Summer Favorites

8:12 PM Unknown 0 Comments

As August approaches, I look back and wonder where has my summer has gone? You know the phrase "time flies when you having fun?" Well, I think in some situations, time flies by even faster when you aren't. By that I mean, working 40 hours a week this summer has had it fly by so fast, it seems like just yesterday I graduated! Don't get me wrong though, I am so thankful to have a job and an income.

Anyway back to the point - while many people consider New Years' a great time to start new habits, try new things, and reinvent themselves, I've always been one to do that in the summer instead. I always am in a slump as we reach those deep winter months, suffering from cabin fever, pale skin, and dark roots. Therefore, I prefer to try out new things during the sweet, sweet summer times. 

That being said, here is a list (in no particular order) of my favorite things of the summer.

1. My bkr® water bottle



My mother had been raging about this water bottle for a month straight before we finally decided to invest in them, and let me tell you, I'm so glad we did. They are glass, but honestly seem indestructible. It's crazy. They come in all sorts of cute colors and are 100% BPA free. Well worth the money. I'm obsessed.

2. 5 Seconds of Summer's Debut Album


I've been a fan of these boys for a while, but they've finally released a full album after about 2-3 years. Their genre of music is quite difficult to explain, as it's pop-punk but a bit more pop than punk... At the same time though, the boys have amazing guitar riffs and drum solos that allow you to kind of see that young Blink 182 and All Time Low inspiration. It's full of catchy tunes perfect for summer. Below is there most recent single, if you want to check them out!

          


3. my computer!


After years of anticipation to finally have a Macbook to call my own, my time has finally come. I have recently purchased a Macbook Pro for school next year (or should I say next month....) and I actually have temptations to cuddle it at night. True love.

4. Beauty favorites


1) Not Your Mother's Dry Shampoo -  I always have trouble with dry shampoo, where it can seem to work more as hairspray than freshening up your hair. I can't get enough of this one, it literally makes your hair feel clean and gives you nice volume, what more could a gal want? :-)
2) Jergens Natural Glow Tanning Lotion - I know it's summer, but I work inside a warehouse all day so it's nice to have a little friend help me get some color so I don't look like a complete vampire. Smells like heaven and works like a charm.

5. A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius


Without giving away too much of the story, A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius it's basically a non-fiction novel about Dave Eggers and his siblings moving to the Bay Area after the death of their parents. Sad but humorous. Eggers has a similar writing style to David Sedaris, who is another favorite of mine. I'm thoroughly enjoying this read. (Thanks dad).


6. Scrunchies (and fish eye lenses)


Now that I have short hair again (see 6.5), I don't wear them as much, but when I pull my hair out of my face, I am usually using a scrunchie. Better for your hair, less pain, and so many options to choose from! Also, fish eye lenses are always fun too.

6.5. Short hair

While I would love to have long, luscious locks, at the end of the day, I prefer short hair on myself over long. Short and sweet, just like this description


7. C Wonder Bracelets


Some dear friends of mine had sent me these two bracelets from C Wonder earlier this summer, the smaller one having Sagittarius symbols in it (my sign). I've never heard of C Wonder before but I looked at their site after receiving this gift and just about fell in love with everything they sell.


8.  AA Nail Polish


Every time I go into American Apparel, I can't leave without purchasing as least one (tube? bottle? jar? THING?) of nail polish from them. Above are my most recent additions, as I just about have all of their colors now. It's a great deal for how well their nail polish brushes on in minimal layers and vivid colors.


9. Chokladkrokant Bredbar


Not discovered until a recent trip to Ikea, this spread is as if Nutella and Skor Candy bars had a baby. I think it's supposed to be used as a sweet treat, but I've been using it more for my dietary needs. Whoops.

10. HarMar Superstar 


My favorite local artist from Minneapolis. HarMar Superstar is a legend. The music, the man, the personality. Everything about him is a favorite.



Well folks, there are my 10 favorite things of the summer. What are yours? Do we share any favorites?


Xoxo


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My day with the Hayes' (and Shelby)

5:23 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I love summer for many reasons. The biggest reason is because that's when I get to see some of favorite people. Allow me to elaborate.

Audrey has been my best friend since we had first started talking back in our sophomore year of high school (yes, I know, our names are both Audrey. No, I'm talking about myself). Here is one of the first picture of our blossoming friendship.... Got to love the awkward phase.


Anyway, come our junior year, Audrey had transferred to an IB school. I was very happy for her because I knew it was a better fit, but I couldn't help but be a little sad that I wasn't seeing one of my favorite faces in the hall everyday. While we didn't necessarily grow apart, we just really stopped seeing each other during the school year because it was incredibly difficult with busy, separate schedules. That being said, to make up for all this missed time, every summer I have basically lived at Audrey's house and gotten very close with her sisters Lucy and Irene, as well as their neighbor Shelby. 

This summer however, was different. As we all are growing older, we have other commitments, trips, jobs, etc..... Last week I had noticed that I was feeling quite strange, but I couldn't figure out why. I later realized it was because I had gone all summer without seeing them all. 

Don't worry though folks, today we changed that.


Today was my day with the Audrey, Irene, Shelby, (and special cameo appearances from Lucy and Joesph).  What I enjoy most about being with the Hayes' is that we don't need to constantly occupy ourselves to stay entertained. We just enjoy enjoy each other's company. Throughout today I had heard stories from Irene and Audrey about their recent trip to Europe (Irene is in the process of writing about her experience, you can read about here!) followed by them surprising me with a bulk of chocolate truffles from Belgium itself (heaven, heaven, HEAVEN.) but disappointing lack of berets. I returned the favor with sharing stories about my meltdowns over school, my days at work cleaning glasses, and other exciting stories. We had also attempted to plan a last minute trip to Oakland, California to watch Joesph read his poetry (which may have failed to a certain extent..) followed by a very successful trip to Turn Style to take advantage of their 75% off sale. Today has been full of laughs, hugs, and conversations that seemed to pick up right where they had left off when we all had last seen each other. A great day off if you'd ask me.


Now here we lay with our legs intertwined with one another while we listen to music and sing along, wait for our pizza to finish, and watch Lucy and Joesph bake us dessert for this family dinner.

I'm sorry to bore you with this, I'm just a very happy camper today and needed to share it. 

XOXO, the Silver Lake Crew (we miss you Chloe!)


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End of Summer Bucket List

3:59 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Today marks my "one month left before moving into college" day and I can't help but be freaking out. A lot. I'm very excited, don't get me wrong but where has my summer gone? I still have so much to do! To help me deal with this minor meltdown, below I have listed my "End of Summer Bucket List."


  • Go for a bike ride to Izzy's Ice Cream and (finally) try it.
  • Go Kayaking. Doesn't matter where.
  • Go on that food tour of Central mother has been dying for us to do.
  • Finish reading a book (since I'm currently in the middle of five at the moment....)
  • Go out to dinner with my French 4 Family (ils sont mervielleux!)
  • Go see a soccer match (I can almost check this one off, since my family and I are going to the Manchester City vs. Olympiacos Friendly at TCF Bank Stadium).
  • Make a new Spotify playlist (much more of a commitment than you would think).
  • Thoroughly clean my room.
  • Have a proper tea party.
  • Get up on waterskis after 18 years of trying.
  • Make homemade ice cream.
  • Go to the Iron Pits.
  • Go on a nice picnic.
  • Get more color on my skin since I've been indoors at work the majority of the summer.
  • Have one last dinner/night out with all of my friends.
  • Rename my "End of Summer Bucket List" to my "End of Summer To-Do List" since it is the most boring bucket list in existence.

For those of you expecting skydiving, tattoos, graffiti work, summer romance, etc. I am sorry to disappoint.

Now excuse me, it appears I have a lot to get done.

Xoxo

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Audrey's Big Weekend.

8:33 PM Unknown 0 Comments

An interesting and eventful weekend for me, this past weekend. It was also quite fun but I'm afraid it has ended with me hardly being able to keep my eyelids open..... Taping them to my forehead definitely has seemed to help though. Alas, I had decided to share this big weekend I speak of with you all.

It all started Saturday morning, which really started out uneventful other than heading to the local bank with my father to deposit some checks where, not to brag or anything, my family tends to be quite popular. Within a minute of arriving, our favorite banker waved us down and shouted "HEY YOU TWO!" then insisted we go to her window. What are the perks of being a favorite of a banker? Well there are many, and while I don't want to ruin too many of the secrets, I will share that they will explain to you what each of the machines do, and show you what they do on the computer. Oh yeah, I can feel your jealousy.

At 3:30 I had a hair appointment where I had decided to yet again, chop off all of my hair to a bob. Despite how much I wish I could grow out my hair to have long luscious locks, I then remember I have thin, straight hair that will never be "luscious". I also remember that I can pull off short hair, therefore: au revoir, mes cheveux!

Finally Saturday evening was spent with my lovely friend Charlotte. We were looking for something to do that evening and had remembered that the MLB All Star Games were happening in Minneapolis this year, including a free concert at the TCF Bank Stadium with Atmosphere and Imagine Dragons. Sadly, the free tickets were sold out but we were on a mission to scalp tickets (which neither Charlotte nor I had ever done before) for a free concert. After walking through the U of M campus talking up a game plan on how we were going to approach a scalper with our clever tactics to get the best deal we could, we finally we reached the stadium.  Upon our arrival, we were approached by a scalper, rather than vice-versa. The conversation went something like this
"Hey, you guys need tickets?"
"Yeah. I'll give you $20."
"Okay, here you go. Have fun."
"Thanks man."
I have to admit I was quite disappointed with how easy it was, as I was prepare to go through hell and back to ensure we got to watch the show. But hey, tickets are tickets! Anyway we got there just in time for Atmosphere's set and I have to say, he puts on a great performance. It was my first time seeing him live and while I've heard great things about him, he lives up to the expectations. I'm proud to say I'm from the same state as him. Imagine Dragons were awesome also. They came with great energy, beats and a light show that went with the music perfectly. It was fun to see how much fun everyone in the audience was having also. So yeah, it was a nice spontaneous and eventful Saturday!
Me and Charlotte at the MLB All Stars Concert

Moving on to Sunday, my day revolved solely around one thing: the World Cup Final.

Discussing all the places we could go to watch Germany and Argentina play, we ultimately decided on the Buffalo Wild Wings in Dinkytown since we knew the waitresses working that day. I packed up all my Deutschland apparel (missing a vuvuzela) and heading down there! Anyone who was watching the game can tell you how intense it was and my friends felt the need to point out how sweaty my palms were getting while watching. There were a fairly large amount of Argentina fans sitting around us at the restaurant that would start screaming and cheering every time Argentina would even touch the ball let alone dribble it 10 yards, which only made me nerves even greater. Towards the end of the ET I was preparing (but disappointed about it) for a champion to be determined by penalty kicks when the Man of the Match, Mario Goetze of Germany, scored a beautiful, beautiful goal, allowing Germany to become the Weltmeister (World Champions). Let me tell you, it feels good to have your team score a goal regardless, but when the goal happens to be a clean, well deserved goal, the feeling is indescribable. Germany's team really deserved this win and I'm happy to see them take yet another title after 24 years. Needless to say, we were all very happy campers and decided to celebrate in our (somewhat) traditional Bavarian outfits afterwards. Here is a photo and video below to give you a little taste. . .





Final remarks from this weekend:

  • Last minute concerts are always fun.
  • I miss the World Cup already.
  • Netflix and my bed are calling my name.

XOXO

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Cabin Diet

7:28 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I went to a friends cabin this weekend. I made sure to be very healthy don't worry. To show you how healthy I was, here's a little food diary of my food consumption over the weekend in order of when consumed.

*Please note I have not listed water/l'eau/agua on this list. I assure you, I drank lots of it.*

 Saturday:

- Homemade juice with plums, kale, blueberries and banana (see? Healthy!)

- Fudge Poptart (Crap... What happened to eating healthy?)

- Watermelon

- Chocolate covered strawberries

- Licorice

- Pulled pork sandwich (heaven)

- Licorice

- Peanut butter M&Ms

- Pulled pork sandwich only this time adding kettle chips to it's interior

- Watermelon

- Licorice

- Corn on the cob

- Grilled chicken

- Watermelon

- Licorice

- Roasted marshmallow

- S'more

- Kettle chips

- Licorice

Sunday:

- Eggbake x2 (again, heaven)

- Glass of Sunny D
- Licorice

- Watermelon

- Licorice

- Pulled pork sandwich x2, both with kettle chips on them

- Diet coke

-  Soft serve vanilla ice cream cone with crunch

- Fried rice with sesame chicken

- Nibbles of a friends Chipotle



Yum. I love cabin food. Minnesota cabin life rules.


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How to: "'Merica" (with photos)

12:17 PM Unknown 0 Comments

It's that time of the year again folks, good old Freedom's birthday.

Exactly 238 years ago today, the United States of America was founded by our founding fathers (shout out to the homies George and Benji) and the rest is history. Anyway, this is one of my favorites because it has our nation all celebrating together! Plus it's in the midst of summer so what's not to love?

This post is for everyone out there who would like to celebrate the 4th of July, but doesn't know how to. Don't worry, I will help you out with "Audrey's guide on how to 'Merica".


Step 1: Head to your local thrift store to find some patriotic clothing.




Step 2: Adjust the clothes to your likings to ensure you have the most 'Merica outfit of them all! (tip: the more flags, the better)



Extra Credit: if you're really exceptionally patriot and want to raise the bar, I suggest dressing as our Founding Fathers.

        
 


Step 3: Paint your nails patriot colors. If you aren't sure what colors to do, I suggest red, white and blue.



Step 4: Listen to a 'Merica playlist to get you in the celebrating mood. I've been listening to this "Americana Mix" posted on 8-tracks by michaelfield20!

Americana Mix from michaelfield20 on 8tracks Radio.

Step 5: Have a toast for our Founding Fathers. 



Step 6: Treat yourself to a Bomb Pop, America insists.


Step 7: Finish the night listening to every version of the Star Spangled Banner while watching fireworks and lighting sparklers. This one below is a favorite.




Follow these steps and you are bound to have a great holiday.

How am I spending my fourth? I actually spend the majority of mine at Brits Pub watching the Germany vs. France game but I will get all 'Merica-ed out tonight for fireworks and the lake cabin this weekend. Have a fun and safe 4th of July everybody!

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