My First Stanley Cup Experience

So let me just start off by saying I feel like a bandwagon fan. But according to Nick, I'm not. I started to watching hockey back in January (I know, big fan right here). Because I live so close to St. Louis and love love love the Cardinals, I decided I would just be a blues fan. Easy enough, right? Wrong. Then I met Nick. This boy is the biggest Blackhawks fan ever. And the more I watched games with him, the more I started to enjoy the Blackhawks more. At one point he even pointed out to me that I probably couldn't even name 3 players on the Blues but that I could name at least 7 on the Blackhawks and he was right.

Me pre Blackhawks fan

Then the playoffs started. And the Blues were knocked out first round. So we decided to make a bet. I would become a Hawks fan if they went on to win the next round. And they did. So I cheered for them for another round. And they won that round too. Then it was Stanley Cup round. We decided that if they won the entire thing, I would no longer like the Blues at all. Now some of you are probably thinking, why change yourself for a guy? People, its hockey. I started watching in January. It's not like I was this hugeeee fan before him and all of a sudden decided to change because he made me. First, we made a bet and second, I couldn't even tell you anyone on the Blues besides Oshie. Moving on.

I think I was a Blues fan because he was a Hawks fan and it was fun when the Blues won

So game one of the Stanley Cup. Hawks won by one. In three over times. Nick gets stressed watching these games that only go all three regular rounds and let me tell you, if this series was going to be anything like the first game his hair was going to fall out by the end of it. Game two, Bruins won. In the first overtime period. By now, I have started to hate overtimes. Game three, Bruins won again. And this one the Hawks didn't even score. Things were not looking good. The Hawks had to win the next one or it was pretty much over with. Game four, Hawks won. And you guessed it, in overtime. Series was tied two-two. Game five, they won again. Things were looking awesome. 

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Then game six. It was in Boston. I was kind of hoping they would lose so that they could win in Chicago because I remember how fun it was for the Cardinals to win the World Series at home. But they were having none of that. They were down 2-1 with like less than 2 minutes remaining. Nick was seriously stressed. I wish I could have captured his stressed outness because now it makes me laugh. Anyways, the Hawks pulled their goalie and scored. Tied game. I thought oh great another stinking overtime. Nick said "no way, there's still a lot of game left."

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And he was right. Not even 17 seconds later the Hawks scored again. Granted there was still .58 seconds left but it was a huge relief. When the clock ticked down Nick was the happiest person on the planet. You seriously would have thought he was a five year old who had just seen Santa, no joke.

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The game was full of hitting, excitement, stress, blood, and sweat. Thank god I only had to experience two of those things. I was excited because the guys could finally shave those awful beards and I could see what they really looked like. Ps. Kane needs to cut his mullet offfffff. Anyways, I have found my favorite player on the team. I have gotten use to the fact that my two favorite sports teams are from two different cities. I was happy they won because it made Nick happy. And now I can say they won the whole thing because I became a fan. For my first Stanley Cup experience, I'd say it was a pretty awesome one. If you don't watch hockey, I recommend it. Granted you have to wait until November, but the game is worth it. It's fast paced with a lot of aggression and emotion all built into 60 minutes (if you're lucky). 

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Pretty sure Shaw was knocked out during the game by getting hit in the face with a puck

And got stitched up and came right back out to play

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His front teeth....

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My favorite boy on this team right here

Now go link up with Sarah at Venus Trapped in Mars 
And Whitney at I Wore Yoga Pants to Work

  

Welcome Savannah from Staying Right!

Hello! I just wanted to introduce you all to my wonderful cousin Savannah. She has recently started a blog called Staying Right and I think every one needs to go check it out. She is an amazing girl and I know you will all love her! Take it away Savannah!


It is so easy to get discouraged with modern day statistics. Growing up and facing reality forces people to start thinking of what they want to do as something they cannot do. This sense of growing up makes people start to shift their thoughts from the possible to the impossible.

What a sucky way to think right?

I choose not to think that way. 

I'm an avid optimist. People have a lifetime to accomplish dreams, how can they think anything is impossible?  Maybe I just have not hit that "growing up" stage yet, but I don't see my mindset changing in the future anytime soon.


In honor of my 19th birthday coming up, here are 19 pieces of life experience I have taken away from these short years:

1. Once you truly humble yourself, you'll be more willing to look at learning new things.

2. The people that laugh at your dreams are discouraged about theirs.

3. Sometimes, you just have to move on and know life gets better.

4. Every bad day can be fixed with good food and a movie.

5. "Hard life now, easy life later. Easy life now, hard life later."-courtesy of my Dad

6. Spend as much time as you can with family and loved ones. Life moves so fast that you don't realize these are the memories you are making for a lifetime.

7. Honor your conscience when making decisions; you don't want to grow up and not like the person you have become.

8. Take care of your body and think about what you are putting into it.

9. Drama and gossip will always be in your life, but it's how you handle it that reflects your strength and sincerity.

10. "Character is what you do when nobody is looking."-courtesy of my Dad again.

11. Think about the country you live in and how big it feels. Now go visit the other 195 countries. Do you feel small yet? Step out of your comfort zone and explore different areas, topics, and cultures.

12. There are one million and one more opinions than yours on every topic imaginable. Study them all.

13. Set higher goals for yourself every year; then, prepare to be shocked and watch yourself accomplish them.

14. Respect yourself and it will not matter if others respect you or not.

15. You are your biggest critic.

16. Work, work hard, work harder, work even harder. Little break. Do all of this without complaining.

17. Remember that nature is the best relief for stress.

18. People's stories that need to be heard the most are the ones the media does not talk about enough.

19. Try new activities as much as possible. Go to new hiking spots, surfing, or make new recipes. These are all qualities and characteristics that can connect you with new people.

Cheers to the final year of being a teenager! Let's see what the rest of my life will bring. I can't wait to see.

Wavy hair in five minutes

So, I have been asked quite a few times lately how I get my hair to be wavy
Well, first you have to have a head full of not curly/not straight hair
Kidding, I'm sure you can achieve this with hair not like that

Anyways, this is the hair I'm talking about

(On the left)
It seriously takes me five minutes
Not joking
It's a life saver every morning because I never feel like actually doing my hair

 What I do:
I shower
Obviously
Then while in the shower I only use shampoo .. no conditioner
I feel as if that step is key .. for me anyways
Then when I get out of the shower I just put my hair up in a towel for about five minutes
You want it pretty damp but not dripping wet when you put the gel in it
Then I use Aussie Volume Gel but you can use mousse if you prefer

I've been using that gel for like years now
Seriously probably like 6 or 7
Anyways I put about a nickle size of it in my palm and rub it in my hands
I flip my head over then scrunch my hair
Repeat that step again
Then flip your head up and scrunch a little bit more in it
Then you are done

Seriously so easy .. I know
You're welcome

It makes great day two hair too for those of you who don't like washing your hair everyday

(I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum

More on that later..
Here is what I have been up to lately

Thursday was a night spent at the softball fields again
I was kind of star struck for a minute because Nick's team played against a team that an old Cardinals player is on
But then I got over it when Nick's team short gamed Jason Isringhausen's team

Friday night I went to the Luke Bryan/FGL concert
My honest opinion: Luke Bryan is good to look at but he sucks at entertaining.
I was so bored by like the third song it was unreal.
FGL was so amazing it blew my mind.
I wish they would have been the main act and Luke Bryan would have opened.
The only time I thought Luke was entertaining was when he wasn't singing his actual songs and brought FGL out on stage with him.

 

 

 

 

And yes, I'm sure you can hear me singing in the background
No I'm not ashamed

Saturday was just a day spent in Mount Olive for our little homecoming thing we have

Saturday night our plans were to watch the Blackhawks game and then go out to the carnival for some beer tentness.
But then the Blackhawks lost, and it had been raining for a few hours.
So instead it was bed time.

Sunday we went to the art museum because I have a paper due for one of my classes on a painting there.
Then we just went and hung out at my parents for Father's Day.

1. Tatum and Willow cuddling. Tatum hates being disturbed while he sleeps but is totally fine with Willow snuggling up next to him.
2. I'm bored at work today
3. My new necklace I got for $5. I forget from where.
4. Tatum went for a ride with me the other day.
5. Willow sleeping on the kitchen chairs under the table .. weird cat
6. Last night I wanted a blizzard. Instead I made myself an angel food cake covered in white vanilla pudding with carmel, chocolate and whipped cream on top. So much healthier, I know.

Okay so now about my title.
Just watch this video.

Everything You Need to Know About Bloglovin

Or should I say everything I think I know that I think you should know about Bloglovin'

So we all know by now that Google is getting rid of Google Reader come July 1
Which will sort of put GFC out of business, so to say

And that is where Bloglovin' comes in to play
This dandy little site has been around for awhile, but I have just recently started to really use it
And I love it!
I regret ever rejecting it in the first place

And here is a step-by-step (done by me so there is probably some steps left out) on how to use it

First you will come to their home screen.
There you will click on the "Join Bloglovin" button that I have pointed out for you

Then you can either decide to sign up the old fashion way using your e-mail address
Or the new way, using Facebook

Once you have signed up you go over to your settings

Scroll down and click "Add Blog"

Then you need to go claim your blog

After that, go back to your settings because Bloglovin' has given us an awesome way to get all of our blogs we follow via GFC easily to one spot
Then scroll all the way down
Click "Import Blogs"

Select "Google Reader"

Select the e-mail that you use for your blog

Then "Accept"
This is just letting Bloglovin' access your Google Reader

It will then start importing all of the blogs you follow that have Bloglovin'

Your homepage should now look like this!
You will be able to scroll through and see all of the blogs you follow with their posts for the day
And when you click on one, Bloglovin' makes it lighter so that you can tell which ones you have read

Another awesome thing you can do with Bloglovin'?
Get the app straight to your iPhone!

Now you have all of your favorite blogs right at your finger tips!

So if you don't already, you should totally follow me on Bloglovin'!

Chicago According to My Phone

Hello, it's been awhile
Wednesday I returned from my trip up to Chicago with Nick
I know he really enjoyed being with me 24/7 for pretty much 6 whole days
For now I am just uploading all the pictures from my phone until I get around to actually editing the ones from my camera

Friday we left and headed up to his dad's house

He also really enjoys car rides and taking pictures with me, obviously

Saturday was his moms party for her wedding
It was awesomely decorated so of course I didn't get any pictures

I did, however, make him take a lot of pictures because again, he loves taking them with me

Sunday we picked up Penny, went to the Cubs game and then went to eat at Gino's

(Our waiter at Ginos sucked .. absolutely terrible)

Monday we did a lot of touristy things
We went to The Sears Tower, The Bean, and Navy Pier
You couldn't see down Navy Pier because of all the fog so we ended up just eating at Bubba Gumps

 Tuesday we decided to do some shopping on Michigan Ave. before the second Cubs game

Wednesday we didn't do anything except sleep in, watch PLL, and drive home
It was a great trip and it was really nice to get away for a few days

The Bloglovin' Collective!

<center> <a href="http://peacoatsandplaid.blogspot.com/search/label/bloglovin%20collective"><br /> <br /> <img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/bre916/bloglovinhop200_zps1f5121c1.jpg" border="0"/><br /> <br /> </a></center>

Welcome to the weekly Bloglovin' Collective party! 

There are many out there like it, but this is the Bloglovin' blog hop you do not want to miss.

Host:

Bre from Peacoats & Plaid

and my co-hosts for the week:

Chelsea @ Lost in Travels

Ashley @ Modernette

Becca @ Beginning with Becca

Laura @ Side Street Style

Emily @ Everything Emily

Interested in co-hosting? Send an email to peacoatsnplaid(at)gmail(dot)com to get on the waiting list.

In the Celeb World

Hi, so it has been a while since I have done a post on celebrities
I use to be so up to date on all the latest gossip
I would text or call my mom and be all like "guess who is pregnant" or "guess who is getting married"

And every time she knew I was talking about a celebrity
Because that's how cool I am

So today I decided to bring you some celebrity gossip
Because we should all stay up to date on the crazy lives of the rich and famous

First off, this is a little late, but Queen Bey is not preggo
At least I doubt she is

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I mean come on

Would Queen Bey post this picture if she was actually pregnant?

No, she would not

And I know this because we are bff's, obviously

This big celebrity no-no happened

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Yepp, Jennifer Aniston wore the same dress .. twice

I just heard all of your gasps, crazy I know

The first time she wore this was 2011 on the red carpet and the second time was this weekend for a wedding

Could it be that she is just like all of us normal people who shop our closets most of the time instead of shopping at stores daily?

Jessica Simpson is due any time now

And can I say girlfriend has kept the weight gain to a minimum compared to her last pregnancy?

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Can someone please explain to me the thought process that goes through Amanda Bynes' head these days?

Seriously, this chick needs helppppp

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From her careless driving, to her careless fashion/hair choices, to her careless tweets 

This girl has gone crazy

But it's okay because she says she's "doing amazing"...

In case you were wondering, I just spent a good 20 minutes being entertained by her Twitter

I need a life..

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This man became a dad this past weekend.

I don't know if I am happy for him or sad for every women in the world.

So that's all the celeb news I have today

The celeb world has been pretty quiet lately.

Come on guys, you are my entertainment!

Anyways, in my last post I said that I watched game 7 and 1.

My boyfriend informed me this was wrong.

It was games 1 and 2.

Sorry about that Nick.