May Top 10!

Happy June everybody! I know we're already a few days in, but monthly wrap up comes better late than never I guess. I can't believe this last month has gone by so quickly. How have I possibly been home this long already??? And felt like I have accomplished nothing so far? It's time to get it in gear and that's what I'm going to do. 

Even though April showers continued through all of May in Texas, it was really nice to be home, so here are some of my favorite things from the past few weeks.

1 // The other weekend, my best friend, Sara, and I participated in our favorite summertime activity, go to country music concerts. For some reason, our area is filled with awesome live music venues that have great lineups all summer long. We saw some of our favorite bands, Josh Abbott Band and Casey Donahew, as well as a couple openers, at a local amphitheater. We've seen them both before. Casey always puts on a fun show. Josh Abbott was great too, but his new album is much more mellow so the concert definitely had that feel too. It was still fun to spend time with my best friend. 

2 // Remember Bath & Body Works? Aside from a random lotion at Christmas, I hadn't gotten anything from there, much less been in a store in years. Until my mom and I needed to get Mother's Day presents, and naturally we picked up a couple things for ourselves too. My roommate this year always had a few of their body sprays that she used and they always smelled great, so I decided to pick up a couple. I got one in the scent Hello Beautiful, which is all fruity and floral - highly recommend, the other is Watermelon Lemonade, which smells good enough to eat and is perfectly summery. 

3 // A few weeks ago I got to go shopping with Sara and one of her friends and managed to pick up a few new things. By far my favorite is this t shirt dress from H&M. It's easy to throw on and so comfortable! I've worn it to work, to a grad party, and it would be so easy to throw on with sneakers for a really casual look. If you're on the taller side, you could easily wear this as a long top with skinny jeans or leggings. I want it in every color. 

4 // My favorite blog to read this month has been Kelly in the City by Kelly Larkin. She normally does mostly fashion related posts, but she's also very open about her life and shows the real side to herself and her life, which I love because like Instagram, people's blogs are usually a highlight real of pretty pictures that don't always give you the full picture. I love it when bloggers are so real and open, because as silly as it seems to say, they are real people too.

5 // This month I watched some documentaries for the first time. I have never really gotten the appeal, I like my movies to be fun, not educational. However I loved the ones I watched and they could not be more different. Both are on Netflix and I highly recommend them! The first was Iris, which is about the life and style of legendary interior designer and fashion icon Iris Apfel. Oh my goodness, she is a hoot. Her style is insane and eccentric, but I love that she dresses for herself, wears whatever makes her happy, and doesn't worry about what the "in" trend is at the time. 

The other documentary I watched was completely different. It's called The Dropbox and it is the simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking story of a pastor in South Korea who has installed a baby box where parents who do not think they can raise their child can leave their baby to make sure the baby ends up in good care. The pastor and his family have rescued hundreds of children, and adopted quite a few. The movie also gives commentary on this issue of human rights in South Korea and left me crying and wanting to help these babies. It's truly an amazing story.

6 // Even though it just started back up, one of my favorite shows has been The Bachelorette! I loved Jojo on the last season of the Bachelor and I think she's amazing. It looks like this season is going to be a good one too. I watch every Monday while frequently texting my sister about the episode. I even have a bracket going with her and her friends!

7 // One of the best things about being home is having "real" food. Yes, dining hall food is technically real, but it isn't real good or real good for you. I have been loving having home cooked meals, a stocked fridge and pantry, and a consistent supply of fruit - the only fruit Clemson dining halls offer is grainy apples, bananas and oranges. I tried to keep fresh fruit in my mini fridge but somehow it always went bad before I could eat it. My parents keep a ton of frozen fruit on hand and I have been using my little brother's NutriBullet blender to make smoothies for breakfast on a nearly daily basis. I'm even looking into getting my own for my dorm next year.

8 // I haven't been spending a ton of time on YouTube compared to how much I have in the past. I guess I'm just getting bored with the channels I've been following for a while. However, I did start following two new-to-me channels this month. Eleventh Gorgeous is by a set of hilarious twins, they mainly do makeup reviews and test different "hacks," nothing super ground breaking and different, but their positive, upbeat personalities and the way they interact together makes them fun to watch. I also started watching Tati's videos, because as I said last month, I have gotten really into looking up reviews of things, and this girl harshly reviews everything to let you know what's up and she really knows her stuff. 

9 // Another thing I've loved for the past month is just being home. It can get a little bit boring from time to time, but going to school so far from home, I hardly get to spend any time with my family and I have gotten to spend a ton of time with them lately, especially my momma. There's also something to be said about just getting to be in my own room, my own bed. I've always been a major home body so I've just been soaking that up while I can.

10 // For June (even though we're already a few days in) I'm really looking forward to my boyfriend coming to visit. I haven't seen him since I left Clemson at the end of April. He'll only be in Texas for a long weekend, but a little time together is better than nothing!

Hope everyone is having a fun start to the month!