aaptiv

You know when you find something new and you want to share it with the entire world and just scream how great it is from your rooftops? I bet you know the feeling. Well the other day I was avoiding a conversation, and like us millennial seem to do ever so often, I jumped on my phone and scrolled through the infinite bounds that are known so well as “social media.”

As I was scrolling, I saw an ad for an app that had something to do with working out. I was bored, too full from lunch, and dressed in workout clothes that I had no intention of actually working out in, so you could say I had a calling to look more into the app. As I started to research it more I decided that it seemed pretty cool and hit that download. 

I literally — not ten minutes ago — finished the 15 minute leg workout, and let me tell you something… it was amazing. The music was good, the instructor tells you what to do and is motivating, and it went by so quickly.

I looked at my phone thinking I was only 5 minutes into the workout but I was three minutes away from being done. 

Now I’m literally sore, in the best way possible, from 15 minutes of doing a workout in my bed room. I can’t wait to try the elliptical and treadmill workouts once I get to the gym. It’s so awesome because you have someone telling you what to do, the music is already picked out (the worst part of working out on my own is picking good and motivated songs), and it’s fun!  

This isn’t a sponsored post whatsoever, I just needed to share this amazing discovery with you all.

If you’ve tried aaptiv before, what do you think?? 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe

Keurig Makes Life More Romantic

You know those pictures that show the contents of people’s bags organized in a perfect manner. The lines between each object are unbelievably straight, not one object looks out of place, and everything just flows? You know the ones, right? 

If not click here here or here. 

The way these pictures make me feel is the exact same way drinking coffee makes me feel. You know what I mean. Just like totally put together and with it. Obviously, I probably don’t look put together and with it, but they always said it’s what’s on the inside that counts the most. 

Coffee just has super powers, I swear. I don’t know what it is but there’s something about coffee that just makes me feel great. It’s probably the caffeine, but we’ll call it magic. 

Keurig sent me a ton of k-cups to sample, and lemme tell you, receiving the box made me weak in the knees.

Obviously, the first one I had to try was the Maple Cream one. With words on the box including “no milk or sugar needed” and “sweet and creamy” it was a no brainer. It’s a little too hot in Florida to drink hot coffee, so I decided to get minimally creative and freeze the coffee into ice cubes and then put the ice cubes into a cup of regular coffee.

I’m trying to stay humble, but this idea might be my breakthrough to finally becoming a member of Mensa. 

Basically, it’s like having two cups of coffee in one, iced, and no sugar or milk needed. 

When I go back to college, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m going to be filling my freezer with coffee filled ice cube trays. If you're going to college for the first time, going back to college, or living at all, you NEED a Keurig in your life. It makes life better, easier, and more romantic, honestly. 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe 

Obsessions, Lately

It’s summer so I obviously have time to waste. And how do I spend this time you ask? By browsing the internet for hours upon hours at a time, of course. It should be obvious at this point that I’m obsessed with the black hole we humans call the internet. And if it’s not obvious, you need to read more of my posts, clearly ;) 

Here are a few of my favorite internet obsessions I’ve discovered lately. 

photo via

I’m always on the hunt for casual tees with a twist. You know the shirts you can just throw on but once they’re on you feel cool? I finally found a company that screams casual but still 100% cool and effortless. I need one of each, please. 

I stumbled upon this Tumblr account the other day and I fell in love. The artist creates this cute little paintings with original one liners on each painting. They’re always clever and often thought provoking. Totally worth checking out and giving him a follow. 

Need some Instagram inspo? I’ve (well, actually, Urban Outfitters) has you covered.

I don’t just want this, I literally need this. Need. It’s a must have. 

I’m always on the hunt for the coolest speakers I don’t know what it is about college, but everyone I know has a speaker. Well, everyone but me. I think I might scoop up this speaker before fall rolls around. It’s cute, portable, and the reviews say it’s a goodie.  

It’s summer so obviously, a swimsuit is an essential wardrobe must have. I seriously want every single one in this shop. http://marysiaswim.com

I’m not very good at putting my feelings into words. But this list from NYMag of 10 extremely precise words for emotions you didn’t even know you had helps me immensely. 

Do you have any links I need to know about? If so, share them in the comments pretty please.

Thanks for reading! 
xox
Chloe

iPod Memories

I’ve always been a saver. I don’t like buying things that cost a lot of money, but I do like to think I’m the kind of person that will impulse purchase something over $100. It’s just not me. I can’t do it. However, when I was in the third grade, the original iPod Movie came out. It was a huge deal, I mean you could listen to music, store photos, and watch movies and tv all on one device. A REVOLUTIONARY PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY. 

I had been saving up for forever to buy an Apple product, because I thought they were just the coolest things. They were, but like I said, I don’t spend my money I just like to talk about what I theoretically would buy. But after talking about buying an iPod for the longest time, my mom finally drove me to Best Buy so I could purchase my very own iPod. After looking at the price tags I was about to back out, but then my mom reminded me how hard I had worked just so I could buy one. She was right, I really did want one, and YOLO, you know? 

So I bought it. I splurged. I did it. 

It has been years since I’ve used the trusty old iPod Movie. I mean, I upgraded to an iPhone which is, seemingly, so much better. It has everything that my iPod has plus texting, calling, FaceTime, and apps galore. But when I got home from college I was going through all my old things (nostalgia, you know) and I came across the ole trust iPod. It still works and has some bumpin’ beats. The best part though? The pictures. I started to scroll through all the pictures that I had on there and four hours later I realized how fast time goes by. 

I found pictures from middle school field trips that feel like they were last month. 
I found pictures from when my family went on vacation in elementary school.
I found pictures of me creating my first blog which feels like yesterday but was actually eight years ago. 

Time flies. It’s cliche to say, I realize that, but I feel it now. I have three years left of “mooching” off my parents and that freaks me out. If I get married at a “normal” age (because right now that seems so far away and like it’s never going to happen) I have less time of being a single girl than I do of starting the whole family thing. I’m not a kid anymore, and even though I still feel 14, I have to realize that time is going quickly. 

Sure the days and weeks pass slowly, but I finished my Freshman year of college in a blink of an eye. I want to make sure I treasure every single moment, because soon, I’m going to be looking at pictures of me now wondering why I didn't go do everything possible while I had the time and the freedom.

Sure I was broke after I punched my iPod in third grade, but you know what? I still have that iPod and it’s still impacting me. That’s what big purchase items are for, memories. You done good third grade self.

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe 

Bringing spring indoors

I love spring, but it doesn't love me! I have horrible (as if there were any other kind) spring allergies, but Flonase® Allergy Relief allows me to be better than my allergies... and bring spring indoors.

My Mom has a green thumb and can make any flower flourish. I wasn't blessed with as much of a green thumb, but I did inherit her appreciation for flowers. At the top of my favorite flowers list are peonies and ranunculus, but daffodils and tulips scream spring to me. Since I can't grow them as well as she can, cut flowers have become an obsession of mine. From simple bouquets, to elaborate displays, to intricate arrangements, the more flowers the better. Having them in vases around my home always makes me smile, and think fondly of my Mom, but my allergies are a drawback to my obsession. At the first hint of spring, it becomes difficult to manage my allergies and I start sniffling, get a runny nose & itchy eyes, and look and feel horrendous. And the sneezing... oh my gosh... is horrible.

Flonase is a simple once-a-day nasal-spray that I use to help me manage my allergies! Just 2 quick sprays in each nostril and I'm able to enjoy spring and be greater than my allergies.

Some other tips that I follow that have been recommended by my doctor to help manage my allergies:

• Keep the windows closed, so no outside air comes in
• Make sure the air filter is changed regularly
• Use a HEPA filter vacuum and vacuum often
• Change clothes after being outdoors (to make sure there was no pollen on them)

I still do these preventative measures, but when I take Flonase daily, I can rest assured that if I bring the outdoors inside, I can still be greater than my allergies. What a relief!

I know I'm not the only one with spring allergies: what are you allergic to and how do you enjoy spring without suffering from allergy symptoms?

XO ~Kim

FLONASE® Allergy Relief compensated me in connection with this blog post.

Scotland

Long time, no talk, am I right? Sorry for the lack of posts this past week, but I have a good excuse… I was traveling all around Scotland. To say Scotland is the most gorgeous place I’ve ever been would be an extreme understatement. Every single place I visited in the country was beyond spectacular. It seriously felt like I was traveling in a dream. So, so beautiful. I actually went with my brother, four other people from school, and three chaperones. It was an Explorica tip through school and it was such an amazing experience. So, the first day we arrived, we got into Glasgow at 6am local time. We then hopped on our bus and traveled to these ginormous horse sculptures called Kelpies. They were absolutely beautiful, but I think we were all a little too jet lagged to fully appreciate their beauty. After we visited the Kelpies, we hopped back on the bus and traveled to a gorgeous church and cemetery. Next, we went to the city center of Glasgow to wonder around and grab lunch. We then traveled all around Glasgow learning about the history of the city and looking at the monuments from the comfort of the bus. Everyone in the group was trying their hardest to not fall asleep, unsuccessfully. Jetlag really sucks. We then arrived at our hotel, ate dinner, and passed out. I’m pretty sure everyone on the trip was in bed and asleep at 9pm.

So the first day was relatively uneventful, but got us all very excited for our next week in the beautiful country of Scotland.

Day two was spent driving to the Highlands where we would spend the next three days and two nights. The drive was absolutely spectacular and we stopped at a gorgeous lake and a few other pretty spots. I can’t even begin to describe how gorgeous Scotland is. 360 degree beauty, for real. We then arrived at the cutest little hotel and wandered around the tiny village that we were staying in. I swear, it was so tiny I probably saw four locals the entire time we were there. One of the highlights of the Highlands was definitely the chance to visit Loch Ness. I convinced our tour guide to let us take a ferry ride on Loch Ness and it was absolutely, hands down, worth it.

After three days in the Highlands, we traveled to Edinburgh. This city is absolutely gorgeous and if you have the chance to visit Scotland, I totally recommend it. The nice thing about our trip was that the counselors let the students wander around the city by ourselves (we just had the buddy system rule) and it really allowed us to feel immersed in the city and not feel like we were on a boring walking tour. While in Edinburgh we went on an underground city tour, climbed up the Gothic Rocket, ate at a ton of little restaurants, shopped in a ton of cute boutiques, and just wandered around aimlessly. I wish we had more time to explore the city because there were so many hidden gems.

On the last day of our trip, we visited St. Andrews. Home of the famous golf course, castle, gorgeous views, and birthplace of the meeting of Will and Kate. I was hoping to find my prince, but unlike Kate, I was unsuccessful. Like I mentioned before, Scotland is seriously the most beautiful country with the most beautiful cities, but St. Andrews stole my heart. It was seriously so beautiful, quaint, home-y, and beachy all in one. If I had a choice of any city to grow up in, I would definitely have picked St. Andrews.

All in all, my Scotland trip was an amazing experience. I wish I could put into words how awesome of a time I had, but I just can’t. It was too perfect. I’m so thankful that I had this opportunity and totally recommend Scotland as a place to visit. I’ll now leave you guys with a ton of pictures!

If you want me to do a post on the "must see" things of Scotland, let me know! Thanks for reading! xox Chloe