Currently.

I've seen this float around the Internet before, and I thought it would be fun to play along today!

Current Book - It's a toss up. I'm in the middle of re-reading the Harry Potter series, and I just finished the Prisoner of Azkaban yesterday. I'm itching to start reading the Goblet of Fire, but I have a few chapters I need to read out of some business books for a project I'm working on. I know I should I probably get through the business books first, but I would much rather move onto the next Harry Potter - ha!

Current Playlist - I am usually a playlist junkie, and I love to make themed playlists. Lately though I've been taking a break from listening to any playlists and have instead been listening to my entire iPod on shuffle. That's always fun to do from time to time because I've already found some songs on my iPod that I really like but had never listened to before. I did find a new playlist on iTunes radio last week though that I've been enjoying - it's the Country Summer Songs Memorial Day station. It plays a lot of good upbeat summer themed songs, like this one that I had never heard before but really liked.....

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure - I guess that would be a tie between either wanting to watch a movie in bed every single night or usually spending every day off work at home in my pajamas the entire day, which is exactly what I did yesterday.

Current Color - Teal! I recently got a new Coach crossbody purse in teal that I absolutely love.

Current Drink - Water. Literally that's all I drink aside from a glass of milk with breakfast. I hate any kind of pop, so water it is.

Current Food - Anything summery! I'm really loving fruit, burgers off the grill, and soft-serve ice cream lately. I feel like I've been doing nothing but eating sweets ever since school let out :) Of course my favorite summer time treat is always Zip Dip!

Current Favorite Show - Nothing. I'm not a TV show person. I don't have Netflix or Hulu or any of those streaming sites either. I've never sat down, got hooked on a show, and watched all 10 seasons in two days like most people these days seem to do. I'll take laying in bed watching a movie over a show any day.

Current Wishlist - Just about anything from Jane.com (I need to stop visiting that site because every single time I'm on there I'm tempted to buy something). I've also had my eye on this Kappa Delta shirt for a while, but I've decided to try to avoid ordering anything online until the end of June because I went a little overboard last month.

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Current Bane of my Existence - Allergy season. It's always bad in the morning, and I'm ready for it to be over!

Current Slang or Saying - I don't really have a current saying.

Current Outfit - Anything that looks good with my new J. Crew necklace I bought a few weeks ago. I was a little hesitant to buy it at first because I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it, but I've already gotten my money's worth and I've only had it a little over a week! I think I've worn it more days than not since I got it.

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Current Excitement - My upcoming travels! If the quality of a year was based solely on how often you traveled and the places you traveled to, 2014 would be the best year of my life so far. I've still got a few fun trips planned for the rest of the year that I cannot stop thinking and talking about.

Current Mood - Relaxed. I think this summer has been just SO relaxing. My family usually does a lot of stuff during the summer (going shopping, meeting for lunch, walking around the zoo, swimming, etc.), but since everyone is still in school and my mom still has work, my days off of work mean days where I have absolutely nothing going on. And I love that. So great after a busy school year and what is sure to be a busy rest of the summer.

Have a great Wednesday!

Memorial Day Weekend 2014

This was a pretty darn good weekend. Like one of the best weekends in a long time. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and warm (heck, actually HOT at times!). I was also busy all weekend with friends and family, and it was just so fun. It makes me extra thankful for all the men and women who have fought for our country so that I can live my simple (yet still fun) life in Cincinnati!

On Friday I got up and went for a walk at the park by myself. Sometimes it's just so nice to crank up some music on your iPhone and take a nice walk by the river. I need to do it more often!

Friday afternoon was spent baking and cuddling with Coco.

This is what happens when I try to take a cute picture with my pup. She's a psycho.

But this one turned out better ;)

That night I went to the Red's game with some friends. We had dinner outside at the Banks before, and it was just perfect. When we got to our seats, I couldn't stop thinking about how it felt so much like summer since the sun was shining and it was so warm (we've had a couple of cooler days these past few weeks).

The Red's even won!

Friday night games are always my favorite since they put on a pretty good fireworks show at the end.

When we were leaving, we ended up getting stuck in the parking garage for over an hour. Apparently there was a car that broke down while trying to exit the garage, and it ended up taking forever to get the issue resolved and everyone else out. It was so crazy!

Saturday morning I made some cake pop bouquets for graduation parties.

In the afternoon we went to a graduation party for a family friend who is graduating from grade school and will be going to high school at Seton where I went. It's always a little bittersweet to make Seton cake pops these days since every time I do it reminds me of all the times I brought cake pops in for my Seton friends.

I set my alarm Sunday morning to make myself get up and finish some cupcakes for my cousin's college graduation party which was later in the afternoon. The cupcakes ended up turning out pretty good, and the party was so fun. Any day spent laughing and joking with my extended family is a good one!

Today my family and I went downtown for Taste of Cincinnati. I've lived in Cincinnati my entire life and yet had never gone to Taste before. It was so fun too! A bunch of different local restaurants set up booths and sell small samples of a few of their menu items. It gives you a good opportunity to try some things you otherwise might not.

My favorite things we tried were Veal Short Rib Ravioli and this Grilled Cheese Doughnut. They literally take glazed donuts with cheese in the middle and grill it. It sounds disgusting, but oh my gosh - it was SO good. I'm not sure who thought to create that flavor combination, but they are a genius. If you live in Cincinnati and haven't tried the Grilled Cheese Doughnut from Tom + Chee, you really have to!

I loved how they had a whole area of food trucks!

This one of course caught my eye....

....so I just HAD to try their Chocolate Oreo cupcake. I was really impressed too - I loved it!

Now I'm looking forward to an evening at home catching up on some reading, cleaning my room, possibly watching a movie, and snuggling with my patriotic pup :)

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Celebrations.

May always feels like a party month to me. So many people I know have May birthdays (myself included!) that with family birthday parties alone, there is a lot of celebration going on. Then add in Mother's Day, Memorial Day, and graduation parties, and it seems like every week involves some kind of party.

That's just one of the reasons why I love the month of May so much!

This past week was filled with work and celebrations.

One of my friends works with me in the same office, and we've coordinated our work days so we can drive and eat lunch together. She took the day off on Monday though, so that meant I had my lunch break to myself. I took the book I'm reading and sat on campus and read. I was cracking up at how nerdy I was considering I'm not taking classes, and yet I was on campus reading a business book (and actually really enjoying it!). What's wrong with me?! Ha!

When we were at the Greene last weekend, I picked up a cookie from Cheryl's that I finally ate on Monday. They sell such good cookies, and I always try to get one whenever I'm close to a Cheryl's.

The big thing we were celebrating this week was my dad's 50th birthday! I got this idea off of Pinterest and thought it turned out pretty cute.

My mom and I crept downstairs the night before and did a little decorating....

His co-workers also got him good at his office! When I was buying him a birthday card at Target, I was cracking up because the cashier said to me, "Someone's turning 50? Ha - that's unfortunate." It's always funny when you're not the one reaching an old milestone ;)

We had dinner that night at Incline House, which is one of my absolute favorite restaurants. I always get their Short Rib Grilled Cheese because it is just the best.

Yesterday I really didn't do a whole lot. The weather's been getting better and warmer these past few days, so I took a walk, went to work, read some of my book, and crossed some things off of my to-do list.

I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday for Throwback Thursday because one year ago yesterday was my last day of high school, which was spent with my government class on the roof. So, so crazy to think that it's already been an entire year. Where has the time gone?!

I'm so happy it's Friday because I have such a fun weekend planned that of course involves a few more parties ;)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Friends, Family, Frozen, & Fun!

This past weekend was a really great one. Saturday was a busy day, but that was actually nice after what's felt like so many relaxing do-nothing days.

Friday was another relaxing do-nothing day. I spent most of the day in yoga pants and a jacket getting a few things done, but also just laying around the house :) I did end up going out to dinner with my friend Danielle at Don Pablo's by the river. We also went and got Yagoot afterwards. Great end to an otherwise uneventful day.

On Saturday my family got up early to head to the outlet mall. I went thinking that I wouldn't buy anything because my dad was actually the one who wanted to go to get a new jacket. And then I ended up splitting the cost of a new Coach purse with my mom and buying a statement necklace at J.Crew. Oh well - you only live once, right?

Since the outlets are the way to Dayton, we just had to finish off the trip with a stop at the Greene - one of my favorite outdoor shopping areas!

The Sephora there is hands down my favorite Sephora ever because it's huge and they carry just about every brand! When I was checking out, I was pleasantly surprised that they gave me a free birthday gift of a cute little mascara and lipstick from Make Up For Forever. I've really been impressed with both over the last few days!

Although the Greene is great, the real reason I love it is because it's right across the street from Rita's! I have a serious obsession and really want to open a franchise closer to home ;) I got the Wild Berry ice this time, and I loved it!

That night I headed over my aunt's house for my cousin's birthday party. I love it when my extended family gets together, and I feel like I've been doing a lot of that this month. The party also involved a very intense game of four square, and I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard. Let's just say that there were kids saying curse words and conspiracies against the adults (I've also never felt so old for grade school kids referring to me as an adult)......

Sunday was filled church and then a bunch of errands. I finally got home in the afternoon and spent the rest of the afternoon working on a Frozen cake pop order.

This was actually the second order I've had for Frozen cake pops (you can see my first batch from back in February here). I kept pretty much everything the same except for Olaf's nose. He was a tough one to do, but I think the big carrot looking nose helped him look a little bit more realistic this time around.

"I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face!"

It was such a fun weekend of eating out, shopping, celebrating, and baking. Even though it was a little chilly, I was grateful for all of the sunshine!

Time Well Wasted

The other day at work, I was listening to my iPod of shuffle, and the song "Time Well Wasted" by Brad Paisley came on. I couldn't help but think how the song accurately describes what I've been doing lately. I feel like a lot of my days have been spent just sitting around my house reading, blogging, playing on Pinterest, and occasionally getting a few things done. It's definitely been time well wasted though! (If you've never heard the song, you can listen to it here!).

Last Saturday my family did our annual Mother's Day flower planting at my grandma's house. It was a rainy day, so after we were done, we got ice cream at Zip Dip, and then I headed home and spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies.

On Mother's Day, my family went downtown and ate dinner at Crave. We have a new development that just opened a few years ago with a bunch of restaurants right by the baseball stadium, and I love any excuse to go do there since it's so pretty right by the river.

We also saw Phantom of the Opera that night. For being a "classic" play, we were all disappointed. On the way home, we ended up Googling a synopsis of the play since it jumped around a lot and we left confused on what the heck had happened. I've heard people say that Phantom is one of the best plays, but I just wasn't that impressed.

On Tuesday morning, my mom and I watched my little cousin Savannah. Just ignore the fact that I'm looking a little crazy in this picture. My allergies were really bad that day, and I didn't feel like putting on makeup. I may or may not have added filters to this picture to reduce the severity of my undereye circles. Ha!

We also did tattoos. Well actually, my mom and I did tattoos because Savannah didn't want any. For being kid tattoos, these are high quality! I still have it on despite taking several showers and shaving over top of it.

Tuesday was a really hot day (it got close to 90 degrees), so I spent the rest of the day reading my book. I opened up the windows and front door to let the breeze and light in, and it was perfect.

Then it went from being 90 on Tuesday to being 50 on Thursday. I literally switched my summer and winter clothes on Tuesday, and then had to break out some of my winter clothes again. Bummer. I was actually really impressed with my outfit though because I used some inspiration from Pinterest to put together an outfit I usually wouldn't have put together but ended up loving.

My cousin's spring concert was Thursday night, so I went to that. Every time I go back to a grade school, I always feel so old. Ha!

Have a great Monday! I'm looking forward to a few more days this week of time well wasted ;)

Online Shopping Obsession

Usually I hate to shop online mainly because I think it's fun to go to the mall/store and shop in person but also because I despise shipping costs. If I can buy something at a Macy's store close to my house for example, why on earth do I want to pay around $10 to have it delivered to me? I would much rather just drive to the store myself.

I also have a love/hate relationship with places that run the promotion of spend a certain amount and get free shipping. Macy's (which is hands down my favorite store to shop at in-person) has a $99 minimum purchase and then you get free shipping. Rarely do I go online to purchase $99 worth of merchandise, so I pretty much never place an online order with them.

Then you have the places like Amazon where they have a $25 minimum. Most of the time when I'm looking to order something from Amazon, it's less than $25. But then it usually turns out that I buy a $15 item with $5 shipping, and at that point it makes more sense to add in another $10 item just so you don't have to pay for shipping and feel like you're wasting your money. That gets me to spend more money at Amazon every time!

I saw this on Pinterest yesterday and laughed because it's totally true!

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I have to say that my favorite place to shop online is usually Nordstrom simply because they have free shipping on any purchase. Love that! I have definitely bought more things from them online than I have in the store because to be honest, their sales people sometimes drive me nuts because half the time they won't leave you alone.

Enough of my shipping charges rant though :)

Lately I've been on an online shopping kick. It's always kind of a thrill when you get the email with the tracking number and then you can sit there and stalk your package while it's coming to you. Ha!

It started when I ordered these nude flats from Macy's. Like I said, I usually don't order stuff online from Macy's, but the shoes weren't in any of the stores close to me. Nordstrom carries them and had them on sale too, but even with the shipping charge from Macy's, they were going to cost me the same as ordering it from Nordstrom, so since I am more loyal to Macy's anyway, that's who I ordered from.

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They are really cute, go with everything, and I needed a pair for sorority purposes. However, I have worn them once so far to work and by the afternoon my feet were killing me. As in the majority of the afternoon was spent sitting at my desk barefoot. I'm really hoping that they just need to be stretch out, but I swear I always have the worst luck with flats - I've never once found a pair that is comfortable!

My online shopping obsession grew to new heights when I discovered Jane.com a few weeks ago. It's actually kind of a funny story of how I heard about it. I was getting my nails done and was sitting at the drying station. Two girls were sitting there too, and I overheard them talking about how they're obsessed with Jane.com and how they have the cutest monogrammed things, etc. I was curious, so when I got home, I looked up this Jane.com and have been in love ever since!

It's one of those flash deal sites (so they're always getting new things each day), and the deals only last for a day or two. Everything on the site is cute boutique items. They sell everything from clothes, to home decor, to accessories, and even some kids clothes.

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I recently purchased two items from Jane.com and was so impressed with both of them! The shipping charges are pretty small two - only a few dollars, so I didn't even mind paying for shipping especially since the items I bought were pretty cheap to begin with.

First, I got this pendant necklace. I got it in a lighter purple than is shown here, but you get the idea. It's pretty simple, but it's cute and cost me around $5 (with shipping!). You really can't beat that!

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I also got this adorable top. Seriously - I think it may be one of my new favorite shirts. It's so unlike anything else in my closet! I got it in the dark blue, and my favorite thing about the shirt is the bow (which is kind of hard to see in the picture, but if you look hard at the girl in middle, you can see it). What's also neat is that you can wear it either with the bow in the front or the back - and it's super cute either way!

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I wore both my new shirt and pendant on Wednesday, and I loved them both. I wish you could see how cute the bow looked in the back, but it was too hard to take a picture of that!

I also have another package currently on its way to me (I told you I've had an online shopping problem lately!). I placed an order with Barnes and Noble a few days ago because I needed a book that wasn't in stock anywhere around here. The book was $13, but they have the spend $25 and get free shipping thing, so I figured I might as well get my order up to $25 so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping.

So, I ended up ordering....

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. This was the one I originally needed for a summer Honors project I'm working on - I'll tell you more about that in a post soon!

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French Toast by Harriet Welty Rochefort. It's a nonfiction book about a woman who moved to Paris and wrote a book about her observations. I have a Paris problem ;)

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At that point I was only a dollar or two away from $25, so I added in Miss Congeniality since it was $4.99, and I love that movie (and surprisingly don't already own it).

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So as you can see, I've gone a little crazy with the online shopping this month. I've been checking Jane.com everyday just to see what they have, but I've had to resist buying anything else (at least until my credit card bill ends for this month - which thankfully is only in a few more days. Ha!).

I hope you all are having a great Friday and have an even better weekend. I have nothing going on today, so I may just lay around the house in my pajamas and try to get some things done before a busy weekend starts!