Day Trip

St. Augustine, the oldest city in America, happens to only be about forty minutes south of where I live. So this makes it a great destination for a day trip! During high school it was nothing for me and a couple of my girl friends to hop in the car and hit the old city for a night out. In St. Augustine, there is something for everyone. The old fort and numerous other historical sites, many pubs and bars, quaint bed and breakfasts, cute boutiques, great seafoods dives, and many other attractions put St. Augustine on the map as one of the biggest tourist traps. 

Today, I drove down to St. Augustine with my mom and sister to enjoy a day of leisurely walking around the city. Since it was a Monday, we forgot about all the people who were still off of work or off of school for the winter holidays. We drove around the cobblestone streets aimlessly searching for anywhere to park since the garage and many other lots were completely full. After about an hour we finally made it down St. George Street to Al's Pizza for lunch. We have many Al's Pizza back at home, so that was nothing special. Normally, we love to eat at O'Steen's because they have the best fried shrimp on this planet, but they're closed on Monday's. Following our veggie pizza, we walked back up St. George Street to The Hyppo, where we got some delightful ice pops. You can check them out here.

 I got the coconut ice pop, and it was wonderful! It was very refreshing and even had pieces of coconut in it. Yummy! The Hyppo is like a little hut, located outside. You would never expect that they would have such amazing gourmet ice pops!

Lauren got Banilla Vanana, and Mom got Chocolate Cheesecake!

Mmmmmm!

We also stopped in one of my favorite boutiques on St. George Street, the Red Pineapple. They have adorable dresses, jewelry, shoes, and vintage gifts. Check out their facebook page!

Cathedral Basilica and the Casa Monica are also some of my most favorite places in St. Augustine. No, I don't have my entire wedding planned out on Pinterest yet, but it would be quite lovely to have a Catholic ceremony in the cathedral and a reception at Casa Monica. A girl can dream. . .

When visiting, I sometimes envy the kids that get to go to Flagler. UF is a far better school overall, but Flagler is located in the heart of one of the prettiest cities. With so much history and charm, how can someone not love St. Augustine? I know I always will, and I can't wait for many more day trips to come.

xoxo - Elizabeth

The Bridge of Lions

In front of the Lightner Museum

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OOTD

Today I went to the St. John's Town Center with my mom, which is one of my favorite things to do. Who doesn't love shopping? So I thought that I would take this shopping opportunity to wear some of my new Christmas clothes.

I wore my new Ralph Lauren plaid ruffle shirt under my Ann Taylor vest (that I've had since 6th grade), my Ralph Lauren jeans, and my Ralph Lauren riding boots. I wore my gold monogram necklace along with my Juicy Couture watch, a gold bracelet that my best friend Hannah gave me for Christmas last year, and my great Aunt Mary's pearls. 

At the Town Center, I picked up my usual makeup. For my foundation, I wear Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H Makeup that has a SPF 15 and doesn't clog my pores at like other liquid foundations have. For my concealer I wear Lancome Effacernes Waterproof and the coverage is great, but not cakey. I finish that off with the Lancome Dual Finish powder which I absolutely adore. It's great for getting a matte look, or touching up throughout the day. I also picked up some of the Lancome Hypnose Star mascara in Noir Midnight. It is my all time favorite and makes my lashes look super full, but not clumpy. 

Also I received a $30 gift card to Sephora, so I thought I would take a look at some of their products. I didn't want to spend that much money on other lines since I usually wear Lancome, so I decided to check out Sephora's line. I purchased Sephora's MicroSmooth Baked Sculpting Trio, perfect for contouring and highlighting, Sephora's Long Lasting Blush in icy fuchsia, and Sephora's Rough Shine lipstick. The colors are pretty bright compared to what I wear on a daily basis, but I thought they would be fun for a change! After I try them out I'll let y'all know what I think!

xoxo - Elizabeth

Domesticated

Most of my life I've had my mom there to do everything for me. Going to college this year has really opened my eyes up to trying and doing new things. One task I have really been trying to get better at is cooking. It's quite obvious that I LOVE to bake and I'm pretty good at it, but cooking is a different animal. There's not exactly a set time or set amount of ingredients you need to use like there is with baking. Cooking allows for more freedom and exploration, which is exciting since you can make a dish your own. It is also a bit intimidating for a novice chef like myself. Growing up, the most cooking I did was making the scrambled eggs on Saturdays for our big breakfast. I was so excited when I moved to Lakeside because there was a kitchen for just us, unlike the other dorms.  Now I have been able to practice my cooking for a whole semester and decided that I needed to share my new skills with my family back at home.

Sooo tonight I made this tasty Lime Cilantro Chicken and it was wonderful. I also made some of my favorite homemade baked fries. The dinner was a success with everyone, especially my dad who is a very picky eater. It's just a start, but I'm excited to try new things and explore different recipes!

xoxo - Elizabeth

Christmas

     This Christmas was probably one of the best so far. It was the first Christmas that I didn't feel like a child anymore. Instead, I took my time enjoying each present I was unwrapping and doted on my 9 year old sister and what Santa had brought her. The feeling was great. I enjoyed watching everyone else open their gifts, especially my mom. My favorite present had to be the "Barbie, I Can Be A Reporter" camera and microphone my mom gave me to be silly. She thought that I would be able to practice for when I'm actually a news anchor, quite funny.

     I was very busy this Christmas. From mass, family gatherings, crafting, baking, and sport outings, my time was not very disposable. For all the ladies in my family, I made initial and monogram ornaments. They came out much better than I expected, especially after I thought to add a special bow on each one! They were a huge success and added a flare of prep and bling to everyone's Christmas tree.

     

     I also made a wonderful Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake that was to die for. I don't know what I would do without Pinterest. It came out perfect!

xoxo Merry Christmas 

-Elizabeth