Nanny Life

1. That isn't ground beef on the ground that was our attempt at Kool-Aid colored play-dough. We all got tired of mixing and kneading the dough...so we went with the "tie-dye" effect.

2. Easiest way to entertain kids, give them something messy and tell them it's okay to make a mess. For example, buy a $1.00 can of shaving cream, give them kitchen utensils, put on bathing suits, turn on the hose, and you have 45 minutes of entertainment!

Three days a week the oldest has swim team practice from 11:15-noon. This is a great way to spend the day except it's the hottest part of the day. I feel bad for her little sister who won't play in the baby pool alone so she insists on laying in the sun with me. However she doesn't have the Greek genes and tanning doesn't go well for her....for example this is what happens when her face was too hot, apparently a towel over the face was the best solution.

 "Talent Show"

Notice the lovely green velour crop top and high waisted pants? Those came straight out of the 90's...but literally I used to wear that outfit to dance class in 1996. Holla'

Also Instagram video rocks!

Follow me on Instagram

Weekend Wanderings: 5k PR and the best ice cream of my life

This past weekend I completed and got a new PR at the Detroit River Days 5K. I normally run a 5k in about 30 minutes, but this race I pushed myself and got a time of about 28 minutes! When I'm running in races I always pick someone at the start that I want to beat and I make it my mission to pass them, when I do I pick someone new and repeat. It's fun to beat people....even if they don't know you're racing :)

The night before the race, Alex and I went to my favorite Italian restaurant in Downtown Plymouth for pasta! I filled up on my favorite pasta dish, it is angel hair pasta with chopped tomato, toasted pine nuts, artichokes (which I don't eat but like the flavor of), and blackened chicken with olive oil as the sauce. It is to die for! Alex tried a special that was four cheese tortellini with rose sauce and a veal pasta dish that I'm not sure of the name. After dinner we went to Kilwins for ice cream, they make homemade waffle cones and the smell draws you into the shop from a block away. I tried toasted coconut ice cream and it was hands down the best flavor I have ever had! It tasted very fresh, not like artificial coconut at all. My meal was so good and I was so in the zone that I didn't even stop to take a picture (bad blogger!)

pre-race selfies with the Detroit River in the background.

Selfies part two

O' Canada

Oh hey 3rd place nice to meet ya! I was super excited to have "beat" so many people, but I was kinda annoyed that only top two got a medal...I'm sorta a sore loser.

Pretty river...not so pretty hair and face etc.

just being tourists

somebody was sleepy

Coast Guard Ships. Alex and I took a tour of the other ship that was on the river.

Third times the charm!

Tomorrow I'm running my third 5k race. I did The Color Run last summer and the Turkey Trot in November. I trained really hard for this race to make sure I could finish, and I'm feeling very confident. Hopefully the predicted thunderstorms hold up and I can finish without dying!

Six Favorite (skin care) Products

1.I have super oily skin, this moisturizer leaves my skin feeling soft but not too oily.

2.Toner is essential for maintaining the ph balance after washing your face, this one leaves your face feeling tight in a good way. Plus the cucumber smells amazing!

3.This face wash is really strong, I don't use it every night but the glycolic acid really does a great job at removing the dull dead skin and leaves your face feeling super fresh.

4. The enzyme gel is a great cleanser for every-day. I remove my makeup with cetaphil then use this gel on my clarisonic brush to get a good deep clean.

5. Buffering Lotion is a god-send for cystic acne. It shrinks the cysts down and relieves some of the pain as well.

6. Buffering Lotion is to cysts as Drying Lotion is to whiteheads. This works miracles, you just have to ignore the stinky smell.

Weekend Wrap Up

Threads for shopping on Thursday, hit up VS sale and spent way to much on bras

cheesin'

such a pro

super amused with my impromptu photoshoot

happy little puppy after a walk

heavenly fried pound cake with berries, whipped cream, AND ice cream

Blast from the "past"

So I had a little change of heart about changing my blog name and starting over. I tried blogging under a new name with the same content and it just felt weird. Like I was blogging for someone else or something, I really don't know how to describe it. Even though my old blog name is by no means perfect, it felt more me. And with a little inspiration I think I finally found a blog design I can stick with...for a few days :) But I did update my name on the blog, but URL is the same and everything else so no need to switch anything around.

PS. since GFC is going away soon, don't forget to follow on BlogLovin, right now I only have 30 followers over there (yikes!).

Planner Dilema

I have officially fallen IN LOVE with May Designs. I found the site from Instagram oddly enough, but once I got on the website I spent about an hour playing around with different combinations. And I think I have finally narrowed it down to a few but I need help deciding my top two covers.

I plan on ordering one Academic Agenda ( I will be cheating on my beloved Lily Pulitzer Agenda, but I'm hoping I will like this since it won't be so heavy) and I want a meal planner. I am going to be cooking for myself and on a budget so meal planning will hopefully be a good habit to start young.

I would love to hear some opinions on the designs, which should I pick?!

May Designs by kelsielynn1993 on Polyvore

(this post isn't sponsored I genuinely am really obsessed with this product!)

Seven things about your job (or in my case jobs)

Well since I'm a college student, my main job is school. But in order to pay for said school, I work as a nanny in the summer and occasionally as a sales associate at Aeropostale.I've also held some other random short jobs in the past. For 20 I've sure got a lot of "life experience" under my belt.

1. I've worked at Aeropostale off and on since I was 16, and in that time I've decided that EVERYONE should have to work a retail job at least once in their life. It makes you a lot more conscious when you shop. You know how sometimes you pick up a shirt and don't fold it, or dig through a pile of undies...well someone (me!) has to clean that up and fold it. So please, think before you destroy a pile...especially if it is ten minutes before the mall closes.

2. Being a nanny rocks! It is my favorite job of the two obviously. I get to hang around with two little girls (5 and 7) and play house/mom all day long.

I color

I make crafts

and play with Legos...obviously I've got the best gig around

3. The mall is not a market or garage sale...no bartering prices. But really I have customers try to bargain with me as if I have any control over the price of their graphic tee that belongs in 2005

4. The family I nanny for gives me a pass to take the girls to the pool (best job ever!). The only issue about going to the pool is my hair gets super brassy and dry by the end of the summer, and I spend way to much money on poolside snacks like sugar filled strawberry smoothies.

my summer drug of choice

5. I did a one semester tutoring gig through my campus library...it sucked. I can teach little kids all day long, but teaching adults statistics is not my style.

6. I am pretty much forced to eat healthy when I nanny since the family I nanny for is pretty healthy. If I try to sneak candy or chips the girls come flocking to me like starved animals begging for whatever treat I have.

7. My favorite part of working retail is the dumb questions people ask me. Sometimes I question if they have ever bought something before in your life. For example:

do you have any coupons I can use? (no)

this shirt was on that table that says 5$. As they point to a table where the shirt is no where to be found since the shirt goes on the table right next to it with a sign labeled 20$

Conclusion people are dumb!

,

Weekend Adventures

 On Saturday night, Alex and I went to this place called Garage in downtown Northville. The restaurant is set in a 1940's gas station that has been renovated into a super unique and hip (that makes me sound old but I can't think of another word for it) restaurant.

This shrimp was TO DIE FOR, it was crispy and spicy. I really want to try to recreate this and eat it for every meal (dramatic? maybe...but it really was that good)

Super yummy pizza. A thin crust topped with chicken, huge chunks of bacon, tomato and spinach.

Outfit for dinner. Dress is express (belt comes attached), and jacket is Abercrombie kids circa 2005. I like to pretend my jean jacket is just vintage and not something I have owned since I was in 7th grade. This is actually probably the oldest piece of clothing I wear since I'm the opposite of a hoarder and clean out my closet every season.

 

Eight Goals for the Month

 1. Keep running every week even after my 5K on June 17th! Oh and I guess the other part of this goal is finally make it over the 2 mile mark and onto the big three.

{if only I looked that happy when I ran, maybe that last mile wouldn't be so bad}

2. Cook one new recipe I've pinned for my family. I've gone though a major recipe pinning spree since I'm moving out in a few months, but I think I should test drive a few before I'm on my own.

{from the AMAZING blog IowaGirlEats...I'm obsessed

3. Finish all of my DIY projects that are "drying" in the basement.

4. Read one of the books I borrowed from Alex's mom. Right now I have Sarah's Key, has anyone read it?

{buy it on amazon}

5. Wake up early to run BEFORE I start my nanny job at 8 a.m. (we'll see how this goes!)

6. Enjoy the rest of my week off with Alex before he starts his internship.

7. Actually sit down and write out my calender and daily schedules for the summer with the munchkins I babysit. We need a schedule/routine or they get bored very quickly! I've found lots of fun activities on pinterest lately, so hopefully they will save me.

8. Stop re-designing my blog and commit to one design already!

Weekend Wrap Up

This is what I wore to the movies on Saturday night. Alex and I planned on seeing Hangover 3, but apparently the ticket lady didn't like that idea because she gave us tickets to Now You See Me. We didn't realize it until the movie started either. I don't know about you but I never really look at the ticket I just take it to the guy and they tell you what theater you're in. But despite the confusion the movie was actually really good.

Shorts; Joe Fresh Sweater; Old Navy {on sale for 15$ I'm wearing Rebellion Red}, Belt; American Eagle, Shoes; Lacoste

Over the past few weeks I have started to train for a 5K which I'm running in two weeks. I've run two before but have a problem with consistently running after the races. So needless to say, I kind of had to start from scratch again. Thankfully it isn't going bad! I hit the two mile mark last week, so it's just a little bit of pushing from here. Thankfully my kind of dorky but super comfortable running shoes have helped me not die along the way.

Progress over the last three weeks

I'm kinda like a man in the sense that I LOVE a good sandwich.

DIY to tackle. This was a lamp I had in my room as a kid. I tore off the trim and painted it navy blue to go in my room. I'm currently debating if I want to put a ribbon on the bottom of the lamp since the tape left a weird texture on the lamp. Opinions?