The beginning of the end...

I see the end is coming to an end for my time in Gainesville. I have been trying to do a lot of fun activities while I'm here and want to make sure I check off everything I have wanted to do before I leave. Last weekend we went to the Watermelon Festival in Newberry,FL and followed that with a trip to Alachua,FL to pick fresh strawberries. Below are some pictures from the super fun day! Can't wait to share more of these last couple months in the Gator Nation.

They had free slices...yum!

Petting zoo. Couldn't help myself...so cute!
Fun friends.
It was so juicy! :)

There were SO many...

Now onto the strawberry farm...it was awesome.

Excited about my goods!

All the girls with their yummies.....
I love festivals like this one and can't wait to see what the summer has waiting for me!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Sundresses

Ok, I couldn't skip wordless Wednesday. Plus I'm over reading today :)

Today is all about sundresses!!

And also all about staying on a budget!

Belted Dress

Bow Dress

Stripes

Pink Dress

What's your favorite look for summer?

Teacher gone mad...

seems like all i do is read, sleep, church. with the occational reading by the pool, which mind you is NOT relaxing, that is all i do. life has been consumed with grad school classes and the heavy load that goes along with them. i just wanted to write really quick to say, i love to blog and can't wait to cut out an hour each day to blog. i miss it so much and can't wait to share some fun ideas with y'all. here's to a summer of books and tans. enjoy!

Happy Summer Y'all!

Monday Munchies...

Today I'm going to share something a little weird with you. It's called Eggs-n-Oats. I got the recipe from Rachel Mac and was definitely afraid at first. It is a great breakfast for someone trying to get in a lot of protein and carbs earlier in the day. It keeps me full for hours and I simply love making it sweet with a dash of brown sugar! :)

You will need:
2 egg white
1 egg
1/2 cut old fashioned oats
dash of brown sugar
splash of skim milk
cook like scrambled eggs:

I added sliced apples to mine and yum yum yum!!

Under 300 calories and yummy to the max!

Have you ever heard of this?

Do you like it? Would you try it?

reflect

reflection can be such an interesting concept. it can be reflecting on good or bad, or both. today was a serious time of reflection for me. i met a friend for coffee and ended up meeting up with some other friends that i hadn't seen in a long time. it was interesting for me to think about how long it had been since i had seen them and also who i was then and who i am now. it took a lot out of me thinking about life in general and several hours after this luncheon, during which i studied like crazy for a quiz and totally bombed then sat in class for five long hours, i began reflecting on a lot.

who am i? what kind of person do i want to be? will i ever get married? (i happened to run into a sweet couple that is getting married next month while at this luncheon) what do i wanna do when i graduate? where do i wanna move? honestly, i could go on forever. if you know me in real life, you know my thoughts can go on and on. this time of reflection, obviously led into a time of looking to the future. i began skyping with my father, after i realized i really needed someone to listen to me. you see my dad is one awesome dude and will listen to anything i have to say. sometimes he comments, but usually he knows better and just listens to me. he is very fatherly in his reactions, "don't stray from your roots"/"the right one will come along"/"don't rush anything"/"enjoy life"/"always thank the Lord for everything you have." He can go on forever, must run in the family. anyways, my main point is that it is good to reflect, it is good to be reminded of where you came from. and often times, it's good to be reminded of where you should be.

took this picture on a retreat with campus crusade for Christ in 2009

i was reading along and thought, this is beautiful...this is perfect.

so simple.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Gator football starts in 135 days.

Just a look back at last season.

I'm gonna miss this.

It's great to be a Florida Gator

Now Trending: Shellac

If you saw this a year ago or still haven't even heard of it, you HAVE to try it. It's called shellac and it's a modified manicure for ladies that actually use their hands and don't just sit and look pretty. I got my first set of shellac while I was home for a short break before summer classes. I am obsessed with french manicures, so it was an easy choice. If you are unfamiliar with the process...here goes:

Pre-Shellac Nails

This is where the polish "bakes" onto your nails. Similar to an Easy Bake Oven.
This is my nail lady Jenny, I love her and have been going to her for almost 8 years! Ah!

There are my nails, baking away!

The after! It's supposed to last 2 weeks guaranteed and some say longer!
So crisp and clean!

Here's the breakdown: the second day one chipped. i went back and they fixed it. (fo free duh!) then over the first week, they pretty much all chipped and to my surprise, by the time i hit the 2 weeks it was all off. i now have clear over them to keep them strong, but next time i might try just a color. i have hear SO many great things, and I was very happy when i first got them done. overall, disappointed in the outcome for the amount of mola i dropped. oh well! it was worth the experience!

Have you ever had shellac? Love it? Hate it?

Where to move? Part 1: Nashville

I guess I can put off thinking about the "real world" as long as I want, but eventually I am going to need to join it. I will be finishing my masters this December and I have started looking into places I would enjoy living. Many and by many I mean every city in the world, has crossed my mind. But today I was watching Country Strong today with a friend and just fell in love with Nashville all over again. With good country bars like The Stage...

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And interesting architecture like the Parthenon:

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This city is amazing!

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I like it because it's Southern (duh!).

I like it because I felt welcome.

I like it because there is SO much history there.

I like it because I love country music.

I like it because the weather is beautiful.

I like it because I could see myself having a family there.

I like it because it's still on the East "coast".

I like it because I could sing at random places and people would still cheer.

I just love Nashville. Below are pictures from my own trip there, it was obviously cold.

My bestie and I went for the Vanderbilt game and to visit a friend of ours that is in Law School there! It was the trip of a lifetime, I can't wait to go back!

So many cities to choose from...

Yummies...

This foodie has been trying to eat healthier. Spending an entire semester sans gym and all about food hasn't led to a bathing suit body. I'm kinda weird about certain foods (ie I'm super picky) and don't like a lot of "healthy" foods. I have been trying all kinds of low cal recipes and working on eating a lot earlier in the day and less later on. Smaller and smaller portions throughout the day. Well this evening was time for a recipe that a lot of my close friends have been recommending...mashed cauliflower. Cauliflower and I have not been friends since I was a kid. I always found it repulsive. I put my mind to it and decided I was going to like it, without smothering it in "something fatty." This is how I prepared it...

1 head of cauliflower:

chop it so it's just the florets and throw in bowling water with garlic and regular salt:

I boiled it for about 20 minutes, this made it VERY soft. I crumbled it with a fork:

Then got out my masher and mashed it like potatoes. I added organic fat free milk, 2 scoops of plain Greek yogurt and garlic salt, pepper and regular salt:

It was SO yummy!!:

I paired a fist sized portion of the caulimash with steamed broc and seared chicken, both about the size of my fist as well! (ps, that's a great regulation for portions, esp while eating out!)

Have you ever had mashed cauliflower? Do you like it? What do you put in yours?

Flatten Me...

I'm a heel fanatic, but this summer I'm really diggin the flat sandals trend. I'm 5'9'' flat footed and usually in heels I'm pushing 6 foot. It feels good to rock some flats sometimes. Today I was looking at Nordstrom online and found some fab flat sandals! (some at great prices too!)

Which one is your favorite?

Black Flats

Gold Flats

Red Flats

White Flats