Friday Five: back-to-school edition

A few of the blogs that I love to read have a weekly Friday Five where they share the things that they are in love with at the moment. I decided that I want to try my hardest to do the same.


My first one is going to be all about back-to-school since classes start again on Monday...

1) I have been looking everywhere for a new school bag and the Kate Spade Bow Bridge James is just perfect. It is a great size and I love the camel color - just perfect for a Florida fall/winter. The bow is a super cute touch too!

2) Obviously you need to stock up on as much UCF gear as possible. Love this UCF notepad, perfect for keeping track on my copious to-do lists that I'm sure I'll have this semester.

3) Along with the start of fall classes in the start of the college football season. I am in love with all things black and gold. The ModCloth 'It's Morning Dress' is a great addition to any tailgating wardrobe (especially in Florida where it's about 95 degrees at every single game). I already have a gold belt to add to it and some UCF Knights croakies. GO KNIGHTS!

4) Gotta love some Vera! Coral, yellow, and brown has always been one of my favorite color combos. This Vera Bradley Brush and Pencil case in Buttercup is great to throw into any oversized tote along with textbooks and a laptop.

5) It has taken me awhile to finally jump on the iPad bandwagon, but I am finally there. I had the opportunity to buy one when they first came out but wasn't to impressed with them at the time. Now that they have come out with the iPad 2 and the super amazing protective cover I really like it.

xoxo,

Mariah

Labels or Love

Anyone who knows anything about Sex and the City and Carrie Bradshaw knows all about her signature 'Carrie' necklace. In just about every episode you can see her wearing the classic gold name necklace. Since the show started I'm sure hundreds upon thousands of women have been searching for their perfect signature 'Carrie' necklace.

Alas! I have found mine!

I stumbled across this charm one day while I was at a Tiffany's store in Connecticut this summer. I had just run in to the store to get a deep cleaning on some of my jewelry and as usual I wandered around to look at the other things they had. At first I didn't see this charm, but on my way out of the store I saw it for a split second and have been pining for it ever since.

I would wear it with just a simple silver chain - but trust me I would wear it all the time!

xoxo,
Mariah

It's not the towering sail, but the unseen wind that moves the ship

I have been having such a blast visiting some of my dad's family in Connecticut this past week. It really is so great getting the opportunity to live a normal life after working on a cruise ship everyday for two and a half months - it gets tiring.

I've been helping my dad's cousin get ready for an Art History 101 course that she starts teaching this semester. Seeing as my major is art history there have been so many things that I have been able to help her with and different assignment ideas she has been able to bounce off of me. Plus, it is a great addition to my resume, being able to say that I created a syllabus and lesson plans.

Today, her and I took the day off from boring school stuff and went sailing - it was a blast. The guys that we went with are amazing sailors and we won the race that we were in at the yacht club.

xoxo,

Mariah

Welcome back!

I swear I have been the worst Blogger on the face of the planet. I have not updated in a million years and have never even spent a moment giving it a second thought. I’m starting over. Not with a new blog, because I actually want to keep the one that I started how every many years ago.

Starting fresh…

I worked on a cruise ship this summer (again) it was my fourth summer with the company. These are just a few of my favorite photos from the past few months...

 xoxo,

Mariah

Another fresh new year is here… another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give!

I figure now is as good a time as any to do a little recap of 2010. And overall I think that 2010 has been a great year, even through the sad times, this year has had so many exciting things happen.

Let’s start with about this time last year…

…I was thinking about joining the Navy. Seriously…me?...In the Navy? It’s simply laughable now. Obviously this leads up to the next point that happened in 2010.

…I got back into UCF. I swore to myself (and my entire family) that if I didn’t get back into UCF for Fall 2010 I was joining the Navy. Well, seeing as the above says that I didn’t join the Navy then you can see what happened.
…My older sister got married. It was a beautiful wedding and everyone had such a great time.

…I found out that I am going to be an Aunt (baby is due in May). This is super exciting because we haven’t had a baby in the family since my younger sister who just turned 21 in November. My cousin is also due with her first child in March (it’s a girl!) – fun times to be had by all!

…I started a new job. I wasn’t even actually looking for a job it just kind of fell into my lap back in August; I now work at an art studio much closer to UCF. Looking back I am still almost shocked that I actually did it, the country club was almost my safe haven, I was so comfortable there. Sure, I griped about it a lot, but I loved practically all of the people I worked with. There are definitely some that I miss more than others but overall I think I will stay in touch with most of them for many years.

And now on to all of the exciting things I’m already looking forward to in 2011.

…My little niece or nephew coming in May. And the super cute baptism in DC on my sister and brother-in-laws one year wedding anniversary at the same church they got married at.
…Possible internship in New Haven, Connecticut over the summer.

…My first semester back at UCF as a full time student starts next Monday!!

…Maybe falling in love for the first time and maybe my first time traveling internationally.
And just a few of my resolutions for 2011:

…Stop over analyzing everything.

…learn something new every month. I’m working on golf for January, one of the guys I worked with at the country club offered to teach me. Other things I’m looking at doing… tennis, kickboxing, rock climbing, surfing, glass blowing, and knitting. I’m sure once I get through all of these I’ll figure out some others to try.
Cheers to a happy and fruitful new year! I hope 2011 brings the best of everything!