Curated / 21

Well it's been a few weeks since I've done done a Curated post around here! I've missed it :) Over the last few weeks, I've been pretty sick + that's really been taking a lot of the physical and mental energy. But I'm starting to feel on the up and up, which is so nice. Isn't it funny how you always take your health for granted until you don't have it? 

And now I've had a few days to myself since my roommates have been out of town. As much as I love them, I loooove having some time to myself! I've mostly just vegging out, watching TV, working on some new group fitness stuff, and hanging out with my sorority sisters. It's been nice! Here's a little recap of what I've been reading/listening to/etc.

• Your life is always just beginning [Raptitude]
• Committing to a daily act of kindness [The Kardia]
• 3 steps to stay sane and balanced on crazy days [MindBodyGreen]
• The power of prayer [In Its Time]
• What to do if you fall out of your diet or good habits [ZenHabits]
• A vacation wardrop from Shopbop [Anne in Residence]
• 7 great alternatives to photoshop [The Nectar Collective]

You might have missed...

• A letter to an unknown friend
• Faith app: she reads truth
• How to make your twitter feed a source of positivity

Something about the fall weather coming on makes me love the color tan and little booties. I love this combination of the two with these Splendid Hamptyn Booties from Anthropologie (don't love the price though!).

I'm loving this beautiful wall calendar from Letter Me Loved. Every month has a 'reminder of grace'--many of which are lines from my favorite hymns!

I love slightly unusual workout clothing. I used to workout in just shorts and an old tshirt but these days I'm all about cute tanks and leggings. I've especially been eyeing these, these, these, and these.

SEE MORE ON MY PINTEREST >>

This rockin' reminder. Forget the high-powered woman part, all of us easily excuse our successes as luck or coincidence or 'whatever'. But you're earned every bit of it. I know I need this reminder sometimes!

How's your week been? Found any fun stuff on the internet?

Curated / 20

This week has been insaaaaanely busy! Like busier than I've had in a long while. I've had a lot going on with my sorority--we're required to be at every single event during our pledge period which (including meetings) is usually like 6+ events a week. It's definitely been a lot for me to handle, so thanks for sticking with me while I figure stuff out!

But even with all the crazy (which I maybe could do without), I really have felt myself growing in a lot of ways over the last month or so. I've especially been comparing how I act and treat other people and myself to the way I did the same time last year. I know I've become much more self-aware and in tune with my emotions and how they affect the way I act. I've become much more confident and hard-working. Of course, there's always more to go, but these last few weeks have really embodied that quote on my sidebar: "We are happy when we are growing."

• Let's stop being embarrassed that we want to be better [Yes and Yes]
• 10 ways to forgive yourself and let go of the past [MindBodyGreen]
• Social networking in real life is absolutely ridiculous
• Choose a fitness regime based on your fave book [Alex Franzen]
• DIY happy tears handkerchief [Oh So Beautiful Paper]
• Writing prompts: lists [Hello Neverland]
• Watch this: love letters to strangers (more on this soon!)
• How to spark your creativity in college [Gina Alyse]

(SOOOOO much 80s....#sorrynotevenateenybitsorry)

• You Shook Me All Night Long / AC/DC
• Working For the Weekend / Loverboy
• Who's Crying Now / Journey
• Fallen Angel / Poison
• Never Say Goodbye / Bon Jovi
• Photograph / Def Leppard
• Satisfaction / Rolling Stones

I'm not a huge poetry person, but there are a few poems that I read throughout high school that have really stuck with me to the point that I know parts by heart. One such section has been playing on repeat through my head over the last few days as I've really been struggling to forgive myself for mistakes that I've made. Here it is, an excerpt from "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver:

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Does that resonate with anyone else? I know that hits me right in the heart right now. The rest of the poem is really beautiful too--go read it!


How has your week been? Do you read poetry? Wanna share some 80s music with me? 

Curated / 19

I'm a day late publishing this post, but I have to say that I'm not even sorry because my sister got engaged last week! It was a big surprise and it's been lots of fun sharing the news with everyone. Other than that, this week I've just been starting to wrap up work, train my replacements and start saying goodbye to everyone before I head back to North Carolina (home) for a few days and then back to school in Florida! The next week and a half is going to be a crazy whirlwind between all of the travel and then sorority recruitment and starting a new school year. But I'm excited!

• This beautiful new design on Brooklyn's blog done by Breezy + Co Design Studio. How beautiful!
• 10 reasons to become an early riser [MindBodyGreen]
• Challenging yourself as a blogger [Gina Alyse]
• 5 favorite journaling supplies [Hello Neverland]--I think I need #3!
• Combining your passions into one thing you love [Kory Woodard]
• How to feel + look awesome when it's ridiculously hot outside [Yes and Yes]
• 15 quick + easy lunch ideas [poverty luxe.]--YES THANK YOU!

This week I've been revisiting some of my favorite past songs from Eurovision, a music competition in Europe that picks out the best song from Europe each year. Here are a few of my favorites! And you just have to watch the videos with them...some of them are quite entertaining ;)

• Fly on the Wings of Love / Olsen Brothers
• Hold Me Now / Johnny Logan
• La Det Swinge / Bobbysocks
• Making Your Mind Up / Bucks Fizz
• Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi / Celine Dion (skip to 1:30)
• Rock Me / Riva (an especially great video)

This cotton candy sky and the caption that goes with it: "You have to be vigilant about keeping your own fire alive." -Tift Merritt

Isn't that a great quote? How's your week been? Tell me one thing that made you smile this week!

Curated / 18

This week was for wrapping up my time with H, taking long walks on the beach and picnics in the forest. It's been unseasonably chilly here on Lake Michigan and that doesn't make for great beach days! So I've been working a lot, trying to get everything at the ice cream shop to run as smoothly as possible and studying economics all the time. I've also been sort of under the weather this week, just tired with a baby cold. I'm hoping for some sun soon so I can relax on the beach! How was your week?

• A nutritionist's tips to making wellness goals stick [Lauren Conrad]
• 7 habits to stop clutter before it starts [poverty luxe.]
• Living with a capsule wardrobe [A Little Too Jolley]
• Watercolor desktop/iPhone wallpapers for July [Gina Alyse]
• Journal prompts: writing about celebrations [Hello Neverland]
• 3 steps to an even better you [Career Girl Daily]
• The ultimate list of font resources [Allyssa Barnes]

Y'all know by now that I have crazy music tastes so I can just jump right into it right? Lately, I've been jamming to....50s music (and early 60s). Yes. Just listen.

• (Girls Girls Girl) Made to Love / Eddie Hodges
• The Three Bells / The Browns
• Bread and Butter / The Newbeats
• Mr. Sandman / The Chordettes
• Great Balls of Fire / Jerry Lee Lewis
• Mack the Knife / Bobby Darin

Okay, so I know I'm the one who took this picture, but I still can't get over the fact that this is a place that not only exists in the world, but that I got to be there. It was a crazy gorgeous scene. Find more on my instagram! (Zugspitze, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, German Alps)

How's your week been? Share your favorite links or music below!

Curated Weekly / 17

I have to admit, it feels really good to be getting back in the swing of blogging. I really have missed blogging and all of you. If you're a new reader or a lurker or even just an old friend, please leave a little comment or tweet at me and say hi! If you have a blog of your own, feel free to leave a link and I'll check it out!

This week has been really nice! I've just been relaxing and getting lots of exercise in. I gained like five or ten pounds over the course of the school year and while a lot of it was muscle, some of it was definitely from late-night Nutella snacking. I've been lifting a lot as usual, but also trying to get better about incorporating running and biking into my routine for some cardio.

I've got a really busy summer ahead of me! Lots of work (managing my ice cream shop!), studying (I'm getting certified as a group fitness instructor / taking an economics class online) and exercise (because the Freshman Fifteen is real).

What's going on in your life?

• Your future self wants you to slow down [Olivia Adams PR]
• 6 productive things to do when you have nothing to do [The Wonder Forest]
• This Humans of New York post has been stuck in my head.
• 3 simple steps to an even better you. [Career Girl Daily]
• Life lessons from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. [Positively Present]
• Resources for diving into the Bible. [Brave Love Blog]
• Favorite slow cooker recipes. [College Prepster]

I've been listening to a whoooole lot of Grateful Dead lately. They're the perfect mix of rock and folk and I just love it. My all-time favorite song is "Friend of the Devil" (links are Youtube)--it's the kind of song I can just listen to over and over and over. I also really love the Grace Potter cover of it. Seriously one of the most beautiful songs ever.

Also, just sort of a funny story: a few weeks ago, I ran a 5K and I had on an 8tracks playlist with really strong beats while I ran. You know, dubstep/rap and whatnot to get me going. Well, about a half mile before I got to the finish line, the playlist ended and flipped to the next playlist that I had favorited. Which was....hawaiian folk music. And I didn't want to stop running because I wanted to finish in a decent time, so I just listening to super calming John Cruz music while trying to pump out the last half mile. So that was fun.

Lately I've been studying to take my ACE exam to get certified as a Group Fitness Instructor (I passed!! Hooray!). And who knew, there is SO. much. information to learn before you can get certified. I have two textbooks full of information on anatomy and kinesiology and nutrition and teaching group fitness classes so I pretty much just have had my nose in them for awhile.

I did start one book last week that is super interesting, though I'm not too deep into it. It's called Stiff and it's basically about cadavers used for medical purposes and all that. Yeah, y'all knew I was weird, but it's official now. And there's another book I've been meaning to read called Beyond the Body Farm. You can read the whole description but it's basically all about the intersection of science and forensics and that's super interesting to me.

This gorgeous shot from The Jungalow. Isn't is dreamy? Find more inspiration on my Pinterest.

What's going on in your life these days?!

Curated Weekly / 16

Helloooo friends! As you may know, I'm just messing around and trying some new things for the blog (I'd love if you'd take the one-question survey!!) and so I thought I'd spend a little bit more time recapping my week, in the form of a list.

1. On Saturday, after H and I had a nice visit at his school, we drove home to our hometown and had some time with our families. Sometimes I don't realize how much I miss my family until I'm back with them.

2. Sunday night (late) I had to fly back to Florida for school. I personally don't mind airports and flying but it really took it out of me to have my flight so late and that's really thrown my sleep schedule off all week. That and stupid daylight savings!

3. This week, I've been busting my booty to study for my chemistry exam on Wednesday that I honestly should have started studying for before spring break. But it's over and done. Just gotta wait for the grade now. 

4. Last night, I taught almost a full kickboxing class on my own! That was way exciting. I seriously never realized how hard it was to teach group fitness classes until I had to put on the mic and do it myself! You have to know all the moves, do them well and with good form, while teaching and motivating and encouraging your class and while listening to the music to know what comes next. AND the mic picks it up when I'm all out-of-breath so there's that. But it's really fun and I know I'm getting better at it.

5. I'm feeling a little bit of a burn out with this blog, which naturally comes every once in awhile. I'm not sure if I'll plan a short little break or try something else. If you're a blogger, how do you deal with burnout?

6. I started watching a new show on Netflix called Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and I can't quite decide, but I think I really like it. It's so odd! It's a comedy about a woman who gets rescued from an underground apocalype cult and has to figure out life in New York. Let me know what you think!

And I'll leave you with a couple links to read this weekend...

• Signs you need to declutter your digital life 
• Four breakfast tartines (open-faced sandwiches)
• Beautiful desktop backgrounds
• Ten affordable investments for better blogging

What have you been up to this week? Thoughts on this format of the Curated posts?

Curated Weekly / 15

Oops! I just realized I missed the curated post last week because I was too busy packing up to come home to NC for spring break. Well I'm here and my spring break is just about over (cue sad face). I've spent the week with my brother, but mostly by myself since he's been in school. I am definitely an introvert but it's been really weird to have this much time to myself! Right now, I'm visiting H at his school. Yay!

ALSO. I chopped off my hair. Check it.

• Bright and bold color combinations [Rekita Nicole]
• 18 ways to strengthen your intuition [MindBodyGreen]
• I love these icons from Creative Market
• 20 make ahead lunches for work [The Sunshine Blog]
• It's okay to be bad at your hobbies [The Dainty Squid]
• Sarah's favorite condensed fonts [A Fine Line]
• How to make your graphics work for you [Kory Woodard]
• 6 steps to a meal plan that will save you money [poverty luxe.]

In case you missed them...

• My favorite blogs and websites
• How to spend more time reading
• Handcrafted gift ideas for ladies you love

I love this super fancy 'ooh la la' print from The And So Collection.

Next week is H's and my anniversary and so I thought I'd get a little mushy and share some songs that make me think of our love. Listen here.

• First Day of My Life / Bright Eyes
• You Belong to Me / Carla Bruni
• World Spins Madly On / The Weepies
• You Remind Me Of Home / Ben Gibbard
• I Won't Give Up / Jason Mraz
• These Arms of Mine / Otis Redding
• Just You and Me / Zee Avi
• Free Bird / Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Wanted / Hunter Hayes
• You Are The Best Thing / Ray LaMontagne
• Anyone Else But You / The Moldy Peaches
• Do You Remember / Jack Johnson
• At Last / Leftover Cuties
• Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly) / Phosphorescent

This week, I'm heading back to school, back to work, back to life (ewwwww). I have a big chemistry exam on Tuesday and my big goal is to study hard and ace it. Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to take a little break while I'm with H this weekend to study + then study again Sunday afternoon and pretty much all afternoon Monday. This is seriously my top priority because I'm not the best at chemistry. 

Other than that, in the next few weeks, I want to make a point to have lunch with someone I don't know well/haven't ever hung out with. 

What's going on in your world this weekend?

Curated Weekly / 14

It's been a really nice (though holy cow, it has been busy) week in my world. I'm trying to think of what I did last weekend and the beginning of this week and I can't quite remember! It feels like forever ago. I was in the lab quite a bit this week and have officially started volunteering at the natural history museum. That's fun!

For Valentine's Day, H and I tried to FaceTime and watch Netflix at the same time and we finally figured it out but it took some creativity. Even though it was a lot of effort figuring out headphones and what's on the phone and the computer, it was nice to have a "date" together, or as close as we can get. I'll visit him in North Carolina in two weeks and that's going to be wonderful!

• Ocean conservation + why you should care. [Sea, Field and Tribe]
• 5 pro tips to organize your pantry. [life. by bri.]
• Daily blogging essentials. [The Alisha Nicole]
• 17 ways to make yourself happier right now. [Hannah Gale]
• My journey to a hassle-free fitness routine. [Frugal Beautiful]
• How to sleep better at night. [Kris Carr]
• 8 essentials for a rejuvenating weekend. [All Things E]
• Be more intentional with what you consume. [Jennypurr]
• You're doing better than you think you are. [Thought Catalog]
• 10 tips to stick to your grocery budget. [Little City Adventures]

And in case you missed them...

• Free font: caviar dreams
• Easy photoshop: make a pinterest-style collage
• Handcrafted gifts for ladies you love

Shut Up and Dance / Walk the Moon

Geronimo / Sheppard

Free / Rudimental ft. Emili Sande

Jubel / Klingande

Fire Meet Gasoline / Sia

Ghost / Ella Henderson

I'm ridiculously inspired by all the fun graphic prints on these socks from Woven Pear.

Aren't they just the cutest things in the world?

Last week, my goals were to get lots of sleep and get ahead on things in preparation for my church trip this weekend. I'd say I did pretty well! I went to bed maybe 30 minutes early every night, but even that makes a big difference! It feels so good to wake up before your alarm naturally. I'd didn't get quite as on top of things as I would have liked but I'm feeling pretty fine about things.

This coming week, my goals are really concrete--I need to get all caught up on my chemistry notes/work and review all my genetics notes for the year. I'm trying to be better about reviewing frequently so that I'm not just stuck with all the work right before exams. 

Otherwise, not much! I just need to get life in order before I head home for spring break next week! :)

What do you have on tap this week? Also! If any of you are bloggers/artists/creatives/bizwomen and interested in interviewing with me for an upcoming edition of How They Do It, just let me know!