I love paper straws + Blue Moon cocktails.

Sometimes I buy things that are on clearance at Target simply because it's on clearance and it's at Target.

A few months ago, I bought a twelve pack of really cute, colorful paper straws because they were only $1.00. I couldn't help myself. As soon as I got home, I got them out of the plastic Target bag, and put them on my book shelf. And there they sat. For months. I didn't have an occasion for them so I figured I would save them for a special occasion and until that special occasion came, I'd just have to stare at them because there was no chance I was going to waste them.

So recently, when my BFF and I decided we wanted to plan and have a 'drunk sleepover' -- to stay in and drink all night at home and then have a sleepover -- I realized that this was my chance to come up with a way to make that night the special occasion that my paper straws and I had been waiting for. I wanted to make some kind of special drink for our drunk sleepover (meaning we had to step out of our comfort zones and not drink yellowtail) and I wanted it to be drinkable by a paper straw. 

We both love Blue Moon and we both are pretty cool with OJ so I found this drink after searching through the internet one day. 

I was nervous that maybe Blue Moon + vodka would = very gross -- but surprisingly, it didn't. I really liked it and if it didn't require me to pour multiple things (come on, with wine I just have to pour one thing), I'd probably make this more often. I really only tasted the orange juice, despite there not being much in it -- just a 'splash' to be exact, haha.  

I'm not a big drinker of anything other than Blue Moon when I go to restaurants (aka Chili's) or wine at my house so I don't have a lot of liquor or anything fun at home. Because of that, it's fun for me to have a reason to buy a new liquor to 'add to my collection.' My collection right now consists of the clementine Svedka vodka and Pinnacle whipped cream vodka so that's pretty pathetic and clearly I need to do stuff like this more often. I plan on trying to! 

I love these things lately.

Lately, I love:
March for the Animals! It's the time of year again. The time of year where I beg anyone and everyone to donate and help me reach my goal of raising $500.00 for the Maryland SPCA because Sasha and I will be walking in the annual March for the Animals in April! That being said -- here's the link to my page. Please, please, please, please consider helping me out with this. It is so worth it. Your money really, truly does make a difference: 
     $11 pays for one feline leukemia test
     $25 vaccinates 20 dogs for kennel cough
     $43 provides flea treatment + heartworm protection for a dog
     $300 pays for an animal's vaccinations, food, and care at their shelter until it's adopted
The Man by Aloe Blacc. I have a thing with associating certain songs to certain times in my life. Last year, I associated Clique and Hall of Fame with the Ravens SuperBowl run so whenever I hear those songs, I get extremely overwhelmingly happy. Even though I despise Colin Kaepernick, the Beats by Dre commercial with Kap in it came on so much during the end of the football season when I was feeling really sentimental about football and guess what song is in that commercial? The Man by Aloe Blacc. I bought the song and have played it basically nonstop on my way to-and-from places for the past month. I am so in love. It's so good. It makes me feel happy like it's still football season and momentarily makes me forget that it's only barely mid-February/still winter/going to snow every day for the rest of my life/I'm never going to be able to open my car windows ever again.
Greeting cards from Target. Yeah. Give me all of them.
Sharpie ultra-fine permanent markers. Yup. Only want to write in them.
HGTV. Really been into House Hunters and Love It or List It lately. I'm not sure how I didn't get addicted to these kinds of shows sooner. If the Bachelor or Pretty Little Liars aren't on TV, I immediately turn to HGTV. I've even got Paul into liking these shows. I really do feel like I have a keeper with him - he likes The Bachelor/Bachelorette annnnd HGTV? Really feel pretty lucky. He's also got a girlfriend who actually enjoys sports of all kinds (with the exception of golf #snoozefest) so I hope he considers himself lucky too, haha.
Dove chocolates that have peanut butter inside of them. Ya. Had them for breakfast Sunday.
ModCloth and their customer service. Not only has ModCloth.com been on point for me the past week or so, they also have amazing customer service. When I got home from work last week, I got a package from ModCloth -- it had my itemized list of things I bought and some stuff inside the box...that I didn't order. Some weirdo tights and some other strange clothes that I didn't even bother to bring out. I knew it wasn't mine the moment that I didn't spot the shirt with dogs on it that I bought. I was confused on how to return/exchange the things I didn't buy for the things I did buy (because what a strange thing to happen) so I decided to live-chat with someone at ModCloth to figure it out and it was the best experience ever, haha. The woman I talked with was so nice and so helpful and got it all sorted out in the matter of 5 minutes. I am forever impressed with great customer service. Now I love ModCloth even more. Even when they mess up, I love them.

I love life lately.

celebrating Nick's birthday with a surprise party thrown by Shannon that was really great and had Chick Fil A and good times and arguments about the Ravens. I'm sorry. I can't be tamed.

making cupcakes with Catie around and realizing that you can dip cupcakes in sprinkles if trying to sprinkle them on top of the cupcakes isn't working. Catie is a baking genius - WHO KNEW? 

looking at ModCloth 3x a day trying to find something to buy but I don't like anything enough to purchase anything #roughlife #feelbadforme

drinking hot lemon water every morning - it's refreshing and apparently great for you so just doing that to try to counteract the pizza and cookies I'm eating for lunch

listening to One Direction non-stop to-and-from anywhere I drive and humming them forever at work 

trying hard to memorize my expiration date for my new debit card so I can become a pro at online shopping once again without having to look at my card

wearing exclusively leggings or jeggings on the weekend because I'm sick of wearing jeans but I have to during the week for work and also I'm an adult I make my own decisions so yolo
obsessing over my new camera that I am in love with and want to cuddle with all day but when I'm not cuddling I want to be using it to take pictures of Sasha
wishing I could commit more to my Happiness Project. February is going to be my month, OKAY?

I love December Resolutions.

My first month of my Happiness Project went pretty well! Most days I felt really good after checking off that I had followed all of my resolutions but some days, I really didn't stick with my resolutions and it made me a bit unhappy with myself which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do. I realized I have a lot to work on when it comes to seeing things in a positive light instead of jumping to "I SUCK I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T RUN OR MAKE AN EFFORT TO NOT EAT A LOT OF CANDY TODAY." That being said, December's resolutions focus on trying to be more positive -- which is something I already knew I had to work on. 
Obviously, once November has come and gone, it doesn't make sense to just forget about those resolutions and just move on to a new set. So, in addition to this month's resolutions, I will also be sticking with November's as well. 

Here's a mini-recap of my November Resolutions:

1. Go for a run or do a 20-minute workout routine 
Not making excuses (or maybe I am) but November got pretty busy toward the middle and end of the month which actually made it really hard to fit in a run or a workout. The good news is it's on my radar now that I can go for a run instead of pin on Pinterest and I've been running more frequently. Running makes me happy - even if I dread it and Pinterest sounds more fun at the time - and remembering that will hopefully keep me running more often/whenever I can.
2. Stick with Weight Watchers
Thanksgiving week made life really hard and I got extremely off track. The rest of the month was easy. In addition to Weight Watchers, I started participating in a fun, little weight-loss challenge called Diet Bet (here's how it works). I started the first week in November and it ends this coming week on December 6th. It pushes me to stick with Weight Watchers and eating right even more -- but makes it fun to do it. Also, money. 
3. Walk + talk 
I got pretty cray and bought a $1.99 pedometer app for my iPhone called "Moves" and it has made me addicted to walking (or as I like to say "stepping"). It's pretty ridiculous but apparently you should walk 10,000 steps a day if you want to be considered "active" -- oh and I want to be considered active. The most I've walked is around 4,000 and that was a lot of walking so every day I try to walk as much as possible so I can beat my "All-Time Record." That's life. 

4. Say no to sugar
This gets easier as time goes on. Sometimes I just want a mini Crunch bar with breakfast though. I'll never be able to say no to sugar forever. It's all about portion sizes for me. 

December's Resolutions:
1. Think of the good that will come out of it -- even if there doesn't seem to be any good at all. This is especially important for me to do at work. 
2. When in doubt, say something positive -- I sometimes have this fight in my mind, especially within the last few months, where I know that I could say something positive but what comes out of my mouth is something negative. I want to make the effort to say something positive when I feel like I definitely have the choice to be positive or negative and hopefully it will become a habit (like it used to be for me).
3. Smile, smile, smile -- I've heard/read in several articles that just the act of smiling, even when you're alone (creepy, I know) or there's no reason to at that current moment, can make you feel positive and happy. I try to do it in the car sometimes when I can feel my road rage getting out of control and it really does help so I want to do this more often - especially in situations that I consider to be "negative."
4. Truly compliment someone else (and myself) -- something else I've had to fight in the last few months is the urge to say something negative about someone/something or insult them. It started happening by default when I was struggling in September and October of this year and that's really not who I am. In an attempt to get back to positivity, I'm going to make the effort to truly (not a forced one) compliment anyone/something/someone on a daily basis. I say "(and myself)" because as I talked about in my first Happiness Project blogpost, I'm not very fond of myself sometimes. I think in addition to complimenting those around me, I need to also take the time to compliment myself. 
5. Read at least one positive quote a day -- I've always been a fan of quotes in my "adult life." Whenever I'm feeling especially icky or mad, I'll Google "positive quotes about ______." Then I read a few and it will usually bring me back to feeling pretty decent. Cheesy, right? That being said, I think it would be helpful for me to read quotes that make me feel good on a daily basis, instead of just when I'm not feeling great. Super cheesy on a daily basis. I think it'd be fun to keep some sort of journal or Google doc (I'm addicted to Google docs) with all of my favorite quotes! 

I love being thankful.

I'm thankful for:

• Torrey Smith's wife's tweets during Ravens games
• a boyfriend and best friend that take my half-birthday very seriously
• a best friend who has the same sense of humor as I do 
• really nice, super great Chili's employees
• the same teal scarf I wear every day because #fashion
• warm walking-weather into mid-November
• safe rides home late at night without deer friends out-and-about trying to hang with me
• times when I have mature conversations with my 8-year-old sister, Brooke
• my warm, comfy bed - every night when I go to sleep I think about how thankful I am for my 4 layers of blankets
• Anthony Allen's tweets about Maury
• the fact that people think of me when they see/hear "#yolo"
• work friends that get my life
• the nicest, sweetest, cutest doggie ever
• a supportive family, best friend, and boyfriend that all help keep me happy and smiling every day
• a younger sister who still thinks I'm funny even though she acts like she hates my life on Twitter
• online shopping - it makes me very happy hehehe
• a job - one where I work with fun people who like to do fun things 
• daily routines 
• a hilarious boyfriend that makes me laugh even when I don't want to support the weird-o things he does sometimes 
• never worrying that I'm going to be alone because of the great people in my life
• Pretty Little Liars - even if it is very frustrating
• my team 

I love weekends.

This weekend I:
ate way too many mini York peppermint patties. Paul started eating them in the past few weeks and now I find myself strangely addicted to them when I used to think they were stupid. 
spent the last hour of my work week with a meeting that consisted of Bohs and sushi. Probably the best + only way to spend the end of that crazy week.
bought lots of new things at Target -- totally unusual (not) -- including dry shampoo (finally) and the best (and cheapest) eyeliner pen. Shout out to Jackie for the recommendation on eyeliner -- I'm really excited.
hung out at my house + watched football with my bff and boyf. This is really great (and unusual) because I rarely hang out with both of them on a Sunday afternoon and even more rarely (probably terrible english, whoops my bad) at mi casa. 
started running again. Hey sore legs. Ouch. Feels good to be back at it, though, as it always does when I start running again after a long period of time without running anywhere ever.
got sleepy at Starbucks with Shannon. Just doesn't seem right, AM I RIGHT? The lighting in the Starbucks near my house makes me FALL ASLEEP while I drink my drank. That's life, I guess. I did get a new pretty Christmas cup - yaaay!
watched Paul play on his iPad. #iPad

I love happiness projects + November Resolutions.

“When I thought about why I was sometimes reluctant to push myself, I realized that it was because I was afraid of failure - but in order to have more success, I needed to be willing to accept more failure.” - Gretchin Rubin

After a pretty rough October for me and deciding to finally buy the Happiness Project in audiobook form so I can listen to it to-and-from work, I've decided to do my own little happiness project.

For those that don't know, The Happiness Project is a book in which Gretchen Rubin, the author, spends an entire year dedicating the time and effort to 'resolutions' each month in an effort to become even happier than she previously was. I, myself, consider myself a fairly happy person - even after the rough month I just had, just as she describes herself as being before starting her project. And just like she mentions in the book, I have acknowledged that I can be a happier person and that I'm the only person that can make that change. 

I know I could be more positive, happier with myself and more confident, less judgmental, more loving to the people in my life, etc. and that if I were these things, I'd be happier overall. 

Unlike Gretchen, who basically logged out her entire year and knew what each focus would be each month, I don't have that. I don't know if I'll do this for an entire year and right now I only have about 3 months worth of things I'd like to work on.  Ideally, I would start this in January because it's the mark of a new year - being that most "resolutions" come into play on New Years' Day - but I don't think that I can't wait until then I feel like I need to start now. I feel motivated to start now so I'm just going to start at the random month of November.

My November resolutions focus on becoming a healthier and more active person -- as if it were actually January 1st except I'm going to try to make this a lifestyle change (everyone's favorite buzzword when it comes to eating better and being more active, hahaha). I don't like to admit this to people that I'm not close with, but for those who don't know, I struggle with feeling confident about the way I look when it comes to my weight -- no matter how much I'm told that I look good. It's been an issue with me for about 8 years now. It started out terribly where I was young, not the brightest, and doing all the wrong things to stay thin and has now gotten to the point where I feel like I'm able to make smart and adult-like decisions. However, I still have a tough time sticking to a 'plan' when it comes to losing weight (and maintaining it) and getting to a weight where I know is good for me and my confidence. 
In a perfect world, I wouldn't start off focusing on this but it is something that is unfortunately very important to me and I know will give me the confidence to move forward with my other goals and resolutions in months to come. 

All of that being said, here are my November Resolutions.  
I keep these in a chart where each day, I check off whether or not I was able to stick to that resolution -- all in hopes that that will encourage me to stick to it!
1. Go for a run or do a 20-minute workout routine -- no excuses! 
2. Stick with Weight Watchers -- it truly is the best. I get embarrassed to say that I use it most times because I feel like I don't need to lose that much weight so people probably think I'm crazy to use it but it really is super easy and it's a way to keep myself on track without tracking my calories because I hate counting calories. I can also eat whatever I want basically which works for meeee! 
3. Walk + talk -- make an effort to move around more at work and at home because I have a terrible time being alive/active once I get home from work and I should make an effort to get up and walk with coworkers to lunch or just around the office. I don't need to be glued to my chair at work or my Macbook @ home
4. Say no to sugar --  most of the time. 

At the end of each month, I'm going to try to make a new blog post updating on how it went and what my new resolutions will be for the next month! Wish me luuuck :)

I really (don't) love juice cleanses.

Some may remember two months ago when I decided to try to lose a few pounds before Shannon's wedding (in order to fit into my bridesmaid dress...yup, that was my life) by going on a three-day juice cleanse. I posted several Instagram pictures of my juices when I first got them and a lot of people wanted to hear what I thought and how it was. 

Welp, it was horrible. It has taken me two months to write this because it's taken me two months to get over how awful it was, haha.

It seemed like an amazing idea. I love juice. I could easily drink juice nonstop for three days. I read up for weeks before trying to find the best (and the cheapest) ones based on reviews on other blogs, etc. I finally made a my pick -- the BluePrint Cleanse (Renovation). They had great packaging and the juices seemed decent. I found several awesome blog reviews of BPC, so I went for it. I spent $225.00 on 3 days of juice. 

Here's a little, mini-journal of what I went through. 

Day 1

Juice 1: Made my breath smell horrible - or so I thought. Wasn't the best way to start the day but it could have been worse. Drank it during a morning meeting so it got real warm and gross. The last few sips made me want to vom but I made it through somehow. Felt really accomplished.

Juice 2: Sounded amazing. Thought it would be one of the better ones. then I smelled it before I drank any of it and wanted to die. The first few sips are very minty...too minty. But the more I drank it the more I liked it.

After Juice 2: I was pretty alert and awake and not hungry and not wanting food immediately after. I felt kind of light and air-y and the mint taste stayed in my mouth for a bit after so when I was drinking water, it tasted really weird. After about 30 minutes of finishing, I started to feel tired and sleepy. An hour after that, things escalated quickly and I wanted real food for the first time all day. I became extremely hungry, heard a coworker making food in the microwave and thought I was going to die. At around 2:00pm I started to crave weird foods like tomato soup - the kind that they served us in our cafeteria in high school that was just water-y tomato juice. 

Juice 3: Same as juice 1 - my LEAST favorite. So yucky the second time around. It was a rough afternoon. Where's the pizza?

Juice 4: Really spicy. No joke about it being spicy lemonade. I had to drink it through a straw but that helped get it down. I still avoided it for about 45 minutes and then right before work, I just chugged it to get it down. It was not fun times.

On the way home, I felt a bit lightheaded again and kind of grumpy for the first time all day.

I got home, saw brownies on the counter, and wanted to die. 

Juice 5: As I started drinking it, I heard the ice cream truck. Never wanted ice cream so badly in my adult life. It hurt my heart. Ouch.

Juice 6: Clearly the highlight of my day. It was actually normal -- but it was chunky. I honestly thought that if the rest of my juices were like this one, I could maybe actually do it for the remainder of the cleanse. 

Day 2

Juice 1: Attempted to drink Juice 1 after waking up feeling sick to my stomach. Had one sip, almost got sick. Took a 5-minute break and came back to it. This time I tried to drink it while plugging my nose (because that's supposed to help me not taste it...right?). Couldn't do it. Went to the kitchen at work and threw it away. 

After Juice 1 (or the sip I had of it), things went downhill extremely quickly. I couldn't even think about drinking Juice 2...but I tried. 

Lunchtime rolled around and it was time for Juice 3 (same as Juice 1) again. Couldn't even look at it so I decided I just wouldn't drink any more juice that day. I wasn't going to break the cleanse, but I wasn't going to drink any of that juice either. 

Spent most of the afternoon with my head on and off my desk, looking exhausted. My lovely cubiclemates agreed that I looked pretty awful. Around 4:30, I really, honestly thought I wasn't going to make it. Decided that I was going to get a salad from Panera - just a regular ol' salad with tomatoes and cukes - nothing else. 

Got to Panera, decided I wanted a baguette too. Why not, right? Got home, ate my salad, went over to the kitchen and there were those same brownies that I saw the evening before and wanted so badly. I felt so sick to my stomach (as I did all day) but I knew that eating something more was going to feel really great. So I did it. I ate a brownie and never looked back.

So, that's that. So awful and horrible tasting that I actually gave up after 2 days and threw the rest of my juice away. I couldn't even give away. No one wanted it! Still, even two months later, I will randomly be sitting at work or in my car and I'll get a whiff of Juice 1/Juice 3 and want to gag. Forever punished.