Easter Basket Ideas for Boyfriends

As I've mentioned before, I love giving gifts, so any holiday that gives me an opportunity to do so, I'll take advantage of it!

So for all the girlfriends out there lacking inspiration for an Easter Gift for your significant other, have no fear, I'm here!

My boo is in need of workout clothes, so I got him 2 pairs of shorts, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (he's obsessed) and some of his favorite candy.

Here's a breakdown of what I got:

2 pairs of shorts: $9.77 each at Walmart / 2 "sleeves" of Twix candies: $1.20 at Walmart / The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug on DVD/Bluray: $24.99

I got creative with the basket and used a leftover beer case.

Have a Happy Easter everybody!

Busy Girl's Guide to New York

Last weekend I took a trip to New York with my beautiful bestie, Kelsey.

We had a great time and savored every New York minute.

With every experience, comes lessons learned, so here are some of the lessons that I learned while in New York.

1) Always, always wear comfortable shoes. Don't go for the cuteness factor. I thought it would be cool to wear these cute little booties our first day there. WORST IDEA EVER. My feet STILL hurt.

2) Carry a portable charger with you. Because there are so many people in the city and 100,000's of them are using their phone you're phone can die pretty quickly. It's always good to have a backup! My phone never died while we were out, but Kelsey's did. 

3) Pick up a paper map of the subway system. Yeah, they've got apps for it, but they forget to tell you that you have no service when you're underground. And the subway system is the most confusing thing I have ever seen. It's good to have a map in front of you to reference. 

4) Brooklyn has good beer. Kelsey and I are beer lovers so we knew the one thing that we wanted to do was visit the Brooklyn Brewery. We had so much fun and the beer was delicious. You must go if you get a chance. 

5) Take a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. They have a walking path that is perfect for running, walking, and taking in the beauty of New York. I highly suggest taking a walk on it.

6) Everything is expensive in New York. Cab rides, coffee, water, alcohol, food. EVERYTHING. Even salads were more than some entrees at a few of the restaurants that we went to. A $12 glass of wine? What? I budgeted about $200, including cab fare, anything that I wanted to buy, and food. And thankfully I was able to keep just under that. Expect to spend money and lots of it when you're in the city. 

7) Have an idea of what you want to do before you go. Kelsey started a GoogleDoc before we went and we jotted down all the places that we wanted to go. And to be honest, we pretty much did everything that we wanted to do.

8) Use Yelp. When we were figuring out where we wanted to eat for each meal, it was really helpful for Kelsey to look at Yelp. It tells you what kind of restaurants are around you and how much money you'll have to spend. 

9) Order Tickets beforehand. If you want to see a Broadway Show or go to a taping of a show, get your tickets before you go. They do sell cheap tickets beforehand, but you have to wait for hours in line and you're not even guaranteed a ticket. Kelsey and I thought about going to get tickets for SNL, but we didn't want to waste time to do that when we weren't even guaranteed a ticket anyway. 

10) Have a great time. New York is huge and there's no way to do everything in one day. Take your time. Figure out where you want to go and go do it. New York is an incredible city and has so much to offer so take advantage of it! 

I've Been Nominated!

As busy as I am, it's so flattering to be nominated for something. Although I wish I had more time to blog, it's things like this that make me want to continue blogging.

The lovely, Bryony over at The Beauty Magpie has nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! How amazing is she! I highly suggest that you head over and check her blog out!

And because I was nominated, I'm going to tell you a little more about myself and refer you to some other inspiring bloggers! 

The rules are very simple:

• Link back to the person who nominated you

• List the rules

• Share 7 things or facts about yourself

• Nominate 7 other blogs and comment on their blogs to let them know you have nominated them and provide a link to their post

• Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the person who nominated you.

Okay, so here's 7 things/facts about me...

1. I've lived in the same place my entire life.
2. I have a degree in Advertising.
3. I don't like wearing jewelry. 
4. I drive a Subaru.
5. I can't eat anything without getting it all over me. I always have my Tide to Go Pen with me.
6. I love beer.
7. I'm a huge sports fan! Football, Basketball & Hockey just to name a few! 

The 7 bloggers I nominate are:
Happily Ever Strader

Our Joy...His Glory

Mal Smiles

The Grits Blog

A Dose of Paige

The Good Life Blog

Forever Young

Once again, I am so honored to be nominated and I hope that you will take the time to check out the blogs that I listed. I chose each of them for many different reasons, because to me, I find them inspiring, I hope that you will too! Happy Monday! 

8 Ways to Relax

Because of some unfortunate events that happened last week, I had a very busy weekend. Since last Thursday, it's been go-go-go. I literally have had 15 minutes alone, and I don't know about you, but I like to take some time every once in a while and have some "me time". Do you find yourself feeling like his too?

1) Read. I love to read but rarely find the time. My favorite thing to do is curl up on the couch (or sit outside when it's warm) and dive into a great book. Right now I am reading The Body Book By Cameron Diaz. I highly suggest getting this book. It is so informative and has given me a better understanding of my body.

2) Paint your nails.

3) Take a bubble bath.

4) Drink liquids. Try not to drink ones with too much sugar. Some good drinks can be hot tea, lemonade, hot chocolate.

5) Get a massage. Lots of massage places offer great specials, believe me, it makes you feel amazing. 

6) Take a drive. I find it relaxing to go and take in some pretty views.

7) Craft. I find it very therapeutic to craft and make things.

8) Rest. Take a short nap to help you feel refreshed. 

Wedding Planning Care Package

I came up with a cool idea for a Bridal Care Package recently and wanted to share it with you.

My boyfriend's sister is one of my best friends and had to move to a city where she doesn't know anyone. I wanted to do something nice for her while she's planning her wedding. 

1) Wedding Color Nail Polish/Forever 21 2) Notepad/Target 3) Favorite Mints/Target 4) Small Candles/Bath and Body Works 5) Wedding Themed Movie/Target

The Care Package cost me about $20 including shipping. She loved it! If you want to do anything nice for a bride-to-be this a great way to do so.

Five on Friday

It's my first time since I've started my new blog that I've linked up. This is a big step for my baby blog! Hope you enjoy.

I thought my first Five on Friday would be five things that I've been pining over.

1. A Laura Hopper Calligraphy Starter Kit. I want it so bad!

2. This maxi dress of Red Dress Boutique. I'd love anything from Red Dress actually. They've got some cute stuff! Check it out! 

3. Some beach, somewhere. Anywhere actually. I want some warm weather and I want it now. 

 4. This book. My dream is to start my own business, but fear of failure is getting in my way. 

5. To go to a Katy Perry or Beyonce Concert. I'm a total fangirl. I have so much respect for both of them and love their music. 

Why I got rid of Social Media

A lot of people actually got mad at me when I left social media. They couldn't tag me in stuff or write on my wall/tweet me for my birthday. And that's exactly why I got rid of it. I miss when our only mode of communication with people was through letters or landlines. 

When people say "I don't even know what's going on with you anymore because you don't have Facebook" It pisses me off! Just because I don't have a Facebook doesn't mean that I don't exist! Pick up the phone and call me for goodness sake!

Getting rid of social media has forced me to be intentional and talk to people rather than just browse their Facebook page to see what's going on with them. I am so much happier. I have real relationships with people. To be honest, I had about 1,900 Facebook friends/600 followers on twitter and maybe only considered 5% of them my "friends". 

Another thing that made me get rid of my social media life was the fact that people were superficial. Facebook/Twitter is a place for people to make up this life that they want people to think they have, when in reality, no one really cares. I remember hanging out with people who bad mouthed other people and next thing I know, I see on Facebook that they're BFFs. Fo reals?

The sad thing is, I almost reactivated my Facebook account because I was afraid people were going to forget my birthday. How sad is that? (Thankfully I did not reactivate and I still got plenty of birthday wishes)

I feel like social media is just a way to make yourself unhappy. Looking at all these so-called "lives" that are glamorous and great and you're sitting there with your bowl of ice cream, crying, asking yourself, "Why can't that be me".

So try it, deactivate your social media accounts and see what happens. 

Hi, I'm Busy Girl.

I absolutely love blogging. Blogging is actually my job. Yep, you heard right, I get paid to blog!

I work for a small online marketing company called High Country 365 in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.

For months I have tried to get back into blogging but life got in the way. I was just way too busy. 

AND THEN...it struck me.

I'm a busy girl. I've always been busy. You know that thing called relaxation? Yeah, I don't know what that is, because I never do. I am always doing something! So, why would I not create a blog about how to have a life in the midst of the busyness? 

So here I am, bearing my all to you. I am here to give you guides to get through every aspect of your life. 

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