New Year's Eve

I can't believe the end of the year is here! 2012 came and went and now it's time for 2013. Every year I say the same thing and wonder how the next year can top the past because of how great each year really is. I always like to reflect and think about the year and what I want to happen for the next year. Each year I write a personal letter to myself and like to see how much has changed along with myself.

Tonight Dan and I will be with some family friends which is A-Okay with me. I feel like New Year's Eve always puts so much pressure with people to have the best plans (including myself.) I partially blame the media and all of the movies/tv shows that show people having an epic NYE. Especially this episode from The OC. It is by far my favorite tv show and I have to watch this episode every New Years. Ahh I swoon and melt every time I hear this song!! (Excuse my cheesiness).

I hope everyone has a wonderful night tonight and enjoy your time spending it with whoever it may be. Be safe and have a Happy New Year! See yall in 2013!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

I am home for the entire week and couldn't be happier. My last day of work was this past Friday and we don't open again until the new year which is great! I love being home and have been busy doing Christmas related activities ever since.

Sunday morning I had brunch at Nick and Johnnies with some of my very best girlfriends from high school. We usually get together one night before Christmas to do a little holiday get together, but this year time got away from us so we had a bottomless mimosa brunch instead (which I didn't hate...). It was great to catch up and we all exchanged cute little gifts!

Me and my best West Palm friends :)

 

Yesterday Christmas Eve was spent between my dad and mom's side of the family. We spent the day hanging out with my mom and the evening with my dad and step mom's family. They have the tradition of having about 30 people over and it's always fun seeing all the adults and kids together. Dan and I opened a couple of gifts and then went with my mom and brother to midnight mass. It was a long evening, but definitely worth it!

 

Christmas Eve!

 

Today has been a great but fast day. As usual, we woke up way too early and opened presents with my mom and enjoyed her breakfast casserole she only cooks on Christmas morning! (Which I oppose and think she should cook all the time!)

After gifts with my mom, we headed to my dad's house to open presents with him. Dan completely shocked me and got me a Michael Kors watch that I am now obsessed with! My dad got me a beautiful saphire ring that I love, and my mom got me the best jewlrey holder that will now be holding all of my newest additions ;)

Because I couldn't just pick one picture to represent today,  I had to create this instead..

 

 

As I am feeling blessed and certainly grateful, I always make sure to stop and remember the real reason for this time of the year. Sometimes I get so stressed out and anxious about the smallest things that really don't matter, and still need to remember how grateful I really am. I have a roof over my head, a healthy family that loves me, and wonderful friends and boyfriend. I hope everyone takes the time like myself to be thankful for what they have and to truly remember the season.

 

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I'm off to enjoy dinner!



USA vs. China

This past weekend Dan and I graced my family again with our presence. Friday night we spent with my mom hanging out and decorating the Christmas tree.
Saturday was spent lounging around (which doesn’t happen often!) Saturday night Dan and I headed to Boca Raton, Florida for the Women’s USA soccer game. I have been wanting to see the women’s soccer team play in person ever since I started watching the World Cup when they played as well as when they played this year in the Olympics. I was so excited just to get to be there!

 

The game was held at FAU Stadium. Little did I know our seats were 11th row. It was awesome!

 

The women’s team ended up winning 4-1 against China. Dan and I had a great time and it was a great way to spend a Saturday night!

 

ICE, ICE Baby

 

Dan and I have been making our own Christmas traditions and decided to continue our tradition of going to ICE! at Gaylord Palms again this year.

I definitely have to say that this year’s ice sculptures were the best that I have seen from years past. The only thing I didn’t like about this year was that it seemed a lot colder than the years past. I don’t know if the coats were lighter or they were blasting colder air, but we went through everything in 10 minutes and I felt like we didn’t get the most for our money! Regardless, it was a great time and something different and fun to do!

If you’re planning to go, I recommend going during the week so that it is a lot less crowded and there aren’t as many little kids later in the night. Weekdays are cheaper too! Regardless of when you go, I definitely recommend it! Don’t forget to dress warm and enjoy the cold weather! 

St. Augustine

I hope everyone had a great weekend! These past couple of days I was in St. Augustine with Dan, my dad and step mom, as well as my step grand parents. Dan and I had been planning to go as our anniversary trip, and my dad had been planning a trip with the rest of the family so we decided to turn it into a family trip and surprise Donna! Boy was she surprised to see us! I love surprising people and see how happy they are when they get excited. She was shocked and it made my weekend.

We stayed at the 44 Spanish Street Inn. It was a great place and was in walking distance to everything. Linda was a great innkeeper and she made the best breakfast! When we go back next year, I know we’ll be staying there again.
Saturday we walked around downtown and did some shopping. All I bought were postcards with alligators on them, so I’d have to say it was a success. I love how this town sits on the bay. It was super foggy out, but it kind of gave it that wintery vibe!

Dan and me on the water!

After walking around all day, we headed back to the room for a quick nap. Before dinner we headed out to the Tiny Martini Bar that is part of the Casablanca Inn. Literally about 10 people can sit at the bar. I love it! Of course we had to get our espresso martinis at the martini bar!

After drinks we ate dinner at O.C. Whites. The food was great! I got the chicken parm and was stuffed after 2 bites. I filled up on their crab artichoke dip before hand. I couldn’t help myself, it was so good!
The best part about St. Augustine this time of year is all of the lights they have decorated with throughout the city. The town itself is already so historic and special, this time of year just seems to add something to make it even better. I love this town and can’t wait to go back and visit!
I hope everyone has had a great weekend and is ready for the work week! (I know I’m not…) I’m off to watch ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas movie: The Mistletones starring Tori Spelling. I’m obsessed with the old school 90210 so this movie is right up my alley. Have a great night everyone!

I Love Birthdays!

Today Dan and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been dating for 2 years now. It seemed like just yesterday I was meeting him and thinking I couldn’t stand the kid. Look how far we’ve come... ;)

Not only is it our anniversary, but it is also Dan’s birthday!! He made it so convenient to not just have his birthday today but to make us “official” well. Props to Dan....

Tonight I took Dan to Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. He thought it was just us but then all of his friends were there waiting to surprise him! It was great! I’m so happy that we were able to pull off the surprise and that everyone was willing to come out and celebrate.

Joe’s Crab Shack was a great place to celebrate a birthday. We were put in the “party room” so we didn’t have to worry about being too loud.The service was great and they didn’t mind us being such a big group. The best part was that they made Dan get up to sing and dance around the restaurant which was pretty funny to watch.

Now for the exciting part of birthdays.. Presents! I will be taking Dan skydiving at  SkyDive Sebastian and I am so excited he wasn’t able to figure out his gift before hand. I’m super nervous to skydive, but know he has been wanting to do this forever so it was nice to see his reaction when he opened his gift. Has anyone else sky dived before?! I’m anxious to hear how it is from anyone I can!

It’s been a long but great day and time for sleep. Until next time!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary, Dan! I love you!

Miami vs. New England

This past weekend I was in West Palm celebrating my step mom’s birthday as well as taking a Sunday trip to Miami for a football game.

Saturday night we spent at Frigates. Donna had all of her friends and family come out to basically drink (and eat...) to celebrating her birthday.

They had the best appetizer... FRIED PICKLES!

In case you have never had fried pickles, you need to find out what you’ve been missing. They are literally the best thing ever and if you dip it in ranch, it’s even better.

Besides the food being good, the atmosphere at Frigates awesome. It opens up to a large patio and an even larger outdoor bar. It looks so pretty at night that if I lived in Palm Beach Gardens, I’d definitely go there a lot more often. I can’t wait to go back there!

Sunday morning we made a trip to Miami for the Dolphins/Patriots game!

There was a group of my dad and step mom’s friends of about 40 of us and it was an awesome time. Although I find 9AM a little early to be tailgating, it was definitely worth it and so much fun. One of the guys made these amazing burgers that I can’t wait to grill for myself!

( All the recipes can be found in an e-book by a friend of mine.. Just need to find out the name of the e-book and I’ll tell you all about it.

Sadly, the Dolphins lost, but it was a great time just getting to be with everyone.

Whirlwind Weekend

 

What a whirlwind of the past couple of weeks that I have had! Let’s recap a little bit so I can get up to speed on everything. This is the last week I ever want to fall behind in blogging, so after this week, I vow to be a faithful blogger everyone can grow to know and love!

The rest of Thanksgiving break went by rather quickly. Let me highlight a couple of points:

1. Being a loyal and loving boyfriend Dan is, he went with me to see Breaking Dawn with me at  The Strand in downtown Delaware and I must say the movie was awesome!! The Strand is an old theater that shows new movies for only 4 bucks a ticket! The inside isn’t as nice as how the outside portrays itself, but it was cool to be in such an old theater that definitely has a lot of old history. In fact, it was the same theater my mom used to go to during her high school days so it’s cool to know the theater is still around.  Now back to the movie....

Breaking Dawn was incredible! It was so much better than all of the other ones and while there was a scene that was not in the book, it made the ending so much better! I was sweating the scene out, but it could have not been better. I definitely recommend seeing it. (And know you Twi-hards have probably already seen it a couple of times...). It’s sad to know that the series is over and all the Twilight hype will stop. The first movie came out while I was a freshman in college so it’s weird to know that the final movie happened the same year I graduated. Where has time gone?!

2. Dan and I left on Sunday to come back to Orlando and ended up getting delayed over 6 hours in the airport thanks to Southwest Luckily the staff was super nice and understanding. We each got a voucher for $100 to redeem for future flights so that at least helped ease the pain of being delayed for so long.

I got a new phone! You will now this girl on her Samsung Galaxy S3---

I will cherish the time I had with my Blackberry, but it was seriously time to move up in the world. The poor thing was old and dying on me all the time. Now enough about the blackberry let’s get back to my new phone! The thing is awesome. It has so many cool features and apps that my old phone didn’t have and it is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Did I mention I’m in love with the case I got from  Etsy.

These next couple of weeks are going to be crazy insane and can’t believe Christmas will be here soon!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

This Thanksgiving trip as been full of a lot of this:

And I've enjoyed every minute of it! From last weekend all the way through to the second weekend of January Dan and I will be on the go with many different activities so the fact that we are getting to just relax, spend time with family, and just hang out, it has actually been really nice. 

This morning we actually woke up to snow on the ground! Living in Florida, I rarely ever get to see snow, and even though it was barely coming down, I was more than excited to get to see it.

(Pardon my appearance, I had just woken up!)

The back porch covered in snow!

It's our last night in Ohio before heading back to the real world in Florida, so we're just hanging out with family and laying low. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Delaware, Ohio! 

For the holiday break, Dan and I flew up to Ohio on Wednesday to spend the rest of the holiday week here with my mom's side of the family. Mom flew in on Tuesday so I was happy to meet up with her. Because Dan's entire family (besides his sister) lives in England, Dan makes most of his holiday travels with me and I am always excited to have him around on the holidays. :)

Wednesday night, Alli (my cousin) and her fiance took us out on the Delaware town. Their high school has a tradition where all the old kids get together downtown just to see everyone while they're home. I think that's a pretty cool idea. We made it to Backstretch Bar and enjoyed some people watching!

Cousin and me at Backstretch!

Today has been a day of resting up for the big meal. Boy was it delicious! I am so thankful to be part of a large extended family and have great people to spend the holidays with. I am extremely lucky to be able to travel and have Dan doing these things with me. I have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Pre-Thanksgiving Meal

Helping Mom in the kitchen

Desserts... Yum!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat, love, and laugh a lot! <3

Getting My Zumba On

 

Photo Credit: Here

I hope everyone is off to a great week so far! I’m happy that it’s Wednesday and that I’ve made it through the second half of the week at my new job. So far I really like the job I’m doing and the people that I work with. Still, the biggest adjustment is working every day and not getting home until the early evening.

With that said, I’ve been having some issues getting to the gym after I get home to work. I feel like I have to literally drag myself to get there. Well, last night I decided to take a Zumba class and LOVED it! I had the best instructor when I went to UCF and Zumba-ed all the time. I even lost 20 pounds and 2 pant sizes from it, so needless to say I’m a big Zumba advocate. There is something about the upbeat music and dancing that not only puts me in a good mood but gives me a great workout. I have been searching high and low for a good Zumba class that really gets me moving and sweating and haven’t had much luck until last night. Needless to say I’ll be going back to that class to get my Zumba on. Now I just wish I could be able to have Zumba class everyday!

I’m thinking about possibly getting the Zumba game for Wii. Does anyone have it?? I’d love to know what they thought about it!

We’re almost to the weekend, everyone! Enjoy the rest of your evening. This girl is ready to relax!

Scott’s Corn Maze Adventure

 

I have been wanting to do this activity forever. Finally my dreams came true when my mom, Dan, and I headed over to Scott’s Corn Maze out in Mount Dora!

The weather was cool but warm with the sun, so we spent a good two hours walking around and actually going through the corn maze! They had multiple corn mazes, but one big one that if you flew over head, made a cool picture.

The place was definitely great for a  family outing. They had a hay ride, face painting, fishing, slides, and many other fun fall activities to do as well as a market to shop in!

Tickets are only $11 for the corn maze and you can buy add-ons for just a little more. It is definitely worth your money and makes for a fun weekend activity!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

 

I have made it through my first week of work! I am so proud of my self and so happy that the weekend is here. I really do like my new job, but it is still a big adjustment in getting used to working every day and until the early evening. I’m hoping I’ll adapt soon!

After work on Friday night, I met up with my mom and Dan and we headed down to Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The event was sold out (which means about 25-30,000 people were in the park). It was very cute and met my expectations, but not going to lie… the Halloween party was definitely better!

Main Street was lit up and all decorated. As we walked down the (very crowded) street, it was snowing and it felt so cozy because it was actually a little chilly outside!

How beautiful does the castle look??

The best thing about the parties is how un-crowded it is. We got to ride all of the major attractions and see all of the parades and fireworks without any problem! They also gave out countless cookies and amazing hot chocolate all throughout the park.

In line for Peter Pan.. with our cookies of course!

My mom and me in front of the castle!

Underneath that North Face jacket was this cute sweater that I’m obsessed with! It’s from Kohl’s and part of the Lauren Conrad collection!

 

Some Tips:

- Get there as early at ya can. That way you can ride everything more than once and actually enjoy everything without being in a time crunch to do everything.

- Watch the later parade. Families tend to watch the earlier parade and leave after the fireworks. There is a parade after the 9:30 fireworks that opens up a lot of space allowing for better viewing.

-When everyone goes right off on Main Street, go left and start in Adventure land! No one is over there and you get to ride some of the major rides first!

- Go on a week day. It is a lot less crowded than a weekend and makes for better viewing. Yes you’ll be up late but it’s worth it!

Still Interested in going? Click here to buy tickets. It is definitely worth the $60 bucks and will definitely get you into the holiday spirit.

Big Girl World

 

Good evening everyone!

Yesterday I had every intention of posting on here when I got home last night, but after the day that I had, I didn’t even want to get on a computer. Yesterday was my first day of work in the big girl world! It is my first full time job meaning I work Monday-Friday all day and into the evening. Before that, I just had a part time job and babysat to make some money while trying to find a new job!

Boy has my world changed. I have this issue called trying to be a perfectionist. I want to do the best job possible and want everyone to give me rave reviews. Well, I have to come realize that that is not going to happen, especially day 2 into working, but I still continue to stress myself out about it all day and even when I come home from work. So far, I really like my new job, but I wish I could stay at home and just blog and pin things on Pinterest all day! (Hey, a girl can dream right??)

It’s safe to say that it is going to take some time getting used to all of this, but it is nice to know that I have friends who have been in the same position as me at one point or another and a lot of other people who are being supportive. I’d like to know if anyone else out there has had the same issues as me? Feel free to share! And by the way… Is it the weekend yet??

Me on my first day of work!

Dress/Blazer: Forever 21. Flats: Tory Burch. Watch: Target. Coffee Mug: TJMaxx

U…C…F… Knights!

 

Yesterday afternoon I headed over to UCF to tailgate for the Homecoming game. It was great to see old friends and I am always up for a fun tailgate! It was definitely weird to see the little freshman and all of the other college kids wandering around Memory Mall. I can remember the days well and even though I just graduated in May, a part of me was nostalgic and made me want to be back in college living those carefree days. While I am still a Grad Student at UCF, it is a totally different experience because most of my classes are online and I am working every day of the week as opposed to my two day class schedule like I used to have!

For those of you who are still in college and itching to just graduate and be done with school, I encourage you to take the time and enjoy what you have for the time being, because once you graduate, you can’t go back and relive those nights of doing absolutely ridiculous things (And you know everyone has had a few of those!) Enjoy college while you can, because it can’t last forever.

Silly boys playing with my camera!

Me and my college bestie/roommate!

This ole couple met at UCF!

Memory Mall!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I’m enjoying relaxing for the rest of the day preparing for my first day of big girl work tomorrow!