I'm Back!

Sorry for the long long long absence! It's been a jam packed month between school, extracurriculars, AP exams, SAT and the ACT twice! I hope to be back for good!

Quick 5-Minute Recap about my life: Chaos! After stressing about my calc AP exam (which was today and I feel alright about!), and just trying to get through school, prom planning and all that jazz... I feel a lot better about life just with two of my AP exams done. Only 3 more to go!

Prom planning is very very very fun! Prom is almost here (and I still need to get my dress altered, shoes, and boutonniere for J! I'm very thankful that I didn't make the plans for my group, because as much as I love planning, planning a prom for 700 students is enough for me! :) We are getting catering from Daniel's at a friend's house and we are getting ghetto-looking (and cheap) party bus (with a stripper pole!). I'm getting ready with AV, SS and some other friends, and J and I are getting photos taken by A (who can't wait to meet J!). I can't wait!

Shot from my backyard on Earth Day

I've gotten three J.Crew items this week! I love online ordering; it's so exciting to wait for something to come in the mail, and see the item when the package finally comes!

My phone case came in first!
I've been needing a new phone case for so long.
I love it so much!

I love this men's flannel shirt.
So cozy and comfy!
Probably not the best for spring... but I can never say no to a flannel!

And finally... the necklace for prom!
I love it so much, and it turned out to be even better in person!

The best part about AP exams?! 50 minute lunches! (We typically have a 40 minute lunch... and this 50 minute lunch isn't fully enforced, so you can go a little bit over!) I only have morning exams, which means plenty of 50 minute lunches for me! :)

My favorite place with my favorite boy, J!
It's like the Subway for pizza- too good!

Cinco de Mayo at my fav fast-Mexican place: Chipotle!
Mexican is always much needed... especially after a calc exam!

I love love love fresh flowers! I saw my favorite flowers in Fresh Market and couldn't resist taking a snap:

Peonies are my favorite!

I sadly can't post any prom-prep photos yet, but I'll definitely post them after prom! (All of it: the set-up, buying the prom decorations for hours at AC Moore with J and our advisers, prom preparation, and lots of online orders!)

I also got my summer camp schedule today! I'm so excited to be working again at the best job ever this summer! I'm working 7 weeks (which I think is a lot, but a lot is great!). I'm really hoping that I'll be able to do everything I want this summer: from hanging out with friends, getting ready for college applications, and going on lots of adventures! (The bucket list coming soon!)

That's a quick (not so quick, sorry) recap on my past month or so! (I'm probably forgetting a ton of things, so that's the Sparknotes version!)

Lots of posts coming soon! (Slowly but surely, I promise!) Thanks for sticking with me! :)

Five on... Who Knows? Not Friday (Sorry bout it)

Please don't mind that this girl is procrastinating on blog posts. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Well this week I was only at school for half a day. Yes... half a day. It was pretty amazing. The snow/ice/slush combination hit us on Monday night, and just to be safe of icy secondary roads, we haven't been back to school yet. It snowed a little bit more on Tuesday afternoon. (I think it was Tuesday? Either that or Wednesday.) I didn't do much, I stayed up late, woke up (relatively) early, and didn't do much during the day except stay in the house.

I did hang out with my friends who didn't have school on Tuesday. It was awesome to see them, freeze my toes off (I'm the stupid one who wears thin socks with rain boots!), go sledding, and warm up at JSC's house while Snapchatting, editing future Instas, and just chatting away. It was nice to be reunited with my friends.

50 Shades of Snow... from my window.

I thought that photo (above) was pretty cool! Haven't seen that on Insta yet. ;) I love watching the snow fall. It's mesmerizing.

Yay for no school and snow days with my friends!

Left to right: me, JSC, ALD and MF

I got this shot of the girls sledding and it's one of my favs!
MF, JSC and ALD

I stayed inside the house for most of the week! Ah! I'm ready to leave. I was telling J how exciting it was to go grocery shopping... just to get out of the house. When you're stuck somewhere for too long (especially inside somewhere), it sucks. Times like these make me glad I don't live in a tiny, cramped apartment in NYC. Too small for me to stay there for several days! 

Thankfully we've been buying lots of take out to keep us all sane, including sushi, Chipotle (twice), tortellini, and lots of random food.

Without further ado... my five on Friday!

1. Lemon-cucumber water: Quick story: so we had some iced tea and I was talking about how I wanted lemon with the tea. My dad bought me some lemon, but we were already done with the tea. I went on to my second-favorite alternative drink with lemon (well third- second is with San Pellegrino), water! While chopping up an entire lemon (I'm a huge fan of lots of lemon), my mom suggested adding cucumber, since it's something people do to detox. I love the concept of detoxing- taking out all the toxins? Sounds good to me! I tried it, and I'm a fan. 
   
2. Avocado: I typically don't get guacamole with my Chipotle, although I do love me some guac. We had lots of avocados at home this week, so I made my own guac. Chipotle's flavor totally changes with some guac, dang! It is a whole new world. I could eat guac forever and ever.
3. The West Wing: My new favorite show. Ever. My mom told me I'd love it, and my boy GM said the same thing. I started one episode, wasn't totally into it, but decided to restart it and I'm hooked like a fish on a hook babyyyy. I love all the characters and the development. It makes me want to work in the West Wing a gazillion times more. I love Charlie, I'd want his job fresh out of college. I love all of their jobs though for real, Sam Seaborn's job is awesome! I wish I was that talented of a writer though. It's an amazing show! Try the second episode, I promise you, it gets gooood.
4. Snow: There's nothing prettier than watching the snow fall. I took my first timelapse of the snow falling. J and A were impressed, so I was hype.
5. Pinterest: After my girl H got a Pinterest this week, I was hype to rediscover my love for it! Follow me here! It'd be pretty cool for one of y'all to be my 900th follower! ;)

Have a great rest of your weekend/Sunday! :)

Five on Friday (And Recap ft. Capitol Hill!)

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it's Friday. It was my first full week of the new semester and I love the new semester so far. While I miss my friends from last semester, I love my new classes (English, government and business law?! Yes please!).

It was A's birthday on Wednesday! Happy birthday to the real life Chandler Bing! I'm so glad to have such a sarcastic, loving friend!

I'm also loving learning about government this semester. In both AP Gov and business law, we talk a lot about what goes on in Capitol Hill. I love the idea of working on Capitol Hill, and I'm starting House of Cards, as I type this. I literally (not figuratively) just started a minute ago and I'm already hooked. 

My favorite political-related things? Scandal (I love Olivia Pope! She is a badass), Parks & Rec (Leslie Knope is my spirit animal. I'm actually her!), and keeping up with the news through following the NY Times, Time, Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press on Twitter. 

I also met my long-lost twin, GM; we have 2 classes together and another class in common! We're both really into politics and both are thinking about futures in DC. He's obsessed with The West Wing, and I told him I'd start it soon and that he needed to start Scandal. It's so much fun talking and debating about political issues with someone who cares about them as much as I do! I love hearing other people's opinions about the topic.

He is really into mock trial and government. We are having a mock trial in business law (over Tangled! He's defending Mother Gothel, and I'm going for Rapunzel!), I'm so excited, because I know it's going to be amazing. I love being challenged and he's the perfect opponent. I can learn so much from him, which I love! 

I'm also loving AP English... I've already started analyzing my life like no other.

I also got J and I's Sadie's tickets today! I'm excited and he's excited too, so I'm glad! Check out the two dress options I ordered for Sadie's! I'm excited for the dresses to come in. (Hopefully sometime this weekend!) I will definitely be posting pictures!

I also switched to Team iPhone this week! I love how fast I can send texts to my iPhone friends (which is pretty much all of them!) and participating in GMs! While I miss having the weather widget, I think I prefer the iPhone- just because of quickly I can send messages to other iPhone users. I also like the bottom tab where I can quickly adjust the wifi, brightness, volume and so on. I haven't tried out Facetime yet, but I'm excited. Any suggestions on iPhone 5 cases? I love the Kate Spade cases, but my main priority is having a case that has the case part on the front as well. Sadly, I'm becoming addicted to my iPhone and group messages.

Here we go... My Five on Friday!

1. Humans of New York's fundraiser: Have you been following this? I saw this post the day it was released and I was truly moved. Then HONY did a fundraiser to raise money for Vidal's school... and the normal people (like you and me!) donated over one million dollars! One million! How crazy / amazing / wonderful is that? It makes my heart warm. It gives me so much hope to know that teachers are making a difference in kids' lives. Especially kids like Vidal.
   
2. Scarves: Why didn't I realize the genius behind scarves earlier?! They're cute, comfortable and so simple! It's the perfect addition to any outfit. 
3. House of Cards: 4th episode in. Currently obsessed. Simple as that.
4. Best friends: Don't know what I would do without them. I'm so blessed to have so many great friends.
5. Hot water: Because I've had the worst cough all week and hot water is seriously such a lifesaver. #blessed

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Busy Busy Bee

Finals are on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently... but my stress / workload is at an all-time high. Of course, a girl needs to take an occasional break, and what better way to destress than by blogging? I will be posting much more after I get these finals over with! Please send good vibes my way as I prepare to take my finals!

This week, I found out lots of news... one thing that I'm really excited to share, but it's not 100% confirmed yet. But don't worry, once I've confirmed it's true, you'll be hearing about it!

I also heard that one of my favorite teachers is leaving at the end of this semester, Ms. Brown. She was my AP Human Geography teacher.

She came into my APUSH class to give my teacher some supplies. She asked if she could see me out in the hallway, and I replied excitedly, "Yes! You can!" Turns out she was actually asking my APUSH teacher... haha. Whoops! She told me the news about how she was leaving to go to another job at a different school, where she'd be helping kids graduate.

It's a very appropriate job for her, as she is hardcore- she doesn't take no bull. She's strong and the sassiest. I'm going to miss her so much, but I'm excited for her, as I know this job is great for her.

Her birthday is on Monday, and I got invited to her small birthday celebration in her classroom during lunch- in between my two finals. Of course, I couldn't say no though! I need to get a perfect birthday present... I'm not sure what to get her yet! On top of studying for finals... ah! She loves all designer things like Lilly, Kate Spade and Kendra Scott. And she's a Southern Belle- aka a huge fan of monograms. Monogrammed everything!

Last Saturday, I went with my parents to try Moonlight Pizza Company. My mom had heard of it before and we decided to check it out! It was really good. The atmosphere was really laid-back with great indie music playing. We got the calamari, The Proscuitto seasonal pie and a Cow Over The Moon stromboli.

The Proscuitto seasonal pie
A little salty, but really good!
I love having greens on my pizza.

The crust was to die for!

I was really excited because I rocked my last APES and calc tests, boosting my grades one last much-needed time before finals.

Yesterday, we went to the wetlands for our last Streamwatch in AP Environmental Science. It has been freezing cold the past few days in NC, and the wetlands had froze over! 

We had a blast ice-skating on the edges of the wetlands, and one risk-taker (and rather stupid, in my opinion) kid went to the middle of the pond, on thin ice, just to get a rock in the middle. Our teacher, C. Rush, showed us how cool is to throw chunks of ice onto the ice, and we all took our turns.

How pretty is this view?!
I'm going to miss it.

How cool is that?!

The result of us throwing lots and lots of ice onto the frozen pond.

AS, MJ and I.
MJ thought of the clever pun,
"We're on thin ice (just like my APES grade)"

I love love love my classes this semester. All us girls just became super close in APUSH, talking about the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance and giggling like middle school girls about it. 

My APES class is my favorite group of people, with so many hilarious, witty people, it's always so much fun. We are literally an APES family. I'm going to miss them beyond words, and although I struggled in APES, I'm so glad I took it, to be with these amazing people. I've become close with so many amazing people.

Oh, my calc class is a blast. With so many friends, calc always has the best conversations, even ones relating to calc! I've become close with so many cool people who I've always known, but never really gotten close to.

And entrepreneurship has introduced me to so many seniors who always reassure me that everything will be okay. What would I do without them?! And I've met so many senior girls who love to hear all about my problems and are like the embarrassing parents I don't even have.

My first semester of junior year was definitely rough, with 3 AP classes... but I'm so glad I took the classes I did, so I could meet all the people in my classes!

I'm really excited for only 2 AP classes next semester, especially AP English. I've heard only amazing things about AP English and the teacher I have. I'm so excited to end up analyzing my own life from that class! A lot of the topics they talk about are topics I'm very passionate about, and I'm so excited to read The Great Gatsby and The Catcher In The Rye- my best friend's all-time favorite book! 

I'm also excited to take AP Government and Politics. I love love love politics, and I can't wait to respectfully debate my views. I don't know anyone in my class yet, so I'm excited to see what happens! I strive in keeping up with the news, so this is pretty much my dream class. I love learning about laws and what's going on in America and the world. I love seminars and hearing others' opinions, and to finally have a place to openly express my own opinions.

Oh, and some pics because TD, SS and I were twinning with black sweaters one day, which calls for a photo!

TD, me and SS
I love this scarf! Only $5 from Target!

AV and I!
I'm so excited to help her with her Sadies-posal.

More on Sadie Hawkins next week! ;) 

Please send me good vibes regarding finals (and Sadie's!). Have a great rest-of-your-weekend!

I'm Here! I Promise! & Holiday Spirit Week

Sorry for the unnoticed absence of leave from Preppy in NC. But I'm back! (I promise!) I have loads to share with y'all, including my recap of Holiday Spirit Week, Christmas, my trip to Houston (surprise! If that makes up for my absence. Sorry. Lots to come about that), and of course my 2014 recap! That's a lot. I got back from my trip from Houston, Texas today, so there's loads of catching up (and loads of photos!) to do.

Holiday Spirit Week was so much fun! 

This was our school's first time having a holiday spirit week. Our school isn't exactly the best at school spirit, but the people that did participate enjoyed it. I had a blast thinking of costume ideas for each day.

Monday: Funny story, I've always wanted a Tacky Christmas sweater, but I'm not about to pay $30 for a cheap one at Target that I'm only going to wear once. In our Student Council Officers GM, RR and J were running all over town looking for Tacky Christmas sweaters. They couldn't find any anywhere! Even Target was sold out. (This is what we get for procrastinating!) 

I found this idea on Pinterest and I had showed them, so these are our somewhat-attempts at them. I created mine before school Monday morning because I had a ton of homework on Sunday night. 

J and I being our typical selves

STUCO Officers take on Ugly Sweater Day
With our homemade sweaters haha.

Shop my outfits! Green sweater (only $24!), jeans, riding boots (now 20% off!), holiday decorations (home)

Elf Day was Tuesday. At first, I had no clue what to do other than an elf hat from the Dollar Store. I was talking with my friend KTL, and I brought up how cute the Christmas bow skirts were. And she thought it'd work for Elf Day. I knew this was my opportunity to try it out! I was so excited. I went the Dollar Store and purchased bows and thin garland. I safety pinned the garland on the top of my skirt and around the bottom of it. (I didn't go all the way around for the garland, just the front half, since I'd be sitting in a chair for the majority of the day). 

The only white skirt I had was from J.Crew, and I wasn't sure whether or not it'd be ruined if I safety pinned the bows. I didn't want to risk it, so I used gorilla tape. I couldn't figure out how to work the safety pins with the bows as well anyways. The tape was somewhat... successful. Aka not really. Aka only seven bows remained on my skirt at the end of the day. It was my fault for rushing out the door in the morning and not bringing extra bows and tape. 

It looked so good! I loved the garland.

As you can see, this is halfway through the day,
Bows have fallen off.

Elf Day was one of my favorite outfits of the week. Most people went to the Dollar Store and bought elf hats. (The local Dollar Store must've been very thankful for Holiday Spirit Week because the entire school bought elf hats, reindeer antlers, snowman headbands, and Holiday Spirit Week accessories there!)

Shop my outfits! Red blouse (old, Lauren Ralph Lauren), white skirt (only $18 with code STYLE2015!), leggings (unknown), flats (similar), elf hat (not shown, Dollar Tree)

I don't have any pictures of Reindeer Day, but it's okay, because that outfit was pretty weak. Just a brown shirt with reindeer antlers, thanks to the Dollar Store.

KTL and I were planning again for Snowman Day. All the photos we saw on Pinterest had the girls wearing tutus and it was so cute! I was very disappointed because I didn't have a tutu and there weren't any for sale near me. Why aren't tutus sold?! I'd wear one for every possible costume. 

Wednesday night, KTL texted me saying her neighbor who dances had an extra tutu. I was so excited! The tutu for me was Christmas colored- red and green. While it wasn't white, I knew this was my chance to wear a tutu to school! So much fun. The stares I had gotten from all my extreme costumes didn't phase me, I was hype. I also safety pinned giant black pom poms as my buttons onto my dad's oversized white buttondown.

So snowman-y! I love it.

Shop my outfits! Button-down, tutu (KTL's neighbor's!), leggings (unknown), flats (similar), snowman headband (not shown, Dollar Tree)

I don't know why, but I was just exhausted from the chaos of the entire week and didn't really have any motivation to do anything but study for my tests (tests on the last day of break... seriously?!). My outfit was kinda lame, and I just wore a Santa hat and red shirt. KD gave me the cutest infinty scarf (called a snood?) as a Christmas gift, it was green, so I knew it was perfect to match the Christmas theme!

I wasn't crazy about my outfit, but the Sophomore Pres really wanted to take pics with J and me, since we hadn't taken any all week. It was fun though!

Typical.

How cute is that infinity scarf?! Or snood, as the label read.

Shop my outfits! Shirt (old, Ann Taylor), scarf, jeans, riding boots (now 20% off!), Santa hat (not shown, home)

And that's one week down. Much more to share... coming soon! Do you think I'll finish before 2015?! Stay tuned to see!

Five on Friday

Another Friday in the books. I'm taking the SAT tomorrow for the first time, and I haven't gotten the chance to study yet. Whoops! Instead, I'm watching my new favorite show... Gilmore Girls!

On Thursday, I went to grab pizza for lunch with MS. It was fun. We talked about ways to ask people to Sadie's, prom, and politics... the usual. I'm going to miss MS next year when he's in college!

I also found out that we're having a Sadie's dance in February. As STUCO VP, I'll have to go, however I'm not crazy about the idea of a Sadie's. Actually I love the concept, but me having to ask a boy... Ah! That's scary. I don't deal with rejection well. Thankfully, J reassured me that it'd all be fine.

Today was a good day. For one, our lesson in calculus involved Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (Best doughnuts ever!) However, for the other calc classes, they used play-doh instead of doughnuts. We win.

After school today, J and I went to buy holiday decorations since we're decorating the trees by our school with ornaments!

There was so much going on with the first full week of school in a while... the perfect way was to unwind with a $3 Starbucks frappe with J after holiday decoration shopping.

His smile is my fav!

I convinced J to try a frappuccino. J doesn't drink coffee, he usually gets hot chocolate from Starbucks. We both got gingerbread frappes. It was my first time trying it, and it was good! I prefer the gingerbread latte, but hey I must be getting to be my 20 y/o self...

I thought that we'd just grab a drink, sit for a couple minutes, then leave, but we ended up talking for an hour! It was really fun. J's calc teacher (aka coolest lady ever aka Starbucks addict aka also SS' calc teacher) came into Starbucks while we were there. I didn't even know her, but I was listening to the conversation, and she started talking to me. She's so sweet!

After she left, I asked if she went to Duke, because that's what I thought I heard. J went on to tell me the story about how got accepted to Duke, but went to UNC. She went to UNC because her boyfriend at the time was going to go to UNC, and now they're married! I thought it was so cute. So did J. :) 

I know it's rare, but there's nothing I love more than the idea of high school sweethearts. The two STUCO advisers for prom last year also married their high school sweethearts. I think it's the cutest! I wouldn't mind only having one boyfriend who I ended up getting married to. Just saying.

Without further ado... my Five on Friday!

1. Holiday Cheer: I forgot to mention! I found out that we're having a holiday spirit week for the first time this year. The themes include tacky sweater, reindeer, elf, snowman and Santa. I'm all about the holiday spirit, so I'm beyond excited! I was telling J how excited I was to finally have a reason to buy a Tacky Christmas sweater. Lots of photos will be posted during that week. I'm already planning ideas for it.
2. Supportive Friends: I know I say this often, but I'm so thankful for my supportive friends. Sometimes little things, as simple as a tweet that I'm not sure whether it's meant to be funny or an insult, can get to me. I love having friends that I can rant to, and are always willing to back me up. Thanks y'all. #ProtectSKC was almost a trending hashtag this week.
3. Gilmore Girls: This show is love. I have a huge huge huge crush on Jess. He's great! I literally texted MN at 1:30am on Wednesday confessing my love for Jess. 

   

   Image via Gilmore Girls Wiki

4. Long talks: There's nothing better. I forgot how amazing it is to just sit and talk with people for hours. I love texting and phone calls, but there's something special about hanging out with each other in person.
5. Helping others: Nothing broke my heart more than when my sweet friend texted me asking for help, through my Student Council position. We have a class Twitter, and we have a lot of followers. She asked for my help to use the Twitter to help spread the word about a special cause. Just because some people think something is "uncool" and they bash on it, they don't realize how hard some people have worked on it. It breaks my heart. I love being able to help others though.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and sleeps in! I will be up bright and early taking the SAT tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Five on Saturday

This week wasn't that exciting, except for last night. Last night was our football game against our rival school and the theme was a rave! It was so much fun. Even though there was powdered paint that was thrown in the air (SO COOL!), but some of it got on my brother's sweatshirt I was borrowing and he was not happy... It was a very hype game, and even though we lost pretty badly (7-21), the excitement was still there and there was a lot of cheering!

Reunited with my fav, Maya.

Maya goes to our rival school, so it was great that I got to see her last night! She used to live in my neighborhood before she moved. We were both rocking the Uggs, which was a good decision on our part, because it was freezing! Kai-D and SS' toes were literally frozen at the end of the night.

SS, Kai-D and I snuggling to stay warm! It was freezzzing!

AK and I. The funny part about this photo is that I'm super short, and it appears that she's super short... however I was standing on the bleachers and she wasn't. She's actually super tall, haha!

The yearbook posted a photo of our QB doing this pose, and had a contest asking people to mock this pose. After some convincing from the girl in charge of the contest, J and I decided to give it a shot. We look pretty funny with our serious faces, but it was hilarious!

It was such a fun game! Our school got more hype than ever before, and it was fun to be there for that!

And now... my Five on Friday!

1. Friday Night Football Games: Even though this was our last football game of the year, it was so much fun! I'm already looking forward to next year. This was J's first home game... ever, so I was glad to hear that he had a blast. (He had been to one away game since he had some friends on the other team!) I love this photo one of our cheerleaders took during our "I Believe" chant with powder paint. 
   
2. Something Stupid: As I got into the Christmas spirit this week, I listened to Michael Buble on Spotify. I found this old song that I'd never heard of. It's so cute! 
3. #Beautiful: Another song I discovered on Spotify. Mariah Carey rocks it! 
4. Reuniting: I got the chance to talk and see some people I haven't talked to in forever! I was so excited to see Maya for a brief moment at the football game, see a kid from my elementary school at the game (first thing he said: You don't look any different from 5th grade! Oh... thanks?), and talk with SW, who I miss so very much! All the memories come flooding back, and it's so much fun.
5. Holiday Gift Guides: I love reading all the bloggers' holiday gift guides to get inspiration for gifts to give! It's interesting to see what items appear on everyone's lists and learn about items I've heard of. I have already posted one for stocking stuffers (all items are $25 and under!).

Today, I'm planning on relaxing, napping, catching up on Netflix, and finishing my homework. Tomorrow is J's birthday (get ready for his birthday post! Warning: it'll be long and sentimental!), and I'm hoping to go on a lunch date that won't be cancelled this time with ALD and JSC!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Five on Saturday

The main thing this week: Taylor's new album. Two things: 1) I really want her to put it on Spotify so I can listen to it all the time. 2) It is gooooooood! JSC had 3 computers open in 2nd period yesterday trying to buy T-Swift concert tickets.

Last Saturday, I got to film part of my APES PSA video on obesity with some girls in my APES class. They're seriously the funniest people ever, so the hardest part was not laughing while filming. I had NHS Inductions on Monday night.

J and I at NHS Inductions!
Check out that height difference though...

The funniest girl alive, Amena, and the wittiest, coolest dork ever, HH.

My dress is from LaRoque. I was debating between this dress and a sweater/skirt combination. I sent the photos to H and she loved the dress. She was right! Once I put it on (I haven't worn it since I bought it), I fell in love with it all over again. J said he loved my dress, so that's how you know it was the right choice, right?

Tuesday was Veteran's Day, so we didn't have school, and I got to work!

On Friday, I went on a lunch date with J to zpizza, and Friday night, I went to a football game with JSC and MN (read about MN here!), and I met their friend BC. The game was against the school JSC, MN and BC go to, and it was freezing! It was a lot of fun though, and my school won, and we advanced to the semi-finals. We also ran into ALD at the game! I loved the poster the other team had saying "Tell your girlfriends you'll be free next Friday!" That was witty.

Reunited! Me, JSC and ALD.
Don't mind the horrible photo. Flash does not work for us.

Next week is against our rival school, and it's going to be huge! Our last game against them, we won
by one touchdown, and that was the regional championship. I'm hoping to go, and hopefully it won't be as cold. Our rivals are out for revenge, especially since they're salty that they lost the regional championship to us, by one touchdown.

This weekend, other than blasting T-Swift, I'm going to finish filming my APES PSA video with my group, study study study and hopefully hangout with JSC and ALD! They want to meet J, so we might visit him at work! ;)

My Five on Saturday...

1. 1989: Taylor is still on her game. While she isn't exactly my favorite person, I respect her and I love her new music! I'm listening to Blank Space all the time now. 
2. Sweet texts: You know, those texts that you screenshot and send to your friends? Yeah. Those are pretty cute.
3. Fuzzy blankets: We got two of these (similar) on a whim at Target during their Black Friday sale. Aka we went for the excitement and just ended up buying the entire store. #Typical. We ended up buying two more after we tried them out. So cozy, I'm bundled in one right now!
4. Sweaters: Because it's sweater weather! I got a Topshop sweater earlier this year, and I love my Polo Ralph Lauren and Lauren Ralph Lauren ones. 
5. Publix: I finally visited a Publix for the first time and it is soo awesome. I tried a sample of ham and cheesy sweet potatoes. Those cheesy sweet potatoes are out of this world good! I'd love to work there... cashiers make $8.50/hr! The samples are a must and their sushi is amazing! J said their subs are really good, so I'll have to try those out soon! It's always so busy there!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and week!

Super Long Recap (& 8 on Friday?!)

Week of October 20th: Full of highs and full of lows. As the quarter comes to an end, stress levels are at an all-time high. But we survived, right?! And we have a teacher workday on Wednesday. I'm more excited about the fact that I'll get to work on Wednesday. Quick recap of my week's highs:

Wednesday: We had another hour lunch since the sophomores were taking the PLAN test. MS and I took advantage of this and made our way to Lime. It was so much fun! I love hanging out with MS and I miss having a class together. (Literally all we did last year was talk!) We talked about everything from the concept of a Sadie's Hawkins to birth control for teenagers. Our conversations are always really interesting and I tell him everything. I love hearing his opinion and when we're together, I get a little a lot nostalgic for the old times. Last year, we talked about him applying to college and he just finished applying to colleges. Time flies. Nothing is better than good food and even better company. I'm excited for our next lunch date together.

Friday: After some rough tests, I was so excited to go to the State Fair with MNR and a French girl staying with her for the week. It was soooo much fun to show our Frenchie North Carolina through the State Fair. Unfortunately, my phone has been spazzing out recently, and the phone storage is damaged aka no photos on my phone. MNR has all the photos and will be sending them my way soon. It was so much fun, and we had deep fried Girl Scout cookies, freshly fried corn dogs, root beer from the cutest vendor run by an elderly couple...  we were so stuffed afterwards, we couldn't even get the fried mac & cheese, corn, fried candy bars, or anything else! We usually eat a lot more, but it was all good. We went on several rides, but not as many as past years, because we were showing our Frenchie NC. That was okay though, since MNR and I have gone every year and done most of the rides. It was a fun experience and it was always great seeing MNR and meeting her sweet Frenchie, who I learned all about French teen trends from.

Saturday: I had plans to go to the State Fair again with SS, Kai-D and AV, but the timing just didn't work out since I had work later that night. It was okay though because I was exhausted from spending 6 hours at the fair on Friday... typical. I napped then went to my job's Halloween celebration. It was sooo much fun. Confession: We had a bet before the event started on the number of Elsas that'd attend. They kept count, but I don't know the answer yet! One of my bosses guessed 261... haha! It was so much fun, and little kids in their Halloween costumes are the cutest! There was the cutest Buzz Lightyear who was playing with the "ghoul inside a balloon" we had. He gave me the balloon back and I said thank you and gave him a thumbs up. He started walking away but kept glancing at me, then gave me a thumbs up back. He was probably three years old and my heart melted. So cute! I got to see some of my favorite coworkers who I haven't seen since summer, which was really exciting!

Week of 10/27...

This week was pretty good. Especially with a teacher workday on Wednesday. I got to go to work

And here we go... my Five Three on Friday!

1. Loon Lake: One of my favorite new bands who I found through Spotify. I love their song Thirtythree. I asked my friends if they've heard of them, and TD has! I showed them to MS the other night and he really liked them. There's nothing cooler than people who like the same music as you!
2. Halloween costumes: There is nothing cuter! One of my coworkers was a dog and he was the absolute cutest. Another coworker was the Mad Hatter, and he's seriously my fav person ever. He is amazing with the kids, and the kids had so much fun interacting with him. Another coworker was a photo booth strip with photos of herself, and her actual face has one of the photos in the strip! There were sooo many Elsas and superheroes; a family was the Flintstones. One of my bosses was a spelling bee, a bee with letters all over her!
3. Pumpkin flavored everything: I had my first PSL of the season, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin chocolate chip everything. It's one of my all-time favorite flavors.

Week of 10/3/14...

This week was full of meetings and an early release AND pep rally on Friday! The highlight of my week other than my school's football team making it to playoffs for the first time in 10 years! (Sadly, I couldn't go to the game, which I really regret...) 

...But I was pre-shopping for a huge charity sale at Belk. I got the Sam Edelman Penny boots I've been wanting for the longest time... for $90 through the sale. Frye boots were also crazy marked down. The Frye Melissa boots were marked down to $208! Jack Rogers were around $66. My favorite Wacoal bras were only $33 a piece (huge deal since they almost never go on major sale!). Clinique was 20% off. I didn't go too crazy... I got 3 Wacoal bras, $105 worth of Clinique (which became $85!), the Penny boots and a Vineyard Vines polo for only $12! It was fun, and I went shopping with my godmother, which is why I was hesitant to go crazy (out of fear my parents would kill me (haha)! Surprisingly, my parents were surprised I didn't buy more. I almost bought a pair of Lilly Callahan shorts for $26, but I have so many J.Crew chino shorts, I didn't think it was necessary.) I also fell in love with this Free People dress, but it was at a price I wasn't willing to bite at. But isn't it the cutest holiday dress?

Yesterday, I volunteered at Carolina Tiger Rescue with some of the kids in my AP Environmental Science class. Even if it meant being at school at 8am, so we could drive there, and tasks like trimming thorn-y hedges. However we were doing this, so they can eventually clear land to make room for two new habitats for two tigers they had to rescue. So we were saving two tigers! The best part was the tour at the end. We saw lots of different cats, big and small, and we learned a lot about them. I convinced J that he had to come volunteer with us, and he was very glad I convinced/forced/told him to. ;) Here are some of the many photos I took!

Me & J with the beautiful white tiger, Jellybean.
Sadly, it's a really sad story about how white tigers like Jellybean came to be,
Breeders will inbreed tigers with the white gene to have white tigers,
For every normal white tiger, there are three with some sort of disorder.

I also finished Season 3 of Scandal on Netflix. Sooo good; I'm ready for season 4 to come on! It was a good Saturday.

My Five on Friday Sunday for this week...

1. Organization: I am an organizational freak. I taught J some of my ways and now he's hooked! ;) We were talking about them in AP Environmental Science, and it was so funny. When taking notes on pros/cons, benefits/consequences, etc... I use + and -s for the bullets. It turns out another girl at my table does that too, what can I say? #soulmates. We talked about color coordinating our closets, and much more. 
• ex: Blogging  +Fun +Way to relieve stress -Time-consuming -Commitment
2. Twenty One Pilots: TD loves this band so much, and when driving back to school from Carolina Tiger Rescue, JG played The Run and Go. The music is catchy, upbeat and I'm hooked. 
3. Riding boots: I've wanted a pair since 5th grade, and now that I'm getting them any day.. I'm so excited! I think they're the prettiest pair of shoes ever. I have already officially decided, that if I still want them, I'll be getting the Frye Melissa boots next.

   

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4. Chocolate dipped Cheetos: This might sound really gross, but when I was volunteering for chocolate summer camp last year, we tried it, and it was amazing! We had chocolate fondue last night, and I shared it with my family. Sooo good. Flamin' hot Cheetos dipped in chocolate are also really good. Try it. You'll see!
5. No Rest for the Wicked: Another song because I am hooked on good music. 

Have a great Sunday!

Five on Friday

All I really know is that I am sleep deprived, about to crash on all the sugar I had today, and currently obsessed with Scandal.

I'm very thankful though because I only had one calc test this week (which I still didn't do well on... whoops!), no APES test, but I had an APUSH test and timed essay.

Thankfully, to celebrate all of the APUSH craziness this week, (and to celebrate his weight loss of 18 pounds since the start of the school year), my APUSH teacher, Mr. H gave us cupcakes! I was also very proud of the fact that we had a hard calc problem to do in class today and I figured it out right before he showed the answer! Funny thing, I asked my friend if I was right before he checked it. She said I was, and when I showed it to him, he said no. I exclaimed, it turns out I wrote my answer (from the calculator) wrong on the paper! So silly.

On Wednesday, we had an hour lunch because of the PSAT. My friends and I made our way to Panera, although we left the parking lot late. We were still really rushed since Panera isn't the closest. I got the cheddar broccoli soup and an asiago cheese bagel- so good!

Next week, we have another hour lunch. (Our lunches are typically 42 minutes!) I'm tempted to go to Cook-Out on a much needed lunch date with MS. I'm not sure if we want to go to Cook-Out necessarily (I was considering it at first), but Cook-Out is 20 minutes away (one way there!). I'll talk with MS soon. MS is the sweetest guy; I miss having a class with him!

This weekend, I'm going to an Indian dance event: Diwali. My friend AS is performing the dance she choreographed! It's a big deal, and I'm really excited to be there for her big day!

And here it is... my Five on Friday!

1. Scandal: Amena is actually April and I'm actually Leslie in real life, and other than our shared love of Parks & Recreation; we've been talking about TV shows and everything in between. Amena and I have a lot in common, from our love for journalism, politics, UNC-CH, Parks & Rec, and our hatred of calc. She kept recommending Scandal to me, and it did sound like the perfect show for me from my love for politics, drama and action. I started it and I seriously watched 5 episodes of Scandal in a row. Just now. I'm taking a break because it is so addicting, and I'm watching New Girl to recover from all the drama. Watching a show to recover from a different show? Typical. PS: Olivia Pope's fierceness is #LifeGoals. 

   

   Image via Glamour.com

2. Pinterest: I don't know why but I've recently had a refound love for Pinterest. Pinterest seriously has made me consider a career in fashion. My cousin has a career in the fashion, and I'd love her job! How cool would it be to go to college at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City? I don't know how my parents would feel, but who knows...? I could still major in public relations like I was planning on it. Check out my Pinterest here! 

   

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3. Andy Grammer: Confession: I've been listening to Shake It Off Pandora Radio (It's just so catchy! I always catch myself dancing to it.) While some of the music is very cookie cutter (hey when it's midnight and I'm doing APUSH homework, cookie cutter is what I need! That and white girl rap music), there are a few gems on it: including Andy Grammer. The first Andy Grammer song I ever heard was "Gotta Keep Your Head Up" many years ago; I have loved him ever since. One of my current favorites is below:
4. Old Friends: It's so nice to reunite with old friends, have all the memories flood back, and remember yourself back during that time. Getting to see MS and talk with him on Wednesday made me feel really nolgastic. We were in the same class last semester and all we did was talk (literally everyday! He's the best listener and we always have really deep, interesting conversations. The meaning of life and our purpose in society was questioned many times). We texted all summer, but with the chaos of school, unless people make the effort to talk to me, it's hard for me to text first (I'm usually the one who's texting old friends first, but school this year- AH!). MS is applying to his dream school and I'm so excited for him! He's nervous, but I have a good feeling he'll get in. I'm so excited for him and it's crazy to think that we were talking about all of this last year and now it's happening! Time flies. I'm ready for a long break, (even though my heart is set on DC for Thanksgiving break... My heart is always set on DC, especially during its prettiest time: Fall! Actually that's debatable with Spring because those Japanese cherry blossoms are hard to beat.) to hang out with friends at lunch dates and long drives around town.  Here are some photos from my last trip to DC last Thanksgiving break:
   
   
   
5. Parents: Just because I'm really thankful for my parents' support and for dealing with all my rants, midnight snacking and singing. After thinking about MS going to college, I don't know what I'm going to do without my parents... I seek their advice on everything! Love them so much and so thankful to have them.