Growing Up Southern

Sometimes we easily forget how lucky we are.

We forget to be grateful for the little things.

Like who we are.

Where we come from.

And how we are raised.

So here's to being grateful for my southern heritage.

{source}

Color Obsession: Mustard

Bed Buggs

Uniquely E

Love Stitched

Victorian Station

Pretties By Meg

Bomobob

Aubepine

Balloon Highway

Alisaw

Pomtree



Weekend Wrap Up

I have realized this week that getting back to "normal" doesn't just magically happen.
It takes time and work and maybe a little patience.
Patience with myself, which isn't always easy.

{source}

Bachelor Pad this week was "interesting".  For the challenge the girls and guys competed in synchronized swimming and the boys killed it but I recommend that not be something they brag about.  I'm not even going to discuss who won or went on dates because really, who cares?  The only thing here really worth discussing is why ABC thought it was ok to end the episode the way they did. One second I am watching on the edge of my seat to see who gets the final rose and the next second I'm watching the mask swim around in the pool.

Really ABC?  The ending was that good that it is worth waiting until next week? I highly doubt it, unless it contains Kasey getting kicked off and never being seen again which unfortunately I don't think it does.

{source}

 ABC family has really sped things up in the last few episodes of Pretty Little Liars which gives me hope that it won't be 5 years until we find out who A is.  In "I Must Confess" the girls finally tell their therapist all about A.  Some slightly interesting stuff happens in between but the ending leaves us with a phone call from the therapist saying she knows who A is but when the girls go to meet her she is gone...

{source}

While I have been watching The Lying Games I have been having this "I've seen this before" feeling.  Finally I figured out what it was I kept thinking of.

{source}

A good old Disney Channel original called Model Behavior that starred Justin Timberlake and Maggie Lawson.  Little did I know ten years ago when I watched this movie over and over again that the star of it would be cast in probably my all time favorite show, Psych.

If I remember correctly the girls in this weren't actually twins but just happened to look exactly alike.  Throughout the movie they switch back and forth and Justin Timberlake most likely says a bunch of cheesy lines.

Now I can move on and enjoy The Lying Games without having that nagging feeling the entire time.

Fun tidbit that possessionista pointed out, Mads dress that she hid the tags so she could take it back and send the money to her brother in California was from H&M and most likely cost like $12.

Daily Cute

Strength

Do you ever have those moments when someone takes the time to say something amazingly nice to you and it makes you tear up?  I think so many of us get caught up in the everyday that we forget to take a step back and say the good things we think about people and not just the bad.

I had a moment like this Sunday morning on the way out of work.  An amazing friend of mine took the time to do that for me and it completely made my day.  Something so simple yet so meaningful. 

So today I challenge you to be inspired by my friend and do the same.  

Take the time to thank a friend you may take for granted at times.

Tell someone you admire why you do.

Even the simplest thing as a smile shared with someone you usually never make eye contact with.

I think at times we just assume that those around us know how highly we think of them but that isn't always the case.  A simple reminder is all it takes and you could turn someones day around.

The quote I am going to share doesn't necessarily have to do with what I talk about above but more about what my friend and I talked about.

{source}

 I hope you take this challenge.  If you do I would love to hear about your experience! 

Something to Maybe Make You Smile

I always feel jealous when I look around on pinterest and see all the cute imaginative names people give their boards.  Me? My boards are straight forward and to the point. (That's me making myself feel better for my lack of cool board name creativity.) 

Really, though, maybe it is something I should work on because it could be kind of embarrassing.  Today I will share some of my favorites from a board I creatively call haha.  See? Embarrassing! Who can't come up with something better then that?

Anyways here are some and I hope they make you smile or even laugh like they did for me.

{source}

Art of Trolling

{source}

I thought I was the only one that was utterly confused by that as a child.

M thru F

M thru F

M thru F

Found anything lately that has made you laugh? Please share!

Book Review: Wicked Cool by Diane Farr

Zara Norland has a problem. It’s getting harder to hide who—or what—she is. Which is pretty ironic, actually. Because Zara doesn’t know who, or what, she is.
 Enter Lance: Incredibly hot, supernaturally powerful, and full of answers to questions she hasn't even thought to ask.
But is everything he says true? Now Zara must decide if Lance is the love of her life or her enemy. Which world does she belong to? And is the choice really hers?
Amazon Product Description

My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me start by saying that with my love of paranormal romance comes some issues.  First and foremost being that a large number of books in this genre are young adult.  Not a big deal usually and something you can soon forget when you get lost in the story... not so true with this one.

Is it fair for me to judge a young adult book for being too teen angsty?  No, not really, I guess it comes with the territory.  This one was a bit brutal for me though.  The first issue I had was that the author thought it necessary to write in journal form.  I'm not completely sure why this bothers me but it does, maybe because it doesn't seem "realistic" to me. (Yes I am judging a paranormal book where the girl can do magic on whether the writing is realistic... get over it.) Really, though, who writes full on dialogue in their journal? I'm just saying...

I had a really hard time getting into this one, but I just kept telling myself that with all the 5 star reviews on Amazon it must be worth it so I plowed on.  The beginning was good and exciting, we see Zara the main character accidentally use her magic in public.  After that though things slow way down. 

In comes the attractive Lance, hiding in the woods none the less.  From the beginning Zara senses something "off" with him but keeps convincing herself he is ok. (Sound familiar? Yes Zara's relationship with Lance is quite similar to my relationship with this book.)  This back and forth goes on for quite a while meaning that we don't actually learn anything about Lance or what Zara is until halfway through the book, which is quite frustrating.

*Slight Spoiler Ahead*

This is when things get ugly.  Lance begins to try to convince Zara that she is better then the measly humans around her by having them all turn on her.  Way to middle school girl for me but I guess that's his style.

**Major Spoiler Ahead**

The best part of the book is the last 5% (Kindle reader, I live in percents not page numbers.)  When Lance attacks and she is extremely close to losing it all she summons all the power she can muster and blasts him to timbukto (No really I have no idea where he went, he just dissapeared which was strange.)

Wrap Up

The reason I ended up giving Wicked Cool 3 stars instead of 2 was because the end gave me a slight hope that the sequel might be kinda good.  Do I reccomend it? No, I really could have passed on reading this one.  It ended up being more frustrating then anything.

Friday Five

I love and hate weeks like this.

I love them because it is the last bit of true free time I will have for a while.

I hate (ok not hate, that is a bit strong) them because there is So much to do.

So much to think about before its "back to reality"

I keep reminding myself though that it is a good thing

That I always do better in a routine.

That I will get so much more done.

Well we will see how that goes...

{SOURCE}

1.  Jeff Mauro the Sandwich King won Food Network Star! Should I be worried about how much this excites me? Oh well.  His show airs Sunday at 11:30 AM.  I am really looking forward to what he comes up with. I love his concept,"You can make any meal into a sandwich, and any sandwich into a meal."  I think this actually might be a Food Network Show that I would make some recipes off of.

{SOURCE}

2.  Bachelor Pad this week kinda just made me feel a little sick.  Watching Vienna and Kasey makes me nauseous and I wonder why I am even still watching it.  But then Ames (robot prince charming) sweeps in and makes it all worth it.  When the "love of his life" Jackie gets voted off, and as the limo starts driving away he runs after it and leaves with her.  AWWWW...

Sadly though they are no longer together.

Recipe Girl

3.  Peanut butter s'mores turnovers have been my addiction this week.  This recipe is amazing, I have already made them twice.  Once for my family and then again the next day when a friend came over. 

Little Mudpies

4.  One of my absolute favorite blogs to read lately is Little Mudpies.  Lindsay is so funny and her son is adorable and I love reading about all the ups and downs in her life.  She has an ease and humor to her writing that just makes you want to keep reading.  She posted a tutorial this week for heatless curled hair that is right up my alley since I am super lazy when it comes to my hair.  I have not tried it yet but it is on my to do list.

Under the Table and Dreaming

5.  Under the Table and Dreaming is one of my favorite blogs of all time, I have been following Stephanie Lynn for what seems like forever.  Needless to say when I saw that my Perfect Pound Cake was featured on her showcase sneak peek I was absolutely ecstatic!

What are your Friday Five? Or even one?

I would love to hear what has made your week a little better.

Grace

I had made a promise to myself this week that I would blog every day.

As we have seen though that hasn't been the case.

When I looked at this quote that I had pinned it really sums up what I should be doing.

Instead I usually hold myself to a standard of perfection.

Today I will be remembering this...

Pinterest via Eyrun



Fall Fashion Inspiration

Fall is my favorite season when it comes to clothes.

I love boots, scarves, cardigans, leggings, and all the other comfy cozy things associated with fall.

Here are some looks I have been pinning.

Pinterest via Kristen Allen

Pinterest via Kaitlyn Roush

Pinterest via Gabrielle

Pinterest via MJ E.

Pinterest via Gloria

Pinterest via Cora Verhagen

Pinterest via Love & Light

Pinterest via Amanda Thiele

Pinterest via LaVita diKate

Pinterest via Daphne

Pinterest via Lexi Behrndt

Be Grateful

Source Pinterest via  Marina Djogic

Weekend Wrap Up

On Pretty Little Liars this week we learned not to trust the completely gorgeous brother of your recently deceased BFF.  He is more then likely sneaking in your room at night and snapping some lovely up close pictures for his creepy garage dark room.  Which in the end dissapoints me because I was definetely rooting for an Aria Jason relationship, I'm getting a little tired of good old Ezra.  Also this new plot change with Jason shows why they changed from creepy original Jason (on left) to hunky Jason (on right).  How disturbing would this be if it was the Jason on the left sneaking into Aria's room?  Somehow it seems kinda ok with hunky Jason.

Glee has cast Vanessa Lengies who will be a new freshman student named Sugar.

Check out the rest of the story {here}

Apparently Ben (who was the one not chosen on The Bachellorette) is a frontrunner for next season of the Bachelor with Ames falling close behind in a voter poll. Unfortunately there is something seriously wrong with America though because Ryan was not far behing Ames... Really people? A whole season of Ryan???? I don't think I could watch that.

Season finale of Next Food Network Star is Sunday night.  Who are you rooting for?  I'm pushing for Jeff but would be ok with Suzy.

And just because, here is one of my all time favorites.

This is Cookie, the ticklish penguin.

 

Have you heard of GMH? It is a site where people write in simple little stories that "give them hope"  This is one was my favorites this week.

(lgmh= love gives me hope)

Friday Five

This weeks friday five is going to be a bit different. 

I haven't had a lot of free time which = nothing to post for friday five.

But don't worry, instead I'm going to share five of my favorite finds on etsy this week.

Headbands

The Paisley Moon

Love this rolled satin rosette, I don't think you could manage to not be happy while wearing this.

Lady Like

I am on a mission to learn how to crochet but until then this headband from Lady Like is adorable.

Peace Love Vintage

This one falls under my love of all things bohemian and 70s inspired.

Blue Birds Fly

I love this turban on her... but not quite sure if I could ever pull this look off.

Juxy D

I think this one is absolutely adorable and unique.

Do you love headbands?

What are some of your favorites?