Oxforddddd

 Tomorrow I will be in my favorite place (Oxford) with my favorite person (Ryan) and I could not be more excited.  I have spent forever trying to find the "perfect" for my return visit to Oxford, but I kept coming up short. Ugh. Why is it that when you actually need something you can never find it, but when you're just browsing things seem to jump out at you from the rack. Anyways, I finally found a few things (courtesy of Forever 21) that are just what I was looking for, does not hurt that they were cheap, cheap, cheap either!  Here is what I am packing!

3 Years

As you know if you have ever read anything that I have written, I am a big believer in the power of perception.  3 years ago today, my mom passed away of lung cancer, just 2 days shy of her 54th birthday. At the time I was devastated  and I still am to an extent, but it is something that I am dealing with.  Instead of spending today crying and feeling sorry for myself, I am choosing to have a good day and celebrate my mom and all of her awesomeness by having a "date" with her.  My mom was OBSESSED with Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, so Ryan and I are going to watch the newest movie.  This is a small thing, but it is something that allows me to feel close to my mom during a time when I am reminded of just how far away she really is. I miss my mom, but I am so thankful for all of the time I got to spend with her.  So despite how you may feel about certain people in your life, I encourage you to be thankful that you still have them. It is crazy the things that you begin to miss after they are gone, but I guess that is just the way it goes sometimes. 

Bling Bling, Ring Ring

Is it just me, or is anyone else deeply offended when someone you kinda-sorta-not really-know (also known as the Facebook friend) gets engaged and they do not immediately post pictures? To me this is as good as saying "Hey Quinn, I made out with vampire Eric but I don't have any pictures", pure rudeness. I mean, hello, I'd definitely want to see that! Its like taunting all of us spinsters with your engagement but not having the manners to at least let us live vicariously through you. Friends and strangers alike, if you get engaged and we are Facebook friends PLEASE upload pictures and lots of them! .... I wish I was kidding

See, who wouldn't want to stare at gorgeous things all day! 

Just Be YOU

I ran across this picture on a friend's Facebook today and I felt compelled to share.  This picture is showing how the standard of beauty has gone from the idolization of a curvy Marilyn Monroe to an apparently overworked (and underfed) Kate Bosworth-esque lady. I am by no means saying that there is anything wrong with being naturally small, but it makes me so sad to think that people are harming themselves trying to fit into a size "0" because some corporate dickwad says that it is more attractive. You know what I think? SCREW HIM. No, not sexually, but metaphorically....My point isn't to hate on anyone, but rather to encourage everyone to love the body they have, big and small, and to be HEALTHY. Ladies and Gentlemen, I encourage, implore, and beg you to love yourselves and your bodies and to thank every scar, bruise, and dimple on that hot bod for making you who you are!

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance" 

  -Oscar Wilde