Sunday, August 30, 2015

Greetings From The Emerald Isle!


Hello friends,

Greetings from across the pond. I have successfully made it to Ireland and man, has it been a wonderful whirlwind of a week!

A 6 hour flight from Boston and orientation had left me running on empty- yet both have come to a close and I'm as good as new. Classes start for me and my fellow Champlain students tomorrow so I finally have some time to digest all that has happened!

I've been writing in a journal to reflect on what has been happening since landing here, yet I must admit it is much more exciting to share all the great bits and pieces from this experience thus far with you all. 

I don't even know where to begin. Like I said, it's been a whirlwind.

 What I do know though, is that Dublin is absolutely beautiful. It's quite surreal to call it home. While it is very much a city, it is so warm and cozy. The locals are friendly and chatty, making every outing something to look forward to. Most streets are  made of cobble stone and fun, colorful Georgian doors adorn old buildings.

While getting immersed into the ebb and flow of this new and exciting city, I have started to pick up on a few things. (all extremely important of course) Some of those things are...

-  Always look right first when crossing the street
- Start conversations by asking people "What's the craic?" 
-  Never leave the house without an umbrella
- Eggs aren't refrigerated in super markets
- Penneys (aka Primark) is the best store to ever grace this earth
- Guinness is delicious
- That U2 are the only people given permission to heard sheep in St. Stephen's Green



During orientation we walked all over Dublin. Seriously, I've crossed the river Liffey more times than I can count!  We all hopped on a train and visited the seaside town of Bray. Aside from the beautiful views, The Harbour Bar is a noteworthy spot there. It was voted the world's best pub in 2010. The bar tender was one of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. We told him we were from Vermont and he raved about our Beef Jerky. (Hellooo, doesn't he know we are known for so many other delicious things!?) Regardless, his enthusiasm was a great highlight of our day trip.


 One last thing- I will be writing for my school's blog while here in Dublin so most of my writing will be moving there in the upcoming weeks.  However, as I love writing in general, some musings and adventures will likely be housed here as well.

Just as quickly as I had free time, I have lost it. I am about to head out to watch the gaelic football semi finals today! Croke park will be roaring with excitement... and so will every pub in this city. 

Cheers!

With love,

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Recipe: Olive Garden Breadsticks


Happy Sunday!

Alright, usually happy and Sunday don't go in the same sentence because it means one step closer to Monday- but today is looking a little bit different.

Why? For starters, I leave for Ireland TOMORROW. All the butterflies and excitement are truly starting to sink in. Ah!!!! Getting ready to go off on a big adventure is a big 'happy' for me. T MINUS 24 HOURS.


Secondly, to make this Monday even better I'm sharing the recipe for Olive Garden breadsticks. Oh yes, you did in fact just read that wonderful sentence.

There's  just something about Olive Garden breadsticks. I've seen people eat a whole basket themselves (totally not me). Unlimited salad and breadsticks is an event  to be celebrated. They are just too good.



The recipe I'm sharing this morning was on the Today show. After it aired, my brother and I ran to our nearest electronic device and found the recipe online. (here it is!!!)


Look at how beautiful they are. Oh goodness.

I'm not going to lie, this does take a big chunk of your day to do. BUT perfection takes time and the end result, is in fact those heavenly breadsticks we all know and love. 

If there's a downfall to this recipe, it's that these breadsticks aren't unlimited.

Oh, and did I mention the recipe also tells you how to make the equally as famous Olive Garden salad? Go forth and create these tomorrow for dinner! Best. Monday. Ever.

With love,

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

5 Favorite Things



Hello everyone! Happy August.

Ah yes, it's August. 

How in the world did that happen? Days compile into weeks and before I know it it's already a new month! As a college Junior, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this... my carefree summer days are quite numbered!

There's a few things I haven't done this summer. Updating my blog as frequently as I wanted to, for example. Guys, I suck. Also-going to the beach. It's a travesty  that I live so close, but never give it any attention. Going off of this, I kind of, sort of wanted to get a tan although it's always just wishful thinking.

However, there are things I've done this summer. One of those 'things' (not quite sure if that's the term I want to use) is actually finding and falling in love with the following:



I love these so much  that a blog post all about them is on the horizon. Rompers are so easy to just throw on and go. When you swap spaghetti straps for long sleeves, this tried and true one piece looks so much more put together!



Once I started using Aussie hair products, I never looked back. My hair has yet to get sick of the formula and every time someone gives me a hug they compliment me on how lovely my hair smells. (Both of these things being extremely important, obviously) Aussie just came out with this new 7 in 1 shampoo - yes! It really does 7 different things! I can't hide my excitement. Use this and your hair will be the happiest its ever been.



The name may be a little crazy, but this lip balm is awesome. Like all of Nivea's products, it's extremely hydrating but with the added bonus of color. This lip balm gives a subtle pink color to your lips, looks natural and smells delicious!



For my internship this summer, I was given the wonderful challenge of researching different bloggers, websites and articles. Being a blogger, I love seeing what other people find interesting and what they share with their readers. I stumbled across numerous articles from My Domaine during my hours of research. Now I go on to see what's being posted just because. There are so many useful posts, it's actually a shame I didn't find this website sooner!



There's an app my whole family has been obsessed with called Flow. I never really got into it. (Mainly because I just could not win no matter how hard I tried) However, there is a new version of the app called Flow Free: Bridges. It's the same concept as before- connect the different colored dots on the grid, but now there's added bridges to help you, or rather help me. Don't let the simplicity fool you, this game is extremely addicting!


What are you currently loving? I must know. Have a great rest of your week!

With love,