Life Lately

Reading: The Professor by Charlotte Brontë. We read Wuthering Heights, a novel by her sister Emily Brontë, in my AP English class this past year, and I kind of fell in love. I wanted to read more in that kind of style, and from that time period, so when I spied the hardcover copy of The Professor for $2 at our local library's annual book sale, I had to pick it up. I've been reading it on our trips to the beach, chapter by chapter. I'm a relatively fast reader, but the Brontës's writings, like those of other authors of the time, are very intricate and heavy reading, and especially after analyzing literature for a year, I want to really dig deep into the novel.

Thinking About: Travelling. I have been seeing all of my high school friends going on all of these amazing trips to France and Greece and Bermuda and road trips across the country. I've also been seeing so many of my favorite bloggers on their trips to Coachella and Bonnaroo, and Emma and Trey's honeymoon trip to Switzerland. All of these things combined, along with my inner photography bug, are making me just want to go somewhere. I don't really care where. Even if it's somewhere close to home, I just want to travel. I want to go to Charleston for the Spoleto Festival, or drive up to Yemmassee for the night. I can't help my itch to travel. I lived in 4 different states in 2 years (military brat, woohoo!) and I think that made me appreciative of home but also craving of newness. 

Listening To: My All-State CD! It finally came in the mail, with the recordings of the concert. (Is it narcissistic to listen to a concert I was in myself of repeat?) I really got thinking about all of the hard work we all put in. I loved being on stage with the rest of the Women's Choir, and I loved being up in the nosebleed area of the balcony listening to and watching the Men's Choir and Mixed Choir. We all put in so much hard work, and listening to our concert and seeing my name in print inside the CD case insert makes me so proud. I was a part of something beautiful and exclusive and amazing. It's a fantastic feeling.

Excited For: A few different things actually.

      I'm working a photography internship with EatSleepPlay Beaufort, a local website and Facebook page that posts about the happenings in my town. They have featured my photos on their Facebook page before and extended an invitation to intern with my. The Facebook page alone has over 15,000 likes. That's a potential 15,000 people seeing my photography. I think that's a pretty freaking great deal!

     Also, this week my mom ordered us a really nice juicer from Target, and we got it on Monday. We have only tested it out a little (you'd be surprised how much juice you can get out of carrots!) but we plan on using it quite a lot. I plan on posting my favorite juicing recipes and tips. I'm super excited because I can't eat fruit. I like the taste of about 95% of fruits, but I can't actually eat them because the texture of the flesh of the fruit makes me gag. It's really weird. But with a juicer, I can get all of the fruits and veggies I need without the nasty texture issues. (Does anyone else have texture issues?)

Links I Love:

• I'm seriously squealing over this camera bag on JoTotes. I am in dire need of a cute camera bag.
• Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Brooming, the newest craze in videos and a trend I have a strange urge to partake in. (I actually spewed my Sprite when I first saw this.)
• Great news for the LGBT community and their allies (Woohoo!)

~♥

Gabby

Woman Crush Wednesday: Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum. Potentially the most perfect human being I have ever seen walk the Earth. I seriously have this desire to look exactly like her. And sing like her. Mostly sing like her. She has the voice of an angel. 

Rossum in her "Past the Point of No Return" costume from Phantom of the Opera

My first experience with Rossum was seeing her in Phantom of the Opera with Gerard Butler. I fell in love with her voice (and his) as well as her character, Christine Daae. The musical itself is heartbreakingly beautiful, as is she.

Rossum in her "Think of Me" costume from Phantom of the Opera

I adore Rossum's music as well. Her songs are very ethereal and remind me of fairies, or modern Shakespeare. Not to compare a modern pop singer to Shakespeare, just the style and wording gives me the same vibe.

~♥

Gabby

Product Review: Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

I have never been a big fan of fake nails. At least not for myself. I had some acrylics when I was in 9th grade and couldn't stand them. I basically just broke them all off after the first one decided to get jammed when I buckled my seatbelt. When I received my Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-On nails, I figured I would give them a try. It seemed like a good halfway point between my frail and bitten-down natural nails (I'm working on it...) and the acrylics that I hated so much. 

ImPRESS manicures retail for $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns and can be purchased at CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, WalMart, and more. Visit their website for a $1.00 off printable coupon! I received  my imPRESS nails in the color "Just Say Yes" which was a vibrant hot pink color. 

My hands, fingers, and nail beds are all really small. These were the smallest ones in the set and they were not only all too wide (except for my thumbs, which fit perfectly) but they didn't stick for long (except my thumbs, again) and WAY too long. I tried cutting and filing them down, but doing so made them even less sticky. I was less than impressed with these nails (no pun intended.) I think I may have to try some other nail alternative, or find a way to stop my nails from splitting every time they start to grow out long and pretty.

~♥
Gabby

Product Review: TastyKake Kandy Bar Kakes

Okay, so this is the only picture I was able to get of my TastyKake Kandy Bar Kake. Why? It was pretty much melted and squished and not exactly attractive. It isn't anyone's fault though; it gets REALLY hot down here, so shipping was most likely not kind to the chocolatey goodness on the outside.

These Kandy Bar Kakes are amazing. They're like little fluffy cakes filled with candy-flavored creme and dipped in chocolate. They're available in S'mores, Peppermint, and Peanut Butter flavors.

I received S'mores-flavored deliciousness. And it really is DELICIOUS.  I split it with Joe since he came over the day I got my box. We both liked it. He was dumb enough to take a bite and put it down... the rest of his half soon resided in my happy stomach. It really did taste like s'mores, and reminded me of going camping when I was little. I can definitely see myself trying the other flavors and buying more of these treats.

~♥

Gabby

What I Wore: I'm A Graduate!

I'm Wearing: Dress/ Mossimo Clothing Co; Shoes/ Easy Street; Bag/ Coach; Belt/ Urban Outfitters; Earrings/ Purple Paparazzi

Phew! This week has been a busy one! The whole week was full of graduation practices and preparations. Above is a photo of myself and one of my best friends, Billie, at our Senior Night on Tuesday. This was basically the night they announced a lot of scholarships and gave out cords. I received a cord for French Honor Society, which I was very excited about. All-in-all, the Class of 2013 broke a record, receiving more then $8 Million in scholarships! It was a really great feat for us.

From Left to Right: Rebecca, Rhianna, Me, Ashley, and Valencia.  

Wednesday morning, before graduation practice, we participated in the Passing of the Mantle, a tradition at my school where the seniors relinquish their spots and the juniors rise up to take their place. It was a little bittersweet to see m junior friends taking their places where I had been just 1 short year before.

My Junior Babies!

 And then came the day itself. Thursday, June 06, 2013. The day I graduated from Beaufort High School with High Honors. 

It's still really weird for me to think that I have already graduated. On one hand, it feels  like it happened too soon. On the other, I feel like I should have graduated a long time ago. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.

Blurry me, courtesy of my mom. Awkward face courtesy of feeling my cap sliding off of my head as I walked.

Thanks to the wonderful Tropical Storm Andrea, we had to have our graduation indoors. (On a side note, I can also thank TS Andrea for making my hair go from perfectly straight, glossy, and lovely to frizzy and wavy. C'est la vie.)

This was also my VERY last time singing with the Voices as a member of the choir. Now, I'm a Voices Alumni. That's so strange! We sang "In My Life" by The Beatles, which was pretty much perfect, as well as the Alma Mater and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You." (Traditions!)

Our Salutatorian, Michael Cook.

Our Salutatorian was Michael Cook. I've known Michael since elementary school. He did his speech in the form of a monologue (he's a drama student!) He was playing the part of a grandfather telling the story of the Class of 2013 and all that they had accomplished to his grandchildren. It was very touching, personal, and at times downright hilarious!

Our Valedictorian: Adam Lipsitz

Graduated!

Dad and I

All-in-all, graduation was full of wonderful, bittersweet memories. I'm going to miss high school, but I'm ready to take on all of the wonderful things in store for me. 

 ~♥

Gabby

Influenster: Spring Fever VoxBox

I was super excited this week to get my 2nd VoxBox from Influenster! 

For those of you who don't know, Influenster is a great website that allows people to share their reviews on products. Probably the best part is that sometimes, you can qualify for boxes full of absolutely FREE goodies to test out and review. 

In this box, I received:

• Secret Outlast Clear Gel Antiperspirant/Deodorant
• NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm
• Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure
• Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS Gelastic
• Tastykake Kandy Bar Kake

I will go into more detail on each of these products in separate blog posts. So far, I'm pretty pleased with everything.

~♥

Gabby