13.1 for the lady!

my best friend ran rochester’s flower city half-marathon in april and i finally got around to sharing some pictures on my facebook and obviously wanted to blog about it. it was such a great thing to be a part of in some capacity–a spectator.

the energy was amazing and i recall an interesting sense of pride dropping her off at the start (and finish) line. the energy was amazing everywhere Erinn (another best friend of hers and now, great friend of mine) stopped to watch the runners–their appreciation was amazing and excitement over reading the hilarious and sweet signs that Erinn created.

the families, friends, any other spectators, and especially you amazing runners–you’re all such great inspirations to me. Leenie, you always impress and amaze me and i’m so grateful to have shared the experience of your first half-marathon with you. congratulations, again and again mi lady!

featured friend: Kristin

Kristin is one of my best friends in this whole wide world. We’re friends from “home” and she came for a special visit earlier in the year when it was in the middle of winter. we had so much fun in the snow, special dinners, pistachio ice cream, the Olympics. below is a little of a “ketchup post” that she actually wrote a few months ago on her blog, gracefully living. hope you enjoy! love and miss you so much, doll!

entitled sweet, sweet friendship posted on Gracefully Living 

Sweet sweet friendship. I spent this past weekend in Syracuse, NY with a couple of my best friends from home. We all went away to different colleges and now live hours away from one another. We only get a few chances a year to all be together at the same place at the same time so this was a very special weekend. Distance can definitely be hard sometimes but we have a friendship that always picks up right where we left off. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend away with great friends, snow fun, pictures, pistachio ice cream, spring colored nail polish, Olympics, and lots of laughter. I am incredibly blessed by their friendship and I love them so.

Ketch-up Post #1: Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

do you like my play on words?! i love ketchup. and with fries, it’s a must have. so to comply with taking responsibility for my lack of posts this fall, i’m giving you just a tad bit of humor. this series of posts will be giving overall posts on what has been going on in the last few months during one of the craziest semesters of my life..but don’t worry i thought of you, all and certainly have plenty to say! happy reading!

This semester was beyond me. For my <10 posts all Fall and for the ones that were posted, I’m sure you could assume that it’s been nearly impossible to find time for myself, anything social, anything fun, etc. My good friend, Eileen and I decided that we should make a “pact” (which we really did abide by) to do one fun/relaxing/deserving thing every weekend. On this specific weekend, we had lots of work but managed to make these AWESOME pumpkin choco chip cookies! they were a hit with everyone who tried ’em! We also had so many that it’s safe to say that the recipe provided below will make pleeenty.

The recipe is adapted from My Baking Addiction‘s Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies with white chocolate and cherries click {here} to see their version. My Baking Addiction is a blog on baking and cooking with tons of recipes!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies

what’s needed: 2 c. all purpose flour // 1.5 c. oats // 1 tsp baking soda // 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon // 0.5 tsp salt // 2 sticks (softened) butter // 1 c. brown sugar // 1 c. granulated sugar // 1 c. pumpkin puree // 1 egg // 1 tsp vanilla extract // 1 BAG choc chips (bc why not)

directions: 1// preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2// line baking sheet with foil. 3// combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. 4// in a large bowl; mix butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. 5// add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. 6// add flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are mixed in well. 7// fold in choc chips. 8// drop spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. 9// bake for approx. 17 min, until brown. 10// cool and enjoy!

Featured Friend: Brittany, “Love yourself! The Reason I Cut My Hair Off.”

I ‘met’ (quotes bc she is one of my younger sister’s good friends and we’re also from the same home town…but I mean that just means even more to me) Brittany at one of the most pivotal times of my life. She’s holds such a sweet and important place in the entirety of my self-discovery. Our friendship compliments us as individuals so beautifully and I love being an older, guiding figure for her at times. I’m so unbelievably honored to have her featured on my blog as she’s a fellow Education major as well as passionate writer. Here’s her story about her fabulous new hair and what it’s helped her realize. I love you to death!

LOVE YOURSELF! 

The Reason I Cut My Hair Off

By Brittany Lindo

I’ve always admired women who were able to chop off all of their hair and rock the pixie/bob/buzzed look.  They always seemed so confident…and we all know that confidence is the key to feeling beautiful.  Halfway through my first year of college I began to think maybe I could pull something like that off too.

In the past I’ve had some trouble with being comfortable and happy with the way I look.  The media is a very scary place, trust me. I always thought I was too fat, or too short, or just too ugly in general.  With the support of my friends and family I was able to overcome that dark time but even though I started to accept who I am there was still something holding me back.  I would always delay the actual act of cutting off my hair because I would feel too attached to it.  Then I began to realize that over the years my hair became some sort of a security blanket.  I would hide behind my big poofy hair in order to distract others from the other flaws I saw in myself.  I didn’t necessarily hate how my hair looked, I just hated that I used it to further prove that I wasn’t entirely happy with who I am.

So on June 28, 2013 I got the courage to go to my hairdresser and about an hour later, my hair was all gone! Talk about liberating. It has been about four months since the big chop and I can honestly say that I regret not one thing from the experience.  I have gotten so much support from my friends and family and that has meant the absolute world to me.

Not only is shorter hair MUCH easier to handle and style, I began to see myself in a whole new, more positive light.  With my new look, I can see that I was always a beautiful person, inside and out, with long or short hair. The funny thing is that it has always been that way, it just took me a little while to see it. But most importantly, I learned to love myself.  It may not be “normal” for girls to have short hair but I’m not here to impress others. Always remember that YOU come first and if you love it then that is all that matters.

i love my city, part 3

of course there came that point where we wanted to do what we do best…shop. we started walking and stumbled into Eataly. can i just say oh em gee?! food, wine, gelato, cigars, everything. and it’s all beautiful and delicious. you must visit. i cannot even begin to describe how badly i want to return and eat and all that i want to do there. at least walk around and try eeeeveryyyythinng. see a few photos below!

^^^ fruits, nuts, vegetables, coffee, flowers, anything and everything you can pick fresh ^^^

^^^ mmmmmm ^^^^

^^^ jams, syrups, sweets: screaming flaaavooorrrrrr ^^^

^^^ chiz ^^^

^^^ chocolate cigars…what the whaaaat?! ^^^

just visit. i promise you’ll love it.

jmu, 2013

this past weekend i got to watch my best friend graduate college. it brought all sorts of emotions and memories. this great girl has been in my life for almost a decade now. (man, we’re getting old!) to share this moment with her warmed my heart as we’ve grown so much into being the young women we are today. all of the laughs, great conversations, talks about what’s in store for us, seeing where she was these past 4 years, reminiscing, and just being ourselves were the greatest and best moments.

something amazing i’ve learnt about the best friendships is that not only in your toughest moments are your truest friends there but no matter how far you are from one another..you don’t grow apart.

doll, you are gorgeous, inspirational, genuine, and an amazing sister. i’m so, so blessed to have you in my life.

  

  

  

*photos were taken at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA– absolutely gorgeous