First Day of Summer

Over the weekend for Father's Day (and the first day of summer!) my dad, sister, and I drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the day. I was having nostalgia for the ocean. I'm very happy that we live as close to the beach as we do; it's nice to be able to just leave for the beach in the morning, spend the whole day there, and come back home not too late at night. I spent the day relaxing in the sand and jumping in the ocean when it got too hot. I love just floating on top of the water and letting the waves rock me back and forth (until a very big wave comes and completely flips you over. Not fun). Later on my dad and I took a walk on the beach and up the Apache Pier. For dinner we went to the House of Blues, my favorite restaurant in Myrtle Beach. I had the BEST mac & cheese and then we all split the triple layered cheesecake that was absolutely heavenly. I think it might've actually been better than the Cheesecake Factory. *Gasps!*

Overall, it was a pretty perfect day and I couldn't have imagined a better way to officially kick off the summer season. ☼ ☼ ☼

Summer Haze

I have been home from New York for over a week now and I am thoroughly bored. You notice just how small your town is when you come back from a huge city like New York. It seems that now there  are ten times less things to do, see, and eat. I miss being surrounded by skyscrapers and even the loud honking noises outside the window that eventually became a sort of lullaby that put me to sleep. And, of course, I miss my friends. Since I've been home other than reminiscing I have been setting myself up for this coming school year, scrapbooking, daydreaming of New York City, blogging, reading, daydreaming of New York City, tanning, swimming, and did I mention daydreaming of New York City? I know, I need to move on. Or go back.

Anyways, today was another lazy summer day for me, sitting out by the pool and soaking up some rays. I am both happy and sad that I have nothing to do. Happy because, well, I don't have to do anything, but sad because I get very bored and unmotivated and negative when there's nothing planned out for me each day. Fortunately, I will be going to Colorado in a couple weeks (!!!) and I have orientation on the 26th. Until then I will continue to blissfully relax by the pool, increase my risk of skin disease, and daydream of traveling to faraway places...

These pics were taken this morning in my backyard while I was lazily enjoying breakfast and iced coffee by the pool in my backyard. (Perfection). My pool is surrounded by a wooden fence draped in ivy, which made for a lovely backdrop for these photos. I'm wearing a new tribal halter top I got from Forever 21 which I am in love with, and would be perfect for a festival! Now all I need is the tickets (:

Breakfast parfait with vanilla yogurt, fresh peaches, blueberries, crushed pecans, honey, & cinnamon

Freckles :)

Bringin' pigtail braids back

Strawberry Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Bowl

Well that was a mouthful. But, it was very delicious indeed! I decided to make this this morning as the day before my sister reminded me of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday for lunch as a kid. And I wanted a smoothie bowl. So behold this wonderful combination! A fruity, peanut butter-y combination that was perfectly refreshing and filling. 

After enjoying this smoothie bowl and (of course) a cup of coffee, I set out to complete my transfer application for NC State. It pains me to have to go through the application process again and those dreaded application essays, but as I want to change my major and the school that I go to now doesn't have it I kind of have to. So now I just hope that I can get accepted (again) and be able to pursue my dreams of becoming a graphic designer! Unfortunately, I won't know if I'm accepted until late March, so until then I'll just be completely stressed out and wait.😊 Wish me luck! 

Strawberry Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 tbsp peanut butter 

1 container strawberry Activia yogurt

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in a bowl and garnish as desired. 

Myrtle Beach

My first spring break of college has by far been way less exciting than what you see in the movies. However, I'm actually pretty happy about that, because instead I've been super lazy and that has been super awesome. On Monday, though, I did go to the beach with my best friend from high school. We drove down to Mrytle Beach, SC and stayed there for a night. His mom got us a really nice hotel right on the water, with a beautiful view from the balcony. When we first arrived we had lunch at the Key West Grill at Broadway at the Beach. I had some of the best chicken nuggets of my life and some mac & cheese fritters. Yum! We explored Broadway at the Beach, walking around the different stores and stopping by the fudge shop to get a sample of freshly made dark chocolate fudge. It was actually some of the best fudge I have ever had! After we'd gone into all the stores we headed to the hotel to check in. We then walked on the beach, lounged in the hotel room, relaxed in the hot tub and ordered some pizza and room service. First time ordering room service! It was actually phenomenal. (But very expensive!) The hotel bed was amazingly comfortable and I got a great amount of sleep. The next day we went to breakfast at a pancake house in town. We ordered pancakes and (wait for it) chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy. Ohmygod it was sooo good. After breakfast we headed out to go home. I wish we could've stayed longer but there's only so much you can do running on a college budget. It was nice to be there for a night at least. Hopefully the weather will continue to be nice and I'll be able to go to the beach again sometime during my spring break! 

   Broadway at the Beach

   View from the hotel room 

   View from the hot tub (!!)

   Never wanted to leave this bed

   Flourless chocolate cake courtesy of          room service 

   Seagull and a view🐦

   Hot Stacks Pancake House

Banana Berry Smoothie Bowl

I'm sure all of you have seen the smoothie bowl somewhere around the web by now. Who knew putting a smoothie in a bowl could be a trend? But I don't disagree with it all because actually, putting a smoothie in a bowl with added toppings might taste better than an actually smoothie. The smoothie bowl that I made was absolutely delicious, and my sister even thought so too. She said it tasted almost exactly like the raspberry smoothie at Tropical Smoothie (!!!) Smoothie bowls are also great because for some reason being something that you eat instead of drink makes it more filling. And leaves you feeling refreshed and very healthy.😊 Give my recipe a go if you're looking to test the new smoothie bowl trend, it won't dissapoint! 

Berry Smoothie Bowl

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 banana 

2 containers strawberry Activia yogurt

1/2 cup mixed frozen berries

1/4 cup milk 

Directions:

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Poor into two bowls and top with desired fresh fruit/nuts. I used: sliced bananas, diced peaches, and crushed pistacios.

Lazy Sunday Links

So from here on out, Sunday will be the day that I post links to some of my favorite web finds of the week. Why Sunday? Because Sunday is the day that (at least for me) I want to just sit around and do nothing, to prepare myself for a week of hard work. Sundays and I have a love/hate relationships. I love them because, well it's part of the weekend and normally I'm not obligated to do anything. However, they are also the day before the dreaded Monday, where reality throws you back into school, classes, and homework, and all that other fun stuff we call responsibility. So to make your Sunday relaxation just a little bit more on the bright side, I give to you five links that I hope will take your mind off tomorrow. (:

#1 - Wisdom

iwastesomuchtime.com actually does provide a great way to waste time. This is a post on 100 bits of wisdom. Of course I didn't read all of them (lol I don't have that much time to waste), but as I scrolled through I found a few funny tips!

http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=75948

#2 - Embarrassing Celebrity Pics

I LOVE funny. And what isn't funnier than celebs making a fool of themselves? Boosted my self esteem quite a bit too. (;

http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/06/28/16-embarrassing-celebrity-photo-shoots-that-will-haunt-them-forever/

#3 - Instagram Prints

I also love Instagram, and I'm on it almost all the time, either posting pics or liking others'. (Follow me! @laurenn_nicol) But I love the idea of having your Instagram photos being used as decorations! This site does it!

http://inkifi.com

#4 - Rain

If you're like me, I love rainy nights. It helps me sleep to listen to the rain fall on the roof and gather in puddles. For those nights when you're sleep deprived and there's no rain to help you sleep, this website is made just for the sound of rain. Super cool!

http://www.rainymood.com

#5 - Copycat Blooming Onion

Gimme Some Oven is one of my favorite food blogs. Everything I have made using her recipes has come out awesome and all her pics are so drool-worthy. I saw this post for the blooming onion at Outback and automatically saved it. It's one of my favorite restaurant appetizers and to make it at home would be perfect! Need to make ASAP. (:

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/baked-blooming-onion/

Enjoy your lazy (or not so lazy!) Sunday!

XO

Lauren