this past week has been busy busy busy! i worked 27 hours last week which is a lot for me, jenn and daniel flew to wilmington, went to the beach with friends, developed tan lines, cleaned some houses, read some harry potter, played some mario kart, and ate some sushi. i'm lovin' summer but i'm excited to go back to school in the fall!

also this never fails to crack me up:

ode to the dollar tree

when we would go visit my grandparents in west virginia, mama and papa would always take me to the dollar store and let me pick out whatever i wanted. being younger, i was amazed and would always pick out some weird glass decorative animal and a candy bar. you see, my love for the dollar store was fostered at a young age. i know what you're probably thinking, "oh, the dollar store is chinsey and only old people/poor people shop there." while it's true, old people shop there, here are some reasons i love the dollar store (and you should too!):

1. everything EVERYTHING EVERYTHING is a dollar. one dollar. one buckaroo. inflation in the economy has just about made everything increase in price (ie milk, GAS, bread) but at the dollar tree, everything is a dollar. every day. every time. one george washington.
2. aisles and aisles of items. a craft aisle, a health/beauty aisle, a cleaning supplies aisle, a picture frame aisle, the list goes on and on. you can find almost anything you need (or don't need) there.
3. some of you may argue "the quality is horrible, that's why it's only a dollar!" false! everything i've bought from the dollar tree has held up perfectly well. i see no point in buying a picture frame for $4 when i can find almost the exact same one at the dollar store for $1. and if you do happen to buy something and it breaks, who cares? it was only a dollar, go buy another one (:
4. because of their large selection in items, it's an easy place to find craft ideas or buy little home accents. they have vases and candles and art and picture frames, and framed mirrors and poster board and little wooden signs you color with markers, and markers, and crayons, i'm telling you, the list goes on and on.
5. hair accessories. i buy a pack of about 30 hair ties for $1. a pack of 10 plastic headbands for $1. i'm very good at losing/breaking hair ties so i don't care having to go out and buy hair ties every couple weeks for $1.
6. drinkware. living in an apartment next semester, i'm going to need to have some kitchen items for myself. they have tons of glasses for $1. they have vintage coke ones, big water glasses, martini glasses, it's endless! i'm going to be living with a bunch of college girls who are probably as clumsy as i am, why would i spend lots of money on nice drinking glasses when they'll probably end up broken by the end of the semester anyway?
7. their section of storage/organizing units is huge! i like having everything organized in its proper spot and when they have every type of desk insert or storage container, it makes it very easy. they have colorful ones, and little crates and normal rubbermaid containers, and cloth boxes (kinda like the one i bought from ikea)
8. nail polish. i don't care to spend $5 on a stupid bottle of name brand nail polish when it's just going to chip off eventually anyway. they have a large variety of fun colors and brands and those little foam toe dividers and nail files so you can give yourself a home pedicure for about $3!!


i could go on and on about why i love the dollar store but i have work soon. i don't want you to think i shop there because i'm poor or that i shop there and only there for everything. i probably wouldn't buy food other than candy there. i just feel like we spend too much money on things when we can get the same thing for much less money and isn't that what everyone wants? to be wiser when spending money? when i'm out other places shopping i'm constantly trying to add up how much everything is going to be and if i have enough cash or if i'm going to have to use my card and sometimes feel guilty about spending so much money. at the dollar store it's much easier. 5 items? $5.40 with tax. it's a great place to go if you are like me and don't care about name brands. just go and walk around and you'll see what i mean when i say they have anything and everything!!

birthday weekend

so my birthday was this passed weekend and it was a nice birthday. i worked saturday afternoon then dozed off when i got home. josh brought me flowers and took me to dinner and a movie for a birthday date. we had flaming amy's (YUM) and saw the new pirates movie. it was a good night! sunday we went to church then afterwards i came home and dozed again before dad came home and i got to open my presents and eat cake. josh got me these:

classic ray-ban wayfarers. i love them so much!! i look so cool in them but i'm so scared i'm going to break them so fingers-crossed i won't be my normal clumsy self and they'll last forever!!

all i really asked for from my parents was a tv i could take and put in my dorm room next semester. mom pretty much swore i wasn't getting one but i was pleasantly surprised when i opened this:

isn't it beautiful? i love it!! it'll look super fine in my room next semester.

yesterday after work i stopped by walgreens and picked up some black nail polish so i could do my zebra toes. ta-da!
aren't they cute? they look a little rough but i'll get better with practice. michelle came over in the afternoon/evening and swam and watched secret life and played mario kart with me and it was fun. i miss having girl time.

i'm totes doing this to my toenails