Beginners French Toast?

Hello internet! Today was snow day #5 so of course I was out of school. Around 10:30 AM, I started looking on Pinterest for something to make that was easy. I finally decided on this "Ihop French Toast remake" recipe which seemed pretty easy to me. Now, I am only 17 years old and have not cooked a lot so it was extremely hard to find a recipe for something that was not super difficult to put together. 

So here it is:

Ihop French Toast remake

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

3 Tbsp. of flour

1/8 tsp of salt

6 slices of French bread

The first thing I did was beat the two eggs in a bowl and then add the milk, flour and salt. The recipe called for 1 tsp. of vanilla, but I forgot to add it and it still tasted fine. After adding the milk, flour and salt, I beat all the ingredients together with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds or until everything was mixed. 

I heated a skillet on medium-high heat and let about 1 tsp. of butter melt in the pan. Now, I didn't have any nice French bread to use for this so I just used the Pepperidge Farm whole grain bread. I actually really enjoyed this bread because it was very large. Next, I dipped both sides of the bread into the batter and then let each side cook in the pan until golden brown or maybe even crispy. 

I only did two slices because the bread was large. I sprinkled some powdered sugar on the top with some syrup and I was good to go!

I am so glad I found this recipe because I found it better than my mom's french toast because it didn't have that nasty egg taste to it that I hate.

Here is what it looked like! I encourage all of y'all to try out this recipe because it was fantastic, even with the bread I used. 

How do y'all eat your french toast?!

xox, Katie.

Pre-Gym Routine

Hello Internet friends,

Today I will be writing about my pre-gym routine. I basically will be telling y'all what I do to prepare for the gym because it is a pretty important step in exercising and being healthy. 

So the first thing that I do once I get dressed for the gym is to eat something high in protein and will give me a lot of energy. My favorite thing to eat before a workout is a toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich. I just get two slices of whole wheat bread and toast them in the toaster. I then spread peanut butter all over them and layer some sliced bananas over it. This pre-gym snack offers proteins and plenty of carbs to help you prepare for the gym. 

The next snack I eat is not one of my favorites but it is good for you. Sometimes I will just grab a cup of Greek yogurt and eat it really quickly before I head out the door. This snack is perfect for those who do not want to waste anytime. 

Another great thing to eat is a smoothie. This is also a really fast and easy snack that you could even take with you. My favorite thing to mix up are some sliced bananas and strawberries with plain Greek yogurt and some ice cubes. This is a very simple way to start your workout routine. You could easily find a very healthy recipe that you like online. You could even add protein powder!

Now, if you are one of those people who wakes up at the crack of dawn to hit the gym, then this is for you. Eating a bowl of good plain oatmeal is an excellent way to get hyped up for the gym. Just add some slices of apple or banana or strawberry and it adds just a bit of flavor. 

After eating a healthy snack, I obviously fill up my Camelback water bottle. This is my favorite water bottle because it is so easy to drink out of when I'm on the elliptical or treadmill or at spinning class. Always make sure to have a pretty big water bottle filled up with ice water. Drinking plenty of water is key to staying hydrated, losing weight and clearing up skin. 

What do y'all do before going to the gym?! 

xox, Katie.

My Week

Hello Internet friends,
I have been really absent the last few weeks but that is because I have had so much going on. I thought I would tell y'all about what's been happening before I continued on with the blog.

Last week, on Monday, I traveled down to Jackson, MS, my state's capitol, and served as a Senate Page for my county's Senator. I missed the entire week of school to be down there and let me tell y'all that it was the most fun experience of my life. I met so many new friends from all around the state of Mississippi. My page group had 8 people and only two of them were girls(including me) so most of the people were guys.


When I got home on Friday afternoon, I began my make-up work for school. I had so much work to do, it took me the whole 3 day weekend to do. When I got back to school on Tuesday, I had 6 tests to make up throughout the whole week. I spent most of my nights studying until midnight!! Along with the stressful work, I came down with a terrible cold, that I still have. :( I am actually sitting here right now with tissues in my nose...hah! 


I also thought I would tell y'all that I finally got a gym membership!! This is so exciting because I can not wait to be fit and healthy. I look forward to sharing with y'all my gym routine, my gym outfit, and other health related things. If y'all have any suggestions about what I should write for my gym post, let me know!!

What have y'all been up to?! 

xox, Katie.

What's Coming Up

Hey y'all! Today I thought I would update you all on what's been going on in my life lately. 

Nothing really has been going on except for school 24/7.

The only exciting thing that happened this week was the announcement of Lilly Pulitzer's collaboration with Target. I also got assigned a huge project for AP Language and Composition but I picked a really interesting book to read for it so maybe it won't be too bad. 

My mom and I also signed up for a gym membership and we are both ecstatic!! It is a women only gym which lightens the pressure on both of us because we do not have to worry about men watching us the whole time. 

This next week starting Monday, I am going down to my state's capitol to serve as a Junior Senate Page. This is very exciting because I have always been very interested in politics and now I get a chance to dip my toe in before jumping all in. The bad part is, that I will be missing school the whole week so that brings a ton of make up work. To be a Senate Page, the uniform requires a khaki skirt and I was pleased with the one I ended up purchasing. I got it at Loft for only $30!! I think it was 50% off. 

It looks exactly like this but in khaki. 

I'm very grateful and blessed for this opportunity and will be sure to take many pictures to post for y'all. I hope to make a lot of new friends from around the state.

What are y'all up to?

xox, Katie

Target's Newest Collab

Hello friends! Today I found out some exciting news and most of you may already know. Lilly Pulitzer announced today that it would be collaborating with Target this Spring. As far as I know, they will have limited edition and special patterns that will come in scarves, dresses, shirts, wallets, pillows, shoes etc. A new thing that they are doing is adding plus sizes to the Target collab which was a big complaint with the last one. 

I'm ecstatic that Lilly Pulitzer wants to broaden their horizon and let more people have the chance to afford their clothing. I think, though, that this will make the brand less exclusive. Lilly Pulitzer to me has always been seen as a high end brand for young women and older women to look professional and stylish at the same  time. By collaborating with Target, I feel this will just lessen that mindset. Lilly Pulitzer won't seem as elegant and it will definitely be more mainstream. It has already started to become more mainstream but now it will be just another brand like J. Crew or Michael Kors. Don't get me wrong, I love Target and who doesn't? I just think that the collaboration will be detrimental to Lilly Pulitzer.

Now, this collaboration will be in stores for a limited time beginning April 19. I will show my support and visit my local Target (that I love so much) and check out what they have. There is no doubt in my mind that Lilly will have amazing pieces to share with the world! 

****In no way am I trying to sound rude or snobby. It's just like when you read a book in 2010 and it suddenly becomes popular in 2015 because it is being made into a movie.   

Please enjoy some pictures of what the Lilly Pulitzer Target collaboration will look like. Photo credits go to the new Instagram page made today.

Lilly Pulitzer 'After Party' Sale

Hey y'all! Just a friendly reminder that the HUGE Lilly Pulitzer 'After Party' sale starts on January 5th at 8AM EDT and it only lasts for two days so make plans now to buy that dress you've been eyeing! For big sales like these that only come around once or twice a year, I try to prepare early. Here are some of the things I do to prepare and also what Lilly Pulitzer says to do also.

1. Make sure you're logged into your account the night before the sale starts. This eliminates the time is takes to log in or create an account when trying to check out. 
2. Also make sure you have enough money on your if you are using a debit card, like me! 
3. If you haven't shopped Lilly in a while, go to the nearest store near you and try on some different things to see what your size is and make sure it has not changed. I did this today at my local Lilly store today so I could be sure what size I need in every type of clothing they have.
4. Try to set an alarm on your phone to remind you ten minutes before the sales starts so you have time to prepare and get to you nearest mobile device/computer. 
5. Remember that 8AM EDT is different for those who do not live in the eastern standard time zone!

Unfortunately, I will be driving to school when the sale starts but as soon as I arrive to school I will log on to my phone or just wait until after school. 

Will you be shopping this sale?!

xox, Katie.

Happy 2k15!!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone took today to reflect on the year 2014 and the highs and lows. I definitely reflected a lot on the past year and the mistakes I made and the great things that did happen. I am going to try and make this year even better than the last because let me be honest, 2014 was a bad year for me. This is how I plan to make my 2015 better:

• Become closer to God and deeper in my faith
• Not spend so much money on food;)
• Don't let the past year weigh me down and move forward
• Get better grades and score high on the AP English test!
• Make more friends
• Write more blog posts
• Be less stressed out and just be chilled out!  

These are only a few things that I hope to accomplish and work on this year! Obviously I will not completely fulfill all of these but I hope to touch base on all of them. 

So here's to a brand new year, a brand new day, a brand new blank page and new chances to make mistakes. I hope you all have a fabulous 2015 and I hope to share this entire year with y'all.

Page 1 of 365.

xox, Katie.