26 Things I Learned at 26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Would I even be a good blogger if I didn't do 26 things I learned in 26 years? Also, this is the only place I'll admit that. I'll be telling everyone else it's the fifth anniversary of my 21st birthday. so, yeah. 

1. A good, long, hot shower can change your entire outlook on life. 
2. It's totally okay to say "no" when you don't want to do something, you can't make everyone happy.
3. TRAVEL
4. Credit cards are a bitch.
5. Real books don't have a battery, but an e-reader is a lot lighter + easier to tote through the airport...
6. [I know this is cliche + clashes with #2, but you know. #sorrynotsorry] doing things that are out of your comfort zone can open up doors + introduce you to people you could never imagine. 
7. fresh air is good for you, you should choose your bars/dinner places based on rooftop patios.
8. ceiling fans are non-negotiable. 
9. if you don't ask, the answer is always no.
10. drink all the water that you can. trust me. even if you have to pee all the time, it's worth it. 
11. if your sneakers are fantastic colors, it'll make you want to wear them more + work out more.
12. the same goes for your gym clothes. if they're fun, you'll want to wear them. 
13. it's easier to keep your room clean than it is to let it get to natural disaster levels + then try to rehaul the whole thing. 
14. boxed wine tastes just as good as that fancy stuff, but it costs less, stays cold, stays fresh longer after you open it, and is always on tap. the only downside is that you don't get any corks for art projects. 
15. just because it "fits" doesn't mean you should wear it. 
16. don't click on those articles that say things like "her husband told her to back her bags, you won't believe what happens next!" it's not worth it. it's probably a dumb story for clickbait.
17. Instagram isn't real life. it's the best picture, a creative filter, and a clever caption. 
18. Pinterest hair tutorials are made for people with super cooperative hair, not hair that could just about pass for a mane. 
19. if someone gossips to you, they probably gossip about you. 
20. always have a backup battery. 
21. smile at strangers on the street even if you're having a bad day** 
22. don't go to the grocery store hungry, or right after work, or on Saturday, or Sunday. 
23. sometimes, you just gotta drink champagne + dance on the table.
24. wear. sunscreen. 
25. if you tip the bartender well, you're next drink will [almost] always be better. 
26. don't worry about that guy judging you while you're rocking out to "Baby One More Time" with your windows down in January. he's just jealous that he's not Britney, bitch. 

TA DA. I've learned a lot. Obviously. Who would have thought I'd learn this much by the time I was 26, I swear when I was 18 I knew everything!

**okay. not everyone is a serial killer, but don't be dumb about it. there's a difference between smiling at strangers and getting yourself into a bad situation. don't get yourself into a bad situation. okay? okay. good talk.

My Completely Reasonable Birthday List

So, today my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, because I'm turning old on Thursday. So I figured in honor of my birthday week I'd like to share my completely reasonable birthday wish list. I hope you're ready! 

is it just me, or does nothing top 21st birthday pictures? 

no more student loan payments 

a puppy

a house with a fenced in back yard, for said puppy.

an exotic vacation

a job that I love that also pays for said house + puppy. 

an occasion to wear this dress from Rent The Runway (full disclosure, that second link is a referral code, but you can get like $10 off your first rental!)
a nice pair of earrings (with a solid back because I always only lose one. I have a drawer full of mismatched earrings.)
dream jeep wrangler
everything in my Pinterest closet.
all of the Barre classes
another Eurotrip ;; I'm thinking Ireland or Munich for Oktoberfest....
tickets to all of the Shaky festivals this summer (Knees AND Boots)
UGA Football season tickets + a hotel for the season.

 

I think that's about it. If you're going to get me the jeep (you really should) could you give me a little heads up before I pay my birthday tax to renew my tag? Awesome. What's on your birthday wishlist? 

Five Christmas Things That Freak Me Out

Since everyone is writing all about the Christmas things that they love and look forward to, I thought I'd march the other way and talk about the stuff that really creeps me out. Gives me the holiday heebie jeebies if you would (oh man, that probably sounds so much funnier to me than anyone else..) 

Elf on a Shelf okay, maybe this is because I don't have kids or whatever but a tiny elf reporting everything back to Santa is just weird to me. Plus they look SUPER creepy. I probably would have had nightmares about them if I had one when I was a kid. 

so many inappropriate elf on the shelf things here

that line "say, what's in this drink?" in Baby, It's Cold Outside I mean, hey buddy, what is in her drink? Why you gotta put something in your lady's drink at Christmas? Or ever? I'm sure she just means it's stronger than she realized, but still. What's up with that? Actually. You know what, just the whole song. It seems a little aggressive. She said she can't stay, lend her your coat + let her go home bro.

this is a little better.

those "Elf Yourself" videos or really any of the videos where you put your head on something/someone else's body. I don't know why. It just freaks me out. Probably because your face isn't going the way the rest of the body is and it could totally be like a horror movie. 

the Grinch // okay. I know it's a popular Christmas story but MAN does it freak me out. I don't know why. The cartoon one gave me nightmares as a kid, but then I got over that just in time for them to make one with real people which is even more terrifying. It doesn't help that the people at the front of my dad's neighborhood make + sell wooden cutouts of him.

SEE HOW SCARY IS THAT

mistletoe // this could go either way. I mean, if you're caught under the mistletoe with someone you want to kiss, okay, but what if it's someone you don't want to kiss? what if it's that creepy guy who followed you near it, just hoping you would get close enough for him to say "hoo ohh look who's caught under the mistletoe!"

awkward mistletoe moments

Honorable mentions: eggnog, because what even IS eggnog? are you drinking eggs in rum? it sounds gross ; that song about grandma getting run over by a reindeer, like did she die + we all just think it's okay? it sounds a little like she hit the eggnog too hard + didn't make it home ; he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake do you ever feel like somebody's waaatchin' you?

What things about the holidays make you uncomfortable? I'm linking up with Sarah + Karli because I'm a fan of awkward situations at Christmas and because I named five things! HEY FRIDAY! 

Top Five Ways To Win Your Tacky Sweater Party

Okay, so in all fairness, I had this post planned for Friday but I did not have my act together, so I'm really sorry if you lost your tacky sweater contest because you were missing my tips. That's on me. Anyways. It's not even a little bit of a secret that I love Christmas sweaters. I also love anything that has to do with accessorizing my Christmas sweaters. So, feel free to use this as a guide, unless you're competition involves me, then pretend you never read this.. I'm lookin' at y'all, Atlanta Bloggers...

hair accessories // I have been known to wear the bows intended for outside on giant trees in my hair. I'm not talking the ones that go on Christmas presents, I'm talking the ones that have wires attached to them so you can mount them on the fence. The bigger, the better when it comes to hair accessories. I'm talking gluing tinsel + tree ornaments to a headband. It ties the outfit together.

SOCKS // okay. I have an issue with matching socks, I think it's bad luck. So when I have Christmas socks, they usually don't match (weird fact  about my superstition, if I'm wearing matching socks, I'm probably wearing mismatched ones under them, you know, just in case..) socks can really tie your outfit together.

jewelry // My absolute favorite jewelry you can make yourself for less than $10. Michael's has a section dedicated to tiny Christmas trees. Grab the tiny Christmas tree ornaments of your choice, some earring hooks, and pliers, boom instant Christmas earrings. You can never go wrong with the oversized Santa ones that are already made either. Don't forget the necklaces that light up. ONE DAY I will have a sweater that lights up. one day.

hair //  I have always wanted to do the whole hairdo like a Who from Whoville thing, but I'm scared if I pulled all of my hair up like that I'd fall over... so I usually go with my braided pigtail look (more bows, duh)

THE SWEATER // Now, no pressure here. But the sweater is really what matters most. Obviously. The trick to getting the best sweaters though? shop for them in the summer. I get my Christmas sweaters at the Goodwill in like, June. It's the best because no one is really thinking oh I should totally be on the lookout for this year's sweater! in the middle of the summer. (maybe I shouldn't have shared this with the internet, now I'm going to have sweater competition in June...)

That's it! The easiest way to kick booty at your Christmas sweater party! Now. I want to see your tacky sweaters! You can always see mine on insta..

Photo Apps I Couldn't Live Without

Okay well that's a rather dramatic title. But let's be for real, no one actually posts "no filter" photos anymore. I know the sunset looked like that to you, but your phone didn't capture it. Oh, you didn't use a filter, you just bumped up the vibrance + saturation? Either way, I never take a picture with the Instagram app, I always use at least one if not all of these before posting to Instagram.

afterlite // this is my absolute favorite. You can edit every aspect of the photo + I'm really a sucker for those frames. makes the whole picture fit in the square Instagram mold.. 

a beautiful mess // I love love this app because it lets me doodle on pictures, add funny shapes + also automatically makes them fit the Instagram size! [it's ABM in the App store... also their Party Party app is too fun...]

VSCO cam // can I even claim to be a blogger or amateur photographer if I don't use VSCO? I do love that it lets me work my phone camera like the manual settings on my DSLR though. It's pretty groovy. 

PS express // dude. this is the best for when you take those low light pictures, because how bad is the iPhone at low light pictures? that's mostly what I use this for, fixing the lighting. it also works great when you want to add saturation to the picture but not turn everyone orange.

I figured the best way to demonstrate these would be to use the most flattering picture of myself I could find. So obviously I picked this one.. What apps do you rely on for Instagram? 

Don't forget to enter to win $250 to Kate Spade Saturday!

Let's Talk About Netflix

Today's weather is absolutely abysmal. Cold, rainy, looks like we're finally going to get the fall weather we've been wishing for this weekend. Which gets me thinking "oh fantastic, more time to stream Gilmore Girls!" I generally watch my Netflix streamed from my phone onto the Chromecast, which I highly recommend. Recently, they added the autoplay option to the phone app, you know so the next episode plays automatically. This addition is both great and also the reason I've watched so much more Netflix than I usually do. Here are my top five October Netflix releases!

Gilmore Girls // because, duh. Also I just love that show. If you don't love it, I assume you've never seen it and I'll try to get you to watch it. It's the best. Even Paris grows on you!

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Tombstone // I didn't even find out about Tombstone being on Netflix until like, super late last night, while I was on my fourth episode of Gilmore Girls and I totally flipped. Tombstone is probably my favorite cowboy movie there ever was. I could watch it twenty million times and not be tired of it. Now that Netflix has it, obviously I will. 

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Romeo + Juliette // If you don't get excited about a Leo movie, you can just go ahead and move on. This movie is incredible. Leo is the perfect Romeo. I watch this movie + ugly cry every time even though I know how it ends. Just like Titanic.

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Galaxy Quest // because we need something to pick us up after the emotional rollercoaster that is a Shakespear tragedy. Also, this movie is great. Tim Allen playing a space person in real life you keep waiting for him to say to infinity and beyond! OH and Alan Rickman. Don't forget Snape is in this movie too!!

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So so so excited to spend my downtime watching these + more! You can find a list of all of the October releases here! What are you excited to stream on Netflix?

There's really not much to say about the UGA Vandy rivalry, it's always the homecoming game no matter which team is home [if we're home, it's our homecoming, if they're home, it's theirs] but this video needed to be included today, happy homecoming!!