Fourth Festivities! (Also, I love alliteration.)

With less than one week 'til Independence Day, I figured what better thing to blog about than fun and festive Fourth finds! Here are some creative recipes and crafts I found on Pinterest to help you get your 'Merica on! No worries if you're short on time, money, or crafting and baking skills... I've included a little something for everyone!

For the One with Time, Patience, and Dedication: 

Yeah, this cake is pretty adorable... A blog I read in high school, 17 and Baking, originally made this cake and it has taken on a life of its own via the internet! I love how this gal added some precious ribbon!

For the Health Nut: 

I love the idea of arranging fruit into the star spangled banner, but fruit-kabobs are even better! The germophobe in me loves that everyone can get their own fruit without touching everyone else's! Sadly, even after intense image-searching on Google, I couldn't find the original creator of these to give them credit, but at least the assembly is pretty straightforward!

For the Momma with a Glue Gun: 

You can find the original tees (or at least the first I can find) here, but I liked this one's big blue bow better! How cute is that?! I not-so-secretly wish I could still wear precious homemade things like this... Here's to being an early-elementary school teacher! ;)

For the One Who Wants to Look Like an Impressively Talented Baker: 

How about this for an American Pie? (Huh, huh?!?) Imagine showing up to a party with this and not telling anyone how simple it was to make... That's right! I thought it'd be impossible too, until I looked at the recipe! It includes canned filling and a box of ready-to-use pie crusts!

For the One Who Doesn't Mind Tediousness:

That whimsically cute wreath involves a looooot of felt folding, and while the detailed tutorial may be super helpful, I don't think I'll be making one any time soon!

For the Ones Who Want Their Cookies to Rock.... Kind of Literally!

Whoever thought to take regular sugar cookies, spread some frosting on them, sprinkle some Pop Rocks, and call them "Firecracker Cookies" is a genius! Not only is it simple, but it really makes the dessert stand out- or "pop", if you will! (I'm on a roll today.)

For the One Who Wants a Cheap Way to Make Their BBQ Bash Aesthetically Pleasing: 

These mason jars are the perfect combination of kitschy, rustic, festive, and they sure put the "fun" in functional! They could serve as more than just utensil jars; they could even hold this next little treat....

For the One Who Liked That First Kabob Idea:

Here's yet another easy patriotic kabob! These firecracker marshmallows would be fitting additions at any bonfire (I condone patriotism on the reg, not just on the 4th)!

Those were just a few ideas to get your Martha Stuart, Rachael Rae, and most importantly, Betsy Ross on! Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Five On... Saturday

I really wanted to do "5 on Friday", the cute blogging linkup courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness, but yesterday was busy, and blogging didn't make the cut!

I had an early start so I could go to the gym before work (John thinks it's funny to hear me say I'm going to "work" when I'm going to nanny, but hey, it is a 48-50 hour per week, full-time job!). I knew that after a long day crafting and going to the pool (life is super rough), I had to quickly get ready for a double date with my best friend from kindergarten (!) and her boyfriend, who just so happened to recently graduate from Clemson as an electrical engineer (John's major). We all hit it off, and it was a fun night! By the time I got home, it was past midnight, hence the no Friday Five. However, no one said anything about a Five on Saturday being illegal, so here they are; five things I'm lovin':

1. My new Y membership. When I was in high school, the YMCA was one of my most-frequently-visited places (along with school and Costco, where I actually went with my mom this morning... we love that place). I didn't enjoy my monotonous workouts on the elliptical there, but whenever I went to a cycling or Zumba class, I enjoyed myself. Thankfully, after a few years away from the gym, I've gotten back into working out, but this time, I make sure I enjoy and get the most out of every workout, not just one every now and then. I even inspired John to join his family's plan, so we took a cycling class together this week! As sweaty as our intense spin class was, I'm not sure if it worked me as hard as this treadmill workout I did on Monday:

2. My kick-butt summer job. There is nothing that I can imagine loving more than nannying two sweet, innocent, fairy-believing 10 year old girls. The family I work for is a genuinely good family, and it's exciting to know I have the opportunity to make a little impact on their lives this summer!

 

One of the perks of the job? Sweet arm candy like this Clemson-themed friendship bracelet from Kennedy :)

3. This hilarious video, "It's Not About The Nail". My uncle showed my dad, who showed me this video, and it's something that both males and females can related to- so funny!

4. S'mores season. The past two nights, once I've gotten home, I've poured myself a glass of milk and treated myself to a Poptart. If you're thinking "Ew, Chelsea, I thought you were better than that!" then shame on you because I wanted to silence my sweet tooth and that was the only thing we had at my house! I'll admit, though, I would like to think I'm normally "above" Poptarts, too, which is probably why I told myself eating half a pack (the actual serving size... tricky, deceiving nutritional info!) was totally justifiable. Really, the only Poptarts that are actually worth the calories and crap they jam in the paper thin pastries are the Brown Sugar Cinnamon ones (toasted, naturally) or the strawberry ones with frosting and sprinkles. However, I digress. I say all of this not only because confessing it makes me feel better, but also because the Poptart pack I had was neither Brown Sugar Cinnamon or Strawberry; it was S'mores.

...Yum?

The engineered, faux-gooiness of the Poptart left me longing for the real deal. I can't wait to have my first S'more this summer, whenever or wherever that may be! Heck, I'll settle for any of these delicious looking S'mores inspired goodies I saw on Pinterest (just click the picture if you're as tempted to make these recipes as I am):

 

Does a finger (or entire hand) count as something appropriate to dip in this delicious looking S'mores dip?

S'more krispies.... Or technically Golden Grahams, but hey, no matter what you call these suckers, they're still genius.

 

Oh. My. Gosh. That is all.

5. I get to see my cousins tonight!!!!!!!!!! I should let you all know that I don't normally abuse exclamation marks in my writing, but since this is an informal blog, I thought approximately 10 obnoxious !'s would do a good job conveying how excited I am. I've been wanting to babysit my three adorable little cousins for a while now, and my aunt and uncle have a work party tonight, so you know what that means- John and I get to do the honors! I am beyond excited, and obviously we are going a tad bit early since I want to soak up as much time with these crazy, lively, charismatic, funny, sweet, smart, and overall just precious kids as I possibly can!

 

I "mustache" you a question: are there any boys cuter than these?! The answer is no way!

Since I've got places to be, I'll leave you all drooling at those S'mores pics. Happy Saturday!

Why I Love This Summer (So Far)

1. I got to see my brother, Corey, graduate! 

He did it!

2. I helped my family prepare for Corey's awesome graduation party! My mom worked so hard making food for this party, and she, my dad, and my extended family worked so hard at setting up and cleaning up before and after the party. Corey had the party with his friend, Peter, and his mom put together some decorations for the party. It was a blast getting to see my family and close family friends all in one place! Especially in a place with yummy food and lots of Clemson decorations (Corey and Peter will be Clemson roomies next year)!

3. I've celebrated Mother's Day, Father's Day, and a big birthday for my mom (somebody else is over-the-hill....!).

 

Can you believe these people are both 50?!?! Because I sure can't! People say I look a lot like my mom, but I can only hope I still do when I'm her age!

4. I've got a pretty sweet summer gig! I'm nannying two precious ten year old girls (twins!), and we are having lots of fun so far! My only challenge: prying their eyes away from the TV and their hands away from their parents' laptops.... Thankfully, there's just enough sass and bossiness in me to keep them in line when necessary ;)

 

The girls are cute, but are they silly cousin cute? Sadly for them, I don't think that's possible. Jamison, Brady, John, and I have fun in the "photo booth" at Corey's grad party!

5. I've still got two more months left and a lot to look forward to during those two months, like a trip to Michigan, a trip to Savannah, and more quality time with my favorites!

A trip to Michigan in August means I get to see the world's cutest baby again soon- I miss Charlotte's darling, rosy, little cheeks already!

 

A trip to Savannah means quality time with this goofball (okay, you caught me, I'm the goofball)!

Today is Your Day!

You're off to great places, you're off and away!

Today my little brother is graduating from high school, and in a couple months, he'll be joining me at Clemson!

 

His first time trying on a graduation hat- his Aunt Christie's mortarboard!

I never thought we would end up at the same school (mainly because I never thought I'd end up at Clemson- Corey's always been a Tiger!), but I am so glad I will get to watch Corey grow up even more in "God's Country". He is funny, smart, has such a good head on his shoulders, and even though we may still have our moments where we act like ten and thirteen year olds about to claw each other's eyes out, I love him and couldn't be more proud of him!

 

One of our favorite parts about Jana's graduation? Trying on other peoples' graduation garb, of course!

It has been so special having my cousin Jana and her awesome family here the past couple days, helping prepare for the weekend and just hanging out with precious little Charlotte! It's especially meaningful because we were there for Jana's graduation weekend, she was here for mine, and now, it's Corey's turn! The end of an era...

 

Just hangin' with (and on, apparently) two of my favorite people after my graduation ceremony. (Apparently we got over our mortarboard obsession...)

Since it would be too easy for me to get sappy on here, I'm going to stop, especially since I want Corey to read this post and not get annoyed with my writing techniques, which he usually deems cheesy. Time to start this weekend of family, friends, and most importantly, good food. (Just kidding, that's not what's important... I'm still pretty stoked about the chowin' down part of it, though!) To end this sentimental post, here's a picture I've saved for the occasion....

 

John has waaaay too much fun at Target sometimes... Congrats, 2013 Grads!

Song of the blog: that cheesy Vitamin C song "Friends Forever" (sorry, I had to)
Lyrics of the song: "As we go on, we remember, all the times we had together. As our lives change, come whatever, we will still be, friends forever."

Busy Bee!

In approximately 24 hours, I will be on my way to pick up my role model, cousin, and dear friend Jana at the airport. I am positively giddy with excitement; I've been waiting to see her, her husband Brian, and their precious baby girl Charlotte since I last saw them, in December! They're visiting for Corey's graduation, and they're not the only ones! My dad's brother Jim, his wife Sue, and their son Andy (my wonderful uncle, aunt, and cousin, who happen to be Jana's immediate family) are also coming down to celebrate the special weekend! To top it all off, lots of family from Spartanburg are coming for Corey's party the day after graduation, too! 

 

Since I'm lazy and can't find the SD card with my graduation pictures on it, here's one I stole from Facebook! With my best friends from high school, right after our graduation... My how time flies!

Because my mom is a hostess with the most-est, she wants to make sure things are in tip-top shape at our house to welcome our guests! Although my mom is super-woman and could probably do everything herself, there's no reason she has to when she has a perfectly capable daughter at home! I don't start work until next Monday, so I've stepped up to the plate to help, just in little ways, like vacuuming, making grocery lists, and pricing sweet tea for the party (my biggest thing so far: probably scrubbing the tile floor and bathtub Cinderella style... I was tired and that was just one room- how did Cindy and Little Orphan Annie do it?!). However, a few little things combined with writing papers and taking tests for my two summer classes have added up, and I've been busy...
Especially since I've been training so that I wouldn't die when John and I ran an 8k last Friday! This wasn't just any 8k, though...

 

Stylin' and profilin'...

Side note: no, I did not wear those toasty leg-warmers during the race, and yes, I did buy them at Abercrombie and Fitch in middle school. Cool, I know.

It was the '80s 8k I mentioned earlier! The attire wasn't the only thing in the '80s at that run; the temperature was around 85 when we started! IT was a sweaty good time, and I think it happened... I was bit by the running bug! I am officially hooked! I remember when John and I started running in the winter, he had to cheer me on. At this race, I was the one encouraging him! I couldn't believe it.... Not only did I end the race feeling great, but I also averaged under a 9 minute mile the whole time, which was almost five miles! I know that's not super or anything, but it certainly is for this girl! Now I'm looking into half marathons... Yikes! We'll see how long my runner's high lasts ;)

Song of the blog: Pick any song from this list, and the most motivational lyrics in that song are to you, from me. Boom: 100 Best Workout Songs From the '80s.