meet Waffles and Hank

Despite all the craziness and insanity of being a college student, I decided to add one more responsibilty...

Yes. I bought a baby duck. And my sister bought the other one.

Don't ask me why. We were just randomly in Panera (my life a series of Panera and Starbucks runs) and we were like, "Hey, we should go a a petshop and look at some baby animals; they probably have little chicks or something for Easter."
So we went to Tractor Supply, saw these precious little babies and kind of had to have them.
No, we are definitley not allowed to have animals of any kind in our dorms and yes, they stink like heck but they are kind of the most adorable things ever.

They spent the first part of the week in Christy's top dresser (just like in "Fly Away Home") but her roommate wasn't exactly thrilled with them, so now they're in my bathtub. Fortunately we're going home for Easter this weekend, so we can take them hope to the farm. But for now, it's kind of fun having little pets in the apartment...just don't tell my RA, okay?

xo
heather

it's this kind of thinking that gets me bad grades...

I love coming back from a long break and realizing just how much I really do love school. Way too often I get stressed about schoolwork and getting everything done and going meetings, only to overlook the people that make the college experience worthwhile.

Even though the semester only gets more and more hectic, I've decided that I need to make people a priority, whether that means taking time to chat with the person next to me in the coffee line or post-poning homework to go to a campus event. Even studying in the library instead of my room can totally brighten my day--besides, you never know how many cute guys you'll run into!

I don't want to look back on my college days and regret not putting myself "out there" more and taking advantage of being surrounded by thousands of people my age. I want to grow as a person, and that's not going to happen if I hole up in my room and write papers all day.

Yesterday I was studying for Spanish when my sister called, and said, "Hey, let's go do something. I'm so bored, but I look cute today, so we should go somewhere!" I love the way us girls rationalize. And I thought, "You know, I do need to do something fun!" So we spent almost two hours slurping fat-free smoothies from Panera and laughing so hard that half the restaurant turned to give us their raised-eyebrowed looks. I may not have gotten all the studying done that I should have, but I had a great time catching up with my sister. Those are the kinds of things I'll remember years from now, not how hard I worked for a grade.

So, that's my goal for the rest of the semester--to make friends (old and new) a priority. And now on to some much-needed Spanish tutoring!

ten things...

First of all, thanks to Cassie at for tagging me in the "Happy 101" award!

Okay, 10 things that make me happy...

1. Reading a reeaallly good book. I'm not the biggest Nicholas Sparks fan of all time, but this book was amazing:

2. New adventures. My family is planning a move to Chile in the very near future and I couldn't be more excited!!

3. Quiet time. Even at home, it's hard to find time to get away from the hustle and bustle and just...be. There's something so calming about just spending time alone with God and completely forgetting about whatever else is going on.

4. Cowgirl boots with dresses. My outfits all week have been basically this.

5. Not worrying about calories or how I look in my bathing suit because it's too darn cold to wear one anyway!

6. Trying on prom dresses with my friend Meredith at the mall. I wish I took more pictures, it was so fun! Part of me is like, "Am I really graduating from college next year? I still want to go to one more prom!"

7. Thinking about doing something different with my hair. I love these girls' hair:

Katie at Skunkboy Creatures.

singer Jenny Lewis

I wish my hair was a little nicer to me when it comes to the curling issue. I tend to look like a redheaded Shirley Temple when I curl it. Kind of scary...

8. Sailboats. My sister Christy is in Florida this week with her friends, surfing and sailing (lucky...) But, I mean, I can't complain. I'm kind of enjoying the cloudy weather, and...watching movies all day...Okay, not really.

from weheartit.com

9. Switching my major, yay! I have officially decided to switch from English Education to English Writing, mainly because...well...I wouldn't have been able to graduate on time if I stayed in the teaching program, so I was like, "Hey, I like to write. I'll just do that." Unfortunatley, the longer I'm in college the more I'm like "Eh, who cares about the future? I'll figure something out..." But, seriously, I love to write and I'm super excited about my classes next year.

10. Scrapbooking inspiration

by Amy Tangerine. Check out her blog.

I'm supposed to tag ten other bloggers but...I tag everyone! Have a great day! (Oh, and I'm feeling much better, thanks for the get well wishes!)

xo

heather

pretties

Spring Break and I'm home sick. Ughhh...
You know what the worst thing about being sick is? I can't stand the taste of coffee. It's tragic. I got sick last summer and couldn't drink it for weeks. It was like I was trapped in some sort of alternate universe or something. So, guess I won't be visiting the cute little coffee house I discovered just down the road...

On a happier note, I am super in love with the art of Nan Lawson. How adorable are these...

I love them all!

See more here.

xo

heather

wednesday randomness

Recipe-testing time!

I feel sorry for my future husband--I consider a bowl of baked carrots a meal. I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but the thought of cooking meat kinda freaks me out. But at least I cooked it from scratch, right? Mm, and they were sooo good! The recipe is over at Martha Stewart's website if you want to try it!

I just broke one of the cardinal rules of blogging: never blog about what you ate for dinner.
But, in my defence, it's more of a celebration of the fact that I can cook rather than an utter lack of a life. At least I hope.

And, even though I haven't made any new layouts recently, I thought I'd share some pages that I made my freshman year of college...

Sorry the picture quality isn't so good. I'm not cool enough to own a scanner.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

xo

heather

getting back in the habit

I've decided that I've been skirting around the issue of writing for so long that I just need to sit down and do it. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember and can honestly say that it's one of my biggest passions. But I just don't do it enough. Last year, I wrote somewhere around seven or eight chapters of this novel that had been edited by a professional, real-life author. Naturally, my computer crashed and I lost it. Since the thought of re-writing that same story has as much appeal as listening to nails screech down a chalkboard, I've decided to start a new one.

But, as everyone knows, forcing oneself to sit down and knock out the first few chapters is always the hardest part. Plus, I live within walking distance of two different libraries, which means that my insatiable appetite for books is never left unsatisfied.

So, in other words, I need to put down the books, hide my library card, and pick up my laptop.

Oy.

tea parties and ukuleles

I finally got my ukulele on Friday! Oh my gosh, it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I knew they were small (duh) but when I saw it in the store I was like, "Awww, it's so tiny!" I only know a handful of chords, but it's enough to make my room sound like Hawaii, and that makes me happy. I can only hope my roommates feel the same way :) I'll post some pictures soon.

Yesterday me and a big group of girls went to this adorable tea place in Chattanooga called the English Rose. It was the highlight of my year. I had tea, crumpets, and some sort of fruit and meringue dessert; it was absolute heaven. And, as if it wasn't adorable enough, the people that worked there were British. I almost died. I'm sorry, I'm just such a girly-girl. Here's me and my friend Jess:

So now I'm like, "Um, where can I buy a teapot? Right now?"

Anyway, I'm not super bogged down with homework this week (miracle of miracles) so I am going to work on my scrapbook, try some recipes I found in a Martha Stewart magazine, and read! Oh, and learn a song on my ukulele. Which, I have a feeling is going to be a little harder than it looks.

xo

heather

dreaming of...

pretty gardens!

I've always wanted to live in a place where I could have a big, beautiful garden. Here are some pretty ones:

So pretty! (all pics from weheartit.com).

I'm *hopefully* getting my ukulele this week (yay!) but I can't decide whether I want a yellow one or a wooden one. What do you guys think?

xo

heather

this week's loves

Here are some of the things I'm loving this week...

1. blueberry coffee

(source)

My word. I'm normally not a big fan of flavored coffees--I like just plain ol' black coffee, but blueberry coffee is amaaaazing! Who woulda thought.

2. My Life in France by Julia Child

(source)

I love memoirs, reading about food, and travel. Add them all up and you get this book.

3. Zumba

(source)

Okay. Don't make fun. But I went to my first Zumba class last night annnnd it was pretty great. Let me tell you, you cannot be shy in a Zumba class. It is all about the booty shakin', but it's so fun! I'm pretty sure I burned off every single calorie I ate that day.

4. Dreaming about sitting on a beach with a flower in my hair and an iced coffee by my side, strumming one of these.

(source)

Just like Elvis.

(source)

5. Taylor Swift's song, "Hey Stephen"

(source)

Makes me all smiley inside. I wish I could write songs the way she can.

xo
heather