Navy + Lace

I'm trying to post more #ootds, so here's a new favorite!

I bought this gorgeous navy and lace dress at Forever 21 a few weeks ago.

I love Forever 21, because of how awesome the prices are and how almost anyone can go in and find something they like.

But, it's also rare for me to find a dress I like from F21, because I'm never sure how it will fit or if I'll like how it looks when I try it on.

It's a perfect dress for when I feel like dressing up, but it's still not too over the top.

I also think it would be a perfect bridesmaid's dress!

Dress: Forever 21

Sandals: Off Broadway Shoes

Have a wonderful Tuesday!
& last day of June! WHAT?!

+ You have one more second today than you usually do. Make it count! (here)

Friday Favorites

This week has been a crazy one, but I'm thankful for all I've learned and accomplished!

I'll be done with my last summer school class this upcoming Monday! Yay :)

I've been trying to get into somewhat of a schedule, because I want this summer to be kinda productive :)

As much as I hate waking up early, I'm trying to do just that so I have time to practice yoga and eat breakfast to start my day off right!

Once I'm on the mat, I forget about how tired I am. Instead, I choose to focus on how awesome yoga is and how it works wonders for me.

I always feel refreshed and ready to face the day with a positive attitude :)

One day I'm going to run out of TV shows to watch (that's the only way I can motivate myself to do schoolwork), but not yet, because this week I started The O.C. and I'm hooked! It's almost embarrassing how often I hum the theme song..

An awesome thing happened today in the USA! The Supreme Court ruled that marriage is for EVERYONE!

I'm so happy for all the people who have been waiting for this decision to be made and are finally able to marry the person they love :)

'Bad Blood'/'WANEGBT': I found this mash-up a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to share it!

Beaches: Daydreaming..

Bethany Hamilton Shares Photo Of Baby Boy: Awh! I love her inspiring story and how she chose to stay positive despite what happened to her.

British Icecream: Can I live in Brighton, please?

Camera Apps To Organize Photos: Using a few of these to complete #17 under PERSONAL on my 101 in 1001 list :)

Cartoon Food: How do they make it look so real?!

#CharlestonStrong: Pictures are powerful.

Chris Pratt Re-enacts Meme: He's precious.

First International Day Of Yoga: I just started practicing, but that doesn't mean I love yoga any less. How cool are these photos?!

Food In Disney Movies: Screen to plate.

Freeze: "I can dress up, but I can still be tough."

Harry Potter Play: I.Can't.Wait!

Instagram + Travel: IG's newest update is awesome! SO useful.

LED Waterslide: The best kind of scary.

Motivation Speech: If Shia LaBeouf didn't inspire you, then maybe this 3 year-old will..

NZ Hyperlapse: Gorgeous.

(Pizza) Hot Pockets: YUM! I would order one of these everyday if I could..

YouTube Fitness: Exercise for any time, any place.

7 Year Old Writes And Plays Every Instrument In Song: Such a cool kid!

History was made today in the US of A

Brands Supporting Love

Closing Paragraph Of The Marriage Ruling: Read this. Beautifully written.

Rainbow Dishes: There's no better way to celebrate than with food!

Speaking of The O.C.,

A musical is in the works!

-cue 'California' aka The O.C's theme song here-

"O.C." Reunion?!

I hope this weekend is an amazing one for you :)

Take some time to unwind and enjoy the next few days!

P.S. Outfit post coming soon :)

List Update

I can't believe I've been out of school for almost 2 months!

I feel like I've been in "summer mode" for quite awhile, but the actual season of summer didn't start until Sunday, June 21!

I've checked off a few items, and I love seeing progress on my 101 in 1001 list :)

Here's an update on my list so far, and check out the original list post for more info.

ACTIVE

#8 Try out yoga. Best decision ever! (Post here)

#9 Buy a bikini.

BLOG

#1 I've been working on this one over the last couple of weeks..yay for more blog posts! :)

ENTERTAINMENT

#3 Clear out Netflix queue

In progress :)

#13 Read 10 new books. (1/10)

June 19 -- Chasers of the Light, Tyler Knott Gregson

A book of poetry totally counts :)

PERSONAL

#15 Organize bookmarks/favorites on laptop

#17 Organize phone (apps/contacts/notes/photos)

SOCIAL

#2 Meet 5 blogger friends in person.

I met Katherine of Nautically Prep today!

Inspire someone else to make a list. Rebecca of Rebecca Maeve

Have a great rest of your Tuesday!

Friday Favorites

Ben & Jerry's Non-Dairy Icecream: You don't even know how happy I was when I heard this announcement! I'm so excited :)

Cake Batter Desserts

Cameras For Summer (or any other time of the year!): Cell phones are the most convenient, but do not always produce the best photos.

City Hall Weddings

Cookie Butter Desserts

Fight Song -- This and 'Bad Blood' are my songs of the summer!

HSM Flashmob -- I've always wanted to participate in a flash mob with this song..

How To Take Videos With Your Smartphone

Icebar: Cool.

Instagram -- Log into your profile on desktop. The new layout is gorgeous and looks awesome!

Pixar -- Behind The Scenes

Preschool + Nursing Home Combined: LOVE this!

Prince George's Twin: Adorable!

Stacking Mugs: one / two / three (I really want to buy this set for a friend!)

+ I can't decide between one and two for myself!

Store Vs. Outlet: Shop NOW! J.Crew, Gap..great sales this wknd :)

Taylor Swift's Thank You Notes + Tim McGraw turns 9! (#fbf)

Travel Bucket List

Tumblr User Describes Emotions As Colors: Beautiful.

29 Ways To Transform A Blank Wall

19 Airports: Can I take a trip and just visit the airports?!

13 Apps: Brain food.

3rd Princess Diaries Movie: So..I thought this was true, but I think it's just a rumor :(

Inside Out hits theaters today!

Have an awesome weekend :)

Yay For Yoga

I started yoga a week ago today, and I absolutely love it!

I use this mat (pictured below) and I bought it at a TJMaxx for about $10!

I've been wanting to try yoga for a long time, but I never set aside the time until this summer. I'm so glad I did! Also, as embarrassing as it sounds, I just found out what the word 'namaste' means. The meaning of this word is beautiful (see here and here). I knew nothing about yoga when I started, so finding Adriene's channel on YouTube was awesome! I began the 30 Days Of Yoga Challenge last Tuesday and found that it's a great way to jump right in and get in a habit of practicing yoga daily!

I hate exercising, but I love yoga. I look forward to waking up each morning knowing I have about 30 minutes to practice yoga. I make sure to set aside that amount of time each day so I can relax, connect to what's important, and think about what's happening later on in the day. It really does make a difference in my mornings. I am not a morning person, but yoga is definitely turning me into one :)

Practicing yoga makes me feel much happier and enables me to de-stress before the craziness of the day starts.

This article is a great read and includes many of the reasons why I chose to start practicing yoga.

I love how refreshed I feel after each session.

I would definitely recommend yoga to anyone who wants an alternative to 'regular' types of exercise :)

Have a great rest of today!

Friday Favorites

What a week! I'm ALMOST done with my last summer school class, and I couldn't be happier!

Recently, I've had this motivation I don't usually have and it's truly inspired me!

I checked out 5 books from my library, started practicing yoga, have been eating healthier and working on a personal goal of mine as well as working on this blog more than I have in the past. I'm really excited to see what the rest of summer holds and strange (and lame) as it sounds, am ready to go back to school!

All-Boys High School 100% College Acceptance: I'm so proud of them!

Ariana Grande's Message: "She will need her sisterhood."

Baby Lips Lipgloss

Brownie Batter Oreos: I have an Oreo obsession..

Cape Dresses

Dad Surprises Daughter So He Can Walk Her Down The Aisle

Dog Saves Blind Owner's Life

Frozen Ride Coming To Epcot

#followmeto couple now married! :)

Gilmore Girls ATX Reunion Panel: Love this cast!

Golden Retrievers to brighten your day :)

Hogwarts Acceptance Letters: Hogwarts = home.

Hotdog Pizza

Instagram -- Live From Snack Time: Adorable feed.

Netflix Streaming: How to get the highest HD quality!

Lego Wedding Cake

Llama Park: I want to visit!

Marathon Viewing Tips: Healthier ways to watch your favorite tv show for hours at a time..

School Janitor Signs Yearbooks

Twitter DMs: Character limit extended! I can finally send all of my thoughts in one message instead of 12..

Underwater World -- so pretty!

Warner Bros. Studio Tour: Gilmore Girls and a bunch of other shows were filmed on some of these sets :)

27 Bacon Breakfast Recipes

26 Underrated Amusement Parks: YES.

25 Prairie Photos Beauty in the simple things.

17 Animal Cracker Desserts

15 Year Old -- Youngest To Find A Planet

Have a wonderful weekend :)

To Blog Or Not To Blog

Lately, while perusing the Internet, I've had thoughts similar to "Oh! I wish I could have that lifestyle.." or "That dress is awesome! I wish I had money to buy it." One thing I've never realized until recently is that I keep wishing for a blog (and/or life) like that one or this person's instead of doing something about mine to make it into the one I want. I've built up this image in my mind that my blog will have cool artsy photos like the ones found on Tumblr or I'm going to be the next big blogger or something. I have so many ideas for this blog, but fear of failure ruins any chances I might have. Like J.K. Rowling said, "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default." I've come to the realization that I won't ever have a picture perfect life, and that's okay, because no one does. It's all about how we want to be viewed by the world. I have to remind myself that a person's blog is only their highlight reel (most of it anyways) and whether I get this many likes on a photo or a certain number of notes on a post is trivial and won't matter 5 years from now. What does matter is the way I feel and when I look back I want to be happy with what I've written and shared with the world. I'll live the best life I can and other people will live theirs and we will both have wonderful stories to tell. I don't need to constantly compare myself to others, because I can never be them and they can never be me. I never started blogging for money or gifts or to become famous. I wanted to give my own unique perspective and insight to what was going on around me, but I got too caught up in other people's lives that I wasn't really living my own. I became intimidated by people who have been blogging for years when really what I should have been doing was living life and making memories of my own. The reason I started blogging in the first place was to share my story with the world and from now on, I will remind myself of this daily. I blog, because I enjoy it. No longer will I choose to be a person behind a screen wondering what life has to offer me. Instead, I'll be out there, taking life one day at a time, enjoying every opportunity and truly living.

I'm perfectly happy sharing my thoughts on a blog that only about 5 people read and I'll continue blogging in my free time. But I'll be doing it because it's what I want to do.

To blog or not to blog. That is the question.

And I've decided that my answer is yes..to blogging, and yes to me.

For The Upcoming Week

"This is your Sunday evening reminder that you can handle whatever this week throws at you." --PKP

Sorry for such a short post! I also apologize for being so random. 

This is sort of like my reminder/to-do list :)

This is a stressful week for me..but I'm going to try to take it one day at a time.

I want to face this week with an "I can do this!" kinda attitude.

I'm hoping to post at least 2-3 times each week starting tomorrow :)

I've already started working on Friday Favorites for this week! I'm excited to share what I've found!

I'm looking to check off a few more things on my 101 in 1001 list! :)

I have a few outfit posts coming soon which I can't wait to show you guys! 

I would have posted them sooner, but I'm not happy with how the pictures turned out..so I'm going to ask my sister to retake them :)

Thank you for being so patient and reading my posts. I really appreciate it.

I don't care if only one person reads this little blog. 

I like having a creative outlet, and this is the best "project" this college student could ever dream of having :)

Also, if you want to follow me on other social media sites: Instagram // Twitter // Tumblr

Wishing you the most productive week ever! :)

Friday Favorites

Andy Murray Says He's A Feminist (YES!)

Dog Buddies (Perfect to brighten your day!)

Duet Between Jessie J & Fan (So good!)

Friends Bloopers / The Office Bloopers (I'm so excited that these exist!)

Goats In PJs (Adorable!)

Healthy Fast Food Lunches (Yum!)

High School Graduation Video Goes Viral (A real life HSM!)

If You Find This Email (LOVE)

Jeweled Sandals (Need.)

National Doughnut Day (That's today! Go get a free one!)

Pizzas From Around The World

Prince Harry And Prince William Play Polo

Senior Citizens & Street Art (Unlikely combination, but I loved reading this article!)

Skillet S'mores (Less messy indoors version of the real thing.)

Twist On Traditional Wedding Gifts (Awesome!)

Ultimate Parkour (Whoa.)

Wedding Dresses With Sleeves (Beautiful.)

Young Female Athletes (These girls sure aren't waiting around to be saved :)

27 Feminist Disney Moments (You go, girl!)

27 Underrated Vacation Spots In The USA (Road trip?!)

26 Jim & Pam Moments (Spoilers in this article!)

19 Gorgeous Wedding Invitations (Typography envy.)

Reading: Paper Towns (Can't wait for the movie!)

Watching: Hart of Dixie (I just finished the first season!)

The Fox And The Hound (Childhood favorite.)

I hope you have the best weekend :)

Quite a few new posts coming soon!