I picked up THIS GUY from the airport!!!

BOYFRIEND!!!

 :)

Off to spend some time with this handsome boyfriend of mine.

Hope you’re having a lovely Thursday! I’ll catch up with ya later.

Hello friends!

How is your Wednesday going??

Mine has been going great so far! My inability to sleep in meant that I was wide awake by 7AM, so I got up and pounded out a quick run. I did an easy 3 miles on a dirt road near our house…I was seriously lacking fuel because I hadn’t eaten since last night’s dinner, and didn’t eat anything before heading out. Rookie mistake. Oh well! It was better than nothing.

After eating a big bowl of oats with blueberries, I did lots of chilling on the couch this morning with this cute little girl…

Violet

She was even cuter as a puppy…

baby Violet!

 I know right?!

Anyways, after doing lots of nothing and finally a few chores, I quickly showered and headed to a local pizza place to meet my mom for lunch.

mama Burks

Isn’t she just too cute??

We went to Nick-n-Willy’s Pizza because we are absolutely in love with their Aegean pizza.

The Aegean is a crispy crust pizza topped with an olive oil glaze, mozzarella, fresh garlic, spinach, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and oregano. Even after living in Chicago for two years and eating some pretty fantastic pizza, I seriously crave this stuff!

It’s heaven. The crust is thin, light and perfectly crunchy and combination of flavors from the toppings are absolutely to die for.

I easily demolished 3 slices

If summer weather would ever decide to appear in Colorado, maybe I could begin to get rid of my pasty, Chicago-winter weather skin…

Alright, topic #2! Wedding dresses.

Although I am not engaged and don’t plan on getting married for quite some time, I have to admit that I absolutely love watching shows about weddings and wedding dresses. One of my all time favorites is Say Yes to the Dress on TLC.

It’s so fun to see all of the beautiful gowns that these brides get to try on!

However, I am often times absolutely shocked at how much these people are willing to spend for a dress that they will only be wearing for a few hours.

Yesterday, there was a girl on the show whose wedding budget was, prepare yourself,…

$500,000!!!

WHAT?! That just seems absolutely CRAZY to me!! She was having two weddings (don’t ask me why) and had her first dress custom designed for $17,000. In pursuit of her second dress, she tried on this dress by Pnina Tornai

…and proceeded to say that it didn’t have enough of a “wow” factor.

I’m not really sure how this dress could possibly scream “WOW” any louder.

Although I’m not sure if it’s a good “wow”…

Do you watch Say Yes to the Dress or any other wedding shows?

What are your thoughts on wedding budgets? Do you have a max amount that you’d spend on a wedding gown?

Since the start of summer, I’ve found that the things I have enjoyed most about being home and off of school are the smallest, simplest things.

Like enjoying a delicious breakfast out on our beautiful deck.

smoothie bowl!

Or reading a good book at night…

After watching way too many episodes of my favorite show…

Swim suit shopping with my mom and ordering a new bikini!

Cooking dinner with my mom!

I love summer

Yesterday, I went to the community college nearby to register for an online calculus class that I need to take this summer (SO FUN!) so that I can transfer into the Business School at Colorado State University in the fall. My mom decided to come with me so that we could run some errands afterward. While driving through the college parking lot, we saw a car that looked identical to the one I drove in high school.

Mom: “Oh hey look! That car looks exactly like your old car!”

Jordan: “How funny! It’s even a two door like mine…wait! That IS my car!!”

Apparently whoever my parents sold my car to when I went away to Chicago is a professor at Front Range Community College.

So naturally we stopped to take a few pictures

It was windy and bright…hence my ridiculous hair and half closed eyes.

I couldn’t believe that I saw my old car!! I loved this car in high school and still miss it.

Seeing it totally made my day.

What fun, random occurence has made your day lately?

Home sweet home!!

After two very long days of driving, I arrived back into beautiful Colorado! I am so thrilled to be back in my lovely home with my amazing family.

The car ride from Chicago (a brutal 15 hours) was actually a lot more enjoyable than you’d think. My mom and I made a much needed stop at Trader Joe’s for road trip food on the way out of town, which was an awesome decision. I ate WAY too many ginger cat cookies, chocolate covered raisins, pretzel nuggets, flax seed tortilla chips…the list goes on. But hey that’s what road trips are for, right?

Luckily, we broke the trip into two days and stopped to stay a night in Grand Island, Nebraska. We stayed at a nice little hotel and got a great night’s sleep to fuel us for another day of driving. We woke up in the morning and hit the work out room in the hotel before heading back to shower and get ready. Then we headed to the continental breakfast and hit the road! We took turns driving and reading to each other. It went pretty fast! But I was definitely glad to get out of the car.

This morning, I went on my first run back in Colorado! My leg issues (torn muscle in my calf) seem to be just about gone! I am still aware of the area, but the pain is nearly gone. I covered a 5 mile loop and felt pretty good, but I DEFINITELY felt the change in altitude! My lungs were burning!! 

When I got back from my run, my parents and I celebrated my successful, nearly pain free run by making lattes and pancakes. It was heaven.

We made blueberry ricotta pancakes from this recipe and they were absolute perfection. Seriously. Make this RIGHT NOW. The only thing we changed about the recipe was using skim milk + 1 T of lemon juice in place of the buttermilk. Served alongside some fried ham and a skim latte sweetened with a little Stevia, this was the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time! My dad said they were they best pancakes he’s ever eaten

The rest of my day so far has been filled with TONS of laundry and unpacking, because my room looks like this…

Somehow, we managed to fit the entire contents of my apartment into my little Honda Civic…and unpacking all of this has been hell. I absolutely hate unpacking! Luckily, I have no deadlines!

Since I spent all of last week working, packing, and spending time with Ryan’s family, I had done no blogging (obviously) and no blog reading, so I’ve had lots of fun catching up on you guys’ blogs lately! I think I spent about 2 hours reading blogs last night. I can’t wait to catch up with more of you!

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments on my last post regarding my decision to transfer home. You guys are too great I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!!

Hi there!

So sorry that I’ve been completely MIA! My life as been nuts…but the good news is that I am officially done with my sophomore year of college!

It feels so weird…but sooo good! My mom is flying out here tomorrow night to help me pack up and move back home.

For those of you who don’t already know, I made the decision a little while back to transfer back home to Colorado to finish college.

Although I feel so excited and antsy to be near my wonderful family…

…and those beautiful Rocky Mountains…

There are many things that I will miss about the city of Chicago.

1. This guy.

Ryan has one more year of school left and will be finishing it up in Chicago. Although we are obviously way less than thrilled about having a long-distance relationship, we are absolutely determined to make it work. I know I will be out here to visit him lots next year, and he is supposed to spend all summer in Colorado with me! He is planning on playing baseball for a summer league, so that should be wonderful.

2. The city itself…especially downtown.

I wish I lived right in the heart of the city…it’s such a wonderful place to live when you’re young! I will miss downtown excursions. But I know that I will get to go quite a bit when i come out to visit Ryan!

3. Discovering awesome new restaurants with new friends!

Restaurants slash great self serve frozen yogurt spots! These are my friends Jessica and Shelby (twins). We went to Forever Yogurt last weekend and I died and went to heaven.

piled high!

Mine is in the middle….and yes it definitely weighed the most of the three. Winner in my book! Such a fun night. I’ll miss these girls!

And this froyo. Obvs.

4. Trader Joe’s!

Silly, I know…but we don’t have them in Colorado!!! I will miss finding wonderful new treats on my excursions to TJ’s. I’m gonna make sure my mom and I stop in here for snacks for our road trip home!

5. Feeling totally independent and grown up.

I have no picture to describe how this feels…but living on my own for 2 years has really forced me to grow up in a lot of ways. For the first time, I’ve been forced to handle basically everything on my own. My parents are wonderful and still help me SO much, but there is so much that you find out about life when you no longer live under your parents’ roof!

That being said, I am really looking forward to being back home and enjoying being young while I still can. I know that I will most likely end up back in Chicago (or somewhere away from home) in a few short years in order to be with Ryan once I graduate, so I really want to take advantage of still being a “kid” while I can! I love my parents and my hometown, and am going to try to soak up the comforts of home for a while.

Well unfortunately I am probably going to be absent for the next few days again with all the craziness of packing and moving home…

I’m really hoping to get back into blogging hardcore when I’m back home!! I know that I’ll have tons more time and resources this summer, and I can’t wait to dive into it (as well as running again!) I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, I am loving just reading your guys’ blogs and finding out about your lives! I hope you are doing wonderfully!

P.S. Did I mention I’m going to miss Ryan??

You know it’s the end of the semester when you have been so busy procrastinating studying for finals, writing papers, and working on projects that you haven’t had any time to go grocery shopping.

Let’s just say that the star dinner of this week looked like this…

Peanut butter and banana on a sandwich thin, steamed green beans and strawberries.

My dad called me while I was eating this and when I informed him of the contents of my dinner his response was,

“Peanut butter and bananas, huh? Man Jordan, you’re quite the little gourmet.”

That I am, sir.

I only have 4 days of actual school before finals are over and I can coast through summer!! I have 3 presentations, 1 final paper, and 2 finals tests till freedom…

Luckily, I have a really fantastic boyfriend who delivered this to my apartment the other night during a study break:

His exact words were, “I was going to get you just plain dark chocolate but then I saw this and thought, ‘Chocolate with raisins and pecans?! She loves ALL of those things!!’”

I love the men in my life.

I hope you all are having a FANTASTIC week!

Make sure to eat some guacamole today…(it’s cinco de mayo, people!)

I’m definitely planning on it!

xoxo

1. At church, I learned…

My work matters to God

1 Corinthians 10:31 – …whatever you do, do it all for the glory of GOD.

Sometimes I feel like my job or my schoolwork is pointless, because I’m just working toward the days when I have a “real” job. I need to remember that everything in my life matters to Him, so I should do it all to the best of my ability.

2. After church, breakfast taught me…

Tre Kronor restaurant

…that sometimes all you need to have an awesome Sunday is a breakfast date with your adorable, silly boyfriend.

I promise he's not retarded

…on which you split an amazing, fruit covered belgian waffle and an omelette filled with spinach and blue cheese.

best waffle I've ever eaten

holy fluffy omelette. and those potatoes tasted like bacon. enough said.

This restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, NBD. Check it out here.

3. Sundays are made for totally lazy elliptical workouts while watching The Princess Diaries on Abc Family.

I love cheesy old Disney movies

This face perfectly describes how I felt about a hard workout today…

my thoughts, exactly.

So I kept it light.

4. The best way to eat a “healthy” snack like a rice cake…

My new favorite snack

…is to make it deliciously unhealthy by smothering it with peanut butter and topping it with dark chocolate chips.

Oh, and making sure to eat about 5 handfuls of chocolate chips on the side…

5. My mom really does know everything.

mom and I

She’s the first person I call when I have a problem. And she always has the perfect solution. Although, she may be tied with my gorgeous sister…

beautiful Bailey

They are my best friends.

And also…they’re both frickin’ hotties!

Although, I didn’t learn that today. I was just reminded, for the millionth time

6. The kindness of a stranger is an instant day-brightener.

A random guy held the door open for me at Starbucks, let me cut him in line, and then handed me a coffee collar and the cinnamon since the counter was crowded. After thanking him for the millionth time for being so accommodating, he turned to me, smiled and said in a really awesome accent, “A good heart makes room for everyone. I’m just trying to make up for all of the bad hearts that fill our days.”

I’m not really sure what he meant…but it was one of the nicest things a stranger has said to me in quite some time. I left with a latte and a smile. Score.

7. Life’s short.

Too short to stress about missing workouts or eating cupcakes in fear of gaining a few pounds.

Too short to be in a sour mood.

Too short to miss out on good coffee…

…or good wine!

Too short to always be a rule follower!

Too short to waste time worrying.

Give your worries to God.

Too short to wear clothes.

Well…that may be going too far.

I hope you are having a joy-filled Monday.