Love. 

Seeing as it's Valentine's Day, we're surrounded by the word. We're thrown candy and flowers and cards and pink, and told that it's the proper way to celebrate Valentine's Day. That if we don't have a boyfriend, then there's no point in celebrating Valentine's Day.

That could not be more wrong. 

Valentine's Day is a day full of love. That's it. Love, plain and simple. When you're little, it's a day to wear lots of pink and eat lots of sugar and give your friends cards. When you get older, it becomes a day to eat chocolate, watch chick flicks, and wish you'd thought three weeks ago to make cards. When you get even older, it's a day to pick out a special card for your spouse. No matter which phase you're in, it's a day of love. It can be romantic love. But it sure as heck doesn't have to be.

I've always personally loved Valentine's Day. A day full of pink and sugar- what could be better? The past couple of years, I haven't celebrated quite as much as I did when I was younger, which is natural. This January, however, I decided that I was going to up my Valentine's Day celebration a bit. I'm going to be spending my Valentine's Day at a theater, preparing for our middle school show. I'll be at the theater from 9-6, which doesn't exactly leave a ton of time for anything, but I decided that I was going to go a bit crazy this year nonetheless.

Over the past several weeks, I've been working on making roughly 50 valentines- for all of the kids in our cast, for crew members, for friends both local and faraway, and for family members. It's been crazy, but it's been a lot of fun.

Because honestly? I think that Valentine's Day rocks. 

Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love. To show people in your life how much you love and appreciate them. What could be better than that? I've had so much fun working to put together gifts and cards for people. See, Valentine's Day isn't a holiday like Christmas, where everyone feels like they have to have presents ready. A lot of people just forget about it. So you have such a fun opportunity to surprise them and make their day. I've been having so much fun making things to give to people that I know they aren't going to expect.

It's also made me think- why don't we do this more often? Why don't we make an effort to randomly make someone's day? That's so silly. Cards, small gifts, candy- they're not super large or expensive things to do. So why don't we do it more often?

I know that life is crazy. I feel you. But why not take a couple of minutes to do something that will make someone else happy? 

Love people. Love them hard. Show the people around you just how much you care about them. Even if you haven't planned anything for today, leave a couple of pieces of chocolate lying around. Write a friend a quick note. Pick up an extra coffee on your way to work to give to somebody. Call up a friend and see if they want to meet up for dinner. Spread a little bit of love. And don't let it end once today is over. My challenge to you is to work on showing the people around you how much you love them 365 days a year. It will make you all happier, I promise. 

Happy Valentine's Day, sweet friends. I love you all. ♥

Why Snail Mail Is The Best Thing Ever { + Why You Should Send It}

Forgive me for sounding like an old lady, but it's true- everything these days is electronic. We communicate over text and Skype. People read e-books as opposed to physical books. Business is done over email. Schoolwork is typed instead of hand-written. You can order food online, grab a ride online, and learn basically anything with the press of a few buttons. I'm the first to agree, technology is great. But I have to say, there is a piece of hard-copy communication that I really wish would live on- snail mail. Real, physical letters. As much as I love texting and emailing, there's really nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a letter from a friend, being able to open it and hold it in your hands and keep it. It's one of the most fun, special things in the world. I am thoroughly convinced that it should never go out of style. Trust me- if you write someone a letter, you are literally going to make their day! Still not convinced? Here are nine reasons why snail mail is the best thing ever. 

- - - - -

1. IT'S MORE PERSONAL

Don't get me wrong- I love getting emails and texts from friends. But letters are honestly so much more personal because you know that the person who sent it to you had to put in more effort than just punching a few keys. 

2. YOU CAN STUFF THE ENVELOPES FULL OF GLITTER

I highly recommend it. A few months ago, I glitter-bombed my dear friend Aaliyah, and it was pretty fantastic. I apologize again, Aaliyah. DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS THAT MUCH GLITTER.

3. THE CREATIVITY IS LIMITLESS

I'm not the most artsy person. Y'all know that. Crafting has never really been my thing. But when it comes to letter writing, I LOVE IT! Like, there are so many fun things that you can do. You can decorate the envelopes or outline the letter with cute quotes or drawings. You can add stickers or glitter or decals or awesome things that you printed from Pinterest or Tumblr. I love scrolling through Pinterest and getting ideas for how to decorate letters- it's so much fun!

4. YOU HAVE AN EXCUSE TO BUY TONS OF ADORABLE STATIONARY

If you have never bought notecards from Target's dollar section, are you actually living your life? I think not. I have a stationary addiction and I am proud of it.

5. IT'S SUPER FUN TO SURPRISE PEOPLE

I really love randomly sending something to a friend and surprising them. Letters aren't super common these days, so it's fun to send something to a friend who isn't expecting it!

6. IT GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO JUST SIT DOWN AND WRITE

I love journaling, and letter writing can be comparable. It's nice to have a chance to sit down, empty your head, and write something by hand. It's so relaxing!

7. IT BRIGHTENS SOMEONE'S MAILBOX

Let's be honest- mailboxes can be pretty boring, filled with bills and ads and junk. Let's make checking the mail fun again!

8. LETTERS ARE A GREAT KEEPSAKE

Personally, I never throw away a letter. I love having something from a friend to keep and look back on. It's so special!

9. YOU CAN INCLUDE FUN THINGS

Remember those friendship bracelets that we all made back in sixth grade? Why not get back into those? Over the past couple months, I've started making bracelets again, and it's been super fun. You don't have to limit it to bracelets, though- you can include pretty much anything that will fit inside of an envelope!

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p.s.

I published this post about ten minutes ago, but I'm popping back in because I have just been made aware of the most amazing thing, and it needs to be known by all. The fabulous Lisa just sent me the link to InCoWriMo- International Correspondence Writing Month. Apparently, InCoWriMo takes place every February, and challenges its participants to hand-write and deliver/mail one letter, card, note, etc. every day. I honestly think that this sounds fabulous, and I'm going to give it a try. Even if I don't manage to deliver one every day, I want to try to write twenty eight letters or notes this month. Obviously, you should join me. Are you going to accept the challenge?

- - - - -

So, what are you waiting for?? There are so many reasons to send snail mail! Whether it's a birthday card, a Valentine, or just because, go write a letter- I dare you. ♥

Valentine's Day Outfit Inspiration!

Y'all know that I love all things style and holiday related. So I thought, why not combine them and do a Valentine's Day outfit inspiration post? I had so much fun putting these outfits together, and I think that they're all super adorable. 

1. Red Pop

This outfit is perfect for a night on the town, whether it's a date or just a night with your favorite girls.  I love the black dress; it's so stylish yet still super comfortable. Plus the shoes provide a perfect pop of color, and they're just so impeccably chic! I've been wearing them constantly, I think they're just so fabulous.

Dress: Wet Seal
Shoes: Maurice's

2. #CrazyCatLady

This is what I'm planning to wear on Valentine's Day! The top is my absolute favorite thing in the world- it's hilarious! This outfit is so comfy, perfect to wear for a day at home or a movie night. Plus, it's just flat out adorable!!

Top: Forever 21
Yoga Pants: Target
Slippers: Forever 21

3. Casual Cutie

If you're going for a look that's both casual AND cute, this is the look for you! It's perfect for almost any plans you may have this V-Day. I also love how warm it is, that's definitely a good factor with the cold February weather!

Top: Ross

Jeans: Forever 21

Hat: Crocheted it myself!

Earrings: Icing

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What are YOU wearing this Valentine's Day?

10 Fun Ways To Spend Valentine's Day- Without A Date!! ♥

I know that a lot of teenage girls tend to get frustrated around Valentine's Day because they're single. Personally, though, I've always loved Valentine's Day- a whole holiday celebrating pink, chocolate, flowers, and making cards for friends?? I see no issue here. 

Nevertheless, I know that some people don't share my feelings, and they spend the day moping because they don't have a boyfriend. SO, I'd like to prove to you all that you can have an absolutely fabulous Valentine's Day, AND be a single pringle. 

BOYS ARE UNNECESSARY, LADIES!!!!!!

This has been Daily Rants With Grace Anne. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

  ♥ ~~~~~~ ♥

1. Have a movie night!! Valentine's Day is the perfect day to watch some chick flicks. My personal favorites are anything on Hallmark, and of course no movie night is complete without The Princess Diaries! Throwing in some Disney never hurts, either. (In other words, I'm giving you an excuse to watch Tangled for the seventeenth time. You're welcome.)

2. Plan a girls' night out with your friends! Make plans to go out for dinner, dessert, or to a coffee shop. Nothing's more fun than getting dressed up to hit the town with some of your favorite people! Plus, planning Valentine's Day outfits is always super fun.

3. Eat chocolate. Literally anything chocolate. Personally I suggest chocolate chip cheesecake with hot cocoa, but that's just an idea... (I'm trying to involve as much chocolate here as possible if you can't tell.)

4. Make handmade Valentine's Day cards! I love spending time to craft the perfect card for someone, it's so much fun. I'm planning to make my cards tomorrow; it's going to be fun! Put on some great music, grab a plate of cookies, and get crafting!

5. Read about your favorite fictional couple! What better day to obsess over your favorite romance than Valentine's Day?

6. Valentine's Day is the perfect weekend to forget about calories and splurge on sweets, so why not bake something? Cookies, cupcakes, brownies- yum! Plus, you can totally go crazy on the seasonal sprinkles. SPRINKLES ARE YOUR FRIEND, GIRL!!

7. Get Valentine's Day doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. This is a requirement. THEY'RE THE LEGIT BEST.

8. Paint your nails! Painting your nails a fun red or pink is a great way to feel a bit more festive. I can't decide what color to do mine, but they're in definite need of some sprucing up.

9. Spend some quality time with your cat. That's my plan. #crazycatladyforlife

10. JUST ENJOY THE DAY AND DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!!! PLEASE don't waste the day obsessing over being single. I have way too many friends who do that, and they just make themselves miserable. Have a good day! Read a book, play a game, call a friend- enjoy life. Don't waste it obsessing over the lack of a guy in your life. Trust me, it's just silly.

 ♥ ~~~~~~  ♥

♥ Do you have Valentine's Day plans? ♥

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey, everyone!! Whew, this has been a busy week. It's been good though, lots of fun things going on. The only downside has been that I haven't had a ton of time to get schoolwork done, so I'm super behind. This weekend is definitely going to be a weekend full of catching up. I really hate being behind, even though I don't like doing school. It stresses me out! Gosh. I WILL BE PRODUCTIVE!! I CAN DO IT!!

Isn't it crazy that Valentine's Day is a week from tomorrow? I have a fundraiser the next day, so my Valentine's Day will be spent baking about a million cupcakes haha. Fingers crossed that it goes well and I don't pull my hair out in the process! Thankfully my mom will be helping me so that I don't destroy the kitchen.

I really need some new reading material. I was thinking the other day about how I really haven't read anything new lately, and I want to change that. Do y'all have any good book recommendations? HELP ME!!!

Made Me Smile:

Going swing dancing for the first time with all of my friends. Even though I knew how to swing dance already, it was my first time actually going, and it was SO much fun. Now I want to do it again!!! 

I finally got up the nerve to go back to ballet....and I loved it! I was sooooo nervous, and the entire class I felt like I was doing terribly. But then at the end of class, the teacher came up and was super encouraging, and she said that soon I'll be able to get pointe shoes and that she's going to help me get to where I'm able to move up another class level! I'm really excited:)

Longgggg talks with people I haven't seen in a while. 

Learning seriously awesome dance routines for our spring musical! The number that we worked on yesterday was so much fun, I loved it.

Ugh:

I. Am. So. Sore. In the last two days I've had ballet, two rehearsals, and swing dancing, and it's basically a miracle that I'm even able to move at this point. In a way I don't mind being sore but gosh I'd like to be able to walk up stairs without wanting to die. 

School. School. School. School. School.

Loving:

Guys. GUYS. You can get frozen hot pretzels at the grocery store and then heat them up AND THEY TASTE JUST LIKE THEY'RE FROM AUNTIE ANNE'S. IT'S AMAZING. 

Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep

Ed Sheeran music. I always love it but I've been particularly obsessed lately. Between that and Hamilton, it's basically all I'm listening to. It's so good to listen to when you're stressed out. So in other words, I just need to have it constantly playing and life will be good.

Giant cozy sweatshirts and soft sleep pants. I would honestly spend my entire life wearing them.

Pinning:

This little alcove is just the cutest!

Yep yep yep. Soul = Destroyed.

This is a great writing quote...

Can this be my room? Please?

~~~~~~~

How was your week?

Little Moments :)

Hello everyone! I was flipping through my camera, and found a bunch of pictures from the past week or so that I never got around to sharing with you all. :)

Valentine's Day Breakfast!! Yum! :) My doughnut had a little tumor-thing haha. ;) I love Krispy Kreme's Valentine's Day doughnuts. They're some of the best doughnuts that they have all year, at least in my opinion! <3 And isn't the mug hilarious? I love it. It's so me!!

Valentine's Day decorations! Cute "LOVE" blocks and candles. :)

I recently got these pajamas from Forever 21, and I'm absolutely in love. They're so comfortable, and so cute!! The shorts have little cats all over them, and the shirt is just hilarious. These are definitely my new favorite pajamas! I think that they were around twelve dollars, which is a great price for such cuteness! See, the cats are already being drawn from all over ;)

Flowers!! My dad brought us home some flowers on Valentine's Day, and the lighting was so good that I had to take some fun pictures. :)

We found this shirt at JC Penney for ten dollars, I just love it! You all know that I'm a Disney freak, and Cinderella is actually one of my dream roles on Broadway. :) Plus, I also have a *teensy* shoe obsession!! This shirt is perfect!

Well, I hope that you've enjoyed this little post! It's just kind of a post full of randomness, but hopefully you've found it entertaining! :)

Happy Valentine's Day! + Easiest Snack Ever

Hello everyone! Happy Valentine's Day! :) I know that some people get down in the dumps about Valentine's Day because they're single, but honestly, I really love the day. You get to eat food, spend time with family and friends, and make funny cards! I see nothing wrong with this picture.

So, I felt bad that I hadn't baked/made anything food-wise for Valentine's Day. I kind of procrastinated it, big shock there and I couldn't really find a recipe that I just LOVED. But today I was like, you know what, I need to bake SOMETHING! So, I went with something super simple, that is virtually impossible to mess up. (Although I could have burnt the chocolate, so hey, I did something right!! :D )

Chocolate Covered Pretzels!

I kind of am in love with chocolate covered pretzels. Like, they are amazing. SO, I decided to make some today! I really need to make them more often. :D

Literally all that you need are pretzels, white chocolate, and sprinkles. The sprinkles are optional. Wait, why would sprinkles be optional? Why WOULDN'T you use sprinkles?

USE THOSE SPRINKLES, GIRL!!

.....aaaaaanyways. So if you want, you can dye the chocolate with food coloring, but I decided that I wanted to keep it white, to highlight the sprinkles.

So, pour aaaaaaaaaaall of the white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl, and then melt them according to the instructions on the bag.

You have your delicious melted chocolate, now you just dip! I don't have any photos of me dipping the pretzels, because I was kind of wrist-deep in white chocolate goodness. So, unless I wanted to get chocolate on my camera, photos just weren't happening.

Honestly, It's easiest just to dip them with your fingers. It's insanely messy, but it works. You have to work fast, otherwise your chocolate will harden and you'll have to melt it again. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything. :P

You also have to pour the sprinkles while the chocolate is wet, otherwise that won't work either. I actually already knew that!! Woo hoo, ten points to me! :D

I just let mine dry on wax paper. Let's be honest, they aren't exactly gorgeous, but hey, they're delicious!

Once they're dry, enjoy!!! I just had to take a cutesy picture of them haha. Note my nice little heart bowl. I have to at least try to look like a competent blogger here.

Well, hopefully you'll try my delicious Valentine's Day snack! I love making these year round- you just change the sprinkle color!!

I hope that you've all had a great Valentine's Day! :) <3

Cute Valentine's Day Gifts!

Hello everyone! Wow, Valentine's Day is in FOUR days! I can't believe it! With that in mind, I've compiled a list of some cute V-Day gift ideas. :) These are some of my favorite gifts, that I think anyone would love to receive!

These rings are perfect for Valentine's Day! They look so cute all stacked together. You can find these at Forever 21 for around three dollars.

I love color-themed gifts, and I think that it would be adorable to put a bunch of items like these ^^ in a bag with a tag "Think Pink!" I just included a Baby Lips, a lip gloss from H&M, some hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works, and a cute little pink bear. :)

In my opinion, EOS are always a go-to for a gift! I love the EOS cucumber hand lotion, and I think it's super cute to add a V-Day themed hair tie around it for some holiday flair. And of course, we always need lip balm! I am obsessed with the Rachel Roy limited edition EOS, I kind of stocked up so that I would have them for a nice long time!

Now, what girl doesn't love jewelry on Valentine's Day? I think that this heart necklace is super pretty, and it would make a great gift!

Speaking of jewelry, a locket is a classic Valentine's Day gift. My grandma actually gave me this one, and I love it. :) (Oh, and if you're wondering, the jewelry tree pictured is from Target).

Well, I hope that this has given you some more ideas for Valentine's Day! What do you like to give for gifts? Comment below!

Easy Valentine's Day DIY Gift!

This is just a quick post, but I have a really cute DIY V-Day gift that I wanted to show you all! :)

This is so easy, it's basically self-explanatory. Literally all that you have to do is take a piece of paper, write L_VE on it, and attach an EOS lip balm! It's a great gift to give to your friends, because I mean really-who doesn't love EOS?

Valentine Idea For Friends + Lazy Saturday OOTD!

Hello, ladies! So, today I had TWO posts that I wanted to share, so I'm combining them all into this one! I'm super excited to share this fun Valentine's Day idea for your friends, and I had this really cute Lazy Day OOTD that I also am excited to show you all!

So, if you ask me, Valentine's Day really seems to sneak up on us. Before you can turn around, it's February, and by then we only have TWO measly weeks until Valentine's Day! It always seems like I'm scrambling around at the last minute trying to come up with ideas for cards or gifts for my friends on Valentine's Day. This is a really quick, easy idea that I also think is really sweet and thoughtful.

Disclaimer: I am not an artist, nor do I claim to be. I'm much more comfortable creating pictures out of words than I am drawing them out! Thus, the following images are not exactly beautiful. Trust me, I'm fully aware of it. :P

14 Reasons I Love You!! 

So, I've seen this idea around for lots of different holidays, but I decided to put a Valentine's Day spin on it! After all, Valentine's Day is on February 14th, so why not come up with 14 reasons that you love someone?

Supplies-wise, all you need for this gift is some regular white paper, and some bright colored pens. You could really use anything here, (Sharpies, markers, colored pencils, etc) but I kind of have an obsession with colored pens, so I decided to use them.

So, first, you make a pretty heading (to the best of your artistic abilities ;) !), preferable with lots of color!!! I liked adding some little hearts around the heading as well.

 

Next, just start making your list!!! It's super easy, and the person that you give it to is sure to love it. After all, who WOULDN'T love a list of why somebody loves them? It's super sweet. :)

I also wanted to share with you all this OOTD!! I've never really done OOTDs before, so if you like this post, comment below and let me know!

This outfit is super cozy and comfortable, and it's also really cute! It's pretty unusual for me to look cute at home, usually I just wear anything comfortable. Last weekend though, my mom found this Lion King sweatshirt at Wet Seal, and I fell in love! You all know that I absolutely adore the Lion King, so whenever I see something that involves the Lion King, it's quite hard for me to resist buying it!

Anyways, here's where I bought everything..

Sweatshirt- Wet Seal

Leggings- Forever 21 (Let me just say, oh my gosh. F21 leggings are the best! They are sooo comfortable, I love them.)

Beanie- I actually crocheted this! I was quite proud of myself haha ;)

So there you have it, my lazy day OOTD! 

Well, that's all for today! If you liked this post or have anything to say, please comment below, I love hearing from you all! And if you make your own 14 Reasons I Love You, comment a link below :) Thanks for reading!

Happy February!

Wow, we're already a full month into 2015! That's just insanity. January was a really good month for me, in a way it seemed super long, but at the same time I feel as though I blinked and it was over! I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a theatre competition this month, and that was just such a great experience. That's also why I had a bit more trouble finding time to blog- competing means lots of practicing! It really was a great month though, lots of time having fun with friends. :)


But here we are, now in February. ....wow. It feels kind of bizarre. In my opinion, even though February is the shortest month, sometimes it feels like it just drags on and on, because there's nothing to do but school. There is one thing that February has going for it though-

That's right ladies, love is in the air! Oh, Valentine's Day, how I love you. I'm just counting down the days until I get to spend some quality time with my boyfriend, Chocolate. ;)

Seriously though, Valentine's Day is a LOT of fun, especially for us Single Pringles! While everyone else is worrying about silly things like whether or not they'll get asked out, we get to do the fun things, like get all of the discount chocolate!! Haha, oh, how I love going to Target the week after Valentine's Day. You can get the greatest stuff for next to nothing! If I get anything good, I'll be sure to post it on here. :)

I'm hoping to fix some fun V-Day themed posts to share with you all. There's so much PINK! :) Food, nails, outfits, DIYs , makeup- the list goes on! What kind of Valentine's Day posts would you like me to create? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and one more thing- Tutorial Tuesdays! I got a HUGE response from you all on the survey (a whopping one vote!), and so I've decided that I'm going to continue with the Tutorial Tuesdays, but not every week. It's just a bit much to come up with a new tutorial EVERY week! But I do like creating the posts, they're a lot of fun! So I'm going to continue posting them, but it will be a bit more sporadic. :)

Well, that's all for now! I'm off to go work on some fun new posts for you all! Again, be sure to let me know what posts you'd like to see in the comments!