Vlog #2: fashion and college advice + more!

     3 disclaimers for you to read before watching this:

• I know I said this when I recorded my first vlog, but I'll say it again for all of the new followers: my voice is not as nasal in person as it sounds in this! My computer's recording program makes me sound like I have a bad cold or something. I'm self concious about my voice sometimes (which may be ironic since I want to be a DJ for a living), so I just had to clear that up. ;-)
• I made a geography mistake in this! It kills me that I did that, since geography is something I really enjoy. But anyways, in this vlog I list all of the states in New England, and I forgot Masschusetts! Whoops! Mass is probably my favorite state in New England to visit, so I feel horrible for forgetting to list it. Yes, I'm a New England native and yes, I'm aware New England has 6 states and not 5, haha. 
• And something un-vlog related but very exciting (to me at least): I now have 125 GFC followers on this blog! 25 is my lucky number, so 125 is exciting for me. :-) Can't wait to keep growing my blog and see where it will lead in the coming years! 

     And now, the vlog!

     xoxo Miss ALK

My favorite songs of Summer 2013.

     A brief reminder to please submit any questions that you would like me to answer in my upcoming vlog! It will be posted this week. :-) Feel free to ask uestions about blogging, fashion, faith or getting-to-know-you type questions are welcome, but really anything is welcome! You can leave your question as a comment on this post, or e-mail it to me. :-)

     If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you better should know that I'm a huge fan of 90s/early 2000s pop music, aka the music of my elementary school years. Boy bands, girl bands, one hit wonders, pop princesses... if it's from those years and you name it, then I love it! Last semester I was blessed with the opportunity to host a 90s/early 2000s radio show at my former college's radio station. It was awesome training for my future career, and kind of a dream come true in itself for me! I loved getting to share the music I was passionate about with a college community.

I think I've shared this photo before... but this was my last day of volunteering at the radio station in May 2012!

     But anyways, I still listen to music that is current now as well. Since I hope to have a career in radio it is important that I keep up with the charts! Every summer there are a few mainstream pop songs that I fall in love with, and these are the tunes that become the anthems to my summers. For example, everytime that I hear the 2010 hit "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner, I remember many lazy days that I spent at the beach spent with high school friends (especially my guy friend T since that was his favorite song at the time!). This was the last summer that I didn't work, so I put my copious amounts of free time into beach bathing!

     Below are a few picks for my favorite songs of this summer!

• "What About Love" by Austin Mahone 

     I have read that Austin Mahone is described as the "second-coming of Justin Bieber." Although there are a few JB songs that I like, I am definitely not a Belieber, so I doubted that I would like much of Austin's music. Well, I was wrong! I have been loving this fun pop anthem! I think that Austin has a great voice (for this type of pop song), and the music has a 90s boyband feel to it! And continuing on that note, I love one of the lyrics is "bye bye bye"... I'd like to think that whoever wrote this put it in there to reference *NSYNC's greatest song. :-)

• "Right Now" by David Gutta ft. Rihanna 

     Let me start off by saying that while I think that Rihanna is a talented singer, her immoral lifestyle choices and many of her lyrics keep me from buying her recent music. On her last couple albums many of the songs have had extremely explicit sexual content. However, there are exceptions (such as her clean song "Diamonds"), and I think that this new song that she recorded with French producer David Guetta is definitely on the better side! Yes, there are a couple verses that hint at sexy very flirtatious  behavior, but overall I think the message of the song is to celebrate youth and living in the moment. The  beat of this song is contagious, and whenever I hear it on the radio I want to get up and start dancing!

• "Crooked Smile" by J Cole ft. TLC

     This song has some of the most positive messages out of many of the songs on the Top 40 charts this summer! There are some swears in the original, but I just listen to the radio edit, so I can take away the good stuff from this song instead of the bad. I'll let some of my favorite lyrics explain to you why I love it: 

     "Love yourself girl, or nobody will"

     "No need to fix what God already put His paintbrush on"

     "And baby girl, you're a star, don't let 'em tell you you're not."

     "And if you need a friend to pick you up, I'll be around, and we can ride with the windows down, music loud."

     It's pretty rare to find popular rap music these days that has such empowering lyrics, so I am thrilled that this song has done well! And of course I must add that another reason why I love this song is because it features one of the (recently reunited) top girl bands from the 90s... TLC! 

      What are some of your favorite songs for Summer 2013? 

     xoxo Miss ALK

     P.S. And make sure to read the blurb about my vlog at the start of this post if you haven't yet!! 

OOTD: Mint and Coral (and neon)

     Happy Friday friends! Just a reminder to all of you to check out my fellow Summer of Something New bloggers' posts today. I know that I shared my SOSN post a day early yesterday, but Elle, Gina, Jessica and mQs will be sharing their posts today! Can't wait to see what these lovely ladies did for week 5.

     I haven't done an outfit post in awhile, so I thought I'd share an outfit that I wore yesterday for lunch with my grandma and then later for work! Everything in this outfit were things that I purchased last month of this month as part of my back-to-school shopping.

Sorry that there is a dark shadow on my face... but this was the only picture that truly showed how bright my top and shoes were! 

• Top: Delia's (July 2013)
• Skinny Jeans: Delia's (July 2013)
• Flats: Nordstrom Rack {Brand: Vince Camuto} (July 2013)
• Necklace: Francesca's (June 2013
• ((tank-top worn as an undershirt is from Wet Seal))

     I have been obsessed with the color mint as a fashion statement for awhile. My collection of minty items is growing; from accessories to tops to my beach cover-up, mint is an addiction that I can't avoid! When I saw these adorable mint skinny jeans on sale at Delia's this past week, I knew that I couldn't resist them! Colored skinny jeans have been in for a long time now, but surprisingly these are my first pair.

     I went to the mall with my grandma and mom a few weeks ago so they could both get new pairs of glasses. After the mall my grandma and I spent awhile browsing Maine's first Nordstrom Rack store. While there I found these awesome neon flats, and my grandma insisted on getting them for me. ;-) The pictures honestly don't do justice for how bright the shoes are! The only problem was that at the time that I bought them I didn't own anything that neon that would match (minus my senior prom dress, but sadly I won't be wearing that anytime soon!).

     After I purchased these mint skinny jeans at Delia's, I continued to browse the store with my mom and we found this cute top hidden on one of their racks. We both agreed how it would be the perfect compliment to my new flats! I loved the pretty back, and I felt like there were many ways that I could style this, which made it a must-have! Speaking of Delia's, they seem to be having great sales right now. I've never been a huge fan of that store since I think their clothing is usually very overpriced for the quality, but I was impressed with the discounts and promotions that are currently running!

     And lastly, my necklace was purchased at a Francesca's Collections on my trip to Las Vegas last month. I think that it was the perfect way to tie in the mint and coral colors for this OOTD!


     Have you worn any mint and coral outfits? What are you favorite color combos?


     And don't forget to leave a comment on this post asking me a question for my upcoming vlog! You can ask me literally anything, and I will answer all questions in the vlog (which I will be recording this weekend or early next week!).


     xoxo Miss ALK

Summer of Something New blog challenge: Week 5

     Yes, I am posting this week's SOSN topic a day early. ;-) I'm doing this for a specific reason though: the "new" thing that I am doing will be done on Thursdays, and since today is Thursday, that felt more fitting than posting it on Friday.

     Something that's been a blog dream of mine since I really started getting into blogging a couple years ago was to start a popular link-up/weekly post type series thing that anyone could participate in. That description probably sucks, so let me throw out some common names of popular versions of these and see if you recognize any: Awkward & Awesome Thursday, Hello Monday, What I Wore Wednesday, What I'm Loving Wednesday... and there's probably many, many more, but these are some that I've seen pop up on the blogs that I follow.

     It took me a long time to figure out what my series could be about. I wanted it to be a simple enough concept that any blogger could participate. I also wanted it to be something that reflected positivity. I may try and sound positive in most of my blog posts (and honestly there is a lot of good in my life!), but I have to be honest and admit that I'm a pessimist at heart. It's a constant battle for me to try and fight this, and I believe that and important part of my faith is for me to keep trying to see the good in things and the blessings that God gives me. So with all of this in mind, it finally hit me:

Favorite Things Thursday!

     

     The concept is quite simple: join me on Thursdays in the future by sharing one of your favorite things! It can be literally anything... but expect to see a lot of 90s pop culture and Southern food references on my end. ;-)

     

     When Meg did my blog design, I made sure that she created an extra button for my new series. The only thing that I ask is that if you decide to join me in the future, please snag the code for this button from my homepage and put it in somewhere in the post! If this gets really popular I may consider doing an official link-up, but I think the button is a good place to start! 

     So stay tuned next Thursday for my first FTT post! And in the meantime please check out my college fashion guest post on The Darling Prepster!

     xoxo Miss ALK

Vlog time // I'm a sponsor!

     I got to thinking the other day about how it's been a very long time since I made my first vlog on this blog. Since then, a whole lot has happened in my life, and I also have a whole lot of new followers! So I'm thinking that this means it's vlog time again! I'll probably be posting/recording it sometime early next week, so now is the time to get your questions in to me! You can ask me just about anything. Just leave your questions in a comment on this post, or e-mail me if you'd like.


     And on a different blog related note, this month is the first month that I'm an official sponsor on two blogs! Sponsoring is something that I've wanted to do for awhile, and it makes me feel like I've finally become a legit blogger. ;-) The blogs that I'm sponsoring on belong to two ladies from the Her Campus blogging network. I applied to join the HCBN a couple months ago and was so thrilled when I got in. It's a free network which is pretty awesome, and I've made so many wonderful and sweet new blogging friends through it so far! It's also been useful to be apart of: I have found out about a lot of giveaways and blogging events through HCBN, and this is I found about about my blog designer Meg!

     The two blogs that I'm a sponsor on are The Darling Prepster and The Caro Diaries! I have a guest post going up on The Darling Prepster tomorrow, and there will be one to look forward to from me on the Caro Diaries in the next few weeks.


     A quick reminder on my own policy on sponsorships. I haven't opted not to have paid sponsorships and this time, and that will probably be what continues here for awhile. However, I do offer free button swaps! Details about that can be found on my Sponsors // Product Reviews page. And I'm always open to guest post ideas!


     Hope everyone enjoyed this little bit of "blog business." I'll try and have a post up soon all about my back-to-school shopping adventures!


     xoxo Miss ALK

A fresh new look.

     What do y'all think of my fabulous new blog design?! :-) I am so happy to finally have a professional and unique design up on my blog! In the past I always made my headers and other blog things myself. While I think I did okay considering that graphic design isn't my thing at all, my I think that my blog's new look just blows the old look out of the water! Some of my new pages such as "Faith" and "Travels" are still under construction, but everything should be all set before I leave for school soon!

     My blog designer was Meg from Yammering Yankee. Her rates are extremely affordable and she's currently charging only $20 for a complete blog design. Yes, just $20! Be sure to contact her if you're interested in having your blog get a little make-over as well. :-)


     I titled this blog post "A fresh new look" for more reasons than just the fact that my blog had a makeover! As the countdown until sophomore year is now at about three weeks (EEEEEKKK!!!) I'm already starting to think about packing for school. I've done a good deal of packing for the "household" items like my towels, school supplies and some room decorations, but clothes and shoes will be coming next. Last year I definitely way overpacked for school, and I brought a ton of outfits and shoes that I never wore and still don't really wear. It was a lot of stuff from my high school days that I'd felt I'd outgrown; either literally or by changing personal styles!

     My goal is to cut the amount of stuff that I'm bringing to school in half this year, or at least by like 25%. That means that I'll be bringing less clothes and shoes, so I want the ones that I do bring to be ones that I love wearing! I ain't got room for anything that doesn't make me feel my best. ;-) I'm going on a big back-to-school shopping trip with my mom tomorrow, and while I look forward to getting some new things for sophomore year, I've also had to clean a lot out of my closet to make room for new things. I did a big Goodwill run a few weeks ago, and gosh did that feel freeing! Since I love fashion it is always a little hard for me to part with items in my closet, but I convinced myself to give away things that didn't flatter me anymore. Hopefully those pieces will all be in good new homes!

     Anyways, something that the Lord has recently been convicting me of is the importance of modesty. This is always a word that I had issue with in my high school years. The word "modest" for me was the way that some women react to the word "submit" in terms of their marriages (y'all know what I mean). I hope to write a longer blog post soon about my thoughts on modesty, but for now I'll say that my new goal for the fashion components of this blog are to bring to you OOTD posts that are fashionable, trendy AND modest! I think there's a terrible stereotype that in order to be modest you have to wear super long skirts all the time and no make-up. That couldn't be further from the truth! I want to share with girls that you can wear tank-tops and lipstick and high heels and skinny jeans, etc etc, but you can choose certain pieces that are age appropriate and cover what needs to be covered without being skin tight. I think that for the most part my past OOTD posts on this blog have been pretty modest, but as part of my closet clean-out this summer I'm getting rid of all of my shirts and dresses that were too low cut or too tight, and a couple body-con skirts that were too short. I wore these things in high school to try and get attention from guys, and what did that get me? Absolutely nothing! I also recently wrote about my changing convictions on swimwear, and I'm pleased to report that I recently found a super cute and trendy one piece bathing suit! I'll feature it in an upcoming fashion post.

   

     Lastly, a quick praise report. Since I found out that I'd gotten into the school I'm transferring to, I'd started praying for my future roommate. I lived in a single room last year, and while I'm super excited to have a roomie, I knew that a lot of times roommates don't work out and I was terrified of going through a bad situation. So I prayed all this summer about it. The time that I'd do this was most nights before I fell asleep. I'd pray that my roommate and I would be a good fit, and that she'd be having a great summer.

     I got my first roommate assignement last week, and from the get-go I had a bad feeling about it. The girl never contacted me back, and when I looked up her Facebook it showed that (ironically) she went to my former college, and showed nothing about the school I'm transferring to! I kept praying that things would work out.

     ...And they did! I got a different and correct roommate assignment a couple nights ago, and finally got to talk to my roomie tonight on Facebook for a little bit. She's from the South, and also a transfer student! She seems like a sweetheart and I've already found out that we have a lot in common- from big things like similar majors to small things like a love of nail polish (almost more important right?). I'm super excited to talk to her more and get to meet her in a few weeks!

     The moral of this though is that God totally answered my prayer!! I mean, technically there is a chance that when we get to school we won't be a good fit, but like I said I'm just feeling so good about this right now, and I don't get these types of feelings a lot! All I could think to myself is "If this is the result that I get for praying about my housing situation, imagine what will happen for all of my prayers for my future husband!" ;-)

     I know that the Lord doesn't always answer prayers in the way that we want or expect, but gosh, I am mighty glad that He was right on point in this situation!


     Happy Monday!

     xoxo Miss ALK

Summer of Something New blog challenge: Week 4

     Happy Friday! I can't believe that we're more than halfway done the SOSN blog challenge now, and that my summer is also halfway over! Seriously, the month of July is flyin' by.

     After recently joining Pinterest and browsing a bunch of pins for make-up storage, I decided that it was time to do something about how I keep my poor make-up brushes. I've always just thrown them in my three various make-up bags that I have. This can lead to them getting ratty and old looking though, and they also had gotten very dirty since old make-up often collects on the bottom of my make-up bags.

     I originally wanted to try making the mason jar make-up brush holder shown in this pin. In fact, I was really enthusiastic about it. The day that I found that pin I went to the closest Michael's store and bought a mason jar and spray paint. The next morning I decided to start coating the jar. This is how it turned out:

     After I'd let the jar dry for a few days I went to the garage to see how it turned out. Long story short,  I will never have a career as a spray painter. There were tons of spots on the jar that didn't have enough paint, and some that had too much! And then there were weird little air bubbles on one whole side of it.

     If I had a good attitude about perseverance, I probably would have tried to remove the paint and start over, or buy another mason jar. But instead, I headed back to Pinterest and looked for other ways to store make-up brushes. ;-) That's when I found this idea! It looked much simpler than the mason jar idea since there was no spray painting involved, and I actually liked the way that it turned out better. Here were the supplies that I used!

A small glass vase, vase filler beads and ssome scrapbooking stickers to decorate!

     But before I could stick my brushes in their new home, I had to clean them. Pinterest saved the day again with this nifty pin which talked about making a solution to wash brushes with three parts dish soap and one part olive oil.

Doesn't the olive oil in the dish soap kind of look like an egg? Freaked me out a little since I hate eggs, but alas once I mixed them together it was "eggy" no more. ;-)

Look at all that yucky old make-up coming off the brushes!

After their bath

     Once my brushes had dried for a few hours it was time to assemble their vase! I ended up not decorating with the scrapbook stickers because I thought it was cute enough with the scalloped edges and the clear beads!

     How cute is this?! Can't wait to bring my new brush holder to school. It will look super cute in my dorm room!


     On a random side note, I'd like to bring up the topic of Snapchat quickly. I've had this app for a few months now, and to be honest I've never really seen the point of it. Maybe only two of my friends even use it regularly, but I usually just talk to them through texting. It does seem though like it would be fun to get into if I had people that would send me hideous selfies (I would do the same for you!). So, I thought I'd offer it up to all of my blogging friends! I don't want to post my Snapchat name here since you never truly know who is reading your blog... (you get my drift) but if you're interested just tell me in a comment on this post that you are, and we can exchange usernames over e-mail!

     I had a friend in high school that I would always text ugly selfies to before Snapchat ever came out. It was just "our thing." I had a few of the pictures saved on the computer, so this is what you could expect from me if we decide to be Snapchat buddies!

     Thought those would end this post on a "Fun Friday" note!

     To see more Summer of Something New posts today please check out these blogs!

• elle-oh-vee
• Forever Convinced
• Gina Alyse

     Fellow SOSN blogger mQs is currently on vacation this week, but check back to her blog in a few days to see what she's been up to!

     xoxo Miss ALK

     P.S. Expect some BIG changes on this blog soon. I may or may not be getting an awesome new design, and for the first time ever it's from an actual blog designer! It should be going up today or tomorrow. Talk about a "something new" :-)

Make-up review: Clinique likes and dislikes

     I've been seeing a lot of make-up and beauty posts popping up in my blogger dashboard lately, and I realized that it's been awhile since I've done anything on these topics! I just want to give a quick disclaimer that this is not a sponsored post: the idea for this was my own and I wasn't compensated by any company for writing it.

     I have really sensitive skin, and even more sensitive eyes, so I have to be careful about the make-up brands that I use. Besides for Almay, I can't wear any other drugstore make-up products (unless they're lip products-Revlon rules for that!). I have always had a number of different Clinique items, because the brand is known for being hypoallergenic and good for sensitive skin. There are some Clinique products I love and definitely will buy again, and there's also some that I've tried and been either unimpressed with, or just plain hated! So here is my analysis of many Clinique products:


*Loves:


     Up-lighting liquid illuminator (I use "Natural")

     I have never been a huge foundation person, but I do like to have a little bit of sparkle and shine on my face, so I'm a fan of highlighters/illuminators. My most favorite of all is a powder version by Mally called the Effortless Airbrush Highligther and Blush Duo, but with a $45 price tag this wasn't in my budget when I ran out of it this last winter while at school (hoping for some more for my birthday!). This illuminator from Clinique costs $25, and when I bought it they were having a promotion so I got a cute make-up bag and a ton of samples with it- score! It took me a little while to get used to a liquid illuminator instead of a powder one, sometimes I'd put on too little and sometimes too much. I think that Mally's powdered product will always be my fav, but this is definitely a good cheaper option! The color and shine do come out nicely when it's applied correctly.

 
     Superbalm Moisterizing Gloss (I use "Grapefruit")

   

   


     This is one Clinique product that I was introduced to because I got a sample of it when I bought the illuminator. I was a big lipgloss girl in my middle school days, but lately I've barely worn it and favored lipstick or clear lip balm since I feel that gloss has two main issues for me: one, my hair always gets stuck in it and two, it dries my lips out and they get chapped easily. Well, I can't say that this product isn't sticky... my hair has gotten caught in it so I avoid wearing it on days when I'm outside and typically just wear it to work. But the good news is it really is a "superbalm!" I was amazed at how it seems to moisterize my lips more than my lip balms do. It also stays glossy for several hours, during a typical work shift I usually only have to re-apply it once! The color that I use is very sheer and gives my lips a nude look, but since I typically wear smoky colored eyeshadows I think this balances things out.


     Almost Lipstick (I use "Flirty Honey")

     This might just be my favorite Clinique product of all! Like the lip gloss, I was introduced to it through a sample as part of a free gift, but I adore it and will definitely be purchasing it when I run out. This product scores just as well as the lip gloss for not drying my lips out! It keeps them nice and moist. The reason that I like it better than the gloss is that since it's more of a "stick" it doesn't get stuck in your hair, and it has a little bit more sparkle and color, but without as much as a full blown lipstick. It's a great product for everyday use! In my opinion it would worth every penny of the $15 that it costs.


*Dislikes:


     Every Clinique mascara

     During last year's Black Friday I bought a shirt at Macy's, and then realized that the sales clerk hadn't taken the ink tag off. Since I had to make a whole seperate trip back to the store (which wasn't close to my friend K's house that I was at for Thanksgiving), I requested store credit since it had been the store's mistake. They gave me a generous $25 credit, and I spent it on a gift set of several different Clinique mascaras. Definitely one of my worst purchases, as I have been very unimpressed by all of of them. My least favorite is the Last Power Long Wearing mascara. It literally is "long wearing," and so much so that it's impossible to take off! My normal make-up remover didn't work at all, and either did soap and water, or other types of make-up removal products. I practically had to pull out my eyelashes to get this stuff off at the end of the day. And the worst part is that it wasn't even that voluminous! I found the same thing happened with Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara, which comes with a special smaller brush for bottom lashes. It is hard to take off and also very clumpy. I didn't find that the Lash Doubling mascara doubled my lashes at all... it took several coats just to notice that I was wearing anything! There were others that came with my gift set as well, but I have been unhappy with all of them and have thrown some of them out. My go-to mascara for my sensitive eyes is Mally's volumizing mascara, but I have recently started using Benefit's They're Real! and am quite a fan! If this post gets some good feedback then I may do a review of that in the future. :-)

     Do you use Clinique products? What are your thoughts or favorite products?

     xoxo Miss ALK

From failure to triumph.

     According to the world's standards, I am a failure.


     I am almost 19 years old, and I have never had a boyfriend. I've never been kissed, I've never been asked by a guy to be his date to a dance or formal event, and I've certainly never been in love. Today's teen culture isn't made for girls like me. Messages everywhere scream that the only way to be happy at this age is to have a boyfriend, and that there's something wrong with you if you haven't experienced dating yet.

      A lot of these messages come from the media. One example that I found recently was in a recent issue of Cosmo magazine. I don't regularly read Cosmo because of its explicit content, but my grandma somehow ended up with a subscription and asked me to take an issue home so I could call and cancel it for her. I noticed that there was a special section in that issue on college life, and I thought I'd take a peek at what the magazine had to say. One of the college articles was solely on "hooking up" and how to make your sex and dating life extra spicy for the coming school year. I believe 100% that today's hook-up culutre is wrong, and isn't what the Lord instead for His children, but reading about the sex lives of girls the same age as me definitely made me think that I have some catching up to do in the dating department, and left me feeling terribly about myself.

     The messages aren't always as bold and straightforward as Cosmo articles. Every single popular teen television drama these days features some sort of dating relationship or hook-up between characters. Even if the main plot of the TV show isn't about sex and dating (such as Pretty Little Liars, a mystery show), you can bet all of that stuff is going to be there. I've said before that my favorite TV show in the world is 7th Heaven. I loved this show because it emphasized Christian and family values, but even with that, all of the show's main teenage characters started dating by the time they were in early high school. There's quite a few make-out scenes throughout the seasons. Television shows might not be coming right out and saying "You're weird if you haven't started dating yet," but these themes can sure make a person feel that way.

     One thing that seems to have become increasingly romance and significant other focussed is Christmas. This wonderful holiday should be all about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, but instead it seems to have become almost more love infested than Valentines! There's tons of Christmas songs all about finding true love, or mourning the fact that your love won't be there to celebrate with you that year. There's the photos that everyone sees on social media of girls bragging about what their boyfriends or husbands got them for Christmas. And what about the whole idea of kissing someone under the mistletoe? With all of this and more combined, it's no wonder that girls that are still single can feel pretty down in the dumps throughout the month of December.

     And then there are the messages that come through real life instances. Those moments that come year after year as your see the fellow high school (and now college) students from your home church attending services with their significant others. The moments when the seven and eight year olds from my short stint as a day camp counselor say things to me like "Why don't you have a boyfriend? You're 18, you're supposed to have a boyfriend!"

     And the hardest moments are when your realize that you've seen every single one of your high school friends go through at least one dating relationship. These moments are when one of your girlfriends shares to you with excitment that the guy she's liked has asked her out, or when a friend tells you about the cute thing that her boyfriend did for her this week. Those moments come when some of these relationships hit a rough patch or come to an end, and your girls call you and cry to you on the phone about how terrible their love lives are, when all the while I'm just thinking to myself I'd give just about anything to have experienced love, or a guy's admiration. At least you got to know what it feels like! How can you be venting to me- I clearly don't know anything about any of this stuff!

     .....

     When I see all of this written out, all I can think to myself is how I've failed and failed in the dating and relationships department by the world's standards. There must be something wrong with me, or I must be too prude or too picky about guys, or just plain unlucky. Whatever the reason, I'm not doing too well.


     But thankfully, God's standards give my dating life (or current lack-thereof) a totally different view. God does the same for every other teenager girl or 20-something young woman that has a similar story to mine. How His heart must break when us ladies cry and complain about not being in love with an earthly man... when God sent his Son to endure torture and die for us, and wants nothing more than for us to fall completely in love with Jesus! Something that I've been trying to tell myself lately is Jesus is enough. If I am able to someday develop a truly strong and unwavering faith in Him, then I will have the greatest gift ever. A gift one million times better than any bouqet of flowers from a boyfriend, a diamond ring from a fiance, or the wedding of my dreams to a husband.

     Even though falling in love with the Lord should be enough for anyone, God is good enough to provide precious romantic relationships to many Christians. The beauty of relationships done is His timing is that they will be God-honoring and pure, and the type of relationships that can last through the years and stay strong through any trials or hardships. When someone will enter into this type of relationship one cannot predict, but God knows. In the bible it says:

     "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

     I'm definitely desiring a relationship with a wonderful at this point in my life. But all that I can do right now is surrender this desire to the Lord, and trust that He knows what's best for me and will bring someone into my life when the timing is right.

     Until then, I will triumph in the fact that yes, I am almost 19 years old and yes, I have been able to keep purity a priority in my life! I can be happy that my first kiss will be shared someday with the first guy who treats me the way that I'm supposed to be treated, and not just with some random guy that will leave my life as soon as he entered. I can be relieved with the fact that since I'm not having sex I don't have to worry about STD's, pregnancy, birth control or any other worries that come with premarital sex. I can be glad that since I don't have a romantic relationship right now I can take this time to work on the areas of my personality that need some work, and try and make myself the best person that I can be before adding a second person into every asepect of my life.

     And most importantly, I can triumph in how I'm proud of myself for being what I think is a great example of a modern and independent young woman who keeps up with the trends, yet still places her faith first and has fallen in love with God's plan for her love life.


     Single girls: will you join me in being triumphant?


     xoxo Miss ALK


     P.S. This post was written mainly as a way to cheer myself up after I felt the "single girl blues" creeping on me this past weekend. Writing all of my thoughts down in this post made me feel so much better, and I hope that I was able to encourage some others in the process! :-) 
     

Summer of Something New blog challenge: Week 3

     Since this last week of working two jobs has been crazy busy for me, I still wasn't able to finish my Pinterest craft project yet. :-( Hopefully that will be next week's SOSN post! But I was able to do something "newish" this past Monday night... cooking a new recipe with my mama!

     When I was younger I used to love helping my mom in the kitchen. She is the one who taught me most of what I know about baking and cooking! But as I grew older and my schedule got more complex we rarely had time to cook together anymore. I would use the kitchen only to bake things for my high school advisory (home room) or for gatherings with friends. I didn't really have any desire to help cook meals anymore.

      So this past Monday it was kind of nice to be working with my mom again in the kitchen. Dinner was a cabbage/carrot coleslaw (not my favorite- but I was a good sport and ate it anyways!) and we also tried a new recipe for meatballs. I love eating meat and I love homemade meatballs... but my love for them grew after we made lamb meatballs! Lamb is my favorite type of meat, and the meatballs were amazing. I would share the recipe but unfortunately the book that it came from had a pretty strong copyright warning inside it, and since I don't want to get sued for sharing a meatball recipe I'll just tell you to go to Pinterest and search "lamb meatballs" if your'e interested in making some.

     Throughout my high school years my parents and I used to fight a lot. I'm an only child and while I love them both to death, I'll admit that I gave them tons of grief in those years. I feel like for much of high school all I did to them was complain about how I didn't have an iPhone or car. Well, eventually I got both of those things and then I realized that there will always be things that I want and can't have right away, and that was no reason to take stuff out on my mom and dad! In those years I was also never enthusiastic about helping around the house (still working on that one)...

     This little evening of cooking dinner with my mom will stay with me in the coming school year... and I bet I'll think of it when I will be sick of cafeteria food and miss her cooking! ;-)



     Happy weekend everyone! Expect many more posts next week! I'm planning to do some back-to-school fashion posts soon, and there will also be some exciting blog business news!


     xoxo Miss ALK

Life update.

     I can't believe that it's Thursday and this is only my second post of the week! This week has flown by in one big blur of work. I figured I should use this post to update all of you about a few things that have been going on with me. :-)

     After this week, I will be back to working only one job (my retail one). I blogged a couple weeks ago about how I was really stressed during the first few days of working at both the store and the day camp. Things got a little better the second week, but my stress levels were still way higher then they should be for summer, and my parents finally sat me down this past weekend and told me that I had to quit one of my jobs. I won't lie and said that I told them "That sounds really logical and great! Thanks!".... haha. I was actually quite angry at first and this lead to a few arguments and some tears and yelling on my part. I kept thinking in my head that I was a "failure" for not being able to hold two jobs like I planned, and I was angry at myself for not being able to get the income this summer that I had so desired. But then as the weekend passed and my busy work schedule started up again I realized that I should be happy that my parents care enough about me to see that I was working myself too hard, and I should probably take their advice. The bible does say "Honor thy father and mother." Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that this didn't stop when I turned 18 and became a legal adult. ;-)

     So anyways, for about the last month of my summer I'll be back to one job. The one that I chose to keep is the one that pays better, and is overall less stressful then the camp. And the good news is they've still given me a good amount of hours! Although I'm excited to have more down time again, there are some things that I'll miss about day camp, mainly the kiddos. The kids that I worked with were so sweet! They always made me laugh, and I'll miss their hugs and the funny things they said. One of my little campers from this week named her stuffed bunny after me, which was the cutest thing ever! I was especially honored since my first name is quite long, and half the kids can't even pronounce it.

     Although I'm now very happy about working one job, one of the reasons that I didn't want to quit one at first is that I worried that not working all the time would give me too much time to be "homesick" for the South. In the past week especially I have been missing school and North Carolina living so much. I miss the food (remind me again how I lived for 17 years without Chick Fil A), the weather, the fact that highways are toll-free (I shouldn't have to pay two dollars up here just to drive to see my grandma!), the shopping options... and most of all I miss my church and my friends from school. Yes, I'm still transferring to a new school in NC for next year, and yes, I'm still really excited about that. But does that mean that I'm going to forget about everyone at my old school? Definitely not!

     None of my friends from my old school live anywhere near Maine. I have texted the ones that I was closest to a little bit since summer started, but finding time for Skype dates or phone calls is almost impossible since everyone has different work schedules and summer plans. I know that I'll pay some visits to my former school during the upcoming fall semester, and hopefully a few friends from there can visit me. I'm just getting impatient! I'm even more impatient to be at my new school, meeting my roommate and new friends, and getting involved with the school. I'm so excited to find a new church, and hopefully be able to visit my old church a few times as well. I adored the church that I went to during freshman year, I was able to grow so much spiritually from being there! I like my church that I go to at home in Maine, but it just doesn't compare.

     I feel like this whole summer my mind has been stuck in a North Carolina state of mind. I know that I should be focussed on the present: enjoying the short summer, spending time with my family, catching up with high school friends, and using the free time to do things that I never have time to do at school (like working on scrapbooking or cooking). But lately I just don't have any motivation to do those things. I'm not even that into going to the beach anymore... and that's the thing that I miss the most when I am at school!

     Do any of you have tips for staying in the present? I'm trying to get in the mindset of just being thankful for where God has placed me this summer, which is my technical home, but it's almost like just telling myself to think that way isn't enough.

     And on a totally different note, I finished the eighth and final season of That 70s Show on Netflix today. Y'all, I almost cried when I got to the end. I realize that the show doesn't have the best morals, but it is hilarious and I credit the show to getting me through the end of freshman year! Seriously though- through getting sick, drowning in make-up work, the transfer process and everything else that came with this past spring, that show helped to keep me laughing. I'm so sad that I have finished it. But that means though that I'm looking for new Netflix reccomendations! What's a new show that I can get into for the end of this summer and the next school year? Preferably something on the cleaner side... That 70s Show isn't the type of show that I'd usually like! ;-) I'm especially looking for reccomendations that are on Netflix instant watch. I'm in season 9 of my all-time favorite show, 7th Heaven, but that takes me awhile to watch since it's only on the DVD service. I've been told that Gilmore Girls is great but that's only available through DVDs also.


     Hope that you're all having a beautiful end to your weeks!


     xoxo Miss ALK

The great bikini debate.

     Happy Tuesday everyone! I apologize for not having a post up bright and early yesterday morning like I usually do on most Mondays. This past Sunday was a rare full day off for me, and I spent the day at a lake in New Hampshire with one of my high school friends. It was a great day, and expect to hear more about that soon! But today I wanted to talk about a question that I've been pondering a lot lately: is it okay for Christian girls to wear bikinis?

     If you haven't seen this video yet, I highly suggest that you watch it! I saw that a few bloggers and some of my Facebook friends were sharing this a couple weeks ago, and after seeing it pop up so many times I decided to give it a watch. Jessica Rey (the woman speaking in the video) definitely knows the history of women's swimwear very well, and she definitely made some good points about how skimpy swimwear can affect guys. I think it's very cool how she was able to start her own swimwear line, and I also think it's cool how this video was able to reach so many people by going viral.

     The thing is, I have been unable to forget this video since I first saw it, and that's unusual for me. Ever since I watched it, I kept getting these almost weird gut feelings as I'd get ready to go to the beach that were telling me that perhaps I should stop wearing bikinis. I have been a bikini fan for awhile. My mom didn't use to dress me in them when I was little, but when I was in high school I started wearing them (minus a conservative phase that I went through a few summers ago). I always like to follow the trends, and until recently one-piece swimsuits were not in, so therefore I didn't even consider wearing them. My mom did always prefer that I didn't wear "string" bikinis, so the onces that I'd pick out would have thicker straps and more covering bottoms, but I suppose they still all showed a lot of skin.

     Aside from bikinis being trendy, I also like the feeling of not having tight fabric on my stomach. When I'm at the beach or the pool, I usually like to be in the water (even the freezing Maine ocean at times!). And when I swim, I hate the feeling of wet fabric on my skin, especially after I come out and try to dry off. Bikinis cover less, so that meant drying off quicker. Simple logic it might be, but it made sense to me.

     But yesterday while I was at the lake with my friend, I had her snap a picture of me in the water and then I instagrammed it (not out of the ordinary for an Instagram addict like myself ;-)). When I checked back on Instagram later, I saw that a good number of people had liked the picture (including some of my favorite bloggers!). My Instagram isn't private though, so there were some people that liked it that I have no clue who they are, including some guys. For the first time, this made me really uncomfortable. I was actually quite disturbed by the fact that random dudes were checking out and liking a picture of me in a bikini.

     And even worse is that this also happened in person yesterday! While my friend and I were waiting to get into the changing rooms at the lake, I noticed some guys that were way too old for me to be interested in checking me out. I also noticed that they weren't doing that to my friend, who was wearing a cute but covering one-piece. Instead of being flattered, I felt icky and rather unclothed.

      Yet all of these awkward feelings just aren't enough to make me want to part with bikinis. During my break at work today I found myself googling articles on my phone with questions like "christians and bikinis" and reading what came up. Everything I found pretty much said that if a woman wants to be Christlike, then she must be modest, and bikinis simply aren't modest. This started to make more sense to me. I started thinking about how Christians are called to be set-apart and "from this world but not of it." When I see people out in public that I don't know, if I'm dressed just like everyone else in skimpy swimwear then how would they be able to know that I'm trying to set a good example?  I also started wondering what my future husband would think about bikinis vs. one pieces or tankinis.

     But at the same time, bikinis are trendy, cheaper and I explained my reasons for not liking the feeling of wet fabric all over me after I've been swimming. So I'm a bit confused about what to do. I feel in my heart that God wants me to stop wearing them because that's how I've been convicted, but it's honestly hard for me to follow that. Listening to His voice is something new for me.

     Speaking of convictions, that's something else that I'd like to address in this post. In the bible study that I was in at school last year, one of the topics that we discussed was being respectful of others' convictions. Some people might be called by God to step away from certain behaviors, such as not drinking (after age 21), not listening to secular music, choosing courtship over dating, etc. While you might not be convicted to do those same things, it's important to not judge anyone for the things that they choose to do. For example, courtship is something that I don't feel like would work for me, but I still have to respect anyone who chooses that over dating, and I also should try to understand their perspective, even if I don't agree with it.

     So if you're wearing bikinis and loving it, I'm not here to judge you! This post is simply my way of sharing what God has recently put on my heart. I'm not trying to force this on anyone or make you think that you're doing something "wrong" by wearing them... heck, I was just in one about 48 hours ago at the lake.


     But what would I would like to know- what do all of you think about bikinis? Are they appropriate for Christians to wear? What type of message do they send? If you're married or in a relationship, I'd love to know what your significant other thinks of them! Always interesting to hear things from a guy's perspective.

     Since I'm still not quite sure if I want to make a big jump to not wearing them at all, I'm thinking that my next swimsuit purchase should be more of a transition piece... perhaps a bikini with a skirted bottom and a top with more coverage, or a one sheer one piece. See below for some of my Pinterest inspiration!



     xoxo Miss ALK

My first group giveaway!

     Happy Saturday everyone! I'm so excited to announce that I'm particpating in my first ever group giveaway! The giveaway was started by one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Kate from Teal Vogue. I was so honored when she asked me to participate, and I'm excited for all of you because there are some wonderful prizes!!

Alicia at River City Chic || Kate at Kate the {Almost} Great || 

Miss ALK at Southern Belle in Training || Kate at Teal Vogue

a Rafflecopter giveaway


     I have donated the adorable pair of starfish earrings! They are from one of my favorite jewelry boutiques here in Maine. :-)

     If you have recently found my blog through this giveaway, thanks for following! Speaking of followers, has anyone noticed besides for me that it's past July 1st now but GFC is still alive and running well?! I also can still view my daily reads through my blogger dashboard... so not really sure how Google Reader dissapearing affected anything. But anyways, you're all still welcome to follow me through Blog Lovin' if you wish! (And that's an entry in this giveaway!)


     xoxo Miss ALK

Summer of Something New blog challenge: Week 2

     Happy belated 4th of July everyone!! Hope that you all had a great holiday. I spent the beginning part of my day working at my day camp job, and then I headed to the beach with my parents! My mom's side of the family has an annual 4th of July party in a nearby beach town. My extended family is small but is was wonderful to see everyone. And one of my cousins announced that she and her husband are expecting a baby this winter! I ended my day with going out to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants with a co-worker from the day camp. Is it un-American of me to eat Mexican food on the 4th of July?! Haha. I was very grateful to have the night off from work and to have some time to relax! I have been working a ton of hours the past couple weeks so I haven't had much time for friends and family.

     But highlight of the 4th was the fact that I got to be "twins" with my grandma:

Beach cover-up: Talbots

     Anyways, now onto the main subject of today's post: week 2 of the summer of something new challenge! I was originally working on a Pinterest craft project that I found, but due to my crazy work schedule I didn't have the movitation to finish it. Hopefully that will be next week's "something new." The thing that I chose to do for this week was half inspired by Pinterest and half by the 4th of July- I did 4th of July nail art!

     If you go to my Pinterest you will see that I have been pinning a few nail art designs with anchors and nautical themes lately. I decided that if I stared at some of my favorite nail pins for long enough, I could hopefully try and replicate the design on my nails! For my toes I just wanted to do my own thing. Here are some pictures of the steps that I took! (Ignore the fact that the polish job was very messy at first- I later cleaned up my nails with q-tips and polish remover!)

The finished product on my new favorite summer sheets! :-)

     The stripes on my big toes didn't come out as well as I hoped, but I didn't think it was too terrible for someone who has terrible handwriting and isn't good at fine details. ;-) And I love the way the anchors came out! The anchor design was much easier than I thought it would be, and it's definitely an idea that I will keep in mind for future nail art endeavors!

     My nail art got me in such a 'Merica mood that I had to wear a festive 4th of July outfit as well!

• Tank top: 579 stores (August 2012)
• Shorts: J. Crew (March 2013)
• Belt: Forever 21 {came with a different pair of shorts} (January 2013)
• Sandals: Target (May 2013)
• Earrings: Belk (September 2012)
• Bracelet: Christmas gift from my former boss :-)

      I didn't have time to shower and formally "get ready" for my dinner out after our afternoon at the beach. My hair was a damp and frizzy disaster, so I decided on a simple bun. The length that it's at now makes it hard usually to stay up, but since it was damp it held just fine. I also used gel to make my bangs disappear. ;-) That's why I love side bangs- it's not hard to disguise them! I'm not usually a bun person but I think it worked alright with this outfit.

     I'm obsessed with this cute ruffled tank top that I got last summer. It literally matches everything and was one of the best basic pieces that I've ever bought! Lately I've been tucking it into various pairs of shorts and pants, like I did here. 

     I love the way that these J. Crew shorts fit my body! I've worn them a bunch since I got them this spring at a J. Crew outlet down south. Since the tank top is so "ruffly" I decided against wearing a necklace, so instead I wore a bracelet with a nautical touch and patriotic colors, and some small red hoop earrings. I had gotten those earrings last fall to wear to games and spirit events at my former university since one of the school's colors was red. Glad that I can still get some use out of them! 

     Be sure to check out these blogs today to see more Summer of Something New posts:

• elle-oh-vee
• Forever Convinced
• The Shore Life According to M
• Gina Alyse

     Also- be sure to check out my blog tomorrow! I don't usually post on the weekends but I will have some exciting news about my first ever group giveaway!

     xoxo Miss ALK

Prom photo bomb.

     I really like taking funny pictures. My logic for liking them so much is pretty simple: the point of pictures is to capture memories, and funny memories are my favorite type of memories, so why not combine both into funny pictures?

     The problem is though a lot of my friends aren't as enthusiastic about these types of pictures. I happened to be going through some of my senior prom photos after work yesterday afternoon, and I found a few gems. I remember the exact moment when these first two pictures were taken. Both times I yelled Funny picture guys! It appears though that in both cases I'm the only one who got the memo.

   

     At least the second picture has reminded me that I make a pretty rockin' duck face when I try.




     No idea why my face looks like I'm dying of pain here, and no idea why it looks like the kid behind me is about to whack me in the head. I guess the funny face thing just sticks with me even when I'm not trying.

     And shout-out to my friend Jules for getting into the funny face thing with me towards the end of the night!


     If I could come up with such hideous expressions for my prom, imagine what my wedding pictures are going to look like someday. #heavenhelpme ;-)


     xoxo Miss ALK

A sort of part 2 on "guy lessons from reflection."

     Last week I posted  about some important lessons that I learned through an experience of fall for a guy during the beginning of my freshman year of college. I titled the post "part 1" and meant to share "part 2" this week. Part two wasn't about the same guy as the first post. Part two was about a guy that I fell very hard for at the end of my first semester. My suitemate had set me up with him and everything was progressing perfectly. He was a Christian, he had his priorities straight (such as family and school were very important) and he was very good looking as well. Just when we were starting to get close and I was getting attatched he left my life. It wasn't because of me, he had to transfer schools for the following semester because of some things going on with his family. And when I say transfer, I mean leave NC suddenly and go to pretty much the opposite part of the country. We didn't really have much closure, because he told me kind of abruptly and I was angry and hurt at the time. This all happened over half a year ago now, but my feelings just haven't gone away. I haven't really talked to him at all since this. (He occasionally sends me snapchats but our communication has been limited to that.)

     ^ that's the extremely short version, and it was hard enough for me to write that. I first vocalized my decision to blog about my experiences with him here, and I hoped that writing a long post similar to guy lessons from reflection would help me, but it has just made my feelings worse. I tried writing a long post about it several times, but every time that I'd add a little more to it I'd end up in a terrible mood, or start crying. I have struggled and struggled with getting over him for many months. I have talked to my mom about it a ton, vented to college friends, and most importantly, I've talked to God. At first I kept questioning why He would allow me to cross paths with someone who I would be so attracted to, and not only that, but a guy that gave me no reason not to like him. Besides for him not being totally honest about leaving, there was nothing about him that I didn't like. This guy had good looks, morals (both of us were firm believers in purity before marriage, and he wasn't into drinking or drugs), humor and one of the most solid faiths that I've ever seen in a college guy. One night when we hung out I remember I was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and no make-up (something I rarely do) and he still made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. The way that we met was adorable too; he was friends with one of my suitemates and when the two of them were hanging out on campus once I waved at her; afterwards he told her I was cute and asked her to set us up. Like seriously, how sweet is that?!

     But anyways, I got off track for a second. I kept praying and in my prayers after he left I begged God to let me get over him quickly, and I also tried to overcome my own feelings and pray for him as he began a new chapter in his life (I still try and do this). In the first few months after it happened I didn't really think about him much. I was busy with starting a new semester, and then soon after I got really sick. Then came the craziness of making up all of my work and ending the semester... and on top of all of that was the transferring thing. But since coming home I can't stop thinking about him. My memories are so vivid, and they hit me at the weirdest times. I think part of the reason that I've been dwelling so much in the past with him is because almost all of the people that I keep in touch with from my high school are/just were in serious relationships, and I feel left out. There's also been no guys that I've been interested in since him.

     I posted about this situation on a Christian girls Facebook group that I'm a member of. Several girls commented on my post and some of them told me they'd been in similar situations. Pretty much all of them suggested that one way that I can look at the situation is to acknowledge that the fact God took him out of my life should teach me that I need more of God in my life, and this experience could show me how much I need to rely on the Lord in everything. I think this was very good advice, but at the same time it doesn't make dealing with all of this any easier.

     In some ways I think I finally have made peace with the fact that I'm still single, something that took me a long time to get to. In this situation it's not the fact that we didn't date and I'm still single that makes me the most upset (I think I would have been content if we stayed "just friends"), it's that I fell so hard for a guy that I thought was perfect, and then he left so suddenly (and didn't really make an effort to stay in touch).

   
     Do any of you have tips for getting over a guy? I recently bought the book Get Lost by Dannah Gresh. It's a devotional and Christian self-help book that encourages girls to fall in love with Jesus instead of letting guys consume your thoughts. Although I have been kind of failing in keeping up with the daily devotions because of my work schedule, I have loved what I've read so far. When I finish the book I hope to do a review of it.


     xoxo Miss ALK

I've finally caught the Pinterest bug.

     I tried as long as I could to stay off of Pinterest. When it first became popular a couple years ago, I refused to make an account. When college came along and all of my college friends told me how much they loved it, I still managed to stay away. I always joked with friends and said I'd make an account when I got engaged someday, since Pinterest seemed like a useful tool for wedding planning.

     But then a few nights ago, I started thinking to myself What if I don't get engaged until 20 years from now? Or more? What if I never get engaged? Will I have been missing out on tons of Pinterest fun?! (Seriously, this is what I was thinking.) I happened to be more than a little bored that night, and sp before I knew it, a few computer clicks later lead me to a brand new Pinterest account waiting for me to explore.

     Well folks, it took about 30 seconds for me to be HOOKED. This is why I tried to stay off of it for so long! I knew that I would probably get addicted, and now I happily am. Luckily I have two summer jobs to keep me from being on it 24/7, but I've really enjoyed putting some boards together and following my friends and favorite bloggers over the past few days! I know that joining Pinterest will come in so handy for the Summer of Something New blog challenge, and in fact my "new thing" for this week comes from an idea that I pinned.

     I thought that I'd share with y'all a few of my favorite fashion pins that I've found so far! I especially can't wait to use the sorority recruitment style tips in a few months. :-)




   
      How cute are these outfits? I've already gotten so much outfit inspiration from Pinterest, and I can't wait to purchase some of the pieces that I've seen when I start my back-to-school shopping next month!  And the best part about Pinterest is that fashion is only the tip of the iceburg... I also have nail art and make-up boards, and boards for humor and faith. I haven't even gotten into recipes yet! One thing that I will try and hold off on though is a wedding board... ;-) I want to spend enough time on there that I don't need to start planning something that isn't happening for a looonnngggg time. I think I should work on meeting, dating and getting engaged my groom first, haha!

     I've followed many of my favorite bloggers on Pinterest already, but if you're on there and I haven't followed you yet, follow me and I'll probably follow back! I've added a Pinterest button to my social media icons, or you can just click here!

     Today marks the start of another busy work week for me. I have switched my schedule a little bit so I'm working mornings at camp, and nights at my retail job, which will give me a nice relaxing break everyday in the afternoons. Wonder what I'll spend today's break doing... Pinterest perhaps?


     Happy Monday!


     xoxo Miss ALK


     P.S. The winner of the Qoileez! giveaway is entry #6, Emma!