Things I'm Loving Friday V

Happy FRIDAY! I'm back in Houston as I type up this blog post, and I am so excited to say that one of my oldest childhood friends is officially a married woman! I got back to Houston last night, or rather, I went straight to Friendswood with Dylan, crashed there for the night, before we made our way back over to my side of town to head to the wedding. There was a little scare with the rain, but thankfully it held out, though I hear that rain on your wedding day is good luck! But, cheers to the new Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Freeman!

Things I'm Loving

And now for another rendition of Things I'm Loving Friday -

Pinterest Crafts

I'm the least artistic person in the world. Unfortunately, using the transitive property, that also means I'm the least crafty person in the world. So why my craft board on Pinterest has so many pins, I will never know, because I hardly ever actually follow through with any of them. Lucky for me, Dylan loves a good DIY project, so when we went through my Pinterest board and saw this pin, I was inspired to put my own little spin on it and create one displaying my classroom expectations. We had a lot of fun doing this project together, and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Possible tutorial to come in a future post!

Baked Goods

I've been off my baking game lately. I'm not sure why that is, but when I was going through my shelf on both the pantry and the fridge, I found a few things that could be used to make these Oreo-Stuffed Sugar Cookies. The recipe was so easy (if you're cheating and using store-bought dough like I did), in that I simply wrapped an Oreo with dough, rolled it in nonpareils, and placed it in a lined muffin tin. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, cook them for 18-20 minutes, and you'll have a treat that is both aesthetically pleasing, as well as pleasing to your taste buds, or so I've been told.

Squirrels

One of the top things I will miss about living in Austin, and specifically about walking through the UT campus, would have to be the squirrels. They are so funny in that they are the friendliest squirrels I have ever come across. They let you get so close to them, and they will never ever turn down food that is offered to them. Two of my roommates once started a squirrel blog, and Dylan and I frequently send squirrel pictures to one another. Props to him for starting #squirrelsaturday, which is sure to be back and better than ever this summer!

Kid President

I don't know how many of you have ever watched this video, but if you haven't, you certainly should. I don't know why but I never watch videos that are sent to me or posted on any social media, but even I watched this one, and I'm sure glad I did. In this video, Kid President shares his five favorite things about summer. And the best part about this video is, every time someone watches, likes, or shares this video, ConAgra Foods will donate money to Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief organization, so that every kid will get to have an awesome summer!

(Source)

Danner Wedding

Happy Saturday, everyone! My last 24 hours have been pretty crazy; so please forgive me if this is one of my longer posts, though I promise there will be plenty of fun pictures for your reading pleasure.

Yesterday around 1:00pm, two of my teammates, Dylan and Wyatt, picked me up from SRD so that we could head straight from there to Azle, Texas, for the wedding of one of our YoungLife teammates. I started working at 8:00am, so it was an early morning for me. Our drive was fairly uneventful, and we made it to The Orchard – the beautiful wedding venue – around 5:30pm for a 6:00pm wedding. After a quick change, we were ready to meet five of our other teammates who came up earlier that day. I have to brag on our car, because we were the only car that didn’t get lost on the way over to the venue – dream team, right?

Dylan and I

Cheeseballs 

Candid

Aimee, me, Kayla, and Alex

Anyway, our team took up a whole row on the bride’s side, and the wedding ceremony started shortly after we were all seated. Alyssa looked absolutely beautiful, and it was so special watching her tie the knot with her best friend. They have been together for three and a half years, and a majority of that time has been long distance, so I am so happy knowing that they will be together, even though together means moving to San Diego for a year.

After the ceremony was over, and our team took a few pictures (of course), we found our table inside and had fun catching up, taking pictures in the photo booth, and scoping out the drink and hors devoures before the bride and groom made their way inside. We were all pretty hungry by this point, so we all jumped up when we were told that we could go ahead and get in line for food. Dinner was delicious – I split a baked potato with Alex, ate more than my fair share of green beans, and enjoyed a perfectly moist grilled chicken breast. A lot of my teammates went for the bacon-wrapped pork fillet, but as I am not a huge fan of bacon, I opted out of that option, though it smelled wonderful.

Shortly after that, it was time to hit the dance floor, and my team pretty much stole the show. Then again, there were eight of us, so that is to be expected. And none of us are particularly great dancers, but we sure had fun doing it!

Since Dylan, Wyatt, and I were driving back to Austin that same night, we left around 10:45, so that we would get home at a somewhat reasonable hour. We got home around 2:15am, and I crawled in bed at 2:30am, falling asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.

Since I went to bed around 2:30am, you would think I would sleep in until at least 10:00am. No, I was up and moving at 8:30am, when I decided a run at Town Lake sounded appealing. Apparently a lot of other people felt the same way, because the trail was absolutely packed today. I ran one round of the three-mile loop, and then walked the same loop as a cool down. The temperature was perfect, there wasn’t much humidity, and after being in a car for over seven hours yesterday, it felt great to stretch my legs.

I came back to the Clubhouse, ate a quick breakfast, made a quick Central Market run, whipped up three batches of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins, and biked over to Gregory Gym for a little swim. It’s so sunny outside that I just want to be outside all the time. I swam one mile before getting out and spreading out on a lawn chair for a few minutes, before heading home to shower and make some lunch. I opted for a dairy-free pizza, which I haven’t had in about a month. It tasted just as good as I remember, so I am sure my favorite pizza will be making frequent appearances on the blog this summer.

I am currently working the desk at SRD until 10pm, so like I said, it’s been a crazy 24 hours. I’m hoping to get some good sleep tonight and tomorrow night, because this summer has worn me out, but in the best way possible. Enjoy the remainder of your Saturday!

And to end my post - Alyssa and Rich, I am so happy for you guys. It was a beautiful wedding and I am so glad we got to share that special moment with the both of you. I wish you guys an eternity of love and happiness – y’all absolutely deserve it!

Wedding Bliss

Every time I think I am going to have a somewhat relaxed week, it never actually is. I have come to the realization that every week is going to be extremely busy and I will get an awesome 5-week break where I can relax and enjoy all of the holiday festivities! However, I did do absolutely nothing yesterday, and it was so wonderful! The most strenuous thing I did (besides class of course) was going on a bike ride - I couldn't resist, it was SUCH a beautiful day in Austin!

Earlier this week, I talked about how my dorm was having a Bridesmaids + Crafts Night on Tuesday night. Well, it was such a success. We put up a screen in our ballroom, arranged the delicious cupcakes that we baked so that they formed a heart and SRD, munched on the delicious hors d'oeuvres that the wonderful kitchen staff made us, and crafted hair pins and headbands inspired by Pinterest. I, of course, fell asleep on the floor, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the movie! :)

One of my favorite foods ever - Hummus and Pita

Two SRD girls enjoying the girls night!

I was in charge of the popcorn machine for a while - and lucky for me, I also got to clean it!

Our 100+ cupcakes! <3 SRD!

Continuing the wedding theme, this afternoon my friend and fellow RA, Bekah, and I served wine at a wedding reception. Mary's - the administrator at SRD - son was getting married today and they were looking for two people to serve wine to the guests at the reception. Bekah and I had shifts that were in the morning and night, respectively, so we were the lucky two! It was a pretty fun way to make a few extra bucks! :)

Bekah with the UT Tower Cake!

Bekah and I with the cake!

 Workout + Dinner

Today's workout was a double whammy and it felt great! I went to bed last night with the intent that I would wake up early and run about 7 miles before getting a jump start on my homework, but when I woke up, I was not in the mood to run, and I was hungry, so I dragged myself out of bed to go down to breakfast and then start working so that I could work out later. I walked to Gregory Gym and swam my usual 72 laps. It was a beautiful day outside, and my one-piece tan line just keeps getting better and better! After the wedding, at about 6:45 or so, I decided to go for a short run to the capitol and back, which is a little over three miles. It was a very nice night, but still a tad bit warm for this time of year. I am hoping it cools down a bit, but not too much, because I don't handle the cold weather very well! I am a shorts and t-shirt kind of girl!

For dinner I decided to be adventurous and try a new place that some of my friends had raved about in the past, Miltos. It is located about a quarter of a mile from SRD, and it was absolutely delicious. I ordered the chicken gyro topped with tomatoes and lettuce. The pita bread that wrapped the chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes up was so warm and delightful; I give it two thumbs up!

Articles of possible interest:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/8-scary-food-myths-busted

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/7-laws-leanness