guest blogger | Colors of Life

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Posts tagged ‘guest blogger’

Why Jackie loves Orlando, and you can too!

I can’t believe it’s Wednesday. This week is just going to fly by!

Today, our guest blogger comes to us from sunny ol’ Florida. I love having guest bloggers over here in the first place, but I always get so excited when I don’t know what they are going to post about. My favorite part of this series is seeing what people love and how they think we can as well. All of these things make us unique and is a fun way for us to learn about each other!

So without further ado…here is Jackie…

***********************************************************************

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to get the chance to guest blog here at Colors of Life. Molly was one of the first bloggers I ever started following and I love keeping up with her!

My name is Jackie and I blog over at My (Sort Of) Adult Life where I share memories with friends and family, my favorite recipes and anything else I love. I’m a proud dog mama, fiance, coffee lover and slight TV addict. I’m a Florida girl and I’ve lived in Orlando my whole life. Most people only think of Disney World or Universal Studios when they think of Orlando but there is so much more to do here! Today, I’m going to tell you about some of my favorite things our city has to offer.

Lake Eola

My very favorite part of the city is Lake Eola in the heart of downtown. It’s a great place to go for a walk, feed the ducks or you can try the paddle boats. They also have a huge Farmer’s Market every Sunday. The best part is it’s really dog friendly!

Sports

Our sports teams may not be the top dogs but the games are tons of fun. You can catch a Magic or Solar Bears game at the Amway Arena, which is huge and so nice! My personal favorite is the UCF Games, Go Knights! And we just added a soccer team and those games are incredible to be a part of.

Brunch

Orlando is a great place for foodies. You can seriously find any cuisine here and there is no shortage of amazing brunch spots! Some of my favorites are Dexter’s, KASA, Santiago’s Bodega & Soco. We also just got a Sugar Factory which I can’t wait to try!

Escape Rooms

We have a few different Escape Rooms around the area, which are perfect for a puzzle lover like me. If you’ve never been in one, it’s basically a themed room that you get locked in and have to solve a bunch of puzzles to get out of within a certain amount of time (usually an hour). It’s a great group activity!

Dinner Theaters

Another entertaining outing is our dinner theaters. We have a Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, Medieval Times Dinner Show and my personal favorite, Slueths Mystery Dinner Show. What can I say, I’m an amateur detective, I really like mysteries and puzzles!

So, next time your in town, even if you come to hang out with Mickey, I hope you’ll venture out and try some of these other activities! Follow along with me and all of my Orlando adventures!

Thanks again Molly for hosting me!

***********************************************************************

Ahhhhh, thank you so much for sharing your city with us. I WANT WHATEVER THE FOOD IN THAT PICTURE IS! It looks like you have such a blast there!

Everyone go check out her blog and say hi! Thanks again for posting for me this week, Jackie! 🙂

To see more of this series check them out here:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Why Jacquelyn loves sewing, and you can too!

Happy Tuesday!

Like I said yesteryda, while I am out on spring break this week i’ve called in the reinforcements to help me out. AKA other bloggers who have something that they love and want to share with you! It’s been 2 months since we’ve had a guest blogger and I figured what better week than while i’m vacationing??

Jacquelyn is coming to you from The Lowcountry Mama and I am very excited to share her with you today. You might remember the name because just last week I was over on her blog. She’s got a sweet little girl and also works at home, plus she’s one super creative mama…you’ll see what i’m talking about…and not to mention she happens to be the sweetest ever for making my blog button.

COLbutton

Love.

You can grab it on my sidebar by the way 😉

Okay, drumroll, here she is!!!

***********************************************************************

Hey everyone! I’m Jacquelyn and I blog over at The Lowcountry Mama. I write about life in Charleston, motherhood, natural living, recipes and DIY projects. I’m so excited to be guest posting for Molly! When she gave me this prompt I immediately knew that I would write about sewing.. something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. It’s something I do daily, and it used to be my hobby but now it is my business! Here are just a few reasons why I love it:

Artsibaby Sewing Room | Handmade Baby Slippers

The Possibilities + Creativity

Once you know how to sew, the possibilities are endless. You’re able to create anything you can think of! I go kind of crazy in the fabric store.. obviously..

Reasons to Love Sewing | The Lowcountry Mama

Saving Money

I can’t even begin to estimate how much money I’ve saved over the years as a result of being able to sew. When I see something I like in a store but it’s too expensive, I’m able to create my own version at home. Instead of spending hundreds on custom curtains, I can buy some fabric on sale and whip them up myself. Need a wardrobe refresh? I can go into my fabric stash and sew a maxi skirt real quick! After having my baby I decided to sew my own cloth diapers, and the amount of money that has saved our family is huge.

Reasons to Love Sewing | The Lowcountry Mama

Making Everything Custom

I love being able to make everything to my exact specifications without limits. For example, I designed and sewed my prom dress in high school, assuring that it would fit perfectly and pulling bits and pieces of inspiration that I liked from multiple other dresses! For home decor, I love being able to go to the store and find fabric that matches my decorating style exactly. I sewed a slipcover for my ugly black leather office chair and I sewed these curtains to match.

Reasons to Love Sewing | The Lowcountry Mama

The ability to repair things

I absolutely can’t stand throwing things out.. especially old clothes that can be mended or adjusted if they don’t fit anymore. I regularly repair our jeans and have taken in a few dresses for myself and others over the years

Reasons to Love Sewing | The Lowcountry Mama

And best of all..

Sewing is relatively easy to learn!

I basically taught myself when I was younger, and took some basic sewing classes in high school. Other than that, I’ve just experimented with various techniques, fabrics, e.t.c. and fell in love with it.

Hope to see some of you over at my blog! Thanks for having me guest post Molly!

signature

***********************************************************************

You make me really wish I knew how to sew. My mom knows how but it just looks so complicated and I feel like even though you said it’s easy to learn, I would have a tough time. I do agree that it saves a lot of money! Window treatments and things like that add up for sure!

Seriously…what you have made is AMAZING!! You have such a talent, Jacquelyn! Thank you for sharing it with us today!!!!

To see more of this series check them out here:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Why Haley loves Thrifting, and you can too!

Good morning y’all!

Today I am excited for several reasons.

1.It’s Spring Break and i’m on vacation right now.
2. I’ve got some guest bloggers coming to ya this week.
3. Today i’m introducing you to Haley.

So here’s the thing with Haley. We were BEST friends growing up. From when I moved to Texas at age 6, and she moved to the house at the top of the street we were inseparable. You would have found me at Haley’s house more than my own. I have so, so, so many memories with her and there will be times I just randomly think of something we would do or that remind me of her and I get sad. Because why do we have to grow up and get old????? She now lives in Ohio where she’s finishing up her degree so I don’t see her anymore. I saw on Facebook that she recently started a blog and knew that the next time I had a guest blogger she was going to be asked! I love that so many of my friends are becoming bloggers now. (I forgot to upload an old picture of us before I left for vacation! :()

She blogs over at JustHaley.com from anything ranging from her personal life, photography, being a vegan, and her health and fitness journey. I am super proud of everything she has accomplished!!! Today she is talking about thrifting and I can’t wait for you to read!

***********************************************************************

Hi friends! My name is Haley and my little corner of the internet is at JustHaley.com. A big thanks to Molly for asking me to participate in her “Why I love ____, and you can too” series. I love the idea of sharing what we love and giving it as a gift to others.

I’ve always been obsessed with clothes and fashion since I was a little girl. As I got older though the clothes started to get more expensive and I couldn’t always afford the styles I wanted at retail price.

Whenever we would grow out of our old clothes we always donated them. When I was 10, I asked my mom where the clothes go, and she showed me the Goodwill store.

It was then that I discovered thrifting and my life was changed.

I hardly ever buy new clothes anymore. It actually pains me to spend more than $10 on a piece of clothing. Sometimes it’s necessary, but I would rather hunt for unique styles than just buy things off the mannequin.

Thrifting is definitely more of skill than people think though. It takes patience, good judgment, and an eye for style in a sea of mundane drapes, wildly printed shirts, shoulder padded jackets, and everything denim.

lacey-closet-e14210699957301

Saving Money

Obviously the best part about thrifting is that everything is SO cheap. The last time I went thrifting I was in search of office clothes for my internship and I came out with 2 pairs of pants, 2 blouses, and 2 shirts for $15. Not to mention they all were in immaculate condition, some still had the tags on them. If I had paid retail price for these items, it would have easily been over $100. I’m pretty sure no amount of coupons could ever get me $85 in savings. Feel free to challenge that idea though.

The Hunt

You never know what you’ll find at a thrift store. Thrifting is like searching for buried treasure. You might be searching for awhile, but once you find that piece you were looking for, and only pay $3 for it, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that you didn’t settle for something that costs 10 times more. Even if you aren’t looking for a specific thing, it is still just as fun to go in and see what you find. Get $20 from grandma for your birthday? Challenge yourself to see how many things you can buy for that $20 at the thrift store. I did this challenge with my boyfriend and we got some awesome stuff like a 1980s Rainbow Polaroid and a waffle iron. Because who doesn’t love waffles?

Some of my thrift store finds:

Screen Shot 2016-03-12 at 12.11.54 PM

Helping Out Mother Earth

Did you know that about 90% of the clothing purchased in the U.S. comes from abroad? That means that new sweater at the department store traveled thousands of miles and used tons of energy to get into your closet, polluting the air with carbon emissions. There is also lots of packaging associated with new clothing that ends up in landfills. With secondhand clothes, housewares and other products, you are reducing your carbon footprint and following the basics of environmental friendliness: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Being Unique

As a lover of fashion, I’m always looking for the next big trend. What I love most about thrifting is the challenge of taking old clothes and making them fit modern trends. “Vintage looking” clothing is a super popular trend right now that retail stores are trying to sell for at least 3 times the price of the thrift store. But why pay that when you can get the same look or better for less? Sometimes you’ll finds items that aren’t sold in a retail store to put together a genuine, unique look that will have your friends asking where you got your outfit from. You can decide to tell them the truth or not.

I hope this helps you learn a little bit more about thrifting and inspires you to check out your local thrift store. If you wanna learn more about saving money, awesome healthy recipes, beauty and life hacks, and fitness tips, click on over to JustHaley.com. I also post on Instagram daily. Another big thanks to Molly for letting me express my love for thrifting on her site!

Best,

Haley Baker
justhaley.com

***********************************************************************

Haley, I am so glad you agreed to guest blog for me!! I feel like I know everything about you, but this is something I didn’t know 🙂

I agree 100% though! I’ve mentioned on my blog that I don’t like spending money on clothes. I would so much rather do something than get something. This is probably why we always got along so well though…the fun of the hunt for 5 pieces of clothing under $15 sounds right up my alley.

Thank you again!!

To see more of this series check them out here:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Why Alexandra loves Photography, and you can too!

Hi friends! It’s guest blogger week and we’ve got Alexandra over here to talk about her love of Photography! I asked her to guest blog for me a while ago and the next thing I knew her post was in my inbox. She’s on top of her stuff. Then, I got an e-mail from her asking me to guest blog so I did…5 things I love about Texas. Go look today too!

**********************************************************

Hello everyone! I’m Alexandra and I blog over at myurbanfamily.com. I’m thrilled to be guest posting for Molly – especially because I love her “why I love ___, and you can too” prompts. I’ve read all the others and as soon as she asked me, I knew I wanted to write about photography.

I am a huge photography nerd. While I do try to keep my obsession to a minimum, if you get me started I can gab about cameras, lenses and my favorite locations to photograph around Chicago all day long. I am also that friend that pulls out her dSLR anytime someone mentions taking a photo – you know, instead of my phone.

So why do I love photography so much? Because it is the perfect way to be artsy/creative, sentimental, expressive, and aware of your surroundings all at once. It can also pique your curiosity, and make you look at the world a different way.

Being Artsy

So many of my friends tell me that they’re just not good at art and can’t be artsy. But photography is the perfect introduction to get in touch with your artsy side. And if you have a smartphone, you really have no excuse as to why you can’t start trying! I know by saying that anyone can do photography with a smartphone I may make a few photographers angry. But I have a BFA in photography and I still feel very strongly that anyone with any tool can create art – it just takes time and effort.

Being Sentimental

What better way to capture a moment than with a photograph? The older I get the faster time seems to be moving but I am so grateful that I’ve always taken lots of photographs along the way. It’s a perfect way for me to look back and reminisce, laugh, and just be reminded of why I am so lucky each and every day.

Expressing Yourself

Photography is a great tool to help you express yourself. I know my mood always shows through my photographs and I’m sure if you went out and took some photos you would be surprised at how much yours does as well. When I’m in a great mood I tend to come home with bright photos that are zoomed out, showing a lot of the world in front of me. When I happen to go out in a bad or sad mood with my camera, I tend to come home with darker, more dramatic shots. At first I didn’t notice the correlation, but over time it’s become more and more obvious.

Being Aware of Your Surroundings

Walking down the street with a destination in mind and walking down the street with a camera in your hand can be two totally different experiences. With a lense in front of you, seeing the world around you and really soaking it in can be so much easier. The camera gives you that extra excuse to quite literally stop and smell the roses – and then take a photo of them.

Those are just a few of the reasons I love photography and think you can too! To give you a taste of my photography, here is one of my favorite recent shots:

A photo posted by My Urban Family (@myurbanfamily) on Oct 25, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT

I would love for you to follow along on my Instagram or my other social media outlets: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Bloglovin!

**********************************************************

Thanks for blogging over here today, Alexandra! I always wished I had an eye for photography. I love, love, love pictures – you can ask my family and friends haha they get so annoyed! And I love everything you said about photography today, especially about it being sentimental!

Ps if you’ve missed any part of this series about what we love, check them out:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Happy 2016!

Hello everyone! Welcome to 2016!!!

I am so excited to be ringing in the new year with each of you. I don’t know if I would still be blogging if it weren’t for meeting y’all and the support you have given me. I know I tell you all the time, but I just look forward to your comments and e-mails so much! And I truly mean that.

Today’s assortment are a couple random things that I haven’t shared with you yet. 🙂

jan1

Last week, Alexandra featured me as a guest blogger. 5 things I love about Texas…check it out!

jan2

If you remember, my friend Tara at Hill Country Heart won my ultimate Chranksgiving (I made this word up) giveaway. Well I came home last week after work so it was super late and I was in a mood for who knows what reason. I see that there is a package from Tara to me. I was like there’s no way that she sent me something but remembered that she had my address since she won my giveaway package. She sent a pair of her favorite boot socks and a little prayer box for me with a thank you for everything in the giveaway. I mean, seriously. I have THE best blog friends and i’ve worn the boot socks approximately 3902572 times already.

janff3

Speaking of THE best blog friends, Kylie at Kylie McGraw is one of them. So I get home the next night which just so happened to be Christmas Eve and my sister’s like “you got a package, open it” and I couldn’t wait until the next day so I did. And Kylie sent me this cute M keychain. I love it. It’s already on my purse looking faaabulousss 🙂

THANK YOU KYLIE AND TARA!!!! You both made my entire week by that your thoughtful gesture 🙂

janff4

The other morning I had bought a Starbucks coffee and didn’t like it, so I took it back and got a new drink. Well I decided that I wanted to take that drink to my dad at his office, so I did. I don’t even remember snapping this picture, but apparently I did cause I found it on my phone. I think he was very appreciative even though he said “bring it earlier next time”. Beggers can’t be choosers, pops.

janff5

This is my new favorite flavored drink. I love vitamin water and this is Costco’s brand. Raspberry and green tea. They just go together. And green tea is supposed to be very good for you, I always read that we are suppose to drink it so here I am…drinking it!

janff6

And for fun…I loved seeing which posts other bloggers have found to be their most viewed, so i’m adding mine today. Here’s the top 6:

Show and Tell: Your Yard
Favorite Things: Target Edition
Show and Tell: Your Home
Show and Tell: Beauty Routine
Show and Tell: A Day In The Life
Meet My Peeps

So I should just Show and Tell all the time i’m thinking 😉

And the top 6 most viewed pictures…are random. Apparently we all have a mutual hatred for Wednesdays.

pin-wednesday

And you all loved my yard.

And apparently really loved my sister’s sprained ankle…

And liked what I put together back in November of 2014 🙂

So random, right?

janff7

Next week will be another week’s worth of Online Bible Study. I’ll be sharing my resolutions for 2016 and recapping 2015’s. And don’t forget about Bookworm Wednesday!

bookwormwednesday1

I hope you eat some black eyed peas, collard greens, and pork today 🙂 Happy January 1, let’s get started on our new goals!

Category:

Friday Favorites

Tagged with:

Thursday Favorites: Christmas On The Mind Edition

Well, tomorrow i’ll be elsewhere (come back to find out where!) so today i’m posting my ~~Friday~~ Thursday FAVORITES.

FridayFavorites3_zpsea6fc451

…with Erika, Narci, and Andrea of course.

decff1

And actually that brings me to number 1 today. A couple of weeks ago when Erika guest blogged for me on her love of online shopping, I didn’t really understand fully what she was talking about. I’d online shopped before, but not that much. After I ordered one thing in the mail this Christmas season, I just kept ordering because I AM OBSESSED WITH online shopping now. I mean, it’s my FAVORITE. This is me on Christmas morning last year and I can only imagine what this year will be like since I hardly had to go anywhere!! Which may or may not have meant more shopping and more gifts 😉

decff2

Speaking of deliveries and going places, I put this little gift together last night. I actually found this on Pinterest so I can’t take credit for it. After looking at it, I decided it was perfect and had to do one for our mail carrier. For $3.50, you can easily make their day. It’s not anything huge, but it’s something to let them know we are thinking about them during the holidays too. Making people feel special is one of my FAVORITES.

mailman

decff3

And speaking of the holidays…this week we attempted our Christmas card picture. The brothers hate, hate, haaaaattteee taking these pictures. Me, any pictures are my FAVORITE so it doesn’t bother me and Morgan doesn’t care either way. This is usually a huge ordeal because the brothers don’t cooperate and it takes hours, so finally my mom just started snapping pictures…

…she obviously has a gift for the flattering pictures…

…but we ended up with one that nobody hated so we called it a winner, and were done no more than 5 minutes later!

Merry Christmas from the Middletons!

decff4

Speaking of Christmas, I went out with my mom and aunt last night to do some shopping and they take a sweet forever just to go through the aisles of the dollar store. So when we finally made it to Target I was about to keel over, naturally I hopped in the cart like the mature adult that I am.

Notice the fuzzy socks, leggings, and house shoes. #FAVORITE #it’smyuniform

decff5

Month 2 Fitness Goals: Week 2 Update

Having goals is one of my very FAVORITE way to keep me accountable. Now, how did I do this week you ask?

No eating within an hour of a meal. I did surprisingly well with this goal. I think part of the time I was conscious about it, but most of the time I was just listening to my body so if I wasn’t super hungry I didn’t eat. I’ve really found how much listening to your body makes a difference.
No QuestBars or Larabars more than 2 days in a row. I actually did this one!! I think without even realizing it though. Although some days I did have one and a half, and some days I had some dark chocolate bark things or others in place. But at least i’m cutting back on these!
Continue working out 5 days a week. Yep, check! I’ve worked out every day except for yesterday this week. And I probably would have had I not talked myself into taking a break…it’s so needed!
Be in bed by 11:00. Nope. In fact, i’m finishing typing this up at 1:00AM. You guys, I told you this was going to be a real deal for me! My uncle even called me out on it when he saw I had texted him late the other night…oops.

Whew! And now this time next week it will be Christmas Eve…can you even believe that?! Ahhhh, I hope the rest of my online shopping arrives by then or things could get #awkward around here 😉

Have a great day!

Category:

Fitness, Friday Favorites

Tagged with:

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Tradition + Fitness Goals Update

I mean, honestly. Can you believe that it’s already the SECOND Friday of DECEMBER?!

FridayFavorites3_zpsea6fc451

As usual, i’m linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci for Friday Favorites. It’s Friday Favorites…Thanksgiving in December style?

decff1

I forgot to include this in my Thanksgiving post, but i’m probably going to have to go back and add it. A couple years ago I cam up with a fun Thanksgiving tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I love the food that the Holiday brings, but I love the Holiday for just what it stands for. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, everyone draws one name (secretly) of another person in the family. For the person that you draw, you have to write them a letter of why you’re thankful for them and then we get that person a little gift. Nothing big, just a little gift.

This year, Morgan had me…and she did awesome. This was my gift from my sissy and she picked it to personally match my office (from a year ago) because she knows how much I love my yellow and grey together.

This year, we started another tradition. Mom came up with the idea of everyone writing something about each other, then crumbling up the paper and sticking it in their glass. After dinner and gift exchange, the person to our right read each note and you had to guess who it was.

I saved my little papers from everyone to tape to my home “desk”…so I can look at it when I need to smile 🙂

Dad said: Molly’s perseverance
Mom said: Focused on health and fitness
Morgan said: I’m thankful your worms (inside joke, she’s referring to my health issues) didn’t kill you and you started cooking more for all of us.
Rick said: I’m thankful you let me pick on you and still be nice to me.
Ryan said: I love your room because you share it with me.

decff2

Well, since mom mentioned health and fitness above, i’m going to roll with that.

Month 2 Fitness Goals: Week 1 Update

Wow this week pretty much got away from me and I didn’t even remember that I had fitness goals that I was working on!

No eating within an hour of a meal. I started keeping a food journal if I didn’t already mention that, and as i’m looking back on it now i’m seeing that there was only 1 day that I didn’t stick to this goal.
No QuestBars or Larabars more than 2 days in a row. Boo. I didn’t accomplish this goal this week. Sometimes a bite of one of these bars just sounds sooooooo good. Every day. Sigh.
Continue working out 5 days a week. Yep, check! I’ve worked out every day except for Monday this week.
Be in bed by 11:00. Oh, yeah. Well like I said this week snuck away from me. I feel like i’m trying to fit a lot of things/accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, so there were a couple nights I was still up and about after 11:00.

decff3

Yesterday morning I was running some errands and stopped at Starbucks to pick up a gift card. I have cut back SO MUCH this fall on my coffee intake, which is probably a good thing. In the last month and a half i’ve only had 8 cups of coffee. And usually when I do I get an Americano with soy or a Blonde Roast Misto with coconut milk.

But yesterday I decided I deserved a 1 pump iced mocha with soy. It was the best. Give in to your cravings every once in a while…it’s good for the soul!

decff4

Online Bible Study is starting on SUNDAY!!!!!! Wahoo!

bibleversequote1

Those of you signed up: You should be receiving an e-mail from me today.

Those of you not signed up: You will get a glimpse of what it’s going to be like. If nothing else, just pray for all of us joining in on this journey together. And I hope you’ll consider be part of it next time. 🙂

decff5

Annddd last thing today, if you’ve missed any other posts on the blog this week, check them out.

Monday: Month 2 Fitness Goals
Tuesday: Show and Tell: Christmas Decorations
Wednesday: December Goals (A recap of 2015 goals and everything accomplished.)
Thursday: Guest Blogger! Lauren talked about why she loves traveling, and we can too.

Aaaahh, enjoy your second weekend of December!

Category:

Fitness, Friday Favorites

Tagged with:

Why Lauren loves Traveling, and you can too!

Happy guest blogger Thursday!!

By now I don’t have to tell you that this is my favorite day of every other week. Today, Lauren is over here talking about something she loves, and how we all can too! Lauren makes me smile every. single. morning. At night before bed I set my blog to post around 4:00-5:00 AM. As soon as my alarm goes off in the morning I open up my phone and see a bunch of red notifications for e-mails, so I open them. And without fail (except when she was traveling…ironic), my first blog e-mail is one saying “Lauren commented on your post”. It’s so fun waking up to every day. Lauren and I are close to the same age (as a lot of us are), so I find I really connect with her on that level too. And now i’m getting all sappy, ha!

I just love all of you, my readers, so much. 🙂

**********************************************************

Hey y’all, thanks so much for having me, Molly! I feel honored, humbled, and excited to be apart of such a great series of bloggers. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading about each blogger’s passions. I love to hear what makes each of us unique! But before I start, let me introduce myself. I’m the Post Grad, but you can call me Lauren, and I blog at Post Grad in Progress. I usually am covering what it’s like to be fresh out of college with a real job in a new city with some decorating, DIY, and recipes thrown in for good measure. Come join me on this adventure!

When Molly approached me about writing this post it was clear to me what I should write about…traveling. Traveling is something that defines my now 23 years of life. I’ve hardly traveled in comparison to the immensity of the world but that’s something I hope to remedy for the rest of my life. So today, I’m going to share some of the places I loved!

I admittedly have not done the best job about traveling within the United States. But this past spring my college roommate and I traveled to San Diego. I fully recapped our trip in 2 parts here and here. Check it out! Some of the best spots from my trip were…

Seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time and eating a delicious breakfast at Pacific beach…

…and visited the famous zoo…

…and walked around beautiful La Jolla.

If you get the opportunity, visit San Diego, I promise you won’t regret it!

If you’re looking to travel internationally Brussels, Belgium should be on your list. Brussels stole my heart with it’s quintessential old European charm. The people are amongst the warmest and kindest I’ve ever encountered.

The food is insanely delicious too!

If you’re traveling alone or for the first time Belgium is a great place to visit. Most of the locals speak English, it is very safe and clean, and it’s pretty tourist friendly. I also visited Brugge and Ghent while in Belgium as well. All of my Belgian recaps are here and here.

I’ve always beat to my own drum. So it wasn’t surprising to me that when given the opportunity to study abroad in Russia for 2 weeks, I jumped. I had been looking for a short study abroad opportunity my junior year but could never figure out where I wanted to go. I didn’t want to go to a typical place so Russia was the best fit for me! I would definitely encourage anyone to visit Russia. It was an incredible experience.

I’ve hit some of the highlight cities of Europe but Russia is such a unique culture. It’s a completely different world and pace of life over there. It was so great to contrast my European travels with this trip.

It’s important to venture out and see parts of the world that aren’t as polished and idealized. It’s humbling and teaches you so much. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend traveling by yourself to Russia though because it is a huge culture shock. It isn’t as tourist friendly as other areas of the world. I skimmed the highlights of my trip here.

I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to Spain, France, London, and Scotland. All of my trips enriched my life in some capacity. A couple of tips that I learned from my trips…

1. To set reasonable expectations. Traveling isn’t always easy. It’s expensive, exhausting, and challenging. Of course, it’s one of the most rewarding experiences in life but it doesn’t come without hurdles. I dedicated a whole post to touching on this. Check it out here.

2. Europe is a great place to visit because you can hit a lot of great cities and countries all within one trip. Utilize the trains that can travel within a country and internationally! I was able to do day trips using the trains. I talked about this tip and a couple others here.

3. Utilize staying in Airbnb. You get a larger space for a lower price! Also, it gives you a point of contact in an overwhelming new place. I talked about it in depth here.

4. Pack a lot of layers and pieces that can be mixed and matched. Weather in Europe is all over the place. It tends to be chilly and rainy but other days its sunny and hot. You have to be prepared for all situations! Also, you’re taking so many pictures that you don’t want to remember how you wore yoga pants at the Eiffel Tower…am I right!?! I unpacked my suitcase here.

Well there are some of my tips and experiences with traveling! I hope that y’all took away something to help you or inspire you! Thanks again Molly for having me! As always check out my blog every Monday, Wednesday, Friday to see what I’m up to! xoxo

photo signature_zps061a4d79.png

**********************************************************

Lauren, thank you for guest blogging over here today. I’m ready to take a trip…who’s in with me??? I say we all travel to one city and meet up 🙂

Ps if you’ve missed any part of this series about what we love, check them out:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Why Erika loves Online Shopping, and you can too!

Morning!

I am suuuuuuper excited about today’s guest blogger. Y’all know her and love her just like I do.

excitedquotepin

Drum roll please….it’s Erika visiting with us from A Little Bit of Everything Blog. One of the reasons I am so excited about having her over here is because I know the majority (if not all) of you read her blog religiously like I do. Another reason is because of her positive, uplifting spirit and the #keepinitreal mentality of her posts. I mean we need that in blog world. I can’t say enough good things about her – from what I feel like I know of her. So here we go friends, enjoy!

_____________________________________________________

Hi Girls! I’m Erika over at A Little Bit of Everything Blog, where I blog just that…a little bit of everything. 🙂 When Molly asked me to share something I loved with all of you, I had NO clue what I’d share. Then I sat down to order a couple Christmas presents online and realized my new found love of one simple click and the presents arriving at your door HAD to be shared!

I’ve always been a lover of crowds. Seriously…sign me up for some Black Friday shopping. For the discounts and sales? Yes! But more importantly for the CROWDS! I get a rush when those doors are opened and hundreds (maybe thousands) of us are hurrying inside the doors to get $15.00 off the latest toy. hahaha! I love it, but some of you reading this are sweating! ha!

This year I accidentally signed up for Amazon Prime (the free two-day shipping program with Amazon). When I realized I’d already purchased the membership, I was determined to get my money’s worth in free shipping and two-day orders. So…I began ordering Christmas presents.

Ladies, I have to tell you….it’s SO stinkin’ nice!!

Here are some reasons I love online shopping:

*It’s CRAZY easy!

*I save so much time.

*You can price compare, but easier and quicker than running from store to store.

*You don’t have to shower?! Can I get an “Amen”?? 🙂

*This might be my very favorite reason…how many times in the store do they NOT have your size?? Online-there are usually every size in stock.

And maybe a little too often…I order things for myself and not just for others. 🙂

Please come visit me over at A Little Bit of Everything.…I’m asking my readers over there, “What They’re Thankful For” and I’m not talking the big things like family, salvation, and health. I’m looking for those small things…like a neighbor who brought us dinner or a husband who gave me a night off. I think if we all share our little things we just might realize we have WAY more to be thankful for. 🙂

Thanks so much for having me over today, Molly!!! XOXO

_____________________________________________________

Erika, thank YOU so much for guest blogging today. I was so thankful when you said yes. It’s fun learning about what some of our favorite bloggers love…and better yet why they love it! And I know we all can appreciate online shopping especially this time of year. Everyone hop on over there and say hi today 🙂

And ps if you’ve missed any other part of this series about what we love, check them out:

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

Colors of Life

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Posts tagged ‘guest blogger’

Why Jackie loves Orlando, and you can too!

Why Jacquelyn loves sewing, and you can too!

Why Haley loves Thrifting, and you can too!

Saving Money

The Hunt

Helping Out Mother Earth

Being Unique

Why Alexandra loves Photography, and you can too!

Being Artsy

Being Sentimental

Expressing Yourself

Being Aware of Your Surroundings

Happy 2016!

Thursday Favorites: Christmas On The Mind Edition

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Tradition + Fitness Goals Update

Why Lauren loves Traveling, and you can too!

Why Erika loves Online Shopping, and you can too!

Search This Blog:

Archives

Like me on Facebook:

Follow via Email:

Top Posts & Pages:

Share my blog button on your page!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Posts tagged ‘guest blogger’

Share this:

Share this:

Saving Money

The Hunt

Helping Out Mother Earth

Being Unique

Share this:

Being Artsy

Being Sentimental

Expressing Yourself

Being Aware of Your Surroundings

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Categories

Search This Blog:

Archives

Follow via Email:

Top Posts & Pages:

Share my blog button on your page!

Tag Cloud