#100HappyDays

So I have a confession to make. The amount of girly, fashion blogs that I follow is a little obscene. I have my favorite blogs of course, but I follow a number of them and check them ALL on my Bloglovin app every morning when I wake up. 

Recently, I've been reading Kaylee-Daily.com and seeing her #100HappyDays posts on Instagram. Well, being the curious human I am, I decided I wanted to know what all the fuss was about and I googled. 

Wellp, I was sold when I read the challenge description and decided that I'll start tomorrow with the first of the month. I've already invited all my girlfriends to try it too. You can join me by clicking the link here:

http://100happydays.com/#go 

I'm really excited to seek out happiness in each and every day and can't wait to document those little moments that made me smile. 

Cheers to ONE HUNDRED days of Happiness. And hopefully many more. 

That Time I Decided to Become a Wine-O

Well, not really. Although I do have a newfound appreciation for wine. 

ANYWAY, last Sunday, my mom got some tickets to a local wine tasting event up in the Pleasant Valley and I got to bring a few of my girlfriends with me. We had a great time trying different wines and spending time together which happens very rarely since we're spread all over the state right now. 

We hit five different wineries and tried endless glasses but in the end, I came home with a new bottle of Chardonnay (which I didn't think I liked at all) and some of the most delicious olive oil I've ever tasted in my life. Once I move later this summer, I will most certainly be breaking that out to cook with :)

Long story short, I really haven't had a day that good in a long time and I think the girls and I decided that we're going to try to get together to hit up one of the events that our favorite winery does during the summer. If we do, trust me, there will be pictures. 

Here are a few of the pictures from Sunday. Obviously, they're from someone else's phone because mine just hates me. 

Finally Graduating from College

Does anyone else remember the scene in Stuart Little when George (who was Jonathan Lipnicki back when he was little and cute) comes running downstairs yelling, "It's today! It's today!", excited by the prospect of his new sibling? That was my exact feeling on graduation day last week. After five years of school, which had a good measure of drama and nonsense squeezed in there amid work and school obligations, the phrase, "I'm done" has never felt quite as real as it did on the day I graduated from school.

Mind you, I was never a school kind of person, anyway. I love knowing things, I love learning, but I hate doing it in a classroom. I will read till the cows come home and camp out in front of the History Channel for an entire afternoon (anyone else psyched about the World War special they've had on all weekend? You know I was watching it!), but the second it becomes about a class, I'm over it. I've always been that way. My mother, my professors and my friends have been bemoaning my "laziness" for years. "You have so much potential, you just don't apply yourself." Blah ,blah, blah. Whatever man, I'm a graduate now!

My best friend came up from the Bay Area to watch me graduate, and then left immediately after because he had a wedding to be at...old people responsibilities. And the rest of us went to happy hour at a local sushi restaurant, which is pictured below after my aunts/uncles had a bit too much.

The ceremony itself was awful. I hate crowds, I hate being hot, and I hate sitting for long periods of time listening to other people talk. Or, in a word, commencement. But, me, and my family actually, all knew that it was something we had to do, so we made it through it. Either way, I never have to go back to school again!

Here are some pictures from the day, because of course, I had my phone with me to take pictures while I was sitting, being bored.

Glad I could share the experience with my family and friends. It was a great weekend and I'm ready to start the rest of my life now ;)

Slight Hiatus and Some Changes

Well guys, I finally did it. I graduate from college in TWO DAYS! Just TWO. I'm decorating my cap as we speak in finishing up some online activities for literally the worst class ever right now. And then it is all over. I start a big girl job and a big girl schedule...although where that job will be is a bit up in the air right now since I had a great first interview on Monday with a followup for next Wednesday and a whole lot of other lines out there, trying to get a bite. HOPEFULLY within the next month, I'll be posting great news that I have a new job and be over the moon about it.

Anyway, as far as graduation is concerned, I will most likely have one big super post up on Monday night. Unfortunately, I don't get Monday off at my job so after a weekend of graduation-related debauchery, I will be headed straight back to my job :/

Also, I'm planning to change a bunch of things about this blog now that I have less stress without school in the picture. This blog was originally intended to be about my last year in college, but unfortunately, my last year in college got in the way of the blog instead. So, now that school is over, I will definitely be posting more, creating new content and changing the name as well. Look forward to it, it's gonna be GREAT!

Dreaming of Punta Cana

Hey guys, I know I promised to have this up days ago...but I just started a new job, I'm still at my internship and school is wrapping up which means I have an unbelievable amount of stuff going on right now. 

In fact, I'm literally tapping this out on my iphone in my car on my lunch break at work. That's how sad my life is right now, compared to literally a week ago when I was in the Dominican Republic. How the mighty have fallen. 

Anyway, on to tales of far off lands. So I'm not sure if I told you guys that I was even going to the Dominican and if so, for why. So we shall start there. My mom is a Pampered Chef consultant. Each year they earn incentive trips based on points earned for sales and recruiting. This year's trip was to the Dominican Republic. 

As we all know, and I am growing painfully more aware of as the days tick by, I graduate in a little over a month. And as my mom (who doesn't really travel well) is hemming and hawing over whether or not she wants to go, I chime in with, "Uh, maybe take the kid who is graduating from college this year and hasn't gotten to go on one of these trips yet."

And just like that, I was in. So we left two weeks ago today and flew to Miami where we spent the night before flying into Punta Cana on Saturday morning. 

As usual, the flights sucked, I got stuck in the middle seat, blah blah blah. But once we landed, I was in love.

The airport is thatched. Yes, thatched. Or at least the roof is. And even though it's hotter than anything California kids like me are used to, there are fans everywhere and music and friendly ass people greeting you. 

See, wasn't lying. THATCHED ROOF! How awesomely tropical is that?!

The bus trip to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Resort (where we stayed) is about a half hour through Punta Cana. Not too bad, not too much to see, really skinny roads and a lot of people on Vespas. 

The resort itself is absolutely gorgeous. I think it's 121 acres or so of gorgeously manicured grounds and beautiful, airy buildings. Plus 7 pools and direct beach access. 

Needless to say, because it was all inclusive, we didn't leave. But then again, I can't see why you would anyway with a property that gorgeous. 

What I actually did on the trip wasn't all that fascinating. I was on vacation, I didn't do much. I slept in, ate whenever I felt compelled to do so, lounged by the pool, went to the beach, and went out every night to the two bars they have in the hotel. 

I think what really struck me the most was just how relaxed and happy I was there. If you know me, you definitely know that those are not words that I toss around lightly. I'm a stress case and spend a good deal of time pretty irritated at school or work. While I'm workin on having a life, it's not really likely with a 40 hour work week and a full school schedule. 

Anyway, I'm just going to shut up and let you look at the pictures. Don't mind my makeuplessness. Let's be real, it was too damn hot there to bother. Enjoy! 

I'm pretty sure that no one reads this blog...

...but I will be putting up a travel post about my trip to Punta Cana tomorrow at some point. If you're a human and actually read this, be sure to check it out.

I've been thinking...

...see, I follow Jessie James Decker's friend and makeup artist, Jessica on Instagram and today, she posted an image lamenting the dating prospects of the modern woman living in Los Angeles. Scrolling through the comments, I saw woman after woman confirm that it isn't just LA, it's everywhere. And I thought to myself, Didn't I just watch this episode of Sex and the City yesterday? Didn't Carrie Bradshaw at one point write a column asking where all the good men had gone?

Here we are, a decade after that show began, watching reruns of it on E! and Style and yet somehow, we're still dealing with the same ponderous issues as Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. And why? How is it that despite making infinite societal advances in the last ten years, strong, independent women are still wondering why in the hell there are no good men out there in the world?

Is it just that we're living longer and men already mature later as it is so they have adopted the attitude that they don't really need to be grownups until they hit their 40's?

What is it that has those of us in our 20's and 30's and looking to date meeting this perpetual string of douchebags, players and manchildren? And where are they keeping those select few gems that our girlfriends meet randomly and end up marrying?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm 22 years old and about to graduate from college. I'm fully aware of what other girls my age are like. I'm not saying I'm somehow better or anything, but I certainly have a different set of priorities than a significant number of my peers. So how is it that despite not going out and being that girl every night, I still can't meet a decent human being of the male persuasion? And how is it that all of those women commenting on Jessica's photo can't either?

To quote Jack Johnson, where'd all the good people go?

Now that I've finally finished the book that I was talking about at the end of DECEMBER...

Yup, I finally finished Allegiant. And to be totally honest, it was a BUMMER. No spoilers if you're planning to read it, but for me, the final installment of the series hit me sort of like the Season 6 finale of Sons of Anarchy. I didn't even notice the rest of the book because I was so shocked at what happened. I came out of my room the exact same way, feeling like I had no idea what had just happened to me and unable to process, even though I had witnessed the whole thing myself. 

Anyway, I'm finally on track to start reading all of the books I had planned to read when I initially wrote the post back in December. I started The Geography of Happiness today. I went on a book binge the other day and bought (although they were free, so I acquired, really) about 10 books so I have plenty of material for the next few months. 

I'll keep you posted about what I think. 

Cheers!

Breaking out of a rut...

Is it just me or has the last month been kind of a no go? Maybe because I've been on winter break and haven't seen a lot of my friends lately, or maybe its because I've recently cleaned a lot of the friends I had last year out of my life but I've just felt...off lately. Kind of alone, a little bit sad, and very isolated.

This doesn't suit me. I'm the kind of girl who needs to be doing things, going places, trying stuff. I can't be a mopey sad sack all the time. Then I just end up in a perpetual spiral of sad and boring.

With that being said, I'm working really hard to try and break out of that rut by trying new things. My first plan is to start up yoga. Under the recommendation of my chiropractor, I really need to get into some form of exercise to help out with my consistently sore lower back and shoulders. Since yoga is supposed to be relaxing and I am inherently a little ball of stress all the time, I figured that would be the best possible form of exercise for me to get into.

Apart from that, I don't really have any specific plans to get my life out of the rut other than trying things outside of my comfort zone. Dance classes, maybe new foods. Maybe I'll get a haircut, and I already have an appointment for new coloring. We'll have to see. Certainly I will be going out and doing things with my friends instead of sitting at home with Amazon Prime night after night. There's only so much you can binge watch old television show.

Breaking out of ruts is all about switching things up and trying new things and that's what I intend to do.

Let's chat about Hart of Dixie, shall we?

For those who don't know, Hart of Dixie is Rachel Bilson's latest project on the CW. It centers around Zoe Hart, a cardio-thoracic surgeon from New York who moves to Bluebell, Alabama after not getting the surgical...I think fellowship...at her hospital of origin. Anyway, she moves to Bluebell to "get in touch with her heart" as a GP. We're in the third season now. A lot has happened and a whole lot of character development has occurred and the reason I'm writing this is because I can't get over Annabeth Nass. 

When the show first started she was the best friend of the main character's arch nemesis and really didn't have much personality to speak of at all. But over the last two seasons she has become one of my favorite characters on the show.

Annabeth is the sweetest firecracker of a Southern belle one can hope to meet and her relationship with mayor Lavon Hayes is such a huge part of why the show is so great. Between her friendship with Zoe Hart and being involved in some silly scheme or other, I'm really tuning in to see Annabeth every week, not Zoe obsessing over what her ex-boyfriend is doing and waiting for her current weirdo boyfriend to figure out what's going on and dump her already. Annabeth's story line has intrigue and interest. Zoe is predictable as a sunrise. 

After the first episode of the season....which yes, I just watched tonight 2 days late, I can't wait to see what this season has in store of Annabeth and Lavon and the possible annexation of Bluebell to their archenemy town, Fillmore. Let's be honest, as much as I love Rachel Bilson, Zoe is just getting too boring for me to care anymore.