Life Lately...

What's life been like lately? Homework. Classes. Clubs. Meetings. More homework. I'm so sad I haven't been able to take the time to blog these past couple of weeks. If I have any free time, I'm either reading or blogging on Peace Love Books. I've missed this blog and really want to get back in the swing of things. While I still have lots and lots of homework to do now and between the end of the semester (only a month left!), I'm going to try to pop in and update what's going on with me much more often. Sorry for being MIA, but hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more of me this week and the weeks to come! 

The Jesse McCartney Concert (aka the best night of my life)

For the past 10 years, Jesse McCartney has always been one of my favorite singers. From the good old days of Beautiful Soul to the more recent Superbad, I have obsessed over all of his songs. I've had the same poster of him in my room since 6th grade and couldn't even dream of ever taking it down. When I saw that he was coming to Cincinnati in August, less than an hour drive from where I go to school, there wasn't a question in my mind that I wasn't going to go. My sister and I bought our tickets and waited for the day that I would finally hear Jesse sing in person. 

My sister and I waited for an hour and a half in line so that we could get as close to the stage as possible. While we weren't right up against the stage, we had decent spots about six people back. And since so many girls are fans of Jesse as opposed to guys, everyone in the crowd was about as tall as us, so we rarely had an issue with seeing Jesse on stage. The only problem? The place was hot. Super hot. Seriously, I think that the air conditioning was broken because everyone was drenched in sweat and the two opening acts and Jesse said that heat was just killing them. Their clothes were completely drenched too, but that didn't stop them from giving an amazing performance. 

A band called The Heydaze were the first to perform and they were pretty good! I love boy bands, so I really enjoyed their songs. A girl named Guinevere performed next and her voice kind of reminded me of Gwen Stefani. She was pretty good too, but I was dying to see Jesse and get out of that unbearably hot room. Finally, Jesse came on around 9:45 and the moment he stepped on stage, I knew that the heat and hours of waiting were totally worth it. 

Having been a fan of Jesse for ten years, I know pretty much every single one of his songs. I was so excited when he came out singing both old and new releases, most of which were my favorites. And when he sat down at the piano to sing The Other Guy, which is my absolute favorite song from his new album, I about died of happiness. For most of his songs, Jesse had two backup dancers to dance with him as he dazzled the crowd with his adorable smile and flirtatiously knowing looks. He was on stage for a good hour and it felt like 10 minutes had passed. Seriously, I could have watched him sing and perform forever. And when he sang Beautiful Soul at the end? I literally got goosebumps. I don't go to concerts that often, but I couldn't pass up the chance to see Jesse. And I fell even more in love with him than my 14-year-old self ever was. 

Myrtle Beach in Photos

Hmm, I wonder what I did during my week at the beach…Read. Eat ice cream. Read some more while eating ice cream. My family has gone to Myrtle Beach for the past four years and it never gets old. We've found our favorite places to go for lunch and to get ice cream. We hadn't even checked into our condo before we went to Painter's and I got a cup of my absolute favorite Red Velvet Cake ice cream. The ice cream had actual chunks of cake and cream cheese frosting! Can it get any better than that? 

I spent many, many hours lying on the beach, soaking up the sun. This year was the first year my family decided to coordinate our outfits and take family pictures on the beach. I think they turned out very nice and my picture with my sister is definitely my favorite. It's already my Facebook profile picture! Of course, I took tons of more photos and posted them to my Instagram account. I'm sure everyone who follows me was sick of all of the pictures of the beach, but I couldn't help myself! In a place as beautiful as Myrtle Beach, who wouldn't want to take a million pictures? 

Overall, it was an amazing week and I already can't wait to go back next year. I'm already craving some fried creek shrimp and red velvet ice cream…why can't it be next summer already??

Summer Books and Fishing Trips

How is July already almost half way over? Seriously? It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating the Fourth of July and now it's already the 17th? Wow. I've been spending my days working, working, and, oh, working some more. Haha, at least I'm making some money! When I'm not working, I'm running every morning and reading outside with my sister and puppy. I've received and read some pretty awesome books lately. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, so I was beyond excited for the chance to review her latest release. Summer is the best time for reading, so I've been sure to get through as many books as I can!

A couple of weeks ago, my family surprised my mom with a fishing trip and it was one of the best mornings of summer so far. We spent around 4 hours fishing where we used to go all the time when we were little. By the end of the trip, I had caught the most fish out of everyone in my family, which I was definitely proud of! The trip brought back so many good memories and now I can't wait until the next time we can go out and enjoy some quiet time fishing as a family. 

My sister also received her second Ipsy bag and it was fun! I loved the pink bag with scalloped edges, as well as the lip crayon and eye shadow. However, we definitely didn't need the bronzer and tanning oil. I laughed when we saw the bronzer because my sister has such fair skin and she made sure to mention that on her Ipsy survey, yet they keep on sending products for more dark skinned people. Oh, well! It's still fun to get a surprise every month. A little brightness in the nice, relaxed month of July. 

Princess Birthday Cakes and Cat Flats

Wow, is it really already the last full week of June? Summer is just flying by and I have no idea how it went by so fast! Over the past couple of weeks, I have been having the best book mail arrive for me! I won a giveaway where I received a super cute tote bag and the movie tie-in edition of The Fault in Our Stars. I absolutely loved the book, so I was excited to win the wonderful giveaway! I saw the movie earlier this month and bawled my eyes out. It was so good! I don't know if I could ever put myself through that emotional experience again, but everyone should definitely go out and see it!

Along with my TFIOS giveaway, I received Rainbow Rowell's new book, as well as Miranda Kenneally's new book! They are two of my favorite authors, so I am extremely excited to read their latest releases.

Oh my gosh, have you guys tried Tim Horton's frozen hot chocolate? It is officially my favorite summer drink. My sister and I love getting a large to share to cool down on these hot summer days. Oh, and isn't that Rapunzel cake the cutest? I went to a birthday party of our family friend's 3-year-old daughter and she is obsessed with all things Disney princess. I definitely want a cake like that for my birthday next month! You can never be too old for Disney, right?