{Cinco} de Mayo!

Since Cinco de Mayo is in less than a week, I thought I'd share some of the cute decorations I've seen around town lately! My brother's birthday is on May 5th, so it's always a fun day in my family.

(Just wait until he turns 21, right?) 

I was browsing at Pier 1 yesterday and they had the cutest Cinco de Mayo decor. Here are a few of my favorite pieces that would be oh, so perfect for a fun party!  

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I love these cups. They're festive and you can use them allll the time! 

{here}

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You can never go wrong with paper lanterns... 

{here}

And of course, what's Cinco de Mayo without salsa?? 

The recipe can be found {here} 

Hoping that everyone has a great week!!

Olé ;)

Linking Up With: I Love Bloglovin'

Take A {H i K e}

A few weeks ago, I went hiking with two of my best friends in da whole world! We are always looking for new places to hike so when we heard of this trail that was literally in our backyard, of course we went to check it out!

(I also found out that my phone could take panoramic pictures, so that was exciting...)

I had such a fun day hiking with my girls! The scenery was gorgeoussss. I wish that I had time to hike this weekend. I have a super busy weekend and a huge midterm on Tuesday! Next weekend hopefully ;) 

xox 

{Weekend Update}...Just a Few Days Late

This weekend I got to see my man! He was playing baseball up in Fresno and I was lucky enough to get to tag along with his family and see him play. We didn't have much time to spend together since he couldn't stay with us, but the time we did get to spend together was definitely worth it!

Remember when I said that Bubs's games got cancelled because of a blizzard when I went to visit him in Colorado a few weeks ago? Welllll, this was the weekend that they had to be made up. So, his team played five games this weekend...you read that right five. And take a wild guess who sat through them?! But I can't complain because the weather was beautiful! I was happy to watch the games in 85 degree weather rather than 30!

The time we had with Steven was pretty short, but ohhh, sooo sweet. Seeing him is always worth the wait. I still get butterflies right before I see him. And kissing him ain't so bad either ;)

The field on Friday night! 

  Hanging out after the game on Friday

  In-between games on Saturday

Steven pitches on Sundays, so for the second game on Saturday he got to sit behind home plate so he could take stats. It was a little torturous having him so close and not being able to sit with him! So, I snuck down in between innings to say hi and snap a couple pictures.  

Saturday night we hung out and had ice cream and watched a movie! We were pretty dirty and tired from being in the sun all day! 

 And finally my man warming up before the game! Le swoon. I mean, look at that side arm. Can ya blame me?

Baseball season is treating me right because I'll see Bubs in San Diego in a little over 2 weeks! I can't wait! 

Linking up with: Wild Card Wednesday, 

Mondays...

Hi! 

Sorry I've been so absent, it's been crazy 'round these parts! 

I promise I'll be back tomorrow with my weekend update...I got to see the main man! 

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend

xox

p.s. thank you all for the kind words on my last post! they made my day! :) 

My Key To {Long Distance}

I probably shouldn't be complaining about the distance because the longest Steven and I have to go without seeing each other is usually less than two months. I also know that some people have to go months and months without seeing the person they love and trust me when I say that the possibility of us having to do the same is always in the back of my mind. So for now, I'm so grateful that I get to see him as much as I do.

Sometimes I get tired of the distance. When there are exciting things happening in our lives, it makes me sad that we can't be together to share the excitement. When I'm having a long day, I wish that I could see and talk to him in person. I don't like that I have to countdown the days until I see him, and I hate that when I'm with him I feel like I have to make every minute count. If we aren't constantly doing something when we are together, I feel like we're wasting the precious time we have.

Those are the times that I'm cursing the 1,000 miles between us but all you long distance lovers shouldn’t be discouraged. I believe that the distance is a blessing in disguise and I know that my relationship with Steven is stronger than it's ever been because of the miles between us. We have to rely solely on communication to be able to connect with each other when we're apart. We have to compromise, we have to be flexible and we have to make each other a priority. We also have to work really hard to make our relationship work. This is why I'm thankful for the distance and these are the things that have strengthened the love we have for each other.

Steven and I talk as much as we can. Somedays are obviously busier than others and on those days it's hard to find a time in our schedules that we can both talk. On days like these, we mainly text and email back and forth with a short phone call at night. The day following a day like this, we make sure to talk a little longer than normal to make up for the time we lost the day before. Steven and I tell each other everything in hopes of making the distance not seem so far.  We tell each other the big and little things. The little details that we mention are what make us feel more connected to each other's lives.

If I have any advice for couples who are in long distance relationships, it's to communicate as much as you can. Just because you can't always physically be together doesn't mean you can't have a romantic relationship. Voice your affection and tell the person you love why you love them.  

Voicing what we are feeling is what has made my relationship with Steven successful thus far. It's taught us both how to talk about our emotions, both good and bad. Not only does my heart completely melt at the sweet things he says, but we’ve learned to communicate our feelings to each other when we're frustrated or upset. After a while, it’s become easy for us to say what we really feel in a constructive way. The way we communicate with each other now is something that I don't think we would've learned had we been in a different situation.

So, as much as I complain and whine about long distance relationships, I'm grateful for the challenge we have been faced with. Even with hundreds of miles between us, I fall more in love with him every day which is crazy to me because I really love that man today. 

Source: statigr.am via Haley on Pinterest

Lighten Up!

Is there really anything better than a fresh manicure? I think not.

 And I'm absolutely loving the pale trend this spring. 

These colors are light, girly & out of control fun

{and when it chips, it's a lot less noticeable than darker colors} 

Here are some of my favorite colors from Essie:

 

1. A Crewed Interest 

2. Mint Candy Apple...candy anything mmmm 

3. Bikini So Teeny...my favorite of the bunch...yes, the name is why. 

4. Oui Madame...take me back Paris or Normandie or Côte d'Azur. I'm flexible  

5. To buy or not to buy...that's not really a question, is it? 

6. Hi Maintenance...Sometimes I fit this profile, ask Steven. Sorry babe 

Am I the only one who picks my nail polish color because of its name?? Please tell me no!

   

{Also, a helpful bit of info that I learned from my roommate Kelsey- If you smudge your polish when it's still wet, lick your nail a few times...no, I'm not kidding, it actually works and you'll thank me when you just ruined that fresh manicure digging in your purse for the car keys!}

{ Happy Thoughts }

Source: richesforrags.tumblr.com via Haley on Pinterest

The things that never fail to bring me to my happy place: 

Steven...I seriously love this guy 

My family 

Warm weather...ahh love
Sunsets

Cupcakes...need I say more? 

The ocean
Mason jars...for drinks, flowers, food, you name it. I love those things 

Frozen yogurt
Hangin' with my brothers
Playing music in the car with the windows rolled down...sweet freedom 

Happy people 

Vacations...Mexico, anyone?  

Pretty flowers 

Roadtrips with my friends

Summmmmer...faster. pleeeease
Walkin' my puppy

Iced tea and lemonade...together of course. I thank my main man Arnold for this drink all the time 

Watching Bubs play baseball 

And this song...whatever mood I'm in, when I hear this song I'm happy.



Cheers to the weekend. Stay happy my friends
xox

Let Them Eat {Banana} Cake

My mom has a banana cake recipe that is literally to die for. And with cream cheese frosting...holy yum! It was a huge hit when I made it for our Easter celebration this year! Don't be fooled, the word banana does not make it healthy by any means. {But it's so good I don't even feel one bit guilty for indulging}

RECIPE: 

1/2 pound butter 

1 cup sugar 

2 eggs 

1 cup mashed ripe bananas 

1 & 3/4 cups unbleached flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2/3 teaspoon baking soda 

5 tablespoons buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 ripe banana 

Handful of walnuts 

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch layer cake pans 
• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Thoroughly mix in mashed bananas. 
• In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients into the butter and egg mixture, stirring completely. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. 
• Pour batter into the pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 
• Cool before frosting 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

2 pounds softened cream cheese 

2 sticks softened unsalted butter 

3 cups confectioners' sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

• Beat cream cheese, butter and 1 cup sugar with a mixer until combined. Mix in remaining sugar with mixer running. Add vanilla and beat until fluffy. 
• Frost your heart out and add walnuts and bananas to the top.

Linking up with: Walkabout Wednesday

Beach Days & Farmers Markets

It was a gorgeous weekend in Santa Barbara! Sunny and warm just how I like it! I'll take this weather for the rest of the school year if ya don't mind...

Hangin with my best friend on Saturday 

California Poppies 

A beautiful Saturday!  

Farmers Market goodies on Sunday

             My favorite summer flowers 

I hope that everyone had a great weekend

xox

Linking up with: This Weekend I, Monday Mingling, I Love Bloglovin'

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Last week, in an afternoon state of boredom when I was at home, I cleaned out my closet. Here's a secret; I still wear some of the clothes that I wore in 7th grade...I'm 19 now but I definitely still rock clothes from Abercrombie. Don't judge. Of course, I definitely had some "did you seriously wear that?" clothing and the shorts I found way in the back of my drawer would probably fall into that category.

Here they are in all their glory. 

I was going to throw them into the Goodwill pile, but when I tried them on, they fit really well. And  I'm sure many of you ladies can relate to the feeling of not wanting to part with something that just fits so nicely. It's a hard feeling to come by. The only thing I didn't like was the awkward length. They weren't short enough or long enough to be cutely worn. So, I chopped 'em up...obviously.

 (Pretty unevenly I might add) 

I couldn't just leave it at that because I still had 3 hours to kill after all. So I went to Joann's and spent $2 on some eyelet material. Since I can't sew, at all, I used an iron-on adhesive to get the eyelet to stay on the shorts.  Lining the adhesive up in between the eyelet and the shorts was a bit tricky so I used pins to help me out.  

The rest was easy because all I had to do was iron! I'm pretty excited to have some new shorts to wear! 

F R U I T & V E G G I E S: reading into the sticker

I was recently enlightened by my cute, health-nutty best friend Kelli, on what those little fruit and vegetable stickers can tell you. Who knew that that annoying little sticker, that I sometimes accidentally eat, could contain any valuable info besides telling the checker how much to charge me for?! Not I. These stickers contain a PLU code that do more than just help in the check out line at the grocery store. They tell you how the fruit was grown! From reading into the PLU code, you can tell if the fruit was genetically modified, grown organically, or produced with pesticides or fertilizers. Pretty nifty, right?! 

• If there are only four numbers in the code, it means that the fruit was grown conventionally, with the use of pesticides. The actual numbers in this code just tell you what kind of fruit it is. For example, the banana PLU number is #4011 and an apple might have #3293.

• If there are five numbers in the PLU number and the code starts with the number "8", then the fruit or vegetable was genetically modified. A genetically modified banana code would be #84011.

• If there are five numbers in the code and the code starts with the number "9", the fruit was grown organically meaning that there were no pesticides or fertilizers used and it was not genetically modified. An organic banana PLU code would be #94011.

So there ya have it! An easy (but tiny) way to find out what is really goin' on with the food that you're putting into your precious body! 

Linking up with: Random Wednesday, Halfway There Blog Hop,

Weekend Happenings

Family, Friends & Faith 

A fun dinner out in LA with my friends for Katy's birthday!

 Taking my cute puppy for a walk at the park! I'm too obsessed with him

 Celebrating Easter with my Dad's side Saturday night!

A great Easter Sunday walking around in Laguna and Dana Point Harbor!




Linking Up With: This Weekend I, Monday Mingling, Weekend Shenanigans, I Love Bloglovin'