Surprise!

Hey everyone,
 Today I turn 25 which sounds way too old to me. This post isn't about my birthday however. I've been out of town since last Thursday on a very last minute mini-vacation!

Now I grew up in the Chicago area and still have a lot of friends and family that live up there. I've been wanting to go up for a weekend to see everyone and when I got the invite to my good friend Molly's birthday celebration I decided to book tickets and go! I happened to not be scheduled at work, so I didn't have to take any vacation days which is awesome.
Anyway of course I couldn't go to the midwest without seeing John. So on Thursday I flew to Indianapolis and stayed with John until Saturday. We did a lot of relaxing and eating in Indy for a couple days :-) Our favorite! Then on Saturday we drove up to Chicago and checked in to the Marriott on Michigan Avenue. My best friend Kristin came in from the suburbs and met us at the hotel. We went out to one of my favorite little Italian restaurants in the 900 North mall and then went to get ready for the party!

We headed over to Molly's boyfriend's apartment to start the party. Here's where the surprise comes in. Molly had no idea I was in town! She was so surprised to see me!! After some drinks there we all walked to a bar in Wrigleyville. It was so much fun seeing everyone!

Me and Molly always used to celebrate our birthdays together and take a picture of our age...25 this year!
The next day John, Kristin and I had brunch at Heaven on Seven which is a great Louisiana style restaurant. Then sadly John had to go back to Indiana :-(

Kristin and I hit the shops on Michigan Avenue and then caught the train back to her house in the burbs. That night we went and saw Young Adult...which I wouldn't really recommend...Charlize Theron does great acting in it...but it's sort of depressing. Anyway, after that we watched Crazy, Stupid, Love at Kristin's which I loved!

The next day we met Molly for lunch at a great new mexican place and then we headed to get some pedicures!

We said goodbye to Molly and once again did a little shopping. Later that night we met our friend Nick at a sports bar for some dinner and the Bulls game! It just so happens this place is an Alabama bar so it got pretty rowdy during the LSU/Alabama bowl game. The next morning Kristin and I made breakfast and watched One Day which again is a good movie but sad! After that we had to head to the airport for my flight home.

It was an amazing trip and I'm so happy everything worked out so well. I can't wait to see them all again!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Sorta kinda new years resolutions

Hey everyone!
 Now I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. No reason really. I just never have actually sat down and thought about it. There are some things I want to do this year...sort of goals I guess. I thought I would share them with you all!

1. God.
  The past couple of years I've learned a lot about my religion and have strengthened my relationship with God. However, since moving that has been put on the back burner a bit. I want to find new ways to connect with my faith this year.

2. Healthy Body.
   This past year I went from being really inactive while studying for my boards to more active when I signed up for a personal trainer. This year I want to become much more active. I want to get to the gym a lot more than I have been and try new fitness classes as well.

3. Save Money.
  I've been pretty good this year about saving but I know I could do a lot better. I need to cut down on shopping! In the next five to ten years I hope to buy a car, travel, buy a house, etc. This all requires, you guessed it, money!! Maybe I should just get one of these:

4. Move.
  This year I hope to get my own place. In doing this I hope to take the long distance out of my long distance relationship. We don't know how, when, or where yet, but it will happen this year!

Well those are my major goals for 2012. Definitely a jumping off point! I'm excited for a great year ahead.


Yours Truly,
 Amanda

A look back

Hey everyone!
 I know I'm a little late with my look back at 2011 post, but I worked this past weekend and late is better than never! Wow SO much happened in 2011!

First I rang in the new year with this guy! We actually almost missed the countdown because we were at Benihana for dinner with a bunch of friends!

I turned 24!

 I celebrated my little sister's 21st birthday!

Butler went to the Final Four AGAIN!

A bunch of friends went on a little trip to Cincinnati!

We celebrated Easter in Florida.

In the spring of 2011 I graduated pharmacy school!

I moved to Florida.

I visited Indianapolis for John's birthday!

In the summer I visited Newport, RI and Cape Cod, MA.

I started this blog!!

My family went up to Chicago for my cousin's wedding!

I passed my boards and started working for Walgreens as a pharmacist!

I visited Boston, Newport and Cape Cod again!

John and I took a vacation to Miami!

We got a new puppy!

John and I celebrated our 1 year dating anniversary in Indianapolis!

We had a friends reunion in Louisville!

John came down for one last visit in 2011.

Lastly,
 I celebrated the new year at home with my family! We had a nice dinner and watched the ball drop with some bubbly!  I'm very excited for what 2012 has to bring! I hope you all had a great time celebrating!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Friday Five #2

Hey everyone!
 I'm back to blogging after the holiday craze. I've had a super busy week at work and will be working this weekend as well :-/ but to cheer me up I'll share the 5 things I'm loving this Friday.

1. These beautiful roses John sent me on Christmas Eve

2. My whole family being together for the holiday break

3. Getting everything on my Wish List

4. I'm excited to try the new Teavana teas I got for x-mas

5. I love watching Kathy Lee and Hoda in the mornings!

I'll be back tomorrow with a look back at 2011!

Yours Truly,

 Amanda

Friday Five

Hey everyone!
 So I've decided to start doing a post every Friday on five things I'm loving at the moment. I got this idea from many other bloggers out there! Here goes.

1. Christmas is in two days!

2. I put this on my lips and cuticles every night. 

It smells amazing. You can get it at Bath and Body Works!

3. My shiny red manicure, perfect for the holidays!

 4. Banana Republic has some cute tops that are wintery

but not too warm for the Florida climate!

5. Getting to spend time with my crazy family :-)

I won't be blogging again til after Christmas so Merry Christmas everyone!!

Yours Truly,

 Amanda

Cookies!! Finally!

Hey everyone!
I got around to making my cookies this evening! I made spritz cookies and these cute Santa cookies. The Santa cookies were actually something I found on Pinterest! Yup this is my first thing I've made from Pinterest!

The Santas were a lot of work but they're so cute!

Hope you all have a great Friday tomorrow!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

holiday wish list 2011

Hey everyone!
Christmas is just around the corner! I'm excited to relax with family and enjoy yummy food! I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited for presents too! Here's a little sneak at what I'm wishing for this holiday season!

holiday wish list 2011 by adec featuring rose gold watches

I'll be back later with an update on my Christmas cookies!

Yours Truly,
Amanda