A Randition on the Importance of Breaks

For those of you who know me, you know that I seem to always be working or working on something. My mind goes at a much faster speed than I drive, and I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have at least 5 tabs open on my computer. I’m not complaining though, I like it this way. I can’t hold still, even when I’m sleeping.

I’m a pretty busy person. I’m a full-time college student. And as if that wasn’t enough, I am very active on campus with clubs and three part time jobs. I have friends and family who tell me to cut back and remove one thing and to relax more. But I can’t (and this is probably the reason I have back problems, haha). I can’t give up on any of those things – I’m no quitter! And honestly, I like being busy.

But… Life can be exhausting and overwhelming. Sometimes, we need to take some time for ourselves to unwind. Which is why I say this: Everybody needs and deserves a break. Whether it be from work, school, a person or even just life in general. Breaks are what help keep people (especially me) afloat when life is overflowing. Breaks are my “me time” where I relax.

When you’re busy, you’re productive. But sometimes we run out of energy and need to reboot. Luckily, I get a lot of breaks throughout the year while being a student. Although it was a week late on my part, I decided to join my cousin, Morgan, on her Spring Break and we headed south to visit our grandparents in Myrtle Beach.

Ahh, cousins reunited for the first time since July. I missed this girl!

While breaking, I learned a lot about how to make the most of breaks.

1. Go with the flow. I’m terrible at this. Terrible. I hate it. I like to have everything written in my planner weeks in advance. But when you’re at the beach, time doesn’t exist because you’re on “vacation time” (at least that’s what my dad always says). So whether you’re at a tropical destination or simply having a stay-cation at home, take advantage of it. Sleep in, stay up late, forget about your work and enjoy yourself.

Think like the ocean, be a wave. Go with the flow and go wherever it takes you – I hope it’s somewhere sunny and 75!

2. Take it all in. In a few days you won’t be looking at the same view, whether it is the ocean or staying inside in your pajamas all day.

3. Do something good for your soul. For me, that is laying on a beach and feeling the sun warm my body. It may not be good for my skin (I’ve got the scars to prove it) but sunshine is definitely good for the soul, as long as you put on some sun screen! 😉

4. Indulge in good food. When you’re on a break, calories don’t count! I spent a lot of time this week eating good food (and gaining 4 lbs…). Here I’ll prove to you how good it was:

McAlister’s… Like Panera, only better because they have baked potatoes! They also have the best peach tea in the world, trust me. Yum!

No trip to the south is complete without a Krispy Kreme run. Why did they ever leave my area?! I love me some donuts with sprinkles.

A power breakfast made by yours truly. My future husband will be one lucky guy ;). Seriously though, relaxing is a lot of work for a Type A personality like me, so I need some good food to get me ready to tackle a day of relaxation!

On our last night, we went to PF Changs! Morgan and I got a 2 for $40 deal and got these cute little chocolate raspberry desserts.

5. Embrace your inner child. This is easy, especially when you’re with someone who played such a big role in your childhood! It’s so fun being a “grown-up” with Morgan and talking about guys, clothes and life. But sometimes I miss playing Harry Potter in her back yard and watching old Disney princess movies (oh wait, I still do that one!)

This is how we roll… Morgan made it known that if you simply flip the picture, she’s doing a handstand too 😉

Because when I eat froyo, I embrace my 5-year-old self!

And the best picture of this trip… We went to a show at The Alabama Theater called The One. I highly recommend this show to anyone visiting Myrtle Beach no matter how old you are. They dance and sing to covers of songs from every genre and decade. During one of the country songs, one of the dancers walked through the audience, grabbed my hand and took me on stage. They handed me a guitar, a hat and told me to wing it! (I AM NOT GOOD AT THAT!) Luckily, the guitar wasn’t plugged in to anything so I just danced around and had fun. I guess those were my 15 minutes of “fame”…

6. Make memories. Between relaxing, beaching, good food and lots of laughter, this trip was just what I needed. Spending the weekend with Morgan and our grandparents was wonderful and I can’t wait to do it again!

We had such a fun time together. So much love. My heart is happy!

How do you spend your breaks?

xoxo,
Randi

What’s Up Wednesday – March Edition

I love surveys. They take me back to my Myspace days when my friends and I would spend our weekends filling them out and reading how everyone else answered the same questions. So when I saw that Kylie posted her own take on Mel’s link, I decided to join in on the fun too! Today I’m posting my March edition of what’s up with me! 🙂

What I’m eating this week:
Double chocolate muffins. 3 ingredients + chocolate chips. Does it get any better than this? The answer is no! Four days after baking them and they are still incredibly soft and the chocolate chips melt in your mouth. One of those 3 ingredients is a can of pumpkin so that almost makes these healthy, right?!

What I’m reading:
A lot. All of my classes this semester except one are writing/reading designated. Since one of my minors is Children’s Literature, that basically means I spend a ton of time reading and analyzing books for or about children. That may bore some people, but I love it! I can’t wait until summer though when I can catch up on outside of school reading! 🙂

I also spend time reading theSkimm each morning. This might be my favorite email I receive each day (besides when Loft is having a good sale!) This site is super helpful because they do the hard research for you and give you the summarized version of the news!

What I’m loving:
This weather! Although it rained yesterday and is cloudy today, the snow is finally disappearing and it is getting warmer, yay! It is so nice to be able to throw on a light jacket, rather than a winter coat, scarf and gloves. I haven’t packed up my boots or sweaters yet – but I know that time is coming and I’m so excited!

What I’ve been up to:
Reality. Being on Spring Break last week was great. I got to spend time with my family, sleep and relax. However, now I’m back to doing my normal thing… making to-do lists and crossing things off of them!

What I’m dreading: 
All of my homework assignments coming up. I don’t have much due this week, but I know that’s just because in the next few weeks I’ll have multiple tests and projects to complete.
I’m also dreading having to do laundry… I’ve only been back at school for a few days and my basket is already full!

What I’m excited about:
This weekend, my cousin Morgan and I are headed to South Carolina to visit our grandparents for a long weekend! I’m so excited to see everyone and get away for a while!
Here’s a little throwback to the last time we were there together – 4 years ago!

What I’m watching:
I’m pretty simple when it comes to TV. I love reruns of Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls. I’ve seen every episode multiple times and they never get old to me. Never. There are only a few shows I actually keep up with and they are:

Ahh, my favorites. Pretty Little Liars has officially sucked me in. In high school, all of my friends were into this show and I didn’t get it. I’d watch it and be confused. But once I finally caught up, I was addicted. I hate not knowing the answers to things, and this show keeps me interested while confusing me at the same time!
And then there’s Grey’s Anatomy… my favorite TV show. In real life, I hate anything to do with blood or needles, but when Derek Shepherd is thrown in the mix, I can handle anything. 😉 I look forward to Thursdays every week for Grey’s! If you have never seen it before, I highly recommend it. You’ll be hooked, I promise!

What I’m listening to:
Right now, I’m listening to Gilmore Girls while typing this… I told you I loved it!

What music I’m listening to: 
Andy Grammer is amazing. I haven’t heard a song of his that I don’t like. His songs just make me happy. And to top it off, this video is just adorable!
Listen and enjoy – you won’t regret it 🙂

What I’m annoyed by: 
Even though I like the warm weather and the snow being gone, that means a lot of mud. Warmer weather also means I get to wear some of my favorite shoes – flats. The only down fall is that I have to be careful not to step in mud or puddles when walking to class.

What I’m reminiscing about:
France.
Recently, some of my friends went to Paris for Spring Break with our school and it got me thinking about when I went to France in high school. I’ll be posting more about that on April 7th when I link up with Andrea to talk about my favorite vacation ever for Show and Tell Tuesdays!

What I’m looking forward to: 
Life is so exciting right now! So many fun things are coming my way – a trip to visit my grandparents/cousin, Cotillion, the Mystery Trip and my 21st birthday! More to come about all of those things 😉

What I’m thankful for: 
This week I’m extra thankful for my friends. My core group of friends at school is amazing. They’re the best type of friends: the ones you can talk to about anything, the ones who make your problems their problems and who you can have the most fun with while doing absolutely nothing. I’m blessed to have a family of friends away from home!

What I’m hoping for: 
I’m hoping that spring is here to stay! I’m hoping for no more snow, fingers crossed 🙂

What I wore today:
Every girl needs a pair of nude flats. They’re great transition shoes and if you find a comfortable pair with support that you can walk in all day, well, that’s even better! These are the ones I have and they’re the best – affordable, cute and comfy!

What else is new: 
Nothing really. And those are the best kinds of days for me. I like routine 🙂

Well, that should catch you up on my life!
What’s going on with you?

xoxo,
Randi

Friday Favorites

Ahh, Friday. Usually I’m excited when it’s Friday because then it’s finally the weekend! But this week it’s a little bittersweet because my Spring Break (aka Winter Break: Part 2) is almost over and that means back to reality…ugh.

Anyways…I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea today and sharing some of my Friday Favorites :).

1. Water Infuser

 One day when I was shopping with my friends I saw this and decided to try it out.
I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t like it, it would only be a $5 loss. (That was my justification.) And after using it just one time, I realized that this may be the best $5 I’ve ever spent at Walmart. I love water. I drink it constantly — probably a lot more than most people.
This infuser is great because you can continue choosing water (instead of other sugary drinks) but can have different flavors each time. After doing some research on different recipes, I learned that infused water has many health benefits such as speeding up your metabolism, helping with digestion, immune defense and many others! Healthy and tasty… what more could you want?!

Some of my favorite flavors that I’ve tried are:
Strawberry
Strawberry-lemon (personal favorite)
Lemon
Lime
Lemon-lime
Orange
Orange-blueberry

Have you ever tried infusing your water? What’s your favorite flavor?

2. Flavored Tea

Going along with the drink trend, another favorite of mine is flavored hot tea. I love drinking hot tea (one of the many things I’ve picked up from my mother over the years).
My Spring Break wasn’t spent laying on the beach, but rather in my bed with an awful chest cold! I drink tea regularly even when I’m healthy so I try to rotate flavors so I don’t get too bored.
Recently, I’ve been obsessing over Lipton’s Peach Mango White Tea. It’s super fruity and makes you think of summer during the dreary winter months. If you like peach or mango flavored things, definitely pick this up next time you’re at the store!

3. Hair cuts

I couldn’t agree more.
Two days ago I decided to change my life hair.
Every now and then whether it be starting a new job, entering a new school, going through a breakup or sometimes even just a change in the weather, I get the urge to change my hair. This time, I just decided it was time to try something new for myself, step out of my comfort zone and go a little shorter and a little darker.

Below is the the before picture:

And here is the after picture:

4. Glam Bag by ipsy

For the past few months, I’ve been receiving and loving my Glam Bags from ipsy. For $10 each month, every subscriber gets 4-5 sample or full size beauty products in a cute bag. This month was my favorite so far — I liked everything except for the blush! (I’m just not super into blush and the color wasn’t great on me.)
When you sign up for ipsy, you take a survey and let them know what brands you like, what you’re into, and all about your skin/hair/style/etc. This helps them cater the bag to fit your unique taste! This has really helped me step away from my beloved Clinique products, which I still love and use, and try new brands! I totally recommend this… treat yourself, ladies!

What are your favorite things this week?

See you next week 🙂
xoxo,
Randi

My First Pinterest Attempt – A 21st Birthday Gift

I am 100% one of those lucky people.

Last month, my best friend Lauren turned 21.We have been friends for literally our ENTIRE lives. If you don’t believe me, see below.

Now that’s a lot of friendship. We are even college roommates! Since we have been celebrating birthdays for a long time together, I decided I wanted to do something special for her big day. But I also knew it had to be something practical and useful for turning 21 😉

After finding a few cute and unique DIY (do it yourself) 21st birthday crafts on Pinterest such as these:

I decided to construct my own version.

Side note: I am the least crafty person I know… this was a big adventure for me (and I may or may not have had some help from my dad who knows a thing or two about constructing things 😉 ).

All of the items used in this craft can either be bought at a craft store, liquor store and Bath & Body Works.

The first thing I had to do was buy something to create the display of goodies in. I chose this cute zebra bin because I figured it could be used to store things once all the contents were used!

I also bought a foam block for the bottom of the bin, popsicle sticks, a package of pipe cleaners, glue and a bottle of glitter.

For goodies, I bought an assortment of miniature alcohol bottles and two bottles of Bath & Body Works body wash (a favorite of Lauren’s).

I also bought these two adorable cupcake decorations just because they were cute!

First step: Glue a popsicle stick to each of the mini bottles. While this was setting, I wrapped the foam block in tissue paper to make it prettier.

Second step: Twist the pipe cleaners on a pencil to “curl” them.

After doing this, begin to place the popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, and other decorations into the foam block. I also created a glittered “21” and “Happy Birthday Lauren!” sign to place in the bin.

Taadaa! A cute and practical gift for a 21st birthday!

I’d say for my first Pinterest attempt, this was a success!

Be sure to check back Friday for a few of my Friday Favorites!

xoxo,
Randi