The Best of 2015

Two Thousand Fifteen  

So many wonderful things happened in 2015 and I think it's safe to say that this was my biggest year yet. At this point in time last year, I was nervous for what 2015 would bring. I'm so happy with how everything went this year and now I'm recapping some of my favorites and highlights.

One // January-March
I spent these few months training for my biggest adventure, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. In March, my mom and I headed to Tanzania, Africa to climb it together.
It was an incredibly difficult and rewarding challenge, but we made it together.
We then relaxed on Zanzibar, an island off Tanzania before heading back home.
I was also able to make a 50 page book documenting my trip which I'm very proud of. It was the trip of a lifetime.  I highly recommend visiting Tanzania if you ever get the chance.

Two // April

April may be my favorite (and busiest) month of 2015. At the start of the month, I turned 18. I was looking forward to this birthday because I feel like it's a first push into adulthood. 

My birthday balloon picture is one of my favorites of the year since it was extremely windy that day and the balloons had a mind of their own. 

One of my favorite days was the Annapolis Cup. It's an annual Annapolis event where St. John's College plays the Naval Academy in croquet. Everyone dresses up and I was able to go with some of my best friends and take some great pictures. 

(I even made my own derby hat!) 

I also loved the release of Lilly for Target in April. I was able to score some major Lilly pieces and I'll always remember sitting at my computer from 12am-4am shopping and trying to buy everything on my wishlist. That was a wonderful memory. 

To end April, I traveled to Georgetown for a KJP and Sarah Vickers meet and greet. This was another highlight of my year since I had always wanted to meet them. It was so nice to talk to them and I had so much fun with his crew, especially Rico, Jenna, and Audrey. 

Three // May

May was a tough month for me. At the start of the month, I had my tonsils removed and I spent about the whole month recovering. Because I was laying around so much, I decided to start this blog and I'm so happy that I did. At the end of the month, I graduated high school and I could not have been happier to finally move out of there!

Four // Summer
I spent my summer this year working every week as a camp counselor. I love my job and have been doing it for years. It keeps me extremely busy though, so I didn't have much free time. I was able to sneak some time in for a quick trip to Cape May. With the free time that I did have, I spent it on my new Boston Whaler that my family bought. Some of my favorite memories from this summer are tubing up and down the Severn with my friends and spending time on my boat, named "J. Cruise".

Five // August
August was a huge month for me as I moved to college. I was so incredibly nervous about being homesick and I was worried I wasn't ready to live on my own. I remember sharing my nerves with my friend Rachel. She shared with me the story behind the TedTalk, "Leading with Lollipops" and it changed the way I looked at college. I became excited. I feel like that TedTalk changed my view of college entirely and I highly recommend watching it. When I got to college, I surprised myself. I rarely felt homesick and I felt that I was ready to be on my own. I finally feel at home in College and I love it so much. I have met the most incredible people and best friends there. I'm already counting down the days till I can go back!

Six // October
In October, I joined our Club Ice Hockey team so that I could continue my love of hockey in College. I recommend everyone joins some sort of club team in College. It was a great way for me to meet girls and to stay healthy and develop a workout routine. I love the girls and feel at home on the team. From hockey, I also got a concussion so ended up going home on Halloween to rest in my own bed. I also joined Best Buddies on campus. This is an organization that pairs a mentor up with someone who has a disability and you call each other and hang out. This was so rewarding to join and it was another great way for me to meet people in college.

Seven // November
I spent November busy with school work. For some of my museum assignments and papers, I had to go into DC to research. When I would have to go to DC, I would always try to stop by Georgetown. On one of my visits, I decided to try wearing a cape and I absolutely loved it. That might be one of my favorite fashion trends of 2015 (along with faux fur vests).
I also opened my Etsy account this month and fell even more in love with painting. 

My first sale was a custom piece that I was so excited to complete. In the next year, I'm hoping to expand my shop and sell more of my pieces!

Eight // December

December was another tough month. With the holidays (and finals) approaching, I wanted nothing more than to be home. After falling sick abruptly, I spent a couple days in the hospital in the middle of finals. After finishing finals, I was able to go home (to a new house) for the holidays. My parents have split and moved into separate homes so coming home was more like moving to a new house.

Like I said, this was my biggest year and I'm so grateful and thankful for everything that happened. I feel like I grew so much this year and am finally figuring things out by myself, being independent, and becoming an adult. I'm looking forward to 2016 with high hopes that I can accomplish anything that comes my way and I'm excited to continue growing my blog! 

Happy New Year!

Last Minute Hair Tie Gifts

Hi Everyone!

Today I'm here to share the CUTEST and easiest last minute diy gift ideas.

A girl in my hall, Megan, showed me how to make hair ties out of fold over elastic (FOE).

Today, my roommate Kat, neighbor Nikki, and I took a study break from finals to make these adorable hair ties. (A huge thanks to Kat for being my hand model!)

To start, you need to purchase fold over elastic. You can do so by going to etsy.com and typing in "fold over elastic" into the search bar. It is so cheap and you can buy them by the yard for just a few dollars each. There are also tons of different styles and prints that can be found on etsy. 

My favorite shops to purchase from are PinkSunshineSupplies and Itsbranna.  

PinkSunshineSupplies had an elk print that I loved and Itsbranna specializes in Lilly Pulitzer elastic. 

But like I said, there are so many shops that sell different kinds so I would recommend just shopping around until you find a store that you like. 

Once you have your elastic, here are the steps to follow:

1) Gather supplies. You will need: a ruler or notebook, scissors, your fold over elastic, and a lighter. 

2) Cut your elastic to your desired length. I found that around 10-11 inches works best and I measured using the side of a notebook. 

3) Tie your  elastic into a knot. Line the edges up with the print facing outwards and hold the two edges together and form the knot. Once the knot is formed, pull on both sides of the elastic to make sure the knot is tight.

4) Keep the ends from fraying by holding them by a lighter. It's important to hold them close enough to the flame but not in the flame since it will burn easily. 

5) Extra step: We decided to put our room keys on our elastic so that we could always have our key on our wrist. It's an easy way to keep your key with you at all times! We added the key once we completed all of these steps by feeding the elastic through the hole in our key and making a knot. 

This is a super easy, fast, and cute DIY project and makes adorable gifts for best friends, roommates, sisters, cousins, and anyone else that you need gifts for!

It takes under 5 minutes and I recommenced everyone should make these! They're the perfect accessory for any outfit and makes for some great wrist candy.