10 Things Making Me Happy

How is it already October 20th? That means that it's already halfway through October and November is that much closer. The weather is getting colder and my classes are already halfway over! It seems like every weekend just flies by and I'm back in classes…but here's what made me happy this past weekend!

1. Spending the weekend at home. I spent Friday shopping with my sister and mom. Then, I spent all day with my mom, sister, and dad seeing Gone Girl and then having Olive Garden's never ending pasta bowl for lunch. It was a great weekend!

2. Getting new running shoes. I went to an actual running store and spent an hour with an employee analyzing my feet. I tried on 5 pairs of shoes and ran in all of them until I picked out the perfect pair. They're a gorgeous blue color and feel so good! Now, I'm always super excited every time I get to run in my new shoes.

3. Signing up for a 5k. I'm running the Run Like Hell 5k this Friday where everyone wears costumes to run in. I'm dressing up as an 80s fitness girl (think Olivia Newton-Jon in Let's Get Physical). I can't wait to run the race!

4. Catching up on all of my shows. It seems like all of the new shows I watch are all on Thursday nights, which is so annoying because that means I have them all to watch at once. When I was home, my sister and I were able to watch the newest episodes of How to Get Away with Murder, Stalker, and A to Z together and I'm all caught up!

5. Seeing the preview for Fifty Shades of Grey during Gone Girl. Oh, that movie. I don't know if I'll like it or not but the preview was definitely entertaining and I'm totally seeing the movie when it's released on Valentine's Day.

6. Finding movies on sale for only $2. At Kroger, I got What to Expect When You're Expecting for only $2, along with a Girl's Rule Movie Marathon collection of 5 movies that include The Perfect Man and Josie and the Pussycats. For only $2. Yay for more movies!

7. Cuddling with my puppy. Whenever I go home, I have to spend a good amount of time smothering Rosie in kisses and hugs. I know she's so tired of my by the end of the weekend, but I have to get my puppy time in before I leave her again!

8. Downloading Nick Jonas's new song. I still listen to Jonas Brothers every time I run (which is everyday), and I was shocked to see that Nick Jonas not only had a new song, but that it was in the top 10 on iTunes. I listened to it and thought it was awesome, so I bought it and can't get it out of my head.

9. TAYLOR SWIFT'S NEW ALBUM COMES OUT IN SEVEN DAYS. I used to really not like Taylor Swift because she claimed to be country, but won all of the awards for pretty much every genre. Um, not cool. Now that this new album is officially pop and Shake If Off is one of the best songs ever, I can't wait to see what other songs she's come up with!

10. Ordering the new iPhone 6. I will have the new beautiful iPhone 6 in my hands in exactly 5 days! I already have a pretty blue and pink case that will look adorable on my new phone. I can't wait to finally have a new phone for the first time in four years!

10 Things Making Me Happy

What is up with this gloomy weather? It was rainy yesterday and today and is supposed to rain for the next two days. What happened to the crisp fall weather that had finally started to show up? I don't need rain! On my way home from class today, it was absolutely pouring and my backpack got soaked…but nothing inside was damaged, thank goodness. I've been holed up in my room ever since and thankfully the rain has stopped in time for me to go to my weekly knitting meeting. Hopefully it isn't too bad the next couple of days! Here's what's been keeping me happy throughout this dismal rainy weather...

1. Turning in huge assignments I had been working on for weeks. Today, I had a 20 pages recommendation report and an English midterm due and I had been working on those assignments for over two weeks. It feels so good to have them turned in and finally off my chest.

2. Wearing new clothes. I wore my new Mickey Mouse baseball tee on Monday and it made the gloomy day just a little bit brighter.

3. Painting my nails. I love changing up my nail color and when my dark purple started to chip literally the day after I painted them, I decided to take it off and paint them "Fuchsia Power" pink. They're so fun!

4. Having classes cancelled. Tomorrow, I normally have two classes but somehow they both got canceled, so now the only thing I have school-wise is my weekly movie viewing at 6pm. Even then, we're watching Singin' in the Rain, which is a fantastic movie, so it's definitely going to be a good day!

5. Planning a weekend at home. I head home on thursday and I've been planning out the three days I'll have with my family. We've already planned to go to Olive Garden for lunch, see Gone Girl, and go out to breakfast with my brother and his fiancé. I can't wait!

6. Meeting Emily Giffin at Books by the Banks in Cincinnati this weekend. I completely obsessed over her when I was talking to her and she just laughed and called me sweet. Haha, but she was so sweet herself and it was amazing getting to meet her, along with some of my favorite YA authors.

7. Finding delicious recipes I want to try. I found these Coffee Cake Muffins on Pinterest and can't wait to try them out.

8. Receiving pictures of my book mail from my mom. I have all of my books that publishers send me sent home since I don't trust my mail in a college town. My mom opens them all for me and sends me pictures in case there's anything time sensitive I'm sent. This past Friday, 8 books came for me in one day and I loved seeing all of the pretty covers that my mom texted me.

9. Looking at bookish Instagram photos. I've started following more and more Instagram accounts dedicated to photographing books and they're just so pretty!

10. Visiting a massive thrift store for the first time. I've heard about the thrift store near my college town ever since I started school, but I've never actually made the 30 minute trip there to check it out. I finally drove there last weekend and it was amazing. Seriously, I could have stayed there for hours and the prices were unbelievable! I already can't wait to go back!

10 Things Making Me Happy

It's been over a week since I spent the weekend at home and it already feels like forever ago. I'm already dying to have my puppy in my arms as she squirms to get away. I know she secretly loves my hugs! My next weekend home will be here before I know it, though, because the weekdays just seem to fly by as they fill up with classes, homework, club meetings, and running. Before I know it, it'll be Christmas! How exciting is that? On that note, here's what else has been making me happy this week…

1. Baking for book club. I tried out these 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Brownies and they turned out delicious!

2. Looking for a new phone case. My parents officially ordered my new iPhone 6 and it should be coming in within the next couple of weeks. My sister and I, of course, scrambled to find the perfect phone case and it took us days to decide exactly what we wanted. I ended up going with this one and hope it was the right choice!  

3. Finishing up Jane Eyre. I read the last 200 pages in one day (my busiest day of the week, at that) and it's definitely one of my new favorite books I've ever read. 

4. Finding new movies to fall in love with. I watched An Affair to Remember and fell in love with the story. Now I understand why so many other movies and shows reference it! 

5. Finally making some hot cocoa before going to bed. I picked up some hot chocolate packets and peppermint mocha creamer from the grocery store and made the most delicious cup of hot cocoa the other day. I definitely see much more hot chocolate in my future. 

6. Running with the president of the University. On Friday, about thirty members of the running club showed up at our president's house at 6am to go on their annual run with him. We only went about 2 miles, but it was fun personally meeting the president and getting to run around campus with him. 

7. Vacuuming the apartment. I don't know why, but I always find vacuuming so soothing and love how clean my apartment looks after a good run through.  

8. Eating pumpkin ice cream. Kroger finally had the 1/2 fat Edy's pumpkin ice cream and I am literally in heaven. I almost bought two 1/2 gallons just so that I could make it through the week without running out…

9. Painting my nails for fall. I have this pretty light brownish/purple polish that has bronze flecks in it that I got from Ulta and I am so obsessed with it right now. And it lasts for days without getting chipped!

10. Wearing new clothes for the first time. I got my package from Forever21 while I was home last weekend and wore my new clothes both Monday and Tuesday. They were fabulous!

10 Things Making Me Happy

I know that it's only Tuesday, but I've already been having a pretty great week! I think it's because I get to finally go home for a weekend visit on Thursday, but it feels like this week is just flying by. Homework for my classes hasn't been too bad and attending running club and knitting club always puts me in a good mood. Here's what else has been making me happy this week...

1. Finishing the Panerathon 10k in exactly 47 minutes. I ran 6 miles every weekend for about a month to train for the race and set a goal of 50 minutes. I dominated my goal and ran an average of a 7:30 minute mile, coming second in my age group. The free Panera afterwards didn't hurt either.

2. Finally being able to read Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I read Beautiful Disaster over the summer and devoured it in one day because I loved it so much. After meeting Jamie a couple of weeks ago and buying the second book in the series, I am so excited that I finally have time to sit down and read the story from Travis's point of view.

3. Having only three more days until I go home. I haven't been home in about 5 weeks now, so I'm definitely missing my parents, sister, and puppy. I can't wait to spend the weekend with my sister and Rosie (my parents are going out of town…awful timing, I know) and just relax and forget about school for a bit.

4. Making packing lists. I've had to make so many lists lately and they are so handy when I need to pack for anything so that I know I'm not forgetting anything.

5. Watching the Wedding episode of Outlander. Talk about steamy!

6. Receiving book mail that I've been waiting on for weeks. Isla and the Happily Ever After arrived in the mail yesterday and it definitely made my day.

7. Unwinding at knitting club. Some really great people joined my knitting club this semester and I always look forward to spending an hour with them and my latest knitting project every Tuesday night.

8. Getting ahead on homework. Since I'm going home this weekend, I want more time to spend with my sister and less time to spend on homework, so I'm getting most of my assignments done early and it feels so good to have that off my back.

9. Having class canceled so that I could go to running club. My evening class yesterday was canceled because my professor was out of town, so I was able to go to running club and see some of my new friends, which I am only able to normally do on Thursdays and Fridays.

10. Less than 100 days until Christmas. Time to start knitting up those Christmas presents!

Ten Things Making Me Happy

I absolutely love Rosie's blog Cider WIth Rosie and adore her lists of ten things that have made her happy during the past week. Making a list of ten things is such a simple thing, but it can really make you appreciate life so much more. It's those little moments that always make me smile. So, here's what's made me happy this week…

1. Finding my favorite fall candy at Kroger, especially the white chocolate candy corn M&Ms. I may have eaten half the bag within 5 minutes of getting home... 

2. Joining running club. Wow, running with a bunch of actual runners seriously kicks my booty. We run at a steady 8 mile pace and on our last run, which ended up being 5.6 miles, we ran the last mile in 7:30. I'm definitely going to be in fantastic shape by the end of the semester. 

3. Staying up reading well into the night. I've been making an effort to not fall asleep while reading and it's finally working! I've managed to stay up until midnight for the past two nights and have made good progress on my TBR pile. 

4. The drop in temperature. Finally, no more sweating while walking to class. I absolutely love how the temperature has been in the 60s lately. Fall has definitely arrived. 

5. Buying an anniversary card for my parents and writing them a cute little note to let them know that I love them and miss them. I can't wait for them to get it on Wednesday!

6. Chatting on the phone with my sister on my way home from classes. 

7. Visiting the local library and browsing through the shelves, picking up anything that catches my eye. I walked out of the library with 5 books today, which definitely shouldn't have happened since I have so much to read. But they all looked so good and I just couldn't resist. 

8. Still obsessing over how I got to meet some of my favorite authors last week. 

9. Slowly making progress on the granny square blanket for my sister. Each square just gets prettier and prettier. 

10. Waking up early Saturday mornings to run 6 miles through the sleepy town of Oxford.