went any longer than that, I felt really uncomfortable and insecure because of how noticeably greasy my hair was.

Despite all that, I am not completely "no poo." I could not stand my hair being that greasy for that long. Instead, I decided to compromise. For a little over two months now I have washed my hair with shampoo a maximum of two times a week. On the days that my hair is getting greasy, but I know I shouldn't wash it yet, I use a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with a tiny bit of water to wash my hair. This cleans my hair without stripping my scalp of the natural oils. On the days I use baking soda, I use a leave-in conditioner spray.

I can honestly say that it has been working! The amount of greasiness my hair would get after one day now takes about three days! I also just recently (yesterday) bought Dry Shampoo. I used it today and WOW does it work wonders! Another quick fix for oily hair is baby powder (but only if you're a blonde!).

I use:

The Cheapest Shampoo and Conditioner on the Shelf

Baking Soda

TRESemme Leave-In Conditioning Spray

Suave Dry Shampoo

Baby Powder

Use tea tree oil if your scalp gets itchy, and try different home-made hair treatments like this one for more natural ways to keep your hair healthy!

Do you do anything special to your hair? I am definitely not an expert in all of this, but I'm always looking for more ways to improve!

Beautiful Simplicities

<<Photo Credit: Emily Patten>>

Here are a few small and random things that have been going on lately. I am finding the beauty in simplicity, in these little happenings that may not get much attention, but have made me happy recently.

First, the picture used in my above graphic is a picture I took while in Canada with Dillon. We had such a fun time traveling by ourselves, and it is one of the things I am looking forward to the most in our future.

These were included in Dillon's Valentine's Day package. (I know, I'm slacking!)

Left: I used the washed out feature on Word to print out a picture of Dillon and I onto a lined sheet of paper and then I wrote a love letter to him on it.

Top Right: This is Rub-a-Dub Shaving in the Tub kid shaving kit. Dillon has been really into shaving kits ever since we saw the newest James Bond movie (because he uses shaving soap and a brush in the movie). I thought it would be a cute gag gift for him to open that first before realizing I got him a real one!

Bottom Right: This is the actual shaving kit I got him! I got it at Target, but I cannot find it on their website right now. He has used it a couple times and loves it! Shaving like this is supposed to better for their skin since the soap is less chemically harsh than shaving cream is. I would recommend it for your man if you feel it may be something he is interested in!

I also got him Junior Mints (one of his favorite candies) and colored him some inspirational quotes (super cheesy but I enjoyed coloring them at least!)

If you read my post about getting in shape then you know that as a reward for finishing my fab ab work out,  I was going to allow myself to buy a new outfit. However, I knew that it would not be smart for me financially, so I decided I would stick to one item. You can see the items I wanted to get...but I ended up getting something completely different!

I ended up going with a couple friends to our university's bookstore where they were hosting a Style Your Soles event. You could buy a pair of TOMS shoes and then they had artist's there to customize them for you! I have been wanting a pair of TOMS since forever, and to be able to get ones that were one-of-a-kind was just the icing on the cake! I am in love with them and am so happy with my purchase!

I was able to go home this weekend and hang out with my best friend Jamie! We have been friends since 7th grade, Est. 2004. We are the kind of best friends who don't have to talk every single day to know that we can see each other any time and still pick up right where we left off. I love this girl so much, and I am so blessed to have her in my life. We're both turning 21 soon...let's just say we'll have a good time. ;)

<<We starting writing on a piece of Styrofoam on the door of my dad's workshop garage, the earliest being from 2006!>>

By the way, I am now on Spring Break! This is my last spring break of my college career, but I am working all week...oh well. But I was able to go home this weekend without any worries of school, and it was such an amazing weekend. Friday night I sat outside by the fire with my parents (it was my daddy's birthday!) and had some amazing conversation. Saturday I hung out with Jamie. Sunday I went to church with my mommy, watched Mirror Mirror, and talked about weddings all day. We found this gem of a picture of my grandparents at my parents' wedding. So adorable!

I hope you had an amazing weekend and have been finding the beauty in simplicity! Save my "There is Beauty in Simplicity" graphic and make a post about your beautiful simplicities!

Are You Pinterested?

Happy Wednesday! Wednesday's are actually my worst days...work at 8am, and then I'm at the school until 7pm. Bleh. But looking at beautiful pins makes it a little better! I have an exam and a midterm today, and then a big paper due Friday, and then it is officially Spring Break!! I am SO in need of a break from school, but aren't we all?? Anyways, I hope you have an amazing day!

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Liebster Award

I have been chosen by the wonderful Haley over at A Long Distance Love to answer some questions for you! This "award" isn't anything fancy, it's just a way to connect bloggers. But thank you so much Haley! Seriously, go check her out. She is the absolute sweetest. :)

 Here's the Deal: 

Answer the 11 questions asked.

Leave a link back to the blogger(s) that nominated you.

Choose 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate

Write 11 new questions for them to answer.  

Questions by Haley, Answers by Me!

Why did you start blogging?

I mainly started blogging because I feel it is very easy for me to overlook the experiences I have. I wanted a place where I could write down my thoughts, ideas, and experiences in a way that would help me appreciate them more.

What's your favorite movie?

The answer to this question has been The Day After Tomorrow since seventh grade. It seems like an extremely weird movie to be a "favorite" but long-story-short, I attribute meeting my best friend to this movie.

Where do you love to shop?

You can almost never go wrong with Forever 21!

Beach or mountains?

This is a hard one! I would say mountains in the winter time for skiing!

What is the theme song to your life?

No idea...so I put Pandora on shuffle and it gave me "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson, which is eerily accurate right about now (missing my love!)

Do you believe in soul mates?

Absolutely! And I am so lucky to have already found mine. :)

If you had to give up a sense (smell, sight, taste, etc.) what would it be?

I would give up taste. Not being able to see or hear the people around me would be extremely difficult. As much as I love food, I think I could do without the taste.

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. Especially Arizona sunsets. They are so incredibly gorgeous.

What's your favorite holiday?

Thanksgiving, hands down. Not only is there delicious food, but it is the holiday I feel closest to my friends and family.

Best piece of advice you've received?

My Uncle's graduation advice to me was to listen to the song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann. The song is full of advice to be happy. I feel like that's kind of cheating, like using a wish to ask for more wishes, but I promise you won't regret listening to that song!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Australia! I have always wanted to live there, pretty much ever since the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie Our Lips Are Sealed. Yes, I am a huge Mary-Kate and Ashley fan. 

My Nominations:

Melanie (Tyler and Melanie)

Lindsee (Home is Wherever I'm With You)

Janelle (Janelle and Dan)

Juliann (Juliann's World)

Carly (Magnolia State Reporter)

Questions for You!

1. What is your favorite song and why?

2. What is something beautiful (no matter how small) about today?

3. What is your favorite quote?

4. What is your favorite book?

5. If you could hop on a plane right now, where would you go?

6. What is the last thing that made you laugh until you cried?

7. What movie did you last see in theaters?

8. What piece of clothing could you not live without?

9. What was the last spontaneous thing you did?

10. What is your favorite season?

11. What is your favorite TV show and why?

Two Ingredient Cookies

As a student, I am very much on a budget. And being on a budget and wanting to cook all these delicious and fancy foods I see on Pinterest just don't go together. So when I can find a recipe that is delicious and cheap, well...that is just the best thing ever. So I stumbled upon this recipe and my first thought was: TWO INGREDIENTS?!? It seemed too good to be true, but I knew I had to try it. Luckily, nothing I had to buy was out of the ordinary. So here is what you need:

Two Large Bananas

1 Cup of Oats

Seriously...that's all you need!

*Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1. Get two large bananas (using ones that are starting to brown on the peel are easiest to mix), one cup of oats (I used rolled oats because that's what I had in my pantry, but the recipe I found uses quick oats), and a large mixing bowl.

2. Throw the peeled bananas and cup of oats into the mixing bowl. (Okay, you don't have to throw...placing them nicely in the bowl will work, too.) I used a potato masher to mix the ingredients.

3. Okay, I know I said it was only two ingredients, and you can definitely keep it that way! But I decided to add cinnamon and chocolate chips. I used a teaspoon of cinnamon and just a handful of chocolate chips.

4. Mix all that together with a spoon!

5. Space them evenly on a greased cookie sheet. I just used my hands and shaped them into balls and tried to make sure they were all the same size.

Pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes and Voila! Delicious cookies that are cheap, simple, and healthy!

Read the original recipe for some extra tips (ex., not too runny, other add-ins, etc.)