I've Got Spring Break Plans!

I finally have concrete plans for my last, final, best-ever spring break! I will soon be packing my bags and heading to:

New Smyrna Beach, Florida!

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My sweet friend, Gwyn is originally from Florida and invited myself & a group of our friends to stay with her over the break! This means a full week of sunshine, sand & seafood! Can you tell that I'm excited?!

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We'll also be heading up to Jacksonville, Florida for a day or two to visit with Gwyn's family!

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I lucked out and have been able to travel my last two spring breaks as well. 

Spring break 2010, I headed off the Panama City Beach for a week!

For spring break, 2011 I was cruisin' in the Bahamas!

But this year just might top them all!

Spring Break Countdown= 17 days!

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Date Night Dinner Ideas!

Today, I wanted to share with you some cute ideas for a dinner in with your significant other!

All too often I get caught up in the routine of going to school, coming home, and then leaving again to go out to eat. While this may be satisfying to my taste buds, it doesn't do much good for my wallet!

Jake and I have decided to cook dinner together tonight before cracking down on some major homework. Our dish of choice...a ham, cheese & pepperoni calzone!
Pictures to come!


Here are a few suggestions for quick meals to make on a night at home!

1. Mexican
This is a great option because you can buy a boxed set, where all you need is a pound of hamburger, or you can choose to make a variety of items for fairly cheap! Soft tacos, burritos, fajitas...Oh my! Even myself, who has no cooking skills whatsoever, could whip up a Mexican-type meal. If you don't want beef, try chicken and put together some quesadillas! Grab a tomato, shredded lettuce, and cheese and you're set!

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2. Make your own pizza!
How much fun is it to make your own pizza?! I've only done it once, but my friends and I had a great time doing it all on our own! We chose a couple different types of cheese with peperoni's, but decided to forgo the pizza sauce. By making your own pizza, you can choose whatever you want and get a little creative along the way!

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3. Pasta & Garlic bread
When it comes to pasta, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is about as good as it gets for me! On the other hand, Jake knows tons of options. There's no limit to his combinations of noodles and sauces! Apparently pasta is a lot simpler than I thought, because I've actually been learning! You can easily grab a box of dry pasta and a jar of sauce and have a delicious meal.
*Tip: If you're only cooking for one, you don't need to use the whole box of pasta!

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4. BBQ Chicken & Vegetables
I can remember my dad always fixing BBQ chicken out on the grill when I was growing up! It was one of my favorite meals. Even though I don't have a grill at my apartment, this dish is still possible. I usually do it in the oven, using Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce and it is delicious! The chicken in the picture below was done using a crock pot! I absolutely can't wait to have a crock pot of my own! This is great paired with fried apples or mixed vegetables!

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5. Breakfast for Dinner
Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal, but with my schedule I don't have time to fry bacon or sausage and scramble eggs in the morning. Dinner time is the perfect opportunity to indulge in all your early morning favorites. Everyone likes it and it's super easy to fix!

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If you're more of a healthy eater, you may want to cater these ideas to your tastes, but for Jake and I, these cute, quick-fixes are the perfect alternative to Chili's and Chick-fil-A!

I'm starving talking about all this food!
What are your go-to quick-fix meals? Which is your favorite?

Fill In the Blank Friday!

I hadn't planned on posting today out of pure exhaustion from this week, but when I came across the adorable topic for Lauren's Fill In the Blank Friday, I couldn't resist!

What better way to wrap up this Valentine's-filled week, than a love-themed fill in the blank?!

Here goes nothing!

1.  The love of my life is: (I couldn't pick just one) My family, my friends, & my sweet Jake. I am so thankful and blessed to have them in my life.

2.   Falling in love is: The most exciting, scary, nerve-racking, wonderful feeling in the entire world. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you'll know it and you won't ever want to let it go.

3.  Marriage is: Beautiful. My parents are my perfect example. They have been married almost 29 years, and have a love for each other that I hope to have one day.

4. The longest relationship I've ever had was  5 years. You live and you learn.

5. The key to a good relationship is: Honesty, communication, love, & support.

6. I feel loved when: Someone knows me better than I know myself.

7.  My favorite quote about love is: I don't have a favorite quote, but I think there's nothing more beautiful than someone looking you in the eye and saying "I love you," not because they have to, but because there's honestly no one else they'd rather be with.

Happy Friday! 

Have a wonderful weekend with the ones you love!

"52 Reasons Why I Love You" Craft Tutorial!

Hi Everyone! 

If you read my post yesterday, you saw the craft that I made Jake for Valentine's Day! I found the "52 Reasons Why I Love You" idea a few months ago here, and just knew I had to try it! 

I loved this craft because I could follow the general idea, but still make it my own, and special for Jake.

What you need:

-1 Deck of 52 standard playing cards

-Index cards

-Glue stick

-Scissors

-2 Binder rings

-Hole Puncher

-Letter stickers

-Stickers for decoration (I used hearts for Valentine's Day)

What you do:

I had a lot of these extra-large, white index cards, but you can use cardstock, regular paper, sticky notes, really whatever you have 52 of laying around the house!

 1. Cut the index cards into 52 smaller squares. One square should fit on each playing card.

2. Take each of your 52 slips of paper and write a reason why you love that person. They can be funny, serious, whatever. Jake's reasons were a mix of serious things combined with inside jokes between us. 

3. After you have 52 reasons, glue each of them to a card in the deck on the printed side.

4. Punch two holes in each card in the deck. I used a single hole puncher to do this and practiced on a Joker card to make sure I liked the way it looked. I used the first card as a guide for all the others.

5. Use binder rings to hold the entire deck together. By using these, the deck moves like a book. (I found these at Walmart, but I'm sure Staples would have them too!)

6. I used one of the Jokers as my first card, kind of like a title page. I glued a cover on the front and back side of this card.

7. Don't forget to decorate your cards with stickers or whatever else you can find! It really adds personality:)

Jake loved this gift and had so much fun flipping through and reading each of the 52 reasons when I gave it to him!

Valentine's Cards & Gifts!

I have to admit, I was so impressed with my gift-giving this Valentine's Day!

The creativity bug must have gotten a hold of me because yall, I was on a roll!

Need proof? Keep reading!

Cards:

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to send out my own Christmas cards! With all the cute Valentine's cards at Ashley Brooke Designs, I simply couldn't resist starting a little early! 

Behold Ashley Brooke's "Happy Heart Valentine's!" A happy heart is exactly how I felt after finding these beauties!

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For $18 you get 10 cards and envelopes! "Happy Heart Day" was printed on the outside, while the inside was plain white.

If you were one of the lucky ladies and gentleman to receive one of these cards, I hope you loved them as much as I did! They arrived at my doorstep in just a few days and the packaging was just as beautiful as the cards!

Gifts:

This year, I bought gifts for Jake along with my two roommates. I was so impressed with deals that I scored on all three! Go me!

These are the cute little packages I put together for my roommates. Everything I know about present wrapping comes from my Mom and she would be so proud of these!  That woman can work wonders with bows, tulle and wrapping paper! I found these bags at Walmart for a .25 cents a piece and used the ribbon that I received from the Valentine's Swap to "tie" it all together:) With my friend Katy's help, these gifts were ready to go!

Inside was a Russell Stover chocolate heart, a Sticky Note notepad and a cute pen!

For Jake, I re-used the bag that Shellsea sent me and filled it with two pair of J.CREW boxers a Valentine's Day tradition for us, some candy and his "52 Reasons Why I Love You" craft that I started working on a month ago!

The boxers were $16.50 and $14.50, but 30% off if you buy two or more pairs, I also got my student discount of 15% and used a $5 off coupon from my school. I got both for just over $16 total! I thought this was amazing compared to $25 I was going to spend on one pair at POLO!

Did you find any great gifts or deals on Valentine's Day?

Make sure to stop by tomorrow for my how-to on making the 52 reasons craft!

A Week-Long Valentine's Celebration!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I hope you are all are spending the day enjoying the company of those you love!

Because of some other things going on tonight, Jake and I celebrated our Valentine's Day this past Friday, Sunday, and yesterday! We've also still got a few things planned! Yes, a week-long Valentine's Day celebration! We have had SO much fun so far!

On Friday, we went to Alpha Phi's annual Crush date function! We got all dressed up, hung out with friends and danced the night away. Last year, Jake was out of town for Crush, so I was so happy to have him with me this time around!

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the movie theatre! I heard about the movie, The Vow like six months ago, before previews or anything were even out and I told Jake that we HAD to see it for Valentine's Day!

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I did like the movie, but I didn't think it reached "The Notebook" status or anything. What did you all think? Did The Vow live up to your expectations? I guess I was hoping for a little more intimate, deep, make me cry my eyes out sort of feeling, and I just didn't get that.

Yesterday was by far my favorite!

I woke up at 9am to do some work on the computer before school. All of a sudden, I heard someone tapping on my window from outside. I got up to look and it was Jake with Panera breakfast in his hands! I was so surprised! He is the sweetest boy I know! He said since this was the beginning of "Valentine's Week", we had to celebrate!

The moment was too perfect, so I decided to give Jake his gifts then!

Last night, we had dinner at Outback and by the end I thought I was going to have to be carried out! I decided to try something a little different and got the "Chicken on the Barbie" which was nothing to write home about, but the cheesefry appetizer was amazing!

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I decided to wear the dress that I bought for my 21st birthday paired with the brown riding boots that I got for Christmas!

Remember this dress?

Our Valentine's Day festivities were nothing short of perfection!

Make sure to stop by tomorrow and see the Valentine's gifts that I gave, including the too-cute craft that I made for Jake!

Valentine's Day Swap Reveal!

Today, I'm linking up with Tara, Celia & Meg to talk about what I received for the Valentine's Day Swap they hosted!

I love receiving packages and it's even cooler when they're from all the way across the country! That's right! My swap partner, Shellsea from Heartfelt Happenings lives on the west coast, while I'm all the way over here in North Carolina! 

Make sure to stop by Shellsea's blog to see what she got from me!

After a long day at school, I was so happy to have a package arrive at my apartment! 

Here's what was inside!

Is that not the cutest little bag and note?!

 

I absolutely love my new socks, chocolate and Valentine's themed ribbon!

I've already used some of the ribbon on Valentine's gifts you'll be seeing later this week!

Thank you so much, Shellsea! What a wonderful swap partner!

In an effort to get to know new bloggers, I'm also linking up with Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup. Make sure to check out everyone linking up! Here's to getting our names out in the blog world!

Happy Valentine's Day Eve, Everyone!