Back to the Classic City

UGA vs. USC

Taking time to snap a pic during a time out

Night 1

Night 2

Me + my best friend Naomi

This weekend I headed back to Athens to attend the first home football game of my college alma mater. To say the I had a good time is an understatement. I spent time eating at some of my favorite Athens-based restaurants and going to bars downtown. A big highlight of the weekend of course was when we won against USC, 41 to 30!

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Care to make the delicious cookies pictured below? Read on to find out how! 

Ahh Pinterest. You never cease to inspire when it comes to my next baking venture. Recently, cookies of all kinds have been popping up on my feed and I couldn't resist the temptation any longer. The cookie of choice: Oatmeal Cranberry cookies. I'm not much of a fan of raisins and the cranberries add a nice twist to the traditional cookie. Caution: this recipe makes over 2 dozen cookies, so be sure to share (although that is easier said than done)! You can find the full recipe at the bottom. 

Here's what you'll need.

This is what the mixture should look like when all the ingredients are added.

This is just 1 tray of cookies, but the recipe makes at least 2 dozen.

The finished product!

Full Recipe

Ingredients:
     1/2 cup (1 stick) & 6 tbsp butter, softened
     3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
     1/2 cup sugar
     2 eggs
     1 tsp vanilla
     1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
     1 tsp baking soda
     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
     3 cups old-fashioned oats
     1 cup dried cranberries (sweetened)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat butter & sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until             creamy
2) Add eggs & vanilla; beat well
3) Add flour, baking soda, & cinnamon; mix well
4) Add oats & cranberries; mix well
5) Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets
6) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown *tip: take out once the bottoms of cookies are a golden           brown; otherwise, they are likely to burn*
7) Enjoy!

Monochrome: Green

The weather lately has hit record-breaking lows. It has been ridiculously cold these past few days in August. So none the less, when the sun finally came out today, I was eager to go out and enjoy the weather (even if id did eventually rain). Today I decided to go for a more monochromatic look and the color of choice: green. I grabbed a dark green pair of shorts that I rarely wear & decided to pair it with one of my favorite tops, a bright green, sleeveless button up. I added a braided white belt to add a little contrast and white & silver sandals to finish off the look.

Shirt: Forever 21
Shorts: Papaya

Packing for a mini vacay

 

My family decided to take a short trip to Hilton Head, SC. We use to go all the time when I was younger and decided this was the year to go back. So we booked a place & headed out this morning. I am notorious for over-packing, but this time I was determined to avoid the unnecessary load. I packed something to wear for our shopping day, to the beach, dinner, an outfit for the ride back, and an extra top just in case. Hopefully my minimalist packing didn't cause me to forget anything!

Dinner + a movie

 

Today my family decided to take in dinner and a movie. My mom had been talking about seeing the new movie Fruitvale Station, so we decided to give it a try. While the movie was good and thought-provoking, it's ending was rather sad. But perhaps that's what made the movie so good? It's brutal honesty and depiction of a true-life event did not give way to a happy ending, but rather the harsh and sad reality. Afterwards, we decided to eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Toki. 

I chose to wear one of my more recent purchases. The dress was one item I found during my bargain-hunting spree. I chose to add a black belt to add a bit more structure/waist-definition to the look. To compliment the red in the dress, I added a red, coral necklace. To finish off the look, I slipped on a pair of simple, black sandals. 

Dress: Marshall's 

Necklace: Pink & Blue 

Graduation: Part Cinq

The beautiful graduate!

After 4 graduations, including 3 cousins, an aunt, and my own, it was time for the final Spring/Summer commencement. This final honor goes to one of my closest cousins, Latoya. Her graduation from college was filled with just as much joy and excitement as all of the others. To say we were proud is an understatement; especially considering the fact that she did it while raising her child. The ceremony was a little hectic, but we cheered as loud as we could when she crossed that stage. Afterwards, family and friends gathered for dinner to continue the celebration. 

The Georgia weather has, of course, been extremely hot lately making it perfect dress weather. The spaghetti straps and flowy material made the weather much more bearable. I slipped on my favorite summer heels and added gold bangle bracelets to accessorize. 

Dress: Charming Charlie

Bracelets: Charming Charlie

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Father's Day

 

I wanted to start this post with a sweet quote or poem about fathers, but couldn't find one good enough to summarize my dad. He is the greatest man I have ever known and there is no way I would be the woman I am today without him. His hard work, determination, and selflessness has made it possible for my family to have everything we need and then some. It was just a couple of years ago I found myself talking to a group of friends. It was just days before father's day and we were all commenting on our own fathers. Talking to them and listening to the negative experiences of their fathers made me realize just how truly blessed I am to have a dad like mine. Whenever I have felt down or discouraged, he has always pushed me to stand up and follow my dreams. I have no idea what the future has in store for me, but I am grateful for the dad I have to remind me that there is a future and it is as bright as ever.     

Graduation: Part Quatre

Me + the graduate!

So it's that time yet again: time for another graduation. This time, we traveled to Charlotte, NC to celebrate another cousin's high school commencement. The ceremony was extremely organized and well put together; definitely more so than my high school graduation lol. It wasrather lengthy, but was enjoyable none the less to see him walk across the stage. 

Because I knew I would have to ride in the car for 2.5 to 3 hours, I knew I wanted to wear something comfortable. I also took into account the fact that temperatures were to reach the mid 90s! I looked through my latest purchases and taking the ride & weather into account, chose a very comfortable, flowy dress. To finish the outfit, I chose to wear my favorite pair of summer heels that matched the skinny belt that came with the dress. 

Dress: Charming Charlie

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Bargain shopping {+ a few splurges}

We've all been there. You look in your closet (often overflowing with clothes). From left to right and top to bottom, you look at every item you own and come to the conclusion(s): I have nothing to wear/I hate everything I own. Well this certainly sums up how I have been feeling lately about my wardrobe. Getting dressed would take sooo long because I felt like hardly any of my clothes were "up to par." Finally fed up with going through the same motions with the same negative conclusions, I decided to do something about it. Today I decided to go shopping and re-vamp my closet. Because of my need to get several pieces of clothing on a relatively tight budget, I opted to try my luck at a few bargain stores. I went to TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and even Ross in search of new items to add to my closet. Usually, I don't shop at these type of stores because I found it so time consuming and the stores often felt disorganized. However, I actually enjoyed myself! I didn't mind looking from rack to rack and was able to find several pieces that I love and for great prices.

Afterwards, I remembered I was low on makeup and decided to head over to the mall to pick up my favorite MAC compact foundation (here). While there, I couldn't resist stopping by Forever 21 and bought a couple items. Also, my mall recently opened a Charming Charlie store. If you are unaware, it is a color-coordinated store filled with wonderful accessories and cute clothing items. I saw a couple of dresses that I couldn't resist purchasing and even a couple of jewelry pieces.

In total I got: 3 shirts, 5 dresses, 2 skirts, 1 blazer, 1 necklace, & 1 set of bracelets. A great day shopping indeed!

Casual Chic: Orange + Black + Gold

I enjoy birthdays; whether it's mine or someone close to me, they are always a good time. Today we celebrated a cousin's 25th birthday. She wanted something pretty casual so she had a small kick back at her apartment. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Time was spent at the pool and then we played volleyball. Because it was so casual I just slipped on my favorite jean shorts (the same ones you've seen before), a bright orange top, and my signature pair of black sandals. To keep the outfit from being too plain, I opted to add a black & gold necklace and ring. 

Shirt: Forever 21

Shorts: Forever 21

Jewelry: Forever 21

Graduation: Part Trois

Me + the graduate!

So I wasn't joking about the large number of 2013 graduates in my family. You've already seen my graduation from college (here) and 2 cousins' graduation from high school (here); and now we've made it to the half-way mark of so many commencements. The woman of the hour was my aunt who graduated with an Accounting degree; which is actually a common major in my family. In support, my mom, dad, sister, a few aunts, an uncle, several cousins, and myself all met up in Atlanta to attend this important event. The ceremony was held at a beautiful church (that I wish I had taken pictures of!) and included an excellent solo rendition of an inspirational song. Afterwards, the whole family went out to eat at a nearby restaurant where all the fun and celebrating continued. One positive thing I can definitely say about all these graduations is that do bring the whole family together and that's always a good time. :-)

For my outfit, I wanted to wear something bright and comfortable. The skirt I chose, a pink bodycon, was something I got last summer and never wore. I paired it with one of my favorite floral blouses . I added a skinny brown belt for a little detail and comfortable silver sandals.

Top: Forever 21
Skirt: Papaya
Belt: borrowed from my sister

Happy Birthday Mom!

Me + my mom :-)

May 30th, the day the most important woman in my life was born: my mom. To have such a short post about her birthday just doesn't seem right. In all honesty, I could have an entire blog about my mom and all the reasons why she's so great, but that would be a bit ridiculous. lol. She never asks for anything elaborate, or anything at all for that matter, so for her birthday, per her request, I did something simple. I decided against the usual birthday cake & instead surprised her with one of her favorite desserts: peach cobbler (see recipe here). Of course she was very pleasantly surprised. One thing she does like to do is for the whole family to go out to eat to celebrate her birthday. This year my mom chose P.F. Chang's. I was certainly glad about this decision because P.F. Chang's is actually one of my favorite restaurants too! My mom, dad, sister, 2 cousins, and I all met up to enjoy the delicious Chinese food P.F. Chang's has to offer. We had a lovely evening and my mom assured us that she had a great time.

"It's Arrested Development"

"Now the story of a family who's future was abruptly cancelled.......it's...... Arrested Development." This Memorial Day, my day did not consist of the usual barbecues and lake activities. Instead, I spent quite a bit of time watching season 4 of Arrested Development. To say that I am glad the show, which was certainly cancelled prematurely, has returned is an understatement. I was not able to watch it yesterday when it debuted on Netflix; so today I decided to use my free time to enjoy the binge watching that Netflix allows & encourages. I had watched 5 episodes before some family came over and I had to put the show on hold.

Of the episodes I watched, I noticed that season 4 takes a slightly different angle than the first 3 seasons. For example, each episode centers around 1 character and catches you up on what they have been doing since 2006's cancellation. In fact, some episodes only show a handful of the main charters in the episode. This season is also packed with "star power." Several prominent actors make cameos throughout the episodes. None the less, the episodes I've watched have been just as enjoyable as the first 3 seasons and I'm eager to continue watching. :-)

Graduation: Part Deux

Me & 2 of my beautiful cousins on their graduation day!

Graduation season is in full swing. Other than my graduation, several other family members are also c/o 2013; whether it be from high school or college. The first of many of these commencements was two of my cousins graduating from my old high school. It was such a sense of nostalgia to see them walk across that stage. I mean, it's hard to believe that it was just 4 years ago that I was in their shoes. Boy does time fly!

Later that night, me and a few friends went to see The Great Gatsby. Now, I did read it in high school and remembered certain parts, but there was certainly enough gaps in my mind to enjoy the movie and watch in anticipation for what would happen next. I read reviews saying the movie was quite over the top with the huge parties & mansions; that was certainly the truth! lol. All in all, I enjoyed the movie & would definitely recommend it.

For my outfit, I chose to wear something new. Lately I've been feeling like "I hate everything I own/I have nothing to wear" so a trip to the mall seemed necessary. I found this dress and necklace from the same store. I love how comfortable and light the dress is and the orange pattern. Because I love the color gold (see here), I chose a blue/green & gold necklace to add a bit of contrast. I chose my white sandal, platform shoes to wrap up the outfit. 

Dress: Pink & Blue 

Necklace: Pink & Blue 

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

All Gold Everything

Please excuse the nails! I'll get them done/paint them in the very near future lol.

I've come to the realization that I have really become a fan of the color gold. It's surprising, because in the past, out of the two metals gold and silver, I always thought I preferred silver. Perhaps it's because gold compliments my skin tone better? None the less, today's outfit included this new fave tone. I planned to wear pants initially, but the hot Georgia weather quickly eliminated that option. Instead, I grabbed a skirt I got a while back and wore a white crop top. I added a black & gold necklace & ring to accessorize and concluded the outfit with my fave black sandals.

Entire outfit: Forever 21 :-)

Best Peach Cobbler Ever

Ok, so the title may be a bit over-zealous, but this peach cobbler really is delicious! My dad asked me to make it a couple of days ago and I just simply forgot. So to surprise him, I had one made by the time he got home from work. You can find the full recipe at the bottom.

Here's what you'll need:

Now go ahead & preheat the oven to 350F. 

Next, mix up all the dry ingredients. 

And add the milk & corn syrup from the peaches to the dry ingredients. 

Now, add the butter & then peaches to the casserole dish. 

Next, pour the batter over the butter & peaches. Then, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. 

Place the dish in the oven for 45min to 1hr or until crust is golden brown. It should look a little like this:

Lastly, enjoy!

Yuuuummmm!

Full Recipe

Ingredients:
     1 stick butter
     1 cup sugar
     1 cup flour (I recommend self-rising, all purpose will work just fine)
     1.5 tsp baking powder
     3/4 cup milk
     1 can (29oz) sliced peaches in corn syrup
     1 tsp cinnamon sugar ( of course you can just manually mix cinnamon & sugar)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F & melt butter
2) Separate peaches from the corn syrup *Optional - cut peach slices into smaller pieces*
3) Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl
4) Stir in milk & corn syrup from the peaches to the dry ingredients
5) Put melted butter & peaches in casserole dish
6) Pour batter over the top of butter & peaches in the casserole dish
7) Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of mixture
8) Bake in oven for 45min - 1hr or until crust is golden brown
9) Enjoy!

Top 5: Makeup Edition

 

My makeup collection is quite extensive: from lipsticks to eye shadows to mascaras. However, there always seems to be a few items I tend to use way more than the rest.These are my top 5 items in my makeup bag.

1) Compact Foundation: MAC Studio Tech NC50 

2) Eye Shadow: MAC All That Glitters 

3) Lipstick: MAC Ruby Woo 

4) Powder Foundation: Mary Kay Bronze 2 

5) Mascara: Maybelline Colossal Volume Express 

What are some of your favorites?

Shine bright shine far: Metallic Summer Trend

Metallics are everywhere this season. From clothing to accessories, you can't seem to escape this mind dazzling look. This time around, however, we are in for a special treat. Metallics are now featured with a futuristic twist through holographic/mirror colored metallics. There are many ways to pull of this look, but here are a few tips:

1)Pair metallics with neutrals. They make enough of a statement on their own; so keep everything else simple
2)If wearing metallic clothing, keep accessories to a minimum.
3)If you're feeling a little hesitant about wearing metallics, try a metallic print like brocade. This is a great way
   to wear the trend without feeling over-the-top.

Wearing metallic clothing or accessories is an excellent way to mimic the bright, sunny weather of summer. Just play around with it & have fun!

What do you think about this trend?