Whirlwind Weekend!

Happy Monday!!  Whew, what a whirlwind weekend I had!

Friday night UVA had Relay for Life.  Alpha Phi raised over $7700 for the American Cancer Society!  Our pledge class also raised enough money to be featured on the back of the tee shirt.

Go APHI 4th Years!

Saturday morning I was supposed to participate in Cavaliers Care.  Cavaliers Care is a day each year in the Spring when UVA students and alumni in Charlottesville and other major cities come together and do service projects all around their cities.  Alpha Phi had a team this year, and I was pumped about our project.  We were supposed to be participating in the 4th Annual Rivanna River Sojourn, canoeing down the river and collecting trash.  Unfortunately, however, due to the weather, our trip was cancelled.  Saturday we had storms all day and even a tornado warning!  Though I was disappointed to not be able to participate, it freed up my day Saturday to get a project and other homework done.

Sadly, our canoes stayed ashore.

Saturday night was formal, and luckily the weather cleared up just in time!  It was a bittersweet occasion as it was my last Alpha Phi date function.  The night turned out to be very special. I got my dress at Monkee's, one of my favorite boutiques in Richmond.  The weekend I bought it was their Anniversary Weekend.  With every purchase that weekend, you got a free pair of earrings.  I wasn't really expecting much out of this "free" pair of earrings, but surprisingly I loved them and actually was able to wear them with the dress!

pretty earrings!

A group of fourth years had dinner at The Local before.

All of us!

Allie, OBS, MET

I had never been to The Local, but had heard incredible things about it.  They use all organic, locally grown ingredients in their cooking. As an appetizer I had the Truffled Mushroom Ragout Fettucine-- it was HEAVEN in my mouth.  For my entrée I had Duck with Orange Sauce and Garlic Redskin Mashed Potatoes, which was also delicious!

YUM!

I took NGV as my date.  He and I have been friends since first year and had a blast letting loose on the dance floor!

NGV and Allie

I also ran into some old high school buddies, one of which I hadn't seen since senior year!

TJC, Allie, BWS

Additionally, my favorite of our new first year pledge class is NMV.  She is one of my residents and I really feel blessed to be her RA!  On bid day she texted me saying:  "We're sisters now!" and I couldn't be more thrilled to call her a sister.

Allie and NAM

After formal I stopped by and visited my friend CMV who was the RA on coverage for the night.  He and I had the most engaging conversation about religion, family, our life outlook, etc.  We ended up staying awake until 6 AM talking!  Though I was incredibly exhausted from it yesterday, it was well worth it and a great way to end an already fun night!

Finally, Sunday we had an Alpha Phi 4th Year Wine Tasting at Cooper Vineyards.  The vineyard is owned by   Dr. Jeff Cooper whose daughter, LPC is my best friend in Alpha Phi.  Cooper Vineyards is the first winery in Virginia to build a green tasting room.  Last weekend, was the Grand Opening of the room and we were the first private tasting in it!  My favorites of the tasting were the: Chardonnay 2008, Viognier 2009, Rhapsody, Soleil, Sweet Louisa, and Noche (chocolate infused!!).  I opted to have a glass of the Sweet Louisa, which Dr. Cooper likes to refer to as "sassy grape juice!"  

Some of the girls!

The rest of us!

RJH, LPC, HRJ, MFM, ABE

Allie and Miss Cooper, herself!

I finally got to wear my Wisteria Tunic!

Group before heading back to Cville!

If you're ever in Central Virginia and want to check out some of the local vineyards, Cooper Vineyards is a must visit!

As you can see, it was quite the eventful weekend.  I made so many great memories!  

What did you do this weekend?

One Month & A Cornbread Recipe

Yippee!  Today my blog is one month old!

Below is one of my favorite songs:  "I Should Be Sleeping" by Emerson Drive.  I'm posting this song today, because its lyrics could easily be tweaked to show how I feel about this blog.  I find myself often up late at night (when I should be sleeping...) thinking about Sundresses and Smiles!  I am constantly getting new ideas for blog posts from the world around me; I find myself mentioning posts I've read in conversation; and I look forward to free time when I can check my blog reads out!  I am so glad that I started this new endeavor and have had all of your support along the way!

If I could re-write the lyrics to this song, instead of saying:

"After just three days (just three days)

And one great kiss (one great kiss)

It's way too soon...

To be obsessing like this!"

I would say this:

"After just one month (just one month)

And one great post (one great post)

It's way too soon...

To be obsessin' like this!"

So, again, thanks to all of you!  This blogging thing would not be nearly as fun (or addicting) if it weren't for all your support!

Additionally, I'm going to do my first link up today with one of my favorite bloggers Daphne at Flip Flops & Pearls.  

Today's recipe is for the easiest and most delicious cornbread!  I am super picky when it comes to cornbread.  Back in the fall, I was babysitting at our Alpha Phi Advisor's house and she had made some of this cornbread.  I ate SO much...I couldn't stop myself!  I asked her for the recipe and made it for Thanksgiving.  My family loved it and I have a feeling it will become a Thanksgiving tradition.  So thanks to Farrell for sharing this wonderful recipe with me!

It smelled so good that my dad stole a piece before I could even snap a picture!

Ingredients 2 packages Jiffy Cornbread Mix
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream (I have used reduced fat or regular)
¼ cup sugar
1 stick butter
Preheat oven to 400°F.  Melt butter in 9 x 13 regular pan in the oven.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour into pan.  Do NOT stir in the butter, just layer batter on top.  Bake for 20-25 min until brown.  Cool 5 min.
Have a wonderful weekend!!

Fabulous Front Porches

WHEW!  I survived!  Yesterday, I was a multi-tasking queen and managed to get through all my assignments and feel proud of the work I turned in!  Now I can relax...for a few days!  Enjoy today's post!

As I've mentioned before, I can't imagine living anywhere other than THE South.  At home, I have this sign in my bedroom.  I bought it at one of my absolute favorite stores, Tweed in Richmond.

If you can't read it, it says:  "The place where... 1) Tea is sweet and accents are sweeter.  2) Summer starts in April.  3) Macaroni & Cheese is a vegetable.  4) Front Porches are wide and words are long.  5) Pecan Pie is a staple.  6) Y'all is the only proper noun.  7) Chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy.  8) Everything is Darlin'.  9)  Someone's heart is always being blessed."

There is SO much I could post about just based off of this sign, but today I am going to focus on number 4:  "Front Porches are wide..."

Front porches are iconic of the South and are often a place to socialize and reflect.  At my godparents' lake house, the porch is such a place of memories and down-right debauchery, that we gave them this sign as a Christmas present last year:

Thanks to Aunt Patti for snapping this pic and sending it to me!

My dream home will have a HUGE front porch with a swing and some rocking chairs.  

Today, I want to pay homage to the South's amazing porches and share some lovely ones I found online!

I could rock in that swing for hours!

There's just something about a yellow house...

one word...ELEGANCE

I can just picture my (future) kiddies playing on this bench!

stately columns, windows galore, hydrangeas...YES PLEASE!

I'm convinced...my future home will have a pink door!

Images found via Google Image Search, House Beautiful, and Veranda.

Does your house have a front porch?  What are the "must haves" of your dream home?  

As a side note, special thanks go to Jenny at Something Old, Something New (if you have not read her blog, you must check it out!) for the "One Lovely Blog Award."  As part of this award, you're supposed to share 7 random facts about yourself and award 15 other bloggers!  So, here goes!

1. The word verifications when posting comments crack me up!  Most recently I was tickled by "goons."
2. I'm super organized and a neat freak, but when I get busy, my room becomes an absolute wreck.  This semester, with 7 classes, I have been quite busy, so typically Thurs night-Mon morning my room is clean, and then Mon night-Thurs it's a wreck!
3. I'm a huge nerd and like to sit in the front in most of my classes.
4. I'm a lefty, but play most sports with my right hand.
5. Country music is my favorite.
6. I've always been a "Daddy's Girl" but in the last 5 or 6 years my mom and I have also become the best of friends.  I willingly hang out with my parents more than any other college kid I know!
7. I'm a complete girlie girl, but also love the outdoors and to get dirty on occasion, especially when I'm at the lake or river.

And for the fifteen of you I'm going to award:  Flip Flops & Pearls, Fried Green Pickles, Happiness Is..., Hines-Sight Blog, Life in the Sweet Virginia Breeze, Lizards and Lollipops, North Meets South, Pink Champagne, Pretty Pink Tulips, Ruthie Relishing Life, Simply Southern, Southern Inspired, Southern Somedays, spark, and WhatMissLoves!

Promoting Equity In Schools

Did I mention these next few weeks are jam-packed for me?  Yes, I did!  Well, today I have a major project due for my Language Block class (covering all of my work in the field thus far this semester), a big science assignment due, oh and a debate in my Ethics & Human Rights discussion section that my TA emailed us about...YESTERDAY (thanks!).

I feel like this girl!

In addition to all that work, my mom visited yesterday for lunch...lunch turned into ice cream and a Target trip, which then turned into lots of girl talk, and ultimately dinner.  I was so grateful to have her here, however, that took a huge chunk out of my work time and I just didn't have time to write a good post.  So, I decided to post this draft I wrote a few weeks ago.

LOVE this pic of my mom and me!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Pedro Noguera, a leader in the field of education, speak.  He spoke particularly about ways to address the achievement gap in our education system and I was quite inspired.  His speech is on YouTube and I plan to post it and my thoughts down the road.

We watched this YouTube video in class as an introduction to Noguera and I find it quite interesting and hope you do too!.

Noguera, executive director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education speaks about promoting equity amongst students.

This video was shown in one of my education classes.  It caused me to reflect on my own experiences as well as the experiences friends have shared.  I was a public school girl msyelf, and received a superb education.  That wasn't the case for everyone in my school though.  I was on the advanced/honors/AP track from elementary school on and experienced classes that challenged me to think differently and exposed me to brilliant teachers.  In addition, to having an exceptional honors/AP program, my school also had a really great special education department.  I had the chance to volunteer in the special ed class and was impressed by the relationships formed amongst students and faculty and well as their learning of life and career skills in the real world.  Where the real inequity lied in my school, however, was for the average students.  Students enrolled in standard classes had a very hit-or-miss experience.  There were a few great teachers sprinkled in amongst a lot of average teachers and a even a few duds.  The point I am trying to make is that inequity exists everywhere (not just inner-city)-- in wealthy suburban public schools like mine, in private schools, in charter schools, in parochial schools, etc....

As a future teacher this is an issue I think needs to be addressed-- but how?  Should we try and tackle it first at the classroom level?  Work at the school, district, or federal level for reform?  What do you think would help make schooling more equitable?  What were your experiences in school or what are your children's experiences now?

Gold Digger

Yep, you heard right-- I'm digging for gold--sandals, that is!  I've been wanting a pair of gold Jack Rogers for a while now and think that I'm finally going to take the plunge and buy a pair as a little present to myself at the end of finals.  Recently, though, I've been considering some other options and I thought I would ask your opinions.

Option 1:  Jack Rogers Navajo, $98

• Pros:  I love them, so cute and classic.  I have a white pair and a bronze pair and both have lasted for more than 4 years and are still in great shape!
• Cons:  Let's be honest, Jacks are not really that comfortable and for someone whose on her feet as much as I am, that's something to take into consideration

Option 2:  Sam Edelman Gigi, $59

• Pros:  I have these in silver and have worn them a ton!  They look great under white jeans and are definitely more comfortable than Jacks.  Also, the cheapest of the 3 options.
• Cons:  I feel like they are the trendiest of the 3 options and might not be popular down the road.

Option 3:  Lilly Pulitzer McKim, $138

I'm still kicking myself for not getting them for $35 during the Lilly Rue La La sale last week!

• Pros:  My friend ALG has a few pairs of these and says they are super comfortable.  I don't have any McKims so they would add some variety to my shoe collection.  And finally, they are such a classic style that I'll be able to wear them for years.
• Cons:  I'm just not sure if I like them enough to justify the hefty pricetag.

What do y'all think?  Any other suggestions?

As a side note, this Friday my blog will be one month old!  If I can get to 200 or more followers by Thursday night I will host my first giveaway Friday!