Reckless & Something Beautiful VLOG!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Today I have something to share with all of you that I'm really excited about: my first Vlog! Adora from Halcyon Bound nominated me for the Liebster Award, which is a lot of fun! Allie from Reckless was also nominated and was the brain behind the brilliant idea to team up and make this into a Vlog! 

So without further ado, I present our Liebster Vlog! 

And yes, we fully realize that we had been pronouncing Liebster completely wrong.  Don't worry, we have amended our ways.  Or at least we think so.



If you want to join the fun, please do! Allie and I have some questions for you, too!

1. Do you have a weird phobia? If so, do share!
2. What's your best blogging tip?
3. Where is your favorite place to be?
4.  List five of your favorites (song, flavor, music, animal . . . whatever you want!)
5.  If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
6.  What's the best job you've ever had?
7.  If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
8.  What is your youngest memory?
9.  How do you like to spend your downtime?
10. If you could visit any time period, past or future, which would you choose?
11. If you could be any age, which would you be and why?




Thanks so much again to Adora! If you're looking for some good reads, her blog would definitely be a good place to find some, so swing on by and say hi to her!



Will you accept our Liebster Award?  We would love to see yours!


Love,

Allison

Reading up . . . on a Tuesday

Four sick days + two snow days = a lot of time to delve deep into the depths of Internet archives. Although Facebook photo albums from 2010 mayyyy have been a part of that, here's some of the things I found that are actually worth sharing.

This isn't just for the parents out there. Grandparents, teachers, encouragers, mentors, people, this is how you talk to your daughter about her body.

Losing a friendship is never easy, but it doesn't have to be bitter or hurtful.

When I found out what Harper Lee is doing, I literally let out a yelp/gasp that probably sounded like I was choking.  So. Excited.

Looking for some comfort soup that doesn't have to have all of the calories? This is the answer.  I made it for dinner last night and it was a hit with everyone & super simple, too!

More food! Salmon lovers, this is the link for you!

Raise your hand if you don't want to spend an amazing, gorgeous, week in Europe.  No one? That's what I thought.  Margo from The Overseas Escape put together 10 one week itineraries that you should definitely take a look at.

People getting you down? I feel ya. But there's an opportunity that comes from even those tough times.

If you need a laugh, I guarantee that this will at least put a smile on your face. Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, and Kevin Hart with a little Yoncé, Queen Elsa, and Katy Perry is a recipe for funny.

Did you find anything that you really liked from this week's finds? Which one?

Love,
Allison

What Snow Days Are For

I always imagine that it must be so nice to live somewhere sunny and 75° for all 365 days of the year.  That would eliminate chapped hands, cracked lips, frozen hands on the steering wheel.  I wouldn't have to deal with awful road conditions or making sure I have an extra pair of gloves packed just in case.  Scraping snow off of the car at 6:30 am would be a thing of the past, and boy, that is one thing that I surely wouldn't miss. 

But what sunny and 75° doesn't come with is snow days. 

Snow days are for hot chocolate and pajamas.  Sledding whenever you feel like it.  Catching up on your current read.  Snuggling in with the covers up to your chin and watching the snow fall.

Finishing the homework that you're still somehow procrastinating on.  Taking a walk and marveling in how still, peaceful, and calm the earth is.  On a snow day, you can build a snowman, try a new recipe  (and it's a hit!), and shovel the driveway for what seems like the 7th time.

Bake cookies. Eat all of the cookies. Throw a snowball and expect to have one sail back at you.

And that's what snow days are for.  Suddenly, overcast and 9° is sounding much, much more appealing.

And I get to do it all over again tomorrow!

Love,
Allison

How I Failed at No-Spend January

These euros were not spent in January! Partly because they aren't accepted in America and that's where I was all January long.  But we'll pretend that they weren't spent because of my iron strong will. 

Not spending money for an entire month is hard.

In an attempt to curb spending and save some dollas, I officially declared January a no-spend month by waking up on January 2nd and thinking that it's just a month and it's no big deal and I really do need to save money for college and then having to promptly stop myself from buying a song on iTunes.

With that knowledge in mind, it'll be no surprise to you that I failed at not spending in January.  Of course I don't have to purchase things like groceries, pay a mortgage, or get a car repaired yet, but I often grab some food with friends, impulsively buy a new skirt every now and then and frequent the iTunes store on a weekly basis.

I figured that I could easily put all of that off for just four short, little weeks.  Wrong.

what I wanted to spend: $0
what I spent: (try not to be too horrified with me. please.) $2.72

I'm going to break it down:
$2.02 - pictures for my wall quote that I actually didn't end up using.
$0.50 - string cheese at lunch when I thought I was going to die from starvation, but I probably would have made it anyway.  And it was warm.  Gross.
$0.20 - a library fine. My account said I was a delinquent and I didn't want the nice old librarian to think I was a bad person so I took care of that baby.  And I didn't want to go to jail.

I really broke the bank, I know.

Actually, all sarcasm asides, I'm pretty proud of how well No-Spend January went down.  It was a lot harder than I had imagined it to be when I dreamed it up while in that whole waking-up-delusional stage that no important decisions should ever be made in.

I noticed that not spending money required a lot more pre-thought and planning than I usually had to put into things. For example, I met with a few friends for a Bible study at Panera and instead of indulging in my usual U PICK 2 and chai tea latte, I packed a sandwich from home and pretended that it was a panini. I didn't fool anyone, but my wallet was happy!

Not spending also meant that I had to be consistent and stick to a plan even when that bargain rack Target skirt was definitely designed with me in mind.

Now that it's "Spend-All-You-Have-February," I'm off to make up for the 31 days that I just spent conserving.  If you need me, I'll be in the Target dressing room!

Have you ever tried to go a month without spending?

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

// Allison