summer sweaters

Can someone tell me why I drove to work yesterday morning with the HEAT on?! What is going on?!

With this oddly-chilly July weather, I decided to break out my favorite Goodwill sweater. I paired it with a pair of super comfortable F21 cotton shorts {the fabric looks denim AND has an elastic waist}. I wore my favorite pair of Urban Outfitters mini-wedge black studded sandals. I also curled my hair with a Wand and brushed it out for a soft, natural look.

This sweater is from American Eagle, but was purchased for $3.50 at my local Goodwill. Obsessed.

I must say, the sweater and shorts combo is a new favorite for me.

happy birthday, brother!

Wow.... 12 years ago. 12 years ago, I was blessed with this special kid. For those of you who don't know, this is my baby brother, Jeremiah {better known as, Jerry}.

{I'm already tearing up!}

I can honestly say that I am the person I am today because of this kid. There have been so many times where I have been prompted by temptation, but stopped to think, "What would Jeremiah think if I did this? How would it change his motives?" Needless to say, he's made my early college years much easier, even though he probably doesn't even realize that.

My mom and TJ have always told me how proud they were of me for being such a great role model for my brother, but in reality, he's my role model. 

Though it's late in the day, everyone be sure to wish this special dude a wonderful birthday. I am so proud of the polite, well-mannered, generous person he is. I cannot wait to see how he grows and influences people the way he's influenced his big sister.

To Jeremiah,

Thank you for being the best brother and friend "Sis" could ever ask for. I love you.

disney world!

YOU GUYS!

I just got back from Disney World...literally hours ago. SO SAD! I love it so much there. It's basically impossible to go there and not have the time of your life. SO GO! No matter if you have or haven't been...GO!

I'm serious.

They recently started a new system with "MagicBand." Basically, you get a bracelet type thing {like the ones pictured below}, and it's EVERYTHING: your money, admission, FastPass+, room key...EVERYTHING IS RIGHT IN THIS ADORABLE BAND. Okay...calming down...

^^^ Those are the MagicBands. They come in an assortment of colors that you can choose from.

Contrary to popular belief, Disney has some of the BEST thrill rides. If you're like me, and you are a serious adrenaline junkie, check out the most terrifying rides I took on.

Magic Kingdom

So, Magic Kingdom is basically the little princess and fairy capital of life. That being said, there aren't too many thrill rides in this particular park. The most thrilling you get is Splash Mountain, which is a 50 ft. log flume kinda deal. 

Most people would consider Space Mountain to be thrilling, but I personally think it's overrated.

Animal Kingdom

Okay, LOVED the thrill in this park. I only got to ride one thing here, and that was Expedition Everest. You go forwards AND backwards, which is always exciting and different. We rode this a few times since the line was fairly short!

Epcot

Gonna be honest, y'all. I wasn't the biggest fan of Epcot when I first visited. We originally just experienced things like Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin' {which was actually breathtaking}, etc. It wasn't until the last day of our vacation did we decide to bus over to Epcot to ride Test Track. O. M. G. So much fun! You basically design your own car concept that is programmed into a SIM Car, which is then test driven with you in it! It's actually thrilling, and very hands on. 

9 giant golf balls out of 10.

Hollywood Studios {MY FAVORITE <3 <3 <3}

Y'ALL...THIS IS MY FAVORITE PARK. Two reasons: Rock N' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. I. DIE. EVERY. TIME.

Rock N' Roller Coaster is an Aerosmith based coaster. It is the only roller coaster in the park that takes you upside down {to my knowledge}. No big hills... just Steven Tyler counting down from 5 in your ear drums, a super fast launch, and BAM! Sweet Emotion is playing in your coaster car as you "drive the streets of Hollywood" in attempts to make it backstage to meet Aerosmith. 

Tower of Terror.... I just can't. You guys, this ride kills me. It's my favorite in the entire Disney park, but also {in my opinion} the scariest ride. It's based off of "The Twilight Zone" series. I can't even explain to you the ride... all I can say is it drops you...and then flies you back to the top of the tower...and then drops you again...

Rinse and repeat.

Here's a screenshot from my video documentation of my Tower of Terror experience. Note the kid in the background.

Before the drop....

 Annnnd...AFTER!

L. O. L.

If you wanna check out my week at Disney World, be sure to check out my YouTube page. I posted daily vlogs there! <3

youtube.com/user/kayyyayyyohhh

peanut avocado cookies

So, as most of y'all know, I try to keep my diet as much under vegan regulations as possible. Unfortunately, I LOVE sweets, which mostly consist of dairy products, including butter, milk, eggs, etc. The other day, however, I discovered an AMAZING cookie recipe thats only dairy ingredient is an egg {I can handle that}. What's the secret, you ask?   ....

Avocado! This was a great replacement of butter.

Peanut Avocado Cookies {READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE BAKING!}

Prep Time: 5 min

Bake Time: 13-16 min

Ingredients:

• ⅓ c mashed avocado
• ⅔ c peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp agave nectar or honey
• ¾ c oats
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ c dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Combine wet ingredients until well mixed.
2. Add dry ingredients.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Scoop onto baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork.
5. Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes.

Voila! 

Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before eating.

Add a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl before spooning them onto the baking sheet. This balances out the sweet and salty for an amazing snack. I've also previously used Speculoos Cookie Butter {Trader Joe's} as a replacement for Peanut Butter, which is amazing! Let me know what y'all think!

p.s. I found this recipe on theleangreenbean.com <3

a starbucks proposal

Alright.

I'm just as much of a Starbucks fanatic as the next girl. So, firstly, let's get something really important straight: THE SECRET MENU IS NOT A THING. No matter what app or website you're referencing, the barista is likely to have no clue what you're talking about when it comes to the "secret menu."

Scene:

Barista: "Hi! How are you doing today?"

Customer: "Cotton candy."

Barista: "Er..what?"

Customer: "Secret menu. Cotton candy."

Barista: -slow blink-

You guys, I'm currently writing this in a Starbucks and this just happened... literally just heard this happen behind me.

Oh no... Now she's telling her friend about the "amazing secret menu app." Help.

So now that we've established that, let's get to the point of this post. Fortunately, you can pretty much customize every aspect of a Starbucks beverage; down to the number of espresso shots, pumps of syrup, etc. Sidenote: My mom gets 2 1/2 pumps of syrup in her drink. Not 2...not 3, but 2.5 pumps of syrup. SMH AT MOM. While I don't ever take a shot at this "undisclosed menu," I DO get a little creative upon approaching the barista who is just so excited to take my complicated order (SECUHRITY!). 

I want to share with you guys the PERFECT summer refresher. If you're anything like me, you don't think that coffee or espresso is really all that compatible with summer, even when it's iced With that being said, shoutout to my biff and fave Starbucks employee, Shanhan, for inspiring this drink.

I'm a sucker for the Starbucks refreshers, but the only one I really enjoy without modifications is the Valencia Orange. Aside from that, the best refresher to get is as follows:

Ask your barista for a Cool Lime Refresher, but ask them to make the drink with lemonade instead of water. Next, get creative with the kind of fruit they put in the drink. I prefer raspberries, but strawberries are also a really great choice. To get the full potential out of your drink, be sure to ask for light ice so that you get more drink than ice.

Hope you guys try this out! I really enjoy it. Let me know what you guys think! You'll thank me later.

~Kate

an introduction

Hey y'all! 

Well, for starters, my name is Katelin: some call me Kate, some call me Katie, some even call me Kay. I am currently studying Multimedia Journalism and English at Virginia Tech, and I LOVE IT! I write and manage circulation for the Collegiate Times in Blacksburg, VA. I have two GIANT Old English Sheepdogs {my babes} and two cats {gross}. I love all things antique, vintage, old, whatever. I was born in the wrong era, as my favorite artists include Elvis Presley, Louis Prima, The Temptations, and Queen {although I do fanaticize over Beyoncé}. My boyfriend is Senior Airman Frosell...aka Liam/Bill {whatever I feel like calling him that day}. He's currently serving in the Air National Guard as an Electrical Engineer.

Enough about all of that. Let's talk about why I am starting this blog.

WELL. There are two main consumers of my time {er...aside from schoolwork}: YouTube and free writing. I'm an aspiring writer and YouTuber yearning for a starting point. So... HERE I AM! I'm really inspired by YouTubers like CutiePieMarzia, Kalel Cullen {soon to be Padilla, eek!}, Pewdie, and sometimes even Shane Dawson {shamelessly?}... I feel like I definitely have a creative streak in me, and I want to share that with the world! So once again, here I am!

~Kate