the hiatus...

yeah yeah yeah i haven't been that active with blogging recently. A lot of things have been going on that took me away from it... For example, I've been dealing with the jolt of reality. What is that jolt of reality? well let me tell you...

First off I started my big girl job... It may just be another step in life that we all go through, but let me tell you, its hard! I knew I'd be working long hours, dealing with things (and people) that don't exactly put a smile on my face, traveling, doing grunt work because I'm the newbie and so on. But I didn't realize how much energy it would suck out of me. At first, I just put 100% of myself into work. But then I got super frustrated I didn't really have a life. Lets face it: waking up, showering, driving to work (stopping for Starbucks duh) working all day then going home, having dinner and crashing isn't exactly a life.

(Starbucks Venti, Coach gloves, JCrew flats & Calven Clien coat)

What did I do about it? At first nothing, then I started going to the gym, making sure I was going out with old friends and visiting other friends (no I'm not counting Starbucks as one of my best friends). We went to the Hunt, the chic horserace of the year. What could be better than booze, boys and friends?

Regardless, I swear I'll be blogging way more often now. I'm in the swing of things at work, and I just really miss blogging. So for now byeeee but you'll hear from me soon.

(Tory Burch bag, Citizens of Humanity Jeans, Sacks black sweater)

until next time... xoxo J

babes on a plane...

So flying has never been one of my favorite things to do. Don't get me wrong, I've been flying multiple times a year for my entire life, and I love the destinations I fly to, I just get very anxious for whatever reason. Anxiety is definitely normal for me but it just escalates the few hours  before I board the plane and while I'm actually on the plane. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the likelihood of something bad happening and living a version of Lost, are slim to none. Maybe its just the thought of flying in a giant heavy metal tube thousands of feet up in the air and not knowing how it actually stays up there that freaks me out...

Anyway onto the point of this post...

June second my friend Meg and I were getting ready to head off on our European adventure. We were so excited, knew what we wanted to do, had some things planned out and others we were just going to wing it. I wasn't feeling anxious at all while we were waiting to get onto the plane. This could have been due to a few things:

1. I though I lost my passport as we were going to check in.

2. I took some NyQuil to make myself pass out.

3. We couldn't stop talking (about god only knows what) so I had no time to think about it.

To be honest, I can probably blame my lack of anxiousness on number two of that list. so blah blah blah they are calling the groups to board the plane, no we weren't in first class... we just graduated from college and are poor as eff until we start our jobs on July 1.

So we find our seats in business class with the rest of the normal people. As we were shuffling around trying to get ourselves comfortable and organized, I just happened to look up and see two totally chic women walk by and take the seats behind us. 

As the plane took off, I was reading on my iPad while listening to music, Meg was listening to music and the ladies behind us were chatting away. As the flight went on I dozed in and out of sleep until they came by with our "dinners".  Meg and I decided to get some wine with our dinners... I don't need to give anyone an explanation but I will anyway.

1. Why not...

2. Why not...

3. We were going to the land of wine anyway so WHINE NOT start early.

As we were chatting and enjoying our crappy airline dinners with some wine, the women behind us were clearly a few drinks deep at this point. Meg and I got more wine and the ladies behind us asked the stewardess for more champagne... Much to their disappointment the stewardess didn't think they had anymore but she went to look anyway. 

Since I can talk to a brick wall and these ladies seemed nice enough, I decided to just turn around and tell them that I hoped Meg and I would be like the two of them one day, just jet setting, laughing, loving life and maybe being drunks. They ended up loving us and clearly we loved them. We ended up talking for a large amount of time, what did we talk about... well here is what I can remember of it.

We went over the basics of where we were all going and why. They were going to Milan, Rome, Venice and so on because they do it every year and since they are architects they go and take a class in Rome. After we told them where we were off to they gave us some great tips on places to go and what we can skip (thank god). They were happy for us that we decided to do a trip like this after college instead of getting straight to work. They both have kids, one has twin boys who also graduated this year. The other has a son and daughter, she pretty much jumped out of her seat when she found out I just graduated from Gettysburg. Turns out her son went to Gettysburg, he was an ATO bro and graduated a few years ago. She was telling me all about how cute and fun he is and smart and blah blah blah. She then decided to take a picture of me (you know I always look my best in my lazy ass travel clothes) so she could show her son "how beautiful and smart I am"... I didn't understand it either.

We kept talking and asking for more wine, were we drunk... yes. Eventually one of the stewardesses told us we were being rude and loud... We think were fun and no one else was being drunk and fun with us... their loss.

These ladies were awesome and so chic. Both were wearing all black with great simple jewelry on. And you know they never travel with expensive things so they only had their Hermes belt and one Hermes bag with them... each. What are their life goals... by 80 they want to be good at tennis and they want to be tour guides at the Roman Forum to Asian tourists. To top that off they want to have neon lipstick on that they clearly know they cant pull off.

Yes we traded contact information and have been emailing back and forth...

Until next time... XOXO J

back and better than ever

Hello my loves. I am beyond sorry for the lack of posts, I was swamped with school work, helping friends out and what not. But I'm sitting in the Milan airport now (my flight back to NYC has been delayed for 3 hours)!!! And continuing to type up posts. I have loads of stories and posts to upload. I even kept a journal during my travels in Europe to remember the entertaining bits of the trip. 

Look forward to my posts especially the ones of my travels in Italy, France and Switzerland 

Xoxoxo J

when your heart gets broken.. as told by Erinn

So for everyone who does not know, Erinn is one of my best friends and was my college room mate. We share everything, apparently we even share heartbreak. Here is a little backstory: her boyfriend of two years broke up with her the day before finals started. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight after that, and she was inconsolable for a bit before things started to pick up. My boy broke up with me, get this, the day before graduation... 

Men have not proved to be gentlemen to either of us yet, but we are still young so who knows whats ahead for us...

Here is Erinn's anecdote for heartbreak.

Guide to Getting Over Being Dumped and Getting Back to Being the Bad Betch You Are

I'm sure many people have been there. You are in a 2 year relationship with your college boyfriend. By this time, you are sitting in your bed on a nightly basis with him in a gross t-shirt and shorts, eating mcdonald's chicken nuggets while you watch each other play the next level on your favorite iphone game. True love. This seems like the life, having already planned what your kid's names will be (okay, they were william and james and they were gonna be toddlers wearing bowties who had a baby bulldog puppy). um...okay yea... well moving on...

Then one day, a fight breaks out between you two and your boyfriend decides he's had it. He wants to "live his own life and find himself", not wanting to have to be attached to anyone anymore (oookay?) And before you know it, you are laying on your roommate/best friend's dorm room floor crying into the carpet that you will never find anyone else better than mcnugget guy and you would rather lay out in the middle of highway to be run over than be alone without him...and you do this for multiple days.

Yes, it sucks. It feels as if your entire world is ruined and that things will never feel okay again. You think your heart has been ripped out and stomped on and all you want to do is watch those sad ASPCA commercials for the rest of your life (*cue arms of angel*) and in thinking about those ASPCA commercials, you now start to believe your new life is going to be in your basement caring for a slew of grimey cats until you are old and ugly and then it doesn't matter anyway.

Follow these steps to help keep you out of that basement with all of those cats. These are the steps I wish I followed sooner.

1) Surround yourself with friends.

Not just anyone, but those friends that will force you to watch stupid movies, stuff your face with dairy queen, and let you get sloppy drunk so you can creepily wink and stalk the super hot bartender at a beach daquiri bar and throw dollar bills into his tip jar like he is a stripper ( Shoutout to brian the bartender, keep doin what you doin!). Also, get in touch with all of those friends that you may have neglected when you were with your boyfriend. No matter what, they will be there for you.

2) Do not put on sweats! No. Do not be like me and wear the same shorts and t-shirt for 3 days. Nobody wants to see that. Bathe (even if that means crying in the fetal position in the shower) , put on your prettiest makeup, fix your hair, and wear your cutest clothes. Be hot, because you are hot.

3) Make a list of all of the things you disliked about your ex and your relationship..."He liked to knit...he liked to knit?!??...is that normal?" "His fingernails were dirty?..why were they like that?...ew."

4) Get excited about flirting, meeting some super hot men (the mature, won't play iphone virtual aquarium while on a lunch date with you type) and having the possibility of meeting someone better for you. Put on some bad betch dance music (yonce is a personal fave) and get ready to be a hot commodity if you are willing to put yourself out there.

5) DO NOT ( and i mean it even though I did it *cough* still do it *cough*) creep on your ex on social media. They aren't as amazing as you, and they never will be and it will not change 60 seconds after you last checked. Why should you care if he's at the beach with that weird girl who used to stalk him when you were dating?... if he wants that, let him go ahead and remember how much better you were.

6) Get a cool new hobby or distract yourself. I've decided to repaint and redecorate my bedroom. ( yes, I did spend 3 weeks binge watching bravo tv in said room before I decided to repaint). It is exciting and fulfilling to do something new. Who knows, maybe you will find some super cool hidden talent.

7) Keep on keeping on! Stay positive! You have the rest of your life ahead of you! You will be happy again and you will find someone new one day. He may be walking around outside right now. You will never know if you don't get out there in the world.

Love to all the bad betches ,

Erinn (who still loves to eat chicken mcnuggets. No man tarnishes my love for them. No man!)

Let me know what you ladies think!

until next time... xoxo J

brian oh brian...

Off we go to Broadway at the beach in Myetle to interact with our other friends and to have a good night out on the town. We expected to have some laughs some drinks and dancing. 

As expected we did have some laughs drinks and dancing. But while we were in one of the bars that had well everyone in te Gettysburg senior class, we couldn't take it anymore so we ventured along across the street to another bar. At this bar we met a gem named Brian. Yes Brian was the bartender but we had some great bonding moments with Brian. For instance, he continuously gave us free drinks, I picked up his number and he met us out later that night. He came clubbing with us till the wee hours of the morning, he even came home with all of us and we went out to the beach for a walk and to hve some beers. 

Needless to say we have him hooked. Who knows what is to come in these next few days, but he has been flirting with one of te six of us, I hope some sassyness comes out of all of this....

Until next time... Xoxo J

chicken road adventures...

As if driving for 13 hours wasn't enough of an adventure between the traffic and all... We had quite the expierence on Chicken Road. Now this road reminded me of the beginning of a horror movie. It was about one in the morning and the three of us are driving along a dark twisty long road. There was no one else on the road and the road was surrounded by cotton fields and the occasional trailer on the side of the road. 

Each time we drove by a trailer I would just blurt out something along the lines of "a serial killer def lives there, with all the blackness around there's ample opportunity for these twisted people." We continued driving along and were joking about how if a "cop" tried to pull us over we wouldn't stop because it would totally be a fake cop aka a serial killer trying to get us. Were driving along this sketchy road, past random gas stations that all seemed to be closed, the sketchy trailers with the blue glow of a television on somewhere inside and I just keep waiting for someone to pop out of the cotton fields and attack us. 

Out of no where we see blue lights whirling behind us. Erinn looks at me with a puzzled face and we just question if were actually being pulled over or not. We decided to pull onto the die of the road. Wrinn rolls down her window, gets her license out and asks me to pull the registration out of the glove box. As I'm pulling it out I hear a rapping on my window, right next to the cotton fields. I jumped maybe screamed a little and saw the cop outside of my window. 

Blah blah blah the cop is asking us where were going and what not. The next thing out of his mouth was him asking if we were in a sorority, like really man, this is part of your questioning for us? He proceeds to take her license go back to his car and he comes back to her car smiling. He just asked us if we had any explosives guns or alcohol in the car. I whip up my water bottle just saying it's water and Emma finally wakes from her slumber and tells the cop shes got laced chocolate milk with her. The cop just laughed and takes the milk sayig it was unacceptable that it was warm. He starts to tell her if she was being issues a ticket or not when I decide to stick my hand in his face and tell him that being pulled over on this road is my worst nightmare. 

He just laughed at me, handed Erinn back her license as I proceeded to tell him how I am terrified of this road because it reminds me of a murder movie/book. As he still was laughing he ends our encounter by saying something along the lines of: if your looking to get freaky just take a right and head under the bridge to find some drugs and goodies. 

Having that be one of the oddest expierence a of my life we continued along chicken road towards civilization... 

Hope everyone is looking forward to some more sassy stories from this week. 

until next time... xoxo J

traffic and tunes...

Hi everyone sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks. I guess ignoring my work in my last semester wasn't the best idea, I was less than thrilled when it finally caught up to me. Don't worry, my work is all done and handed in and I'm ready to get back to blogging on a regular basis. I've got a ton of posts sitting in my draft box along with some exciting things coming up!

As I'm writing this on my iPad I'm on a what should be nine hour drive from  Gettysburg to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. My two friends and I planned on leaving to start our road trip around ten in the morning... Shocking that didn't happen. By the time we were all awake, last papers handed in, cleaned our apartment, packed up got food and gas and hit the road it was about one in the afternoon... I guess we could've been worse with our time management and not left today at all...

I was sitting shotgun with my iPod on shuffle, Erinn at the wheel, and Emma sprawled out across the backseat we were on the road. Both Erinn and Emma we're wearing comfortable workout clothes and couldn't resist making fun of how I decided to wear one of my plain black maxi dress, Jack Rogers and had my hair up in what I refer to as a B!?@$ bun. Jokes in them maxi dresses are by far the easiest most comfortable thing to wear on a plane or long road trip. I can't even get over how comfortable and easy the are to travel in. Not only are they simple and classic but you don't really even have to sit like a lady while wearing them. I mean really, I can't sit still on these long trips, thank god the dress is long enough so I can sit cross legged or put my feet up on the dashboard, pants would be too constricting to do that in and I should definitely shave my legs before I throw shorts on. 

That original nine hour ride slowly started to slip into the double digits, now it's five in the afternoon and we're looking at an eleven hour total drive (and it could keep going up). It's not totally our fault, yes we did stop at a mall to go to grab a car charger from the Apple store, but I swear we were ladies on a mission and didn't even linger outside of other stores looking in drooling over the clothes. We had blinders on to quickly blow in and out of the apple store to get back on the road. 

So with that self inflicted fifteen minute delay, where did the rest of the extra time come from? We'll let me tell you we were on the highway again for less than twenty minutes before we hit stop and go traffic. At first we assumed it was the regular DC traffic and merging, but it continued on after we passed the Capitol. We were hopeful when we passed some fender benders but the traffic continued. I don't think we've gone over fifteen MPH for the past three hours...

As painful as it is being in this lovely traffic. The three of us have clearly found ways to entertain ourselves. Emma in the back continues to switch between sitting behind Erinn and I to hang out the window in hopes of making some car friends. Once she gets bored with that she'll lay down for an attempted siesta but quickly hops back up to try and make more car friends. We've sent some snapchats that we find hysterical, but what else is new I always think I'm funnier than I am. We've sung along to the iPod on shuffle which has been beyond entertaining. 

We've sung along to everything like Beyoncé, Paramore, Miley Cyrus (and Hannah Montana), Hillary Duff, Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, Pit Bull, Jessica Simpson and too many more to mention inclusion some ones I'm too embarrassed to mention. 

I'm glad I'm back to blogging on a daily basis. Check back later to see our lovely road trip progress and what else were singing along to in the car. 

until next time... xoxo 

By the way... We finally arrived at 2 am, and let me tell you that 13 hour ride was quite eventful. Look out for a post on how we got pulled over by the cops on chicken road, which looks like a road a horror story would take place on...

guilty pleasure tv shows...

I'm not even going to deny it, I love my reality television shows. I love sitting down after a long day with a glass of wine and some popcorn to watch Real Housewives of whatever, Kardashians, Vanderpump rules and just so many more. No matter how hard I try to stop watching the shows, I just can't, it's a train wreck that I can't seem to look away from. 

So many thoughts go through my head when I watch these different shoes. What parts are scripted, are they being serious, why do they put themselves in these situations, are they embarrassed, will they be embarrassed if their kids see it and just so many more. I just don't understand why some of these women want to have the reputations they are gaining from being on the show, and why would they want their dirty laundry shown  on national television? I start feeling bad for them but then the other part of me thinks the paycheck they're getting from the show must be good enough for them to put up with it or in some cases, act the way they do. After all if their lives were as boring as mine there wouldn't be anyone who would want to watch it. 

Then I start thinking about how entertaining my life actually is. I actually think it would be funny to have bits and pieces of my life filmed for reality tv. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want my breakdowns on tv, although I'm sure they would be beyond amusing. I just think it would be funny to have some of the situations I land myself in on tv. On top of that I wish there could be subtitles as to what was going through my head in these situations. After all my sarcastic comments would be a huge part of what makes the show funny. 

I'm sure people would look at my life as a train wreck or however they would want to judge me. I just think it would be funny for a camera to capture some of well, my finest moments. I mean who wouldn't want to see how I ended up hanging out at FIJI until 5 am one night with one of my best friends making fun of the brothers we were hanging out with. Who wouldn't want to see whats going on inside of my head when people do things that make my jaw drop or any other of my lovely signature faces. I really should look into making this a thing. My roommate and I used to joke at the beginning of the year about making a talk show. All jokes aside, we really should make it happen, she and I will make one and post it up on my blog eventually.

As I sit down to watch Greys Anatomy and Scandal aka my typical shows on a Thursday night, I just cant seem to pull myself away from them. After all of the crazy things that happened in Greys, like Izzy saving a deer, the plane crash, a bomb being in the hospital, all of the love drama going on, I understand why I should stop watching the shows, but I just can't. Since tonight is the finale of Scandal, I literally cant wait to see what happens. 

On that note, I must go refill my wine glass before the show starts.

Let me know what your favorite tv shows are and what you think of the Scandal finale tonight!

until next time... xoxo J

breakfast...

The one meal that is the most important but often the most forgotten. It's so easy to keep hitting the snooze button instead of getting up and starting the day. If you are like me, you like to take your time in the morning getting ready for whatever the day has ahead. I will typically get up, put my coffee on, take a relaxing shower and watch Kathie Lee and Hoda while I get dressed. If I'm not doing that I'll go to the gym.

Even though my two morning routines are very different, they have one thing in common: breakfast. I always make sure I have something to eat for breakfast, even if I'm eating it on the way to class. There really is no excuse these days not to have breakfast and no by breakfast I don't mean fresh squeezed OJ and an omelette. It by no means has to be as extravagant as that.

For a quick grab and go breakfast I'll have a granola bar, oatmeal bar, Greek yogurt or a protein shake. On days that I have more time, I'll make myself a smoothie, oatmeal with a cut up banana or banana and peanut butter. None of these things are expensive and it's all good corduroy. 

There have been so many studies done to show the benefits of having breakfast. 

1. Faster metabolism - Having breakfast will help you jump start your metabolism and help burn as many calories as possible during the day. By having breakfast it can potentially boost your metabolism by 10% a day, to ensure this try and have a healthy breakfast like oatmeal, Greek yogurt or an egg.

2. More energy - A healthy filling breakfast will help boost energy for the day. By having something that will stick to your ribs, like eggs, whole wheat toast & oatmeal, you'll have more energy for a longer period of time. The fiber and carbohydrates in breakfast will help keep you more energized through the day.

3. Better memory - By eating at the beginning of the day, you are more likely to increase short term memory.

4. Less snacking - If you don't have breakfast, hunger is likely to set in before lunch time. This will lead people to snack on high calorie and high fat foods.

5. Starts the day in a good way - By this I mean if you get up a little earlier to enjoy breakfast it can make all the difference in the day. For instance, you will feel less rushed, more relaxed and prepared to start the day. It can make all the difference in the way you approach the day.

6. Lower bad cholesterol - Breakfast eaters are more likely to have better cholesterol and less sensitivity to insulin than non-breakfast eaters.

7. Enhance immune system - You'll be putting more vitamins and minerals in your body. You will also be developing a lifelong habit that is heart and body healthy.

8. Weight control - People who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. Especially if breakfast is the largest meal of the day, people who have breakfast as the largest meal of the day are more likely to loose or maintain weight compared to others who have the same daily calorie intake but do not use breakfast as a big meal.

9. You won't be as cranky in the office - With more food in your belly, you will be less likely to snap at those annoying co-workers first thing in the morning.

10. Healthier skin - Certain foods will help make your skin look amazing! Breakfast is the easiest way to put these foods into your daily diet. Some of these things are, fruit, Greek yogurt, and tea.

After all of those benefits doesn't it seem like it's worth it to hit that snooze button one less time in the morning? 

until next time... xoxo J

my bad...

I am so sorry about my mini hiatus this week. There is no excuse but I was slammed with school work this week. Some of that may be due to my procrastination, or obsession with the game 2048... Next week will be full of posts including how Mary is doing on the Smoothie Challenge, The new FBF, how to handle spring cleaning, my love for breakfast and so much more! 

Xoxoxoxox J

library vs. dayarty....

Gettysburg college, where you go for the liberal arts but stay for the fatties. Now that it's spring out, I have no idea why professors think we'll be doing work in the library instead of dartying in the sunlight. Yeah yeah yeah were here for our education, but couldn't you argue that part of our education is socializing and figuring out how to make it in the real world?

So why on earth do my professors think it's a great idea to have a giant midterm and giant annotated bibliography due on Monday? I doubt they are inside slaving away over books, so why should we have to? Just to be clear, academics aren't my only commitment while at college. Hell, I'm an athlete, just because our seasons over and I'm retired, doesn't mean I don't have "aquatic" activities to tend to, we have a standard to live up to. Some of those activities may be making sure myself and others are hydrating properly at spring sporting events on Saturdays like the lacrosse and baseball games. 

Not only is it my duty as an athlete but also a family obligation to attend one game in particular. I have to go watch my little bro' steam get their asses handed to them by our lacrosse boys. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't? Realistically it's not my brothers fault they won't win, their goalie and defense just suck... How is he supposed to do his job if the ball never gets up the field? These sporting events don't end when the games over, I can't ditch out before the tailgate. At this point on same Saturday there's no hope in trying to get any work done so you might as well just keep having fun. 

I could go on forever about how I have things like eating, working out, showering, being social and so much more as to how academics aren't my life. After all does it really matter if I'm an uber book need if I have zero social skills? I think not. I'll just reiterate my point from my earlier post on Senioritis on how second semester senior year should just be pass fail. 

So what does one wear to the escapades of maybe attempting to do homework which most likely turns into dartyig. Anyway who would want to spend all day inside looking at a book when they could be enjoying life outside with friends...

What I'm wearing...

Patagonia Vest

Zara Sweater With Back Zipper

Frye Boots

Paige Jeans - Brown

Necklace

until next time... xoxo J

flashback friday take one...

As promised every Friday I will do a flashback from someones life. This week I am flashing back to when I was abroad. I studied abroad in Athens Greece but did many weekend trips. One of the weekend trips was to one of my favorite cities in the world, Paris. And let me tell you, we were taking selfies with the Eiffel Tower before the #selfie was cool.

the new flashback friday...

Starting with tomorrow I want to start posting a positive flashback. Tomorrow is the first one and I'm flashing back to when I took a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in Paris while I was abroad. After this one, I want to post a positive flashback from one of my followers lives to hi-light them. So please email me at franklymydearlive@gmail.com! Send me any questions you have about this, if you wish to stay anonymous or not and send me your story as well as pictures to go along with it! XOXOXO

until next time... XOXOX J

Be silly, be fun, enjoy life even when it gives you lemons...

black on black on black...

Even though I am thrilled spring is finally here and it's time to break out the broters, whites and pastels. I'll always be a sucker for wearing black, it's my go to. In a too familiar routine manner before I go out, I'm tearing apart my room trying to find something to wear while complaining that I have "nothing to wear". I'll turn to my friends saying I have nothing to wear, before they can even respond the phrase "whatever I'll just wear all black" comes out of my mouth.

I'll continue to sift through my clothes trying on different things skirts, pants, shorts, tops, dresses, flats, wedges, boots. Amazingly with all the options I somehow seem to alway end up wearing something all too similar to what I wore the last time I went out. 

That similar outfit is usually dark or black jeans with a black funky tank, and combat boots, flats or heels. Fingers crossed to broadening my horizons soon. For now here are some photos

sick days...

There is nothing I hate more than being sick. I actually try my best not to get sick, I wash my sheets every week, Lysol wipe down my room once a week, eat healthy, exercise and take vitamins. Unfortunately, there is no fool-proof way to avoid getting sick. Sunday night I went to bed with a sore throat, I assumed I would feel better in the morning, but I was wrong. Monday, after I did my time at the gym, I went to the lovely health center. I excepted to walk away with some salt and Ibuprofen. 

30 day green smoothie challenge...

Starting April 1, my friend Mary that lives in Southern California will be doing a 30 day green smoothie challenge by Simple Green Smoothies. Since Mary is new to the SoCal lifestyle, she and her friends are all doing the cleanse. Once a week we will post on her progress and thoughts of the cleanse. First off this cleanse she is doing is not a diet, she is not replacing any of her meals with the smoothies.

The cleanse will help boost her energy, lose weight effortlessly and make healthy eating a lifestyle choice. Mary will use the smoothie as her breakfast or a pick-me-up snack at some point during the day. Each week she is emailed a shopping list of ingredients as well as recipes. The smoothies are not only supposed to be good for you, but also taste amazing! So far many of the other spinach based smoothies that are a part of this "fad" taste horrible, the goal of 30 Day Green Smoothie, is to make the fad a tasty part of your lifestyle. I am excited to get Mary's feedback on how she and her friends are doing on the challenge. I can not wait to hear about her favorite and least favorite smoothies. Week one's smoothie recipes are for: Simple Peach, Tropical Crush, Berry Cherry Jubilee, Orange Julius and Berry Protein Bash.

Sign up for the 30 day challenge by clicking Here. Follow them on Instagram @simplegreensmoothies 

If you have any comments or questions for Mary or I about her challenge comment below.

until next time... xoxo J

pretty hurts...

I know how typical this sounds that a pop star helped me through some rough times. But it's true, I've always admired Beyonce for her hard work, determination and how she presents herself. She's worked hard to get to where she is as well as hit some strokes of luck blah blah blah I could go on forever as to how amazing she is. 

sibling rivalry...

For anyone who was wondering, I am not an only child, I have two younger brothers. Like all siblings,  we are one of a kind and we do not always get along...

The picture above captures our three personalities perfectly. The two boys are giggling like they just did something, most likely the one in the plad was the mastermind and the one in the green is trying to keep it a secret. Brad could just as easily be trying to give Ryan a wedgie, who knows with them. Then I'm just in the middle talking someones ear off or telling someone my opinion on something. Overall we are five years apart, I am the oldest and almost 22. Then Brad in the plad is 19, finally there is not so little Ryan at 17.

All three of us are athletic, I'm the only swimmer, the both of them play soccer and lacrosse. Brad (in plad) is now a freshman at Muhlenberg College, and on the lacrosse team. What are the chances that two of us would end up in the same conference for sports? Let me tell you, those chances were very slim but somehow happened. Ryan (in green) is only a junior in high school, but has a lot of prospective colleges looking at him. All of those schools are division one so there is no worry about having the three of us in the same conference.

Like most siblings there are times we get along, like when we are trying to convince our parents that we absolutely need another dog. Then there are times, how do I say this, well times that world war three goes down in our house. The fact that all three of us are super competitive and want to win at literally everything, does not help.

There was one major benefit to Brad and I going to schools in the same conference. Once we put aside the battle over who went to the better school, which sports teams were better, we even argued over who went to the older school (yes we are insane), I got to see Brad play lacrosse this weekend at Gettysburg.

I was so excited, I thought it was going be be a great sunny day out where I could relax outside for a few hours, have some wine and watch a nice lacrosse game. I was sadly mistaken, it was pouring rain and freezing.  I had on my hunter rain boots, thick black pants, a long sleeved Lady Bullets shirt on, quarter snap white patagonia and a rain jacket. I didn't sit down the entire game because I did not want to sit on wet cold bleachers, and even if I did sit, my legs would get soaked. Instead I spent the entire game on my feet. I did get some cool pictures which I was happy about.

Overall the game sort of blew, Gettysburg crushed them by over ten goals... but Brad did score for his team. Standing in the rain was worth it to see my brother play well. After all, isn't family supposed to be a never-ending support system?

Here is a picture of the two of us after his game yesterday.

until next time... xoxo J

the little things

Sometimes the best things in life, are the little things. Now, don't get me wrong, I love when some of the big things happen like getting a job, going on a trip, getting into college, and so many more. Unfortunately, the big things don't come around often enough for us to just sit around and wait for them. On a day to day basis, its the little things that get us smiling and through the day, after all sometimes those little things in life, add up too the big things.

casual fridays...

The idea for casual Fridays may have been started for the work world, but the idea has trickled down into college campuses. After a night out the last thing I want to do is get up early and workout. Even though I didn't feel like getting out of my warm bed, especially since I just changed the sheets and love nothing more than the feeling of fresh sheets. I slowly pulled myself out of bed and off to the gym I went. 

After the gym and a quick smoothie for lunch, it was about time I showered and got dressed for the rest of the day. Even though I do not have class on Fridays, and nothing important planned for the day I had a ton of work to do. I've been putting off doing my school work ever I signed my job contract and its about time I tackled the pile, so off to the library I went. I for some reason can never be productive when I am lounging around in sweats, and today was not a day I could afford to be unproductive. With that in mind I decided to go for a casual chic look.

If I had to get dressed to be productive, it might as well be cute. I decided since it was finally starting to get warmer out I'd go with some mint green jeans. Those went along a great cream colored peplum shirt, navy oversized sweater, Frye boots and gold jewelry.

fitness journey...

Senior year of college did not start off as nicely as I wanted it to. I fact I hated it at first. I came into senior year with a very unsettling feeling. I like the sense of control, and when I don't have it, I'm uncomfortable. I did not have control of how my year would be. Everyone says how amazing college is, and so far it's been pretty good. I came off of an amazing semester abroad that I will never forget, but how am I supposed to top that? But now what, what am I supposed to do when I graduate? Up until now, there has been a set path of life that I was supposed to take. Now I am at the unknown. 

wine wednesday...

Wednesday may be my favorite day of the week. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Wednesday is "Wine Wednesday". Its that time of the week, hump day which means time to sit back and congratulate yourself with getting through most of the week with a glass, or a few glasses, of wine.

springs hottest trends...

Now that spring is officially here, and just in time. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the sun is toasting our skin, it's time to break out the spring trends. Here is a look at my favorite trends for Spring 2014!

contrast collar...

This trend is great and very versatile. It can go from the office with a blazer or jacket over it, right into night with no jacket, pumps and different makeup. If you are not looking to splurge on the contrast collar there are many options for inexpensive pieces. With this look you can even take a statement necklace and pair it with a simple top to work the trend!

Rag & Bone London Shirt Dress

Marc by Marc Jacobs – horizon silk top

sleeveless blouse

Anthropologie Necklace

tips to drop a few extra pounds...

thinspiration...

Everyone needs a little extra push to make themselves drop those extra few pounds that don't seem to want to let go. I need to shake those extra winter pounds, thankfully they have been slowly coming off but not as quickly as I would like. Here are some things I do my best to keep in mind to help myself.

when should I wash that...

With the amount of different types of materials clothes are made out of, how are we supposed to know when and how to wash them? Well here is a little cheat sheet to help...

What does one wear to a local dive bar...

The nights with no plans or expectations are the best ones...

walking around nyc...

over spring break I had a lot of time to hang out in the city. Here are some pictures from just walking around the streets and my time at the MOMA.

hanging out at Starbucks...

Until recently I never got the phenomenon of sitting at Starbucks for hours at a time. The Thursday of spring break was possibly the coldest day we have had all week. And Thursday was the day I had an interview in the city at1:30 in the afternoon and had agreed to meet a friend that had graduated last year for dinner around seven. 

Senioritis

As the year slowly is coming to an end, and my college career will be over. A mix of emotions rush through me every single day. The tornado of emotions starts ripping through me the moment my alarm goes off in the morning, and doesn't stop until I'm fast asleep... And even then the emotions can haunt me in my dreams. 

white on white on white

my tabata workout...

why don't they like to lift...
Doing cardio at the gym is no problem for me and I don't have an issue going into the weights side if the gym and lifting either. But after talking with some of my friends they all have the same fear of going onto the "boys side" of the gym and lifting. After thinking about it, there is an intimidation factor of going and lifting where the guys are. 

trips on a whim...

I can hardly believe a year ago I was studying abroad. I was happier than I could have possibly imagined, exploring thigs left and right and never wanted to turn back. As we all konw all good things eventually come to an end. Thankfully that end of studying abroad, just made me thirstier for travel and adventure.

what to wear on the weekend...

To be totally honest, I never feel like putting any energy to what I wear on the weekends if I am just hanging around, doing homework or running errands. This weekend, while I should have been doing my homework, I decided to do other things.

whats in my makeup bag...

Who else remembers when mom let you put on makeup for the first time? I remember when I was finally allowed to go to school with makeup I thought I was hot stuff walking into the building. I was uber confident with my mascara and blush on that day. Turns out, some mascara and blush, doesn't cover it anymore. This is what my makeup bag looks like now...

Now with all the girls running around with their fake-baked tans, extensions, eyelash extensions and whatever else people are doing now, I have to somewhat keep up with them. So now this is what my makeup bag looks like...

who likes getting fitted for bras anyway...

Ladies, who can honestly say they enjoy getting fitted for bras? I know I don't. Over spring break I made the dreaded plunge to Nordstroms to go bra shopping. Now don't get me wrong, I love going to Nordies and will go at any chance I get, but the bra shopping on the other hand, not so fun. 

To be totally honest, I am a busty girl, I love it and hate it at the same time. I hate it because there are never "cute" or "fun" bras in my size, I feel like I'm stuck with the $80 bras that look like they are for my mom and her friends, not for a young woman out on the prowl. Lets be real, I don't want a guy taking off my shirt to see a granny bra, so not cute. On top of that, while all of my friends are telling me how great and cute the new Victorias Secret bras are, I not only can not relate to it, but laugh to myself because I could never fit into one of those bras. To add a little more humor to the VS issue, I just feel like the cup sizes, are not real, I have a suspicion that what they consider to be a "B" cup is actually an "A" cup. Oh and lets not forget... I do NOT feel like I look like this in the changing rooms trying on bras to find one that fits and is semi-cute.

working out doesn't have to suck...

So, who else made a new years resolution to get in shape in 2014? I know I did, I knew with swimming coming to an end, I knew as much as I wanted to keep eating anything I wanted to, it was unrealistic unless I wanted to be about a thousand pounds overweight. To be totally honest, I am of average height and average weight I'm five and a half feet tall and started my journey at 133 pounds, I do not NEED to loose weight, but my body is one thing I can control. Coming into a time of life where I have very little control over things like, what grades I'll get, what guys like me, who will hire me, oh and that future thing I like ignoring, I can control my body.

working out can be cute too...

Working out can be a fashion statement too. Now, don't get me wrong, I love working out but at the same time I dread it. I am not someone who loves to get up before the sun is up to get my day started by working out. Part of my motivation to work out, has become some of the clothes I can wear while doing it. Yes, I see how superficial that seems, but whtever gets the job done...

My addiction...

Those who live with me, are friends with me, have to interact with me and pretty much everyone who has come into contact with me, knows I need one thing before I will be a nice... Strike that. Functioning and nice human being. And that one thing. Is coffee. 

Lets Talk Interviews...

Even though this past week was spring break, it was both incredibly relaxing, maybe too relaxing, to being hectic. Yes I spend some of the days laying on the couch binge watching Netflix and playing with the dog, but other days were not as relaxing. Unfortunately some magical fairy will not come down and tap me on the head with her magic wand and give me my dream job. What is my dream job? I am not sure, and when interviewers ask me where I want to be in five or ten years, instead of telling them to shut up and shoot the question right back at them, I just smile and giggle and tell them I would love to be at this company helping it expand. Which brings me to the topic of interviews...

Through life there has always been a path that the upper class girls were expected to follow, go to high school, go to a good college, but now what? 

#NYFW

In honor of Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion week ending today. It is only appropriate that the first post is a review of fashion week. Over the last seven days almost one hundred shows went occurred. My favorites have been long time idols of mine. Next year I know I'll be at some shows and I can not wait.