April Recap

5 / 1 / 204 / 30 / 20

Happy May! April flew by, but it was probably my favorite month of the year so far. I say it all the time, but the weather and sunshine always affects my mood, so all the spring temps made me so happy! I hate the cold, and I think it was 60s and 70s almost every single day this month. April wasn’t super eventful (we are still in quarantine haha), but I was trying to stay motivated and productive this month instead of laying around all day, like I did some in March. There were definitely some lazy days, but I tried some fun projects, got into a new workout routine, and best of all- officially finished freshman year!

Recent Eats + Meals I Want to Try!

4 / 28 / 20

While it is a little weird living at home again, I definitely love being back with family and having my regular kitchen to cook more and make my own meals again. I love trying new recipes and yummy meals, which was definitely difficult in my dorm microwave or tiny dorm kitchen. Now that we’re in quarantine, we’ve kind of gotten into a weekly rotation of family meals and recipes, and it’s been so nice to have my mom cook for me again! I’ve also been helping with dinners and planning the meals every once in a while, and I love getting recipe recommendations. Today I’m sharing some recent quarantine eats + recipes on my to-try list!

Healthy College Grocery List + Easy Meal Ideas

1 / 13 / 20

Now that I’ve been at college for a few months now, I’ve started to get into a routine and carve out times for cooking in my dorm. It’s not exactly meal prep, but it’s always nice to have food on hand for whenever I want to heat it up or refrigerate it for later. There are three dining halls on campus that I rotate between, but they don’t always have the best options, and sometimes I don’t feel like leaving the dorm. We have a microwave and full fridge in our dorm, and then down the hall is a kitchen with a stove/oven. It definitely takes a little extra effort, but eating healthy as a college student doesn’t have to be that hard!

Focusing My Heart on Advent

12 / 5 / 19

It’s officially my favorite time of year- the holiday season. Christmas has always been my favorite season, and there’s just something about December that makes me feel so much happier and in such a good mood. Christmas trees are everywhere, jolly music is blasting through the car speakers, and gifts are perfectly wrapped with a bow. But even though there are so many great material things that go along with Christmas, it can be hard for me to keep in mind the real reason for the season- Jesus’s birth. I say it every year- I really want to focus on the Lord this year. But it’s so hard for me to stay consistent with my advent readings and focusing on my relationship with Jesus. So far this December, I’ve been trying to really focus my heart and stay calm this advent season.

Link Roundup

11 / 30 / 19

Hello from my comfy living room couch! I am finally out for Thanksgiving Break and being home makes me so happy. I ran some errands with my mom, went to the bookstore with my brother, went for a run, then the whole fam set up our Christmas tree and ate soup for dinner. Now we’re all watching Elf together- so happy! Over the past few months, I’ve collected a bunch of random websites, blog posts, and other links that I wanted to share. These are in no particular order, but enjoy!

Photo Diary No. 2

11 / 22 / 19

Hello and happy Friday! We’re so close to the end of the semester, and I seriously cannot wait. I have three more classes until I can go home for Thanksgiving break, and it couldn’t get here soon enough. It’s weird because during the week I feel like time drags by, but when I look back, the semester went by pretty fast. I’m almost done with my first semester of college, which is absolutely crazy. I want to do a full recap with more of my thoughts in a different post, but today’s post is a photo diary of some of the highlights of first semester.

Summer Recap // Life Update

9 / 7 / 199 / 6 / 19

I know it’s only been a few months, but it feels like its been forever since I last sat down to write a blog post! I was using a school computer all last year, so when I graduated, I had to return it. I’ve been computer-less all summer until last month, when I bought a new Macbook Pro for college. I didn’t realize how much I used my laptop until I was without it, and I’m so glad to be back with one. There are so many new things I want to do in the next few months, and focusing on my blog is definitely a big one. I have lots to update on from the past few months, and there are some really exciting things in the future!

Summer Bucket List

5 / 15 / 1911 / 19 / 19

It’s officially summer! I just took my last AP exam- ever- on Monday and I’m out for break! Three months of no school and sunny weather, I’m so excited. I have such a fun summer planned with a few trips at the beginning of June, but other than that, I’ll be working a lot and spending lots of time in Oxford. I really want to make the most of my last summer before college and do as many fun things as possible. I feel like last year I really took summer for granted and wasted so much time inside or on my phone, and I’m not making the same mistake this time! I browsed Pinterest and came up with a big list of everything I want to do this summer- let’s see how many I can check off!

My Recent Everyday Essentials

4 / 19 / 19

Happy Friday everyone! It’s an early weekend for me because of the Good Friday holiday, and it was nice to finish school yesterday and remember that I didn’t have school the next day. Then I found out we don’t have school Monday either, which was definitely a nice surprise! I’m super excited about this Easter weekend. Tonight my family is driving up to Clinton, where we used to live, to spend the night and visit some old friends, and hopefully Saturday we can do a little shopping. Oxford doesn’t have a Target, so any trip to a bigger town means a Target run is inevitable :). Then later on Saturday afternoon we’re going to visit family on my dad’s mom’s side for Easter, and the next day is one of my favorite holidays! I’ve always loved Easter and the traditions behind it. We do easter baskets and the morning church service, and then around lunch I think we are going to our other grandparent’s house for the annual egg hunt. You’re never too old for Easter egg hunts, right?

the good life.

3 / 21 / 193 / 20 / 19

I wrote this in the notes app on my phone on the plane home from Italy. It’s really ramble-y and personal and kind of all over the place, but it’s one of my favorite things I’ve written. Italy was such an eye opening experience. I learned so much and really grew in my faith over the week, but it wasn’t all sunshine and happy times. Italy was an experience I’ll never forget, and it made me appreciate the little things in life. Enjoy.

February Recap

3 / 1 / 193 / 3 / 19

It literally felt like I was just sitting down to write my January Recap, and here we are almost a month later with February under our belts! It’s crazy, those two extra days February is missing makes it seem like it goes by so much faster. February summed up in one word would probably be: chill. It was a really relaxed month- not a huge load of schoolwork, slow shifts at work, and lots of cozy nights at home. I didn’t get as many of my February Goals done as I’d hoped, but it just makes me more motivated for next month!

Recent Reads + Books On My To Read List

2 / 28 / 192 / 27 / 19

I’ve always loved reading; ever since I was young you could find me with my nose stuck in a book. Once I started high school I still kept reading, but much much less than I used to. It’s hard to keep up with all my classes and still make time for books, especially if they aren’t school related or required. As sad as it is, I kind of let reading slide and didn’t read near as much as I’d hoped to last year. I still loved it, but just never made time for it. One of my goals for 2019 was to read more, and I’m happy to say that I’ve stuck with it so far!

Dorm Inspiration

2 / 21 / 192 / 22 / 19

It’s so weird to think that I technically only have five more months of living at home. I graduate in May, and in August I’ll be at college living away from home for the first time ever! It’s scary, but there are also exciting parts to it-one of the biggest being that I get to decorate my dorm! I submitted my housing application a couple of weeks ago and in about a month my roommate and I find out where we’re going to live! I love home decor, and while I know dorm life won’t be that glamorous, I still have lots of ideas about how to make a tiny room more homey.

Recipes I Want to Try

1 / 30 / 192 / 22 / 19

Recently I’ve been so into looking at food blogs and instagrams to find lots of inspiration for recipes to try. I love finding new meal and snack ideas to add to my regular rotation. I eat a lot of the same meals because I love them and know I’m going to enjoy them, but I definitely want to branch out with my meal options and try new combos!