San Antonio in a Day
Wednesday, December 30 • adventure, review, texas, travel
Last weekend I got the opportunity to visit San Antonio, Texas with my fiancé for a day before traveling onto Corpus Christi, Texas. After boarding the plane from Washington State, my fiancé posed the question to me if I would like to spend some time in San Antonio to explore the romantic city. Of course I said yes, so we went onto hotwire.com and use the hotel finder feature to book a random 4-star hotel in downtown San Antonio. This method is a fun way to book and discover hotels, if you have an open mind. A little less than $100 later, were pleased to get the Sheraton Gunter Hotel - only 2 blocks away from the River Walk!
As soon as we were checked in, we walked outside and pointed ourselves in the direction of what appeared to be the most festive part of downtown. A few minutes later we happened to stumble upon the River Walk which ended up being only two blocks from our hotel. It was 80 degrees and sunny outside so it was a perfect day to walk up and down the beautiful river and experience the vibrant culture that the area had to offer.
After walking around for a bit and taking in the scenery, we both found our stomachs grumbling at the delicious aromas fuming the area. After a considerable debate, we decided to eat dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant called Paesanos, right on the river. I had the spaghetti with a butter-lemon sauce, while my hubby-to-be enjoyed sausage and cheese stuffed shells. It was a delectable meal paired with a beautiful view! I highly recommend it to anyone who visits San Antonio. We were also recommended to eat at Casa Rio, the oldest Mexican restaurant on the river. We didn't get the chance to eat there but when we visit again it will definitely be on our to-do list!
After dinner, we decided to take a tour boat ride down the river. It was $8.25 but 100% worth every penny. We went at dusk, which I would definitely recommend. It was a memorable experience to see all of the Christmas lights decorating every tree and building come to life and illuminate the night. Our tour guide was a lot of fun and very knowledgeable about the city. You could tell that he really loved his job, which made the tour that much better. This boat ride was the best way to see the entire riverwalk in just an hour. If you have a short period of time, like we did, hop on one of these boats!
After a long day, we accidentally stumbled upon the Alamo on the way back to our hotel. It was late so we did not do the tour through it, but we did take a few pictures and admire the beauty of the mission. This building's design echoes throughout the architecture of San Antonio, but if there is one word to describe what the foundation of the city is built upon, it's diversity. Everywhere you walk, you not only witness the Spanish influence, but the American and even German influence as well.
We were very lucky to have had a beautiful 80 degree day to tour San Antonio! Unfortunately the next day cooled down and was stormy but we were driving back to Corpus Christi anyways; so we grabbed Starbucks and went on our way! For only having a day to explore the city, I think we did a pretty good job of getting an impression of what San Antonio has to offer.
Thank you for reading my blog, if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Serendipity in a Novel
Saturday, December 5 • best of 2015, books, bookworm, review
I am a hands down a bookworm. I absolutely love getting lost in a novel and never being able to put it down. Whether I'm at the beach, stuck inside on a rainy day or on a plane, I will always have a book nearby. This summer I got the chance to read quite a few books because I actually had free-time (for the first time since starting college, 4 years ago)! Below is a list of my favorite books that I have read recently, in no particular order. I have also read all 18 Pretty Little Liar books, and the Maze Runner series (which I would recommend to everyone because they both great series)!
1. Rising Strong: You might think, I'm not really into the whole self-help book thing so I'll skip this one. This book isn't just another self-help book though. It is about being brave and how to pick yourself up when you fall. This book is about how you can live a wholehearted life and fall, pick yourself up and try again. I recommend Rising Strong to everyone who has ever failed at something and struggled to keep going.
2. Where'd you go Bernadette: This book takes place in Seattle and is about a girl who's mother goes missing. The daughter, Bee, puts together many different clues that help her discover the secrets of her mother's past. This is a good book that keeps you reading chapter after chapter.
3. Paper Towns: This book is now a movie, which I refuse to see because I loved the book so much and don't want the movie to ruin it. This book is about a boy who longs to be with a girl. They go out one night and have a fun adventure but when he wakes up in the morning she is gone. The entire book is about him following a paper trail and trying to find her. I got completely caught up in the mystery and couldn't wait to see how it ended!
4. Yes Please: This book is by Amy Poehler and is as funny as she is. There are parts that are sad and parts that are hilarious. She takes you through her life; starting before she even got to hollywood. She is honest and real in this book. She puts it all on the table and it is such a great read! If you like Amy, I'd recommend reading this book.
5. You are a Badass: I picked up this book while walking through Franchesca's Boutique because I though it looked funny. I didn't realize what it was even about but I grew to love it as I read it. It is a self help book but its not a classic one. The author does a fabulous job of integrating humor and instruction into each chapter. The thing that I love most about this book is that she constantly emphasizes "love yourself no matter who you really are."
6. The Martian: This book is also a movie! I'm kind of curious to see how they did the movie since the book was so scientific and "next gen." The Martian is about a group of astronauts who travel to Mars, get caught in a sand storm and have to go back to earth but accidentally leave one man behind. This man is Mark Watney. The beginning of the book is a little dry because it is his entries in a journal while he is all alone on mars. However, the last part of the book keeps you guessing and you won't be able to put it down! I really enjoy science and technology so I found this book really interesting. It might be more challenging to read if you aren't into science but overall it was great!
7. Big Little Lies: I actually just purchased this book the other day so I'm not quite sure how it is.. but this is the description on the cover "Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place." I'm excited to read it because it has great reviews!
8. The Vacationers: This book is a quick and easy read. It is a fun novel that keeps you interested. The Vacationers is about a family from NYC who goes on vacation to Spain. It follows the story of a each individual on the trip and slowly unravels family secrets. Its a story about a family who completely falls apart before they put it back together again. I really enjoyed reading this book and think it is perfect to read while you are on vacation.
9. The Art of Racing in the Rain: This book is kind of the opposite of Marley and Me.. The majority of the book is sad but the ending is the happiest ending! It follows the life of a dog, from the dog's perspective. The dog's owner gets cancer and it explains how he reacts to that as a dog. If you have ever wondered what it is like to be a dog, this book is for you! The author does a wonderful job of interpreting dog life. Despite the book being a little sad, it is a great read.
If anyone has any book suggestions, please leave me a comment or send me an email! I'm in need of some good books to take with me to Texas over the holidays! Thanks for reading my blog.
Gifts for Guys 101
Tuesday, November 24 • beauty, fashion, gifts, quick guide
Hey everyone! The malls are all a buzz these days with happy Christmas shoppers (thankfully the stress hasn't set in yet). Since Black Friday is right around the corner, I wanted to post a little gift guide for that special guy in your life. Whether it be your husband, boyfriend, brother, dad or friend here are some gifts he might enjoy!
1. A nice classic watch. I have heard wonderful things about Nixon watches and they aren't bank breakers.
2. An iPad. I purchased one for my fiancé last year so that we could FaceTime while being long distance but he also loves to play games on it.
3. A G-Shock watch. The guy in your life might be more active and get more use out of a g-shock instead of a Nixon. These watches have really good reviews and look very durable!
4. Sports Equipment. My guy really loves soccer so I put a soccer ball but you really can't go wrong with any kind of sports equipment.
5. Socks; because who doesn't need socks?
6. A go-pro. I picked up one of these for my fiancé for his birthday and he used it while flying this summer. It is really nice and the only down side is the battery life is short. It is perfect for any guy who is an adventurer.
7. A wallet. One word of caution is that genuine leather is not real leather (I might be the only one who didn't know this). Genuine leather is made with leather but only has a small percent of leather in it. I would look for a wallet that was made with whole grain leather or 100% cowhide.
8. Nike shoes. Every guy could get use out of a pair of Nikes. If you don't know his shoe size it might be a little more difficult.. You could also get him a gift card and say "this is for a new pair of shoes."
Happy Holidays!!
The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
Thursday, November 19 • attire, fashion, girly, quick guide, winter
It is officially winter here in Washington, I awoke to snow on the ground! I am honestly not the biggest fan of winter. But when the weather gets cold and the snow comes down, the holiday season makes me happy. I do love sitting on my couch, drinking hot coco, snuggling with my kitty and watching the snowflakes come out of the sky. My favorite part about the holidays is the opportunity to see my family and celebrate together, as well as the joy that it brings to people around me.
However, with the winter comes the
When the snow is coming down:
down trench coat // sweater // omni-heat leggings // wool socks // boots // scarf // gloves
A chilly day:
Night on the town:
long sleeve dress // tights // booties // floppy hat // tote bag
Lush Cosmetics Review
Tuesday, November 17 • beauty, review
This past weekend, I visited my first Lush store! When you first walk into the store you are greeted by a wonderful aroma of different scents and smiling faces of employees ready to help you decide on products. The specific store I went to closed at 7pm and I ran up to the door right at 7 and was bummed to see they were closed. However, the supervisor saw me and let me in even though they were closing! I didn't get to spend a lot of time picking stuff out so I just picked up a couple bath bombs, shower gel and samples of shampoo and conditioner.
I am so happy with the two scents I picked out! The white one is Sakura and the blue one is Avobath. They both smell absolutely amazing and I'm excited to use them in the near future!
For shower gel, I decided to go with Its Raining Men. This shower gel is perfect for my skin because it has been really dry. When I use this, my skin feels nourished and smells amazing!
I also received two samples for shampoo and conditioner since I couldn't decide. I really love the Daddy-O Shampoo and will definitely purchase a bottle of it next time I go to Lush! It is a purple based shampoo so it really helps blonde hair stay rich and not turn brassy. I have tried other purple shampoos and they all smell bad so I was really excited to find purple shampoo that smells wonderful! While I love the shampoo, I'm not too crazy about the American Cream Conditioner. It smells really good but it is a thiner conditioner that just didn't work for my hair type.
In all, my experience in the Lush store and the products has been very good! I will definitely be visiting them again in the near future to purchase some more cosmetics! Thanks for checking out my blog!
I DO
Thursday, November 12 • disney, engaged, milso,
A common question I get is "how did he pop the question?" So I have decided to make a post about the day my fiancé got down on one knee!
Once upon a time, Daniel came home from base and told me that he had been granted leave and we could go to Disney World. I was really surprised because it is rare for Ensigns to get leave while in API (aviation preflight indoctrination) unless its for a special reason. It turns out that he went to his command and told them he wanted leave so he could propose to his girlfriend. However, I didn't think much of it at the time because I was so excited to go to Disney!
It was on Sunday that we went to the Magic Kingdom park. It was June 29th (Father's Day and National Wear Your Lilly Pulitzer Day) so I was going to wear my Lilly dress but decided I didn't want to get it dirty. Daniel seemed bummed that I wasn't dressing nice for a day at Disney. I was so confused as to why he would care what I wore but again, I pushed the thought aside!
The first thing I wanted to do was get a picture in front of the castle, of course. But, Daniel refused to get a picture in front of the castle because he "wanted to wait until the lighting was just right in the afternoon." I was honestly a little peeved because I thought he was just trying to avoid pictures, like he usually does!
As the day continued on, he got even stranger! He was carrying my water bottle in his bag so I kept reaching for it to get a drink of water. Every time I would reach for the bag he would pull it away from me and carefully pull the water out of his bag. He would also take it off and hold it in his arms like it was gold. I kept asking why he was being so weird about the bag and he didn't really answer which kind of got me thinking...
When the sun was finally at the right angle, we headed back to the castle to get a picture. However, Daniel wanted to wait until the courtyard had cleared out so we waited around 30 min for people to pass through. Finally, impatient me, said enough and told him "we're taking this picture right now and then going to use our fast-passes." It was at that point that he pulled a little box out of his bag, whispered something to the Disney photographer, came over to me, got down on one knee and asked "will you spend forever and always with me?!" I was so happy and all I could say was YES!! When he got up, hugged me and spun me around, everyone around us was clapping. We then got buttons that say happily ever after and were congratulated by park members for the rest of the trip. I still have my button on my backpack because it reminds me of that fantastic day (:
Getting engaged in Disney was my dream, and he made it come true. Daniel is the most amazing man I ever met and he is my happily ever after!!
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed reading our story!
TBT: The post that started my blog
Thursday, November 5 •
As many of you already know, I got the opportunity to spend my summer in Pensacola, FL with my boyfriend (now fiancé)! Exactly 2 months and 10 days ago, I arrived in this beautiful southern town. It was extremely humid and I couldn't breath when I first got here. However, I adjusted very quickly and now I love the humidity and heat!
Since Daniel is a pilot, we had many dinner conversations revolving planes and flight regulations while he was in Introductory Flight Screening (IFS). I have definitely learned a lot more about planes that I ever would have known! He also informed me of the weather conditions each day (storm front, Cumulonimbus, cold front, VFR and IFR flight conditions)! Once IFS was complete, and he obtained his pilots license, we got the chance to go to Disney World!
We spent 4 days there and hit every single park! Our favorite rides included the Rock and Roll Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, The Yeti ride in Animal Kingdom, Astro Blasters and Hollywood Tower of Terror. This was the most unforgettable trip because we got engaged! In front of Cinderella's Castle, Daniel got down on one knee and asked me "will you spend forever and always with me?" Luckily, he had asked one of the Disney photographers to take our picture so we have a picture of the wonderful moment. Our trip to Disney was so much fun and we both still have the Disney-blues!
For the Fourth of July, my mom and brother got the chance to come visit! Some other family friends came to visit us and we had a great day at the beach! At the end of the night we sat on the deck and had a view of about five different firework shows all over Pensacola.
Another one of our adventures included one of my best friends, Katie, coming down to visit and going to see the Blue Angles Show on Pensacola Beach (picture credit to Google). I had never seen a Blue Angles show and was completely in awe. The F-18 hornets all fly in formation and do unbelievable stunts. We were swimming in the water and they flew right over our heads! If you have never seen the Blue Angles, I highly recommend it.
One weekend, we headed to Foley, AL to check out some outlets! These outlets are home to about 120 different outlet stores. We only had a couple hours to spend so we tried to just walk around the entire mall and only go into a few stores. It was basically retail heaven there! After that, we went and spent 3 hours registering for our wedding. I couldn't believe how much time it took to pick out everything; deciding on a shower curtain was the biggest dilemma lol. Once we were completely exhausted, we decided to go play a game of mini golf! Surprisingly, after 3 years we still had never played mini golf together. It was such a fun little outing - and I got a hole in 1!
Our last trip was to Destin, FL. Destin is a big spring break place for kids who go to school in the south and I understand why. The water was pure blue and beautiful! The water wasn't as warm as it is in Pensacola but it was crystal clear. We went to Henderson State Park and highly recommend it, if anyone gets the chance to go there! While we were there, we ate a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co and got pictures in Forest's shoes. Our drive home was very interesting because it poured rain the entire time and there was also a lot of debris on the road due to the high speed winds. However, we made it home safely!
In our last week, we realized we hadn't visited the National Naval Aviation Museum. So we went to base after Daniel got off work and walked around for an hour. The museum was amazing! There were so many planes from all eras and so much history. It is definitely a place to go if you love planes or history! On my last day we visited my favorite little snowball place, Dave's Authentic Snowballs, and picked up some snowballs. In Washington we call them snow cones but down here they call them snowballs which I found amusing. They are probably the closest to snow Florida ever gets!
Now, I'm sitting at the airport (due to some mechanical failures I have a 4 hour layover). Reflecting on my summer makes me realize how truly blessed I am. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to explore the world and have gotten to spend time with my fiancé. I won't be able to see Daniel until Christmas time, but at least I have this amazing summer to remember!
Thank you for checking out my blog!
Fall Faves
Sunday, November 1 • attire, fashion, quick guide, review, travel
Now that fall is in full swing, I wanted to share some of my favorite wardrobe essentials. Since it gets pretty cold up here in Eastern Washington, I wear a lot of long sleeve shirts and layers, layers, layers! We will probably have snow on the ground by Thanksgiving so I only really get a full month of wearing cute tops before I have to cover them with a winter jacket. However, I use accessories to dress up my attire! My favorite thing to do is wear a cute hat or headband with a scarf and I always carry a cute coffee mug. Side note: it is officially red cup season at Starbucks and I am beyond excited! Anywho, I hope y'all enjoy my faves (if you click on the pink links they will take you to the site to purchase). Let me know if you have anything that you cannot live without in the fall! (:
TOPS -
Outerwear -
1.Cardigan 2.Navy Blue Peacoat 3.1/2 Zip Athletic Jacket 4.Utility Jacket 5.College Sweatshirt 6.Blazer 7.Puffer Vest 8. Rain Coat
Bottoms -
1.Black Leggings 2.High Waisted Jeans (I prefer black) 3.Beach pants 4.High Waisted Skirt
Shoes -
Accessories -
1.Floppy Hat 2.Baseball Cap 3.Gloves 4.Tote Bag 5.Knit Hat 6.Crossbody Bag 7.Coffee Mug 8.Blanket Scarf
Thank you for checking out my blog!
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