It's that time of year- Formal Season

This weekend was my chapter's first formal ever! The event was a ton of fun! Since tDn couldn't come, I brought my best friend since age three.  Rather than write about it, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures instead.
  

"Sometimes the people whom we've known for only a short amount of time have a bigger impact on us than those we've known forever." 

xoxo

-mQs-

Two More Mondays

That's right, only two more Mondays left until the semester is over! This is like music to my ears,but it's also a little stressful too! I know I've blogged about it a ton this semester, but this has been an incredibly rough semester...needless to say I'm ready for it to be over.

The end of the semester entails a significant amount of exams, papers, and projects.  Not only am I busy academically, but the end of the semester is also filled with sorority events too(philanthropy events, formals, last minute workshops, etc.).  

The only way I stay sane is by being incredibly organized. I would not be able to survive the next two and a half weeks without the help of my agenda.

Before I write everything in my agenda, I compile a list with all the due dates for each class.

I use the monthly view to write everything down, so that I am able to see it all in one place. I then use the individual days to write my daily to do lists and/or things that I need to remember. I have tons of to do lists since I write a new one every day. 

How do you stay organized during the end of the semester chaos?

xoxo

-mQs-

A Day Filled with Food and Sisters

The nice thing about going to a university on the outskirts of a thriving town are all the food options available, outside of the on-campus food venues. I eat pretty well since I commute, and I am not restricted to the dining facilities on campus.  The town I go to school in has a ton of great food options, sometimes I forget how great they all are! On Monday, I had a day full of delicious food.  I started off my morning with a 7:30 breakfast meeting at a local cafe.  If you have to meet so early, then there might as well be some good food involved! I met with some of my fellow ADPi officers to prepare for the upcoming business in our chapter.  This was a great way to start off my day! I had the Farmer's omelet with tomatoes, peppers, and cheese.

Later on that day I went to dinner with one of my sisters who is Jewish, she was breaking pass over a day early (oops!). We went to a market in town. This market has tons of options including: fresh salads, gourmet pizza, sandwiches made to order, fresh baked bread, homemade pastas, baked goods, coffee flowers, etc.  

I had a slice of tomato pie with fresh mozzarella on top, and I also had a tortellini salad with zucchini, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spinach. 

The food was delicious, and what made it even better is that the weather was nice enough for us to sit outside! 

I also bought some macaroons to take home to my mom.  I can never resist macaroons! I truly believe that food has the capability of bringing people together because that is what happened today.

Xoxo

-mQs-

Easter Weekend Recap

Easter weekend has been a fun time for me the past two years.  Since everyone has left for college, my friends and I really love the time we are able to spend together.  It is rare that everyone is home and available at the same time, and Easter weekend just has happened to be a free time for everyone! The past two years my friends have been reunited with a bonfire the Friday night of Easer weekend.  It's a nice preview to the summer, since we all have just a few more weeks left of the semester.

Two of my favorite people: my best friend, M, and my boyfriend, T.

For me Easter marks the time when I can really start embracing spring.  This past weekend, I went through my storage bins and pulled out all of my spring clothes.  It added some color to, what was, my winter wardrobe.

It wouldn't be Easter without a Lilly print dress and some jacks, which is exactly what I wore this past Sunday.  The bright colors were just so fitting for the holiday.  We spent Easter visiting my grandmother and having an early dinner with her.  

This year the Easter bunny was very good to me. I got an Alex and Ani bracelet and my favorite Clinique facial care products.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend!

xoxo

-mQs-

French Cooking

My adventures in the kitchen have increased significantly since I have moved back home.  I'm actually starting to enjoy cooking, something I never thought I would say! It's obvious by now that I enjoy just about anything that is considered to be french.  I especially love french food.  I have eaten french cookies before, but I have been wanting to bake my own.

I'm sure most of you have seen or tried Madeleine cookies, they are a popular item sold at most Starbucks locations.  These soft cookies are made in a variety of flavors: lemon, orange, vanilla, etc. They are made in a pan, which gives them a sea shell shape. These pans can be bought at many different places.  I found mine at Home Goods for $11, but I have seen them decently priced on Amazon too.

These cookies are really easy to make.  What makes this process long, is the fact that you can only cook 10-12 cookies at a time because the pan's shape.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup All purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup butter

My recipe:

One: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour the Madeleine pan, then set it aside.

Two: Melt the butter and cool it to room temperature

Three: Beat eggs, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Four: Gradually add sugar, and continue beating at a high speed until the mixture is thick.  

Five: Gently add the flour and egg mixture a small amount at a time, until it is completely added.

Six: Add lemon zest and pit the melted butter into the batter. 

Seven: Spoon the batter into the molds.

Eight: Bake for 13 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and the tops have a spongy texture.

Nine: Using the tip of a knife, remove the cookies from the mold and place them on a cooling rack.  

These are a great snack to have with some tea or coffee, enjoy!

I can finally cross the first thing of my 101 in 1001 Challenge!

xoxo

-mQs-

Rainy Day Essentials

Today it is absolutely miserable out! It is windy, chilly, and pouring rain! I think you can tell where my inspiration for today's post has come from, looking out the window. Today is just one of those days where I would love to stay in bed all day watching movies or reading a good book, but I have a busy day ahead of me so I have no choice other than to go outside today.

Umbrella:

It's always nice to have a cute umbrella. I don't use one when I walk around campus because it's always too windy to use one.

Rain Boots:

Hunter rain boots are on my wish list.  I think it's always great to have fun rain boots, they brighten up a dreary day!

Outfit choice:

Leggings, a frocket tee, and pearls.

Travel Mug:

The cold weather calls for something warm, whether it's tea or coffee!

Stay dry today!

Xoxo

-mQs-

Very Inspiring Blogger

Yesterday I mentioned that Lindsey awarded me with a "Very Inspiring Blogger Award".  This is very exciting for me since I really have not been blogging that much this semester. In fact this award inspires me to get back to blogging regularly.  

Here are the rules

1. Link the person who nominated you.

2. List and display the rules

3. Share seven facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 15 other blogs and let them know they have been nominated.

About me:

One: 

I want to travel so badly. Preferably to France or somewhere tropical.

Two:

 I am obsessed with monograms. I would probably monogram everything, if I could.

Three:

 I only have three and a half weeks left in the semester!

Four:

 If you asked me six months ago if I was going to transfer to a third college, I would have said yes. In the past six months I have learned to enjoy and accept the university I am at, and it had helped me become so much happier this semester than I was in the fall.

Five:

Lindsey and I are actually sorority sisters from different universities! 

This is something I find so neat, that I have so many sisters across the nation!

Pi love to her for giving me this award.

Blogs I nominate for this award:

These are some of the blogs that I read regularly, in no order.

 Some of these blogs are small like mine, while others are larger. 

A Little Seer Sucker Sass

Southern Belle In Training

Prep In Your Step

Bowtiful Life

Monster Misa

Real College Student of Atlanta

Classy Girls Wear Pearls

Southern. Preppy. Chic.

Preppy On The West Coast

Taylor M. Cunningham

Design Darling

The Garnet Diaries

Monogrammed Prep

Tickled Pink

Mason Like The Jar

I hope you enjoy checking out some of my favorite blogs!

xoxo

-mQs-

Here's To A Busy Week

Today is Monday, which means it's back to reality.  April is by far my busiest month of this year.  This week is the busiest week in April.  It's Greek Week, so there are competitive events each day. On top of attending these daily events. I am swamped with meetings, papers to write, study for exams, and staying current with the readings in each of my classes. So how am I staying sane?

one: List making

I am a list maker so I have lists everywhere. In my agenda, on my desk at home, and on sticky notes posted to my laptop. I start with a weekly to do list with everything that needs to be accomplished, and then from that I create to do list for each day. 

Confession: I am a huge fan of paper lists, as opposed to lists on my computer or phone, because I enjoy being able to cross the things I accomplish off the list. It's also really helpful to make lists by time too.

Two: Coffee

This week obviously doesn't allow any time for naps, so I'll have to replace my nap time with coffee. 

Dunkin Doughnut's Iced Caramel Latte or Starbucks Caramel Macchiato are my two favorites!

Three: Eating Healthy

I am trying to eat better, since I don't have time to workout.  I am trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet.  Additionally, I am also trying to drink more water too.  Eating good foods provides you with more energy. I have a really bad habit of just forgetting to eat when I am busy, so I have been using a calorie counter on my phone to make sure I eat enough food to give me energy.

On a positive note I was nominated given a Very Inspiring Blog Award from Lindsey!

Also, there are only 33 days left in the semester!

I'm off to the library to get a nice study session in!

xoxo

-mQs- 

Back to Blogging

Hello hello,

Happy April everyone! It's like April 1st came and spring has finally decided to make an appearance. It's been sunny and in the mid 50s all week where I live, finally the cold weather is beginning to go away! I'm ready to break out my spring wardrobe. 

 This semester has just been absolutely crazy.  After tomorrow, I only have five weeks left (including finals).  With all the snow days my university has had this semester, my professors have been overloading us with work trying to catch up the instructional time we have missed. This semester has been quite the balancing act, and unfortunately I have not been the best at this.  The one thing I've let fall down hill a little is my blog.  This actually really makes me sad because this blog is the one thing that I used to do everyday for myself.  

Well now that it is April, I decided that I'm ready to get back to my regular blogging. I know I've said this several times in the fast few months, but this time I am serious!

The time off has given me the opportunity to brain storm a long list of topics to post about.  I am ready to come back to the blogging world in full swing.  

Sometimes when life gives you lemons you have no choice other than to make lemonade, and that is simply what I have been doing the past few months.

I am excited to get back to reading and writing posts daily.  For now I need to get back to my studies, but I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Xoxo.

mQs