Friday's Fancies: Week 11

Hi there! I know it's been a while, but I've decided to participate in {av}'s Friday's Fancies link-up again this week. The theme is Date Night, but I'm going to put a little spin on that.

I've already designed some (hopefully) date-worthy outfits for Friday's Fancies (like this and this), so I decided to step away from clothes today and try something different. I'm in a long-distance relationship, so I don't get to go on a lot of dates. Instead, my boyfriend and I exchange a lot of care packages. In fact, I sent him a pretty rad one two weeks ago (at least, I thought it was pretty cool!). Today, I wanted to share the contents of my perfect care package, in lieu of a date outfit, because that's what I get more often:

1. Starburst jelly beans. I love these little morsels of happiness.

2. A cute card. It can be handmade or store bought, I don't have a preference, but I have to admit: I get a little sad when I open a package and there isn't a handwritten note inside. It's the writer in me, I guess.

3. I found these little puzzle books in a local bookstore a while ago and fell in love. I flip through them every time I go in. They would be a perfect addition to my carry-on for long plane trips! I like the logic games the best; I was that girl who thought the practice LSAT was fun. (Then again, I never took the real one, so I'm probably biased.)

4. Amazon gift card to stock up my Kindle! Obviously.

5. Mmm, Lacey cookies! My dad always gets these for Christmas from his administrative staff, and I can't get enough.

6. Stamps, so I can send you a thank you card, of course! :)

Also, I will never turn down a bag of Lifesaver Mints. I love them. I thought about this after I finished the graphic, and I was too lazy to add it, so here you go:

Photo via Drugstore.com

Other items that would make me happy: movie tickets (because that's something fun I can do on my own, but I ain't paying $10.50 to do it!), pistachios (yum! but so expensive...), Starbucks gift cards, iTunes gift cards ... any gift card, really! And, of course, if someone is taking the time out of their day to send me a package or snail mail, I'll appreciate it no matter what's inside ... as long as it's not Anthrax or something equally as cruel and unfunny.

What are your ideal care package items? Do you send packages often? Happy Friday!

The Book Chat: Best fictional friendship.

This week's Book Chat topic is: Share the best fictional friendship. BFF, get it? (Yes, haha, very clever Jessica!) The first great fictional friendship that popped into my head was Harry, Ron and Hermione, but A) I think I've written about the Harry Potter books enough on this blog, and B) Jessica used it as a (great!) example in the prompt, so I wanted to come up with something different.

Psst ... stick this post out until the end to learn about a fabulous giveaway!

Instead of J.K.'s trio, I decided to pick (prepare to hold back your tears!) Jess and Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia. As someone who didn't have more than one really close girlfriend until my teen years, I was "one of the boys" growing up. There's something so innocent and beautiful about a boy and a girl who can be purely platonic friends without anything romantic or sexual getting in the way. There was love alright—Jess and Leslie definitely loved each other—but it's a sweet, childish love that can't be tainted, and I love that. Plus, remember how distraught Jess was over Leslie's death? Absolutely heartbreaking. This is a true friendship for the ages.

Source: Uploaded by user via Sierra on Pinterest

Also, I have never seen the movie, but I was searching for images for this post, and I realized JESS IS PEETA! Well, now I like him even more. And he's taller than AnnaSophia Robb in the movie. That's a plus. :)

P.S. — And for the giveaway I promised you: My lovely blogger friend and sorority sister Kristen is giving away a $20 iTunes card on her blog, The Lovely Mist. It's super easy to enter, too! You get one entry for following her, another for leaving a comment and a third for blogging about it (like this!). Giveaway ends Friday. Good luck!

Travel Tuesday: Week 9

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Travel Tuesday! Today's suggested topic: What are some great day trips that you've taken? What has been your favorite domestic travel experience? Do you think domestic traveling is really traveling? As always, you are free to write about anything travel-related; don't feel obligated to answer my prompt. And, of course, don't forget to link up below!

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It's no secret that I never really cared for my California hometown. I mean, I did move 2,000 miles away for school, and I didn't even apply to any California schools. I just wanted to get out of there! But as much as there was to dislike about where I grew up, we did have this really nice little travel radius around us that was jam-packed with day trip options. I could drive two hours in pretty much any direction and be in San Francisco or in Sacramento, at the beach or in the snow, hiking in Yosemite National Park or riding roller coasters at Six Flags or wine-tasting in Napa—you name it, I could probably get there quickly. Today I will mostly share pictures from these day trips, but I'll add links for good places to eat or fun things to do in each area, as well.

Summer 2012 Book Challenge: The Preliminary List

Two weeks from today, I'll be posting the first weekly check-in for the Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer 2012 Book Challenge! Eek. This is so exciting for me; thank you to everyone who has provided positive feedback. I'm overwhelmed by the number of people who have expressed interest in participating, and I hope everyone who wants to is able to!

Source: lifeequotes.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Several people have already created their list of planned books for the challenge, so I've decided to do the same. I'm really impatient for May 1 to get here so I can start! (Note: This list is very tentative. Books subject to change without notice.)

• Read a book chosen for the 2012 World Book Night. — The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
• Read a book you were supposed to read in school, but either bailed on or Cliff-Noted. — Paradise Lost, John Milton Oops, it's not long enough. So instead, I'm going to read a book most people read in high school but I didn't: The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
• Read a memoir or narrative nonfiction book. — The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
• Read a book in one day. — House Made of Dawn, N. Scott Momaday
• Read a book that you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to yet. — The Help, Kathryn Stockett
• Read a pair of books that have antonyms in the titles. — Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz, and Plainsong, Kent Haruf
• Read a book that is set in a place you've never been but want to visit. — The Red Tent, Anita Diamant (I would love to visit the Middle East one day.)
• Find a book written the year you were born that was later made into a movie. Read the book and watch the movie; compare. Or find a movie released the year you were born that was based on a book. Do the same thing. — The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (movie released 1990)
• Go into a bookstore or library. Pick any bookshelf. Read the third book from the left on the fourth shelf from the top. — TBD
• Read a book about which you’ve heard bad things. —The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo (My mom only gave it one star on Goodreads, and we usually have similar literary tastes.)
• Read a trilogy. Total page count for all three books together must be at least 500 pages. — The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Book Chat: Favorite historical novels.

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jessica at Sweet Green Tangerine has chosen history as this week's Book Chat topic. She asked us to share our favorite historical books, fiction or non-fiction. Today, I'm going to share one of each.

Source: date-a-girl-who-reads.tumblr.com via Lea on Pinterest

First, isn't this the perfect literary quote for this week's topic? I feel like historical fiction gives people in the past a chance to tell their story again, or from a different point of view, especially because I feel like a lot of characters in historical fiction novels meet premature or untimely deaths.

Advice needed!

Hi friends. Welcome back to another combined edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday. I love Wednesdays because these link-ups give me the chance to throw a bunch of random, positive and/or pretty things out there. First, though, I've decided to host my own summer book challenge on this blog, so please check it out if you like to read! :) And here goes....

First, I am loving so many things about this week!! On Saturday, my dad came through Albuquerque on a road trip, so I got to spend Saturday evening and Sunday morning with him. We had dinner, checked out an Irish pub, played some blackjack (I kicked his butt!) and had Dunkin' Donuts the next morning. (As a Southern transplant to California, my dad drinks Dunkin' Donuts as often as he gets the chance. Fun fact: There are no Dunkin' Donut shops in California. Until this military base gets one, that is.)

As if seeing my dad wasn't great enough, I'm leaving for Columbia tomorrow, which means I'll get to see this girl and this girl and this girl and so many more of my Mizzou friends! #lovelovelove

Back to Albuquerque, though.... I decided to stop by the mall and see if I could find something to match my awesome yellow skirt I bought last week. (Y'all remember how excited I was about that find, right?) I didn't end up getting anything to go with the skirt, but I did buy a really cute navy blazer at Forever 21 to add to my ever-growing "young professional" wardrobe. Also, thanks for all your comments and fashion advice last week! I've decided I want to get a charcoal gray pencil skirt suit this summer; let me know if you see a cute one anywhere! Now that that's decided, I have two more fashion questions for you:

1. What other color blazer should I get (in addition to my navy one)? I'm thinking something pastel or bright, just to be fun, but I still want to be able to wear it with a lot of different pieces.
2. What the heck should I wear with my yellow skirt? I'm thinking light blue and/or white, inspired by this fabulous outfit, but I can't think of anything else that would look good. Help! This is it:

Image via The Limited, but product no longer available

Travel Tuesday: Week 8

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Travel Tuesday! (I hope you all look forward to today's posts as much as I do!) Today's suggested topic: What is one item you absolutely cannot travel without? What is one thing you’ve packed before but never will again? As always, you are free to write about anything travel-related; don't feel obligated to answer my prompt. And, of course, don't forget to link up below!

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Obviously, my answer would differ between long trips and short trips, domestic trips and international trips, trips when I'm staying in hotel and trips when I'm staying with family or friends, etc. For the purposes of this post, I'm only going to mention the items I consider to be necessities on every single one of those trips.

First, there are always three things (or sets of things) I check for obsessively on my way to the airport and before I get out of the car:

1. Driver's license. I'll admit, I used to lie and say I was under 18 when I was too lazy to get my I.D. out, but I'm afraid that won't work anymore.
2. Phone. I'm always nervous it fell out of my pocket on the car seat or something and I won't notice until I've gone through security.
3. Chargers/cords. I'm constantly checking to make sure I have the following chargers (in order of importance): phone charger, laptop charger, iPod cord, camera battery charger, camera cord, Kindle charger.

Source: leloveimage.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

That being said, it is extremely difficult for me to travel anywhere without my laptop. I know, I know: it's pathetic. I should be able to take a nice weekend trip without needing to lug my computer along, especially because I have a smartphone. But I have to admit; I think I would have a hard time knowing I didn't have complete access to all my social media sites. Even last weekend, when I met my dad in Albuquerque for one overnight stay, I brought my laptop. (I mean, my book challenge was going live! I had to make sure it turned out okay!) I think I have spent the night at a friend's house a couple times without my laptop, and subsequently been very proud of myself, but that's a small victory, in my opinion.

I can't say I've ever packed an item that I severely regretted taking later, but once when I was in elementary school I had some scissors taken from my bookbag by the TSA agents. Whoops. I never packed scissors again. :) I would say I would never pack liquids that are more than 3 ounces (I have cheap little plastic containers from Target that I refill with bath products whenever I travel), but I will probably take full-size toiletries with me when I travel as a Leadership Consultant this fall, so that would be a lie. I really just included this question in the prompt to see if anyone had any funny stories to share.

If you're interested in reading some of my packing tips, check out my first Travel Tuesday link-up post, in which I described how I packed for a six-week internship in Atlanta and a three-week trip to Africa in a carry-on.

Next week's topic was inspired by this article. In it, the writer questions whether traveling domestically is really traveling. I definitely think it is, so I'm curious to know: What are some great day trips that you've taken? What has been your favorite domestic travel experience? Do you think domestic traveling is really traveling? I can't wait to hear your thoughts. See you next Tuesday!

These are a few of my favorite things.

Hi there! Notice anything different?...

Source: google.com via Jo on Pinterest

(I'm humming the Jeopardy song right now while I wait for you to notice....)

That's right! I redesigned my blog this weekend. I'd been creating this new header in my mind for a while, and I finally decided that I wanted my blog to be fun and fresh for the launch of my first-ever book challenge. What do you think?

Tonight, I wanted to quickly take this opportunity to explain the images I chose to use in my header. Starting from the top left: Of course I had to start with a girl reading. I kept my old header picture next to my blog title for nostalgia's sake, but I think I like the first picture even better. Next, I had to include a Harry Potter image. (Let's be real here.) The next three photos represent my passion for traveling, the significance of Alpha Delta Pi in my life (our flower is the violet), and my love of riding my bike.

Second row: Oh, Mizzou columns, how I miss you. (But I will be seeing you in three short days!!!) I also included a cup of tea to represent my love of all things steamy and served in a mug (coffee, tea, hot cocoa). Next, of course, is my trusty former header picture.

Third row: Again, I am addicted to coffee! Pretty designs in my latte don't hurt, either. I included a map to again symbolize my love for travel, but also my obsession with maps in general. The final three pictures represent a few more of my favorite things: snail mail, turtles and Africa. So there you have it! That's the inspiration behind my new design.

Photo credits from top left: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge

Source: date-a-girl-who-reads.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

I’ve had so much fun doing book challenges this year that I’ve decided to make my own! Unlike most challenges, which run for a calendar year, I’m going to do mine for just the summer. I wanted to start with something short to see how much interest it got, and we'll go from there! Plus, I know a lot of my readers are students or teachers, so summer is the optimal time for you to get lots of reading done. :)

Things that make me go "hmm."

Happy weekend, everyone! Considering I had a friend visiting last weekend and I'm headed to visit Columbia next weekend, I'm looking forward to relaxing this weekend. My plans include taking a nice long bike ride, catching up on some reading and taking a quick jaunt down to Albuquerque to meet my dad, who's coming through New Mexico on a road trip. What are your plans?

Source: cntraveler.com via Megan on Pinterest

Last week, I posted the link to the new Texts from Hillary Tumblr. This week, the creators announced they will not be posting new memes.

This hilarious essay about Disney reminds me of this video ... and this one. And No. 8 had me (morbidly) laughing out loud.

Did you know Channing Tatum used to be a stripper? Well, now you do. (Don't worry; no stripping photos included in this article. Unless that's what you were hoping for, of course; in that case: sorry!) Also, his laugh apparently sounds like this: "Tee-hee-hee!"

These lattes are almost too beautiful to drink. (Almost being the operative word; I would never turn down a latte, of course, no matter how pretty.)

This article asks if traveling domestically is really traveling. I definitely think it is, but I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Travel + Leisure just released its list of America's Favorite Cities 2011. Santa Fe was voted the best cultural getaway and best for peace and quiet, among other categories. Is your city on the list?

And finally, I've probably shared this blog before, but it's worth sharing again. Such gorgeous photos.

P.S. — My blog survey is still up! I'm hoping to revamp tomorrow if I find the time, so please give me your feedback today!