Five on Friday: Valentines Edition

If it feels like deja vu seeing a "Valentine's Edition" post here, it's probably because it is! I just wrote a "Ten Favorite Things" post for Valentine's Day, but the fun isn't over! For my five today, I'm sharing all things Valentine's Day! If you're not a V-Day person, I'm sorry, but I just have to take full advantage of a holiday all about pink, chocolate, and love! I mean, what's not to like?!

Check out the lovely hostesses: Darci, April, Natasha, and Christina!

If you want to know more about any of these items, just click on the picture or link under it and have at it!  

Valentine's Inspiration by chelseaverhage on Polyvore

I'll admit it: I'm cheesy. I love the idea of a pouffy, pink, tulle wreath on my door (although I always love a good boxwood wreath, like the one on the right!). However, I think I'd go without the stray candy hearts on this one... The hearts look much cuter in that vase with the tulips! Both of those tablescapes are phenomenal, from the XO balloons, to the gorgeous blooms! This love song garland would be extra sweet to decorate if you and your special someone have a meaningful song. There are so many mushy, over-the-top quotations out there, but I just loved the simplicity of this Johnny Cash gem. 

Two.
Valentine's Yummies 

Valentine's Treats featuring Sur La Table

I love that all of these treats are not only delicious looking, but also so darn purty! Except for maybe the red velvet cheesecake ice cream.... But I mean, it's ice cream. Any of those treats would look even better on that precious cake stand!

Three. 
Valentine's Wardrobe

Valentine's Day Attire featuring Tory Burch

I'll admit I have a youthful style, but I'm not normally a "hearts" girl. I'll make an exception for some of these pieces though! Not sure I'd ever have anywhere to wear that vintage-inspired red dress, but it's just so sassy and fun! The Disney Princess in me (told you I have a youthful style!) is loving these special Valentine's Day 2014 Havianas! If you don't like that bow-tiful Kate Spade coat, I can't relate right now.

Four.
Valentines

Valentines

Can I be half as clever as all the people who created these cards?! Obviously Olaf is having a moment right now (and deservedly so!), and I love it when cards include candy! It's a win win. Even better- most of the links to these cards include free printables! 

Five. 
Valentine's Day Gifts

Valentine's Prezzies

Because I'm the most original person ever (not), I had to post the gold monogram Anthro mug... It's just so lovely and affordable, unlike this fantastic Shinola men's watch. (Sorry John, but you will not be receiving this $600 watch!) The heartbeat necklace seems so unique, and the "love" ring reminds me Lauren Conrad's engagement announcement on Instagram. If you're looking for a thoughtful, homemade gift, I love the idea of an Instagram scrapbook! If you're looking to spend less time on a gift, look no further than Tuckernuck's gift bundles! From ski bunnies to beach babes, New Englanders to the life of the party, they have you covered!

What do y'all think? Are you just ready for this "Hallmark Holiday" to finally be over, or are you embracing it?! 

Five on Friday: Hey Pumpkin!

Happy Friday, y'all! Courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness.

Guys, on one hand, I'm running low on steam when it comes to this whole daily blogging thing, but on the other hand, I'm like, How is October almost over already?! Seriously, doesn't it feel like the month just started?

I thought this picture Natasha of Hello! Happiness posted summed my feelings about October pretty well:

Since today's the last Friday of the month, I figured I'd use my last October Five on Friday to share my favorite ideas for decorating pumpkins...

1. Pumpkins with paint. 

 

Want an intricate, delicate look to your pumpkin? Just use a doily stencil! Just another "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" Pinterest moment.

 

Aren't these chalk paint pumpkins gorgeous?!

2. Pumpkins with glue. 

 

Cover a pumpkin with glue and epsom salt for a sparkle that looks more classic than glitter.

Sequins. Need I say more?

3. Pumpkins with Carvings. 

 

Using cookie cutters and mallets to get intricate designs in the pumpkins is a genius idea for people lacking hand-eye coordination, like yours truly.

 

Don't you just love these coastal carvings?

4. Pumpkins with purpose.

What a cute way to put pumpkins to use- in a pumpkin toss, perfect for Halloween parties!

5. Pumpkins with tacks. 

 

These pumpkins are tacky in the best way possible!

 

Five on Friday: Beauty of Blogs Edition

Ever since my high school world history teacher (whom I still love dearly) introduced me to Bakerella, I have been hooked on blogs. I love the idea of everyone having their little corner of the universe to share thoughts, recipes, opinions, pictures, feelings.... From fitness to married life, from teaching to crafting, I'll read it all. This week, I realized a lot of my inspiration came from other blogs, so I had to share.

Five on Friday! Courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness

1. Football food. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of tailgate hopping, so I figured instead of making food that can only be for one tailgate spot, why not make a batch of something I can divvy up easily? Cue Christina's pumpkin dip shared 'round the world (when my mom makes it, she does the whole carve-out-a-dessert-pumpkin thing, but I'm lazy...) and Darci's Monster Mix! Well, technically, I guess it was Darci-inspired, because I wasn't able to make a Target run. I simply threw in peanut butter chips, festively colored M&Ms, candy corn (regular and pumpkins), and peanuts, labeled it "Monster Mix" and called it a night! Such easy, festive, fun, and most importantly, yummy recipes!

2. Pep Talk. I loved this post, entitled: "25 Things Every Woman Needs to Know." Some of this may seem a little cheesy or melodramatic, but I think there is a lot of truth behind the messages, especially the ones about gossip, shallowness, and self-worth. Also, most of this information goes for guys, too.

3. Is this for real?! Seriously, I need to know if "The Case Against Female Self-Esteem" is a joke or not. While the first paragraph of this post alone left steam coming out of my ears, I had to go on to read the comments, just to see if people would agree with this lunatic or not. Sadly enough, hundreds of commenters understood what he meant when he said things like, "If every girl was fired from her job tomorrow, elementary schools would have to shut down for a couple days, but otherwise life would go on as usual. If every man lost his job tomorrow, the country would collapse."

As if that wasn't offensive enough to this merit-based scholarship-earning, dean's list-making girl who happens to have a desire to teach children, the closing paragraph read:  "Girls don’t want the six-figure cubicle job, the shiny Brooklyn 2BR, the master’s degree, the sexual liberation, none of it. They want to be collectively led back to the kitchen, told to make a nice big tuna sandwich with extra mayo and lettuce, then swatted on the ass as we walk out the door."

Ew.

4. GameDay Rules. If you aren't a huge college football fan, you may not be aware that tomorrow is the second time ESPN is hosting College GameDay at Clemson this season! I'm beyond excited, and this little list of reminders posted on a Clemson site (no, not exactly a blog, but close) is great for any fan in Clemson this weekend!

5. Off the chain! Not at all blog-related, but I promised I'd show John's little surprise gift! While it is small in size, I know he spent time learning to needle-point so he could make me this key fob! He is simply the best guy.

 

SC flag plus my monogram in pink?! He knows me too well.

Five on Friday: Fall Break Edition!

Happy Friday, y'all! Yet another double linkup, courtesy of The Nesting Place and the lovely  Darci, Christina, April, Natasha! Ready to see five things that make me happy?! Let's go!

1. Happy Halloween card! I just adore getting mail, and I'm lucky enough to have a mama that sends me lots of sweet cards and packages! This week the "Clemson family" (AKA Corey, Adam, John, Morgan, and I) got cards with a little sursie of sorts- a Starbucks giftcard! Score! My favorite part? The hilarious caption on the card I got:

HA! So funny, and soooo true! Thankfully, I'm embracing it... Hey, maybe it means one day I'll be as awesome as my mother!

2. Wet n Wild Megalast in Undercover: Guys. $2, and it's pretty much the same color as Essie's Raspberry Red I posted a couple Five on Fridays ago! One think I like even better about Wet n Wild than Essie and O.P.I? The "pro brush," which makes painting my nails easy, and for this hand-eye-uncoordinated mess, that's a big deal!

 

Forgive the blurry picture and sort of grown out polish! Time to repaint!

3. #StarbucksDrakeHands. (Click on the title to watch the video) At first watch, I didn't understand why this video had blown up so much, but after learning the backstory, it became pretty funny. Apparently, the guy featured in this selfie-vid met a girl in Starbucks, got her number, and thought it would be a good idea to send her this video of him grinning coyly while moving his hands to "Just Hold On We're Going Home" by Drake....  We can only hope he did it as a joke, but if not, I'm 99.9% sure this is Zoolander's son. If you think that's sad/funny, click here to see Larry King's parody. You know it's bad when Larry King is parodying you...

4. Clemson versus Boston College. The fantastic four of us VerHages are headed to Death Valley tomorrow to tailgate with the Whittens- yay! You can't beat hanging out with your favorite Tigers in Death Valley on a game day, especially when Clemson is undefeated!

 

At the VerHage-Whitten tailgate last year. This year's goal: get a picture with Mr. and Mrs. Whitten!

5. Pure joy.

For some reason,  this picture just makes me smile so hard. Maybe it's because in reality, she's jumping into a pool armed with a swim-cap, an innertube, and a mini wetsuit, but in her mind, she's probably jumping in with complete reckless abandon.  I hope everyone has a weekend that is this thrilling and joyful.

Two Birds, One Stone.

More like two link-ups, one post!

If you've been reading my blog on a semi-regular basis for a while, you probably know how much I love my Five on Fridays link-up with Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness! Here's this week's Friday five:

1. Sharpie pens. This probably sounds like a silly little thing, but I have been using the heck out of my Sharpie pens lately. These pens are not to be confused with Sharpie's ultra-fine point permanent markers- these babies don't bleed through paper or smear! Thank goodness I still like using pencils to take notes (gotta have my eraser...), because if I used these pens for more than my planner and miscellaneous forms and papers, I'd probably go through a pack a week!

 

They're perfect for little doodles, because they write so smoothly!

2. This quotation. I've had it written down for a while, and I felt the need to share it:

 

Preach, Oprah. Preach.

3. Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24 HR Eye Shadow. I'll be honest- I kind of suck at doing makeup. I really, really wish I was good at it, but I've always liked my friends or mom applying my makeup for important events. Proms? Professional. Homecoming? My mom. New Year's Eve, Fourth of July, and Sweet Sixteens in high school? Friends.

Every day, I don't put too much thought into my makeup, so this eyeshadow is perfect for me! I know lots of people use these as a base to start somethin' special, but I just swipe a bit on with my finger and voila! That's it!

 

Three fall faves in one shot: new eye shadow, repurposed can and Lilly agenda pages, and my all-time favorite Bath and Body scent from MIDDLE SCHOOL that I can't get rid of... They say the sense of smell has the most memories attached to it, and I totally agree! I always whip it out during the fall, because it doesn't get more festive than sweet cinnamon pumpkin!

4. Macbook stickers. I've finally finished my collection of stickers for my laptop case. I've been waiting on my MooseJaw sticker to come in before putting on my adorable, preppy Southern Proper sticker, and the other day, MooseJaw finally delivered (literally!).

 

Wofford, Clemson, IPTAY, Vineyard Vines, Southern Proper, Southern Fried Cotton (love the cotton bole and Clemson colors!), and Moosejaw. It certainly doesn't lack character!

5. It's the weekend. 'Nuff said. Happy weekend, everyone!

Final Summer Five on Friday

Phew. All I can say is TGIF. Let's not waste any time.

Welcome, Friends.

Let's get down to business, shall we? This weekend, the seasons change, so you may see a trend in this week's Five on Friday....

 

Five on Friday! Courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness

1. Autumnal Entries. Lately my eyes have been drawn to the gorgeous mums and pumpkins lining porches. The wheelbarrow in the picture above adds a unique touch, don't ya think? Here are a few more of my favorites:

Hay bales are perfection this time of year.

 

Those corn stalks make this entrance something special!

 

Oh my gosh that tartan looks so cozy- I just wanna curl up and rock a while!

 

This batty door gives a neat effect with not so much effort!

2. Engagements on Engagements! Apparently, Fall isn't the only new season right now... In the past week, I've seen FOUR girls I know get engaged. And not just girls I know... Girls that are my age. And you know what's the craziest thing about it? It's not that crazy. While I still have a couple more years left of school, lots of my friends are on their way to the "real world." (!!!)

What I love the most is that the two newly engaged girls I know very well (Yay, Morgan and Juleah!!!) are smart, and beautiful people; I know they've been raised to take marriage seriously. I'm certainly not worried about their engagements ending in a terrible downward spiral a la Miley and Liam (19 miiiight be a little young to get engaged- or be swinging around practically naked on a wrecking ball, but that's neither here nor there...).

I've been "oohing" and "ahhing" over Morgan's ring in class this week (nothing like beautiful bling to wake you up in an 8 AM!), and I loved hearing about how her sweet fiance proposed. Can't wait to hear his side of the story at the next Clemson game! As for my good friend, Juleah, who I met at Girls State four years ago?

Rain or shine, near or far, we've supported one another. Thankfully, I'll be near on her big day.....

I'm gonna be one of her bridesmaids!!!

Eeek! The last time I was a bridesmaid, I was a senior in high school, bridesmaid-ing (now a verb) for my awesome cousin Jana! Now, the people getting married aren't my cool older cousins- they're my peers! Me oh my, am I getting "old!"

I adore weddings! A celebration of love and happiness? Count me in!

3. Fall fashions. I can hardly wait to start having the weather just a bit chillier, like it's  been the past few days. While I love summery sun dresses, I'm a little ready to switch things up with a sweater or two. Something I don't usually think about but have been paying more attention to lately: nail polish. How cute would this color be to ring in fall:

 

Loving Essie's Raspberry Red.

I still like my girly colors, so this is a great compromise of cheer, and a not-too-bright, more-seasonally-appropriate tone.

4. Fall festivities. I'm not saying it'll happen, but I am saying that I wouldn't hate completing everything on this list...

 

Okay, actually, after reading these, I know all of those things will not happen- I don't enjoy corn mazes! I'm not exactly a direction-diva (AKA: I suck at navigating where anything is), so after my first time trying to find my way through a corn maze, I realized it wasn't all that picturesque. (Also, it wasn't like Harry Potter's final task in the Triwizard Tourney, so that's always a disappointment.) What I hope I get checked off? Jack-O-Lantern carving, cider drinking, and apple picking! Such classics!

5. Faith. Soon I'll update you on school, and when I do, maybe you'll see why faith rounds out my Five on Friday. I wish I could say I take full advantage of my faith and use it to fuel my life on a daily basis, but sometimes, it can be a struggle. However, I'm trying to help myself remember that even in stressful situations, I'm not alone. This is John's favorite verse, and I had no idea until he saw it written on my reminder board this week:

 

An oldie but a goodie (heh, get it? because everything in the Bible is old? ....), this verse kind of reminds me to snap out of it! Don't get down, because God is there for ya! Yay!

With that being said, I hope you all enjoy a fabulous first fall weekend.

Song of the blog: "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys (thanks for the best mixed CDs ever, Aunt Christie!)
Lyrics of the song: "Woah oh oh oh, I gotta love that keeps me waiting!"

Five on Friday: Longest-Day-Ever Edition.

Okay, so that's an exaggeration. This is not the longest day ever, but man oh man, has it felt like it! My first class began at 8, and I went from one 1.25 hour class to the next until 1:45, when I left campus to go to none other than..... Another school! Yep, that's right. Except this time, I was actually being paid to go there! I guess I'd better explain that, huh? Well, maybe I'll include it in my.....

 

Five on Friday! Courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness

Five on Friday! (Yes, it was a cheesy transition, but it had to be done, no?)

1. Care package. They say the fastest way to a man's heart is food, but I think that's sexist, because I'm not a man, but that's a pretty direct route to my love.... I kid, sort of, but at the same time, when I got a care package from the best cousins ever, filled with all kinds of delicious goodies, it definitely made my day and filled my heart with joy! Highlights? Well, I can't pick, but the Disney Princess bandaids and Clorox wipes made me smile the hardest (because I'm the messiest girly-girl you'll ever meet, and Clorox wipes have become my BFF this year). Oh, and the Jif chocolate peanut butter spreads... (Darn those addicting cups that are small enough to make you think they're not that bad for you...)

How to pack an awesome care package:

1. Pack "junk" food- and lots of it!

2. Pack fun stuff that makes you feel like a kid!

3. Also pack stuff for when you remember you're not a kid and have to take care of yourself...

2. Staying organized. This might seem like dumb, but let me tell you: if you are not organized, and you feel stressed, that could very well be why you are feeling out of sorts! (Ha! No pun intended... But get it? Sorting... Like organizing?)


In all seriousness, I've always been okay at organizing important things. For example, my desk was always clean in elementary school (in fact, I actually remember being recruited to help clean John's desk in third grade....), and for the most part, if I needed something from my room in middle or high school, I could find it.
However, I'm beginning to understand what a difference it makes to stay organized, even in the teensiest of ways, and I'm realizing I've been terribly disorganized the past few years! For example, it never actively bothered me that my t-shirt drawer was messy last year, as long as I knew where my favorites were, but my cluttered drawers, plus other little things, probably added up to feeling overwhelmed sometimes. It's relaxing to be in a non-cluttered space, and I highly recommend it to everyone, because I honestly think that is one of the reasons this year has started so smoothly- let's just hope I can keep it up ;)

3. Speaking of organization... I'm debating which planner to pick for 2014. I'm starting to think I may get a planner and also make some sort of "Life Binder," to hold my budget, receipts, grocery lists, meal planners, blog ideas, exercise and food journal, blah blah blah... I got this idea from Emily Ley's magnificent site, complete with some free printables for her agenda.

 

My obsession with these colorful dividers probably says a lot of sad/scary things about me...

As much as I love the idea of constructing my own agenda, Emily Ley style, I'm still smitten with Lilly Pulitzer's jumbo agenda I've been using this year. I refuse to get a new one until I fill mine up in December, which is probably a good thing, because it means that by the time I get the 2014 agenda, it will be on sale! Score! Picking a pattern will probably be my toughest decision... Hmm...

Decisions, decisions...

If neither of these options tickle your fancy, you might wanna check ouy May Designs'! That site honestly has way too many cute patterns to choose from, and since my bestie Kara uses May Books, I know the quality is super high! I'm thankful their planners are on the smaller side, though, because if they gave the option of large agendas like Lilly, I'd be stressin' over which pattern and monogram style to pick!

4. Downstairs decor. If you've been reading my blog for more than half a second, you've realized that I'm a girly girl. However, I live with a guy, and for some reason, he's not as big on "pink" and "glitter" as I am :) When thinking about ways to decorate our living area downstairs, I had to make sure my cousin would feel just as comfortable as I would. We have an itty-bitty "breakfast nook" and our TV area with a couple of reclining sofas. Although it's probably pretty plain by most standards, remember, for a college student, less is more (or at least less is acceptable)! Neutral colors with just a few "rustic" accents means I'll be able to change out small things, like place mats and mason jar-fillers, seasonally without putting in too much effort.

Lamp and pillows thanks to Home Goods, crate-coffee-table-tray thanks to a thrift store, place mats thanks to Kohl's, and mason jars/ twine combo thanks to the dear ol' Hobby Lobby.

5. She works hard for the money! Ha, just kidding. My parents work hard for the money (love you guys), and I just got a part time job. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm going to a school three afternoons a week to help with an after-school program. I was thrilled to find out today that I will be working with the second graders each time- yay! I truly enjoyed my time there, and I was pumped to get all teachered-up this morning! Excuse the awkward posture, face, and terrible lighting of this iPhone selfie, but it's the only picture I have documenting the whole work thing so far!

 

PS: yes, that is a Lilly murphee scarf as a bow belt. It was too hot to wear the scarf, and the dress needed to be jazzed up one way or another, so I got a wee bit creative!

After work, it was off to John's grandmother's house, where we ate dinner and hung out! His Nana is so sweet, and I felt so thankful to spend time with her (not to mention her delicious home-cooked meal and banana pudding... yum!). I'm finally just relaxing in my bed, thankful to say it's the weekend- especially since I'm going home to see mi familia! Hope everyone else has a fabulous weekend, too! (Especially those of you who made it to the end of this ridiculously long blog post... Oops.)