Shoe Dilemma! Please assist :)

Hello everyone!

Today I came across a slight dilemma, whilst spending my lunch break at Target (the most dangerous idea ever). I went there only for laundry detergent, and of course found myself wandering the shoe aisle. I've been looking for some new flats for some time now, but haven't found any that just jump out at me. I ended up finding two super cute pairs, for very reasonable prices at good ol' Tar-jay. Now the dilemma strikes: do I keep both? Do I choose one? How can I choose when I like them both? Here are the new kicks:

You can't really see the top, but it has cute little gems on a ribbon!

Aren't they both so cute? I did the comfort test of walking around the shoe area a bit, and they both seem pretty comfortable (though I'm sure once I wear them for more than five minutes they may require a bit of breaking in). They are both really cheap for flats, one pair is $20 and one is $25 - a steal I tell ya!

So now the question is, if you were to choose just one pair, which would you pick? Granted, it isn't apples to apples, since they are completely different flats, but I think they would both go with just about everything..

Or should I keep them both, and just determine that both Target pairs = one pair of Nine West flats in terms of cost?? ;)

Help!!

Friends, Football, and Fun :)

This past weekend was spent in one of my favorite places on the planet:
C-L-E-M-S-O-N!

It was homecoming weekend, and Clemson was overflowing with old friends (literally-there were lines outside every bar!). The best part was that three of my four besties (we missed you, Sal!) all reunited together to catch up for a semi-girls weekend. Even though we lost to Miami (umm, aren't they supposed to schedule easy games for Homecoming? Geez louise, Clemson), we managed to have a fantastic time catching up, hitching rides on golf carts*, and yelling Clemson chants at the top of our lungs. I, of course, came home with a voice so hoarse it sounded like I was an 89 year old woman who had been smoking since I was 10. That's ok though, it was well worth the inability to speak afterwards :)

Here are a few pictures from the great weekend! Man, I miss that place!

My favorite ladies to come out of Clemson

Best part of the day - on the GOLF CART!

Love this guy, and clearly he loves me too! Ha!

It was a long, long day.. :)

The BEST shirt I've ever seen...

...so of course we had to meet him!

Glorious.

THE END.

*This was maybe my favorite part of the weekend. Some random guy was cruising around on his golf cart when one of my friends said "Hey mister, heading downtown?", and we proceeded to hop aboard, thinking knowing we were the coolest people in town.

Disturbing Stats

This morning, I hit the gym at 6 am. Since bootcamp ended a few months ago, I try to stay in the routine and go to the gym before work. It is so much nicer to have your workout complete when you get home from work. [Of course, it only really happens about 2-3 times a week, as opposed to 5 times a week during bootcamp.] It is just so hard to get up that early...

To the actual point of my post though... While I was filling up my water bottle, there was a sign on the wall which said:

"Three in four adults will be overweight by the year 2020"

Say what?! Now, I realize that the "statistic" that was hanging from the wall at LA Fitness might not be the most accurate place to get my information from, but it still shocked me. I cannot believe it! Of all the workout shows, food shows, health blogs and shocking statistics that you read about in newspapers in magazines, you would think we would be moving away from those terrifying statistics.

We'll kick your ass.

Now, I'm certinaly not saying that I am the picture of perfect health and fitness, but I definitely try to eat healthy and work out enough to burn off my weekend slip ups (aka booze). I enjoy exercising and try to make my own lunches and dinners during the week, and save the restaurant calories for the weekend. This wasn't always the case though. As this probably happened to many of you, I was a victim of the dreaded Freshman Fifteen (ok, maybe even more, who knows.) As a freshman, I came down with Mono during the first semester of college. My doctor put me on heavy meds, and told me that I couldn't exert myself for three months. Of course, I was back to normal after only a month or so, but I also had grown lazy in this time and it was very hard to get back into exercising on a regular basis. Combine that with the greasy all-you-can-eat food in our dining halls, late night drunk eating, lots of beer, and voila! Fat kid central. After a long conversation with my brave brother who ever so gently told me that I needed to take control of myself (while I cried like a baby because I knew it was true) it really hit me! You mean, other people have noticed it too? How crazy! It really took until my post-college life to get to the happy weight I'm at now, because let's face it: college has WAY too many temptations. After my freshman year, I really got serious about my eating, cut down on the booze, and hit the gym more often.

Eat your spinach and work those muscles!

The other day, my freshman roommate (we're still friends today) randomly sent me old pictures to reminisce on the good ol' days. I immediately X'd out of them, and felt instantly ashamed that I had let myself go like that. That was my serious wake up call, to never let myself get back to that weight again. [I think I'll spare myself the embarrassment of posting any "before" shots, because you guys get the idea.] Reading that statistic at the gym this morning made me realize how easy it really is to let yourself go. Being healthy really is a life changing decision, and something I constantly work on. I realize now that you have to allow yourself to splurge sometimes, and force yourself to be disciplined other times. You have to get your ass off the couch, stop watching Jillian Michaels help others lose weight, and actually exercise yourself! I am so much happier now than I was back in freshman year of college, so it is worth the work to me!

I really hope that something changes in the next 10 years, so that shocking statistic doesn't become a reality...

A History of Rap

I happen to be a Justin Timberlake fan. [Yes, I was a huge boy band fan during the Backstreet Boys and Nsync era, and I firmly believe they were way more talented than Miley Cyrus and the Jo Bros are...] Anyways, I think he is quite talented. He actually made something of himself after the boy band craze faded into the sunset. Not only can he sing and dance, but he's pretty funny too. You guys remember Dick in a Box, of course, and he has since made numerous SNL appearances which I find pretty amusing too.

My heart melts for those warm-up suits.

Last night, he was on Jimmy Fallon's show, and they did a little number, singing the history of rap. I must say, Jimmy can totally hold his own on this one! Some of those songs brought back some serious memories... i.e. My Name Is by Slim Shady? Hello 8th grade! Which of these songs bring back memories for you guys?

Enjoy!

New fall outfit... back off, haters!

With fall right around the corner( I hope!?), I've been slowly gathering new fall pieces to wear. I've been trying to mentally create outfits in my head, so I can be certain that the new goods will be used and will not end up hanging in my closet for a year. So, the latest one I put together is a fun fall look, which I am very excited to try out. I also happened to find everything either on sale or with a coupon. That makes me very happy :) Now, if it will only drop in temperature so I can start to bring on the fun attire!

Where are you, fall?

Article #1: A long, comfy sweater from Lauren Conrad's new Kohl's collection. I know, some people may laugh at this, but I happen to be a huge LC fan. I firmly believe that The Hills was a bore to watch as soon as she left the series. I also am excited to check out her new style book that comes out in October.. I think she has great style! My friend Alison and I were actually discussing LC's new clothing line over pedis this weekend, so I decided to check them out. I picked up this little number in grey, on sale for $30!

Note: It looks MUCH better on, than in this pic

I think it will be perfect for chilly days when you are running a million errands, because it is super comfortable. I also love the little flower on the side, to add a touch of girly to it!

Article #2: Ok, here's where the controversy kicks in. I bought a pair of black jeggings. BEFORE you judge, hear me out! I know a lot of people have mixed feelings, and I did too, before I wandered into Gap to try on a pair for myself. First thing I liked was that they actually look like real jeans - they have a zipper and button, and they aren't all strechy and gross looking. Second, when I tried them on (and went up a size because they are tighter than regular jeans) they flattered me! I happen to have a bootay, so I was pleasantly surprised with how well these fit. I also had a mega coupon that day, so I tried them out. If you are on the fence about jeggings, give the Gap ones a shot, because they are a nice in-between and actually look like jeans. Plus, I was tired of cramming jeans into boots, and these fit just dandy :)

I dislike those shoes, mine will be paired with flats or boots only!

Article #3: I don't think these are very controversial, because grey boots are totally in this season. I picked these up (with another coupon, of course) at DSW for probably about $50. They are Madden Girl, which I've never bought before. I assume they are Steve Madden's not-so-pricey shoe line. Who knows. I think they are perfect to tuck jeans and jeggings into and head out the door. Plus, although I normally opt for a higher heel, I thought the lower heel was ideal for running errands and not needing a foot massage afterwards.

Article #4: This isn't really part of the outfit, but I thought I would mention them since I bought them whilst shopping at Kohl's. They are Simply Vera sunglasses, and were a cool $20. Geez, a steal I tell you! [Can't find them online, so no pictures for you!]

So, there you have it folks. I haven't gotten the chance to piece everything together and wear it as a whole, considering it has been 95 degrees the past few weeks. It is staying at a cool 70 degrees today, so there's hope for fall yet! Dont worry, I'll be sure to post a photo of the outfit all together. I think a comfy grey sweater, black skinnies, and grey boots is a pretty fall-ish outfit, wouldn't you say?

Family Reunions are the Greatest

I consider myself lucky enough to have a family that I am very close to. Last weekend, my cousin Shane got married, so my mom's whole side of the family traveled from all over to Winston Salem, NC to celebrate. It's always so exciting when we can all put our busy schedules aside and see each other. We had people coming in from Georgia, Minnesota, West Virginia, New York, Ohio, and North Carolina. We pretty much covered half of the country, wouldn't you say?


The whole family, after the wedding


My mom has three sisters, so between their husbands and kids, their kids' spouses and significant others, and grandma, we made up a grand total of 23 people (I think?). Much of the weekend was spent in the hotel, only because there were too many of us to go to restaurants. It was pretty great though, because it gave everyone time to catch up, eat pizza and drink wine. Saturday afternoon, we were feeling a little stir crazy, so we headed out to a WS fair. There was lots of food, drinks, and entertainment, so it was great to walk around and see the sites a bit!

My favorite couple spotted in WS.. Coca Cola pants!

As for the wedding itself...it was beautiful! Of course there were tears, mostly coming from the females of the group, but what's a wedding without them? Afterwards, we all headed back towards Winston Salem to an old post office turned reception. It was awesome! A very cool reception location. There were fabulous appetizers at the beginning (bacon wrapped scallops, bruschetta, asparagus in phyllo dough, etc..) Inside the wedding, there was actually a candy bar! Something I've never seen before, but you can imagine everyone's excitement when they got to reenact their childhood memories of filling up the plastic bags of candy at Sweet Factory - only it was free! The only downside to the candy bar was the amount of crack-induced kids under the age of 8 that immediately hit the dance floor in a sugar-induced craze... but that's a different story :)

Holy candy, batman!

By the end of the weekend, everyone was exhausted and dreading the drive/flight home. I was so happy to see everyone, since it only happens every year or so. I took the bf along with me to meet the whole  family, and lets just say he was given the seal of approval by EVERYONE! I had no doubts that he would be completely adored and embraced by the family, but it was still nice to get official approval from grandma ;)

Some photos of the weekend:

My dad takes 1,976,753 pictures at weddings, so I caught him in the act!

Cousins enjoying delicious food

Me and my momma!

All the sisters - can't you see the resemblance?

I brought my moves straight from ATL.

All 9 cousins before cramming into the photo booth

I suppose I'm teaching my parents the electric slide?

More cousin dancing...



My favorite bro!



J4 showing off his moves

 Looks like a pretty fun time, eh? We kinda like to dance...

Awards.. yay!

A couple of weeks ago, I received my very first blog awards! I was so pleased, but also so busy and didn't have time to follow through with the commitments that come along with getting an award. I'm supposed to post it and chat about myself, but I am the worst blogger ever and haven't done it yet! So I'm going to do it today. Better late than never, right? I received the versatile blogger award from Atlanta Yankee Belle:

Yay! So now I have to write 7 things about myself. If you guys remember, I basically did this on my own a couple of weeks ago, when I wrote 25 things about myself, so now I'm just going to have to rack my brain and think of 7 more:

1. I am very excited, because tomorrow I am heading to Winston-Salem for my cousin's wedding. My mom's side of the family is very close, but we are scattered around the east coast, so it will also be a family reunion!
2. I love traveling, and lived in Spain for a couple of months when I was in college. I hope to go back in the near future, and visit some other countries that I haven't seen before!
3. I have always wanted to be on Oprah's Favorite Things Episode. That woman gives away so much stuff... did you hear about her australia trip giveaway the other day? Yeesh.
4. If I could only choose one article of clothing/accessories to buy, it would be shoes. I love shoes...
5. I have a bad habit of buying Groupons to various restaurants, just so I can try them out. The savings aren't monumental, but I tell myself they are anyways.
6. I am dying for fall to officially arrive. Football is here, now we just need the temperature to drop about 15 degrees, so I can start wearing boots and cute blazers!
7. I'm a movie junkie. I love going to the movies (depsite the ridiculous cost), and I love renting them. Red Box is the way to go these days.

ALSO, I was tagged by Pearls, Curls and a Southern Girl to answer these 8 questions:

1. What's your favorite vacation you've been on? My family took a trip to Italy when I was in college. We ate everything in site, drank a ton of wine, and saw everything there is to see. It was fabulous!

2. What's your best memory of college? My 22nd birthday. I was the oldest of my friends, so for my 21st, only a few could take me out (with fake ids). So when I turned 22, I had practically 20+ friends from my sorority out with me in downtown Clemson. It was so much fun!

3. If you could go to dinner with someone famous, who would it be? This is really hard... How about the cast of Modern Family? I could go for a good laugh! 

4. What's your biggest achievement? Buying a condo, all on my own!

5. What TV show would you want to make a guest appearance on? I think I answered that above, Oprah of course! I want the free goodies!! 

6. What are you most looking forward to this year? For the rest of the year: the two weddings we have left, a girl trip to Clemson, holidays with my family, seeing all of my relatives this weekend, and spending time with my boyfriend in Atlanta :)

7. What's your biggest dream in life?To be successful in my career and happy in life. Cliche, I know.

8. If you won the lottery, what would be your biggest splurge? The responsible part of me would pay off my mortgage, and then the fun side of me would take a LONG vacation around the world!

Thanks for the tags, girls!! I'll report back to everyone after my Winston Salem trip with lots of picures!