Eating Lately

Such a catchy, grabbing title... am I right? 

This post is in collaboration with some fabulous bloggers that I will have listed at the bottom of this post. From Monday until today I challenged myself to eat as healthy as possible during the school day. I was having some INSANE PMS issues last week so I literally ate so much crap just to make myself feel better. During classes, I'll think I'm hungry, but I really just eat because I'm bored... and bored eating is quite problematic because you're just mindlessly reaching for more and more - which is not healthy. Another thing that inspired me to write this post is because we're talking about being healthy right now in Spanish class, and my teacher gives me weird looks when I talk about fried chicken, hamburgers, and ice cream. 

But I can't just make this post all about what I eat for lunch... A) because I don't eat that much... and B) because that's boring. 

For breakfast, I either eat some toast with a light spread of olive oil Smart Balance, cheerios with cranberries or another fruit, or scrambled eggs... just depends on how much time I have to prep and eat in the morning. Because I wake up super duper slowly... I did not take a photo of any of my morning meals this week.... OOPS

Lunchtime is a lot of fun. I either have some homemade baked chicken on a sandwich, pasta, or salad. Everyday this week I brought a salad for myself, and if you are friends with me on snapchat, then you know that I ate my salad in geometry... I'll have you know I did that today as well.. It's just so much fun to be judged by other people while you're living the high life getting all the problems right while eating salad topped with Greek dressing. It's casual you know...

And my daddy is a pro at doing research on nutruition facts and finding out what's good for us to eat, quantities and fun stuff like that. He's also a wonderful cook - and a master at food styling so whenever I want to post dinner on the 'gram, daddy helps with the layout. SHOUTOUT TO DADDY! Anyways, every week we eat totally different meals... but every week we have baked pasta (holy heck it's incredible), homemade veggie soup (again, incredible), and daddy pizza (heaven). We also bake potatoes a lot... so here's a photo from a while back, but we actually did eat this meal on Thursday!

As far as snacks go... It's super easy to slip into unhealthy eating habits. Some of my favorite lighter options include: baby carrots, a clif bar, natural unsalted almonds, roasted unsalted peanuts, or a piece of fruit. When I still want to stay fairly healthy but am in desperate need of a salty treat, I'll throw some pretzels into the mix. Also those Welch's fruit gummies are heavenly. Also, fun fact, they're my official at-school-feel-better-PMS-snack.

So I wanna know! What are your food faves? What have you been eating lately?

The other gals in the collaboration:

Samantha // The Official Prep

Hannah // 'Scuse My Southern Prep

Lauren // Prep From The Midwest

Becca // Southern Crafted Style

Avery // Sweetest Southern Style

Sophia // 5th Avenue Urban

Spectacular and Classy

P.S. FRIYAY LINKS will be really late because I am eating chocolate and need to dry my hair

XO

Question & Answer Collab with Hannah

Two posts all on one FRIYAY what what! Today I'm collaborating with one of my fellow South Carolinians who is a dear friend and amazing blogger/social media guru, and I couldn't be more excited! Y'all asked us questions, and now we're answering them... Here's your chance to learn a little bit more about me and Hannah as well - see her answers here! 

First, let's start with a quick introduction. 

My name is Cathleen Slagle and I am a sophomore in high school. I love hiking, reading, baking cookies, and photography. I live in South Carolina, and I've never met an ice cream flavor I haven't liked. That just about sums me up... but since y'all have questions... I guess I should answer those too. 

1. What is your go to/must have preppy item (clothing, accessory, etc.)? 

To be quite honest, I'm not preppy. I include preppy elements in my style but I am not nor will I ever be completely preppy. I do however love a classic button down and my LL Bean Boots are my most favorite things. I'm also a sucker for stripes. Anything stripes. 

2. What is your favorite preppy brand if you had to choose one?

Again, I'm not a prep, but I do love the messages of Jadelynn Brooke and I've been a Vineyard Vines fan for years. L.L. Bean is also at the top of my list. 

3. Have you ever missed the first day of school?!

No, but I have ditched the first week (multiple years in a row) to head to Disney World!

4. How do style sporty items with a preppy twist?

This is actually kinda hard... I mean when I wear workout clothes I'll get comments about the overall preppiness of my outfit, but I don't ever intend to dress preppy when I'm in sporty clothes. A chic ponytail is always good for pulling any look together and looks just sporty enough to count, but pretty basic and casual. I also love getting capri leggings with fun patterns like Devon Maryn or Old Navy has some fun options too!

5. What is your favorite Lilly Pulitzer print? 

I don't have on... I honestly don't own a lot of Lilly, and I'm not a huge fan of the brand - I know I know how dare I say it

6. What is your favorite trend of the moment?

Hmmmmm I honestly haven't noticed any new trends that I'm head over heels with. I'm still loving the everything hunter green trend from early Fall though! 

7. If only one half of you're phone worked, which would be?top or bottom????

Definitely the top. On my old phone the power button would always get stuck and it was so irritating! Also, the top is where the camera is and how else would I post on Instagram???

8. Do u like Harry Potter? If so what house do you think I would be in and who is your favorite character? 

I've taken multiple (yes, multiple) personality quizzes regarding this and I've repeatedly gotten Gryfindor.. but I could see myself as a Ravenclaw too. #geekcath oops

9. Where is your favorite place to shop?

Target. Hands down. But Old Navy is a close close close second.

10. What's your favorite movie from Disney?

Um all? Disney was my childhood and I still love watching the movies! I honestly cannot choose a favorite.

11. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Flying.

12. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

I'd first go to visit Notting Hill... priorities first you know how it is. But after that, I would want to visit some of the bigger but less known cities in Spain, France, England, The Netherlands, and then go on a huge tour of all the countryside in South America and hike my heart out. Oh wait, where you asking for only one answer? Oops.

13. Favorite type of pen (i know you have one haha)? 

I have three. Le Pens, Poppin pens, and Sharpie pens.

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Honestly, no idea. When I was younger I wanted to be a teacher. Now, I want to be something in the public relations field but I also want to do free lance photography. We'll see where life takes me I suppose.

15. Are you more like Serena or Blair? 

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Gossip Girl... Never could get into it. I wish I could look like Blair but have the boldness of Serena. I've taken personality quizzes and they all say I'm more like Jenny... so I guess neither?

16. Dogs or cats? 

Dogs no doubt. My Merry and Sparky are my world.

17. Beach or mountains?

Mountains for sure. I love hiking and there's just something about that mountain air, the stars, the breathtaking views, and staying in a log cabin.

18. East coast or west coast?

EAST COAST BABY

19. Starbucks order?

I don't like Starbucks... I usually get like those bottled milk things or a cake pop when I go with friends.

20. How tall are you? 

I'm 5 foot 4 inches -- which is pretty short.

21. Why did you start blogging?

I've written posts on this before: here & here

So here's some other random facts you should know about me:

-I have two dogs
-I hate talking on video but I do it for y'all (add me on snap: cathslagle)
-Pretzels and carrots are my favorite study food combo
-I'd choose pasta over pizza any night
-Greek yogurt is heavenly
-Vanilla chai tea is my all time favorite
-I'm guilty of crying during any movie I watch after 11 pm
-I've been to all the South Carolina State Parks at least 4 times each - there are 47 parks
-Country music is my favorite
-I have a family of 6
-My friend Courtney and I started a book club our freshman year
-When I was little (6 or 8) I had dozens of save the world and craft sale websites prior to starting this blog in the 8th grade.
-Disney Channel Original movies are my favorite
-My older brother has pretty severe autism
-My mom is an author
-Y'know how my bio says "I'm probably eating ice cream right now" ? it's pretty accurate...
-I was a library helper back in 7th grade
-I actually really hate painting my nails
-I'm always happier in a kayak or bright red canoe on the lake

Be sure to check Hannah's post too!

Blog: scusemysouthernprepsc.blogspot.com

Instagram: @scusemysouthernprep

Twitter: @scusemysouthern

xo

Blanket Scarf & Denim

Oconee State Park is a second home to me. I love the hiking trails, the geese, the CCC cabins, waterfalls, the main office, and well... everything about the park. I wore this outfit this week, but because I was so swamped with school, and it's raining today that I couldn't take pictures of another outfit I planned to share for a collab with Samantha, Lauren, Brooke, Amelie, Hannah, and Sophia. For the collab, the girls and I are sharing outfits from this past week! Here's a little something I wore this Wednesday xo

And of course I had to throw in a canoe throwback from Oconee! Happy weekend, friends! 

Favorite Places in SC // Carolina Collab with Katie

I've lived in South Carolina all my life. South Carolina is my home. From the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, to the swamps. From the Beaches to the marshes. From the rivers to CCC cabins. From the sandhills to the lakes, South Carolina is my home. In doing the Ultimate Outsider challenge where we visited all 47 of the SC state parks, and became the first family to do so. My mom wrote an entire book on our experiences at these parks! I learned through completing the challenge that their really is more to a state than statistics and stereotypes. The only real way to find out what an area is like is by going their and experiencing it yourself. I'm so glad I was able to get out there and experience the SC state parks myself.. almost 6 times. 

ALL THIS TO SAY..... I love my state! If y'all ever come visit.. there are some places you need to go. And no I don't mean just Charleston and the other cities along the coast. Those aren't all of my favorites. There are so many other places that aren't really major tourist attractions that I love!

This post is a collab with my new friend Katie over at Chic in Carolina! She lives in North Carolina and over on her blog she shared her favorite things in North Carolina... Check out the post here

UPSTATE:

Table Rock State Park- Big into hiking? Up for a challenge? Like Bluegrass music? What about CCC structures? Table Rock is the place for you then! The first Saturday of the month they have a bluegrass event where older folks come to play upstairs, and younger folk downstairs. You have a great view of the rock the whole time. There's a lake for swimming, CCC cabins to stay in, and the rangers and staff are just amazing!

Caesar's Head State Park- The view. You have to go and see this view. It's crazy insane...

via their website

Bantam Chef- The best burgers. I've never tasted any burger that tasted better. And I'm being 100% honest here. So when we walked in for the first time, my Dad asked the lady what types of food they had. "Pretty much everything except spaghetti" she replied. A cup of coffee there is only 25 cents and they have a display room with a Studebaker (1950) and a BMW (1958) and the rest of the room is filled with other fun things from the '50s.

Oconee State Park- I've visited this park many, MANY times, and it never gets old. I posted my Oconee Recap from a visit a couple weeks ago, when my family and I stayed in one of their CCC cabins. With a small lake for fishing, boating (small boats only), and swimming, and many trails for hiking.. this park is easily one of my favorites.

Stumphouse tunnel- Located right next to Isaqueena falls on your way up to Oconee, is an amazing tunnel that is open to the public to walk in and explore a bit. I really liked visiting the tunnel more than the waterfall honestly. But that's probably just because it wasn't much of a challenge to get to the waterfall... I like hiking to them. Everything's fairly accessible.. I've seen strollers make it through Stumphouse. Not the waterfall though. Oh and admission is free.

via TripAdvisor

Palmetto Sweets and Company- My favorite little bakery in the Upstate. Don't let the outside fool you.. it's quite lovely on the inside. Also, their sandwiches are INCREDIBLE.

MIDLANDS

via my instagram

Sonic- The Sonic in Cayce, SC is the only sit-down Sonic I've EVER seen. I just love going to it, and seeing the indoor seating sign.

image via

The Edventure Children's Museum- Home of the World's largest kid, this museum has been a personal favorite of mine ever since I can remember. I haven't been in ages, but I have so many memories as a little kid here.

via

The Horseshoe- USC has such a pretty campus. I live only about half an hour away from the school so that gives plenty of time for a fun afternoon in their little park in the middle of campus, The Horseshoe! Surrounded by brick buildings and brick sidewalks is this little grassy area perfect for studying, frisbee, or just walking around.

image via

SC State House- I've visited the State House numerous times for various field trips throughout elementary school and middle school. I love walking around the grounds with all the statues and the flowers. One of my favorite places to visit for sure.

via

Poinsett State Park- In the midlands, there are some more lake parks, and honestly the sandhills really isn't my favorite place to hike around. But Poinsett State Park is one of my favorites. Like Oconee, they have original CCC cabins and some smaller hiking trails. You can rent a boat to go around the lake or go fishing. The trails are probably my favorite part about this park.

Redcliffe Plantation- I'm a sucker for old homes. Especially old plantation homes... Redcliffe Plantation is a beautiful home (I've posted a photo before on my Instagram). Also the interpretive rangers that give tours are amazing.. Ask any question! They know basically everything. 

COASTAL

The real reason most people come to South Carolina... Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Edisto... Places like that. Goodness knows y'all are missing a lot when you're on vacation here in SC. Make sure to look around and broaden your horizons while you're visiting.

Myrtle Beach State Park- We stayed here for Spring break and it was amazing! You can see the ocean (sort of in the distance but not really) from the cabins, and all you have to do to get to the beach is take a super small little trail and BAM the beach is right there. This park always has fun events and classes going on in their Education Center too!

Edisto Beach State Park- by far one of my very favorite places to visit. I love Edisto Island. I love the State Park because it protects all sea turtle nests, and has an incredible nature center so you can learn about all the animal life. It is a CCC park, and they're just the best. We've visited 3 or 4 times and I love it.

Huntington Beach State Park- So close to Myrtle Beach so it's totally worth the visit. Honestly some days I love it better than Myrtle. It's got a huge campground and less tourists tend to visit compared to Myrtle. It's so beautiful and the staff is super friendly. 

Brookgreen Gardens- It's a little pricey to get in.. but just plan on spending all day there and bring more than one camera because you don't want to miss a thing. So many gorgeous flowers and incredible statues are in the gardens. DEFINITELY Worth the vist -- read my post here for photos. There's also a fun zoo to visit and a fairytale playground.

Hunting Island State Park- We're staying at Hunting Island (in the only cabin on property) this Thanksgiving and I'm so excited. Hunting Island has a beautiful lighthouse you can tour, and a beautiful beach area. I love climbing around the old fallen trees that are laying washed up on the beach. Also, we've found a ton of shark teeth here!

Charlestown Landing State Park- At Charlestown Landing you can find some animals that have a bit of historical significance to the area and learn more about Charlestown's history. For sure one of my favorite places, and if you come on the right day.. you might even find some reinactors.

Disney's Hilton Head Island- I love, love, LOVE Hilton Head Island and Disney owns some lovely property on the Island. Beach Access and themed villas. I really enjoy staying in the villas when we visit.

I hope this post has helped you think about more places to visit the next time you're in SC outside of the regular tourist-y attractions. Oh, and be sure to check out Katie's post on Her favorite things in NC!

Amy Ruth Designs (Update collab)

One of the perks of being a blogger is that certain brands and companies are willing to sponsor you with some of their products for you to test out for yourself. I love writing reviews (even though I rarely write any here on the blog) so that's just another reason I love being a blogger. Months ago.. Like we're talking back in the Summer of 2k14.. I received some products to review and use from Amy Ruth Designs. I know if you read blogs you must hear the word "obsessed" a lot.. so I'm sorry for having to use it again, but there is not another word to describe my love for paper products. I am obsessed with all notebooks, agendas, planners, notepads, sticky notes, cards, stationery.... If it's paper, chances are I'm in love and I cannot get enough. 

A couple weeks ago I noticed that both Carrie and Courtney have worked with Amy Ruth Designs.. but that they haven't been featured on either of their blogs or my blog in QUITE some time now. I thought it would be oh-so-much fun to put together a little collab to show y'all our products from ARD (Amy Ruth Designs) and how we still use them for school, organization, and our blogs. 

So here was last times post..... Now let's get into this little update type of collab:

I recently tidied up my little table/mini office area so I thought I would share the little different parts of it before going into detail on my ARD products. 

Over on the far left side of the area, I keep my Lauren Conrad Beauty book (fingers crossed for more coffee table books this year) and my Kate Spade agenda.

Inside this adorable little snowman bucket decoration that I picked up at a church bazaar a couple years ago, I've been keeping my paint, Spring snail mail, and just a few random paper things. That little navy and white notebook is from ARD... Hint. Hint.

Inside of my DIY Name mug.. I just keep pencils, pens, highlighters, scissors, a car charging thing for my phone... you know just basic stuff. Coasters are from The Blush Label!

Tissues are a must. I've been doing a lot of sniffling lately.. so it's always good to have a box handy.

Baby Cathleen photos (or at least my happier moments) are inside of the ceramic bowl thing I made in art class (for more details.. check out this post)

Headphones are a must because I love to jam out. Spotify is amazing.. and it just makes homework the tiniest bit easier if you have Geronimo playing in the background or Sia's Your Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile playing nonstop. 

Okay that's enough of that.. Let's get into my products from Amy Ruth Designs

These adorable little cards are just absolutely perfect for attaching a short note with a gift, or maybe even a short and sweet bit of snail mail! The patterns are just too cute! Flamingos, anchors, sailboats, and seahorses...

This cute little mini notebook came in a pack of two. It's missing half of the pair was anchored on the outside and striped on the inside. I'm 90% sure that my anchored notebook was in the car from last weekend.. but I do still have them and I love to use them for shopping lists, notes, and super quick to dos.

It's been what.. since September? and I am STILL OBSESSED with this phone case. I love different languages and different fonts and gold and navy so basically.. this is perfect. Amy Ruth Designs has the best phone cases.. So many different patterns and prints!

Featuring two items in this picture.. My page flags (I have more but they were all in my bookbag because I use them in class) and my planner. I use the planner for my blog because I don't really have like a specific "blog planner" (however.. If you want to print your own check out this one, and this one). I seriously just love that "Oh my gosh, I'm organized!" feeling and planning out posts with this planner definitely makes me feel that way. The page flags are just like sticky notes but so so soooo much cuter! I love using these when I'm studying in one of my notebooks and I have to keep flipping back and forth or when I'm reading. 

I use this sailboat notebook from Amy Ruth Designs for blog post ideas. You can see in the picture above where I scratch things off as I write them, or if I decide against that idea. It's literally such a great notebook and the pattern is just adorable!

So what do you think? Are you ready to place an order at Amy Ruth Designs? I know I am! Be sure to check out Courtney's and Carrie's blogs later today to see their Amy Ruth products :)

ARD Social- 

Instagram: @amyruthdesigns

Pinterest: Amy Ruth Designs

Twitter: @amyruthdesigns

Facebook: Amy Ruth Designs