my current craving.

 

Lately, I have been needing a regular caffeine fix before I go to work. 

I feel like ther e aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do school, work, sleep, study and having fun,

Or atleast that's what I tell myself when to spend an extra $4 a day. 

I’ve slowly but surely have been turning into a Java Jo’s addict, I practically stop by all the nights I have work.

I’ve woked my way around them menu trying different drinks everytime I went.

But I’ve recently found one that I have been hooked on.

I just cant stay away from the Iced Chai Chargers at Java Jo's. 

It is seriously the best 'dirty chai' I've ever had. 

And gives me a little more energy that I need to finish my day

They basically took two things that I love {coffee and chai} and made it into an awesome cold drink! 

 I still find myself craving it everyday

And it hasn't been a really great habit... $4 adds up...

rough estimate that's atleast $20 a week that I can be spending on other things. 

Like going to dinner with a friend or seeing a movie or it could go towards a new top.

Although knowing me, it will probably fizzle out soon.

Ever since I’ve come to the U – I’ve slowly but surely have gotten addicted to Diet Coke.

I never even used to drink those when my parents bought them back home.

But ever since I’ve moved here its become my beverage of choice.

Lately I haven’t been feeling like having Diet Cokes, But I’m sure I’ll be back on that grind fairly soon.

I love going to sev {7-eleven} and getting big gulps of diet cokes with my girl friends.

Parents as Parents

I recently heard a podcast about whether or not the Disney princesses are good role models for young girls.  It discussed how these cartoon characters can effect body image and self-worth, and whether Disney is attempting to enforce specific gender roles.  The podcast reviewed a study that surveyed girls ages three to six.  They showed the girls pictures of ballerinas of varying body types and asked the girls to identify the ones they felt looked most like princesses.  Most chose the skinny ballerinas, and the researchers theorized that this was because they had been influenced by Disney's animated ladies.  The study, however, did not account for the other types of re-enforcement the girls might be receiving or not receiving at home and at school.

One example they provided was that Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" attracts Gaston with only her outer beauty, and that this sends the wrong message to girls about the importance of looks.  I felt that they failed to recognize that Gaston is the dim-witted villain in the story and that the Beast actually appreciates her literary intelligence, but more importantly it seems that parents now want the media to raise their children for them.  Why aren't parents teaching their children that they should value character, intelligence and creativity over outer beauty?  Why have parents assigned Disney, or any other form of children's media, the task of instructing kids on how to be their best self?

When I was growing up, my parents took their role very seriously.  They set expectations and guidelines for me to follow and always enforced those ideas themselves.  If there was a movie they didn't think supported those ideas, I wasn't allowed to watch it.  My parents also took the time to educate me on the fact that movies are not representative of real life, and that there are more important things than being pretty.  I watched Disney movies and never had conflicting body image issues, and never felt that all I could accomplish as a female would be to get married.

Here's another example.  A few months ago, a woman's group wanted to sue Hooters because they felt it wasn't child appropriate.  If you have a problem with Hooters, then don't take your kid there!  Set the example for you children and uphold those rules yourself.  That's what being a parent is about.  Don't expect society to do the job for you. 

Spring Fashion.

I am really looking forward to spring fashion and getting out of this cold weather wear!
With spring comes whites, florals, sandals, and this season - the brightest colors out there...

(MaxMara, Jil Sander, Lanvin, Prabal Gurung)

I love how the colors can be completely opposite on the color spectrum and although they are bright, it works. I love Lanvin's flowy overwhelming red and the fact that they break it up with a brown belt. Head to toe color can be something other than black!!! This is absolutely exciting...pastels can get so old and I can't wait to incorporate this great DVF dress I bought months ago! It is bright, bright, BRIGHT orange!! I bought it at Nordstrom on sale and although it is not my typical style, I can never pass up a good deal!!

(This is the only picture I could find of my dress online...Dang it looks good on her, I hope I can pull it off!!)

Anyways I just love Spring Trends and of course I had to look to Nordstrom for advice on what's hot and what's not this season! Nordstrom is all about keeping up with the latest trends and it's a good thing they do as they are only really great department store in Salt Lake City. Nordstrom is all about...

White Denim


The Classic Trench


And Safari Inspired Pieces

I love spring fashion and the feeling of spring. I think spring is inspiring - I know I'm more likely to get dressed up cute and go to class in the spring when the weather is nice. It's the perfect time of year when the sun is finally peaking through your windows after the long cold winter. You can run outside again, you can walk to the store, and you can get some much needed vitamin D. Springtime is wonderful and the fashion of this spring 2011 should be the best yet. I love getting my March InStyle in February because it gives me plenty of time to prepare my spring trends. Spring is all about being fresh and having great style is always fresh.

leadership convention in ohio.

 

I spent this past weekend in ohio at a leadership conference for my sorority and i was amazed at how these 48 hours really inspired me. We had many different speakers about how to improve our club on campus but most of the things they were telling me were great life lessons that I am going to be able to use forever. One speaker inparticular talked about achieving Social Excellence. she spoke about the importance of communication and NO not communication through technology but old fashioned one on one communication.

 here is just a little glimpse of what she spoke on:

Social Excellence: a state of perpetual authenticity, generosity, curiousity, and positivity.

she explained how we have 5 seconds to make a first impression and only 30 seconds to change it.  isn't that true? its definitely something to think about.

Authenticity: there is no better person to be but yourself, be the best version of you when you are meeting someone. Don't try and mold to someone else because you are the only person like you so SELL that. 

Generosity: Give someone your time, give every single person the benefit of the doubt. If you are showing positive generosity the person is going to be more interested in talking to you.

Curiousity: learn stuff because you are curious. be curious. expand past your boundaries to learn a LITTLE more. she told us a story about how every time she is on a plane she sparks up conversation with the person next to her, not because she is bored but because she is interested. maybe you wont have anything in common with the person but why not enjoy the time you are spending together instead of sitting in silence or never really knowing. she challenged us to spend 60-80% of the time listening because in all reality a persons favorite subject is themselves...sad right? but true. so feed their ego.  Every single person we encounter has something they can teach us.

"Listen to everyone as though they are wise"
on my way home from ohio i challenged my boundaries..and spent 3 hours talking to the man next to me... we had NOTHING in common except maybe we both liked to ski. but it sure made the flight go by faster. 

and lastly,

Positivity: Be positive, why not? make a positive impact on everyone. show them who you are. 

"Make every single person you can spark up a conversation feel even a LITTLE bit better"

 Ask open ended questions. Let them answer and learn from what they are saying.

this poem may seem a little girly but it really sums up what i am trying to say. to be a little more positive or just a little more open to things we arent used to doing...so sorry boys... you can still read it if you want :) 

If I had my life to live over again,

I would try to make more mistakes next time.

I would relax. I would limber up.

I would be sillier than I have been this time.

I would be less hygienic. I would take more chances.

I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers,

And watch more sunsets.

I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would have more actual troubles and less imaginary ones.

But I have had my moments.

And if I had them to do again, I would have more of them.

Fast moments, one after another.

Instead of living so many years…

So many years ahead of each day.

If I had it to do over again,

Next time I would start barefooted earlier in the spring.

And stay that way later in the fall.

I would play hookie much more.

I wouldn’t make such good grades, except by accident.

I would have more headaches,

And drink more tomato juice.

I would go to more dances.

I would ride more merry-go-rounds.

And I would pick more daisies.

-Chloee Drews-

My love for HGTV

My new found love and hobby has become interior decorating and watching shows on HGTV. Turning homes from dumpy to cute is so interesting and fun to watch. The show Design on a Dime is about how people set a budget to update and add spice to their home decor. Usually the budget ranges from a couple to a few thousand depending on the desire of update you want to accomplish. This show gives people simple and cheap tips to follow to really make their home sparkle. For example, painting your kitchen cabinets a teal blue and doing a new thick linoleum wood for the floor coverings can really change the feel of an outdated kitchen.

Basically there are five different styles of decorating. They are Contemporary, Traditional, Modern, Eclectic, and Transitional. I find my own personal style to be Modern and Traditional. This channel gives me ideas to recreate in my own home. When I buy home decor I love shopping and looking around in stores such as Z Gallerie, Pier 21, Tai Pan Trading and Hobby Lobby. I also enjoy "making over" furniture. I browse around in the KSL furniture section looking for old, cheap furniture such as a coffee table. I love turning that coffee table into something new by staining or painting it. I just found an end table on KSL for $10 and am working on painting it white and then running sand paper over it to give it a stressed, vintage look. Also, recently I worked on making my own accent pillows for my couch. I find accent pillows to be over priced and I can't always find the design I am looking for. So, I decided to make my own! I went to Joanns and picked out some fun fabrics. I then just made a pillow case so my old couch pillows could fit in them and then sewed it shut. I get compliments all the time for my pillows and all it cost me was the cost of the fabric.

Season of Decisions

Do you ever feel like there are seasons of decisions? What I mean is that quiet can come for a long period, but when one big decision comes, the next and the next is right after. "When it rains it pours," right? Is this true for you? This seems very true for those who are graduating. It is the nature of life's direction. We are forced to stay in the same place or keep moving on to something new, upon our decision that forces things one way or another.
Starting November, I was faced with my first decision: will I try to cram 21 credits to graduate in May? Where will I apply for internships? Will I apply for an overseas internship? When I return from overseas will I stay in Salt Lake or move back to California? Should I look somewhere completely new to live?
I know that there is a season of change upon me. It is scary and exciting and overwhelming. How do I know the best decision(s)? This is a common question many college graduates are asking themselves. I strive to foremost follow my heart. I have already found this to be so challenging in the economy we are in. What I mean is that there is the pressure to take the first job offered, and not necessarily what will get my blood pumping. I already turned down a "good" job, and am having doubts about it, but I also know that this is an opportune time to find something that I will have a passion for as well. All of these questions really come down to TWO questions to make the post-graduation decision. They are as follows:

1. WHERE do I want to live?
2. WHO do I want to work for?

Which question do YOU think is most important? Which should be asked first to determine the other?

I want spring to come FAST!

I can't believe this is the last day of 60 degree weather this week. In two days it's going to be cold and wet again. Yuck! I want to run barefoot in the grass and dig in my garden. Studying outside would be sooooo nice. I love variety but cold weather gets old very quickly. However, I do have some fond memories of rainy weather. Last November I was able to fly to New York with my daughter. I had never been to New York and I was so excited. It rained while we were there.
I work as an Independent AVON Representative and I won a video contest in October. The prize consisted of a large chunk of change and a trip to New York to visit with Suze Orman. Can you believe I actually won! I was one of just five representatives in the U.S. who won the trip. We each got to bring a guest. I have four children and they all voted and Michelle got to go. She loves New York and it was so nice to have her to show me around.
When we arrived we were met by a limo driver! Everything was so elegant. Our hotel was beautiful. Just two weeks before we were there, President Obama stayed there! How cool is that? All of our expenses were taken care of. We just needed money for souvenirs. AVON really pulled out all the stops for all of us.
Meeting Suze Orman was amazing. She is brilliant and so sharp. She looks much younger than she is. (She must use AVON!) Suze is the official financial advisor to AVON Representatives and we always get financial advice but it was incredible to be sitting across the table from her, receiving information given just to me. Who would think that little old me would have such a life changing experience? I have always loved AVON because I have been able to make money and enjoy a lot of freedom. However, this experience showed me even more how lucky I am to work with such an amazing company. Let me know if you want to know what Suze said to me. Looking back, rainy days really do have silver linings.