Spooky Mormon Hell Dream

For Valentine's Day, I surprised Chris with tickets to see Book of Mormon. It was SO GOOD. It is hilarious, the music is awesome, and the characters are great. The actors did an amazing job and they all sounded fantastic. I really love theater and I miss being in shows. I only did it in high school, but it was a lot of fun. I wish I had the time and energy to be able to be in a production now!







These photos were not taken for Valentine's Day. This was just a random weekend out for a girl's day with my friends. We went to a used book store (where I bought even more books to add to my pile of books I still have yet to read) and walked around the outside of an abandoned building. It was nice even though it was pretty cold out.





Speaking of books, right now I am reading the Series of Unfortunate Events books. I want to read them before I watch the Netflix series. I am only on the second book right now. They are quick and fun reads. I love the way Lemony Snicket talks to the reader and just the whole mood of the books in general. Oh, and while we are on the subject of Netflix, I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL HALLOWEEN FOR MORE STRANGER THINGS.

Dress: ModCloth//Sweater: Forever 21//Tights: Simply Vera by Vera Wang//Boots: Bare Traps 

I've decided that this skeleton print dress from ModCloth (although the brand is Folter, which makes a lot of fun spooky things) is too good and fun to only wear during Halloween time. I pair it with orange or more black in October, but I haven't paired it with red yet. I have always loved red, black and white together. I love red in general. I love how bright and bold it is and how it signifies so many different things. Because this dress is black and white it has so much potential for wearing it with so many different colors and styles. I can't wait to remix it some more!

Day Tripping

Nowadays, it's rare that Chris and I get to spend an entire day together. He has work and school and I work full time. He usually works weekends when I am off and then has class on days that I do get off during the week. Finally, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we were both off with nothing to do and were able to spend the whole day together. Huzzah!









We went to a giant greenhouse that was about an hour away and when we got there, we realized that the camera was dead. Womp womp. But we still enjoyed the place since it was in the 60s inside and filled with lots of flowers, plants, and citrus trees. They even had a bench so that you could just sit and enjoy it for a while. If it weren't so far, I'd go there on my days off and just sit and read. I will definitely have to go back with a fully charged camera so that I can share some pictures. We did take some on my phone, though.









We stopped at a cool retro-style diner that we've never eaten at before. Diners are my favorite, so I love when we get to try new ones. We split a meal since we planned to go out for a big dinner.











We also stopped at a big antique store that was in the area. It had multiple floors and lots of rooms. There was a lot of stuff to look at, which was pretty overwhelming. They had a lot of jewelry and furniture and knick knacks. I thought maybe I'd find a cool vintage opal ring, but I didn't really see anything I liked.











We got back home in time before the sun set to swap out camera batteries and go to one of our go-to photoshoot spots to take these pictures. I really love this dress from ModCloth. I have it the same dress already in a different print, but the other dress has full sleeves instead of three-quarter sleeves. I love the big 70s-esque bell sleeves and the floral pattern. It's really comfortable too! It's actually on sale right now for only $26.99, as well.

Dress: ModCloth//Tights: Apt. 9//Heels: Clarks//Lipstick: Colourpop

I am still trying to figure out my travel plans for this year. Since flying can get pricey, I am considering a road trip, most likely to the South. The plus of this would be getting to see multiple cities in one shot. It's a little overwhelming to plan because there are lots of options and routes to go. It'll take some time to plan out and see if it's even plausible to do in 7-10 days. I've only really been on one road trip, and it was to and from Florida. It was pretty straight forward since we didn't really stop anywhere besides D.C. to look around and explore. I would love to explore lots of different places along the way this time and see different parts of the country!

Finding The Bright

January just ended, which means it was lots of cold, wet and grey days the last few weeks. It is definitely the worst month of the year. It's always been my least favorite. I try to wear bright colors to keep myself from getting too depressed over the dreariness of the month. This dress is probably the brightest thing I've ever owned. It has so much vibrant color in it, and it's awesome. I got it from ModCloth after I received some gift certificates for Christmas. I had my eye on it for a bit before that and was excited to finally order it!









When it's cold and gross out (aka, when it's winter), my favorite place to go is a greenhouse. It's the perfect quick escape from the grossness. It's usually 60-70 degrees, full of greenery and flowers, and sheltered from the outdoors. I've been to two so far this year and they make me so happy. I wish there was a greenhouse that was the size of a park that had benches to sit and read on and paths to walk. It would be the best thing ever. Why doesn't this exist yet?









So far this year, I have been focusing on being healthier all around. It was one of my goals for the year. I have been eating better. I started kickboxing, which I am really enjoying. I am trying to get better quality sleep and I finally decided to see a chiropractor because I've had an ache in my right shoulder for years now and I figured it was about time I did something about it. It turns out my spine is a little out of whack from years and years of being in front of a computer for hours a day. I've had a few adjustments already, and I am excited to correct the problem and stop feeling so tense and achy all the time.







Another one of my goals is to take a trip somewhere that I've been wanting to go such as California or New Orleans. I'm not sure if it'll happen. Everyone I would like to travel with either doesn't have the money or doesn't have enough vacation time, and I'm not really one to do solo trips. I like to share the adventures with people that are important to me. Hopefully it'll get to happen later in the year!

Dress: ModCloth//Sweater: H&M//Tights: Apt. 9//Shoes: Clarks//Lipstick: Colourpop

On a last note, today is Groundhog's Day, which is probably the only "holiday" I loathe. I think it's the stupidest and most ridiculous thing and I don't know why we continue to do it. There. I said it. #sorrynotsorry

2016 Year in Review

I'm not going to lie. I have some qualms with 2016. It was a pretty crappy year in a lot of ways. I can only hope that 2017 is better. Despite all of that, I am here to celebrate the good that happened in my life this year. I had a pretty eventful year!

I had made it a goal to do a lot of traveling this year. I had wanted to try to go somewhere different every month. I didn't go every month, but I was close to it! I think I only missed January, September, and December.

February 

I went to Florida! I got to go to Universal Studios again and visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We also went to Clearwater Beach on the west coast, which is really pretty. The water is so blue and clear, and the sand is white.

March

In March, Chris and I celebrated our anniversary in Boston. I surprised him with a weekend getaway there since it's a city we both love. He went to school there, so he has a lot of memories there and we have a lot of memories together there since we started dating when he was still living up there for school. We did a lot of fun things like visit the Downeast Cidery and the Mapparium.

April

April was a pretty busy month. I went to DC for a long weekend with Nadia. I think my favorite part was visiting the Library of Congress. It was GORGEOUS. We also visited a few of the Smithsonian museums as well. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were gone by the time we went.









A little later in the month, I went to Boston again, this time just for a day to see Good Charlotte for their mini comeback tour that they did in the Northeast. This was the show that I bought meet and greet tickets for, so I got to see them do their soundcheck, do a Q&A, and meet them face to face. It was AWESOME and they were amazing.









Finally, I went to Atlantic City with my friend Jess at the end of April. We went for a weekend. It was pretty chilly and rainy, but we still had fun in the casinos and on the boardwalk.

May

My friend Sarah and I went to Provincetown for a weekend in May. We went before a lot of the places officially opened for the season, but it was still fun. We danced, drank, ate, and shopped so it was a fun time.

June

June was the month of my big trip of the year. Chris and I went to Montreal for about 5 days. I have actually yet to post about it. We did a lot, though. We went to the Biodome and some cat cafes and visited the Old Port where there was a festival going on. It seemed like there were lots of festivals going on when we were there. It was a little jarring being surrounded by street signs I couldn't understand, but a lot of people spoke English and were very friendly.

July

July had a lot of stuff going on! I went back to Atlantic City, this time with Chris, Nadia, and her boyfriend Jon. We just went for a weekend. I also met New Found Glory at Warped Tour, became obsessed with Pokemon GO like the rest of the world, and got a Harry Potter themed tattoo! Oh, and Nadia, Chris, and I also visited the Angry Orchard cidery!

August

I went to New York City twice in August for two separate events. The first was Pottercon, which was a gathering of Harry Potter fans. It wasn't really a convention, but more of a party with different activities. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in it but it was still cool to be around so many other people who love Harry Potter and were dressed up for the occasion.

The second time I went was when Chris and I got tickets for the Jimmy Fallon show! It was so cool to see it live and we even got high-fives from Jimmy at the end as he made his way through the audience. The guests for the show were Jessica Alba and Jeff Foxworthy. I had thought that we were going to be at the Alec Baldwin taping, but that one was taped earlier in the day.

October

October is always a crazy month because it's my favorite and the leaves are usually at the perfect time for peeping. I started the leaf peeping off right by going to Vermont for Columbus Day weekend. The leaves were great and it was so nice to be surrounded by mountains and foliage.







I went to Salem, just for a day, because I couldn't resist. There's nothing like Salem in October. We also tried some cider at a cidery that I had no idea existed until then. It was SO GOOD.





I went to Sleepy Hollow with Nadia as a short day trip. We explored through the giant cemetery there and the Headless Horeseman bridge. I also visted NYC again in October to see Sum 41 with Chris.

November

The first weekend in November, I went to Amish Country! I had never been, so I was excited to explore. There was so much good food there and it was so pretty. My favorite part was drinking wine and eating cheese while riding a steam train! I would definitely go back again because there's surprisingly a lot to do and see!







November was also when I got to live out my childhood dream of going to multiple Good Charlotte shows while they toured the area. I went to three shows in three different states all within 4 days. All of the shows were awesome and I'm glad I was able to finally do something I always wanted to do. I felt that I owed it to my 14 year old self!









Finally, here are some of my favorite outfits from the year:

Dark Spring

Nautical Barber

Bones

Autumn in My Blood

Sleepy Hollow

I hope you all have a happy New Year! Here's to a wonderful 2017!