Christmas: What I Want

So, I've been trying to play catch up with my English assignments... I have to create a blog about my hometown and I'm losing steam quite quickly. Losing my creative edge today caused me to take a break and make my Christmas list. You know, the thing my dad has been asking for for about a month now. I'm a little very lazy and so I just did it on Pinterest. Granted I know I won't get all of it, but there are things on my list that I really want/need. So here goes:

Christmas Wishlist 2013

1. 8" Bean Boots

I'm from Erie, PA, our slogan is "feel the lake effect" as in lake effect snow. I need every inch I can get when it comes to boots.

2. Monogram Earrings

I'll take them in gold, please! Find them on Three Hip Chicks at a fabulous price.

3. J. Crew Factory shearling slippers

They come in "Vibrant Coral" and "Navy"

4. Navy Shep Shirt

I'm convinced I need it to survive 

5. Kate Spade Sticky Note Set

I love Kate Spade and I love sticky notes.. it's a gift made in heaven! 

If you want to see what else is on my list go on and check it out on my Pinterest! 

What's on your Christmas wishlist?

Stuff the Turkey & Deck the Halls: Looking Back on Holidays Past

I know, I've been AWOL for what, two weeks? I think. I know I was playing with Jackson last time I posted. I have a good excuse though, I was in New York last weekend so I didn't have time to post. But really I've been swamped with school and I'm super lazy and there was some family drama and yeah. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I'll fill yinz in later though, deal? Not like you care... #awk

New York City last week - had to go to the Lilly store!

The holidays are finally truly upon us! According to the stores Christmas was a go as soon as everyone was back in school, but to all of us that don't have to sell plastic Santas and faux Christmas trees to keep our companies afloat the holidays start as soon as the first 30 pound turkey is purchased and thawed. I have been anxiously awaiting for Monday since I got back from the city late Saturday night and it's almost here. I actually told my dad that my Thanksgiving break starts on Monday instead of Tuesday because the only thing I have on Tuesday is my English and it's basically like 98% cancelled (that's not possible, but whatever) so I leave after my last class on Monday... I will have 5 o'clock on the brain all day!

It's snowing here in good, old Clarion today and so I've opened the blinds and sat down with my trusty laptop and some hot cocoa, turned on some Christmas music and mentally preparing for the train wreck that the upcoming festivities will be. I look forward to Christmas and Thanksgiving every year and every year they get harder and harder. I guess when your mom's last Thanksgiving and Christmas are spent in a hospital bed getting fed through a tube you really can't go back. People end up yelling, I almost got kicked out of my house last Thanksgiving, and my dad came really close to disowning me last Christmas. So, we'll see what this holiday season has in store for me - trust me, if I could skip them I would.

Here's what I am excited about though:

All of the fun holiday outfits, Honey Baked Ham... I actually hate ham, but I love their sugar-coated turkey, looking at all of the tacky Christmas lights (are colored bulbs really necessary?), and of course the baking! I love, love, love being on my feet for hours and getting the most amazing cookies and cakes in the end (P.S. I'm not an avid sharer.)

I seriously snack on this and eat it cold and it only lasts me a day, it's turkey

And now some holiday memories:
Just kidding, how about some quick photos from one, single Thanksgiving?

My favorite Thanksgivings are always the ones spent in New York. I honestly won't watch the Macy's Parade unless I'm physically there... mostly because I get bored.

Santa at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - 2011

I also adore the Rockette's. Like, I wish I could be one, but I'm too short and can't get my leg up high enough anymore (boo for no more dancing this year)

Blurry, but it's my favorite part!

And every time we spend Thanksgiving in the city I ALWAYS go see Santa at Macy's (even if I have to drag whomever is with me)

Lastly, I just found this picture today, but every Christmas my cousin, Beth, comes in from Florida and we always do fun stuff and always end with a picture in front of the fireplace at my Grandma's house.

Me, my dad, Beth, Mike, & Billy - January 2012

I had to include this one, it's from Christmas Eve last year and it represents the relationship that my brothers and I have beautifully

GL, Mike, Billy, and I - Christmas Eve 2012

What are some of your favorite holiday memories? Any traditions that you love? One of my favorite traditions is getting new pajamas on Christmas Eve after mass.

Better With Age

When I was younger I used to think that  I would never mature. Seriously, when I was six I would panic that I would never grow up - that I would always watch Disney Channel and play Barbie's and sleep with my doll, Baby Sandy. I thought that I would never turn into my parents. I thought that I would never be able to be a mom because I couldn't grow out of my childhood. I assumed I would never be able to keep my room clean and organized without my mom's help. I was so wrong and I realized that as I was making my bed this morning (I didn't even start doing that until college) and it hit me, I've only gotten better with age.

Do you know what else that I realized? I realized that some people don't get better with age - they turn into sour milk instead of fine wine. There are people out there that are my age, but they behave the same way that I did when I was nine. It's so strange to realize that some people are growing and maturing while others are growing, but remaining the same.

I'm not sure what made me get my life together. Maybe it's the life experiences that I've had or maybe it simply is just chalking more years up. My birthday is in April and it didn't even hit me until last night that legally I am adult. I sat there in disbelief wondering who on earth would let me become an adult. It's so strange that I can do anything I want - I can get tattooed with out my father's permission or even get married if I really wanted to. Granted I won't do any of those things right now, but the option is there if I ever want to. It's actually quite funny how it hit me that I'm an adult last night; my younger brother told me that  I should have taken my other little brother to see Bad Grandpa last night since I could get him into the theatre. I think that alone tells me that I'm really not ready to be an adult (and neither is he, but in less than a year he will be.)

Truthfully, I'm not ready for this "new found freedom" I'm in no way prepared for it. In a few years I'll be graduated from college and onto even bigger things... like the real world, oh my! I want to go back to 17, it was only a few months ago, but it feels like it's worlds away. To think that this time last year I was a senior in high school who couldn't wait to get out of Erie and move to New York. My life is in a completely different place than I thought it would be, but it's happening for a reason. A reason that I may learn of when I'm older... maybe I'll be a whiskey instead of wine.

I'm signing off now though because Jack is trying to type for me and close the laptop and eat some quarters. I hope you too become a fine wine instead of sour milk.

Online Friendships

As soon as I published the hair post yesterday I got on Tumblr and shared that I made a new post (just like always) and the first thing that came up was a Skype ad. It was seriously so emotional. I'm in love with this ad. Skype introduces you to two girls that live in different countries, but were brought together at birth by the parent's because they were both born with one arm. They never met in person until years later and even lost touch for awhile. I can't say enough to get you to watch it. So... WATCH IT! This is the best ad that I've ever seen and so yes, yes, yes just watch it!

This was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen on friendship. Watch and cry and love.

Dreaming Big: Hair

Anyone that knows me knows that I cannot do hair to save my life. It doesn't matter if it's your hair or my own, the most I can do is straighten it and even that is questionable. I used to be able to curl my hair, but it seriously took me six hours and it never looked that great; like by the time I finished it looked like I hadn't brushed my hair in days! I watched College Prepster's tutorial on how to use the Dry Bar's 3-Day Bender curling iron and for a while I thought maybe I could use it and I even considered shelling out the money to buy it, but then I reminded myself that I can't do my hair to save my life - it doesn't matter products I use.

I also love, love, love dying my hair. I don't go to the salon to get it done (I rarely even go for a trim..oops) because I truthfully don't have the patience to schedule appointments and pay all of the money and I have more fun just doing it with my friends in one of our bathrooms. Before school started Jackie, Joanne, and I dyed our hair in Joanne's bathroom and Joanne's hair is the only one that worked (which is funny to us because of the events that led up to it) and Jackie and I were trying to go lighter. We found it odd that there was no bleach necessary so I mean it wasn't a big shock to us. I dyed my hair red back in April/May, it was one of those months, I really don't recall which. My friend, Becky did it for me though and it turned out great! I'm looking forward to dying it back to that color at some point because I loved being a red head!

Before

After (I went with a dark red)

And yes, I took the awkward before and after selfies. I love them so very much and I found these in an old imessage with Becky. Oh and Becky and I have been friends since second grade and I miss her, she's gone through a lot with me. She's at Saint Francis University right now and she's just an awesome person. We have had our differences literally every year, but still. 

Me & Becky before Junior Prom (2012)

What do you like to do with your hair? Do you struggle like I do when it comes to doing your hair?

Finding Your Groove

I've been at school for a little over two months now and though I haven't made many friends yet, I have met a few really great people. However, I'm still working on "finding my groove" here. It's normal, but I'm not okay with it. When I was a freshman in high school I figured everything out within the first month. Sure I can navigate around the campus fairly easily, but because my schedule is so weird I find it hard to really settle down and study. 

In high school it was school, rowing, and dance. For the first year it was in that order, but sophomore year it changed to rowing, school, dance. No, that wasn't the list of my priorities - okay, it was a little, but I had school at the top. Seriously, there was a hospital visit junior year because I was addicted to school work and wouldn't stop rowing or dancing. It wasn't pretty, but I came out of it stronger than ever and even my grades improved.

College is different though. I expected it to be, but I didn't think I would have such an easy time and struggle as much as I have. The work has been easy - my grades have proved that - but getting myself to hunker down and get the work done is still a work in progress. I love doing work. It's weird, but I'm so excited to graduate and become married to my job and run on little sleep. I thrive on it and right now I don't have that. I have too much time and so I'm not biting my nails trying to figure out when things will get done, but rather when I'm going to force myself to have some self control and turn off Gossip Girl (I finished season five today.)

I'm not sure where exactly this post is taking me, but I do know where I want to take it. The problem is getting there. 

I decided about a week ago that I need to go easier on myself since it is my first semester at college in a new town (I'm from a city so this is very new to me) so I'm kind of trying to dip my toes in rather than dive in head first. This doesn't give me an excuse to skip class though. I slept through my 9:30 class both days last week and my professor pulled me aside to see if I was okay and if I needed someone to talk to when really the only problem I'm willing to admit is that I can't sleep at night which means that I can't wake up in the morning. 

This is so scattered in my mind, I have about a million things running through my mind right now and I want to grab them and place them in front of me so that I can see it all. That's what lists are for, but they don't really work on me. Anyways, when I say find your groove I just mean find what works for you and go with it. Even if changes, roll with it. Do what you think is best for you and chances are you'll rock at it.

And with that, I leave you with a book suggestion that I too am planning on reading over break that I really should have read years ago. Probably about five years ago my dad bought me a book called How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport. I'll be reading it over Thanksgiving and Christmas break, do you care to join me?

Currently Obsessing Over

I've been listening to A Rocket to the Moon for I don't know how long (no really, I have no clue!) Well the boys decided to split this past year and I was heartbroken, but when lead singer Nick Santino said that he had his own music coming out it helped heal the wound. Let me just say: I AM OBSESSED. I was working on a quick essay for one of my classes and Spotify finally put Nick's new EP up. Y'all need to listen to it.

The EP is by Nick Santino and is called The Ones You Meet Along the Way: A Collection of Stories from the Road. You should know that the sound is definitely different from that of ARTTM, but seriously don't let that stop you.

My favorite song? Too Good. It's the last song on the EP and it had me reflecting on life almost immediately and fall in love with the honesty of it. It's not letting me put a video in, but I put a link in that takes you to a low quality YouTube video of it. Seriously, listen to it.

Another thing on my radar: Plastic, a short film that deals with the obsession of body image. I found it last night when I was scrolling through Tumblr and oh my, my it is positively wonderful. Everyone should give it a watch. Trust me, it's worth it.

Is there anything on your radar? I would love to check it out!

Weekend Recap

Okay, I think at this point anyone that reads my blog knows just how bad I am about doing the weekend recap. Yesterday I got back to school at around five and I was so exhausted/sick once I finished unpacking that I ended up taking a nap at seven and woke up at eight (just in time to hear my roommate comment on my sleeping habits...ugh!)

So this weekend two of my friends celebrated their 19th birthdays which means that I went home to celebrate with my "Philly Girls" or at least most of them. We were super bummed that Joanne couldn't come home this weekend because she had a ton of work due Monday (today).

Anyways, on Friday my Dad came down to Clarion and picked me up at around two o'clock and we got back around 4:30 so I did some bonding with my Little Bug before Billy's football game. Let me tell you, Jack is getting ridiculously silly. At one point he was lying on the kitchen floor flat on his back just "talking" and trying to repeat the noises I was making. The football game started at seven though and it was so cold and rainy and at one point it was hailing, but Prep won by a landslide - I don't think it should have been called a game at all. And naturally I ended my night with some sibling bonding with Billy; we just went to Sheetz and talked about life and I tried to help him out with Macbeth.

Friday is for high school football

On Saturday I went to coffee with my dad (it's seriously my favorite thing to do) and Jack. I was woken up at 7:30am and at first I thought I read the clock wrong, but I was good to go in thirty minutes - a skill that I've recently acquired with this whole "college" thing.) I visited my Grandma in the afternoon for a couple of hours before I went to visit some old neighbors for their annual pumpkin carving party and I got home with forty-five minutes to spare before I had to go to dinner with Jackie and Serena. 

The Birthday Girls: Jackie & Serena

Let me just say: I LOVE MY FRIENDS AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THEM. So Jackie, Serena, and I went to Olive Garden for dinner on Saturday to celebrate their 19th birthday which was yesterday. After that we went back to my house so I could change/get my car/they could take their birthday picture and then we went to Mercyhurst University to sit in Serena's dorm and figure out our next move. We ended up sitting in there until Joanne's brother called Jackie and we hung out with him and I saw an "old high school friend" who was going home because she was sick - it was awkward. We ended up going on what we thought was a haunted ghost walk around the Mercyhurst campus, but it was a mix of the two. MU has a lot of history and it's great, but Serena and I aren't about people jumping out at us and we couldn't hear anything so we ran away as soon as the "tour" went back outside. Jackie and John finished it though. 

Serena & I 

I finished the weekend with church - it was the one year anniversary of my grandpa's death last week so Sunday mass was for him. After church I had to run home and finish packing, but then I went back to my grandma's house to visit some of my family and do some cousinly bonding with baby Joseph. We definitely can't forget about the homemade lasagna - I live for my grandma's sauce too, I could eat just the sauce, it's my favorite!

What did you do this weekend? Does your grandma make any food that you could live off of?

Clemson vs. FSU

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've last posted and I also realize that I've really missed the weekend recap. I'm going to do a weekend recap anyway though because I don't care and I'm still so happy from this weekend. Sorry, the pictures are kind of out of order too. I had an exciting day - I'm going to NYC next month!

This weekend my cousin, Annie, and I traveled down to Clemson, SC for the Clemson/FSU game. We met up with my cousin Alyssa and her husband Renny who live there (Alyssa is graduating from Clemson in December... Eeeep! I'm so happy for her!) and my cousin Beth and her boyfriend Tom came up from Tallahassee, FL. Both Beth and Tom are FSU alums. Beth graduated law school from FSU and I'm not sure when Tom was there, but they're both lawyers. And to top it all off my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jamie came down from Charlotte, NC which was a nice surprise since they originally couldn't make it. The only one we were missing was Katie (and Billy, but he's too young - next year though)

So we all got in on Friday and since Annie and I got there before everyone else we went to dinner with Alyssa and Renny at 'Asian Bowl' or something and it was good, but our server... not so much. Then Alyssa took us to get Clemson gear since Annie and I are split - Annie's sister is Beth and I have no sisters so I truly didn't know who to root for. Just so we're clear, we sat in the FSU section and I probably looked very confused in my Clemson sweatshirt doing the FSU chants... I don't care though, I had a fabulous time! Once everyone got in we all piled into a car - no really, we had two people on laps, there were five of us in the back seat - and went out for pizza and pool playing and some bar hopping.

L to R: Aunt Debbie, Alyssa, Me, Beth, Annie, Uncle Jamie

SATURDAY!!! Game day, baby! We got started tailgating really late. Okay, I thought we started early, but compared to my uncle it was late. We started at around noon or two, I can't remember and he started at nine in the morning. Seriously, he had already been to five bars before we even got out the door! Haha! It was a riot though. I met some awesome people and it was a great game for FSU - Clemson though...not so much.

Top L to R: Renny, Annie, Me, Beth. Bottom: Alyssa

"FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA STATE WOO!"

I know this was long and I didn't share any stories (I truthfully cannot remember any and the ones I can remember should not be shared!)

What did you do this weekend? Did you watch the game or a different one or a million ones?

There's No Ship Like Friendship

I'm going to be honest, I'm not having the best day. That's okay though. I'm determined to get through this on my own, but my current mood had me reflecting on life and it made me realize that as bad as my depression is and was it also helped me find my true friends. The people that I value very, very much and would honestly take a bullet for. It also had me realizing how hard I worked to hide my depression from anyone that didn't know me, but that's unimportant.

Amanda, me, Catherine, and Emilee (June 2013)

Truly, I do have the most amazing friends and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I've noticed that I will have like two to three close friends at a time. I like to keep different friendships separate so a lot of my friends aren't friends too and some of them actually really hate each other, but I honestly don't care. I love my friends for how they make me feel and who I am when I'm around them. I don't have multiple personalities, but it probably looks that way when I'm around different friends, they just bring out different sides of me.

Jackie, Joanne, Sammi, and I (July 2013)

I have two sets of "close friends" that are very different people. I have Joanne, Jackie, and Serena who are still new to my life. They don't seem like it though. During my senior year I would spend every weekend at Joanne's house and then once summer came I was there literally every day. I'm not even kidding, I only came to my house to shower, change my clothes, and occasionally sleep. The four of us went to Taylor Swift this past July and that trip is what had me fully accept Serena into my life. Jackie has been best friends with Joanne for who knows how long and so she came with Joanne. I don't have sisters, but these three are as close at gets to family for me. Joanne's family actually means a lot to me. It's very personal though, but I hope they are in my life for a very long time.

Serena, Joanne, Jackie, & I (Philadelphia 2013)

I also have the two Emily's. I've known Emily1 since second grade when we both transferred to St. Luke's and I met Emily2 in sixth grade on the SLS swim team and I'm going to be honest - I was scared of her. However, I still remember the first pep talk Emily2 gave me so many years ago. I didn't truly become friends with Emily2 until our freshmen year of high school at a "Learn to Row" camp and I didn't form the bond that I still feel like I forced on Emily1 until a heart-to-heart over Christmas break via Facebook messages during our sophomore year. They've taken way too many hits from me and have helped me through some tough times and for that I am forever grateful. Also, fun fact: we went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade almost two years ago and I convinced myself that our friendship was over when the trip was so in an effort to avoid the ending I slept the whole way home. Little did I know, they were there for me that January and it still means a lot.

E1, Me, E2 (NYC 2011)

Regardless of whether or not they're close or not close, friends are still friends. Muhammed Ali once said: "Friendships is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." I couldn't agree more. I can sit here and talk about my friends and how much they mean to me and you could do the same, but we would never understand. My friends and family are put into one category, they have equal importance to me because of how close my friends are they are like family to me. My cousins and my closest friends are like sisters to me. I love them and I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of my oldest friends, Becky, and myself at graduation (May 2013)

Weekend Recap

Wow! I'm really bad at getting back to posting after the weekend. I have a test tomorrow that I have yet to start studying for because I've holed up in bed and began season 3 of Gossip Girl. I'm halfway through the series and I'm already starting to panic because I have no idea what I'm going to do when I finish the series.

So this weekend I went home (shocker) and it wasn't planned until around 1:30 on Friday morning. I was supposed to wait and go back the second to last weekend, but I got impatient and didn't want to do my own laundry. I ended up doing my own laundry. I also got to see Jackson and watch Billy play football and watch Mike watch reruns of How I Met Your Mother. 

Anyway... I got back on Friday and went to watch one of the biggest high school football games there is in my city - Prep vs. McDowell. It's a HUGE rivalry. Remember #AJO that I talked about? Well Alyssa went to McDowell and the game was the one month anniversary of her death. I walked into the stadium and the only thing you could hear was both schools chanting "A-J-O." I almost cried actual tears. Prep won and my brother got hurt, but every time I see him play I feel like he's a freshman again and I'm watching his first game and the man asked me who my brother was and after I tell him his name he says, "The quarterback?" I cried from pried and from wishing that my mom could be there to see it.

Like father like son

On Saturday I went to the pumpkin farm with my dad, Mike, Jack and some of the tenants. If you ignore the unwelcome guests then it was a great trip! Jack is in the throwing stage though (is that an actual stage?) so he didn't get the pumpkin that he was trying to eat because - you guessed it - he threw his pumpkin on the ground!

I also rearranged my furniture and cleaned my room and got some homework done. That's actually what I wanted to go home for. I wanted to go home when I didn't have friends in town and the ones that still live there were busy because I needed to get stuff done. And everything got done!

One of my favorite pictures of Mike and Jack

How was your weekend? Did you go to or watch any football games?

10 Days until I'm headed down to Clemson University for the Clemson vs. FSU game!!!

"It's October 3rd"

I very rarely pay attention to the date and it seems pointless because the days fly by so quickly anyway, but I can always count on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and a few of the stragglers still on Facebook to tell me that today is October 3. Last year it was perfect because it was a Wednesday and everyone knows that on Wednesdays we wear pink. Unless you're me and end up wearing pink every day whether it be nail polish or accessories (I don't own pink clothing, except for like two dresses). SO! To celebrate October 3 I'm going to do a post on some of my favorite movies!

Dirty Dancing is my ultimate favorite movie. I hate re-watching things, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen Dirty Dancing in the past year alone. I sing the soundtrack in the shower and dream about it. I'm addicted to Dirty Dancing. For those of you that have never seen Dirty Dancing: GO WATCH IT YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!

Another favorite of mine is a movie that I used to watch all of the time with my mom, The Sound of Music. We would watch The Sound of Music every time we watched a movie together and it was the last that we watched together before her passing. I mean we would watch other movies, but this was the movie. She died almost five years ago, but I've only watched it once since then and it was only a few months ago. That's how much that movie means to me, it's basically a very sacred movie and it reminds me of her and someday I hope to share this movie with my own daughter. I'll just have to buy it on DVD first... I still only watch it on VHS.

I'm leaving it at these two, but there are many, many more that I love. I didn't include Mean Girls even though I did make a couple references, but I don't know, I love the movie, but I get a little bored with it sometimes. Basically I just really have to be in the mood to watch Mean Girls. 

What are your favorite movies?

Music Notes On Memory Lane

I was sitting in the cafeteria today eating dinner with my roommates and a song came on and I just started laughing because not only did it remind me of a friend of mine, but I could close my eyes and I was 15 again. The song was "Kids In Love" by Mayday Parade and anyone that knows me, like honest to God knows me, knows how much Mayday Parade has done for me.

However, I can't listen to them frequently because of what they do to me. I listen to Mayday and I'm 16 and crying in my room. Every day. I get the indescribably feeling that I feel when I'm in the middle of a violent cry session and I end up having an anxiety attack. Music is powerful and Mayday Parade's lyrics are so powerful to me. "You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground, I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds" is the song that gets me the most. It brings me back to June 4, 2012, a Monday and I'm home alone. I close my eyes and I see that day and it kills me. But the song does what it's supposed to do, it makes you feel.

Another song that brings back memories is "All Signs Point to Lauderdale" by A Day to Remember. This song also came on while we were eating and I started laughing to myself. I was obsessed with this song at this time last year. I would roll down my windows on my way to crew practice and just blast it over and over again. It brings back good memories and those are always nice to have.

We all have songs that bring us back to certain times in our lives. What songs bring you down memory lane?

October!

Yes, it's that time of year again! I love October - the leaves are finally starting to change and it feels like fall! Ahh, it's my favorite time of year! I'm excited for this October more than any in the past though. This month I start with one of my old friend's birthday and then my two brothers have their birthdays. That same week my cousin and I are taking a trip down to Clemson, SC to see the Clemson vs FSU game on Saturday, October 19 and then I'll be going home the weekend after to celebrate the birthday of two of my other friends.

A lot is in-store for October and I couldn't be more excited!

October is honestly my absolute favorite month of the year - birthdays, football, and Halloween... you can't go wrong! The weather will hopefully cooperate too, I'm ready to bring my sweaters out and put my summer clothes away for good!

Birthday Girl #1

Birthday Girl #2

What are you most excited about this month? Do tell!

Don't forget to think pink; it's breast cancer awareness month

Weekend Recap

Hey so I know that 8 o'clock on a Monday night no longer qualifies as a weekend, but I've been sucked into Gossip Girl. I've carved out like an hour yesterday to do actual homework and started and finished the entire first season of the show yesterday. I'm addicted. I started season two after class today and it took me this long to find motivation to stop and actually get some work done.

This brought back rowing memories - Ohio River

This weekend was so much fun, I seriously had a blast! Friday I had no classes which was amazing! Clarion has a "fair" every year called Autumn Leaf Festival - aka ALF - so my roommates and I went down and it was PACKED. It was odd too, I didn't care for it though so I'm not going to go into detail.

On Saturday my cousin picked me up and we went to Pittsburgh where we spent the day walking and talking and eating and shopping... it was marvelous! I feel like we really bonded during that day trip. I very rarely spend time with just one cousin and even though we used to live in the same city I would normally only see this cousin once or twice a year. We got together to plan our road trip down to South Carolina this month...it's in 17 days! Eeep, I'm so excited!

Anyway, we started the day by going to the original Primanti Brothers on the strip. Let me just say, I've been to Primanti Brothers before, but this one was ten times better. I also hate coleslaw, but it came with it on and it really gives the sandwich that extra kick!

Pastrami & Cheese (favorite sandwich)

After lunch we walked around downtown Pittsburgh and finally found a Starbucks (the one we originally found was under renovation) and we got our PSF... so much better than a PSL on a hot day! After we walked around for a few hours just talking and reminiscing on our other cousin's June wedding we decided to go shopping and of course we went into L.L. Bean and although I left empty handed I did leave with a growing Christmas list.

We walked around inside the mall too and as part of my graduation gift she bought me the Kate Spade Bow earrings that I've been wanting for I don't even know how long..ahh I love her! We also found some cute black flats for her and $300 blanket at Pottery Barn that was oh-so-soft but waaaay out of our price range.

Naturally we ended our night at the cheesecake factory...with cheesecake!

Red Velvet - My favorite! :)

What did you do this weekend?