Going vegetarian for a week!

This week I've decided to go vegetarian!

I started today, and made my first vegetarian lunch.

Here's a photo:

It was pretty delicious, not going to lie.

It's orzo pasta, green beans, fennel, garlic, and olive oil.

It was so simple too! It only took about 20 minutes to cook. And I think it would be good cold too, so I can take it to lunch at school.

The reason why I'm only going vegetarian for a week though, is to see what it is like. I hate eating food that I know has preservatives and chemicals in it, so I'm considering making this be my new year's resolution: to go vegetarian. This is just a trial period to see what it entails and see if I can do it. :)

Would you ever go vegetarian?

I got a job.

Two weeks ago I got a job at our local cafe inside our local bookstore.

it's very local.

I make sandwiches, create coffee drinks, clean up after people, and take orders. I love it! it is one of the greatest things that have happened to me.

It is so fun. My favorite part is making drinks!

It's one of the funnest things ever, and I feel very sophisticated when I'm doing it ;)

I seriously look forward to going into work everyday, and I got really bummed when I realized I'm only going to be working 2 days a week. :(

In other news, my junior year is tick tick ticking away. Slowly, I assure you. Nothing special has happened. Really. The only eventful thing was me getting a job.

However, I am going to visit my sister and brother in law in December! They moved from Nashville to Birmingham, Alabama and I'm counting down the days until I get to see their new place.

Sorry I've been MIA!

And we thought we wouldn't have enough things to do . . .

I arrived in Nashville last Friday. My flight went smooth, and there were no bumps!

My sister just quit her job recently, and we weren't sure how many fun things we were going to be able to do while I was here. Well... that wasn't something anyone needed to worry about.

When I came Friday, I spent the day with my (other) sister and her husband, and my nephew Owen. :) When my brother in law came to pick me up, (Josh) I was greeted by this in the guest room:

Saturday, my sister was working on a conference she had gotten hired to do. It was fun, but also very tiring. We were on our feet a lot, and more than ready to go home when we did.

Sunday was pretty much a relaxing day. We both were very tired from the conference (she worked 3 10+ hour days) so we just chilled. For dinner, we sat out on their patio and ate dinner. We grilled out and had chicken, squash and zucchini grilled, baked potatoes, and bread. It was delicious!

(the patio lights added a nice ambiance to things. Plus the relaxing music!)

On Monday, my sister and I ran errands. We didn't do a whole lot this day either. For dinner we went to my other sister's for my OTHER bro-in-law's birthday.

When we got home from the dinner, we (Ashley, Josh, myself) started playing Scrabble while watching the Yankees play the Kansas City Royals. Josh mentioned that they were playing a game on Tuesday, and jokingly said we should go. Then, Ashley mentioned how she thought the drive was only about 5 and a half hours. We decide to go. What the heck? Josh is very detail oriented, and is so excited about going to see the Yankees (his favorite team) that he doesn't even think twice about checking the driving distance. As we check Google Maps just to see the route...we realize it's 9 and a half hours. Oops. Tickets already bought, hotel booked.

We arrive early for batting practice. This was my first major league game!

Sister and I

On our way home, we have to go though St. Louis so we decide to stop at the Gateway Arch.

View looking down

They say you can see for 30 miles on a clear day.

On Thursday, Josh and Ashley mainly played catch up.

Ashley and I swung by Sweet CeCe's to grab some frozen yogurt. It was my first trip, so I went all out. :)

My bro in law Josh is the road manager for the band Hawk Nelson. They had a show in Leitchfield, Kentucky on Friday, so Ashley and I decided to drive up and see the show. We hung out on the bus a lot, and this sign is in the bathroom:

I'm sorry. It's funny.

Then, the show.

PHEW! What a whirlwind of a week!

I think we're ready to take it a little bit slower this week. We're planning on going to the zoo, a museum, painting, and playing Scrabble.

How was your week?

Tomorrow I'll be 20,000+ feet in the air.

That's right, friends!

I'm going to Nashville.

This town:

Yay.

This is my second time flying ever, and I can happily say that I'm not too nervous.

I'm staying for 2 weeks with the infamous Ashley and Josh, sister and brother in law.

What's different about this trip though, is that my sister just quit her job! So she'll be home a lot. Haha! I'm really looking forward to it, like always.

The next time I post, it'll be live from Nash!

See you then!

I heart cooking.

Tonight for dinner I cooked:

*My take* on Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits.

First, I roast 3 chicken breasts in the oven.

Then I chop up celery, onion and carrots.

Then, I blanch the carrots for a few minutes just to take the edge of them.

Then chop the chicken when it cools.

Then I heat some chicken broth.

And melt one and a half sticks of butter. (Yikes!!)

Then add the onions and celery to it.

Once the onions are soft, I add the chicken broth, carrots, heavy cream and a few other things.

Pour it into a baking dish.

Make biscuits.

And viola!

Doesn't it look good? Yeah? I wish I would have made one more biscuit for the top . . .

Would you guys ever eat this?

School day outfit.

School day. by bonjourbritt featuring repetto shoes

H M cotton cardigan
£9.99 - hm.com

H M long top
£7.99 - hm.com

American Eagle Outfitters short skinny jeans
$45 - ae.com

Repetto shoes
$255 - net-a-porter.com

What do you guys think of this outfit? I know it's something I would easily wear on a school day. Simple yet looks nice.

Fill in the blank Friday.

1) My go to outfit for a dress-up occasion like a wedding is a summery dress. Considering I'm only 16, I don't go to too many weddings on a regular basis.

2) This week has been both relaxing and stressful. It started out stressful. I had a friend over for two nights who is going through heck with three different guys. I'm telling ya - the single life is so much easier. Especially in high school.

3) When it's dinnertime and I'm feeling lazy I'll usually eat just pasta with Parmesan cheese.

4) My favorite pair of shoes is my Gola sneakers, or TOMS.

5) A random item that I own that is completely unneccesary, but I could never part with is my movie ticket stubs. I love looking through them every once in a while. Brings back memories.

6) My favorite person is my sister and brother-in-law. I know I talk about them a lot, but they really mean the world. You don't meet too many people like them!

7) If I were going to write my own blank it would say "What's your favorite place?"

Do you like pasta? Chicken? Broccoli? Me too.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed how lately I've been tweeting quite a lot about Food Network. In all honesty, it's kind of like a drug. Once you're hooked, it's hard to stop!

The last three days I have made dinner, and I thought that I would start to document once a week, a dish that I have cooked.

Tonight I cooked my take on Ina Garten's Broccoli and Bow Ties.

First, cut up your broccoli and put it into boiling water for 3 minutes.

Then, start pan frying your chicken.

I kept the seasoning simple for the chicken: Extra Light Olive Oil, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Because it must be fresh. Must.

It's okay to do your homework for driver's training while cooking the chicken.

Once the chicken is done, slice it into about 1/4-1/2 inch thick pieces.

Now, add the broccoli into the pan you cooked the chicken in. Add some more olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. Let it get some good color.

Make sure that you're listening to some of your favorite music while you're cooking as well.

Next, start cooking some pasta in the water you cooked the broccoli in. (Your water will probably be slightly green, I, on accident, dumped it out....)

Once the pasta is cooked, and the broccoli has some color, add it all to a BIG bowl. (This one ended up being too small!)

And... viola. Sprinkle in some more oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, zest, and garlic.

It was so good! 3 hours later I'm still full.

Let me know if you decide to try it. You won't regret it!

Driver's Training: Part 2 (This time it gets funny)

About a week ago my mother called our local driving school, trying to sign me up for Segment 2.

We never get a call back, so we just think that I'll show up and see what happens.

Segment 2 started tonight. We realize at 4:52pm that it starts this evening. We assume it starts at 5:30 like Segment 1, so my mom calls just to double check. Guess what? It starts at 5. Which would be fine; except for the fact that we live 15 minutes away from town.

I'm the type of person that gets very anxious if I'm late. I dread it. It makes me all nervous, because I realize that when I walk in, everyone's going to stare at me. Certain attention I love, like telling a good joke, but all other kinds of attention make me sick.

We pull up at about 5:08pm. Should I remind you that I'm not even sure that I can take segment 2 at this time? I walk in, and of course, it's dead silent. All 15 or so of the teens are working on filling out a sheet on driving experience. They turn and stare. Awkward to the max.

They end up letting me take it. I grab the closest seat. I'm so thrown off by everyone staring at me, that I can't focus for a good 15 minutes.

Class starts, and I'm given the driving experiences sheet. Out of the 10 questions, I could answer a solid 4 confidently. "What are two mistakes that could cause a collision at an intersection?" "What does 'zero tolerance' mean in driving?" My mind wanders. Can't focus a bit.

Then, I notice something. There is a flower on the window sill.

But not just any flower.

A dancing flower.

It looked a little like this:

Not only is it a plastic flower, but...

it's dancing. The flower is dancing. The stem and petals are bobbing up and down, and the leaves are moving side to side.

I sit there for a moment, thinking about the flower. I'm dumbfounded. I don't understand why anyone would purchase a mechanical dancing flower. What is the purpose? I think about that. Would you spend your good, hard-earned money on a mechanical dancing flower?

Eventually I refocus. The entire two hour class today was about texting while driving and how you'll die if you do it. This is something I will never do, however, so it was pretty much a wasted two hours.

I can't wait to go back tomorrow.

Fill in the blank Friday.

1) My favorite color is gray. I don't really like flashy things. I like gray. It's nice. It's simple.

Don't judge. :)

2) My travel destination of choice is Paris, France! Ahhh.

3) My favorite food is oh gosh. Well, I Dream of Weenie in Nashville has some pretty fabulous hot dogs. Weird favorite food? Yeah, the other one is sweet potatoes. So...

4) My favorite place is in Nashville, with my sister and brother-in-law.

5) My favorite saying is ...check back later. :) I have to think this one out!

6) My dirty little secret is I am in love with Louis Tomlinson.

7) Something friends might say about me is that I try to be witty, whether I succeed or not.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Summer Bucket List (even though it's almost August.)

I should probably explain my absence for the past 2 months.

You see, I've been babysitting 60 hours a week since school got out!

Good news though - I'm done until the last week of August. :)

I didn't want to just waste away my summer, so a few weeks ago I started my...

*drum roll please*

Summer Bucket List!

1) Read 5 books.

So far I've read

-True Believer by Nicholas Sparks, and I'm working on The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Do you guys have any suggestions for a summer reading book? I'm thinking I'll read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen next.

2) Find a hairstyle I love

(sounds weird, I know.) But I hate my current do. I just put it in a bun every single day because it's just so, blah. But I'm getting it cut Wednesday, so stay tuned!

3) Cook dinner for Ashley and Josh

My sister and brother-in-law. I'm going to visit them in three weeks, and I'm staying at their house for two weeks. I'd like to say thanks for their hospitality by cooking them dinner at least once!

4) Draw/Create a picture worthy of framing

I'm kind of into art. Well, I like creativity. I'm by no means a good drawer - but I want to make something that i can hang in my room, that I created!

What are your goals this summer, or things you'd like to do?

Modernized French outfit

I'm a sucker for all things-French, as you know.

Including, the typical French outfit!

You know, this:

or this:

Considering I'd never wear these outfits (Okay - maybe the first one) I thought I'd show my version of the classic French outfit.

Modernized French Look by Bonjourbritt featuring cotton scarves

J Crew striped boatneck tee
$54 - jcrew.com

American Eagle Outfitters super skinny jeans
$20 - ae.com

Toms shoes
£33 - office.co.uk

Sterling silver stud earrings
£8 - hannahzakari.co.uk

Opening Ceremony cotton scarve
$130 - openingceremony.us

What do you guys think?