NYC

"New York... New York!" (Imagine the song playing...)

These last four days have been absolutely crazy with ending my teaching job in Rock Island, birthdays, and traveling to New York City! My best friend Chelsea auditioned for the Rockettes Summer Intensive camp in NYC and made it so she spent the week in NY rehearsing. My other best friend, Colleen and I were very fortunate to go visit her!

AND of course with New York city, comes fashion so I packed some of my summery and colorful outfits for our short adventure in the city.

Friday was the first day and was an early morning when I left the Chicagoland area around 5am. We had some traveling mishaps but Colleen and I eventually got into the city and to our hotel.

We "refluffed" and then went to get some pizza at a hole in the wall restaurant. On our way back, we stopped at a small market and got flowers for our wonderful performer.

The performance was wonderful and we were so proud to see our best friend up there dancing. After many photos and goodbyes, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the first musical of the weekend: Aladdin. 

DAY 1:

White Pants//American Eagle

Black top//Loft

Jean Jacket//American Eagle

Pink Shoes//Old Navy

Necklace/Bangles//Charming Charlies

As Disney always is, the musical was amazing! We decided to follow up the night with milkshakes, cookies, and cute lemonade at a little cookie shop downtown.

Day two started early with a trip to get Les Miserables tickets at the box office (which we got at a pretty good price!) We then went all around the city including some shopping in Times Square, dinner and shopping at Chelsea Market, watching the matinee, and seeing a friend of mine from high school!

One of my favorite stops was FAO Schwarz were every child and adult's dream comes to life. If the giant teddy bears weren't enough, we visited the "dress-up" area, and the famous BIG PIANO.

(Notice my excitement as a future music teacher- I had just played a I-IV-V-I progression with my feet on the piano!)

The first part of the day demanded something light and comfortable with the miles of walking and eventually relaxing in central park. I wore one of my favorite blouses from Francescas paired with little coral scalloped shorts. Accessories included black Tommy Hilfiger shoes and gold accents from Charming Charlie's.

Shopping in Chelsea's Market was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the beautifully dressed people. After buying some adorable hand painted glitter cards, we decided on a cute outside diner for dinner. Here I wore my new dress from Charming Charlies.

  

I have been blessed with such wonderful friends and am so thankful for opportunities to take such trips. I'd like to thank my dad for flying me out there and thank my friends for always being willing to go on an adventure. The entire weekend was wonderful but it was so nice to come home!

Next up... my 22nd birthday! (MY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY :) )

Welcome to the neighborhood!

My mother told me to bake.

Now before you already get confused, let me give you some background information.

Tony and I just moved into a new townhouse in which all the spaces have been recently built. So although we are new to the "neighborhood", so are 10 other couples! I felt strange living near these people and not really knowing who they were, especially since so many of them looked to be around our age!

My mom's advice was to bake something for everyone in order to introduce ourselves! So I tried to be as creative as possible with my very low level baking ability.

I downloaded some fonts onto my computer and decided to type up labels for the cupcakes (just in case they forgot) which included our names, apartment number, and our phone numbers.

Our neighbors loved it! It gave us a chance to really talk with them and we already have plans to get to know them better. I've always heard the saying, "Cook your way into a man's heart" but I believe you can also bake yourself out of awkward neighbor situations.

I am so thankful for the advice and was very proud with how everything turned out! At the last minute, we decided to grab some bottles of wine at Hyvee to spice up the gift.

With a hole punch, some card stock, and a gold ribbon, we made a cute gift for very little money! We even bought little bread pans for the dollar store to put the cupcakes in so the neighbors didn't have to worry about smushed cupcakes!

This was so easy and could be used for so many other occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings! Go ahead and try something yourself and see how your creation turns out!

This adventure has made me super excited about trying new things with baking and I can't wait to learn more! Martha Stewart watch out ;)

Sprinkles and Sparklers

Happy Belated Fourth of July!

I know that I am a little late but I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend full of fun during America's birthday weekend. Today, I thought I would do an update on what I wore and did for the forth!

Now living in Iowa, I spent the holiday with Tony's family on the farm. In exchange for delicious free food all day, I decided to make 4th of July cupcakes in which there was alternating cake and sprinkle colors.

In addition to multiple trips up to get food, the day consisted of yard games, four-wheeler rides, laying alongside the pool, and more food. The entire day exemplified America as we relaxed, competed, talked, and ate. We ended the night with a wonderful firework show right in the sod field and sparkles for all the little kids (and myself of course- they're too much fun to run around with!)

Normally, fourth of July in the midwest would be about 95 degrees and sunny but last week we had a strange change in temperature and it was only about 80 degrees which felt just perfect. To adjust for this new weather and the festive day, I wore a blue and white striped strapless dress, my trusty jean jacket, and a pair of sunglasses.

The day made me reflect about being thankful for our freedom and the beautiful aspects of this country. Although there is much work to be done, there is no arguing that we live in a marvelous place of beauty.

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Count Your Blessings

Count Your Blessings

Well hello everyone! Here I am finally writing my first blog post. It seems that I should write about my interests and all about myself so that you can get to know me. But honestly, I have much more on my mind these days and something else seems like it holds more importance.

Small information about myself: I have been blessed to have met the love of my life my sophomore in college. My boyfriend, Tony, has been in my life for almost three years now and we just got our first place here in Iowa a few months ago. Dating him and moving onto the next step in our lives has already brought us on so many fantastic journeys. 

I can't wait to tell you all about how wonderful my family, friends, and boyfriend are but first things are about to get deep.

Tony has an uncle that was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago. The cancer has spread to almost every part of his body and this healthy, crude, and loved man is now silent, unable to move, and nearing the end of his life. Last thursday, we were told that his engaged daughter had decided to have her wedding...in TWO days. For most people, this would be impossible. But in this family, this meant that everyone was to work together to put on a wedding that focused on the two most important things in life.

Love and family.

Now this is where I get all mushy gushy...

After 36 hours of planning and decorating, they decided to have the wedding in her brother's warehouse on the farm. Her uncle, (who had forgotten about his ability) officiated the wedding and her good friend was the DJ. 

Hours and hours went by as family members picked up food, hung lights, laid out burlap, and set tables for a night full of honesty and reflection.

The sight of the beautiful bride being accompanied down the isle by her brother and wheelchair-bound dad left every eye bubbled with tears. The night was simple but beautiful and touched on every important aspect of marriage and family.

In addition to every mother, father, grandparent, sister, and child, I found myself reflecting about my own time on this earth and the beautiful people who surround me during it. I found myself laughing at Pinterest wedding boards (yes, I do have one- its so large I'm embarrassed now) and 2 year engagements to plan a wedding. I came to the conclusion that I want a small wedding in which the focus is love and appreciation of the wonderful time we are allotted on this earth. Until this last weekend, I dreamed of big and showy moments in my wedding that would "show" how much we were in love. It was not until this last weekend that I understood I had the entire idea backwards. 

Love is a journey that we experience with many people along our path of life.

There should never be a day without "I love you" and "Thank You" to the people around you because life is too short. Its a shame we get such a short amount of time with such wonderful things and people and it is pertinent that we make our mark on this earth through gentle love and affection.