Just....Wow!

A little treat for you guys right before Thanksgiving, just in case you haven't seen these guys before, they are freaking amazing!! Plus I have to go to work again soon....these are the long days with two jobs :P

Love,
Sara :)

New Favorites 1

Since I started blogging more and more, I have started reading the blogs of other people, and getting some ideas from there. While the majority of ideas have remained mine, there are a few that have come out of what I have noticed and learned from other blogs. This post is one such example. While I can not pinpoint exactly what blog I picked this up from (and maybe it was Pinterest! I have been spending a lot of time there lately...), I can say that this seems to be a pretty popular subject and I thought I would try my hand at it! Let me know what you think!

I'm going to start with some simple things, which does not say much since I only have like four things to share here for this first attempt. This is not so much of an "If Only..." post (which I do have!) and more of a post of things I have that I love!
The first thing I want to share are my headphones. I have a bright orange pair of Beats by dr. dre and I love them so much! The sound quality is great and they are as comfortable as can be.

Second, I have a new body butter that I am really enjoying. It's by a company called Pacifica, which is a 100% vegan and cruelty free company with some really neat products! I currently have a lip tinter by them, some water-based cleansing wipes, and this body butter. It smells like Tuscan Blood Orange (how many times can you say that?!) and works wonders for my skin. I would highly recommend this brand, which can be found most places or online. Also, yes, that is a dinosaur standing next to the body butter, be jealous!!

Next add-on is my favorite new candle. Now, this is a little weird for me because generally, I'm not a big fan of candles because they are a constant risk of fires and I was always worried that they would set off the smoke alarms and I never wanted that. This candle, however changed my view on candles surprisingly. Not only does this candle smell pretty good, it also has a wooden wick, which as of right now means that it burns with a noise that reminds me of a fire in the fireplace. The slow crackle of the flames is actually quite soothing and is a pleasant background noise for my bedroom.

Alright guys, this is my first "New Favorites" post, let me know what you think!
Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I have to admit to watching quite a few documentaries over the past few days (mostly while I've been cleaning and on study breaks) and I've come to several realizations. Not only am I rethinking whether or not I want to try being vegan and trying to figure out how to have a healthy diet while living in my parents' house where I don't do the grocery shopping, but also why it is that women are misrepresented in society and how we can all help ourselves and increase our own self-worth just by looking in the mirror and telling ourselves that we value what we are right now. Ok, I guess I also learned about run-ons, but my point being that life is about being ourselves and that while things can be hard while we try to find our place in society, but there is always the view that life is as good as we make it.
This song for today is one that really talks about what we can find in life, the main words "life's not about what's better". Ladies and gentlemen and pups and kitties of all ages, I introduce you to the John Butler Trio and their song "Better Than". I should add too that I actually heard this song at the end of one of my documentaries that I watched called "Hungry for Change". This just goes to show that you should always listen to the music playing during the credits because you would be amazed what music you can find there! This is at least the second song for my Musica Mondays that I have found from the credits of a movie/documentary/TV show. Enjoy! :)

I personally enjoy this live version of the song more, I'm not sure why but that's just how it is I guess :P

Love,
Sara :)

Afternoon in Chicago

A friend of mine from college is looking at grad schools and was looking at the SIAC, and since I haven't seen her in a month (well, since homecoming :P) I decided to go down and meet up with her and meet her new boyfriend. I really had a wonderful time hanging out with them and doing stuff. I just wanted to share a few of the pictures I took with my camera phone (yes, you heard right, an actual camera is definitely on my wish list for Christmas!) while down there.

You have to admit that Chicago really is a beautiful city! I always enjoy visiting there. These first six pictures are all taken from Millennium Park which is pretty close to Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. A great place to visit if you've never been there and are looking for somewhere to go while in this great city!

These next two pictures are taken at an art show that we went to at SAIC. The building itself was beautiful and there was so much interesting art that I wasn't sure where to start. I did not end up buying anything here but I do wish that I had since there were so many beautiful things here.

These next two are of dragon ornaments that I found that are absolutely freaking adorable! Please say no to those faces! I somehow managed to...

And being me, we found the Barnes & Nobles, along with an awesome book that I was tempted to get for Matt from Christmas :P Shockingly, I left the bookstore without any books!!! This is something that like never happens!

This is just a sweet sculpture near where we were walking downtown, I thought it was note worthy because it looked so cool :P

The last thing that we did tonight was going out for dinner. All I am willing to say about the place, Dick's Last Resort, is that if you haven't been there before you really should head over there and experience it! Just go do it now!

Love,
Sara :)

Chibi Means Cute

Ok, so I'm not sure that the word 'chibi' actually means cute but that's not the point here. Chibi drawings are always freaking adorable, so I went around the internet and found some of the cutest chibi drawings ever! :P

Who can say no to these adorable Supernatural boys? :P

And Naratu? Seriously?!

And the worst! Ookami!!

Love,

Sara :)

Mini Soapbox: Thanksgiving Forgotten?

Why is it that all the stores all over are already advertising for the holiday season? I mean, I am as much a fan if decorating for Christmas, doing holiday crafts and cards, and celebrating, but what happened to thanksgiving?! I'm getting the feeling that people are forgetting about Christmas. We live in a society so materialistic and single-minded that we can go from celebrating and being thankful for what we have, to everyone rushing to the stores on Black Friday in irder to get the best deals on more stuff. Sigh, in all this rush I think we forget the true meaning of the holiday season and thanksgiving. This is a time to celebrate with friends and family and realize what we have and what we can give to those who do not have what we do. While ideally this is something that should be practiced year round, at least there is one time of year when nearly everyone realizes that we can share what we have.

Where did this rant come from? Well, I was on Pinterest today and I read a quote about how materialistic our society is and realizing that for the past two hours I had been pinning things that have to do with decorating for thanksgiving and Christmas and planning parties. I came to the sudden realization that I do the same thing at this time of year, when it is before thanksgiving and Christmas and all I want to do is celebrate. I can't wait until I have somewhere I can do these things and I was thinking about what I would do when I suddenly realized what I was thinking about. Wow, reality check!

So, this rant us really just that, a rant. I guess I am a little annoyed today with all of the materialism going on around me. I will have to share later what I do to help this during the holiday season and throughout the rest of the year too. I will probably be back to being slightly more materialistic later on, but I guess this is just a bit of food for thought.

So, maybe this year I can buy a turkey not for myself (since I'm a vegetarian and don't eat turkey) but for someone who might not have one this year! I believe it was last year that California ran out if turkey's for thanksgiving? Sounds like there's lots of people who could use help or at least a little bit of assistance with some things. I'm not sure exactly what I'm talking about now but I guess I must have made my point somewhere in this languish rant! I hope you guys are having a great week and I'll be back with less....depressing?...stuff later :)

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Sometimes all you want to do after a long day of works listen to some calming music that will not put you to sleep. I started my second job as a personal trainer today (more I shadowed for five hours, and learned quite a bit about what I need to do when I get certified) after working this morning at my current job as a direct care professional. Yea, between the two jobs I worked 14 hours today, so, it has been a long day for me. On the plus side, more working means more money which means I can move out sooner! I'm looking forward to this because I really want to be out of my own, which I have discussed before so I won't get into that right now. Anyways, the song that I am sharing today is called "Big Talker" by These Modern Socks. Look them up! Enjoy, friends!

Love,
Sara :)

Achievement: New Job!

I got a job, and to make it even better, it's one that gets me even closer to my dream (well, kinda is the start of my goal of being a personal trainer). I got a job at a place called Pulse Personal Training as one of their personal trainers. I start on Monday, and by start I mean I will be shadowing the other three personal trainers at the center. I am super excited and look forward to learning more and more about this field and everything in it! Hopefully working up to being able to do my own stuff at my own center someday! That'd be my dream as of right now, but who knows where any of us will be in the future! I for sure don't know! Life is an adventure and I plan on having fun :)

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

It snowed!! Yea, it's later than it usually does in Minnesota (where I've heard it's already snowing), but I'm back in Wisconsin right next to Lake Michigan again this year, so we got our first snow today. It was more like a dusting of snow that froze all the water that came from the rain and required a brushing off one side of the car with a hand quick. But there is something about the first snow of the season that, no matter how early, gets me kinda excited. I think it's because snow usually comes with much happier times, with the holidays approaching and such, but I'm not sure, it is a little early for snow....I mean, we haven't had Thanksgiving yet! Bother....such is life in the midwest!

Now I couldn't find a good video for the song today, but I thought that it would be appropriate :) It's called "First Snow" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Enjoy!

Love,

Sara :)

Pinning: Fun Bookshelves

Pretty much my entire life I have been a big reader. When I was little and my parents were first starting their own company, they would have meetings, I would come along with a stack of books and stay quiet throughout the meeting while reading my books. Apparently, it worked no matter where we were, too!
While surfing Pinterest this week I found a few different bookshelves that I just couldn't pass up and had to share with you! So, enjoy!

What do you guys think? I'd love to have a little cubby among my books to read in, not gonna lie!

Love,

Sara :)

If Only....BOOTS!!!

Why is it that wherever I go online I find boots that I simply love and want to have? Why is it also that I am so hesitant to wear the boots that I own? Fun fact: I know why. While I have cloths that fit boots, I just don't wear them that way. Because I run around so much I don't tend to wear anything other than tennis shoes, my ninja shoes (for parkour), or TOMS. But that doesn't mean that I can't look at the sweet boots I see! I also have the issue of wanting to buy said boots, mostly for fancy occasions...when I wear ballet slipper style or...converse...yea...I'm that girl! Hah!

I'm going to start with pair of combat boots. Yes, you heard right: combat boots. I have a thing for combat boots. I mean they are fun and tough and not to mention I feel like Maka from 'Soul Eater' and who wouldn't want that?! Ok, this pair is from Forever 21, I'm not sure why I don't just go down and buy a pair but I'm not, so they are here on my wish list!

The second pair is from one of my favorite places to shop from: Modcloth. This pair is a bit fancier and nicer looking than my Forever 21 boots, but hey, I need something for when I wear prettying dresses! I know lots of people say black is better for boots, but for these I think that lots of dresses and dress pants look almost better with brown. Personal preference for what that's worth.

My third pair I really just couldn't pass up. They are a higher boot and black, but I really love them! They are from Journeys, and they look pretty badass! So, you now know that I have a thing for both combat boots and apparently for buckles... Huh! I learned something new about myself!

So, what do you think of my boot choices? I'm a fan! :P

I also should explain that I just got a new computer (yay!!!) and it's a desktop! It's exciting because I got it at Best Buy for a nice discount! This does mean that I just finished transfering all of my settings onto this new computer and for some reason this post didn't post when I originally 'posted' it yesterday while I was in the middle of my 24-hour transfer (I really should have gone through and gotten rid of the unnecessary things on my laptop....).

I will say that I am keeping my laptop since it's a bit of a hassle to carry around a desktop to coffee shops and around the world so I'm not even going to go there. Blogging during my travels will still happen to the best of my ability and I look forward to putting this new computer (and my old one until my dad goes out and personally sells it himself...) to the best use I can!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

I'm not usually one for country music, I mean I listen to it often enough but it is not one of my favorite genres by far. I'm much more of an indie and alternative girl myself. But lately I've become hooked on a crazy song by Hunter Hayes. Alright, that was my attempt at being funny, I won't try it again :P The song is called "I Want Crazy", and it honestly reminds me about my own current relationship which is going very well. Today was one of those days that I got to spend lots of time with Matt and we had a lot of fun hanging out and going and doing stuff together. I admit to dragging him to the library and half-price books, but he didn't object! This is the type of relationship I've always searched for, because it is in no way perfect and neither him nor I are perfect but we both try hard and seem to be perfect for each other. I found someone to be silly with, who accepts and loves me for being me, and treats me well! This song reminds me of my ideal relationship because it involves doing some crazy things that make you both happy. I fully support love of any shape and size because in my opinion love is love, and you can't argue with the heart (it doesn't have a mouth or ears so it  doesn't care what you say).

Love,
Sara :)

Books Books Books: The Rover

I've been searching for a good, light-hearted fantasy book that included all of the classic fantasy components: wizards, magic, dragons, dwarfs, and, of course, lots of history. I finally found one! Being able to travel to this other world really helped out my mental state, which has been consisted of me wandering around like a zombie because I'm so tired lately.

Anyways, here's my review for Mel Odom's The Rover.

"A great, lighthearted story that kept me turning pages all night! While parts reminded me of The Lord of the Rings, it really was very much its own story. Well-written and captivating! A great read for any sword-wielder and dragon believer, a pretty simple read."

Go pick it up and read it fellow knights and adventurers!!

My next read looks to be (finally) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship if the Rings. Yes, I know I'm a bit behind on the times but this is the first time in like years I've had enough time to sit down and actually read something! And on that note I actually have to study :P yes, it never does really end. Beware!

 

Love,

Sara