Summer Bucket List

Summer is slowly but surely approaching (2.5 weeks!!) and I wanted to share with you what I was planning on doing this summer.

First things first, I am blogging and working on my YouTube Channel(s) A LOT this summer! I'm going to be having so much more time and because it will be summer my life will get a lot more interesting, so cooler blog posts and videos I'm hoping. I'm also going to try and renovate my blog outlook and get the website to run a bit smoother. I'm really going to advertise my blog and channel and try to get more people to read it. If you are reading this, it would be amazing if you could tell a friend about my blog and/or channel if you enjoy the content. I plan on trying to stick to a specific upload time instead of the random schedule I currently have.

I'm currently trying to get a job this summer which is not working well at all. No-one seems to want to hire me since I'm not an adult. If you know anyone hiring- holler my name! I'm going to continue searching. I really just need to make some extra bucks- money doesn't grow on trees and stuff costs money.
(I've been eyeing cameras for filming and for better pictures for this blog, I'm starting to realize that if I want my blog to go anywhere the pictures are going to have to be better quality than my phone. Hence needing a job and money to pay for it.)

I am hoping that I'll get to travel for a week in June to an exciting place for a daddy daughter trip with my dad. I'm not sure how that's going to work out or if it's even going to happen (maybe a road trip for a weekend??) but I think it would be fun. More information later.

I will be doing an ACT camp for the month of July at my school... Very exciting, totally looking forward to that? Not much else to say really.

My cousins from Chicago are going to FINALLY come and visit us!! (You better come now, I have it written down!)

I would like to go take the train and see the city of Philadelphia a bit more.

Go to some outside festivals.

Tour NYC, which I've never done since being here. As well as touring Pennsylvania in general- why not?

I'm going to be reading, hanging out with my friends a ton, swimming, shopping, stay outside, ride my bike, all the fun summer things etc.

I'm going to finish my K-8 scrapbook that I'm almost done with... (haha, so NOT almost done with it)

I'm going to cook a lot of food. (And blog about it!)

I'm going to Canada for a wedding in August.

I'm hopefully going to Chicago in August after the wedding and meet up with everyone I know and love.

If I end up going to Chicago I'm going to begin college touring with my mom because I would love to attend college in the midwest, hence the ACT camp since that test is the most accepted test out there.


This post was a bit rambly and I'm sorry that there are no pictures in here either- next blog post I promise will have pictures! Let me know if you like rambly blog posts because I think it's nice to have everything written down so that you know this is what you have planned and it just lays out everything. I want to get the most out of this summer and I want to make sure you guys are included in that being my lovely readers and all!

Sick Days

Firstly, I hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend!

I was sick the entire time! Isn't that so much fun!!

Anyways it ruined a lot of my plans to do fun things such as going to the beach with my friends and beginning to study/organize myself for finals. My parents were also out of town for the weekend while I was white as a sheet, coughing like a maniac, sitting in bed all day, and drinking tea.

I thought I'd show you what I did to make myself comfortable. I definitely learned a lot by being sick with no one to take care of me. Totally ready to live on my own now, haha!

The first thing I did was make tea- my favorite teas that I drank this weekend were Rose Hip, Chamomile, and Earl Grey, be sure to add honey and/or lemon as it soothes your sore throat!

The next thing I used was tissues. I just used regular kleenex, they didn't dry out my nose and they were nice and soft.

Then I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which I have always wanted to read. I actually asked a friend to lend it to me and she very kindly let me, thanks A!! I loved it and read it in 6 hours... The main reason I needed to read it was because I am planning on seeing the movie when it comes out. I also didn't cry one bit while reading it, (I was told I would though) I'm not a super emotional person..

I also just watched YouTube videos, listened to music, and watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians because there was a marathon (don't judge me okay, I was sick.)

I lit up my candle to make myself feel more special. I've been currently loving the Chesapeake Bay candle in Lavender, Chamomile, and Blue Sage. I love when one scent begins to burn into the other one, it smells so calm, refreshing and it's just perfect.

Then I took a super long shower which always works wonders.

I attempted to take a nap which didn't work out but I tried. If you can, do take one, it lets your body just recharge and gives your immune system more energy to fight off whatever it is you may need to fight off.

HYDRATE AND EAT!!! I don't care how much you don't feel like it, do as I say! You will feel so much better after drinking/eating. How can your body fight the germs if your depriving yourself of essential nutrients to do so?

No pictures in this blog post I'm afraid- I still have a super pale face and am looking kinda sick.

I hope you guys have an amazing Tuesday! And for those of you beginning finals- good luck, I still have another 3 weeks of school left..

Canada Festival

While all my friends were participating in my school's annual Day of Service and having a school dance the night after, I went to Canada. Mississauga for the Canada Festival to be exact.

I had so much fun! I didn't hang out with my NYC friends except for friday which was okay. I got to spend my time with my friends that I hadn't seen in a really long time from Chicago.

The first thing we did when we got to Canada was go to the Rainforest Cafe. I hadn't been there in such a long time and it was great getting to see it again. If you've never been there it's just a place where animals "come to life" in front of you. It was cool and a perfect place to go for fun, especially with little kids!

The next stop was the first night of the party where I spent my time with my NYC friends. The band that played was Prljavo Kazaliste and they were AMAZING!!! I had such a great time listening to them play and it was just a great overall experience. I got to touch Mladen Bodalec's hand and it was amazing!!

It was extremely loud in there though so it was quite difficult to hear- plus I'm deaf! I also don't listen to music the same way "normal" people do. When I hear songs I can't pick out the lyrics so I tend not to know them. I listen to songs based on the beat and the instruments playing. If I want to know the lyrics to a song I have to look it up but let's be honest, who has time for that?!? I end up making up my own lyrics to songs and that's fun too! #deafgirlproblems hahaha!!

Photobomb..

The real deal

To be honest I love my outfit that I wore.. (is that wrong to say?!?) I wore a Jessica Simpson top from Lord and Taylor and my Mom's pink blazer (yep, my mom's!!!) with curly waves and orange lipstick which you can't really see in the pictures.

Then came the second night of partying where I spent most of my time with my besties from Chicago. It was great to catch up with them and see how they were!

Another photo bomb..

I had a fun filled weekend and I'm ready for another one! Get ready NJ- I'm coming for you this Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Mother's Day Weekend

So my weekend started with a fun night playing with the kids I babysit. They're great kids and I love doing things with them. I decided that I would frost chocolate cupcakes with them. We definitely went overboard with the sprinkles but it was so much fun! (Not as much fun for me to clean up but still, I'm glad I brought them!)

You should have seen their reaction when they found out I brought cupcakes and that we could decorate them together.

Cool babysitter points- check!

Here's the cupcakes they created:

My Cupcakes- I went for simple hearts

We definitely had way too much fun decorating our cupcakes. It was great and the activity got them super excited as well.

Fast forward to saturday night when I made myself a cup of tea just because I was feeling particularly British at the moment. I cup of Earl Grey which satisfied my desire for tea.

And then we get to mother's day! Happy Mother's Day to all Mother's out their, you guys are amazing and no one can ever thank you enough for what you do!

Special Shout-out to my mom, I love you!!! <3

Mother's Day brunch was the first thing to complete on our list of activities and here's the yumminess my family created for my mom.

Waffles with blueberries, strawberries, syrup, some whipped cream, and a sausage

YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!

After that I did some homework.

(Should not be allowed on the weekends by the way if you are a teacher reading this, weekends should be relaxation time, just saying...)

And then I went swimming in my pool which just recently opened. It was a lovely and hot day outside and so it was great to go swimming.

Sitting Poolside while reading my English Book

I'm so lazy sometimes- just look at me in the background- Not a posed photo, I promise!

I actually jumped in, I was way overexcited

Gonna start swimming some laps now..

Swim those laps girlfriend!

I seriously can't hold my breath underwater for more than 10 seconds, I lose every single time I play the "how long can you hold your breath underwater" game.

Home Stretch!

When I finished swimming I began I experiment with different ways of showing my reflection in the water, in other words, my attempt at being an artsy photographer..

Don't ask why I took a picture of the stairs.. I really don't know

Cool view of my house next to the trees

I love this picture. I saw the tree reflect in the pool upside down and I knew this was the perfect picture to grab. I thought about moving to the other side to get the tree straight up but I figured this would be much cooler.

My zen like face- I'm the bridge between the two worlds. (Like the bridge between the two pools, get it? No, okay..) Anyways, my brother's looking at me like a crazy person but you know, that's what he's their for I guess. Just kidding, I love him :)

Anyways, I hope you all had an amazing Mother's Day Weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

Lunch, Chocolate, and More Chocolate at Max's

So if you've never heard of Max Brenner's you will now! It's a chocolate lover's dream and a place you just can't avoid.

Here's the video first: 

(I apologize if it's not stabilized, my computer almost crashed twice as I was trying to stabilize it, and I figured it would be better to have a video than not have one at all)

Please give it a big thumbs up and subscribe to my channel!

Anyways, here's more chocolate!

As you walk in you'll be greeted with an awesome sign:

I wonder what happens when it rains? Does the board wash out?

Some pretty awesome napkins

I was darn hungry so I ordered a cheese burger with fries and it looked gorgeous! It was almost to pretty to eat, almost.. I found the food to be extremely tasty but it wasn't that filling. We did tell them that we wanted to eat dessert so maybe that had something to do with it. I am the type of person that can't move their body after eating a burger so I was shocked that I wasn't full, the burger was a good size one too. My other friends felt the same way about their meals except for O who had some pretty stuffing mac n' cheese. Maybe we were just that hungry...

Now I forgot to take a picture of my food but fear not, I did take pictures of the dessert, which were  ah-maz-ing if I do say so myself. We had fondue in the form of chocolate, raspberry, peanut butter, and caramel with bananas. We also had an adorable little flame to go with it and marshmallows and graham crackers sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.

How much more appealing can dessert look? It was meant for 2 people but definitely was enough to feed the 4 of us! Just note that when ordering.

My friend K got a "chocolate shot" which is just a syringe filled with chocolate. It was presented with gummy bears, we all had some of it- perfection!

They even decorated where to put your money when you pay.

It was such an amazing time and I loved every second of it. 

I would definitely recommend going to Max Brenner's but be aware that their food may not be as filling as you might hope. It does leave an awful lot of room for chocolate though, so be prepared! 

Be sure to check out the video above if you haven't yet. I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Cinco de Mayo

So today is the Cinco de Mayo. Below is a brief history of the day if you are unfamiliar or just need a refresher.

(Basically it's marketed as Mexico's Independence Day, however, a quick discussion with my spanish teacher told me that it's not true. Mexico's true independence day is September 16. The Cinco de Mayo or May 5th, is just a marketing day and an excuse for people to buy Mexican food, which is exactly what my family did. We totally went all mainstream and followed everybody else today.)

Our favorite Mexican place- the world renowned and loved, Chipotle. Where else would we have gone? I personally love Mexican food, the spicyness and sour cream taste is right up my alley. I could never get enough of it. My younger brother is a strange one though, he doesn't seem to relish the taste as much as I do, and so for that reason we don't eat Mexican food all that often.

I ordered a Wheat Burrito with steak, lettuce, cream cheese, cheese, mild sauce, and white rice. The mixture of all the flavors is like heaven in my mouth and I love the way it tastes. The mild, yet spicy (to me), sauce is toned down with the cream cheese, the lettuce dries it up a bit, and the meat adds another juice to the table that just gives it added oomf. The rice and cheese just help tone down the big mixture of flavors that just tastes oh so good.

A parade is happening in my mouth right now, I swear!(Not the best photo quality, It looks so much better in person, I promise!)

We also ordered the chips with guacamole which is actually amazing. I loved how salty the chips were and how the saltyness mixed with the guac gave pure bliss.

That's my dad's hand- Mine aren't as big :)

If I could eat at one Mexican place for the rest of my life it would be at Chipotle, it's amazing and you can order online which is extremely convenient.

Of course I wouldn't want to eat Chipotle all the time because my mom cooks super amazing food that is 10 times tastier and better for you <3

*I was not sponsored by Chipotle or my mother, all views are my own*

Mom's Birthday at Benihana's

I have a little saturday post for you all, I know, I know, out of my comfort zone!

So my mother recently celebrated her birthday, at Benihana's as you can tell by the title (you little cheater!)

If you've never been to Benihana's it's a place where the chef cooks right in front of you. It's so cool and I'm super excited to share the experience with you.

Before we start I wanted to share some super duper exciting and scary (for me) news.. I've started a YouTube Channel!!!! I've really wanted to for a long time and today while I was editing another video I decided to grow some balls and just do it. So here's my trip to Benihana's in video on my vlog channel which is here.



Please, Please, Please give the video a thumbs up as I'm just starting out and I need all the support I can get. I'm slightly terrified and it's a whole new world for me. *inserts aladdin 'A whole new world' song here*

So now that you've watched the video, without further ado, here's Benihana's in pictures!

My brother's sushi

Miso Soup

Yummy Salad

Chef cooking on the grill

More cooking

The chef made a volcano from the onions, it was super cool!!!

Yummy food

Amazing Rice 

(sing to the tune of 'Amazing Grace')

Lobster Tail

Steak with mushrooms. I was pleasantly surprised by this, I am not at all a mushroom girl and I loved it!

Green tea in a pretty fricken' awesome mug

EPIC photobomb!

Awkward family photo minus mom

It was a great time and I enjoyed it a lot. I definitely want to come back again. The service was great and I loved how you could see everything the chef was cooking and putting on your plate, there was absolutely no mystery meat or sauces, that's for sure.

If you've never been to Benihana's you can find them here. I would definitely recommend a visit, it's great for kids, a first date, or celebratory party.

*I am not sponsored by Benihana's, all views are my own*