Keepin' it Simple

Hey "y'all"

     I haven't found anything to blog about today so I thought it'd be a good idea to just keep it simple today & just post a quote.  I hope y'all are having a good day!

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." ~Elbert Hubbard
*I found this quote on RealSimple.com ...such a great website, I love it lol!!

Country Song of the Day:  "Angel Eyes" by Love and Theft

~Jane

The 17 Day Diet

Hey "y'all"

     I hope your weekend has been going well so far!  Today I've officially started round two of the 17 Day Diet!  I did this diet last year over the course of summer and I lost a lot of weight and I want to try doing it again.  For those of you who are like me and struggle maintaining their weight this diet works perfectly for me!  Basically, it's drinking lots of green tea, water, and eating plenty of lean meat, 2 servings of dairy a day, fruits and veggies, and no carbs after 2pm.  It gets even better, this diet only requires you to do 17 minutes of exercise a day!!  I am not a fan of working out I have to admit but I can handle 17 mintues of sweating lol.  I like this diet because I don't feel deprived and I say to myself that it's only 17 days and then I can take a break and get back on track.  I love how I feel on this diet, it has quick results and I feel so energized.  In addition to this diet, I think I'd like to keep a exercise and diet log just so that I can reflect from start to finish.  With that being said I hope you find this as helpful as I do!  I also wanted to share with you that I officially gave in and joined Groupon.  Groupon is a website that has extreme couponing for places in your area and it's so easy to join...so if you're a person who budgets like I do then I definitely suggest joining this website!
I hope y'all are having a wonderful day so far!
Country Song of the Day:  "Right Back Atcha Babe" by Tim McGraw

~Jane

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality" ~ Ralph Marston



My Latest Purchases

Hey "y'all"

     I hope your Friday was amazing!  Sorry I didn't blog, I was busy helping out at a birthday party...I now realize that havnig 20plus kids in a pool at one time is definitely a lot of worrying and work.  I give those lifeguards a lot of credit.  Anyway, when I came home yesterday it was a nice surprise to see what I had ordered a couple of days ago waiting for me at my doorstep!  I recently ordered "clippies" from such an awesome website called Etsy!  I have shoulder length hair so I part it to the side and clip it off to keep it from getting into my face and I thought these would be a cute way to accessorize because they are perfect for my hairstyle and they are so cheap I thought why not!?! being that I'm on my tight high schooler with a car budget lol.  I also ordered from the same website cute hair elastics that are just a thick piece of elastic that come in all different colors because if my hair is not parted to the side, clipped off, and down; I'm usually wearing it pulled back.  I hope this inspires you to give 'em a try and find this helpful...if you try them, let me know what you think!   After, I still realized I was in need of more summer clothing...don't get the impression that I'm a shopaholic, I do LOVE to shop but I got rid of most of my summer wardrobe because it was seriously way too small.  However, I always try to give back by donating all of my unwanted clothes to the local thrift store.  With that being said, I recently ordered a few things from GAP and Old Navy which I will blog about in the near future once the order arrives (and I promise I will follow through with more pictures).  I feel a little less guilty when I shop lately because while I still want these cute accessories and clothes all of the time, I'm always told I know how to save my money and how to spend it with only things that I need and a few accessories of course...c'mon what "Southern Belle"  doesn't want accessories lol.    I hope y'all had an amazing start to your weekend...I'm off to the our local farmer's market with my mama & I will try to take some pictures to share with you of the beautiful fresh produce and setup!

Country Song of the Day:  "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band...my sister, Emma recently started listening to this song and has me now hooked on it, I love it and it definitely sounds like summer lol

Have a great weekend y'all!
~Jane

These aren't the exact clippies I ordered but I just googled pictured of clippies to show you the style
I already own a few clippies but I really like having them on hand because they are small yet stay put in my hair

these are also the hair elastics I ordered; again, they aren't the exact ones but I just wanted to show you the style I ordered neutral colors so they'd go with a lot
I've heard they are great at holding hair and are becoming very popular,  I know that if you like these but don't wear your hair back often, they make them bigger for headbands,  I got mine a lot cheaper but a popular websit to order these from is emijay.com

My fave German meal

Hey "y'all"

     So the other day I joined my grandma, uncle and cousins for a nice family dinner the other day!  I couldn't pass up the offer to join them because my grandma was making some of the best German food ever and plus my parents were away on vacation that week and I didn't feel like making myself dinner the first night they went away!!  I am of German background and my grandma is from Germany so she's the head chef when it comes to making all things German!  However, I love making German food with her and it means a lot to me that I get to do that!  I wanted to make sure I posted pictures of the food for you guys to see for yourselves how yummy this food looks! 

p.s.  ~ I want y'all to know that my cousin tried to make the German recipie that I'm known for making in the family, and she forgot to add the salt...Just goes to show that you don't mess with the best lol

~Jane

Spaetzle (spet-zle) kinda pronounced like pretzel but with a "sp" sound infront and no "r" lol it's like German pasta...so good!

"German Chicken"

Red Cabbage...yum!

my cousins plate of the spaetzle and "German Chicken"

my plate...including a little bit of everything & applesauce

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!

Hey "y'all"

     So today is the first day of summer for me and it is actually the first day of summer officially!  To me, it's more exciting than Christmas.  I have so many summer traditions to keep the feeling of summer alive for as long as possible.  Today I went down to the beach and I have never experienced a day at the beach like today, it was amazing!  It wasn't buggy, not too hot (even though New York is experiencing a massive heat wave already), and the waves were my favorite part about the beach today...they were the perfect size for those who are like me who mostly just go in to relax and float...I'm not really into surfing but I'm always up for the challenge lol.  Also, this moring before heading to the beach I went to get one of the top foods New York is famous for...Bagels!  I had a whole wheat bagel with vegetable cream cheese and I discovered that the bagel store that I normally go to has the most amazing iced tea...it was perfect and very refreshing and will definitely be ordered more often when I visit the bagel store lol.  After a long day one would think I'd be exaughsted lol...but I guess I'm so excited that summer is finally here that I can't fall asleep so I am staying up right now because I made red velvet cookies....I didn't feel like making the full cupcake and worry about having to frost them and I had never made them before so I thought why not.  They were so easy to make and they are so yummy, these would be perfect for the 4th of July...even if you wanted to you could take a little cream cheese frosting to frost them and finish it off with some sprinkles.  So I'm officially going to at least try to go to sleep, I hope y'all had a great first day of Summer!!
~I know what y'all know I'm thankful for today...Summer of course!!

Country Song of the Day:  "Summertime" by Kenny Chesney
~Jane

*The following pictures are the fresh batch of Red Velvet Cake Batter cookies I made like 10 minutes ago lol

Tons of Tips!

Hey "y'all"

    Tmo is my last day of testing and then summer officially begins for me and I'm nervous because tmo's test will be hard but at the same time I'm so anxious to take it and have summer already!  Anyway, over the past few days I have recieved tons of e-mail from Real Simple.com about summer food recipies and tips for making your summer the best yet and I found these to be helpful so I definitely wanted to tell you to check out all of the summer fun stuff on Real Simple.com
I also wanted to post a quote because I need a little inspiration in my life today and this quote I recieved in my e-mail was perfect...It sort of relates to a few things that have been on my mind lately lol

"Things turn out the best for those who make the best of the way things turn out" ~ Jack Buck

Country Song of the Day:  "Free" by Zac Brown Band
I hope y'all had an amazing day!!
~Jane

I look at this picture and I see peace, happiness, and freedom

Southern Tradition

Hey "ya'll"

   I believe manners and tradition go hand in hand so today I posted some of the top Southern traditions!  I hope you find these helpful!

Country Song of the Day:  "Relentless" by Jason Aldean

I hope y'all have a great Monday!!
~Jane

This article is from Knowledge Galaxy.com

Top 10 Southern Traditions You Can Participate In At Home To people living in the South, the many intriguing southern traditions are just a way of life. Life moves a little slower, calmer, happier and a lot more peaceful there. The dwellers have an appreciation for the simple things and it seems as though the days are filled with a little extra sunshine. The South reminds you to stop and breathe in the fresh air and appreciate the gentle breeze that dries the sweat forming on your brow. If you can't travel there, here are 10 southern traditions that you can engage in anywhere. Sweet Tea – The southern areas of the United States are well-known for their thirst quenching sweet tea. The secret to this type of tea is adding the sugar while the water is still hot, not after it cools. The hot water allows for holding more sweetener than cold water. Also, some places even brew their sweet tea in simple syrup and then it is tempered with a bit of baking soda to take away the bitterness. Sweet tea is quick and inexpensive to make and would be a perfect addition to your next picnic or BBQ. Mason Jars – Why is it that everything tastes better in a Mason jar? Southern traditions don't stop at homemade preserves; they serve up that delicious sweet tea and lemonade in them too. No home or restaurant is complete without an abundance of Mason jars. Black-eyed Peas – These favorite legumes are essential to the South. If you happen to have the opportunity to be there for New Year's Eve, there is a good chance that you will be eating black-eyed peas shortly after midnight. From small casual gatherings to gourmet dinners, they are traditionally supposed to be the first food eaten in the New Year. According to folklore, they will grant you prosperity and luck throughout the upcoming 12 months. Collard Greens – It is quite possible that the South is the only place that knows how to do something truly special with collard greens. This is a staple vegetable that is often prepared along with spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens and kale. They are typically seasoned with salted and smoked meats, vinegar, diced onions, salt and pepper. Keeping with southern traditions for the start of the New Year, collard greens are usually served along side black-eyed peas and cornbread. They ensure wealth for the upcoming year. Fried Green Tomatoes – You cannot mention southern traditions without giving recognition to fried green tomatoes and if you haven't tried them yet, you are certainly in for a treat. Cracker crumbs, breadcrumbs, flour or cornmeal are popular choices for coating the sliced tomatoes after dipping them in beaten eggs that are mixed with salt and pepper. Throw them in a frying pan with some grease and flip like a pancake when brown. American Flags – You almost cannot pass by a house or business in the city or the country without seeing an American flag flying proud. According to southern dwellers, no house is a home without one. Checkered Table Cloths – Perhaps it is a secret to a successful get together to display a red and white checkered tablecloth. You are sure to see them inside and outside, draped across picnic tables and spread out on lawns for picnics. Just seeing one makes you think of BBQ sauce, watermelon and sweet tea. Ghost Tales – Somehow, the people in the South always have amazing and entertaining ghost stories. These tales are passed down through generations and families and communities are close so stories often become enmeshed with secrets that should never be discussed with outsiders, except on special occasions, of course. Groom's Cake – Originally, this was a fruitcake that was displayed next to the bride's cake. It was not consumed at the reception but rather cut and sent home with the guests. Today, these cakes are any flavor and shape and this tradition remains the strongest in the South out of anywhere else in the country. Hospitality – You know you're in the South when everyone smiles at you and has something kind to say. Visitors are never strangers but rather are considered guests that are always welcome and made to feel right at home.

Father's Day Review

Hey "y'all"

     So yesterday was Father's Day and my dad, mom, sister, and I got up to have homeade waffles at my dad's request and then we opened his Father's Day gifts.  My dad recieved a Vineyard Vines hat from Emma (my sister) and I, BBQ supplies and the Hess truck from my grandma (my dad's mom), and last but not least my dad also got the soda machine that everyone has been raving about and it was perfect for my dad because he loves seltzer and coke and more BBQ supplies from my mom because my dad loves to grill!  After breakfast we went for a ride on the boat, it was a beautiful day but it was surprisingly very chilly so we didn't stay out for too long.  Unfortunately, Emma had to go to work riht after breakfast so she wasn't able to join us on the boat but after the boat ride I did visit her at work.  Emma works at Vineyard Vines and I was in need of a few new things so I went to go visit her.  I ended up buying a new croakie, a t-shirt, and a lightweight sweatshirt.  It was well worth the investment.  After visiting Emma, I headed over to a few other stores while I was in the area.  I went to Tommy Hilfigure, which had amazing deals on shorts and then I went to Old Navy and found a few things perfect for lazy days in the summer lol! 
Country Song of the Day:  "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney
I hope y'all have a great day!

Anyway, back to the Father's Day Review...I am so thankful for my dad.  He goes above and beyond to make me happy and will do whatever it takes.  I couldn't ask for a better dad...I know he wants the best for me and wants to make sure I've grown up with the best memories and experiences.  Just a few of these things include boating, growing up with an upstate house, his motorcycle journey, his relaxed yet get up and go party personality makes me so truly fortunate to have my dad in my life.  Thank you dad for everything you do I love you so much "1234"
~Jane

Me in the red, my dad, and my sister upstate at our shooting range on our property this past winter
I love you dad "1234" and I couldn't ask for a better dad

Guess Where I'm Headed?

Hey "y'all"

   Today's a beautiful day and I just can't hold out any longer...I'm going to the pool!  I need to just get away and clear my mind and Tan of course lol!!  I'm excited because after a full week of exams I need just a couple of hours away from the craziness.  Tmo is Father's Day and I am so excited because it should be a pretty calm day out on the boat and then probably a BBQ with the four of us later.   Have any of you picked up the new issue of Southern Living yet?  They definitely have some summer desert and drink worthy recipies!!  But I won't give away anything else because I don't want to ruin it for you lol!  Well I need to get my day started but I'll blog more later to check in!  I hope y'all have a great day!!

Country Song of the Day:  "She's A Wildflower"  by Lauren Alaina 

~Jane

This is where I need to be lol

What's in my Summer Beach Bag!?!

Hey "y'all"

     Only three more tests to go before I'm headed off to the beach...and I kid you not when I already packed my beach bag like two weeks ago lol!!  However, I down graded to a smaller size tote bag because the bag that I had been using the past couple of years was so big that I decided to change it up.  So now I am currently using a Ralph Lauren tote bag and the following items are always a must in my beach bag...I figured I'd share them with you because there are some things I have that people might forget so here they are and I hope they help you!

In my beach bag there are:
1. Two beach towels (one for the lounge chair and then one to dry off with)
2. A lined bag with the following items in it
      ~Sunscreen/Face stick
      ~Hand wipes
     ~comb, hair ties, detangler
     ~OFF bug wipes
     ~Baby powder...always comes in handy
     ~a mini first aid kit
     ~Deo
    ~goggles
3. A baseball hat
4. sunglasses with a Vineyard Vines croakie
5. a magazine/book/iTouch/iPhone

I usually wear a cover-up over my bathing suit with flip flops,  and my hair is usually clipped up.  It's just quick and easy because Tanning is a sport for me lol and swimming too of course! 

I'll try to keep blogging more summery things over the weekend but I have to go and babysit soon so I have to wrap up today's post
*I hope y'all have a great day!
Country Song of the Day:  "It's All About Tonight" by Blake Shelton

~Jane

Fashion Overload!!!!

Hey "y'all"



  So I know it's not Friday yet; but I have been finding so many great summery fashion things and I figured we'll start today and go through tmo...consider it a fashion marathon lol!  Tmo I'll be posting what has gone into my beach bag that is sitting in my bedroom right now so desperately calling my name to go to the beach lol & also, I'll post some summer beauty essentials!  So here we go with today's fashion finds!
I hope y'all had a wonderful day!

Country Song of the Day:  "Hell On The Heart" by Eric Church
~Jane

I love this!  The anchor is perfect and for those cool nights on the beach this sweatshirt is a perfect summer find!
$80 from J.Crew



Perfect for dad now that Father's Day is right around the corner!
$75 Vineyard Vines

I love the color of this top and it comes in two other colors which I love as well
$148 Elsa Top Embroidered ~ Lilly Pulitzer

I swear by Jack Rogers, they are a must have on my summer sandal list and they come in the coolest colors and styles!
price varies but these are $105 Palm Beach Navajo ~Jack Roger

Cute accessory...it's a bright splash of orange with a little fish hook what's more summery than that?
$55 from J.Crew


Love these bright pink shorts!! 
ON SALE (select colors only $34) origionally $45
from J.Crew

1 More Day To Go!

Hey "y'all"

    Today is a whirlwind of a day; but, it's ok I don't mind being kept on my toes lol.  Today has been pretty good and what makes it even better is that tmo is the last day of school for me!!  Although that stress will be taken off it's time to get those last minute cramming sessions in for regents and finals.  Tonight is cousins night at my grandma's house...I'm looking foward to a good homeade German meal!!  I'll be definitely posting pictures for y'all...I think this night needs to be documented lol! 
Country Song of the Day:  "Family Feud" by Pistol Annies

Miss Monday Manners Tip:  (Accepting an invitation)  Lately, I find that there have been a lot of questions based on when you get an invitation to someone's house, a social event, a party, etc...  however, these people who were invited feel obligated to go more than having the feelings of actually wanting to go.  When this happens, often people will ask around to see who else you know is going.  Even though it will be nice to see a friendly face, if they back out last minute that doesn't make it right for you to come up with an excuse to not go to this event, it would not be fair to the host.  Not only have I seen people questioning the proper way to handle this but from personal experience, you have to go and make the best of it...I feel less guilty in the end & I most times I do end up having fun.  If worst comes to worst and you will really feel uncomfortable about going then politely decline as soon as possible and make sure you can return the favor in the best way possible... perhaps a nice dinner, just with the host of the party?  I hope this helped you! 

I hope y'all had a great day & are looking forward to summer as much as I am!!
~Jane

I can't wait for all of the Summer BBQ's I will be attending!!  This Southern Living picture just represents what a southern summer should be...I'm not sure what issue this is or from what year but I'll do my research and let y'all know!
Happy Monday!!

Happy Sunday!

Hey "y'all"

    Summer is almost here for me because I have 2 school days left and then a week or so of finals and regents and then I'm free! (well not technically bc of summer reading assignments but that's ok lol)!  Yesterday I took my ACT with high hopes bc I think I did pretty well, then I cleaned out my room for the entire day because I had to get my summer clothes together and my beach bag and it was just like spring cleaning all over again but it was worth it...it helped me get mentally ready for summer lol.  I also owe you guys a post because I finally watched the music video of "Come Over" by Kenny Chesney and this was a side of him that I've never seen before but it was an amazing music video!  Kenny Chesney represents summer for me, when I think of him and listen to his music, I think of summer!  Also, speaking of summer, I just ordered another summer essential on my list... Birkenstock flip flops!  They are so comfortable for walking and go with a lot so I order a new pair every summer.  Even though I have too many different flip flops to count, these and j.crew flip flops are some of my favorites but if I'm going for a night out, Jack Rogers are a MUST!!

   Today I will be updating my summer playlist ("Come Over" will definitely be on it lol) and completing other small tasks on my to-do list but I'll be in touch and keep you posted! 

Hope y'all have a great day!
~Jane

   

these are the exact color and model I just ordered and I ordered them from Zappos.com because they are on sale for $60.00!!

My Car is Finally Ready!!

Hey "y'all"

     I'm so excited bc tonight my car will finally be ready!!  I'm going to pick it up with my parents and I just can't wait until I can finally drive!  In addition I also ordered some cute bumper stickers to put on my car...I had been looking for specific bumper stickers and I found them today online finally so I couldn't resist ordering them...it was meant to be lol!  I will most definitely be posting pictures of my new car soon...probably tmo or as soon as I get the bumper stickers and put them on I want y'all to see! 

For Tuesday's Tips/Try This I decided to share with you what I have recently discovered...Dunkin' Doughnuts makes mocha coffee!  I just asked for a small iced mocha and it was amazing!!  I had been thinking about how much I liked mocha coffee when I first discovered it with my aunt in KY at one of her local yummy coffee shops and although nothing can compare to that the coffee I got at DD was pretty good too & it was definitely a good reminder of the coffee shop in KY, it now probably one of the only things I will order when I go to DD lol!  I now have to see the competition of Starbucks' mocha coffee and compare the two lol...I let you know the next time which one is better lol!

Country Song of the Day:  "Good Girl" by Carrie Underwood....this is the #1 song on CMT
*speaking of...the CMT awards are coming up and I will definitely be watching!

Today is the premier music video of Kenny Chesney's "Come Over"...I can't wait to see it and I will definitely be blogging about it!
     Hope y'all are havin' a good day!!
~Jane

This is the Coffee place my aunt and I go to in KY...it's so yummy and the name is so funny too it's partially the reason why we go there lol

Bridal Shower Etiquette and Tradition

Hey "y'all"

    I hope your Monday is off to a good start so far!  Last night I went to a good family friends wedding and it was so much fun!  I had not been to a wedding in so long & everything was perfect and great!  I'm so happy for the bride and groom, they make such a great loving couple & I wish them the best of luck!  With that being said, last's nights wedding inspired today's blog post!  I did my research and found on MarthaStewart.com tips on wedding etiquette and I thought I'd post this being that it might help some of you as well if you know someone who is getting married soon being that it's wedding season!  I hope you find this helpful! I'll hopefully be able to post pictures of the wedding soon too!

Here is the link to Martha Stewart Wedding Etiquette:
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/228680/etiquette-bridal-showers/@center/272440/wedding-etiquette-adviser#/228678

Country Song of the Day:  "Fireflies" by Faith Hill
*such a cute fairytale "wedding like" song

I hope you have a great day and if you check out the link I hope you enjoy and find it helpful!
~Jane

Below I posted pictures of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's wedding...I think they are such a cute couple and their wedding was perfect!

    

A Southern Belle Can Never Have Too Many Pearls!

Hey "y'all"

     TGIF!!!  I hope y'all had a great day!  Being that it's friday I am going to talk about the southern tradition of pearls.  I am always wearing pearls, I have earrings, necklaces, and pearls that were passed down to me from my family.  Pearls are classic and feminine...I can see why pearls are a very important southern tradition.  For more on pearls here is a link from SouthernLivingMagazine.com  to find the video on pearls just click on the southerners tab and scroll down until you see the video that is called "A Girls Guide To Pearls"...Enjoy and I hope y'all have a great weekend!
http://www.southernliving.com/healthy-living/mind-body/party-makeup-tips-00417000069831/

I'll try my very best to blog about the things I'll be doing this weekend but I'll be one busy bee because I have an SAT tmo morning, I have to go get a manicure, I'm having my bday party with my friends tmo night, and at some point tmo I have to try to finish my homework, regents/final review, laundry, cleaning my room...ewww lol! O and how could I forget I have to write my thank you notes for all of my wonderful birthday gifts! However, Sunday should hopefully pay off because wedding season has started and I'll be going to my first one to a good friend of mine and I can't wait!  Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of my crazy weekend soon!


Country Song of the Day: "I Could Not Ask For More" by Sara Evans

~Jane