Bachelor Outfit Link Up!

I am linking up with E for an awesome link up to design outfits that I would wear if I was on The Bachelor. I had such a blast making these outfits, I wish I could wear them in real life!

For my casual date I still decided to dress it up a bit so that I would stand out. Obviously this wouldn't be appropriate if we were playing sports or going to an amusement park (we all remember last season...) but for most things I think it would work. I'm normally a silver jewelry person but I'm mixing it up with the gold in this outfit. 

In the mansion I would definitely want to be comfy and casual. Since Juan Pablo isn't around there isn't anyone to impress so clearly leggings and flip flops are the way to go! 

 

I went with a floor length navy gown. I love all of the sparkle and I wanted to add even more with the shoes and jewelry. I would go with some subtle make up to balance all the bling. 

I made this as a hot tub/lazy days at the pool outfit. Since I am always trying to avoid tan lines I would stick to bandeau tops even though they aren't the most flattering. I'd keep a cute cover up nearby just in case Juan Pablo stopped by for a visit. Sunglasses are a must! 

I hope you enjoyed these outfits. Go design your own and link up with E! 

on my own

This weekend my boyfriend went out of town and it was interesting to have an entire weekend to myself. I love spending my weekends with him but it gave me the chance to do a bunch of other stuff that I have been wanting to get done.

I am working on a basket for my best friend's bachelorette party so I spent a bunch of time shopping for that. I will post a picture when it's finished (the party isn't until april) but I found a super cute basket with burlap to match her theme. I started filling it with ring pops, Tylenol, hand sanitizer, gum, mints, cute cocktail napkins, and i'm going to add some plane snacks and other goodies as we get closer. She is my first close friend to get married and since I'm the maid of honor it's even more excited. It's definitely giving me wedding fever...but let's not get started on that.

I also spent a lot of time at the gym this weekend. I hope everyone is keeping up with their fitness goals! I've found that having friends in real life who are also trying to lose weight is super motivational to me. I'm competitive so in my mind I think....I better lose more weight that *insertnamehere* and it makes me stay on track. I highly recommend that method if you are a competitive person and need motivation.

I got to catch up on all my shows this weekend as well which was fabulous. Right now the shoes I'm into are The Bachelor (you'll see more of that tomorrow), The Biggest Loser, Sister Wives, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Listing those shows makes me sound like a terrible person, but I"m a sucker for reality tv.

My alone time is great, but I'm so excited for my boyfriend to come back tomorrow. I miss him. So thankful that we don't live 4 hours apart anymore.

10 little confessions.

I was inspired by E this morning so I'm linking up for Midweek Confessions with 10 little confessions.

1. We haven't even been back from winter break for two weeks yet and I'm already in desperate need of another break.

2. I eat fiber one cereal every day, along with a fiber one bar, and sometimes a fiber one brownie. People always comment after just my granola bar that I'm going to have to go to the bathroom and the fiber seriously does nothing to me. I hope this is normal...

3. The worst thing about working out every day is that now I have to shower every day. I am lazy and like to skip a day so I don't have to deal with blow drying and straightening my hair every day but I'm definitely not going to be going to school after working out the night before.

4. I wear leggings every wednesday. My kids I only see Wednesday probably judge me.

5. I am going to Vegas during spring break and looking forward to that trip is keeping me sane.

6.  I am already slacking on my morning Bible reading. I read it super fast and pray so that then I can get on my computer. I don't think that's what I'm supposed to be doing.

7. I am a mod on a Harry Potter message board. I have been for 3 years...except I'm no longer in college and now a 23 year old teacher.

8. I am oddly excited for my birthday.

9. Living with my boyfriend is the best thing ever. We are so lame and like old people who just sit around and watch tv, but after being apart so long I just love being with him.

10. I'm stressed out.

Happy Hump Day!

alarm malfunction.

It's just my luck that when I am writing about how great my morning quiet time is, the next morning my alarm doesn't go off. I am supposed to be at school at 7:05 for team meetings on wednesday and when I rolled over and looked at my phone what time was it? 7:05. not a fun thing to wake up to. Thank goodness it was a Wednesday so the students have late start and we have PLC time, but still not that fun.

I wanted to report that my new years resolution of getting healthy has been great so far! I just finished my 7th workout in 7 days. Usually I go to classes at the gym but twice when I didn't have a lot of time I just went to the exercise room at our apartment complex and used the treadmill. My meals and calorie counting have also been right on target. I know it's only 7 days, but I'm proud of myself. I hope that anyone else out there working on getting healthy is having success as well. If you ever want to chat about it I'm always up for talking about working out, diets, etc. It motivates me to talk to other people doing the same thing. 

Time to do my Beth Moore reading and head to bed, lets hope my alarm doesn't malfunction again tomorrow morning, I will have to set extra ones just in case. 

Believing God.

I was thrilled when I saw that Beth Moore was offering several of her e-books for free to download after the new year. I have been wanting to read some of her books and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I started with Believing God and I feel like the beginning has been a little slow but I'm starting to get into it.

She tells readers to set a goal for themselves to try and achieve and I was inspired by some other bloggers and set my goal to be that I would make my quiet time in the morning instead of in the evening. I always get up with enough time so that I can have a half hour to myself in the morning while I'm eating breakfast to go on my computer and read blogs, look at facebook, and do a couple other things. I decided to devote this time to Christ for a week and see how it feels. I'm only one day in and I'm not going to lie, it's hard! I'm in such a habit of checking everything in the morning and it's hard to go 24 hours without going to some of these websites but thats okay! I love the challenge and I think that it's really building my spirit and making me realize what I need to crave, which is the Lord, not social media and people I don't even know. I've been missing out on using this time to connect with the greatest person of all, my Heavenly Father.

I'm thinking that I will probably make this last more than just a week but right now that is my challenge that I need to meet. I've also been thinking maybe I will have to get up 45 minutes earlier so I can have my devotional time and then still have computer time. We shall see, but for now, God first. As it should be. Always.

what i'm hoping for in 2014.

As much as I feel like New Year's Resolutions are cliche, I still love the idea of making them every year and working hard to achieve them.

*Be intentional with my quiet time and journaling every day. I have read my Bible more this year than the other 23 years of my life combined and I love the changes that I see. My relationship with the Lord is growing every day and I want to stay on this track. There is so much to read and so much more to learn about Jesus and this year I want to continue that relationship with him and really dive into the bible.

*Make my health a priority. I have a gym membership, I need to use it. I know how to eat healthy, I need to actually eat that way. I have gone a couple months with eating lots of junk and not working out and now I need to get back in shape because I have a lot o big things coming up this year. I am a maid of honor in a wedding this summer and I want to be in perfect shape for that event. Not to mention the bachelorette party in Vegas for that wedding in April. If a weekend surrounded by 8 girls who are in perfect shape in shorts and bikini isn't motivation, I don't know what is.

*Further my education. Even though I just graduated with my Bachelor's last year, I am planning on starting my masters this year. Depending on my summer plans, I might start in June to get a few solid months complete before I get back to school. I know that it's going to be a lot of work but the feeling of accomplishment (and raise) makes it worth it. Plus, I would rather do it now before I have kids and other distractions.

*Go on a trip with my boyfriend. We have been together for over 4 years but since we were in college and then broke after college, we still haven't gone on a real vacation together. I think that is something we definitely need to accomplish this year.

That's what I will stick with for now. There are so many other, smaller, goals that I could add but then this list would go on forever.

Happy 2014!