Friday Favorites

It's FRIDAY friends! And thank goodness! This has been my toughest, yet most rewarding semester of school yet. With so many projects, internships, and  to-do's, it has been a challenge juggling it all. But I've been able to be involved in some really great projects and at the end of each day, it is totally worth it!

Fridays are a time to rest and catch up on my to-do list. And to observe all of my Friday favorites:

1. Chai Tea Lattes:

Y'all. My wallet is crying over the fact that I can drink multiple chai tea lattes a day. Usually chai tea lattes make my stomach hurt. I don't know why, but it has been like this the past three years. I tried a chai tea latte for the first time last week during #TheMix15 ...and no stomach ache. It was a MIRACLE. So right now, chai tea lattes and I are in a "honeymoon" phase and I have been getting at least one latte at Jittery Joe's. Everyday. (wallet=ugly crying)


2. This Buzzfeed blip:

HOW SATISFYING IS THIS VIDEO? So Satisfying! Definitely had to be added to my Friday Favorites list.

3. The llama news: By now, we all know that the llamas and the dress have broken the internet. Sorry Kim Kardashian, but I think they may have you beat! I'm still cracking up over this video though, and with the background music...I can not stop laughing!

4. I have a big, big interview this upcoming week. It really would be a dream come true! Lots of prayers are welcome :)

5. Flip top Water Bottles.

I think I have officially become a water snob. Sort-of. I LOVE flip top water bottles. And luckily, Trader Joe's has them for $0.49. I find myself 100% more likely to drink multiple water bottles a day if they have flip tops.

6. New Red Dress Boutique Glasses:

 I ordered these super fun sunglasses from one of my favorite boutiques- The Red Dress Boutique- right here in Athens. I can't get the warm, spring weather off of my mind. Loved the sunshine that decided to make its debut today!

7. Bath and Body Works Spring Line:

I really don't think a line of bath soaps could be any more perfect- Sunshine and Lemons?  Springtime and Clementines? Blue Skies and Blooms? These soaps make my heart so happy! Spring time, get here quick!

8. Homemade Tagalongs:

It's Girl Scout Cookie Season. Hallelujah! Amen! Funny story...I went to the grocery store to get Girl Scout Cookies. The brownies in their patch-adorned vests were sitting right outside selling Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, the works.

I walked inside to grab cash to pay for the cookies, came outside to purchase my cookies, AND THE GIRL SCOUTS WERE GONE. I was so upset. Thank goodness my friend Carly made homemade Tagalongs- dip a Ritz Cracker in Chocolate and Peanutbutter...Get ready to have your mind blown! They may even be better than the real thing!

Have a happy, happy weekend!

Middleschool-isms

Good Monday morning, friends! 

I really wanted to start off the morning giving y'all a recap of one of my favorite weekends I've ever had. First off, I would like to give a big shoutout to Athens Church. I LOVE my church. Love. Love. Love it. 

Coming into college, I ministry/church hopped a bit to see where I would fit and what church I really wanted to be a part of. I knew that I wanted a church that would lead me into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and a church that I looked forward to going to each week. I LOVE being a part of the Athens Church family. If you are in the Athens area, or simply want to come and see what it is all about, please message me...email me...comment below. I'd love to tell you all about it! 

With that being said, this past weekend was INCREDIBLE. 

A few years ago, I would have never imagined that my favorite part of college would be spending my weekends with middle schoolers. This past weekend, Athens Church and other churches throughout the city hosted The Mix- a local retreat for middle and high schoolers in the area. 

As an 8th grade middle school small group leader, I was able to worship, sing, dance, laugh, pray, and speak with my group about Jesus' LOVE for us! In middle school, there are cliques y'all. Lots and lots of cliques and gossip and hooplah. But by the end of the weekend, it was incredible to see the walls fall down as girls shared their stories and became closer to one another. My heart is so full and I am still on a retreat-high of love and happiness. God is SO good. 

Now, I promised my girls I would share a picture of me from middle school when I was their age. You know that awkward middle school stage? I'm pretty sure this is the definition of it: 

I don't know what is worse...my two-toned blue and green glasses, my orange braces, my monkey hoodie that says "best friends" or the fact that I have MAGNETS STUCK TO THE SIDES OF MY FACE. #awkwardmiddleschoolstage

And now a few of my favorite middleschool-isms from this past weekend: 

-As we were driving in downtown Athens the first night, one of my girls in the backseat said, "If I was a frat college boy, I'd want my house to be right next door to Gigi's Cupcakes. So I could have all the cupcakes in the world...." YES. Just YES. Middle schoolers and I have a lot more in common than I thought. 

-The second night, we were on our way to our host home and All Star by Smash Mouth came on the radio. This song was practically my childhood, but this is what the girls had to say about it...

   "I've never heard this song in my life." 

   "Wasn't this song on Shrek?"

   "OH YEAH IT IS ON SHREK"

   "Eh... this song is okay." 

Friends, I've never felt so old in my life. Where has the time gone? 

-And finally, one of my favorite memories I'll never forget... A GIANT armadillo crossed our path as we were driving home one night. I promise you it was the size of a small cow. It was HUGE. And we all screamed bloody murder. It was just so random. and I'm still cracking up about it. 

It was a weekend of Starbucks, and laughter, and not much sleep, but most importantly it was a weekend FULL OF JESUS and LIFE and JOY! 

I'm so incredibly thankful for Athens Church, the AWESOME people who made this weekend run so smoothly, and my wonderful 8th grade small group. This weekend was one I will never forget!

Red Velvet Pancakes Forever

Valentine's Day may be over, but Red Velvet pancakes are forever. I'm not even the world's biggest red velvet fan (I know... I don't even know if I can call myself Southern after stating that. My love of all things biscuits and bacon makes up for it. promise) but these are wonderful! The cream cheese white-chocolate frosting is incredible. and indulgent. And of course, you will want to sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.

"Making Red Velvet pancakes...pretend like it's the weeeeekend..."

Mhmmm, you have to sing Jack Johnson while you are putting them together, friends!  Especially since it's Monday. (And yes, Banana Pancakes Radio is its own channel on Pandora. You're welcome)

I had the best Valentine's Day weekend. I traveled to South Carolina to hang out with my sweet cousin, Taylor, and we shopped until we dropped, got Chick-fil-a, danced to some Justin Timberlake in our jammies...and yes, there was chocolate cake involved. (And a preponderance of Dottie's Toffee. I think I ate a pound of it this weekend. I really did.)

My uncle made us a delicious Valentine's Day breakfast and the relaxing weekend was just what I needed.

And these Red Velvet pancakes are just what you are going to be needing this week:

I put this recipe together for Epting Events, and you can see it HERE as well!

Simply mix up your ingredients, pour into a skillet, heat, flip, and top with frosting and whipped cream and maybe some powdered sugar and DEFINITELY chocolate chips. Happy Monday, friends!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 Tbs. cocoa powder
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar
1 1/4 cup of milk
1 egg
3 Tbs. canola oil
red food coloring

Frosting Ingredients
1/2 block of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup of melted white chocolate chips
1/2 cup of sour cream
3 Tbs. milk
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of almond extract

1. Combine dry ingredients, slowly incorporate wet ingredients.

2. Add one Tbs. of cocoa powder and a few drops of red food coloring.

3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium high heat. Pour dough into skillet and cook until browned on both sides.

4. While pancakes are cooking, mix together all frosting ingredients. Spread on top of pancakes and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Cinnamon Chip Heart Scones Recipe

Remember when I gave you guys this little sneak peak of a Valentine's Day recipe a few days ago?

I had been working on this recipe post for Epting Events in Athens, Georgia...

 

...and today you can head over to their blog to get the full recipe. 

These cinnamon scones are absolutely incredible. 

and are a BREEZE to whip together. 

All ya need is a little butter,

a few cinnamon chips,

and lots of love!

These will definitely be added to my Valentine's Day breakfast menu.

Be sure to head over to the Epting Events blog to get the full recipe details! 

Let me know if you give them a try :)

Birthday Celebrations, Super Bowl Parties, and Life Lately

Good Saturday morning friends! and thank GOODNESS for the weekend!

Woowee! Has it been a busy past few weeks. This has been my toughest semester yet, and I'm still trying to find the balance between fun and work and studying. Usually studying takes over, but I've been able to squeeze a few fun things in here and there...

We've celebrated a couple of 21st birthdays- Joni and Mary Cate's- these past couple of weeks.

We were able to visit Athen's newest pie restaurant- Pouch! And had a lot of fun trying new pies downtown.

We hosted a Super Bowl party...

and had snacks and treats GALORE and a full house. My heart was so happy:

We have Bachelor-viewing parties every Monday and it is the highlight of my week, even though this season is quite bleh. (Farmer Chris, you have not impressed me. Can Sean and Catherine just please have their own show?! #bring'emback)

 I just love having a full living room!

I'm off to cross some things off my to-do list and run a few errands. New recipes are coming this week, I promise! You are going to LOVE them.

Happy Saturday, friends!

15 Best Valentine's Day Movies

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I thought it would be fun to share with you a list of my favorite Valentine's Day movies...which just so happen to be the best movies of all time too.

I really wish I could say these are in some sort of order, but they aren't. I love them all! So this order may just be the order I watch them this month.


15. Something Borrowed: This movie is great, but so is the book! Read and watch both of these. Perfect Valentine's Day chickflick, my friends.

14. Devil Wears Prada: I always feel like wearing heels after watching this one. always. Definitely a good one to watch in February.

13. Bride Wars: Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway have me laughing the entire time!

12. Fool's Gold: This would be a good one to watch with the men in your life. It's more on the action-packed side than the "let's eat buckets of ice-cream and bawl our eyeballs out" side. ya know?

11. Because I said So: LOVE this one. This is another one I can watch over and over again. You should watch it. Because I said so. :) 

10. 13 Going on 30: Thirty, flirty, and thriving!

9. Breakfast at Tiffany's: Such a classic!

8. Dirty Dancing: Is it anyone else's lifelong dream to do the iconic lift scene with "Time of my Life" blasting in the background? No? #bestmoviedancesceneofalltime

7. You've Got Mail: How cute is this movie? A bit old fashioned now too. Technology has changed so much since then. Kinda crazy! Now its more like... You've Got a Tweet.

6. One Fine Day: I watched this one over and over growing up. In third grade, I had this movie on repeat. I've always been in love with the rom-coms! (Clooney too)

5. Legally Blonde: Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.

4. He's Just Not that Into You: A Valentine's Day must-watch. We'll be making heart-shaped pizzas and wearing pajamas and popping popcorn while watching this one.

3. 27 Dresses: Bennie. And. The. Jets. This is my all-time favorite movie scene. EVER.

2. The Vow: Obsessed with this movie. And obsessed with the fact that they "Agree to Disagree on Red Velvet Cake." I know this sounds unbelievable, but I am not a Red Velvet Cake person. So this is one of my all-time favorite movie lines as well.

1. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Will always be one of my favorite, favorite movies. I've seen it 100 times and I can watch it 100 times over and over again. And it has a perfect ending. Love it!

Did I miss any? Which Valentine's Day movies are on your must-watch list?

I'll be checking in a little later, but until then, I hope your Wednesday is going great!