Category: Other

Read my most recent post on LVNG Limitless!

When the Fourth of July comes to mind, the first thing I think of are all the different foods: burgers, brats, hot dogs, cole slaw, potato salad, apple pie, corn on the cob, etc. However, once I went vegan my food options at family cookouts went from seemingly infinite to roughly two: watermelon and butterless […]

via Recipes for a Vegan-friendly 4th of July — LVNG Limitless

Reading habits tag

Published on by Alicia10 Comments

Hi everyone, just me again, with another tag! Anna did this tag a bit back and I really wanted to do it too! Check out her post and I hope you enjoy my answers!

Bookmarks or a random piece of paper

It’s usually a pen because I like to underline so I just stick it in the book when I’ done

Stop reading randomly or stop after a chapter/certain amount of pages

I hate stopping mid-chapter, however, some have those like pauses in chapters and I sometimes will stop there if I’m falling asleep or have to leave

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Certain place at home for reading?

My bed, however, my position always changes because THERE IS NO READING POSITION THAT IS COMFORTABLE FOR LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES

Eat or drink while reading?

Neither

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Music or TV while reading?

Absolute silence usually but sometimes a bit of jazz music, depending on what I’m reading

One book at a time or several?

1 omg or else I get plots mixed up

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Reading at home or everywhere?

Home usually but I can read on planes and busses

Reading out loud or silently?

Silently… sometimes I read aloud when I’m really tired or when there are no quotation marks… I’ll make different voices for each character so I know what the hell is going on

Do you ever read ahead or skip pages?

ABSOLUTELY NOT

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Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Breaking the spine tbh. Everyone gets angry about it but it’s my book so get off my ass

Do you write in your books?

I like to underline quotes and circle words I don’t know so yeah

There weren’t any rules for this so if you want to take a swing at this tag, be my guest, if not, that’s cool too!

Until tomorrow

Alicia

Blogger Recognition Award

Published on by Alicia7 Comments

Good afternoon everyone, I am officially all settled back into my dorm, with updated planners, calendars, and clothes put away. I am now just relaxing despite all of the reunions occurring outside of my room (after 7 hours of driving I need a break and a nap) so I figured I would do this blog award I was nominated for a few days back.

First of all, thanks so much to Alys for nominating me. I highly recommend checking out her blog, it’s one of my faves!!!!

Rules:

  1. Show your gratitude to the person who nominated you and provide a link back to the person’s blog.
  2. Give a brief story of your blog.
  3. Share two or more pieces of advice for beginner bloggers.
  4. Choose 10 other bloggers to nominate.
  5. Comment on each blog by letting them know they’ve been nominated and provide a link to your award post.

Story of my blog:

I have been blogging since I was 14. I stumbled upon someone’s summer bucket list blog and I decided that I wanted to make one as well. So, that summer and the summer after, my friend Molly and I made a summer bucket list blog. We are no longer friends, however, I wanted to continue blogging so I have made a few blogs over my lifetime to continue blogging, mainly just random writings and a bit of food tracking. However, in October of 2015, I decided that I wanted to document my time in college  (I also had no friends so I wanted to make some virtual ones 🙂 )so that’s how I started this blog.

Advice:

  1. Write about what you want- This one may seem pretty self-explanatory, however, it may not be. With so many lifestyle blogs about fashion and the latest hair hack, you may seem pressured to post about these. Yes, it may get you some traffic but if you don’t necessarily like what you’re posting… why blog? I will post a review here and there because I want to and I think other people might want to see it. I post things for me because I like them, not to get a certain amount of views in a day and I recommend you all do the same.
  2. Don’t stress- I’m all about trying to be consistent, it’s what readers like and it gets views. However, if I’m sick or had a long day or was out with friends, I’m not going to worry about my blog. Blogging can wait, your life can’t. I blog during downtime, on plane rides, in bed, etc. I make sure I love my life how I want to and make sure that blogging comes second. Make sure you do that as well.

I nominate:

Happy Mentality          Lu          Shannon          Sam          Anjana

Kaitlyn          Nicole            Ashley          Jamie          Courtney

2017 in photos

Published on by Alicia2 Comments

Good afternoon everyone, I’ve seen a few people post their year in pictures, and I really wanted to do it too!! So, here’s my year in pictures.

January

 

February

March

April

May

June

  

July

August

September

 

October

 

November

December

A Review of “A Christmas Prince”

Published on by Alicia1 Comment

Hi everyone! Today’s Blogmas post is a review of the Netflix original “A Christmas Prince.” So many people have been debating watching it because it’s not an ‘original’ Christmas movie. However, I figured I would watch that 92-minute movie to see how it ranked.

For those of you who haven’t heard of the movie, straight from Netflix comes this brief synopsis: “Christmas comes early for an aspiring young journalist when she’s sent abroad to get the scoop on a dashing prince who’s poised to be king.” I don’t want to give anything else away so you’ll all have to watch the movie for yourselves to see what happens with that journalist and the prince. 😉

Pros:

  • Ben Lamb (Prince Richard) is a cutie
  • most of the actors  in the movie I’d never heard of so it’s always nice to see new people playing bigger roles
  • Princess Emily and Amber’s relationship is so cute
  • ROMANCE!!
  • A plot twist I actually wasn’t expecting
  • The cliche

Cons:

  • Lady Sophia and Simon are so annoying (but what is a cliche movie with no annoying people)
  • That period of time where shit hits the fan and you have 10 minutes to resolve
  • The cliche

Overall Review: Overall, I adored this movie. I am a sucker for a cliche but if you aren’t you’ll probably hate it. It sort of reminded me of a Christmas Ella Enchanted just without the violence. I really liked the plot twist in the movie (that I will not share) and it was just overall a very cute and sweet movie. I’d say a 9/10 from me tbh.

Until next time

Alicia

A guide to “Secret Santa”

Published on by AliciaLeave a comment

Hi everyone, still going strong with my Blogmas posts. Today’s Blogmas post is all about giving a successful Secret Santa gift and some tips and tricks I use to try to give the best Secret Santa gift ever!!

  1. Plan it out. Normally Secret Santa presents are supposed to be under a certain amount of money so make sure you budget for what you’re going to buy instead of going crazy the second you walk into the store. Nothing is worse than receiving a gift that is way above (or below) the budget. Plan accordingly.
  2. Talk to the person’s friends (if you know them) or try to learn more about them- Even though Secret Santas are usually among friend groups I almost always get the person I know the least. I try to go through their social media accounts to try and find out some of their favorite things and ask their friends as well for things they like to make sure the person receiving the gift really loves what they’re getting
  3. Try to make it festive- I always like making my Secret Santa gifts festive. Whether I throw in a pair of Christmas socks, hot chocolate mix or a scarf and gloves because I know I personally love opening gifts filled with holiday items because they really make me feel in the Christmas spirit
  4. Avoid funny gifts unless you know the person really well and know their sense of humor. While you may think the gift is funny the person on the receiving end may take the joke the wrong way and some hard feelings may occur.
  5. Gift receipt- Always place the gift receipt in the gift when it’s apparel. Whether it’s the wrong size or a color the recipient doesn’t enjoy, you want them to enjoy the gift, not for it to sit in the bottom of a drawer for the next 5 years.

Are there any other tips you have for Secret Santa gift giving?

Alicia

Stocking stuffer ideas

Published on by Alicia3 Comments

T-minus 3 days until Christmas and there are still many people at malls running around picking up some last minute gifts. I feel like with all the commotion with getting the bulk of the gifts we tend to forget about the stocking stuffers. Those are always some of my favorites gifts to receive because they are usually the first I open and it’s always fun to see what ‘Santa’ puts in them. Here are a few random ones that you can usually find in most stores and some pretty close to check out.

1. Silly Putty- Always a classic and anyone f any age will enjoy this timeless gift
2. iTunes gift card- Any music lover will love this gift card.. 10 new songs here they come
3. Hair ties- More of a girl gift, however, any human with long hair will thank you for this
4. Uno cards- Another timeless gift that any person of any age will love. Uno cards would be a hit on Christmas day
5. Chapstick- With the dry winter air there is not a soul on this earth who couldn’t use some chapstick
6. Slinky- More of a gift for a younger receiver, however, slinkys were and are such fun toys. Before everyone was glued to a screen for the whole day slinkys could be hours of fun
7.Slippers- Slippers are a great way to keep warm in the winter months.
8.Tumbler- These are super cute and they can be personalized so everyone can drink water and look good doing it
9. Christmas socks- These are pretty self-explanatory because who doesn’t love a fuzzy pair of warm Christmas socks?

My ugly Christmas sweater collection

Published on by Alicia2 Comments

Hello everyone, I have been one to talk about my love of ugly Christmas sweaters, and I figured I’d also share the ones I have. I only have 3 of my own at the moment but I’m certain my collection will grow. So, here’s my collection and a backstory behind each of them.

Let it Glow- The most recent Christmas sweater purchase and the most ‘fun’ one. This light up sweater was a hit at a few parties over the past few weeks and I love to dazzle the crowds with the color changing lights.

Shrek Christmas- This sweater was a gift from Santa 😉 last Christmas. After receiving Shrek and Donkey pillow pets the year before, I guess the tradition had t continue. This sweater is actually really comfortable and if there wasn’t a lifesize Ogre head on it I’d love to wear it regularly.

Homemade Sweater- I’ve discussed this sweater in posts before so I’ll keep this one short and sweet. My entire family slaved over the sweater for hours trying to make me the perfect ugly Christmas sweater. Let me say, this one is always a big hit for everyone who sees it

 

Do you have any funny Christmas sweaters?

Alicia

The Unique Blogger Award

Published on by Alicia2 Comments

Hi everyone, I was nominated for the Unique Blogger Award by Rachael! Thank you so much for this award and everyone definitely go check out her blog!! I love reading it. Let’s get started with the award. 🙂

The Rules:

  • Share the link of the blogger who has shown love to you by nominating you.
  • Answer the questions.
  • In the spirit of sharing love and solidarity with our blogging family, nominate 8-13 people for the same award.
  • Ask them 3 questions.

My answers:

  1. If money didn’t matter(free schooling,) what would you want to do for a career? I think I would just stay in school forever and learn as much as I could and then do whatever I liked the most
  2. What weird food combination do you really enjoy? I don’t think I have any?
  3. What was the last photo you took? A picture of Poppy (my dog) in front of the Christmas tree

My questions:

  1. What is your favorite holiday tradition (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, St. Patrick’s Day… any holiday)?
  2. What was/is your favorite subject in school?
  3. What is one New Year’s Resolution you hace for 2018 (if you don’t like resolutions what is one thing you are looking forward to in 2018)

I nominate:

A Soulful Saga     Beachy Girl Monique      A real messy beautiful twisted sunshine

Shinavy Blogs      A Beautiful thing       Life of Blind     An Emzy Life      KaylaAnn

My Christmas traditions

Published on by AliciaLeave a comment

Hi everyone, continuing with my Blogmas posts today and today I will be talking about some Christmas traditions I have. I always felt like I don’t have any but after talking about what to do in Chicago for Christmas I’ve realized that I do have a few traditions of my own and here they are!

 

  1. Christkindlmarket- Every year (not the past two because of bad schedules however my family has kept going) my family and some family friends head to the city to have breakfast at 7th on Heaven and then walk over to the Christkindlmarket. The adults always get hot wine (tastes like garbage) and we all love the Sweet Shoppe which has an abundance of German candies, truffles, and nuts. It is normally very cold so we try to keep it short and sweet. This year, however, it was 50 degrees on the day we went so we were able to spend longer and make it more enjoyable
  2. Holiday lights- This tradition is a hit or miss for my family. We usually get there every other to every 3 years but when we do it’s so much fun. The Brookfield Zoo has Holiday Magic every year during the month of December and it’s so cool seeing all the lights littering the Zoo along with taking some cute pictures and spending quality time in the cold with friends and family
  3. Ugly sweaters- This was a tradition just started 2 years ago but each year I have received an ugly Christmas sweater… I bought one this year for myself so even if I don’t receive one as a gift I still added to the collection
  4. A weekend in Wisconsin- My mom’s best friend’s family and our family always go to Wisconsin for a weekend each winter break. No matter what else we have going on with works, friends, and family we almost always make time to see each other in the midst of the holiday craziness.

 

Those are my traditions, what are yours?

Alicia