THE CASE AGAINST SCHEDULING BLOG POSTS

(photo by me, at Alcatraz)

There are a lot of great reasons to schedule your blog posts ahead of time. By writing posts ahead of time + scheduling them, I've been able to take time off to study for exams, vacation or just busy times. Any of you bloggers who have tried scheduling out posts ahead of time know that it can be an extremely convenient practice.

But over the last few months as I've been scheduling posts as much as two or three weeks in advance, I've felt more out of touch. Some days I don't even know what post is going live, only that it's a Monday/Wednesday/Friday so there must be one!

I find that I don't mention much what's really going on in my life...because it would be weeks-old news by the time it went live! For example, in the last couple posts, I haven't mentioned that I've been in the Sierra Nevadas on a hiking trip for the last two weeks. But that's because I wrote those posts a month ago!

Somehow, that just doesn't feel right. I want you to know what's going on right now, and in the same way, I want to be updated with you and my favorite bloggers. If I was just writing for a newspaper or something, scheduling would be fine. But because blogging is about community, I'm feeling the need to add that little life update back into my posts.

I'm not saying I'll never schedule posts again! I probably will when I'm on vacation or during exam weeks. But I'll try to write my posts less than a day or two ahead of time when possible so that I can stay in tune with what's currently going up on my blog. Make sense?

I will still keep an editorial calendar (which I recommend all bloggers do!) and will probably plan out posts ahead of time to some extent. But I want to make sure I focus on sharing more of the day-to-day details, and that just doesn't happen when I schedule posts. 

So I mentioned that I wanted to share more of what was going on in my life, like right now? Here's what I've been doing lately:

• I graduated, just over two weeks ago. Super exciting! Super crazy! Super busy!
• Two days later, I flew to San Francisco with my family.
• Over the last two weeks, we've been hiking through Sequoia, Yosemite, Big Sur, Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe. We've been swimming and rafting and sleeping in yurts (no, really!) and ziplining and driving (so much. How is California so big?!) and so much more!
• I'm currently in Sacramento with friends, getting ready to fly home tomorrow.
• It's been crazy exciting but I'm ready to come home to NC.

Now that I've updated you, I want you to tell me. What have you been up to? Do you schedule posts? Tell me why you do or don't!

Monthly Goals

Helloooo! Happy June! Today's our double day: weekly and monthly wishes! Man, it has been a heck of a week!

I've only talked about it a little bit but I had something big happen this week...I graduated! Yay! Side note: can I just say that graduation caps are officially the ugliest hats ever. Like serioiusly, America, is that the best tradition we can come up with? Other countries have gorgeous tribal or ethnic clothing and meaningful traditions (my family's half-Swedish and I've always loved St. Lucia Day). And while I know the US has other beautiful traditions, wearing flat caps on your head for graduations is pretty embarrassing. 

But aaaaanyways, all the family-and-friends socializing sort of overshadowed my goals this week. But I still didn't do half bad!

Last Week's Goals:

+ Make a to-do list every morning and actually get things done. So I started off great, but come Friday (when graduation festivities started) it was just not happening. My room's a bit of a mess and I've got approximately four thousand and seven thank you notes to write, but whatever. I graduated, homeskillet.

+ Read at least 15 minutes a day. I did great on this...until approximately Wednesday when I forgot I made this goal. Uh, oops. But then I remembered it on Friday and did pretty well the rest of the week so it's all good, guys. Plus, my genetics book = super interesting. I'm a nerd.

This Week's Goals:

+ Have fun in California! I haven't mentioned it in awhile, but my trip to California is this week! I leave tomorrow. As a reminder, in case you've lost your binder full of the details of my life, my family and I are celebrating my graduation by going to CA (I live on the East Coast) and visiting all the National Parks/beaches/aquariums we can fit in 12 days. I'm gonna see big trees. Anyways, this isn't a goal, but more an excuse to talk about my trip. #sorrynotsorry

+ Practice taking pictures! So I officially break the cardinal rule of bloggers: I don't take pictures. I don't even own a camera. Except my phone and a (largely unused) digital camera from approximately 2004. But I'm telling myself that it'll take a lot of skill to screw up pictures of such a gorgeous area. So even if it's on my iPhone, I want to actually take pictures of things for once! Maybe I'll get bold + take out that digital camera ;)

This Month's Goals:

+ Well let's look ahead to what June includes for me. First part of the month, I'll be in California, chilling out with the trees. Then, I'll be in Florida for a few days on some school business. Then (with literally less than 24 hours in between on either end of Florida), I'll head to Michigan for the summer where I work at an ice cream shop and listen to way too much indie pop music on my walks to the beach every afternoon. So it's gonna be crazy in that I have too much vacation planned! Jokes, jokes.

+ Form an actual morning routine. During summer (aka when I don't have 8am classes), I'm terrible at actually forming a good sleep/morning routine. Most days I get up between 8-9, but some days it's 7am and others it's not till 10 (which is actually embarrassing). This month, I'll form a morning routine that will involve a consistent but reasonable waking up time (with an alarm as back up!), exercise at least a few days a week, stretching, being productive, designing, etc. 

+ Work on my super secret project! How annoying is it to you guys when bloggers announce a project, but title is something like 'the super secret project'? Like why am I telling you about it if it's a secret? Mostly because it's not a sure thing + it's my way of knocking on wood. I hope to share more about it with you soon...if I can get enough of it prepared first!

What are your goals for the week + month?!

Weekly Goals #29

Hellooooo loves! Happy Monday! Well, I'm finally back from my trip to Colorado. Though lovely, I feel like I've been gone forever. I've hardly opened up my computer in a week and a half and it feels just weird-weird-weird. I'm still getting back into the swing of things so I'm keeping things super short and casual today.

Last week, I made a goal to exercise while on vacation. But I sooorta underestimated how much of an exercise skiing is in itself! Did you know that you can burn upwards of 400 calories an hour skiing? Yeah, for real, you can believe how excited I was to learn that, especially considering that some days I skied from 9 till 4. That's a whole lotta calories to get rid of! Needless to say, I got them all back with some Nutella ;) So I'm totally fine with not exercising officially all week since I walked around town lots + skied. 

But I'm not gonna spoil too much since I have a little recap planned for later this week. Just know that my awesome week included not only skiing, but also tubing, good food, drama and dogsledding. Yes. And if I can convince him, H might share a little bit about when he went snowmobiling!

Until then, let me share my goals for the week. I've got a lot to do to get back in place for the coming weeks. I'm missing classes again today because I'm in Tennessee. I'll need to be super focused to get caught up on classwork. In addition, I didn't write any blog posts for like ten whole days (they were all scheduled! gasp!) so my stock of prewritten posts is down to nil. This week I want to get back to my normal schedule of being at least three or four posts ahead. 

That's all today--what are your goals for the week?

Weekly Goals #28

(Yay Images)

Hey hey hey nuggets! As we speak (aka I write, you read), I'm in a hotel room in sunny Denver, getting ready to leave for Breckenridge! I'm so excited to spend the week with H and friends skiing it up + being cute little snow bunnies! H would like to make it known though that he will never be a "cute little snow bunny," but I think we all know the truth. 

Even though I'm on vacation + not working this week, I think it's really important to focus on goals + living focused. So let's recap goals!

How did I do last week?

Pretty dang good, if I do say so myself! Starting on Monday, I forced myself to wake up at 5:20 (ughhh) before classes and do my Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout. Obviously, that's super early, but it's actually forcing me to go to bed earlier, which I love. And the workout (though I'm still on level one) is getting way easier than it was when I started. I consider myself in decent shape but I actually had to take a rest + modify some of the moves the first few times around (because I can't do pushups for a whole minute). But I'm proud of myself for making it a priority + working out four times this week even though I really, really didn't want to some days.

I also got completely ready for Breckenridge! I've got some great posts planned for you this week, some of which are guest posts from fabulous people and some of which are my own. I hope you really enjoy them! And I managed to pack all my stuff and get on my flight early Saturday morning. And I didn't forget anything except my sleep mask, which is totally fine because I'm always the person who forgets absolutely everything. Like on a recent trip, I forgot my iPhone in the car, my keys on the plane and then my toothbrush at home. So I'm doing alright! Go Allie.

What are my goals for this week?

Obviously, I'm on vacation so I'm taking it pretty easy this week. The one thing I will say is that I want to make sure to exercise this week. I will be skiing + I'm not sure how much that will wear me out though. So if I'm just exhausted on ski days, it's fine if I don't work out, but I'm still making it a goal to pay the fitness room at our lodge a few visits, even if it's just for a short jog. 

I'm also going to be reevaluating some things about my blog in the coming week, so be on the lookout for another survey coming up, even though I just had one in January. It's not out yet, but just a heads up. And again, it will include a giveaway (for something good!) so be sure to take part. Plus, I'll love you forever if you do. 

That's all lovebugs! Talk to me--what are your goals? Do you exercise on vacation?

Pacific Coast Tour Inspiration Board

Today's post'll be short and sweet as I'm dedicating most of my day to design work (YAY). I just wanted to check in with y'all and share some of my life lately. I know this isn't a travel blog, but I'm really excited about my trip to California in June and wanted to show you some of my plans, collage-style.

Have any of you ever traveled to (or lived!) along the Pacific coast? If so, please give me recommendations of where to stay and visit!

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine systems of mammals, oftentimes by taking the shape of hormones, which regulare mood and growth, among other things. They can cause huge disruptions to the body, including cancerous tumors, mental retardation, physical deformities and much more. These chemicals almost always come from pollution.

Source. A state researcher measures an alligator to look for stunted growth from endocrine disruptors. 

The alligators in Lake Apopka in Florida are a frequently used example to show the effects of endocrine disruptors. In the late 1970s, it was found that Lake Apopka was heavily polluted with pesticides (including DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls, called PCBs. The presence of the pollutants, which acted as endocrine disruptors, resulted in reproductive failure in female alligators in the mid 1980s. These alligators also exhibit significant reproductive/sexual disorders that impair their ability to have healthy offspring. So that's just a little tidbit about how pollution can affect individual animals!

Have a swell day!

Weekly Wishes #13: gelato + exercise + antarctica

Is this picture not the most gorgeous thing ever? It's from a NatGeo Expedition to Antarctica. Have you ever seen so many shades of blue? It makes me a bit weak at the knees; I want to see it in person so badly.

Anyways, today, I’m linking up with The Nectar Collective for Weekly Wishes. Yada yada, I do this every week. The Weekly Wishes is where we all can share our posts about goals, challenges, and wishes for the week! 


Last week, I wished for a few things and was fairly. Here’s a recap in order of how successful I was: Basically my goals were to stay on top of my school work and life. I more or less did pretty well! I didn't turn in anything late and even got some decent sleep. I was born to ace this whole school thing.

So it was a pretty good week! I'm not dead yet! Here are my weekly wishes for this coming week:

Exercise! I have gotten really bad about this lately. I'm working on getting my gym membership back up but until then I've been doing Blogilates. That lady is craaaazy! I did Playa del Plank (along with others) and literally had to stop it half way through because my abs were crying. It's sad but it's motivating me to work harder!

Work on my big project with Aukele! I've got something big coming up soon with Aukele and I'm really excited about it! We haven't set a launch date but it'll be up within a few weeks hopefully! We've got some big steps to take this week and I can't wait to see where they'll take us.


I’m just sticking to two goals this week but I think that will be challenging enough!

__________________________________________________

I’m also linking up with Erika for Grad-itude again, a link up about being grateful! I loved looking through everyone else's happy thoughts last week so I'm in it again. Here are three things I’m grateful for right now.

Again, H. Saturday night, I was all alone and had a terrible migraine and the sweet boy drove to three different grocery stores to find me my favorite pistachio gelato (which is also way expensive) just to surprise me and make me feel better! How nice is he?! I told him it deserved a shout-out on the blog--I think he was excited about that.

The day off! I know this is a bit overdone because it seems to be the thing people are most happy about around here, but still! And I have fun plans for today. H is out hunting so I'm hanging out with my mom to sew a little and then my dad and I are hopefully going to choose my senior trip destination and do a little planning. Woohoo! This girl's excited.

Umm well there's a lot of good food in my house...I'm slightly ashamed about this one, but it's making me quite happy right now. We have good tea, good ice cream (thanks H!), good popcorn and good fruit! Happy Allie.

Now head on over to The Nectar Collective & Chimerikal and join the link-ups.

What do you wish for this week? What are you grateful for?

Catching My Eye 11: igloos + mushrooms + no pants

Oh man guys. School is getting to me already and I've only had three days. I drank my first cup of coffee, EVER last night. I hate caffeine so much but I just had to. Sigh. So just a heads up, that I won't be posting 7-8 times a week like I have the last few months, but it'll be at least 4-5. I'll be here y'all!

Now for my favorite links of the week:

♥The igloo hotel in Kakslauttanen, Finland. Get up close and personal with the northern lights. Yes, please!

Built from a special thermal glass the temperature inside the igloo always stays at a normal level. It also prevents the glass from not getting white frosted, hence keeping the view clear even when the temperature outside drops to under -30°C. Every igloo is equipped with a toilet and luxury beds. On every evening a hot sauna and a refreshing ice hole are waiting for you.

♥Eight things I learned from 50 naked people. (And no, not me, the author)

♥This awesome video of what women have looked like through the centuries.



♥Super cool pictures of bioluminescence in action

♥Jasmine shares fall television shows you should be watching.

♥The awkward years project:

Remember the years between being a cute kid to the awesome person you are today? I'm talking about your awkward years. I want to share a collection of people sharing their most awkward years and show how great of people they turned out to be. To all of you who are struggling out there, and those that love before & after portraits, this project is for you!

♥Goodreads's list of Movers & Shakers every month always brings me some of my favorite new reads.

♥Kayte makes it easy with seven tips for travelers.



♥My favorite tumblr for travel pictures: Exquisite-planet.

♥Lena Dunham's awesome response to her no-pants critics. #thightstillidie

♥You might have missed: Love your brain: a new series ♥ Easy peasy ways to make your blog prettier in 5 minutes ♥ How to refrain from verbally stabbing customer service reps

What are you loving this week? Leave me some links!

Catching My Eye 10.

Would you make me very very happy and take my survey? I promise, it's super short, 9 questions. And most of the questions are multiple choice, a few you have to fill in a word. I will love you forever! 

Today has been so long guys. Now that I'm done nannying (summer job), I have like zero motivation to get up in the mornings. Today I didn't get up until 10:45--how pathetic is that? Getting up late just makes me feel miserable all day. And then we had work acquaintances come by for the afternoon and I get really anxious and grumpy when I have to socialize with strangers for that long so I retreated to my bedroom for a nap until work. So it's been a bit of a blah day.  I have officially uploaded my Gatsby dinner party pictures though! So I super double cross-my-heart promise they'll be up tomorrow!

The best of the interwebs:

♥The fact that this place (Lake Lucerne, Switzerland) is actually a real place. Gahhh I wanna go there.



♥Old but oh-so-cute. --Sweet Home Alabama



♥Anabela from Fieldguided makes friendship bracelets in the color palettes of favorite photos. Who even thinks of that?? Anyways, they're super cool.




♥Make an iPhone tripod out of a toy dinosaur. Um yes please?? Can someone please get crafty and make this for me?



♥This amazing portfolio of photos by Kevin Russ.

♥This year I hosted a Great Gatsby themed dinner party. Next year, I'm planning on hosting a shark week premiere party! Here are 31 Must-Haves and tips to make it epic.

♥Want to travel for free? Think about a volunteer tour.

♥Maybe someday iPhones will have autogrammar in addition to autocorrect.

♥You might have missed: July in Favorites ♥ The Good and Bad of Living in Alaska [guest post] ♥ How a History Major Became a Biology Rockstar [guest post] ♥ Sponsor CMS in August.

What have you been loving this week? Which of these links did you think was the coolest?

Dreaming of...Cornwall, England

Would you make me very very happy and take my survey? I promise, it’s super short, 9 questions. And most of the questions are multiple choice, a few you have to fill in a word. I will love you forever! 

  

Catching My Eye 08.

Would you make me very very happy and take my survey? I promise, it's super short, 9 questions. And most of the questions are multiple choice, a few you have to fill in a word. I will love you forever! 

Just a heads-up, friends. I'm heading up north today for a super short trip. I have posts scheduled for you but I won't be responding to comments until Friday. So no, I don't hate you, I'll reply soon!

The best of the interwebs:

♥This video. True, ain't it?



♥This beautiful word art! I'm getting SO into typography lately. Any of you like typography or things like that?



♥This DIY on A Beautiful Mess on making a photo-covered journal.



♥Yeah, I'm way behind. But Mulberry's Fall 2011 line ads are phenomenal, aren't they? I want to live in it.

♥Victoria's Secret PINK has launched a line called Consent Revolution: underwear decorated with phrases like "Ask first", "No means no" and "Let's talk about sex". By the time women in the United States graduate from college, one in four will have been raped. Women are twice as likely to be raped in their lifetime than to develop breast cancer. This is little, but maybe it'll change things.

♥In this video, Heineken offers people free flights to exotic destinations. The only caveat? They have to leave immediately and they don't know where they're going.

♥This fascinating study shows that Instagram is more depressing than Facebook.

♥Have you heard that the Postal Service might stop delivering to your door? If you live in America.


♥You might have missed: july music recommendations ♥ 5 More Things I'm Not Ashamed Of (But Probably Should Be) ♥ Marie Curie, karate-chopping stereotypes ♥ Sponsor CMS in July/August.

Tips for a Long Distance Relationship (Part 2)

For the first part of this two-part series, I had H (the boyfriend) come over and help me out and give you some tips on surviving a long distance relationship. H and I spend every summer (~2 months) about 800 miles apart. You can read part one here. How do I live without this stellar human being? Read on.

Be intentional about communicating. I work a lot during the summer and because of that, H and I don't find a lot of time to talk. But you've got to show your boyfriend that they still deserve your time. I'll call H whenever I can--on the walk home from work, or sometimes when I get off my shift at midnight. Yes, I'm exhausted at that point, but it's worth it to be the time into our relationship.

Send letters and care packages. It's really special to have something tangible with you that you know your boyfriend or girlfriend has touched and put together. Letters are cheap and always fun to get. Care packages can be cheap too--fill it up with little things that remind you of them wherever you are. Encourage them to send you one too!

Be really honest. Really really really honest. When you're not face to face, it's really easy to misunderstand things or not notice how the other person is feeling. It may feel tough, but it's best to be honest about how you're feeling about things. If you're angry, don't push it down and let it boil up--deal with it. If you're in a bad mood, don't just be grumpy--admit you're in a bad mood. When I'm in a funk, I always tell H and he'll send me pictures of cute animals or bad jokes or funny internet articles until I can cheer up a little.

Trust each other. This one sometimes seems really tough to do, but it will make both of you infinitely more happy with the relationship. I try to let H do pretty much whatever he wants as long as it doesn't hurt him or us. Hopefully, you're with someone who makes trusting easy but sometimes you might not be. Don't be controlling and set rules for each other--you need to trust your boyfriend that he'll be honorable.

Are you in a long distance relationship? How did you make it work?

P.S. Don't forget about the Adventure Lovin' Giveaway going on right now. And ad spaces are also on SALE!

Tips for a Long Distance Relationship (Part 1)

For this two-part series, I'm having H (the boyfriend) come over and help me out and give you some tips on surviving a long distance relationship. H and I spend every summer (~2 months) about 800 miles apart. Here's how we do it:



Greetings fellow members of the interwebs, you can call me H. Not because I have anything to hide, I just like feeling mysterious. I like hunting, fishing, offroading, blowing things up/lighting things on fire, NASCAR, football, baseball, golf, the south, and my bitchin 95 ford bronco. That's not everything but it should give you a rough idea of who I am.

I've been dating Allie for a while now, and I think she's pretty cool. You should definitely follow her blog. If Bob Saget wasn't so tweaked out on coke all the time he would give it two thumbs up, so that just goes to show how awesome her blog is. Anyways, this is our second summer together. During the summer, I stay here in Dixie and hold down the fort while Allie goes up North. Long distance relationships are far from easy but they are possible. Here are some tips that help us get through the summer:

Look at the small picture. When I go on runs, I focus on a crack in the sidewalk about 20-30 feet away, run to it, pick another crack, run to it, etc.... If I look way ahead, I get discouraged and I get worn out faster. When I focus on something close to me and run to it, I find that I can run much farther and the run is much less miserable. This same idea can be applied to long distance relationships. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the idea of being away from your loved one for (enter time apart here), take things day by day. When you wake up in the morning, focus your mind on getting through that day. Don't look at the big picture, look at the small one.

 

Go out of your way to make your time apart as easy as possible on the other person. Make time for phone calls and skype dates. You don't have to set aside a whole hour for a phone call, even 15 minute phone calls are nice. When you can't talk on the phone or skype, text them. When you can't text, just send a little text saying something nice and letting them know what you're up to. One of me and Allies favorite methods of communication is letter writing! It may not be as popular as it once was but I love it. You can write about future date ideas, tell them stories that they haven't heard, tell them things you like about them, or write really anything that comes to mind. You can draw pictures too! I'm no artist but it adds a little personal touch.

 

Keep yourself busy. If you're broke like me, you may think that it's hard to keep busy when your wallet is as empty as a doughnut box in a police station. However, there are many things you can do to keep busy without having to spend much or anything. Things to do with a little money: Go see a band you've never heard of (cover charges at music venue near me are usually $7 for minors, $5 for adults). Go to a discount movie theater or get a redbox movie (there's a $2 movie theater near me, and redbox is only $1.20). Go to a minor league sporting event (the tickets for the minor league baseball team here are $14), There are many more things you can do on a budget, those are just the first three I could think of. Things to do for free: Go to a park, read, window shop, clean/organize (I know, not very fun but it still keeps you busy), run/walk/exercise, cook (Not free for everyone, but I still live at home so I don't buy groceries. If you have to buy your own groceries, you can still cook on a budget. And no, I don't mean ramen noodles). There's plenty of things to do for free. Just google free things to do in (enter city here), and I'm sure you'll find something. The less time you spend alone doing nothing the better.

 

Give your significant things for them to remember you by. Allie has some of my t-shirts, a sweatshirt, a bottle of my cologne, a bear I gave her for valentines day, and a photo album full of pictures of us. I have one of her t-shirts, some sweatshirts, one of her stuffed animals, and a bottle of her perfume. Sure it's not the most manly thing to sleep with a stuffed sheep covered in perfume, but it helps. Having some of hers stuff makes me feel closer to her, especially her perfume. Every little bit helps in a long distance relationship.

I hope these tips help!

Thanks for reading,

H

P.S. Tune back in next week to hear my tips on how I survive living without this stellar human being. --Allie

The Reverse Bucket List.

This idea's from Chimerikal (a great gal and a great blog! Check her out). Almost any blog you go to is going to have a bucket list, right? Everyone has things that they want to do in order to have their ideal life and feel like they've made their lives worth it. But the thing is, our lives already are worth it. What if we counted all the great things we have done, instead of everything we still want? After I wrote this list, I just felt fantastic...I'm still young and I've done so many things and had so many opportunities. So this is my reverse bucket list: the things I've already been lucky enough to experience.

1. Go whitewater rafting


2. Ride horses.


3. Touch a stingray.


4. Zipline in Mexico.


5. See the sunset.


6. Swim in one of the Great Lakes


7. Go skiing


8. Go canoeing


9. Sleep in a treehouse.


10. Swim in the ocean.


11. Surf in California


12. Go skinny dipping


13. Fly first class.


14. Go paintballing


15. Visit the Georgia Aquarium


16. Visit the Shedd Aquarium


17. Visit New York City


18. Visit Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland, & Ukraine)


19. See a Broadway Show in New York


20. See the house where my grandmother and great-grandmother lived (Hamburg, Germany)


21. Go on a road trip through National Parks


22. Eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.


23. Visit all the North American countries


24. Visit the Caribbean


25. Swim with sharks.


26. Sleep on the beach.


27. Hold a snake.


28. Sleep in a log cabin.


29. Pull an all-nighter.


30. Go to Hawaii


31. Make a speech in front of three hundred people.


32. Visit Sea World


33. Be the President of something (Environmental Club & Debate Club)


34. Take a double-decker bus tour


35. Visit the Statue of Liberty


36. Go to a cheese market in France.


37. Study my ancestors.


38. Go to a circus.


39. Eat Chicago-style pizza.


40. Visit the place where Count of Monte Cristo is set (Marseille, France, Chateau d'If)


41. Eat Chicago-style popcorn.


42. Visit a concentration camp (Bergen-Belsen)


43. Go to a concert outdoors (Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band, Little Big Town)


44. Learn to play an instrument


45. Make ice cream (peach).


46. Visit a pickle factory.


47. Get on the Honor Roll.


48. Play a sport.


49. Eat gelato.


50. Run a 5K.


51. Run a 10K.


52. Learn to surf.


53. Scuba dive.


54. Go on a cruise.


55. Go out for a fancy dinner--and order dessert.


56. Learn conversational French.


57. Sing in a choir.


58. Go snorkeling.


59. Go hiking.


60. Go rock climbing.


61. Go jetskiing.


62. See the Northern Lights (over the Atlantic Ocean & Minnesota)


63. Visit Niagara Falls.


64. Buy something using a foreign language.


65. Vacation in Cancun.


66. Take a yoga class.


67. Take a spinning class.


68. Take a zumba class.


69. Visit the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC.


70. See the White House


71. Ride in a police car (it was for charity, guys!)


72. Visit Chicago.


73. Climb up the Empire State Building


74. See Mount Rushmore


75. Visit Disney World


76. Learn to paint.


77. Learn to sew.


78. Watch a silent film.


79. Donate.


80. Go sailing.


81. Visit a castle.


82. Visit an aquarium.


83. Swim with dolphins.


84. Visit a zoo.


85. Be kind to a stranger.


86. Give a big tip.


87. Fall in love.

What would be on your reverse bucket list? 

 

Related posts you might like:

• Moving Out: Thoughts on Leaving My Childhood Home


• Dreaming of...Iceland


• Dreaming of...Costa Rica

P.S. For more, like CMS on Facebook or follow me on Twitter or Bloglovin'

A Packing Playlist

Let me tell you. Packing for two months is SO hard. I've filled a huge hamper and a duffel and I hardly feel like I've started. I keep thinking I'm almost done and then realizing I've  forgotten something huge, like pants. Seriously, I would be the person to forget to pack pants. Anyways, here's what I've been listening to:

[spotify id="spotify:user:allieff:playlist:5R225o1GPjjWxTxiE7NFEz" width="300" height="380" /]

Love, A.

A Song for Sunday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf8Xra_DOZA]

Hey all! I'm back from Durham! Hope you all have been having a splendid weekend so far. Now that I'm home and just unpacked from the weekend, it's time for me to start packing for Michigan on Friday! My family and I are driving up, which is pretty much the most painful two days of the summer, but once we get there it'll be just great. Anyways, as I'm packing, I'm listening to lots of new music! Watch for a new playlist in the next few days.

Have a good one!

Love, A.

One for the Road [playlist]

Quick post, as I've been on the road yesterday and part of today. When on a road trip, the playlist is essential. Here's a good one--

[8tracks width="300" height="250" playops="" url="http://8tracks.com/mixes/1712186"]

What music do you like on road trips?

Dreaming of...Costa Rica

A couple days ago, I shared with you all that I was struggling to decide on a destination--the struggle continues. Last time, I considered Iceland (which is still very much on the list). Today, let's consider a vastly different but equally awesome possibility: Costa Rica.

(Casey Mahaney, Lonely Planet)

(Corey Wise, Lonely Planet)

(Lucas J. Gilman/Aurora Photos)

(Lisa Whitwam/Getty Images)

(Donna and Steve Omeara/Photo Library)

(Roy Toft)

(Christian Aslund for Lonely Planet)

Things I'd like to do in Costa Rica:
-Scuba Dive
-Visit the Serpentarium
-See a sloth & other critters
-Eat local food, especially the fruit
-Surf
-Swim under a waterfall

Where would you most like to travel to? Where is your favorite place you've ever been?

Catching My Eye.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVc-Z8yFYW8]

This week: I finished school (for the year)!♥celebrated the boy's sister's birthday with dinner & cheesecake♥started my half marathon training plan♥started my summer reading for European History♥went on many Roo runs!

Now, for the best of the interwebs.

♥Do cabins make you nostalgic and warm and fuzzy inside? If so, Cabin Porn has pages and pages of beautiful cozy cabins around the world.



♥Slightly profane, this gallery shows pretty much every hilarious post on tumblr.

♥This list of 100 best American movies needs to be somehow incorporated into my summer to-do list. I have to say, I'm quite proud that I have seen 13 of these movies--even if most of them were in my Film Studies class.

♥Carrie at Dream Green DIY make these awesome gold and neon DIY bookends out of rocks. Definitely a project I'd love to do! Only problem--bookends take up room that I need for more books. Tragic. #litworldproblems



♥Fun and semi-useful, this chart for better understanding your haters is both simple and resoundingly true.

♥As a girl who doesn't plan on having kids, this article about the life of childless adults showed me two sides of the issue I thought I knew well.

♥You May Have Missed: moving out: a tribute to a childhood home♥Cover it Up//An Anthropologie Playlist♥3 Awesome Tumblrs You Should Follow♥DIY Patterned Envelopes♥

 

Love, A.

 

Dreaming of...Iceland

Almost exactly a year from now, I'll be heading off on my senior trip--my one chance to go (almost) anywhere in the world. I still haven't managed to choose a destination. Iceland is one of my top picks:



(anopportunemoment.com)



(Laugavegur Trail, photo by Ida Koric for National Geographic)



(Blue Lagoon Hot Springs, photo by Jessica Anand)



(Reykjavik, photo by Vinod Krishnan)



(Juan Maria Rivas)



(Dyrhólaey Promontory, photo by Noelia Magnusson)



(Seljalandsfoss, photo by Giedre Lesmaityte)



(Snaefellsness, photo by Natalie Panek)