I'm Feelin' 22

Well, it's that time of year again...the time that I officially become a year older. Adios, twenty-fun, thanks for a great year. You know you're getting older, when you choose to be responsible and spend your birthday in the library studying for an exam instead of doing what you want. It's amazing to think how much can happen in a year and to realize how much I've grown in that time. This was a great year and I have some pretty high expectations for 22...you know, like getting a full-time job!

thanks for the throwback, Momma

Anyways, I loved doing my 22 by 22 list and it was a great resource to branch out a bit and really focus on accomplishing those things that I always say I am going to do, but never actually get around to doing. I didn't check off all of the items on my list, but I did get almost all of them done. The ones that I didn't do, I am just rolling over to my 23 by 23 list.

If you want to see what last year and this year's list, you can click on this link here, and you can keep up with it through the link at the top of the page! Let me know if you have a list of your own or want to make one too, I love seeing what other people put on their lists! Also, this was based on the 101 in 1001 list that Mackenzie Horan from Design Darling created, which is a great idea if you have some long-term goals.

xx,

Erin

It's a (Dinner) Party

Those of you who've seen my 22x22 list know that I still have a few things to check off before my birthday rolls around two weeks from today. There are a couple things that I unfortunately will not get to do, but I am doing my best to finish the rest. One of the items was to host a dinner party so I decided to invite some of my friends over for a casual Friday of food, wine, and relaxation. It was the perfect evening because we were all pretty tired and wanted to save our energy for last night's 7:30 football game!

I also got to kill two birds with one stone on this one because I used Pinterest for a couple of the recipes.

 

I had work all afternoon, so I just prepared the Chili in the crockpot before I left for work and prepared everything else when I got back. It was so much fun to be able to host everyone and try out some new recipes! One of my friends commented that she had been thinking about how she wished people made more plans like this and I couldn't agree more. It is so nice to be able to organize time together when people's lives get so crazy, especially since it's our fourth year.

Plus, this dinner was so easy to make. I kept the menu simple since I knew that I only had a little bit of time to prep after I got off work:

Menu:

Chili with Rice

Corn Muffins
Spinach Salad

Apple Galette with Ice Cream

Wine

As I said before, I threw the Chili in the crockpot before work so that was easy. The recipe I used called for butternut squash, which I didn't use, but I also wish that I had added some more salt and garlic powder for a little more flavor. For the Corn muffins, I just used Jiffy mix which made the perfect number for a small dinner party. The Spinach Salad was a Dole kit (doesn't get easier than that). I love this Apple Galette recipe. It was incredibly easy to make and it is basically an open face apple pie. The recipe called for a homemade dough, but in the interest of time and sanity, I just used a 9in pre-made pie crust from the grocery store and I think it turned out perfectly fine!

Thanks to my friends who came over for this little dinner party, I am so lucky to have friends like y'all!

xx,

Erin

Snail Mail Correspondence

Today we communicate through texting, snapchat, phone calls, and emails. Everyone is always engaged. Handwriting skills are being replaced by speedy typing and a card is being replaced by an evite. I am far from complaining about this because I absolutely love having everything just a click away, but I do sometimes miss the seemingly lost art of snail mail correspondence. Actually, I miss it so much that I wanted to make a conscious effort to write some cards and I put it on my 22x22 list! 

Recently I got a couple of cute stationary sets at Target since I brilliantly left all of mine at school and this morning I decided to take advantage of the rain keeping me inside and watching sportscenter  to write a couple of cards. 

It doesn't take a ton of time, and it is always so much fun to get a letter in the mail. Stationary prices and style selections have a broad range for however formal, colorful, etc. you want it to be. In addition to loving cute packs of stationary, I am a huge fan of fun, individualistic cards. I have a few that I got from Harriet's General in Culpeper, one of my favorite little shops ever, especially for their paper goods selection. Individualized cards are great to add an even more personal touch to a correspondence and I sometimes have one or two on hand for close friends who don't live close by just in case they need a card or a pick-me-up one day. 

Does anyone else love snail mail correspondence?

xoxo,

Sugar Snap Pearls

Summertime Hiking

Those of you who follow along on Instagram already know that I crossed another item off my 22 by 22 list on Sunday. I am really behind on this list, so I am super excited that I got to cross this off and that I had so much fun doing it!

I hadn't hiked Old Rag in easily 10 years before Sunday. It used to be a regular hike for my family, but with the divorce and my one incident up there, it really lost it's appeal and we just didn't go back. Honestly, I was totally nervous about having to conquer the mountain again, but the trip was so much fun! For those of you who haven't been before, it is a pretty strenuous 8 mile hike with a lot of rock scrambling towards the top. I was definitely feeling the burn after that hike, in large part because I decided to pace myself with one of my brothers who apparently wanted to treat the hike as a sprint, not a marathon.

Regardless, it was such a wonderful hike and if you are looking for some sort of weekend activity or alternative exercise, the summer is the perfect time to hike! This hike was largely in the shade so we didn't feel the midday sun and the views are absolutely spectacular!

And of course we had to stop at Moo Thru on the way back! (we totally earned it) Seriously, the best Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream ever...

If you are looking for places to hike in your area, check the NPS site or just a google search will show other local and state parks! Also, always be sure to check if you can bring pets before you leave for the park because some (including Old Rag) don't allow pets for various reasons.

xoxo,

Sugar Snap Pearls

22 by 22 is Halfway There!

Happy Easter Weekend! I hope everyone is having a great weekend, I am with my family at Wintergreen for the weekend which is just the escape from school I needed. Not only is it Easter weekend, but today is my half birthday! I don't normally care about this, but it is the halfway point on my journey to completing my 22 by 22 list and I still have a lot of stuff to check off. I am not actually halfway through my list, but I have definitely checked off a few items have plans for how to check out a few more! For those of you who aren't familiar with my 22 by 22 list, here is the original list:

1) Get in Shape

2) Read 13 Books Just for Fun

3) Feel Like I've Made a Difference in my Community 

4) Manage Money and Balance my Budget for the Rest of the Year

5) Hold a Conversation in Spanish with a Native Speaker

6) Learn to Fly Fish

7) Consign Old Clothing

8) Figure Out My Favorite Big Girl Drink

9) Get a Pajama Set

10) Develop A Daily Routine

11) Host a Dinner Party

12) Spend a Day Downtown

13) Hike Old Rag

14) Read Anna Karenina

15) Make Ten Pinterest/Online Recipes

16) Snail Mail Correspondence

17) Make Business Cards

18) Blog 4/times a Week

19) Raise $1000 for Relay For Life

20) Make an At-Home Face Mask

21) Visit a Friend at a Different College

22) Put $10 in Savings Every Time I Check Something Off and Invest It in Something I Want for my 22nd Birthday

If you go to the 22 by 22 page, you will find how I have progressed so far, but here are some of the items I am planning to check off in the coming weeks!

2) Read 13 Books Just for Fun:

I am going to need to relax a bit this week after such a hectic week last week and this is just the way to do it! My momma brought a couple of selections to the house this weekend and I can't wait to dive into one or two of them

10) Develop A Daily Routine:

I basically have a daily routine, but I anticipate it getting pretty regular this week in preparation for finals coming up!

16) Snail Mail Correspondence:

I keep meaning to write a letter to Cat (my best friend who lives in Colorado) and I have the stationary for it...

20) Make an At-Home Face Mask:

What better way to relax this week than by trying an at-home spa day? I am totally turning to Pinterest for this one...

Do you have one of these lists? How is your progress going? Also, thanks to those of you who emailed me your Five on Friday responses!

xoxo,

SSP

22 by 22

HI! I'm 21 today!!!! I really wanted to do something for my 21st that would be meaningful to me and so I decided that I would take a page from Mackenzie Horan and do a list. Now mine is not quite as intense as her 101 in 1001, but I thought a 22 by 22 would be a good idea. Anyways, I am posting it here and later this week I will add a tab to the blog so that y'all can keep up with my progress.

turning 21 with some of my favorite ladies at Gold Cup

1. Get in Shape

2. Read 13 books just for fun

3. Feel like I've made a difference in my community

4. Manage money and balance my budget for the rest of the year

5. Hold a conversation in Spanish with a Native speaker

5. Learn to fly fish

7. Consign some old clothing (use money made towards #22)

8. Figure out my favorite "big girl" drink

9. Get a pajama set 

10. Develop a daily routine

11. Host a dinner party

12. Spend a Day Downtown (in DC)

13. Hike Old Rag (traumatic experience last time I did this when I was 12...)

14. Read Anna Karenina (it will happen one of these days)

15. Make 10 pinterest recipie dishes

16. Snail Mail Coorespondence

17. Make business cards

18. Blog 4 times/week

19. Raise $1000 for Relay for Life

20. Make an at-home face mask

21.Visit a friend at a different college

22. Put $10 in savings every time I check one off and then invest in something I love for my 22nd Birthday 

Do any of you have a list?

xoxo,

SSP