Seniors VS Freshman

Senior in high school // 
Ahhh, senior year. Possibly (more than likely) one of the greatest years in high school. Just thinking about it I can't help but smile. You know all the teachers, classes are (generally) cake, attendance is mostly optional (a fun little extra: the attendance ladies knew me by name.... like, first and last name), you know most of your graduating class, and you can't help but count down how many more days you have that place. It was great to be able to be on top of the school. Looking back on it though, I'm realizing how much I truly took for granted. All my classes were in the exact same building (and if not they were in a portable that was just in the parking lot). All my friends were all right there with you, you certainly never went weeks without seeing them. Your class schedule was the same everyday. Free books. Things like that, especially the books, that high schoolers tend to take for granted. We had it so much easier.

Freshman in college //
Ahhh, freshman year. Honestly, I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I dreamed about this year. Even senior year I imagined college to be this magical place that everything just works out somehow. I knew there would be stresses but you were in college, how could you stress in such a great place? I can already tell you that's not how it works. You're independent, which I love don't get me wrong. But that means you have to find food on your own (and, yes, there is a meal plan but, no, I could not eat there everyday without a huge belly ache). Homework is alllllll up to you. There is no one there to tell you "Amanda, you need to do your chemistry homework". And while it's super easy to choose food over homework, sometimes you just have to deal with Easy Mac and do homework. (College is all about the food, by the way.) But on the other side of that, there is no one to tell you that you can't go out all nigh or sleep all day. If you want to eat ice cream for dinner than you do it. (Not saying I've done that or anything... ha..) It's a whole different lifestyle than high school was.



Essentially, it's all about the change from no real responsibilities to all real responsibilities.

And I'm actually loving it so so much.

Hello Again, Long Lost Friends

So, now that we've had an example of how not to blog (i.e. by not doing it), I'm going to try to get better at this. Let me just tell you... the last month has been a whirlwind.  Having time to sit down and write a blog has been almost nonexistent and when it is I really just wanted to sit and sleep. With that being said, this is going to be one of those annoying "I'm sorry I've not blogged, let me tell you what I've been doing posts". Then, after that, I promise I'll try to be better at this.


Reason 1 I've not blogged: Michigan 

I'm not sure how many of you know this, but my dad lives in Michigan (and my mom and siblings and I live in Kentucky). So during the summer is when I see him the most throughout the year. We went up and saw him about two weeks after graduation and then again at the end of July. We stayed a week and were able to go "Up North" and see some beautiful lakes. I love going up north. It's always a good time. The people there are all people that just want to have fun, who are exactly my kinda people.

Let's keep in mind that this is a lake. 

Honestly could not have been happier swinging on the beach. 

Raspberry pickin'.

Reason 2 I haven't blogged: Tennessee

I basically ended up having the same vacation two weekends in a row. This time I went to lake with my mom and her boyfriend and his family in Tennessee. This lake was verrrrry different from Lake Michigan but it was nice. We spent an entire day on the boat looking for this "jumping bridge" which I'm convinced doesn't actually exist.

Driving the boat made me a very happy girl. 

This is alllll the kids! 

Accidentally wearing the same shirt as Christian
means we had to take a picture. 

Reason 3 I haven't blogged:  Work

A girls gotta have money.

That's about all I can say about that one.


Reason 4 I haven't blogged: Moving 

I moved into my dorm!!!! It's been two weeks since we moved in and it already feels like home. We have the standard two person dorm with the community bathrooms. It really isn't as bad as you would expect. Even the bathrooms aren't horrible. BUT the first few nights we lived here something was up with the showers and only one of the four worked.... with only cold water. Just imagine 15 girls trying to get ready for sorority recruitment with one shower and cold water. It was not a pretty sight. Other than that though, I've really been enjoying dorm life. Our floor is pretty close which is something that would have never happened with a suite style dorm. Most of these pictures were taken as soon as we moved in so it looks a little different now but this is what it mostly looks like!

Mandatory awkward move in day picture 

My side is the left! 

fooooooooood

 Reason 5 I haven't blogged: Sorority Recruitment Week


Ohhhh Sorority Recruitment. The longest, most confusing process that I've been through. It's generally done differently at depending on the school, but for me it was a 5 day process starting on Sunday and ending on Friday. I'm planning on writing another post solely about this, that way I can go into a bit more detail because it's not something you can easily summarize. But, by the end of the week I found the perfect match for me. I'm now a Kappa Kappa Gamma (:

I actually went to high school with these two kappa kuties.
It was so cool to already know a couple girls. 

Reason 6 I haven't blogged: Classes started 

And last, but certainly not least, college classes have officially started. They started on Wednesday so it's only been three days but I can already tell you it's going to be way different than high school. A good different. A harder different. But a different I think I like it. There are a whole lot of responsibilities that come with them. It's up to you to buy your books, to do your homework, heck, even to just go to class. I love the independence of it all (so far).



And there you have it, my friends. All my excuses as to why I haven't blogged. Try not to hate me too much for them.

Until next time (which shouldn't be long), 

Amanda Kate

Deer Silhouette Canvas

I've watched HGTV for years now (a lot more when it was actually interior design and not house hunting). But literally for years. I remember when I was in middle school and I was determined that I was going to become an interior designer. I loved how you could made a bare room so warm, cozy and personalized. There was this one episode of Design Stars that had this 3D silhouette of a deer in their space. At the time I thought it was so strange but as my styles have changed throughout the years, I've found myself looking back at how cool it was. So now that I have my space (a tiny dorm space but regardless) I wanted one. 

Now, you obviously can't have a giant 3-demenional deer head in your dorm room. I compromised and found a really cool looking canvas version on Pinterest. So I recreated it.   

It was surprisingly super easy! 

What you'll need: 

A stencil (I found one online) 

A canvas

Two different colors of paint (I used silver and gold)

A round sponge brush

A small sponge brush

A thin paintbrush (not pictured)

A plate for the paint (not pictured)

Pencil (not pictured)

Step one // Trace your stencil onto your canvas. It's totally okay if your lines are a little jagged since you're going to paint over it. 

Here's mine! Definitely not anywhere near perfect. 

Step two // Paint your deer head! I started with the head part of its head. (As strange as that sounds... but you get it). The small sponge brush is the best one to use here. I switched to the thin brush once I got to the ears and antlers that way you had a bit more control of the movements. Make sure you do two coats of the paint! That way you get the best color. 

Step three // Using your other color, dip the round brush into your other color and paint dots a llllllll over the canvas. You can go as crazy or as subtle as you want with this one. It's all up to how you wanted the final product to look. 

Step four // I'm not sure if you can really tell in that picture but the sponge left an odd texture to the canvas after you painted it. So I used my thin brush again and painted in all the spots that weren't filled by the sponge. 

And tada. You have a super cute deer silhouette canvas!!!!!

It'll look cute in just about any dorm/bed room out there. 

Until next time, 

Amanda Kate 

(PS I'm planning on pairing it with this super cute monogrammed canvas I also made.)

Mean Mugging

Summer is all about having spur the moment adventures. My friend, Shae, texted me this afternoon asking if I could do anything and since I'd only gotten to see her once this summer of course I said yes! We wanted to do something a little different than normal so we settled on going to an art studio (not sure if that's the right name for it?) in Lexington called Mad Potter. Mad Potter is the kind of place that you pick out a piece of pottery and paint it however you want. It's so much fun (even if you're not super artistic like me). 

I went with the "messy-but-cute" look and Shae just went with the "mine's-gonna-be-perfect" look. Oh, and (naturally) we both went with the "I'm-a-basic-white-girl" look with the monograms. But hey, they'll look awfully cute sipping on some tea in a dorm room. 

Also, if you plan on doing this, make sure you plan for at least two hours. Because it seems to always take much, muuuuuch longer than you'd expect to pick out the pottery, colors and design for it. Then you have to actually paint it and you certainly don't want to be in a rush. 

It was so much fun, so glad I got to see my ShaeBear again. 

Until next time, 

Amanda Kate

Dubai!!!!

I was originally going to do a post about the relationship my favorite store and I have, but then I started talking about a trip I took a few months ago while at work today and I just couldn't stop about it. So here we are and I'm still talking about it.

If you can't tell but the (very) boring title, I went to Dubai!!! It was hands down the best trip I have ever taken in my life. (It was so great I even had to split it into two different posts.)

Before I start talking about the trip itself, I need to give you a little background info. About 7 years ago, my family became super close with our neighbors. Our neighbors, The Dubs as we'll call them for the sake of the blog, had the opportunity to move to United Arab Emirates for a job. Sarah and Seth both grew up traveling the world, so naturally they saw this chance at adventure, packed up their things, and moved the UAE with their three kids.

When I started high school they kept telling me that for my graduation gift they would pay for my flight to Dubai to see them. I always just thought that it was an open ended promise, you know? I never expected it to be true. Then one day in January, Mom gets a Facebook message from Sarah saying that spring would be the best time for us to come and visit them. Next thing I know, I'm getting my passport and March 27th we were officially jet-setters.

We were toooooo excited. 

Naturally, I needed to take a selfie.

You could ask anyone I had any kind of contact with from January to March, I was so so soooo excited for that moment to finally happen. The flight was a draining 14 hours long with an 8 hour time difference from home and Dubai.

I couldn't begin to tell you how excited I was to finally see this. 

Day 1 // Pool day

   The first day we were there was just a chill out day to deal with jet lag. Noting too exciting. We caught up with our favorite family, lounged by the pool, and tried to accept the (incredible) fact that we were truly there. 

Day 2 // The Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall

This was the first "real" day we were there. So naturally, we had to do one of the most touristy (and most amazing) things Dubai has to offer. 

And it was to climb up this monster of a building. 

Ahhh.. The Burj Khalifa. The tallest building in the world. With the tallest open air observation deck. Yep. You were 124 stories in the sky with no ceiling above you. 

Can we just appreciate this view alone for a second?
It shows how diverse of a city this is. 

It may be nice to also  mention, there were still FORTY stories above the observation deck.....

I'm sure by this point you're thinking "Amanda, I would really just like to see the view." Let me just tell you, it's breathtaking. 

(My personal favorite picture)

Those weird shaped islands are The World Islands.
Completely manmade.
And you can buy your very own!
....If you have millions and millions of dollars.... 

Fun fact: an attractive Italian man took this picture. 

After this we went to the Dubai Mall. (The BIGGEST mall in the WORLD). 

You'd think I would have went crazy in this mall but it was just so overwhelming. It had Asian stores, European stores, American Stores. There was an entire part of the mall directed towards only selling shoes. Can you even imagine such a place? It was so hard to take it all in. I just wanted to go into all the stores I'd heard of online, just to say I've been there. So, I left with only one dress... in a mall with everything... one from Banana Republic, a store we have even in Lexington... naturally. 

The mall was just as beautiful as any other part of Dubai and I'm not just talking the abundance of stores. It was legitamently a beautifully crafted building. 

Like I said.... a beautiful building

Worlds Largest single panel aquarium
(They live for "Worlds Largest")

Annnnnd in case you wanna go ice skating while shopping.
You can. 

Something I found interesting was the clothing. I assumed that since I was going to go to the Middle East I was join got have to dress completely conservative. Which isn't necessarily the case for Dubai. It's considered disrespectful to dress with your knees and shoulders showing in certain social situations but others it's completely okay. The mall was place of dress code. 

Annnnnnnnd because I'm a white girl. 

Day 3 // Souk Madinat Jumairah, Jumairah Beach, Burj al Arab

A souk (pronounced sook) is basically like a market. Some of them are open air markets, some are like malls but instead of brands that you know they have all privately owned businesses. They're all over in this area. We went to Souk Madinat Jumairah which was absolutely beautiful. There are places in the that have views of the Burj al Arab!

While we were there, my mother insisted on looking for rugs (which is huge thing in this part of the world) I decided to pretend I was artsy and take a bunch of pictures.

I soooooo wanted to take one of these pretty lanterns home with me.
How cool would this be in an entry way to a house? 

Shoes are always taken seriously. No matter where you are. 

After a rug was (finally) picked out we drove over to the Burj al Arab. It was so cool seeing something you've seen so many pictures of in person. The hotel was beautiful and so was the beach. (Also, shout out to the European couple having an awkward photoshoot right in the middle of the beach.)

Annnnnnnd because this is already a really long post, the rest of my amazing trip will have to be saved for another post.

Until next time,
Amanda Kate

Realizations

"In just a few months, I'll never have to see all of these people ever again" is a sentence I said, I'm not kidding you, at least a hundred times during senior year and each time I was more and more excited to get it all over with. 

It's taken me until now to realize the full effect of that sentence. 

I was walking through Target talking to my dad on the phone today. We don't get a chance to talk much so I was telling him about my schedule for the month of August. I'll be in Michigan the first week. South Carolina (hopefully) for a weekend trip to the beach. Then my brother and sister start school on Wednesday the 13th. (My sister will be a freshman in at Henry Clay. Whaaaaat?) I move into the dorms the 16th. The 17th is both my 18th birthday and the first day of Rush Week. I'll rush that week. The next week is what's called KWeek which is pretty much just all the freshman meeting and hanging out. Classes start. Then it's September. Long story short, summer is basically over and things are about to change more than I can even imagine. In the middle of telling my dad all of this, I saw a guy that was in my computer apps class freshman year. I probably hadn't had a conversation with him since. After asking how we were, he asked where and when I was going to college. (This question is as common as 'how are you' nowadays.) He's moving a full eight hours away to Auburn and his Move In Day is in just three short weeks. We talked for only a few more seconds about how scary this whole process is. As we said goodbye, a wave of realization came over me. This was more than likely the very last encounter I'll ever have with him. And, the part that really gets me, is that there are probably more than 400 other kids that were a part of my class, just like him, that I won't ever see again either. 

I almost had an emotional breakdown right there in the middle of Target while completely by myself. I could feel my eyes get watery. (Thankfully, I held it in). This was the first time I truly realized the meaning of that sentence at the beginning and I regret saying it to begin with. 

You'll always hold a special place in my heart, Henry Clay c/o 2014. 

I love you.

Until next time, 

Amanda Kate

Taking Risks

I'm the kinda girl that lives in her comfort zone. I don't normally like to go to unfamiliar places, to try new foods, to go on unplanned adventures, heck even to date guys that don't seem like my type. The things in my (we're just gonna call it my zone) were always so good to me, so what was the point in messing that up just move in an unforeseen direction? The thing about a "comfort zone" though, is that it's neutral. You're not moving forward, you're not moving backward, you're just moving. So, I decided to take a small step out.

At this point, you're probably wondering what it is that I'm talking about. And you're probably going to laugh a little when you hear what it is. It's clothes. Which, in my defense, is actually a pretty tough zone to break out of.

In the last week I've found two very unAmanda pieces that I fell in love with.

1. The Camouflaged Jacket

This one was way out of my typical "style". Never had I ever owned anything camouflaged until I bought a shirt for the Camo Out football game at school last season. (And it may be nice to mention that I bought it on my way to the game) 

My friend felt the need to document this purchase on social media.
It was that big of a deal. 

There were a few things that went into making the daring purchase of the camo jacket. One (and perhaps the most important one) being the price. It was so low that it's almost inappropriate to call it a "daring purchase". 

And it was an additional 40% off that....
Totaling at $12.06

The second thing was that it was from Gap. I thought "camo can't be that bad if Gap is selling it, right?". 

The third thing was imagining how great it would be to walk around campus in. It's honestly the perfect fall jacket. It's light without being a cardigan but still nice and warm. It's also a little baggy (there wasn't a small since it was on the clearance rack) so that just makes it extra comfy. 

Overall, I'm actually really excited for this.

2. Boyfriend fit jeans

Normally, I go for skinny jeans or jeggings and that't it as far as jeans go. They're definitely my jean of choice to go into my zone. But, last week, I was looking on the JCrew Factory website (which lets first say is heaven) and I saw all their sale items were an additional 50% off that. Which was going to make these $80 jeans like 20 bucks! Who could miss that opportunity? So, I bought them. I'm a bit more shaky on them than I am with the jacket. But, the comfort level about 6 levels higher than an other jean I've tried on. They're so soft and baggy that it literally feels like you're wearing sweatpants with a waistband. Hopefully, I can find a way to make these work for me.

If not, I suppose I can always wear them to sleep.

Until next time,
 Amanda Kate