Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FRIENDS!

Since I could not be home for any of the usual pre-halloween festivities, I thought I would make some virtual pumpkins. 

So here are my top three pumpkin trends that if I would have been home this year I would have wanted to try:

How did you decorate your pumpkins this year?

To Live

Have you ever had those moments when life just sort of hits you in the face and makes you realize that you are just going through the motions? Well, today was one of those days for me! I am a worrier...I'll just put that out there. I always worry about the future and what it holds. My current worry the past few days weeks has been what should I do come May when my job as a Traveling Leadership Consultant is finished? Should I travel a second year? Should I come off the road and teach? Or should I go to Graduate school? The thought of "should I" is constantly running through my head that I forget 99% of the time to live in moment and not just to be existing. My challenge to all of us today (including myself) is for us to live in moments, to soak it all up, and to not let life pass us by. After all, the future is already laid out for us...we just have to discover it!

Saying Goodbye to Pittsburgh

One thing I love about my job is the fact that literally every 4-9 days I am getting to explore a whole new city! Today I'm saying goodbye to Pittsburgh as tomorrow I head out to Missouri. This weekend I got to experience Pittsburgh both in the day and at night and I seriously love this city! Not until I came on this visit did I realize that there are foothills/mountains in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh was just voted the number 1 livable city in America and now I can see why! The downtown city skyline is nestled on this harbor that just appears to you after your drive through a tunnel in the mountain. It is such a beautiful sight to see. Here's a little review of what I got to see and do this weekend in case YOU ever find yourself wandering in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh:

Isn't this the biggest ice cream sundae you've ever seen?!?!

Mt. Washington Square

Riding up the incline

Yummy brunch at Pamela's Diner 

Point Park

What did y'all do this weekend friends?

Five On Friday (Hey from Pittsburgh!)

Happy Friday my sweet friends! I'm writing to you today from the ever so chilly city of Pittsburgh! (More about that in a second!) With Friday comes my favorite link-up to participate in is Five on Friday with A.Liz Adventures!

O N E
My November work schedule came out yesterday and we get a whole 9 days for Thanksgiving break! Not only do we get over a week off but...I'LL BE HOME FOR MY BIRTHDAY! I am so excited to be reunited with my wonderful family after what will then be 4 months away from home on the road and finally getting to have their loving hugs 24/7! 

T W O
Currently I am in the chilly city of Pittsburgh...well actually about 20 minutes outside of it on a Pennsylvania "mountain"...but we will just say Pittsburgh for the time being! I'm not used to weather this cold in the middle of October! We have seen snow flurries and my body has been trying to adjust quickly to the cold without making itself sick. Look at the low for tonight...burr!

T H R E E 
So if you've been following my blog you probably have seen where I am just 110% in love with pageants! I grew up participating in them and still to this day get excited to attend them, judge them, or meet queens. Well, yesterday the school I am working with right now held a 12 hours of Pink event for breast cancer education and awareness. Using some connections we had, we were able to get Annie, Miss Pennsylvania 2013, to come for 4 of the hours. It was such an honor to be with her during the day and to walk her around campus to meet those who had been affected by breast cancer. 

F O U R
Last week I got to work at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey! Let me tell you, I was sadly one of  those people who always associated New Jersey with what was seen on Jersey Shore...but let me be the first to say: if you allow your heart to feel something different about a place it will quickly fall in love. The state of New Jersey grew on me every day and I was very thankful to spend a few days on the beaches of Jersey leading young women to become better leaders!

F I V E
Last but not least, I am excited to sight see downtown Pittsburgh tonight and tomorrow. Here are a few things on my list that I'm dying to get to:

1. Mt. Washington and the inclines

2. Andy Warhol Museum 

3. Botanical Gardens

What are YOUR plans for the weekend?

Weekend Review: Elephants, Funnel Cakes, and Friends

Happy Monday friends! I hope y'all had a beautiful weekend filled with love and joy! This past weekend went by so slow and for that I am very thankful. Friday night I hung out with the girls here at USC Aiken getting ready for their Pink Crown Classic Golf Tournament on Saturday morning. 4:30am came early on Saturday and we were all up and making our way to the golf course. I enjoyed getting to see them in action and very proud that in one day they raised a little over $6,500 for breast cancer education and awareness!

Saturday afternoon I was thankful to be granted time off from work to see my family and friends whom I had not seen since starting on the road July 9th. Since this visit was only 4 hours from home, they drove down to see me and let me tell y'all, there are not many things better than seeing your loved ones for the first time in weeks! My heart smiled all night Saturday as we shopped around downtown Aiken and then made our way one hour north to Columbia for the South Carolina State Fair. (I didn't take my purse in and my camera is too bulky for my pocket so you'll have to excuse the poor quality of iPhone pictures.)

Isn't he just so handsome?!?

So sad this picture quality isn't that great, but YES we rode an elephant!

I may or may not have a serious love for Zebras :-)

The sweetest friends in the whole wide world!

What all did you do this weekend friends? I hope whatever it was you spent it with the people you love the most! 

Writers Block and Five on Friday

Hello Sweet Friends! 
Oh my goodness...it has been almost two weeks since I posted and I am incredibly sorry. Sometimes life just comes at you so fast and you can't even find time for yourself. Over the past two weeks on top of working a job that is no where close to 9-5...meaning I have meetings all during the day and sometimes till 11 o'clock at night...I experienced a little bit of a writers block. I guess with being a new comer to the blogging world I was trying to fit in and find my place among people who had been blogging for months and years. This caused me to have a writers block because well, I didn't have the experiences they did to write about. However, after some thinking and forward planning, I've come to realize that I can only be myself and thankfully learned very early on that you cannot compare yourself to others. So here's to a more personal blog and planning ahead so that I can deliver wonderful reads!

Since it is Friday I'm participating in my favorite link-up: Five on Friday with A. Liz Adventures!

{ONE}

Even though Survivor is on it's 27th season, I just cannot stop watching. I remember when season number 1 came on...I was in the 3rd grade and it game on a Thursday night right after I was done with Girl Scouts. Survivor is one of my guilty pleasures when it comes to TV shows and you might be amazed to know that I have never missed an episode. Yep, you heard that right! If I can't watch it when it airs I watch it as soon as it is put up online. This season has me hooked more than in the past and I'm loving the dynamic of loved ones competing against each other! Any of you out there big Survivor fans?

{TWO}

Excitement doesn't even begin to describe what I felt yesterday when I finally had a moment to shop and get my new fall/winter boots! Going into the mall yesterday was the first time I've been shopping since July 9th...yes you heard that right! With having a consultant job going from one school to the next you depend on the college students you are working with to drive you places. Yesterday was my lucky day as these boots were on sell and just in time for me to hit the road up North come next week!

{THREE}

I'm currently loving the fact that I downsized the amount of clothes I am traveling with! That picture above was taken on day 1 of this new job of mine on July 9th. 3 months later and I have learned what I do and don't wear. Needless to say, tomorrow a big stack of clothes are being sent back home to my wonderful parents and hopefully my suitcases will become a little bit lighter!

{FOUR}

New iPhone 5s: loving that come my Thanksgiving break this beauty will be mine! I've have had my iPhone 4 for 2.5 years now and held on to my upgrade this past spring just to wait for this new release. Only problem is I cannot decide between the black or the white and gold. Which do y'all like best?

{FIVE}

I'm so excited that my job has me in South Carolina during the state fair. Since I am so close to my home state of North Carolina, several of my family and friends are driving down and picking me up so we can go spend the afternoon and night in Columbia experiencing all there is to see, eat, and do at the fair. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that there might be a surprise ticket waiting for me to go see Hunter Hayes in concert...a girl can only dream right?

Currently Loving

Currently I am loving pink items that support Breast Cancer Awareness. With so many companies selling "pink" items, I figured I would feature a few of my personal favorites that actually donate back to breast cancer awareness. Check them out and let me know what you think!

1. Aveda Hand Relief ($24.50 and $4 goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 2. Bobbi Brown's French Pink Set ($45 and $10 goes to the The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 3. Estée Lauder Evelyn Lauder Dream Solid Perfume Compact ($49.50 with 100% of proceeds donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 4. Tweezerman Precision Slant Tweezer ($22 with $1 going to Susan G. Koman Foundation)