Tag Archives: seniors

See Ya Later, Boston

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I’m back home in New York!

Where there is a kitchen and where the toilet paper is thick enough to use only three squares instead of seven.

That being said, I actually consider Boston my second home (maybe even just “home” now), since I do spend 8/12 months there. I also feel that the people I’ve met at BU are truly my second family. And I’m gonna cut the sap right there before I start crying and you start cringing.

Even though I’m not going to be living at “home” in Boston for another 8.5 months (oh my gosh) because I’m going to Dublin in the fall, I tried my best to maintain a “see ya later” attitude rather than a “goodbye” attitude, especially when it came to leaving friends.

My last few days in Boston were wonderful, spent with many people I love, and for that I am so grateful.

On Thursday, Rachel and I walked and talked for 2 hours, more or less. The weather was just perfect. We also watched The Parent Trap that night, which was a fantastic choice.

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My favorite moves of the week: Hillary’s Dirty Burpee Workout on Saturday morning. I had to dodge lots of families who were hanging out by the river for graduation festivities, but it was like an agility obstacle course, ya know? There were also so many other people working out too!

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last time workout there for a long time

That workout took everything out of me. The burpees felt like a break in between the .25 mile runs, which is evidence of how much little I run.

I tried this Aussie yogurt from our campus market store, since I had some dining points left to use. It’s called Noosa and it’s some of the richest, most delicious yogurt I’ve ever eaten. But I’m probably never going to have it again because I’m too cheap and buying individual cups of gourmet yogurt doesn’t seem very economical.

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I also finished up some Nature’s Path multigrain wild berry freezer waffles for breakfast one morning. Topped with pb and banana, naturally.

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On Saturday night after Mass, our Catholic Center chaplain, Fr. Barnes, hosted a potluck dinner for all the non-seniors who were still on campus. ‘Twas a lovely evening. We started with cheese and crackers (arguably the best appetizer of all time). My friends Casey and Fiona came through with some smoked gouda, brie, and sharp cheddar #BLESS.

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My friend Nico brought quiche, which made me squeal.

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Fr. Barnes made us the most satisfying spaghetti ever. Plain spaghetti tossed in olive oil with fresh tomatoes, grilled corn, raw garlic, Italian sausage, and basil. KILLER. I roasted some balsamic brussels sprouts and green beans to go along with it.

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“Look bourgeoisie.”

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Chef Barnes and Casey— two great people (p.s. Fr. Barnes has an awesome blog)

On Sunday morning, I attended the graduation for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences with some friends to support more friends. I hope we embarrassed them by how loudly and obnoxiously we cheered.

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Mom and Pop so generously drove up to Boston just to help me move out and drive me back home. What a lucky girl I am.

We ate dim sum for lunch and then hit the road. Back on the home front, I had/still have a lot of unpacking to do, but I got to cook! Honey mustard paprika salmon + honey balsamic roasted green beans and asparagus (can you tell that I like roasted things in balsamic?). Mom made quinoa too.

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I didn’t take a pic of the roasted veg

In the midst of unpacking, I saw that Emily from Beauty in Christ sent me the sweetest package! Nuttzo + homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! She’s so good to me.

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Of course, I microwaved and ate one of her cookies for dessert, and they are seriously some of the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten. UGH. Thank you so much, Emily! ♥︎ I highly recommend checking out her blog if you love good reflections and inspiration regarding body image and ED recovery + beautiful things/positivity in general.

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These next few days I will be with my friends Fiona and Rachel in upstate New York! I won’t have service, which is honestly a blessing, because I need to get my eyes off pixels for an extended amount of time. I’ll catch up with you guys soon though!

Hope you have a great week! Squeal with excitement over things like quiche.

So tell me:

Do you feel like you have/ever had a “second home” somewhere? I do still love home in NY and being with my parents ♥︎ Love you, mom and pop.

What is the best thing you ate this weekend?

Do you buy individual cups of yogurt or just big tubs like me? I buy individual ones if they’re on sale!

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Behind the Scenes #23: Prom

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Well, hello, world! I have so much to tell you about this week, so it’s perfect that today is Thursday because…

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with the wonderful Amanda!

1) Prom. It happened on Tuesday-Wednesday. And it was awesome.

2) Except for the fact that I had to go to two hair salons. Long story short: at the first salon, the lady that was supposed to do my hair was not there, so the lady that usually does nails did my hair instead…and it didn’t turn out quite as envisioned. I was getting flustered and dramatic about it, but mom was cool as a cucumber and took me to a more trusted salon to get it fixed. Yes, we should have gone to the more trusted salon first, but we thought we would dabble with the cheaper salon. Hmm.

3) My mom hosted this snazzy pre-pre-prom party at our house so we could take some of the standard prom pictures. Per usual, she made a plethora of food, which was a huge hit.

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Yes, my mom put those balloons up herself just for the occasion.

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I put on the boutonniere incorrectly apparently. At least I didn’t poke Michael!

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Charlie’s Angels? Eh.

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4) Everyone looked INCREDIBLE. Like, my school’s got some style.

5) ‘Twas a windy night, but the weather was perfect. If it were any warmer, we all would have been sweaty and nasty.

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5) Dance, eat, chat, eat, repeat! The food was really good at prom, and the make-your-own ice cream sundae station at the end made me pretty happy. 😀

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Photo boothin’

I still need a foot massage from dancing in heels all night.

6) At 11 PM, when prom ended, I was BEAT. I could not fathom the fact that Daliza, Jordan (her date), Michael, and I were going to NYC for another 6 hours afterwards. I kinda wished we could just sleep and go to after-prom the day later, but that would not complete the prom experience…whatever the heck that is anyway.

7) A majority of our classmates went on a boat around NYC, but we opted to (*ahem* stay sober) have our own adventure on land in Times Square.

After-prom on St. Patrick’s Cathedral steps #TURNUP

8) No, seriously, our little foursome had a blast. We played hide ‘n’ seek in Times Square!!! Rules: Between 42nd and 45th street, only on 7th ave, only outside. Fun times!

9) We also ate halal food from THE famous Halal Guys on 6th and 53rd as fuel for the next 5 hours. And I totally got a second wind, so I actually wasn’t tired in NYC!

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10) We got back to my house at around 7 AM (yah, I know), and then we took naps and watched High School Musical 3. Party animals.

11) I’m graduating today!!! I have a speech to deliver?…Meep.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

So tell me:

Did you go to prom in high school?

When was the latest you’ve stayed up?

What would you do for after prom?

Fascinating Friday Links #38

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Hiya!

Yesterday was the senior picnic— one of the special events that we receive as the big shots of the school. We did all those gushy things like signing every person’s yearbook (even those of the people we’ve never talked to before— loooook we’re breaking barriers, how sweet). Then there were other fun things like frisbee, soccer, volleyball, and eating burgers and dogs.

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Je’lyn, Veronica, and Jeannine ♥ 

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Cheeseburger {cheese is on the bottom} with ketchup and mustard art.

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Daliza! 😀

Although the weather was kinda gross, it was a fun time! Let’s be honest though, the cheeseburger was the best part of the day.

Joking.

And now here are this week’s Fascinating Friday Links. Enjoy!

fascinating friday links

Health and Fitness

[Most of us have done it] How To Stop Comparing Your Food Choices to Other People’s via The Real Life RD + Well-Intentioned

[Never too early to care for your heart health] Best Foods For Your Heart And Why 20-Somethings Should Care via Greatist

[Hooray for fish!] 5 Reasons Athletes Should Eat Fish via Cotter Crunch

[I did only half of this workout and ooooof] HIIT Fusion Workout via Purely Twins

[You don’t just have to run outdoors] Outdoor Workout via Blonde Ponytail

Food for Thought

[Happiness is worth some discomfort and sacrifice] 20 Hard Things You Need to Do to Be Happy via Marc and Angel Hack Life

[Live life too] Balancing Blogging and the “Real World” via The Big Man’s World

[Holla] Eff the Thigh Gap via Healthy Diva Eats

Food for Belly

[All the stone fruits!] Grilled Apricot Quinoa Parfaits via Fit Foodie Lee + Roasted Peach Crumble Bars via Yeah…Imma Eat That + Grilled Peach BBQ Sauce with Grilled Polenta via Edible Perspective

[Thailand meets North America. I dig.] Thai Turkey Sliders with Peanut Sauce via The Healthy Maven

[I’m into these s’mores variations] Red, White, and Blue Berry S’mores via Family Fresh Cooking

[Looks like it] Addictively Good Chicken Wings via Kitchy Kitchen

[Awesome] Vegan Caprese Sandwiches with Garlic Cashew Cheese via Oh My Veggies

[Yessss] Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies via The Lean Green Bean

Miscellaneous Fun

[Learn] The Unspoken Rules of Blogging Etiquette via Running with Ollie

[Mind is BLOWN] 20 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Frozen’ via Your Tango

[I’ll do this the next time I’m in the city] This Random Guy Pretends to Be a Celebrity…And All of New York Falls For It via Slightly Viral

It was a shorter list today, but I guess that can be a good thing!

My friend Susie is coming over this morning so that I can do her makeup for prom! I don’t really know why she’s coming to me…I’m not that amazing at makeup, but hopefully I can work some magic. Just pray that I don’t screw up one of the biggest nights of her high school life, cool? Then I’m off to my school’s senior luncheon, which is a fancier event at a country club…ooo la la. I ♥ dressing up.

Happy Friday, everyone!

So tell me:

Burgers or hot dogs?

What are you doing today?

Do you like dressing up?

WIAW: Yesterday

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Hi!

After answering my own Spill It Sunday questions yesterday, I got crap from my friends for pretending to be Hannah Montana in my past life. GUATEVER, that was seven years ago…I’m still a rockstar though.

Another late night last night results in another late post today, but hopefully this won’t be a regular thing. I like getting my posts up early! Anyway, today I’m showing you what I ate yesterday, along with all the fun post-high-school activities that happened!

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Joining the party with the world’s best avocado picker, Jenn!

6 AM— Wake up. Go to the bathroom. Consider going down for breakfast before thinking: Why the heck am I up right now? Go back to sleep.

9 AM— Wake up take two. Muuuuuch better.

9:30 AM— Breakfast, blogging, and Food Network watching!

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English muffin with almond butter and pepita sunseed butter + Greek yogurt with honey, chia, hemp, and half a banana

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A juicy peach

10:30 AM— Laundry, bathroom cleaning, dishes, and some burpees and handstands thrown in there for good measure.

12:30 AM— Rehearse singing the alma mater and star spangled banner with the other seniors in chorus at school in preparation for graduation. It already felt weird walking back into that building. Just thinking: I will never take classes here again. 

1:15 PM— A delicious but insanely messy lunch. I would never eat this thing in public, or else I would be judged as a barbarian. Eggs, tomatoes, and avocado pieces were rolling everywhere.

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Whole wheat tortilla, spinach, avocado, tomato, and parmesan scrambled egg wrap + unpictured sugar snap peas

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Plus a few dried pineapple rings

2 PM— Shopping with Daliza! We found our outfits for the senior awards ceremony last night, blasted Young the Giant in her car, and sang more Frozen duets.

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Super smiles

5 PM— Snack time. I finished my tomato and sugar snap peas from lunch with some hummus.

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Plus some of these spiced crackers

6:30 PM— I tried out the 100 air squat challenge for time that I saw on Fitfluential‘s Instagram.

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7:30 PM— Snacked on some salt and pepper pistachios before the senior awards ceremony.

8:45 PM— Awards ceremony finishes and guess what!

I’m valedictorian. Meep. Madre was crying! :’)

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One of my best friends, Sam, is salutatorian! Congratulations, girl!

We were tenths of a point away from each other! Now I have to write my speech…stat.

9:45 PM— Went out with some friends after the ceremony to get snacks, but I needed dinner, so I got a yummy chicken gyro that satisfied my hunger very well.

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10:30 PM— Sam, Jeannine, Michael, and I went to Veronica’s house to play a game that Veronica introduced to us— Loaded Questions. That game is easily one of the funnest things of all time. We laughed so hard the whole time!

2 AM— Hit the hay.

There ya have it! Everything I did and ate yesterday. So many fantastic things for which to be thankful!

So tell me:

Do you have trouble eating homemade wraps too?

Which meal has recently hit the spot for you?

Two fun things you did yesterday!

WIAW: Fluffy and Peachy

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Howdy!

I honestly could not think of a better title for this post, but fluffy things sound nice and peachy things sound cheerful, right? It’s also WIAW, which means food, which means awesomeness.

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Awesomeness brought to you by Jenn!

I came up with the two adjectives, fluffy and peachy, when thinking about the wicked breakfast I had a week ago. When you’re in a family that loves eating at restaurants, you tend to describe foods as if you’re trying to advertise them on a menu. Thus, here’s what I ate last Wednesday, along with some {hopefully appealing} adjectives to describe my eats! Don’t worry, I didn’t say moist…Except for just now.

I also finally took pictures of all my eats from one full day!

Breakfast

Fluffy and peachy:

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Peach oatmeal smoothie (with peanut butter blended in) + PB puffins on top

This thing is so fluffy I could die. When it comes straight out of the blender, there’s still a lot of air so it’s like a mousse. It might just be my favorite summer breakfast! Eaten with a spoon of course.

Snack #1

Crunchy and sweet:

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Oat and honey bar

I didn’t really need captions for this one did I?

Lunch

Savory and spicy:

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Pork, cheese, spinach, and spicy mustard sandwich

Love that spicy brown mustard! It seriously MAKES the sandwich.

Snack #2

Crunchy and charred:

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Spicy brown rice crackers.

These things make my taste buds party, but my mom threw out the box at the store (such a space-saver), so I don’t know what the brand is!

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Leftover grilled veggies with sun dried tomato hummus

Any vegetable in the fridge is doomed to the fiery pit of hummus. Dooooomed.

Snack #3

Classic and…that’s it.

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Banana with pepita sunseed butter

Tchu know.

Dinner

Fresh and nutty:

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Fish and mango spring rolls (a la madre) with peanut sauce

Gosh, I loved this dinner. Although, in this picture the peanut sauce looks like baby food. I had to warm it up in the microwave to get is a little less carrot-mash-y.

Dessert

Sweet and tangy:

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The usual. Dried figs with Greek yogurt {recycled photos}.

This reminds me— I haven’t had dried figs and Greek yogurt since last Wednesday I think! I’ll change that right now 😀

Can we just reflect on the fact that there are 4 more days of high school left for me?? I’m currently in the very giddy, excited stage of the process, since all our senior events are coming up soon. But I’ll hit the emotional stage sometime this month, don’t you worry. Oh and I also had my last dance class EVER yesterday. What?!

Also, I want to wish my dad a very happy birthday! You’re the best, pop. I love you so much! ♥

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Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

So tell me:

Describe your favorite meal from yesterday.

What do you like to eat with hummus?