A Pampering Saturday

This Saturday, I spent the day being pampered and shopping with my mom. It was sooo nice to just sit back and relax for a while. I was able to get both a pedicure and manicure which was amazing. While I got my pedicure, I sat back and read the June issue of Vogue, which was a wonderful escape from my busy weeks.

I got the OPI Summer collection on both my toes and fingers. The toes are "Aloha" and the fingernails are "Do you take Lei away?". I love the pop of color on my toes, but I can't do the color on my nails. I think a neutral there is a much better way to go with my "look". 

After my mani/pedi, we headed over to Crocker Park, which is a really nice outdoor shopping area near Cleveland. We had lunch at Brio, a great Italian restaurant. I loved that there was outdoor seating that was under cover, just in case the skies decided to open up and rain. 

 My mom had chicken with Quinoa and roasted red peppers and feta. I tried a bite and it was wonderful!

I went with the soup and salad. I'm a fan of all things lobster so I had to try the lobster bisque and I also love a good Cesar Salad. Both did not disappoint. 

Some retail therapy was also in order. I had to hit up the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale as well as Barnes and Noble to pick up a new magazine for some light reading by the pool on my Monday off (hopefully the persistent rain holds off for a day). 

I hope you've had a wonderful and relaxing weekend as well! 

-Sydney Liz

Life Lately

So once summer started, life began to get away from me. I have had some relaxing time, as evident below, but most of my time has been spent in a classroom of some sort or in Pittsburgh. Being so far from "home" is tough. I haven't seen any of my friends from high school, and it's a two hour drive (when there's not a wreck on the Turnpike) to my boyfriend. So… a bit of catchup is in order on my morning/ afternoon off of work. 

 My first two weeks of summer were spent in a classroom doing field experience. I was with a wonderful first grade teacher and learned so much from her. I also got to teach two lessons, which were so much fun. This experience made me so much more excited for my future.

Now onto the fun stuff! The beginning of June meant I got to see the bf for the first time in over a month. A MONTH! It was a very long month and we both are hoping that never happens again. But when I did finally get to see him, we had a blast. We went mini golfing with some of his high school friends (even though they've all graduated college now, they are still super close), I went out on a duel sport (dirt bike that can go on/ off road) for the first time (on the back of course), took him to his first drive in experience, and spent tons of time together and with his family. It was a much needed break from work and a wonderful time. 

 And because of my graduation present to him, we saw each other two weekends in a row! I got us Pirates tickets so we went to the game this past Saturday where we got to see an awesome win and a bit of the concert after the game. It was super hot and muggy, but well worth it. We also went bowling at the Meadows Casino which was super nice. If anyone in the Pittsburgh area wants a super awesome bowling experience where you are basically waited on hand and foot, head there! It wasn't super expensive either.

Due to crazy storms, I didn't head back to northeast Ohio until Monday morning when I had to work, which was a pretty good idea given how much flooding we saw on the news last Sunday night. While work has been super stressful, I know it will make me a better teacher having this experience, and the weekends help make it bearable.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer, even with all this rain!

-Sydney Liz