Beach Day Essentials

I am on the count down until I am sitting on the beaches on Destin relaxing without a care in my mind (expect missing Maci of course). So in honor of the fact I get to go to the beach in 20 days I wanted to share a few of my favorite beach essentials and how I prepare for a day in the sun. 

• Book - You can see the books I want to read this summer here. I just picked this book because I liked how it went with the other colors but in all honesty I will have probably read this book before I even leave for the beach. 
• Sunscreen - Seriously this is so important take care of your skin. A nice tan looks good for now but at the risk of skin cancer it is just not worth it (get a spray tan). Not to mention the sun causes wrinkles. I burn so easily so I always buy the highest spf. For my face I just use a BB cream with spf in it so that I have a little bit of coverage with protection. 
• Towel - This is kind of obvious but if you are like me sometimes the obvious is easy to forget. I like a really thick towel for the beach because it seems to help keep the sand out. I also like it to be colorful and cute for the pictures (you know what I mean?).
• Bathing Suit - I have been so obsessed with these strapy bathing suits! I have one super similar to the one above that I got on amazon here, but be careful because they can leave funky tan lines.
• Hat - I got mine from Urban Outfitters on sale a few months (you can see it in pictures here) I absolutely love it! It gives extra protection from the sun and keeps me a little bit cooler.
• Water Bottle - This is so so important! Hydration is key when being in the sun for extended periods of time. The best thing about the S'well is their bottles keep your water cold for 24 hours and I promise it really works. 
• Floats - These are just fun! Urban Outfitter have the have the best even if they are a little expensive. You can check them out here.
• Sunglasses - Again this a little obvious but hey just in case you are going to forget your sun glasses, don't!

Blogger Round Up

I love blogs. I love them. I don't know how to put it other than I just love them. I have been readings for six years and writing a blog for one. I feel like everyone has certain blogs you just click with. I can never put a finger on what is about them but I just always go back. I can't explain it other than I just feel like I mesh with the blog. For me it started with on blog then my list of blogs kept growing and growing. I use Bloglovin' to keep track of all the blogs I read at this point. I read a lot of blogs that I like so much, but there are a few that are just my favorite. I wanted to share these favorite because they are fabulous blogs and I hope that you guys will feel like you just mesh with them too!

I am going to try and list these blogs in chronologically order in which I started to read them. Some of them coincide with my favorite people to follow on Instagram, which you can find here.

1) Love Taza

2) The Daybook

3) Aspyn Ovard

4) Something Devine

5) Mostly Morgan

6) Tales of Me and the Husband

7) Headed Somewhere

8) Zoella

9) Wildlandia

A Day at the Lake

Summer time for me means coffee on the porch in the mornings, refueling my mind with many books, refueling my body with many fruits, but most importantly means spending countless days at the lake with my family. If you read my blog enough I am sure you have caught onto how much I love my family. The only thing better than spending the day at the lake with my family is spending the day at the lake with my family AND some of our dogs. Now we aren't crazy enough to bring all six dogs, but that is okay the older dogs and the small dogs are not the biggest fans of swimming. This weekend we spent Saturday soaking up the sun, riding around the lake, and playing on the dock of our good friends. Honestly I think we have just as much fun watching the dogs have fun as anything else. We have a local sandwich shop we always stop at on the drive to lake to pick up lunch. This was the first trip of the year which I was brave enough to get into the water and it was FREEZING! Seriously I had the best time just spending time unplugged from my phone and even my books just talking and laughing with my family.

Things That I Wanted to Post on Instagram, But Didn't

There are a bunch of pictures I wanted to upload to Instagram, but didn't for fear of over load or lack of self confidence. Also know as what I have been doing with my life lately.

This was four books ago.

There is even a dog cage for Maci.

My best friend.

My other best friend and some funky lighting.

I am obsessed with this outfit.

All my life goals were fulfilled after seeing this.

I really just want another one of these. K, thanks.

The Love Story of Meeting My Best Friend

I like to call this a love story because it's sort of weird and kind of magical how everything happened. To fully understand Gelica and I's friendship we have to start four and a half years ago on our first day of high school. We sat next to each other in English. She was intimidated by me because I had so many piercings (I only had three), I was intimidated by her because she seemed so confident. We sat near each other in class and talked about our love for art and New York. For the next four years we said hi to each other in passing but that is about it. Now fast forward to our senior prom, some how or another we ended up in the same prom group and in a certain state of mind after prom we agreed to get an apartment together since we were going to the same school. The following Monday in art class we confirmed we were actually going to get an apartment together, which is still crazy. We stilled didn't become friends, we would text about details while trying to find an apartment, and tried to get all of our most annoying habits out in the open before we moved in together. Then came August and we actually lived together, we were barely friends and hardly knew what to talk to each other about. On the first day of classes we had a little orientation meeting thing, we sat by each other but didn't really speak to each other. If that were to take place now, someone would have to beg us to shut up. After moving in we bonded over boys, tears, spilt Kool-Aid, tattoos, and having to grow up very quickly in our new apartment. Now this lady is my best friend I cant imagine a better roommate or friend. I love her for her do whatever you want attitude, for giving me encouragement even when I need a reality check, and doing the dishes even when it is my turn. She reminds me to be grateful on my worst days and always cleans up my spilt drinks when I am running late. She is the co author of all my texts and my shoulder to lead on. She understands me for me and doesn't expect me to be anyone else.

 

Dog Toys Every Dog Parent Should Own

When you have a dog, dog toys are a necessity. Your dog needs to have something to keep him or her busy when you cannot. Dog toys help your pup get out energy, work out their brain, and helps with their instinct to hunt. And as a added bonus it is good for their teeth, which if you are like me and forget to brush your pups teeth from time to time this is a great thing. Now that I have told you a few things that are good about toys let me tell you what drives me nuts. Dog toys do not last forever so I am constantly buying new one and they are not cheap. Shredded dog toys are a mess. Maci will cry over a ball forever. Regardless of all the negative things about dog toys they are needed, and a happy dog makes a happy dog mom! Here are a few of mine and Maci favorite dog toys. Maci is totally obsessed with tennis balls so a lot of these toys are balls. 

• Dog Bone - This is great for playing on her own. She can just lay on the ground and chew for hours. It is also good for her teeth. 

• Treat Toy - This is a great brain work out for Maci and she can play with it on her own. My only complaint is it is very loud on hardwood floors, so it is best to be played with on carpet.

• Squirrel Brain Toy - Both Maci and I love this toy because it works out her brain trying to get the squirrels out. Each of the squirrels have a squeaker in them with is super fun but also means I have to watch her to make sure she doesn't tear them up. 

• Kong Squeakair Balls - Maci LOVES these. I have found if you order the happy birthday one from Amazon it is a lot cheaper than the regular ones. They also come in fun colors which is a bonus for me.

• Multi Squeaker Toy - I like these types of toys because it takes Maci a little while to get all the squeakers out, which means it lasts a little bit longer. 

• Goodwill Stuffed Animals - This honestly the best deal on toys, you get quality stuffed animals for 99 cents. One thing to do is make sure that the stuffed animals don't have plastic eyes or noses, I haven't had a problem with this though. They also sell baby toys that normally have squeaker or rattles in them, Maci loves that.

• Chuckit - Like I said before Maci loves balls so this is like a given. I can throw the ball three times as far with the Chuckit and I don't have to touch the slobbery ball when she brings it back.

• Tennis Balls - There are never enough. These one last a while and do not crack open like other dog tennis balls.

• Night Ball - This is my favorite toy for Maci. We play ball so much and this helps Maci see the ball at night. When we played night ball with just a normal tennis ball Mae would sometimes lose it. This one is so cool because it changes colors constantly! 

Summer Reading List

As of yesterday at 12:15 PM I am done with my freshmen year of college and more importantly it is summer! Thank god, I do not think I could take another day of school and stress. That being said now I have lot more time for the things I want to do aka read all day in the sun with a smile on my face. Anyone that knows me knows I am always reading, which is very strange if you know my life. I did not learn to read until I was almost ten, but ever since then I have been head over heels in love with reading. I made a quick list of twelve books I would like to read this summer. I try to keep these sorts of things loose, that way I do not get upset with myself if I do not make it through all of them or decide I do not like one. Anyways there is twelve  books I hope to read by August when I return to school. There is not really any theme to these books, because I have a wide variety of interests when it comes to reading. 

1) The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery 
2) Girls and Sex by Peggy Orenstein
3) V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
4) Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham 
5) We the Living by Ayn Rand
6) The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
7) Eat Yourself Calm by Gill Paul
8) Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
9) Eat Pretty by Jolene Hart
10) Stiff by Mary Roach
11) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer
12) Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed