Busy

It's a really busy week with:

Navy events

Gerred's grad party

Graduation

Other grad parties

Six Flags

USA vs. Brazil Cup Game

Geralyn & Lisa's Engagement Photos

Smithsonians

Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding

Applying For Jobs

Interviews

And possibly getting jobs

So If I'm not posting on time, that's why. It's been very hard to reach the computer with these long days. But I do promise I will explain this all once I have the time!

Katie's Bridal Shower

Katie had a a tea party themed party for her Bridal Shower and it was absolutely adorable. We all wore floral dresses, drank tea and lemonade while chatting around mass amounts of tea party food.

Finger Sandwiches, Scones, and Vegan Cupcakes Oh my! See the pink and red cake pops over to the right? They were made by Holly the beauty blogger from Holly Says Hey. Her how to instructions can be found here and are a thousand times better than the cake pops Kacie and I made.

Towards the end of the night we got out the Girls Night Out Table Topics. We went around the table asking silly questions to one another and really had a blast.

The bridal shower was so enjoyable and it's almost countdown time until the wedding!

Shannon

Stay On Plan

My anticipation of traveling in August is upon me. I know I need to save my money and that means tacking on a job or two to help the cause. But ugh, there are so many things that jump in the way of the whole saving money thing. It's like dieting and finding a beautifully displayed jar of M&Ms sitting right in front of you at a meeting (that happened today, and yeah I might of had a few.)

Honestly though, the things that really get me are things that are travel oriented odds and ends like this Kate Spade Bon Voyage Necklace. I will stay strong. eat healthy, execrcise, work, and save this summer. Fear not!

Shannon

Baltimore

In order to get a little more of the Maryland sightseeing in, Gerred, Gerome, and decided to take a trip to Baltimore, Maryland for the day.

We decided that instead of spending the day at the National Aquarium, we'd try to actually walk around the Inner Harbor and see all the interesting free sights.

Our first stop was the Civil War Museum which was small, but described in great detail the involvement of Maryland during the Civil War. Maryland turned out to be pretty involved since it was a border state near the nations capital.

Here we have the two brothers by the Polish Hero Monument. Neither of these guys are Polish though, but it looks impressive.

My favorite part of the day was when we saw the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse right by the pier pavilion. The lighthouse was built in 1856 and always had one lighthouse keeper living there that to made sure the lamp was lit for the sailors coming into Baltimore.

It's always great to take a change of pace and explore a different part of the city. Yes the aquarium is nice, but there is so much of Baltimore to see and most of it is free!

Shannon

Glitter & Lace

I'm working on a collaboration with my friend and fellow blogger Sam of The Future Cat Lady Diaries to make a fashion and travel blog of our own, Glitter and Lace. 

We've been working on it for quite some time now, it's had some roots back in blogger but is slowly emerging into the wordpress world. There's still some construction on the site (just like this one,) but I will say it is definitely a blog to look out for in the future. I mean really, who doesn't love Glitter and Lace?

Shannon

St. Michaels

Gerred's family is visiting Maryland for the next two weeks for his graduation. So while Gerred's busy with commissioning week duties, I've been taking everyone around Maryland to sight see. On Sunday, Mom, Majella and Gerome traveled across the Bay Bridge to visit St. Michaels, a historic little town on the Chesapeake Bay.

For lunch, we ate at The Crab Claw and had Majella and Gerome try different types of seafood from the bay. We had fried oysters, steamed oysters (full shell with mud included,) steamed shrimp, and crab dip. Yum. Remember though I'm dieting so I tried to only eat a few steamed shrimp and clams and stuck to my salad.

After lunch we explored St. Michaels some more. There was so many historical buildings that dated mainly back to the 1800s. There was a historic boat that belonged to Captain John Smith and a neat graveyard with some odd quotes about death. After that we went and traveled from store to store peaking in at the cute little odds and ends inside before heading back home.

I'll probably be stopping by again this summer or to other cute little towns in Maryland.

Shannon

Lululemon

One of the things that always renew motivation is active wear. Seriously I cute workout outfit makes the world of difference. If I'm wearing a baggy t-shirt and gym shorts I'm probably going to feel average, if I'm wearing cute yoga pants and a bright top I just feel faster for some reason. So here are some eye candy workout clothes from Lululemon that keep me motivated.

1. Run: Ultra Short II

2. Slipless Headband

3. Groove Crop

All of these fun colored clothes are making me feel like I need to go for a run!

Shannon

Wordpress

I'm thinking about switching to Wordpress because it has more capabilities for blogging and design. So bare with me while I try to create a new design and switch over. None of the posts will disappear and my blog will still be the same, just with a different website.

EDIT: I am not switching to Wordpress

Shannon

Body Love

I am exercising and dieting this summer, but it's not just to lose weight and be thin. It's more to encourage good healthy habits in myself. I mean sure, fitting into new clothes and showing off a nice bathing suit body is sweet, but appreciating myself as I am and will be is the the best thing I can do.

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Because body confidence is what is really important. And all the numbers in between don't mean a thing.  Go on an exercising journey to be healthy human being first and foremost. Love yourself throughout and throw away all the negative thoughts you're thinking about yourself and think positively into the future.

Shannon

DIY Tissue Paper Flower Bouquet

With Katie's big day is coming up so Katie, Andrea, and I got together for another day full of wedding DIY. Back in March we decided to make our own shirts for the Maury Show Bachelorette Party and they turned out so well that we became fans of the day and got to meet Maury. So DIY is working for us and this time we worked on making a tissue paper flower bouquet for the wedding.

Materials

Tissue Paper

Scissors

Wire

Tape

Flower Tape

Ribbon

1. Cut three sheets of tissue paper (hot dog so that they are long.) Layer on top of one another.

 2. Fan fold them.

3. Wrap Wire around the middle and twist around the bottom.

4. Cut pointy or round edges for the side.

5. Fan the edges out and pull up each layer one at a time towards the center.

Once all the layers have been fluffed out, it should start to look like a flower. They look really weird until the very end.

We made some blue and yellow ones for the bridesmaid bouquets, and then Andrea wrapped the flower tape and ribbon along the wire stems. These look adorable and allergy free!

Can't wait to pose with these in pictures for the wedding!

Shannon

Job Search

I have yet to hear back from anyone for all the government internships I've been applying for, so I've decided to venture out into town and job search. 

I dressed up all nice and visited the local restaurants. I turned in 5 applications at the beginning of the day and hope to apply to more in Annapolis (DTA, Towne Center, and Mall) as well as Waugh Chapel later.

Wish me luck and if you know anywhere that's hiring let me know!

Shannon

Getting Fit

Now that I'm back at home for the summer, with lots of free time, I've decided to set a goal for myself -- to lose at least 15 pounds. And I'm going to do it! I'm going to diet and exercise like I have been for three days in a row. 

I'll be switching around my workout routines from going on runs, lifting weights, P90x, EA Active on the Wii, and little exercises from magazines daily. I might even kayak or play volleyball. We'll see. 

Be sure to follow my journey in "getting fit" and be sure to join me!

Shannon

May Birchbox

The May Birchbox came in the other day and this time it was Gossip Girl themed. Now, I don't watch Gossip Girl, but I will say that this box is certainly Gossip worthy.

1. fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15 - I love this lip balm and I already got two of these from Sephora for the Beauty Insider Free Birthday Gift. It's an amazing tinted lip balm and I'm happy to have another.

2. Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20 in Glow - It's a tinted moisturizer that heals scars and blemishes and evens out skin tone as well. And what better, it's a sunscreen. The tint however is a little too dark for my skin tone but I'll cross our fingers and hope that the sun gods give me a tan.

3. BVLGA Omnia Crystalline Eau de Toilette Spray - This fragrance smells like fresh rainwater which makes it have a very relaxing, yet regal smell. If you tend to lean towards more traditional clean fragrances, then this is your perfume.

4. Kiehl's Abyssine Cream + - At this point I have a bunch of  moisturizers from Birchbox, but that doesn't stop me from trying new things. This Kiehl's formula is for anti-aging and while I'm only twenty, I still know that it's good to prevent crows feet form appearing on my face. But I've got to say, this moisturizer is wonderfully smooth and not greasy what so ever. Love it.

The bonus part of the box was a thank you card that read xoxo. It's super cute and I can't wait to send it out because I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

And as always, Birchbox is only a $10 monthly subscription that provides 4-5 travel sized samples and you can sign up for it or gift it to a friend here.

Shannon

Rainy Days to Come

With the anticipated travel to Ireland for the autumn semester all I've been thinking about is packing for the anticipated rain. I remember last time I traveled to Ireland, I did not pack correctly at all. I only packed shorts since I was assuming that a summer vacation would be warm. Wrong. Ireland is cold and rainy and calls for a wonderful rain uniform that I wish to put together before heading off to the green isle.

DKNY Trenchcoat - Trench coats are an easy everyday raincoat as well as a great travel coat. My mom recently picked out a Trenchcoat for me from TJMAXX that was such a great deal $20

Hunter Original - After seeing so many Hunter boots at the croquet match I just about had some serious rain boot envy. These need to appear on my feet soon.

Lilly Pulitzer Umbrella Scarlet Begonia - For the umbrella I thought that a floral one would give everything a nice English garden look.

Obviously this is what I'll be saving up for once I get a summer job.

Shannon

Twin Palms

Summer is here and with it relaxation and celebration. I can't wait to a few graduation parties and enjoy BBQ grillin' while kicking back poolside (with tons of sunscreen of course) in the next few weeks. I've looked around at a few dresses for such occasions and I've found that Shabby Apples Twin Palms collection is definitely the route to go for picnic attire. 

1, 2, 3, 4

All these dresses just have me thinking back to The Graduate and of course that lovely song from the movie by Simon and Garfunkel, "Mrs. Robinson."

Shannon

Mother's Day

All day today Gerred, Dad, and I cleaned the house like crazy before Mom came home from New York where she saw Wicked with her friends. Jealousy from her broadway trip aside, it was great to see her and I know she was very happy to see a clean house and some smiling faces. 

We had a great day together and I am so grateful to have a mom like her. I can definitely see already that our relationship is coming out of the teenage problem years and blossoming into a much better mother-daughter relationship and that makes me so happy. And not only am I grateful for my own mom, but to all the women in my life who have been there for me.

Love to all the moms!

Shannon

Summer Begins

I'm finally done with all my finals, room checkouts, and goodbyes and am glad to return back home. I can't believe I've finished two years at Washington College now. Meaning I only have a year and a half left and then I get to graduate early. Crazy right, but I have enough credits why shouldn't I? For now though I'll but school's stress aside for the moment and head back and relax a bit before all of summer's excitement enfolds.

Hello Summer

Shannon

Dorm Room

It's weird to finally be moving out of my dorm and back home. I've had a lot of memories this year and can proudly say that I have had a significantly better Sophomore Year experience. I also got along really well with my roommate...me. But I'm seriously going to miss my awesome single that I completely decked out with so much color.

Having the little lanterns above my bed was perfect. It was like there were little fairies above me whenever I was reading. The quote on the wall is from Albert Camus "In the midst of winter, I found within me, there was an invincible summer." I cut the letters out myself and love waking up and reading it.

Here's one of my favorite things about my room, the string of pictures, postcards, and telegrams all along my walls. Then there's my futon which is probably the best thing you can have in your dorm if you're an RA. Since residents always came in and just sat on the couch if they had issues and well it's also the best place to study in my opinion.

And here's my vanity closet. I'd like to say that when I was in a Minta double last year my room was the same size and this thing had to be split between two people. It's impossible, but for just me, well I loved the closet space.

I'll miss this room, but I'm excited to go home.

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 7-11

With the end of semester, I've gone from writing final papers and taking exams to packing up all my belongings. One of the last things I've had to do before booking it for the summer is , and a whole lot of checking my mailbox for the last time and changing my address for packages and postcards that are sent to me. Here are some of the postcrossing postcards I've received towards the end of this semester.

The Netherlands

These little clogs are adorable!

Ulm, Germany

I feel a little bit smarter just by looking at the German postcard. Ulm is known for it's cathedral which is known as the highest church tower in the world at 161m. It's also the native city of Albert Einstein.

Switzerland

The postcard read "Hello/gruzzi Shannon, I love this picture of the "lonely" penguin with its funny walk during country life."

The North of France

By this point you all must be aware that I am fluent in French so I was pleased to receive a postcard in French from a real French person. Ah, and can I just say that this post card is breath taking. Honestly she's a woman waiting for a train and there's a wonderful pink tint over it. The composition is to die for and I'm digging all the lines. And did I mention it was all in French?

Kazan, Russia

I honestly love the description on the back of this the most, "Kazan is majesty and luxury touched by olden times." Nothing is more majestic than Kazan.

Look how many different countries I have received postcards from! Postcrossing has definitely been the "it" thing in my mailbox this year. I absolutely love it and will continue to do Postcrossing over the summer and while I'm away in Ireland.

Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

2 Years

For two years now I've been dating Gerred and I could not be any happier. Honestly, we get along so well. We are both a bit weird and balance each other out very nicely. I'm the creative one, he's the technical one. I'm the traveling English major, he's the soon-to be Navy Pilot. But I'd like to take a moment to talk about how the two of us met.

On my 18th Birthday, Katie, Phoenix and I threw a Jersey Shore Party for our collective birthdays. I had never really seen the show, but I was game. Around that time I'd just broken up with my then boyfriend (he's actually a cool guy and we are still friends) and needed a date to prom. So my scheming friends decided to invite Phoenix's roommate from the Naval Academy to the party. I kind of shrugged the idea off though and was like, guys I'm just here to party.

He came to help set up the party and we were both a little shy when we met each other. I had this weird confidence thing during that time though since I was so excited to be single that I pretty much just ignored him the entire party and mingled with everyone at the party. But, by the end of the night while we were all watching Jersey shore he started throwing skittles at me and starting up a conversation. I realized he was funny and, well, kind of cute.

Later on that night after everyone left and Gerred, Katie, and Phoenix were about to leave my mom finally cut in and asked "So, Gerred, are you taking Shannon to prom?" Honestly, mom? I just met the guy this morning, I can't go to prom with him that easily. I then played the whole situation off as if it were meant to happen, "Yeah, so do you want to go to prom with me?" Gerred then replied, "Oh, so this is the Sadie Hawkins prom then is it?" "Sort of." "I'd be happy to go, can I have your number." And just like that we were going to prom together.

I'm pretty sure by the night of prom, Gerred and I had already gone on one date and were texting each other like crazy. Can I just say prom was amazing? It was definitely one of the best nights of my life and I know that's a little unheard of but all the "great expectations" that prom is made out to be were totally surpassed that night because I got to dance with Gerred. After that we started dating, May 9, 2010.

Dating Gerred has been a blast and what a wonderful two years it has been.

Shannon

Summer Jobs

I made a bulletin board for my hall of How to Apply to Summer Jobs. I printed off a power point of information from reslife.net that had a few bits of information on the more cool "travel oriented" jobs out there. Then I added a few quick watercolor paintings to keep it fresh and highlighted the important information for my residents...so they'd actually read it.

The board talks about what kinds of jobs are out there and how to as well as how not to show up to a job interview. But I think there are a few more tips out there for all the job seekers.

1. Apply to more than 10 jobs because chances are only one place will call you back.

2. Dress nice when you do the round up of potential jobs and carry around resumes neatly in a folder as well as a pen to fill out resumes on the go.

3. Apply to everything you can on usajobs.gov if you're looking for good internship.

4. Meet with the career center at your school and they can help you out.

5. Tailor your resume to each job. Internship resumes should include more scholarly work, while retail jobs should include skills of customer service and organization.

And above all else, remember that what you have out there on facebook is seen by potential employers. So when you're looking for these jobs think about taking down those drunk college photos of yourself.

I'm still waiting on what I'll be doing this summer. Best of luck to you all. I'd love to know what your summer plans are.

Shannon

Retired Shoes

It's a sad thing to say goodbye to a pair of shoes. Idealy I'd never like to retire any of my shoes, but sometimes when they're really loved they are worn a bit too much and it starts to show. In that case, it's time and in the case of these two shoes it's really time.

I think I've talked about how worn these rain boots are. They have a few holes in them and essentially are the opposite of what a rain boot should do. Aside from their non-waterproof-ness, I have now grown out of the bright color combo of pink, orange, and yellow and would like to move towards a solid neutral rain boot.

These are my all time favorite shoes. I love the silver color flecked with gold and the knots on top are adorable. But, they're about 3 years old now and have been through a lot and it has the wear and tear to proove it. I'll have to find some nice flat in the future to replace these.

Goodbye shoes, my your soles rest in piece.

Shannon

P.S. I'm sorry...I just love puns.

Study Day

It's final exam week! That means I've got two final papers and two exams left before I can go dance off into summer. Tomorrow is actually my Chesapeake Bay exam and so today is the official day of studying.  Please note that I've been studying all week but today I'll be going over notes, doing practice quizzes, group studying, and even playing a game of Jeprody! Here are some photos from the Otter Trawl lab where we went out on the boat again. 

This is one of the fishermen hoisting in some fishies.

Check out all them White Perch. There's also one creepy looking Catfish peeking his way through.

Identifying the fish and throwing them overboard.

Now all I've got to do is remember everything that happened this semester. I hope I do well tomorrow and I wish you all the best with your own study days.

Shannon

Derby Day

Today was the 138th Kentucky Derby! Now, I come from a family that absolutely loves the derby since my grandmother is actually from Louisville, Kentucky and did not live too far from Churchill Downs.

 Now while my family gets teary-eyed just from hearing My Old Kentucky Home, I on the other hand am not a big fan of horses. I'm not an equinaphobe, I just don't want to be close enough for them to bite or kick me. But, I make my exception for about two minutes when the derby is on to watch.

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Because my family likes it and I love looking at the derby fashion. Honestly it's just croquet match dresses and hats multiplied. I still need to get me a nice floppy hat to wear to the beach.

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I was however happy to see the joy of jockey, Mario Gutierrez when he came in first with I'll Have Another. For the record, I'll Have Another is possibly the best named horse for Cinqo de Mayo and may be one of the reasons why rider Mario Gutierrez came in first.

Shannon 

Finals

Exam time getting you down? Don't worry I know the feeling. Just take a deep breath, study, and try not to panic because come next week when finals are over everything will be ok. I'm going to take a page from the British here (even if it has become one of the most overdone memes) and say to you all "keep calm and carry on."

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Because you can do it and you can make it through finals week. Work for it everyday. Go to review sessions. Study by yourself. Study with a friend and get through the week. It's tough but give it your all because once finals are over it'll finally be summer.

Study hard my friends!

Shannon

RA Award

Remember the program Minta Murder Mystery I created back in March for my residents? Well, yesterday I was awarded the Residence Life Event of the Year at the Leadership Ceremony for the program. I accepted the award with a lame speech and with much embarrassment. Despite the weird time on stage, I was happy to be recognized for the efforts and the award is nice. 

I've had a great year in Minta Martin and the relationships I've made with my residents has been 100% positive and fun. I know I'll miss my floor for the summer.

Shannon

Mascara

Mascara is probably one of the most difficult to use make-up items. It's clumpy, goopy, and stings when it gets in your eyes. I've had a battle with mascara for years now, where I didn't know how to apply it correctly or get the volume look from magazines. 

Then it occurred to me to do some research, and well hey, that meant actually using an eyelash curler. Ever since then I've had a better grasp on which mascaras work for me and which ones don't, and I'm here to impart some knowledge based on the five mascaras below based on quality and price.

Sephora Advanced Lash Booster

Sephora brand anything is awful. It's difficult to come off, stings eyes like crazy, and is way too much of a liquid. Stay away at all costs.

Fresh Supernova 

When I first got this I was extremely excited to wear a non-drugstore mascara. I thought it was going to hold all the miracles to better lashes because of the beautiful swirls (which I adore.) However the wand was too thick and straight, that it just clumped my eyelashes together. Also, it's $25 and for mascara, something that should be changed up once every 2-3 months, well $25 is just not worth the price.

MAC Opulash

The same high end mascara quality for the price debacle happened with the MAC Opulash. The only thing was that I trust MAC since it is my favorite cosmetic brand. The wand is built a lot better than the Fresh Supernova, but it still did not provide the sort of movie star eye lash quality I wanted. For MAC products I'd say that it's safe to just stay clear of mascaras and eyeliners and go for the items that last longer like eyeshadows and foundation.

Maybeline The Falsies Volum' Express

I'm using the Falsies currently since I liked the One By One so much and wanted to try more of the Maybeline brand out. I will say that even though this is a much better price than the high end make-ups and therefore ranks higher, the wand is akin to the quality of the Fresh Supernova and therefore is an annoyance.

Maybeline One By One Volum' Express

Possibly this is perfection in a mascara tube. It's a great price $7 and goes on each individual eyelash easily with the shape of the wand. I once got the compliment that my eyelashes looked "fake" which definitely made my day.

Shannon

May Day

May day! May day! May is finally here, and like any good group of young scholars, Washington College celebrates this pagan holiday the right way by upholding traditions. Strong traditions like downing bottles of whisky, stripping down to absolutely nothing, and running laps around the flagpole. Yeah, that's right the one thing that Washington College is known for is the annual late night naked run. 

May day started out as a nice little get together on the green with a professor in the 70's that involved wine and poetry. However, as this tradition was passed down there was a greater emphasis on the wine and the poetry got a little more intense as students started to grasp onto the fact that the pagans used to dance naked around maypoles.

This year I watched out for a few friends that had run out on the green. See, people are known for stealing others clothes as a prank. That's one of the many reasons why I will never participate in Mayday. I still can't believe the number of people out there, it's almost as weird as the day when I went to Blarney castle and there were 100 nudists (it was for a photograph.) .The spectacle was great, since some guy was playing bongos and one guy had an American flag cape and people chanted "USA!"

You got to love tradition. Especially a naked tradition.

Shannon