Hello, hot chocolate.

It's another Hello, Friday!

Hello, three day weekend. {my motivation to get out of bed this morning}

Hello, senior dress up day... hello, massive flowers. [We all dressed nice today for senior dress up day- pleasant. I was forced to wear a giant flower on my chest- unpleasant.]

Hello, rocket launching. We finally got to launch the rockets we made in physics. My rocket didn't go very far, but I was honestly just impressed that it went got off the ground at all. (I was really going more for design. I named it The Great Pumpkin and had a drawing of Linus from Charlie Brown in the pumpkin patch.)

Hello, pop quiz in AP Statistics.

Hello, no work ever. We never really have assignments in Nutrition and Wellness. Today we watched a random cooking show. While that was playing (it was some cooking show with Garth Brooks' wife), I was able to complete my homework.

Hello, DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF. I'm a little bit OCD, and I just really don't like when people touch and move my stuff around. It's mine. Touch your own stuff.

Hello, Kiddie Shoppe. I like work.

Hello, cold pizza and flavor blasted Goldfish.

Hello, fooooootball.

Hello, freezing.I guess I wasn't actually freezing, but considering that I was wearing my "dress up" outfit, which consisted of a skirt, jeans shirt, and boots, I was pretty cold.

Hello, mom. My mom and I are home alone together this weekend!

Hello, a million things that need to be done- scholarships, reading, senior project, photo shoot, shopping, soccer game, etc...

Hello, hot chocolate.

This brings me to what I am thankful for today. 

Day 8: Today, I am thankful for hot chocolate. I have an obsession with chocolate, okay? It's a problem. I know. But, hot chocolate is one of those things I could never give up. I'd be willing to say I could give up all other chocolate products, as long as I could keep hot chocolate. 
Hot chocolate is great year round. Please try to tell me it's not. (you can't)
It's especially fantastic on a cold day like today, when you come home and all you want to do is curl up, drink some hot chocolate, and then fall asleep.
Hot chocolate is also especially magical while traveling through Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens or when your mom makes it on the stove. 
TIP: peppermint hot chocolate at Starbucks. It is the best. (and it's always available... just because something isn't written out on the menu doesn't mean they can't make it- they always have the peppermint syrup chillin' behind the counter. Show it some summer love.)

Hot chocolate warms your body and your soul.

So my recommendation for this beautiful weekend is to grab a cup of hot chocolate and take a nap in between all the craziness {advice mostly for myself, but please feel free to do it too!}
 
 

So, You Had a Bad Day

Some days are just more challenging than others.

I wouldn't say today was a bad day. Overall, it was pretty fine. It was just rough.

Let's not go into why it wasn't the best {that's no fun}; instead, I'm going to discuss how to deal with a no good day.

step 1: give up on eating healthy for the night.
step 2: set up your materials {you will need a bowl, a spoon, and an ice cream scoop}
step 3: locate the ice cream and cereal (flavor doesn't matter; just get it)
step 4: get several heaping scoops of ice cream [disregard how much. you had a rough day and you deserve it.]
step 5: throw some cereal on top.
step 6: EAT IT. eat it all. no regrets.

your final product should look like this

That definitely made me feel a lot better. 

Next time you're having a not so fabulous day, just remember this simple solution, and you'll be fine.

*I talked to my mom and poppy a little, too. That was also helpful. 

{Sorry to be so short tonight. I just really want to curl up in my warm bed and sleep.} 

Breaking the Rules

You can't wear white pants after Labor Day.

False.

You can wear whatever you want, whenever you want. (I tried it out today and nothing happened- it was just a normal day)

Where did this rule even come from? Well, once upon a time, in the early 1900s, there was a rather large difference between social classes- you were either rich or you were poor. All the fancy, rich people would pack up their light, white summer clothes as soon as they felt a warm breeze and leave the drab city for the exotic coastal atmosphere. White was the uniform for the high end bosses during the summer months. And that makes sense! White clothes reflect the hot summer sun, and they were often made out of more luxurious materials. I imagine the women stayed out late shopping in their flirty, white sundresses while their husbands sat around playing cards in their pristine, white pants and a pastel colored shirt. When Labor Day finally rolled around, marking the end of summer, they had to pack everything back up and head back to the city- back to their dull, everyday lives. This meant they packed their white clothes away to save for the next summer. The poorer people, who had to stay in the city all summer and work for a living, continued to wear the same dark, tattered clothing they always wore.

So there you have it! The "no white after Labor Day rule" is merely a symbol the upper class used to separate their fancy, summer lives from the lower classes boring, everyday lives.
 

From: Real Girl Glam

You do you. Wear what you want. Feel pretty.

FREE Coffee

Today was a good day.

It was a pretty long day though, so I'm just going to share a quick tip.

I went to Starbucks today with some friends. We played cards (a game called Mao). It was really quite lovely.

Now, whenever I go to Starbucks, I usually pay with a gift card (because I have about a million- that seems to be everyone's go to gift). I recently learned  about Starbuck's reward system .

I registered all of my gift cards on Starbucks.com, and I downloaded the Starbucks app.

 

With the app, I can pay with my gift cards without having to pull out my wallet; I just scan my phone. Each time you buy something with a registered gift card (either on your phone or by actually swiping it), you get a star, or a reward point. The points add up to different levels. Each level has different rewards associated with it.

Welcome Level: You need one star to get on this level. You get a free drink on your birthday with this (Birthday Cake Frappuccino: vanilla bean frappuccino with toffee nut and hazelnut syrup)

Green Level: five stars! free refills as long as you stay at the store (and you still get the free birthday drink)

Gold Level: you have earn 30 stars. On this level, you get free a free food item or drink every twelve stars, a personalized gold card, and special offers (you also still get the offers from the other two levels).

My recommendation to everyone who ever goes to Starbucks is to pay with a gift card. Buy yourself a card and start earning points to get free stuff! 

I love free stuff. You love free stuff. Everyyyyybody love free stuff (and Starbucks).