HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

{Hope you're having a splendid holiday with those you love!!!}

xoxo, Amb.

I'll Be Home for Christmas :)

I am home! Home sweet home! Where the heart is! I can't think of anymore cliches about home, but thats where I am! Yay!!! I've literally done almost nothing but relaxing since I've been here, and its been awesome! I've also not left my house in two days. Like not even in the yard. I should probably get out, but I've got nowhere to go! In the city I can just hop on the train and get anywhere I want within an hour. Here, I have no license and no car, so I go nowhere! That needs to change. This past weekend I got to reunite with some great friends though at our church's annual Christmas Banquet! It was super fun! Here's a few pics from the fun night!

{This is me and my dear friend Andrea, she's ALWAYS got her camera. All the pics on this post are stolen from her facebook!}

{This is my best friend in the ENTIRE world. She's been complaining that she hasn't been featured on my blog yet. Happy now Cass?}

{Me and the roomie! We both live in central Mass}

I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season! Talk to you soon!

xoxo Amber

Saturday Morning... Wait, Afternoon?

Saturdays are my favorite kind of day. Seriously, there's nothing better than sleeping in, actually eating breakfast, and gettin in some extra time with God in the morning :) Except after all of that happens, its already the afternoon! What the day's halfway over? Well, whatever. I don't care, it was worth it! Today's schedule consists of homework, cleaning, baking and picking up my paycheck (woo!) It SOUNDS boring, but I can't think of a better way to spend this day! Have a great Saturday!

{Crazy hair, and yummy tea... Yup, good day!}

Finally Friday!

Despite the relaxing and amazing break I had last weekend, this week has been long, hard and stressful :( As finals approach, its becoming crunch time in most of my classes, and when I say "crunch time" I mean that I feel like I am being crushed by the pressure of all this work! But its all good again because it's FRIDAY! Here's five things that have been helping me get through the week!

1) I've basically been repeating Philippians 4:4-7 over and over again in my head for the past few days. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

God is so good, I need to rejoice in him whether everything is super duper, or if I'm failing all my classes and completely broke. Amen.

2) Michael Bublé's Christmas album. Nuff said.

3) I GOT SOME BOOTS! Finally! My roommates friend was getting rid of them because they were too big for her and I got these Ralph Lauren babies for a measly 25 bucks! I have preceded to wear them every single day since purchasing.

4) Tonight our campus ministry had a girl's devotional and the the lovely Mrs. Lombardi from our church came and spoke to all us girls about being healthy. It was so stinking convicting. I mean, my mom is a dietitian, and healthy living has been drilled into me (in a loving way, thanks mamma!) since birth, but since moving to Philadelphia my diet and exercise habits have been not good (okay, nonexistent) I pretty much only eat oatmeal and granola bars and drink coffee from Starbucks. So... yeah. But she talked about how our relationship with food reflects our relationship with God, and I decided its time for some healthy living! Wish me luck!

5) Speaking of healthy living, IT IS FINALLY THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!! And I cannot wait to make my famous Christmas Sugar cookies!!! My aunt Polly bought me these awesome cookie cutters from Ikea this past weekend! I LOVE them! 

{Sorry for my semi-psychotic look in this pic. I just LOVE Christmas cookies!}

So thats all for now! Hopefully I'll get around to writing about my Thanksgiving festivities soon! Stay tuned!

Love, Amb.

Five Things Friday!

One of my favorite bloggers has a weekly tradition of blogging about five random things she's encountered that she'd like to share. Sometimes there is a theme, other times it's just random stuff! Well, guess what I'm doing? Yep, the SAME EXACT THING! I'll do it for a couple weeks and see how I like it. Also she always has pictures with her "things" but I'm not sure I could swing that. Especially with number one on this week's fave five! For now, ENJOY!

1) I wish I could post a picture, but it'd be EXTREMELY awkward. Anyway... number 1 today is the guy who works at Starbucks on campus. He is literally my favorite person. So loud. So flamboyant. So funny. He knows me too. Everyday he tells me to order something new. Yesterday, in honor of "thirsty thursday" he told everyone that instead of drinking alcohol, they should all get venti sized drinks! He's my fav. I think if he didn't make my coffee we'd be best friends. (Not that we're not best friends BECAUSE he makes my coffee, but if we had met any other way, we would be best friends. Does that make sense?)

2) Speaking of Starbucks, number two today is the drink that I got. Recently I've been caught up in the craze of all these new fancy (and delicious) holiday drinks, but today I decided to take it back to the basics and get a plain old vanilla latte. Let me just say, the classics are classics for a reason.

{Look at that foamy goodness!}

3) My dog Scout is probably the greatest living being on the face of this planet. Today I'm missing her a lot! I get to see her in five days. I cannot wait!

{She loves me too!}

{Look at that cutie!}

4) This blogger is one of my new favorites! She loves all the things that I love! And her thrifting posts are so inspirational! I just wanna thrift all the time! Oh, and she has some really great book suggestions! Love her!

5) This week I've fallen in love with J.CREW. Its beautiful, and classy, and fun! My goal is to recreate the J.CREW look spending the least amount of money I possibly can! Wish me luck!

Ps. Can we just pretend that I posted this on Friday instead of Monday? kthanksbye :)

-Amb

Out-a-Towners...

I must say, this past weekend was GLORIOUS. Like, not kidding. It was superb. My sister came to Philly to visit! We went shopping, and ate out, and spent time together, and it was just a fabulous time! The day after Molls made her journey down here a few people from Boston came on down to celebrate my roommate's 21st birthday! We had a Roarin' 20's themed party and danced the night away! Unfortunately we roared a bit too loud, and I received a visit from the police yesterday afternoon to give us advice on how to more respectful of our neighbors! Woops! I guess we'll know better for next time!

For now, here's some pics of the weekend!

-Amb :)

I Don't Know What I Want.

I'm in college. I'm supposedly working toward a degree. This degree should be helping me toward getting a job. This job should be helping me pay off college. Which I am only attending so I can get a job. Its a vicious circle. The only problem now is that I don't know what I want to do! I don't know what to major in. I don't know what I will do with a degree. I don't know what sort of job I want! Why am I even in college if I don't even know these things! Thats the question that has been plaguing me for the past few months. I feel like I am wasting my time at school, when all I want to do with my life is be a disciple, read books and blogs, and shop! It doesn't make any sense. As cliche as it may sound, I feel like my life anthem should be "A Place in This World" by the one and only Taylor Swift. She speaks to my heart <3 But for reals, if you have any suggestions on what I should do could you help a sister out? Cause I'm kind of freaking out.

-Amb

ps. I found this pic on pinterest. Dont hate!

Things I Cannot Live Without:

You know we all have them. Those certain things that we just feel lost without. Its kind of sad really that there are so many people out in this world that live everyday without the things we claim we NEED, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to blog about it! This is a list of some of my "necessities" that I feel are essential to life as I know it:

1) Bath and Bodyworks lotion- I really HATE when my hands are dry. Fresh market apple is my favorite scent!

2) Headphones- I love being able to control the sounds I hear. Sometimes I'll even put the headphones in with no music on to muffle the noise from the world around me.

3) My bible- gotta have the word with me :)

4) Blow dryer- Now that I have bangs, a day without this baby does not look pretty :/

5) Starbucks- The place, not necessarily the drinks... I mean, the drinks are great too, but its my workin' spot!

6) Day planner- Since I've been in college my planner has practically been attached to me. I would LITERALLY be lost without it!

5) Lipstick- I don't really have much of an upper lip, but this usually makes me look semi-normal :)

6) Online shopping- Its like my favorite thing. I don't usually buy things, but its good to know whats out there!

7) My kindle- I get SO bored without a good book to read!

Oh, and I know what you're thinking, "Woah, posting two days in a row?" And I know, its very uncharacteristic of me, but this week has been a wee bit stressful and I needed a creative outlet! My sissy is coming into town tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have many fun things to write about next week! 

For now, here's an unflattering pic of me with some of my favorite things (so Julie Andrews of me) in my favorite place!

Much love, Amb :)

Lessons I've Learned

So, I've been in college about two and a half months but I seriously feel like its been forever. The past two months have been jam packed full of school work, babysitting, ministry and so so so much fun. I have learned so many things since moving here I feel like I could make a jillion page long blog post, but I thought I'd condense it to ten important life lessons I have learned in the past couple months, here they are:

1) When shampoo and conditioner cost 77 cents each, that probably means its no good. 

2) Never buy perishable food in bulk, you will NOT eat it in time.

3) Facebook is great, pinterest is better.

4) Milk is not still good a week after being expired (see #2) 

5) Starbucks is expensive, don't buy it every day. 

6) Just because you have a job doesn't mean you can buy everything you want.

7) Going to school every single day of the week sucks. (only monday, wednesday, friday classes next semester! woo!)

8) No matter how early you go to bed, you will wake up later than planned.

9) You cannot always rely on public transportation to get you there on time.

10) Your family is great, you really will miss them.

So thats just a few of the more comical lessons I have learned the past couple months, and I'm sure I'm bound to learn many, many more things in the future! Cant wait to see whats coming next!

(ps. "I GOT BANGS, my hair is so now." If someone can tell me what movie thats from, I'll love you forever.)

Tis' The Season!

Not quite the season you're thinking of, but I'd definitely say that autumn  is is worth a celebration! Welcome to the season of apples, big scarves, leather boots, pumpkin spice and crunchy leaves! One of the best times of the year by far. I've always loved this season, but for some reason Fall in the city is much more magical than in the suburbs! Even the littlest things in my routine are more enjoyable. Commuting to school is much more fun when you can hear leaves crunch beneath your feet. Studying for midterms is more fulfilling when you have a pumpkin spice latte at your side. I've totally been taking advantage of this joyous season by making yummy treats like apple chips and apple cider oatmeal! Both are seriously so good.

{These are some of my apple chips! They may look a bit sketch, but they were delicious!}

{Apple cider oatmeal with dried cranberries and almonds! SO GOOD.}

I'm trying to pick up knitting again as well so I can have cute scarves and mittens and headbands to wear for fall and winter! Wish me luck! I've also been reading a lot! I never knew how much time I used to spend watching TV until I didn't have cable! Now, instead of killing brain cells in front of the television, I read! I've already whipped through four novels since I moved here (and yes, Mom, I HAVE been doing my school work too). I'm currently lacking a good book to read though, so if you have any suggestions send them my way! 

I'm still loving life in the city! 

Love, Amb.

Long Overdue.

I know, I know, its been a while. Life has just been so CRAZY! I've written half of about five other blog posts that I really don't feel like finishing, soo without further ado, the moment you've all been waiting for (drumroll) THE PAST FEW WEEKS OF MY LIFE CONDENSED IN ONE POST! Woo Hoo!! Yeah! I  know you're all so excited, right? right? Even if your not  here we go:

I've been in school for approximately five weeks. It has definitely had its ups and downs but overall nothing seriously crazy has happened. Let me give you a little low down on all my classes. My spanish class is seriously the easiest thing I've ever done. I sincerely think I was placed in the wrong class because everything we have learned about I learned freshman year of high school! The only difficult thing is that my professor literally can barely speak english at all. She tries every class, but she is so bad at it, and it causes a lot of confusion about assignments and when they are REALLY due. And she doesn't follow the syllabus at all so thats fun! (Note the hint of sarcasm) My english class is kind of horrible, and kind of awesome at the same time. Our theme is science (my least favorite subject in the world) so thats not fun, but it has really been keeping me on my toes spiritually (if you can believe it). We've been talking about evolution and I've really had to be on my A-game for discussions and such (I'll post a little something later about my beliefs and what not). Another class I'm taking, Ethnicity and the Immigrant Experience in the Americas (its a mouthful right?) is really not bad at all! My teacher is from Japan however, and if I'm not paying attention 100% of the time I get lost in his thick accent. The plus side is that the class schedule is as follows: we learn on Monday, on Wednesday we go over what we learned on Monday, and on Friday we go over what we went over on Wednesday. Simple as that, today in class I was on pinterest (the link is there for a reason, you know what to do) the whole time and I didn't miss a thing! One of my classes, Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, is extremely hard. The name sounds cool and fancy, but don't let it fool you like it did me, it is a full on statistics course. With lots of math, and formulas, and homework and quizzes. My professor is too smart, and cannot understand why we don't understand what he's teaching us. And my lab professor, is a grad student here at Temple, and is the MOST hipster-y person I've ever met. He has a great, big, mountain man beard, and wears cut-off shorts to every meeting. His shirts also have holes in the strangest places. He is also very smart, but doesn't really mind when I ask stupid questions (which happens a lot). Last but definitely not least is my American Musical Theater class! I have three words to describe this class; in, cred, and ble. Hands down its the best class I've ever taken. My professor is the fruitiest man I've ever met (and if you knew my dad you would be impressed by this) and I don't stop laughing from the moment I enter the room! We've been learning the history of American musical theater and each week we have soundtrack quizzes on some of the best musicals ever written (Showboat, Sound of Music, and West Side Story, to name a few). I love everything about it. So that immensely huge paragraph is school in a nutshell. 

Here's a little bit about everything else:

I live off campus, in University City (West Philly) in the second floor of a row home with two other girls, Rachel, and Cortney. They are so great. The photo below is of us on our porch during the craziest rain storm ever. 

I got a job nannying for a six-year-old boy three days a week and he is sooooo fun! He's insane, and don't get me wrong, I am completely exhausted after spending just a little bit of time with him, but I love him already! He is half Brazilian and half German. He speaks portuguese with his mom and I am always in shock when I see this little boy perfectly fluent in two languages at the age of six, when I have been trying to learn spanish for more time than he has even been alive. He's so presh though and I've found myself learning more and more about bay-blades and Star Wars the more time I spend with him. The picture below is basically a perfect representation of our relationship

here is something a little cuter for yall:

Each day I spend with him, I enjoy more and more. Oh and his mom just won an EMMY for the local tv show she produces. Yeah, they are pretty cool. 

So, I guess thats all I'm going to share for now, I promise I will be posting more often from now on. I'm thinking twice a week sounds reasonable, and that way you guys don't have to read incredibly long posts like this one. I have a paper due Friday, wish me luck! 

-Amb. 

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Once Upon a Time....

An eighteen year-old girl moved to the big city. She met amazing people. She went through some hard times. She had the best times of her life. She learned so much. She wholeheartedly served God. She fought the good fight. She helped change lives.  She fell in love. She made the best of friends. She lived her life to the full. The end...

So, as corny as that may seem, that is what I'm hoping this blog will be about. My life. As mundane as it may be, I hope that I can entertain at least a few people with my stories of this new adventure I am about to take (technically have already started). So this is a short post for now, but I'm hoping it gives you a little insight to what I want to do here. Wish me luck!