The Friday Five: Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Let's Play Ball! Yes, ladies and gents, it is that time of year again, probably my favorite time of year. March 31st is officially Opening Day for MLB (though there's a game on the 30th) and I am so ready. One of the best and worst things about spending my Spring Break in Florida is that I get a taste of baseball and warm weather again, only to have to come home and anxiously await it's arrival in Charlottesville.

Before I go any further though, I just want to make sure that all y'all are going to tune in to see the Virginia Basketball Team beat Michigan State tonight! The game is at 9:57 (late, I know...) and everyone should be in their best blue and orange ready to cheer on the Cavaliers! Anyways, in honor of Opening Day, today's Five on Friday is baseball themed to get you ready for the season ahead.

1) The Captain Says Farewell

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Is it even remotely surprising that I am kicking off this list with my main man? Nope. Well, this is Derek Jeter's last season as a professional baseball player and my Yankees are going to rely on him pretty heavily in that infield with weak support at 2nd and 3rd. (hopefully Teixeira has a good season at 1st though). This farewell tour is going to be rough since we are just getting over the loss of Mo, but I'm confident that I speak for all Yankees fans when I say that we are so grateful for all the years, rings, and memories with him! #2 on the field, but #1 in our hearts!

2) Make Opening Day a National Holiday

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This was actually a White House petition and it received its 100,000 signatures much faster than anticipated. As a result, President Obama's White House will have to decide if the Opening Day of America's Favorite Pastime is worthy of a national holiday.

3) 10 Games to Watch in 2014

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Sports Illustrated compiled a list of the 10 games to watch in 2014 for those of you who are interested in watching more than just the team you're a diehard fan for. Notice the Yankees are absent from this list, yet another sign of the struggles that seem to await us this season. That being said, I think Derek Jeter's final game as a Yankee is going to be one to watch (through blurry tear-filled eyes) as the last of the Core Four heads to retirement.

4) Beat the Streak

Tired of looking at your abysmal March Madness bracket? Well sign up for MLB.com's Beat the Streak. The longest hitting streak in the MLB is held by a former Yankee, Joe DiMaggio, and it stands at 56 games. In this online MLB game, or app, you will pick a player (or double down with 2) each day and if they get a hit, your streak is extended by one. It is a fun game to play, even if you end up getting your streak busted pretty early. Plus this year there are scratch-off prizes for short streaks as well! I think it's a fun way to keep up with how players around the league are performing, so if you're a baseball fan this is definitely worth checking out.

5) LA Dodgers Are Paying the Big Bucks

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Guess what? We can stop giving the Yankees so much flack about financing a huge payroll because this year, the Dodgers are doing it even bigger. Yes, for the first time in 15 years, the Yankees do not have the highest payroll by $33 million...which means that even if A-Roid wasn't banned, the Dodgers would still claim that title. Oh, and the Yankees are the highest-valued franchise in America, so really their payroll is proportional to what they bring in, right? Yes, it's a bit of a stretch...

Are you ready for baseball to start?

xoxo,

SSP

The Beauty of Spring Tag!

Well, it feels a little strange to write this post when there's snow on the ground, but technically it is Spring, whether Mother Nature chooses to acknowledge it or not! Yesterday, Kaitlyn of Keeping Up with Kaitlyn tagged me in her blog post and I love the motivation to focus on Spring, despite the weather.

1) Do you change your makeup when Spring comes around? If so, how?

Confession: I don't really wear much makeup at all. I actually wore eyeshadow the last couple of weekends out and that was a big step for me, haha! I do change what little makeup I wear in the Spring in the sense that I make sure to always wear tinted moisturizer or BB Cream and sometimes will wash my face halfway through the day just to reapply it. A bad face burn several years back has made me a huge fan of makeup with SPF! I also will sometimes wear a shine control base lotion more often this time of year. Oh, and sometimes I throw on some mascara, too!

2) What's your favorite Spring fragrance?

I don't change my fragrance for the Spring, but maybe I should. I do put away my Chanel No. 5 for the season because it's too heavy, but I love Coco Mademoiselle and it's my other go-to scent.

3) What's going to be your favorite accessory this Spring?

This is really hard...can I just say everything? In all seriousness, I am attached to my sunglasses, a trait I inherited from my Momma, so I would have to say those are probably the most important accessory! Oh and of course, Jack Rogers too...

4) What's going to be your most worn item of clothing this Summer?

Sundresses, really any sundress! I have some Lilly cotton shifts that will make pretty frequent rounds and can be layered under a blazer for a business casual summer look. The number one item is always my platinum Jack Rogers though, I really need to replace them soon because they're falling apart since I wear them so often!

5) What are your top 3 favorite Spring polishes?

I love Essie Geranium as my go-to red polish this time of year. OPI Dutch Tulips is also a great color and was one of my Grandmama's favorites so I love wearing that too. Essie Watermelon is probably my favorite pink, but Essie Sugar Daddy is my staple polish year round and is a nice break from bright colors every once in a while.

6) Do you prefer pumps or sandals in the Spring?

Since I am at college, I am definitely partial to sandals! I love my Jack Rogers and summer wedges and can't wait to finally pull them out when this winter weather passes! That being said, I need a pedicure...

7) What's your favorite Spring jacket?

I am not big on jackets in the spring, usually just opting for a cardigan instead. However, I do bring my little Marley Lilly raincoat/windbreaker with me much of the time because it can fit in any bag and guarantees that I am ready for any April snow showers!

8) What's your favorite flower?

I absolutely love peonies, but as mentioned before, I really just love any flower that's fresh! My other favorite flower is probably Hydrangea, but it is so hard to choose! In the spirit of this being Spring though, one of my favorite stands at the Farmer's Market sells Dahlias and they are absolutely stunning, I love the variety of them!

xoxo,

SSP

Fan Friday Linkup: Brackets by Six-Year-Olds

Today is a bit of a feature and a linkup all together and I am just soooo excited to write this post. I recently discovered one of the greatest blogs ever. Sarah over at Venus Trapped in Mars is the bees knees. Seriously, this girl loves fashion and sports, sound familiar? You know she's a keeper because she actually found my email to her entertaining! Did I mention that her sponsorship packages have sports-themed titles? It's great. Go check out her blog if you haven't already (but finish reading this post first...)

Anyways, she hosts a Fan Friday Blog Linkup and I am so excited to start participating in it. I am totally using this as my reasoning and motivation to start writing more sports-related posts! Has anyone seen the AT&T "Brackets by Six-Year-Olds" commercial? It's great. Fun Fact: I once got all but one matchup correct in the first round of the tournament and came in second despite only having one team make it to the final four. #BossStatus (also, still mad at Louisville for sucking so much in the tourney that year...)

These are my absolute favorite commercials. I laugh every time I watch them, and recently watched the behind the scenes clip on YouTube where they talk about how what the kids say isn't scripted, which just makes them that much better. Also, I get to pretend to be one of these kids in my sorority's skit for recruitment, it's so much fun. On that note, I highly recommend never combining the taste of a blow pop and Kool Aid Jammer unless you want to feel sick...I learned the hard way. 

Anyways, I have to get ready for class, decorate 6 dozen mason jars, make gallons of sweet tea, shop for the next round of rush, and participate in tonight's round of recruitment, so I am gonna get on out of here and attempt to style my short hair! 

xoxo,

SSP